A Very Merry Christmas

I know, I know.. no new posts in like a month.  Life has been busy!!!  Tonight isn't really much of a post, but I wanted to share some Christmas pictures and let everyone out there know that we are alive and well and ready for bed on this wonderful Christmas!  :)   I will try very hard to do a real post soon!   <3

5 things Friday.... Emily style

Em sent me a text asking where 5 Things Friday was, I told her I'm too busy today.  Here is her guest post!  hahaha

5 reasons why you need a baby bunny!
1.) They don't make any noise.  They are perfect city pets because they don't bark all night.
2.) They will teach your kids good eating habits.  They eat a lot of veggies and no sweets.... Ever hear the phrase "you eat like a rabbit"?
3.)  You don't have to let them outside.  I have never tried it but I am told you can litter train them.
4.) You can breed them and get new babies.  It's like the pet that keeps on giving.  If you play your cards right you could always have a bunny.
5.) They are just so cute!  Soft and fluffy and snuggle right up to you anytime of day.

5 Things Friday - 5 Things I love about December

5 Things I love about December

1.  Christmas Cards
I LOVE getting Christmas cards in the mail!  Its so fun to get something in the mail that isn't a bill.  And I love hearing from people I haven't talked to in a while.  I love seeing pictures of everyone.  Christmas Cards Rock!

2.  Shopping
Whether its all the hustle and bustle at the mall or ordering something online and getting the package delivered... I love the excitement of trying to find that special present for everyone on my list.  Yes, sometimes it gets stressful when I can't think of an idea or I have an idea and I can't find where to buy it.  But for the most part I really enjoy shopping for Christmas presents.

3.  Christmas Music
Its fun to get out that music that you only listen to in December!  And the radio stations that play the Christmas music 24/7.  Yes, it gets old after a while.  But for a couple of weeks I love it.  And Michael Buble.... oh Buble... I think he was born to sing Christmas songs.... 

4.  Eating/Drinking
I love to eat.  And I love to drink.  And December parties are the perfect excuse to do both of those things to an extreme that you would never do any other time of the year! 

5.  Christmas Lights
Its pretty amazing how Christmas lights can totally transform things and make everything seem magical!  And Lyla is so in to them this year already so that makes it even more fun! 

Heard Around the House #19

Sitting on the couch with Lyla last night...

Me:  Hey, did you know Daddy's birthday is next week?

Lyla:  Yeah.

Me:  We should make him something, what do you think we should make him?

Lyla:  Meat.

Me:  Meat??  What kind of meat?

Lyla:  Yellow.

Me:  So, you want to make Daddy yellow meat for his birthday?

Lyla:  Yes. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a busy weekend we have had.  Right now its early Sunday morning, Gary and Lyla are upstairs laying in bed watching cartoons and I'm just trying to catch up on my life for a minute!

For Thanksgiving on Thursday we went to my sister's house.  It was such a beautiful day weather-wise that it was really perfect that we ended up at her house out in the country!  We all ate too much food and just had a wonderful time! 

That evening we went down to my Aunt and Uncles and visited with all of my cousins.  Its always nice to catch up on what everyone has been up to. 

Then Gary came back home because he had to work all weekend.  Lyla and I stayed at my mom and dad's.  We love staying there!  We went shopping on Friday with mom and Em.  It was just really a lot of fun!  A bit exhausting, but fun!

Mom and Dad brought us home yesterday afternoon.  Dad and I thought it would be fun to surprise Gary so we dug out all the outside Christmas lights and put them up for when he got home from work.  He was surprised! 

SO thats a quick recap and here are some fun pictures!

Heard Around the House #18

Me:  Her pap smear got messed up.

Gary:  That is with your boobs right?

:)  Love him!

Crazy Crazy Crazy

Lets just all keep in mind that she is TWO.... if this is any indication of what she will be like when she is twelve, I think we are in a lot of trouble!  :)

5 Things Friday - Christmas Wish List

With Black Friday only a week away, I'm sure everyone is dying to know what is on my Christmas Wish List for when they go shopping!  So here are my top 5 Things I want for Christmas!

1.  Cuisinart Mix It In Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker
http://www.cuisinart.com/products/ice_cream/ice-45pk.html

Yes, if somebody buys this for me I would be so pumped.  And Yes, I will also turn in to a fat cow.  But you know, sacrifices have to be made!

