Christy Allbee's Mommy Blogging Beehive

Am I Back?

2009-09-02T20:27:00.002-06:00

This blog has been hanging around my neck like an albatross. I so want to post, but every night, I stare at the keyboard, and five minutes later I'm wiping drool from my lip and dragging myself to bed.

Like all of America, I am struggling with the working Mom syndrome. When I am at work, I am there, straight, no breaks, proving myself. And when I am home, I am with her 110%. No phones, no tv, just dinner, playing and family time. By the time she goes to bed at 8pm, I'm either falling into bed myself or a complete waste.

That being said, this poor little old blog is taking the brunt of my neglect. One of these days, I'll dust her off and be back to business as usual.

What Sound Does Papa Make?

2009-08-05T22:18:00.002-06:00

In the realm of fart noises are always funny, I taught Hadley how to immitate her grandfather by making *pfft* noises. It only took about a day of positive reinforcement to produce this behavior. And once it started, there was no stopping it. On repeat, driving around in the car. "pfft *giggle* PAPA", she would say, over and over like a broken record.

When we were in Connecticut visiting my parents, my Dad captured her on camera in her priceless moments. You can see the video here.

Toddler Tea Party

2009-07-21T06:00:00.002-06:00

It wasn't until we were sitting in Kinderschuhe, a children's shoe store in Connecticut looking for a pair of shoes for Hadley that I learned she knew how to have tea parties. In a play area at the back of the store, she picked up a tea kettle and started pouring fake tea into cups for my mom. My first thought was *sniff* what else is she doing that I don't know about. But as soon as we got back, I opened the tea set that her Aunt Jinnie had gotten for her first birthday. At the time, Jinnie insisted that all little girls love to have tea parties and boy did she know what she was talking about. The day I opened the set, I had to limit our tea parties to 3. Of course, I also taught her how to invite her stuffed animals and serve them all tea and crumpets, and how you have to be all hoity toity and stick out your pinky as you sip (not slurp) your hot brew.

In Our Shoes

2009-07-20T06:00:00.000-06:00

iPlay Sand and Water Table

2009-07-19T20:17:00.004-06:00

Hadley loves playing with water. She loves putting her hands in it. She loves pouring it on herself. If we are outside, she wants her pail filled with water. If it is hot out, she wants water in her pool. After Mommy, Daddy, Tica, and Gibson, Water was probably her 5th word, which she says as if asking a question, on repeat like a broken record. Wawa? Wawa? Wawa? The way she says Wawa reminds me of Gilda Radner's Barbara Wawa skit. Until I correct her, and then she says WaaaTer.

Because of her love of all things water, when we were in Connecticut on vacation and I spied iPlay's Sand and Water Table at a toy store, I knew I had to get it for her. I called a few toy stores when I got back to Denver, and thanks to my friend Cynthia who has a 25% off coupon, I was able to get this for her at a store down the street from us. Total Score!

It was super easy to set up out of the box and I love how colorful it is. Despite DGs crotch in this shot, this picture is great because Hadley is having a blast.

Water and boats and ducks go in one side and sand in the other. You can pour water into the funnels at the top and watch them spin the wheels.

This is RATED A for Awesome!

Actual Conversation

2009-07-06T19:39:00.005-06:00

This is an actual conversation that took place last night during dinner while talking about the potential of playing badminton on the outdoor court of the Mountain View Grand.

Mom: I will beat your butt so bad at badminton that it will make your head spin.

Me: Are you kidding me? I could tie one hand behind my back, be 9 months pregnant and still kick your butt.

Dad: Oh yeah? Well I could stick the badminton racket up my butt and kick both of your asses.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Square Foot Gardening

2009-07-03T21:09:00.000-06:00

The 3rd week-end in May we planted our gardens. Each are 4' X 4'. I was testing 2 new vegetables this year, Kale and Broccoli. A week later all 4 Kale were gone as well as the broccoli. I didn't realize we had rabbits, I thought. Until one night, as I sat on the patio, I witnessed Mr. Gibson's little weiner body propped up on the edge of the garden reaching over for something. And then I knew I had found the culprit.

So I replanted more Kale, more broccoli, and I added some eggplant AND A FENCE! Fool me once, shame you. Fool me twice...you get the picture.

As I went out to pick lettuce, I noticed all my Kale was again gone, broccoli gone and a few carrots were dug up. The little bugger broke through the fence.

