Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful Mom's out there!

I am so thankful I get to be this lil' ladies mommy

Today I am reminded how blessed I am to have so many great mom's in my life - Carrie, Grandma Judy, Grandma Doris, mom-to-be- Jessica and so many more. All these ladies have inspired me to be a great mom and taught me so many amazing things about motherhood. I am so grateful DJ had Carrie for a mom. The love she has for her kids is undeniable and I hope to be the mother she is one day. I feel so blessed to have her for my mother-in-law (to be). :o)

To celebrate being a mom I get to spend the day with my two favorite people - DJ and Taylor.

We'll enjoy some time in the sun, a wonderful brunch prepared by a dear friend and her family, and just relaxing on a Sunday.

I hope all you other mom's out there enjoy your special day as much as I will.

Something Merry. . .

 . . . To put you in the Christmas Spirit.

All of December we read a Christmas book at bedtime with Taylor. Last night she picked a book with Christmas quotes and poems. I love this little book because it always makes me feel warm and merry.

Here in Colorado it hasn't really felt like Christmas. No heavy coats have been needed, no snow is covering our roof. So here are a few little quotes to help find that Christmas spirit.

"There is a kind of magic that happens every year when winter winds are blowing and nights are cold and clear.

It is then you see it happen in lights upon a tree, in crimson bows and frosted panes and gifts "To You, From Me."

Christmas is that magic; it works its subtle art, bringing love and wonder to every waiting heart"

"The Christmas spirit lives inside gifts given throughout the year, in smiles to a frightened child, in a friend who lends an ear . . .

In gentle hugs for those who hurt and tender words to say. These make any moment seem just like a holiday."

"It is in loving, not being loved, that the heart is blest; It is in giving, not seeking gifts, that we find our quest.

If you crave the songs of Christmas, sing out for all to hear; if you are sad and comfort need, then dry another's tear.

Whatever your longing, whatever the need, is just what you must give; then your soul will fill, and you indeed, will truly, fully live."

"When the last carol has been sung, when the final gift has been unwrapped, when the relatives have returned home, when the lights and decorations have been put away . . .

Then the real work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost, to heal the brokenhearted, to feed the hungry, to bring peace among enemies, to rebuild what has been torn down, to see the beauty all around, to keep the holiday magic alive all year. . .

That is the true heart of Christmas."

And this year I might be receiving an extra special Christmas gift. One of the best I may ever receive. My sister may get to come home for Christmas. She wouldn't get here until the 27th but I would have 7 days to spend with her and her husband. I haven't seen her in 2 years so this would be one amazing Christmas gift. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. And I know if she does come I will probably be an emotional wreck for at least a week after she leaves but it would be totally worth it! (Sorry DJ!) So I'm putting a special request in to Santa in hopes he can make this Christmas wish come true.

A Little Engagement Stuff

I'd said in the original post that I would show you all a better picture of my ring. And since I can finally start posting more pictures again here it is! Still not the best picture but a lot better than the first one I took. . .

I'm also working on a shadow box to display the baseball we got at the game, the tickets from that day and pictures. I'll post it when I have it all done. But right now I love just looking at this . ..

Cook Book Help

I like to cook but sometimes my cooking just isn't something that's going to send you over the moon. I love finding new recipes and always get so excited when I think about trying to make something new. But the reality is that food is expensive and sometimes when you find a new recipe you just don't have the money to go out and buy 5 new spices or some ingredient you've never heard of to come home, make it all, and hope your family will like this new meal you threw together. So when I find a recipe I think everyone would like (thank goodness we are not picky eaters!) and I actually have everything to make it, or it won't cost me an extra $20 at the check out I get excited.

