Christmas Past...

Hi everyone. I haven't posted in a few days obviously because of Christmas. I have a million pictures of Max's first Christmas but I just haven't had time to download them as of yet. BUT I am hoping to get them done tonight. Yesterday was a blur of trying to get things unpacked and put away and I am still not done. First I have to run to the store and pick up a few things and then it's back to unpacking....

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and I will try and get some of our pictures up as soon as I can!

You Can Call Me Martha...

As many of you know we recently started Max on some solid foods. Of course the basic rice and oatmeal cereal, which he does wonderful with and just this past week or so we started on some squash. I bought a couple of little packets of Gerber food because I wanted to see how he would do with it first before I broke the bank on food.

Then one of the Mom's from The Little Yellow Duck Club (that is the Mom's Group I go to) suggested that I make my own. I was of course immediately intimidated by this because I am not the worlds greatest cook. Learning but nowhere near great. But she tells me that it's super easy and there is this great website called WholesomeBabyFood.com and it tells you exactly how to make food, what to mix together, what babies can and cannot have in each stage. In the back of my mind I was like yeah it sounds great and easy but really me...I just don't know. But curiosity got the better of me and I took a look at the site. It was fantastic!

It had all kinds of information, different products, suggestions for food, etc. Soooo.....I went to the grocery store yesterday grabbed a couple butternut squash and headed home to whip up some homemade baby food. First I put a call into my cooking guru a.k.a my Mom. One because she knows how to make everything and two because I don't know how to make anything, especially squash. Which I happen to like but have never made....go figure! After getting a few key points on how to bake and or steam the squash I am actually excited to try this homemade thing.

I decided that I would bake this first batch just because it seemed a little less daunting than trying to steam it. I set the oven for 375', cut up the squash, tossed them in the oven for about 35-40 minutes an wallah they were ready to puree. And boy did my house smell yummy! Karl came home and asked if that was what we were having for dinner. I told him no - it was for Max...he looked a little disappointed and then realized what it was and said he didn't like squash anyway.

Next I scooped out all the yummy smelling goodness out and dumped it all in my handy-dandy blender and pureed away. Added a touch of water just to get the right texture and wallah I had a bowl full of homemade, ready to eat, no preservatives, full of nutrients, good food for Max. I divided it up into some little freezer bags that I have and tossed it in the freezer. Now for those of you out there that don't know about baby food let me give you the rundown. Gerber sells baby food in packets of 2 2.5 oz containers. They typically run anywhere from .89 to about .95 depending on where you shop. Max can eat 1 container in one day. Some for lunch and the rest for dinner....soooo that is 5 for the week, equalling 12.5 ozs and costing anywhere from $4.50 to $5.00 again depending on where you go. I spent $2.74 on 2 squash and made 15 ozs. Hmmm what should I do....spend more money on food that might not be great or spend less money and know exactly what he is eating. A no brainer! GO ME!

Will The Real St. Nick Please Stand Up...

Here is the answer to my Christmas Trivia question....

"It is believed that the real St. Nicholas was born sometime around 280 A.D. in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. According to legend, his extraordinary kindness led him to give away all of his inherited wealth as he traveled the countryside helping the sick and poverty-stricken. Admiration for his philanthropy eventually grew into the legend of Santa Claus."

After I posted this I did a search of Santa Clause and so many different things came up about where the Legend originated from...I found this little bit of info:

"Countless legends (no documents exist) are told about this Patron Saint of Giving known as St. Nicholas. Within both Western and Eastern Christian Churches similar mythology, or tradition, exists. According to these legends, St. Nicholas was born in the city of Patara, and traveled to Palestine and Egypt when he was young. He was later imprisoned during persecutions of the Emperor Diocletian, but was fortunately released by the more humanitarian Emperor Constantine. He attended the first council of Nicaea in 325."

So who knows what the real answer is but it's fun learning isn't it!!

Christmas Trivia...

I found this really cute website that has all kinds of Christmas Trivia and thought it would be fun to have posted for the last few days before Christmas...so get your thinking caps out and see what you know about the biggest Holiday of the year!

I will try and make sure that I post the answer the next day! Have fun!!

Yum, Yum...

HOTY hasn't been feeling well these last couple of days so being the dutiful wife that I am I decided to make him some homemade soup. Amazing isn't it...


I found a really good looking recipe for Potato Soup, which I know that he likes. So yesterday I got all my ingredients out; potatoes, onions, celery, chives, bacon, half & half, and a touch of milk and butter and got to peelin. How I had time to do this I have know idea because Max was having a "No Sleep Strike" but somehow I managed to get it all done and simmering on the stove before HOTY came home.



I happened to be letting Magoo out as he was pulling in and he said that something smelled good, all the way from outside! Go me! At about 4:00 pm Max decided to end his strike and took a nice nap (three hours to be exact!) and we sat down to the table for some Chunky Potato Soup. I have to say that it turned out better than expected. Karl even commented on how much he liked it. We both had a huge helping and decided to freeze the rest for some other cold blustery day....oh wait we don't have those out here...HA HA!

Just Beautiful...

This was sent to me by a good friend of Karl's parents and I just thought it was beautiful. I tried to download it on You Tube but couldn't figure out how to do it so here is the link.

Ecclesiastes 3

A Private Conversation

Here is a video of Max talking to himself after waking up from a nap yesterday. It's a little slow to start but it's really funny at the end!

Take Me Out...I Am Done...

This is what I would like to be doing right now....


But this is what I feel like right now...

Do you all remember about a week ago I wrote how well Max slept and for once I slept. I think that I was hallucinating. I am starting to believe that never ever happened.

For the last three nights Max has been unbearable at bed time. He is not really taking naps, with the exception of one in the morning, and by the time we are ready to put him down you can just see it in his face how tired he is. BUT that doesn't stop the Energizer Baby. He will fall asleep almost instantly when you give him the bottle and then as soon as you put him down in the crib he will stay asleep just long enough for you to get back into bed, get all comfy cozy and drift off to sleep and then...

WHAM! He is up. This was his schedule last night:

9 pm to 12 am. Sleep.
12 am to 3 am. Wake up every 1/2 hour - babble, coo, grunt, cry, cry, cry. Get Mom & Dad up pronto.
3 am. MMMM Bottle.
3:30 am to 5 am. Sleep.
5 am to now. Chill out and nap in the swing. Because Mom & Dad are on the brink of insanity after three days of this schedule give or take a few minutes of change here and there.

So here I sit gulping down some liquid gold (a.k.a coffee) trying to get my brain working while he is taking a little cat nap. I really hope to God that something breaks soon, preferably not the little bit of mind I have left but maybe some teeth or something. Maybe all 4 of his bottom ones are coming in at the same time. THAT would be great. Get it all done and over with and we can all go back to sleep.

Now that is something a girl can dream about!

Max eating Squash

Here is a short video of Max eating his squash. His face truly says it all. But he did eat just about all of it...what a good boy!

Laughing Out Loud...Hard...

I am sitting here putzing around on the computer waiting for a new video of Max to upload and I decided to check out Cookie Bitch, a blog that I found through Katrina's site.

For any cat lovers out here you have to read her latest posting. Be warned it's long and she has quite a colorful vocabulary (a.ka. swearing). But it's worth the read, I would suggest checking out her blog!! Enjoy!

Squash Anyone...

Tonight we expanded Max's culinary tastes. He had squash for the very 1st time tonight.

Here is he is beforehand looking all cute and having no clue what is coming his way...

And here he is after the 1st bite...

And last but not least the finale...

All in all Max did pretty good with his first vegetable. He ate about a tablespoon which I thought was pretty good for a beginner! Can't wait for Sweet Potatoes!!!

