We Haven't Left the House ALL DAY...

In case you were wondering, this is what happens to Lyla after we spend the entire Saturday at home just the two of us.  She goes a little nutso... lol

5 Things Friday - 5 Things that have changed since I became a Mom

5 Things that have changed since becoming a Mom:

1.  Poop
I bet nobody saw that one coming as number one (maybe I should have made it "Number 2" lol)!!  But seriously, it starts when you are pregnant and you can't poop.  Then when the baby starts having poop explosions.  Then when you get so excited for her to poop on the potty... or so mad when she poops in her underwear!  You don't ever get to poop alone anymore.  Poop and how much I talk about it in every day conversation changed A LOT when I became a mom!

2.  Sleep
I used to believe I could only function on 8 hours of sleep... no less.  I used to always go to bed and not wake up until the alarm went off.  Those nights are so long gone.  When I was pregnant and I had to start getting up to pee in the middle of the night, I think that's the last time I slept a straight night, all the way through!  Lyla hasn't ever been a really good sleeper.  Our routine now consists of putting her to bed in her toddler bed and sometime during the night she comes in our room and gets in our bed.  I just let it go.  At least I don't have to feed her and its fun to cuddle!  Some day she won't want to sleep with us anymore and I think that will be a sad day, so I'm just enjoying it now!  And those 8 hours I used to get... well I found out, I don't really need all 8 of them.  Some nights I get it, but not every night.  And I seem to be surviving!

3.  Pictures
Facebook is a funny reminder of this!  Especially if you flip through my Profile Pictures folder.  I used to take lots of pictures, trying to get the perfect angle of me and my adult beverage.  They looked something like this:

Then you get pregnant and you want the perfect angle of the "bump".  Which really, its so funny when you call it a bump... because looking back, it looks a lot bigger than a bump to me!  Bump just makes the pregnant girls feel less huge I think!

Then you need the perfect picture of the BABY!  You aren't even in the pictures anymore!

And the older they get the more fun it is!

And sometimes they let you get in the pictures too... sometimes.

4.  Showers
I shower at night now.  Its just so weird to me.  But here is the deal, most of the time if I don't shower when Lyla is asleep then she insists that she is going to shower with me.  Do you know how hard it is to shave your legs while sharing the shower with a toddler?  Try it some time!  And I hate drying my hair.  It goes back to the whole sleep thing too, if I shower at night, I can pretend to sleep in a couple extra minutes in the morning without panicking as much as I would if I still needed to get a shower before work.  Whatever, judge all you want, night showering is where its at these days!

5.  Mom Jeans
Now the clothes and shoes I pick and my general appearance since having Lyla is something I think about more now than I ever did before.  I don't EVER want to come across as the frumpy mom wearing the "mom jeans".  I put a lot of effort now in to trying to still look good or at least presentable.  I think I just don't want to fall in to the stereotype of "I'm a mom now so I don't have to care what I look like anymore".  So the result of that is that I care even more now instead of not caring at all!  Now I still wear my hoodies and my tenners, but not every day.  And I try to do my hair and some kind of make up before I leave my house to go somewhere (even Walmart on a Sunday morning at 7:00). 

Happy Friday Everyone!  AKA  PJ Party at Daycare Day!  They put a smile on my face!

Heard Around the House #16

Gary and I driving in to work this morning:

Gary:  Malkin might keep playing for Russia if they don't get the salary thing figured out.

Me:  I don't know what that means, so is he going to keep playing for West Virginia or go pro?

Gary:  blank stare

Me:  You have to start over again, I have no idea what you are talking about....

Gary:  Geno Malkin... you know, he plays for the Pens...

Me:  OOOOOOH... we are talking about Hockey, not Football...

I obviously can't have sports conversations before I drink my coffee! 

5 Things Friday - 5 Ways Gary is starting to act like my DAD

5 Things this week is all about Gary and my Dad and how they are morphing in to the same person right before my very eyes!  I can't decide if these things are just "dad" qualities and now that Gary has been a dad for over 2 years they are starting to kick in.... or maybe these are just qualities that I bring out in the men in my life.... or if maybe Gary and my Dad are just really more alike than I have ever noticed them to be in the past! 

Ok, here we go:  5 Ways that Gary is starting to act like my Dad!

1.  He wants to turn on the furnace... in SEPTEMBER!
The house got down to a whopping 69 degrees the other night and Gary started talking about turning on the furnace.  Hi honey, its September... you are crazy.  Side note, I am pretty sure my dad already turned his furnace on a couple weeks ago... possibly in August, but I don't know that for a fact.

2.  Gary tells Lyla that "can't" isn't a word.
My Dad used to do this to us all the time.  When he taught at Penn Commercial he even had signs that looked like this:

3.  Gary has started working a second job.
Gary has picked up a second job to try and help us get our debts paid off from when we were what I call "living on the edge" or "super poor" or "trying to make it"... Whatever you want to call it, he is working 60 hours a week now.  My Dad always worked as much overtime as he could to take care of my mom and me and Em. 

