N has taken to helping me do things around the house that it's getting hard for me to do.  Simple things like picking up something from the floor.  The best thing she's been doing though is getting on the baby's case when I'm not feeling the best - or when she's moving all over.  N will say 'Stop it baby, you're making Mama CRAZY!'.  LOL  Who knows how much time is left, all I know is that in most ways - I'm ready.  N is MORE than ready to meet her new baby sister - that's ALL she can talk about!  I'm waddling like crazy, can barely put on my socks and slip on work shoes, and I itch ALL OVER.  Not to mention I must be HUGE based on strangers asking me how overdue I am.  NIIIIIIIIIIIICE! 

Not sure if I'll be blogging on American Idol this year with a new baby, we'll see how good she is.  I have a bad feeling I will get an Anti-N, and she was SUCH a good baby!  But so far, I really like the following 3 and rumor has it they are all 3 in the top 24!!!

Sundance Head: 

Chris Sligh: 

Brandon Rogers: 

I'm getting more and more dissapointed with AI though.  I would love to see most or all of the auditions of the people that make it to Hollywood, and maybe only 2 or 3 bad ones a night.  Or show all the good auditions and when those shows are over, do one or two on the bad ones.  Luckily I *think* there is only one more city to go before Hollywood.

I read quite a bit again in 2006 and discovered some new authors to love.  Like Jodi Picoult and Christopher Moore.  If you like completely quirky - off the wall - what the heck was he smoking humor, he's the guy for you.  Of course it doesn't hurt that he grew up close to here - in the same town my brother grew up in either.

If you'd like some recommendations - what I'd recommend from my reading list last year is:
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Any books out by Mary Alice Monroe
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown (better than The DaVinci Code in my opinion)
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

The books to stay away from...
Local Girls by Alice Hoffman
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (WHAT was the hub-bub about this book?  It was awful!)
What Was She Thinking?  Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller (so bad I couldn't finish)
All He Ever Wanted by Anita Shreve (again, so bad I couldn't finish)

My complete list:

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Little Children by Tom Perrotta
Say When by Elizabeth Berg
Local Girls by Alice Hoffman
The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe
Fluke: Or I Know Why The Winged Whale Sings by Christopher Moore
The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Range of Motion by Elizabeth Berg
White Oleander by Janet Fitch
Never Change by Elizabeth Berg
Good Grief by Lolly Winston
The Four Seasons by Mary Alice Monroe
My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
Skyward by Mary Alice Monroe
Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz
What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller (Partially Read)
Songs of the Humpback Whale by Jodi Picoult
Digital Fortress by Dan Brown
Coyote Blue by Christopher Moore
Second Glance by Jodi Picoult
The Pact by Jodi Picoult
He Loves Lucy by Susan Donovan
Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big by Jose Canseco
Deception Point by Dan Brown
A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore
Every Visible Thing by Lisa Carey
The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Banks
The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany
Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult
All He Ever Wanted by Anita Shreve (ONLY PARTIALLY READ)
Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore
The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
The World Below by Sue Miller
A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler
Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult
Ursula, Under by Ingrid Hill
For Love by Sue Miller
The Three Mrs Parkers by Joan Medlicott
Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler
The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore
The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant

Happy Reading in 2007!

N is pretty much always very nice, sweet and polite.  She always sweetly tells me how pretty my belly is, or that I smell good, or whatever.  Well, last night she walked in the bathroom as I was drying off after my shower.  She very nicely said 'Hey Mama, your legs are growing to match your belly!'.  Well, I was so surprised that I said (nicely) 'What?' to which she very quickly and seriously replied 'You're pretty'.  LOL  Someone needs to give Daddy some lessons, huh? 

Today at lunch she totally redeemed herself.  She's colored me a picture I'd printed out ages ago of flowers in a vase and cut it out for me.  She gave them to me because she said I needed some pretty flowers today.  See what I mean - SWEET.  I can only hope this next girl will be half as sweet as N is.  I'm not sure if I can get lucky twice!

On Saturday DH, N & I went to finish up my Christmas shopping and take N to see Santa.  She, in true girly fashion, asked for jewelry - LOL.  I hope she likes stuff from Claire's and Walmart since that's what will be in her stocking.  Speaking of Claires, we finally braved that with her.  I thought she would have a heart attack she was so excited!  And luckily, everything there was pretty much buy one get one half off, so we bought enough that when the baby comes (BABY GIRL for those of you who don't know), she'll have a little package of Claire's stuff then as well.  Here is her Christmas (unless I have time to run to WalMart and they have one particular shirt I saw and its in her size, then she'll get that too):

Unwrapped From Santa:
Leapster along with the Nemo game for it and the Kindergarten game for it.

Wrapped From Us:
Barbie & the 12 Dancing Princesses DVD
Melissa & Doug - Make your own Chest of Drawers (Jewelry Box)
Polly Pocket - Cool Careers
3 Leappad Books from the resale shop that look like new (I'd add the links, but I can't remember off hand which ones they are!)
Some generic clothes for her Barbies.

And then of course the stuff for her stocking.  Ornament, some Princess Magnets from Targets $1 bin, Lip Stuff, Hair Stuff, a set of rings and necklace from Walmart, a set of bracelets from Claires, a Little Mermaid Pen, Rubber Duck in Soap, Bubble Bath, and she always asks santa to bring her a candy cane too:)

Anyone else all done?  Next year - I have to do this times two?  YIKES!  LOL

I ended up researching some and for the price - I liked and bought the Kodak EasyShare C643.  It's basically the same as my old one - but an extra megapixel and a few more features.  I don't care for the quality of the video (only tried one) - but I rarely ever use it and can't see spending an extra $50 or more to get a better one.  And who knows, maybe it's the way my computer plays them - or maybe I need to practice or something.

