Christmas...

We set the tripod up for a family picture. Not too bad.

My dad's hands hard at work putting Connor's wheelbarrow together. For those of you who know my dad know that these hands have put to use a lot over the years.

I just love this picture of Connor in his new Speedracer hat and fleece jacket. I've been playing with my camera a lot lately and using it on Manual mode.

Christmas was great, totally uneventful, which is unheard of. We had six shifts of family, but it all turned out ok. Connor got a TON of gifts, we are still trying to find a place for everything. Some of his favorites are his camper, wheelbarrow, and toolbench. Some things have not even ventured out of the boxes yet, we will save those for later. We still have one more Christmas tomorrow since my brother was in Chicago.

Merry X-mas eve!!

I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday. Spend it with those you love and enjoy the time together. Attached is Connor's ornament that he made this year, thanks to Jan.

Wow!!

Three days in a row!!! I can't believe it. No pictures tonight though. I have ALL of my presents wrapped. I've finally gotten rid of a lot of paper, considering I usually buy each year and never seem to run out. I'm sure I will go out after work tomorrow and find a few other things to buy, as if I don't buy enough for my boy. I tell ya, we will need to get a bigger house after all is said and done.

We have busy days ahead of us. Tomorrow we get off work at noon. Woo Hoo!! We will stop by and see grandma at the assisted living home. Tomorrow night, we really don't have anything planned but church. We usually do dinner are g-mas, but obviously we can't this year.

Christmas day is our hectic day. Chris' mom is coming over in the am. We then go to my mom and dad's, Chris' g-mas, Chris's dad's, and maybe his aunt's. Whew, that's a mouthfull just saying it. We do have off work on Friday, which is super nice!! I plan to work on my organizing. I may just want to do nothingh though, so we'll see.

New pics

The first is a pic of Connor at breakfast with Santa. He was freaked out when Santa came in and Chris held Connor next to Santa. Connor then, watched a few kids sit next to Santa and he walked right up on his own and sat in Santa's chair. I was completely surprised, considering last year was a no go with Santa. He screamed the whole time. Connor is just a child to do things on his own terms. We didn't make him, but he did it all on his own.
Connor's first "real" person that he drew on his Magna Doodle. He has been drawng shapes and lines for a while now, but he's got the concept of drawing people now with all the works. (Even a beard)

There was a beautiful sunset the other day and I grabbed the camera and took this from my front door. I don't think it turned out too bad considering I didn't mess with the settings much, but I did take it on manual mode. Yay!!!

I have finally had the chance to update some photos.

MY computer is working!

I've decided that not using the computer lately has been good for me. I have become more organized lately and keeping up with all of the laundry. I am trying to make itan warly New Year's goal to keep the house somewhat tidy. Let's see how it will work!!

As everyone else, I have been busy shopping, wrapping, and planning for the holiday's.

Thursday was my Grandma's 91st birthday and Allison's 11th Birthday. They have a special bond because grandma turned 80 on the day Ally was born. It seems like yesterday. Grandmas is doing better, she has moved back to the assisted living center, which is much better than the nursing home. I pray that we don't have any more issues where she has to back to the hospital. My mom has pretty much been taking care of g-mas issues, which has been taking a toll on her. It's just not fair that she has so many other family members that don't really help. I hope that mom and dad are able to get away for the new year, as they truely deserve it. It's been a while for them.

Recently, Connor has just amazed me at how smart he is. He is always asking, why, who, what, etc. He always wants to know who built the roads, lights, houses, etc. He is so aware of his surroundings and know how to get to most all places we visit. I guess thats a goos reason why he doesn't watch TV. He has finally gotten his alphabet, colors, and almost numbers down. I didn't think it would ever happen. I knew he knew them all though, because he would just say, I don't know that one and then say it to himself. Little snot!!! He also draws actual people now with hair, eyes, arms, etc. It amazing how all of a sudden it is there. I love my boy, and his humor is unbeleivable.

Today, we took Connor to get his haircut, and if any of you know him, he is very quiet. Well, he didn't move or say a word the whole time as usual. There was another woman in the store and she said he was wonderful and they don't see very many children act the way he does. She said that says something for our way of parenting. I took that as a great compliment. Chris and I try very hard to instill good manners, etc in Connor. We agree on every aspect of parenting, which is AWESOME when it comes to discipline.

Well, I will post pictures up soon. I have TONS that need to be downloaded and organized, as I have been taking lots. My goal onmy day off on Friday is to work on that. Yeah, we'll see!!! Off to bed, sorry for the long post. I guess I had a lot on my mind lately.

