My worst nightmare

I didn't sleep much last night. Well I take that back, I slept fine until Claire's cry jolted me awake. She is a good sleeper. She rarely wakes up during the night unless she is sick, but since we just took her pacifier away, I thought she might be having withdrawals. In the groggy half-sleeping state I was in, I contemplated rolling over and letting her cry it out. Then her crying abruptly stopped. I waited, listening. Nothing. I closed my eyes, intent on returning to my slumber. But for reasons bigger than me, I got out of bed, stumbled through the silence to peek in on her first.

As I opened her door I had to stifle a scream. Claire was hanging from her bed rail. The very rail Mark built to keep her safe was choking her.

The rail itself is safe. It is wooden and is built into the side of her bunk bed. It rises about 3 inches higher than her mattress, blocking a middle of the night roll that would send her tumbling to the ground. It consists of a large horizontal rod, with a number of vertical rods attached and then drilled into the bed frame. The vertical rods are spaced far enough apart that a head could not get stuck, and before we moved Claire into the big girl bed, I made sure she could wiggle her way from her mattress under the rail if she tried (her mattress has a memory foam topper that smashes down considerably). She could and did over and over, so the fear of her getting stuck was pushed from my mind. Until I stepped into her room last night.

The rail itself wasn't the problem. I can only assume after she had woken up and cried out, that she had tried to get out of bed by squeezing under the rail. Usually, not a big deal. But when sliding off she slid one arm under the mattress (perhaps to brace herself) and that arm had gotten stuck. Then I think in an attempt to wiggle the arm free, she tried scooting the rest of the way off the bed, only to get her foot caught in the handle of the drawers that slide under the bunk bed. At that point all she could do was try to pry her neck free from the rail, which had begun to choke her, with her free hand (I believe that is when I heard her stop crying abruptly). That is what I found her doing. Clawing at the rail.

I immediately scooped her up, flipped the light on and, with my eyes clouded with tears, began checking every inch of her body. She was breathing fine. She was not turning blue. She had a small red mark on her neck where the rail had been. That aside, she was fine. Perfectly fine. She was not even crying. She laid her head on my chest and closed her eyes. I knew I should put her back to bed, but I didn't want to let go of her. But then she asked to get back in bed, so I reluctantly obliged. But not before securing the rail openings with every last pillow in the house.

I returned to my bed wide awake. For obvious reasons, sleep was eluding me. The what-ifs were taking over and the tears had turned to sobs. What if I had just rolled over and gone back to sleep? What if I would have made the decision to check on her a few minutes later? What if I would not have heard her cry out at all? What if? What if? What if? My whole body was heaving. I was shaking uncontrollably. I regained my composure enough to go peek in on Cora and then tip toe to Claire's room, where I stood for about half an hour watching her sleep.

She was beautiful. The bedroom door was cracked a bit where I stood and the hall light seeped in, illuminating her blond hair. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked perfect. She is perfect. Her existence in our family brings endless joy. She is so bubbly that you can't help but smile when you are near her. She is constantly making people laugh. She is a gift. And one that I rarely treasure enough.

What if that gift were to be ripped from me? What if I had to give her back? What if? What if? What if?

I did not call Mark last night. Had he known, he would have rushed home from work to share in the grief of the "what ifs." He would have said and done all the right things. But I did not pick up the phone. Because Claire is his baby. She has migrated to him from birth and I did not want him to even experience an ounce of the grief that the thought of losing her would cause. That was a burden I could carry alone for one night.

And now, here I sit. I can't shake the image of her dangling there from my thoughts. She has woken up to another beautiful day, unaware of the magnitude of the situation. I am appreciative beyond words. The last few posts have ironically been all about Claire, a tribute almost. The fact that I have an opportunity to write many more posts about her makes my gratitude know no bounds.

I will squeeze her a little tighter. I will hold my tongue when the yogurt she is eating "like big girls" oozes past her bib and invades clean pants territory. I will let her smash a second helping of chips into her mouth, pretending not to see. I will push her on the swing for the 4th "last" time, because I can. Because, for whatever reason, this scatterbrained, impatient, mostly pessimistic woman is somehow worthy of being a mother to a miraculous, independent, remarkable two-year-old. I will not take that for granted.

A lullaby for you

Claire told me she wanted to sing a lullaby. Hopefully this lulls you to sleep. Me, it just makes me laugh. Enjoy.

