Happy slumbers to youuuuuu

This kinda puts me to sleep!

Lullabee, lullabee
Honey bees in the tree
Rest your wings 'til the morning light

Lullabee, lullabee
Honey bees in the tree
Your honey is safe tonight

Just dream to the tune I am singing
Time to stop all that buzzing and stinging-ouch

Lullabee, lullabee
Honey bees in the tree
All I want is a smackerel or two...(or three)
Dont' sleep lightly, sleep very tightly
Happy slumbers to you

What a beautiful mess I made

I heard this song on the radio the other day and thought it was perfect to sing to Ali. I'm sure the intent was not for a baby girl child, but the lyrics are so fitting.

Beautiful Mess - Diamond Rio

Going out of my mind these days
Like I'm walking 'round in a haze
I can't think straight
I can't concentrate
And I need a shave

I go work and I look tired
The boss man says "Son, you're gonna get fired.
This ain't your style."
And behind my coffee cup
I just smile

What a beautiful mess
What a beautiful mess I'm in
Spending all my time with you
There's nothing else I'd rather do
What a sweet addiction that I'm caught up in
'Cause I can't get enough
Can't stop the hunger for your love
What a beautiful, what a beautiful mess I'm in

This morning I put salt in my coffee
I put my shoes on the wrong feet
I'm losing my mind I swear
It might be the end of me
But I don't care

What a beautiful mess
What a beautiful mess I'm in
Spending all my time with you
There's nothing else I'd rather do
What a sweet addiction that I'm caught up in
'Cause I can't get enough
Can't stop the hunger for your love
What a beautiful, what a beautiful mess I'm in

Is it your eyes?
Is it your smile?
All I know is that you're driving me wild

What a beautiful mess
What a beautiful mess I'm in
Spending all my time with you
There's nothing else I'd rather do
What a sweet addiction that I'm caught up in
'Cause I can't get enough
Can't stop the hunger for your love
What a beautiful...

What a beautiful mess
What a beautiful mess I'm in
Spending all my time with you
There's nothing else I'd rather do
What a sweet addiction that I'm caught up in
'Cause I can't get enough
Can't stop the hunger for your love
What a beautiful, what a beautiful mess I'm in

Bringing Joy and Harmony into the house.

Sure our lil angel brings joy into our lives, but last weekend while in town I bought something I've wanted to for a long time, a Build-A-Bear... well, two of them. One for the Momma and one for the Bubba!

If you've never been, I highly recommend preparing for a high energy super happy place, bless the people who work there and spend a larger amount of time than I did simply purchasing the bears. It's a great place to visit.. in short stints. So, I picked out a silver ear and foot lined bear carcass for Alexiss and a Canadian flat bear for me, or rather, for my car, onto the stuffing and outfits goes I. Shoes, jackets, backpacks, and yes, even pjs and boxer gitch for these lil darlings! I stayed cool and managed to limit myself to one outfit, one pair of shoes and one jacket for each, but you bet your sweet bippy I'll be heading in again for PJs and gitch in the next few months. The line up to stuff said flat carcasses was full of excited lil kidlets just waiting to bring their bears to life. I watched as each one went up to the stuffing machine employee, flat bears in their arms and big smiles on their faces, I'm sure some of them were not first timers, like me. In goes the stuffing, it's the magic that happens after that makes these bears sooo special. Build-A-Bear employees ask the future owner and best friend of the bear to go and pick out a little felt stuffy heart from the front of the machine. When the child returns they are asked to man handle the heart, rub it on their ears so their new friend will always hear them, rub it on their heart so they know they are loved, rub it on their tummy so they don't get hungry and close to last, jump up and down to get it's heart pumpin! And last but not least, close their eyes and make a wish. Oh yes, my dear friends and family, this old Momma, with no kid present.. went through the same ritual and you know, it did lift my heart a little and it DID make the bear just that much more special (just ask Alexiss). My wish as I closed both eyes and held both hearts tighter was simple, "Love Always, Always Love".



As soon as I got home, Alexiss and Joy were inseparable....and then she spotted Harmony and now they are a threesome. Needless to say, Harmony never made it to my car and is still keeping bearable warm in the house.

We have another child from the neighborhood coming over for home care with Olive, Lauren. Lauren is a few months older than Alexiss. It's all going well, poor Olive, and Alexiss is learning to share her toys and her "Olive". I really think it's good for her, although she's still not totally settled with the whole concept in just one week, but Lauren has gone as far as to brush Alexiss's hair, to which Alexiss was totally perplexed, but didn't get up and move away.

