Only 2 More Days!

TGIF! Only 2 more days until my sweet, precious, beautiful little girl comes home to her mommy! Thank the Good Lord! I'll be keeping myself extra busy today, tomorrow and Sunday until the second she walks in the door. I can't flipping wait!

I don't think it will be too hard to keep busy. My carpet always needs vacuuming, my book needs to be finished (it is super good, by the way), I need to hit up the grocery store and restock and Saturday night we are going to a fish fry at Luke's. I need to think of something to take, so I think I'll search the 'net for some good recipes when I'm done here. Luke will be heading off for a second round of treatments in India very soon and it will be really nice to get to spend some time with him before he leaves for a month.

The season finalists were announced on So You Think You Can Dance last night. I am pretty satisfied, I think the final 2 guys and 2 girls will make a really good finale! I really hope Jeanine wins, she is absolutely fantastic. I'm sorry I don't have much, but today is Friday and that ROCKS! I hope everyone has a great weekend. Next week will be a super busy one!

Another Work Week

Well, well, well. Here we are again. The weekend completely flew by and everyone is back to the daily grind. BOO! I guess I shouldn't complain as I sit at my work desk, inhaling a six pack of chocolate mini donuts and drinking milk while I blog, but it is what I'm good at, so I'd hate to disappoint.

I did some major cleaning this past weekend, so I'm feeling pretty good about that. Saturday was Richard and Ariel Urtz's reception, and it was fun. A good time with great people and FANTASTIC food! OMG the food was so good. (Yes, people, I realize I'm pregnant, but I'm telling you, it was delicious!)

I finished my second book on Sunday. While My Sister Sleeps by Barbara Delinsky turned out to be pretty good. It was one of those books that is so well written that you put yourself in the shoes of the characters of the book. Really good! I started Chasing Justice by Kerry Max Cook last night. It is the true story of Kerry Max Cook's struggle to free himself after 2 decades on death row for a crime he didn't commit. It's starting a little slow (gotta give all the background information of how he grew up, etc), but I really like true stories and biographies and such, so I think I'll really like this one.

Last night was a really good time. We went to the Bolling residence for Andy's golden birthday (He was 27 on the 27th). We hung out with some good people and once again had some awesome food. Since Kailyn is at her dad's, (only 5 more days, thank goodness!) I got to have some good kid time with my friends' kids! It's nice to help when I can, and I get a little "Mommy Lonely" when Kailyn is gone, so it helps me too! To top it off, Andy's cousin is in town and he did balloon animals and magic tricks for the kids. Ok, so all of the adults were super impressed too! He was really good. I did have to hide from the party for 10 minutes at about 8:50pm. I wasn't worried about missing the rest of The Bachelorette, really, I just wanted to see who Jillian picked. Ed. Really? I mean, if that's who will make her happy, then I think that's great for them, but I really wanted her to pick Kiptyn. Oh well, she made up her mind. I'll watch the After the Final Rose Show tonight and hopefully never get sucked into The Bachelor or The Bachelorette again. Sorry, Mandi.

Well, I've got a stack of invoices on my desk calling my name. I'll leave you all today with the 14 week cartoon from baby-gaga.com. Have a great week! Muah!

1 down, 1 to go!

I know, I know, this is my 2nd blog in 2 days, please don't fall over! And don't be too excited, either, because I really don't have a whole lot to say.