Pet Peeves...

Yesterday I finished up my Christmas Shopping and came to a conclusion. People are ignorant. I also decided that next year I want to buy everything online. I can't stand dealing with people in the stores at this time of year.

My first stop was Target. It was a madhouse. For some reason people have no concept of being polite anymore. I must have had about 20 people just walk in front of me, no excuse me or oh I am sorry I didn't see you. No they just walk right out in front of me. I don't know if it is from years of working in retail but I try to always be a polite shopper, I don't hog the aisles, I let people pass by me, etc. Drives me crazy how inconsiderate some people can be. The best thing of all was the cashier was ringing up my items and when she got done and hit total this is what she said..."your total comes to blah, blah, blah - oh and the computer says I am supposed to ask you if you want to open a Target card." Then she proceeds to look at me with this complete blank stare on her face as if I am an alien. Nice.

My second stop was the grocery store. Which I have decided at this point was worse than Target. I don't know what happens when people walk into a grocery store but it's like their brain gets sucked out of them. People are so engrossed in themselves they just have no idea of others around them. One lady walked right in front of me and I had to bite my tongue to not rip her head off then and there. Then she proceeded to stop right in the middle of the aisle and just stood there staring into space. I was really boiling at that point. I tried to send off my most evil stare possible in hopes that she would just burst into flames and disappear - but alas no luck.

When I finally made it to the register I of course got in the wrong aisle. The cashier needed a key because apparently the woman in front of me had a coupon that wouldn't scan for some un-holy reason. Of course I would have to pick the stupid aisle. Once the cashier was finally scanning my order it took forever because he had to bag everything himself. What ever happened to baggers?? That was my first job ever. It was 16 and working at VG's in Brighton. But that my friends is another story.

Back to my bitching. I just can't believe that they wouldn't have extra people working considering everyone and their mother was at the grocery store buying crap for the holidays and walking around like robots. Anyway. Three and half hours later I finally made it home. I will be so glad when the holidays are over and life can go back to normal.

Part Deux of the Rudolph Romance...

I know that you all have been anxiously waiting for the second installment of Karl and I's romance so enjoy. Let's see I left off with groveling...So not long after the grovel remark Karl and I ended up hanging out with mutual friends: Carl, Teresa, Jill, and Renee so we were still seeing each other quite often. Then Karl was promoted to a Manager position and was transferred to Grand Blanc so then we really got to see each other quite often.



I have to digress for one moment to share a bit of info about myself. I had what you could say a colorful childhood, no need to go into details but let's just say the idea of marriage and children was not something I was looking for. At the time I used to just tell myself that it was something that I didn't want but really deep down inside it was just something I was deathly afraid of. Ok back to the story



Karl and I actually started to become friends, he would stop by my office and we would chat, maybe go out and have lunch together, just really got to know each other. It was nice. It's funny because I remember telling my friend Jill one day that I just didn't feel like our "story" was over, that there was something going on between us but we just weren't really ready for it. Throughout this time Karl and I had some pretty good talks and about some pretty serious topics. Family, marriage, kids, etc. I also didn't hesitate to let him know my views on the subjects either. I have never been the type of person to keep my mouth shut - I am what you might call opinionated. We also had been talking on the phone quite often and we had pretty much told each other that we really liked each other. Karl wasn't shy of expressing his opinions either. He told me one day that he wanted a family, marriage, the whole kit-n-caboodle. When I didn't feel the same way he said that there was no way he was going to start a relationship with me. He didn't want to get serious and then 2 years later me break his heart by denying him what he wanted. We just decided to be friends.



By this time winter was calling and one night after work Jill, Karl, and myself met up for happy hour at a local restaurant/bar right. I think it may have been right before Christmas. We just hung out, ate some food, and had a few beers. Well the few beers turned into a few more and the next thing I know we are talking about marriage and kids and all kinds of serious talk. Poor Jill. She was stuck in the middle of the two of us - both of wanting to have a relationship and neither one wanting to budge. Finally she said that the talk was to serious for her and she left. We continued on with our talk. I finally told him that I was just scared to have the whole life that he wanted. He basically told me to get over it. That I didn't have to pass my childhood down to my kids. It was up to me to change things.



We kept going back and forth and at one point he said, "this is stupid, we both like each other, we want to have a relationship, one of us just has to suck it up and take a chance." This may have been the beer talking but deep down inside I know that it was what I wanted, I said "fine....let's date." We spent the rest of the night talking.



Karl left for New York the next day for 2 weeks for the holidays and I spent the holidays with my family but we talked every day. I think that he was had been gone for about 4 -5 days and one night he called me up before he was going to bed and was telling me all about his trip and right before we were getting ready to hang up he told me he loved me. At first I didn't really comprehend it and then I realized what he said and I asked him if he said what I thought he did and he kind of chuckled and said yes and I just about bawled and told him right back. We have been together every since.



This was December of 2002 and I thank God every day for him. The last 5 years have been the best of my life and I truly don't know what I would do without him. He is the most stubborn man I know, he is old fashioned, and would never talk (outside of work) if I didn't make him, he is a workaholic to the core, BUT....


I wouldn't change a single thing about him. I love him for all of his flaws and I love him even more for being just who he is. He is caring, loyal, dedicated, kind, strong, would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it, he is everything that I love. And I am so thankful that he is my husband!!! Happy Birthday Honey! Hope you had a great day yesterday!

No Sleep For The Weary....

I must have jinxed myself. Max must have known that I was sharing the fantastic story of him sleeping and not liked it. Last night was one of the worse nights he has had in a long time. It was the kind of night that one of us was up almost every hour. I am not sure what was going on in his little head but I know that nothing is going on in mine at the moment.

Can you say zombie!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY H.O.T.Y!!!

Today is a glorious day. No it's not because I slept last night, although that did help! Today is a glorious day because it's Karl's birthday. My Karl, my husband, my friend, my confidante, my reason, my sanity, my love, my life - oh and yes Max's amazing Father. Most of you know how Karl and I met but I am sure there are some of you out there that don't know the story so in honor of this glorious day I am going to share it.



Karl and I both worked at the same company ( I won't mention any names for fear of slander but most of you know where I am referring too...). He started in March of 2001 and I started in July. We worked in separate locations at the time. He was the Perennial Supervisor down in Clarkston and I was the HR Supervisor in Grand Blanc. As soon as I started the HR Supervisor from Clarkston kept saying how she needed to introduce me to him because he was this great guy...I was like yeah right. Heard it all before! After a few months of working I happened to be down in Clarkston to help out with one of their Employee of the Month Celebrations and Sharon (The HR Person) was bound and determined to hook us up.



She pointed him out to me and I thought "not bad" - good smile, pretty eyes, tall, don't really prefer blonde's but he cute. I don't go out of my way to talk to him and I don't think he noticed me...I kept my eye on him and after hearing him talk to other people and joke around I decided that I didn't like him, he was cocky to me. And after a few more months of working there I heard from other people that they felt the same way. He was kind of too big for his britches if you know what I mean.


Anyway, a little bit more time passed and my other friend Jill started telling me that we really should try and hook up, because he was this great guy - blah, blah, blah. Well we happened to meet up at a company bowling event and started talking, hanging out, laughing and I realized well he's not so bad. We ended up exchanging numbers by the end of the night and said that we would try to get together soon. Now this was an extremely busy time for us at work. The months of March thru July were crazy. You would work anywhere from 50-70 hours a week, 14 hour days. Insane.


Anyhow I called him up and we set a date to go and grab a bite to eat. We went to Chili's for dinner and then we went to a movie. We disagree on this because I don't remember going to a movie but he swears we did....we end up back at my place and we are just hanging out talking & chatting and he ends up falling asleep (remember the crazy hours). Finally he heads home and we decide that we had a good time and we should do it again.


A few weeks pass and we talk on the phone, see each other at work a few times, and then we end up setting another date up. He takes me to an indoor football game. We ate some junk food, had a few beers, and just chilled. Headed back to his place, watched a movie, and just talked. I knew then that I really liked him. I left that night and we both said that we had a great time and we would get together soon....now this is where the story gets crazy. Karl and I have differing opinions about what's happens here.


At the time Karl was good friends with one of the owner's of the a fore mentioned company we worked at. I did not really care for him. I will refer to him at "C". Anyway "C" was recently married, I had met her a few times and she was nice....one day at work "C" mentions that Wife would like to hang out and go to a movie. I told him I didn't think that would be a great idea because I hadn't been working there long, I was the HR person and I didn't want employees to feel hesitant coming to me about problems because of me being buddies with one of the owners. "C" said that he understood. Apparently not. I found out later that we went home and told Wife that I didn't want to hang out because I didn't like her. WHATEVER! In the mean time I continued on with life and tried to call Karl a few times and it seemed that he fell of the face of the earth. He wouldn't return my calls, I never saw him at work anymore, it was like he didn't exist. For 2 weeks I tried to call him. At that moment I figured that "C" must have said something to him about me and that was why he wasn't calling me back.


In an effort to make this long story a bit shorter I moved on. Started dating some idiot that was younger than me and he ended up being a complete waste of time (Karl called him a time killer). One day I happened to be down in Clarkston for some work thing and ran into Karl. Keep in mind at this point it had been about 6-7 weeks and I had seen/heard hide nor hair of him. He walks up to me with this cocky little smile, stands next to me and says, "I guess I should grovel huh?" I turn to look at him and with the most adoring smile I could come up with I said, "don't bother, I am seeing someone. So he just laughs and walks away.


There is more to this story.....I hear Max stirring so I am going to keep you all in suspense and post Part II later today! Stay Tuned.....

It's About Time...Almost...

Last night Max slept through the night. Almost.

We did our usual routine - cereal, bath, bottle, then bed and he was out. He had a hard day of playing so he was whipped. Usually he will wake up within the 1st hour, lost his Nuk, bad dreams who knows but last night he did not even budge until 1:30 am or so. I went in and did some Nuk Readjusting and he was back to dream land. The next thing I know it's 4:30 am and he is in his room kind of talking/cooing/babbling (sounding an awful lot like his Mother - yes I know SCARY!). I am in shock. I kind of lay there for a few minutes and after a few more he starts to get a little fussy so I go in and feed him. As soon as I give him the bottle he gets about 1/2 through it and starts to fall back to sleep. Finally a half hour later he is done and back to sleep. I think that if I would have just given him his Nuk back he might have just went back to sleep and not needed the bottle.

THEN....he slept until 7:30 am. PURE SHOCK! So Max and I got up did the dishes and played for a few minutes and guess what he is back to sleep. I am amazed. I don't know if he is getting ready to go through a growth spurt, maybe teeth are on the horizon but whatever it is I will take it. Last night I slept, I mean really slept. I didn't wake up a million times in anticipation of him waking up, I didn't have to go to the bathroom, I didn't even hear Trigger meowing his fool head off....and do you know how I know I slept.....I had dreams.

I have always been a person who remembers their dreams, quite vividly I might add. Most of the time they are nightmares, hence the reason I remember them. Ask Karl - I have woken him up many a night crying/screaming/ moaning/etc. So the fact that I remember having dreams means I slept. I also had a sore ear this morning from laying on one side for so long. That is usually a pain to me but this morning I welcomed that pain because I slept!!!! Oh have I mentioned that I slept!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At this particular moment I am sitting in my PJ's, slippers, enjoying my 1st cup of coffee. And I have to say.....

How sweet it is!

A Funny Blog Page...

I was dinking around this morning checking out Mel's, Val's, and Katrina's blogs to see if there were any new stuff on the blogging front and I happened to check out one of the links that was on Katrina's.

I think it was called "Dooce" which was very interesting. Her very first posting had me hooked. It was all about her anxiety and the post partum depression she had after the birth of her daughter. If you get a chance I highly recommend reading it.

But anyway I found a link on her page called "Cookie Bitch" and I was literally laughing out loud. The posting that I read was about her going thru the not so fast drive thru and having to pee at the same time. It was soooo funny. I also highly recommend checking hers out. I might even have to add her link to my page just because it was that funny.

Other than that I don't have a lot of exciting news to share. Max is sleeping right now, taking his mid-morning nap so I decided to hope on the computer and just write something. I have come to realize that 80% of my blog is all about Max. I should change it to "Max's World" or something like that. Anyway off to laundry!

O' Christmas Tree O' Christmas Tree...

Here is a little picture of our little Christmas Tree. We tried to take it in the dark with the lights on...you can kind of get the picture but it a little fuzzy.

We also took a picture of the cool stocking that Mom-Mom made for Max...

And here is a full shot of our mantle. I love putting up Christmas decorations. I realized that those are the only decorations I have. I don't really have much for any other holiday...oh wait I take that back, I have a few Halloween ones but I didn't even put them up there year! Oh well....there will always be next year!

Dance Fever

This was a video my brother in law sent me and I thought it ws hysterical!

This is a wedding I would have loved to attend...wish I knew these people - they seem like a ton of FUN!

A New Favorite Product...

I just recently found a new razor that I love! For you woman out there you know that it's hard to find one that does a good job....

Introducing The Schick Intuition. I realize that this has been out for quite a while but I just acquired one and wasn't really sure if I would like it. I love it. I don't have to mess with separate shaving gel/lotion it's all in one. Talk about time saving! I was able to shower this morning and shave my legs in 10 minutes flat. That is so important when you have a little one!!!! Great product!

Go figure...

Last night Max slept wonderfully. He woke up around 1:30 am and I could hear him just cooing and babbling and then doing his little boy business, so I got up and changed him and he went right back to sleep. Woke up at 4 am, fed him and he went right back to sleep until 7:30 am.

The Nuk rules!

The White Flag...

I have decided that the Nuk wins. I have sat in the house for the last two days, in the same clothes and not even really sure if I have brushed my teeth or eaten anything besides coffee and I don't think that counts ~ I don't quite honestly think I could do one more day. I know they (who are these "they" people anyhow?) that they usually can break a habit in about 3 days but my fragile mind cannot take anymore.

Max cried so much today he is hoarse. Both Karl and I have agreed that he got both of our stubbornness traits, which means he is doubly stubborn (is that a word?) and too tough for me to fight with. My heart has been breaking for the last two days and I refuse to see him cry so hard he can't breathe. I just can't do it. So I am not going to. If I have to get up 50 times a night I would so rather do that then see him that way. I lost a little piece of my soul seeing him just outright hurt.

Many thanks to Val (The Nuthouse) for the kind e-mail, it truly made me feel better! Now I am going to hug my son and go to bed!

I Caved...

I am weak.

I was so strong all day yesterday. I didn't once even think about giving him his Nuk because I so want him to be able to sleep without it. But last night was rough. He only took a few short cat naps throughout the the day so by the time he was actually ready to be put down for the night he was exhausted, and so was I.

We fed him at 8:30 pm, cereal and then his bottle. He actually feel asleep quite quickly and then as soon as I moved and put him in his crib the waterworks began. Karl and I took turns for about an hour and I just couldn't take any more. Mentally I was so tired from the crying from the daytime I was spent.

