Three months...seriously???

It's been over three months since I've blogged anything! I'm a slacker. Well, actually I'm too busy to remember to brush my own teeth. I really wanted to use this blog to remember all of the fun (and not so fun) things in life...well I've totally lost 3 months! Oh well!

Still busy but planning a trip next week to GA, just alex and I. I'll try to update some of the recent happening then.

Give your little one an extra hug tonight!

This is such a sad story!

My mom called me this afternoon to share this horrible news and it's just breaking my heart. I lived in Thomasville for 3 years and my mom works with the little girl's father. We went to church with this family and my sister went to school with the mom. It just hits close to home since alex and the little girl who died were almost exactly the same age.

It really puts life into perspective...after mom told me about this i kept thinking who cares if gas is $4 a gallon, who cares if i had a bad day at work, who cares if my house is a mess. I have a beautiful little girl to come home to every night! I am so thankful for what I've been given and am trying to learn to not take anything for granted. This could happen to anyone at any moment, but for the time being I'm going to smother Alex with my hugs and kisses and be extra thankful that I have a perfect little girl! My heart goes out to the Blanton family. I do not know them well but in an instant today, their lives were forever changed! Sometimes I just don't get how something so horrific could be what god has planned...it's really not fair! Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers. This little girl leaves behind her mom, dad and two brothers who must be experiencing grief they never could have imagined!

Will be back soon

I think I feel off the face of blogosphere!!! I have NO time! I need to blog, it helps me vent, remember, and just be me! But even as I sit here I don't have the time or energy to create something that even semi-resembles a decent blog entry. I swear I'm still alive, things are just crazy for lack of a better word! I'll return very soon!

BTW, Alex is cute as hell!! She's so chatty and funny and sometimes I'm jealous of her quirky personality! Sheeka and Oompa (her imaginary friends) are around daily and we've dubbed her conversations to living living in 'alexville'. Hopefully this is just 2 year old cuteness and not the start of a serious mental illness ;)

It's been awhile

Wow! To say I've been busy is an understatement. First my mom was in town for a nice visit. Alex had a blast with her and I got a little down time (or at least an extra hand to help fend off a raging toddler). We had beautiful weather and did a lot of shopping and eating out. By the end of mom's visit, alex was pleading with us to "not go out to eat at a restaurant".

The weather here has been beautiful but all of our allergies are working up a bit. None of us technically have allergies but the first few weeks of spring always brings up a few sniffles, sneezes and watery eyes. The warm weather is worth it! We're outside from the time we get home from work until sundown...it really helps keep the house clean when we're not in it!

Other than that, work has been keeping me so busy! I've taken the position of manager, extremely reluctantly, and am quickly realizing why I don't want that position! It's just to much work and responsibility--seriously now is not the time in my life I want to advance in my career. I totally work for a paycheck (luckily in a field I love) and make a comfortable amount when I'm not managing. Actually, it's such a small increase in pay for the promotion that it's hardly worth it! So why do it??? It's kind of complicated but our therapy department has no boss and things were falling apart. I'm no miracle worker but am quickly finding out that if one person takes charge (and I happen to be the only person with the experience) things run so much more smoothly. However it means goodbye to my flexible schedule and flying under the radar. People actually need me and I have enough of that at home. Hopefully it's just a short term thing!

On another note we've done a few 'fun' things lately to spice up toddlerhood. Alex now loves 'sink baths'. First it was the bathroom sink and tonight it was the kitchen sink...she thinks it's the coolest thing! At this point, whatever makes her happy!

Well enough for now, off for some much needed shut eye...another friday night bites the dust!!!

Oh Happy Me!

Jason returned from his vacation yesterday and all is well. I've realized how nice it is to have both of us around, that's for sure. Little things get done so much easier and I've definitely taken that for granted. I missed him so much more than I expected and while it was a break we probably really needed, it's good to have him back.

I may be all happy he's home because he surprised me with this



I own a few vera bradleys but wouldn't call myself a collector or anything. When a pattern comes out that I like I'll try to get my hands on an affordable piece. Well I've since started receiving the catalog in the mail and this month I loved the little tote on the cover. I mentioned to Jason how much I liked it but haven't said anything since. Well he remembered and brought it back for me. It's a tiny little thing, but the perfect accessory for me to get the spring started!