Nope, not twins, but thanks for asking.

Oh my goodness. I have a riot on my hands after posting that pre c-section picture of me. I swear it is just the angle of the picture because I felt pretty whale-like. I was by no means "little" as many of you say. I had gained the average 30 pounds and had a glorious amount of stretch marks! But apparently the way I was standing makes me look smaller than I was (although to me I look pretty darn large!). And aside from the comments, I was even getting emails about it, so I thought I would post a picture of me a week before I had Cora to hush you all up.

In these pictures I was already 2 weeks over due. By this time my whole body had swollen up and I had gained 20 pounds of water weight in those 2 weeks (which was the same amount of weight I had gained up to that point!). My toes were webbed and I had a gross case of cankles (I know, if Mark were not in these pictures you would probably think I swallowed him). I was miserable and huge (oh and keep in mind this was a week before I had her, therefore giving me plenty of time to pack on another 10 pounds of water weight and sink further into a state of depression!).

So here you go. Does this make you happy. Now stop the madness and the hate mail!

Sweet Baby of Mine

It's official. Claire has now crossed over into her terrible twos. That means my baby is no longer a baby. She now wears the same size clothing as Cora (although Cora's torso is longer so she wears a bigger shirt). She talks up a storm. She is still a major bookworm. She loves to sit on your lap and cuddle (mostly with daddy). She loves playing hide and seek. She can almost count to 20 and can say her ABCs. She is a really bright, really funny, really spunky, really brave, really wild, and really active child. She is a smile generator, a mess-maker (um, disaster-maker), a patience tester, and a "song" singer. And we love every bit of her.

Claire Brooklyn entered this world via scheduled c-section on August 28th, 2006 at 7:52 am. In striking contrast to our purple newborn Cora, Claire was a perfect pink color and got her first "A" just seconds after being born: an APGAR score of 9 (already an overachiever!). And because they did not have to whisk Claire away to the NICU like they had Cora, we were able to hold her right away. I admit, I had been losing sleep over my ability to love a second child as much as my first, but in the first few seconds of making her acquaintance, I was hooked. She snuggled into my chest and with that, our family was complete. We are blessed to know her and are eager to watch her grow into a beautiful little girl.

Here Claire is, tucked safely inside me for a few more minutes.

Cora was in awe of her 7lb, 8oz, 21 inch long little sister.

Her announcement picture.

Here she is at 6 weeks. She started smiling around 5 weeks, but would never smile for the camera. I was searching through hundreds of photos to find one of her smiling when I realized that to capture who she really was at 6 weeks, I would have to show her dislike for the camera.

And at 6 months with fabulous chubby cheeks!

All smiles on her 1st birthday.

As Chicken Little on Halloween.

I picked this particular photo for a few reasons. First, it shows her "boppy" (aka. pacifier) which as of 2 nights ago is no more. It was the easiest thing on earth to take away. She is a pretty easy child to reason with and cried for 2 minutes and then practically forgot all about it! Second, this picture was taken in January of this year. Notice how just a few months ago she still had wisps atop her head. I was sure she would be a bald kindergartner. Luckily, she sprouted a few more hairs and the day arrived when a ponytail was realized.

And here she is today. As good parents, we bought her a large supply of copy paper to call her own (the girls are always fighting over paper for coloring purposes). We had a small birthday gathering with my family, ate pizza, sang Happy Birthday and devoured cake. Claire finally realized the attention was directed towards her and loved every minute of it!

Happy Birthday Claire Bear. We are honored to be your parents and love you heaps!

McCall

Although our trip was short, we had so much fun. It was our first family trip alone. We have never been on vacation with both girls unless it was to see family. Our plan is to make it an annual thing.

We loved where we stayed, as did the girls (mostly for the pool!). Mark and I agreed our favorite part was seeing our daughters enjoying themselves so much. They were in awe of everything. The change of scenery made even the simplest things interesting. The girls both agreed their favorite part of the trip was the "beach."

Here are a few of the many pictures I took. I was behind the camera most of the time, but a kind lady at the lake offered to snap a family photo for us. So I am in at least one picture!

