Top 2 Tuesday - Baby Names

 

This week Taylor at The Undomestic Momma wants to know what your favorite names are.  I don't know why, but ever since I was a little girl I have dreamt of the perfect name for my "some day" children.  I think a name is so important.  It shouldn't be something too stuffy that will seem out of sorts during their childhood - you know, I don't want my kid to get beat up on the playground!  But the name should also be sturdy and dignified in a way that the little boy or girl can grow into their name as adulthood approaches.  I mean - this really is a difficult feat!  How do you pick a name that's super cute when they are a toddler but important and honorable when they are the CEO of a Fortune 500 company (hey - a mom can dream!)

I pray that I only have boys.  I am enough drama queen for one house (just ask my hubby) and I feel as though I was meant to be a football mom.  So mainly when I think of names, I lean towards male names.  My husband is a Junior - so our first born son will obviously be....

Steven Christoper, III

We will call him Trey.  Steven's dad goes by Chris.  My dad goes by Chris.  And well Steven goes by Steven.  I want my child to have an identity of his own - so we will call him Trey as a tribute to him being a "third".  Steven hates this idea...but I will win him over.  If I'm pushing the kid out and his entire name is devoted to Steven's namesake, then I can at least determine what we get to call him.

I also really like the idea of naming our kids after cities - particularly Southern cities.  So if for whatever reason we decided not to go with "Trey" I love the following names for a boy.

Jackson Kevin

Memphis Douglas

Steven is originally from Jackson as is the rest of his family.  My father's middle name is Kevin and my grandfather's middle name was Douglas.  And if by some chance we have a little girl (which knowing God's humor I'm going to have 3!) I really like

Austyn Denise

Austyn would work with the "cities" theme and Denise is my middle name as well as my mother's.  I probably should run all of this by hubby.  :)  Everytime I mention baby names he just rolls his eyes.  It's so far away in his mind, but there are some days when I swear I feel my uterus aching for a baby.  That usually passes pretty quickly when I realize that I barely have enough time to care for my pups - much less a baby.

What about you?  Any great names?  Any good suggestions for the "cities" idea I want to go with??

Housework Tuesday - Baseboards

Calling all bloggers - I need help!  It's time to clean my baseboards again and I'm seriously dreading this chore. I mean who honestly enjoys hours spent on your knees and bum wiping down baseboards?

I have always used a bucket of warm water with a hint of Pine Sol and a  handy dandy spounge to do the trick.  But the chore is pretty manual and I'm wondering if there are any tricks or fabulous products I'm unaware of.

So this week instead of telling you what it is that I have learned, I'm asking for your help.  Anyone know of a way to make this excruciating chore a little less painful?

Hope you have a great Tuesday!

I Have Created Monsters

That's right - I have created not one, but two monsters.  Okay maybe they aren't exactly monsters but they are certainly brats manipulative spoiled.  To set the stage, let me explain that my puppies *love* bones, raw hides - anything they can chew on.  Dixie can chew through a rather large bone in less than half an hour.  She is my destructo pup.

So tonight they are driving us crazy being a little rambunctious so I decided to give them both a bone to settle them down.  I knew the peace and quite wouldn't last more than ten minutes, but I figured "what the heck!"  As usual, Dixie scarfed down here bone in less than 3 minutes (they are rather tiny).  Bauer on the other hand likes to wait to begin eating his bone until Dixie is done.  He likes to prance around in front of her with his bone in his mouth as if to say, "I've got a bone and you don't....."  You can imagine how angry this makes Dixie and a growling/barking fest always ensues.  Usually they just growl at each other, teeth bared in a serious show down trying to determine who is the alpha dog until Bauer yields to Dixie's dominance and backs down.  Dixie can be pretty mean bossy demanding tough - and Bauer has always been more than happy to let her walk all over him. 

So that's how bone time normally goes down.  Tonight, on the other hand, Bauer finally had enough.  It was obvious from the moment Dixie started pitching her fit that Bauer had zero intentions of relinquishing his bone to her.

Notice how the hair on both their backs is standing straight up?  For those of you who don't have dogs - that's NOT a good sign.

Thinking they would just growl and bark for a bit and then settle down, Steven and I paid little attention to the fan fare.  I'm still not sure who started it, but within a matter of seconds an all out boxer

brawl took place in my living room! 

I know it's pretty fuzzy - but you get the picture.  Dixie was going for the throat!  In the back ground you can see Steven leaping to his feet.

I know a mother should never condone such poor behavior from her children, but I'm actually quite proud of Bauer.  It's about time the poor boy stood up for himself.  But it's not as if we could just let them fight it out to the death, so Steven had to step in and show them both who really is boss in this house.

Bad Dogs!  Bad Dogs! As you can see, they really can be submissive when forced.  :)

So now everyone is all flustered.  Dixie and Bauer had their first official fight.  Steven had to step up and play "bad cop" - which he really doesn't like to do.  (What does it say about me that while my kiddos were about to tear each other apart I was taking pictures???  Oh my Lord - I'm turning into my mother!)  Now Dixie is sulking on the couch, pretty mad that she got her butt kicked.  Every couple of minutes Bauer will approach her and whine a pitiful apology her way but she will turn her head away from him.  Yes - she's a little dramatic (like her daddy!)  Lord help us when we have real kids!

Vegas Baby

Yes, I know - this post is well overdue.  It's been one of those weeks again so I'm just now uploading pictures from our amazing trip to Vegas.  Steven and I are incredibly blessed to have spent two fun-filled and exciting days with two of our best friend Chris and Erika (brother and sister).  They have been two of the truest, most devoted and sincere friends we have ever made.  As many of you know, things have been kind of difficult for Steven and I over the past two months and two days spent with Chris and Erika was just the ticket.  I laughed until I cried more times than I can remember.  It is nice to be surrounded by people who you know would do anything possible to help you at a moments notice - especially when life gets tough.  So this early birthday trip was just what the doctor ordered.

Paris

Caesar's Place - This place was HUGE!

We spent the day Sunday and Monday doing a little sight seeing.  You can walk around Vegas for HOURS at a time and still not see everything.  The group was a little more than annoyed with me because I would randomly stop to take pictures of everything I saw.  Thank the Lord for Erika - because the boys were ready to just walk away and leave me.  I can kind of be like a five year old sometimes....

My homegirl

My love

      

Like a brother

New York - in Vegas??

After what felt like hours of walking, we ate lunch at the world famous Pink's.  I had the best chili cheese dog of my life. I don't even want to think about the amount of calories - because those don't count on vacation right??

                                                                                      

I can't believe I did that to myself!

                                         

I hope I don't regret this...

Cirque Du Solel and the Bellagio fountain show were by far my favorite experiences of the entire trip - so I will save those for a different post.  I truly had a blast in Vegas.  We aren't exactly the "party till the sun comes up and get CrAzY" kind of people.  We saw some sights, ate well and spent much needed time catching up with good people.  It was a wonderful birthday celebration.