The Results

First off, thanks to everyone who voted for me! It's good to know that I have such great friends and family. sadly, I did not win first place, but I did take 3rd out of 28 so that's not too bad. I didn't win the big family photo shoot, but I won another "mommy model" shoot for next summer. I'm not dying to get a solo picture done again, but maybe I can bring my little girlie with me. Still good to at least win something! Don't worry peeps, I'll still pay out on all the favors that I owe!

Silly Girl

Oh my goodness! This girl is really keeping us on our toes. She is getting SO funny and random. She talks our ears off and loves to dance around. She's got some new moves that we need to get on tape soon, but haven't yet. Let's just say that they involve a lot of knee and booty shaking, and a version of the 'robot.' She's just getting SO big and it is a joy to sit back and watch her progress. I just LOVE this kid!

I've been trying for a while now to get a good video of our favorite new thing that Emmy says. She says, "ComeRRRR," and it cracks us up! She sounds like a pirate. So, I got a little bit of it in this video, and then we added on some of her other words. And, no, I don't just bury her with pillows when she's bugging me; she insisted on us piling all the pillows on her. Sorry for the crappy camera work and my annoying voice, but enjoy our crazy little lady!

On a Positive Note

I've been thinking about this for a few days now, and dang it, it is much harder to think of things that I do well rather than things that I suck at. Is that just a human thing, or is it a woman thing? Why are we all so critical of ourselves? I could seriously make a list of at LEAST 50 things that I don't do well, but have struggled to think of things that I do very well. Is this a good thing? Is this striving for perfection, or betterment, the reason why we are always learning and growing? I'm thinking that I need to try to be more specific in the things that I am trying to learn. Instead of doing everything decently, I want to focus my energies on learning a few things, and doing them really well. So here are my lists:

What I do well now:
-Teach. I LOVE my job and the girls that I work with. I think that I know my subject area pretty well and I continue to learn new things about it all the time.
-Clean. Not that I really love it, but I love the product. I don't do this all the time, but when I DO chose to do it, I do it well.
-Listen. I'm not the best friend at keeping in touch, and I don't even make friends that easily, but I think that I truly listen to people. I enjoy learning about other people's points of view and situations. Maybe this roots back to my nosiness!

What I want to do better:
-Gardening! Some of my plants have not died yet, and that gives me hope.
-Sew. I don't think that I've really even touched a sewing machine since high school, but I want to. I'm determined to learn some of my sister's craftiness.
-Cook. This is a running joke in my family. They think that I don't know how to, but I just haven't had the time to develop this skill until the last few years. I'm getting better. It's not the actual cooking that is difficult for me, it's the planning that I struggle with. (Thanks for your patience, Greg!)

Now here's YOUR assignment. (I am a teacher, ya know...) If you read this post, I want you to think of 3 things that you are good at; 3 things that you do really well. I would love for you to put your answers in my comments, but you don't have to. I just want us to try and think a little more positively in these tough times.

PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!!!!

If you are viewing this post, I NEED YOU!

If you even like me a just little bit, I NEED YOU!

If you are family, I may not send you a Christmas card if you don't vote! ;)

If you would like for me and my family to win an amazing photo prize from wink fotos, I NEED YOU!

Please go to this site and vote for me! Shoe #3. On the side there is a little poll and you just need to click on my name.

http://mommymodels.blogspot.com/2009/07/jessica.html



Voting only goes until next Friday at midnight. So please get all your friends to go and vote for me! I will be forever grateful!

PLEASE! I'll do anything you want if you will just vote for me. I'll wash your dishes, help you move, babysit your kids, bath your dogs, take out your trash, mow your lawn...ANYTHING.

I'm DYING to win this!

PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sucking

I suck at keeping plants alive.
I mean, really suck at it.
It's not hard, right?
Water, sunlight, some weeding.
I know the logic, but I still cannot do it.
I can keep my human child alive, and that's much more complicated than plants.
WHY can I not do this?!

I should post some pictures of the pathetic shrubs that we spent $100 on in our backyard, but it's too depressing for me. I feel like such a failure. I love plants and flowers and the great dynamic that they add to a home, but know I'm thinking about xeriscaping. Next up: cacti and rocks.

Is there something that you suck at?

Because I'm too Lazy...

...to post the rest of the pictures.

Please click over to my FABULOUS cousin-in-law Jill's photography blog to check out the sneak peaks from the Historic Foley Family Photoshoot! Jill was so great to do this for us and I think that they turned out so cute.

The buggy

This adorable thing is a vintage baby buggy that belonged to Greg's mom as a little girl. How cool is that?! At our Foley Family Reunion she gave it to Emmy and I think it is definitely the things the heirlooms are made of. It reminds me of family and I just think that there is something special about a little girl playing with something that her grandma loved so much as a child. Very sweet. Emmy LOVES it, too. We just have to work at keeping her from trying to climb in to it!

(I have tried to make a slide show of the reunion 2 separate times and my computer has messed it up. I'm just trying to gird up my loins to do it again here soon!)