if the shoe fits?

OUCH

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Our little munchkin had a rough couple of days a few weekends ago. That Saturday morning Alex, the dog & I went on a run. We stopped at one of our neighborhood parks on the way back to the house. After I cooled down & stretched, I turned to put my iPod in the stroller. I heard a thump & a cry. Alex was sprawled out on the pavement. I picked him up & held him while trying to check for scrapes on his knees & hands. I didn't notice anything until he pulled away & I saw he had skinned his nose. It didn't bleed very much but was pretty raw. I felt so badly for him but he was over it in about a minute & wanted to go down the slide.

Later that day, we headed to the ballpark. Michael's company had their employee appreciation day there. We walked around, let Alex play at the playground area & then sat down to watch some baseball. Alex has become obsessed with sports on TV lately. He always says "ball, ball" anytime he sees basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis, etc. In fact if the TV is on, he will say "ball, ball" until you change the channel to some kind of sports. Basketball is his favorite but baseball is a close second. He liked watching baseball in person for a few minutes & then wanted to climb on the seats, run up & down the aisles & wear out his parents - ha. To be fair, it was getting close to his bedtime & he always gets a little riled up around that time.

"Ball, ball!"

Eating Cheerios. Can you tell he was in an ornery mood??

His poor nose looked bad, but luckily it didn't seem to bother him at all. On Sunday, he decided it would be fun to try to climb one of our bar stools from the back. It was NOT fun. It tipped over, the metal part under the seat slammed into his forehead & scraped his nose in the same place as his previous injury. There were lots of tears this time, some blood & an immediate bump in between his eyebrows. He scared us a little because he seemed pretty out of it for 5-10 minutes afterward. But we called the nurse line & watched for all the concussion signs as instructed. He was fine. Once he was over the initial pain, he again acted like it didn't bother him at all. It hurt me every time I looked at it, though.

Our little Star Trek character

He also got a bruise over his right eye. Ouch. I'm just glad he was ok. It looked pretty bad for a few days, but he healed pretty quickly. This was three days later.

Still scabbed up, but the swelling had gone down. The scabs were off about a week after it happened. As of today, he still has a red mark on his nose from the new skin but other than that, he's healed. I'm sure it won't be his last injury unfortunately... I guess these are the joys of having a rambunctious toddler that likes to run & climb! But I wouldn't mind if we could make it a few years without another one - or maybe fifty years. Ha!

Happy Mother's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Sun, 13 May 2012 20:55:00 +0000

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Mother's Day. Alex was such a sweetie & got me this super cute bag for my camera.

He even used his dad's email to send me the confirmation page. So thoughtful & good with electronics, too! Well, Michael might have helped him a little... J

Can't wait to get it in the mail & try it out!

Throwback Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:21:00 +0000

Well, it's Thursday & I actually remembered to post another look back at my pregnancy days. Maybe I'll finish the story by the time Alex graduates high school - ha.

December 1^st

Made it to December! That means I can buy jewelry for the baby’s birthstone (blue topaz)! I hate my birthstone (yellow topaz or citrine), so if he came in November, I had no plans to buy any jewelry with his stone. I scheduled a massage for after work (I even scheduled one for Michael – how nice am I??) The massage was fabulous. She found several knots in my back. I guess I’ve been a little anxious lately – weird…

December 2^nd

Had another doctor’s appointment & was hoping for good news (like you’re going to have this baby tomorrow!) Still dilated about 2 cm & 50% effaced. She asked if I wanted to schedule an induction but I said I was fine waiting. I keep thinking any day could be the day, but no such luck yet… Work was super crazy busy & I’ve had about enough. I was exhausted by the end of the day. I got a pedicure because my toe nail polish was looking ragged & I want pretty toes during labor – ha.

December 4^th

Michael & I were very productive. We tackled the guest bedroom/office & made significant progress. We hung up curtains (Michael’s been sleeping in the guest bed since I make weird noises when I sleep now & the sun would wake him up every morning), hung up a shelf, put a dust ruffle on the bed & are just waiting on the new laptop & computer desk. A few more touches & that room should be done! We also bought a white shelf for the baby’s room & hung it up with a picture I bought. The room still needs a little more decoration but it’s getting there!

December 5^th – 39 weeks

Another productive day! Michael somehow lost the batteries we were going to buy at Lowes before we checked out & somehow didn’t put the curtain holder things on the conveyor belt at Target yesterday, so we got home & realized we didn’t have these things. At least we didn’t get charged for them. We made another trip to Target & then headed to Sam’s to load up on mostly food items to last us awhile. I felt like we were preparing to go underground in a bomb shelter or something! I guess that’s kind of how it will be for the first few months… We’ll be spending a LOT of time in our house. I really can’t imagine it. I have anxiety about what our lives will be like but I’m getting pretty uncomfortable being pregnant & just want to get on with it. Come on little guy! Time to get out!

Clarification - the birthstone jewelry was for me to wear, not Alex. Ha. I wanted to get a simple necklace with his birthstone but not if he was born in November. I really am not a fan of my birthstone. It would have been fine if he was born in November - I would have gotten something else like an initial necklace. But I was hoping for December... I ended up getting this necklace from Blue Nile:

I love it. It's simple, small & I can wear it with just about anything. And I think of my little monkey every time I wear it. J

Finally, here's a belly picture from that week:

I was getting to the point where I needed a beeping mechanism anytime I backed up. Wide load!

Ok, people, we only have five more days of this journal before Alex's arrival! Can you handle the suspense??

Happy Thursday!

Conversation

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 23:00:00 +0000

We had to make a quick stop at Kohl's on Saturday night to get Alex some khaki pants for Easter because I couldn't find the ones I was planning on him wearing.

Here's our conversation as we walked by the shoe section on the way to check out.