Oh, and after a $50 trip to urgent care last evening, alex was diagnosed with a double ear infection. At least that explains the fever. I suspected so but finally felt the need to have a doctor's reassurance and of course the prescription for antibiotics (which my weariness regarding antibiotics is a whole other story). This is her 2nd ear infection, both happening in the last 4 months or so-hopefully this is not a trend! Oh well, her fever's down and I've got a new little bag, I'm happy for the moment!

happy 2nd day in a row sick day

Boy, will I pay for this on Monday! I've spent my second day home with an on again, off again sick child. She has a fever and is all cuddly one minute and the next is running through the house like a mad woman. When I have the flu, (which will probably be next week) why am I confined to bed unable to lift a limb?

On a positive note I accomplished a few things today...one load of laundry, half of the dishes washed (the ones that would fit in the dish washer), 6 episodes of Wow, Wow Wubzy and 4 of Dora, got my manicure and pedicure compliments of 2 1/2 year old alex (it's just lovely), drank strawberry milk for the first time since childhood...Um, I think that's it. It's been a lovely day in one of those get nothing done kind of ways. Plans are to visit friends in Columbus tomorrow and maybe visit the zoo!!

mommy's always right

Alex is sick! Running a fever all day, lethargic, poor appetite, poor sleeping. The thing I love when she's sick (seriously I don't love that she's sick but...) she LOVES to cuddle. I think I've spent 3 hours today just holding her while she sleeps. I miss baby alex and on days like these I get a little taste of that again.

The Miracle I needed...

All I have to say is that Alex was asleep before 9:30 pm for the first time since I don't know when!!! Woo hoo! My plan is to clean the house as soon as I get off the net. I never thought I'd see the day where I'd begin cleaning the house at 10 pm.
She may have went to bed 'early' because she's not feeling well. My mommy intuition tells me she may be getting sick, but I'll take the early night and deal with the possible sickness later--I NEED the break.

Something funny from today:
I picked her up at daycare at 5:30 (after I promised I'd pick her up early...bad mom!) and as we were pulling out of the parking lot she told me she had to pooptie. I pulled into McDonalds which was right next door and headed to the bathroom with her, very quickly I might add as she NEVER tells me she has to go #2. She proceeded to do her business and then expected we were going to eat there. Well, why not I thought?? So I told her we could eat and when she was done she could play on their outground playground since she went 'pooptie' all by herself. She was so excited to play but I made her be patient while we ate. When we were finally done, we went to head outside and the door to the playground was locked. I asked the worker girl if it was closed and she flatly responded 'yeah' with no further explanation. Damn McDonalds!! Alex had her heart set on playing outside on the slide and was absolutely crushed when she heard the 'bitch' say it was closed. She was devastated and as I coaxed her to the car I made promises to stop at the first park I saw or next restaurant with slide. She proceded to say. "Those mean people." "They wouldn't let me slide, those mean people", "That's a big no-no", "I'm just a little big grill (girl) and they wouldn't let me slide". She huffed and puffed and basically bitched them out the whole ride home!

So thanks MickeyDee's for breaking my little girl's heart! She may never desire another chicken nugget again or for that matter tell me when she has to go pooptie!! It'll be your fault when she's still pooping her pants in college!

