Christmas Past

Well its Christmas Eve, its so hard to believe and kind of sad that it soon will be over. We are leaving for Alabama today. Because my mind is always busy, I normally can't sleep too well the night before we leave. I have been awake since 3am. After laying in bed for an hour I decided to get up. We are wanting to be on the road by 5:30am. I hope its not icy out. Its suppose to be and it looks wet outside, but its hard for me to tell.
I just wanted to make a quick last post before Christmas and wish everyone and their families a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year. I hope 2009 brings great joy and happiness in all our lives.
Here are some pictures from the past Christmas', since we have been married. Enjoy, and try not to laugh too hard.


2005--Mind you, we croped the background so
it didn't look like Sanford and Son.


2006--We actually didn't end up sending this picture
out in a card, I didn't like any of the pictures.


2007--Adriana's First Christmas


2008--Don't mind my double chin, boy, that
will make you want to diet!

Tonight we celebrated Christmas with my parents and brother. We had a big meal, lots of snacks and fun opening gifts. Adriana wasn't sure what to think about opening gifts, she was more concerned about cleaning up the trash than the gifts. All in all, she had fun and enjoys her new toys. Here are some pictures that we took tonight of our family.



Ryan, Adriana, Me and Chris


Proud Grandparents (Pa and MiMi)


The Whole Family


Pictures we took the other night for our
Christmas card.



Adriana "hamming" it up.

Deal of the Day

Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE to bargain shop. I rarely pay full price for anything. Well, all my bargain shopping through the years, I have never gotten PAID by a company to take a product off their hands. Let me explain.
Adriana is in desperate need for some shoes. The problems lies in the fact that she has chubby, wide feet, like her mama. Its really hard to find shoes that fit her. She needs some new gym shoes for school, but I can't seem to find any that fit. Anyway, I hate paying full price for children's shoes, because they grow out of them so fast. After checking at some resale stores and looking at Goodwill, I came the the fact that like it or lump it, I'm going to have to buy her shoes at full price. I went to Payless because they carry wides. Well, the only shoe they had in wide was, of course, not on sale. I went ahead and decided that she needed them. Well, the store I was at didn't have her size, so they gave me the store that did and gave me a $3 off coupon towards the purchase of those shoes. So I went to the other store at the mall to buy them and they were having their BOGO 50% sale. I looked for her some more shoes, but couldn't find any. So I breezed over to my size and found a really cute pair of plaid mary janes on clearance for $10. I thought, that is a good deal, I can get these shoes that are normally $23 for $5 (since the second pair is half price). Well I tried on the shoes and they didn't fit real good, so I was going to go down a half size, well, of course, they didn't have my size. I asked them to see if another store would have them in that size and they said that the one a few miles down the road had one pair left in that size. So I went ahead and bought Adriana shoes there at the mall and they gave me another $3 off coupon for those shoes that I was going to buy. (I guess if they don't have it in stock and you have to go to another Payless to get a pair, you get a $3 coupon.) So technically after my 1/2 price on my shoes and after the coupon, I should only pay $2 for my shoes. Not too shabby. Well the girl at the other store rang it up and after talking to the store manager, they ended up giving me $1.07 back in change. I told them that I hadn't even paid for my other pair of shoes, and the manager said that it was too much to fool with so she said "Merry Christmas, enjoy your free shoes". I was in shock! Needless to say, Ryan wasn't too upset at me for getting another pair of shoes, when the store pays you to take a pair of shoes! Talk about a deal!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Me and Adriana wanted to wish our favorite man in the world, a very Happy Birthday! Ryan turns 30 today. He is the best husband and father a person could ask for. He always puts his girls first (except for Zoe). We are very blessed to have such a kind, loving, forgiving, easy going, tender hearted person to call our own. Ryan has excellent parents for role models on how to treat your wife and children right. I know his parents are proud of him and we are too.
Thank you Ryan for always being there for us. You are a great provider and protector of your family! We love you, and hope your birthday is a great one!

Nap Time Troubles

I am currently trying to get Adriana down for a nap. I am getting very frustrated. She normally goes to bed around 1pm and its now 1:55pm. She keeps screaming and having a fit over nothing. I'll let her cry for a little while, but after awhile I'll go in to check on her. She is having issues with her socks. Most of the time she wants them off for nap time, but today she can't decide. She cries because she wants them on, and then when I go in to check on her because she has been crying for 15 minutes, she has her socks off and that is troubling to her. She wears me out! She was cracking me up the last time I was in there though. A few times ago, I was holding her and she had her head on my shoulder and she would lift her head up and I would kiss her cheek and then she would lay her head down again. This soon turned into a game, so I put her back into bed. This last time I was in there holding her, she started to hold her cheek to my lips and I wouldn't do anything, to avoid making it play time. She would do it and the giggle and then put her head back down on my shoulder. It was so cute, I had to resist laughing.
Well its been quite since I have started this blog, so maybe she will go to sleep. Lets cross our fingers.
For all you slackers out there, only 8 shopping days left!

