Birthday and Deathday, 2010

Happy Saturday morning to you!
Nothing like a snowy day, and an important day at that, to make me get back into writing my blog again.  Sorry for the hiatus, but I was getting my life into some semblance of order.

Now, for a little administration information.  My plan is to do this on a sort of regular basis.  Didn't I say that before?  Well, now that I have the time to devote to this, I am going to make a commitment.  Some of you may know that a couple of friends and I had a blog around 2006 called "gift-giving-guide.com", and in the world of web logs, it was pretty successful.  But then it got time consuming and life started to get in the way, and . . . . The list of excuses goes on and on.  Well, I am going to try to get it started again through this blog.  Every Monday, I will feature a new product, company, website, etc. that needs to have a shout out because I truly believe in it and think you should check it out. (That's one of the reasons I started selling lia sophia jewelry, but I won't be featuring that company since you are all so sick of hearing about it.)  So, be sure to check back this coming Monday.  Some upcoming posts will be Normal Watches, Seed Designs, Mamabargains.com, and Peace Walk Productions.

Now on to more important things.

My wonderful little baby boy is 4!  Four years ago today, my Aunt Diana came to take care of my other baby, who was 2 at the time, so that Dan and I could go to Alexandria hospital and induce labor.  This was also Super Bowl weekend 4 years ago--the doctor wanted to induce me on Friday, but I wanted to attend the CG Air Station Washington Super Bowl Party (priorities!) so I asked to wait until Monday.  I think Brennan would have waited for at least another couple of weeks (he was already 5 days late), but he was happy enough to come around lunch time.  Our wonderful friend, Suzanne Brown, took her lunch hour to come and see the birth (my cousin, Suzannah Stivison, was also there) and was able to go back to work right after Brennan Paul Bishop came into the world at 12:52 pm.  He arrived looking around, turning his head all around the room before the rest of him could be set free. (TMI?  Sorry about that.)  We say that he came out talking and he hasn't stopped since.  He is identical to his dad, but has his mom's personality.  He loves to sing, to play with his sister, to read and go to school.  He is very loving and will be the first person to hug and kiss you without thinking twice!  Happy birthday, my sweet, wonderful boy!  You made our little family whole when you were born 4 years ago! 

Ella reading a birthday card to her brother (Yes, she is actually reading!  That's a whole other post, though.)

Now for the reason behind the other part of the title.

We are sad to say goodbye to the frog Lucy who has been with us for almost 3 years.  She and the fish, Daisy (a Beta fish), died last night after Dan and Ella cleaned out their fish tank.  You see, the snail, whose job it was to eat all the algae, had passed on a couple of weeks ago, and, well, the sides of the tank were getting kind of green.  Like any good pet owner, we decided to clean the rocks and tank.  Now, Dan and I aren't exactly sure what the actual cause of death was (the change in water temperature, the use of tap water instead of spring water, the soap Ella used to clean the mermaid?),  but it looks like the creatures would have rather stayed dirty.  So on this glorious, snowy,

day of celebration, Ella is saying goodbye to her beloved first pets ever.

She was a wonderful owner who loved her pets dearly!

We still have our beloved Alex and the 2 dogs, though!

(Alex, the hamster, in Dan's hands)

Goodbye, Lucy and Daisy!  Hello, 4 year-old Brennan!