Stephanie: Do you like those shoes?
(Knowing he definitely would not - just thought it would be fun to see his reaction).

Michael: NO.

Stephanie: Yeah, me neither.
(They were black instead of nude like the picture & they looked weird).

Michael: Do you like those?
(Knowing I would not).

Stephanie: Um, NO.
(They're just not my style - they'd be cute on someone else).

Michael: What about those?
(Thinking I would not like them).

Stephanie: Actually, I do.

Michael: What??

Stephanie: Color blocking is really big right now.

Michael: What the heck is color blocking?

Stephanie: Bright colors together. A lot of people are doing it with their clothes, but I like the idea of doing it with my shoes instead.

Michael: ...
Just shakes his head & wonders about his wife's sense of style.

Michael is not really into trends if you can't tell. There's something to be said about classic style but I can't always trust his opinion. He came home the other day with these:

Apparently the soles are made of yoga mat material & are SO comfortable. He wears them with shorts. I'm not saying they're the ugliest things in the world, but don't they look like house shoes??

Aren't we quite the pair? If you see a couple on the streets & he's wearing house shoes & she's wearing an explosion of color on her feet, come say hi. J

Florida! (Part II)

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 12:33:00 +0000

Finally I'm getting around to finish posting about our Florida trip last month. If you want to read about our oh so fun travel experience, click here. But now on to bigger & better things - the fun part of our trip!

We stayed at my mom's cousin's rental beach house. It was so nice & in a great location. We loved it! I would definitely recommend it if you're going to the Fort Walton Beach area. It was only about a 10 minute walk to the beach (and the path to get there is scenic & pretty). The weather was kind of blah the whole time we were there - cloudy & occasionally rainy. We made the best of it, though. We went to the beach several times, ate good food (my favorite was Louis Louis) & went to a nearby outlet mall (you know that made me happy - love me some outlet shopping!)

Alex did so well. He slept in later than usual each day, tolerated all the restaurants well & was very easy going about having his normal routine changed a little. We're so lucky! Maybe he was trying to convince us to take him on more vacations - ha. I even somehow managed to pawn my child off on my parents, my sister & Michael, so I got to sleep in every morning! Not sure how I finagled that...

Alex didn't know quite what to think about the beach. It was a little chilly & the sand was cold & wet. It took him awhile to warm up to it but by the last day, he was content to play in the sand & run around.

Here are some of my favorite beach pictures.

"These dunes aren't made for walking" - these signs made me laugh (but I obeyed them)

Not sure what to think

White sand

"What is this stuff?"

Working hard

Grandpa poured some sand on Alex's feet - he was not amused...

He doesn't like to have his picture taken, can you tell?

My dad, mom & sister with Alex

Our little family

Going on a walk with Grammy

Love those blue eyes

He loves his Aunt Amanda - most of the time. Ha!

Worn out

The walk from the beach to the house

A cute little beach community - Seaside

My mom liked the post office

Last day :(

Learning how to shovel sand with Grandpa

Of course, it was sunny & beautiful the day we had to leave!

"Ok, I think I like this beach thing..."

All in all, it was a great trip. My brother who lives in Pittsburgh was even able to come for a few days, but I didn't get any pictures of him - oops! It was fun to celebrate my mom's birthday away from home. I didn't post any pictures of her birthday celebration in case she doesn't want the whole internet to know how old she is. It was a special one, though. J

I'm ready to plan another trip down there - any takers??

Randomness

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 22:30:00 +0000

We've been busy working on new house stuff*, on selling our current house** & normal daily activities*** but I thought I'd post a few random pictures while I have a few minutes to spare.

Remember the orange flats I purchased recently? I got them in the mail & Alex found the box the next morning. Before I knew it, he was shuffling around the room proudly showing off one of my new shoes.

I apologize for the picture quality, but these were taken with my phone. Other people seem to get good pictures with their iPhones, but mine are never that great...

Anyway, since then Alex has tried to put on any pair of shoes Michael or I have around. It's hilarious! The boy loves shoes (like his Mama!)

I posted this picture on Facebook, but it's just too cute not to post here as well. My sister was watching Alex & he found Michael's iPod. My sister turned on the music & he thought it was too cool.

Hopefully I'll get around to posting more often. I still need to post about the rest of our Florida trip - it's on my to-do list (which has been very long lately). Oh well, at least I'm never bored! Happy Hump Day!

*Haven't broken ground but hopefully it will happen in the next few weeks. Been picking out colors & whatnot. Fun but also stressful! Lots of options & it's hard to visualize it all put together.
**Have had several showings but no bites yet, which is fine with us since we still have awhile to go before the new house is ready!
***Nothing too exciting, trying to enjoy the warmer weather we've had lately. Alex still loves to be outside.

Throwback Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 13:49:00 +0000

It's been a few weeks but here's another excerpt from my pregnancy e-journal. Getting close to the end!

November 26^th

I got free tickets to the hockey game from work, so we went with Brandon & Christine (somehow I usually get the free tickets around Thanksgiving, so it’s becoming a tradition with us). Last year Christine was pregnant – this year it was me. Crazy! It was fun. Christine & I didn’t watch much of the game – we just talked. Pretty much what we usually do! J

November 27^th

BEDLAM. Bryan & Glenn came over around 1:30 to ride with us. We got there & started setting up our tailgate when we realized Michael forgot to put the table in the car. Then we realized Michael forgot the chips for the salsa. It was not our best effort. I should have helped him & made sure we had everything. Oh well. I was in a crappy mood for the first part of the tailgate, though. Stupid pregnancy hormones. We had fun but not the best tailgate ever. Oh well. I was really worried about going into labor. I felt weird all day but I think it was nerves. We went to the game & it got cold. It was a stressful game & I’m not even going to talk about the end result. I’ve blocked it from my memory. I didn’t go into labor, so we’ll call that a small victory. We got home late – sometime after 1:00 am. It was a long day & no one was very happy in the end. Oh well.

