Another little one on the way...

Well, as I was checking out everyone else's blog this morning, I though about how long it has been since I updated mine, especially since I have good news that some far-away friends or family might not know (unless everyone has stopped checking to see if we've written anything, in which case, I would not blame you). We are pregnant again (technically more me than Chris, but you understand)! I am 14 weeks along right now, with a due date of December 22. This means that I will pretty much be pregnant for the rest of the year, and that with any luck, the baby will be born on Christmas Day :).

We are very excited, and I am especially pleased that my morning (all day) sickness seems to be waning, and I can actually act like a normal person again. I know Chris will love having meals and a clean home once again! I found a new recipe blog that I like & am excited to try some out. Here is the link if anyone is interested: http://www.realmomkitchen.blogspot.com/ There's a new recipe every day, which for some reason I find very exciting.

Other than that, we are just enjoying going to the park & library (we found a park right next to the library, which has been very convenient) and the swimming pool. Chris will have a couple of days off for the 4th, so if anyone has any suggestions of cheap things to do with a 19-month old in KC, let us know. As I've been interrupted in my attempts to publish this post about five times over the last week, I'm going to call that good for now. Hope everyone is having a great summer!

Idol picks

This week the American Idol song choices are from the iTunes top 100. I only done a few paragraphs on how I feel about American Idol this year so far, so here is a full on post for all of you who enjoyed those last year.

This is kind of a hard week because a good percentage of top 100 downloads are terrible singer songs or just suck. ( Hint, do anything by " Flo Rida" and you're out. doesn't matter who you are.)

Some contestants match up well with what's out there and some will really be streching to find something. Here's my thoughts.

Alison - Is a mortal lock to sing " My life would suck without you". She'll kill it too. The only way this doesn't happen is if some other contestant wants it and she loses the coin flip. If you are an Idol contestant and thinking of taking this song away from Alison PLEASE DO NOT, just sing something else and let the fans have this one. She's going to do a better job than you this week, and maybe temporarily pull ahead of you in the competition, but you and I both know she's about two weeks away from having a theme week she can do nothing with, saying something akward/embarassing, and then getting the boot. Just let this week ride and then reap the rewards later.

Scott - Will sing "The Climb" or "Don't Stop Believe'n" . He has no choice...his addiction to inspirational songs compells him. I think he should go with the former. Miley Cyrus isn't the best singer, but he will go with the second because of the Piano portion. Either way, I think there is no way to avoid this being a grease fire and we'll probably all have to suck it up and shoot the puppy this week. I wish him all the best though.

Lil - Suprisingly this is going to be a hard week for her. I think she's kind of screwed. I think she'll be forced to Sing "Single Ladies" by Beyonce and run the risk of a mediocre, copycat performance. I wish she'd get creative and take a non- r&B song and put some hip-hop in it, but she won't. Again, we'll all be a bit dissappointed and wonder why.

Danny - Okay, He's kind of in a corner as well. Truthfully I can see him, Matt, and Kris having a death match over who gets to sing "I'm Yours" ( The winner should be nobody, that song has been DONE) In the end he will talk Scott into leaving the show by singing "Don't stop believing" so he can sing "The Climb", he will then cry about how the song represents his struggle, He will go on another week being a favorite in the competition since nobody has the stones to stand up and say ," Wait a minute, this guy is only a little better then average and growls all the high notes....what in the heck are we doing !?!?

Megan - Needs a big week, because Scott and her are clearly the worst and Scott is blind so we feel bad sending him home first. Still, if she hits it out of the park justice will prevail and she may stay another week. I disagree with conventional wisdom and think she should RUN away from Colby Calliet and "Lucky". Just because Megan is coffe shop music and that is coffe shop music don't mean the two are interchangable. Sadly, this week doesn't present Megan a lot of good options but if I have a gun to my head I would say "Hot N Cold" by Katy Perry works for her sound. It's an all or nothing performance that could be really good or really bad, but I think it works for her personality.

Matt- Will be tempted by "don't stop believe'n" but should embrace his inner Elliot Yamin and sing "How do you sleep" No Piano, just sing it straight up and he would probably kill this. This is a big jump for him from singing everything with a Soul vibe do doing straight Pop - R&B , but if the transition goes well he might be able to separate himself from the pack a little bit.

Anoop - Kind of needs a ballad. It's what he does and right now a high energy performance would single him out in a bad way. And average ballend would keep him in the competition, while a bad "bobby brown" esque performance could send him home. If Matt doesn't sing "How do you slepp" Anoop will. But I think he should sing "Use Somebody" by Kings of Leon. This is a HUGE departure from what he does, but it will allow him to sing essentially a balland in a little different style where he can play to his strength and still get props for "Taking a risk" .