When I became a stay-at-home mom again at the beginning of the summer I had so many idea's of things I wanted to get done. Taylor was out of school for the summer, this would be the first summer semester I wasn't going to be taking any classes and I had about 12 weeks before school would resume for both of us. I was on a mission to get a bunch of stuff done. One thing on my to-do list was to clean out my cupboard and gather all the recipes that had just been written on scratch paper, torn out of magazines and just tossed into a binder. It was unorganized, nothing was fully written out, it didn't have pictures. It just didn't interest you or spark this excitement that made you want to cook. So I sat down at the computer every morning with my cup of coffee while Taylor was still asleep (sometimes DJ too if he wasn't working) and I started typing every recipe into my computer. I put each recipe on a new page and even added a picture of what it's supposed to look like. I say "what it's supposed to look like" because let's face it, my end result often doesn't look anything like it does in the magazine. Still just as tasty though and I guess that's all that matters. Back to my point . . . this was a great idea, right? Wrong. Now I have all these recipes sitting in a file in my computer, all pretty, but now it means I have to move my lap top into the kitchen every time I'm going to make something but don't know the recipe by heart. It just clutters the kitchen counter, things splatter up on it, cords get in the way etc. It's not pretty like I had dreamed about so many mornings while typing away. 

I thought about just printing off each recipe and organizing them in a binder. But that's too similar to the system I had before, it wouldn't stay organized and printing each page with a color picture could get expensive and use a lot of printer ink. So I'm going to do exactly what one blog writer did - make my own cook book! You can read about how she did her cook book here. I love the idea of my cook book having my own pictures and hopefully one day I can pass it down to Taylor and she will be as fond of it as I'm sure I will be.

So I'm asking for a little help. I am having the hardest time coming up with a cute name for the cook book. I don't just want it to say "Cook Book". I want something fun and cute. The other blog writer named hers "Cooking on Clover Lane". That's perfect since her street has a cute name; ours not so much. So can someone please toss some cute, creative names my way? Also, if you have any great recipes, like your grandma's peach cobbler, amazing breakfast casserole or any other recipes you think would be awesome to share with me, I'd love to have them!

Stay tuned to see how to cook book comes along! I told DJ I would put it together and he could give it to me for Christmas. :o)



   

My Life This Week

Life has been crazy the last couple of weeks but especially crazy this week. Here are a few random things going on in my little world now . . .

I love when you wake up early. The whole house is quiet. It's still dark outside. It's the perfect time to grab your coffee, sit in front of the computer and just have some 'ME' time. I look forward to this time so much. I am such a happier Mommy when I get to wake up by myself in the mornings and just enjoy the quietness that usually never is. These mornings are very few but man I sure take advantage of them when I can. There's just one problem . . . I must give off a happy vibe so strong it wakes everyone else up. No kidding. In the last few weeks I have noticed that it doesn't matter how quiet I am. As soon as I have coffee in hand and am in the process of sitting down I hear little feet emerge from the bedroom and this little crackling morning voice searching for Mommy. As soon as I get her back to sleep (because it's 5:15 and that is just too dang early for her to be awake), grab my coffee and get situated into my comfy little spot, another pair of feet emerge from the bedroom. Thankfully that pair of feet can put themselves back to bed :o)

Just for fun . . .

This is how you keep an almost 3 year old occupied long enough to get some work done while moving (excuse the picture quality - I only had my phone close by)


Make her show off her muscles when she helps you move a bed set. . . I wouldn't try to take her on any day :o)

Let her clean her own fridge. She felt like such a big girl.

Now back to the packing tape and boxes

Love - Hate

Right now there are a few things I am loving so much I just have to share them. . . and some things I'm not lovin' so much. . .

 ~ LOVE ~ the new Jason Aldean CD. Favorite songs on the CD are Fly Over States and Country Boy's World. Makes me want to take a drive in Kansas. If you haven't heard these songs go take a listen . . .

~ HATE ~ that almost every day this week DJ has left for work just after I get home and I have been leaving for work just as he is getting off work. 1 hour a day is not enough time to spend with him. Especially when I'm sharing the hour with Taylor and making dinner. I'd rather he spend that 1 hour with Taylor than me any day because she loves her Daddy so much but man I sure miss him.

 ~ LOVE ~ my Victoria's Secret robe! Got it in pink but wish I had every color. It's long enough to actually cover my butt when I bend over and doesn't constantly need retied! Love it!

~ HATE ~ catching a glimpse of yourself in the mirror early in the morning before getting in the shower and realizing just how much weight you have gained . . . yikes! I need to run

~ LOVE ~ freshly baked cinnamon rolls and coffee for breakfast (maybe this is my problem with the above lol) - I swear this is not the usual breakfast in our house , except the coffee part.