November 28^th – 38 weeks

We’ve decided we’re ready for this baby whenever he wants to come since we made it through the OSU vs. OU game. Michael & I ran errands all day – bought a new office chair, filled in some missing items off our registry at Babies R Us & Target, shopped for receivers. Michael bought a laptop & we ordered a desk online. We’re spending money like crazy but just doing our part to help the economy – ha. We both felt like we got a lot done, though. I didn’t make it to yoga since we were still out & about. I was sad because it was the last class but oh well. Amanda came over to watch Dexter. I think there are only 2 episodes left!

November 29^th

Michael started his new job today. I was relieved I didn’t go into labor before he actually got on the payroll – ha. His manager told him he could take a week off when the baby came but I didn’t want the baby to delay his start date. Sigh of relief. Michael & I went to Amanda’s basketball game (she’s coaching the 8^th grade girls this year). It was fun to see her in action but those benches were uncomfortable – especially for an eight & a half month prego girl! Michael & I went to eat after the game. I had Guinness envy – his beer looked so yummy! Oh well, not too much longer, right? I had the mac ‘n cheese – it was delicious! Not quite as delicious as a Guinness but close… J

Here's my picture from that week. I think I look really tired. And big.

I had to laugh when I read the recount of the Bedlam game. Did you notice how many times I said "Oh well"? It was a very blah day if you couldn't tell. This year was a MUCH better Bedlam game. I wasn't uncomfortably pregnant, we had fun before the game AND we beat OU!!

I think I'll go have a Guinness tonight - just because I can! J

Happy Thursday!

Communication

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 23:30:00 +0000

Although Alex is totally a genius baby, he hasn't been in any hurry to talk (at least in a language other than babble). I haven't been too concerned, though. He understands words, but he hasn't had a lot of interest in repeating them himself. He's been saying Dada & Mama for quite awhile now but not really in reference to Michael or me. More like he likes the sound. His first "actual" word came awhile ago (sometime in January, I think? I'm a bad mom - I didn't write it down.) - "SSSSS" for Sadie, our dog. He loves to point at her & say "SSSSS" whenever she comes in from outside or whenever he hears her bark outside. Sadie hasn't appeared to be impressed that he bestowed the honor of his first word on her. Ha.

Recently, we've gotten a few more words from him. Next was "Uh oh" - a favorite among children. He says it more like "Uh uh uh oh oh" & just repeats the sounds several times. I can't help but be tickled over the cuteness of his little voice. Then came "Nanana" for banana. Last week he started saying "Yeah". I was getting his food ready & asked, "Do you want this for dinner?" He just casually replied, "Yeah." He's done it a few times since then - I just love it. Finally, this weekend he really took to saying Dada & Mama to get our attention. My favorite instance - Michael walked in from the garage yesterday & Alex happily cried, "Dada!" Melts my heart.

Alex has also been learning some sign language. He's been doing "more" and "please" for a few months. The boy likes to eat & it's not surprising he picked up on the signs to get more food first! If he wants more, he'll sign "more, please" over & over again until he gets it. It makes me laugh. In the last week, he started signing "thank you", "milk" & "eat". This morning, I asked if he was hungry. He ran to his highchair & signed "eat". Genius school! I love seeing him make the connection between a sign or word & it's meaning.

I'll leave you with a few pictures of another of Alex's accomplishments.

Why sit on the dishwasher when you can stand?? Little monkey!

Feels Like Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:30:00 +0000

It's been really warm around here lately (actually it was a really mild winter overall), so it feels like spring is just about here. Which of course brings to mind SHOES. At least for me - ha. Here are a few that have caught my eye recently.

I LOVE wedges. You get the height of heels but they're usually more comfortable. Plus, they're super cute! I need some black ones to replace an older pair & these fit the bill. I like the other color options, too - especially the denim & navy ones.

It looks like bright colors are going to be big this spring. I can't decide how I feel about the bright skinny jeans I'm starting to see everywhere. I think I'll just stick to brightly colored shoes for now... Just bought these babies this morning since I love orange & they were on sale. Yay!

What do you think about the new color block trend? Again, I may try it out with my shoes rather than my outfit...

If you couldn't tell, I'm going through a Nine West obsession phase lately... I've always liked Nine West but recently I've been really hooked. Their shoes fit me really well & I can easily order them online & know what to expect. I think the last three or four pairs of shoes I've purchased were from Nine West! I should be a spokesperson for them... Wouldn't that be fun??

Random Question

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 23:15:00 +0000

Eventually I'll get around to posting more pictures from our trip to Florida (that aren't in an airport or plane), but I was too busy this past weekend.

We've recently decided to build a new house (yay!), which means we need to sell our current house. We sent Alex to my parents' house & busted our butts getting the house ready by de-cluttering & de-personalizing. We put some stuff in a storage unit & donated a lot of clothing, shoes & some other miscellaneous items. It felt really good to get the house re-organized but I am very tired today. Luckily our house is in good condition, so we didn't have to do any big projects. It was still a lot of work. It also gave me anxiety about moving. It will be the first time to move from a house to a house (instead of from an apartment to a house). We've acquired a lot of stuff over the last six years! I hate moving. I start by being really organized - sorting items, labeling boxes, being very neat. By the end I'm almost in tears, throwing whatever into boxes haphazardly & throwing away items I shouldn't just to get them out of my sight.

Ok, enough of that. I'll just worry about crossing that bridge when I get there.

My random question of the day is - what did you do with your wedding dress?

