Wednesday, December 28, 2011

When it rains...

Make sure to wear your super cute frog rain boots!

:-)  These photos just make me smile!!!

Friday, December 9, 2011

Happy Birthday Jonathan!!!!!

This post is dedicated to my sweet sweet hubby on his birthday (which was yesterday....I started the post yesterday but didnt get it completed). I just want to say I am so blessed to have him by my side and to call him my husband and best friend! I am so glad that we are together and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with him! I honestly could not have made it through the past two and a half weeks without him. He has been so wonderful throughout the birth of our son and thereafter. During labor and delivery he was so sweet and caring and stayed by my side the entire time. He was helpful and went to great lengths to make me comfortable. After the birth he was a doting husband and father. Once we got home he cleaned, made me comfortable, helped with the baby and helped me in anyway possible. When I got sick he became even more helpful and it makes me appreciate him even more than I already do. I appreciate his thoughtfulness, his humor, the way he adores our son, the way he wants to raise our family, his strength, his compassion and even his sarcasm. :) I adore him in every way possible and want him to know I love him more and more each day!!! I hope his birthday is amazing and that he has many many many more birthdays to come!!!! I love you honey!!!

 Picture taken by my friend Di!  Isn't it cute??? 

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Cutest Baby Ever

So my best friend Di came over and took all sorts of adorable photos of Mister Parker.  They turned out amazing and I am going to upload a few of my favorites!  Her pictures were just amazing and I'm so glad I can call on her whenever I want some amazing photographs!!!  I also think that it was easy to get awesome photos because she was working with the cutest baby ever...yes, I do believe that I am one proud mama.  :-)




Thanks Di you are the best!!!!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Parker

I am so pleased to announce the arrival of our precious bundel of joy!!! He was born on Monday night at 10:09 weighing 8 pounds and six ounces! I am also pleased to say that I had a natural birth without any medications and I remained very calm cool and collected which is saying something for me as I am usually not!  I think I even surprised the doctors!  I think he looks a lot like his dad especially if you saw his dads baby pictures!  Now the true adventure begins without all the things that come with having a baby!




Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Waiting game....cloth daiapers...and other shenanigans

Waiting games....I despise waiting for things.  I am not a very patient person and I am easily excited by special occasions or anything else that could be potentially exciting so this whole waiting for Parker to make his entrance into the world is really starting to irk me.  I do believe its irking me more because it seems that I'm not making any progress anymore....

At my 36 week appointment I was 50% effaced.
At my 37 week appointment I was 2 cm. dilated and 70% effaced.
At my 38 week appointment I was 2 cm. dilated and 80% effaced.
AND at my 39 week appointment I was still 2 cm. dilated and 80% effaced...no change, nada, nothing, zero, zilch. At least each of the other weeks had some progress and I was moving forward but it seems I'm stuck at this stage until he decides that its time to come out!  As my dear grandmother told me on the phone yesterday "when the apple is ripe it will drop!"  So when he is ripe/ready he will come out!  So now I am just waiting for this exciting occasion and wishing it will be sooner rather than later! 

After our appointment yesterday we went to all the local stores to return some things from our baby showers!  One of those things being diapers!  It seems that I got one package of diapers in every single gift I received!  That is very nice and I am sure that most people are very excited about getting diapers however I am planning on using cloth diapers (gasp) and the disposable ones are not going to be very useful for me!  I feel like I've told almost everyone I know about using cloth diapers and how excited I am about using cloth diapers and yet I still received so many packages of disposables!  I wonder if they think I am going to change my mind? Or if they think she is the looniest chic I know and there is no way she is going to go through with this? Or if they are just like she is not thinking clearly she obviously needs a push to use disposables?  Who knows but I am of the stubborn sort and I AM going to use cloth diapers and it makes me want to use them even more when I get such odd/baffled looks from the people I tell that I am using cloth diapers!  Their guffaws just make me even more motivated to use them!  I am going to use some disposables when I am at church or I have someone else watch him because I do not think its fair for other people to have to change a cloth diaper especially when most seem so opposed to it!  BUT 90% of the time he will be in cloth diapers!  Now I really hope that since I've put this out there for the whole wide world to see that I don't eat my words! :-) 

One of the other things we returned last night was all the Johnson and Johnson baby soaps/shampoos that we received!  My mom thought this was silly as that's all most people ever use including her!  However after reading This Article about their soaps it made me think twice about using it on my baby!  Now these two cancer causing ingredients have also been found in some Aveeno products as well so I also got rid of the Aveeno products that had these bad things in it!  We decided to try Earth's Best brand so we shall see how that works out!  I've also ordered a few things that we were needing for Parker's arrival such as a baby book, a monitor, some more cloth diapers and cloth diaper detergent!  The only thing I can think of that we do need a some point is a breast pump which I am going to get from my sister in law (one of her friends is an OB nurse and can get me one from the hospital she works at!).  So I am feeling all ready to go!!!  I've ready my baby books (What to Expect When You're Expecting and Baby Wise), I've gotten everything set up and washed, I've cleaned most of the house thoroughly, I've finished a scrapbook, I've started/almost finished my Christmas shopping and now we are just waiting on Parker's arrival!!!!  Until then I will find some other things to do around the house, maybe I'll play the piano, make some cards, cook/bake, do some crafts and continue cleaning the nooks and crannies that seem to always stay dirty!  Hope everyone has a great rest of the week!!!!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