The girls enjoying a snack right after arriving at the condo. We were pretty surprised at how well they traveled. We strategically left around nap time in hopes they would sleep on the way. No such luck, but they never complained!
The girls wasted no time getting in the cold water. Mark and I were a little more hesitant!
Mark and Claire enjoying the view.
Cora did not want to be left out of the King of the Mountain fun.
And here is proof I was actually present on this trip.
Cora's "sand castle." It was more of a sand blob, but that is what you get for forgetting the shovel and pails at home!
Claire on her way to help Cora renovate the sand blob.
Note the shovel (aka. sunscreen bottle) in the background.
Claire on the monkey bars at the park by the lake (can you tell she is done with my relentless picture taking!).
Cora's turn.
A trip to McCall is not complete without a stop at Ice Cream Alley.
Claire enjoying her ice cream cone.
As you can see, we spent the majority of our trip in the water.
We saw a lot of happy faces like these on our trip. Now if I can just convince Mark to let me put a pool in our backyard....

Just a spoonful of sugar....

We are getting ready to leave for McCall, Idaho today for an end of summer vacation. The condo where we will be staying has a full kitchen, so I thought we would stock the cooler full of food and eliminate the need to eat out as much (yeah, right!). Let's just say on our trip to the store we bought very few nutritious meal items and leaned more towards the I'm-on-vacation-so-calories-mean-nothing variety.

In that very healthy mix of food was a nice big helping of Fruity Pebbles. I guess this is what I get for feeding my kids sugar cereal!

The last picture I will leave you with is of our stash. What do you think? Enough to give an entire preschool a sugar high?

At least now when you see me upon our return you will understand where the extra cushion on my love handles came from!

The Human Pretzel

I have been subbing for a PiYo class at the gym while the instructor is on vacation. I have the flexibility of a gnat (wait, are they flexible?), so if I were to do a traditional PiYo class it would be comical. Needless to say, I have adapted it to suit my style. But I have been feeling a bit guilty about that. They came, mats in tow, for a soothing Yogaish class and I was making them do hard-core Pilates. Unfair.

I began to brush up on my Yoga. And I did what I always do when I have a need to know. I Googled it. I clicked on the first link and pulled up the first sheet of poses. I decided then and there that my body might have been made to carry and birth a child (although it even malfunctioned while attempting that), but it was not build for this. Trying to twist my body into the following poses would be torture.
Sorry, Yoga. You and me are like oil and water. So until further notice, the 4:30 PiYo class has been changed to the 4:30 Power Pilates class. Deal with it you Yogis.

Pam, you rock!

We had family pictures taken last night and I had every intention of waiting until we got them all back to share. But I just loved this one too much! I have to give a shout out to Pam Grant, our amazing photographer. Seriously love her for her endless patience with my girls (oh and with my husband too!). If anyone out there needs some updated family photos, I happen to know a rock star of a photographer!

I get by with a little help from my friends!

Over the last year I have had the opportunity to visit with some great friends I rarely get to see. I often forget how blessed I have been through the years to have been surrounded by such solid friends. As I grew, changed and matured (I know that is debatable!), those friendships did too. I am endlessly grateful for friends. For their advice, for their patience, for their laughter, for their companionship, for their tears, for their humor. So to all of you out there that have put up with me through the years, who love me in spite of my shortcomings, and who have helped me navigate the often crazy path my life has taken thus far, I say thank you. Very much.

The first few pictures were taken when our friends John and Alisa Knight came through Boise. We met them years ago while working at Philmont (although when we met them they were not a "them." In fact, a few months ago I blogged about how Mark and I met, fell in love and blah, blah, blah . In that post I made reference to the moment I knew I loved, loved Mark and how I happened to be on the curb of Mark's recently minted ex-girlfriend. Well, Alisa is that ex-girlfriend and it only gets crazier from there!). Anyway, we love them dearly and have tried to convince them to move closer to us so we can play more often. So the first picture is one Cora took (not bad, eh). We should have let her keep the camera because the 3 photos that followed were our attempts at getting a nice group photo of all of our kids together.
Yep, we know they are crazy!