Christmas Movies

I LOVE watching Christmas movies. This is the time of year that I wish we had cable, so I can watch those cheesy, feel-good, made for TV holiday movies. I have been on a movie kick lately. As I wrap gifts during Adriana's nap time, I have been watching Christmas movies. I tend to rent movies from the "Red Box" venues that are at McDonalds and Wal-marts or other places. They are only $1.00/nite. I think its ridiculous to rent movies for $5, especially now that they have the Red Box things. (Also, if you rent a crappy movie, your not out a ton of money).
Anyway, back to the subject at hand. I have been thinking a lot about movies that I love. Unfortunately, now that everything is digital, I can't watch most of my collection, because they are on VHS. Here are some of my favorites.

Christmas Vacation
Home Alone
Little Women (not really a Christmas movie, but I love to watch it this time of year)
Elf
How the Grinch Stole Christmas

And of course now that I'm trying to remember what it was that I was going to list, I have drawn a blank. I would say these are my favorites. What are your favorite Christmas movies?

Christmas Decorations

I'm sure you have been sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for me to post pics of our decorations, but nevertheless, I'm finally posting them. I have more than I posted, but I figure this is enough.

Our sad stockings hanging on our bookcase.
(don't mind the decorative antenna)



Our Christmas Tree


My little village. I got all the houses at a garage
sale for a $1 for all of them.


Ryan's little Christmas tree with his
Simpson's ornaments.


Our front stoop. The tree lights up
at night. I should make Ryan string
lights on the roof. Maybe next year.


We have a progressive dinner with our Sunday School class that I helped throw together, so I hope it turns out to be fun. We are having a white elephant gift exchange, and let me tell you, I have some treasures. My mom has a white elephant gift box in her house that holds a bunch of horrible, tacky gifts, so that was my resource for these gifts. I can't wait to pawn them off on some poor soul.
I have a lot to do today, so I better run. Have a great weekend!

Insert Foot in Mouth

So I had to stick my foot in my mouth today, the first time in a long time. I was on my way inside to pick up Adriana from school and saw another mom from her class. I knew she was pregnant and was due in December. As we were walking in, I said, "Aren't you due about anytime". Now keep in mind, I have only talked to the woman once and I knew she was due in December, that was about the extent of our conversation. So after I asked her that question, she so kindly replied that she had the baby on Saturday. I could have died! I thought she had looked smaller, but didn't really pay that close attention. I tried to cover myself, but it was too late. I felt horrible! Now, granted, when I got back to work from my maternity leave, 6 weeks after having Adriana, I got asked twice in that week when I was due, it didn't really bother me, except these were honest questions by guys that I worked with everyday. Did they not notice I hadn't been there for a month and a half? And that I was, hopefully, a little bit smaller after birthing a 9lbs baby? Anyway, I don't really get offended that easily, but nevertheless, I felt horrible after making my comment. I then proceeded to make up for my stupidity by asking how old her other one was (the one in Adriana's class) saying that he looked small for his age. So not only am I saying she still looks 9 months pregnant but I'm calling her child a runt. Way to go, Lori! Maybe I should be a motivational speaker.
Lets see, between me falling last week at her school like a moron and insulting the parents, why don't we just change my name to Grace!

I am finished!

Its official, I am finished Christmas shopping. I was about 95% of the way finished but had to tie up some odds and ends to make gifts complete. I know people normally sigh a big breath after being done, but I love to shop and this is the only time of year that I don't get in trouble for buying things. I'm kind of bummed that I'm done, but it also feels good at the same time.
I have thought about the most random things lately. For example, isn't it funny how this is the only time of year that we go full out on decorating for a holiday? I mean, you might lay out a bunny and eggs at Easter time or put a pumpkin out in the fall, but what other holiday do you rearrange furniture for? I love Christmas, and I love to decorate for it, but its so funny how we have boxes and boxes of decorations that we only use for one month out of the year. We pull out ladders and risk our husbands lives to hang lights on our houses. People wear Santa hats just to do grocery shopping (which I don't understand). Its just amazing how much we do for this holiday. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say we shouldn't do all of this, it just strikes me as odd that we do it for this holiday and not any other.
Speaking of decorations, I was finally going to post some pics of our tree and decorations around the house and my batteries died on me, so I'll have to post them when the batteries charge.

