A little bit at a time

17-18 Months

2011-06-28T06:35:00.000-07:00

32 inches tall (50-75%) and 23.7 lbs (25-50%)
48.5 cm head circumference (90-95%)

-4/2/2011 No more night time bottles!!! Daddy was reluctant to let this one go, but after about 3 minutes of crying you were SOOO over it!! You sleep through the night from about 8-9pm to 7-730am.
-Bath times are still fun and you play a lot more. You still like to drink the bath water and it still grosses me out. But now your like to "wash" your hair and body.

(Playing in Daddy's shorts after bath time.)

-You wake up happy and ready to rule the world in the morning. Breakfast is pretty easy, it's either cereal, yogurt, or toast w/ a glass of milk and fruit if we have it. You don't like the sweet cereals for breakfast, so we are a Cheerio, Rice Krispy, Raisin Bran type of house most of the time. Ethan is only allowed to have sweet cereals on the weekends and you usually steal some of his dried cereal and munch on it.
-Lunches are another easy one....lunch meat and cheese, pasta, or sandwiches, but you still open them up and eat all of the goodies out. But you are getting better about eating them whole.
-Dinners are whatever we eat. Your favorites are rice, meat, noodles, fruit, and veggies. You've started eating salads lately too, but not if I give you your own. You like to munch on other peoples.

(Popsicle for desert!)

-You've started singing lately and it's the cutest thing. But every time I get out my camera to record you, you stop. Dancing is another fun thing you've really gotten into lately. So now I've just got to figure out a way to secretly record you.

-You are a very sensitive, silly, independent little girl. If your in a mood then it takes you a decent amount of time and loves to get out of it. And right now you are love doing things all by yourself. We bought a puppy backpack w/ a leash and you love it. You don't like to be held much in public anymore because you want to explore and "help".

(Being silly in Daddy's riding goggles.)

(Helping Mommy on the computer.)

-You still have your shy moments and when people come up to you family or not you bury your head in our shoulder or lap to hide until you are ready to socialize.

(Snuggled up and hiding in our bed.)

-We went shopping w/ Grandma Lani over the weekend and you got to "help" her shop by trying on the jewelry, hats, and purses. And then you got seriously mad when we wouldn't let you put on everything when it was your turn for clothes.

-I've been able to paint your toenails now and I get a "Woo-Hoo", when they are done and we've blown them off.

-You are talking a little better now, but still say stuff that we mostly understand. "Hi" is still one of your favorites and you Hi everyone if your in the right mood. You know all of the body parts on your head and we are working on the others. Belly, feet and hands you are ok with but need a little help on hands and feet.
-At your 18 month check up you only had to get one shot and didn't cry! I was a proud Mama. You just gave the nurse a dirty look and that was that. We went and had breakfast w/ Ethan then took him to school.
-We've gone out a few times w/ my new camera and played. I'm trying to get as many shots now so when I have time to learn how to edit them I'll have a good stock. So we have some at the park, baseballl games, and outdoors.

Until next time baby girl! We love you......

15-16 Months

2011-03-24T13:14:00.000-07:00

Height: 2 ft and 8 in tall
Weight: 24 lbs 5 oz
Head: 48.26 cm

-You do or undo everything behind me. If' I'm taking clothes out of the dryer you are putting them back in. If we load the dishwasher you put your cups in there too. Now I've gotten you to help me load the dryer, but you still take stuff out of the dishwasher so we are always on the hunt for dishes.

-You brush your hair and teeth like we do, and started walking around w/ my bottles of hairspray and bonking yourself in the head with it. We've had to trash a few toothbrushes because they end up in the toilet.
-You like to dip your head in the bath tub to get your hair wet and then you try and eat it. You've also learned how to take the cup and pour water over your head.
-If we leave the bathroom door open you will run in there and rip tiny pieces of TP and put them in the potty and try and flush it.
-We bought you a potty seat and stool this past week b/c when I'm on the potty you back up to me so I will pick you up and sit you on my lap. So far you haven't done anything on the seat yet, but you'll get the hang of it.
-Last night we tried before and after bath time and you just weren't going to go, and then decided to pee on my office chair. Guess that was more your style....
-Today you were playing in there and shut the door behind me and tried to reach your potty seat and then ran over to your stool. So at least you know where it goes. Now it's just how to use it.
-You still laugh when you fart! But you don't make noises when other people do it anymore. You do make copy-cat noises when others burp, cough, or sneeze. And you pant like a dog when ours do too.
-I absolutely love how you just do things that seem so serious but end up being funny or silly. You are doing things for the reactions now, needless to say Ethan gets the brunt of your abuse because he can't help but giggle when you bite, hit or pull his hair.
-You are still our share baby. Anywhere we go you try and share whatever you have with someone. You still feed the dogs your food and they still get in trouble for hovering around you while eating.
-Keys are your favorite toy right now. You will play with them forever. But they have to be real keys and not your keys, you loose interest in those too fast.
-You've also discovered how much fun baby powder is to play with.

-You understand a lot more than you can say at this point, and you are trying to figure out everything you can get your hands on.

-Trying to put on Daddy's shoes...

-Carrying anyone's purse that you can get. As long as it's not yours it's good to play with.

*Words you understand: upstairs, downstairs, bath, cup, eat, be nice, yucky, don't touch, ouch, hot, no, give it to me, all done, shoo-wee, and others that I can't think of right now.
*Words you can say so we understand: Mama, Dada, Ethan, brother, more, up, ouch, all done, Ahh with your mouth open is a drink of what ever we have. (These are all up to whether you want to say them or not.)
*Body parts you know: Nose, you either stick your finger up it or pinch it. Belly, you tickle you belly with both hands. We are working on eyes, hands, mouth, hair, and ears.

Gabrielle and Daddy...he has to work for his kisses now by making her laugh! And we didn't show the exchange of gross noises because it's so much more fun to imagine them. It seems the grosser the noise the funnier you think it is.

13-14 Months

2011-02-01T14:33:00.000-08:00

I've decided to try every other month and see how that goes.

You are growing so fast and learning so much. It truly amazes us.

Our sweet little angel full of sass.

And such a happy girl, you make us giggle when you laugh!

-You now have four teeth (two on top and two on bottom).

-You run and squeal with excitement when Daddy comes home from work.
-You play "ouch" and "peak a boo".
*We are working on you being nice instead of the ouch game. Which is you either smacking one of us or yourself and saying ouch! It was kinda funny the first few times but now it's gotten old. And it really hurts when you try and ouch us with your head.
-You mimic EVERYTHING we do. You don't want 'your' toys, you want what we use. My house is still a constant mess and I don't think it will ever be clean again.

-You've gone #2 on the potty twice and I thought that was really cool. It was after bath or mid bath and you didn't freak out but just sat there and did your business and when you were done, you wanted to go play. Simple!
-Now your starting to figure out how things work and want to use them. We've had to barricade the water cooler until I can install the childproof faucets and that doesn't even really help cause then you'll go fill up your cup in the dogs water....grosss!! But most recently you've figured out the water dispenser on the fridge. In a few months when you are taller we'll be in serious trouble.

12 Months and then some!

2010-12-10T10:45:00.000-08:00

30 in tall, 23.4 lbs, and 48cm head

Happy Birthday baby girl!

This month has been so full of so many things that it's taken me a while to write this.

You have 3.5 teeth
Still like to drink your bath water
Let me do you hair
Pester your brother at any given chance
You grab Dina's tail and chase her around and giggle while doing it
You are working on being a better communicator
Meal time is still fairly easy and you eat most things
Bottles are for night time only now
You run from us now when you grab stuff you not suppose to have
My house is destroyed by the end of the day
Naps are down to one per day
You still cry when people leave
Bouncy Bouncy is a favorite thing right now
You gave kisses for a while and have now stopped but you now give hugs
You are still a great share baby and share everything
"Ow" is your favorite word right now
You have the silliest most demented laugh that makes everyone else laugh

We had to take you for an MRI for your too big head and everything came back normal

**I will work on video uploads later. I have them for Ethan's football and more from Gabrielle's birthday.

Gabrielle 11 Months

2010-11-10T07:21:00.000-08:00

Before we get started...Happy Halloween!! This was your first...

Your so close to walking and getting braver by the day. You've started taking multiple steps at a time before falling down. As of 11.5.10 you are now walking more than crawling. You can make it from the living room into the kitchen. You still have the wobbly walk and I love it. It's so adorable to see you hands up and you teeter back and forth. ** Update as of 11/8/2010 you are now walking more than crawling and prefer to walk.**

Bath time is still one of your favorites; you like to eat the bubbles in the bath tub and to stick your face in the tub and drink your bath water. It's all fun and games until you suck water up your nose and you start sneezing. But it is pretty cute when you come up with a face full of bubbles and start laughing.

You are into EVERYTHING! My kitchen is a disaster by the time you are done. Every cabinet, closet, and the refrigerator are cleaned out and the books on our shelf are scattered on the floor.

So far you have your two bottom teeth and that is all for now. You have your own toothbrush and toothpaste and try to copycat me and brush your teeth. I try and brush them and your mouth closes up and you poke out your lips so there is no getting in there.

Temper...Temper..Boy have you got a temper! You throw yourself back, yell, pinch, smack, and grunt when you don't like something. It's not so fun when we are holding you or are the one who made you mad because who ever is closest is going to get your wrath. Depending on what it is and your mood at the moment depends on how fast you get over it. If your super mad, tired, or got hurt then it goes on for a bit. If no one sees it and its just a little oops then you'll move on with out a peep.

There is only one month left (Ok, 5 days) and then your first year with us is over. We move on to the second. You have brought so much joy into our hearts and I can't wait to see what comes next. We love you...

Ethan Bradley 10.5 years old

2010-10-26T10:33:00.000-07:00

For your last check up you were 5'1/2" tall and 105 lbs. You are still in the 95th+ percentile in all areas. When you stand next to me the top of your head reaches my eyebrows. We wear the same size shoe right now which is pretty funny when you goof off and try and wear my heals...(Don't worry, I won't tell anyone! Haha...oops!)

You hate when I use your middle name and get so embarrassed. But that is why you were given one, so you know when you are pushing your luck.

You are in a phase of trying to make everyone laugh but don't always pick the right time to do it. About half the time you end up in trouble for saying something or doing something at the wrong time...like in class or when your suppose to be doing chores. But when you do pick the right time we all end up laughing. You are my silly little/big man.

You still love to snuggle up on my lap, or your head at least when we get a few minutes to watch a show. You still ask for hugs when your insecure or scared. By the way, you still get scared but really try to hide it. You told me the other day that boys don't get scared.....boys are always the ones in the movies going after the monster/evil-dooer to save the scared girls...ahhh...too funny! You watched The Wolfman with us and a few days later there was a full moon. You ended up with a flashlight in your room and howling at the moon on the way home from football practice for a week to overcome your fear. Silly boy!! Now you want to go to your first haunted house. You don't know this yet but your Dad is taking you this week and I can't wait to see how you do. I was hesitant to let you go but you insisted that you were "Man" enough to go. And just knew that I would hold the whole Wolf-man thing against you..."Mom, I'm 10 years old...I can handle it!" Ok, we'll see then won't we....

I know you don't get much time on this blog so I thought I'd write something special just for you.
Love you buddy and until next time!

Gabrielle 10 months and counting

2010-10-04T09:46:00.000-07:00

As usual I'm a bit late on your post; but not to late, you're technically still 10 months.

Oh my how you are growing and coming into your own little person. With in the past month you've gotten your two bottom teeth and I think are working on the upper ones. You're a climber, a runner, a yeller, a talker, a fit thrower, a copycat, and most of all.... a sweet snugly little girl with all of the squish to go with it.

Your almost walking and standing for longer periods unassisted. You are still very sensitive and have tantrums over little things that hurt your feelings.

If you can hike your knee over it you are going over. Now that your getting taller the list of things you can climb is getting longer.

In your walker you run after anything that moves. I've started taking it to the football field so you could play instead of being held. You LOVE it!! It enables you to do your own thing and talk to people, which is tooo cute!!!!

Ok, well kind of running...I didn't get the camera going fast enough. And trying to record you and your brother isn't as easy as it sounds.

You copy cat anything you can figure out. Burping, coughing, laughing, panting (the dogs), chewing, clicking your tongue, clapping your hands. You've figured out how to open the cabinets, the toilet lid, and dresser drawers with minimal finger pinching.

And of course you clean them all out. When you know your doing something your not suppose to you hand everything to us...like everything in my purse! When we take things from you, you have a huge fit and cry like you've been pinched.

Love you munchkin...until next month!!!

The Jamboree...WEEEEEEE

2010-09-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

Ethan's football Jamboree!!! They played six different teams and kicked butt! I don't remember what the scores were but my baby did awesome! As fun as it was to watch him I was so done by the time it was over, it was 100 degrees and little to no wind.

This coming Saturday will be his first official game. I believe it is at 10:45 on the Sierra Vista field. I will send out the info to who ever wants to go. We should get schedules this week to confirm everything. I've also found that DYFLS has a listing of all of the teams in the league, the standings, and the schedules. Ethan is on the Sierra Vista Lions Collegiate team. GO LIONS!!!

#62 with the Black Helmet!

Gabrielle Pictures for your 8th & 9th Month

2010-09-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

8 Months

9 Months

Ethan's First Game

2010-09-08T11:26:00.000-07:00

I'm apologizing in advance because I know that the quality is horrible and the coaches always seem to be in the way, but the pictures came out ok. Next weeks will be better I promise ;) For now you get to enjoy a bunch of kids running around chasing a football!

Ethan is #62 with the black helmet.

Gabrielle 8 & 9 months

2010-08-25T13:53:00.000-07:00

9 month stats: 23 1/2 lbs 28 3/4 in and
46 1/2 cm head circumference
Your in the 95th percentile or above in all areas.

