Thursday Things

1) We had a pretty low key Memorial Day. Went swimming then picked up some "chicken on the bone" (Kyanese for KFC. I very, very rarely cook with bone-in chicken so when we get KFC it makes for a super excited little boy). A few pics from the day:

I told Eddie that we NEED a pool in our backyard.  NEED.  Kyan and Karis both napped on the way to the pool - Karis even slept another half hour or so after we got there - and everyone still went to bed (on time) and, man, did they SLEEP.  Let me reiterate: WE NEED A POOL.

2) I made a "weight watchers" strawberry pie the other day. One package of sugar free jello and one package of sugar free vanilla pudding boiled with two cups water. Remove from heat and fold in strawberry halves. Then pour into a reduced fat crust and chill. It was super easy and pretty good! 

3) I read Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster a couple weeks ago.  At one point in the book, she talks about how her mother made "strange" healthy food -- before it was cool to make "strange" healthy food.  Sometimes I wonder if my kids are weirded out by some of the stuff I make.  I think I have my answer because the night I served the strawberry pie Jaidan asked me, "is this a real food?  Like, do OTHER people eat it?"  Ha!  I think I'll have to make some regular old fatty mcfat fat brownies - with eggs and oil and no black beans -- today. 

4) Here are the #instamay pics from the past week:

5/24 - Just Woke Up

5/25 - My Boss

5/26 - Friends

5/27 - Shoes

5/28 - Made me smile

5/29 - Keys

5/30 - My hood

5) OMG, YA'LL!  Jessica Simpson weighed *gasp* one hundred and seventy pounds while she was pregnant with her daughter.  170!  OH, THE HORROR!

Dear Jessica,

STFU.

Sincerely,
Someone who weighed 213, 216, and 198 respectively

6) We booked our room for California last night!  We went through Bookit.com and were able to save $150.  So I guess this means this is for real for real.  I'm really excited.  We have a jam packed 10-days (we'll be in Cali for six nights) and lots of family and friends to see, things to do.  Can't wait!

7) Best app EVER alert: I'd Cap That.

Seriously.

Do not pass go, do not collect $200.  Just download this app RIGHT THIS MINUTE.

It puts random captions on your pictures.  Some examples:

We call ourselves "Whore Island' and it generated "glass case of emotion?"  COME ON!

8) I had to stop myself from leaving a blog comment about 50 Shades of Grey the other day.  Like, I got all rant-y and rage-ful and the post wasn't even ABOUT 50 Shades.  Every time someone says they like the series, I want to give them a swift left hook to the ovary.  Bad thing is, most of my girlfriends love the books.  I'm the odd man out.

9) I got a free sample of a Crystal Light mocktail in the mail the other day.  Of all things they sent me the appletini flavor.  I'm not a big fan of fake apple flavored ANYthing.  And this stuff?  Oh.My.Gosh.  It was so bad!  Seriously -- imagine fake apple flavor with fake sugar.  I think I'm going to throw up just thinking about it.

10)

The Fallen

I'm married to the military.  My husband retired from the United States Air Force almost two years ago.



He was never active duty during our marriage -- by the time we wed, his military service centered around the Reserves and one weekd per month duty.  But when he was 20/21 - just a baby on so many levels - he spent nine months in Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Desert Storm.  It's not something he likes to talk about -- in fact, other than to say he was there, he doesn't talk about it at all.  But.  He came home.  He went on spend the early part of his 30's in Germany on millitary assignment.  He helped make three children.  He bought a home.  And, in a few hours, he'll load all of us up in our SUV and we'll go spend the day by swimming or playing at a park or something of that nature.

He came home.  Today is not about him.

My grandfather served in Korea.  Our family albums are full of pictures of a handsome young man in uniform.

He fought in Korea and sent home letters to his Mama and to his wife, my grandmother.  He came home.  He had three daughters and six grandchildren and his legacy continues to grow -- his eleventh great grandchild will be born later this year.  He went to church on Sundays and he farmed and every Tuesday he went to the Sale Barn. 

He came home.  Today is not about him.

It really gets to me how many people make today about something it's not.  It's not about BBQ and it's not about sales and it's not about our veterans.  Believe me -- I have every respect in the world for ANYONE who puts on a uniform and chooses to fight for our country.  But.  Today is not their day.

