Inara's funniest video yet

Friday was another rough one with Inara boycotting a nap. She slept for about 30 min in the car on the way to meet Shawn for lunch. I thought for sure she'd be tired later that day. Ha funny! Instead, she threw several fits in the mall while I ran a couple errands. Then was a fussy pants the rest of the afternoon. Finally, at about 5:30, I put her in her high chair to start feeding her dinner and to start making dinner for Shawn and myself. I gave her a rice cake to munch on while I got some things ready. As I was at the stove stirring the chicken for our dinner, I heard a rather odd sound. I turned around to see Inara crashed asleep in her high chair, snoring louder than I've ever heard her. I about fell over laughing it was so damn funny. Of course, I had to get a video to capture this precious moment. I hope it brings a good laugh to brighten your day! (I tried posting it to this blog, but I think the files too big or something. You can see it from our photo gallery at www.shawnandmarisa.com. It's the video where you see a kid slumped over in a high chair like a drunk. Ha ha!)

What's her deal?

I hate that I don't know what's wrong with baby girl when she wakes crying in the middle of the night. She did it again last night at 1am. Shawn went in to see her and she was standing in the crib, anxiously awaiting one of us to come get her. He tried rubbing her head and calming her down, but she wanted nothing to do with her room, so he brought her in bed with us where she played for a bit. He finally took her back to her room about 20 min later. She laid in bed playing for a bit, then fell asleep. Not sure what's wrong. Teething? Growing spurts? Scared of her room? Wanting to play in the middle of the night? Let's hope this isn't a bi-weekly thing or else I'm gonna need an IV set up to my coffee pot in the mornings.

What's happening w/ Grey's Anatomy?

Last night I got to catch up on the Grey's premiere. I was underwhelmed to be honest. I'm so over Meredith and her whining about relationships. I was THRILLED when Christina went off on her. Meredith is such a bad, selfish friend. I can't stand being around people that talk all about their lives and never listen to what others have to say nor stop to consider for one second what is going on in other people's lives. Hello, your best friend almost killed someone on the operating table. Could you be more oblivious and selfish? Ugh! So annoying, but loved Christina's speech. Then they have to go and do some cheesy scene where she gets an icicle impaled in her side. Come on! Really? That was so lame!!! And don't get me started on the whole Alex/Izzie relationship. The only thing fresh on the premiere was Lexi and why did I love McSteamy in this ep. He actually had something wise to offer Lexie. Shocker! I'm beginning to wonder if the show has jumped the shark. They better change something fast or I might start using my time to catch up on better tv fare.

What's new with the Tomlinson

I'm bummed I couldn't take a longer nap (only 25 min.) so I might as well use my time wisely while Inara is still napping and update the 'ol blog. After our rough night, I had a feeling the doctor visit was going to be tough too. I was right. First off, Inara weighs 21 pounds and measures 28 3/4 inches long. Her head measurement is now in the 70th percentile, which means her body is catching up to her head since last time her noggin was in the 95th percentile. Inara was playing with toys when Dr. Katz came in, so we got to chat a bit before the crying fest. He asked about her gross motor skills. I told him she took her first unassisted steps 5 days before her 1 year bday and he was very excited to hear that. I also told him she crawls, an unconventional military crawl, but it's a crawl. He said it looks like her gross motor skills have caught up, so nothing to worry about there, not that I was worrying any more. I asked him about some spots I've noticed on her butt cheek, the "pimples" on her face, and the flaky pats on her scalp. He said all of these are signs of dry skin. Colorado has very dry weather, so we need to moisturize more here, including babies. The spots on her butt could be from the diapers or the wipes as well, so he said we could switch and see if that helps. He recommended using vasoline or creams on the skin to help with the dryness. He asked about her eating habits. I had written a list of all the foods I could remember that I've introduced her to. He was very pleased to see the good variety Inara's been eating. She said at this point we could start giving her meals from our plates, regardless of the fact that she only has two teeth still. I've actually been noticing that she's getting really good about gumming food, so I've been offering her more and more things since she doesn't gag as much and knows she needs to chew food up before she tries to swallow.

