I've touched on the fun cruise Adam and I took in last month's newsletter to Campbell. As I sit her in snowy, snowy, snowy Kentucky wishing that I was back on the white sand beaches of Belize I thought I'd share a few pictures to make everyone's day a little sunnier and warmer.
Campbell and I have both decided we are sick of the snow and are ready for summer!
Some co-workers and I have joked for months - no years - that we work at Dunder-Mifflin. We've said that we could make our millions and get famous by having a reality version of The Office filmed at our workplace. Here is a snippet of what makes such statements so true . . .
Our office has been battling gnats for the last few months. The problem is our department secretary waters her plants and the plants in the common areas two or three times a week. So they're too wet - hence the growing gnat population. After forcing all of our plants to dry out for a weekend on the patio the gnats were gone but have since returned. So, we all have until August 15th to get all of our potted plants out of the building.
The offending secretary has removed all of her plants and they have been replaced by ceramic bears and cats and birds. You know - beautiful pieces of art like this:
I was raised to be thankful for all that I have to give to those less fortunate. Since becoming a Mommy instilling that same moral code into Campbell's make-up has been a priority of mine. As such I have made a point to get her charitable gifts at Christmas and make donations to St. Jude as a way of being thankful for her health. These are all efforts that go unnoticed thus far but that create a pattern - a lifestyle to which I can point back to when teaching her later. In that vein I am undertaking two new charitable projects . . .
The first is one that I have long wanted to do, several of my friends have done but that I have failed on in multiple attempts in the past - that being to grow my hair out for Locks of Love. My hair grows unbelievably slow! And not being the most patient person on earth I have given up about halfway to that seemingly unattainable 10 inches before. So, I'm thinking if I announce my goal here then I can't back out again.
The second undertaking is my participation in the upcoming March for Babies. The March for Babies is an annual fundraiser for the March of Dimes. Like my now annual donation to St. Jude, my desire to help out the March of Dimes is a direct result of how overwhelmingly lucky I feel to have a perfectly beautiful and healthy little girl. Unfortunately not everyone is so lucky and it seems to me only fair that I do all I can to help those who are not as fortunate. (And I have to admit that the superstitious side of me is also calmed somewhat by the hope that this helps even the scales and buys me some more good fortune when it comes to Campbell's safety and well-being.)
The Danville March for Babies is May 9. Shana and I have started a team, if you are in the area and would like to join our team let me know. If you can't come walk but want to help me raise money in honor of Campbell's health and our good fortune you can donate to my walk fund by clicking the link below. If you want to find a walk in your area and raise money on your own you can do so by visiting Marchforbabies.org.
The other night Grannydots, Campbell and I went to meet my friend Carrie's new baby boy, Colby. He is adorable with a thick head of hair (and we thought Campbell had a lot of hair when she was born!). Campbell got a little jealous when I held Colby - she cried and fussed and Grannydots had to pick her up. Just confirmation to my decision not to have more kids. But she did love the "baaabeee" and giggled while gently patting him.
I think much more than the baby though she enjoyed playing with Colby's big sister, Mary Daniel. Doc - as Adam calls her - is such a sweetie! She is obsessed with shoes and did a little footwear fashion show while we were there. We saw bunny slippers and princess shoes (I called them slippers and was quickly corrected) and crocs . . . She also enjoyed playing dress-up with Campbell.
We all decided Campbell could do a good Elton John for Halloween.
Forbes just released it's top college rankings and I'm thrilled to report that my alma mater is ranked #13 in the country! Go Centre! While still falling behind the giants like Harvard and Yale, we do come in ahead of MIT, Smith and Stanford. Not too shabby!
And this news comes on the day after touring the new Pearl Hall dorm that will open this year. Mom took me, Adam and Campbell on the grand tour and that place is ridiculously nice. I'm so jealous. I thought I had it easy living in Hillside and Bingham for three of my four years but this place is The Ritz compared to those dorms.
Campbell's little eyes were aglow with visions of hosting study sessions in her suite's living room in another 18 years or so . . . What a wonderful mental picture! (And I'm sure she was envisioning study sessions, not parties. Yes, definitely study sessions!)