Today, while so many of us are enjoying a Bud Light and barbequed ribs by the pool, there's a young widow whose husband never came home from Afghanistan.  There's a middle aged man who never really knew his own father, a man who never made it back from Vietnam.  There are little girls who don't have a mother to confide in and talk to because she was killed by a road side bomb in Baghdad.  Somewhere, I'm sure, there's an elderly woman who seethes with envy at pictures of happy homecomings from World War II.  Her happy homecoming never happened.

Today is about them.  About honoring the memory of those fallen soldiers.  About being appreciative of their service.  They paid the ultimate price so that you and I can raise our children in a country where they are free to worship the way they want to worship, say what they want to say.  They laid down their lives for this country.

We'll celebrate our Veterans in November.  Today we honor those men and women who gave all, the ones who will never come home, the ones who made the ultimate sacrafice.

Back when Billy Ray still had a mullet and was known more for Achy Breaky Heart than being Miley's dad, he really said it best:

For all his friends who gave us all

Who stood the ground and took the fall

To help their fellow man

Love your country and live with pride

And don't forget those who died America can't you see

All gave some and some gave all

And some stood through for the red, white and blue

And some had to fall

And if you ever think of me

Think of all your liberties and recall

Some gave all

It Happened This Week

So tomorrow is the unofficial beginning of summer but it's kind of anticlimatic considering it's felt like summer for over a month now.  We really have no plans.  It would be a good weekend to have a boat.  Or a lakehouse.  Or friends with a boat.  Or friends with a lakehouse.  (So friends could pay for said boat and/or lakehouse and we could just . . . mooch).  The hubs briefly considered BBQ'ing but I think he's given up that idea.  As of right now, our only plan is to find a pool and some food.

We're leaving for Virginia in two weeks.  When we get back, we'll have just a little over a week to get ready to leave for California.  So, since we're basically going to be gone for a month I'm thinking the next two weeks will be completely chill.  Lot's of playing with the water hose, lots of ice cream, and quite possibly probably almost certainly lots of being lazy.

Here's a look at the past two weeks:

Sunday 5/13:

This was the best picture we could manage to get for Mother's Day.  Yay.

Monday 5/14:

Tuesday 5/15:

Wednesday 5/16:

Thursday 5/17:

Friday 5/18:

These two ride in a double stroller for our morning (which have as of yesterday, thanks to the weather, turned into evening) walks.  When we turn back onto our street at the end of the walk, they both insist on walking.  I get it from Kyan -- he's four and probably too old for the stroller anyway.  But WHY does my baby have to be SO BIG?

Saturday 5/19:

Sunday 5/20:

Cheyenne is my cousin's daughter.  She is the oldest great granddaughter and Karis is the youngest.  I can remember when Cheyenne was Kare Bear's age and it kind of kills me to see pictures like this one.  It seems like it was just.yesterday. that I was making her "fly" on my feet. 

Monday 5/21:

Yeah, this is not annoying at all.  :/

Tuesday 5/22:

Wednesday 5/23:

Furthering his reputation as an old man trapped in the body of a preschooler, Kyan isn't a big fan of swimming or playing in the sprinklers.  I know.  I don't get it either.  Jaidan ran in the sprinkler after dinner the other night but Kyan wanted none of it.  So Jaidan decided he was going to MAKE him go play.  Priceless.

Thursday 5/24:

Friday 5/25:

Saturday 5/26:

Have a fabulous Memorial Day weekend!

Summer Reading List: Jane Green and Jenny Lawson

So this has nothing to do with either Jane Green or Jenny Lawson or anything either of them have written but . . . this morning Yahoo had an article about the ring Mark Zuckerberg bought for his blushing bride.  Apparently there are people who have their drawers twisted because it's just a simple ruby ring (that, FYI, could've cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $100,000) and not some huge, blinging diamond.  People!  Hello!  First off, um, this dude wears hoodies.  It's not like he's into the flashy flashy, ya know?  And, second, for once can we be GLAD that someone who is worth a bazillion dollars isn't blowing it on overpriced jewelry?  I mean, really?

I'll step off my soapbox and get on with my summer reading . . .