Mine has been hanging in my closet in a garment bag since the wedding. I always meant to get it preserved & put in one of those boxes, but it never happened. First I didn't want to spend the money right after buying a house, going on a honeymoon, etc. But really, when is a good time to fork over $200 for something you really can't get excited about?

Cleaning out my closet, I decided I would just get it preserved & put the box under our bed. I still don't really feel like paying $200 but whatever - at least it won't take up room in my closet anymore. Then I had the thought - what if I just sold it to a consignment shop? I immediately felt guilty, but I'm not sure why. I absolutely loved my dress. It was exactly what I wanted. I still love it. But I don't think I'll ever wear it again. If we were to ever renew our vows, I'd imagine I'll wear something more simple. And if I have a daughter someday, what are the chances she'd actually want to wear my dress? She might have different tastes or wear a different size. Should I preserve it for a sentimental keepsake? Or sell it (not really for the money), but to simplify my life & let someone else love it? I just don't know.

So, I'm taking this to the blogging world. Any thoughts/suggestions??

Such a great day...

Florida! (Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 23:30:00 +0000

It seems like I always have excuses for my lack of posting but this time we've been out of town. Alex got to take his first trip out of state! And got to experience his first airplane ride! We went to Florida to celebrate my mom's birthday. I was a little stressed about flying with Alex but since we had five adults with us, I figured we could handle it.

We flew out at 5:30 last Wednesday evening, had a layover in Dallas & then were scheduled to land in Fort Walton around 10. Alex did great on the first flight. My parents had an extra seat in their row, so he got to climb around & have some space. We ate dinner in Dallas & waited for our next flight. It wasn't long before they delayed the flight an hour for weather. And shortly after that, we got the word that the flight was cancelled. BOO. Luckily my dad got up to the counter pretty quickly to rebook our flight. The first two people got flights the next morning at 8. Then they started telling people that everything was full. Excuse me? It was a huge mess. Made even messier since we had five people & a baby in our party. After about an hour of talking to the lady at the counter, we got a flight booked the next day. We would leave at 2, go to Atlanta, switch from American Airlines to Delta & then head to Fort Walton to arrive around 6. 20 hours later than expected. We were not excited but decided we were fortunate to get a flight at all. Did I mention we had to leave our luggage checked? Luckily I had packed a lot of Alex's stuff in our carry on bag.

Since the flight cancellation was due to weather, we didn't get free hotel rooms. Can't say I was impressed with the Super 8 but at least they had a crib & a hotel shuttle. Alex fell asleep on Michael's shoulder while we finagled the flights but woke up when we headed down to the shuttle. He was apparently re-energized by his nap & thought it was time to party. He didn't go to sleep until 11. He was able to get a quick nap before we headed back to the airport the next day but Michael & I were very worried about having two more flights with our tired baby. The flight from Dallas to Atlanta was probably the roughest. Alex did not want to sit still & got frustrated. We just kept giving him food. I think the boy ate about 400 cheerios. But we survived & headed to the Delta gate in Atlanta.

Then things got REALLY fun. Apparently American overbooked the Delta flight & three of us didn't have seats. We were told they could send the remaining three the next day. This is when my mom & I were almost in tears. I have to say that I am VERY frustrated with American Airlines & I will not be flying with them again any time soon (fortunately we were flying back with Southwest, so at least I didn't have to interact with American again on the way home). American should have called Delta to confirm the seats. I can't figure out if the lady at the desk was just a complete moron or if she knew she should have called Delta but just wanted to get rid of us. Not impressed either way. The lady at the Delta counter was very nice & calm. We started making plans for my mom & I to take Alex on the flight while my dad, sister & Michael planned to rent a car & drive from Atlanta to Fort Walton. At the last minute, the Delta lady got approval from her manager to put us on the flight when a few people didn't show up. We basically ran on the flight, found any open seats & took off. I was so, so thankful it worked out!

We finally arrived in Florida, found our luggage (it was sent on the 8 am flight - we kept joking that our luggage was having a better vacation than us) & got on our way. We missed an entire day of vacation but were just glad we made it. (Another problem I have with airlines - they screw up your plans but somehow make you thankful in the end because it could have been worse. Ugh!)

One of the highlights of our travel experience (maybe the ONLY highlight of the first two days) was while we were at the Delta counter. Tension was high & we were all frustrated. Michael was letting Alex walk around to stretch his legs & when I turned around, this is what I saw:

It made everyone laugh, which is exactly what we needed. Luckily, he was just the right size & we were able to carry him on. Ha! Love that little stinker!

I didn't take any pictures on the plane (I was too stressed out & worried Alex was going to be "that baby" & annoy everyone around him) but my mom took some.

It looks like he was drugged or something in these pictures, but I can assure you he wasn't. I can't say it didn't cross my mind, though, when he was grumpy & irritable...

He LOVES his Grandpa!

Reading a book with Aunt Amanda & Daddy

This is actually on the flight home. He thought the tray table was the perfect place to sit.

Up next... We actually get to start our vacation!

Throwback Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:30:00 +0000

It's Thursday & I finally remembered to post another Throwback Thursday! Here's another look back at my prego days.

November 19^th

Michael & I decided to try to not schedule ANYTHING for this weekend. We’ve been so busy – we needed some down time & to get stuff done around the house. He ended up going to a soccer game on Saturday & playing golf on Sunday, but I kept the weekend open. We cleaned & organized. Felt better about the state of our house…

November 21^st – 37 weeks

Michael mentioned that he thought the baby had dropped a little. I took a picture to compare to my last picture (a week before) & he’s right! It definitely looks like the little guy has dropped down some. So, it begins! Michael's brother & his family came in town for Thanksgiving, so we went to Michael’s parents’ house for dinner. I had to miss yoga, but it was fun seeing everyone. Jonathan cooked fajitas, Michael made Rotel & Starr made apple dumplings for dessert. Can I get an amen?? So good…

November 22^nd

Went to a client meeting in the morning. On the way down, the elevator kind of jumped & my boss said – do not go into labor!! It made me laugh (but the thought of being stuck in an elevator in labor with my boss is really NOT funny). Glad that didn’t happen!!