4 Years

Four years ago I married my best friend!  I am so proud to say that we are more in love than ever and our relationship is continuing to grow each day!  We are far from perfect but we are perfect for each other!  We don't always see eye-to-eye or have the same ideas but that's life!  In the past four years we've built our house, gone on vacations, got to know each other better than I'd ever realize, experienced many losses, built numerous lasting friendships, grown in our faith and started a family!!!  I am so blessed to have him by my side each step of the way through this journey of life!!!  I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us and what new adventures come our way!  I do believe that starting this fifth year will bring about a whole new set of challenges and dilemmas but I know we can get through it!  With our first baby on the way anytime I know this next year will be quite an adventure!!!  I love you babe and I can't express how much I appreciate you!!! 

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Ohio

So as many of you know I had a trip planned for Ohio the 26th, 27th and 28th!  Let me first explain a bit about why I was going to Ohio being 36 weeks pregnant!  Over the past 6 years that I've been dating/married to my husband my mother has heard my mother-in-law talk about going on bus trips to the Longaberger Factory in Dresden, Ohio.  Shes talked about how much fun it is, how you can get awesome shopping deals and much much more.  So of course my mom finds out about this Longaberger Bus Trip that was scheduled for October 2011 and she started planning right away!  I think she started talking about the trip in December 2010 and by January 2011 she had me talked into it!  She really wanted to take a trip together before I had kids and thought this would be the perfect one!  So I agreed!  It wasn't just my mom and I on the trip it was also my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and my hubbys great-aunt who is kinda like his grandmother.  So we paid for our trip in January to reserve our spots and then in the beginning of March I found out I'm expecting and that when we left for the trip I would be 36 weeks along!  Needless to say the trip was something I wanted to do with the lovely ladies in my family but I was really dreading it because I didn't want to deliver my first child without my husband in OHIO!  After getting permission from my doctor on Tuesday and having the reassurance that the hospital in Ohio does at least take my insurance in case of an emergency I was set to go!

We left at 7:30am on Thursday and rode on a charter bus for entirely too long with a total of 49 people (all ladies except for our driver).  We had our own private shopping trips at certain shops where we were given extra discounts and then settled into our hotel rooms late into the night!  I got to sleep with my sister-in-law who is an amazing sleeper and is not disturbed by people who get up multiple times a night!  She didn't hear me get up at all which is impressive!  On Friday we spent most of the day at the Longaberger Factory store where I did get one basket, some cute tumblers, a recipe book and thats about it!  After the store we went to the 7 story Longaberger Headquarters (picture below) where we heard a lady speak who has been with the Longaberger Company for over 30 years and after that we had another private shopping trip to another basket store where all I bought was a liner for the basket I got earlier in the day.
picture courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Longaberger_Company

The picture above is a seven story building shaped to look like Longabergers most popular basket the market basket.  Its insanely large and they've flown a small plan through the handles.  The handles are also heated so that ice doesn't stick to them in the winter! 

We were supposed to shop most of the day on Saturday in the town of Dresden and then leave to head home by 2 or 3 however we had some unexpected weather concerns and we left Ohio at 8:45am to come straight home.  We took a longer alternate route because of the snow (yeah snow in October????).  I was not offended by leaving Ohio early as I was already sore and exhausted from the day before and I was really looking forward to seeing my hubby!  Also if some of those ladies had any more time to shop I don't think we would have been able to fit everything on our bus!  We were already packed to the brim!

Overall the trip went really well and I did have a good time.  I enjoyed spending time with my family and as always I loved shopping.  It was nice to meet some of the other ladies on the trip!  One of the ladies was 80 years old and she was so spry!  It was amazing!  She has 6 daughters, 15 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.  I do think she had more energy than I did!  I was the youngest person on the trip and most of the ladies were probably in their 50's or older.  They were all so sweet and they all doted on me quite a lot since I was pregnant.  They all wanted me to be first in line for bathrooms and offered me their seats etc.  They were so cute!  Everyone was so nice and that definitely made the trip more enjoyable and comfortable.  I am super thankful that Parker decided to stay put until after the trip!  Now he can come whenever he's ready!!!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Forgetfulness

