November Update

Life is just too busy for me to blog every week let alone upload pictures. So brief updates here and there will have to do for now!
Eliza will be 1 in a little over 2 weeks! She starting drinking organic whole milk a few days ago. Sad that here in the next few weeks my breastfeeding days will be over :(
Last week the kids had fun trick or treating. They got a good amount of candy for only being out for 30 minutes. It was just way too cold to stay out any longer! Earlier that day I took Ryder and Eliza to trick or treat at the library where they got more candy and watched a puppet show. The weekend before we went to Boo at the Zoo in the frigid cold weather which I have to admit was borderline miserable.  But the kids had fun and got even more candy! Adults are such wimps compared to kids when it comes to being cold!
I've taken on quite a few DIY projects at home. I do this before I host a party at my house because its then that I realize everything that needs to get done and of course I'm always thinking of ways to do it cheaply and save money. But when I don't take the time (because I don't have the time!), my project/s ends up not turning out! Some have turned out and others I'm still working on! I've been taking pictures along the way so hopefully one day I can post them.
This is my second week of school and so far so good! I've really been working on prioritizing my time and I've been doing pretty well at it.
Kids and Matt are all doing great! I'm getting excited for the upcoming holidays and spending time with family :)

Fall 2012

Can you believe Eliza is turning one in exactly one month!? I want time to slow down! I'm planning a peppermint party for her on December 1st. I hope she has fun :) She is now just starting to pull herself up and actually crawling normal rather than the army crawling she's been doing for a couple months now. I really don't see her walking by her birthday though. Adeline started walking 2 weeks before her 1st birthday and Ryder was walking at 10 months! Unlike the others, Eliza will have 4 or more teeth by her birthday, whereas the other two didn't have a single tooth by then! Crazy to see the differences in the kids as babies.
I start school on Monday. I've really been looking forward to it but also nervous. I can't wait for clinicals. I think I will start those in the spring or summer. They have the clinicals at several different hospitals including The James, Riverside, and an Amish birthing center where I personally would love to go! I've always had a fascination with the Amish :)
Speaking of hospitals, about a month ago I had to rush Eliza to the hospital because of her breathing. She ended up having croup with stridor. It was scary because she was breathing fast and really loud. We went to Children's Hospital around 10:30 p.m. The ER was packed but as soon as we got up to the desk they sent us straight back to a room and right away about 4 people rushed in (including a doctor), and immediately gave her an oral steroid and breathing treatment. That immediately helped, but soon after her treatment, her breathing started getting loud again, so they gave her a second treatment and admitted her. I held my baby girl the whole night and morning because she refused to sleep in the crib. Needless to say I had aching arms and was going on about an hour of sleep the next day! Sop thankful she was okay though and I can't complain about having to the time to snuggle with my baby even in sickness and exhaustion!
In the past month Matt and I have been able to attend two OSU football games. They were both great games especially the most recent one where we had 2nd row seats! It was awesome to be so close. It looked as though the Buckeyes were going to lose it with 2 minutes left in the game, so Matt and I decided to leave early. As we were walking back to the car we kept hearing distant cheers from the stadium and saw on a t.v. from a tailgate that OSU was about the score a touchdown. Well they tied up the game and Matt and I sprinted back to the horseshoe! We had front row seats and we didn't want to watch overtime on a t.v. We weren't sure if they were going to let us back in but thankfully crowds of people were running back in, so we were able to get back to our seats! The best thing about it was OSU ended up winning!
I have really been inspired to do some much needed projects to the house. I've started with redoing my kitchen table. I hope to post pictures soon! Hopefully it turns out as I plan.
Halloween is next week and the kids are so excited. There will be a pumpkin, Superman, and Belle :) Ryder picked out the Superman costume at Once Upon a Child for $3 (the first costume I have ever bought for any of the kids!) It didn't come with a cape, and I was determined to figure out how to make one. Thankfully I found a great tutorial online of how to make a cape out of a t-shirt and it worked perfectly! I just used one of Matt's red t-shirts that he probably hasn't worn in years and instead of making it go over Ryder's head I just cut it to make it tie around his neck since it was a little long. He loves it :)
O and a couple weeks ago Michael took our family pictures. They turned out great even though the pictures of all five of us together struggled because of the huge meltdown the kids were having at the end of the session! Other than that, they turned out wonderful :) Wish I had time to add some pics to the post but I've got a huge list of things to get done!

