Confessions

Ok...I am finally ready to admit it on the world-wide-web...where everyone in the world can see it... I, Amy H., am a nail and finger biter! There...I feel much better now...

For as long as I can remember, I have always bitten my nails. I would bite them down so low sometimes that it would bleed because I actually got to my skin. Eventually, I stopped biting them that bad...but then I started biting my fingers...meaning mainly my cuticles. You know how sometimes you get that little piece of skin on your finger that pokes up...I would bite it off. Then...when it didn't seem "even" enough...I would keep biting. I've bitten my cuticles/fingers so badly that the ends of my fingers around my fingernails looked red. It is really a very disgusting habit. I've sat next to a nail biter in church before and it took everything in me not to hurl. However...I can not keep myself from doing it myself. The the other day I was cutting Kendall's fingernails...and I noticed that one was significantly shorter than the other ones...now I'm not saying that she is biting her nails...but I do know that her hands are in her mouth a lot. Which leads me to believe that she is learning this behavior from me. So...I've taken action to hopefully remedy the situation...even if it is just a "band aid" on the problem.

Every time I've ever had acrylic nails in the past, I've left my fingers alone. I understand the nails part...you just can't bite through the acrylic no matter how hard you try...all you end up doing is breaking the acrylic. But for some reason, I also end up leaving my cuticles and fingers alone as well... So...last week I went out and got some nails put on me. First of all...they are TOO long...and I had them made the wrong "shape" (for those of you out there that don't know...there is like 3 or 4 "shapes" you can make your nails when you have them done - square, round, oval & natural - I think that is it...). I had them made square with a bit of a rounded tip (I should have had them done "natural"). Plus...I put on white tips (so it looks like I have a french manicure)...all in all...I feel so completely awkward with the nails on my hands. I feel like my fingers are 3 inches longer...like I'm Wolfman from the X-men. Just doing daily tasks is more of an effort...including typing. Let me tell you - you have to hold your hand different on the keyboard when you have nails that are 3 inches longer than your normal fingers...because otherwise you are hitting all the wrong keys. Plus - my fingernails grow really fast. So, for a person like me that liked to bite especially when I had a snag, etc...seeing the real nail under the acrylic is just like an invitation to bite. I can't tell you how strong the temptation is to start chipping away at the acrylics...but because they aren't cheap...I am doing my best to avoid the temptation. I think that most women go every 3 to 4 weeks to get their nails "filled in"...I think I'll be lucky if I can wait for 2 weeks... Anyway - for all of you out there that like to bite your nails...I'll keep you posted on how long the "band aid" works for me...

Isn't it funny what sticks in the head of a 2 year old? I am going to give you two versions of a story - one from Kendall (and the ensuing panic of her parents) and the other from her teacher (the actual account of what happened).

Kendall's version - A man called me princess. What man Kendall? Bob. A BIG man. A big man called you princess? Where did this happen? At school. We played pirate and we had a water break. (Now...imagine you are her parents...some big man at her school played pirate with her and called her princess...hmmm...we need some answers...so we called her teacher...and when we couldn't get a hold of her we called three other people we know whose kids go to the school to see if they knew if maybe a fireman was at the school or something that day...)

Miss Sherry's version - When the kids were playing on the playground, the 4 and 5 year old class was out on the same playground as the 2 and 3 year olds. A group of boys were on the slide/fort equipment and were playing like it was their pirate ship - but they weren't allowing anyone else on "board". So after being corrected by the teachers, Kendall was the first one up to play on it and was standing by the slide when one of the boys said to her "You are our princess", to which she got upset...then shortly thereafter, they had a water break (all the kids went inside and drank water from their cups).

We still don't know where the name "Bob" came from (according to Sherry, none of the kids were named Bob)...but we were almost embarrassed for getting so worked up...almost...

Carson is finally starting to talk! So far he says "down" (as he is lowering his arm like we do when we tell Rally to lay down), "up" (kind of...the only reason we know that is what he is saying is because he is raising one or both arms up into the air as he says it), & "uh oh" (which is the cutest sound in the world!!!!) He still won't say "Daddy" or "Dada"...which is really starting to bother Jeff I think. And we keep trying to get him to say his own name or even Kendall's name. But...we'll get there eventually I know. Kendall was so much more verbal at this age...that we were starting to get a little worried about his speech. But...as much as he babbles throughout the day - I'm sure we will have nothing to worry about very soon!!!

No pictures today...I have my cake decorating class tonight and I'll take some pictures of my cake and the kids and post them in the next couple of days.

Oh...and for those of you that have paid attention to the financial news - Jeff's company, Merrill Lynch, is merging with Bank of America. Besides the fact that the market is down significantly and Jeff is dealing with anxious clients...he isn't worried at all about his job (which means I'm not worried either...:)) So thank you to all of you that have kept us in your prayers and thoughts the last couple of weeks because of it.