Kris - He's going to try to sing "I'm yours" . He probably has a fun story about how he sings that one to his wife and she loves it, and blah blah blah....I really hope he doesn't, Kris is one of only two smart contestants we have when it comes to song choice and I really hope he doesn't go the easy route. Kris joined the group of favorites because he can arrange music to fit his voice, and give the audience something different. I would love to hear something different, like his take on "Only you can love me this way" by Keith Urban or "It won't be like this for long" by Darius Rucker. There are a ton of songs that suite his voice and it would be easy to do one of those, but I hope he takes the more difficult road and gives us something we haven't heard before.

Adam - I really don't want to recommend songs for Adam because he is better at picking songs for himself then I am at picking songs for him. Even "Ring of Fire" suited his voice, despite the song being too flaming for a general audience. I think this is the week to go back to the rock edge and pick "Second Chance" by Shinedown. Also he's the only one who can convey enough emotion to properly sing "Thinking of you" by Katy Perry. I prefer that latter, but seriously Adam is playing all his cards right right now so whatever he wants to sing I'm sure will be fine by me.

Mini Blog Posts

There are pros and cons to spending three days watching four basketball games on four different TV's all at once. The pros are the basketball, and also pretending to be intensely zoned out and not hearing your wife when is calling for you, allowing me to avoid all sorts of child care duties. The cons are when all four games go to a commercial break, and each channel is playing the same commercial on four different TV's you feel like you're being brainwashed. Over the last three days of basketball I think I've seen the same 10 commercials on an endless cycle. It's been awful. The only one that is still even mildly entertaining is the midget farmer selling mini breakfast sandwiches. He just looks so happy, I like to think that there is an actual midget farmer out there who is as happy as that little fella. Anyway, in honor of the only commercial to make it out of the NCAA Tournament first round without me being completely tired of it I will post a series of "mini posts" in honor of that small dude and his farm.

1. After two days my bracket was already mathematically eliminated from winning Cooper's bracket contest. An all time low. This year I picked my teams based on how far they would have to travel each round. Next year I am going to select the college that I assume would have the best food ( including an in depth analysis of each school's freshman dining plan). I am almost guaranteed to do much better.

2. Speaking of food, I am no longer eating it. I started my diet this past week, and I've already passed on about 4 slices of pizza, two brats, 4 pieces of cake and Ice Cream, some Queso Dip, and several bowls of chocolate snacks. Some count the calories they eat, I count the calories I pass up on. It's a higher number and it makes me feel much better. Also, I did lose 7 pounds in week 1 ( Take that Biggest Loser!) So right now the thrill of success is trumping the constant dull ache for food. Keep your fingers crossed and wish me luck.

3. This year I have discovered Dial Idol. They post their "results" measured by how often they get a busy signal when calling for all the contestants. They are very accurate, not completely accurate, but very accurate. Type in "Dial Idol Results" the morning after a show, their actual site won't give you the results for free, but there is some blog that does. Just a tip for all who like spoilers.

4. Quick Idol Thoughts : Alison would be my favorite if she were 10 years older. Danny Gokkey kind of sucks and we're all being fooled. No news could come out about Adam Lambert that would shock me, none, he's talented and can be entertaining, but he comes off fake and it bothers me, no idea who he really it. Kris Allen is my current favorite, if he continues to show the ability to arrange music to fit his voice he will stand a decent chance of being top 2.

5. Cami has decided that she wants to live outdoors full time. She LOVES running around in the yard and we are scrambling to find some outside toys for her, we are in the market for anything and everything Little Tykes has produced. Right now we have a little slide, a huge plastic wagon we picked up at a garage sale and we're still questing after one of those yellow-red cars that looks like an egg, a playhouse with shutters ( or just baby shutters, as that is the only feature on the house Cameron actually cares about), and a baby pic-nic table. I would like to pay $10 or less for all three because I am unreasonably cheap. So I have a feeling that hitting up garage sales will become a consistent practice for us over the next few weeks.

Four Random Things On My Mind Right Now

1. My poor neglected blog . I haven't even seen it for 6 weeks. Carrie has completely changed the format and at once made it much more attractive and much less manly. I feel like the guy who went away for a week long business trip and came home to find his "man-cave" turned into a sitting room. Not that this blog was ever an online man cave, goodness knows it exists to publish baby pictures and a few family updates. But it does feel much tougher to write about sports knowing that my insightful analysis is now flanked by decorative doily. Just saying.