Well, I figured that you are tired of looking at bloody knees when you sign on to this blog, so I thought I would change it. I don't really have anything to write about, but at least you won't see grossness when you check in on my page.
We recently celebrated our 1 year anniversary of being home owners. We closed on the house the day before Thanksgiving last year and moved the weekend after Thanksgiving. Who would of thought that a year later, on about the same weekend, we would be moving my parents down here too. Its crazy what can happen in a year.
I was going through pics on my computer yesterday and trying to clean up our hard drive, since our computer keeps shutting off on us. I did it thinking it might help it run longer, if there is more space, and/or I don't want it to crash one day, and have all our pics on there and us not be able to get them off. Anyway, it was very sad to see how much Adriana has changed just even in the last few months, let alone the last year. I am blown away by how fast time goes. The older I get, the faster it seems to go. I can't believe that Christmas is less than 3 weeks away! I love this time of year, but with all the hustle and bustle it goes by so much faster.
Looking at those pictures yesterday, made me think how big Adriana is getting and how she doesn't look like a baby anymore. The sad thing is, is that next year this time, when I look back at pics from Christmas this year, I will think how little she looks. (Does that make sense?)
I didn't mean to make this blog a downer, just sharing what I was thinking about. Hope everyone is having a good start to the weekend.

Battle Wounds

Yesterday I was taking Adriana to school. I got her out of the van and went and stepped up on the edge of the sidewalk and didn't see the patch of ice and instantly slid to my knees. I came pretty close to dropping her and having her head hit first on the sidewalk, but luckily I pulled her back before that happened. I was in shorts because I was going to go work out after dropping her off, that's why they are so tore up. I know, what am I doing wearing shorts when its freezing outside? I'm glad I did have shorts on and not pants, I think it would have tore pants up and I don't have that many to begin with. (Although it would have been a good reason to buy some new clothes!) By the time I dropped her off at her class room and started walking back outside, I had blood running down my leg almost to my ankle. I'm sure people thought I was some kind of freak show. Needless to say, I didn't feel like going and running on a treadmill (alright, I don't run, but I can walk pretty fast). My legs were on fire all day! We'll that's my battle wound story. Sorry for the gross pictures and the fat, white legs that accompany my boo boos.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Well I have a few minutes to write a little something since Daddy's getting help with the dishes.






This Thanksgiving has been very different for us. On Thanksgiving day we had to wing it on our own, since mom and dad went to Jeff City to do Thanksgiving there and bring Chris back. So we went over to my parents rental house and raked and raked and raked the leaves that were in the front yard. They had so many leaves, it just made the house more run down and not very homey. Anyway, we went there to do all of this for them, and when we pulled in there, we realized we forgot our key to their house, so we were stuck with a billion leaves and only one rake. Adriana was very good considering she had to occupy herself for 3.5 hours outside. We weren't able to finish because we had to get Adriana home for a nap. Anyway, our Thanksgiving feast ended up being a Jr. Burger from Sonic for lunch and biscuits and gravy for dinner. Like I said, a very different holiday. I will say, that I was amazed how many people are out and about at the most weird places. There were a ton of people at Walgreens, which I understand to a point, but there was even a lot of people at Sonic and I noticed that there was even a line at the dog wash (yeah, we have a dog wash). I'm willing to bet that those dogs weren't too Thankful for that treat on Thanksgiving day.
Last night we did Thanksgiving with my parents and my brother. We had good cookin' and lots of fun hanging with each other. It doesn't matter what day you do your holiday festivities as long as you get to be with each other. Oh, and have great food!
Today we decorated for Christmas. It was an all day event. Adriana is still in awe of the tree. She keeps wanting to touch the ornaments on the tree, so I told her to look with her eyes and not with her hands. She doesn't understand this saying yet, because she just got really close to the tree and squinted her eyes. It was so funny.
Here are some pictures of my helpers today.

Adriana and Daddy opening the tree box.



Zoe jumped in to help.



Zoe getting shut in the box.



Mama's little helper.


Zoe under the tree glad to be out of the box.

Here are some pictures I took the other night of Adriana playing dress up. Zoe even had to get in on the action.




Well little Miss Busy Body is done with the dishes so I better go. I will try to post pics of our Christmas decorations soon. Have a good rest of the weekend!