The 100th episode of So You Think You Can Dance was on last night, and I was a little disappointed. They were supposed to be bringing back the past season dancers and doing some of the favorite dances from their seasons. Not so much. They did they dances that won Emmy's and that's it, and the Hummingbird/Flower dance, I didn't like it the first time Hok and Jamie performed it, so last night wasn't any different. Travis and Heidi never disappoint, and I still loved them performing the Bench. Of course, Ramalama was a little different, but Wade Robson is the choreographer, and his visions are extremely unique. But I love him, nonetheless, and last night he performed with the top 8 Season 3 dancers on that dance. He's really great, I mean honestly, a gorgeous man who can dance - nothing hotter! Ok, enough of that, back to the disappointment. Katie Holmes was on the show, not only to promote the new Dizzy Feet Organization, (created by Nigel Lythgoe, Katie Holmes, Adam Shankman and Carri Ann Inaba. http://www.dizzyfeet.org/) but also to sing and dance. Ha! She may have sang at one point, but she was lip synching last night, and all she did was walk around and climb on a table and such, she certainly didn't do any fantastic dancing. Then it was time to find out who was going home. With the girls, I didn't want anyone to leave, I love the top 4! So I was going to be sad no matter what and it was Janette. However, on the guy's side, Evan is nowhere near trained the way the other 3 guys are. NOWHERE. And somehow he keeps on making it through, without even being in the bottom 2 mind you, and the better dancers are going home!!!!! Trash! So unfortunately Jason was sent home last night, not Evan, and I was highly disappointed.

Mandi, if you are reading this, stop here! Well, we seem to be following a common theme here, and I'd hate to throw anyone off course, so I'll stick with my disappointment from last night. I finished my book, 13 Reason Why by Jay Asher, and I'd have to say, I didn't think it was as good as I originally thought it was going to be. It was really a blame game for a teenage girl that gave up on life and herself. And I am not sure where I heard or read that it was based on a true story, but apparently I made that up. So, in my opinion, it was worth reading once, there's some deep stuff in there that really makes you think about how your actions affect others, but I'd say maybe it is a book for a younger generation. Maybe a good book for a high school novels class with an open discussion afterwards.

All right, I'm sorry about my whining, but I'm glad I got that off my chest. I will be starting my new book tonight, While My Sister Sleeps by Barbara Delinsky (she writes a lot like Jodi Picoult - my fave!). I've enjoyed a few other Barbara Delinsky books, so I'm pretty excited about this one.

Congrats to Matt and Kara Daniel on the arrival of their sweet, sweet baby girl Natalee Ann yesterday!!!!! I got to see some pictures, and she is adorable!

Once again, people, have a great weekend!!!!!

So You Think You Can Cry

OMG! Did anyone catch So You Think You Can Dance last night? It was quite memorable! For starters, it was the 99th episode, leading to the blow out 2 hour 100th episode tonight. Ellen DeGeneres and Mia Michaels were the guest judges for the special performance episode, and let me tell you, Ellen was flipping hilarious! She obviously is not a trained dancer like the other judges, but her humor filled in for technique comments, for sure. She asked one couple, "Are you guys carpenters?.....Because you NAILED it!" Too funny! So besides Ellen, I wasn't really blown away by most of the dances. I thought Brandon and Jeanine did a great job on their Lauriann contemporary, and the others were doing a good job too, just nothing outstanding. That is, until Ade and Melissa pulled a Tyce Diorio Contemporary. Before every routine, you get a little background clip of what the dance is about. This particular dance was about Breast Cancer. Plan and simple, the fight of a woman who has breast cancer. I thought, "Uh, oh, pregnancy hormones, we can do this." Not so much. When they came out on the stage, Ade just looked like a strong man there for his woman, and Melissa was wearing a small neglige type thing with bloomers and a beautiful scarf on her head so that it looked like she didn't have any hair. The song is one of my favorite songs EVER, Maxwell's "This Woman's Work". I mean the dance just had it all, her fight, resistance and exhaustion. I bawled my face off. My mom watches the show too, and she, being a breast cancer survivor, loved it too...meaning, she also bawled her face off. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. I don't know how to copy a video, but please, please click on this link and watch it on you tube, it is truly moving. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVowvO5ZaNI

While we're on fantastic things, have you guys seen Gran Torino with Clint Eastwood? That is a great movie. Don't get me wrong, you'd better be ready for the ending, because it'll take you by surprise, but that's part of what makes it so great! I give it an enthusiastic two thumbs up.

I started a new book last night. Kailyn is at her dad's for her final 2 week session of the summer, so since I got a couple of new books for my birthday, I thought I just might get those read! This book is Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. It is a true story about a teenage girl who commits suicide and apparently sent out a series of tapes to one person at a time from a list of thirteen (each listener must mail the tapes to the next person on the list), letting each of the thirteen people know their part in her suicide. Crazy, huh? It's pretty good so far, I mean, I just started last night, but I can't wait to read it more tonight!

