The Most Random Blog Ever

Usually I think about what I'm going to post about before typing away, but this time I decided to just type as I think. It will probably be the most random bits of stuff you have ever heard and some that you don't care about, but that's the way my brain does it ALL of the time...I just usually organize it! {side note: I just had to mute the TV so I could think! Who's ever heard of Xia Xia pets? Creepy!}

I feel like the last few days have actually been an entire month.  I was talking to Jake last night about how before Nora I thought I never had time for anything and now I really feel like that, but I've been very good at managing my time.  I'm quick and efficient with a list to keep me on track or else nothing gets accomplished. 

I've been working on the whole list thing with Jake and I finally have him understanding the importance.  Last Sunday, we hosted Thanksgiving at our house for my brother, Beth, my mom, Alan, & my sister and the kids.  He had a list (in his head) of things he needed to get from the grocery on Saturday to be ready for Sunday.  He ended up forgetting 1 or 2 of the less than 5 thing list and decided it was a good idea to be a list maker.  I mentioned its a good thing we live 5 minutes from the grocery!

TV time has been cut drastically. The only shows I watch are Survivor & Pan Am and Greys, but only if its a new episode.  I've also come across 2 30 minute shows that with DVR are only 20 minutes: Mad Fashion & Fashion Hunters.  We have pretty much decided that our time is used wisely with out the function of a TV so when our "deal" is up in March we are ousting the cable & being more productive.  I say all that and then mention that Jake went out to get us smart phones-apparently we were part of 4% of people w/o them (phew, glad to be out of that category {sarcasm})-on Black Friday.  We have been filling a good amount of time learning about them, playing games (side note: if only Scrabble was titled "Words with Friends"...I bet they would have more business), etc on them.  Did I mention we have Angry Birds? Jackie & Al I bet you guys are proud right about now! Anyway, the best part about the phones for me is I can take pictures and videos of Nora & send to Jake when hes working. 

Speaking of Nora, who is so graciously napping, she is all over the place!  We have had a few more bumps, bruises, and scratches here lately due to her daring moves (aka reaching for other objects clearly out of reach and falling).  I squint when I see it from a distance & hope she doesn't cry.  I've been better about following her around and make sure shes OK. Jake tells me she has to learn somehow.  Last night Jake was working out and I was putting her to bed.  5 minutes after I laid her down she started screaming, so I went in, held her (come on just for a minute), laid her down & 5 minutes later she was "talking" and laughing so I went in again. There she was standing with a grip on her crib, bouncing up and down laughing & smiling so big! And there was the death grip on my heart, so we played for a while.  We played a game I made up called "No, No!".  Basically, she reaches for me and I say "No, no!" and she laughs. Or I hide and pop up and say "No, no" and she laughs! Trust me its more fun than you think! So we played for a while (more like 45 minutes) and then went to bed. 

One thing all new moms should know-if you don't already know it...the cute little $1 socks from Target Circo Brand are a waste, they don't stay on & only drive you nuts.  I've found that the Wal-Mart Faded Glory six pack are amazing & never fall off.  Of course this doesn't mean anything to you warmer weather friends, but up here its cold & toes get like popsicles!

I mentioned being busy, but I didn't mention with what. Outside of 3 Thanksgivings we've had a laundry list of appointments, tasks, get together planned and coming up.  I went up to Lafayette to get the oil changed in the Audi (cheaper than taking it to the North side and they give us a loaner so I don't have to sit around the dealership...totally worth it).  The check engine light was also on-it needs a new thermostat and temperature sender...all I see are $$.  Yesterday I had to work, then at 1pm we closed on our refinance.  In my eyes we pretty much paid 9 years of mortgage payments in 1 day lowering our mortgage to a 20 year at 4 1/8%.  That's a savings of over $76,000! Tonight Jake and I are going out for the first time (I know, give me a break, I have more separation anxiety than Nora does) with out Nora to Ruth Chris for dinner.  Tomorrow we have our Christmas party with our LifeGroup from Church. Yesterday I made cake balls for the first time to take to it....if the spoon was any indication of the actual cake ball I'm excited! Next week at Moms & Tots, we are having a Christmas cookie exchange so I plan on making Snickers surprise cookies for that on Sunday. Then next Saturday is our Thanks-Mas (Thanksgiving & Christmas) with my moms extended family.  Phew! That's enough about that already...