Random Thoughts

I just wanted to update and let everyone know that my parents move went really well. They ended up having help load and unload the trucks both in Jeff City and here in Springfield. I went over and helped them a little yesterday while Adriana was in school, but they have a long ways to go. They aren't going to unpack everything, since they will hopefully be moving to a house of their own in 6 months or so.
They are going to bring Chris back on Thursday to live with them. He has been living in a crappy motel for a few months and I know is ready for a fresh start. I hope and pray he will find a good job, and start getting on his own feet soon.
We have decided to do Thanksgiving with my parents on Friday, since they are going out of town on Thursday. I think it will be a lot of fun, and still some good food to eat.
I am currently waiting for Adriana to go down for a nap, so I can head outside to paint a headboard for her room. We will be moving her to a "big girl bed" shortly, and since its so nice outside today, I thought I would take advantage and finish painting it.
We have all been sick for the last couple of weeks. Poor Adriana has had the worse runny nose for literally 3 weeks or longer. Her nose is so red and she doesn't want anyone to come near it with a tissue.
I guess its just one month from today till Christmas. Its kind of sad to see it coming so fast, because you know how fast its going to fly by and before you know it December will be gone. I enjoy this time of year. I like the music, the warm drinks, the generosity it brings out in people, and of course all the extra shopping. I wish it could go by a little slower.
Well, I'll wrap things up. I think my child is, hopefully, asleep and I need to get to painting.

Busy Week

I don't have a ton of time to write, I can rattle off about 10 things that I need to be doing instead, but I just don't feel like doing them at the moment. Whew! It has been a busy week. I feel like my head is spinning. My parents are moving to Springfield tomorrow! They are loading up the trucks today and I have to meet them half way so they can pick up Ryan to help drive one of the trucks for them. They had to rent 2 trucks to get all of their stuff here. They have a lot of stuff, but I will say, they have gotten rid of a lot too, which is a big thing for them to do. I know they are anxious just to get here and get settled in, even though its just a rental house for now.
Me and Adriana have been fighting off a head cold. Its not too bad, just annoying.
Adriana turned 21 months old 2 days ago. She is starting to talk more and be more expressive in what she wants. I can tell that school is teaching her so much. She has picked up on new sign language, she does more actions to songs when we sing them to her, and she has a new love for musical instruments. When I went to pick her up from school the other day, they were having music time, and all the kids had a musical instrument. She had the maracas. They were so cute, they were all dancing and shaking their instruments. I would love to be a fly on the wall and watch her all day in school.
We went to the mall today to eat some lunch, and man alive, are the people out today! Don't these people have jobs? I know, they are probably saying the same thing about me. I guess because its a Friday, but tis the season NOT to be out shopping on the weekends!
We found out last week or so, that we really don't have any plans for Thanksgiving. Mom and Dad are going back to JC to get Chris, and have a lunch out with my Grandma and Great Aunt Dee, but its just going to be a day trip. That's really too much for Adriana to handle in one day. By the time we would be eating lunch, it would be about her nap time. So we are just going to stay behind. I think I'll still make a little dinner for the 3 of us, but would love to have people over too. So if you are without Thanksgiving plans, come on over! When we go to Ryan's side for Thanksgiving we eat a big meal over at his Aunts house, in Florida, and then go to the beach afterwards. It is such a great time. I have only gotten to do it twice, but what a nice way to spend the day, a beautiful beach with tons of family, we wish we could be there this year.
Well, I guess I'll get back to the chores or a nap, we'll see....

Heart Breaker

Adriana is starting to push her limits with me. She knows the boundaries, but she just wants to see if I'll let her get by with acting up or not. Lately, it seems, all I have been doing is telling her to stop or swatting her thigh to get her attention. Now, Adriana is a very tender hearted child (I am told, I was the same way) and so her feelings get hurt pretty easily. Not so much when I get onto her about something, but if Ryan or anyone else does, it really hurts her feelings. I would have to say, I have always thought of myself as a tough cookie, as far as children go. I could never understand why parents give into their child, when they would cry or get upset. "Suck it up you baby" is what I would think, and I would be even more upset at the parents who would give in. Well, that has all changed now that I'm a parent and discipline is a part of our daily routine. Adriana's new thing is, is if I or Ryan get onto her, she will cover her eyes to hide. All you can see is her little bottom lip beginning to quiver and she will remover her hands just for a brief second to see if she is still in trouble and all I see are those big blue eyes, red and full of tears. It breaks my heart! As much as I want to scoop her up and tell her I'm sorry for getting onto her, I can't, and I hate that! I have to stick to my guns so she will learn a lesson, but boy, is it ever hard! Last night, she kept putting her leg up on the table while we were eating dinner, and I kept asking her to put it down. Well, she knew she wasn't suppose to have it up there to begin with and she would keep putting it up there and then looking at me and smiling. I gave her plenty of warnings and told her if she did it again, she was going to get a swat and sit in time out. Well, surprise, surprise, she did it again, just to see how I would react. I got her out of her seat, swatted her behind and sat her on the floor. If looks could do anything at all, it think it would have shattered my heart. I almost want to cry thinking of it. She looked so sad, with a big pouty lip, red, teary eyes, she just looked up at me, as if to say, "Mama, you hurt my feelings so much". I just wanted to scoop her up and love on her, but she needed to learn her lesson. I think last night was the saddest look I have ever seen on her. And the thing is, she's still at an innocent age, where if she cries and gets upset, its genuine and not a show. I know I have to stay strong and teach her right from wrong, but its killing me!