~ HATE ~  this movie

I know, I know. Hate is a strong word for this but there is no other feeling. Taylor is obsessed with this movie. She has been for several months now. She feels that she needs to watch it 3-5 times a day. We know this movie by heart. She's even came into our room at 2am asking to watch her Barbie movie. On family movie nights it's a fight to get her to pick a different movie. Remember how VHS movies would wear out in certain areas if the movie was watched too much? Maybe that could happen with this DVD.

~ Love ~ that Taylor has something she loves to much (Barbie movie). As irritating as I find this movie I do find it a little comforting that she has become so attached to it. She was never the baby that had to have a certain blanket, stuffed animal or pacifier.

~ HATE ~ that Taylor wants a sibling so badly and right now it's just not something we are ready for (as much as I want that too)

 Here was our conversation when walking through Target Saturday :

Taylor was sitting in the buggy and started screaming that I needed to stop. I thought she was pinched or hurt or something

 Me: Is everything ok? What's wrong?!?

Tay: We need to look at the baby stuff Mom.

Me: No sweetie, we don't have time. Your a big girl now

 so we don't need anything in the baby department.

Tay: Yes we do Mom. I need to look because after my

birthday I'm going to get a baby brother or sister.

Me: WHAT!?!? Who told you that? You are not going to get

 a brother or sister after your birthday.

Tay: Well, yeah Mom. After my birthday I'm going to have a brother or

sister and I need to look at the baby stuff for them.

Everyone in the isle was watching us and listening to our conversation.

~ LOVE ~ that fall is here. The crisp mornings and bright sunshine are the perfect combo.

Mother's Day 2011

***I posted something smilar to this yesterday but for some reason all the changes I made to the blog yesterday are no longer here. . . very odd. I've noticed this with a lot of blogs today***

We had a very good Mother's Day here. DJ and Taylor made me breakfast. In a few years Taylor will stop waking up so early and it might turn into breakfast in bed. . . :o)

The weather was amazing all weekend! We went shopping for a plant for DJ's mom for her Mother's Day gift. I love shopping for flowers. They are all so beautiful.

There was lots of love going around . . .

Grandpa had the top off the Jeep all weekend so us ladies stole it and went for a little joy ride. Taylor loves this Jeep. She had to take her pig-tails out so she could feel the wind in her hair. She was clapping her hands, singing and dancing to the music the whole time. We didn't go very far though - just to Sonic during happy hour for some slushy's. Yum!

Oh, I love her wind blown look!

We spent the rest of the afternoon playing volleyball and relaxing in the back yard. Some of us even tried to take a nap. . .

I don't have a single picture of the past two Mother's Days so I told DJ we at least needed some pictures from this year. Taylor has fallen in love with taking pictures and I think she might be in charge of the camera more often . Here's a glimpse of her photography skills. . .

I hope everyone enjoyed Mother's Day and felt very appreciated all day!

M-O-T-H-E-R

"M" is for the million things she gave me,

"O" means only that she's growing old,

"T" is for the tears she shed to save me,

"H" is for her heart of purest gold;

"E" is for her eyes, with love-light shining,

"R" means right, and right she'll always be,

Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER,"

A word that means the world to me.

Randomness Of The Everyday

The other day just couldn't go right for me. It seemed like life was against me and pushing me to my limits. Taylor couldn't listen to anything I said, I had too many loads of laundry, homework was kicking my butt and everything seemed out of place. So I wasn't very surprised when DJ came home to find me cooking dinner and asked what as on my shirt. As a mom you are almost certain to always have something on your clothes - boogers, food, marker. I looked down and said "Oh, probably just boogers." (Taylor had had a small head cold) I would have been much happier to find boogers though. . .

If you look closely this is what you see . . .

A bird pooped on me. And I have no idea how long it had been on my shirt. Just knowing how the day had gone it was probably on my shirt when I went to the bank, the grocery store, Target and gymnastics. DJ laughed so hard and said he had to take a picture because he knew it was something I would have posted on the blog about him. Just something funny to add to a day of frowns.

DJ has homework every night while he is in training. And every night Taylor wants to help him study. I think it's so cute. The other night she was avoiding bedtime so bad because she was studying like her daddy . . . 

. . . such a priceless picture.