Updates Galore

So much to update! Been a couple weeks since I last posted. To start off, Adeline finally had her 4 year appointment last week. She did an amazing job! Had to get 3 shots in her legs and she didn't even cry. She is 40 lbs and 40 in. In the 75th percentile for both. Her doctor thinks she will be around 5'6 or 5'7. The perfect height I think!
I mentioned in my last post that I was planning on going to the Springfield Flea Market Extravaganza. I did end up going but only for just a few hours. I Only came back with a light fixture for Eliza's room, mums, gray pumpkins, and gourds. I did get great deals on everything though! The light I only got for $5 and I just plan on spray painting it a different color. Can't wait to see how it ends up looking.
Saturday we went back to Cedarville and I brought the kids kites that they have been begging me for ages to fly. It was the perfect day to fly them because it was so windy. They had a great time!

Later that night I met up with my close college friends Marguerite and Hillary. It had been such a long time since we had all been together and it was so good catching up and spending time with them. I definitely needed it! I've really missed them!

Us girls back in college :)

Tuesday I started "The Mom Connection" at my church. It's a group of mothers who have preschool kids or younger, and basically we have breakfast, bible study, and discussion every Tuesday morning for an hour and a half. I was a little nervous about going because I was going by myself, but I think I'm really going to like it. I definitely think it was good for me to put myself out there and hopefully make some new friends! The moms at my table all seem really nice and sweet. I'm looking forward to next week.
Since Adeline has started preschool on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays every week,  Eliza, Ryder, and I have developed a routine on those days where we will drop her off at school and then run errands. We've gone to the mall a couple times (which is Ryder's favorite place to go because of play land :)) and to multiple stores. They are both so good and easy to take out. I've been getting all my grocery shopping and errands done during that time instead of at night when Matt gets home from work, so it's nice being able to stay home in the evenings!

Getting worn out from errands :) I promise I was only at Target! Bad aisle to take the pic :)

Adeline has had so much fun at Preschool which I knew she would. Sometimes I just can't believe how big she is now! Though at times she honestly acts like a teenager. The other morning I wouldn't let her put on my makeup before preschool and she stormed off to her room and slammed the door. I thought to myself, "Is this already happening?" ha.
Tomorrow I have a table reserved at the Baby and Kid Sale Extravaganza at the Hilliard Rec Center. I'm hoping to sell the rest of the baby stuff I didn't sell at my garage sale!

May Your Dreams Come True

They had a blast doing this!

I was swamped last week getting ready for the yard sale so I didn't have time to blog. So glad to have the sale over with. I thought we did pretty well despite the rain and OSU game. We did the sale just Friday and Saturday and made a total of around $385. I still have loads of baby clothes to get rid of though. It was sad seeing some of the clothes being bought :( I think it was overwhelming for some of the shoppers to see all these tables with stacks upon stacks of baby clothes to look through, so they just gave up looking at all! Next time I will definitely have more tables. The kids enjoyed doing a lemonade stand during the sale. At least for a few hours!

This past Sunday was Matt's 27th birthday. He wanted to keep it low key this year and just be able to relax. So he enjoyed watching football, napping, eating at Red Robin, back scratch from Adeline and Ryder, steak dinner and ice cream cookie sandwiches. Plus add the birthday money and clothes he received and I think he had a good birthday :)

Adeline's first day of preschool was this past Tuesday. I can't believe she is old enough to be in school! She prepared for her big day the night before by trying on her "first day of school" outfit, bathing, painting nails, and changing earrings to match her outfit :). She has really enjoyed her first two days. On the first day she brought snacks for the class, so she got to bring home Quackers (the class rubber duck). We wrote in Quackers journal all that he got to experience at Adeline's house :) Adeline took great care of Quackers...even giving him a bath and pushing him on the swing :) Since she brought snack that day, she was also able to choose a friend to sit with her during snack time at a special table. Lo and behold, she chose the girl with the princess shirt on. :) And that's exactly what she said! Ha. She still doesn't know what her name is.  I don't think her princess obsession will go away anytime soon!