Ode to LNT

I know, I'm crazy, but I'm going to write this entry despite what you might think. I am writing an Ode to Linens-N-Things (LNT) because they are going out of business. In these tough times a lot of places are going under, but LNT has been a big part of my young adult life. I got a job working there part time in college and loved it. I met so many people and made so many friends there. When I decided to move to Nashville, I transferred with the company and got an assistant manager position, of sorts, there in the bedding department. I didn't plan on working at LNT as long as I did, but I gave them 3 years of my life. I truly enjoyed my job. I didn't always like my co-workers or customers (especially customers), but I did like helping people pick out bedding, or telling people about different kinds of cotton in sheets, etc. I know it sounds lame, but it was a lot of fun. To suggest to someone what kind of colors or fabrics would work best for them and them to take my advice and buy it made me feel good.
I felt like I lived there most of the time when I was in Nashville. I worked full time and often came in on my days off just to chat with my co-workers. They were like family to me and they were my only friends I had there too. I learned many new songs while working there. Its amazing how you can subconsciously learn songs and not even know it. I had a lot of fun there and always like shopping in there. I bought something there with every paycheck. I am going to miss LNT's, every time I went to one, the smells were the same, the music was the same and it just always took me back to my younger days!

Here is a video I took a couple of days ago. I got the camera out because Adriana kept running back in forth sounding like a little piggy as she ran. It was the cutest thing. That child can spot the camera a mile away and when she does she stops whatever she was doing and just wants to focus on the camera. I got her running still and if you listen closely you can her her grunt like a pig. When she noticed the camera I tried to get her to make all the noises she knows, but she caught me off guard so I couldn't really think of much (I don't work well under pressure). In the video you will hear me ask her what Miss Kitty says. Miss Kitty is my parents cat, who has a low growly voice and Adriana has picked up on the different meows between Miss Kitty and Zoe. In the video though, she didn't do well at distinguishing the differences. Also, you will hear me ask what does Daddy's van say. Daddy always honks his horn when he sees her and will occasionally let her get in the van and honk the horn. So anytime she sees a big white van, whether its daddy or not, she will start saying "gonk gonk!".
Video Disclosure: Don't mind the messy house in the background, normally its spotless (yeah, right!) and don't mind Adriana's Farrah Fosset hairdo.

Happy 100th!

Well I had little tid bits of nothings to write about and realized that this is my 100th post! It should be a spectacular post since its a big milestone, unfortunately, there's nothing spectacular going on right now. Surprise, surprise!
I was able to get a good start on my Christmas shopping today. I was out and about on Saturday and quickly realized that I don't want to be in the mix of all the lovely Christmas shoppers. Today was much better, although I have noticed that the shopping crowd has picked up and I'm sure its only going to get worse. I LOVE Christmas shopping! Its fun to buy people things and Ryan doesn't get mad at me spending money since we have already allotted enough money for everyone on our list. We have decided to get Adriana only 3 gifts. Since baby Jesus only got 3 gifts, we thought that that would be a good boundary to set so that she doesn't get overloaded on toys. I think that she will appreciate them more plus she doesn't need a ton of toys, she already has plenty. I thought this was a good idea at first, just getting 3 gifts, but found out today how hard that is. I am finding TONS of things that I want to get her. I know she doesn't know any different and doesn't even care at this age, but as a mom I want to get her everything that I know she would have a ball playing with. I just have to keep reminding myself that there has been stuff that we were so excited about getting her at one point or another, and she plays with it for only a few minutes and then its off to something different. We will be celebrating Christmas down in Alabama again this year, and still probably doing something with my family so I don't know when I will give her her presents.
Well, not much else is going on here. We are looking forward to my parents getting here and getting settled in and I know that they can't wait just to get this move behind them.
Adriana update: I know my mother in law always asks what Adriana is doing or saying and I can never think of anything. We have noticed her wanting to talk more, so we are trying to grow accustomed to her language. Here are some examples: she can say "dishes" pretty well, "nack" for snack, "boo" (with a short O sound) for book, of course she "moos" whenever she sees the cows in the fields on our street, "eow" anytime she sees a cat and I know there is more, its hard to concentrate since she just started crying in her room because she won't take a nap! I guess I'll wrap up. Have a good one and stay warm!

