Heard Around the House #5

Sitting at the table tonight eating dinner:

Gary:  You have a green glitter in your hair....  (with a how in the world did you get glitter in your hair tone and facial expression)

Me:  Oh, yeah, well I might have tried on some St. Patty's Day hats at Target today.... 

Gary:  BUSTED!!! 



10 MORE WEEKS!!!!  Not that I'm counting down or anything...   :)

New Years Resolutions

I have always found the idea of New Years Resolutions kind of stupid and I generally refuse to participate.  But this year I have decided to go about it a little bit differently.  Instead of some huge, unattainable resolution that I'm sure to fail at and then feel bad about myself within a couple of months, I am going to do 12 smaller resolutions.  One for each month.  When the month is over, so is the resolution.  Some of them I can hopefully keep going, but no guilt.  They are each only mandatory for a month at a time!  So here is my plan:

January
No more eating out.  This will be good for my bank account and my waistline.  All my meals will be bought at the store and made at home.  The month of December has done me in.  All the craziness has caused us to not plan our meals ahead and just grab whatever was convenient.  Or you make plans to meet friends over food and drinks.  It just gets to be too much.  So no eating out for a month.  That should be an excellent jump start to get things back on track!

February
I'm bringing back the handwritten, fold it, put it in an envelope with a stamp and mail it letter!  Technology is great and I love email as much as the next person, but there is something so special about getting a handwritten, unexpected letter in the mail!  SO watch your mailboxes in February!  I'm going to send out one letter each of the 29 days.  And an added bonus, maybe I will help keep someones job at the post office!

March
I'm going to work really hard at not saying swear words.  I have a horrible mouth.  I know when to keep it in check most of the time, but I slip a lot around Lyla and that just isn't good.  So this month I'm going to stop cussing.

April
Enjoy my birthday.  I turn 29 this year which means that 30 is only a year away.  I am totally aware that age is just a number, but I don't do well with getting older.  And my 20s have been some very important years of my life, it will be hard to tell them goodbye.  But I'm going to keep reminding myself that getting older is a part of life and its better than the alternative.  So the best thing I can do is embrace it and not worry about it.

May
Spring cleaning.  I want to sort through things in the attic and basement and either throw them away or get them sold before summer.  I want to sort through all of Lyla's toys and get rid of the things she has outgrown or doesn't play with before her birthday where she will just get even more stuff!  It will be my mission for May to get the house in order.

June
Spend more time in our backyard.  I was so excited when we moved in to the house about our backyard.  I had all these visions of spending afternoons back there in Lyla's blow up pool and evenings listening to the radio, drinking a beer.  This past summer got kind of crazy and we did spend some time back there but not nearly as much time as I wish we had.  So since June is the first month of summer I am going to spend as much time back there as I possibly can!

July
Leave Lyla for a weekend.  Without us.  I have left her for overnights a couple times, but she was always with Gary.  Gary's work has a big picnic at Seven Springs in July that I want to go to just the two of us.  So I am going to have to suck it up and convince myself that Lyla can survive without me for a weekend!  This one is going to be hard...

August
I'm going to try to visit at least one of our far away relatives.  We have a lot of them and it would be nice to go see them, even if its just for an overnight!  August is a good time to try since its summer and we won't hit bad roads and daycare is closed for a week so we usually take our vacation at the same time.

September
I'm going to work on flossing.  I generally only floss when there is something stuck in my teeth, not part of a daily routine.  I know someday it will be important for Lyla to floss everyday so if I start now I can set a good example.

October
I'm staying home.  It costs us a lot of money traveling to see friends and family and there is always a lot of traveling in November and December.  I like the idea of refusing to go anywhere during the month of October.  It also lets me stay home and start to get ready for the holiday season.  If anyone wants to see us, you better plan on coming here because I'm not leaving.