Also - we had Christmas with the ILs.  Along with some clothes (which is what N mainly talks about instead of the toys:), she got 3 toys.

Miss Crafty got Klutz Hand Art book
This Ariel Crazy Curls Doll Head
And the beautician in my MIL bought her this Salon Chair for her dolls.  Not only does it really raise up like a real chair, but the hair dryer really works too.  CUTE!
And each year my MIL gets everyone an ornament.  If she can find one - she usually tries to find one for the kids that have to do with something they like or that they've done over the past year.  For my little Baker, she bought this It's Cookie Time ornament.

The baby also got a few gifts - a cute outfit, an ear thermometer (actually that was my gift since I lost her last one when we moved back home:(, a bib that says 'I Love My Big Sister' and a pack of onesies (which have thoroughly confused N as to why the baby needs that many BATHING SUITS! - I still haven't gotten through to her what they are:)

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving.  The Christmas Season is upon us!

We had Christmas with the ILs last night, and I took pictures.  When I got home I went to take a few more, and the screen only shows up black.  I thought maybe the screen was just messing up, so I took a few anyway and uploaded them.  Nope - pitch black.  The tiny lens think deep inside the camera will NOT open anymore.  I've tried troubleshooting - nothing.  And since it's 3 years old, of course the camera has no warranty any longer.  Not only is it the worst time of year for this to happen, but of all the years - it has to be the year we are basically broke.  Plus, anyone who knows me knows that the camera is like an extra limb to me.  I barely go anywhere without it.  So that leaves me with having to get a new one hopefully either Sunday or maybe Tuesday.  Which leads me to my question.

Which (modestly priced - as in no way shape or form can I spend over $200 - and I'm REALLY not wanting to spend over $150, but that will be hard) digital camera do you own.  Do you like it?  Love it?  If I'm gonna spend $ - I do want it to have what I want on it - and I'm honestly  not that picky.  I'd like a 3x optical zoom, at least 5mp, and a video with sound mode.  I was thinking of either a Kodak (like I had - and they are priced pretty good for the most part), or a Canon.  I had problems with a regular Samsung in the past, so I'm not looking at one of those.  The only other brand I was really considering was a Sony.  I'd love an email or post here about what you have and why you like or dislike it!!!  THANKS for your help.  This is one of the few things that I own that I honestly can't be without - so I'll be taking DHs Best Buy gift card from tonight and ask my Dad to get me one as well (and hope he'll give it to me early) so I can get one.

THANKS FOR YOUR INPUT!!!!

What a horrible time of year to find this out.  Really, there's never a GOOD time - but the holidays make it that much more horrible.  My BIL has a son (my step-nephew) who is 20 I believe.  A few years ago he was diagnosed with pre-leukemia.  The family was shocked - he'd been under the weather for a few months, but it just seemed like a flu that wouldn't go away.  Not only that - we had no idea they could tell that someone had pre-leukemia.  At some point it has of course become full blown.  They caught it early and with all of the advances in medicine, they were given every hope in the world.  The problem being, his body has been riddled with infections ever since.  One right after the other.  It took them a very long time to even be able to administer chemo due to infections.  And of course, with his body's compromised immune system, it hasn't been fighting off the infections well at all.  The doctors haven't understood WHY he's had SO many infections or even HOW he's getting them.  All they know is, that his body hasn't wanted to fight them.  And unless he's 100% healthy - he couldn't get chemo administered.  So throughout his battle with this disease, it's been mostly a waiting game.  Waiting to have such and such infection cleared up so he can get one round of chemo - hopefully two.  I haven't known all of the details - BIL doesn't like to talk about it much, and I don't blame him.  So I will normally just ask how each of them are and he'll usually just say - oh he had a good day, oh he had a bad day, oh they are trying to rid him of yet another infection - and leave it at that.

Wednesday they were dealt another blow.  This is a lung infection.  Again, the doctors are baffled as to HOW and WHY he got it.  But the hospital assured the family there is no hope.  There is nothing left that can be done.  It's not even the leukemia (directly) that will do it - its the infection.   Between his immune system and his new-found resistance to antibiotics due to them almost constantly being in his body for 2 or so years - there is nothing that can be done.  They gave him a few weeks to up to possibly 8 - depending on the progression and just how badly his body is broken down.  The doctors told my BIL they hope that he will see one more Christmas, for everyone's sake.

He's a kid that's made some bad decisions in life, but about a year before all of this, was really turning his life around.  Everyone was so proud of him.  He was at Thanksgiving yesterday and I didn't get a chance to speak to him.  You have to realize, where we go - there are appx 80-100 people (all family - in one house) - so trying to get to the same corner of a room with one specific person isn't the easiest to do.  Every time I got a chance, it was either time to change his oxygen tank or he was getting sick.  My heart is just breaking for him, by BIL and my step-niece as well.

Any prayers that could be spared for my step-nephew, BIL and their whole family would be greatly appreciated.  Prayers that he won't be in pain.  Prayers that my BIL and his daughter will be OK through all of this.  Prayers that God will hold them all in his hands and ease their pain.