Forgetfulness seems to be a constant thing for me these days. I feel as though I cannot remember what I was doing even 5 minutes ago. Maybe someone took my brain and replaced it with chocolate cake or pie or something? I don't think that's possible but it sure feels like it! The thing that I've forgotten that has bugged me the most is....my watch...it's gone...vanished...misplaced...somewhere that I cannot seem to find! The problem with the watch being gone is that on Friday I did a super major deep cleaning/organization of my house and bedroom. That means I cleaned off my dresser where I keep my jewelry and my watch. This dresser also collects numerous other things including stray books, lotions, makeup, jewelry, hair accessories, random things from my pocket, papers that just seem to collect there...etc. It's a catch all in my room. So I completely cleaned it off, organized it and put things in specific places. All the jewelry is put away, the lotions are in a basket, the papers have been thrown away or put in their proper place, the hair accessories have a drawer, everything is in it's proper place! It looks great and I feel great about getting it done! So here is my delima...I remember telling myself "I am going to put my watch here so I remember where it is." AND I NOW HAVE NOOOO CLUE WHERE "HERE" IS? This is really frustrating me to no end. I searched the entire dresser and it's nowhere. But I know that I put it somewhere specific if I could only remember where that is..... I have been without a watch now for 5 days and I feel as though I've lost one of my limbs or something else really important that you should not lose.  I am just hoping that it turns up soon...Ughhhh the perils of pregnancy!!!!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Feeling Ready

So as the time is quickly approaching that Parker will make his entrance into this world I am beginning to actually feel somewhat ready.  I have my bag all packed and ready to go to the hospital and I have most of his things all packed as well.  There are still a few small things I need to put in our bags but for the most part we could leave with what is in there and be perfectly fine!  I would like to get him a cute going home outfit but if that doesn't happen then there are outfits at the house I can take!  Also the nursery is feeling ready as well!  We have a glider now and the room is organized, his outfits are washed and everything is in order!  Its getting so exciting!!! 

Despite the excitement I am still scared out of my mind at having a newborn!!!!!!  I am just so nervous I won't do something right or that I will drop him or something horrific like that!  I also think I am going to be so paranoid with other people wanting to hold him and being afraid that they will drop him...how do all you other mothers out there deal with these anxieties or am I the only one having these thoughts???  I know these thoughts are realistic and that babies are more resilient than we give them credit for but I'm still paranoid about it!!! 

The past few weeks have been such great fun spending time with family and friends!  Last Saturday my family threw me a baby shower and this Saturday my friends Di and Laurie are throwing me a baby shower!  I almost started crying at the first shower because I felt so loved and overwhelmed by all the sweet gifts!  (Crying is very uncharacteristic of me but these pregnancy hormones have me all out of whack)  And two Saturday's ago I spent the day with my best friend Di and we went to an arts and crafts festival at a local town and it was so much fun!  They had so many unique booths with so much talent there!  It was amazing to see!  Afterward we went to a park and took some pictures of me to document this pregnancy journey!  She has such an eye for the artistic and she did a wonderful job at taking the photos!!! I love them all!!!  Here are a few of my favorites below (these pictures were taken at 33 weeks)!!! Enjoy and hope everyone has a great week!!!



Friday, October 7, 2011

Cheesecake

Pumpkin Cheesecake was my endeavor for today and I am proud to say that it went really well!  This is the first cheesecake that I've made that didn't sink or crack.  I am so impressed that I had to share it with all of you!  I took a recipe from a book I had and modified it a bit to fit what I had in my pantry!  So the recipe below is my altered version!

Crust:
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
32 gingersnap cookies, coarsely crushed
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
6 tablespoons of melted butter


Filling:
3 packages of cream cheese softened
1 cup of packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups of canned or fresh pumpkin
1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup of pancake or maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
4 eggs lightly beaten

1.  Place a greased 9 inch springform pan on a double thickness of aluminum foil; securely wrap foil around pan.  Place walnuts and gingersnaps in the food processor; cover and process until ground.  Add the brown sugar and butter; cover and pulse until blended.  Press onto the bottom and 2 inches up the sides of the prepared pan.

2.  In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and brown sugar until smooth.  Beat in the pumpkin, cream, syrup, almond extract and spices.  Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined.  Pour into crust.  Place springform pan in a large baking pan; add 1 inch of water to larger pan.

3.  Bake at 325 degrees for 60-70 minutes or until center is just set.  Remove pan from water bath.  Cool on wire wrack for 10 minutes.  Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer.  Chill overnight. 

4.  EAT and ENJOY!!!  (Serve with whipped cream)




I am so excited about eating this and don't think I will be able to wait the "overnight" it calls for!!!  My crust is not so superb looking but this might have something to do with the fact that I do not have a food processor and I used my blender...which wouldn't be so bad but I do believe my blender was very angry with me and it didn't get it as smooth as it should!  Oh well!  I can't wait to cut into this beauty!!!  Hope everyone has a great night and wonderful weekend!!! It should be glorious!!!

Monday, October 3, 2011

Beach Pictures

 So I know its taken over 2 weeks for me to put up some beach pictures but here they are better late than never! It was a great week with superb weather!  I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I wanted to but here are a few of my favorites!  