So I'm a big time slacker and missed your 8 month post so this will be a combined post that will include your 8 and 9 month. Since I last wrote you, you were learning how to scoot across the floor and now you are a full time crawler on your hands and knees. You are also walking along the furniture but won't reach to anything if it's not touching. You have a weird obsession with shoes (mainly flip-flops) and paper. You dig through the shoe basket just to get to my flip flops and try to eat them, which is really gross! Your paper thing is pretty weird too, but not as dirty as the shoes.
You still eat everything that passes your mouth, which works out pretty well for meal time. Fruits, veggies, meats, noodles, puffy treats....you eat them all. You prefer to feed yourself and usually fight me when I try to feed you. I get to sneak a few bites in occasionally but only a few.
We have your nap times on a schedule now; two per day, and bedtime on your own. Now all we have to do is lie you down with your bottle, turn your music and fan on then you are out. Your back to only waking up about once per night. Next on our list is to get you out of the bedtime/bottle habit.
Your personality is huge. I love it! You are so expressive in everything you do. From your body language to your voice, you are so fun to watch. You dance and bounce up and down on pillows, Dina or Ethan. You are getting to be a good copy cat and mimic noises or actions we do. George is still afraid of you and Dina just puts up with you. Everyone you meet just adores you. You will visit with most people and are getting very independent. At the football fields I have to either sit in the car with you or chase you on the field. You are just getting into doing your own thing.....already!

***Pictures to come soon.****

New Videos

2010-08-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

Gabrielle and her new dorky laugh!

Ethan @ Practice 1 of 2 (He is #62 in the black helmet)

Ethan @ Practice 2 of 2

For all of our family and friends to enjoy!

My LITTLE big 5th grader

2010-08-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

4th grade is almost over....only today, tomorrow, then a half day on Thursday and Ethan is officially a 5th grader. He made A/B honor roll, perfect attendance and a pin for making his goal in Accelerated Reader. He was in the top for checking out books from the school library, #6 in the Top Earners of 4th grade and #21 Overall Top Earner for his school in AR scores. He rocked the end of this year!!
This doesn't include the reading contests and awards he received from the public library. He got a gold medal for reading 20 hours. He was trying to win their summer reading program where children have a chance to win a gift card to Boarders. For every two hours they get a raffle ticket, he didn't win but really enjoyed participating. Needless to say, Ethan LOVES books and we are at the library quite often!

We have now started football and he loves it. He bugs me to get there early and gets upset when I don't let him stay late. The coach told his wife the other day how well Ethan was doing and that he "is" a football player. I know I'm getting it from his wife, but it still makes me happy. I sneak up there early sometimes to watch him practice and he is very much into it! I can't wait to get some pictures of him in his gear.

JumBLe XII

2010-07-28T10:21:00.000-07:00

So in the past 3 weeks that Ethan has had off for track break we have completed his list of "To Do's". I got tired of him saying.....
We never do anything.
Why can't we go here?
When are we gonna _________?
I never get to do ______________.
So this time I had him make a list of the places he wanted to go and the things he wanted to do. Thank goodness I have a son who treasures the little things!
His list was: Go to Library, Wal-Mart, Target, and Glaziers for Ice Cream. For 3 whole weeks and that is all he could think of! I love it :)
I added the going to the water park, the museum, Sonic for a slush, out for breakfast. And if he wanted to do these things he had to help me around the house. Boy did he ever. Our garage is cleaned out, the office is almost transformed into Gabrielle's room, and we've kept everything else clean!

Ethan's school had a father daughter dance around a few months ago and this past month they had a mother son dance. I opted out and let Lani go in my place. I thought she would enjoy some time out with him.

We were able to paint the office and get it ready for Gabrielle.

Jalyn's birthday party fell while he was out and we had a wonderful time. There was swimming, eating, and family. Doesn't get much better than that.

Then we decided to go out of town for fireworks this year. I'm much to chicken to bring the good ones into town and shoot them off, although it doesn't stop everyone else in my neighbor hood from doing it. There is still litter from them over by Ethan's school. I wish I could have gotten pictures of them going off but it was hectic. Definitely something I want to do again.

Gabrielle 7 Months

2010-06-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

This last month has brought out so much of your personality. You have separation anxiety and it's worse when you are tired or not feeling well. When ANYONE leaves the room you cry. Sleep is as you need it during the day, some days you need a couple long naps and others only short ones. Night time is pretty much the same and you only get up once. We are working ourselves into your own bath time instead of showers and so far so good, you eat all of the bubbles you can find and splash until the water gets cold.

You have learned how to pull yourself up on things, and oh my word you are now climbing as much as your little body will let you. Our barricades we've had to make to keep you out from under the tables are stepping stones to get the stuff on the tables. You have a voice, and boy do you use it. From yelling, shrieking, screaming, crying, growling, grunting, laughing, and talking. You are just loud, daddy says your "Lesley" loud (sorry Lesley, but I thought it was funny!) You get super mad and super loud when you can't figure out how to do something, loose what you were going after, or we take stuff away from you. Crawling has not been mastered yet but scooting across the floor, putting yourself in a sitting position from lying down, and chasing down everything that moves or reflects your image in your walker have been.

Your diet has expanded to include most of what we eat. The only treats I let you have are your cookies and maybe a bite of cake w/ out frosting, or frozen yogurt. You will eat most everything but you get tired of somethings and poke out your lips and snort through your nose when your done or bored with what we are having. I still make your food or now order you your own when we go out. Pasta is very popular with you, we had ravioli the other night and you devoured it. You understand when the spoon goes and where to put your mouth on big people cups. Gerber puffs are a favorite snack with you as well, when you were first learning how to eat them they looked like you had little bunny teeth!

We have started you on sippy cups and so far your doing really great with them. Water or juice only in those for now and milk only in your bottles. You are now a pro-bottle-holder and can do it with one hand and sometimes no hands. Right now, your lying on the floor w/ a bottle watching Baby Einstein First Signs, playing with a sock w/ both hands. Definite multi-tasker!

Soon we will have your own bedroom put together and we will make that transition. I'll post pictures of that when we are finished.

juMBLe XI

2010-06-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

*Our new favorite grocery store is Glazier's Food Marketplace. It's right down the street and it took me months to finally go inside. Now that we have, we now shop there and Costco, and very little anywhere else. They have the best pizza place and ice cream bar inside. We have grown addicted to the New York style pizza and the chocolate covered bananas. So if you live in the Southwest and haven't made it there yet, I highly recommend it.
*Father's Day was all weekend long. I thought he deserved it and I finally figured out a few things to do for him. 1) I took the kids Saturday morning and let him sleep in 2) I got his car washed inside and out along with an oil change 3) We went to Chicago Brewing Company, which I loved but Gabrielle didn't cooperate so we had to leave early. 4) Crab for Dinner on Sunday and a nice relaxing night. 5) Ethan wanted to decorate a cake for him at Glaziers, and of course Gabrielle got to help too!

*I have a growing list of projects around the house that I'm working on. They include: painting the kids rooms, moving my desk into my room and making an office area, moving Jared's desk downstairs and giving him his "man-cave" area in the garage with his equipment and books, cleaning out the garage, finishing my garden and start planting stuff, some misc deep cleaning, and a whole bunch of others I can't remember right now.

(Imagine it painted with dirt and plants, I'm really hope it looks better too, cause it was a b*tch to put together.)

*Jared is loving his job and I'm loving his schedule. I've got four days a week to get what I need done and I've got three days to spend with him. And on Friday's we get to hang out and have good quality time together.

*I wish I could make the "SLOW" button work on Ethan. Everything he does is at full speed and he forgets to think first. So far that hasn't worked out the best for him. One of these days he'll get it and think first.
*I've been toying with the idea of switching phone companies and just haven't done it yet. Right now it'll cost me $85 extra to break the contract w/ AT&T and I just don't want to pay that yet.
*We finally got a new computer, but I refuse to set it up until I get the rooms painted and arranged properly.
*I'm really working on loving my house. It's not exactly what we wanted but; 1) we can afford it right now 2) it's ours 3) it's clean and in a good neighborhood 4) if I work hard then I can make it feel more homey 5) I feel greatfull for all of the above because we weren't in this position a few months ago.
*Things always have a strange way of working themselves out. Sometimes I think of what it would have been like to move and start fresh some where other than Vegas. But like Jared tells me regret is a wasted emotion and solves nothing. So I just remind myself that we are where we are suppose to be.
*And because she is just too cute not to post....

Gabrielle 6 months.....that is 1/2 of a year!

2010-05-23T09:59:00.000-07:00

*Six months done and over with and we can never go back. You are getting such a personality and are noticing so much of your surroundings. The dogs are huge funny play things that make weird noises and they make you laugh.

*You are eating EVERYTHING! We made pot roast last week and I blended up the veggies (you loved them), I made beef stroganoff and blended that last night (you ate two helpings). I don't think I found anything you won't eat yet. We keep a steady stock of squash, peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, rice, mashed potatoes, applesauce, and vanilla yogurt in the house for you. Depending on what is on sale depends on what we buy and make for you. I picked up a box of teether cookies yesterday, but they aren't like they used to be. They are brittle and smaller. But that didn't stop you from chewing and shoving them in your mouth with both hands. Today you had pasta with a side of diced bananas and cheerios. It was awesome to watch you pick them up and put them in your mouth and chew them with you fish lips poking out. I know these are small things but at this stage that is what we look forward too.

*Your sleep schedule is kinda funky right now. You have certain blankets that have to be in a certain place otherwise you don't sleep well AT ALL. For a few months you were sleeping the night through and now you are waking up at least once per night. Don't know what happened. Your not much of a sleeper during the day so I don't know if your starving or what....you sleep when we are driving somewhere and then maybe a few 15 to 30 min naps. And by a few I mean 2 to 3 max! So seriously not much sleep. I don't know what you think your gonna miss out on but whatever it is, your not missing ANYTHING!

*You can hold your own bottle now and usually do. I can lay you down and give it to you and you are a happy girl.

*We are out of the pacifier stage. You only get it at night time when your in bed when your bottle is empty cause you get super pissed when it runs out. So we can fool you back to sleep with the pacifier.

*You can sit up on your own for a while now. You still have to hold yourself up with your hands and tip over when you lean too far. But you are getting the hang of it.

*You can make your walker go backwards pretty good and once in a while you can make it go forwards. You roll everywhere and scoot around the living room floor. The dogs have to be on watch because once you get focused in on them there is no stopping you. I know the time is coming when you will get your feet and arms in motion together and we'll have to watch out too. Right now you use your forehead and legs to scoot and then twist around on your belly. Anything sideways....your rolling to get there!

*Of course everything your not suppose to have is your favorite toy. The remotes, my hair, cell phones, necklaces, glasses, my purse and everything in it! Your starting to like the Baby Einstein movies and pay attention when the puppets come on. Also last night you got wrapped up in the baseball game with your cookie. You wouldn't give Daddy the time of day.

JUMble x

2010-05-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

*This has been a long time overdue. It's funny how once you get on a roll of blogging you will keep it up but once you let it go for a week or so then a week turns into a month and WHAM it's been forever since anything has been updated.
*Let's see over the last month or so a lot has happened. Our house is up for sale and we are doing the hurry up an wait game. It's not my favorite game in the world because I HATE waiting for things to happen. I just hope that Ethan can finish out this school year where he is and they don't give us any problems.
*My Grandfather passed away much to soon. I will miss talking to him. We were good listeners for each other and he would always make me laugh. He had a silly saying for everything. Always upbeat and usually positive in nature. Which for someone in his shoes was amazing. I'm so so glad that my Aunt and Uncle were there to help arrange everything for him. He deserved the best and they made sure they took care of him the best they could.
*Ethan has been awesome in school. On his last progress report he had more A's than B's. He is due to get another report soon so we will see if he kept it up.
*We have all been praying to the lottery gods and so far they haven't listened.
*I started buying whole wheat pasta, and so far so good.
*The wind here is kicking my butt and I'm tired of getting headaches. They are no fun when you have a baby that doesn't sleep much in the day.
*Jared's car is falling apart. They want $3000 to fix the transmission, and now his engine light is on. GREAT!!!!
*I finally donated some of our old clothes and junk laying around. It cleaned out a whole 1'x1' space in the garage. Guess there is a lot more to go.
*One of these days I will get serious about Weight Watchers again. I've only got 15 lbs to loose and I know I can. I just need to take the first step and stick with it.
*I'm addicted to M&M's. I bought a big bag of them while I was shopping yesterday and plopped down on the couch with my bottle of water and went to town. After about 10 min I threw them all away and jumped on the Wii fit and got my butt kicked.

My fun 10 year old boy!

2010-04-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

*The top of your head is a little past my nose and your about 100lbs. You have almost out grown me but it will be a while before you out grow you Daddy.

*You are back on AB Honor roll for the second trimester and I'm so proud. You worked hard for this one and now I hope you can stay there.

Ethan, Ethan, Ethan........

You woke up and now you are 10 years old.I can't believe how fast you have grown up. Everyone who knows you loves you and thinks you are a very polite caring young man. I can't say much different only add to it. You are funny, goofy, thoughtful, compassionate, and so very handsome (yes, I had to add that)

You still remind me of your Dad. Your quirks are the same, the way you both react to situations, and the way you two approach thing are so similar. When you are with your friends you are so silly and chatty. You never run out of things to say, which is sooo not like your Dad. I love you and can't wait to see what the next year brings.

Your 10th party was so much fun and I know you had such a blast. You had friends, family, and family friends come. There was cake, pizza, sandwiches, soda, and goodie bags. We sent everyone home with a sugar high. Thank you to everyone who came, you helped make Ethan's day a wonderful one.