2. Balloon Animals - Speaking of manly subjects I might as well come out and admit the least manly thing I do. I've gotten pretty darn good at making ballon animals. I've been at it for almost two months now and It's gotten to the point where I can twist anything if given directions and I have come up with a few designs on my own. See the pictures below for a few examples. My big question now is where do I go from here? Do I try and seek out balloon artists to learn from so I can do the most complex stuff? Do I increase my speed so I can knock out hundreds of single balloon animals for kids parties and start a side business? Do I want to endure my college friends laughing hysterically every time I mention balloons for the rest of my life? ( I'm looking right at you Todd) Not quite sure what the answers to any of those questions are yet, but for now I'll just stick to reluctantly admitting that yes I'm 28 years old and I enjoy playing with balloons in my spare time.

3. Old School Shaving - Badger hair brush, shaving cream in a tube, straight razor. I have decided to cast off fruity smelling neon cream and start my day like 90% of the great men of history have before me....with an old school shave. For my Birthday Carrie got me a shaving brush made of fine badger hair and a tube of shaving cream. These past few weeks I have been schooling myself in the fine art of producing and applying hot, warm lather with my brush. Every morning now starts with that soft facial massage and the aroma of sweet success enveloping my face. Soon I will be adding the straight razor into the routine ( I'm waiting until I have a few days in a row off, just in case I'm dealing with wounds that need stiches) To complete the cycle and join the club of those who've gone before me and shaved like real men.

4. American Idol - This season is making me angry. The top 36 format doesn't work for me at all. I feel like this show has gone from 30% manipuled by the producers to 75% with a quick format change. The part of American Idol that I liked was the honest competition portion, it usually began in these first voting rounds, but right now I feel like the only folks who stand a chance of winning are the folks they spent the most camera time on. In that past Folks like Ricky Braddy, who get zero camera time, but sing nicely can stick around a few rounds while we get to know them and see if they can perform week after week. Now, he's just gone. While folks like Michael Sarver get all the camera time in the world, and then advance with an average performance. We won't see him sing for a solid month, and when he does show up again in the top 12 there is a better than good chance we're going to say, "Boy that guy sucks, how did he get through?" He got through because the producers want him through. We get no chance to see how these folks do over the course of 3 weeks time. It makes me angry that you can't advance by just singing well, you have to sing well and be choosen by the producers to have your story highlighted. It really sucks and is killing my enjoyment of this round.

The Busy Snow Bunny

Well, it's been awhile since we posted, and though I recognize that Chris has more entertaining writing, I can at least give a quick update and some pictures. We enjoyed our holiday break and Christmas, spending lots of time with family and some with friends. We stayed in KC, Chris took quite a bit of time off work, and it was very relaxing. Now we are back in the swing of things, and with our new years resolutions in full-force, we've been going to bed early, putting our dishes right into the dishwasher, and other exciting new things!

As for little Cami, she is growing up fast. She is running around all over the place, sometimes only napping for an hour during the day, and making us very tired (though she is going to bed earlier at night, so she gets plenty of rest)! Still, she is saying lots of new words and it is fun to see her learning so much each day. She has recently learned how to fold her arms during prayers & it is so cute when she reminds us as soon as we place her in the high chair. She still loves books & asks to be read to constantly ("bok, bok!" with whatever she wants in her hands), but her favorite thing is to watch a Little Einsteins video ("rocket" sometimes followed by "no, no!" - because I won't let her watch it as often as she'd like, she for a time grouped the two together), sigh. I like to think she just likes the music, but I don't like to see her staring zombie-like at the TV for too long. Still, the pat-pat and blast-off moves are cute.

It has snowed quite a bit this year, so she also has had a chance to try out her puffy pink snowsuit. She seems very warm in it, but can't walk very well, so after a few waddly steps, she kind of flops over on the ground & we have to pick her up. While she liked the snow okay, she really enjoyed the chance to chase the cat, something she doesn't get to do often. Again, due to her mobility he got away.

So that is about all for now. Oh yes, we also just passed the four-year marriage mark. Don't ask me how, but we both almost forgot! It was actually about 1 PM that day, and as I was taking down the Christmas tree I thought, "January 6th, kind of late to be taking down the tree... well, not really that late... then, isn't that someones birthday or something?...oh wow, it's our anniversary!" So I made a quick phone call, thanks Mom, and we still got to go out that night. I guess you could say the romance is gone - just kidding Chris! Well, I think that is it -Chris just got back from Pinewood Derby - hope all is well :).

Here Cami is, enjoying lounging in her car seat - indoors of course. I think she'll actually be sad when we get that one back in the car.