I'm in the process of getting our Christmas cards together. This year we will have 3 designs-not on accident, but to get rid of some of the ones we haven't used in the past.  Some will be cards with pictures in them that are not attached or in the card (for family to keep the picture), some will be cards that have an opening for the picture that is not attached to fit in and show from the front, and some that are made from Nora's Christmas pictures we had taken last week.  They will all have pictures just different.  We have already gotten our first 2 Christmas cards and we are excited to get more.  We love and keep them, especially if there are pictures! So sad to say that Jersey did not make the Christmas card this year, not intentional, she was just not present for family pictures, but we still love her & she finally is back to her old self again. She's such a good dog!

Christmas shopping is wrapping up (hah-no pun intended!), we don't have much more to get.  We discussed gifts for Nora and decided to keep them to a minimum, but when I got to the store all I kept thinking was aww, she needs this, oh, look at that, she would love that!...cut it with the nonsense Roxanne she doesn't need all those!! I'm sure it won't get any easier as she gets older. 

Holy smokes, just realized I wrote a book not a blog post! If you are still reading this you must be either really bored or really interested.  More updates to come and I promise no more random blogs for a while, but now my mind is clear!

Happy Halloween 2011

The Family: Pirates, Strawberry & Bumble Bee

Handing out candy...we ran out!

Jersey as a Bumble Bee

Visiting Daddy's work on Halloween

Nora "Strawberry" watching the Trick or Treaters from her jumper-Best idea ever if I do say so myself

Nora & Hunter in the outfits I bought on clearance last year when they were still cooking! They look great & both fit well. So cute together-already best buds.

Summer, summer, summer

We are always go, go, go in the summer and I get a little side tracked and forget about blogging sometimes.  Oopps! Sorry about that-we are doing great.  We took a trip down to Southern Indiana to visit the Burch family.  We were so excited to see their new house-which is adorable & a ranch-which is what we would love to have.  Lucy & Jersey were able to play-well, Lucy wanted Jersey to play a lot more, but Jers is kind of old and tired so she's a little more laid back!  It was Nora's first time sleeping outside of the house, but she did well, even through a tornado warning that only I was worried about.  Of course, I made Jake and Nora get in Ellen's bathroom-LOL as they were sleeping and didn't care about the storm. I thank my mother for making me paranoid of storms & only ask Jake for a house with a basement so I don't do the same for our kids.  We had a good time catching up and chatting about babies-Austin will be here in a short few months & we will be headed back down to see him and all his cuteness!

We also went up to Lafayette to visit my mom and sister and niece, Serenity. She has gotten so big since the last time we saw her and she is as ornery as they come.  I took a few bow clips and bows up that I made for Nora (well I realized she wouldn't wear them for a while-after I made them).  She loved them and looked adorable with them in her hair.  She's not sure what to think about Melissa holding other babies. She's jealous when she holds Hunter, but doesn't seem to mind when she's holding Nora-we are trying to figure that one out still. 

They came down for the 4th and we had a cookout with my family & John, Rachel & the girls.  Serenity loved playing with Ann & Nellie-we blew up Nora's baby pool & had the hopscotch sprinkler out because it was so hot.  Between the pool and sprinkler, you can't get much cheaper entertainment for two three year olds and an 18 month old!  We have become a "little cooler" in the toy department since Nora has come along since we have books and other colorful toys that kids like. 

This past weekend Jake helped his mom by building a mini-barn that took the entire day Saturday and most of the day Sunday- & it's not yet completed. But, other than that we've been tending to the garden, hanging some pictures in the house, and enjoying the summer sun as much as we can with a 4 month old!