Embracing the slob from within

So I'm slowly figuring out I really can't be good at everything, even take wife out of the picture (only for the week) and I still pretty much suck. I've had a great time with Alex this weekend, we slept in, ate pancakes in bed while watching 'Cars', went to the mall, went to target, ate out three times (yeah, I've yet to cook since jason left unless you count the banana nut bread Alex insisted I make b/c the bananas were so brown), went to Walmart, hung out with Amy and Jack, played school, played babies, cut and glued, did a load of laundry, experienced Build-a-Bear for the first time, tried on new clothes (alex, not me), read stories, took a bath, made up stories with each other and the list goes on. Notice I said very little about household chores, unless you count the one load of laundry. So here I am, 11 pm on a Sunday with a huge mess of a house, dust bunnies everywhere, clean clothes everywhere, dirty clothes everywhere, milk spilled on the counters, floor, and table, toys in the tub, toys in my bed, toys in the living room...you get the point. I'm taking tonight to embrace my slobbiness and be so thankful for the wonderful memories I made with Alex this weekend. I'll never forget the look on her face when she told me a story about her 'oder famiwee in georgia', I won't forget the Eskimo kisses and fancy kisses she gave me when I got her an ice cream cone at the Chinese buffet, I hope to god I never forget her sweet voice whispering 'i lub you mommy' right before she drifted off to sleep. So she may have only taken a 15 minute nap, destroyed the house, colored all over her cabbage patch doll's face...she's still my little angel baby for whom I vow to make as much time for as I can.

So listen here house...you will remain messy, sticky and dusty for at least another day and if she happens to fall asleep a little early tomorrow I may find time to wash a dish or two or put some clothes away but until then I'm off to cuddle with my baby!

Daddy's Out of Town...

So Jason left this morning with his brother for a week long golf vacation. It's kind of bittersweet. When he's gone, I can do things at my own pace which probably means the house will be absolutely atrocious until next Saturday, his planned return. I will miss him and probably even more, Alex is already missing him fiercely. I don't even have to add that he's staying with my parent's hanging out with them daily, the things I'm dying to do because I miss them and my sister so much!! But, it's made me think a lot about my friend, Tree. Her husband has been stationed in Texas since January and is heading over seas next week. She has a daughter who is one month younger than alex and a 10 month old. The kids have been away from their dad since January and saw him for the first time this past week. She said it was pretty awkward because it took them both a while to warm up to him. I can't imagine having to help Alex warm up to her Daddy, guess we're so lucky that way. Well, as soon as they were warmed up to him and having a good time, it was time for him to leave again. I know this is so hard for Tree! My thoughts on the war and the soldiers and all they are giving up and doing has changed so much for me. Thanks to all of you who are putting your lives on the line, leaving your families behind, and protecting our country. I have such mixed feelings about the war and rarely talk about it and sadly often forget it's going on but seeing what Tree's going through I try to think about it everyday and put all my wishes and hopes out to these young men and women that they will safely return to their own sons and daughters. I'm so thankful our Daddy is only out of town for a week.

This wasn't going to be a post of this nature, I had actually planned to talk about all the neat things Alex and I did together today but that'll wait for another day, including our trip to Build-A-Bear.

Story Teller

Jason managed to capture Alex telling a story a few weeks back. This is our drama queen hard at work. Too bad we don't have video because she was hilarious!!

check out more wordless wednesdays here!

I've been tagged (twice)

By Heather and Jen

Thanks guys! Didn't you read my post about being overwhelmed `wink,wink`. I could actually use some time thinking about off-the-wall things...

The rules:
1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules.
3) Share six non-important things / habits / quirks about yourself.
4) Tag at least three people.
5) Be sure the people you tagged KNOW you tagged them by commenting what you did.

1. I too am a diet soda junkie! Love fountain the best and don't want to think about how much I spend on it! I prefer diet pepsi. Oh, and it has nothing really to do with being lower calorie, just LOVE the taste.

2. I must sleep with the TV on (which Jason despises) and will often lay awake waiting for him to fall asleep so that I can turn it on. I usually only watch 5 minutes and then am out cold.

3. I have to use the same kind of pen at all times. It's an addiction of mine, and my day is thrown off if I can't find one. I have to write ALOT at work so it matters much more there than at home. And it HAS to be fine point.

4. I've yet to share my blog with anyone except online friends. I'm really not sure why, nothing to be embarrassed about just makes it feel more like a diary and if I ever have to let out a huge secret or issue I don't have to worry about my mom or someone reading it. I know, weird.

5. Sometimes if I call in sick to work, I don't tell my husband (usually only if I'm not really sick). It doesn't happen much but I don't want him to know I stayed home b/c then he'd expect something to get done. (Maybe this is why I don't share my blog, I don't want him to find out about my hookey days).