Therefore, I have one dog for sale. He likes to bark, snuggle, burp up the smell of poop and eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING.

Ice Plants

2009-06-29T20:51:00.004-06:00

These are my favorite summer flowers in our front xeriscaped bed. They are perennials that made it through the winter and they do not need a lot of water. You can tell from their leaves that they are a succulent. The flowers open up in the heat of the day and close up at night.

Father's Day

2009-06-23T20:34:00.003-06:00

Father's Day Hike up Mt. Falcon

View of Red Rocks Amphitheater from our hike.

Followed by Father's Day Out at La Fogata

Then Father's Day Pool Time

And finally, Father's Day Dairy Queen where we learned that Hadley is purely a vanilla girl. To which I again ask, whose daughter is she?

Art to Fill Empty Walls

2009-06-18T06:00:00.000-06:00

Every year we go to the Student Summer Art Fair and every year we kick ourselves for not getting anything. Not this year we yelled. We gave ourselves a budget and got a few really cute pieces from artists Lisa Wharton and Jane Hunt.

To go along with my bird theme in the office, we got 3 of Lisa's 5 x 5 silk screens on wood. They are fun, modern and give us good inspiration in the office.

For our bedroom, we bought one of Jane Hunt's 8 X 8 tree pieces. It's still hard for me to believe that David and I mutually agreed on a piece of art. Our conversations on art usually go a little something like this:

CG: Your art sucks, put it in the garage.
DG: Nuh huh, you have the worst taste ever.
CG: Your art isn't even good enough to be hung in our bathroom.
DG: Oh yeah, well, you buy your crap art at the TJ Maxx home store.

And so on and so on and so on.

Right now you are probably wondering if DG's art is really hanging is garage and my reply to you is YES. I'll leave the door open and you can come and get it. He'll never even know.

Pic of the Week

2009-06-16T06:00:00.000-06:00

There is no amount of muck and goo on her face that would make me resist this look when she wants to be picked up.

Stormy Weather

2009-06-15T20:50:00.002-06:00

Spring is going out like a lion, and as Hadley would saw "RaWR!"

For the past 2 weeks, the storm clouds roll in everyday at 4:00 pm, bringing with them weekly tornados and hail ranging from pea to gobbstopper size. "But how can you get tornados in a big city?" you ask. Just east of Denver you might as well be in Kansas.

Hadley's First Hike

2009-06-05T21:31:00.003-06:00

Last Sunday morning, we took Hadley out to Bear Creak in Morrison, CO for her first hike. It is pretty short and fairly easy smooth terrain for little toddler feet. Here she is really excited about the water bottle.

This picture screams, "running water makes me really have to pee".

Once we got away from all the bikers, Hadley insisted on walking the ENTIRE way. We took our time, watching the river, sniffing flowers, and picking up rolly polly bugs. I LOVE that she is not afraid of critters. Yet.

Finally in the end, she was all about hydrating. Though we carried her most of the way back it was good exercise. Even the dogs had a good time.

The Many Faces of Hadley

2009-06-03T22:12:00.003-06:00

Sneaky.

Deliriously Happy.

Freaking Excited.

Mischievous.

Expectant.

Caught in the Act!

Joyful.

First Day of Daycare

2009-06-02T20:54:00.004-06:00

The night before my first day of work, Hadley had a fever of 104.5, freaking us out and keeping us up all night long. By Tuesday she was better, and here she is ready to rock her first day of daycare with her backpack. No, I don't make her tote her things around. It was all a ruse for the camera. But she loves saying the word "Backpack", you know like Dora the Explorer.

So what has changed in two weeks? Well, she gained ONE POUND! Holy crap. Forget Pediasure, Carnation Instant Breakfast and months of double buttered bread. All it took was watching 15 kids eating to garner an interest in food.

She is doing really well during the day and has been called an 'Independent Spirit' who goes all over the place doing her own thing. The look on her face when I pick her up is priceless. She immediately drops everything she is doing, jumps out of arms or climbs out of the sandbox to come running over to me all the while yelling 'Mama'. Warms the cockles of my heart.

