It's my birthday soon!

I'm pretty tired today. Yesterday, I ended up getting a TON of new baby clothes and wanted to go through the clothes Alex has and put away what's too small. After putting a small tuberware container of onesies and sleepers away, I arranged her dresser, closet, and put her "too big" clothes away in a LARGE tuberware container. She has SO MUCH to wear. I don't think I'll need to buy her any clothes til she's 4 years old.

Other news, it's my 25th birthday on Tuesday. My mom is taking me out for sushi, and then my husband is taking me out downtown. I'm excited to have a night to go out. It's also Saint Patricks day, so you know there's always a party.

Also, Alex rolled over THREE times this morning. She was behind on learning to do that, so we had fun celebrating over that today.

My halo 3 disk isnt playing any more. I'm a little disapointed, but honestly, I get so frustrated when I play that game... There's so many nasty kids on that game, it makes the matchmaking unenjoyable. So, looks like it's call of duty for me for a while. At least until I can get resident evil 5 from my brother. I'm really not too interested in RE5, mostly because the camera and controlls on the demo is pretty annoying. RE4 was really fun... Also, what ever happened to ZOMBIES?!?! These baddies are not zombies? I miss those guys.

Anyway, it's time for Alex's nap. She's getting fussy in her jumper. Yelling at her toys. HAHA!

They say all things happen for a reason. Drunk driver=free trees?

Last week, I was about to give the baby a bath, and we heard a loud explosion. Then the power went out for a few seconds and came right back on. I asked my husband if he heard the explosion too, and he said he saw a bright blue light from the window. Since there was a telephone pole and a transformer at the end of our driveway, I asked the hubs to go check out.

Apparently, some drunk driver came down my road and demolished my mailbox and slammed into the support wire for the telephone pole outside my house. Surprisingly, the support wire had totaled this person's car. Long story short, we were told that we were getting a new mailbox!

So the person who took the mailbox out came by and told me that he would pay for the mailbox. So my husband and I spent the other day digging out concrete, setting the post, and installing a brand new mailbox!

Yesterday, while I was at the post office picking up my mail (since I had no mailbox) I noticed a sign on the door that said the local arbor foundation was giving away free trees, first come first serve. So my mom and I headed to the place they said they were giving them away. We ended up getting 12 trees! So yesterday, my mom, husband, and I spent a few hours planting a few trees around the property.

I didn't really know what they were going to look like when they got bigger, so I looked them up. I'm really excited that we ended up getting 2 of my FAVORITE local tree. It's called a redbud. It's one of those pink spring blossoming trees. We also ended up getting some oaks, walnut, and pecan trees. They're going to look great in a few years!!

Ive also discovered that a few of the random friends on my Xbox Live account have been stalking some of my clan members... So I had to do a friends list clean up last night. I also got to spend a few minutes kicking ass and taking names on Call of Duty 4.

Well, I say kicking ass, but honestly, I don't play that well any more. I wasn't positive on my kill/death ratio much. Oh well! It will come back.

I'm about to take the baby to watch me play some rock band or guitar hero. She really likes watching all the colors on that game. And I think she likes some of the music too. She has already expressed an interest in Explosions in the Sky and ZZ-Top. Very different artists... So I don't know. She does LOVE to watch daddy play guitar, though. So maybe she's just a baby rock star.. HAHA!

My Take on Mature Games and Children; Thank You ESRB

Along with this blog, I also write a weekly feature on http://www.girlsentertainmentnetwork.com/ about families that spend time playing video games as a way to bond. I'm getting a lot of interesting comments on the feature on the subject of children playing mature games. Games like Halo and Call of Duty and whatnot, and I thought I would give my opinion HERE, instead of starting a flame war on one of the lovely family's features.

Personally, as a very new parent, I am pretty sure how I am going to handle mature games with my daughter. The same way my mom did with me. I'm going to play the game first. There was no such thing as ESRB ratings when I was a kid... But those will come in handy as well. I get a lot of comments on letting kids play the more violent games. I understand not letting a kid play something violent, but there is the aspect of your child's understanding of what's real and what's pretend.