6. I have a secret crush on the maintenance man at my old place of employment. Guess it's not a secret anymore. He's a real tool and pretty much a male slut but for some reason I have a crush on him (would never act on it though).

That's the best I can do.

I'm tagging Sara, Cara, and Jen.

Sorry if you've already been tagged, I'm new at this and don't have many blogging friends!!

OVERWHELMED

That's the only word that can describe how I'm feeling. I'm always feeling this way but lately it's so much greater than normal. This is how this a.m. went. Dog barking at 5, take him out, feed him and set my alarm for 6:45. Alarm goes off, I will it to go away and beg in my head for more sleep, I snooze it for as long as possible...knowing the longer I snooze it, the more stressful the morning will be. Finally drag my ass out of bed at 2 til 7 and grab a few cookies to give to Jason. I'm sorry but I'm sick and tired of bringing him breakfast in bed every morning. Even though it only consists of little debbies, cookies, or cake it's still served to him in bed every morning by me. This is something I started when we first married and was so happy to do it...now I loathe it! I lay down next to Alex, who has run over to our bed in the middle of the night and again steal a few more minutes of shut eye. Dreading what is to come once she wakes up. She's so grumpy and whiny in the morning and it's like walking on nails around her. Heaven forbid I do anything wrong to set her off. Give her cookies for breakfast too, after she's thrown every other option across the room because it's not what she want. Hey, at least they're organic and actually semi-healthy. I notice her teeth desperately need brushed (not going to attempt it this morning) so note to self to brush teeth this evening. Bribe, wrestle, threaten, and beg her while getting her dressed. Threats of throwing away her new easter dress, telling the easter bunny how bad she is, bribing her with her favorite activity (writing on a paper on a clipboard) and nearly losing my cool...I finally have her clothed (never mind I've been letting her sleep in shirts that are suitable to wear the next day because it shaves a step off of our routine. Finally dressed and fed and the big hair fight comes next. It was actually relatively easy this morning because I parked her in front of PBS while I navigated all of the tangles. Her pony tail was far from perfect but at least most of the tangles were out. Find her clipboard that she's incessantly asking for along with her 'white pen'. Heaven forbid we lose that pen--I think there is a little OCD there. Put her spring coat on, even though she really should wear her winter coat but she insists on her 'pat coat' (a crummy coat given to her from a neighbor last year). Load her in the car, plant a kiss firmly on her cheeks which she grimaces from and wipes off. Run back inside to get her blanket and milk (absolutely cannot forget those). And she's finally ready. By the way, Jason takes her to daycare in the a.m.

All the while, during what feels like WWIII, Jason is asking about clean towels, a shirt that's been in the laundry for well over two weeks, the smell in the kitchen, where he might find clean underwear. I turn into royal bitch to him. Everything he asks for or comments about feels like a direct hit toward my lack of ability to be a good housewife and mom. He's not really being mean but I take it so personally when he says...'have you found my white belt?'. I mean yeah, I saw it in the basement last week, was too lazy to take it out of the pants that have been waiting to go in the washer for a week, so I'm sure it's still down there where I last saw it. I'm thinking, 'walk your lazy ass down stairs and look for it yourself'. I mean give me a break, if I were looking for my belt I'd never ask him about it!!!

Well, I'm rambling. I'm just overwhelmed. Working, being a mom, being a wife, and being a housekeeper is just too much. I'm failing at pretty much all of those above mentioned jobs. I half ass it at work worrying about what I should do at home, I'm usually a pretty good mom (i'd call it my strength) but still Alex is in daycare 8 plus hours a day so really I'm paying someone to be mom for me part of the time. I'm sucking it up as wife, I've let myself go, haven't shaved my legs in well over a month, have chin hair, grey hair, about 50 extra pounds...you know all those things husbands just love. And house keeping, that's another story. Gone are the days of a nice neat house where everything has it's place. Instead, I've got 3 day old dishes in the sink, clean laundry that's been in baskets since the beginning of February, dirty laundry that's been sorted but not washed for 2 or more weeks (it's easier to just buy new underwear and socks), bills that need paid, floors that need washed, dog hair everywhere... Oh when will it end??? I guess maybe in 16 years when Alex heads off to college but really I'd rather be with her everyday and live like I am than fathom her leaving the nest.