The Beach House by Jane Green - I've read a few Jane Green books and while I tend to find her plot lines not-all-that-believeable, her books are at least enjoyable.  This one was no exception.  I didn't love the book, but I liked it.  Short plot summary:  A 60+-year-old Nantucket widow realizes she stands to lose her home so she turns it into a boarding house.  Her guests are her own son, a recently separated father of two, and a divorced mother with an angry teenage daughter.  The book needed more meat, to be a little longer, to really develop any connection to the characters.  For the most part, they fall flat and you don't find yourself missing them once you turn the final page of the book. There was a big plot twist that I didn't see coming but, then, maybe I'm just a little naive.  ;)  All in all, it was a decent beach read.  But definitely not Jane Green's best.



Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson - The following is written in the epilogue of this book:

Because I can finally see that all the terrible parts of my life, the embarrassing parts, the incidents I wanted to pretend never happened, and the things that made me "weird" or "different," were actually the most important parts of my life.  They were the parts that made me me. 

Don't you just love that?  Don't you wish more people thought like that? 

Here's the deal: if you don't enjoy The Bloggess, then you're not going to like this book.  If you do enjoy The Bloggess, then odds are good that you're going to love the book.  You'll read this book and cringe with embarrassment in parts -- and also be thankful that it didn't happen to you (though, I'm sure, we all have something just as equally embarrassing somnewhere in our past!)  You will quite literally LOL and there are some parts where you'll even shed a tear.  Or two.  If you're a fan of The Bloggess, then this book is a MUST.

Thursday Things

1) We are leaving for our Virginia/ DC/ North Carolina trip in just a couple weeks. I know my kids are too young to really "get" the significance of everything they'll see in DC. But that hasn't stopped me from trying to familiarize them with the monuments and landmarks. Each day we take a different one, talk about it, take the online tour of it, and then they do a color sheet.

Some creative license was taken with colors of the monuments.

Kyan's personal favorite is the "Washington Yo-Mama-Ment." Last week if you asked him where he was going he would've told you "Obama DC." We've worked on that a little. Now he just says he wants to see the president while we're there and Jaidan insists that he won't leave until we do a tour of the Capitol. We're not doing a tour -- but we might take him to Nashville or Little Rock one of these days if he stays insistent on seeing a capital.

2) I was grocery shopping with Karis the other day. She KEPT throwing things out of the cart because she's two and an asshole. I told her to stop and she said, "No, no Bwani!" I said, "Are you serious?" and she responded with, "I sewious, Bwani." What a turd.

3) Did you know they don't make shorts for a 32-year-old woman who no longer has firm thighs? Every single pair of shorts out there is either of the "oh nuh-uh" hoochie variety or of grandma length. All I want is a pair of shorts that says I may be on the downhill slide to middle age but I ain't dead yet!

4) My boys were being LOUD at bedtime the other night. I went to check on them and they had drug their tent up to the top bunk. They were both sitting in it, had a flashlight, and told me they were making shadow puppets and telling 'spooky' stories. I am so fiercely in love with their imaginations.

5) I've typed most of this on my iPad and I'm kinda digging it. It's easier than I thought and, hello! Autocorrect! Of course, I could publish and realize autocorrect made some seriously embarrassing error but I'll get over it. I'm thinking the iPad will make it easier to blog my trips while I'm actually eIN said trips this summer. We'll see.

6) My mom posted this to Facebook and then tagged me in it. I have no idea why considering I have no clue who that chick in green shorts with an apparent Taz obsession even IS.

7) This week's #instamay challenge photos:

5/17 - Favorite accessory

5/18 - Something that scares me - the calories in these cupcakes from Mad Lilly Cakery (Ai yi yi they were good!  The chocolate chip cookie dough and chocolate covered strawberry were the best)

5/19 - Cheers to the weekend!

5/20 - Music - my summahtime jam

5/21 - WTF? - This is a pic from NOLA '11.  I'm not sure what the EFF is going on here.  Homeboy looks like he's sniffing Casey and Carly looks as though she's been overcome by the Holy Spirit.

5/22 - 11:11 AM

5/23 - Dinner! - Grilled tilapia (being mom means you get the pieced that fell apart on the grill), baked potato, lima beans, corn bread, fruit salad

8) We saw someone on a unicycle yesterday. Like riding through the suburbs. On a unicycle.

This is not an every day occurance in the suburbs of Memphis.

I'm still not sure what to think.