I would never let a 5 year old play call of duty. It's much too realistic. There are even some parts in the single player that made *me* queezy. But I would let a 10 year old play a game like halo. I honestly think Halo is a bit more cartoony. It has very little blood, the enimies are pretty funny, and it's about saving the world from aliens. Granted, as I mentioned above, it would really boil down to whether or not my daughter understood that the game she was playing was pretend. That, in the real world, someone cannot jump off a 25 foot ledge, and land like it was nothing. That when your character dies in the game, and you get to start from a spawn point, is not something that happens to regular little girls. When someone hurts themselves or dies, there's no restart.

It works the same way with TV. Will I let my dughter watch Star Wars? Of course! But I'm going to have to take the time to make sure she understands that the movie is not real. Otherwise, it's too early to intorduce that kind of entertainment.

I'm one of those parents that think kids should be kids as long as possible. My husband was thrown into adulthood at a very young age, and it's almost like he makes up for it now by acting like a child. I will make sure my daughter spends more time using her imagination rather than letting a game do it for her. I am a strong believer that fresh air and an imagination is enough to keep a child entertained for hours. It was for me.

Games are great, I love them myself, so I will not ban them from my child. They do offer a lot... Hand/Eye Coordination, problem solving, and it will be a way for all of us to spend time together. But it's not what life, especially as a child, is about. She should want to run, jump, play, and laugh. Not sit on her butt in front of a TV all day like a bump on a log.

My mom did it right with me. I could only play games and watch TV after dinner when it was too dark to go outside and play. If I wanted to get up early on Saturday morning and watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles while eating cereal, that was fine. Though, as soon as the cereal was done and the sleep was wiped from my eyes, it was TV off and time to play.

As far as games go, my mom always played the games either before us or with us. I have a distinct memory of being VERY upset with my mom because she would not let me play Mortal Kombat when all my friends were playing it. She knew what was going on in that game and that it was not the type of content she wanted a youngin' like me to see. The same thing happened with Phantasmagoria. She made me walk through the first few levels with her, and once she saw the game made me turn the gore off in the menu. As a 12 year old, I was mad that she wouldnt let me see the gore, but now as a 25 year old, I totallly see why she wanted to shelter me from it.

My whole point in this blog is that more parents need to be parents and judge whether or not the content of the entertianment thier children are viewing is approporate for THIER child. A movie may be PG-13, but that doesnt mean your child isnt ready to watch it at 10. The same goes for a 14 year old. It's about making the decision as a parent about whether or not YOUR child is ready for something like breif nudity or strong language. Take the time to play the games, watch the shows, and finish the movie before plopping a child infront of it. Ask them what they thought about it and make sure they understand what's going on. The difference between Hollywood and reality.

It's a parents RESPONSIBILTY to make sure they are monitoring these type of things. I understand not all parents have the time to sit and play through an 80 hour game to make sure thier kids will be able to handle what's on the game, but that's what the ESRB is for. They put a lot of hours into a game. Take into account multiple reactions of lots of people and that rating is there for a reason. Check the labels before you buy the game and read reviews. It only takes a few minutes to ask a clerk at Game-Stop whether or not a game has blood or sexual situations. They should be listed on the game's ESRB rating anyway.

Confessions of a Beer Snob

I have many vices in my life. One being games, another being chocolate. I would not consider myself a heavy drinker. I don't drink to get drunk. I rarely drink hard alcohol. I do, however, love the taste of a good microbrewed or imported beer. I like a beer like I like my wine. Something you should almost chew. Not that it should be chunky or anything like that, but more than something to guzzle down in hopes of a good buzz. The beer I drink is far to expensive to just guzzle anyway.

Today I am having Terrapin Rye Pale Ale. My husband is a HUGE fan of the pale ales. This was his choice. I wouldnt say I love a Pale Ale, but it's probably in my top 5 favorite beers.

I must say this is one of my favorite American style pale ales. It has a great hoppy flavor with a little bit of some citrus behind it. Not too citrus like some wheat ales, but a nice blend.