2.  Eureka 2 in 1 Cordless Stick Vacuum
http://www.eureka.com/en-US/Vacuums/Lightweights/Lightweights-QuickUp-96H.aspx

I would get so much use out of a little vacuum like this that I didn't have to plug in and lug around the house.  I could use this every night after dinner to clean up everything Lyla dropped on the floor and the litter that Zoe flung out of the litter box!

3.  Pier One

Really, just buy me anything they sell at Pier One.  I love that place and everything inside of it.... everything.

4.  Cute Teapots

I am not one for collecting things.  I never have seen the point in having things that don't serve any kind of purpose.  But a few years ago I decided that I really like teapots and that I would like to start collecting them.  I bought myself one, told everybody how much I like them... and so far my collection has one teapot.  So here I am, telling everyone again how much I like teapots... and by the way, they have some really cute ones at Pier One!  ;-)

5.  Spa Day

I think it would be wonderful to have a gift card and a babysitter so that I could spend a day getting pampered!  A massage, mani pedi.... doesn't that sound nice??

5 Things Friday - 5 Reasons I am so excited for this weekend!!!!

I am totally pumped to get done with work and get this weekend started!  Here are my top 5 things I'm looking forward to this weekend:

1.  I get to see cute, preggo Sammy Jo at her baby shower.

2.  I get to see my parents updates on their house.

3.  I get to have girl time Saturday night with Erin & Ashley.

4.  I MIGHT get to see Karla one last time before the big move. 

5.  I get to do all of these things by myself.  I am not accountable to anyone for the entire day!  Gary will have Lyla and I don't have to work.  The day will be completely mine.

Heard Around (Em's) House #17

Em told me this story and I loved it, so I promised her I would share it. 

Her phone rings at the house:

Em:  Hello
Caller:  Hi, can I please speak to your mommy or daddy?
Em:  Maybe if you call their house.
Caller:  Ok, can I please speak to the person in charge of the Columbia Gas bill?
Em:  We don't have a Columbia Gas bill.
Caller:  Ok, Can I please speak to the head of the household?
Em:  No. 
Click.

hahahaha  She then told me when people call her office they refer to her as the "one with the squeaky voice".  I don't know what this says about me because people quite often can't tell us apart on the phone....

My Big Helper

If anybody needs any help with their cleaning, just let me know!  I know somebody who gets super excited to run the vacuum!!  :) 

Halloween - The holiday that just won't END!

So I seriously feel like we have been celebrating Halloween for a really long time and I am happy to report its finally over!  Here is a rundown of all of our Halloween activities the last few weeks:

The Thursday before Halloween I took Lyla trick or treating at the mall with her friend Becca.  She had a blast!  Here she is at the beginning of the night:

And this is how she looked at the end of the evening... I think she had enough!

 

 

Then the Saturday before Halloween we did pumpkins.  First I went out that morning and saw we had a casualty....  Dad thinks his pumpkin was pushed, I say there weren't any witnesses...  I give you Pappy's Pumpkin:

 



Then Gary and Lyla got to work carving her big pumpkin.

And the finished product:

That night I thought it would be fun to decorate Halloween brownies... Lyla just ate the candy!

On Halloween Day she got to have a party at daycare.  But trick or treating got postponed to Saturday because of all the rain.  So last night she FINALLY got to go trick or treating and Halloween is FINALLY OVER!!!  Here she is with  her loot last night:

I'm Old - Part One

So, I'm starting a new post, this will be the first installment.  They are going to be things that remind me I'm not quite as young and hip as I used to be!

Yesterday while Lyla took her nap I decided to watch a movie.  I watched The Vow.  It had Rachel McAdams in it and I just love her.  It was a good movie.

The WHOLE ENTIRE TIME I watched the movie I kept thinking, I'm so glad that Josh Hartnett is doing movies again, I always liked him, he is so cute.  And I just happen to not hit stop before the credits rolled.

I see the credits.

It wasn't Josh Hartnett..... It was Channing Tatum.

Yeah.... I'm sure that is probably the equivalent of calling Justin Bieber Justin Timberlake... at least I can still tell those two apart!