9) The boys and I made these cute little parachute guys yesterday.  We took them to the playground to test them out.  They had too much fun.

Just in case your looking for a summer activitiy . . .

10) Speaking of summer activities . . .

I don't know if there are words to express how much I love this picture.  It sums up the joy that is summertime AND the joy that is children all in one picture.  Love.  LOVE.

"If you're not gonna go out there, then I'm just gonna have to make you!"



11) My birthday present from Storme:

White Girl Wasted!!!

12) Have a fab Thursday!

Kindergarten. It's Scary Stuff.

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

The Day I Turned 26 (Plus Six)

I turned 32 on Saturday.

Friday night, Eddie and I had a conversation that went something like this:

E: So, do you feel 32?
Me: Um, I'm not 32 YET.* But, no, I don't.  I feel 19.
E: Oh, you do not.

Then he proceeded to tell me that I still look like in my 20's and I agreed with him with the exception of the lines around my eyes and he said, "well, if you'd just gain a little bit of weight, it would fill those wrinkles in."

I'm not sure whether to be flattered by the inference that I'm skeeeeny or annoyed by the fact that he did not say something like, "What lines around your eyes?"

* I had to lay the smack down on Facebook Friday afternoon because people kept telling me "Happy Birthday."  I was all, "bitch, please, I still got 12 hours left of being 31.  LET ME HOLD ON A LITTLE BIT LONGER."

So, anyway, for the most part I do feel 19.  Or like I should still be 19.  Sometimes the fact that I'm in my 30's, have three children, pay a mortgage . . . it all kind of blows my mind.  You see, I don't so much have a problem with 32.  Nice, round number.  Sounds pretty great.  My problem lies with the fact that I am far too young to actually be 32.  And, also, I still struggle with, you know, it not being the 1990's anymore.
While I do feel like I should still be 19, I have to admit that I apparently do not actuallly feel 19.  This is evidenced by two things:

1) I went out Saturday night and was back home and in bed by 11:30. 
and
2) I woke up Sunday morning and felt like I'd been hit by a truck.  My entire body HURT.  It still hurts a little today.  Dubya Tee Eff?

The originial birthdy plan had been to hit up the BBQ fest that's part of the Memphis in May celebration.  Well, if we're going to get technical, the original plan was to win a few grand on a scratch-off ticket and spend the weekend baking myself in the sun on a beach in Florida.  But since that didn't happen, BBQ fest it was.

Except.

We got downtown, walked 90340922094 blocks from our parking spot to Tom Lee Park (just in case you wanted to know, last year at this time Tom Lee Park was under water.  I think, this year, it's rained perhaps twice in the past three months).  Before we could pay to get in to the festival, we overheard a group of people talking about how much it "sucked."  We stopped and talked to them and basically found out that it just was.not.worth.it.  You pay $9 just to get in to the festival, there was no BBQ to sample, and all the food they did have was overpriced.  Not coo'.

So, instead, we settled on some Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken (quite simply the best fried chicken in the world).  And beer.  And air conditioning.  (It was 95* in Memphis on Saturday).

I'm goinig to do you the favor of NOT blowing up this picture any larger.  32 years old and had a GINORMOUS pimple pop up on my chin.  I told Storme yesterday that it looked like Rudolph decided to plunk his nose down on my chin.

After Gus's, it was Beale Street.

I have to have a Walk Me Down every year when I celebrate my birthday.  Have to.

That blue thing?  It's a Walk Me Down!

My hobbies include writing, reading, shopping, and bullshitting with random strangers.  Oh man.  I love random people.

I also love Jello shots.

Back to random people.  Here are just a few of the peeps we enjoyed BS'ing with:

My goal was to convince each of these people that I was only turning 26.

And also that I was half Filipina.

We also happened to run into these guys:

They were fabulous and fun and it's really a shame that none of them actually live in Memphis because we would teee-otally be besties if they did.  We spent five hours on Beale Street with them.

Once they found out it was my birthday, Storme and I did not pay for anything the rest of the night.  They even ordered me a birthday brownie a la mode at one of the places we went into.

The best thing about hanging with a group of gay guys -- other than the fact that they constantly tell you your beautiful - is that you don't have to worry that they're trying to get in your pants.  It's all just good, Jello-shot laden fun.

It was such a great birthday!  If the rest of my 32's go the same as the kick-off, then it's gonna be a GREAT year!