We almost have "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes" nailed down. Alexiss surprised us by showing us her head a little while back, she quickly mastered "toes" like a natural. Knees was a little more abstract for her, but it still only took a few days. This weekend we start "shoulders". Pretty soon we'll be a'singin and a'dancin the famous song complete with actions!

Last weekend Alexiss pointed to an apple in the fruit bowl, not thinking anything of it besides exploring, gave it to her. Alexiss proceeded to start chomping on the apple! It was still round enough that her teeth scrapped off more than allowing her to bite chunks of, so have-at-her!

And.. twirl!

As Mark puts Alexiss down for bed, I'm finally getting a chance to update the blog again. These past few months have left little time and I think Alexiss is actually giving me ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). I can't seem to concentrate and sit still for too long. I think part of that is because when I do seem to settle in, something happens to make me change focus all to often, so that the concept of sitting still for to long has become so foreign and fleeting that I don't trust my opportunities enough, and sit and wait for something to happen to tear me away... never really giving the real opportunities a chance to flourish due to anticipation of what may happen.

She's changing in so many ways, from temper tantrums to dancing to actually pooping on the potty! This weekend I thought I'd try the potty and what a success it was, I don't expect her to wander that way when she needs to, but she gives enough hints that there's enough time to get her there. It's gotta be so much easier than trying to stand and poop in a diaper!

Getting pictures and videos is becoming harder as well, since Alexiss is way to interested in technology to stand and smile, instead she wants to play and put the lens cap on, unless there's something else to keep her challenged, it doesn't take long for the camera to become much more interesting. We did manage to catch her dancing this weekend, she has a few books that play music when you press a button, she got so good that she knew when the song would stop and stopped twirling enough to press another button. Dancing has been keeping her more busy than her toys, and pulling the chain to turn the night light on and off... and doing up her seat belt.. and pressing buttons on just about anything... and turning the dial on the humidifier.

Alexiss loves the outdoors so much so that, since picking up a few words and forgetting them at around 8 months, that she now says her version of "outside" as she brings us her shoes, our shoes, jackets and points to the door. Last night we went out, I couldn't resist her, and she was content to stay in my embrace and look at all the Christmas lights in the night.

Well! Mark is back out, tonight's bedtime was a bigger success than the two hours it took me last night. I guess I can do some dishes and call it a night. Maybe I'll get some time to read! Still no time to knit yet though. lol.

Today on my way home, I heard this Christmas song, and thought Alexiss would love it. I was right, she twirled and twirled!



Beautiful Star of Bethlehem
The Judds

O beautiful star of Bethlehem
Shining far through shadows dim
Giving the light for those who long have gone
Guiding the wise men on their way
Unto the place where Jesus lay
O beautiful star of Bethlehem
Shine on

O beautiful star the hope of life
Guiding the pilgrims through the night
Over the mountains 'til the break of dawn
Into the land of perfect day
It will give out a lovely ray
O beautiful star of Bethlehem
Shine on

O beautiful star of Bethlehem
Shine upon us until the glory dawns
Give us a lamp to light the way
Unto the land of perfect day
O beautiful star of Bethlehem
Shine on

O beautiful star the hope of grace
For the redeemed, the good and the blessed
Yonder in glory when the crown is won
Jesus is now the star divine
Brighter and brighter He will shine
O beautiful star of Bethlehem
Shine on

O beautiful star of Bethlehem
Shine upon us until the glory dawns
Give us a lamp to light the way
Unto the land of perfect day
O beautiful star of Bethlehem
Shine on

O beautiful star of Bethlehem
Shine on

Bedtime music

Last night I wanted something different than Corb Lund, so I played my Faerie music from Fairy HeartMagic by Gary Stadler with Stephanne.

l've searched the mountains, the forest and the sea,
Seeking the homeland, of my memories.
Haunted by visions, longing like the sea,
Time passes by me, and still l am not free.
Lift the veil of Elphame, let me see the light
Lift the veil of Faerie, guide me home tonight
How can I soar alone, when my wings are at rest?
I yearn to be there in the land of the bless'd
So light me a candle, watch the dark shadows fade.

And I must journey on, for the choice 1 have made
Lift the veil of Elphame, let me see the light
Lift the veil of Faerie, take me home tonight
My lone heart guides brings me home through the night
Carries me onward, and into the light
To wander the shadows, to see the truth from afar,
To sigh in the moonlight dancing magic of stars.
Lift the veil of Elphame, let me see the light
Lift the veil of Faerie, guide my way tonight

Calming the beast within

It's been a rough week for both Alexiss and I, she's not wanting to eat or sleep which means, in the end, both of us cranky and moody, don't get me wrong, she is napping, and she is eating but both aren't as enjoyable as they can be. While I was putting her down for her morning nap yesterday, all I could think about was having the time to have a hot breakfast of a fried egg on toast. What I got was an awake Alexiss and PB on bread.