Here we are playing in the snow, or trying to at least.

Finally, Cami chasing the cat.

Time for Q & A

You'd never guess it but this little family blog site drives some pretty good traffic. So, as a special favor to our loyal readship I have decided to take this space to answer all of your questions and comments that have come pouring in while I have been non-blogging for the past month. ( By your questions and e-mails I mean, Stuff I just made up so I could put it in this highly entertaining and easy to write format.)

Let's get to the mailbag!

Q: We really enjoy the Christmas Decorations in the front of your house, however the decortations in the back yard leave something to be desired. While from the street your house says, " Merry Christmas" from the backyard it says, " abandoned trailer park". Can you please tell us the meaning of these Christmas cardboard boxes in your back yard and when can we expect them to be removed? Thanks!

- your Backyard neighbors.

A: Thanks Backyard neighbors! Always good to hear from you. It's funny you mention the boxes ( which were removed this weekend incidently), about two weeks ago I piled a large amount of household trash into our garage in preparation for garbage day. That very same day a perfect stranger was coming over to buy our old dryer ( Thank you Craigslist!). In order that this potential customer might not see our garage and reconsider his purchase I decided to hide our mountain of trash in the backyard while the purchase was made. Well, I was so excited to get rid of the dryer I had forgotten about the trash, and a few wet and windy days later our entire backyard was decorated in cardboard and filth. No commentary was being made except one on my own laziness and stupidity. Thanks for the question!!


Q: We've heard you purchased a video camera. When is Cami video going to hit the blog.

A: As soon as we figure out how to post, right now we're still fiddling, ans still filming. Right now we've almost completed principal filming of the documentary Cami Diggins: My life toddling around and around in the living room. We can't decide on posting video of her singing jingle bells ( you heard me), hiding under the computer, or doing the pat,pat,pat Blast off routine from Little Einstiens. Leave a comment and let us know what you want to see. We'll put it up.

Q: Is there going to be a Diggins family Christmas Card?

A: We're in the process of procrastinating that decision right now! If we don't get it together this week it's not going to happen. It's actually much harder than it looks, finding just the right cheesey family photo and coming up with a whole letter's worth of information that won't bore all of you to tears. Actually, at this point I'm thinking of doing a fake Christmas card. Wouldn't it be much better for to get one of those long year-in-review letters full of fantastic lies rather than the standard updates? If you're even reading this you know all that stuff anyway, and in much better detail than I'll put in a letter. I'm completely sold on it, but Carrie is not. Stay tuned.

Q: No recent political or sports commentary. What gives?

A: Okay, here's my lists of one sentence comments on everything in sports and politics that matters.

1. Will someone remind the President-Elect that he should not hold more press conferences than the actual President.
2. I want a bailout too!
3. Why is my 11-1 College Football team so much worse than your 11-1 College Football team?
4. I truly could care less who wins the Heisman
5. If you never thought you were doing anything wrong why are you spending the last three months or your presidency apologizing?
6. The last 4 weeks of the NFL season: Leave it , the last 4 weeks of the Fantasy Football season: Take it!!
7. CC Sabathia will be the most hated man ever to squeeze into a Yankee uniform after he shows up to never year's spring training pushing 340 lbs.
8. Goodbye Fox News! It was while it lasted, but everything is much too depressing now. If you need me I'll be downstairs organizing my food storage and ammunition.

Cami's 1st Birthday

On Saturday Cami turned 1, so being the incredible parents we are we threw her a birthday party that she won't remember and where she didn't really know what was going on. Basically a weeks worth of work for a 3 hour photo op, but what a great photo op! We had a small party with just family (If you can consider a Rowe family gathering small) Her cousins came over and we had games, and cake, and presents, and a good time. I've decided that kids parties are a lot like fireworks, lots of time and expense in making it happen for about 15 seconds of pay off. Still, she seemed happy and we hope all the kids enjoyed themselves. Here's Cami on her Birthday morning. One year older and wiser too!

Her Birthday party theme was " A Bookworm Birthday" Carrie made the book with the worm cake herself ( very good) and I frosted the cupcakes ( Very bad)

Cami, just figuring out what this Brithday Cake and singing thing is all about.

Here she is enjoying a well smashed cupcake.

We cleaned up the basement and had games downstairs. This is my niece Ashlyn taking her turn on "Pin the Bowtie on the Bookworm" With Claire, Aubrianna, and Ethan looking on.

Story time during the party. BTW, we asked the kids to dress up as their favorite character from a book. Nice outfit Mom Rowe!!