 This little guy was my constant companion throughout the week.  Every time I was sitting on the beach he was out there talking to me!  He had such funny stories and asked tons of questions about everything!  He played bocce ball with us almost every time we were out there.  In the picture above he won the game and so he wanted me to take his picture!  When I said smile this is the face I got!  I'm not so sure if its a smile or a grimace or an I'm confused face! 
Here is my brother in law's girlfriend, my sister in law and my little friend D.  I love the way he has his shorts pulled up!  

 My sister in law and I out on the beach! 
 

 I love the late summer to go to the beach!  Its so much more serene and quiet!  It was the perfect place to have some downtime and enjoy spending time with family!  I learned how to play spades while on vacation and beat my brother in law and father in law in quite a few games of scrabble!  :)  Overall it was a great relaxing week and I'd love to go back sooner rather than later! 

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Beach stories

The beach is one of my all time favorite places to be!  With the sun shining down, the crashing waves all around, and smell of the salty surf in the air its just magnificent!  Beaches are one of God's most beautiful and relaxing creations that I love to visit as much as possible!  This week we are vacationing at the beach and it has already been a blissful few days!  The weather is perfect, the waves aren't too big and the sand isn't too hot!  September is such a great time to go to the beach however you do run the risk of hurricanes that time of year!  We arrived on Saturday after an excruciatingly long and uncomfortable car ride!  We are staying in a duplex house with one family staying upstairs and our family staying downstairs.  The family upstairs has three adorable little boys ages 4, 9, and 11.  They are quite hysterical especially the 4 year old!  He is one of the most talkative 4 year olds I've ever met and I truly hope our little one will be as charismatic and funny as this little cutie pie!  Every day when i see him he tells me his name and then asks mine!  I'm thinking by the end of the week he might remember my name but who knows!  He also sits and talks to me while I am lounging on the beach!  He told me stories of preschool (he bit a little girl over a ball), he tried to dig a hole to China, he played with our bocce ball set, questioned me about everyone in our party, told me about his family/pets and asked me lots of questions! 

The first day out on the beach I was sitting in my chair at the waters edge and he had just come down from the house and became very concerned because he thought my chair was sinking into the water and was getting wet.  He came rushing up "your chair, you chair, its wet, its sinking."  After I explained to him that it was okay that I wanted my chair that way he was okay with me sitting there!  After talking about my chair he pointed to my protruding belly and said "What's that? Why is your belly so fat?"  I then explained to him that I had a baby in my belly and he started laughing.  It was honestly one of the funniest conversations I've ever had! 

Today he talked to me for quite a while.  I was laying on the sand and had dug a hole for my belly to sit in so that I could lay on my stomach.  So while I was lounging he was playing with a shovel and talking to me.  After a while he asked me "Ard you naked?"  I explained to him no that I was wearing a swimming suit.  He then said "No those are underwear."  I then explained again that I was not wearing my underwear that I was wearing a swimming suit.  He then told me "I'm wearing a bimming suit too." It was so comical, and now my hubbys family thinks its so funny that he thinks that I walk around naked/in my underwear while on the beach.

These little boys certainly have made our trip pretty entertaining and fun!  The two oldest boys have thrown football with my hubby, his brother, dad and brother-in-law and then they all played bocce ball together!  Its really cute to see them all interacting with these little ones and how much they mimic and look up to them!  The middle one while playing football would mimic the older guys motions and movements.  One of them would wipe of the ball in the water so he would wipe off the ball int he water, one would rinse of his hands and then he would rinse off his hands, one would run in a pattern to catch the ball so he would run in the patter to catch the ball!  Its really cute!  It makes me smile watching them especially seeing my hubby interacting with them because it makes me even all the more anxious for our little one to get here so that we can have a little one of our own to play with! :-)  10 more weeks to go until his expected arrival and the time will fly by I'm sure!  Anyways, I'm sure I'll post some pictures soon of the sunsets and other beachy things! Hope everyone's week is as relaxing as mine!

Monday, September 5, 2011

Crafts

I have been feeling very craftsy as of late and would like to share some of the things I've made with you!  Around a week ago I made a scrapbook of our Las Vegas trip from Nov 2010!  I love to scrapbook and I figured since the baby will be here sooner rather than later I should really start scrapbooking all the events that I've been neglecting!  I am also going to be making one for our cruise to the Bahamas from Sept 2010!  That will be started sometime here in the near future!  

Secondly I've been wanting to make a taggie blanket for the baby!  So Saturday night I had the house to myself except for the animals and I sewed away!  It's quite cute!  Its got wild animals on one side and then the other side is red and back checkered with paw prints!  I asked my hubby which one I should make and he suggested to do one side in the animal print and the other side in the paw prints!  So I did and I really like it!  I've made numerous taggie blankets before however I've never used my sewing machine so this was my first attempt with using the sewing machine and let me tell you its so much easier and much much faster!!! 