So we gave him the Nuk. Instant sleep. The bonus is that he was so tired he slept soundly from 10 pm until 3:30 am. Which means I also slept.

Today starts day two of "The Battle of the Nuk". Pray for me!

The Battle Has Begun...

When I was pregnant I had decided that I didn't want to give Max a pacifier. Mainly because I didn't want to try and break him of it later. But Mom-Mom found a great article that said having a pacifier helped eliminate SIDS. So I started thinking that maybe I would give it a try.

When Max was born and had the jaundice they would give him a pacifier with sugar/water on it when they had to get blood, to try and keep them calm. When we got home we found that he liked the pacifier but he wasn't always great at keeping it in his mouth all on his own, many times you would have to hold it there for him. At first I just thought this was because he was so little ~ he still does it. It's better but often I have to hold it for him.

Karl and I decided last night that the Nuk (that is what we call it) has to go. Max slept great from 9 pm until about 1:30 am/2 am and then after that he kept spitting it out and waking up. For the next hour Karl and I must have got up 3 or 4 times to give it back to him. I really don't believe in the "crying it out" theory. The theory is that you put them in their crib when they are drowsy not asleep and then just walk away. They supposedly will just figure out how to fall asleep and usually it entails them crying themselves to sleep. I feel so horrible when he does it, and there are so many articles that I have read lately that say it can lead to feelings of abandonment, giving them a feeling that they are not important, etc. So I have decided that I don't want to do that.

Anyway when I got up this morning I did not clip his Nuk on him like I usually do. We got up had some cereal, bottle, and then played for a bit. About 9:45 am I could see that he was starting to get a little sleepy ~ rubbing his eyes, yawning, the whole bit. So I scooped him up and headed into his room and started to rock. At first he was good, looking up at me smiling and cooing and then after about 10 minutes of that he really started to get sleepy and "The Battle" began. I won't go into all the gory details but lets just say I started to get him to sleep at 10 am and at 10:35/10:40 am he was asleep. I know I said that I don't believe in the crying it out but I guess it's kind of different when I am holding him while he is crying. I feel like I am still there letting him know I am trying to help and I won't leave him when he is angry/frustrated/etc.

Needless to say he is at this moment looking like an angel in his swing. I was to afraid to try and put him in his crib, thought he might wake up. I am only human, one step at a time!!

What a weekend...

We had quite a crazy, busy weekend. I am exhausted!

Friday I had a doctor's appt. and Mom-Mom came down to watch Max. Originally we were going to go to a movie but we were both so tired that we decided to just stay home and relax. Mom-Mom watched Max out in the camper so we could sleep baby-less (Thank you Mom-Mom!).

Saturday Karl and I got up early and after so much needed coffee we headed to Home Depot to get some insulation for our attic. I am not really sure how old this house is or when it was built but if I had to guess I would say about the last 50's, maybe early 60's and I don't think any insulation has been put up in the attic since it was built. The stuff that was up there was so compressed after years of neglect that it was only like a 1/2 inch thick and basically doing nothing for our heating cost. Which by the way is outrageous.

We moved out here last March and for March and April we had an $800 heating bill. Because the house is heated by oil we pay an arm, leg, and foot. So when the cold weather started to arrive this winter we decided that we were going to try and eliminate some of our money going up in smoke. We put plastic up on the windows and Karl asked Boss Man if we could insulate the house- his expense but our labor. Because Boss Man is the best he said yes and he also said that we could re-finish the floors! That will be an upcoming project.

So Saturday we came home with the machine and 50 bags of insulation. The machine goes on the outside of the house and a 100' hose is fed up to the attic. I was outside in the freezing cold feeding 50 bags to the machine and Karl was in the Sweltering attic blowing it all in. I can honestly say it was not my most fun thing to do but it's done and it only took us about 3 hours total. Which could have been much worse.

Afterwards we both took much needed showers and decided to head into town and see a movie. The last movie that we saw was Harry Potter and that was right before Max was born. We decided on Beowulf. I was actually pretty excited to see this, thinking that it might be as good as Lord of the Rings or other related fantasy movies. I was highly disappointed.

Now the effects were amazing but the plot was very poor. It started out really good and then about 1/2 way through it was just like the writer didn't know what else to write about and just threw some crap together. It was soooo not worth paying $9 for. I would recommend it to anyone.

This morning we got up and took the insulation machine back to Home Depot, said a huuuuggggeee thank you again to Mom-Mom for helping out with Max and now we are just relaxing for the rest of the night. All in all it was a very productive weekend.

A Little Holiday Cheer....

Hey, I just made a total elf of myself, as well as Karl and Max. Check it out by clicking the link below. I found this courtesy of Katrina's blog....

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1194797047
This elfin' greeting brought to you by OfficeMax®.

It takes just a minute or so to load so just be patient....it is so worth it!

My Dream Bag...

I am obsessed with purses. Ask Karl....I have many and always want more. But I guess that kind of goes for all things I can shop for. Shoes, clothes, make-up, etc. BUT I have a new obsession....and of course it has to be a very expensive one ~ one that I could never afford unless somehow I happened to win the lotto (even though I never play the lotto!!).

For some time I have been wanting to combine my purse with Max's diaper bag. But I want something stylish....something that looks cute...something that doesn't resemble a book bag. The problem is many of these combined bags are way out of my range, but a girl can dream right....here are a few of my favorites as of this moment......

I realize that they complete opposites of each other and if I had to choose one right at this very second I would choose the top one, which is Coach, the other one is by Vera Bradley. I really do have a problem. :)

It's Official....

I am 100% a Mom. I had my very 1st play date at another Mom's house. :)

We had a great time. There were a few other Mom's that came over with their kids and we just sat around, had a little lunch, chatted, and laughed alot. It was sooooo nice! Very good for my soul. I miss my girls from Michigan so much, just having a girlfriend to hang out with is priceless so this was a really good day for me!

Max's first snow fall....

We got our first hint of winter today. It snowed! We are supposed to get about 2 inches, which for me feels pretty normal because of living in Michigan my whole life. I heard today that from one of the girls in my Mom's Club that they are not real good about plowing out here. I told her that they aren't in Michigan either!! lol!

Anyway being the new Mom I had to get pics of Max outside....and of course Miss Magoo had to join in the fun!

Crazy Miss Magoo

This is what Karl has to deal with every night when he gets home from work. It's bad enough he has to deal with one crazy woman (that would be me), but he also has to deal with one crazy dog!

Changes...

As you can all see I have changed my blog template again. I have to say that I get bored with the same background all the time.

In order to spice up my life - yes I realize this is a pitiful attempt at it - I am going to choose a new template each month. But of course if I get bored before that month is up I do have the prerogative to change it sooner!

Yes, this is my life.....THE BLOG PAGE!!

A little bit messy....

We were feeding Max the other night and he became obsessed with his bib....every time I would try and get the spoon in his mouth he would put his head down....Thank God for baby wipes!

Keep your eyes peeled soon for a hilarious new video of Magoo....she is one crazy dog!

Guilty...

Guilty...that is me.

When you become a new parent you are constantly reading and trying to absorb all the information you can so you can become a great parent. One of the biggest things that I have read is that you should always put your baby to sleep drowsy, not asleep, so that they can figure out how to fall asleep in their own....it's supposed to create good sleep habits as they get older.

This is where I am guilty. Max is a snuggler. I love to cuddle with him when he is getting sleepy, he nuzzles his head into my arm, brings his little legs up to my stomach and just looks so darn cute. I love when he's is asleep in my arms and makes all kinds of little noises, or when he really falls into sleep and does this really adorable sigh. How can I possibly put him down when he is 100% angel at that very moment. I know all too soon that these moments will be far and few between so I guess I am just going to have to continue to be guilty!

