Guess who?

Cute, isn't she...?

That hair

Those lips

That smile

Those eyes

Those thighs

And the answer is....

(this is harder than it looks, I have to just start babbling, sorry)

Happy birthday, Todd

My older brother turned 37 today

I'm running out of things to say

Okay,

now

I

can

insert

the

answer....

Me!

Freaky little Mini-Me I've created. I just hope she doesn't inherit the "Crane Chest". (My mom's relatives will undrestand what I mean.)

Murphy, 1993-2008

I received a call today that my old Tom cat, Murphy, died. Murphy had been living with my folks for the last 11 years. He went to college with me, but ol' Murph wasn't meant to be a city cat. He wanted to be outside so badly and my folks agreed to take him. (I use to tell people that I have one cat at home and another in foster care.)

I received Murphy as a Christmas gift from a good friend back in 1993. From the beginning he was a special cat. Murphy had a gift of turning non-cat lovers into at least liking him. I still remember a friend telling me, "I don't like cats, but I do like Murphy."

So, good-bye little buddy. I'm glad you got to spend the last 11 years in the country. I'll miss seeing you when I go to DL.

Karma, sweet Karma

When Chase was 6 months old I had to fly to Dallas for work. It was tramatic for me since it was the first time I was away from him. I some how made it through the 3 days away from my sweet baby boy. In return, I was greeted with "Da da da da da da da da da" from the backseat all the way home from the airport.

Above is my little bit of Karma. Sweet, sweet Karma.

Juno

Gary and I lucked out and got to go to a movie on Valentine's Day. Even better was that the movie, Juno, was one of the best that I have seen a in long time. The main character in the movie, Ellen Page, is up for a best actress Oscar. The soundtrack to the movie is also very good.

Candid kid

Okay, this might have been a clue to the teething.

Lessons learned

It has been a long time since I last blogged. In the last few weeks I've learned a few new things. Here they are in no particular order:

1. A baby can be teething and not act like the spawn of satan. I'm not naming names, but it was clearly obvious with one of my children that he was teething.

2. You can get four boxes of graham crackers at Sam's Club for under $7. This comes in very handy for number 1.

3. A little over a half of tank of gas will get you to Devils Lake, but I don't recommend it to anyone.

(If I had a photo of me white knuckle driving, I'd insert it here)

4. I can get just as excited as a 4 year old to come across an Incredible Hulk t-shirt. And, yes, let the little guy wear it two days in a row.

5. I need to change the setting on my camera so that Chase does not have time to make a funny face while I'm trying to take his photo.

6. One dollar spent in the dollar aisle at Target is totally worth every penny. If Leah's face looks messy, see #2.