She was worn out from her first day of school :)

After dropping Adeline off at school today I took Eliza and Ryder to storytime. It's crazy how there is a tiny sense of freedom with only having 2 kids for a few hours! ha. Ryder really gets into storytime, singing and listening to the stories. Now that Eliza is older she had a great time too. She sat there the whole time and bounced up and down to the music clapping her hands. It was so cute!
Monday, Adeline and I got the mail and she was so excited when she pulled out a postcard with a picture of all the Disney princesses and their autographs. I was so happy we received something back from Disney after sending the letter! It is now hanging on our fridge :)

On Monday we also had to say goodbye to Brittany who left for Sweden for another basketball season :( I am excited for her but I really enjoyed having her around!
This weekend is the Country Living Fair, that every year I say I'm going to go to but never do! And also the Springfield Flea Market Extravaganza. I will definitely be going to the Extravaganza but I'm not sure of the the CL Fair since Nan won't be able to go now. Poor Mark had to get unexpected knee surgery today because the cushion underneath the implant slipped out of place... he just had the knee replacement surgery a couple of months ago! I feel so bad he has to go through another surgery and recovery. Anyway, Nan will be busy taking care of him this weekend. I do hope to find some decor at the Extravaganza to finish up my house.
I just watched Fall's Top Ten Trends on the Style Network today. Thought I would list the trends so that years from now it will be fun to look back and read what was in style!
1. Jeweled tones
2. Black and blue combination
3. Oversized tops
4. Leather and lace
5. Fur
6. Bold prints and patterns
7. Peplum tops
8. Combining textures and fabrics (layering)
9. Jumpsuits
10. Lady-like clothes (tailored suits and blazers)

I definitely need to update my wardrobe if I want to be trendy! :)

P.S. Eliza is army crawling!

Holy Moly

Like Father like Son :)

Helping out his sister by drying/styling her hair :)

Eliza had her 9 month appointment this past Tuesday. Her growth is awesome and she is a healthy girl :) She was 70th percentile for head, 75th for height, 50th for weight. She was 18 lbs. 14 oz. and 28 inches. Her second, bottom tooth is coming in! She is also showing her preference of who she wants to hold her. So fun to see her personality coming out! 

We had an incident today where Adeline took something of Ryder's and then lied to me about it. She later confessed to me with tear-filled eyes and a pouty lip :( A few minutes later she came up to me and said in a shaky voice, "mommy did you know when I was a baby that when I grew up I was going to be a bad girl?" Following that, she broke down in tears. Poor girl was beating herself up about lying! :( lets hope she stays like this as a teenager!

Last Sunday we had our neighborhood had their annual block party. I made Buckeye Brownie Bites to bring. They were delicious and easy to make, but won't be making them for an outdoor party because the chocolate topping melted which made it a gooey mess. Still delicious though! I made the bottom layer (brownies) from scratch since I didn't have a box of brownie mix. Turned out great!

We are finally having our garage sale next Friday and Saturday. I've been working for two weeks on it just pricing everything. I have stacks upon stacks of baby clothes, home decor, adult clothes, and more. I plan on really advertising it and I'm hoping we can get rid of a lot!

I saw a link on Pinterest that said if you write a letter to one of the Disney characters at Disney World they will send you a signed picture of the character. So I thought Adeline would love to send a letter to Belle :) She told me what to write in the letter and then she decorated it with princess stickers. I added a piece of paper with pictures of her Beauty and the Beast birthday party. We better receive something back! ha.

Wednesday I went to the dermatologist for a full body mole check (and when I say "fully body" I mean every crack and crevice! I did feel a little violated after the appointment!). I had two moles taken off my back a few years ago, and one of the biopsies didn't come back normal so they ended up taking more skin off where that mole was. My doctor did take a mole off my stomach on Wednesday that didn't look normal. Of course it was the tiny little mole right by my huge mole that everyone (including family and hubby) want me to get rid of :) Guess the monster is staying with me always! :) I'll get the biopsy results back in two weeks and stitches out next week. 