The East Coast Tour

Here is a little video of our home....I told everyone when I came home that I was going to take a video and show them that we live in BFE....

I apologize for sounding like a complete dork, and apologize for looking like an even bigger dork at the end! But oh well...that is what happens when you get no sleep and you have to take a lightening fast shower and don't have time to blow dry your hair straight!

Something to think about...

This was sent to me by e-mail from a friend and I really though with the holidays upon us that it would be nice to share. It's quite lengthy but I think worth the read!

A Message by George Carlin:

"The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait.

We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom.

A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.Give time to love, give time to speak!

And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.If you don't send this to at least 8 people....

Who cares?
George Carlin ,sl"

AAAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!

Last night with Mr. Max did not go quite as smooth. Max is experiencing his first illness ~ a tiny little cold. It's making him kind of stuffy and sneezy so last night in order to try and help him sleep a little better we put him in the swing because he is a little more upright, though that might be better than flat on his back. Well all was going good until my crazy, loud, annoying cat decided that he wanted to be fed - every hour.

Trigger has a knack for starting to howl just as Max or I am about to fall asleep therefore waking one or both of us up. I could have killed him last night, he has done this since we got back from Michigan. I am sure that it's punishment for leaving him for 4 days. Alright already, I get the point now will you please shut up so I can sleep for more than 2 hours at a time!!!

Ahhh Hell....

No takers on the house. Apparantly when they were asking about schools they were looking for one in particular. Because our house didn't fall in the elementary school they were looking for "specifically" they decided to pass on the house. Whatever!

Any takers....

We got a call from our realtor the other day that there may possibly be someone interested in leasing w/option to buy our house in Grand Blanc. The person interested was asking all about schools and some other things so hopefully that is a good sign. I think that they were supposed to go look at it some time this week. I am putting a call out to everyone to please pray that something happens....as much as I love our house in MI I would love to start saving for a home here in NJ.

If I hear any news, good or bad I will be sure to let everyone know!! Thank you! I am posting some pictures in case anybody knows anyone that is looking to buy in the Grand Blanc area...and plus I just wanted to remember my lovely home for a minute longer. The last one is my favorite!!

I absolutely loved our dining room....it was so spacious and bright....this picture was taken before we got our new table, I think that was taken right after we got done painting everything.

Sweet Child O' Mine....

Well it happened. Max slept through the night. Now don't go and get your panties in a bunch, it wasn't a perfect night...there was more than one occasion where I still had to get up and soothe him a bit but I didn't' have to feed him and at this moment he is still sleeping.

We fed his cereal him last night at about 7:30 pm, bath, then bottle and in bed by about 8:15 pm....he had been awake for most of the day (much to my dismay - awake all day = cranky baby!) so he fell asleep almost instantly.

Because I live by Murphy's Law I slept like crap. But I am hoping as he gets more and more used to sleeping through the night I will also get more used to it. I think that my body is so conditioned to waking up every few hours it is still on that cycle. Pray for me......

The Rudolph Family

My good friend Melanie pointed out to me that I did not post a picture of the three of us together, so this is for you Mel. I am also throwing one in of just Max and I.

Cute as a button!

We had some professional pictures taken while we were home in Michigan and here are a few that I just love!!!! These are ones that were saved to a disk that Dave made for us....I was able to save a few and do a little cropping of my own....so cute! And yes Mom I will try and send them to you!! The last one is my absolute favorite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was taken just for Uncle Danny....we actually have a really cute Yankee's outfit but being the blonde that I am I forgot it!!

He looks like a little Christmas Elf in this one...I love it!!

This one was taken just for Papa Jim!!! He bought this outfit for Max for Christmas....so cute!!!

Here is my favorite one...Karl was trying to get him to lay his head down in the palm of his hand but as you can see Max was having no part in that!!! I love this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mr. Mom

I forgot to mention that during our little stay in Michigan my mom was trying to teach me how to crochet. I have the knitting thing down but I really want to try my hand at making my very own homemade throw....well let me just say it was not going all that great. I was getting so frustrated. We lefties always have to try harder at things than you righties...LOL!

Anyway I was taking a break because I was getting ready to scream and HOTY jumped in and said, "why don't you teach me than maybe I can try and teach her", he said this to my mom of course. Of course my brat of a husband caught right on.....but I figure now I have some ammo any time I want to josh him a bit...

.

And yes he did in fact finish it and gave it to Brian....what a man!

Michigan Turkey Day!

As you all know The Rudolph Family headed back to Good Ole' Michigan for Turkey Day. It was quite a task getting the whole crew ready for the big trip back. It took me 2 whole days to try and get us all packed up. Here is a picture of Max helping me...

I was exhausted trying to remember to bring everything for us as well as Max so I had to take a little break. Magoo decided that she was getting pretty tired too so she took a little breather with me as well.......

Finally Wednesday afternoon came and we were on the road by 2 pm. We were making incredible time so we decided that we were just going to suck it up and drive all the way through. Things were going great until we got to the Ohio border and then we hit a wall of rain. It rained all the way through Ohio, and then once we got into Michigan it started to get a little nastier. By Ann Arbor & Brighton we were in a white out. BUT we decided that we were so close now there was no point in stopping, plus we had the dog and with it being the day before Thanksgiving we weren't sure how lucky we would get finding a hotel room.

At 3 am we dragged ourselves into Nana's house and just collapsed. Max of course was nice and refreshed, being that he slept almost the entire way! Karl and I tried to go back to sleep but after about 3 hours of tossing and turning we said forget it and just got up. I think we were so over tired at that point it didn't matter.

The day started off great, lots of coffee, playing with Max and opening gifts! Max got a ton of cute clothes and some great new toys. After a while though he started to get a little bleary eyed and needed a nap. I think Karl was getting a little slap happy too....

But Turkey was calling our names and we had a great dinner....Afterward Nana and Papa Jim were playing with Max....

I started playing with the crazy sisters, Magoo and Izzaboo....

Karl took a much needed nap. After a little while Max was in a festive mood and decided that he needed to show it...Karl said that he looks like he is doing something from The River Dance....

Saturday was my family's Christmas Party and the house was packed. It was great to see family, eat good, and play with Max. Here is a picture of Max was his Great Grandma Shirley....

All in all it was a great trip....we got home last Sunday night at about 11:3o pm and we all just crashed, Max and Magoo included!!! What a weekend!

Trigger was lucky enough to have the whole entire house to himself, and I am sure that he enjoyed it. I don't think that he was quite as happy to have Magoo back but life goes on!!

Here we come Michigan!

Karl got out of work earlier than planned and we are loading up the car as I type. Soooo excited to get home and see some friends and family. It's going to be a GREAT holiday!

To all of those I won't be able to see have a wonderful holiday and The Rudolph Family wishes you lots of joy and tons of turkey!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOTY....

For a few weeks I have been calling Karl H.O.T.Y....Husband of the year. I was laying in bed last night (not sleeping of course. see previous posting), and I realized that you could call him hottie....HA HA! I think that is going to be a good nick name for him. I am sure he will be thrilled that I am posting this for all the world to see!! HA HA HA.

See what happens when you don't get sleep!

Murphy's Law

It seems that my body and mind are determined to do what they are not supposed to be doing. Last night Max had another pretty good night of sleeping. We fed him his cereal, bottle, gave him a quick bath and put him to bed by about 8 pm. He slept until 12:30 am or so...I got up and gave him another bottle. He instantly fell back asleep. Slept very soundly until about 4:45 am, was slightly fussy....went in soothed him, gave him his nuk (pacifier) back and he went back to sleep until 6 am and Karl got up and fed him and played for a bit. Karl put him in his swing and he fussed for a little bit and fell back asleep and is STILL sleeping. As I post this I am amazed.