November 23^rd

Michael & I met with a pediatrician. He seemed nice & his office is convenient to our house. I think we’ll try him out & see how it goes. One more thing checked off the list! My parents had tickets to Wicked that night but my dad didn’t want to go, so I went with my mom. I don’t know if it was the pants I was wearing or the seat but I was really uncomfortable. I liked the show but I forgot it was three hours long. I was ready to get out of there!!

November 24^th

Another doctor’s appointment. She said I’m about 2 cm dilated. Crazy! She told me she would be on call if I went into labor. I told her we were planning on going to Stillwater on Saturday for the game & asked if that was ok. She said, “Just don’t tell me about it.” Eek! Does she know something I don’t? It freaked me out but I decided to go to the game as long as I felt ok. I decided to make a pecan pie to bring to Michael’s parents’ house for Thanksgiving. The recipe looked pretty easy. Maybe not a good idea for an emotional (cooking challenged) woman. I didn’t have a pastry cutter for the crust & the dough kept sticking & was really hard to get in the pie pan. I had a little emotional breakdown. Then I started making the filling & realized I had bought corn oil instead of corn syrup. Big difference. Another breakdown. Michael tried to help & be supportive but he just couldn’t resist telling me that maybe making a pie for the first time right before Thanksgiving wasn’t the best idea ever. That may be true but I don’t need you to tell me that!! We ran to Walmart to get corn syrup even though it was pouring rain. Michael ran in & came out with the syrup & a backup pecan pie. He thought it would take the pressure off me in case my pie didn’t turn out well but it just upset me more. He obviously had no confidence in me! And the pecan pie he bought looked awful (what do you expect from Walmart at 9:00 pm before Thanksgiving??) I finished the filling & put the pie in the oven. Michael went to bed. I ended up over baking the pie a little since the recipe said the pie shouldn’t be overly jiggly & I wasn’t sure how jiggly was too jiggly. Overall, it turned out pretty good & wasn’t a complete disaster. If I made the pie again, I would just buy pre-made crust dough & not bake for as long. Live & learn!

November 25^th

Thanksgiving!! We went over to Michael’s parents’ house. Michael made mashed potatoes – they were really yummy. And everyone said nice things about my pie. They may have been fibbing but I thought it tasted good.

I started taking weekly pictures during my last month. Here's the one from this week:

Do you think the little guy dropped a little since my last picture?

Crazy to look at these pictures now... It feels like so long ago!

Anyway, back to the pie... I've never really been into cooking. I'm not especially good at it & I don't really enjoy it. So, why did I keep getting the urge to try new recipes during pregnancy? Nesting? More like a good way to have an breakdown! At least I didn't use powdered sugar instead of flour...

I actually made a pecan pie for Thanksgiving again this year for my family. I bought a pre-made crust & it was a MUCH smoother process. Whoo hoo! If these cooking ordeals had happened to me a few years ago, I most likely would have never tried doing it again. I guess I'm getting more comfortable in the kitchen... Yay me?

Fun at the Park

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:32:00 +0000

It's been a very warm winter this year & we took advantage of the nice weather a few weeks ago & went to one of our neighborhood parks. Alex LOVES to be outside, so no complaints from him. He also loves slides, thanks to his birthday gift from Aunt Amanda. He was one happy boy!

"Think they'll let me play?"

Slide happiness

So.much.fun.

It was a windy day!

Climbing...

Finally got to ride that duck

My two favorite guys

What a fun day! Made even more enjoyable with my fancy camera. J At this point I still was using the automatic settings but I've ventured out a little since then. I'll keep you posted!

Playing Around

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:26:00 +0000

I've had fun playing around with my new camera. I'll admit I haven't gotten past using the automatic settings but I promise I will venture out of my comfort zone eventually. One of my goals this weekend is to do at least one tutorial.

In the meantime, here are some random shots I've taken. I'm pretty happy with the results - even with the automatic settings & no digital retouching.

Love those blue eyes

Had to get one of Sadie Dog

I think he's plotting something here...

Morning bedhead!

Whatcha doing, mama?

Yum

So far, I'm pretty happy with my purchase. No buyer's remorse here!

Pantry Organization

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

One of our favorite things about our house is the walk in pantry. We fell in love with it the first time we saw the house. And we still love it. I think it will be a very high priority for our next house as well. However, we did not love the state of our pantry. Over the years, it has become full & cluttered. Such a nice big space - how in the world is it overflowing with stuff?

A few months ago, I stumbled across a blogger who reorganized her pantry. Her pantry resembles ours in several ways & I fell in love with her results. I started gathering a few tools with the goal of tackling our pantry organization - a basket for chips & whatnot, some plastic bins for the floor (I wanted to use wire baskets like she did but didn't find any), square canisters (asked for these for Christmas & I love them!) & an expand-a-shelf for cans.

Last weekend, I sent Alex to my parents' house & set out to finish this project. It was a daunting task & I got overwhelmed several times. Luckily, Michael decided to help & we didn't even get into many arguments (ha). We took a break to buy a few more baskets & grab lunch. Finally, we were done!

I guess I'll start with the before pictures. I'll apologize in advance. These make me cringe - especially since I now know the potential of our pantry. How did we let it become this:

*Shudder* Ok, please erase that from your memory. It's not how I want to be remembered. Instead, think of me like these pictures - organized, clean & put together.

Much better! I still need to get two more black bins, for some more miscellaneous items, & to put labels on the canisters but overall, I am so happy with the result. Plus, we've actually made places for things so we know where new stuff goes. I think that's one of the most important aspects of organizing - setting up a system, so you can keep the space looking good.