Next up (and this is a bit old), I had a mini-reunion with my best friends from Yuma: Rose, Amy and Gaylynn (we missed you Edna and Ericka!). We were all pretty much inseparable until my parents decided to uproot our family from sunny Arizona right before I started high school and relocate us to the land of potatoes.
Of course had my parents not done that, I would have never met these fine ladies below. Tara, Sara and Joey were daily staples on my social calendar at Payette High and I blame them for masterminding any trouble I got into (I have to add that false disclaimer because I know you read these mom)!
And last, but certainly not least, we have Treshia, Megan and Debbie from those memory filled college days on Vermont Ave. We met up for dinner last week and I was reminded how it was I survived those tumultuous years. These marvelous girls kept me sane on very little sleep and too much Ramen (okay, who are we kidding, Papa John's pizza!!) and have transformed into remarkable mothers and wives.
I would include a few more gatherings, play dates, etc., but I always forget to take pictures (Amber, Tyson and Eliza!) or small subjects will not cooperate (I guess we must have another "Most Anticipated Play Date of the Year," Andrea!).

So if you don't see your face on this post, that means we need to stop slacking and have lunch already!

And I will end with a favorite quote of mine by Ralph Waldo Emerson:
"A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature."

Well said.

Getting to know me...

Here is enough useless info about me to last a lifetime.