Here is the definition of Murphy's Law: Murphy's law is an adage in Western culture that broadly states that things will go wrong in any given situation, if you give them a chance. "If there's more than one possible outcome of a job or task, and one of those outcomes will result in disaster or an undesirable consequence, then somebody will do it that way." It is most often cited as "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong" (or, alternately, "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time, in the worst possible way" or, "Anything that can go wrong, will," or even, "If anything can go wrong, it will, and usually at the most inopportune moment").

This is why I think it applies to me.

I can't sleep. I woke up to feed Max at 12:30 am as I said and I couldn't fall back asleep. I think when I finally did it was about 2:30 am. Woke up when he got fussy and was up until 5:30 am. What the f! Many years ago I had a very bad bout of insomnia, for any of you that have had it sucks and I really hope that is not what is happening. I do think that my body just got so used to waking up some often now it can't easily fall back asleep. I guess Karl is going to have to swaddle me and give me a pacifier!! HA HA HA!

Anyway. I have realized that Murphy's Law is my life!

A Debacle....

I am having a serious hair debacle.....


Karl has always been a lover of long hair, and preferably blonde. I on the other hand would change the color, cut, and length of my hair every day if I could. I get bored with it. Way back in the day....high school that is, I used to have hair so long it was ridiculous. It was a total pain in the butt, took me forever to do before school. Once I graduated high school I decided I was ready for a change. I cut off 9 inches like that. No tears, no regrets, nothing. From there I started my hair journey.


I have had just about every single cut and color there is except bald and black. I have had dark red, brown, and all shades of blonde and just about every cut there is - from The Rachel to The Halle.....


I prefer myself with short hair. I think that it suits me. I would say that I have more of a spunky personality, or as a friend once told me - Sassy. Short hair is just me. When Karl and I started dating I had a chin length bob and progressively started to grow it out because he liked it that way. By the time we got married it was the longest it had been since high school.

Not long after we got married I got extremely bored with it and cut it to about shoulder length. For the next two years it never really got longer than my shoulders and I would decide to chop it off again, much to Karl's dismay. When I got pregnant I decided to grow it out. I had visions of lush, full, beautiful hair (because of the vitamins of course). While I was pregnant it did get pretty thick but now it's kind of boring and I am losing some by the way. Just one more thing to add to the list of post-pregnancy issues that suck.

So my debacle is this. I would really like to cut it but Karl would be sad and I am wondering would I regret not being able to put it in a pony tail when I have no time to take a shower....???? Help me out girls. I need some serious help! Below is a picture of what I love to do....my hair is not quite as curly but I could almost get it there......let me know what you all think. The actress is Elisabeth Shue. She is just gorgeous!

Mmmmm. Cereal!

Here is a video of Max having cereal for the very first time. He didn't enjoy it too much, as you can see from the look on his face. Halfway through the video Karl turned the camera so I have to apologize for the angle but it's really funny! I just love the look on his face when we first started....it's like he's eating a rotten lemon!!

Hallelujah!

Last night I woke up around 1 am and realized that I hadn't heard a peep out of Max. We gave him a little bit of cereal around 8:30 pm, a bath (because he had cereal) and then straight to bed ~ around 9 pm, give or take a few minutes. So when I woke I was expecting it to be still fairly early and was shocked when I realized what time it was.....I would just like to say Thank You to the fine friends at Gerber for helping me to get a straight 3 hours of sleep at a time!

As I was trying to will myself back to sleep before Max woke I heard a strange noise coming from the monitor....it sounded like voices or more like talking. At that point I was instantly awake and having visions of Freddie Kruger. It was freaking me out and I started to wonder if I was really awake, maybe I was just dreaming. So I leaned up and turned up the volume just a little bit (as to not wake HOTY - hubbie of the year) and realized that it was a man's voice I could hear.....I have to say I was really kind of freaking out at this point. Then I heard what it actually was. I was listening to a sermon or at least someone preaching. What I actually heard was a radio station, the guy was saying something like Praise God and some other stuff that I couldn't quite make out but then the next thing I knew I was listening to a choir singing some gospel song. Talk about relief...I had no idea that our monitor was that good!

After that I was able to sleep a little bit better, but who knew I would be getting saved while I was listening for Max all at the same time! And as a side note he slept until 2:30 pm.....a whopping 5 1/2 hours. That is the most he has slept since we brought him home. I am not kidding! I woke up, changed him, fed him, and then he went back to sleep until about 6 am or so...give or take a few minutes. I love rice cereal!

MMMM...Cereal....

Max had his first taste of cereal Friday night. I only made up a teaspoon because I wasn't sure how he would do with it. I think most of it came back out....he didn't really like it. See below!

He kept pushing most of it out with his tongue...he wasn't quite getting the hang of swallowing it....

Last night went much better. He got down a 1/2 of a teaspoon. Woo-Hoo! We have a video but I haven't uploaded it yet so keep your eyes peeled for it -it's hysterical!!

Momma I'm Coming Home....

Spoken by Mr. Ozzy Osborne himself.....

Karl, Max, Magoo, and myself are heading back to Michigan for Turkey Day and I am soooo excited! It's going to be a very short trip, we are only going to be there from Thursday thru Sunday but who cares....I get to see my family, a few friends, and pig out on turkey. What more could a girl ask for!

Plus we are getting a family portrait done while we are there...and I think that we are going to try and squeeze some baby pictures in for Max. We have a great friend, Dave Hodgkin who is a photographer in Grand Blanc, he owns BH Photograhic and he is also the photographer that took our wedding pictures. He's great and I can't wait to see how he gets Max to smile!

I am being hailed by Miss Magoo who needs to go outside. Ciao!

4 months going on 1 year....

Max had his 4 month check up today at the doctor. He weighs a whopping 15 lbs and 13 oz. and he is 24 1/2 inches long. He is in the 75th percentile for his weight and 50th for his height.

He did not do so well with his shots today....he cried so hard. It broke my heart. His poor little face was so red, and he did the crying thing where no sound comes out. AAAUUUGGG! I was almost crying. But he got over them quickly and he took a nice little nap on the way home and Daddy is feeding him right now.

We talked in length to the doctor about how he is not sleeping and he thinks that he might be having a little acid reflux. Which would explain his out of control drooling issue right now. He took a look and did not see any teeth and he does not have an ear infection...the two biggest clues that teeth are on the way. He suggested that I try a little bit of rice cereal at night before his last bottle and see if that helps...if in a week still the same Max has to try some baby Zantac....so we shall see.

All in all Max is in perfect health and is already trying to sit up...he looks like he is trying to do sit ups, and he is trying to stand as well! Crazy.....can't believe how fast he is growing! Well Daddy and I are going to eat some dinner and then the whole family is going to bed!

Eat.Pray.Love

This is one of the books that I am currently reading for my book club. When I first started it I was having a very hard time getting into it, it just seemed to drag along and was not really capturing my interest. But I told myself that I should just keep reading so at least I would have something to talk about at our next meeting.

This morning I decided to sit down and read a little more while Max is taking his mid-morning nap and I have decided that I LOVE this book. Here is the synopsis of the book:

"In her early thirties, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern American woman was supposed to want - husband, country home, successful career - but instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she felt consumed by panic and confusion. This wise and rapturous book is the story of how she left behind all these outward marks of success, and of what she found in their place. Following a divorce and a crushing depression, Gilbert set out to examine three different aspects of her nature, set against the backdrop of three different cultures: pleasures in Italy, devotion in India, and in the Indonesian island of Bali, a balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence."