For anyone wondering, the canisters & expand-a-shelf were from the Container Store, the stackable black bins were from Walmart & the baskets were from Target.

My next organization project? Paper files - ugh. I found this post to motivate me. My goal is to tackle this in the next month or two. We'll see... For now I think I'll just enjoy my lovely pantry. J

YAY!!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:30:00 +0000

After months of having this on my Amazon wish list, I finally broke down & bought myself a new toy.

A Canon EOS Rebel T1i SLR camera!! I think the new model is getting ready to come out, so the price on this one dropped over $100! It has great reviews & was recommended by a photographer my co-worker knows. Also at the photographer's suggestion, I bought the camera body only & separately purchased the 50mm 1.8 lens. This should allow me to take photos in lower light & create a nice blurred background.

So far I've figured out how to:

-Charge the battery
-Attach the camera strap
-Attach the lens (actually Michael did this while I was reading the manual, but I assume I can do it also)
-Turn it on
-Take a picture using the automatic settings
-Review my pictures & delete the ones I don't want

That's about it. I've been putting off buying an SLR camera because I was scared I wouldn't learn how to use it correctly & I'd just end up using it like a point & shoot. I'm still scared - I have a lot to learn. But I'm excited about the potential. Now I just need someone to come over & show me how to use it! Any takers? J

Christmas Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:30:00 +0000

I saw an idea on Pinterest a few months ago on how to make a Christmas card wreath. I immediately wanted to try it because I struggle every year with the cards we receive. I used to have a handy holder from Pier 1, but it broke several years ago. Since then I've put the cards haphazardly on our fireplace mantle, but they'd usually fall off at some point causing a domino effect & a mess. I read the instructions on how to make the wreath & thought - "I think I can actually do this!"

And I was right!

Here's the original idea with the instructions. Everything went according to plan except my circle isn't quite as uniform & nice as hers. Oh well, I'm happy with the result.

By Christmas, the wreath was very full. I didn't use all the clips but it was a little bit of a challenge to get all the cards on there without covering up the pictures. But I thought it looked much better than putting them on the mantle. Hurray!

I also figured out what to do with past Christmas cards using Pinterest. I never wanted to throw away the ones with pictures, so I'd put them with my Christmas decorations each year. I saw the idea to make little books using binder rings or ribbon.

I elected to use binder rings. I grouped the cards by year & put the little books on the coffee table for people to flip through. I love it! Much better than sitting at the bottom of a box...

Thank you, Pinterest, for making me look crafty!

For Your Enjoyment...

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

At Alex's party, we hung up a door banner so we could take everyone's picture. We gave away these picture magnets at the party & my plan was to mail a copy of each person's picture with the thank you card. Then people could put the picture on their fridge using the magnet. Genius! Except for the fact that several of the frames were meant to be horizonal instead of vertical. Oh well, I tried to be creative...

I'm not sure how many of our attendees want these photos posted on the internet, so I'll just show you the ones of us. Enjoy!

What can I say? We love to monkey around... Sorry, I couldn't resist! J

Throwback Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 02:30:00 +0000

I have less than a month of entries left in the journal I kept on my computer during my pregnancy. I didn't have anything written down for the last few days before Alex was born, so I'll just go off my memory to bring you to the inevitable birth story (don't worry - I had a great experience & I won't go into any gross details). Anyway, here's another round of entries.

November 13^th

Michael ran in a 5K race in the morning. Then we went to a housewarming party that afternoon. It was fun, but we didn’t know many people there. We were supposed to meet a friend at Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the OSU vs. Texas game, but got held up at the housewarming party. We finally got away & headed to BWW. Michael’s dad & brother met us there, too. We were super nervous watching the game (we haven’t beat Texas in way too many years), but we dominated the game & won! Hurray!!!

November 14^th – 36 weeks

Michael made habanero & serrano pepper jelly. We bought canning jars, so we could give it away for Christmas presents. He did a great job & it was delicious! I don’t know if I want to give it away – I want to eat it myself. I went to yoga (hadn’t been in two weeks since there was no class on Halloween & last week we were out of town). My hands have been sore ever since. I’ve started to notice that my joints are more spongy too. My relaxin levels must be high! Amanda came over after yoga to watch Dexter. This season is getting crazy!

November 16^th

Had my work baby shower today. The girls took some of the money they collected & got a lot of stuff off our Babies R Us registry. Sweet! And we still got a Target gift card & some cash with what was left over. I think we’re finally getting close to being ready for this kid!

November 18^th

Had my weekly doctor appointment. Everything is going good!

I had never heard of relaxin until I got pregnant. It's apparently a hormone that your body produces during pregnancy to soften inflexible parts to make room for the baby, etc. It also makes your joints looser, so you're advised to be careful when exercising to not overstretch your ligaments. I first read about it in a pregnancy book & because I'm very mature, I couldn't help but giggle. The word just makes me laugh. I proceeded to tell Michael that I was unable to clean or do laundry because of the relaxin. Can't you just picture a pregnant woman lounging around telling everyone she's relaxing due to the relaxin? No? Just me? Anyway, my mention of relaxin above made me think of that...

Here's my prego picture from November.

Don't mind me... I'm just smuggling a basketball under my shirt. Ha.

Happy Thursday!

Twelve Months

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:30:00 +0000

I just realized that I never did a "Twelve Months" post with Alex's monthly picture. Oops! I guess I posted about his party & forgot about the rest...

These were taken the morning of his birthday, which was also the day of his party. Once again, I had my hands full trying to get a good picture of him & the sign. He thought it was way more fun to throw the paper off the chair rather than sit for a nice picture...

But among the many silly pictures, I got a good one!