Well my poor parents came to Springfield AGAIN today to try one last time to look at a couple of houses. They just aren't finding anything that they like so they are going to rent a house for the time being. They were cutting it close since they move 2 weeks from today! It will be here and gone before you know it.
I was out shopping today and realized that the holiday shopping season is in full swing! It makes me hate being out on the weekends this time of year. All the idiots that hide out all year come out and make my life miserable. Its like people don't know how to drive or move out of the way in the isles at the stores or just have plain common since. Tis the season I guess.
It was SO cold today, I think winter is officially here. I'm not looking forward to the cold weather at all.
Well not much else is going on. Hope all is doing well.
P.S. Sorry for all the random thoughts.

A modge podge of stuff

I feel like I am behind the times. I have looked on all my friends blogs and they have wrote about their Halloween experiences the day of or the day after, and I have yet to post anything. We have been so busy trying to find my parents a house. They have been here from Monday to Wednesday and still have had no luck, so they will probably end up renting something down here for a while until they find something that works for them. They don't want to rush into buying a house, just to be buying a house. I know something will turn up in time. Anyway, back to Halloween, we didn't really go trick or treating or do anything with Adriana since she is still so young. We were at my parents house anyway and was setting up for the moving sale for the following day. Anyway, on Saturday we took Adriana over to my grandma's house and to my Aunt Dee's house all dressed up. Adriana went as her favorite thing in the whole wide world.....Zoe. I found this little cat outfit at Old Navy and thought it was purrr-fect (sorry that was cheesy). It is a white cat outfit with pink ears and pink feet like our cat. Adriana LOVES dressing up in this outfit. I had a big plan on painting her face white and drawing whiskers on her, but we never got around to it. Here are some of the pictures I got of her with Zoe. Needless to say, Zoe wasn't too impressed with the whole thing.






I could not sleep last night. All I kept dreaming about was being in the White House with the Obama's. Yuck! I don't know what I was dreaming about really, but I do remember tossing and turning at the thought of them being in charge. I would say the only good thing that has come out of this election is the fact that its over! Its so funny to me, all the millions of dollars they spend on advertising, with commercials, ads, signs, etc. They build themselves up so much and think so much of themselves and then when you go into vote, there is their name, not written in fancy lettering or broadcast greatly for all the world to hear, no, its just in a 12 or 14 point font with a little circle beside their name. What's so grand about that? It just struck me as kind of funny, that the biggest position in our nation is written the same as someone running for County Clerk. I don't want to make anyone mad either, if you voted for Obama, that is your choice and I respect that. That's what's so great about our nation, we all have the right to vote and have our own opinion. With that being said, I can't stand all this publicity that surrounds Obama. Like Ryan said this morning after watching the news, they act like he's some kind of Savior or something. I just have to question whether or not they would be going through all this hoopla if McCain won. Alright, that is all I will say about politics. I hate politics and everything that goes with it. I don't care to hear people drone on and on about their opinions in politics and I'm sorry that I did that here.
We had an unusual thing the other morning. I woke up and looked outside towards the back of our house and saw a car parked in the field behind our house. We have an open field behind us and it was unusual to see a car parked there. At first I thought it was a man sitting in the car. And it had me worried as to why he was parked there. He was within a 100 yards of our house and it just gave me an uneasy feeling. You never know these days what kind of crazies are out there. Anyway, after about 30 minutes or so it appeared he was sleeping (mind you I was trying to see him through my telephoto lens on my camera). I decided to call the Sheriff's Dept just so they could come out and investigate the situation. Well, there must not be anything else for the cops to do in this town because 2 sheriff's cars showed up and 3 City police cars showed up. As the events unfolded we saw that it was a woman and her 2 children sleeping in the car. Well of course I just felt bad then. It's not like they were causing any harm. They had the mother pulled aside and the two boys sitting on the hood of a cop car. They rummaged through their car through all of this. The cop talking to the mother eventually got on his phone. The only thing I can think is that they may have been running from an abusive person and didn't have anywhere else to go, so they didn't have a choice put to sleep in their car. I just hope that they were able to get the help they need to be a little bit more safe than sleeping in their car.
Now that I've written so much that no one is probably still reading, I guess I'll wrap this up.

Our weekend

Adriana hamming it up in front of the camera.
I love her pigtails!


Well, we just got back last night from Jefferson City. We went there this weekend to help my parents pack and have a moving sale. All in all the sale went good. They are going to try to have one again next weekend to get rid of the things that didn't sell this weekend. Many of you don't know the latest with my parents move. They had signed a contract on a beautiful home last Sunday, they got a call this last week telling them that the people who's house they were buying, were backing out of their contract, so mom and dad missed out on that house. They feel like they are in a tail spin. They have till the 21st of November to be out of their house and as of right now, don't have any place to go. They are down here looking again today and hopefully can find something either today or tomorrow so they can get back to Jeff City to pack. Needless to say they are feeling VERY overwhelmed! Please pray that they can find something FAST. Its the most uneasy feeling knowing that they have such a big move ahead and no where to go. Also, Chris (my brother) is planing on moving with them. This will be a good start for him and I hope that he can find a good job to get him on his feet. Until they find a house and get moved, none of us are sleeping good (expect for Ryan, the man doesn't lose sleep over anything).
Tomorrow is election day! I'm not excited for any other reason but the get those stupid ads off TV and Radio, they are driving me crazy!!!
For all you shoppers out there, there is only 52 days left till Christmas! I can't believe it! I can't believe it November already! It sure doesn't feel like it with the weather being as nice as it has been. I can diffidently handle temps in the 70's for November. Maybe this means we'll have a mild winter? Doubt it, but it doesn't hurt to be hopeful.