1. I was born in a barn (okay, more of a storage shed, but I think that gives me the right to leave the door open and get away with it!).
2. I love water and all water activities (swimming, rafting, jet skiing, or even just taking a bath).
3.I love to curl my hair even though it only holds a curl for a few seconds. In those few seconds, it makes me feel all girly and pretty.
4. If I could skip the schooling involved, my dream job would be to work at Sea World as a Shamu trainer (it is not that I mind going to school, I just hate most other marine life and have absolutely no desire to learn about them).
5. I used to read the obituaries every day. I only stopped when I stopped getting the newspaper.
6. I love cleaning my house with all the blinds/windows open and with music blaring (although having a husband that works nights and sleeps days does not make that a possibility often).
7. I HATE dirty microwaves.
8. I have a physical handicap that prevents me from being able to fold clothes (or at least that is what I try to make my husband believe).
9. Although I wish them no harm, I hate most animals.
10. I like huge rolling green lawns.
11. I would rather go to a huge amusement park than on a cruise. I love crazy scary roller coasters.
12. I hate scary movies. If you somehow drag me to one, I will close my eyes so I don't have the visual replaying in my mind for days.
13. Aside from the genre mentioned above, one of my favorite things to do is to go see a movie in the theater. I go by myself more often than I go with people. I just love the whole experience and try to make it once a week.
14. I have a special place in my heart for Philmont Scout Ranch and will talk about it endlessly if asked. Doesn't hurt that I met my husband there.
15. I had 21 roommates from the time I graduated high school until I married my husband.
16. I grew up in Arizona and moved (initially against my will) to Idaho on my 14th birthday.
17. I don’t cuss (although I used to use “piss” as a swear word in high school and it drove my mother crazy for good reason).
18. Although I worked at a bank for years, I have never balanced a checkbook. I have also never bounced a check or paid a bill late.
19. I have 2 full sisters, 2 half sisters, 1 half brother, 1 step sister, 1 step-adopted sister and 1 step-adopted brother.
20. I love and am very good at taking tests (I even got a 100% on my driving test).
21. I can do 14 somersaults in a row underwater without pausing for a breath.
22. I love Moxie Java hot cocoa with whipped cream.
23. I love an actual letter in my mailbox (oh and checking the mail too!).
24. I would eat out for every meal if it was feasible.
25. I can triple roll my tongue.
26. I have a speeding problem (seriously I need a Speeders Anonymous or something), and get pulled over all the time. I never ever play the my-husband-is-a-cop card, but I've only ever gotten one ticket for speeding and that was 14 years ago. The last time I got pulled over, it ended up getting me a freelance job.
27. I love to bake (see thighs for proof). I have many cookie recipes memorized and would spend all day in the kitchen if I could.
28. Gilmore Girls is my favorite TV show of all time. I rewatch the entire show each fall.
29. Back in the day I was a pretty impressive swimmer (I even beat a girl who went on to medal at the Jr. Olympics). But when we moved from Arizona, Payette didn’t have a real swim team so I stopped swimming competitively.
30. Volleyball is my favorite sport to play AND watch.
31. I love candy, but am not a huge fan of plain chocolate.
32. I have completed 5ks, 10ks, a half marathon and a full marathon but I detest running. I hate every single step and will complain endlessly about it.
33. I still keep in touch with my kindergarten teacher from Yuma (she even drove 13 hours to come to my wedding!).
34. I love Crunchy Corn Bran and Ohs cereal.
35. I can bend a few of my fingers all the way backwards and touch my wrist.
36. I'm not a reality TV fan, but I'm obsessed with SYTYCD. I secretly rewatch their routines and dance them in my living room.
37. I'm extremely sarcastic and have a super dry sense of humor. Because of that I'm often misunderstood.
38. I sometimes feel guilty because my husband doesn't do normal annoying man things (ie. leave the toilet seat up, watch football all day, leave stinky socks laying around). He's the neat one in the relationship and I'm a walking disaster. He also rarely gets mad about anything and never picks fights. It's pretty easy being married to him.
39. I love board games and would play for hours if my siblings would all move back to Boise (hint, hint).
40. I love when my whole family is together under one roof. Even if we're all just sitting around staring at each other, it makes me so happy.
41. I have been to 29 of the 50 states and my favorite place I've ever been is Maui. I'd move there today if my kids were older.
42. I love the smell of coffee and the vibe of coffee shops, but I dislike the taste of coffee and never drink it.
43. I can barely hold a tune, but music has always been wildly important to me. I come from a family of musicians and while I failed to carry on that legacy, I see glimpses of that musical talent in Cora and it makes my heart happy.
44. Despite the constant ridicule, I do and always will love the New Kids on The Block (back off Krista, Jordan is all mine!).
45. Growing up, I always wanted to change my name to Kimberly (probably because that was my first Cabbage Patch Kid’s name).
46. I love most holidays, but especially love my birthday and the Fourth of July (it's a magical 2 days each year). The whole Christmas season makes me giddy. I even look forward to St. Patrick's Day.
47. I appreciate places where people greet you or wave in passing, even if they don’t know you (i.e. Cimarron, NM).
48. My favorite desserts are Dutch oven cobbler, strawberry shortcake and lemon meringue pie.
49. I prefer to sleep freezing cold under a big blanket, but because I have kids I can’t freeze, that doesn’t happen these days.
50. I rarely cry about real things these days. Sometimes I think I'm emotionally broken. Only a select few have seen me cry over the last few years. But a Hallmark commercial and every episode of Parenthood will have me choking up. I realize the irony.
51. I had really rough pregnancies. My body hates being pregnant. I had so many complications during pregnancy (Hyperemesis Gravidarum, dislocated ribs, polyhydramnious, repeated pre-term labor, in-womb seizures, etc), & delivery with both children that my doctor recommended I not have another one. Good thing I can barely manage being a parent to two and never had a desire to have another.
52. I like pulling weeds. It's oddly therapeutic.
53. I lived in a tent for the 1st 3 months of my marriage. Our date nights consisted of chasing spiders and skunks around our tent while eating trail food, ie. squeeze cheese, squeeze jelly, squeeze peanut butter, etc.
54. I dislike scalloped potatoes, but LOVE potatoes in any other form.
