they always seem sweet on the outside --the aunts

(dotphoto access-user name: callia password: haines)

we're a close family and when i say that i include the extended parts as well. on both side. more so on my side since the majority of my family lives in austin. so we see alot of each other. especially my sister and her "boyance". (pronounced: boy-ahn-say)

they spend quite a bit of time with calli and we love how much she enjoys her time with them. but sometimes you have to step back and take a look and the influences surrounding your child. you have to decide if they're setting the proper example and how the relationship will shape who your child will become.

i have never really thought twice about it since it is my sister. i feel i can pretty much trust her judgement. the worst she's could do would probably be exposing calli to way too much candy. or maybe dressing a little on the slutty side.

whoa! what did i just say?

that's right, dressing too slutty.

apparently my sister dresses too slutty for the women's gym chain curves. yeah, i know. why she signed up to go to there in the first place is a whole other story.

anyway, she and my mom went to workout yesterday afternoon and not even 20 minutes after leaving they were knocking at my door. so i open it and my sister had tears flying from her face and nothing intelligible coming form her mouth. i'm thinking she got in an accident, found out she's pregnant or her "boyance" has left her. oh no that would have been too easy. after she calmed down a bit i got the full story.

are you ready for this? go ahead and sit down.

okay, she got kicked out of curves for wearing shorts that were too short. no lie. and i don't mean you have to leave kicked out. i mean let me rip up your contract-here are your checks-we don't ever want to see your face around here-or-on any of the near by street corners-thank you very much-kicked out.

Of course we all couldn't stop laughing at this but it made me think. what kind of message will this send my daughter. you can dress how ever you want and get away with it? i don't think so. you can bet i'll have a close eye on my sister to make sure she won't be dragging my daughter down that "woman of the night" path she has so willing chosen.

first trip to disney a success

the depression has finally started to wear off. we've been back in town for 5 days and i don't completely hate austin any longer. i can only compare disney world to heroin. once you have that taste you can't get enough of it. not that i've actually tried herion but i assume it would be just as addicting as dianey world.

what a great trip!

calli may have been a bit young to enjoy the full experience of the place but what she did see, she loved. and we loved watching her. i had no idea she would understand as much as she did. and the fact that we had so much of my family there made the trip that much more special. not much more to say about this one so i'll let these pics (haines is the password and it's the july album)speak for themselves.

my kid's crappy sometimes but it's cool

i struggle day in and day out wondering if my kid resembles other kids or if she's unique in her crap-headed-ness. i know theses things shouldn't matter and no two kids are the same but i know every parent thinks it. especially when your kid's being a little shit. who wants to have the bad kid? frankly, it's embarassing and evevryone sees it as a reflection of your abilities as a parent.

with that said, thank god for the latest "newsletter" from parent-blogger extraordinaire dooce. when she compared holding a young pig to holding her daughter in the midst of a fit, i smiled. i smiled from ear to ear. finally someone to commiserate with.

it's not just me. my kid is normal. well you know what i mean. i can sleep again at night ---once the canines push all the way through-- knowing i haven't totally f'd her up already. now for the next 17 years. deep breath. don't panic.

don't let her be like me. please, don't let her be like me. anything, but not like me.

teeth--teeth--teeth

holy crap teeth suck! they suck bad! did i mention that teeth suck?

the first couple weren't bad. that whole milestone thing helped mask the pain and tears. now we're to the point of wanting to give her smoothies the rest of her life.

not only are the teeth pushing through, they're pushing through all at the same time. it seems nothing can make her happy.

she flails when you try to hold her. she flails when you put her down. she grabs, pinches, bites, anything to get your attention to say "hey you son-of-a-bitch i'm in pain fix it." in turn i reply, "i'm trying. ahhhh!" so we get nowhere and her teeth still hurt. what now?

i look out on the horizon and see the "terrible twos" quickly approaching.

parenthood, we do this by choice and somehow love every minute of it.

come back baby

while it may be all fun and games to dress them up in heels and purses, how do you stop them from growing up so fast? even though i sound like that sappy parent complianing- my baby's growing up too fast and i so wish i could just hold her again- it's kinda true. i get a little ill when i hear these words come out of my mouth but i blink and she moves futher and further away from needing me. i do however look forward to the days where she can wipe her own butt, still, all the other things that make her a baby are quickly slipping away. i know i should look forward to all the new milestones she continuously surpasses but i really just want my little girl to fall asleep on my chest again. i guess these are the feelings that lead to baby #2.

on second thought she is pretty cute when she pinches the hell out of my face because i won't put her down.