Then the fun began. Dr. Katz put his stethoscope to her chest to listen to her heart and she freaked! She started crying and squirming all about. Then he looked in her ears, nose, mouth and she was pissed. He touched her belly, checked her diaper, and flashed a light in her eyes all to mass screams. As he and I were talking, I put her on the floor to walk to cheer her up and she darted for the door and started hitting it as if to say, "Let me outta here!" He gave me two book recommendations, which I had asked for, told me she looks great and that I'm doing a great job, told me when to make my next appointments for her 15 mo. checkup and her flu shot, and then left for the nurse to come give Inara her shots. I braced myself because I knew it wasn't going to be fun. I was right. She screamed bloody murder, well as loud as she could considering her voice is a bit cracky today from all the crying she did last night. Poor baby girl. She's had a rough couple days that's for sure. Once in the car, I gave her a bottle and called Shawn to give him a quick update. Before I even pulled out of the parking spot, poor Inara was passed out! She is now on her second nap of the day. Good thing considering she's been boycotting naps lately.

I wanted to share some of the new things Inara has been doing as well. She's started giving hugs and kisses. It's the sweetest thing in the world. I'll say, "Give mama a hug" and she'll lean in and hug me, usually on my chest or leg. I then got her started on eskimo kisses. She thinks they are pretty funny. While my parents were here, Inara started giving high fives and laughs when she does it. Who knew a high five could be so funny? Occasionally I can get her to do peekaboo herself. It's so cute watching her try to put her hands over her eyes. She's making a lot more funny faces lately. Our favorite is this hilarious squishy nose, eye squint, puckered lips face. I'm wondering if she's doing this when her teeth are bothering her. She's definitely getting more interactive with toys. She really loves the block set the Rauh's got her for her bday. Lately, she and I will sit and stack the various shapes and then she knocks them down. Very entertaining. She also loves bath time! The kid could seriously be in there for hours. We bath her in the regular bathtub now and she loves to play with bath toys. We got some from the Turnbaugh's and Kristi & Thane for her bday. Perfect gifts! It's funny when we get her out because she kicks her legs all around like a fish out of water. Mealtime is great too. Like I said, she's been trying a ton of new foods and does great feeding herself. She's starting to throw little fits though when Shawn and I sit down for dinner as if she wants what we are eating. I usually feed her right before we sit down and then have her sit in her high chair next to us finishing her meal while we eat. I'm going to start giving her more of the meals we eat though and see if it stops the horrible screaming. Honestly, I told Shawn the other day it's like in Dumb and Dumber when they say do you want to hear the most annoying sound. That's the sound that Inara makes. Ear piercing I'm telling ya. As for waking up, when she's ready to get out of her crib, she stands up, throws her pacifiers out (yes, multiple because she has to have several to play binky swap), and then yells for me. I can tell by her different cries when she's still ok and when she's about to break down the crib to get out. Then when I walk in, she'll be standing on her tippy toes, peering over the side, with her hands up on the side of the bed. It's the cutest thing. How can you not pick her up and squeeze her to pieces when you see that? Well, she's waking up now and the cries are getting a little more intense, even though it's with a cracky voice. My sweet baby! I'll post more about our other adventures from this past weekend later tonight. Oh and just so everyone doesn't think Shawn is slacking on posting pics. He's picked up a couple side jobs and has been working on those lately, so give him to the end of the week and hopefully he'll have her bday pics posted. Off to mommy duties...

One of our worst nights

Not sure why, but Inara woke up several times (4 according to Shawn's count) last night screaming bloody murder. She seemed to want nothing to do with her bed and room as she kept reaching for the door. Maybe she got scared? Maybe she had an upset tummy? We thought it might be her teeth, so we gave her Orajel. No help. Shawn was trying to get her back to sleep on the second round, I think it was, and he ended up calling for mommy over the monitor. That was funny at least. At one point, Shawn ended up bringing her in bed with us and the little turd (Inara, not Shawn, of course) was bright eyes and wanted to play. I made her a bottle thinking maybe she was hungry. She downed that thing so fast. Shawn finally got her calmed down and relaxed in our bed. She struggled going back to sleep in her bed for a bit, but we finally got 90 min. out of her before she woke up crying again. I went in at 2:39, changed her diaper, turned her CD player back on (I LOVE JACK JOHNSON!!!), and rubbed her head and back. She went back to sleep pretty easily that time. What the heck was that all about, baby girl? Does this mean mommy is in for a doozy of a day? Not good considering we have a doctor visit at 10am. God, grant me patience today. (Ha ha!)

