Ketchup... whoops, I mean Catch-Up!

How can it be that April is almost over?  Time has just been flying by.  I've said several times this month that it seems like I'm in a time warp.

April 4th was Easter.  I was off of work on Good Friday which turned out to be a blessing because we had a major snow storm blow through and cause a lot of driving issues that day.  However, the cable-guy was working through the storm.  He came to my place soaking wet from having been outside, but he was nice and got my DVR installed in no time.  That's right, I have a DVR again!  I never have to miss a show again!  I love it, the only bad part is that I am so busy watching all of my favorite shows in the evening, I've been too busy to blog.  Saturday the weather was better and we were able to drive  to my parents house.  We dyed easter eggs and had fun outside throwing slushy snowballs at each other.  Easter morning Allyson put on her beautiful Easter dress and we went to church.  While we were in church the Easter Bunny stopped by mom and dad's house and hid eggs and Allyson's basket.  She had fun searching for everything and exploring the gifts she got.

I went to Ladies Night Out on April 8th and as usual had a great time.  This month it was at The Blarney Stone, and Irish pub that is fairly new in town.  Then on April 10th my friend S and I went to the Martina McBride/Trace Atkins concert at the Civic Center.  I really like Martina so I enjoyed the show.  S got us a great deal on the tickets by using her military discount. 

This week went by quickly too.  Friday was my dad's birthday so I baked him a quadruple chocolate cake, it turned out great!  It was a chocoate cake mix with chocolate puding added, chocolate chips mixed and drizzled with chocolate frosting as well as caramel and nuts.  Mmmmm!  We had also gone out to dinner with them and then decided to stop by a park  near my apartment to wear off some of Allyson's energy before going home to eat the cake.  It was a beautiful day, probably the nicest spring day we have had yet.

Today Allyson and I went shopping and bought a new grill, some b-day party items for her upcoming party and we each got a pair of shoes.  Allyson got silver Dora sandles that light up and I got a very cute pair of black shoes.  She refused to try hers on so I'm hoping they fit.  It took me over 3.5 hours to put the new grill together this afternoon!  OMG, it was crazy!  I have put together a lot of stuff, entertainment centers, dressers, baby gear and more but this grill was the worst.  But it is together now and I grilled myself a yummy steak and some foil-pouch potatoes this evening and that made it all worth it.  I love to grill!!  Steaks, brats, chops, chicken, even fish and vegies, it all  tastes better on the grill!

That is a very abbreviated version of the past couple of weeks!  We have fun stuff coming up this week.  My brother D is coming home on Saturday for a visit and we will be celebrating his birthday and Allyson's birthday on Sunday, each about a week early.  I still need to get a cake ordered for her.  She picked out Dora plates, whistles and stickers for her party.  Whistles, my dad will love it, haha!  Saturday we are also going to the wedding of one of my cousins.  It will be here in town and I know Allyson will have so much fun dancing all night long.

I can't promise to update more often, but I'll try!

Mary

"I am the princess"

Ahhh, Wednesday evening, it feels nice to know that over half of the work week is done!  I am finally getting caught up on my worklists at work from taking time off for me being sick, Allyson being sick and going all the way back to my trip to Las Vegas & the Grand Canyon last November.  Missing a day makes a big difference at this job, I may have been gone but the work keeps coming! 

Before leaving for work this morning I grabbed my grocery list since I planned on going to the store after work.  I planned on looking at the ads and adding more to the list while at work.  Well, I couldn't find the list while I was at work so I ended up just making a new one.  Sadly, I forgot that one on my desk!!  So instead I just went to the store with the bits I remembered from my list.  I think I bought twice as much as I planned and missed a couple of key items I wanted to get.  Allyson was not in the greatest mood at the store, but didn't really throw a fit until we left the store.  She refused to hold my hand so I carried her and pushed the cart through the slush caused by over 24 hours of rain/snow mix.  She screamed, it was lovley!  But when we got home we took our fusteration out on the slush and had fun stomping  in it and kicking it all through the parking lot with our boots.

After that she was better and we had a nice dinner together.  Just a simple meal tonight.  We split a cheese quesadilla, had pickles, strawberries, cottage cheese and grahm crackers.  Odd combination, but tasty.  After dinner we sorted laundry and managed to get 4 loads done... Well technically 2 loads are still in the dryer and nothing is folded, but they are clean.

As we were coming back downstairs to our apartment after changing out the loads Allyson was so silly.  She was wearing a wide pink headband, purple beaded necklace and carrying a magic wand.  As she walked down the stairs she could see her reflection in the glass doors on the landing between floors.  She was walking with her head held high like a princess and her magic wand up in the air; all while saying in a sing-song voice, "I am the princess" over and over, it was so cute.  She was so prim and proper.  I wish I had the camera with, but I'm sure if I had it, she would have quit immediately, it seems that is how it works. 

Bedtime was it's usual struggle.  She got up and went potty, then requested to sleep in her bed.  I was thinking, "GREAT, please do!" So I tucked her into her bed and read one story (making it clear it was going to be ONE story since it was already 9:20).  She threw an asolute fit so I tried the Super Nanny tatic of putting her back in bed with out saying much to her, twice.  The third time she yelled she wanted to sleep in my bed.  I said OK and I haven't heard from her in 25 minutes.  I know, I'm weak and I caved in.  I just like to keep the peace.

Tomorrow night is Ladies Night Out (LNO) with my girlfriends, I can't wait!!  We are meeting for a late supper and drinks at a Mexican restaurant.  I can almost taste my margarita.  Gives me something to look forward to tomorrow at work.