Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner

Brian and Bekah have been in town for the past couple of weeks. We had a great time with them and Hailey loved spending time with her cousin Bekah. They became great friends and I know Hailey misses her (as do we). Check out the pictures from their visit at the bottom of the page.

I am sitting with my achilles tendon on a bag of frozen peas, the bottoms of my feet are rubbed raw, I have a giant blister on my big toe, two more on my right hand and I am EXHAUSTED! But...I won a really hard 3-set tennis match that took 3 1/2 hours to complete last night. I beat a woman that was undefeated and everyone was afraid to play:) We were playing until 9:30pm and were surrounded by complete darkness except for our court that still had lights on. It reminded me of the movie Field of Dreams the way our court was lit up in the dark. When I finally got home I was so wound-up it took me until 3:00am to fall asleep, then I had a practice doubles match this morning at 10:00. Now I am trying to recouperate, because I have a real doubles match tomorrow morning at 9:30. I need a vacation!

I've made several observations today that have led me to the hyposthesis that, if you can take care of a cat, you can take care of a baby!!! The two creatures share very similar traits that makes me believe they may possibly be of the same genus.
1. Both believe that having their hair brushed is a game and are obsessed with grabbing the brush.
2. Both enjoy batting at water coming out of the faucet.
3. Both have their teeth brushed with a plastic finger toothbrush and use edible toothpaste - the baby's tastes like apples, the cat's tastes like tuna.
4. Both enjoy playing with ladybugs, but will eventually smooosh them on accident.
5. Both eat food that is the size of my little fingernail, and think that milk is "the cat's meow!"
6. Both find it enjoyable to lick you.
7. Both spend more time asleep than awake.
8. Both must have fragrant butts, because the dog likes to sniff them both!
9. Both like toys that roll across the floor making squeaks and rattles.
10. Both grow fingernails/claws very quickly.
11. Both like to play with electrical cords and throw a tantrum when you make them stop.
12. Both could spend hours watching the fish.
13. Both try to eat grass when allowed outside.
14. Both weigh about the same and like to be carried around.
15. Finally, unlike the dog, the cat and the baby both know that mommy is the real master of the house!
So...for anyone out there afraid of parenthood - if you can take care of a cat, you can take care of a baby:)

I went to my high school reunion on Saturday. At first I didn't want to go...I mean, who wants to go back to the social hell of high school? But, a good friend came into town on business and we decided to check it out. We got all dressed up and it was just like high school all over again as we curled each other's hair in the bathroom! Once there I actually had a great time. Everyone was so mellow and nice and seemed genuinely happy with their lives. Sure, there were a few awkward moments...having a ten minute conversation about Jenny Craig with a guy I maybe said "excuse me" to in the hallway during high school...our class president getting so belligerently drunk that he ended the night naked...watching a guy's new wife flirt incessantly with another man, only to find out they had recently been on the Dr. Phil show because she was torn between two husbands...but overall it was a good time. I even got up on stage and did a cheer (yes, like a cheerleader) from high school to score our table points during the game portion of the evening. And, we managed to get some silly photos with the security guard before heading home. I wonder if we will still be that crazy at our 20th?

My undefeated record in tennis this summer has been spoiled! I lost my first doubles match this morning, and to be honest I am a bit bitter about the whole thing. We were playing a very good team and the match was very close. But, when it came to some very important points, they CHEATED! Let me explain for those of you who don't know how tennis works (and why would you?) When playing at a level other than the pros, you call you own lines, meaning you say if the ball your opponent hit was in or out. In the game of tennis, hitting the lines means the ball was in. It is just expected that people will make fair calls, because there is no recourse if you don't think that your opponents are making fair calls. Well...in the first set we were down 4 games to 5. We were serving and were very close to tieing the set at 5 games apiece. My partner hit a great serve that they called out and then they won the next point to win the set. In the second set we were up 5 games to 4. I hit a fantastic serve that they called out, and my partner hit a volley that they called out, so we lost that game. Then, in the final game, I hit an amazing forehand that should have kept us in the game, but they called it out and they won! I don't know if we would have won or lost if they had played fair, but it really chaps my hide to lose to cheaters!!!

I feel like a thousand pounds have been lifted off of my shoulders and I owe it all to Val. Val is the amazing woman who is going to care for Hailey when I go back to work in August. Tim and I met with her on Friday and we fell in love with her caring ways, understanding and gentleness with Hailey. She is exactly what we were looking for and didn't make either of us feel like we were going to vomit - on the contrary, I felt like I should go home and bake her cookies for being so wonderful. I called her this morning and she was thrilled that we wanted her to care for Hailey (apparently the feeling was mutual and she really liked us too and was hoping that WE would pick her instead of some of the other families she has met with.) So, we have a new member of the family - just call her Val Nelson!!!

I'm afraid I may be accidentally turning Hailey into a fashion diva. I admit that I like to shop and find it hard to walk by clothing stores without getting something. And, baby girls clothes are soooooo cute! But, Hailey's wardrobe is now over the top. I already had too many clothes for her this summer BEFORE Kim (Tim's friend from work) gave us all of her hand-me-down summer clothes. And, my mom has been making some really cute dresses for her. Now she has four drawers FULL TO THE BRIM of clothes just for the summer (and you all know how small baby clothes are, so four overflowing drawers means mass quantities.) Seriously, I don't think she will ever wear the same thing twice. For example, she now has 14 pairs of shorts - who needs 14 pairs of shorts!!! So, I am resolving to not buy very many clothes for fall until I see what Kim gives us and what my mom makes. I, Mary Nelson, solemnly swear that I will not buy very many clothes (I can't say none because that would be insane:) for Hailey this fall. There, now it is in writing and you all are my witnesses. The last thing we need is to have a fashion diva on our hands.