Last night I decided to try tapping into our primal spirits, letting them free as well as soothing them with music. I downloaded some tribal beats and some Chakra meditations, and I'm relieved that she seemed to be reacting to both.

I played the tribal beat this morning, which had us both swaying and dancing.



Then for her nap I played the soothing meditation music and she's soundly, peacefully sleeping.... mmmm, maybe not.... she's stirring... bah, I hope there's some left over dinner in the fridge for me instead of having ANOTHER PB on bread meal. Gah...

Happy Birthday Gramma!

In honor of Gramma's Birthday, I'm posting a picture taken when Alexiss was born and my Mom came to visit.



It's hard being so far away, she's growing so quick! This past Thursday and Friday she was eating a LOT, so I decided to use the Wii to weigh her this weekend and she surprised us by weighing in at 9.5 lbs! No wonder why she was hungry! So, I've recalculated how much she should be eating and we're feeding our growing girl! The good news is that she's started to monitor herself and now doesn't seem to be gorging and overfilling herself. It makes it a lot easier to trust her when she tells me she's still hungry.

She's changing so much! The new cry is actually a cry to go back to sleep, so I bundle her up and rock her until she settles. I swear her real hair is coming in, you see, she's been bald for about two weeks or more with a fringe of hair along her neck... like an old man's mullet, lol, but now her crown is filling in with dark hair.

Today our music was Cat Stevens



..okay, this only took me two hours. lol Time to get her settled enough so "I can start dinner for once.

A little about Alexiss

Alexiss has become a Corb Lund fan! The tempo and Corb`s voice soothe her when she`s fussy, she loves when I tap out the beat on her bum. Here`s a sample of Corb.



Mark loves to sing her too, his choices are usually; Neil Diamond, a sample of his Christian favorites with groups like Needtobreathe and the song `Wondering Where the Lions Are`by Bruce Cockburn.

She`s starting to learn how to use her arms and hands; reaching out to the hanging toys and mirror on her play mat and the illustrations of her new book `Just the way you are`by Max Lucado. For some reason I find special delight watching her try to suck her thumb, when her hand just won`t move right, she moves her head and uses her other hand to help guide her thumb to her mouth.

With our new lease on life (thanks to Zantac) Alexiss has started to enjoy her waking hours and she thanks us with smiles! Mark got the first few smiles but I`m starting to get them now too. She`s also starting to move her head to follow us and watch us, yesterday I played `follow me`and she had so much fun! While she was in Mark`s arms I walked to one side and called her name and she smiled, then I slowly walked behind him to the other side and she followed me the entire time!

During our daily feed, awake and normal interactions I usually call her Bubba or Beauty, depending on my mood and her demeanor.

I love the little mmmuahahaha sound she makes when she`s verbal and just starts sucking on her soother or bottle. Sad to say it`s usually when she`s crying.

Gypsy - Wiccan Lullaby

Heaven's gift to me just the way you are,
A new aged child from a distant star.
It feels so good just to be
So close to your love. You are heaven's gift to me.

You are so sweet and pure just the way you are.
Mama's precious jewel. Daddy's rising star.
There's so much in life for you to see.
And so much to be. You are Heaven's gift to me.

La la la la la la, la la la la la,
La la la la la la la, la la la la la la la,
La la la la la, la la la la,
La la la la la, la la la la la la la

Heaven's gift to me just the way you are,
A new aged child always in my heart.
There's so much in life for you to be,
And so much to see. You are heaven's gift to me.

La la la la la la, la la la la la,
La la la la la, la la la la la,
La la la la la la, la la la la la,
La la la la la, la la la la la la la.

La la la la la la, la la la la la,
La la la la la la la, la la la la la la,
There's so much in life for you to see,
And so much to be. You are heaven's gift to me

Spirit of the Plants by Lisa Thiel from the Journey to the Goddess CD

The spirit of the plants
Has come to me
In the form of a beautiful
Dancing green woman
(Repeat)

Her eyes filled me
With peace
Her dance filled me
With peace
(Repeat)

The spirit of the plants
Has come to me
In the form of a beautiful
Dancing green woman
(Repeat)

Her eyes filled me
With peace
Her dance filled me
With peace
(Repeat)

The spirit of the plants
Has come to me
And has blessed me
With great peace
(Repeat)

Her eyes filled me
With peace
Her dance filled me
With peace
(Repeat)

The spirit of the plants
Has come to me
In the form of a beautiful
Dancing green woman

Blackbird

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All you life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night
Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise