2009

Sorry I haven't blogged. One of my resolutions is to keep a family journal - something we can print and keep. Before I start blogging 2010, I thought I would review the year 2009...

Warning: This is a super long post.

January ~

We spent a weekend at the cabin - enjoying all the snow.

We also found out we were expecting a new little member of our family. It was quite the month!

February ~

We spent a lot of our time playing our new Wii.

March~

We started having weekly play dates with my sister and Megan. Every Friday we took the kids to do something fun!

April ~

We attended our first of many Lowe's Workshops. We also enjoyed the nice weather with trips to the zoo.

May ~

We spent another weekend at the cabin - fishing, slip n sliding, tractor riding, playing in the mud...

The three of us spent a weekend away in Cincinnati. We went to the Newport Aquarium, swam in the hotel pool and met my sister and her family at Kings Island on our last day.

June ~

Colin went to his first Vacation Bible School. He LOVED every minute of it. The camp was for four hours Monday-Thursday and he had to bring a lunch. He was really excited to buy a lunch box and he helped pack his lunch at night. It was really cute.

July~

We did a lot of fun things in July! We took big long walks at different parks, went to parades, watched fireworks and tried to beat the heat...

August ~

We had a lot going on in August. Colin had a shark birthday party for his 4th birthday. My nephew, Brendan, was born! We spent time with family - a zoo day with the cousins, Colin took swim lessons - he LOVED them. He was so good, they advanced him to the next level after one lesson...

September ~

Colin started preschool two days a week right before becoming a big brother. Carter Joseph was born on September 14, 2009. It was a big adjustment adding a member to our family. He is a little redheaded, cuddly, sweet baby. To help with the adjustment, Colin started playing soccer on Tuesdays and Saturdays. It was a great way to give him some extra attention and have something that was just his!

October~

Carter celebrated his baptism with his first trip to the cabin. We had a great month visiting with family! (and I forgot my camera.... still waiting mom, dad and Lisa for some pictures).

November~

We stayed busy in November trying to survive! ha. Life with two kids is WAY different. I am sure everyone told me that, but I just didn't believe them. I wouldn't change it for the world, but I think I was a walking zombie through much of November. My lack of pictures proves it. We did have two great Thanksgivings this year. Justin's family always does a white elephant gift exchange on turkey day.. Colin loved helping open and Carter loved all the attention from the family!

December ~

My favorite time of year. It was so much fun getting ready for Christmas this year. We packed up the car, ordered take out and had dinner in our jammies driving around looking at Christmas lights. The kids got to see Santa (Colin hid behind the stroller - but Carter loved staring at Santa). We baked cookies, spent time with family, made presents, and just enjoyed being together.

What a great year :) Hope yours was too!

4 years

Four years ago today my little guy was born. He completely changed our lives for the better. I really can't figure out what we did before him.

after hours and hours of labor, he was born via c-section. I remember Justin yelling "it really is a boy" over and over. I was yelling "take pictures" over and over... haha. They cleaned up my little guy and Justin walked him over to my head. I remember those big eyes staring at me. Justin was beaming from ear to ear. It was such a special moment.

It was such a great day. It's been a great 4 years.

Now I am off to Chuck-E-Cheese to have a birthday lunch with the family. I will continue this trip down memory lane later today (after pizza, playing, cupcakes, Hobby Lobby (haha), and swim lessons).

happy birthday to my handsome little guy. I love you more than anything in the whole wide world.

***I want to apologize for my pictures- I only had newborn shots in my snapfish/shutterfly albums so I had to save them to my computer and then post them... horrible, I know.

I'm updating!!!

I took Colin on a little photoshoot today. Nothing too spectacular. Lisa and Megan came with us and I got a few shots of little Maggie Moo.

Is it kinda odd that he is tilted? I can't decide. I have way more pictures but for some reason I just loved this one. I promise I will post more about the last month!!! Gimme a day :) Happy 4th of July to everyone!

Memorial Day!!

So I'm a little behind.... Memorial Day weekend was spent with family at the cabin in NY. We had lots of fun! Slip n slides, cookouts, bears, walks, fishing, family..... the list goes on and on.

We also got a chance to visit with more family at the "old cabin" - I took some pictures of the beautiful kiddos but I didn't ask to put them on my blog. So I want to say a cyber congrats to Linda and Tank on little Erin Kelly. She is a doll and I'm so glad I had the chance to see her :)

Hugs n Kisses

So Sunday was our wedding anniversary. 6 whole years! I can't believe it's been that long!

We celebrated by taking our little boy on a weekend away with us. We usually go to Florida every year in the fall, but this year we had to scratch that plan. So we drove to Cincinnati on Friday. We visited the Newport Aquarium, the Riverwalk, shopped, ate and slept in a great hotel. Saturday, my sister met us at King's Island for a day of rides, food and fun!

I'll post pictures later.

But now.... a quiz about my (our) wedding day:

My wedding day!This is all about the day - for better or for worse:
1) What was your wedding date: May 31, 2003
2) How long from 'I will' to 'I do' - 15 months
3) Where were you married: St. Paul's Church
4) What were your wedding colors: blush and bashful (Steel Magnolias?!) but really, bridesmaids wore blush.
5) Who was in your wedding party - siblings and friends - 5 guys and 5 gals
6) Honestly, could your bridesmaids REALLY have worn their dress again: I hope not! I am not sure what I was thinking... at the time I LOVED them.. now, not so much.
7) Did you LOVE your gown: I really really did until I wore it!!!
7b) Would you choose the same gown again: Umm no
8) Flowers - Real or Silk: Real - My FAVORITE part of my wedding
9) Reception - Full meal or Calling reception: Full meal
10) Dance or no dance: dance
11) What would you have done differently: Probably everything - it was 6 years ago and fads have changed.
12) Any disasters? Yes
13) Best gift you received: That's mean - they were all great!
14) Strangest gift you received: Hahaha, I'm not saying... that person could read my blog!
15) Most memorable moment of the day: Seeing Justin for the first time that day, forgetting our birth certificates and having to drive to our new house at 2am to be up and head to the airport by 5am, pictures, everything... I remember it all :)

Dr Appointment

I just had my ultrasound. Our baby is a cutie!! Here's the scoop:

* He's still a he
* He's breech
* He'll be around 7lbs.
* He has a big belly and torso (75th percentile)
* I will most likely have him on September 12th or September 14th. My dr said he might be on call the weekend of the 12th. If not, he'll take me for a c-section on Monday the 14th.

And the best news of the day.... he's healthy and doing great!

Baby Update

I found this pregnancy update on a blog. I deleted a bunch of questions because they were a wee bit too graphic/personal for the internet.

How far along? almost 23 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: How dare you ask...
Maternity clothes? Oh yes... and I'm hating everything.....
Sleep: Love some, thanks.
Best moment this week: Colin asking every.ten.minutes if his brother is kicking me.
Movement: Oh, my, yes.
Food cravings: Watermelon and cucumbers.
Gender: A little boy
Belly button in or out? It's a swimming pool if you must know.
What I miss: bending over, fitting through small spaces, not getting food on my shirt when I eat.
What I am looking forward to: A little baby to love and hold, seeing Colin's face when he finally gets to meet his little brother.

And I want to remember this....
So one day when Colin was playing in my parent's basement, he found this realistic baby doll. I guess my dad told him it was his baby brother and together they named him (Michael Michael - can you guess what my dad's name is - and no that's not a typo, it's Michael twice).

We had to bring Michael Michael home with us. I went and got a little newborn outfit out of the bins in the basement. Together, we dressed Michael Michael and he has been a part of our family ever since. No seriously.

Covering MM w/ a blankie before bed, check.
Goodnight kisses, check.
Goodnight hugs, check.
Including him in our stories before bed, check.
Making sure he is in the car with us when we leave the house, check.

My favorite was the day I saw Colin spoon feeding MM. My mom told me Colin has more of a maternal instinct than I do.

He LOVES babies.

Do I have to think of a title?!

It's been quite a week - our refrigerator started pouring out water! We have towels around it waiting for my dad to come take a peek today. Justin asked me yesterday how I felt about a new refrigerator for Mother's Day. I asked how he felt about a new stove for Father's Day. Ahhh - I hate appliances :)

We visited the zoo a few weeks ago on a beautiful day. We had to renew our membership and so we met Justin's friend and his family for a day out. We rushed and rushed to get there on time and they ended up being very late!! ha. So it was just us for the majority of the day.

Colin is obsessed with sharks. He would rather watch anything on National Geographic than watch age appropriate cartoons. Shark week is his favorite week of the year. Look at how happy he is....

And what's the zoo without a ride or two... he LOVED the swings and told us they were his favorite...

so I pretend to love the zoo for Colin and Justin. They both ask every weekend to go... Am I the only one that doesn't like walking around to look at smelly animals?

Well our little town got a Meijer... This is the most exciting thing since... well since Kohl's opened :) Colin and I are about to run and check it out!

Little Athlete

For my family that reads my blog - Colin's very first t-ball game is the 23rd... I'm not 100% sure of the time yet, but I will let you know.

Oh wait - we are hopefully going out of town for the holiday weekend... oops.

Just know that Colin has t-ball games EVERY Saturday through June. If he enjoys it, he'll have them through July too :)

Email me and I'll give you the info (I'll know all the details tomorrow when I get his info and UNIFORM!!!!!) hahaha...

Cute cute cute

I bought my first item on etsy! I got it in the mail today and had to share. The picture is courtesy of the preppy peach but it doesn't even do the hat justice. I ordered it for the new little guy and I'm so in love with it that I'm going to order a matching one for Colin....in every color :)

I can't wait to take pictures of our new little guy!!! You have to check out Lori's beautiful work!

Easter?! Oops forgot to blog

Cute story to start my post - I just put Colin to bed. He lifted up my shirt to look at my belly and he started rubbing it very gently. I asked him what he was doing and he told me he was rubbing his baby brother's back!!!!

So I haven't even posted Easter yet... I got a new lens for Christmas and I decided to play with it on Easter for the first time. BIG mistake. All my pictures turned out blurry :( - glad I didn't use it the whole day...

Here is Colin Easter morning...

The weekend of Easter, we went to my parent's house to decorate eggs and the annual bunny cake. Our cousins, Debbie and Ron were in town visiting. They are the MOST patient, kind, loving people I know. They even brought an Easter basket for their 21 year old son (he goes to school here and they live in NY)

Here are Grandpa and Colin decorating an egg

Baby Ron taking over and helping Colin

Easter day: We had brunch at Justin's parents house. I didn't get any pictures because.... well I was too busy eating if you must know! Grandma and Grandpa Rick spoiled Colin and got him a play wagon FILLED with all sorts of goodies. Then we went to my parent's to get spoiled some more with a basket and Easter egg hunt. Colin needs to start an IRA with the loot he made in his eggs.

So that's Easter for ya. I have WAY more pictures but for some reason it is taking a really long time to upload tonight so I'm calling it a post.

Tweet Tweet

Did you know Lowe's offers free classes for little kids? I guess I was last to find this out - but I signed Colin up as soon as I found out!

What a great idea! Colin made his first bird house. He was sooooooo excited. He hammered just about every nail and is so excited to go back (we signed up for another one right before Mother's Day to make a planter)..... He is a natural...

**only problem - I can't stand birds.... hope this house doesn't mean I will have any

Diaper Cake

A week or so ago, I threw a baby shower. They are having a little boy and the theme was baseball. Literally, at the last second, I decided it was a great idea to make a diaper cake. Justin helped me with it because it was almost 11pm and I was too tired to hold diapers!

By the time I took a picture, it had been tossed around so much and it no longer looks like it did right after it was made.... sorry 'bout that.

I thought I would share the worst of my diaper cakes...

I'm updating...

Dear Blogger friends,

I am starting to redo my blog. I've been out of the blogging world for too long now. It's time I took down my Valentine's Day header and updated this little blog. So excuse the changes over the next few days! Look- my first change, I now have a signature :) So fun!!!! hehehe

Your blogging buddy,

Dear Baby of mine,

I had a dream 2 weeks ago - I was on a table getting an ultrasound and the tech announced it was a girl.

Ever since, I've been dreaming of bows and dresses... You were going to be Madelyn Elyse (Elyse after my sister-we agreed Lisa wasn't a good middle name, thanks Aunt Ann for giving Mary that middle name because I considered it for a first name for a long time) - or Emerson Elyse - or Mia Elyse ... But today, the ultrasound tech had something else to say...

It's a boy

It's a boy - did you hear me?

I still don't believe it. I have the 14000d picture to prove it - but really, that was such a vivid dream.

So I am shopping for matching newsie hats instead... This will be fun.

And little guy, you won't have a name until mommy and daddy stop disagreeing.... This may take a while :)

Love,

Your momma (there is nothing like the love of a little boy)

Trip

We took a trip to the cabin and Buffalo, NY over the weekend. It was a great time - and great food... chicken finger subs, Buffalo Pizza.... Colin had a GREAT time at the cabin taking walks, riding on the tractor, playing with his cousin Megan, roasting marshmallows... My dad has been really busy getting the new cabin all ready for our summer retreats - he built a new patio, put "benches" at the fire pit in the yard... If I took a single picture, I'd share. oops.

Our cousins Debbie and Ron kept us company at the cabin. I really can't explain how much we all love when they come to the cabin. Colin won't stop talking about Baby Ron and I love the advice Debbie gives when we are there. Really, they are the greatest and I love it when they come.

We have a surprise for Colin - we bought Monster truck Nationals tickets for this Saturday. I think he may pass out when we get there. We aren't telling him where we are going until we get there. I promise, I'll have the camera for that one.

I made an appointment with a local ultrasound place to tell us what we are having. Our appointment is Thursday. I'm not 100% sure we can go yet, I'm waiting on Justin to tell me if the time will work with his schedule. If all goes well, by 6pm on Thursday - we will know if we are having a boy or girl. So far all 3 of us think the same so we'll see for sure! I will still get an ultrasound from my doctor but he waits until I'm 24 weeks to spill the beans...

BUT the place called me tonight asking if I minded a tech in training because the real tech is on vacation. She assured me if the tech in training couldn't tell, I could come back... Should I bother or should I wait until someone who knows what she is doing comes back?!?

Catching up

My sister yells at me when I don't update my blog. I am afraid of her, so I will be updating it a lot! It may be nothing but words, but I will do anything for my sister.

I'll update you on the past 14 weeks and 4 days... I'm still tired and hate food after 6pm. Meat is still making me feel "squeezy" (that's what my Nana calls it) and I'm obsessed with cucumbers. I can't get enough. I still haven't done a real grocery shopping trip and I never feel like doing laundry or cleaning the house. So really, everything is pretty normal! Ha.

I found a great website. We've been trying to get Colin to write his name and he LOVES playing school and doing worksheets - so I printed tracing sheets to help him learn to write his name.

My little boy left us again! I swear he goes on more trips. He left today to go to the family cabin. My parents took him and I'm driving up to NY on Friday. When he woke up this morning, he would not stop talking about Grandpa's trailer, tractor, cabin, woods, trees, old cabin, new cabin, blah blah blah. I shut the car door and I looked and his mouth was still flapping - he didn't care that I wasn't in the car to hear him!

My sister found out she is having a baby boy. I didn't care that I wouldn't find out what I'm having until June - but now that she knows, I kinda wanna know! I talked my cheap husband into going and finding out early at a strip mall ultrasound place (sounds worse than it is, I hope).. I called around and I have to wait another week to go. I'm not 100% sure we'll still be in the mood but I'll let you know. I did have my first dream and I was laying on the table and said "it's a girl" and a dr handed me a baby girl - but I was still pregnant. I don't care what it is - I'm just happy nobody died in my dream.

Ok so I guess I'm really boring. I haven't taken a single picture in weeks, I am hoping I will slowly get out of my funk and back to normal! And I'm not proofreading this post, hope I spelled everything correctly.

Using the net

I'm using the Internet today. I'm taking full advantage of the number of people that read my blog (all 3 of you..lol)

I have this cousin... He is a husband, father, son, cousin, uncle, brother, grandson - you get the point. When I was younger, "little Jimmy" used to come babysit. He was so strict and a little scary! Don't EVER tell him, but I actually liked when he came over. He brought his sweet girlfriend - my favorite part. She is now his wife and always has the cutest purse!!

Little Jimmy is having surgery today. The doctors are optimistic that they will get the cancer. Jimmy has a beautiful son, a wonderful wife and a great family. I'm asking everyone that is willing to say a little prayer for him today - I know his sister in heaven is watching over him but I just want to make sure God hears all of us today.

So Little Jimmy, I guess my secret is out - I didn't hate when you babysat, I actually looked forward to it... cringe :) And now that I'm grown up, I look forward to seeing your little family every chance I get!

Buh Bye Isuzu

Our Isuzu Rodeo died on us! It's been a money pit since we bought it but thought we could stick it out.... I was asleep on the couch yesterday afternoon and Justin woke me up to tell me he was leaving to trade in the truck. He already talked to the dealership, he was already approved, he just needed to come pick something out to take home...


I couldn't let him go alone. I didn't feel that great but decided to go with so I wouldn't be in a pick-up truck or something.... A bazillion hours later (a bag of cheetos for dinner), we drove home in our new to us Silver Honda Pilot. It is GREAT! Leather, sunroof, low low miles, 8 passenger seating.... Hopefully this will last 300k miles and we will enjoy a paid off car in a few years!!!


So if anyone needs a ride, I drive a bus and have the room :)

Dora grows up

I was reading abcnews.com. I came across a very interesting article. Apparently, Dora is growing up. Her "new image" will be released this fall. I'm on pins and needles waiting for her big reveal. This reminds me of an episode of What Not to Wear...

Did anyone else notice how short Dora's skirt is?!

I just thought this was sorta crazy and I had to share.

Sunday night dinner...

I found a recipe from this great blog. It is a keeper and I'll be making it again in the future... I even cooked the chicken and felt ok to eat it!!! Maybe I'm getting over this pregnancy induced, meat-free diet.... I hope so :)



I copied the recipe and picture straight from the blog....






















SWISS STUFFING CHICKEN



4 large skinless boneless chicken breasts

6 oz. Mozzarella or Swiss cheese slices

1 can Cream of Chicken soup

1/4 cup white cooking wine

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup herb-flavored crushed up Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix

1/2 stick butter, melted



Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place uncooked chicken in shallow buttered casserole dish. Layer cheese on top. Mix soup, wine, salt, pepper; pour over cheese. Sprinkle stuffing mix on top and drizzle with melted butter. Bake for 1 hour.

**I would recommend skipping the salt when cooking - it was a tad on the salty side. I did use the mozzarella cheese and not swiss.

Help me decide...

Sorry I haven't been blogging.. The first trimester is almost over and I can't wait! I've been so tired and yucky. Today, my sister and Megan are joining Colin and I at the library. The kids will learn how to plant seeds and all that good stuff. I'm hoping Colin takes notes - he will need to keep our garden growing this summer!!!

I do need HELP! Colin will be 4 in August. I keep getting mixed reviews on keeping him home another year before kindergarten. I planned on sending him to 3/4 preschool this year, pre-k next year and then real school. Or do you think that starting school at 6 is too old and I should just send him to pre-k this year and then school the following year?!

I can't make a decision!!!!

I'll post pictures later of our day at the library.. And can you believe it is going to be 70 tomorrow?! I am already picking out an outfit - I'm that excited! And by picking out an outfit, I mean what the heck fits that is presentable to watch a 3 year old ride a bike around the neighborhood.....

The C Family Open

who: The C family (Grandpa Rick, Gramma, Uncle Matt, Aunt Sara, Uncle Todd, Courtney)

when: last Saturday night

what: wii and ping pong family tournament

where: our casa

why: because they are one competitive bunch... thank goodness I married in and don't take competition seriously... ha

The night started out like any other family gathering.... we hung out around the food (ok I did)... ham, homemade mac-n-cheese (get us a recipe Matt and Sara - it was YUM), chips n dip, Matt's BLTA's (Avocado), sushi, buckeyes, fudge, angel food cake w/ strawberries.... I have to stop, I'm now starving....

Uncle Matt came prepared with "the brackets" - after seeing Colin's wii skills, he was added to the wii bowling competition.... Too bad he lost........ along with the rest of the family - I'm not bragging, I'm just recapping for journaling purposes....

check out who won... :)

Aunt Sara and Colin playing Wii

Grandma, Colin and Aunt Sara's arm

Grandpa Rick playing ping pong

Uncle Todd

Uncle Matt, bracketologist