The book is split into three different sections, her trip to Italy, India, and finally Indonesia. I am to the India part and in reading it have found out a few things about myself. During her trip to India and in trying to learn meditation she realizes that she is very much a controlling person and how hard it is for her to just let life go and accept it. Below is an excerpt that I love;

I have searched frantically for contentment for so many years in so many ways, and all of these acquisitions and accomplishments - they run you down in the end. Life, if you keep chasing it so hard, will drive you to death. Time - when pursued like a bandit - will behave like one; always remaining one county or one room ahead of you, changing its name and hair color to elude you, slipping out the back door of the motel just as you're banging through the lobby with your newest search warrant, leaving only a burning cigarette in the ashtray to taunt you. At some point you have to stop because it won't. You have to admit that you can't catch it. That you're not supposed to catch it. At some point, you gotta let go and sit still and allow contentment to come to you.

That is exactly how I feel. I always feel like I have to control all the things around me. In having Max I really have learned this about myself. I constantly find myself saying that I don't understand why he does or doesn't do things, I want to control everything about his life....but I can't. I think that I have become this way because I had a lot of things happen to me as a child that I couldn't control, I love my mother so much (especially now that I have a child of my own) and I don't blame her for what I went through as a child. She had three lives to worry about including her own and I know that it could not have been easy for her - I am barely making it by with just one and I have a husband who is always there for me. She was not that lucky.

I have to let the control issue not control me. That is so very hard for me to say and I think that it's going to be even harder to do. Practice what you preach....

I want to be able to do this for my son. I don't want him to grow up thinking that he has to control every single thing about his life. I want him to enjoy it...not spend every waking moment worried about what might or might not happen because it's out of his control. I can hear him in his swing right now cooing and babbling and I am tearing up just thinking about his sweet face and I just hope that I can love him enough to teach him about life....the right way!

Bouncin' Fool

Here is an adorable video of Max in his new bouncer seat. I apologize that my voice is so loud in the video but I was holding the camera a little too close to my face....but you get the idea of what Max is doing. He was laughing at one of Magoo's dog toys. I was sitting there shaking it and he was having a blast!

Just another day in Paradise.....

*****I have to post a warning before you start reading....this is going to be an extremely long post....but bare with me it's worth the read! *****

First let me start this posting off by saying Karl and I are extremely grateful for the house we are staying in. Karl has the most incredible Boss and it's a blessing that we don't have to pay two mortgages while we are trying desperately to sell our house in Michigan.....BUT on the other hand you would not believe some of the things that we have encountered since we have moved in.

Just to name a few things;
~ Septic was not working when we got here, basically we had no toilets
~ The fridge was extremely diplatidated....I mean literately held on my duck tape
~ We had many broken windows, I think 5 to be exact
~ Who ever lived her before must have had an obsession with nails because there were about 5 million in each and every room....some just painted over
~ Speaking of paint there must have been about 10 different shades of gray in every room, except for one and it was Smurf blue
~ The dryer didn't work
~ The floors look like someone stripped them and then let a pack of angry dogs run through AND THEN put some varnish on them....

BUT please don't get me wrong I am SOOOOOO thankful that Karl and I are here. He loves his job, we don't have to struggle financially with two mortgages, and most important of all we have a roof over our head and food in our bellies...so with that I have to say a big Thank You to Mr. Ench and Hopewell Nursery!

In case you are all wondering where I am going with this we had, hmmmm how should I say this.......an adventure last night. Let me set the stage. Max is in his swing taking a little nap, Karl is watching the Sci-Fi Channel (or as The Nuthouse's little gal would say the Skee Fee channel), I am sitting contentedly on the other couch knitting a scarf (I know, like a scene out of Leave it to beaver...).

Anyway. All of a sudden Karl goes oh sh#* there is a bat in the house. I look up and say what (I was in a zone knitting like crazy). He says again oh so casually, "there is a bat in the house, duck." This is what I said not so casually.....WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At that moment the real show started. The little winged critter starts flying through the hall way and I am flattened on the couch like a pancake and Karl starts running through the house trying to figure out where it has gone. As I am still in pancake mode I hear Trigger (the 24 pound Cat) running around trying to catch it....can you say Rabies! Magoo is instantly aware that something is up and starts running around trying to catch the 24 pound cat......my husband is running around trying to figure out how to get rid or our little winged friend. Max is still sleeping in his swing.

The next thing I know Karl says that the critter is in Max's room....great, just where I don't want him to be - but I am slightly thankful it's not in my hair. Karl closes the bat in and I ask where the cat is, Karl answer oh so casually "in Max's room".....WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I tell him he has to get the cat out and he says "then I have to go in there".....ok what happened to my big bad husband that is not afraid of anything??? Has anybody seen him?

Finally we manage to persuade the cat out by feeding him (he is 24 pounds and now you know why!). Karl closes the door and I instantly ask him how he is going to get it out and he says he doesn't know....again with the WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then he tells me that they used to get them in their house at home and I say well how did you get rid of them and he says that his Dad told him to throw a sheet over it....so he goes in the basement brings up every single mis-matched sheet we have from painting and proceeds to spend the next half hour trying to throw the sheet into the bedroom and HOPING that it will land on the bat (who is chillin on the wall, attached to some cute little pictures that are hanging above the changing table.) Finally I point out that his sheet tactic is not working and I tell him he has to try something else. So he decides to get his pellet gun out and decides that he is just going to shoot it.....in case you all forgot where we are let me remind you.....in the house, in Max's room.

While he is trying to figure out how to shoot the critter without breaking the window or putting a small hole in the wall I proceed to get on the phone with my mom trying to figure out how they used to get rid of bats that would show up in my Grandma's house....I am on the phone laughing my butt off with my Mom and Jim and Karl is still trying to figure out how to shoot the critter. Let me point out that there were many times Karl would open the door and then suddenly come flying out back into the hall way because the critter had taken flight.

FINALLY the critter lands on the top of the window trip and Karl decides that this is his moment, he picks up the pellet gun, takes aim and shoots.....I am cowering in the kitchen still on the phone with my mom and I hear him say...."I got him!". I come running down the hallway and he is standing inside the door but Mr. critter is nowhere to be found. So I ask is he sure, yes he's sure he just don't know where he is.....I look down and I see a pair of shoes I had left in there that I had taken off while playing with Max and I scream "is it in my shoe!". Karl assures me it's not and finally he finds him laying very close to my other shoe. Karl proceeds to take one of the sheets and scoops up poor deceased critter and ties it in a garbage bag, I say good-night to my Mom & Jim and we head out to the living room to finally relax.....and Max is still sleeping in his swing!

The point of this whole story is that we never knew when we decided to come to the east coast that we would have such an adventure!!!!

Too Funny....

As I was posting the previous picture I found a website that says it all.....

http://www.nomuffintop.com/

You have to check it out....it's hilarious!

Skinny Jeans here I come!

As you all know I have recently joined a gym in hopes of getting rid of my "baby" weight. As of last week I had lost three pounds! Woo-Hoo! I was even able to fit into a pair of jeans that I was wearing at the beginning of my pregnancy....they were a bigger size than what I normally am but I am just happy to not be wearing maternity jeans anymore. I've decided that I am not going to weigh myself anymore, I am going to try and base my weight on how my clothes fit....

This morning I had an even bigger surprise! I fit into another pair of jeans pre-pregnancy....they also were a little bigger on me then but I am thrilled that I am just able to put them on and not look like this.....

Keep in mind that is not an actual picture of me (thank you Lord!) and even if it was I know that all my girls would kick my butt for walking out in public like that!! But my point was I don't look like a sausage trying to squeeze into pants way too small for me.