Not much new here

just getting ready for our party next week. Note to self, do not make peanutbutter kiss cookies with low-fat peanutbutter. Who would do that? Well, I did, because that's what we had here. They are gross. I guess I will have to make another batch.

What a goof!

I finally downloaded some pictures. I am going to be busy when it comes tome to order them. Connor got these glasses at Marisa's b-day party in his goodie bag. He found them today inthe toy box and wore them most of the night. They fit him perfectly! Yesterday, he had a stomach bug, tonight Chris has a cold. We all know how hubby's handle a cold... I have been sanitizing like crazy around here. The sicklies are one of the main reasons why I hate this time of the year. All the germs just don't go away. My almost 91 yr old grandma is in the hospital for pneumonia. I really want to go see her, but I don't want to bring our bugs to her. She has some sort of contagious bug that requires her to be in isolation so the other elderly patients don't catch it. It seems to be pretty harmful for both the elderly and babies. Hopefully g-ma can go back to the assisted living home. She really needs to get her strength back so she can walk again. Prayers are sent for her health. We love you Grandma. Connor is ready to go bowling with you at the assisted living center. (Sycamore Village)

So you ever have one of those days?

That just is awful and nothing seems to make it better? I have been in a mood today, and frankly, I am just SAD. My heart is just very heavy, and I can't pick it up. A smile is not something that I've been able to achieve. Not even around my friends.

My Birthday!

Today I turned 30 and it was a fantastic day. Chris and Connor got me a sewing machine. I am itching to play with it. I actually have to go with my mom to look at others to see which one "fits" me. Chris bought one of the cheaper ones knowing that I would probably want to upgrade. We went to Outback with our dear friends, the McGuire's and Scott's. I was sad that the Tell's couldn't make it. The kids were something to be desired though. We really should have gone out without them. Susan actually left without eating her dinner because Marisa was being a little stinker. Connor wanted a high chair, and then spilled the WHOLE cup of milk on himself. NICE! He was freezing then, and thought he was in trouble, so that made a scene. I will say, though, Maggie was a little sweetheart and kept telling me Happy Birthday, and she the best behaved out of everyone. She tells me I am "firty". I almost sounds like forty though...

Note to self...

Don't make a homemade apple pie from scratch again. The pir crust is a pain in the butt and I had to mop the floor when I was done. It's much cheaper to buy the crust. I let you know how it tastes when ready. Come to think about it, I don't even care for apple pie. I thought I'd be nice and make one for Chris, it's his favorite.

Not much new here

I haven't updated in a while. Frankly, I haven't taken any pictures, don't know what my deal is. We went to the Chili Cookoff this weekend. Yummm...I love Chili!! Saturday, we had a yard sale and didn't do so well, but my sister, mom and I got rid of junk that we didn't need. None of it went back in the house, all to good will. Yesterday, we went to Marisa's 2nd b-day party at the park. The kids had lots of fun. WOW, I can't believe she is two. Where has the time gone. It seems not that long ago that we were all going out whenever we wanted to, now we have families to manage. Hope all is well with everyone else.

1st Dentist visit

Connor did great at his visit to the dentist. He sat so still, as if noone would see him if he didn't move. I guess we'll start saving up, he will probably have to have braces in the future.

Most 3 yr old don't get x-rays of their teeth. Connor did a great job. The dentist was super excited because Connor was his first "grandpatient". I started seeing him when he first started practicing, so it as nice to see another generation of my family.

Busy weekend.

Friday, didn't do much. Saturday, Connor went to the dentist, we did the carseat check and went to the Ladies Auxilary family picnic, and visited great grandma. We left the house at 8:30am and got home at 8:00pm. I was in bed at 9:30. Today, I woke up at 6:00 ready to go, and then fell asleep. Chris did a lot around the house, and I went to Kohl's and the grocery store. Not to mention all of the laundry and picking up that I did. It's never ending I tell ya. Tonight, I worked out and have all kinds of energy and it's 11:30. I'm off to bed. Will post pics later.

Happy Anniversary!!