Coming tomorrow

Tomorrow is Inara's one year check up, so hopefully in the afternoon I'll have time to blog about her doc visit and all the goings on with the whole fam. Life's been pretty busy, but I like it that way. Means more excitement to share with all my readers. Will blog all about it tomorrow.

Lies, lies, lies. Yeah.

Sarah Palin said yes, thanks, to a road to nowhere in Alaska

Email Picture

Hall Anderson / Ketchikan Daily News

In an April, 2008 file photo, dumptrucks carrying rock head towards the end of the Gravina Island road currently under construction near Ketchikan, Alaska.

While seeking votes, she told Ketchikan residents she backed the 'bridge to nowhere.' As governor, she spent the money elsewhere and moved ahead with a $26-million road to the nonexistent bridge.

By Erika Hayasaki, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 19, 2008

GRAVINA ISLAND, ALASKA -- The 3.2-mile-long partially paved "road to nowhere" meanders from a small international airport on Gravina Island, home to 50 people, ending in a cul-de-sac close to a beach.

Crews are working to finish it. But no one knows when anyone will need to drive it.

• 

  Road to the ‘bridge to nowhere’

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  Blog: Top of the Ticket

• 2008 electoral vote map

• Campaign '08 Daily Newsletter

That's because the $26-million road was designed to connect to the $398-million Gravina Island Bridge, more infamously known as the "bridge to nowhere." Alaskan officials thought federal money would pay for the bridge, but Gov. Sarah Palin killed the project after it was ridiculed and Congress rescinded the money. Plans for the road moved forward anyway.

Some residents of Ketchikan -- a city of 8,000 on a neighboring island where the bridge was to end -- see the road as a symbol of wasteful spending that Palin could have curtailed. Some of them even accuse her of deception.

"Surely we won't have to commute on the highway if there won't be a bridge," said Jill Jacob, who has been writing and calling the governor's office for the last two years to protest the road. "It's a dead-end highway, a dead-end road."

From the Blogs

Top of the Ticket:

Bill Clinton speaks out for Barack Obama, well, sort of

The ex-president still predicts victory for the fellow who beat out his wife, but no more "win handily."

Countdown to Crawford:

What surge? In Baghdad, they just turned out the lights and left

To hear President Bush tell it, there is one reason, overall, that violence has fallen in Baghdad: The surge. It was the surge, he said last week, that allowed the U.S. to begin withdrawing troops...

Photos Video

Since Palin was named the Republican vice presidential nominee two weeks ago, she has been boasting that she told Congress that Alaska didn't want the hundreds of millions that had been earmarked for the bridge.

But in 2006, Palin stood before residents in this region during her gubernatorial campaign and expressed support for the bridge. It became apparent after she was elected that the state's portion would be too costly, and Palin ordered transportation officials to abandon the project.

She held on to the $223 million in federally earmarked funds for other uses, such as the Gravina road, approved by her predecessor.

"Here's my question," said Ketchikan Mayor Bob Weinstein. "If Sarah Palin is not being truthful on an issue like the Gravina bridge project, what else is she not being truthful about?"

Alaska transportation officials say construction of the road began in June 2007 because the state was still hoping to build a bridge, and "you need that highway access," said Roger Wetherell, a department spokesman.

But Weinstein, who backed the bridge project, said that Palin should have redirected the money. "If the bridge was canceled, give the money back, or get the earmark removed, or redesign the road so it's better for development," he said. "Especially if you're opposed to earmarks, and now you're telling the world you're opposed to earmarks."