My new favorite food

I'm feel like Oprah telling everyone what my new favorite thing is, the only difference is that I can't afford to give everyone reading this one. Its not really a thing, it's a new menu item I have discovered at McDonald's. Its the Southwest Salad with grilled chicken. It is umm, umm good! My dad had one a couple of weeks ago and I tried his and loved it! I finally got one today and I'm in love with it! It is full of flavor and its actually fills me up. I know its hard to resist McDonald's fries, especially if your sitting there eating a salad and everyone around you is dipping their yummy, salted fries in some ketchup, but try it, its really good. Since I have been working out when Adriana is in school, I realize more and more how much work it takes to burn off calories. I can walk on the treadmill for 25 minutes and only burn 100 calories, or so it says. Not that I place a lot of steak in the calorie counter on the treadmill, but it does put it into perspective. I'm also just tired of eating greasy fries, no matter how good they are. Don't get me wrong, you will still see me downing some fries every once and a while, but I'm on to the salad thing and, as McDonald's logo goes,... "I'm loving it!"

Here's Adriana and her best friend Zoe.


I actually don't think Zoe was too mad that Adriana was trying to kiss her. We're making progress!

Well life has been crazy! It seems like we are always on the go. I haven't gotten to write very much in my blog because I think Adriana is slowly out growing her one and only nap! This is NOT good news! I need her to nap so I can get a little bit of a break. She has been acting very different this last week. I think she getting a good start on her terrible twos. She's been acting out by slapping us in the face and kicking us while we change her diaper. She seems to be easily set off and has a tantrum for any little thing. Its driving me nuts! Between screaming fits and no naps, I'm ready to enlist her in some kind of toddler boot camp!
Alright, on to other news. My parents found a beautiful house to move into and signed a contract this last Sunday night. They will be living in a nice area in Southwest Springfield (Chesterfield Village for all of you who know the area. Also its by our old apartments, for those of you who visited us at our apartment.) Its hard to think that in less than 4 weeks they will be moving here. We are planning on going to Jeff City to help them this weekend pack and hopefully have a moving sale.
We went on a hayride this last weekend with our Sunday School class. We had a great time and it was the first time we brought Adriana with us. She had a lot of fun playing with all the other kids. (I took pictures, but they are with my other camera and I'm afraid our computer will crash if I try to put more pictures on it). She had fun but by the hayride she was ready to leave, she screamed the entire ride and I'm sure made the ride not fun for all the other passengers. The hayride was about an hour away from our house so it was the first time we used the DVD system in the car and Adriana was in complete amazement. Needless to say, it helped our trip go a lot smoother.
Another note, I don't know about you, but I cannot wait till this stupid election is over. Don't get me wrong, I think its important to vote and find someone that you want to lead the country, but I'm over all the ads on TV and on the radio. 7 more days to go!
Also, I'm so glad gas continues to drop. It is officially under $2/gal here in Ozark! Yeah!

Random News

I don't have a ton of time right now, my boss, Adriana, is demanding my attention. I wanted to let everyone know that my parents sold their house! Its a very scary time for them right now, they have less than 30 days to be out of their house. They are coming this weekend to look for a house down here. Pray that they will find something, so they can have a little bit of peace through this whole process. I'll keep you posted on that.

Also, I'm so excited, gas is down to $2.13! I'm loving it!

I'll try to post some pictures this afternoon, when the boss goes down for her nap!