November
I'm going to do the thankful posts again like I did this past November.  I really enjoyed that challenge (most days).  Its good for the soul to try to find something to be thankful for each day instead of just complaining about things we cannot change.  I'm sure I might repeat some that I already used this year, but its good to remember them nonetheless.

December
Get my credit card paid off.  I put this for December because I'm going to work hard on it all year and hopefully by the end of December it will be a reality.  And I will have to also not go and charge more on it when I'm Christmas shopping!

Burge's Rockin New Years

Our New Years weekend started off on Friday night with a New Years Eve Eve party at our house.  Well more of a get together than a party really, but regardless it was a really fun time with great friends!  I've decided we are officially old though!  It used to be, just grab a case of beer - whatever is on sale - and we will all just drink that, probably out of cans, not even bottles.  My how things have changed!  The guys are all drinking fancy seasonal beers, out of bottles of course!  And the girls, well we have all moved on from beer and now drink wine, out of actual wine glasses!  Not one solo cup to be seen!  And if you are wondering, the wine wasn't even from a box!  That's how grown up we are now!  hahaha

Friday Night - Actual New Years Eve started off with Gary and Lyla having a concert in the living room:

Then at 8:00, I put Lyla to bed like any other night and Gary and I were enjoying just hanging out and watching tv.  That is until about 10:30 when Lyla got up.  And she absolutely refused to go back to sleep until about 3:00 this morning.  Then we got up at 8:00.  haha  I guess somebody must have told her that something really cool was going to happen at midnight and she didn't want to miss it!  But when midnight came and went and nothing cool happen I think it just put her in a bad mood!

So today we are just hanging out and relaxing.  And trying to be nice to each other since we are all tired and cranky!  :)  Happy New Year!

Goodbye to 2011

2011 was a good year, we got a new car and bought our first house.  We celebrated Lyla's first birthday and my sister got married.  There was lots to celebrate in 2011, but we also said lots of goodbyes.

I lost my grandma and I lost a woman who was like a grandma to me.  I lost both of my cats this year. 

We said goodbye to our apartment.  Our apartment had been home to us for five years.  There are lots of special memories there.  I would be lying if I said that I don't miss that place.  I can't even bring myself to drive past it.  And I have to go near it every day to get Lyla at daycare!  Gary took this video on his phone when he went to do the final walk thru and turn in our keys:

We had to say goodbye to Lyla's infant room at daycare and move her up to the one year old room.  We miss the girls from the infant room a lot!

I guess at the end of the day (year), goodbyes are just a part of life.  Sometimes they are easier than others.  Sometimes the memories are enough to carry on with you and sometimes the pain sticks around for a long long time.  I've never been very good with change, but I'm getting better. 

So bring it on 2012 and hopefully there are less goodbyes this time!

Merry Christmas!

We started off our Christmas weekend Saturday afternoon at my mom & dad's house.  Lyla wasted no time getting in to opening presents!

Auntie Em got a new robe and was excited to model it for us!

Auntie Em and Uncle G got Lyla a sit & spin and an Elmo drum set, so naturally Gerald had to build them like he has to build everything for the Bean!

Em & Lyla playing.

At one point Lyla decided the best thing to do would be to just take her toys and go home!  She kept carrying her sit and spin over to the door.

All I really want is one nice family picture of the three of us.... maybe someday!

Lyla - Such a Lady!

Erin and Andy came up to visit for a little bit, I know this picture is blurry but I still think its cute!

Saturday evening we went to my Aunt & Uncle's house and had dinner and presents there.  Then we had to go home so we could be here for Santa to come!

Sunday morning we got up and went downstairs to a living room full of presents!  There was a race car track, her drum set, a new stuffed Abby doll, new books... all sorts of things!

After presents, Mom & Dad and Em and Gerald came up for an early dinner and to play.  Lyla played her drums for us! 

She needed help from her Pap-Pay (she says it now with a french accent & its hilarious)!

Another attempt at a family picture, this is probably the best one we have had in a long time!

