So Much For NaBloPoMo...

Obviously, I didn't make it all 30 days. You go out of town for a few days, and everything falls apart. Oh well, maybe next year! We have been pretty busy lately, which is to be expected this time of year. We picked out our Christmas tree and decorated it--pictures to come (once I re-decorate the tree). We wrote Daniel's letter to Santa, in which he asked for a train, a bike, and "some other toys". For now, here are some recent pictures.

Holiday Wish List Meme

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama and GameStop are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family? To be together and happy!

2. What is your Christmas morning tradition? We have breakfast and open our presents, wearing our new pajamas that we opened on Christmas Eve.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be? A house!

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money? We have family movie/game nights, listen to Christmas music, and drive around to look at Christmas lights.

5. What games did you play with your family growing up? As kids, my brother and I would sit in the hallway and play Hi-Ho Cherry-O, Chutes and Ladders, and Candyland. Nowadays, we play Trivial Pursuit at nearly every family gathering!

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood? We leave Santa presents unwrapped so the kids immediately see them when they wake up.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas-away-from-home trip? I would love to go to Europe for the holidays!

8. Check out GameStop and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year? An Xbox Kinect, Playstation Move, and more controllers!!

Wordless Wednesday

No Excuses

Guess Who's One....?

Sorry for the old picture...I can't find my camera cord to upload a recent one!!

One month, that is. It's our little ladybug!!! It's hard to believe that she has already been with us for a whole month, then again it is hard to believe she has ONLY been with us a month. It seems like just yesterday we were off to the hospital to have her, but it seems like she has been with us all along. Of course we are still making adjustments, but she fits so naturally into our family. Some of her one-month milestones are:

• Lifts her head while on her tummy
• Responds to sound
• Stares at faces
• Can track objects
• She even rolled from her tummy to her back twice! (probably a fluke, I know)
• Loves being sung to (especially Jewel's version of Twinkle Twinkle)
• Has a love/hate relationship with her nuk-nuk (pacifier)

We love this girl and look forward to watching her grow!!

Dreamer

DREAMS by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

I love this poem. When I first read this poem in middle school, it made such an impression that I memorized it and to this day have not forgotten it. I think it would serve me well to remember this poem more often and really try to live by it. Dreams come and go, they change, they remain the same. Some are childish, some are unrealistic, some are achievable. When I was younger, I dreamed of being a famous singer...mind you, I am terribly shy and would only sing into my hair brush in the safety of my bedroom. When I was in high school, I dreamed of getting a soccer scholarship and studying to be a doctor. When I was in college, I dreamed of getting out in the least amount of time possible!! When I got married, I dreamed of being a mother. After becoming a mother, I dreamed of placing in a triathlon and becoming a certified personal trainer. While watching Food Network everyday, I dream of going to culinary school and becoming and even more amazing chef. Now, some of these dreams have come true, some haven't...yet, and some never will. But I think it is important to always remember our dreams and keep reaching for them. I look at my children, and I just want them to know that they can do anything, be anything, achieve anything they desire. This poem makes me realize I need to be a better example in this area, and try to realize some of those dreams I put on the back-burner. Now, where is my hair brush???

Almost Missed a Day...

I said almost. Pretty tired and feeling like crap today. Hopefully tomorrow will be better!

Pet Peeve

I really hate blog giveaways that have 10,000 ways to earn extra entries. What if I don't have a Twitter account? Or if I don't want to comment on another post? Or follow your friend's blog? Or vote for your husband's co-worker's friend's cousin-once-removed's whatever in a contest? Why can't everyone just enter once and take their chances?

By the way, I just won a giveaway where I "earned" 4 such extra entries..... :-P

Wordless Wednesday...A Day Late

Long Day

It has been a very long day. Daniel has tried my patience and brought me to tears...then he turns around and makes me smile. My house is a mess. Every time I thought I would have a few minutes to myself, one of my beautiful, well-behaved children would start crying. I had a cold chocolate chip pancake and chips and queso for dinner. Dr. Pepper helped me hang on to my sanity...if only by a thread. A hot bath and a Nora Roberts book helped restore a little bit more of that sanity. Singing Olivia to sleep made my heart happy. Now, sleep is calling my name with hopes of a better day tomorrow.