Please go on ahead and excuse the melting face and messy hair.  95 degrees, people!

P.S. and TOTALLY unrelated: Today is the first day of summer vacation.  PRAY FOR ME.

Summer Reading List: Jen Lancaster, Kristin Hannah

Just a couple books to share with you this week!

Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest to Discover if Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big, or Why Pie is Not the Answer by Jen Lancaster - I was approxomately halfway through this book when I texted my friend Mo and asked her if she read it.  (Note: Mo lives in Chicago).  She hadn't but she quickly downloaded the sampler and read the first chapter.  That one chapter was enough for her to discover that Jen Lancaster also lives in Chicago -- and that one chapter was enough for the two of us to decide that, whenver I make it back to the Windy City, we might just have to stalk Jen Lancaster.  I LOVED THIS BOOK!  Oh my goodness.  I loved it, loved it, loved it.  Parts of it were laugh out loud funny.  It reads almost like reading someone's blog and the absolute only thing I can say I wasn't crazy about was that it just starts.  There's not much back story (i.e. this is my husband, Fletch, we met at blah, blah, blah).  This isn't a real complaint which should just further prove how much I adore this book.  Let me tell ya real quick what I really appreciate about it: it's written by a Big Girl.  And she is legitimately a Big Girl.  This is not someone who wants to slit her wrists over being a size 12.  Very early in the book she states that she's a size 24.  She tries several different diets before she hits her stride and finds what works for her best.  If you have ever struggled with your weight, this is a must-read.  Please.  Just.read.it.

(And Jen Lancaster?  If you ever Google your name and find this review on page 238402289 of the searches, drop me an email.  Let's have pizza with my friend Mo the next time I'm in Chee-ca-go).

Summer Island by Kristin Hannah - The only other Kristin Hannah book I've read is Distant Shores and I really enjoyed it.  This one?  Notsomuch.  It's almost as though the author was rushing to finish the book and, therefore, doesn't provide a lot of depth.  It's the story of a mother who abandons her family when her daughters are teenagers, becomes a celebrity based on promoting family values, and then has a very public fall from grace.  The book focuses on her relationship with her younger daughter.  Neither of the main characters are all that likeable, everything - everything - in the whole book is predictable, and the way conflict is resolved is very unrealistic.  Honestly, I felt like I just wasted my time by reading this one.  Such a disappointment.

Right now I'm reading a Jane Green book.  After that one?  I Happy Birthday'd to me and downloaded the Bloggess' book the other day.  I can't WAIT to read it!

Thursday Things

1) All Kyan wanted to do for his birthday was go to the Disney Store in the mall and use birthday money from his MawMaw to buy a Zurg toy.  (Zurg is Buzz Lightyear's nemesis on Toy Story.  Kykers totally has a thing for the villian.  He's also a huge fan of Chick Hicks).  We managed to find a few other things to do with our day other than just hitting up the Disney Store -- we also rode the carousel (or the roller coaster as Kyan calls it), had a Frosty, played at the park, went to Chili's for lunch, opened presents, ate cake, and tried out his new scooter, a scooter he'd been begging for for months.  It was a good day!

2) Something that irritates me and I don't even know WHY it irritates me: preschool graduations.  Not just preschool but, like, ALL the "graduations" these days.  Kids "graduate" from preschool, kindergarten, elementary school, eighth grade.  Gahhhh.  Enough already.

3) I can be very dedicated to something once I set my mind to it.  Unfortunately, it's generally not something that's gonna, like, you know, bring about world peace or anything like that.  My latest fixation - now that I've stocked iBooks full of all things literary I'm going to devour this summer - is a roadtrip playlist.  We're going on two (almost back to back) big trips this summer.  When I go to California with Eddie and the kids, I'm going to be outnumbered when it comes to musical preference.  I'm saving all of my veto power for anything Nicki Minaj sings and focusing my energy on creating a playlist for when I go to Virginia with my mom and grandma.  Because those two ladies aren't assholes when it comes to music.  I'm filling said playlist full of Jason Aldean and Zac Brown Band and Lady A and Brad Paisley and the like.  And, of course, it's chock full of good old southern rock, there's some Journey thrown in, and James Taylor.  I love James Taylor!  And the country music of my youth (think Baby Blue and Bluest Eyes in Texas.  Total tangent: whatever happened to Restless Heart?  Hello, Great Country Band!  Once upon a time, I swore I was going to dance to I'll Still Be Loving You at my wedding.  Then I didn't have a real wedding.  And I married someone who'd probably have been much more comfortable dancing to something like Rump Shaker).  I decided to take the playlist for a trial run the other day and Kyan asked me if I could turn on "Sexy and I Know It."  No comment.