His frustration came to a head after he heard Republican presidential nominee John McCain and Palin tout her reputation as a reformer focused on saving taxpayer money. He didn't feel much better when a campaign ad called them "the original mavericks," and said: "She stopped the 'bridge to nowhere.' "

Weinstein need only glance across the salmon-rich waters separating his city from Gravina Island to see what he believes are millions of dollars being spent unnecessarily. Why, he asks, didn't she stop that?

Must Watch Jon Stewart Video

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184086&title=sarah-palin-gender-card

Inara's first birthday party

Yesterday was a great day. I was, of course, running around like a crazy woman getting everything ready for Inara's birthday party. Shawn and Pop were working on their projects, while mom was playing nanny. I wanted the house to be nice and clean for our guests, especially since this was the first time many of them have seen the new house. I know...none of this mattered to Inara, but it mattered to me. Anyhow, we had a house full of guests: The Tobins, The Rauhs, The McGees, The Chaplas, Jill & McKenna, Elizabeth, Mom & Pop, and the CO Tomlinsons. The kids all seemed to have fun playing and running around. The adults had fun chatting and munching on yummies. Most importantly, Inara seemed to have a blast. She played with the kids and didn't fuss with so many people around, a bonus, especially since she only had one nap yesterday. My little girl did so good! When it came time to have her birthday cupcake, Inara thoroughly enjoyed herself. She even got some icing in her hair. She really seems to like icing and cupcakes. Great the one thing she gets from me...loving the sweets! She was so adorable yesterday. I don't think it's possible to love her more than I already do. Needless to say after her long day, baby girl crashed pretty easily last night. Poor little thing partied herself silly! Thank you to everyone for coming and celebrating Inara's first birthday. Shawn and I appreciated having everyone here to mark this special day with us. We'll get pics posted soon. Well at least once Shawn and Pop finish working on the house. Love ya all!

Chippin' away at the to do list

Mom and Pop drove straight through on Wed and made it here around 9pm. I'm soooo glad they are here. Mom's been helping a lot with Inara so I can get some work done around the house and prep for Saturday's party. Pop has been working like mad. Shawn was able to get off work today, so he and Pop started bright and early, made a trip to Home Depot, Ace Hardware, and even ran to Walmart. They bought a garage door opener for the single car garage. They hope to install in this weekend. They also cranked out the backyard and pulled up all the weeds and trimmed the bushes. They decided to get rid of the flower bed areas and are going to Home Depot tomorrow to buy grass so they can fill those in. They put together a shelving unit for the garage so Shawn's tools don't need to be on the ground any more. They even got to hang curtains in Inara's bedroom and the guest room. We inspected the crawl space in Inara's room. Pop was impressed by how new the wood still is in there. I told Shawn when she gets older, we should get Inara a rope ladder and she could use the crawl space as a play area. J/K of course. Then the three of us finished moving all the boxes out of the single car garage. Most of them needed to go downstairs, so that was a fun project. I'm starting to hate all the stairs in our house. Can't remember if I mentioned it before, but Pop went through all his storage and brought me all of Michael's and my old toys. It's probably about 20 or so boxes worth. Not too bad considering we have 1400 sq. feet of storage in the basement. Shawn wondered what I wanted with all my old toys. I told him why not recycle them and give them to Inara as she gets older. I now have birthday and Christmas presents for Inara for the next few years. Yes! Can't wait to pass on my Barbie doll collection and all of the Star Wars toys. So thank you to Shawn and Pop for all their hard work these past couple days. It was great seeing Shawn outside working so hard. Thank goodness my dad's here to show him the ropes. The best part though has been hearing my dad's praise of the house. From his comments, I think he approves. :-) I know he loves the basement and even told Bob Miller he'd kill for a basement like that. When he first walked into the house, he was taken back by the entry way. He said he's love hang a few deer heads and fish on the wall. Thank goodness he's not decorating the new place. Well better get to bed. Tomorrow's going to be a busy day preparing for Inara's first birthday party. I'll be sure to take LOTS of pics to share with everyone.

She's walking!