Gabrielle 5 months

2010-04-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

*You've found your feet and it's too darn cute to watch you play with them.

*You've experimented with your voice more lately and love to yell.
*You bite things to make them work, like your walker.

*You test everything out with your mouth then your hands.
*We've made rice, mashed potatoes, squash, spinach, peaches, apples w/ blueberries, avacado, and bananas with yogurt. The apples and blueberries were better in oatmeal. You liked the spinach the first time and made funny faces the second time, so we will see what the third time brings. Everything else was a big hit.
*You can hold you own bottle like a pro, but you still get lazy at times.

*You DO NOT sleep for Daddy, so leaving you at home with him alone isn't an option anymore. You seriously freak out on him.

Easter 2010

2010-04-06T18:44:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter day. We didn't do much; ate candy, cooked steak & sweet potatoes, watched baseball. The quiet family sort of day. I hope yours was enjoyable as well.

Never Normal!

2010-03-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

I tell ya! Nothing is EVER normal with us, things are always changing, and it always seems to be at the last minute. When we were panicing about what we were going to do for money and work a few months ago and Jared got into Grad school, and then the company in Alabama called. We were in full speed, getting ready for our big move and then the company that he worked for here called and wanted Jared to consider coming back. We were final in our thinking, and were for certain that Alabama was the right choice for us.
Then he called Jared for the second time Tuesday and wanted to know why he didn't get a copy of his resume? "You just need to come in and interview with me." This was the same person that hired him last time, so it showed me how much he really liked Jared and how impressed they were with him after only 3 months of work.
We had to sit back and think that in reality the job in Alabama was only guaranteed for 2 years, and if you were chosen then and only then, you'd be hired on permanently. The job here is guaranteed, and after he completes five years he would be considered a senior employee. The pay is more here, the benefits are the same, and the perks and pay increases are about the same. So we thought and decided that it was smarter for the long term to stay here...again! And after finding out about all of the drama we were going to have to go through to get to Alabama, and that some of the perks we thought we entitled to we were not going to get, I really wasn't looking forward to it.
I believe that we are a strong family and where ever and whatever we end up doing it will better our life and we will enjoy it. A home is what you make of it not where it is.

Las Vegas:2, New York:0, Alabama:0
I think I'm done with the idea of moving, we just need to start vacationing now!

No-Tickle-Me

2010-03-22T10:03:00.000-07:00

This was during a late bath time instead of shower. We were out getting our pictures done and having dinner so neither of us felt like showering. But little Miss Gabrielle HAS to have her shower. Well, tonight she got a bath in Ethan's old bath seat. Ethan rolled the wheel thingy and she started giggling! That was it...she kept going and going. She had all of us laughing. Enjoy!!

Gabrielle 4 months

2010-03-20T08:34:00.000-07:00

4 months old!
15 lbs, 24 1/4 inches, and your head is 42 cm

Hi there Munchkin...

This last month has been a great one. You've gotten to visit a lot of people; had vanilla custard at your Uncle Jan's birthday party, and got snuggles from cousins Lisa and Stacy a few different times. You are pretty happy hanging out with anyone as long as Mommy or Daddy are close by. Although you may not smile much at them you don't fuss, your just too busy checking everything out. We got more pictures done with Lesley, and you were more than just adorable. So far you still look a lot like Ethan, and get complimented EVERYWHERE we go on how beautiful you are.

We've experimented with a little vanilla yogurt and some frozen yogurt. You saw my dish and would follow the spoon and lean into my cup, so we gave you tiny bites of each. Needless to say you loved them and yelled when they were gone or when I wouldn't give you anymore.

On March 14th we started baby foods. So far you've had green beans (you loved), peaches (were ok, you had the body shakes and sour face for the first few bites), sweet potatoes (you loved), pears (they were cold so you didn't eat much), squash (you loved), and bananas (you LOVED). For brunch I mix the fruits w/ your oatmeal and you really like that and open wide for those bites; and at dinner you get the veggie w/ a little fruit. I was surprised at how easy it was to feed you and how well you took to it. Again, you and Ethan are a lot alike on this. We don't have food problems with him and I don't expect them with you.

Showers are still all business and since the time change we have tried to move them closer to 8pm so you go to sleep closer to 9pm.

Daddy still gets the biggest smiles. No matter what time of day he can get them!

You have learned to like tummy time and can flip over easily from front to back, and you worked really hard to go from back to front. Now you are trying to roll every time you are put down. One of these days you will figure out that you can roll both ways and get places!

You have also found your voice and "talk" to everything. It's pretty funny to listen to, you will go on for minutes at a time. You've started yelling when you get frustrated and only cry when you are really upset. "Click here to listen!"

At your 4 month appointment you got another round of shots; you cried when you got them and on the way out you yelled at the nurse and the doctor. It was very funny to listen too!!

Ahhhh, little one we love you and can't wait to see what next month brings us.

#10 Salisbury Steaks

2010-02-20T12:37:00.000-08:00

You can make w/ any ground meat. Ground beef is best, but the last time I made it I used ground turkey and the only thing that Jared didn't care for was the texture.

These go best with mashed potatoes and gravy.

I made everything in this order so it was all done at about the same time.

For the Mashed Potatoes:

4 decent size potatoes
2 tbs butter
1/2 cup milk
Salt & Pepper

Peel and cube potatoes
Boil them with a few sprinkles of salt till soft and drain (Now you can start the steaks while the potatoes boil.)
With your beaters or masher combine butter, milk, and salt & pepper to taste.

For the Steaks:
1 lbs of ground meat
1 egg
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
1 beef bullion cube completely dissolved in 1/8 cup of water
About 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of each of the following, depending on your taste
Cumin
Salt (only use 1/8 tsp due to the bullion cube)
Pepper
Peprika
Minced Onion
Garlic Powder

Mix everything together in a bowl and get your skillet hot with some olive oil (or whatever you have). Make palm size oval patties and cook them in your pan until they are done, flipping once to get both sides nice and brown. As they get done take them out and put them on a paper towel to drain.

Now for the gravy:
2 tbs of flour
1 can beef broth
1 tbs of Minced onion
1 tsp Garlic powder
Salt & Pepper to taste

If you are out of oil in your pan add a bit more. Add about 2 tbs of flour to your pan and mix into the oil to start a roux. Keep mixing and when your mix is nice and golden brown add 1 can of beef broth a little bit at a time. You want your mixture to thicken as you go. So if you add it slowly and wait for it to thicken back up and then add a bit more, this will be the easiest way to keep it thick. When everything is added put your steaks back in and cover for about 10 minutes so they soak up some of the flavor.

To keep up with the TV Dinner theme of Salisbury Steaks is to have corn with it as well. So we had all of this and everyone had a full belly and we ended up with left overs for the next day.

Enjoy!!

Gabrielle 3 months

2010-02-20T10:21:00.000-08:00

*2.1.2010* You've learned how to yell during play time. It sounds like a loud squeak.
*2.4.2010* When Daddy plays with you you've started throwing your arms and legs around. It's the sweetest thing to watch. Usually before shower time you go nuts for your Daddy and almost jump out of your bouncy seat.
*2.8.2010* Your tongue and your hands are your new favorite toys. When you don't have your pacifier you chew on your hands and every once in a while you gag yourself. You've started playing with your tongue recently and you stick it in and out and make bubbles in the process. So it always looks like you are blowing bubbles.
*2.10.2010* Now that you've learned to stand up that is about all you want to do. When ever you really want to stand you straighten out your entire body and grunt really loud until some one stands you up.
*2.15.2010* With in the last week or so you started pulling yourself to sit up. It's pretty funny when you are in the car seat and do it because the only thing that moves is your head, but that doesn't keep you from trying. We can sit you up and you don't topple over much, but we are never far away. I thought the Bumbo Chair would help you but you get annoyed with it after a few minutes.
*2.18.2010* I'm lucky you are such a good sleeper, we are able to sleep most nights all the way through. If we get up in between 6 and 7 then you only get up once. You had a spurt this week when you didn't wake up at all. Those were good nights!

Shower times are very serious in our house now. 7:00 is when we wait for the inevitable meltdown. We know that it won't be long before you loose it; by 7:30 if you aren't in the bathroom in your bouncy, with the water on, then your bound to start screaming. But once you are in there, and the water is on, you know that it's almost your turn. When your in the water it's all business, you might talk a little bit but no smiles, it's your turn and your going to soak up every minute of it. You don't mind the water in your face, you just try and eat it and the bubbles and my shoulder, if they get close enough to your mouth. When shower time is done we have to work fast...get dressed cause it's cold...get your bottle cause your STARVING....and then it's almost bedtime. This is the only part of the day where we can't change the schedule. Most days the naps aren't that big of a deal because you will sleep when your tired and let us know when your hungry. But showers are always in between 7:00 and 7:30
We had to start you on cereal this month and apple juice as needed for your tummy. We skipped the rice and went straight to the oatmeal for your tiny bum and tummy. Now we don't have any problems and you have a happy bum and tummy. On your first bottle of each you didn't even stop to taste it, you gulped them down and cried when they were empty. The apple juice you SCREAMED when it was gone, you sucked so hard you collapsed the nipples and would freak out while we waited for the air to go back in. There was no burping during these feedings, you were to impatient. I hope that the changing foods and then new foods are a good sign for when you are older. This is another thing that you did just like Ethan, he would eat anything. If he didn't like it he would show a funny face but keep on eating. I hope you do the same.

#9 Yummy Pork Roast

2010-02-07T18:19:00.001-08:00

Country Style Pork Roast

Yields:	4-6 servings

	Preparation	20 MIN
	Cooking	4 HRS
	Ready In	4 HRS 20 MIN

Ingredients

1/2	teaspoon	ginger
1/4	teaspoon	garlic powder
1/4	teaspoon	sage
1/4	teaspoon	salt
1/4	teaspoon	black pepper
5	pounds	pork shoulder roast	or fresh picnic, or other

Directions

In small bowl, mix all spices.
Rub on surface of 5 lb. pork roast.
Roast on rack in shallow pan to 185 F. on meat thermometer for 3 1/2-4 hours at 325 f.
Can make gravy from pan drippings.

This was awesome and easy!!!

JumBle X

2010-02-06T08:24:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've rambled about what is new with us.

*Life with Gabrielle has been great. The adjustment from a family of 3 to 4 has been easy. Ethan is in love with her and we couldn't be more happy. She sleeps well and only fusses when she needs something.
*Jared got a job in Huntsville, AL so we are moving. We are still waiting on the final details but we are fairly sure that we are leaving the last week of February. I've started working with a Lender and Realtor so we can move into a house instead of renting for a year. So far everything is working out. We should be able to close on a new house the first part of April. The only bad thing is that we will have to stay in a temporary housing for a month when we get there. We will have to work out what to do with Ethan and school, since they let out May 22 for summer and he is on a track school here. I think that will be the hardest thing to work out.
*We got our relocation packet from the Realtor, and I have to say that I'm excited. I love museums and seeing history. Studying history was boring to me and I didn't care for it, but when you get to see how things were it really puts how we do things into perspective.
*The boys are excited to go fishing and hunting for snakes...(eeeewww gross!) I can help with the fishing but the snakes are off limits and NEVER allowed in or around our house. I've had to put up a fight for this one, because both boys are fascinated with them and they both try to tell me how harmless they are. Needless to say, it hasn't worked and I'm still terrified of them.
*We took Dina yesterday to get bathed and she looks beautiful. So shinny and pretty. They said that she didn't like the blow dryer so it took them an extra hour to kennel dry her. When we went to pick her up she was prancing out of the groomers! And of course the one day we took her to get cleaned up it rains, she hates wet spots on the ground and will walk around them. So just imagine how ucky it was for her to walk on the wet floor with her newly clipped toes and shinny clean coat. She was hilarious to watch!

Gabrielle Jan 2010

2010-01-24T06:52:00.000-08:00

*1.16.2010* Started talking back and smiling when played with this week.
*1.23.2010* Gabrielle slept from 10 to 5:30!!!
*1.26.2010* 1st cold. It only lasted a few days and you were great. You just slept a bit more than normal.

Gabrielle 2 months

2010-01-15T08:28:00.000-08:00

Two months old already.

11 lbs 1 oz, 22 in long, and her head is 39 cm (50-75 percentile in all areas)

You are still the loudest baby I've heard. You grunt, grown, squeak, yell, coo, and scream. It makes me laugh, even when you are asleep you still make noise. You are still a very intense baby, you stare and focus in on everything and scrunch up your face. It looks like your pissed off, but your just very serious.

You look exactly like Ethan did when he was a baby. It makes me wonder how long you will follow his looks and when you will start to develop your own individual looks. Every where we go people say you are beautiful, so it must be true. Parents always know their children are but when people start telling you and "Awwing" then you know it for sure.

Your not as dependent on your pacifier, which makes me happy because I'm not much of a pacifier mommy. But it makes you happy so what are we to do? You are starting to smile and coo more and love your Daddy. I love that you already know that he is your Daddy and favorite play toy. He can almost get smiles on command, and you make me and Ethan work for them a bit more. Regardless of when we get them it's still heartwarming when we do. I get the snuggles and bright eyes. Mmmmm....I could cuddle and breath you in for hours. Ethan tries to play with you and I know one day soon you will be fun for him too. For now he is happy just to hold and love on you, except when you barf on him!!

Gabrielle Stats so far

2010-01-03T09:51:00.000-08:00

Birth: 7 lbs 3 oz and 20"
*Started breast feeding right away and had no issues.
*You are very alert and serious about everything.
*You look just like Ethan did when he was a baby.

1 week: 6 lbs 10 oz and 20"
*You sleep 2-3 hour stretches at night.

