Toy Story 3 On Ice

Andrina is into everything Toy Story lately.  So we took her to see it on ice.  The quality of the photos are horrible, as you can see, but she had a wonderful time!

Maharet

Maharet is my 16 year old kitty. I adopted her as a kitten from a shelter. Maharet is a sweet cat. As she's gotten older she has become more affectionate. Now she is so affectionate she is content to be petted and held constantly while purring all the while. A few days ago I noticed a huge lump at the top of the bridge of her nose. It seemed to develop overnight. I took her to the vet and it was biopsied. Unfortunately, it is cancer. The vet says it is a very rapidly advancing form. But Maharet is still as sweet and affectionate as ever. So we have an appointment with a vet oncologist and I've bought some alternative cancer treatment supplements. As long as Maharet is not in pain and is having a good quality of life, we will continue to treat her and try to kill the cancer.

Summary of an Act from a Movie According to Andrina

"I want to tell you something Mommy. In the dinosaur movie there was a baby dinosaur in the egg. He was a very nice dinosaur and he came out of the egg and he yawned like this"...

That was just what Andrina said to me when we were cuddling before she went to bed tonight. After I tucked her in and we said our goodnights, I immediately came to the computer to blog this so I would get her words verbatim. I'm so impressed with her!

How Time Flies

I'm getting ready to turn off my computer for the night when this photo:

comes up as my wall paper. Wow. Andrina was only 4 and 1/2 months old. A little over 3 years ago. I remember how little she was, still all baby. Chubby belly, chubby cheeks, even chubby little feet! She was always so beautiful. Just so much smaller here. I remember holding her for the longest time and drinking in her sweet baby sent. Holding her, breathing her in and knowing that I must have done something right for God to give me this baby. I am so lucky, so incredibly blessed to have this child. I could never ask for anything more. How could I? Thank you God. Thank you so much. Again. Everyday since she was born I have expressed my gratitude for her. And I will continue to do so.

Gingerbread Train

Tom & I bought a gingerbread train kit to make with Andrina as a Christmas activity. We originally planned to make it on Christmas Eve-Eve (or December 23rd), but since there was a death in the family and funeral sevices to attend to that week, it didn't happen. But I knew we'd get it done eventually and it didn't matter that we did it after Christmas, Andrina loved it and it was an enjoyable family activity. Which was the point! Here's some pictures from the construction & decoration process.:

Happy New Year 2011!

Since Tom & I didn't do anything last New Year's Eve, I really wanted to do something, go somewhere, this year. So we went to a party downtown. The real downtown, as in Chicago on Michigan Avenue. I love living in the suburbs because it is perfect for having a child in, but I do miss the city! Sometimes I get lucky and I get to go there with some girlfriends but not too often. I think I was in Chicago a total of one time in 2010! It is such a welcome change to dress up and do full hair & makeup, wear heels & sip champagne all night! The party we were at even had gambling (Chicago only allows this one day a year with all the proceeds going to charity and very low betting & winning limits). This was fine by me because I have no desire to really gamble but it was nice to do something very different for a change. So Tom & I played 21. I learned with quite a buzz going on but I won a whole $80! This was pretty good considering I only bought $60 worth of chips!

Overall, it was a very fun night! So nice to be out with my husband, Andrina dreaming away at home with a sitter, and staying out until the party was officially over and we all had to leave! I think I want to go to this party next year too.

55

and raining on New Year's Eve. If only it was 55 degrees all winter long...

spring clothes in December!