Today was our 6th wedding annivesary!! WOW, how time flies. I love you Chris!! I didn't post yesterday, but it was Chris' b-day. I spent the day at a 14hour crop for Juvenile Diabetes. It was from 10am-12pm. It was a long day. Chris told me to go, since it was something that is my true desire and he has 2 golf tournements coming up. He said it was my turn to have some fun while donating money...Anyway, we didn't do much today. We had no power this morning thru early afternoon. I kept thinking we were going to be out for a while, becuase everyone around us had power. I guess we are lucky to have the nursing home near us, they are top priority I am sure. We headed to Bread Co, Sam's, and Michael's. Then went home and watched Talladega Nights. Dinner consisted of Applebee's. Real original, I know, but we went to Maxwell's and realized they are closed on Sunday's. Didn't have anywhere special we wanted to go, so we took the quick and easy route. (And close to home, to we didn't have to spend anymore gas.) Tonight, we watched Baby Mama. I saw it in the theatre with the girls, but Chris hadn't yet, so I watched it for the 2nd time.

A picture of Connor and I

I have NO pictures of Connor and I, so I took it upon myself to get the tripod out tonight and take a shot. It's not the greatest, but it will do. I also took a picture of myself to give me a reminder that I need to lose weight. I have always been a healthy "overweight" girl with perfect blood pressure, and no complaints of anything. Recently, I went to the doctor and my blood pressure was high. He told me that if it has not gone down in three weeks when I go back, he will have to consider putting me on medication. Being the nervous nelly that I am, I looked on the internet what a dangerous level is, and I am not to that point yet, but I am sure on my way. It is however, probably one of the reasons why I have been having headaches and so tired. I want another baby, and I don't think I will get it unless I become healthier. Because I am about to embark on a new chapter in my life (turning 30), I have made it my first goal to lose 14lbs. This will bring me back to my pre-pregnancy weight. After that, I will continue with my goals. Hopefully, at that point I will be pregnant, but I WILL remain healthy throughout. I want to be around for a long time for Connor, Chris, and my future children.

2 posts in one day!!

Another one of my latest. It's a favorite, but I feel like it is missing something.

Our camper!

Okay, I've finally taken some pictures of the camper and we love it!

Back from camping

So we went camping this weekend and had a great time. The weather was nice, a bit humid, but no rain, which was awesome! I love our new camper. It's like living in the Hilton!! Brian, Steph, and Maggie came out Saturday and visited. They stayed all night and I am totally impressed with Stephanie. Hopefully they will come back again. Next time we need to have more for Brian to do, because I know he gets bored sitting by the campfire. I will post pics of the new camper tomorrow. I swear I get lazy getting the camera and cord out to download the pictures.

I'm in a mood!

Just crabby...

A few of my lastest layouts...

The first two are of our trip to the zoo last week. I don't have the real pictures printed out from snapfish and my printer will only print in grayscale, but you get the idea. I will leave them in B&W though. There is plastic overlay on the layouts so there is an awful glare.


Do I need to explain this one?
This was one of the first pictures I took with my zoom lens. I love it!


Back to work tomorrow. I didn't find anyway to get out of it!

I wish vacation lasted forever.

I am on the downslide of vacation and am truely sad. Last year, I was ready for Connor to go back to Jan's because we had too much of eachother. This week, we have been getting along just fine. No real arguements. This morning was a bit of a bumpy patch, but we got through it. It's so hard to believe that this is it for another year. Again, wanting to teach...

A day at the zoo!

Connor and Marisa were VERY good. We had no issues at all, which made it wonderful. It was HOT, but we survived. All of the animals were out, which was nice. Usually, we miss something. We saw the baby tiger, baby giraffe, and baby elephant. I think there were a few others also. Our vacation is half over. Boo Hoo... We haven't really done too much, just hung out. I have read a couple of books, which is nice because I don't really get to do that very often. Chris finished laying the pavers on Saturday, but hasn't done anything since. We got off work at 2:00 on Friday and he put me to work. I didn't do anything after that though...still on strike while on vacation.

972 Blocks

That's how many we have carried. Two pallets down. As I was moving the last row, I smashed both hands and took a good chunk out of my middle finger. I still refuse to do any patio work next week.

Stupid Rain!

So, after all of our work this past weekend and last night, it downpoured and is still raining. The sand was washed away under some of the pavers that were laid. Don't know how much of it we will have to redo. Ughhh, I could just throw up. Not to mention, we were doing this last night when it was 94 degrees out.

One pallet of pavers down,

four more to go. Chris and I are praying that it doesn't rain this week so we can get them all laid because I refuse to carry the d**m things while on vacation next week. My back is already aching.

This is what happens

When you give a little boy a BIG pile of sand! He had a blast. I will post more pictures of the progress at our house. We are finally ready to lay pavers, and then it rained. Now it has to dry out again!! I guess it's not going to be done by vacation next week.

It's a day in history!