I can honestly tell you I don't judge a book by it's cover, nor a beer by it's bottle, but the cute turtle on the label was one of the reasons I decided upon this beer. There are quite a few breweries in the Atlanta/Athens area, and this is one of my new favorites. I know they have quite a few others (by the mixed pack available with a wheat and brown ale) that I would love to try.

On to my next sip, ladies and gentlemen. I think I'll enjoy this one... Goodnight!

Yay for Valentines day!!

What a busy few weeks! I can't believe it's Friday already... It seems like it was Valentines day just yesterday. The husband and I celebrated our first Valentines day as a married couple with a really really nice dinner with steak and lobster tail. It was DELICIOUS! He got me the prettiest gold necklace with a heart shaped pendant on it. I was REALLY excited. He's never been very good at getting gifts... but this just blew me away! We also killed off a big bottle of wine and had some quality time together. Best V-Day yet.

I spent some of the day taking pictures of Alex... they're super cute...

I also got my hair cut... Being a mom, it's hard to find time to style hair every day. I barely get time to take a shower, let alone do anything but pull my hair into a pony tail. I decided to get a shorter, easier to manage doo. It's really easy to take care of, and I can sleep and just wake up and brush it and it's lookin good!!

Alex has had a fever over the last 2 nights. It's been kinda scary as a mom, but she's happy as a clam so I'm not too worried. Doc said it's probably the shots she got that's raising her temperature. She's also teething. She has 2 teeth coming up right in the bottom middle. She's going to be SOOOOO cute when they pop out. She's not liking it too much, though. They're hurting her.

Otherwise, things are looking good. Valentines day is over and the next holiday is Hinamatsuri, which is the Japanese festival for little girls. Really, we're using it as an excuse to eat sushi and drink saki, but we like to celebrate holidays from other cultures. And what better holiday than the one for little girls?! Alex will enjoy it when she gets a little older.

Otherwise, Alex is fussing, and I'd really like to get in some Call of Duty 5; World at War before my brother gets his Xbox back and wants to take it away... <3

Wahoooo Mommy's New Toy!!

I got my laptop today! I'm blogging on it riiiight now! WAHOOO~~ Im so excited! I got a chance to play some Crysis and Battlefield 2 on it... it looks sooo great! I can't believe I can do all of this from my couch... so nice!

Tomorrow is a super busy day. I'm going to see about getting scholarship money to go back to school, shopping for baby clothes (she goes through them so quickly!!), getting groceries, stopping by the bank, etc etc etc. I have like 12 stops to make. All with baby in tow.

Alex had her 4 month appointment with Dr. Fernando today. She was so brave when she got her shots!! Im so proud of her! She's 26.75 inches and 17 lbs 12 oz. What a BIG GIRL! Her doc was really impressed when she tried to sit up on her own. He said she has awesome motor skills for a baby her age. Way to go, good genes!

Anyway, I have a TON of stuff to install on this beast... I better get to it. I also have to re-print out my tax returns to see about student funding. Laaame.

Later...

Busy day!!

My brother came over tonight! It's really cool, we're playing Call of Duty 4 and hanging out. He's so much better than I am... but he's also on an MLG team. So he should be, HAHA!

(That picture isnt at my house... that's from his myspace LOL!)

Our basement also flooded while he was here. Which is good because I wouldn't have had a single CLUE as to what to do. He showed me how to turn the water off and turn the water heater off. Then he helped me mop the floor and pick up all the soaked stuff. Thank god everything that was important was either in plastic or up off the ground. Its in my food closet, where most of my non-perishable food stuffs are... so I lost a few packs of ramen and a box of old VHS... if that's the worst thing that happened, I'm glad.

But now I have no water until the plumber can come over TOMORROW.. and even THAT is a maybe. Oh the joys of living in the country!! Anyway, it's been a buuusy day!! I made THIS:

She's so cuuute!! It's my first editing attempt, so it's kinda lame... But I had fun for the 15 minutes it took to put it all together!