Patience

My husband always tells me, "Patience is a virtue," to which I reply, "It's one that I don't have." It's one that I feel like I have even less of lately. Unfortunately, I am the kind of person who wants what I want when I want it...and that is usually right now. This is especially true when it comes to cleaning the house. Like any good wife, I save some of the work for my hubby. The worst thing he could possibly do when I ask him to do something is say, "In a minute." Why?? Because someone will drop dead if the dishes aren't done right this second? Because the earth will stop spinning on its axis if the trash isn't taken out before the next commercial break? No....because I'm me, and I will have a super mega anxiety attack of sorts if it isn't done when I ask. And because I just know that if it isn't done right this very second, it probably won't get done at all. Reasonable? No. Crazy? Perhaps... I guess it's a good thing he loves me anyway.

I find this post very ironic. Why, you may ask? Because I am also the world's biggest procrastinator. I'm just a walking contradiction...

Dream Home

This posting every day business is exhausting...I have no idea what to write about, so I went to the NaBloPoMo website to check out their prompt for today: What would your dream house look like? Where would it be? Who would live there with you?

I don't necessarily know what my dream house would LOOK like, but I definitely have some requirements. First of all, a HUGE kitchen complete with state-of-the-art appliances, gas stove, double ovens, lots of counter space, plenty of cabinets, a pantry, and a bar/seating area. The next must have on my list is an amazing master suite. A large bedroom with room for a king-size bed (yes, Adam, a king-size bed), a sitting area for reading or whatever, LARGE closets, and plenty of natural light from big windows. The master bath would have to have a large jacuzzi tub, a separate shower, and most importantly, his-and-her sinks! Sorry babe, but you make such a mess when getting ready in the morning! Next, the craft room! Or should we call it my haven...a place where I can go and create without worrying about little hands getting into everything! I would also want a large family room with plenty of seating and large windows, a game/play room for the kids, a theater room, plenty of guest rooms for visiting family, an in-house gym, an outdoor kitchen, a covered patio area, a pool with a hot tub, a tennis court, a sport court, and plenty of land and trees.

Where would it be? I don't know...

Who would live there with me? The hubs, the kiddos, maybe a pet or two...

Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that this is a DREAM house :-P

Meal Planning

I am going to tell you a secret...we are fast food junkies. And believe me, it is NOT because of the amazing food quality. Let's face it--between being pregnant, chasing after a 2-year old, and trying to keep my house from looking like a tornado passed through it, I rarely had the extra energy to worry about what we would eat for dinner, much less actually cook dinner. It was too easy to just stop on the way home from running errands or have Adam pick something up on the way home from work.

Here's the funny thing--I LOVE to cook. I love looking through cookbooks for ideas, and my TV is eternally tuned to Food Network (well, either that or Lifetime). I think part of the problem (aside from the lack of energy) is my tiny kitchen. Also, I am somewhat of a procrastinator...which leads to nothing being defrosted or not having all the ingredients I need. So, to try and remedy this problem, I have decided to try meal planning.

I have heard that meal planning will help you eat better and spend less. That is reason enough for me!! I came across this show on BYUtv called "The Food Nanny". Her approach to meal planning includes theme nights. She assigns every night a different theme, and you plan your meals accordingly. I like this idea because it gives me some parameters to work within. So, without further adieu, here is my meal plan for the week:

Monday (Comfort Food): Gumbo
Tuesday (Italian): Chicken Piccata
Wednesday (Fish/Meatless/Breakfast): Pancakes
Thursday (Mexican): Tacos
Friday (Pizza): Frozen Pizza (don't judge me!)
Saturday(Grill Night): eating at Mom's
Sunday (Traditions): Buttermilk Herb Chicken

I hope that this will help end the age-old question "What's for dinner?"

On another note: I am in desperate need of some quick, kid-friendly lunch recipes. All Daniel wants to eat is hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and cheese sticks. So, if you have any ideas, please send them my way! Thanks, in advance!!

LSU, Gumbo, and Random Tidbits

Random Tidbit #1: After last night's lame post, I tried to get some sleep to no avail. I chalked it up to the UTI, but I ended up passing what I believe to be a kidney stone. I'll spare you the details and picture...yes, I took a picture--but only to send to my mom to confirm the identity of this mysterious, jagged, little pebble. Anyway, after getting that out of my system, I felt much better. Unfortunately, I am now having a nagging pain in my right lower back. More kidney stones or all in my head??? I don't know...