We've come a long way since that first month. It may be harder to get the photo I want, but I don't mind. That little boy is just so much fun!

Luau Party!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 23:30:00 +0000

As Alex's birthday approached, I tried to come up with a theme for his party. He's not really into anything specific right now, so I tentatively planned to just do bright colors. Then I had an interesting idea... A lot of people (especially those with December birthdays) have told me to make sure not to combine his birthday & Christmas. Not that I planned on doing that anyway, but I know what they're saying. So I thought to myself - what's the opposite of Christmas/winter/cold? Then I had it - a luau!! I bought Photoshop Elements earlier this year & decided to try my hand at making an invitation.

Definitely the work of an amateur, but I liked how it turned out. (I took out our personal info for any crazy internet stalkers - ha). And with a little help from Oriental Trading for decorations, we were set!

I hung up a monthly photo banner on our fireplace (got the idea from a fellow creative blogger). Everyone really liked it.

We also put pictures of Alex's first year on our TV (as seen in the background of this picture).

Here are a few more pictures from the big party.

Showing off his Hawaiian shirt

Starting to dig into the cake

I don't think he's enjoying it at all...

He looks concerned that we're going to take it away - ha!

He learned how to do "1" with his finger!

Aunt Amanda (my sister) got him a slide - he wasn't excited about it or anything...

There was a little drama with his cake (that's a post for another time) but all in all, it was a great party. He loved all the commotion & didn't mind being surrounded by almost thirty people. I hope every future birthday is as enjoyable!!

Throwback Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:30:00 +0000

Yet another peek at my pregnancy days from last year...

November 5^th

Michael paid to have my car windows tinted for my birthday – yay! I loved my tinted windows on my Altima. I think this will make the Pilot look a little cooler & less mom-like. J Plus, it will protect the little guy from the sun’s rays & hopefully we won’t have to put up those window shade things.

November 7^th – 35 weeks

Had my other baby shower today! It was mostly my mom’s friends & family. My grandma & aunt Janice came in town. Michael came with me so he could play golf with my dad. I hung out at my parents' house with my mom, grandma & Janice. My mom covered a lampshade I bought in the striped fabric we used for the bedding. I brought it so we could do it together, but then I pretty much just let her do it all. How thoughtful of me – ha. I’m lucky to have such a giving mother – I hope I can be as great as her with my kids! The lamp turned out super cute. Amanda got into town & we headed to the shower. The hostesses did a great job & we got a ton of stuff. Hurray! Then we went back to the house, ordered pizza & celebrated my birthday a day early. It was a long day, but fun!

November 8^th

Took the day off work (it may be one of the last days I ever have just to myself!!) I slept in & didn’t feel very good when I woke up. I was light-headed & kind of dizzy. I tried to organize the baby’s room for awhile but I started to feel worse. I was nauseous & just wanted to lay down. I had a massage appointment & I didn’t want to cancel it, so I showered & headed that way. By the time I got there, I really felt awful. I took a Tylenol before I left home & I don’t know if it was that or the massage but I felt much better afterward. The massage was wonderful – I wished I had booked a 90 minute one instead of 60 minutes! I felt ok to eat & stopped at Panera. Then I went & got a manicure & pedicure. I still felt a little crappy but the pampering was nice. I went home & basically laid around the rest of the day. I was feeling really bad again by the time Michael came home from work. We had plans to go to dinner. I didn’t really want to go out since I felt bad but I didn’t want to miss my birthday dinner either! I took another Tylenol & we went to Charlestons. I felt better by the time the food arrived. I went to bed early in hopes I would feel better tomorrow.

November 9^th

Felt as bad or worse than I did on Monday. Definitely felt like a stomach bug. I never threw up but got VERY close. Yuck. I hate being sick. I got up to get ready for work & had my clothes & makeup on when I finally decided to stay home. I felt worse the more I moved around & just didn’t think I’d make it through the day. I was annoyed to use another PTO day but oh well. I slept a lot & went to bed early.

November 10^th

Felt a little better & went to work. I went home a little early & took it easy.

November 11^th

Had another doctor’s appointment. I have to start going weekly after this one. Everything looks good – not much to report!

Being sick on your birthday is no fun! Actually, being sick on any day is no fun but especially not on your birthday. Blah.

My thoughts on the tinted windows: I highly recommend this to everyone. Get your windows tinted to the legal limit. It makes your car look sleeker, keeps it cooler in the summer, shields your baby from the sun & hides backseat activities from people walking by. Get your mind out of the gutter, people! I was referring to the times I nursed Alex in the backseat. J It's really hard to see into the backseat unless you basically put your face up to the glass. I always kept myself covered just in case but I felt pretty comfortable back there.

Ok, time to head to a Christmas party. I still have every intention to post soon on Alex's big party - hopefully this weekend! Happy Thursday!

One Year Old!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Oh my, my little baby is not really a baby anymore - he's ONE YEAR OLD. I don't even have the words for the love & amazement I have for this little guy. Michael & I have been so blessed with a healthy, happy boy.

We had some "one year" pictures taken of Alex. Here are some of my faves!

His birthday party is later today. I'm going to TRY to not be such a slacker & actually get a post with pictures up sooner rather than later. Fingers crossed!

Eleven Months

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 03:00:00 +0000

This post is late but since it's still a few days before the big ONE YEAR date, I'll just pretend it's ok. Ha!

Yes, Alex is eleven months old! He got to experience his first Thanksgiving this year - two yummy turkey meals in one day! Unfortunately, Michael didn't get to enjoy either meal since he was sick all day (poor guy). Alex ate anything I put in front of him - turkey, potatoes, stuffing, a taste of pumpkin pie. He was one happy baby with a full stomach!