Wow my thoughts are everywhere...I think maybe I forgot to take my meds! That would explain ALOT!

Bug Smacker

She has become quite the conversationalist and may I add a little bit of drama queen in there as well. On Sunday evening, after shopping for an Easter dress, she both delighted and entertained me in the back seat as her and I headed home after our shopping adventure. With a little prompting, her imagination just runs wild! It went a little something like this:

Alex: (Out of nowhere)"I have a purple car."

Me: Oh, you do?

Alex: Yeah, it's a big one.

Me: Where do you drive your purple car?

Alex: To work.

Me: Where do you work?

Alex: In Day-ton (imagine emphasis on the /t/ in dayton)

Me: Wow, I work in Dayton too.

Alex: Yeah, you drive mommy's truck to work.

Me: I do. What do you do at work?

Alex: Theres bugs there. Big ones.

Me: Oh yeah? Big bugs?

Alex: Yeah, purple bugs. I fmack (smack) 'em. (Voice louder and more excited while
demonstrating a smacking motion with hands)

Me: (Takes a minute to figure out what she was saying). You smack them?

Alex: Yeah, I 'fmack' 'em. At work. They're BIG bugs.

Me: Do you smack them with your hands?

Alex: Ew, yucky...No!

Me: What do you smack them with?

Alex: (Thinks really hard) I just fmack 'em.

Me: Do you use a bug smacker?

Alex: (very excited) Yeah!

Alex: I wear my running shoes.

Me: You do? Why?

Alex: So I can run fast at work in Dayton.

Me: That's a good idea, you need to be able to run to smack the bugs.

Alex: Yeah, they're yucky, purple bugs.

Alex: Mommy, whatta you do at work?

Me: I work with old people.

Alex: Me too, and bugs.

Alex: I wuv fmacking bugs!

This isn't word for word but it went a lot like that. I'm just so entertained everyday by her animation, vocabulary growth and imagination. She is very into pretending and her conversations are really taking off talking about this pretending. I'm not sure about the obsession with bugs. She doesn't seem scared of them, just a little obsessed. Who knows, maybe she'll be an entomologist?? You can be whatever you want to be baby girl! In the meantime, keep me entertained with that imagination!

Dora, Dora, and more Dora

Alex LOVES Dora and here is one of my favorite videos of her dancing to the theme song. The quality is not great but I just love it!

Christoper Jacob 3.15.08

I had the pleasure of becoming an aunt again this weekend. My sister in law Sarah and her husband Nic welcomed a beautiful new baby boy to the world on Saturday. This is their first child. She had a pretty quick and fairly easy labor and delivery and Christopher arrived at 5:15 pm weighing in at 5 pounds 9 ounces. He was two weeks early and mom had a few issues with blood pressure but nothing major.

Welcome Christopher, I'm so excited to watch you grow up and watch your mom and dad step into this thing we call parenthood!

Let the Big Melt Begin

Well we survived the blizzard of '08. It did get pretty bad here for awhile, they even closed the roads but I made the most of things and became a domestic godess for a day! Well, I'm pretty far from a godess but I did enjoy baking a few things from scratch. Let's see, I started with Banana Nut bread which turned out pretty yummy and now is A's favorite snack. She calls it 'nana butter bread' and actually took a piece with her to daycare this morning to eat for her morning snack. I made a chocolate cake (from scratch) which turned out well but I goofed with the icing! I ran out of powdered sugar and my icing was too thin. So it was more like a thick glaze and we now have to keep the cake in the fridge...still tastes good. To round out the day I made a casserole from a cookbook we have from Jason's grandma's side of the family. You know those cookbooks that everyone submits a few recipes. I scoured through it until I found something we had all of the indegredients for and came up with Chicken Breast Supreme...Let me say 'aunt dottie' this is not really supreme at all. It kindof tuned out like a gooey chicken/cheesey mess. It tasted alright I guess but it's noting I'd submit to a cookbook and that's not saying much because I suck at cooking. The rest of the weekend was spent doing dishes from the cooking marathon (the worst part about cooking), playing in the snow and trying to keep the house cleaned up (fat chance). I'm actually kinda glad to be heading back to work this morning...it was a long weekend, we all got a little bored and testy with each other and really Mommy just needs a break it's hard work being a godess!!!