I am old.  :(

5 Things Friday - 5 Favorite Scary Movies

In honor of Halloween, my 5 Favorite Scary Movies

1.  Halloween
Michael Myers really makes me want to pee my pants, then he makes me laugh, then he jumps out of nowhere and I pee again!

2.  Saw
The Saw movies just freak me out.  There is so much thought behind them.  And I tell myself its just a movie, nobody is actually doing these things to people, but then I think, well some sick minded person came up with this story....

3.  Scream
Ok, not scary at all, but I love them because they take me right back to high school and all the greatness of the 90s!

4.  The Shining
This movie gives me nightmares but I love it!  Red Rum... Twins on tricylces... Here's Johnny...  Love Love Love this movie!

5.  Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Chainsaws really really scare me!  Anytime I'm at a haunted house and the chainsaw guy comes that is the end of me!  It takes me forever to calm down after that!

We Decided to Adopt

After a lot of thinking and many discussions, we decided that it would be good for us to adopt.  And after some research I decided that our family isn't ready for another baby, so we decided to adopt a girl who is a little older, 3 to be exact. 

So Friday morning Gary left for West Virginia for the weekend.  After worked I picked up Lyla and we went to the pet store.  (If you thought I meant adopt a human, you really don't know me very well!)  At the pet store we met our new family member!  A sweet little cat who is all grey and just wonderful.  We have named her Zoe!  Lyla and I bring her home and we are eating dinner and Zoe is scoping out the place.

After a little bit, I can't find her.  I can't find her ANYWHERE.  I had run out to my car really quick so now I'm thinking oh no... she got outside.  I was just sick over it.  But it was getting late and I had to get Lyla to bed.  So I went to bed too thinking hopefully she is just scared and she will be out waiting for us in the morning.

Saturday morning Lyla and I get up.  No Zoe.  I can't figure out where in the house she could be other than outside.  As soon as the sun came up I kept going outside and looking around.  My mom was on her way up to help.  Whenever she got there I had a thought.

There is a hole in my dining room wall that my dad cut so that he could get to the pipes to fix our leaking bathtub.  We never totally covered it up.  He has had to get in there a few times since so it just never seemed like a big deal.  We put a piece of furniture in front of it and forgot about it.  I told my mom, I bet she is in that hole.

So we move the furniture out and there she is looking up at me!  I was so relieved that she wasn't outside!  So mom runs down to the basement and tries to get her out from down there since I couldn't reach her through the pipes from the hole.  Well she got spooked and ran down along the side of the bathtub.

I spent the next two days trying to get her out...  Tried EVERYTHING.  Food, leaving her alone, calling her, making a lot of noise to scare her out.  Nothing worked.  I started to think maybe she is stuck.  Or worse, what if she dies in this hole and we have to cut another hole in a different wall to get her out?!?!?!  I was super stressed out.  Making me even more stressed was the fact that Gary was going to be home soon and I didn't have her out yet.  Gary wasn't 100% on board with getting a pet and I had to really convince him it was a good idea.  I didn't think he was going to be real happy if this pet cost him more home improvements....

Gary got home Sunday evening.  He walks in the house, goes to the dining room hole.  He says here kitty kitty...  I'm rolling my eyes at him.  This is not going to work you idiot, I have been doing that for two days!  Oh but don't you know... out she comes!  Gary = the cat whisperer!

So happy ending!  Now we have our Zoe and we covered up the hole!  She is a wonderful new addition to our little family and we all love her!

Our Weekend with the Canons

We spent the weekend with one of our favorite families - the Canons!

Gary and Jim grew up together.  Jim married Karla.  Karla and I were instant friends.  They had Naomi who we adore.  Then they had Nathan and we had Lyla 2 months later.  All the kids get along fantastically!

I think it is so rare to find a circumstance where two families can be such good friends.  Karla and I can do our thing, Gary and Jim do their thing, the kids all play.  Its just perfection.

And this is why it kills me to say that they are moving.  Not just a little move.  To Canada.  And not just across the border, across the border and really far away.  A 40 hour drive.  A $1000 plane ticket. 

Its going to be hard to have them so far away.  I'm so excited and happy for them.  But the selfish part of me is sad that they are leaving us. 

But this weekend we got to spend it at their house for one last time.  We do this every fall and always look forward to it.  We do get to see them once more before the leave, so this weekend was all fun!  I'm saving all my tears for the next time!  ;-)