I should print this picture out and put it on the fridge for motivation. I just might do that.

I am Grace Kelly....

Melanie sent this little quiz to me the other day and I thought it was so cute that I am posting it. Have fun!

Which Movie Star Are You?

This is kind of fun! Ever wonder which movie star you are most like?

Don't read ahead please! Well ~ A team of researchers got together and analyzed the personalities of movie stars.The gathered info has been incorporated into this quiz. There are only 10 questions so it doesn't take long. Number your paper from 1 to 10 , then answer each question with the choice that most describes you at this point in your life , and then add up the points that correspond with your answers.

And don't be a butt and ruin the fun by not responding ... Now don't look ahead or you will ruin the fun!

1. Which describes your perfect date?

a) Candlelight dinner for two
b) Amusement park
c) Roller blading in the park
d) Rock concert
e) Have dinner & see a movie
f) Dinner at home with a loved one

2. What is your favorite type of music?
a) Rock and Roll
b) Alternative
c) Soft Rock
d) Classical
e)Christian
f) Jazz

3. What is your favorite type of movie?
a) Comedy
b) Horror
c) Musical
d) Romance
e) Documentary
f) Mystery

4. Which of the following jobs would you choose if you were given only these choices?
a) Waiter/Waitress
b) Sports Player
c) Teacher
d) Policeman
e) Bartender
f) Business person

5. Which would you rather do if you had an hour to waste?
a) Work out
b) Make out
c) Watch TV
d) Listen to the radio
e) Sleep
f) Read

6. Of the following colors, which do you like best?
a) Yellow
b) White
c) Sky blue
d) Teal
e) Gold
f) Red

7. Which one of the following would you like to eat right now?
a) Ice cream
b) Pizza
c) Sushi
d) Pasta
e) Salad
f) Lobster Tail

8. Which is your favorite holiday?
a) Halloween
b) Christmas
c) New Year's
d) Valentine's Day
e) Thanksgiving
f) Fourth of July

9. If you could go to any of the following places, which would it be?
a) Reno
b) Spain
c) Las Vegas
d) Hawaii
e) Hollywood
f) British Columbia

10. Of the following, who would you rather spend time with?
a) Someone who is smart
b) Someone with good looks
c) Someone who is a party animal
d) Someone who has fun all the time
e) Someone who is very emotional
f) Someone who is fun to be with

Now total up your points on each question:
1. a-4 b-2 c-5 d-1 e-3 f-6
2. a-2 b-1 c-4 d-5 e-3 f-6
3. a-2 b-1 c-3 d-4 e-5 f-6
4. a-4 b-5 c-3 d-2 e-1 f-6
5. a-5 b-4 c-2 d-1 e-3 f-6
6. a-1 b-5 c-3 d-2 e-4 f-6
7. a-3 b-2 c-1 d-4 e-5 f-6
8. a-1 b-3 c-2 d-4 e-5 f-6
9. a-4 b-5 c-1 d-4 e-3 f-6
10. a-5 b-2 c-1 d-3 e-4 f-6

NOW take your total and find out which Movie Star you are:

(10-17 points) You are MADONNA: You are wild and crazy and you know it. You know how to have fun, but you may take it to extremes. You know what you are doing though, and are much in control of your own life. People don't always see things your way, but that doesn't mean that you should do away with your beliefs. Try to remember that your wild spirit can lead to hurting yourself and others.

(18-26 points) You are DORIS DAY : You are fun, friendly, and popular! You are a real crowd pleaser. You have probably been out on the town your share of times,yet you come home with the values that your mother taught you. Marriage and children are very important to you, but only after you have fun. Don't let the people you please influence you to stray.

(27-34 points) You are DEBBIE REYNOLDS : You are cute, and everyone loves you. You are a best friend that no one takes the chance of losing. You never hurt feelings and seldom have your own feelings hurt. Life is a breeze. You are witty, and calm most of the time. Just keep clear of back stabbers, and you are worry-free.

(35-42 points) You are GRACE KELLY : You are a lover. Romance, flowers, and wine are all you need to enjoy yourself. You are serious about all commitments and are a family person. You call your Mom every Sunday, and never forget a Birthday. Don't let your passion for romance get confused with the real thing.

(43-50 points) You are KATHERINE HEPBURN : You are smart, a real thinker. Every situation is approached with a plan. You are very healthy in mind and body. You don't take crap from anyone. You have only a couple of individuals that you consider "real friends". You teach strong family values. Keep your feet planted in them, but don't overlook a bad situation when it does happen.

(5 1-60 points) You are ELIZABETH TAYLOR : Everyone is in awe of you. You know what you want and how to get it. You have more friends than you know what to do with. Your word is your bond. Everyone knows when you say something it is money in the bank.You attract the opposite sex. Your intelligence overwhelms most. Your memory is the next thing to photographic. Everyone admires you because you are so considerate and lovable. You know how to enjoy life and treat people right.

So who did you end up being?

Opa & Max....

This past weekend Opa and Mom-Mom came down for a visit. They brought their 5th wheel camper and parked it back behind the house and they are planning on leaving it for the winter. That way they can come down any time they want and have a comfortable place to sleep. Who wants to cram into a twin bed to try and sleep - although Mel and Dave did it while they were here....I commend you both!

Anyhue we had a great weekend! They got down here Friday afternoon and we all hung out and had Chinese from the best restaurant around and then of course played with Max for most of the night.

Saturday was a day full of activity. I headed into Deptford to check out Babies R Us and get some winter gear for Max, Mom-Mom stayed home with the little one and baby-sat, Karl and Opa headed to Lowe's to get stuff to winterize the house....this house is heated by oil and in every room we have base heater's. It cost an arm and a leg to heat this house. I am not kidding. We moved down here last March and just for the month of March and April it cost us $800....augh! So Karl and Opa re-calked and put plastic over all the windows (they are old windows so the cold air just cruises through them).

We bought Max a jumper, or what some might call a bouncer and he looks so cute in it....

He loves it....he just looks around and kicks his feet. It's sooo cute! I also bought him a hat and mittons. SOOOOO CUTE! He was hangin' out with Opa and I was able to snap a few cute pics of them together...

The hat is a little big but I figure he can grow into it...which shouldn't take long considering he is wearing 6 month old clothes!

Saturday night we headed up to Christine & Marco's house (they are a great couple that Shannon introduced us to). They have a 16 month old, Sebastian, and he is the cutest! We had a great time....Christine and I had a few glasses of wine, Marco and Karl played pool. It was a lot of fun. They also had another couple come over that is from the DC area....they have a 1 year old...it was great to sit down with other mom's and just talk about motherhood and all the craziness that goes along with it. And I am sure that Karl was in heaven having other men to talk to and not his crazy wife!!!

All in all it was a fantastic weekend. I think I am starting to like New Jersey......Wait did I just say that??? I must be losing my mind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You have to watch!

This is on Val's blog page and it is too funny! It's kind of long but it's worth it. Here is her link...

http://www.milobardays.blogspot.com/

Too Funny!!!!!!!!

Magoo & her Sis Izzaboo

My mom just sent me the cutest picture of Magoo's sister, Izzaboo. I just thought it was too cute not to post....look how much her and Magoo look alike! Amazing!

Here is Miss Izzaboo....

And here is Miss Magoo....both pups came from my sisters dogs (Golden Retriever ~ Daddy, and Chocolate Lab ~ Mommy). There were 10 pups and every single one of them was black. Magoo was the runt of the litter but she sure isn't tiny any more. But Izzaboo does have about 10 pounds on her....seeing the two of them side by side almost makes me want to get another dog....somebody stop me...I am talking like a crazy woman!