A foot of snow, you've got to be kidding me!!

This is what I sent around to my family last night. I moved to Ohio about 7 years ago after living in South Georgia for about 3 years...it's days like this I kick myself and ask why?????

Well, I'm off to race the snow, hoping to finish my day at work and return to my warm and cozy home to watch the snow fall from my window. All the while secrectly wishing my retired neighbor decides to continue to be generous and snow blow our driveway (even though I'm at least 25 years younger than her) Unfortunately, I think I'll be fighting the accumulating snow most of the day as I drive around the state working with grumpy old people.

I swear that damn groundhog said only six more weeks of winter...that seemed like ages ago!

A new day, a new job

I'm starting a new job today. Well it's actually an old job, with a new title, and kind of a new location. The therapy world is just crazy when it comes to working in long term care facilities. I'm employed my a contract company and we contract ourselves out to nursing homes. I was managing the therapy team at a 100 bed facility in Dayton as well as the only speech therapist there. The facility ended it's contract with the company I was employed with (a common thing in the therapy world) and I decided to find a new job before I became unemployed. I went to work for a different company in Englewood, Ohio and worked there for 6 weeks before I put my notice in. I just really couldn't stand my manager and felt like I was being taken advantage of. The wonderful thing about being a speech therapist in long term care is that there is always another job waiting on you doorstep. The entire time I worked in Englewood, my old manager was begging me to return to them. I finally caved as I love working for her and the company. They are very laid back and flexible and are a really nice fit for me as a working mom. So I'm returning to them today, I'm not managing yet (and not sure I want to return to that role). We'll see how it goes. Of course I'll still be driving quite a lot but that gives me plenty of me time to tune into my sirius radio!

Oh yeah, while all of this is happening my old boss at the hospital, my first and most favorite job, has called and is begging me to return. I'm in the process of dealing with him. While I'd be taking a pay cut, I'd be working in Springfield. I'd save a ton in gas and wear and tear on my vehicle. This just poses a new problem... we love the daycare/school we have Alex in in Centerville. It has been awesome for her! It's very educationally based and structured so I'd hate to take her out of there. Oh decisions, decisions!! I guess this is great job security in a time of economic crisis!!!

poops and pees

Because this blog is supposed to chronicle all aspects of my life I had to post about our latest milestone. Alex is well on her way to potty training. She's having a hard time with the #2 part of the deal. On working for a promised cupcake this evening I sat her on mommy's potty and she made #2 and #1. After getting down from the toilet and inspecting her work she claims "what big turtles". I think she'd overheard us call her poop 'terds' and that was the word she was looking for. I guess from now on we'll be working on putting all of the 'turtles' in the water so they can swim home!! Oh what fun a two year old is!

I'm still reading the book

Well, my time is quite limited so I'm still reading the book. But some good news...Jason smoked his last cigarette on Saturday night and has not smoked since. He is surprised by how easy it is. The method the book talks about is basically changing the way you think about smoking, why you do it and learning to reverse the brainwashing you've experienced since you lit that first cigarette. I'm only a few chapters in and the author insists you continue to smoke as usual while you read the book. Basically he tells you that you are a drug addict and you are on your way to becoming FREE! I look forward to this and it has helped that Jason quit first. Although I'm still smoking, I'm a bit more careful about smoking when he's around and I'm becoming quite jealous of him!