The girls!

The boys!

The boys plus a bean!

When everybody left Lyla was exhausted.  She missed her nap with all the excitement.  In an attempt to keep her from going to bed too early we took a bath with her new toys.

But come 6:00, this is what I found on the couch:

She couldn't stay awake another second!

Monday we spent the day in West Virginia with Gary's family.  Lyla was very excited to go for a ride!

We started off opening presents at Gary's mom's house.  She got Lyla a singing Elmo and a new play kitchen.  Then we went to Gary's Aunt & Uncle's and had lunch and opened presents there.

When we left there we went to Gary's friend Jason's house and spent some time with his family.  Then we ordered pizza for dinner and headed back home so I could get up for work on Tuesday.

Its been a crazy busy weekend/week!  Sorry this was just mostly pictures and quick descriptions but that's all there is time for at the moment! 



The result of a 6:30 bedtime...

So, want to know what happens when you put your kid to bed at 6:30?  They get up at 2:00 in the morning wide awake!! Then it takes until sometime after 4:00 when they finally fall back asleep, in your bed of course.  So when the alarm goes off and you have to get up and try to look somewhat presentable for work, this is what you get to look at while getting dressed:

She has such a rough life don't you know??  :)   Happy Monday!

Santa Fail, Fried Dough & Chuck E Cheese - Oh My!

Its 6:30 on Sunday night and we are winding down from yet another busy weekend.  If its any indication of how busy we were, I just put Lyla to bed for the night!  She usually goes to bed at 8:00, at the earliest!  She just couldn't stay awake another minute!

Yesterday morning we made one last attempt to get her to mall and get a picture with Santa.  We knew that he got there at 10:00 so we went up early and got in line around 9:30.  We were first in line and Lyla was anxiously awaiting his arrival.  Santa... Santa... she kept saying.  Santa's helpers got there ahead of him and were loving on Lyla and letting her play with some stuffed animals they had and a light up ball.  Then the big guy finally showed up!  She was so so excited!  And then he got close to her.  And then I had the nerve to try to put her on this weird guys lap....  She didn't cry, but she clung to me and there wasn't any way I could put her down near him!  I sat on the bench next to him thinking she might sit on my lap.. no.  He hid behind the bench so she could sit on it herself and maybe not see him behind her.. no, she is too smart for that trick!  So we did not get any pictures that they took there and the best Gary could get were these two on our camera...

So after that fiasco we came  home and did some things and then went to my friend Maria's house for her annual Fried Dough Party!  So much fun!  Lyla was a little party animal and hung out until 10:00 when Gary and I decided we better take her home because she could hardly walk without falling over at that point!  But we had such a good time.

Then we got up this morning and got ready because we had a date planned with the Canons!  We went and met them halfway at the Chuck E Cheese.  The kids had a blast!  And we loved getting to visit with Jim and Karla!  This was Lyla's first time there and she did pretty good.  She seemed to really like the cars more before you put a token in them.  When they would start moving she would freak out and you would have to take her out!

Lyla and Nathan played some games together including skeeball which is my favorite game!  Neither of them seemed to really get the concept, but they still had fun!

There was one ride that Lyla wanted to do, so we put her on and when it moved she spazzed so we took her off.  Then later Naomi was on it so Lyla thought, hmmm, if Naomi is doing it then maybe its ok.  So she would only get on with Naomi and Naomi had to hold her hand the whole time and she loved it!  Those two are just so cute together!

I think her favorite thing there was the carousel.  It just went in circles, the horses didn't go up and down.  I can't tell you how many times she went around on it.  Before we left I thought it would be really cute to put her and Nathan on the same horse and take a picture.  Lyla had other thoughts and tried to push him off!  Good thing both daddies were standing right there and the thing wasn't moving!

So that's a look at how our weekend went.  I'm now going to get a shower and get ready for bed myself.  I'm pooped!