Let's see here, it's been over a week since I've blogged, so I'm trying to make sure I tell all that needs to be told...MELISSA! She is a non-blogger nazi, and is really mean when I let her down and don't blog. So I dedicate this blog to her. Sweet, right? Muah!

Everyone keep Kara Ruhe-Daniel and hubby in their thoughts today, as they will probably meet their baby girl, Natalee, this 23rd day of July! Kara has been in labor since about 4am yesterday morning and received her epidural super early this morning and is hopefully getting a little rest before their little arrival. What is even more special is today is Daddy Matt's birthday! What a day to share.

As for our bambino, it is growing everyday. As you can see by the little illustration on the right, we are developing more and more all the time! Our next Dr's appointment will be August 11th and we will schedule our sonogram on that day to *hopefully* find out if we have a Klinge Boy or a Klinge Girl. Then Mommy Klinge can buy fun new things for him or her!!!!! Won't Daddy Klinge be impressed? Hee, Hee! I did visit the chiropractor yesterday about my sciatic nerve like Dr McCoy told me to at our last appointment. Dr Dan cracked my hips and sent me on my way with a follow up appointment on Friday. Yesterday it hurt worse afterwards, but that is to be expected. I'm just hoping it will feel better soon!

This weekend, while lonely without my sweet Kailyn, will be fun. Richard and Ariel Urtz's reception is Saturday and should be a great time! Richard is Joe's cousin and he and Ariel got married in May in Jamaica. I believe I put pic's on the blog of their beautiful beach wedding! Anyway, I had to get an "in between" maternity dress for the shindig, since I am rapidly outgrowing my wardrobe.

Well, that was a pretty lengthy update, and should tide Melissa over for at least a few days, so I am feeling pretty satisfied! Tomorrow is Friday, YAY! Have a great weekend everyone!

Good News!

Holy cow, two blog posts in one week? I can't believe it either, but I am bursting at the seams with good news that I'd like to share!

Joe and I went to the doctor yesterday for our second visit. According to my blood work, I am 12 weeks pregnant today and am now due January 27, 2010. The nurse tried to doppler the baby's heartrate, but 12 weeks is still pretty early, so we couldn't get it. When Dr. McCoy came in he did a quick sonogram. We got to see the little "bean" with it's nice strong heartbeat. He/She is 4.9 cm long now, which the doc says is right on track. Joe is positive that he saw a boy part, but after much convincing, now realizes that we don't exactly have boy/girl parts quite yet. Can you tell what he wants? We did get a picture of the bambino, but my scanner at home is not working for some silly reason, and the one here at work doesn't seem to like pictures, so I'm really sorry! We will go back in 4 weeks for a regular visit and then 2 weeks later will get to have our sonogram to *hopefully* find out the baby's sex. I'll take any sex, as long as we get a healthy baby!

So I'm sure that this is old hat for most readers, but for those who don't know.....Julie Cromley-See is a miracle. She is a CASA volunteer in Greene County and nominated one of her families for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. After lots of interviews and videos and such.....get ready for this.....the family is getting a new home! The Hampton family of Ash Grove is such a deserving family. Chris and Niki have 2 children, and in a dark hour, took in their 4 nieces and nephews. The house they were living in was 800 sq ft and only really built for 4. These people are so loving and genuine, and because of Julie's selflessness and dedication, they are now going to have a beautiful home that will fit their beautiful family! Yay Julie, you truly are amazing! Please follow the story and all updates at http://www.kspr.com/.

Gosh, I told you I was full of good stuff! Also, Miss Karsyn King turns 5 today! What a big girl, all of our babies are growing up so fast. Happy Birthday, Karsyn! Well, it is hump day, so we're half way through the week. Unfortunately for me, Kailyn goes back to her dad's on Sunday for her last 2 week session of the summer. It just seems like such a LONG time! Enjoy the rest of your week!