Whilst sewing on Saturday night I received an email from my friend MK about another sewing project that she found!  Since I was in such a crafty mood I decided to attempt that as well!!! I had a shirt that I've never worn because it just never fit right and I was able to make it into something that I really like!  So I'm quite proud of myself for using my sewing machine for two projects this weekend! 
The shirt is slightly hard to see due to its pale color!  I love the idea of "Re-Styling" your closet so I think I'm going to have to see what other ideas this crafty lady comes up with on her blog!  This is also the first outfit where someone who didn't know me asked if I was expecting so that makes me like this shirt all the more!  It's only take 28.5 weeks for someone to ask but they finally did!!! 

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Tea

As I sit here drinking my "peacefuL mama" tea I am so very thankful that this pregnancy insomnia only hits me on occasion! I will just lay awake for hours...thinking of all the things I want to do and need to do! I will think about my day and how the next few days will go...I will think about the baby and wonder who he is going to look like...I will plan out how I want the baby's room to look...I will think of how much work I have to do at work and the expectations that there are so many things to get done...I think about all the crafts I'd love to do...I think about new foods I'd like to try and make...I think and ponder and plan for hours on end! It's not that I am not tired because I really am it's just that my mind is racing and just will not slow down!!! One of my friends gave me this wonderful box of tea that included my peaceful mama tea and now every time I experience these bouts of insomnia I am able to get up from bed, make myself a cup of tea and get back to bed within thirty minutes or so feeling much more calm and ready to rest!!! It has truly been a blessing and I would recommend it to all those prego ladies out there that are suffering from any kind of insomnia!!! The box of tea also included a morning wellness tea, heart burn tea, and third trimester tea! It's a wonderful little box with lots of remedies!!!

So some of the things I've been thinking about this evening include the baby room, whether or not I will have electricity in the morning to make my blueberry French toast casserole, if I should invest in earthquake insurance, if earthquake insurance is even needed, training my dog, making baby blankets, scrap booking, church, painting/decorating the youth room at church, whether a tree will fall on my house during this hurricane and work! So needless to say my mind is not at rest but hopefully here shortly I will be able to get back to bed and get some much needed sleep!!!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011








Our Baby Boy
I know this is a tad late as our ultrasound was over a month ago but here are a few of the pictures of our little one!!!  He is quite the contortionist as his feet are right up beside his head! 
:-)
I love how he is all folded up like a little taco!

I think his pouty little lips look like my hubbys! 

His profile!

And his cute little feet!!!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Email


My dear hubby sent this to me in an email and I must say it sure did brighten my day!  I hope everyone else gets a good chuckle out of this too!  Happy Tuesday!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Fun Times

Words cannot express how much this picture makes me laugh! 

Fun times are to be had when spent with the ones you love!!! 
Hope everyone's week is just as fabulous as mine!!!!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

50 years of marriage

Back in June we celebrated my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary!  It was quite an enjoyable occasion and was wonderful to celebrate such a large marriage milestone when it seems like people these days cannot stay married for more than a couple of years!  I've always thought highly of marriage and taken its covenant very seriously and I hope and pray that my husband and I will some day be able to celebrate our own 50th wedding anniversary!

My grandparents certainly have had an interesting life and they are two of the most hilarious people I've ever met!  I appreciate the time I've been able to spend with them and the things I've learned from them!  My grandfather has suffered from numerous health problems such as heart attacks, strokes and other major medical issues and he is still kickin'!  He to this day still drives his tractor daily, goes out every morning for coffee with some of his buddies and tends to his chickens!  He quite a spry old man considering then amount of health problems he's had in his lifetime!  My grandmother is a lovely southern belle and is one of the best cooks and gardeners I've ever met!  Her flower gardens shame my poor little outside plants!!!  She is a very kind and generous woman and I adore them both! So here's a late happy anniversary post to my dear grandparents!!! May my husband and I have a long healthy life together as you two have had!!!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Posh

Meet Posh
When one might think of the word posh you might think of Victoria Beckham from the Spice Girls or you might think of the definition of posh which is "the quality or state of being elegant, stylish, or upper class (dictionary.com)."  However she is actually the long haired black and white, green eyed, diva that cohabitates the downstairs portion of our house with Fonzie.  She is the newest addition to our family and has a wonderful asset!  We thought of changing her name upon her arrival however the definition of posh truly fits her.  She is elegant, very stylish (pink collar with bell, perfectly groomed etc.) and is upper class as far as cats go!