Connor finally went #2 on the potty!!! Woo Hoo!! Let's hope he keeps it up. I guess we will see. He said it was fun and much easier to be back on his way to playing rather than having to deal with the cleanup.

Work still sucks!

THAT'S ALL...

It's coming along

The deck that is. Chris and his dad have been working today on the deck. It looks great. I can't wait until this is all done so we can have friends over to swim and barbeque. Next weekend the concrete patio is going bye bye, then to the paver patio. Everyday I wonder what did we get ourselves into? It will be worth it when all said and done.

My point and shoot takes great pictures, but I do miss my XTI.

Update from below post

Ok, so after saying I wish I were teaching, I check on the status of the certificate. It has been 7 years since I've graduated college. Can you believe it!?!?! I sure can't. I don't think I could even teach kids anymore. Well, my certificate expires on June 30. (What are the chances of me checking on it. Lucky I guess) I need to find out tomorrow what needs to be done to renew it. I don't think I can though because I have not had continuing education. Oh, wait, I can't find out at work, because I will be too busy. Maybe I'll try at lunch. (If I remember)

Work Sucks!!!

That's all! (It's this time of the year that I wish I were teaching)

He will never go...

POOP on the potty. Ok, Chris and I are getting really frustrated with this whole thing. Connor has been in underwear since the end of March and he still has not gone #2 on the potty. Even worse, it seems as if he is regressing on #1. He has been having a lot of accidents lately. NOt huge ones, but enough to need to change his underwear. He does ok when he is at Jan's or somewhere else, but I think he feels too comfortable at home and knows he has other clothes to change in to. He knows when he has to go, but he has just been stubborn, to me especially and refuses to try. Aarrgggg...

HAPPY 13th b-day ASHLEY!!

To our number one star athlete!

Can't believe our eldest niece is 13! We love you AShley. Hope you had a fantastic day!

I am still here!

Our old pool and deck. BYe Bye!!

This picture was taken two weeks after the pool was taken out. The rain just wouldn't stop. We had our own little duck pond. We had to wait about three weeks to get the new pool installed. At the third week, Chris got ahold of the installer. We weren't on the list!! He was already several weeks behind due to the rain, so we we sure we wouldn't get it until July. Well, we worked out a deal, and he was able to get it in the last week of May. On the only dry day we had in a while.

We have been super bussy lately. I am totally stressed at work, which has lead me to give up on Weight Watchers. I plan to go back and I am trying to be somewhat concisious of what I am eating. Don't think it's working though. I will get through it, I know it. Chris is taking his last class for his bachelor's degree and it is a 6 week online course. (Yes, only one class after three years on not taking any!) Very intensive, but thankfully, there are no papers to write, because I know I would be helping with those. He's chugging along in the course, but it is consuming all of his time. Not only are we really busy at work, but we decided in May to revamp the backyard with a new pool, deck, and patio.

Sorry for the backwards post. I will show you more later. Chris needs the computer to finish his homework. Oh yeah, to add to the stress in my life, a prong in the memory card holder in my camera is bent. Probably not covered under warranty. Will cost about $200-250 to fix. 6 weeks for repair too. I am lost without it. I did get a small point and shoot for the time being. Not the same though.

3 days in a row!

I have been to the gym three days in a row and have gotten great workouts in. (So much my hair was soaked wth sweat) I really hope I can keep up with it. I am trying really hard. I have a goal to reach by my 30th b-day. I have thirty pounds to lose. Seems a bit unrealistic at this point, but I will certainly try. Connor is not getting any younger and he will need a playmate someday.

HAPPY B-DAY CONNOR!

My baby turned three today. It seems like yesterday that I was going thru labor, but on the other hand, I have a hard time remembering all of it. I have lots of pictures to upload, I will try to do so soon. I am whooped, so I am off to bed.

On another note, I weighed in last night and to my disbelief I gained 3 pounds in 2 weeks. I have been having a terrible time with the weight loss. It's just too easy to not cook healthy. Stress from work has been driving me mad, I haven't been sleeping, and I have terrible acne. (I have NEVER had a problem with acne before, now as I approach 30, it appears!) For those of you whom I work with, you mad have noticed my crabbiness!!

I have made it a goal to get moving. Last night I worked out on the elliptical for 1 hour. Tonight the same with 10 minutes of arms. Let's all pray I keep up with it. I need to start feeling better again.

Congratulations to my dear friends...