4 weeks: 8 lbs 7 oz and 20 3/4"
*You eat 2-3 oz at a feeding and hate to be burped cause you have to stop eating.
*You love your pacifier and being snuggled.
*You are great when we go out and usually fall asleep in the car.
***Your next appointment is at 8 weeks.

6 weeks:
*You now eat 3-5 oz at a feeding, still don't like being burped and either fuss or scream until you get your bottle back.
*You are a Mommy/Daddy baby. I personally love it!
*You prefer showers over baths, but can deal with shower-baths.
*Your skin is starting to lighten up.
*We went to the movies with your cousins, Ethan, and Grandma and saw 'Alvin and the Chipmunks The Squeekqueal'. You slept through most of it and when it was time to go home you were ready to eat.

Gabrielle (no middle name) Gordon

2009-11-22T19:15:00.000-08:00

November 15, 2009 at 6:52 am.
7 lbs 3 oz and 20 in long.

The before:

We went to IHOP for dinner on Saturday night, which looking back I'm glad we did. Not being able to eat for 1-2 days isn't fun. I noticed the start of my contractions at about 9:30pm in the shower, but they didn't hurt so I didn't pay attention to them. I had taken a nap earlier in the day (again, another great unknown foresight) so I didn't go to bed until after 11:00pm. By 12:30am the contractions had started again and were a steady 3-5 minutes apart. I went downstairs scrambling to see how long they should be that close together before going to the hospital. I looked in every book I had...nothing; looked it up on the internet...nothing; called the hospital...they wouldn't tell me one way or the other; then I finally called my doctors number and got the nurse...they said that we should leave ASAP. So I was then running around the house grabbing my bags, waking Ethan up, and getting everyone ready to leave. By 1:00am we were off to the hospital.

The During:

We made it there by 1:30am and we got signed in and then they hooked me up to all of the monitors. Ethan wasn't allowed to be there because of the H1N1 crap, so Jared and Lani had to take turns in between him and me. After they got in touch with my doctor they tried for a few hours to stop the contractions and nothing helped; so at 5:00am my doctor said he would be there in an hour to deliver our baby. We sent Jared and Ethan home around 3:00am so they could get some rest because Jared had already been up for 24 hours and we still didn't know what was going to happen. So I had to call them back to the hospital and play switch-a-roo with Ethan again, get the scrubs on Jared, and be ready to go by 6am. When were ready, then I started freaking out...surgery....holy crap...a baby...holy crap!!! Here we go........................OH SHIT!!!

The After:

Everything went perfectly, no complications. The doctor mentioned chubby cheeks, then we had to wait for the nurses to asses her before they mentioned if she was a boy or girl. She didn't cry right away, which the doctor said may happen since she was a bit early and my blood sugar had come back high at one point. Jared and I were both crying and waiting...and waiting...we had our Gabrielle at 6:52am. She was absolutely perfect; 10 fingers, 10 toes, -1 do-dad, and the loudest cry ever. She had a good set of lungs and knew how to use them. The hardest part was hearing her cry and not being able to see her. They got her cleaned up and Jared brought her over. She was the prettiest baby girl ever. Our family was complete (for now).

****I loved the way everything went. I only had a few things I wanted and I got them.
1)I wanted to spend the first few moments with Jared and baby alone.
2)I wanted to introduce baby to whomever was waiting.
3)I wanted to feed her first so I could get over my issues with breastfeeding.

I was able to have it all this time around. The only thing missing was Ethan. He had to wait until we were released to meet his baby sister. We all made sure to update him often and talk to him as much as possible to include him. That was the hardest part of all. Every time I talked to him I wanted to cry.

The way after:

Everything was perfect. We both recovered well and by the time we were suppose to go home we were ready. I wasn't limited in much, I just had to take my time and go slow. Jared and Ethan were wonderful caretakers. They both cooked and cleaned and were there to help me whenever I needed it.

My boys are absolutely amazing. I am truly blessed and now we have our girl. Life doesn't get much better than this.

JuMBlE IX

2009-10-30T12:36:00.000-07:00

*10/29/09....34 weeks and 3 days: I measured 35 weeks and have done very well on my weight. Or at least I think so anyway, but I'll keep the numbers for myself for now on ;) My scheduled time for delivery is at 5:30 for now and will more than likely change to be earlier in the day by the time it comes. But that all depends on if this bun decides to stay in the oven that long. And after months of talking about getting my tubes tied at the time of surgery I signed the papers to have it done. Then I get home and tell Jared about it and he doesn't think I should have it done. Silly boy, I thought we were both on the same page. But I don't have a problem with changing it next week when I go.

*10/30/09...NV day and the beginning of Ethan's track break. I'm hoping that I can keep him occupied here at home since I can't really go anywhere. We've got goodies to make for the holidays and cleaning before the end of the month.

*11/1/09...After about 2 months of eyeballing our checking / savings accounts I've finally started up our registers again. I figured out that you can upload past statements into Excel. So I did that and continued on w/ current info. I've kept a budget in there for years and have neglected that as well. Now that I am caught up we'll see how I do to keep up with these.

*11/2/09...Chili was made, eaten and frozen! I borrowed a Paula Dean recipe for Spicy Chili w/ Cornmeal Waffles. I added 1 can of petite diced tomatoes and a jalapeno cause I like the tomatoes and Jared likes it spicy. I also cooked it for about 1 1/2 hrs and to get the yummies out of the jalapeno. Jared still needed a little red pepper for his but I thought it was just right. None of us cared for the waffle combo. We will have our left overs over white rice, and we will toast the waffles with syrup for breakfast tomorrow!

*11/4/09...Red Beans and Rice were made, eaten, and frozen! I only have one more dish that I feel like making. Ham and Bean soup! It was a hit last year when I made it, I used the left over ham from Christmas. This year I bought ham steaks to use; I didn't care for the sweetness of the honey glaze on the ham in the soup. The boys didn't complain but I noticed it. My Red Beans and Rice is an updated version of my grandmas recipe. If you want the recipes I can post them for you, just let me know ;) I also have Snickerdoodle dough frozen so I can be ahead of the game for our holiday goodie bags. We are broke this year, so we are going to pass out treats instead of gifts. Your tummy will love us for it...just not your waist line!

# 8 White Chili

2009-10-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

Here you go Christy!

1 lbs of Great Northern beans, soaked
1 med onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 4 oz cans green chilies
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 lbs boneless, skinless ckn breast
1 14 1/2 can ckn broth
1 cup water

Put beans in med pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer 20 min. Discard water. Cut ckn into 1" pcs and brown if desired. Put all ingredients in Crock-Pot. Stir to mix thoroughly. Cover; cook on Low 10-12 hrs / High 5-6 hrs.

To serve, fold a flour tortilla into a triangle (fold in half, then in half again) and cut the center out. Unfold and put the large part in your bowl (you'll have a hollow O in your bowl). Put chili in the middle, cut the remaining tortilla into strips and put on top of your chili. Garnish with cheese and sour cream. Enjoy!!!

**My modification: I have a huge pot that has a strainer insert so I put the beans in the bottom with all the spices (I have & used dried spices) and a whole chicken in the strainer part. Put in the pot and boiled all for 2-3 hours till chicken was done. I picked chicken off the bone (gross...and not one of my favorite things to do) and put directly into the beans. I ran out of chilies so I added a can of diced tomatoes and a diced red bell pepper. Let simmer for another 2-3 hours. I served the same way as above and it was yummy!!

***Tip: you can also cut down cooking time by using can beans.

Good luck all :)

jumBle VIII

2009-10-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

This past month has flown by. It's crazy how easy it is to loose track of time. With so many things to do and to try and not forget what they all are I've really tried hard to keep everyone in line.

*I've started getting dinners frozen for Jared and Ethan so when I'm down and out all they have to do is warm it up and make some simple side dishes. So far I've got gumbo and shredded pork. Next on my list are red beans and rice, ham and bean soup, chicken enchiladas, white chili, and spicy chili with cornmeal waffles.

*This next week when Ethan is out on break I'm going to start making cookies, muffins, and candy for the holidays so we have something to pass out to friends and family. I plan on making the cookie dough and muffins and then freezing them till next month so they will be yummy and fresh.

*I have most of our holiday shopping done and wrapped. I need to get a few more things for extended family and one more gift for Ethan and then that is complete.

Here is the run down of things that have happened this month:

*All of my doctors appointments have gone well. Everything is normal and on track. I think now I will start going weekly.

*He/She feels huge. The butt or head is stuck in my ribs and the rest is all over the place. My hips are getting worse and it feels impossible to roll over in bed or get up from sitting too long. Sometimes it hurts so bad I want to cry, but I know it's almost over.

*We went for our hospital tour and I was very pleased. It looks like all of the things I missed out with Ethan I will be able to do for this one. Due to the hospital procedure I will be able to follow my mini birth plan which included: 1) spending time alone w/ Jared and baby for the first 15 minutes or so. 2) announcing the sex / name together. 3) I wanted to do the first feeding.

*I had a job interview, which I'm still waiting to hear back on. They said that it would be 2-3 weeks before I do. The pay was great and I start out with getting 3 wks PTO and good benefits. I would only have to work 4 days / week so I would have long weekends every week. The only down fall would be the hours, they are long and the drive is as well. But there is always good and bad....we can't have it all. So I'm hoping that either I get this job, or when Jared graduates he will get his job back because he would have all of the perks I mentioned. One way or another we need a joby-job!

*My Mom's ticket is purchased so she will be here for the first two weeks to help out and meet her grandbaby. I'm so excited for this. She is like me with her boys, she HATES leaving them so I know what she is sacrificing for me. But she didn't get to meet Ethan till he was about 4 years old. So this will be nice, and it will give me a chance to recover as well.

*Ethan pulled out his 9th tooth (I think) all by himself. Around here we use dental floss and yank until it comes out. I had to tie it on for him 3 times before he got it out. But it was a major accomplishment for him. We told him about the tooth fairy when his last tooth came out so the cat is out of the bag. But when she did come she left a $5 bill under his pillow. This year he got an ice cream-cookie sandwich and a book. At almost $10 later, we should have stuck with the $5.

*Jared only has about 6 weeks left and he's done with school. His Senior Design project is nearing the final stages and he has a really good chance of winning the competition this year. They will have the competition on Dec 3rd and last year the students got local news coverage. I can't wait to see him show off. He has worked so hard and how ever it ends he did an amazing job.

*Ethan has done a great job as well. His grades are coming up and I'm holding out for AB honor roll for his first report card. Last year didn't end so well and I know he is working hard. He and some other boys are on a program with the principal to help motivate them in the right direction. If he continues to do well then he will get to go on the 2 night-away from home-in California-school trip in April! Lucky Duck!!!

Nearly 8 months and a birthday

2009-09-30T09:23:00.000-07:00

I went yesterday for my 8 month check up and I'm thinking this baby is going to be huge already! I'm officially 30 1/2 weeks and measuring 33 weeks. The doctor says that as long as it's within 3 weeks then it's normal. So far my only complaints are that my inner hips feel like they are going to pop out of joint and I'll be like a barbie w/ no legs. And after one trip up the stairs I feel like I've ran a marathon. They are making me miserable. Of course it is normal....so I will manage and count down the days! I found out yesterday that "technically" I'm in the high risk range (note air quotes around technically) he didn't make a big deal of it and recommended that I not worry, so for now I won't. Who knew that a previous C-section would put you in that category? The other main one is my glucose level, and the other reason was minor. I have to go Saturday and do the 3 hour glucose test so I'm thinking that my days of treats are over...right after I find out that they are going to finish building the frozen yogurt place by my house before Halloween! At least it was after my birthday and I got to load up on my cakes, brownies, and yogurt. Thank goodness for Ethan and Jared, they get to finish them off.

Lani took Ethan this past Saturday so Jared and I could have my birthday date night. He took me to Gandhi and Golden Spoon. They were both delicious and two of my favorites. Sunday I had a surprise birthday dinner at Olive Garden with a chocolate-chocolate variety cheesecake and a yummy dinner. I love family dinners and really hope that we can do them more often. The kids get along great and it's funny to watch the adults interact.

On Monday Rebecca came over and brought me lunch and brownies. I loved having her over, it gave me adult interaction and reminded me of our office lunch dates.

Then finally on Tuesday for my real birthday Jared and Ethan sang Happy Birthday and got me magic candles for a yummy french vanilla cake. So needless to say I was totally spoiled and loved every minute of it.

My 29 (Ethan was very careful to count them) magic candles that would NOT blow out! Our entire kitchen was full of smoke and we had to take them out and put them in a cup of water....and some of them were still trying to light back up!

It has started

2009-09-09T08:49:00.000-07:00

*So far both Ethan and Jared are enjoying school. Ethan has done a wonderful job with very few mess ups. His teacher sees potential in him and we are all working together to make sure that his 4th grade year is excellent. Jared, as usual is loving his classes and is as busy as ever. We originally signed him up for undergrad classes and then his professors talked him into taking graduate level courses. So at the end of this semester he will have his BS out of the way and one semester of his Masters done. Which in the big picture is a great thing but grad courses are friggin expensive. So we roll with it and in the end it will all work out for the better.

*My unemployment is finally suppose to start coming in this next week so that little bit of money will help so we won't deplete our savings so fast.

*Now that Ethan is back in school and I'm home all by myself I'm freakin BORED!!! I miss working....I never thought I'd say that!! I start babysitting this week too...I can't wait. I love babies :)

*I had my 7 month appt and everything went well. All of the measurements were normal and sounding good. I had my glucose test done and will get the results when I go back on my birthday for my next appt. He/She is moving around A LOT and keeps me up at night already. 2 - 3 am is the new play time, it's about the time Jared comes to bed and then the baby goes nuts. Jared got to feel it the other night and thought it was amusing. For now all of the activity is a welcome feeling. It's the beginning of the little moments that I get to savor for myself. But again there are the moments that it kicks/punches super low and it hurts. I am ready for those ones to be over!