This is the story about how we acquired such a dear feline!  Around a year ago my dear cat Screamer who lived at my parents house suddenly died.  He was quite a stealthy hunter and was constantly catching things at my parents house and my house (we live next door to my parents).  This was a wonderful thing and ever since his death we have had an influx of rodents.  They are quite pesky litter vermin!  The mice have been building nests in the lawn mower and in my car.  They have also been eating the hood liner out of Jon's car.  The moles have destroyed parts of our yard and continue to reek havoc on our grass!  We've tried almost every rodent repellent out there for mice including traps, poison, deterrents etc.  However they evade them all!  One of the glue traps on Jon's car had traces of a mouse stuck in it and he had chewed himself off of the trap.  It was truly insane half of the trap was gone due to him chowing down on the trap!  Needless to say we never successfully caught any mice!  One day Jon stated "whenever your cat was still alive we never had this problem, we need a cat!"  So hence the cat!  We got her from my aunt and uncle who were looking to get rid of her!  She is indoor at night and outdoor during the day!  Posh has been quite a successful little huntress herself!  In the past two weeks she has caught a mouse, a mole and a rather large lizard!  The rodents can no longer drive us insane as our trustee cat Posh has come to the rescue!  We really enjoy having her around as she is super sweet, mild mannered, puts up with the crazy dog and she hunts!  It was really a win win situation for us and we are so glad to have her!!!  If any of you all have a rodent problem I would consider getting a cat! 

Thursday, June 30, 2011

The past few weeks!!!

Well the past few weeks have been insane for me!  So I figured since I'm having a hard time comprehending it all that I'll just put it all out there in list format!


May 31- Sick with a cold- didn't go to work
June 3- Baby appointment heard the heart beat again!
June 3- Coordinated B's Wedding
June 11- Helped Di and J move into their new space!
June 12- Had a family reunion
June 13- Last day meeting with my client from school and worked late!
June 14- Last day of school and had to clean up my entire classroom without the help of my co-worker which I so kindly let my boss know about along with my other qualms such as tying up the work phone making personal calls for hours, arriving an hour and a half late and leaving a half an hour early daily (when he was putting that he stays all day), sitting on his buttock playing spider solitaire daily and many other things!  I really shouldn't go into a tangent about him now as it will only irritate me even more!  So needless to say he gives the good people that actually do my job a REALLY bad name! 
June 14- Helped Di make cheese balls for the wedding and went to Michales!
June 15 and 16- Spent time helping Di get everything for the wedding together and started decorating!
June 17- Manicures and Pedicures, rehearsal dinner and making corsages! 
June 18- WEDDING!!!! It was so beautiful and was the perfect day for an outdoors wedding!!!
June 18- The right side of my ribcage started hurting
June19- I felt like I'd been hit by truck!  Celebrated fathers day with Dinner at the In-Laws!
June 20- Had to complete a work day at my office!
June 21- Went to the doctor and was told that I might have a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs).
June 22- Had an ultrasound on my legs to check to make sure there were no signs of blood clots!  Everything was normal so that means I've got costochondritis or inflammation in my ribcage!
June 23- Worked in the office for a few hours!
June 24- Had a massage to help my chest- the masseuse said she could feel where my rib cage has started to expand from pregnancy and consequently its angry because it doesn't want to expand!
June 24- Helped my mom prepare food for my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary!
June 25- Celebrated my grandparents 50th Wedding Anniversary!
June 25- Went to a graduation dinner for my hubby's brothers girlfriend!
June 25- Was going to watch a movie with the hubby and was tending to the cat and I bent down and sneezed and heard a terrible popping sound in my chest and the pain I was having was magnified by 10.  So now it hurt to just breath, or move, or do anything. 
June 26- Spent all morning in the ER because my rib cage and chest hurt so incredibly bad!  Was given meds and they took an x-ray and concluded that I've got torn cartilage in my rib cage along with the costochondritis!
June 28- Was told by my doctor not to work the remainder of the week and to just rest which is killing me because I enjoy moving about and getting things done and not just sitting on bed rest!  Thankfully I have had a few close friends come visit me and it definitely made my time of sitting at home much easier!!!

So needless to say June has been insane and I hope that July will be better for me health wise!  I loved doing all the weddings and had so much fun coordinating, decorating and doing flowers for them and I do believe I would make a great wedding planner/coordinator and should really look into that!  Maybe someday...But now that July is upon us I really need to relax and get better and take it easy!!! 

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Di's Weekend!

So this weekend we celebrated for Di's bachelorette party by heading to the Melting Pot (if you've never been you're missing out) and playing board games at my house!!! I really had a great time and it was really nice to spend time with all of the girls that are going to be in her wedding!!!  I ate my heart out, laughed an insane amount and got to spend time with my best friend!!! All in all Saturday was a great day!!!  I forgot to mention that my Saturday started off spending it with Di too!  We went yard sailing and bought some super cute cloth diapers and had coffee!  Today Jon and I spent the day with my family at a family reunion!  It was great to see some of my cousins that I hadn't seen since last year at the family reunion!  Tomorrow both Jon and I have off and we are looking forward to relaxing and just spending some quality time together!!!



Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Strawberries!

I adore strawberries and once strawberry season comes in I get ecstatic!  I went and picked around 10 pounds of strawberries last week and they are...all gone!  I made strawberry pie, strawberry whipped sensation, homemade strawberry ice cream and I ate tons without anything at all! 


The Strawberry Whipped Sensation is a Kraft recipe and is wonderful!  I love the combination of strawberries and oreos!!!