Time to Quit

Many people don't know this about me...I'm a smoker. I am truly addicted and the only time I've been able to quit was when I was pregnant with Alex. To show how powerful this drug is I always thought that someone who smoked while pregnant was the most insensitive, ignorant, and selfish person there could be. Then I became that person. I actually ignored that I was pregnant for a few days so that I could get those last few smokes in. It was so hard to quit and even harder for me was that I couldn't ask anyone for support because I was so embarrassed that I actually had an urge to smoke while at the same time I was creating a life inside of me. Mind over matter I was able to cut way down and then quit before I was three months along. This was an issue I haven't shared with anyone, including my husband, my best friend or anyone else. I've decided since I'm on my way to becoming an ex smoker I can finally come clean. I'm so glad that my smoking didn't cause any problems with the development of my little girl. For the longest time I was convinced it is why I developed preeclampsia but have since learned that is not the case. Besides, I did quit quite early in my pregnancy. Shortly after Alex was born, the baby blues set in (and I don't think they've completely left yet) and I started craving again. It wasn't long until I was smoking again. This time it took over a year before I really shared this nasty habit with anyone, I was still ashamed and embarrassed. For the past six months or so I've smoked openly and even my parents know. I feel coming clean would play a big part in my eventual quitting. I don't smoke in the house or in the car if Alex is in there so she's not exposed to the smoke. However, she is now at the age that she knows that I smoke and will soon understand what a nasty habit it is. I will be DONE smoking before she can understand this and hopefully she won't have any memories associating me with cigarettes.
Jason is also a smoker as are all of his brothers/sisters. My parents were smokers until I was in grade school, my brother smokes and my sister smoked until about two years ago when she was hypnotized and quit. I haven't really wanted to quit until now and was scared to death of not smoking (any smoker/past smoker should understand this). I now realize that I'm approaching my 30th birthday, I'm overweight, have high blood pressure and am depressed. I'm going to knock each of these issues out one at a time! Jason and I are both quitting with the help of this book. Jason just finished reading it and I'm just starting. Of course I'm skeptical but with the support of each other, our families and friends...we can do this. If for no one else, for Alex. She's the light and love of our life and we both need and want to be around to see her off to college, watch her get married and meet our grandkids! I'll try to post about how it's going for us and plan on joining the ranks of non smokers much sooner than later!!!

Pictures Worth a Thousand Words

Crockpotting it up

I'm terrible in the kitchen, mainly due to lack of preparation and time. I found this new blog and am looking forward to trying some recipes. I don't use my crockpot near enough! Tonight I'm trying a chicken marinara, we'll see if it turns out! Well I'm off to drag Alex away from Clifford and head to daycare/work!

Snow Day

I remember the month of February when I was a child...there was always a lot of snow on the ground. I remember this because my mom always spray painted a red heart in the snow saying "I love you" for my dad. However, in the past many years we rarely get an accumulating snowfall this time of year. So that's why when last night they were calling for 8-10 inches in Springfield I actually got a little excited. I mean I HATE winter like the rest of them but who doesn't love one BIG snow fall of the season. Well, that 8-10 turned into less than 2 with a little bit of sleet, but the little accumulation didn't stop me from having a snow day!! When I saw that all of the schools were canceled, even colleges I thought to my self...it's far too dangerous to travel these central ohio roadways with a two year old in tow, I must stay home! And who doesn't love a snow day?? It started out well but a snow day with a 2 1/2 year old proved to be more stressful than I anticipated. This morning we mailed the valentines we made for her grandmas and grandpas and she threw a fit after we put them in the mailbox, exclaiming 'my bawentimes, my bawentimes, the mail man is gonna take my bawentimes', this resulted in a lengthy explanation of how mail travels and I assured her that grandma and grandpa would get them. We watched some cartoons she never gets to see b/c she's in day care all day, played with kitty (that'll be another post), played in the snow, played kitchen, played babies, colored (man it's exhausting being 2). We had a blast together for a while but then nap time rolled around and in her usual fashion, Alex REFUSED to go to sleep! I finally resorted to a car ride (unfortunately I've been using that tactic a little too much lately), but a mom's gotta have me time. So now she's sound asleep with kitty in my bed and instead of facing this tornando wrecked house I've decided to really enjoy a little of my snow day, mommy style. I'm off to take a quick bubble bath with my latest read and then maybe sqeeze in a little shut eye myself. Cleaning or exercising would be much better use of my time but on any other Tuesday I'd just be a work, right???