Attention:

Ahem. Good afternoon, readers. I come to you today atop my soap box. Actually, my co-worker, Melissa, just ragged on me about being such a sucky blogger, so I've decided to rant a bit about an experience I had this weekend. Here goes:

Saturday afternoon, Kailyn and I met my stepmom, Penny, at the MAC (public pool), here in town, which we love to go to. It is a very nice pool! At first, there weren't very many people, but still probably 12-15 kids under the age of 12 and probably a maximum of 4 adults. I was wondering when this became acceptable. I mean, when did 11 year olds become responsible enough to be left in charge of their 5 and 7 year old siblings at a crowded public pool? Well, don't get me wrong, after the crowd got bigger, there were definitely more adults, and there were even a few parents that interacted with their children. What's terrible, is that the few parents that were playing with their children, I knew. I mean, I knew the people, and I never doubted that they were great parents. Some of the characters at the pool, however.....shady. I'm a hawk on Kailyn when she is in water. She is in swimming lessons, but is not yet a "swimmer". So I am always within close range of her in the shallow or we are together in the deep. I don't understand why that would be hard for anyone. On Saturday, I honestly watched a little girl, probably around 4, drink a half gallon or more of the pool water. Her sister? kept saying, "Don't drink the pool water" and finally, her mom told her to quit. Well, do most 4 year olds quit when mom's not paying attention? NO! She just kept on drinking! A little later, Kailyn and I were floating together on her noodle in the shallow, when the same little girl came up to us and said, "I'll play on that too". I said, "Well, there's not really room for 3 people, sorry". No worries, she just shoved Kailyn over and made room for herself. The "sister" said, "Did that woman say you could get on that?" and a few minutes later, her mom said, "That's not yours", which I gave the polite "She's fine", but apparently the girl doesn't like being questioned, because she then stormed off. The mom said, "(Name), where are you going now?", to which the little girl responded with a scream, "Don't talk to me!" Sweet. I also watched two younger children wrestle in the water, with the older girl holding the younger boy under over and over and over. Where was their mother, you ask? She was a little too busy picking her toes and making out with her boyfriend to bother. That's right, I said picking her toes.....Happy drinking, little girl. Are you serious? While we may live in a small town, things can still happen. Anything could happen with that many adolescent children and no adult supervision, and I'm sure the lifeguards do their best, but accidents happen. Wouldn't you rather be the kind of parent who knows that their child is safe and well behaved? Please don't get me wrong, my child is by no means perfect. She loves to jump in the water off the side wall and hold on to the wall or her kick board and kick around, but don't think I'm not constantly there to say, "Watch out, Kailyn", "You need to wait until they go by to jump", or "Did she splash you, I'm so sorry". I guess I thought everyone had a bit of common courtesy in them. Maybe not.

Ok, ok, I'm done. I'm sorry, I just don't understand why people don't care, especially about their babies. As I climb down safely from my soap box, I will leave you with the 12th week cartoon from baby-gaga.com.

Michael Jackson Memorial

I am proud to say that today I was a witness to National History. While I probably should have been working a little harder, I did my work today while my computer was on CNN.com live full screen. I missed a little of the beginning (the casket entering the Staples Center, Mariah singing, Queen Latifah speaking and Lionel Richie singing), but I watched every bit of the rest of it. Right down to when the gorgeous daughter of Michael Jackson spoke her piece. For anyone who watched this memorial and did not shed a tear when that little darling spoke of her "Daddy", you have no heart. It was amazing and emotional all in one. May God guide those children through their grieving. Their father was a World Legend. RIP MJ.

BORRING!

So sorry to get your hopes up, folks, I just don't have any greatness to share. The 4th of July was ok, rainy, but ok. And yesterday rocked because Kailyn came home! We went to my mom's and had hamburgers and hot dogs with the Bolling's and let the kiddies shoot some fireworks. But that's really it. I mean honestly borring. I was off for a three day weekend, and I used my extra time to do some extra cleaning. Fun, huh? Like I said, sorry for the disappointment. I will leave you with a new cartoon, though! It is actually the 37 week cartoon, but ANY woman who is or ever has been pregnant will get a chuckle from this one. Happy Monday, people!