*I've started applying Jared for jobs now and will start again in November before he graduates. My hope is that these places will get irritated with me sending his resume out multiple times and will call him in. I've sent them to everywhere I can think of locally and started sending them to other states as well. Something has got to come through for us; I really don't want to move anytime soon so cross your fingers that someone locally calls.

Summer Break...

2009-08-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

Is officially over. The boys are down stairs playing Guitar Hero and I'm in the office getting Ethan's' backpack ready for his first day of fourth grade. **HOLY CRAP** I remember fourth grade! Seriously, he has got to stop growing up so fast!!!!

I've been out of work since July 10th and really thought I would be bored out of my mind by now and it hasn't happened yet. But I have a feeling with both of them gone for hours a day it won't take long. I have a few weeks left before I start babysitting and I can't wait. So these next few weeks will be my test.

Over the break Ethan and I have kept busy. While Lani was in the hospital we spent most of our days with her so she wouldn't be by herself. We had a million errands to run and then we did a few projects around the house:

*We built shelves for my garage, and we only have half of it left. I've got a decent pile of stuff for Goodwill.

*We washed and cleaned up old baby stuff. So everything is sorted by age.

*And we've cleaned.cleaned.cleaned! That is one thing I'm hugely proud of. I love a clean house and I love that I can actually keep it that way (for now that is).

Relief

2009-08-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

This past weekend after a week full of stress about work, money, and life in general....Jared and I came to the conclusion that no matter what happens we will always have each other and is what is important. Then I got some much needed belly rubs from him and I was all smiles! He is my rock and always puts things into perspective for me. I'm the luckiest girl in the world :)

We had our 6 month ultrasound and the baby is a mover and a shaker! He/she would NOT stay still. Ethan and I got a quickie glance at him/her...face, heart, ribs, hiccups...and since we didn't want to know the sex the rest was a blur. I go back in 3 weeks for another appointment but the doctor said everything looked good. Before leaving I asked the nurse if it was common for people to not find out the sex and she said that she could only remember 3 within the past few years. Everyone thinks I'm crazy for not finding out but I want that 2 second supprise at the end after the first cry. To me that is worth it.

Soapbox!

2009-08-10T09:11:00.000-07:00

I just got off the phone w/ my credit card company and apparently because we have been such a good customer they raised out interest rate 7.9%. We had the option to cancel our card back in May and then we could have avoided the hike. Gee...how nice of them..I get the "You haven't done anything wrong but with the economy being the way it is, this is what we had to do. We sent the notice to everyone and your account is not the only one affected." So because they suck and the credit companies and banks screwed up they are making the 'good' customers pay for it!

JumbLe VII

2009-08-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

-I think I finally got my unemployment figured out. What a pain in the rear! I'm hoping that from now on all I have to do is file on Sundays and not worry about it. I tried to file on this past Sunday and it told me that I had to reopen the claim not once but twice. Then on Monday when I go to reopen my claim it tells me that I already have one and all I need to do is file my weekly claim!

-I really thought that staying at home would give me more time to relax. So far all I've done is run. With Lani being in and out of the hospital and trying to get house work done I haven't quite gotten there yet.

-My goal for the rest of this week is to finish my garage and have some of our old stuff removed. So technically I've got today and tomorrow, because Jared is off on Friday and not much gets done.

-I found a shelf for my down stairs bathroom. I've been looking for about a month and found it at Ross on Monday. I absolutely love it.

-My belly is starting to get big now. The baby is moving around like a mini kung fu person! I think he/she got the hiccups early this morning I forgot what that was like.

-Now that I am home I'm hoping that I don't gain to much weight. I am a snacker so I'm trying to keep it down to one snack a day and so far I think it's working. I've never been the skinny-tiny kinda girl, but after loosing 25 pounds last year I really don't want to battle that again. It's still embarrassing that I actually had 25 pounds to loose. It took me way to long to loose the extra baby weight from Ethan that I would love to be back to myself by New Years!

Our first week out!

2009-07-15T16:27:00.000-07:00

Time to PLAY!!!
Or so I thought...I had way more errands to run that I had planned. Every. single. day. this week we have done something that lasted the better part of the day.
Monday = Costco & lunch with Ian.
Tuesday = Lowes, work to see PR so I could finish processing out, & visited with Rebecca (who was nice enough to buy us lunch).
Wednesday = Dr's appt, get Ethans glasses fixed, lunch with Jared, & ice cream.
then.....
Thursday = stay home to clean and relax
Friday = Harry Potter and kettle corn here we come!

I had my 5 month appointment today and Ethan got to hear the heartbeat. Everything was normal. They think I may have another mild bladder infection...yuck, I hate antibiotics! But as long as the baby and I are safe that is all that matters. He/She is moving and kicking like crazy. Ethan is in love with the idea of baby, he read on week 19 the baby can hear when you are talking so when we were shopping at Kohls he kept making me stop so he could talk to the baby. "Hey buddy...Hey dude...Hey baby...How are you doing in there" Pretty cute stuff! I've only gained like 8-10 lbs, so I think that is okay.

Ethan and I had our first treat at Leatherby's and filled up on ice cream while we waited for them to finish his glasses. He got two scoops 1 Banana nut and 1 Rocky Road. I had the same but my old time fav's Chocolate Chip and Mint Chocolate Chip. It was very yummy and better than that it was COLD. I hate the summer time already and we are only half way into it.

**The only good reason for summer = it's to hot to eat full meals or anything heavy = no pigging out on account of baby!

Ugh....

2009-07-07T07:58:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks have been a little rough. Work is coming to an end and the job hunt is on. Not that I really want to work but I need to have something in the works. I had one interview that went very well and another job lined up that I really like. We are still waiting on the final word from Jared's work to see if they will pick him up for the fall or not. So it's a waiting game for both of us and neither of us is very patient right now.
I'm not sure if it's due to my belly growing or stress or a combination of both. But I've had the worst aches and pains..they were bad enough on Thursday to go to urgent care. Then as soon as I got there they stopped...typical, right? It takes a lot for me to go to the doctor, but I figured it's better to be safe then sorry. Needless to say the doctor said that my aches were due to everything stretching and growing and the tests they ran came back clean. So now knowing what "normal" aches and pains feel like they are wearing me down. It feels like the baby is stretching out and is sticking whatever limbs where ever they will go. My back hurts and I get cramps off and on. I go to my doctor next week and will definitely mention it. But holy crapola...I don't remember it doing this the first time around????? I've been trying to take it easy and lay down as much as possible and that does seem to help.

Morning Sickness or Stress????? (vomit talk, beware)

2009-06-30T09:22:00.000-07:00

My poor hunny has been sick (nauseous) for the past few days. With Ethan he was the one that had the morning sickness and with this one I had about 3 weeks of feeling GREEN, but nothing more. I'm one of the rare breeds that refuses to throw up, it's gross, dirty, nasty and I hate the feeling of it so I simply don't do it unless the choice is not mine to make. Jared on the other hand is one of the breeds that can think of something gross, dirty, or nasty and can get the gag reflex going. Thank goodness Ethan takes after me, because when ever anyone (the animals) in our house gets sick it's me or Ethan that has to clean it up...otherwise there would be two messes instead of one.
I went by the pharmacy yesterday and took everything that I could find that said it could or would help nausea and hauled it to the counter. After telling the pharmacist my story or Jared's story he recommended Dramamine. And after getting home and force feeding him one he was able to eat dinner. I'm hoping that he will take one today to see if it really helps him or not. He's a non believer of medicine unless the doctor gives it to him. I hate seeing him sick because he's not his usual happy go lucky sarcastic self.

Week 16 (as of 6/20/09)

2009-06-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

We had the first heartbeat listen today. It took them a while to find it and I got all messy with the yucky jelly stuff, but after about 5 minutes of them chasing it down they finally got a good read on it. My theory...your just like your papa and don't like the lime light and run from it, because every time we thought she had it you'd move. :) The reading was good 160 bpm and strong. All good things!!
I've gained 5-6 lbs so far....the books say that is ok, so I will take it and run. Hopefully the lemon bites and cupcakes Jared picked out will disappear and not pile more pounds to my growing ass.

Week 15....the first for sure kicks

2009-06-16T08:36:00.000-07:00

I've had bubbles and twitches within the past 2 weeks while taking a bath, but lying in bed this morning was the first for sure start of feeling my baby! After the traumatic beginning (I know; not as bad as some people, but bad enough for me) I've been happy, excited, but very guarded. Today was the first day that I've felt for real "pregnant". Minus the symptoms and all that mess, feeling your baby and knowing that everything is okay is different that hoping that everything is okay. It's very surreal, I've waited for such a long time to have another baby and now that it's here and real it's very......hmmm.....neat (because I can't think of a better word right now)!!!

13 weeks down

2009-06-01T12:40:00.001-07:00

My new due date is 12.5.09, so of Saturday I was 13 weeks pregnant. The baby has all of it's limbs in place and finger and toes moving like crazy. It still has an alien size head but at least it's resembling a human now. On BabyCenter.com they let you get weekly looks at how big and what baby is doing. I love it; with Ethan I only had books that would take you month to month. It is truly amazing that every week something changes. Right about now it is about 3 in long and is about the size of a medium shrimp! Crazy, but it's nice to know how to relate the size of your baby to real life things. I think I've only gained about 2-3 lbs, which I think is pretty good. I think one of the books I read mentioned up to 5 lbs by this time.

Character Matters

2009-05-29T10:44:00.000-07:00

Ethan had another play at school this past week and he did an amazing job!! I only had enough room to record his parts....but really does the rest matter???? He was so nervous and worried that he would forget or embarrass the class. He originally only had one part, the second part was one he filled in for a student that couldn't make the night time play. TOO STINKIN CUTE!!

Part One
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab5Iss_czc8

Part Two
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbb0t6PnV2s

Enjoy!!

I LOVE long weekends

2009-05-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

It's been such a long time since all three of us have had any amount of time off together that this weekend was especially nice. Jared and I had Friday off, I shopped and had lunch with my girlfriend at Famous Daves...YUMM...and Jared had to go to school to work on his project with his partners. Saturday I BBQ'd for everyone (us + Lani & Ian) for his late birthday gift and some family time. Everything turned out perfect. I made Jared's Black and White cookie/cake, and it was delish, not to cookie hard and not to cakey soft; and the icing / fudge frosting came out just like they do in the stores.
The rest of the weekend was for lounging around and playing Rock Band. We are a part of the in crowd now baby!!!
And the best part is I get another 3 day weekend this next week. This 3 day week of work better fly by cause I can't wait for next weekend :)

JUMBLE vi

2009-05-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

*Jared and I got a sneak peak ultrasound last week. It was so tiny and squirmy. You could make out the feet, hands and face. With Ethan we didn't have an ultrasound this late so it was really cool. I go for a real one on Wednesday and I can't wait to see our tiny baby then.
*Jared starts his job today. It's been a long time since he has worked. We went shopping for some business casual clothes on Saturday. So I hope my idea of business casual is the same as theirs. He had to be there at 7 and it's about an hour drive from our house. My poor baby had to get up at 5 this morning. It's been even longer since he's had to wake up that early.
*Since my company is going out of business and I'm soon to be jobless, our hope is that his job will be full time permanent. I've seriously considered going back to school this next year and trying for my RN license. So keep your fingers crossed for us and maybe with in a few years I'll have a new career and not just some job.
*We finally have our big HD TV fixed, and let me say...it's NICE!! I forgot how much I missed watching it. Jared and I played Tetris all weekend....so much fun!!
*I found plane tickets for my Mom at $250. Round trip...I couldn't believe it. I told her that I would love for her to be here for the first week or so after the baby is born. I'll need help with Ethan out of school too, so it would be perfect. Now I just have to talk her into flying by herself.

My Mothers Day

2009-05-12T07:09:00.000-07:00

I told Jared this year that I wanted him to make me dinner for Mothers Day. We spent the day relaxing and lazing around. I don't know what has been getting into me lately but I'm starting to have days where I can't sleep in. Sunday was one of them, I was up at 6:30! The nice part about it was that the dogs and I spent some quiet time in the office while I paid bills and budgeted for the month. Then Ethan woke up and gave me the card he made; he did such a good job, it was beautiful. He made me chocolate milk for breakfast and read while I finished up in the office. A perfect morning. He made coffee while I woke Jared up and watched 90210. After an hour of trying to watch TV loudly to wake him up nicely, I had to break out the big guns and really WAKE him up. I had to do something so I could get my card. I look forward to the holidays with him because he has a way with words. It makes me want to cry every time. But every time I look forward to them. They are always the most heartfelt sweet tidbits. I think one of these days I'm going to have to dig out all of his cards and type them somewhere special.

We went on our first walk that afternoon followed by a quick nap! Our walks are our family time, Ethan rides his scooter and we bring Dina along. When we are all up for it we go exploring in the mountains behind our house. After our nap we all decided that it sounded much better for someone to wait on us for dinner so we went out for Indian food!!

Thank you for a perfect Mothers Day!!!

The best & The worst!

2009-05-08T07:41:00.001-07:00

Why is the best news always followed by something bad? Why can't it just be good news and that's the end of it? It's kinda like; do you want the good news first or the bad news? And don't we always go for the bad news first so the good news will cheer us up?

The best: Jared got a job and he will start May 18!!!! It's doing something that he has gone to school for and I know he will love.
The worst: I'm losing my job. My company will close it's doors July 8th. I've been there for 10 years and not that it was a shock, but when it's final and no longer gossip it's always a little harder to take. At least it's not right away so I do have some time to plan what the best move for us will be.