4) Speaking of music, I downloaded the Lionel Richie "Tuskegee" album a few weeks ago.  The night I downloaded it, I told Jaidan we were going to listen to it while I cooked dinner.  He said, "Lion Richie and country?  What are you trying to do to me?"  Oh, honey.

5) My weekly #instamay pictures:

Day 11 - Friday Fun

 * This one is out of order because . . . well, it's just out of order.

Day 10 - Animal - Only kind allowed in my house!

Day 12 - Word to describe the day

Day 13 - Mother's Day - My favorite chocolates

Day 14 - Made me LOL - More about this book tomrorow!

Day 15 - Lunch - Turkey burger and onion rings

Day 16 - View from my "desk"

6) A few weeks ago, I posted a picture of me in one of my "cheap bitch" outfits.  Someone found the post earlier this week and took issue with the fact that I, you know, buy clothes at yard sales and thrift stores. Buying clothes at yard sales is gross. Maybe instead of worrying about trips all over the place you could buy some new clothes for once.  I had to LOL, you know?  I mean, seriously?  I have an entire post calling out every four year old in the world for being an asshole and saving money is what someone wants to criticize me for?  REALLY?

In true Brandi fashion, when I know something pisses off someone then . . . well, Imma do my best to keep pissing them off!  Thankfully, I routinely take pictures of myself.  It's not a narcissistic thing so much as it's a . . . um . . . I dunno.  Checking out the outfit thing?  The camera AND the mirror can't BOTH lie to me, right?  What's that?  The pictures are taken of the mirror view of the outfit?  Oh, whatever.

This is what I wore on Mother's Day:

I thought, seeing as it was Mother's Day, it was best to accentuate that "mom pouch" my children gave me.  Thanks, kids.  The child bearing hips were there before the children ever came into existence.

Let me break down this Cheap Bitch Outfit* for you.

Cheap Bitch Outfit is getting a label on this blog and will make several reappearances from here on out.  Thanks to YOU, "Whatever."

Shirt - Charlotte Russe - Yard Sale Find - $1

Pants - NY&CO - Yard Sale Find - $1

Camisole - Worthington - JC Penney (I only know it came from JCP because I worked there 2934902 years ago and I know Worthington is a brand exclusive to them) - purchased more than five years ago which means it doesn't matter how much it cost, if I still have it in my closet then it was worth every dime I paid

Shoes - Whoknowsthebrand - Gordman's (last season) - less than $10

So there ya have it, folks.  An entire ("very springy" according to my hubs; "kindergarten teacher" according to me) outfit for less than $15.

7) Tuesday was the 14th anniversary of my high school graduation.  14 years!

I can't believe it's been an entire eighth grader since I finished high school.  Think about it -- in the time since I've been out of school someone was born, learned to walk and talk and read and write and do long division, sprouted boobs (that are quite possibly larger than mine), started her first period, graduated middle school, and might even have her learner's permit.  When I graduated from high school, Justin Beiber was still in preschool.  The world hadn't yet heard of Britney Spears (her big break was still a few months away!), Rachel Green was in her 20's, if you had the internet then you most probably had AOL and no one could EVER call your house because someone was CONSTANTLY surfing the net. 

8) Jaidan asked me to change the song that was playing yesterday evening.  I told him, "I can't.  It's Jason Aldean.  He's my boyfriend."  Surely he said something like, "but what about Daddy?" or "Does Daddy know you have a boyfriend?"  Oh no.  He said, "I thought Derek Jeter was your boyfriend."  Doh.

9) The past two nights, my daughter has gotten out of bed around 1AM and wanted to party for two to three hours.  Mind you, this is a TWO YEAR OLD.  Yet I feel like I once again have a newborn.  *Yawn*  Last night, after she grew bored by pinching me with her toes, she wandered upstairs and woke Jaidan up.  SERIOUSLY? 
10)