The only issues we are currently having is that she has brought home the concept of "MINE" said ad infinitum at loud volume followed by screeching. She also has taken to throwing completely hysterical fits, but just with me, not DG. It's like she is punishing me for leaving her all day. I'm not sure how to deal with it and may need to do some reading online. For example today, David picked her up from daycare and came to get me at work. She was calling my name out the whole way and the two of them were having a great time, until she saw me. Upon seeing me and having me hug her, she grew hysterical and wouldn't let me touch her or hold her. She was INCONSOLABLE. So much for Mama's touch. Any ideas?

LA LA Land

2009-05-28T06:00:00.001-06:00

In my excitement over being gainfully employed, I've completely missed blogging about our awesome trip to Los Angeles to visit my beffy, Joy. I always use Travelocity when I want a last minute package deal. They are not even paying me to say that. But we got airfare, hotel, and car rental 48 hours before our trip for a screaming deal. I think our amazing hotel was only $70 per night too!

Day 1: We got off the plane, got our car, and headed out to Santa Monica Pier. The ferris wheel on the Pier is the opening shot for a lot of tv shows and movies including Private Practice and the Lost Boys.

We parked the car and saw this fun little view that David couldn't resist. I just love this photo.

When near the ocean, it is necessary to dip your toes in. Hadley clung to me like a monkey unsure of the cold waves.

Maybe she's only a fan of the Atlantic Ocean. Who knew?

I love this picture of Joy because it embodies her personality. It is "classic Joy". And she looks so effortless caring Aidrick around. Look, here I am, beautiful and natural, just lightly toting my baby around with me.

Who is missing from this photo? Da Da?

Day 2: We headed down to the Hollywood strip to see the stars and the Chinese theater. Naive tourists that we are, we got conned into having our picture taken with Tigger here. I'm not going to tell you how he sounded like he had gotten out of prison the day before and was looking to make some extra cash. Needless to say, there are a lot of fun characters out there, but watch out, they don't work for free.

We had 3 minor star sightings during our week-end which is alway fun. Mostly it was, "oh that person looks so familiar, do we know them?". Followed, hours later by us screaming out characters they had played until we figured out their names.

A good time was had by all.

Welcome to Hollywood

2009-05-27T21:20:00.002-06:00

A lack of words from me usually means I am so busy that I don't even have time for simple grooming. Like plucking my eyebrows. We are still trodding into our new routine of me working outside the home. While you wait for my next post on our trip to Los Angeles, here is a pic of me and the DG with the Hollywood sign behind us.

Budding Musician

2009-05-23T12:48:00.002-06:00

When my parents came to visit, Papa brought Hadley a new fun toy. It has taken a few weeks, but she has finally figured out how to blow in it. In case you missed this on 5280 Dad, here is Hadley learning how to play her harmonica. And here is where I would put in a really clever and witty harmonica pun right now, but I'm just plum dry of wit these days.

May is the Season to Plant

2009-05-20T06:00:00.005-06:00

Traditionally, every May, we plant our flower pots. Here are a series of pictures from the last three years. One thing that remains consistent is that you can be sure my hair is in a pony tail and I've got my bra hanging out.

2007: In this 1st picture, I am 3 1/2 months pregnant. Gibson and Tica were my helpers.

2008: We had just gotten out of the hospital and I was cherishing my first mother's day and looking forward to beginning traditions.

2009: I have a helping hand. Hadley loved playing with the dirt, putting flowers in pots, and transferring soil from one pot to another.

Her interest in helping me was so precious. She loved all the tools.

My Parents

2009-05-18T06:00:00.000-06:00

It was the summer of 1971 and my mother, at the tender age of 19 turning 20 was married and about 6-7 months pregnant with me. My father, owning a camera, and always documenting everything for archival purposes, took them out into the lush green woods of New Hampshire to take some photos.

Here he told my mother not to smile so that it would be artsy and cool. And that is his HOT ROD car that he bought before he left Vietnam. Apparently, my pregnant mother would drive this car daily to drop him off at work, and then upon request peel out of the parking lot leaving dust and tire marks to the hoots of my Dad's coworkers.

It's hard to believe that I am in the belly of this beautiful young girl.

And much to his chagrin, I'm posting this one picture of my Dad. Because he's all 70's and bad ass!

And to run a bit down memory lane, here are some old posts of my Dad making my Halloween Costume in 1974, my parent's going to prom and mom Mom making us matching dresses.

What Will I Wear?

2009-05-13T14:18:00.003-06:00

In trying to get my family ready for me to head back to work, I've been terribly neglectful of this here little old blog. One of my top priorities has been finding clothes to wear since I have not worked in an office since 2005!