Random Tidbit #2: A friend of mine (I won't mention any names--Jimbo) was just talking to me about kidney stones and drinking too much caffeine (which I do). Yes, I think you jinxed me. Yes, I blame you. :-P

Random Tidbit #3: Going to Wal-Mart early on a Saturday morning is a good time to go. I am not stupid brave enough to go to a store with 2 kids by myself yet. Since Adam can only accompany us on the weekend and the kids are already up at the butt-crack of dawn, I thought we would get up and go. Surprisingly and thankfully, it did not start to get crowded until we were checking out.

Random Tidbit #4: I love gumbo. I mean, I REALLY, REALLY LOVE gumbo. But, in all my years, this born and bred southern girl has never actually cooked gumbo. So, since we were grocery shopping this morning, I decided, on a whim, to buy the ingredients and try it out. It wasn't great, but it was pretty good. I will just have to tweak the recipe next time...

Random Tidbit #5: Just call me Doubting Thomas. I admit it...never in a million years did I think LSU would beat Alabama. Don't get me wrong. I am a Tiger fan through and through...come on, my son can spell Tigers before he can spell his own name. But, based on previous gameplay, I just didn't think it would happen. I did, however, actually enjoy watching this game. There were still frustrating points, but there were also some really exciting ones too. In short, GEAUX TIGERS!

Random Tidbit #6: I love cold weather. I am so glad it finally showed up in Louisiana. It always makes me think about the holidays and the smells of the season. <insert shameless plug> My favorite is my Holidays scented candle from Lagniappe Candle Company. The mixture of pine, cinnamon, and cloves always makes me think of curling up on the couch with a chunky sweater, wool socks, a warm blanket, and a steaming mug of hot chocolate...with marshmallows, of course.

Random Tidbit #7: I think I am going to go back for seconds of gumbo....

I Got Nothing...

Tired. Caffeine headache. UTI. I am going to bed with my antibiotics, Tylenol, and cranberry juice. Lame, I know...hopefully tomorrow will be better :-)

Thankful

I am thankful for my two beautiful, healthy, happy babies. I am thankful for my wonderful, loving husband. I am also thankful that he is an incredible father. I am thankful for our families who love us and are always there for us, ready to lend a helping hand. I am thankful we have a roof over our heads and food on our table. I am thankful for our amazing friends who are always there to put a smile on our faces, bring us a hot meal, or help us out when we need it. I am thankful for my mom (for more reasons than I can list here)...she is the most amazing person I know. I am thankful for my health. I am thankful for the knowledge that families can be together forever. And I am ever so thankful to my Heavenly Father for bestowing all of these wonderful blessings upon me.

Wordless Wednesday

Election Day and Photo Comparison

Today being Election Day, we fulfilled our civic duty and voted. We ventured out in the yucky, rainy weather to cast our votes with both kids in tow. Daniel was excited to go into the voting booths with us. He really enjoyed getting to press the "Cast Your Vote" button. Olivia, trooper that she is, slept through the whole thing.

Now, on to the photo comparison. As I mentioned in an earlier post, when I first saw Olivia all I could think was how much she looked like Daniel. Every day there is a face or expression that just screams Daniel...especially when Olivia got her first bath the o

ther night (will post photos soon). Anyway, I thought I would post Daniel and Olivia's hospital photos for comparison.

Same mouth, same nose, same eyes (even though you can't really tell in this picture), almost identical hair color...I am simply amazed by how much these two look alike! What do you think?

NaBloPoMo

This month is National Blog Posting Month, or NaBloPoMo. The challenge is to post something, anything, every day for one month. Seeing as I have been such a blog slacker lately, I figure this would be a good challenge to take on....so, here we go. At least if I can't think of anything to write I have some pretty cute kids I can post pictures of. Stay tuned...

Better Late Than Never.....Right?

Dr. Kleinpeter, Olivia, and Daddy

Olivia is here!! She made her debut on Friday, October 15th at 11:08am. She weighed in at 7lbs., 1.8oz, and she was 20 inches long. When they first showed her to me, I immediately said, "She looks just like Daniel!" But, I will let you be the judge.