For my birthday DJ's parents gave me a gift certificate to get my nails done. I was so excited. So we planned a girls day out right before Jess (DJ's sister) had prom. Taylor, myself, DJ's mom and grandma and sister all went. It was Taylor's very first manicure and pedicure. She was so cute!

New Car

DJ keeps asking when I am going to post about my new car. I guess now is a good time. :o)
You'd think I didn't like it. . . but I love it!

My Subaru was constantly needing work done to it. We decided it was best to trade it in while we still could and get something more reliable. I HATE car shopping. I don't even know if that's a strong enough word for how much I dislike car shopping - but for here it's appropriate.

DJ did all the research and the hard stuff. I said what cars I liked, if I thought another car seat would fit in the backseat should we ever have another baby and if I would mind getting one car over the other. Easy stuff. DJ argued with the sales people, made phone call after phone call and made a sales girl cry. Sounds bad, I know.

Since DJ has been in sales he knows exactly what goes on behind the scenes and knows how to play the car buying game. First we looked at buying a used Civic or Accord. It was hard finding one that was worth buying. Then DJ saw that the new Civics were being sold for almost the same price as a used one. Honda's can really hold their value. On top of that Honda was offering .9% for anyone who qualified. Hard to pass up. So we started looking new instead of used.

DJ went back and forth over the phone negotiating with the sales lady. He threw out a really low number and said if they would sell him the car for that we would buy it. After a few phone calls our sales girl said her boss agreed to it. Before going back into the dealership (with me this time) DJ called to make sure the deal was still good and we weren't wasting time. Our sales gal said she might have lied. . . she started crying and hung up on us. Finally the sales manager agreed to sell us the car for $2,000 below invoice. I don't know how DJ does it.

We love our new car and since gas is so expensive right now DJ is driving the Civic just as much as I am . . . maybe more :o)

Taylor sits in her car seat now and says, "I LOVE this car!!". We're glad she likes this car because if all goes as planned it will be hers when she is 16. She has also told us, "I need my sister back here with me". She has baby fever and keeps asking for a sister and that mommy needs to have another baby. Wow.

Me & Her, Her & Me

There's nothing like having a sister. A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life. And I got to talk to my sister for the first time in about 70 days. I love how easy it is to pick up where you left off with a sister. In my count down of days until I was going to be able to talk to her it felt like an eternity since I had last spoken to her and my heart ached to just call her. It was like a piece of me was missing. But when she called me today for the first time it felt like it was just yesterday since I spoke to her. I love how easy it is to fall into conversation and open up to her. The best thing about having a sister is that I will always have a friend. My sister taught me everything I really need to know, and she was only in 6th grade at the time. It's so true. My sister has always been there to act as my sounding board and offer me advice. She functions as my safety net in this chaotic world simply by being there for me.

My little sister graduated from Army boot camp today and I couldn't be more proud of her. She is so special to me and I want nothing but the best for Kara. I wish I could have been there in person to experience this big achievement of hers. I know she is going to go amazing places in life and she is going to set such a good example for everyone around her. She amazes me in everything she does and I always want her to know how much she means to me. So. . .

Kara - CONGRATULATIONS! You are amazing! I will always be proud of you. Thank you for always being there for me and being the best sister I could have ever wished for! I Love You!

Mexico Day 7 & 8

Day 7 was relaxing. We started off at the pool, sipping on drinks, talking with another couple that had gone golfing at the same time we did. We had missed each other by minutes and they started on the front 9 holes and we started on the back 9. There was a storm coming in and jelly fish were found in the water so we didn't hang out in the ocean too much.

We met Scott and Tara (the couple from the night before) at the pool and all decided to go get lunch together at the Pub. We spent about 3 hours chatting and eating lunch. DJ and I really liked them. They were so genuinelly nice. DJ and I gave them our email address. I'd like to stay in touch with them and Scott said DJ was welcome to join them in Illinois anytime he'd like to go hunting. DJ was so excited.

When we got back to the resort we all took a nap and did dinner. We tried watching a Fire & Water show on the beach but it was raining. What we did get to see was really cool though.