These are are few of the options for my first day of work, courtesy of Ann Taylor. It's like they used a mold of my body to create their petite line.

Here's me, busting inn guns blaring ready for my first day.

I've mentioned before the propensity to which I sweat. HUGE drippy gobs of wet. Whenever I purchase new tops, I have to stand in the dressing room, look at myself in the mirror, and wonder how my shirt will look with huge dinner plate sized sweat stains. Not pretty or delicate at all. Normally I opt for all black or white. Here I am branching out. We'll see how these lovely delicate silk tops fare.

School's Out Forever

2009-05-04T06:00:00.002-06:00

There are few people that could get me to dust off my guitar and amp and sing in front of people again. But when Lora told me that she wanted someone to play Alice Cooper's "School's Out" for her husband Bert's graduation party, I was sure we could make that happen. You long time reader's may remember Bert here.

Not bad for one practice huh? David, the total metal head learned all the guitar parts and taught me the rhythm guitar as he wailed away on lead. Sharing the spotlight on lead is Lora's 15 year old nephew James. Can you say rocker? He's amazing. You know, just picked it up on his own and wailed the solo. Then on drums, that is Holly's husband Bruce. Normally he's a guitar player, but he borrowed a set and learned this song. That's what you call a true musician.

But enough about rocking, let's talk about who really rocks. Bert. Three years ago, Bert realized he was not passionate about his job. So with the support of his wife, he went back to school to get his 3-Year Masters of Science Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Cheers to Bert and his new career.

Grab My Button

2009-04-29T20:03:00.004-06:00

No, this isn't code for dirty talk. After almost 4 years of writing this blog, I am just now learning how to market myself. That was never my intent when I started writing. I just wanted to keep family and friends in touch with what I was doing. But I like all my readers. A lot. I like new readers. I'm fascinated with the marketing aspect and the analytics of how people found me.

All the cool girls these days have a fun blogging button that you can copy and add into the side bar of your blog. Scroll down and mine is on the right side bar. No pressure here. I'm not going to take you off the Christmas card list or anything if you don't grab my button. But if you feel so inclined, feel free to copy the .html and add it to your blog side bar. Easy as pie. Feel free to write me if you have any questions.

I've had requests for RSS feeds, so I am going to implement this soon as well.

Trevor Brown Photography

2009-04-27T20:33:00.004-06:00

This week-end, Trevor, our wedding and engagement photographer, came over to spend the afternoon with us and take some pictures of Hadley. He is awesome and amazing, and selfless, as he took time away from his brand new 7 week old baby boy. We found him on Craigslist before our wedding and he and DG have been trading services since then. I don't know the details, I just put on lipstick, show up and smile. All of these photos were taken by Trevor Brown, Jr./Trevor Brown Photography.

Here are a few of the highlights of over 400 photos.

39th Annual Earth Day

2009-04-22T08:18:00.004-06:00

If you have turned on the tv in the last 10 years, then you have probably heard about all the things you can do for Earth Day: Buy an electric mower, change all light bulbs in your house to the CFL ones, switch to low flow shower heads, buy fancy swiss reusable water bottles instead of buying bottled water etc. And these are all GREAT options, but they also cost you money. In lieu of today's economic times, here is short list of easy things that you can do today that won't cost you a dime.

1) SAVE WATER: Don't flush the toilet every time you go into the bathroom. Have you ever heard the saying if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down? You may say Ew, but do it. And don't let the water run while you brush your teeth.

2) REUSE BAGS: Reusable bags aren't just for the grocery store. They are for every store. Use them at the mall, the food warehouse, the drug store, everywhere. Carry them in your car and if you are in the store and realize you forgot them, hustle your ass BACK to the car and get them. If you don't own any reusable bags, carry around your previously used brown paper bags, or other grocery bags.

3) RECYCLE: Don't be lazy and think that you don't need to recycle. We have it easy here with a local recycling program, but still some people don't recycle because they think it's too much work. I think these are the same people think that their trash magically disappears after it leaves their house. I would like them to follow their trash to the landfill someday to see the impact. A family of 4 creates over 20 lbs. of trash a DAY!

4) USE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Or ride your bike to work or the store. Sometimes being green can give you some exercise too.

This is the short list that I came up with and there are so many more idea. Feel free to leave comments if you do other stuff as well.