Hunter, Nora, & Serenity-cousins on the 4th

Nana with the grand kids

Nellie, Nora, & Ann- in matching shirts from Gamma

Funny to look through the 10-15 pictures I took and see what the girls were doing to try to get a good picture-LOL Nellie is holding Nora's head up with her hand and managing to smile at the same time! Ann is not sure what's going on here



Ann trying to hold Nora's arm to keep her from leaning on Nellie (not pictured...cousin Isabella, but you can see her HERE)



Nora's First Easter

Nora's first Easter was a successful one. Starting the day off with an 8+ hour sleep night-I had to wake her up so we wouldn't be late for church. We wanted to get there early so we could claim an outer pew so I could escape if needed. She was good through the service...I think Pastor puts her to sleep. I did have to nurse her at the end of the service, but that's fine with me because we were headed up to Lafayette after church so it worked out perfect. Side note-I can't wait until the nursery at church is finished being renovated-it re-opens on Mother's Day complete with an updated "Mothers Room". I finally won't have to use some random room in the church to nurse her anymore! Here we are & yes..I know we match. Did you forget my OCD-ness?!

After church, we went to lunch with my Mom, Aunt, Uncle & cousin at El Meson. Since we travel down it's easier for us to eat somewhere rather than cook and then it's less stressful for everyone. And, it was our 2nd year eating Easter lunch at El Meson so I'm pretty sure they will be expecting us next year too!

Then, we went out to see my mom's side of the family. Here's Nora with Grandma, great Grandma & Grandpa. (I just love Jake's glasses in this pic...lol)

In the car seat...one of her favorite places

Merry Christmas-2010

A little behind this year...

I have zero, I mean a big fat zero, Christmas gifts purchased this year as of now! Compared to last year, this is bad becuase I had almost all finished at this point. I guess I'm not that worried about it too much-I just realized that next week was Thanksgiving and black Friday so I better get moving! I just cant believe its nearing the end of November...time is flying by. I'm ready to change to our Christmas decorations since we have lots more of those than any other season. One thing I'm dying to buy is another set of cinnamon pine cones-mmmm my favorite. I went to JoAnns for some crafting stuff and I could smell them right when the door opened. Its going to be here before we all know it!

Operation Clearance Update

Mission complete at 9:45 am at my first stop-T.J. Maxx. I stopped by on Saturday and saw they had 50% off and thought I'd return today to see if the prices would be even lower...and I was right! More than 75% off! Not many choices, but I found the cutest Strawberry Shortcake or maybe just Strawberry costume for $3.00 for the little miss next year. And, a pumpkin costume for my unborn niece or nephew-Anthony's girlfriend is due in May. They are going to look so cute in their clearance outfits! No need to stop by Old Navy or Target.

Happy Halloween!

From the Standefords and our little prisoner! She was a good sport and wore the hat for her mom. She sat outside with "grandma and grandpa" (we dressed up last night to hand out candy) in lawn chairs and waited for the trick or treaters to come. She was such a good puppy, but had to call it a short night since the words "Trick or TREAT" include one of her favorite words that make her go crazy. She would get really excited when she heard the T-R-E-A-T word. We have modified our lingo in a couple other areas too-including the R-I-D-E word and W-A-L-K instead we either avoid the word or use "W" for walk. She picks up on everything.

~

Tomorrow I'm going to Old Navy to see if I can be so lucky to get a Halloween costume for our little girl next year. Yes, I know...a year away-but CLEARANCE is a word that I can not live without! Jake has gotten used to this habit of mine-when he sees the savings he's OK with it. We money manage alike in a sense that we are cheap, but our way of thinking is a little different. I still want it, but on sale/clearance. He can usually live with out it. Oh well, I'll go before I get too much off subject!

If only we would ask...

My Country Cabin: (pictures from NYE)

Our quaint cabin!

The ladies relaxing & playing Battle of the Sexes

The guys playing foosball after arriving at the cabin on NYE-Brian & Al took the trophy

The small hottub we had 8 people in! We lost so much water, Jake & Brian had to re-fill it with 4 tubs of hot water from the bath tub!

