Beezees and His First Theater Experience.

Last Saturday I decided that it was time to see how Beez would do in a movie theater. Monsters and Aliens were playing and I told troy we HAD to go! Well.. Troy did not want to do this, but he went with it anyway. He was so nervous when we walked into the theater, he said 'I'm scared, we're gonna be the only people with a one year old in the entire place!' Well I hate to say it babe, but you were wrong. It's a kids movie, and there were babies, one year-olds, twosises, and threesies. Anyways... I thought we needed popcorn and candy to distract him if we had any 'issues' and a drink. So once we had everything we needed, including a booster seat, we headed into theater #1 (kinda cool for his first time!).....and Brayden did so well! He insisted that he hold the popcorn through most of the movie. It was only the last ten minutes were he started to lose it a little, and i don't blame him- it was kinda slow at the end- So he and I decided to stand in the corner and finish watching the movie- it turned out that he just wanted to stomp around like Ginormica and growl. Overall he did really well, and I'm excited to take him again.

Troy, Brayden, and the massive amount of popcorn that we had no hope in finishing.

What's in a Name?

Its tax time, and the only thing I think about this time of year is.... how my official last name is still Niederhauser, even though we've been married for 6 years!! One would think I would learn my lesson and change my name! But no, I only think about it one day a year..... and nothing makes Troy madder! He says that after 6 years he's paid his dues and I should 'officially' change my name. Well he says this every year, and you know what... every year I say "I will" and then I never do..... Oops. Sorry babe. I like your name, I promise. Even if I still have to spell it to everyone everywhere I go, just like I did Niederhauser...... and for those of you who don't know.... It's g-r-A-y! That's a whole lot easier than spelling n i e-d e r-h a u-s e r ...and I'll be honest, I don't miss all the crazy questions/comments that went along with that name. For instance:

"Thats a mouth full!"
"Try saying that ten times fast."
"Where's your accent?"
"Your German aren't you!"
"That's an unusual name, isn't it?"
"Are you related to that paper factory?" NO! That's Weyerhauser, you nerds!
"My goodness, how did you ever learn how to spell that?" (and I learned it in a song that kinda went like this: N is for nice, I is for ice, E is for eyes, D is for dice... etc)
And the most common miss-pronunciation of my name was Nigh-derhauser. (Well its pronounced Neeederhauser, just so you know).

While I don't miss any of that, I kinda miss the name. I'm proud of my SWISS, yes Swiss, ancestors. And would you believe it, when they came to America-- they shortened the name.. so it used to be longer!! And don't get me wrong, I'm happy and glad to be a Gray- but being a Niederhauser, or should I say von Niederhausern, had the coolest story behind it. And it seemed like everyone I talked to, knew at least one person that I was related to-- which was an easy conversation starter. Plus I always got asked 'what does your name mean?' .... Well it means "Down House" in German, aka basement.

Ok, I'm rambling now so I'll stop. I will make an appointment and change my name officially... I guess, if I have to. -Hehe.

Dun dun dun.....

All i'm going to say is Troy will be home soon, so stay tuned for welcome home pics! Whoot! Whoot!

Pictures!

Lets Have a Cup of Humble, Shall We?

Let me just say this first, being in between sizes sucks. Period. While I'm thankful I've lost 7 pounds, I'm stressed out that my clothes do not fit me right. I really don't want to spend the money to buy new clothes during my "lifestyle change". Besides- that is going to be my 'reward' money for a new wardrobe. However its hard to look attractive in big tee-shirts, and whats worse... not finding the tee-shirt I can actually fit in. So what do I do when I can't find a shirt that fits? Well, I throw a fit. I'll be honest, I act like a 12 year old when things aren't going my way and my shirt isn't right in front of me covered in gold silk. I scream at my closet, dump my hamper on my bed, and search helplessly through the remains. And yes, I'm normally screaming "where is my stupid shirt!? Uuuugh!!"

Is this really appropriate behavior in front of my 22 month old? Um, no. And the other day I found out why. This is sooooo embarrassing, and it is actually really hard to know that my son see's me this way. I figure that I can benefit from this (and learn a good lesson), so I'll tell my story:

I'm having a "battle" with the hamper on my bed, yelling "where is my stupid shirt" and getting very agitated. Well I found my shirt, put it on, and my life went on. HOWEVER! A few hours later, I found Brayden in my closet throwing my clothes above his head yelling "shirt shirt!" Then balling up his fists and saying "arrrrrg!" He immediately starts laughing, like he just cracked himself up or saw something really funny. Well, was he laughing at me? UH, obviously! One: kids don't lie. And two: I must look like a complete psycho when I do it, and he thinks its hilarious! This is sooooo not healthy in anyway!!

I was humbled. My one year old humbled me. He made me notice that I am NOT invisible when I act bad or when I say naughty words like 'stupid'. Man, I need to change my ways. Because if I'm not invisible to Brayden, I'm definitely not invisible to others and I really need to start setting a better example!

Someone want to shovel my embarrassed soul off the ground now?

My Way

Performed by the 3 Tenors. I love the 3 Tenors. Some of you might notice I have they're stuff in my playlist, and yeah... I really DO like them. They remind me of working in my dad's office, or driving with him in his car- because he liked them... and since he's no longer here, well I guess it's sentimental and important to me. You could say they remind me of him. =) I thought about this song and they're performance during a discussion at bible study. And no, I did not think of it being sung by Sinatra, only the 3 tenors could come to mind....and yes, this is for you Shannon. =)

Even the Famous!

Go to Iraq!

Troy and the Red Horse team with Tobey keith!
This was actually taken a while ago, but I came across it and thought it was awesome! Rock on!