Being as this was a planned C-section, there is no interesting labor story to tell. Everything went very well, and we were so happy to come home! Daniel went to stay with Gigi and Poppy for a few days so we could have some time to adjust to having little Olivia around. And Grandma came to stay with us to help out since I had strict instructions to take it easy, not lift anything heavier than the baby, and rest as much as possible...not to mention I was still on pain meds. It was such a blessing to have her here helping with laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc. We are so thankful to have this sweet baby girl as a part of our family!

Daniel and "HIS" Golden Girls

Last Saturday, Daniel had the opportunity to have his picture taken with a few of the LSU Golden Girls. I have to say, I was a bit nervous because you never know how Daniel will react to strangers. Most of the time he will yell, "NO!" and look away and hide his face, but there a precious few times where he will smile and converse and just be incredibly sweet. Luckily, this was one of those times. He walked right up to those girls with a huge grin on his face and started chatting them up...he even smiled for the picture! Hallelujah!!! I think he was as taken with them as they were with him...he was sad to leave. Notice he is holding his Mike the Tiger in the picture. Afterwards, he kept asking to look at the picture with "his" Golden Girls!

Wordless Wednesday and a Daniel-ism

The "baby bump" at 29 weeks.

Today, while on the way to Wal-Mart, Daniel stated that we needed to get a toy for Olivia. He then proceeded to tell us that Olivia wanted Diesel 10 (one of the engines from Thomas and Friends). If he has this kind of conniving logic already, I can only imagine what is in store for the future...

Win a Silhouette!!

This is an amazing little machine!! If you want to win, check out this site.

Wordless Wednesday

Couldn't Have Said It Better....

I have been feeling like this a lot lately, but couldn't put it into words...so I won't even try!

Check out this post:

http://wendingourwayhome.blogspot.com/2010/07/on-being-on-hiatus.html

Water Baby

My little man is becoming a regular water baby. Friday night, we went to my sister's house and she bought a little alligator pool for Daniel. He was so excited when she added the bubbles that he said, "This is a cool pool!" When it was time to get out, I stripped him down to dry him off when he decided he wasn't finished yet...thus the next picture. I have more pictures (unsuitable for web publication) that will be used as blackmail when he starts dating! :-)

This last picture is from our ward Pioneer Day activity. Daniel played in the water from the time we got there until the time we left. I forgot my camera, so my friend Janel sent me some pictures she took. Daniel is the one on the back of the alligator with his head turned away. He had so much fun that he didn't want to leave, even when they turned off the water!

On another note, Daniel has gotten to where he likes to be rocked before going to sleep at night. At first I thought it was a nuisance because he used to be so good about going to bed on his own.
But tonight, while I was rocking him and listening to his primary music, I thought to myself, "It doesn't get any better than this." Pretty soon he won't want me to rock him anymore, so I am just going to enjoy it while it lasts. I love my sweet boy!!!

Weekend Update

This weekend began on Friday with Aunt Michelle and Uncle Jake coming in town to take Daniel on his first excursion to Chuck E. Cheese. I wish I had brought my camera, but I'm afraid the only picture I would have gotten was one of wide-eyed amazement. When we first walked in, Daniel didn't know what to think. Games and music and pizza and candy and prizes.... He got to play a few games while waiting for the pizza to come, then ate some pizza and played some more. He didn't want to leave, but he got excited when it was time to turn in his tickets for prizes. He ended up with two cars, an inflatable hammer, and 8 mini Tootsie Pops. Let's just say he was in heaven! And to top it all off, Aunt Michelle and Uncle Jake got him a new train too!!

On Saturday, Adam was busy studying for the bar, so Daniel and I stayed home to clean. I am definitely in nesting mode and desperately trying to get things organized. I cleaned out the cabinet where I kept my crafting supplies and found some things I had completely forgotten about.

We then hauled the cabinet to the curb (it was cheap and falling apart), then we proceeded to rearrange the living room and take the big green chair and ottoman out of Daniel's room. I didn't have the forethought to take a before picture, so those of you who don't know what it looked like before, sorry. But I am liking the new arrangment. I like to change things up every now and then...it is therepeutic for me. Next task: Daniel's room.

Our Sunday was nice and quiet. We had a good day at church, and while Daniel was napping, Adam and watched a movie. Very relaxing.