Hayden Michael was born today and he is such a cute little guy. At first I thought he looked like Christian, because of the cheeks, but once I looked him over real well, I see Emma in him. Lets hope he has Emma's low key personality when she was a baby! It's been w long while since I've held a newborn, I've kind of forgotten what it's like.

House Explosion

At 4:35am this morning, I heard a LOUD boom and the house shook. I thought it was another earthquake, but thought it was too intense for the short amount if time it lasted. Then I thought it was thunder, but no, it was quiet outside. I stood at out bedroom window waiting to hear, see something. Nothing, went to the bathroom, still nothing. Then I looked out again, and there was someone walking around in my neighbors yard. Didn't look like my neighbor though, so it kind of freaked me out. I didn't have my glasses on though, so who knows what I saw. It was dark out. Anyway, I then heard sirens, but nothing too severe. I laid back in bed, couldn't sleep, so I turned on the TV. Nothing on the news yet, Finally about 5:15am they said something. There was a house explosion about 2 miles away. Pretty scary that it actually shook our house. Three people were inside, (or so they say), all are alive at this point. Criminal issues are suspected, as which usually is the case in a house explosion. As I am talking, I hear the helicopters flying by. What an eventful morning. I wil need to go to bed early tonight!

It's Allison's day on my blog!

Allison adores Connor. She is such a nurturing girl, you would never know whe is only 10! (Not many 10 year olds, would offer to change diapers or get him dressed)

We really appreciate all you do for Connor, Allison! You are a fabulous cousin. I know sometimes Connor doesn't show it because he is too stubborn, but he really loves you lots!! You are welcome to stay at our house anytime, we love having you.

She did it!

Ashley is going to State! She won today with her best time yet! Her other two relays won first, and the third won second so they are all going to state as well! Those girls can kick some booty! Way to go Ashley, we are soooooo proud of you. Keep it up!

Pics from yesterday

Here are a few pictures from Ashley's track meet yesterday. She kicked some booty!! She got first in all four events.

No pictures, but alot have been taken.

Today we went to Ashley's track meet. She won first place in the hurdles and in all three relays she participated in. That girl is AWESOME!! I never in my life would think of her being so good at the hurdles, but she just glides over them with such grace.

Funny story, Ashley and her friend Jackie were standing next to some other runners at a meet, and the other school asked what kind of track Ashley's school had. She said the street!!! (They really don't have a track to practice on) The other schools probably thought, "not much competition here, these girls are gonna stink". Needless to say Ashley and Jackie, SMOKED them!! I guess those poor kids who have to run in the street have an advantage!

I'm glad I went, I took tons of pictures. My sister kept my camera today so she could take some at the awards ceremony. She will get it back to me tomorrow so I will post some shots.

A few from the weekend in KY

Connor and Uncle Todd. Dummy me, I didn't get a picture of Todd's girlfriend Katharine. She is such a sweetie and a great girl for Todd. We had a fabulous time hanging out with them both!

We went to the horse races at Keeneland. It was sooo crowded, and we felt a little underdressed. All of the girls were in dresses and the men in suits. It was quite a scene. The following are to give you an idea of how crowded it was. We were parked ontop of the hill and there were cars surrounding us on each side. It wasn't to bad of a walk until we had to carry Connor up the huge hill on the way back.

Connor was playing Soccer with Uncle Todd.

Hangabur anyone?

Lately, Connor has been lovin' "Hangabur's" (aka hamburgers). It's so cute when he says it, we are even saying that way too! This upcoming weekend we are going to see Todd in KY. We are planning on going to Keeneland which is a smaller version of the Kentucky Derby. Connor has been saying for a month that we are going to see Uncle Todd's horsey. I sure hope Uncle Todd has some kind of horsey when we get there.

An update on the potty training thing. Connor does really well when we go out, but I guess he feels too comfortable at home and he has accidents. I guess at home, it's no big deal to change clothes. Jan said today, he had a bad day...let's hope he gets back on track tomorrow.

I'm Back!!

Connor found lots of puddles as we were walking out to the car at Jan's house. She said he wanted to go out all day so he could wear his new rain boots and coat! He was so went when we left, I couldn't tell if he had an accident in his pants!!

For those of you who have not seen our new Dining room furniture, here it is. No, I don't still have my Easter decorations out, this picture was taken a while ago.

Below is a picture I took with my new lens I got today. I bought it used from a SJ gal for 50 bucks! It's a Canon zoom lens 75-300mm. It's quite heavy, but I love it!

The computer room is cleaned out, and I am ready to getting scrapping after my purchases at the scrapbooking fair!! Woo Hoo!!