He continues to grow & amaze us with the littlest things. The cliche that kids are sponges is true - he soaks up everything around him. He'll surprise me over & over again by showing me he actually understands what I'm saying. The other day he pulled off his socks when he was playing. I saw them & said, why did you take off your socks? He looked at me, went over & picked up his socks. The boy hasn't even been wearing socks that long! (When it was warmer outside, I usually just dressed him in a onesie). Now I can tell him, let's put on your socks, and he will bring them to me. He also will bring me a book if I ask him. I don't know why this is such a phenomenon to me. Maybe because he's not talking yet, I assume he doesn't understand words either? I love seeing the development right before my eyes, though!

I taught him to clap recently. I sang patty cake (well, I don't know if that's the correct term since it's not really a song...) I recited patty cake... That sounds odd, too. ANYWAY, I was doing patty cake for him & took his hands & clapped them together. Then I said patty cake again & he clapped his hands himself. One try, people! I'm telling you, it's Genius School for this boy. Now any time we say patty cake (not the whole thing - just "patty cake"), he'll clap his hands. I love it!

Here are some of his monthly pictures. Yes, the boy needed a haircut. We took care of that shortly after these pictures were taken. For those of you counting, that's his third haircut (second "professional" haircut). The boy is set in the hair department!

I'll leave you with the most adorable picture I think I've ever seen. Michael's parents babysat Alex while Michael & I went to the OSU vs OU game (BEST GAME EVER!!) and they were able to catch Alex on camera doing "TOUCHDOWN"! A month or so ago, I noticed Alex would lift his arms up in the air. It reminded me of a ref signaling "touchdown", so I started saying it whenever he lifted his arms. Then he started doing it after I said "touchdown". It's so cute! But this picture is the best because he's A) in his OSU PJs, B) watching the OSU game, and C) so happy to be watching OSU beat OU (ha!) I don't care which team you cheer for, you have to admit this picture is adorable!

Love that little boy so much!!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 23:45:00 +0000

Yes, yes, I'm a slacker. I haven't posted in weeks. We've been busy, but really I've just been enjoying my family & I haven't wanted to sit down at the computer when I'm home. Some people might call that laziness but I prefer to think of it as a zest for life. J

Anyway, here's another look back at my pregnancy days... I can't believe it's almost been a year since Alex was born! It feels like it's been forever since I was pregnant (but in a good way).

October 29^th

We had our costume contest at work today. I wore my costume (doll legs & arms coming out of my belly) & won 2^nd place in the contest!! I hung a little Halloween bag from one of the arms & told people the baby really wanted to trick-o-treat. Michael & I rode to work together & while he was driving, the nugget moved, which moved the doll arm! I yelled – he’s moving the arm! Michael looked over & then the nugget moved the doll leg. Michael said – I bet you didn’t plan on that. Nope – so weird! We went to the Rocky Horror Picture Show with Bryan. After we watched Glee earlier that week (the show was Rocky Horror themed), we got the bug & decided to buy tickets. I wore my costume & people seemed to get a kick out of it. When we were going in, a security lady checked my purse & then asked if I had anything in there. I thought she was talking about the Halloween bag the doll arm was holding & told her no. Then she pointed to my stomach & asked if I had anything in there. I didn’t even know how to respond. I sputtered a little & Michael said – the REAL baby. She still looked confused but let us go on. We totally cracked up. The show was good but not the best we’ve seen. It was fun, though.

October 30^th

Today was my Halloween themed baby shower!! Michael went to play golf with his dad & my dad. I walked the dog & then got ready for the shower (while watching pieces of the OSU vs. Kansas State game). My mom picked me up & we went to the shower. I wore my costume & it was a big hit. Everyone made comments about how little I was & how I didn’t look pregnant except for my belly. The hostesses did an amazing job! The decorations were awesome, the food was delicious & even the game was fun (we played Catch Phrase with baby related words). They had spiked punch (labeled Trick) & regular punch (labeled Treat) in cauldrons. So cute! I found out that the spiked punch had champagne – boo! I miss champagne… Who am I kidding? I miss champagne, wine, beer – pretty much everything! It was a good turnout & a lot of people dressed up. The guests decorated onesies for the nugget – they turned out really cute. We got a ton of stuff – now we just have to figure out where to put it all! I may be a little biased but it was the best baby shower I’ve ever been to! It went by really fast, though. Michael & the dads came toward the end to say hi to everyone. Michael & I went to eat with my parents & then just took it easy the rest of the night. The girls sent the cake home with me & I ate way too much of it. I finally made Michael throw it away on Monday to keep me from eating any more!

October 31^st – 34 weeks

Halloween! I spent most of the day starting to organize all the stuff from the shower & washed all the baby clothes, blankets, etc. I worked my butt off but the room was still a mess. Oh well, one thing at a time. I hung up all the clothes & the closet is almost full! Between the stuff people bought & hand me downs from friends, this baby is pretty much set! We had a lot of kids come by to trick or treat. We even ran out of candy at the end. I didn’t wear my costume because I was worried I’d freak out the younger kids. Amanda came over to watch Dexter. Michael made chili & we had Frito chili pie. Yum.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, so it was very fitting that I had a Halloween themed baby shower. So.much.fun. Here are some pics of my costume & the festivities.

Some may think it's a little morbid, but I thought it was hilarious!

Cute diaper cake

"Ant" Amanda, Witchy Grandma-to-be & me

Awesome hostesses!

RIP Your Life dirt cake - ha!

And because I'm a slacker & never got around to writing a Halloween post this year, here's a picture of our little pumpkin. Better late than never! Sorry the quality isn't great... My phone doesn't take very good pictures & the camera battery was dead. Doh!

He wasn't a big fan of the costume in the house but forgot all about it when we went trick or treating because there was so much to look at. Fun!

Happy Thursday!