55. My favorite smells are fresh baked bread and Water Babies sunscreen. Both remind me of growing up.
56. I enjoy going out on Friday or Saturday nights because it makes me feel like a normal adult (Mark worked nights for almost 10 years, so date night was always a weekday).
57. The first time I saw my husband I was 30 feet in the air and he was belaying me. I had to immediately trust him with my life.
58. I stapled my bellybutton shut when I was 2.
59. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and I cook breakfast foods for dinner all the time.
60. I worked at Red Lobster for 3 years and successfully described seafood from Tilapia to King crab legs while hating seafood the entire time.
61. I love Family Feud and have a dream of one day convincing my family to be contestants with me.
62. The Bonefish Grill is my favorite restaurant.
63. I have blond leg hair and so I don’t shave nearly as often as I should.
64. I was hit in the eye with a tennis ball at close range my freshman year in high school and it ruined my perfect vision (I only had to wear one contact for 5 years).
65. I would love to eat my way through Italy one day, Eat Pray Love style.
66. I have a very low tolerance for ignorance or bigotry and feel the two go hand in hand.
67. I have never dyed my hair (except for that one hot pink incident in high school when my best friend and I thought that red Koolaid would certainly wash right out!).
68. I have summited the tallest peaks in New Mexico and Colorado. Standing on a mountain top after a grueling hike is one of my favorite things on earth.
69. I am sometimes terrified that my children will turn out like me. I'm trying to raise them to be less narcissistic and selfish because I'm regrettably both.
70. I love romantic comedies/chick flicks as long as there is obvious and believable chemistry between the leading actors. But then I get mad when they don't love each other in real life.
71. I watch Love Actually and The Family Stone every holiday season. I love everything about both films.
72. I used to collect chapstick in high school and carry it around in the huge pocket of my winter coat (I once had 22 different varieties at one time).
73. I used to really care how my children looked when they went in public. I'd put a lot of time and effort into Cora's outfits when she was younger. Now if I can get them dressed and out the door on time, I claim victory. They may or may not have their hair brushed and they may or may not be wearing dirty underwear.
74. I really like photography of the un-posed variety.
75. I hate talking on the phone, but will to maintain relationships that are important to me. I do however have one friend (who really doesn’t like talking on the phone either) who I can talk to for 2 hours and it feels like 5 minutes.
76. I think sitting down as a family for dinner is extremely important (even if you are just eating Papa John’s pizza. Especially if you are eating Papa Johns.).
77. I baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies and brought them to a job interview in college. I ended up getting hired (he says because of the cookies!) and working there off and on for 6 years. I still keep in touch with the boss that hired me.
78. The Budd family spaghetti and meatball recipe aside, I love fake Italian food (think Olive Garden).
79. Both of my daughters have the initials CBA (yep, that’s ABC backwards), although that was not planned.
80. I ran for class president in 6th grade and my campaign slogan was “Stop, Amber Time” (in case it has been too long and many of you have forgotten, “Stop, Hammer Time” was cool back then!). I even did a rap to it changing the words as my campaign speech and got a standing ovation.
81. I am an introvert trapped in an extrovert's body.
82. Although we fought like cats and dogs growing up (think biting, scratching, throwing hot irons at each other), I am closer to my sisters than anyone (spouse excluded).
83. Before cutting myself on an A&W root beer mug while working in high school, I had never been to the hospital (not even when I was born, remember).
84. My mom used to take us on Mommy-daughter dates occasionally and let us pick out one small trinket to take home. On one of those dates I wanted to buy strawberry toothpaste and we fought about it until she finally let me. It was the most disgusting stuff! Why do we never listen to our mothers?!
85. I have a strange memory. I never use a calendar to record appointments, but I never miss them. I can remember the birthday of my high school best friend’s boyfriend’s mother and most of the birthdays of my high school boyfriend’s family. I usually remember useless bits of information and forget the important things.
86. I love to host things (i.e. baby showers, parties) and organize events.
87. I can still sing the Fifty Nifty state song that I learned in 5th grade, so I know all 50 states in alphabetical order.
88. Once, as an April Fool’s joke, my sister and I recorded a local radio station and then dubbed a “news break” onto it saying that Jon Knight (my little sister’s favorite of the New Kids) had been killed in a car accident. She started crying and we got in trouble.
89. I was a registered Boy Scout of America for 3 years.
90. Although I am not superstitious, my car broke down on 2 Friday the 13th in a row leaving me stranded on the freeway between Boise and Payette twice (it was a Feb and March I think, so they fell on Fridays 2 months in a row).
91. If money were not an issue and I could only shop at one store for the rest of my life, it would be Banana Republic.
92. My hair turns bright green if I don’t wash it out after swimming.
93. As a general rule, I throw everything away. But for some reason I kept a crisp dollar bill I got in 5th grade for having perfect attendance.
94. Speaking of perfect attendance, I had perfect attendance during my entire elementary education. Never missed a single day K-5.
95. I have no fear of spiders, bees, snakes, etc., but even the thought of a scorpion makes me shudder.
96. I love watching huge thunder/lightening storms roll through (think monsoon season in New Mexico).
97. My favorite thing about camping is sitting around a campfire at night, wrapped in blankets telling stories.
98. The first things I look at when I am in someone’s house for the first time are the pictures they have framed. I think you can tell a lot about a person by the pictures they choose to display.
99. I have fond memories of doing dishes (the old school way) while my mom or my sisters rinsed and dried them. Many great songs were written (I use the word “great” loosely) and many great conversations were had (that is when I learned there was no Santa, Easter Bunny or Tooth Fairy).
100. I'm a pretty open person. I will tell you how much I weigh, how much money we make a year, how disastrous my house looks on a daily basis. But there are things I keep close to the vest and will never share.So I guess that makes me an over-sharer of mostly useless information.