Wish us luck on our new venture :)

JUMble V

2009-05-02T07:45:00.001-07:00

*Let me say OFFICIALLY for the record, that the first half of April sucked big time!!! The second half definitely made up for it :) And I'm SO glad May is here!
*First...Jared's Grandma ended up in the hospital with a collapsed lung and a mass in each. She was there a week before she passed away. It was hard for everyone, she was the rock that everyone gravitated towards. We all miss her immensely.
*Second...I took an at home pregnancy test and it came out positive!!!! At my first ultrasound I had what looked to be two blood clots. One intrauterine and the other in the tube, and no heartbeat in either. It was a week of hell thinking that it was ectopic and I had to wait until the 8 week mark to have it removed, and having all of the pregnancy symptoms to go along with the wait. Why eight weeks...there is to much of a risk trying to remove it early and missing it, so 8 weeks was very important. After my doctor went back in my chart from the beginning (over a years worth of info to tripple check everything) he said there may be a slight chance an embryo will show up within the next couple of days. We kept all of my pre-op appointments scheduled just in case and when I went, there in fact was a faint heartbeat!!!! Apparently the tubal blood clot was a cyst caused by hormones and will dissolve on it's own, and the second intrauterine was the embryo. So my dates being all jacked up and the cyst it was very deceiving. But THANK GOODNESS we have a baby :)
*As of today I'm 9 weeks and all of my sickies are pretty much gone. I only feel like crap when I'm hungry or when I eat a full meal. I have headaches like I did with Ethan but they are manageable.
*We had Jared's Grandmas funeral service / reception. Lani and her younger brother planed the entire thing and they both did an amazing job. I had never been to a funeral or reception for before, but it was perfect. Very nice and memorible.
*Amee was able to make it home for a week so she could spend some time w/ her Grandma before she passed. She stayed a few nights with us and a few with Lani. It was a very nice visit. Her and Ethan played video games and on the computer. She is due to come back in August!

jUMblE IV

2009-04-04T08:38:00.000-07:00

*Wow...a month already! Time flies too fast sometimes. Everyone has those periods where everything takes forever and we wish that it would be the next month...things will get better in a few months...Gosh, I can't wait till Friday!! That's a big one for me.
*Rush, Rush, Rush!
*When do we actually take the time to slow down and enjoy what is happening right now?
*This is my goal. Although it is easier to follow at home rather than work. I love my job and wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now but I can never wait till the weekend so I can spend it at home with my boys.
*This past Tuesday the company that I've worked for, for nearly the past 10 years has closed. Luckily enough they have kept me and now I work for a sister company. I'm still learning my new duties as they pile them on me, and I'll still do a lot of the things I did before. So really not much has changed. I'm excited to learn new things; it keeps the job from getting boring. My theory is that it's always more to put on a resume for the future.
*Jared had one interview this past week and I'm crossing my fingers that they call him back. He said it went very well and he felt he left a very good impact. I know that there are thousands of people out there looking for a job. I just hope that with this one particular company it works out. They tried really hard through phone and email this past fall semester to get him and they came back around this spring. So I'm staying positive and thinking that since they hunted him down two semesters in a row that they really want him.
*Jared's Grandma is in the hospital right now. She went in on Wednesday morning for chest and back pains. She had pneumonia, a collapsed lung, and left overs from her cold that started this mess. They believe they found a mass in one lung and a tumor in the other. They were able to re inflate her lung yesterday and they have drains in now to keep the fluids off of them. I went to see her last night and it was honestly better than I thought it would be. She is delusional because she is out of her comfort zone and the dementia gets worse when she isn't in her familiar surroundings. But in my heart I think she is on the road to mend. She is strong and has her fighting spirit. She can spell perfectly....although some things she shouldn't be saying aloud! We love her and want her home soon.

jUmBle III

2009-03-08T20:12:00.000-07:00

*It frustrates me that I'm not blogger savvy enough to make the cute headers. For the life of me I can't figure them out...
*I think I'm quitting Winder Farms delivery....as much as I love them it's a very simple cut back. Who knows maybe one day we'll go back but for now I'm still in love with shopping at Costco.
*Everyone at work is stressed, me included. No one knows how long the company will go on for and I really try not to worry about it because I can't change any of it. I think we are just all along for the ride and when it's over we all get off and find a new one.
*My late Grandpa's birthday is Tuesday and it's the first for my Grandma since he's been gone. I will keep her in my thoughts. She is such a trooper and I can only hope to have her strength in tough times.
*Jared's Grandma turns 91 on Tuesday, we are having a family party for her on Sunday. Pasta, salad and cake....YUM!!
*I found a website where I can get ovulation tests and pregnancy tests for super cheap. They are from Canada, so for 10 of the OPK and 2 PT it was only $22 w/ no shipping. They showed up just in the nick of time and so far so good w/ the quality too!
*Jared's gonna go to grad school at UNLV. Not happily though....I've mentioned his dreams of an Ivy League school, but with the current economy it's not practical. He was offered free tuition and $1000/ mo as a TA as long as he does good on the entrance exam. Which I have no doubt he will.

JUmBle II

2009-02-17T09:23:00.000-08:00

-This is my one week off w/ out pay. I've gone through 2 of the 3 step process to get money from unemployment.
-I got my tax return last week so that made up for me not getting a paycheck. Now I can pay off my traffic ticket. YAY!
-We had a great 3 day weekend. Ethan went to Lani's house on Sunday so Jared and I could have our Valentine dinner. Then we got up at 4am (I got up, cause Jared was already up) and went to Denny's for breakfast! We haven't done that in years, it was nice to go out and not have to worry about anyone else.
-We have had WAY.TOO.MUCH candy this weekend. Ethan had a class party on Friday, then they gave them more in safekey, Grandma gave him Valentine candy on Saturday, he went to the movies on Sunday, and then by Monday she gave him hot chocolate with whip cream and a chocolate chip cookie, chocolate chip pancakes and lord knows what else! He's gonna have to candy detox all week from that! She gave Jared and I a box of yummy chocolate, Renee gave me a huge Hershey kiss, and I got a small box from Rebecca which was gone by the time I got home from work on Friday...I'm almost ready to throw all of it away....almost.
-They have been working on my house for 1 1/2 days now. My back slider has leaked since we moved in and they have tried everything but replacing the frame. So that's what they have been working on.
-I cleaned all day Saturday, now I don't know what to fill the rest of my week with!
-I started applying Jared for jobs, so hopefully one will come through! (cross your fingers for one that he will like locally)
-He still wants to go to graduate school anywhere but here. So that is my other challenge, trying to find a place where they have a good university for him and lots of job availability for both of us. And somewhere that the cost of living is reasonable. I'm hooked on Houston, but we shall see what comes up. It's still at least a year away.
-George has to be under the desk of who ever is in the office. It drives him crazy to lay down next to you, he has to be under you!

JuMblE I

2009-02-08T12:09:00.000-08:00

Since I can't think of good posts to write all at once I'm going to copy cat everyone else’s idea of letting whatever is on the top of my head tumble out.

Jumble numero I:
-I absolutely HATE Jared's new schedule. He's at school 6 days a week and is to exhausted to do anything.
-I'm great full that Ethan got more green cards this last week than yellow. Green is perfect behavior and yellow is a warning...anything red, blue, or black is really bad. These past two weeks are the first since he went back to school from break that he hasn't gotten worse than yellow.
-I'm trying really hard to get back into reading. I went to the library and picked out 3 books to read in two weeks. I think I got a bit ahead of myself since it took me a week and a half to read one. But I give myself an A for effort.
-After almost 10 years since being pregnant I'm terrified of getting pregnant again. Ethan was such an easy pregnancy, and I was all of 18 w/ not much responsibility. Now I'm the bread winner and I have my life on a mental schedule and it's stressing me out.
-I'm a huge planner and I don't like the unknown.
-I don't like the fact that I have to skip a paycheck in February and HOPE that unemployment works so I can get 1/2 of my paycheck, and try and pull the other half of my bill money out of my arse!
-I started facebook and find myself searching for old people I used to talk to and never thought of talking to again, just so I can add friends.
-I want to go shopping and be REALLY irresponsible with my tax return!
-Amee reenlisted in the Army for another 4 years and is going to Korea for the 1st 18 months. After that she said she has a choice of a few different places. We can't wait till she can come and visit in October! She leaves for Korea in November of this year.
-My Grandma Chris has spoiled us with "Community Coffee". You can only get it in Louisiana and she has been mailing it to us so we could have a piece of them. I'm currently waiting on our six bags to come in the mail :) Yummmmm!!! (Which will really suck when I do get pregnant. NO MORE CAFFEINE!)

***This was way easier than thinking of one thing to write about. Maybe this will make it easier for me to post more often.

Snow in the desert

2009-01-09T19:31:00.000-08:00

I'm sure by now everyone has heard or seen Vegas snow. But it's a big enough deal to post about if you've heard about it or not! I was stuck at work when the most of it was happening, but Jared and Ethan went for walks and got some really good pictures of it. It was too cute, every so often he'd text me pictures as it was coming down so I wouldn't miss out...what a sweetheart!

*This is behind Ethan's school, it was coming down so hard that it made it look foggy outside!

Christmas

2009-01-09T19:12:00.001-08:00

This was our first official Christmas in our house. Last year we did Hanukkah and this year we decided to do Christmas. Who knows what next year will hold ;)
My Mom and her family came in for the entire holiday week. I can't remember the last time I was able to spend Christmas with my Mom, so it was a huge deal to me. Their son Johnathan (my half brother/Ethan's uncle) is 10 yrs old and him and Ethan get along like best friends. They have only officially met twice but when they get together it's like they have know each other all along.
I was lucky enough to schedule most of that week off so we all got to spend a lot of quality time together. We picked out the tree, ordered in Chinese food, went to breakfast, took the boys to the Adventure Dome, they kept Ethan for a night so Jared and I have some time, and we kept Johnathan so they could have some time. All in all, it was a wonderful week and I really hope that we can do it again.

Below are a few pictures from our week and Christmas. As usual I forgot to get pictures of me with everyone because I was the one behind the camera....oops!

Thanksgiving

2009-01-09T17:40:00.000-08:00

Lani got to host her first holiday in her new house! She gets Thanksgiving, I get Christmas. We had yummy turkey, mashed potatoes, potato salad, and our new staple for as many holidays as possible Sweet Potato Casserole (attached is the recipe). If you like sweet potatoes you will love this. It was amazing! I saw it on the food network thanksgiving special and then couldn't locate the recipe. It took me a while to find it but alas I did and I have it written down in about 4 different places so I won't loose it.
We had a very nice dinner with great company. Ian had to work but was able to swing by and spend a little bit of time with us.

OOPS part I

2009-01-09T17:02:00.000-08:00

Here is a list of the little things I've left out or forgot to add over the past few months:

-When my grandparents came down we went to the Silverton and there was a mermaid in the fish tank. I love the way the rays always look like they are smiling.

-I lost a total of 26 lbs. Which kinda disappoints me that I had that much to loose in the first place. I can't tell the difference in pictures but I can in my pant size!

-I love my Winder delivery. I never run out of milk, eggs, juice, toasting bread for breakfast.

-Their juices are the best I've ever had.

-Winder milk has no smell. It only smells when it's bad. I love that!

-We went to the San Gennaro feast a few months ago and it was crowded, but the food was yummy and we had coupons to get in. Ethan had a ball on the rides and we pigged out on cheese steak sandwiches, garlic knots, and funnel cakes.

-Jared will be done with school this coming December!!

-Ethan grew a few inches and is now past my chin.

-I love shopping at Costco. The pre-made salads and take and bake pizzas are excellent.

As I remember the other things I know I've left out I'll do a "OOPS part II" :)

Holy Cow!

2009-01-01T09:21:00.000-08:00

Another month of missed posting...shame on me. I've got snow, Christmas, family, New Year, and all kinds of misc goodies to write about. So my first personal goal for this new year is to post about all of them very soon :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2008-11-27T21:17:00.000-08:00

When I was younger the holidays were a huge deal and we always had tons of people around. Our own family was usually about 10-15 people and then whatever neighborhood kids or friends were around always got invited. Usually it was a 20+lbs turkey, buckets of stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and you hoped that's enough!

Now our families are scattered across the world and cooking isn't as easy . To scale things down so much actually makes you think and having to measure out what needs to be cooked so there aren't as many leftovers is a chore. I know it's a pitiful thing to complain about but when I think about it, it makes me miss my family and the drama that goes with everyone being together.

Even though times are extremely tough for everyone we still have much to be thankful for. We are happy, healthy, and together even if it's in a different state or country.

We love you all and hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

I did it!!

2008-11-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

I got to my goal weight...nener nener nener!!! The last pound took FOREVER, but I did it!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

2008-11-01T13:52:00.000-07:00

Making scary ZOMBIE faces!! (and trying not to laugh)

We hope you and your little ones had fun and safe trick or treating!!

The right thing

2008-10-28T17:54:00.000-07:00

How many of you have gone to the store and forgot something in your cart and realized it after you got to your car? Ok, now how many of you have made the long walk back into the store to pay for it?
Ethan and I went to Ghetto-Mart and behind my two 5 gallon water bottles was the can of mousse that I intended to purchase. He noticed it when we were putting the bags in our car and started panicking. "Mom, we have to go back and pay for this. We don't want to go to jail, cause if we don't pay for it, it's stealing."
I was exhausted, this was our last errand of the day and DID NOT want to go back in, but what do you tell a kid who is telling you the right thing to do??? You walk your lazy ass back into the store to pay for the $4 can of freaking mousse!
I thanked him on the way out of the store and told him that not many people would have done that; and that I probably wouldn't have done it either cause I was being lazy, but again thanked him for making me do the right thing. He told me "Your welcome!" and we went on our way home.

