She's Got Personality

I know every parent thinks their child is the cutest, smartest, funniest little person on the planet, (which of course is a good thing), because lets face it, if a child's mom and dad aren't completely smitten--then the kid has little chance of fooling anyone else.

So naturally, Ian and I are pretty proud of our little Ava. We love her bright green eyes and long lashes, her long golden hair, and her chubby cheeks. Her smile and laughter lights up a room. We're proud of the fact that she is doing well in school and exceeding milestones.

But do you know what we love the most about our Ava?

She's got a great personality. And I'm pretty sure that can't be taught. It's just part of her soul--God given.
She's funny.
She makes us laugh every day.
Perhaps it's her innocent perspective of things and events that catches us off guard. She's still at that age when she can be silly without fear of judgement or much embarassment. And I love when we see something together and both laugh because it reminds me that she gets the humor, not much is "over her head".

And sometimes she doesn't even know that she's being funny, she's just very matter-of-fact about things. For instance, the other day, out of the blue Ava says to me:
"Mom, did you know that SpongeBob is a grown man?"
I had just taken a sip of water, which I about choked on while laughing, before spitting it out in the kitchen sink. I then responded: "How do you know this?"
And Ava states: "Because Patrick said so and because he can drive a boat."
And I replied: "SpongeBob is not a grown man, he's a grown sponge, and Patrick is a grown starfish."
Ava pauses to think and while walking away, whispers under her breath, "Well then I don't understand why he has to wear pants." 

I'm grateful for her personality because our ability to laugh at ourselves and find the humor in every day life, is what may very well get Ava through the most difficult moments in her life (this and a whole lot of faith).

Progress

I know I haven't posted any updates regarding my health kick and any progress made as a result of changing my ways...so here it is.

Since October 2009, I've lost 12 pounds. Not bad over a 3-4 month period of time. I probably could have lost more, but I wasn't as disciplined as I should have been over the holidays. I still have to work really hard to resist the sweets and other fatty, high calorie food items. And I have to really force myself to get off the computer or couch to get out and exercise. Luckily, Ian is really active and always makes time to get outside to walk, hike or run, so that has helped me to get motivated. And now that Ava is a little older, she's more willing to go for short hikes with us as well. The other motivators are our two dogs who demand their daily walks, and I've made more of an effort to take them out. I figure even 15-30 minutes walking every day is better than nothing. My next goal is to find a yoga studio and sign up to take a class once or twice a week. I think yoga is the perfect exercise to help get me in shape, in addition to help clear my cluttered mind.

Did you see Jennifer Aniston's body in that black dress @ the Golden Globes? If yoga does that, then I definitely need to sign up! In fact, I think I'm going to post a picture of her on my fridge. I'm sure Ian won't mind looking at that every day!

This week I'm trying to keep my daily caloric intake to 1200. And breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Breakfast this morning consisted of Steelcut oatmeal with bananas. I like Trader Joes frozen oatmeal...just a few minutes in the microwave, and I have a healthy breakfast that will keep me full all morning.

And I have to force myself to drink MORE water. I rarely ever feel really thirsty, so I really do have to make a conscious effort to hydrate myself.

I have at least 5 more pounds to go...and the last 5-10 pounds are always

the most difficult to shed and keep off.

Ugh--why can't I just be 6 feet tall and naturally thin?

Sand Castle

Ava's work of art over the weekend (with daddy's help).

So far Lucky and Lola haven't swiped the little characters to chew them up. But it's only a matter of time...

Storm # 3 Has Arrived

I'm grateful to be cozy at home in my pajamas.

I've got a hot cup of coffee and a blanket on my lap, thick socks on my feet.

Lucky is sound asleep in bed. Her fur still lightly smells of Ian's cologne from his morning good-bye kisses.

If it keeps raining, will our pool overflow?

Our street is quiet, the mountains nearby hiding under a blanket of clouds.

The wind is shaking the windows in my office as I type.

I bet it smells amazing out there.

Three Storms

I hear that AZ is supposed to get three storms this week, one of which seems to have briefly occured yesterday. It was a beautiful, cloudy, rainy day. I was tempted to remain in my pajamas all day curled up on the couch, but instead we took Ava bowling. And we had a great time (even though Ava played much better than I did and even beat me 2 out of 3 games)! I finally tied scores with Ian on the last game, so I redeemed my pathetic self.

Today the sun is out again, but the wind is swift and hopefully pushing storm number two into the valley. Another storm means more snow for AZ's high country too, which is a great thing since we'll need all of that water melting into our lakes come summertime. And by the time storm number 3 rolls in, I'm sure I'll be tired of the elements and ready to see the sun again. I honestly don't know how people live in areas where it rains all the time.