After the rain stopped Tara, Scott, DJ and I all went to the bar together. There we met a really interesting couple. Collin and Julia were from Dublin and you could only understand every 10-12 words that came out of his mouth because his accent was so strong. Everyone knows the Irish can drink. . . a lot. He was a bad influence but his laughter and delight sort of rubbed off on everyone. He said he had met a guy from California earlier in the evening and the only thing this guy kept saying was 'Man It Up". Sure enough it rubbed off on Scott and DJ and a few of the other guys that had joined our group for the night. It was the only thing we heard for a good 4-5 hours! Collin was like a comedian. The entire night we constantly heard 'Man It Up' and 'Give Me All You Got'. It didn't matter if it made sense to say it or not, they did.

Collin insisted on having all the guys take a shot with him.

And the aftermath of a shot of tequila is never pretty. . .

 Scott & Collin

 DJ loves cigars and he rarely gets to enjoy one at home so he took advantage of it while on vacation

 DJ, Scott, Collin and Julia

 DJ, Collin & Scott. I can't remember the name of the other guy but I know he was from Chicago.

These guys all had so much fun together and I loved hanging out with Tara

Wednesday morning we woke up and got ready to head back to the airport. I was so happy to be going home that day. We woke up to a big storm coming in. It was so dark and the water was so rough.

 Another couple from our resort was flying back to Denver too so we all left together. They were both in the medical field and were a lot of fun. We got to the airport a few hours before our flight was leaving so we all sat down at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. Talk about a good time before leaving. I loved how they made the guacamole right in front of you!

 Our last picture in Mexico. We had such a good time. It's so good to be back! But I miss my tan. . .

Mexico Day 5,6

I apologize in advance for the long post. I just know if I don't get the rest of our Mexico trip posted now I'll never get it posted.

Day 5 (Sunday) in Mexico was amazing. In the morning we walked over to the Marina and did some shopping. We watched the dolphin's for a while and headed back to the resort. Before we left for Mexico DJ and I were both looking forward to a massage so badly. We've both only had one professional massage ever and that was in February. We scheduled an 80 minute couples massage. I was in heaven. We both sat in the sauna and steam room before relaxing in the outdoor hot tub before the massage. I loved my massage but DJ wasn't thrilled about his.

Of course we couldn't go the day without checking up on NFL Sunday - it's tradition to have it on all day in our house. DJ knew he couldn't spend the day watching football, even though he would have loved to so we ventured out into the ocean again. Word of advice - don't go into the ocean after having been rubbed down with massage oil! We had to get out of the water as soon as we got in. All the fish smelt the massage oil and swarmed around us. I was a little afraid of being nibbled on so we went to relax in the pool instead.

Sunday night we ate dinner at the Italian restaurant - Portofino. I LOVED it! The tiramisu was the best and it was a 4 course meal with red wine. I didn't want to leave. We sat on the patio while eating and watched the sunset over our beach. How much better could it have gotten?

 But of course it rained that night so instead of watching football on the beach we hung out with everyone else in the sports bar and watched the game.

Monday was DJ's day. He was so happy. We woke up early for breakfast and relaxing time on the beach. The resort offered free kayak's for an hour each day and I finally convinced DJ to go out with me. I had so much fun doing that. We walked around the beach for a while and picked up sea shells for Taylor.

I loved how close the fish would get to us and how well you could see them through the top of the water.

After laying around for awhile we went golfing! DJ was looking forward to this so much. The course was beautiful. I wasn't too fond of the sign at the entrance warning of poisonous trees and snakes. They said if your ball went off the course into a darkened area they advise against going in after it. I told DJ we wouldn't get close to the edge.

Isn't the club house amazing? During the busy season there is a full spa, restaurant, bar and pool open inside. Man I lucked out!

The driving range. . .

I kept telling DJ he was very lucky they were so generous because he got a really good looking caddy while we were there. Unfortunately she didn't work very much. . .

I got to spend the VERY hot afternoon driving the golf cart and watching where the ball went. I think it was the hottest day we spent in Mexico.

Here are random pictures of the course. . .

We were so tired after the golf and heat that we just took the night easy and watched the Ravens game on the beach.

We had to take this picture because the Ravens are DJ's brother, Preston's, favorite team.
We met a really nice couple at the bar. They were on their honeymoon - Tara and Scott. Such nice people.