Pirates of Grammer Island

2008-10-18T10:36:00.000-07:00

Ethan had his first play. It was the cutest thing that I have ever seen and not only because my baby had a solo and nailed it! It was a full on mini production play.

The kids had costumes and individual parts, duos, and then group parts, and back grounds. I remember thinking back that it was sad that in Vegas those things usually aren't done due to school funding. But for this the parents donated money and the teacher and students donated time. It was wonderful. We are so proud of him. The class started working on this the first week of school so after 8 weeks of practice they did an amazing job.

Happy Birthday to me

2008-10-06T18:55:00.000-07:00

I had a week long birthday celebration this year!
*9.25.08 My girls at work treated me out for lunch at TGIF. I had the best BBQ sandwich and fries. They also started the yummy treats wagon...they got me a box of Ethel M's chocolates. With dieting for a few months this was the one thing i had denied myself because I am a chocoholic and once it starts it's HARD for me to pass it up. They also got me the cutest doggie picture frame, now I just need to get Dina and George together for a pic so I can display my other babies at work.
*9.26.08 I had girls night. Lani took me, Lisa, and Brenda to Terra Rosa at the Red Rock Casino. It was super yummy Italian food and I got the absolute best cheesecake that I've ever had. We were going to go bowling but they had all the lanes closed for some nerd bowling competition thing, so we went to the movies instead. We saw Lakeview Terrace; it makes me thankful that I don't associate with my neighbors.
*9.29.08 I got beautiful cards from my boys and a yummy chocolate / cookies & creme cake.
*10.4.08 I had my party. Lani, Lisa, Paul and their kids Jalyn and Cameron came over and brought me a home made tres leches cake. It was pure heaven, tres leches is my new favorite cake! The kids got to play and the girls got to gossip! The perfect day followed by the perfect evening. My baby took me to PF Changs and Lani took Ethan for the night. It was every bit as good as I hoped it would be.

Thank you all for a wonderful birthday!!!
(I know I gained 2 pounds this week from all of my goodies, but it was worth it.)

New Store

2008-10-01T20:11:00.000-07:00

I'm going out on a limb and trying a new grocery store. We only have a certain amount budgeted for groceries each week so trying something new is a big deal to me. It takes me out of my comfort zone. I made a list of all of the stores I go to and what I typically buy from them so I can see where we can fit everything in and my ultimate goal of not overspending on the little extras.
I've heard tons of good things about this place from a few different people. When we went to Ethan's open house they had a sales rep there and I got my fliers to research. Then when another sales rep called me on Monday I figured I'd give them a try. They are (suppose to be)either all natural / organic, farm fresh, delicious food, and they deliver. It's called Winder Farms. I get my first delivery next Tuesday and I'll give my reviews. Wish me luck!

8 is GREAT!

2008-09-29T20:35:00.000-07:00

I took Ethan to the doctor today for his 8 yr old well check. It's a few months late but I'm tyring to avoid going every six months like we did when he was younger. His asthma has been doing so well the past few years that I've been able to stagger off most of his appointments for that exact reason. And if I do it in October then I can get his flu shot along with all of his refills for the next year, so it all works out.
He is 55" or 4'6" tall and 76 lbs. The only set back is he didn't do so well with his mini eye exam. 20/70....my baby might need glasses. I have to schedule an appointment with the eye doctor soon. I think he's going to be near sighted like the rest of us. I can just imagine him now in little glasses....how cute! Maybe he would've seen the pole coming if we knew sooner; but then of course running backwards wouldn't have helped that!
They had him do his first urine sample and he was so embarrassed he did the speed walk back into our waiting room and sat down as fast as he could with the silliest look on his face.
***"Mom, they made me pee in a cup!"
He just couldn't believe that they actually made people do such a thing. I told him that it was normal and grown ups do it almost every time they go to the doctor and just just means that he's getting older.
***"I did exactly what she (the nurse) said to and I filled it all the way to the top of the line."
I was laughing on the inside and silently hoping that he put the lid on tight.

Part of the club 3

2008-09-16T20:27:00.000-07:00

I have passed the 20 lbs mark and am so close to my goal I can taste it. 4 more lbs to go and then I will be a happy girl.

Mt Charleston

2008-09-09T20:51:00.000-07:00

We went this past Saturday to the mountains with Lani and some of her friends / family. Jared's cousin Lisa and her kids were there so Ethan had someone his age to play with. They do picnics and play games. Here are some pics of our fun day!

What an acomplishment

2008-09-09T20:47:00.001-07:00

2nd Trimester Awards...Perfect Attendance and AB Honor Roll!

3rd Trimester Awards...AB Honor Roll!
He missed perfect attendance when we went to Louisiana.

But what a hard worker!

Ouch!

2008-09-09T20:25:00.000-07:00

We had our first big OUCH! Ethan got stitches on Friday; 5 to be exact. He was playing tag with some friends and ran straight into a pole. Whoops!!!!

My poor baby was miserable! As soon as I got him from school we raced to the doctors office and got him fixed up. It was the worst thing that I've had to witness. He's old enough to talk and tell you exactly how everything feels and is not shy about doing so. When they numbed him I thought I was going to pass out. I was sweating like I had just finished a marathon. I can watch open heart surgeries on TV and not flinch. I've nursed some pretty gross injuries and no problem; but when it came to his cries and pain I couldn't help myself. I wanted to hug and kiss him to make it all better, punch the doctor for making him cry more, and chop the damn pole that got in his way in the first place! What is mother to do.....tell him your going to take him where ever he wants to go for lunch and get a big ice cream to make it all better.

When it was all said and done the stitches are fine, the pole is fine, and we all survived. He was worried if the kids at school would make fun of him or if he would be embarrassed to have stitches.....awww.....what a cutie......
We go this Friday to get them removed. Wish us luck and a no pain.

Bittersweet

2008-08-24T17:49:00.000-07:00

Another month is almost gone. Tomorrow both of the boys go back to school and we will get back to our routine. I must say the summer with them off has been really nice. We have been able to go for walks a few times a week, sleep in, stay up as late as we could, and all of the fun little things that we could think of.
It's bittersweet for me to have them go back. I thrive on routine and schedules but I love spending time with them. The next break will come for Ethan on Thanksgiving when he also goes on track break and won't go back to school until after the New Year. Jared will be out half way through December and won't go back until the last week or two of January. So I'm counting down until December when both my boys are out again and I can be spoiled with all of their attention.

#7 Hash

2008-08-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

This is an easy no fail, everyone is happy dinner idea in our house.

We aren't breakfast people so we make breakfast for dinner quite often.

You'll need:

3-4 med potatoes

1 roll of turkey or pork breakfast sausage (jimmy dean type)

3-4 turns of olive oil

minced onion, garlic powder, salt & pepper

To Start:

Peel and dice potatoes very small (a little smaller than a dice)

Add olive oil to pan

Add potatoes to a med-high heat

Add spices to your liking

You'll want your potatoes to be mostly golden brown then add your sausage. Break up the sausage w/ your spatula so it's in pieces. Fry everything together until your sausage is cooked through and your potatoes are done. We usually eat it with eggs. Jared eats his with ketchup and Tabasco.

Part of the Club....2

2008-08-05T12:16:00.000-07:00

I've now made it to the 15 lbs mark!!! I think another 10 lbs and I should be good and ready to gain much wanted baby weight next year :)

Family

2008-08-05T12:07:00.000-07:00

My grandfather passed away this past month. Even though we had gone to visit him it was still hard for me. I loved spending time with him. When we were there it was like we had gone every year and it was very comfortable for us. I regret not getting to spend more time with that side of my family. I know there really isn't much I can do about it other than what I'm doing now. We write back and forth (ok, email) and call so everyone is up to date. I know in the future things will be different and we will be able to "go do" a lot more than we are able to now. I'm very thankful that they are as understanding of our situation and are proud for how far we have come. I'm very proud of my Grandparents and hope that one day Jared and I are as happy as they were.

Part of the Club!

2008-07-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

I am officially part of the Weight Watchers club!! And have been for almost a month. I'm horrible at diets and have very low motivation on my own. So thank goodness that Jared is helping me!!

I don't do the online meeting or the get in your car and drive to find a location meetings. I'm a very "to myself" type person, so those just aren't for me. I bought the books at the first of the year and it only took me 6 months to get the dust off of them and start putting them to use.

As of this morning I have lost 9 lbs!! I haven't officially decided on a goal weight but I have a ball park. So when I get close.....I'll brag then :)

Wow....how the time flys

2008-06-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

........So much has happened in the past month I don't know where to start.

The end of May, Jared finished his spring semester with straight A's. Go baby Go!!

Ethan has improved in his ice skating class, he can now stop (with out slamming into the wall) and he's getting the hang of going backwards.

Ethan also got an excellent report from his teacher stating that if he keeps up his hard work he is on his way to straight A's. Last Trimester he made A/B honor roll so this would be a first.

On June 5th we made our trip to visit my Mom's side of the family in Louisiana. We put the dogs in boarding for the week and Lani came over every other day to check on the cat and birds. Ethan had never been on a plane before and it had been a long time since Jared and I had been on one. Jared is a bit claustrophobic, and I was nervous how everything would turn out and how well the flights would go, would we make our connections, are we sitting together, etc.. The typical Mom stuff I guess. On our flight out of Vegas we were not scheduled to sit together so I had to work on that with one of the attendants and it took up until the last boarding call before we got our seats figured out. Then we go to sit down and someone is sitting in my seat! And Jared being the nice one tells Ethan in front of her that don't worry....she moving!!! Needless to say she moved and I sat. Our flight from Vegas to Houston was nice; not to bumpy and not very stressful. On the other hand the flight from Houston to Shreveport was a little plane and was very bumpy and stressful. After about the third good bout of turbulence Ethan blurted out "Mom, I think the plane is going to crash!" I'm sure that made everyone feel very comfortable.

My Mom, Jackie (my stepfather), and Johnathan (their son, my 9 year old half brother) picked us up from the airport and we got to stay with them for the first two days. Ethan and Johnathan had the best time. They played together like the have seen each other everyday. It's amazing how kids can adjust so quickly to things. It was so nice to spend time alone with my Mom and her family. We live so far away from each other that we defiantly don't see each other as much as we should. In the mornings we got to watch the birds; they have about four different kinds that we don't have out here and they have their own daily schedule. They attack each other and play around in the trees. It's neat to see something like that.....something so simple and yet so amazing.

On Saturday we took the two hour drive to visit my grandparents. We were my Grandpa's 49th anniversary present / birthday present / surprise. Everyone did an excellent job of keeping the secret. On Sunday all of the family came out for a big dinner. There was family there that I had never met before. I haven't been there since I was about 4 so it was very nice to visit and meet them.

My grandparents have a pool, trampoline, and a swing set for the kids to play on. So that along with tons of yard for them to play in they were non-stop from the time they got up until the time they went to sleep. Ethan got his first sunburn and heat rash; it didn't matter how much sunblock I put on him with them playing out in the sun all day it was bound to happen. Whenever it got to warm a nice breeze or quick rain shower would come to cool everything off. Such a different experience and a very, very pleasant.

We had an absolutely amazing time. I would love to be able to go back and spend a few weeks down there. We were all sad to leave and happy to get home. It's one of those bittersweet feelings. We all thrive on our routine at home but the time away with family was great.

And to top it all off.....the plane ride home was easy, no problems until we got to Vegas and they were nice enough to put our luggage on the flight after ours. But other than that, all of the stress I had about flying and layovers was a breeze.

***I will put up slide shows when I get all of my crap organized :)***

#6 Personal Pizzas

2008-05-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

Last night I made the best dinner I've made in a long time. It was light, full of flavor, and best of all it was EASY!!

Pita bread (enough for however many you want)
Mozzarella Cheese (the less fat the healthier)
Tomatoes
Fresh Basil
Olive oil
2 - 3 Cloves of Garlic (3/4 clove per pizza)
Parmesan Cheese

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-Slice your tomatoes, chop the basil, shred or slice your cheese. (buy shredded to save time)
-In a small skillet do about 3-4 turns around the pan, grate / shred your garlic on a small grater into the olive oil, and saute until it just begins to turn golden brown. Turn off heat.
-With a regular teaspoon spread the olive oil and garlic on your pita breads until there is a nice even coating.
-Put in this order cheese, tomato (about 3-4 slices), basil, and lightly sprinkle parm on top.
-Pop in a 400 degree oven for about 8 minutes or until cheese melts, then in the broiler to get the top edges crispy.
-ENJOY :)

*and of course it's an easy and fun dinner night for kids because they can make their own. Ethan likes cheese, light sauce, and turkey peperoni.

May Days...

2008-05-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

*Ethan had field day on Friday and came home with soaking wet clothes. He was bummed because he said they only had 3 water stations they could get wet at. We prepared him the night before with and extra change of clothes, a hat, swim trunks, and an old pair of shoes to get dirty in. Needless to say he slept really well that night.

*Report cards came out about two weeks ago and Ethan raised all of his grades up. He made AB Honor roll and Perfect Attendance. (I'll post pictures later). At the first of the school year he went to a Magnet School and it did not fit him or his personality at all. His behavior changed (not for the better) and his grades slipped because of it. That was the first time he had not made Honor Roll. So for him to bring up all of his grades to 1 A, 2 almost A's, and 2 B's is a huge accomplishment for him. Getting Perfect Attendance with his Asthma is a huge deal for all of us. I'm hoping this means that he is out growing it like the doctors said he should. He still has problems but not nearly as bad as they used to be. Thank Goodness!!!