 

Picture courtesy of Kraft       


Monday, April 25, 2011

My Long Weekend

My weekend officially started on Wednesday at 3:00pm! 
Spring Break for those in the school system!  So we had off Thursday, Friday and Monday!  So five whole days to sleep in, organize, socialize, and get tons accomplished!!!  Thursday I spring cleaned my house!  It was in dire need of some tlc!  I even paid my lovely grandma come help so we had two people cleaning cleaning cleaning!  I washed windows, cleaned up the kitchen, wiped down walls and tons of other things!  All in all it was very productive!!!  Friday I spent my morning working with my new client at work and then spent the afternoon baking in preparation for Di's Bridal Shower!  Friday evening we had dinner with my parents, then finally got my new table upstairs (thank you Wes for buffing it!!!), and then went to buy birthday gifts for my dad and my hubby's dad!

Saturday was so splendid!  Di's Bridal shower was excellent and she got tons of great gifts to start out their new life together!!!  On Saturday evening we celebrated birthdays (my dad and Jon's mom have the same birthday and Jon's dad's birthday was the week before) so we did a big family dinner and had cake!  It was really nice!  On Sunday we had Easter Service at church and then had lunch at my aunt and uncles and dinner at Jon's parents!  It was great day and oh so glorious weather!  That brings me to today where I am doing absolutely positively nothing!  I wanted at least one day to relax before getting back into the hustle and bustle of work!  I've done pretty good job of relaxing today...I slept in, watched a movie, took the hubby lunch, read, blogged...and eventually I will get up and attempt to make something for dinner!  I truly dread going back to work as its been so nice to have a few days off!  I just have to think to my self 6 1/2 weeks to go...6 1/2 weeks to go.... 6 1/2 weeks to go!!!  I can do summer will be here before we know it!!!

 My new table and chairs!!

 The Spread!!!

 Raspberry Brownie Kabobs!

 Cucumber Dill Sandwiches

Peacock cake!!! It was chocolate filled with raspberry filling!!! So Yummy!!!
(A lady at my church made this!!!)

Saturday, April 16, 2011

RAIN

Dear Rain,

Go Away!  You have ruined my brothers hard work of putting down mulch and have created hard work for my hubby.  We are agitated with you and are really ready for the downpours to stop. 

Thanks,
D

Yes that pile of red mud mixed with mulch used to be our patio...

Saturday, April 9, 2011

The Fonz

So last weekend I took my dear doggie to get a haircut!  He was getting quite...gross.  Haircuts are quite an ordeal for him and leave him utterly exhausted!  Its usually a 5 hour process!  We drive for 30 minutes to the PetSmart.  He despises this part because usually he rides on my lap when Jon drives but since I was driving he rode on the passenger seat...by himself (I might add that he was very verbal on the way there because he is so unhappy that he has to sit by himself).  After arriving at PetSmart it usually takes between 3 and 4 hours!  This particular day it took 4 hours!  After picking him up he again sits in the passenger seat but this time he was so incredibly tired he just curled up and slept the entire 30 minutes back home!  After getting home he napped all evening!  He's certainly all tuckered out!  At least he actually looks white again!  Thankfully he only needs haircuts every 3 months! 

 How can that be comfortable?
  Sooo sleepy!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Favorite Season

So my dear gal pal Kels has posted a $25 Starbucks Card Giveaway on her lovely blog AND I have decided that who doesn't love $25 to spend at Starbucks so I will comply with what the blog wishes...  According to K we had to post on her blog our favorite Starbucks drink (mind is a Grande iced white peppermint mocha with whip) and one of the other things we had to do was to tell our favorite season which I figured I'd blog about. 

What is my favorite season?  Tis a very good question.  I've always thought that it was Summer with the lusciously warm weather and time to spend at the pool but as I've aged I've begun to appreciate each season with the respect that they all deserve!  I truly adore every season (by the end of the season I am usually ready for the next).  There are so many splendid things that accompany each season!

Spring-  We are entering into spring full force around these parts and it is so exciting!  The hints of new growth, fresh flowers, mild temperatures, April showers and lots of birthdays (both of my parents birthdays and both of J's parents birthdays are in the spring)!

Summer- I love summer for so many reasons!  My birthday happens in the summer, its hot, the sun shines almost every day, I get to go to the pool (this year more that most! woot...and that means Kels I am coming swimming at your house this summer), spending time with friends, making homemade ice cream, gardening and canning!

Fall- The colorful foliage gets me every fall!  It is so magnificent!  Fall brings lots of fun craft festivals, cooler temperatures, my anniversary and the start of a new school year.

Winter- Its one of those seasons that is much anticipated and then after many many months of it I am ready for spring.  I love sitting by the fire, reading good books, sipping hot cocoa (or starbucks coffee) and watching the snow fall.  I love getting snowed in and I even like when the lights go off for just a few hours!  I find it very exciting!   