Tonight has been so monumental in our lives. Inara is officially walking! Shawn tried putting her to sleep, and she wanted nothing to do with it, so he decided to bring her back downstairs and have her walk around in order to tire her out. Little did we know that she was going to take such big steps all on her own tonight. At first, she was a bit wobbly and took about 5 steps. Then, before we knew it, she was walking the length of the living room. I was completely in awe watching my baby girl take her first real steps all on her own. We had her walking around for about 30+ minutes. Elizabeth even came into the living room to watch her in action. I took some video (couldn't miss this special event), which Shawn will post on his blog in the morning. He's uploading all the pics and videos now. I'm so proud of my little girl. She did it: she walked before her first birthday! So amazing!!!

Can't politicians ever tell the whole story?

This is what turns people away from politics in the first place: misleading and incorrect "facts". Is it really too idealistic to ask that politicians not play these stupid games? No wonder McCain's jumped in the polls. He's telling lies to sell himself. Instead of slandering your opponent, why not just tell us what YOU stand for? How about playing a fair fight for once? Yes, I'm way too idealistic I know.

Out of bounds! McCain misstates Obama sex-ed record
By Margaret Talev McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — Throw the flag against: The McCain-Palin campaign.

Call: Unsportsmanlike conduct.
What happened: A new 30-second TV ad attacks Barack Obama's record on education, saying that Obama backed legislation to teach "'comprehensive sex education' to kindergartners." The announcer then says, "Learning about sex before learning to read? Barack Obama. Wrong on education. Wrong for your family."
Why that's wrong: This is a deliberately misleading accusation. It came hours after the Obama campaign released a TV ad critical of McCain's votes on public education. As a state senator in Illinois, Obama did vote for but was not a sponsor of legislation dealing with sex ed for grades K-12.
But the legislation allowed local school boards to teach "age-appropriate" sex education, not comprehensive lessons to kindergartners, and it gave schools the ability to warn young children about inappropriate touching and sexual predators.
Republican Alan Keyes tried to use Obama's vote against him in the 2004 U.S. Senate race. At the time, Obama spoke about wanting to protect young children from abuse. He made clear then that he was not supporting teaching kindergartners about explicit details of sex.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton said Tuesday of McCain's ad: "It is shameful and downright perverse for the McCain campaign to use a bill that was written to protect young children from sexual predators as a recycled and discredited political attack against a father of two young girls."
Penalty: 15 yards for the McCain campaign's deliberate low blow.

Catch up time

Time to get caught up on things. Our trip to Wisconsin was nice. The Gathering Place has beautiful scenery to take in every day and the cabins are pretty nice too. Unfortunately, our bed was a tad uncomfy, so we had a few crummy nights of sleep. Inara seemed to do very well sleeping in her pack 'n play. Thank goodness I had her nap in the one we have before we left. Good thinking! It was nice to see all of Shawn's relatives. They were all pretty excited to meet Inara, so that was probably the best part of the trip, besides getting to spend time with Erin who I miss greatly. With baby, it was hard for me to partake in too many of the trip's outings, so she and I stayed back at the cabin and did lots of walking around. The kid just loves to walk! I'm sure Shawn will post the pics pretty soon.

Some bad news we got while away was our good friend Jason was in an accident on his scooter. He's alright but ended up with a broken clavicle and what the doctors think may be a couple cracked ribs. When Shawn got the news, my stomach dropped. I'm so worried about Jason and the rest of the scoot patrol because it's a scary thought riding those things in LA traffic. I trust them. It's the other stupid drivers that worry me. He seems to have a good outlook on things and can't wait to get back on his scooter, against his mother's wishes of course. I'm just so glad that Jason is OK and on his way to a quick recovery.