*Jared is done with spring semester this Thursday. He's got finals this week and then I get him back for the summer. Even with me working full time and doing the Mom thing, he is still busier than me! I don't know how he does it but he does............and I love him even more for it.

*Mother's Day was a day that I wasn't required to do a thing, and I loved it. Ethan and I went to the library, did a little shopping, and watched Transformers while Jared caught up on his studding so he could spend the night with me. That night they took me out to dinner for BBQ ........MMMmmmmm.......

Why we love April

2008-05-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

April is our busy birthday month. We have extended family and then our own. We had three different kinds of cake in three days. First we started out with Jared, I got him a Mexican 3 milk cake. Then Ethan, I made him a strawberry cake with white frosting with candy bugs on it (in post below). Finally for Ian Lani bought an angel food cake and we made strawberry short cakes for him.

Here's Ethan with his new Idog. He asked for money this year and this is one of the things he picked out while shopping. He's trying to explain to Nana what an Idog does.

My grandparents came in from California and made it just in time for all the parties. I hadn't seen them in a few years so I was really excited. Ethan loves his Grandpa!! They went shopping, he let Ethan steer the scooter, and of course all of the treats they snuck in on the side. I got to enjoy some girly time with my Grandma, we haven't gotten to do that in years so it was really nice. We went shopping and saw some of the newer sites. They both just adore Jared and my Grandpa is great at telling stories so the boys got in a lot of laughs. I can't wait for them to visit again!!

Birthday Boys

2008-04-22T20:48:00.000-07:00

Ethan's bug cake

Holy Hppy Birthdays!! Jared, Ethan, and Ian....three right in a row. We had so much cake I started throwing it away. Our biggest challenge each year is to make sure each boy gets something of their own. Whether it be cake or dinner or get together.

I can Skate!

2008-04-13T21:44:00.000-07:00

After the first thirty minutes of Ethans' ice skating class they let the kids have thirty minutes of free skate time. So this week I finally got the courage to get out on the ice with him. We went around the rink about ten times and I only fell down once!! But I had help....of course, Ethan and I got twisted up and we tripped over eachother. No bumps or bruises though, just really sore feet. Poor Ethan got blisters on his feet from the skates being to tight. I think his feet grew in the past week at least a half size.

Happy Birthday Alan!

2008-04-11T17:22:00.000-07:00

Wow, 16 already!! Time goes by so fast. We miss you and love you very much, and good luck in drivers ed and passing your test!

Beating the Odds

2008-04-09T17:25:00.000-07:00

I received an email last week from my Grandpa (Mom's Dad). He's got a long list of things that he has survived and an even longer list of things to be proud of. But in this email he was letting everyone know that the cancer that he had beaten had spread to other parts of his body. It started with colon cancer and that was cured and now it has spread to his lungs, liver and bones. The doctors give him 2-3 months but we have hope that he will once again beat the odds and go when he is ready. I'm still in shock over it and I can't believe that even with undergoing treatment it still spread so fast.
There are a lot of things I wish could be different first off, wishing that he and my Grandma would never have to go through this. Secondly, I wish things could be different for everyone so we could all have had the time and the money (at the same time) to make the trips and take the vacations that never happened. Third, I hope they know just how much we love and think of them. Even though we don't speak as much as I know we would all like you are all in our thoughts and prayers.

XXXOOO
Janae, Jared, and Ethan

My Little Ice Skater!

2008-03-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

For an extra curricular activity we decided to sign Ethan up for Ice Skating. It's a starting place for Hockey and he is so cute on the ice. I felt bad for him because he's the tallest one in his class. I think there is one other boy that is close to his age but about 2 inches shorter and they really hit it off. He even made it through class without any bumps or bruises, and no owies on his bum! They let the kids use a metal bar for balance (AKA training wheels for ice skates) and when it was freestyle he was zooming across the ice. I was so very proud, I can't wait for him to get a little more practice so I can skate with him. It's been a really long time but I really loved it when I was younger. Maybe I can make it out with no owies on my bum!
There are little ones out there that are just adorable they are so tiny and graceful. It would be nice to have a little girl in figure skating and Ethan in hockey.... Aww, my daydreaming...
Next Saturday I will remember my camera and take some pictures. I took some on my cell phone but they are too blurry and do not look good.

Happy 90th Birthday Nana!

2008-03-09T13:05:00.000-07:00

Most of us can only hope to make it to 90. Jared's grandma made it and planned a party for herself with invitations and everything. She decided that she wanted her party held at Olive Garden. So who are we to disagree! Lani got her a huge ice cream cake, roses, and a beautiful spring bouquet. Her face lit up when everyone walked in with the roses for her and you could just tell that she enjoyed every moment of it. We love you and hope to be there for your 100th!!!

George

2008-03-08T22:19:00.000-08:00

(Sorry for the blue eyes, photo shop made them black and beady, blue was the better alternative.)

(I found this old video and thought it was hilarious!!)

We took our baby George to the Vet. last week and our fears were confirmed. He has hip dysplasia in both hips one more so than the other, and he also has arthritis in his lower back. German Shepards are prone to hip problems and we used to just baby him and he would get better, but since we moved into our new house with stairs he has gotten worse. The Vet. gave us anti-inflammatory meds and some vitamins to help his joints and prolong the better hip from getting any worse. We take him back on Tuesday to see if the medication is doing him any good or not.

I Hate:

2008-03-02T20:11:00.000-08:00

-My car that decided to break on the way home from Costco at 5:30pm.
-Tow truck drivers who say they are going to be there in 45 minutes and take 3 hours while I'm sitting on a 215 off ramp 3 miles from my house.
-Having to rent a car that cost twice as much as it did a month ago.
-A rental car company who puts a $400 hold on funds to rent a car for $167.
-Having to pay more money to fix my piece of crap car.
-Spending money that I really really wanted to save.

Needless to say it was an eventful weekend and not in a good way. I can't wait until we can get a new car for me. Jared tells me that he figures that if we fix all the big things on it then nothing else can break and my car will run better than his. Ah, I can only hope!!

Freak Out!

2008-02-22T20:16:00.000-08:00

It's way to soon to be freaking out but I think I'm entitled. Jared has 3 more semesters left in school and he has to intern somewhere in the summers because he doesn't have the time to do it during the school year. So being the supportive wife I take the initiative to apply him for any and every opening that would suit his interests. Whether it's in California or Indiana or even DC for that matter. There is a research program in the summer here but he has to look into that and then apply. As long as he has options so he, (and I mean we) can choose where he will go for the summers then it will help. We have three months before this takes place but I'm already getting nervous. He helps me so much and with Ethan being on a track school it makes things more difficult. I sooo can't wait for these next 3 semesters to be over and done with!

Happy Valentines Day

2008-02-14T19:47:00.000-08:00

More Graphics at pYzam.com

I Cheated....on my car!

2008-01-24T20:21:00.000-08:00

And now I have to deal with it! My broke car is in the shop and has been since Monday. I'm praying that I will get it back on Friday. I rented a car since Jared is back in school and I couldn't take a week off at a time. But now I'm in love with my rental car! It has everything and only 750 miles on it, the new smell the fancy electronics........ahhh......And my poor car is in the shop all alone with a really bad leaking problem that cost about as much as my house payment to fix. The worst part of it all is that there is more wrong with it but I can't afford to fix it now. So the major work is getting done and the minor work is going to have to wait. I HATE foreign cars and why I bought one is beyond me. Well I know why I bought it, it's because I was being stingy with my money and didn't want to spend a lot and I suckered myself into buying a car for "right now" financial reasons. I knew that they were more expensive to repair but goodness how much more. I told Jared that when he is done with school he has to buy me a new car! Along with a few more things, but for starters a car.

Attack of the Clones

2008-01-23T21:56:00.001-08:00

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01541.html

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20061228/fda-says-cloned-meat-safe

Here is a little reading for those who haven't heard about the cloned meats and dairy that will be hitting our market sometime and will not be labeled any differently. I don't know about you but this has made me very cautious about eating anything that is not natural, it's just to bad those types cost more.

Costco vs. Sam's Club (in my opinion)

2008-01-21T13:04:00.000-08:00

I used to be a Sam's shopper and now since we have moved after much contemplation we have changed over to Costco. I must say that I am much happier with the products they carry. The crowds are annoying but as long as I have Jared with me they don't seem to bother me as much. They have many of the same or comparable items with not much of a price difference.

They carry a lot of natural / organic / better for you - products that Sam's just didn't or haven't yet. Here is a list of the things that I have noticed and / or purchased so far: milk (cow and soy) butter, eggs, juices, fruit, breads, fruit spreads, peanut butter, pasta, pasta sauce, and laundry detergent* (which so far I love) turkey bacon, breakfast and dinner soy meats, fruit leathers, nuts, chips and all kinds of goodies that we love.

The only thing that I wish they carried that they don't yet is organic / natural paper products and beef, but I guess either they don't come in bulk yet or there isn't a high demand for them. I wonder if after they start releasing the "cloned" meats if the sales of organic beef and dairy products will rise, or are we just all destined to be science experiments?

#5 Easy Chili

2008-01-20T17:22:00.000-08:00

I don't care for spicy chunky chili, I like simple meat, beans and limited tomatoes so I threw this together a few weekends ago and it worked out really nice. Jared who isn't a comfort food kind of person even said that it turned out good.

1 can of Rotel tomatoes and green chili peppers (I used the Milder cause I don't do spicy and the original has kick to it.)
1 can of Chili beans (usually a mix of pinto & kidney) in sauce
2 small or 1 lg can of tomato sauce
1 lbs of ground turkey, beef, or soy meat
Use your own discretion for the following spices: minced onion, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika
Garnish with Cheddar cheese

Brown meat and spices in a large pot add everything else to it and simmer for about 30 minutes and WHAM your done.

I also made cornbread and *french fries (*per Jared's request) to make it a complete meal. I guess if it was bad by itself the fries and cheese would overpower the Chili!

All of us

2008-01-15T20:01:00.000-08:00

This is our quickie family picture on Christmas Eve. Doesn't Ethan look thrilled. He'd rather be playing with the other kids instead of posing for a picture!

Jared's second Robot

2008-01-15T19:45:00.000-08:00

This is a Line Tracer Robot. Jared's second extracurricular project for the engineering group he is a part of.

Irv

2008-01-06T12:39:00.000-08:00

After Jared's father had passed his older sister Maia and brother Rocky had a beautiful memorial for him at a jazz bar in town. Ethan and I went for Jared since he had a final exam and couldn't make it. I took a few pictures while I was there.

There was an amazing artical posted in the Las Vegas Sun dedicated to him.

Irv Gordon: 1933-2007
Vegas saxophonist played with legends, lived for jazz
By Jerry Fink Las Vegas Sun
The last time I saw saxophonist Irv Gordon was five or six years ago at Pogo's, where he got together and jammed every Friday night with drummer Irv Kluger and an ensemble of other old-time jazz musicians.
The club was owned by Jim Holcombe, who provided the place for musicians to come and play the kind of music they didn't often get to play on the Strip.
On that night, a young clarinet player slugged Gordon in the mouth and was ejected by Holcombe. Gordon had criticized the playing of the amateur musician and the man took offense and expressed it with a right hook.
The punch was a surprise, but that Gordon would criticize inferior playing was not. He was a purist who didn't condone someone passing himself off as a musician if he wasn't serious enough about it.
"My father taught me that you either play or you don't, you (give it your all) or you don't do it at all," said his son, saxophonist Rocky Gordon. "He said to go with both oars in the water 'or else I don't talk to you.' That's the way he treated me. He said, 'Are you serious about this, because if you're just doing it as a hobby, let me know and I won't think anything, but if you're doing it for real you're going to have to put more time in.' "
Irv Gordon died Nov. 8 of complications following a heart attack. He was 74.
Irv Kluger died last year, Jim Holcombe the year before that.
Music was the highlight of memorial services for Kluger and Holcombe.
It will also take center stage during a memorial planned for Gordon, which will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. on Dec. 8 at the E-String Grill, 2031 W. Sunset Road in Henderson.
"My dad didn't want a big memorial service," Rocky said. "He wants us to all go to a club and play. That's his memorial. He doesn't want guys to get up there and say a lot. He'd basically rather just get into the music. My father could say a lot of wise things, but the playing was the most important thing."
Irv Gordon had an illustrious career that began in his native Philadelphia. When he was 18 he performed behind Billy Holiday during the first interracial jazz concert in that city, Rocky said. It was the summer of 1952.
His credits include performing with such legends as Sarah Vaughan, Stan Getz, Tony Bennett, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, and Elvis Presley.
He came to Vegas in the early '60s and played for orchestras at resorts, including the old Thunderbird and Caesars Palace.
In addition to Rocky, Irv Gordon, who had been single for the last 17 years, had five other surviving children: daughters Maia Matisse-Lorenzen and Ameena Gordon and sons Aaron, Ian and Jared Gordon.
Gordon tired of playing for production shows in the '90s and retired to play jazz with such greats as Kluger and the late Carl Fontana and saxophonist Bill Trujillo.
"My father was a really humble man," Rocky said. "He was not a big social guy."
He was devoted to music.
"That was his religion, his spirituality," Rocky said. "He was in a constant growth mode as a musician."
His son has become one of the top jazz saxophonists in the city, thanks to his father's guidance.
"He told me the reality of the dark side of the business, the way it would really be," Rocky said. "He taught me that you didn't get a lot of pats on the back, other than knowing yourself that you did a good job. If you don't get thrown out of the band, then you're doing a good job. But they will tell you if you do something wrong. That's they way it was with the jazz groups in Philly. They weren't great communicators, and maybe that's why they played - it was a higher level of communication."
Rocky learned honesty from his father.
"He taught me that I would be the one to know before anyone else whether I was playing well," he said. "He was as hard on himself as he was on everyone else."