4.  Gary is beginning to show an interest in guns.
Growing up my Dad always went hunting, my uncle owns a gun shop, guns were always just a part of my life.  I knew how to shoot them, knew all the rules about them.  I meet Gary, and he has never even ever touched a gun in his life, let alone shoot one.  Now he tells my Dad that he thinks we should buy one to have at the house for protection... Who is he and what did he do with the guy I married?!?! hahaha

5.  Moonshine.
They both keep telling me stories about moonshine and doing shots of moonshine.  Gross.

So there you have it.  Gary is turning in to my Dad.  All I have to say is if he asks me to buy him long underwear this winter I might just lose it!  Love you both!

Little Country Girl

As much as I would like to believe I am raising Lyla to be the city girl I always dreamed I was...  When we go to visit my parents she really loves being out in the country!  Lucky for her she can enjoy the best of both worlds!

This past weekend Gary went to DC with his friends to see the WVU game.  Lyla and I headed for WashPA.  On Saturday I went with my friend Erin to go wedding dress shopping.  Lyla stayed with my family. 

I will let the pictures speak for themselves, needless to say she had a blast and LOVES hanging out with Grandma, Pappy, M and Uncle G (and Shorty)!!!   :) 

This is what happens to my little girly girl when I'm not around to keep her clean! 

Heard Around the House #15

Lyla:  I got a boo boo, Can you kiss it?
Me:  Sure, where is it?
Lyla:  On my big finger (holding up her thumb).

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Getting ready to go to my parents after work:

Lyla:  Did you get our supercases?  (suitcases)
Me:  Yes, I packed our supercases.... haha

5 Things Friday - 5 Fall Shows I'm excited about!

One of the good things about Fall is that tv gets better.  Here are 5 Shows I'm EXCITED about watching this Fall:

1.  X-Factor
I never watched American Idol, but I have a feeling its pretty much the same show.  My girl Britney is a judge, so of course I'm watching!  And so far I really like it!

2.  Parenthood
This is absolutely one of my all time favorite shows!  I generally cry at least once every episode. I'm so excited that its back on.

3.  2 Broke Girls
This show is about to start its second season.  Michael Patrick King is the producer, he also did Sex and the City.  Same kind of humor and I find both shows absolutely pee your pants hilarious!

4.  Big Bang Theory
Such a great show!  I love watching it with Gary because I always think its funny but then Gary gets all the geek jokes that just go right over my head!

5.  How I Met Your Mother
This is the Friends of today in my opinion.  I am able to totally relate all the characters of this show either to myself or my friends.  Gary and I are so totally Lily and Marshall! 

My Grandma's Legacy Will Always Live On

A year ago today, I lost my Grandma to Alzheimer's Disease. 

You can read my posts about how she was diagnosed as well as my favorite memories of her here:
 Its Going To Be A Long Week  and  More Grandma Memories

And this is the link to the team page for the Alzheimer's Walk I am doing in her honor:
Helen's Heroes Team Page

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I find it very interesting that the older you get, you begin to reflect on things that have happen in your life or people you have known and you can see everything in a different light.  It doesn't mean you saw it wrong the first time around, but as you get more mature you can appreciate things for different reasons.

My Grandma had a personality that was all her own.  She was very unique in my opinion.  And everyone loved her.  She always had lots of friends and would always be out and about doing something.  Whether it was card club or a party for someone or something with the church.  There was always SOMETHING to do.  You would never ever in a million years find her just sitting at home with nothing to do.  And she taught me to be just like her!   I often complain about not having any free time and that my calendar is booked up months in advance, but really, I wouldn't have it any other way.

I talk a lot about my Grandma, but I would also like to take a moment to remember my Pap.  Because I believe that together, they were unstoppable.  He was an amazing man.  He had so much love inside of him.  I never heard him say anything bad about anyone.  He was the world to me for the 13 years that I got to spend with him.  He was always calm.  He loved to sit in his recliner at their big picture window and watch birds all day long.  He put coffee on his cereal instead of milk.  He loved his cows.  He loved his farm.  He loved his kids and grandkids.  And he loved my Grandma.

Until my Pap passed away whenever Em and I would go stay at my Grandparents house we always split, Em would go with Grandma because she was the baby and Pap and I would sneak off somewhere and basically, for lack of a better word, we would hide from them!  haha  We would go down in his tool shed and build something like a swing to hang in the tree.  Or we would go walk around the farm.  Whatever we could find to do to escape my Grandma harping at us! 

They were just so funny together!  And the longer Gary and I are married and the older I get and remember things about my Grandma and Pap together, Gary and I are a lot like they were.  And that makes me so happy.  My grandparents absolutely had a marriage that I looked up to.  They were really pretty different people and no, they didn't always agree or get along, but they were a team.  They took on the world together (while seeing as much of the world as they could!).  They took their marriage vows very seriously.  My Pap never took his wedding ring off from the day they got married.  NEVER TOOK IT OFF.  My mom wears it now.  I have their wedding picture framed in my living room.  Its really one of my most prized possessions.  They are such an inspiration to me.