While on vacation, I got to do some reading and have made it over half way through the Obama book. I've only been reading it for about 5 months now, so the fact that I'm now half way is well pretty pathetic, but I'm doing my best. During the week, Erin and I also watched a lot of the Republican Convention. Politics were a big topic of discussion a couple nights. For the most part, Erin and I wanted to hear Sarah Palin's speech. We actually left the bonfire and smores early so we could watch it. We are still perplexed by her nomination. Yes, she's a tough woman, but I'm still not seeing how she won the party over. It seems like they would have tried to avoid someone so controversial. And really as the party of "family values," how can you have a pregnant 17 year old up on stage? I do like the fact that Palin will be a "voice" for the disabled given that she has a child with Down Syndrome. That I do respect. But I still don't understand how she can take on the role of VP with a special needs child. As a mom, I would want to be there with my newborn son as much as possible because I would know he was going to need me there for him. I guess that's just me personally as a mom, but again, this makes me question her judgment.

On to a lighter topic, I'm so excited that Stella got off'd from Project Runway. That woman drives me nuts!!! Now get rid of Blayne and Suede and I'll be a happy girl. This has been a great season so far. Hope it can keep the pace the rest of the season. As for other TV news, I'm jazzed that the season premieres are all starting up. I'm Tivo-ing Ellen right now. I'm craving some junk TV besides what's on HGTV and TLC. I can only watch so many eps of John and Kate Plus 8 before I go insane.

Haven't seen any new movies, so nothing to report here.

I recently joined Facebook and am thrilled I did. I have already reconnected with some of my best friends from junior high and high school. As I turned 35, I started missing the good ol days of being lazy, having little responsibility, and thinking the world awaits me, but most of all, I miss my friends. Low and behold, I suddenly get emails from 3 friends, one whom I've known since elementary school. This seriously made my month!!! I can't wait to talk to these ladies more and learn about their lives and all the great things they've been doing. One of them, Shashi, works for a non-profit in LA. All these years, and she was still living close to me. And how cool that she's a lawyer for a non-profit? I always knew she'd do something cool like that.

The best news I have to share is Inara is doing fantabulous!!! I can't believe she's a week away from turning one year old. That's insane to me. She's growing up too fast. She's walking all over like I've said a bazillion times. Last night she was standing up and moved from the ottoman to the chair and took two steps all on her own. It was so awesome watching her do this. It was also a blast watching her try to get to Shawn's laptop yesterday while he was watching football and checking fantasy scores. She even throws little frustration fits when she can't get what she wants. It's funny but kinda scary to watch this. She better not be a little primadonna diva. Oh no, we'll nip that in the butt real quick. This week will be a busy but fun one with Elizabeth coming into town tomorrow night and my parents either Wed or Thu. Inara's birthday party is set for Saturday. The family will be here along with some of the friends we've made through the mom's group. I can't wait to celebrate my little girl turning 1!!!

As for me, my sanity is starting to slowly return. I'm super glad our trip is over because I just need some time at home. I feel like things have been so hectic around here lately and haven't had a chance to really appreciate being in our first house. Yesterday Shawn hung a couple pictures in the family room, and it made me super happy. I want to make things cozy like home here, so I'm glad we don't have any more trips planned for the rest of the year. I was actually in a really bad mental place before we left, but I realized I needed to have some bad days. When I sat down and thought about it, this past year has been one hell of a roller coaster ride. No wonder my head feels like it's going to explode some days. Everything from giving birth, to having my first surgery and recovering from the C-section, to quitting work, to the holidays (which we all know can be stressful), to telling my parents we were going to move (a very difficult thing for me to do especially after having a baby), to packing up my things, to saying good-bye to friends and family (one of the hardest things I've had to do in my 35 years), to my Uncle Vance passing away so suddenly, to moving into one house with lots of people (something that placed me out of my comfort zone), to Shawn's injured ankle 10 days before moving!, to my injured back shortly after moving, to the daily challenges of learning to be a good mom (and without my mom and dad by my side), to trying to work my Arbonne business where I know nobody, to househunting, to missing my family and friends every day...yes, I've had one hell of a year, but I've survived! And now as Inara's first birthday is fast approaching, I look at this as the start of a new year for myself as well. I've got to work at getting myself into a good mental state and remember to appreciate all the glorious blessings I have in my life. I am grateful for this life. I just have to stop, look past the chaos, and remind myself of this once in awhile. So on that note I end and leave you all knowing I love you!!!