There are so many great things about each season that its hard to pick a favorite!  :-)  I am certainly glad that Spring is here!  I have new grass growing! Woo Hoo!!!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Near Miss Day

So I wanted to come back and post another quick tidbit about a random holiday that most of you do not know much about or maybe you don't know anything about it at all.  Its called Near Miss Day and I just found out about it today from my handy dandy calendar in my kitchen.  This day commemorates a day from March 23, 1989 where a mountain sized asteroid passed within 500,000 miles of our lovely planet Earth.  This asteroid would have been equal to the strength of 40,000 hydrogen bombs and would have created a crater in the earth the size of Washington D.C.!  I cannot imagine the impact that would have had on the world as we know it!

The reason I knew about Near Miss Day was because I was going to write about fitness week which I did and I wanted to see what random holiday was listed on my calendar and it was "Near Miss Day."  It felt very fitting after the day I've had however the "Near Miss" that the actual Holiday is referring to is a whole lot bigger than my near miss today at work.  SO I shall explain about my near miss experience.

My near miss experience happened after lunch today...As I was walking down the hallway towards my classroom I hear a great ruckus (yelling, cursing, the brewing of a fight)... and I come around the corner and find myself in the midst of an altercation between two peers and had to intervene.  And it was a Near Miss that I didn't get punched in the face (although it was rumored that I got punched in the face)!  My wrist is hurting a bit and I was kind of pushed into the lockers but it was ultimately a Near Miss and I am quite thankful for nearly missing getting punched in the face.

After the altercation I had an insane amount of adrenaline coursing through my body.  I was shaking all over just from the adrenaline!  I was not hurt or anything but it was just such an insanely surreal experience!  After my near miss and my adrenaline high my body just crashed...I had a headache, could not focus, and was so so so tired.  So after coming home and napping for an hour and a half I am feeling much more bright eyed and bushy tailed.  I am hoping for a very uneventful day tomorrow and since it is National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day I think I will be celebrating with some Raisinets!!!  Cheers for a delightful day tomorrow!!! 

Fitness Week

So this week has been fitness week at the high school I am stationed at!  There are quite a few exciting activities going on for fitness week that I would love to share!!!  First and foremost is that all teachers and staff are allowed and encouraged to wear "fitness" clothing during fitness week!  So that means tennis shoes, sweat pants, and sweat shirts as opposed to dress pants, sweaters and uncomfortable shoes!  So that made picking out my outfits much easier!  :-)  The second thing is that there is a staff wide pedometer challenge and each of the staff members who wants to participate are given a grade that they are walking for and they have to report their steps at 3:30 to the PE teachers so they can tally them up!  I was absent Monday however Tuesday I got 12,479 steps and today I had 9,166...I know I'm slacking today.  I am walking for the Sophomore team!  One of the teachers has been using her planning period to go running and has been killing us all on steps this week!  Yesterday she had over 18,000 steps and today she beat her record from yesterday!  That is just insane!!! More power to her!  Anyways, other activities this week include kickball tournaments, hockey tournaments, basketball, yoga, dance lessons, Wii games, walking on the track, and Zumba!  Today was the Zumba workout and let me tell you it is quite a workout!!!  I decided to give it a try and those little ladies doing the instructing shook things that I didn't know could shake!  I have absolutely no rhythm and cannot move gracefully at all so I ended up looking like a flicted stringbean...all arms and legs flying around without any rhythm...Needless to say it was tons of fun and totally amusing!  Another exciting thing was that the culinary arts class made a "healthy snack" for all of the students at the school!  I got one of the extras and it really was fantastic!  It was granola with raisins, cranberries, and nuts!  So fitness week has proven to be a great hit thus far and my students have had a great time!!!  I know I've enjoyed it!!!  Tomorrow I am excited to be wearing my old life-guard t-shirt...I'll have to reminisce my life-guarding days at a later date... I don't have the energy for that today! 

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Give me your eyes



This song has really been convicting me lately that I need to love others unconditionally and that I really and truly need to pay more attention to those around me!  There are tons of hurting people out there and I see so many of them on a daily basis!!!  Now I just need to practice it!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Glorious Sundays

After a dreary week today was such a beautiful day!!!

I wanted to spend time outside but felt the need to do my paperwork... J encouraged me to spend some time outside with Fonzie while he washed the cars SO I decided hey an hour of this sun shiny day could do my heart good!  So outside I went with a blanket and a book to settle down and supervise Fonzie while he was playing!  I decided to only spend an hour reading so that I could also get some paperwork done!  I was very engrossed in my book and did not want to put it down and felt that according to my watch I had plenty of time for paperwork!  It was only when I realized that I forgot to set my watch back an hour (daylight savings fun fun) that I realized I had no time left, we had to leave in an 30 minutes for Church and due to my lack of supervision of the Fonzie he also needed a bath!  So that left no time for paperwork!  I must say it was really nice to just relax in the sun under a blazing blue sky and read! 

My View

Rolling around in the leaves...

Completely Covered in leaves!

 Can't wait to see leaves up there!!!

Enjoying the sunshine!!!
If you want to see the sunshine, you have to weather the storm.
Frank Lane