And yesterday, I decided to tackle cleaning out my closet. I was halfway finished (I had everything taken out, just had to go through it and put it back in) when the rod holding all of Adam's clothes fell and dumped ALL of his clothes onto the floor of the closet! I had to call Adam (in the middle of his studying) to pick up the part we needed to fix it so I could put everything back. In the middle of all this, I could only think, "Why do I bother??" Anyway, I got it all sorted and put away, and now I have 3 garbage bags waiting to be hauled to Goodwill.

And Daniel has a newfound talent....coloring on things he shouldn't.

On another note...World Market, oh how I love you! Raspberry syrup for my lemonade and Baci for my tummy!!

Mom's Night Out, Boys' Night In

Last night, I had the opportunity to go to a Mom's Night Out where we would be making bows. Last time they did this, it was at my house, but I wasn't really into it seeing as I only had Daniel. But, I have a newfound interest in this, so I was super excited! When I left the house, the boys were busy enjoying Daddy-Daniel time and playing trains. Adam even built a large track so Daniel could "ride the rails".

When I first arrived, I was admittedly a little nervous. I am good with paper crafting, but I have never ventured into the realm of ribbon/fabric and sewing. There was a little bit of sewing involved, but, thankfully, it was mostly hot glue! We started off easy by making baby headbands out og knee-high stockings. Very simple, and you can attach different bows to it, so it is also very versatile. I will definitely be making more of these in different colors. Then, we did the lace flowers. I love how vintage-looking they are. I also made a felt flower with a button center...now I just need to get a small clip to glue it to. Lastly, we moved on to making the boutique-style bows. This was the hardest for me, but after doing it once, I think I can handle it. I was happy with how it turned out, but I definitely need to practice more!

To make things even better, when I got home, I dug through all of my scrapbooking stuff and found a plethora of ribbon!! If only Hobby Lobby would get some more alligator clips in stock... I am excited to try making different styles, so let's just hope that Olivia has some hair!!

Aquarium, T-Ball, and Bubbles

This weekend, Mommy and Daniel went to stay with Gigi and Poppy for a few days. On Friday, we were off the the Aquarium in New Orleans. Daniel was so excited that it was all he could talk about for days! He would say, "We are going to see fish and sharks and sea turtles!" On the way there, we passed a Lucky Dog vendor...I was so excited because I have never seen one in person, much less eaten one, so I had to snap a picture.


Daniel was immediately mesmerized by all the different fish he saw in the aquarium. He would just watch and stare while saying, "Look at this! Look at that!"

Gigi and Daniel had a great time exploring the Aquarium together.

After leaving the Aquarium, we stopped for a few minutes on the Riverwalk so Daniel could gaze out over the Mississippi.

After our long day, it was time to head back to Gigi's house for some much needed R&R. Daniel slept while Mommy and Gigi went to Hobby Lobby...can't get much better than that! After getting some ribbon to make bows and a new Cricut blade, we headed to Wal-Mart in search of potty training pants for Daniel...more to come on this adventure later!

On Saturday, Daniel was itching to get outside and play in the backyard...something he doesn't get to indulge in often at home due to our living in an apartment and lack of fence. Anyway, he wanted to play baseball. When Daniel plays baseball, it ends up being more like golf, so Gigi got him a T-ball set. This worked out much better! He is getting pretty good! He even fields his own balls!!

When the sprinklers came on to water the grass, Daniel decided he wanted to put on his bathing suit....even though Mommy knows he won't get wet. He has major issues with getting water in his face or on his head...but he loves being around the water. He just runs around it instead of through it! After that got old, Daniel moved on to the bubble gun. That is one of his favorite toys!

One thing I forgot to get pictures of was the "train tracks" Daniel and Gigi drew on the front porch with chalk. When he saw that the tracks he drew last time had been washed away, Daniel told Gigi, "Get the green and yellow (Crayola) box." Man, that boy has a memory like an elephant!! He even remembered right where she kept it! Poppy made Daniel's favorite meal for dinner...spaghetti and meatballs. He ate it up and then proceeded to ask for some brown cookies (Oreos)! All in all, it was a wonderful weekend, and we were sad to leave. I know Daniel is looking forward to his extended stay in October when Olivia arrives. We love you Gigi and Poppy!

On another note, Daniel loves his cousin Halle so much that he just had to climb in the Pack-n-Play with her!