But weather and any of my other complaints are so trivial when there are people experiencing hell on earth at this very moment. My heart breaks for the Haitian people. It has been so frustrating to watch the news and see that real help has been delayed for many of the people in more remote areas of Haiti, and that the Haitian people are so desperate, they're looting and stealing from others to survive. And even more tragic, there are people who fought to survive the earthquake, only to slowly die due to lack of immediate medical attention. How can this happen? Why are we so complacent, until a tragedy occurs and forces us to reevaluate our priorities? Will we ever learn from our mistakes? If a major earthquake were to strike somewhere in the US, do you think we are prepared to respond quickly with the right equipment to save lives? I'm not convinced that we would. Since Katrina, what new policies and programs has FEMA implemented that would significantly improve our government's response?

The US is expected to be a leader when it comes to sending money and resources to other countries in times of need. However, last week in Haiti, the US (according to a news report I watched on CNN), had not been able to operationalize medical field tents on day 5 after the earthquake. (Israeli military/relief organizations on the other hand, had medical tents up and running in Haiti on day 2). I don't know about you, but that concerns me a lot.

I continue to pray for the Haitian people and for those American families who lost family members and friends in the earthquake. And I pray for all of us who, while safe today, may face devestation some time in the future and may have to rely on a still very fragmented, ineffective government system.

Where are those FEMA trailers? Oh that's right....still on an empty lot somewhere in the south while thousands still remain homeless in New Orleans. Brilliant!

The Orange Stain

Before:

Do you see the lovely Orange Crush soda stain on the carpet?

Ava did that last year sometime...and then put a blanket on it and layed on it, in an attempt to cover it up.

The soda soaked into the (stain resistent) carpet nice and good for over 24 hours.

I never even had a chance to try to get it out...professional cleaners even tried and failed.

Wine and blood can be removed from carpet...but not orange dye in soda.

So, the orange stain remained and soon had lots of other ugly stains all around it.

It was getting worse and worse...

Until I finally had enough and called to get an estimate to replace the carpeting

with laminate wood floors to match the rest of our house.

(I would prefer to have real wood floors in my house; however, in AZ termites have been known to eat the wood flooring of an entire house). Nasty little beasts!

The estimate turned into us cutting a check to a flooring company and

us having new floors installed the very next day.

After:

Ahhhh, so much nicer to look at.

Hello 2010.

Is it really already 2010? It sounds so "futuristic", like we should all be flying around in space cars or something by now. I haven't made any resolutions for 2010, or allowed myself to feel one ounce of guilt for not being all that I'd hoped to be or for what I did not accomplish in 2009. Who has time to feel guilty when the world is flying by us at lightening speed? I'm just glad I'm still somewhat sane (and even that is debatable at times).

The completion of 2009 was bittersweet. My sister moved away...to Wisconsin from sunny Arizona (in the middle of winter I might add). Don't worry, I've made her feel bad enough already with my phone calls informing her that it's 70 degrees here and GORGEOUS! Luckily they all arrived safely to their new home and town, the kids are enjoying their new school, and my sister is getting adjusted to driving in the snow. It's still strange to me that they're no longer living in Chandler, just a 20 minute drive away. Denial is a great defense mechanism that I proudly use in my life. Ha!

2009 was, for the most part, a good year for the Flynn family. We can't complain about much. So, we're hoping 2010 brings more of the same good fortune and blessings we experienced in 2009.

Here's some highlights of how we ended '09 and welcomed 2010.

On New Years Eve we all went to the Insight Bowl game at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, AZ.

Here's Ian and Ava waiting for the football players to run off the field at halftime.

Ava posing with the Minnesota Golden Gopher.

Ava posing with some very brave pre-game parachute jumpers

After the game (we left at half-time because we were cold sitting in the shade, since we're huge wimps),

we headed over to our neighbors house for some drinkin and games. We played a board game called "Jackass" and of course Ian won. Just kidding, honey...you won because you know so much trivial information, (which is so very impressive). =)

Last weekend, me and Ava had a girls date to go to the ASU Gammage Auditorium to see the play 'Annie'.

 When I was about 6 years old or so, I saw the motion picture Annie and immediately became obsessed. My grandma (being the amazing woman she is), made me my very own Annie dress and doll to match. And I LOVED wearing the dress and performing the songs for anyone who would let me.

When Ava was a baby, I would sing "Tomorrow" and "Maybe" to get her to fall asleep.

So naturally when Ava was old enough, I of course bought her the Annie DVD,

and Ava very quickly  fell in love with the story and music as well.

Luckily, (other than missing the white belt), the Annie dress my grandma made for me was well cared for over the years, and my sister was kind enough to wrap it up and give it to Ava this past Christmas.

And Ava wore my "vintage" Annie dress to the play.

Seeing her in the dress made me so very happy.

Ava got to meet the little girl who played Annie. She had an amazing voice.

Ava also met the little girl who played Molly.

And all of the little "orphans" in the play autographed her Playbill.

It was a very special day.

Not a bad way to kick off a new year.