Part of my wishes that my Pap hadn't died so young so that maybe once Grandma starting suffering the effects from Alzheimer's he could have helped somehow.  Maybe she could have lived at home longer.  Maybe just having him there would have slowed it down somehow.  Maybe it could have kept her grounded a little bit.   But part of me is thankful that he wasn't around to see how far she got from the woman he fell in love with.  I think it would have broke his heart when she couldn't remember who he was or all the memories that they had together - because she just no longer had those memories. 

That is what is just so baffling about this disease to me.  You forget your life.  Think about that for a minute.  You live your entire life.  Nobody knows your life better than you do.  And then you just don't know anymore.  But the weird part is that you don't even know that you don't know.  Maybe that's the silver lining of it all.  You aren't aware that there are things you don't know that you absolutely should.  Well I shouldn't really say that, I do think there is a time during the disease, before its full blown where you get frustrated.  You get frustrated because you should know things and you don't.  But after you get on the other side of that line, you are blissfully ignorant to the actuality of what is happening.

This has turned in to a complete ramble!  I really just wanted to mark the anniversary of my Grandma's passing with some reflection. 

Remember to let me know if you want to walk or donate to Helen's Heroes! 

Here We Go Steelers!

We are starting Lyla off young as a Steelers (&WVU) Fan!

She has always loved football and this year is already showing that its going to be the best year so far!  :)

 

Take 1...

 

 

Take 2...

 

Take 3... I think she would have kept doing this all night if I had let her!

 

 

 

 



Oh & since I actually took pictures this weekend, we also went to the dentist yesterday:

 

 

 



5 Things Friday - Good Things about Fall

Monday was Labor Day - The unofficial end of Summer and start of Fall.  I love Summer, Spring and Fall are pretty great too.  But I hate Winter... I mean I REALLY. HATE. WINTER.  So sometimes Fall makes me sad because I know that Winter is coming right behind it.  But there are a few things that I really look forward to when I think about Fall, and here are my top 5:

1.  Pumpkin
Pumpkin Spice Coffee, Pumpkin Cookies, Pumpkin Candles...   :)

2.  Hoodies
I love the feeling the first day its cool enough to put on a comfy sweatshirt and socks and tenners, its so cozy! 

3.  Football
Go Steelers!

4.  Halloween
After having Lyla and buying our house, Halloween has got so much more fun for me!  Its so fun to get her all dressed up and its neat to live somewhere that you get to go trick or treating!  You don't get to do that in apartment buildings or living out in the sticks!

5.  Thanksgiving
I love Thanksgiving, I might even say that its better than Christmas if you ask me!  You get to eat tons of food, you get to visit with your family and friends.  There isn't all the stress of gift giving, usually it doesn't snow so you don't have to worry about driving in bad roads.  And you get to go shopping! 

Home Improvements

Most of you have been to our house by now and for those who haven't - What are you waiting for???

We have been living here for over a year now and little by little we are starting to make it ours. 

Whenever we have a little bit of extra time and money to do things we try to tackle any project we can. 

Do we do things perfect?  No.

Is there still lots more we want to do?  Yes.

But is it feeling more like HOME and less like somebody else's house that we are living in?  Absolutely!

I'm going to share some current "after" pictures.  No, it never crossed my mind to take any "before" pictures, so I'm sorry.

First up, our outside.  When we moved in there were lots of nice flowers and landscape.  We moved in the spring.  As last summer went on it was evident that number one, I have zero interest in keeping up with plants and number two, even if I did want to, I'm  not very good at it.  So we (Gary) ripped out all the plants and put down rocks.  I love it!  And all the neighbors keep telling us how much nicer it looks!  Also, the steps and bricks on the bottom of the house were a terrible gray that didn't match anything and our front door was white and really gross looking, not to mention our rusted out mailbox.... so Gary painted it all tan and we splurged for a new mailbox!  It made such an improvement!

And then there are our bedrooms.  First Lyla's room.  All we really did that's any different from when we moved in was to take out her crib and the rocking chair.  But that turned it in to a little girls room and not a nursery anymore!  She is growing so fast!

And our room.  When we moved in it was such an awful pink color.  We knew we had to paint.  It took us until February to agree on a color!  We painted it a dark grey and got some yellow accents.  I LOVE it!  I also rearranged furniture and utilized our two closets so we don't even have a dresser in there anymore.  I just need to decide what to hang on the walls and someday get a new carpet and it will be perfect!

This past weekend we worked really hard on our attic.  Its a finished attic and I have been dying to get it to a point where it was a useable space.  When we moved in it just become the spot to toss anything that didn't have a home.  Well not anymore!  We got it all set up with a guest bed on one side and a nice playroom for Lyla on the other.  We haven't got many toys up there yet and I just got chair tonight to put up there.  I can definitely see Lyla and I spending a lot of time up there this fall!!  Looking at these pictures, I think new blinds are next on the list for the attic!  :)

Thats it for now, I can't wait to get some more improvements done so I can share them with you!