Yesterday Adeline came into my room and told me to look at her toenails. She decided her stick on fingernails needed to go on her toenails :) She actually did a pretty good job! haha

Gorillas, Balloons, Recipes, Nurse!

Me, Matt, and the kids all went to the zoo yesterday evening. It was the best time to go because there weren't many people there. When we saw the gorillas there was one gorilla who was putting on a show! I really think he was human. Ha! He just sat there staring at us and then left, got a piece of straw, and came back to show us. It was really neat! The kids loved it.

Last Saturday, Brittany, the kids and I went to the All Ohio Balloon Fest while Matt was in Indiana for the state fair. It was a really neat experience. We got to see about 35 hot air balloons lift off right in front of us. The kids were in awe! Even Eliza was wide-eyed and enjoying it. I think the kids favorite balloon was of course the piggy :) Darth Vader was pretty cool too.

Adeline starts preschool in 2 weeks! We are planning on going school shopping next weekend but this week we went to Wal-Mart and she found the back pack she just had to have. Of course it's a Disney princess one. Just can't get away from the princesses! ha. She loves it though and that's all that matters :) We will see what kind of clothes she will pick out when we go shopping! This past week she was supposed to sing in front of church with her vbs group, but it didn't end up happening. She is always so outgoing and very rarely shy so it was a big surprise that she was "too nervous" as she put it, to go on stage. She was in tears and refused to go up. I have no idea what got into her! The only thing I can think of is her wanting to sit with all of us...me, dad, Brittany, Michael, Chelsea and 4 year old daughter Audrey (who all came to watch her sing!) and thinking she was missing out. As soon as her group got done singing she said she was ready to go up. Ha! I told her she can do it next time!

This week I tried out several different pinterest recipes. They were all really good. The first recipe I made was Peach Pie Muffins with Brown Butter Glaze. Ummm delicious! I used fresh peaches from a farmers market I had just gone to. They were so good! The next day I made Chocolate Chip Zucchini Brownies to use up some more of the zucchini from our garden. Talk about moist brownies. You couldn't even taste the zucchini. The last recipe I made was Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti. That was delicious too.  Have I mentioned I love pinterest :)

This past Tuesday I took Ryder to get a potty seat. He ended up getting a Diego seat :) I Started introducing the potty the next day but it wasn't really a success. I'm thinking I may wait a few months until I totally feel he is ready. No use wasting my time when I don't think he's ready!

So it looks as though I will be a full time nursing student in October! I can finally see the light

at the end of the tunnel :) I'm going to transfer to Chamberlain College of Nursing. I will be in the ADN online program which is great for me while I stay home with the kids. I will have to go in for labs and clinicals, but what's great about this school is that they will work with you when scheduling your clinicals and labs. I should be graduating with my RN in two years from October! Can't wait for that day :)

The Past Two Weeks Pt. 2

To finish the events of the last two weeks...
I finished my STNA course and all that I have to do to become state certified is to take the state test. I hopefully will be able to do that in the next month or so. I will be so relieved once it is behind me! I've been looking around for a part-time STNA job, just two days a week or so. That way I can get some experience on my resume before I get my nursing degree. Also, with Adeline starting preschool in a few weeks, it would be nice to have some added income. Last weekend I had my nurse aid clinicals at a long-term care facility in Columbus.  We had to go Saturday and Sunday 6:45-3:00. It was definitely an experience and very eye-opening. I'm looking forward to getting my nursing degree sooner rather than later. I've been looking into other nursing schools that don't have waiting lists so I can get started right away.
I also overcame my fear of staying alone at home overnite! Matt took the kids with him on Friday to his parents house since he couldn't really care for them after just having surgery. So I survived until they got back Sunday evening. My first time staying by myself :) I will admit I did have about every lamp on in the house at night! It was about time I grew up though :)
Adeline has been going to vacation bible school this week at our church. She is having a blast! She has a new verse memorized every day. It's so cute! Her vbs group will be singing in front of big church on Sunday. She told me she was going to be nervous about doing it :)
I have really enjoyed watching the Olympics the past couple weeks with Matt. It was nice actually watching live T.V. at night in our room. Sad that we have to wait another 4 years!