Ellen & Ryan

Jackie & Alex

Brian & Megan

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

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Not that I didnt know this a long time ago, but it just became apparent again today when I got home from work...if I ask my husband or create a list for him to do it's more likely going to be done. Rather than just assuming that they will do something if we (ladies) think it needs to be done. When I got home from work the Christmas tree was down, the carpets were vacuumed, furniture rotated back to normal, and the list goes on! I will make a note to self to make more lists for me & him. If you would like your husband to do something maybe try this too! (Hi honey, I know you will be reading this sometime...THANK YOU!)

Happy New Year! It's 2010!

We rang in 2010 with the Burch's, Zeronik's, and soon to be Dimitts (1 m; 2 t's) this year in a cabin down in Southern Indiana...pictures to come soon! However, some words or phrases to remember from our celebration include:

1. Babaganoush (it must be sausage...no I think its eggplant)

2. saying 'ninos' after every sentence

3. "L'Oreal....because it makes me feel nice"

4. ....I'm just kidding...

5. I hate this game...I will never play it again!

We are looking forward to welcoming our first niece on my side of the family, purchasing our first house, and planning for our next vacation-a spring break cruise in 2011! Oh yeah, and completing my first mini-marathon...which I'm still nervous about!

~

Some reality that is related to this post (for Ellen only): The cabin wasnt the greatest..the hot tub was too small, the kitchen was too dark, it was freezing in J/A's room, it was too close to the road, there was a used you know what in M/B's room, the electricity went out on NYE, and a breaker blew in J/A's room...Oh well I guess you get what you pay for!

Christmas with mom's side

Today we traveled up north in alot more snow than we have down here to see my family and my mom's side for Christmas! Here are some pictures:

Jake, my brother, Beth (my brothers girlfried), and my cousins playing the hottest game in our families...Ticket to Ride!

Heather & Mario...Celina & Ricky!

Kate, Casey, Carly, Maggie & Danielle posing after opening some gifts!

Kicking back after dinner

My sister (8 mos pregnant!) , mom, brother, me & Jake! The first 'family' photo in a long time :) p.s. check out my new hair cut! WAyyyy better than my messed up butched out hair cut the last stylist did to me!

Indiana's First Snow!

Here's for all you Southerners/Texans who may not see a lot of snow! & Rach...it snowed on your birthday so I had to take a picture and share! Just enough to lightly cover the ground here in Indy, Lafayette probably has a lot more than we do but I'm OK with a little snow!

Our official 'ugly sweaters' and a santa hat to put it over the top! My turtle neck and vest as soo big I had to pin it with 4 safety pins in the back just so it wouldnt look so frumpy-but I guess thats what ugly sweaters are all about. But, Jakes comes straight from the 90's-you know you had one of these when you were younger! More pictures to come from our get together with our friends in our Sunday school class...The best is yet to come!

O Christmas Tree...O Christmas Cookies!

I love Christmas decorations..they make the apartment seem so much more homey-er (if thats a word) than usual. I like just sitting with the lights off and Christmas tree lights and decorations on-I usually dont want to take them all down! So here's our Christmas tree...and our stockings are hung on the window ledge! Hopefully we'll eventually have fireplace, but for now our $5 fireplace on DVD works great!

This week I've been a lean, mean, baking machine! I made double batches of M&M cookies, sugar cookies, and snikerdoodles. On my list to complete include buckeyes, one of my personal favorites, and a new treat thanks to my co-worker Christina 'snicker suprises'! Its a mini snicker with peanut butter cookie dough around it..mmmmmm! Anything chocolate & peanut butter is awesome to me :) While I was baking, Jake was catching up on some much needed sleep.

9 more days...I still have some shopping left to do for Jake, but other than that I'm finally finished eventhough I've had a rough year. Returning and exchanging gifts to accomodate the people the gifts were for! Next year we may just donate the money we would spend to a charity, church, or something! It would be much easier and a lot less work! Who knows my mind may change later on in the year!