In A Van Down By the River

Alright, if you're a Chris Farley fan, you understand the title, if not, that's okay. Today Adriana went to school. I have to kill 4 hours each day she's in school. Today, I ran some errands, and then went to the church parking lot and read in my van under a shade tree. We had folded down one of the middle seats to haul some stuff this weekend and so I had a lot of floor space to sprawl out in the back and read. I had the sunroof open and the windows cracked, and enjoyed the beautiful breeze that flowed through the van. I felt like a homeless person in some ways and was afraid someone was going to see me. Not that I thought I would get in trouble, but more or less embarrassed that I was laying in the back of my van reading. For those of you who know me REALLY well, you're more or less stunned that I was READING than anything else. I've never been much of a reader. If I find a good author then I'll read the books published by them, but I'm not big on just picking a book out of thin air and reading it. My favorite author is Nicholas Sparks, very good writer. All of a sudden, I'm on a huge reading kick and I don't know why. I think it started when I saw a book on sale at Borders. It was by Richard Paul Evans (my mother-in-laws favorite author of all time). Knowing how much Sandy loves his books, I thought I would buy it and give it a shot. I read it and really liked his style of writing and saw another one of his books at a book sale at the library for $1. I've already read that one too. I went to the library and got some more books to read and have been really enjoyed having something else to do besides watch TV all the time. Ryan is a HUGE book nerd, oh I mean,book worm, and I think he likes to see that his wife has the capability of getting engrossed in a good book.

Going Green

Now, I'm not a tree hugger, by any means, it just seems like you are hearing more and more ways to go green. They are making it easier and cheaper to do little things to help save money and the environment. We've switched to the compact fluorescent light bulbs and I would like to start recycling, however can't ever get anyone to answer the phone at the recycling center. But, there are lots of little things to do. My newest venture is buying these reusable bags. You can buy reusable bags anywhere these days, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, even Dollar Tree. I've been wanting to get some, but have never done so. We were watching something on TV a week or so ago and it was about this woman who started this company called "The Bag Movement". What it is, is you get to purchase bags from her, that are sturdy, twice the size of a regular grocery bag and reusable. I ended up buying bags from her because, part of the proceeds from the bag purchases go to different charity groups or research foundations. Each bag has a different color ribbon which represents a different charity. I figured I can not only do my part to save the earth but help give a little money to a good cause. You can check out her website. www.thebagmovement.com

Maze Daze

Me and Adriana on the hayride.


Adriana painting her pumpkin.


Adriana loved the pig on this thing, and actually gave
him a kiss.


Sitting in the tent waiting to go in and freezing!


Adriana just a swingin'



So today me and Adriana went with our MOPS group to go pumpkin pickin'. A cold front moved through yesterday so today was quite crisp and cool. We layered up in clothing and set out to have fun. We were kind of on our own. Adriana had fun riding on the hay ride and getting a pumpkin her own size. They already had them picked so its not like they set us out in a field to fend for ourselves. We then got to go and paint them. Adriana really enjoyed doing this. She did really good. It was the first time I had worked with her and paints and I was surprised how good she did with a paint brush. We went on a swing and a slide and saw lots of farm cats running around (which was the highlight of Adriana's day). We didn't stay too long, because I knew she was tired today and I didn't want her to fall asleep on the way home. It was fun and by next year, she'll enjoy it even more!

Happenings

I have a few minutes here to write, so I thought I would jot down something for all you fans out there. Not much is going on with us (surprise, surprise). Me and Adriana had to run some errands this morning and we went to story time at the library. She wasn't too interested in the story, but she still had fun. We made a little craft and she loved that. I think we might go back next week.
We're still loving our van and Adriana loves it too. She just sings and laughs at the most random thing. I think its because she can look out and see everything. Before, all she could see was the dashboard, I think that she would get bored and she use to fuss a lot when riding in the car, so hearing singing and laughing is a great new sound to hear in the car.
I started this program at church its called "Apples Of Gold", a lot of churches do this program. Its where young wives and mothers can go once a week to someones house and a group of older ladies who have been married for years, will "mentor" us. We learn how to cook, entertain, take care of our families and other things like that. I didn't know if I would like it very much, but last night was the second one we have had, and I am enjoying learning new recipes and meeting other people my age.
Well, I guess that's all for now. Sorry no new pictures. Me and Adriana are going pumpkin picking on Thursday with my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group. I will take pictures then. I can't wait to see Adriana. We are going to paint pumpkins, go on a hayride and all those fun fall things.

A Tight Squeeze

Well today we had to clean out the garage to fit both vans (Ryan's work van and our new one) in there. We have a small garage to say the least. Ryan has to park his behemoth size van in the garage, so it makes for a really tight fit. It was tight when we had our car and his van in there, now its REALLY tight, as you can see. We had to hang whiffle balls up so we can make sure we are pulled in far enough.

Its Offical...

I'm a true, 100%, all American....MOM! Last night, we bought a VAN!! I have reached true motherhood!
Honestly, we are so happy! We have been talking about getting a van for some time now, but never could find one in our price range or that didn't have a ton of miles on it. We looked at a couple of lots last night, just to look, and actually found one. We got it from the dealership I used to work at. After trading in our car, and them "cutting" me a deal, we actually got the van for a really good price. It's a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT. It is fully loaded. Sunroof, leather seats, DVD system, stow and go seating (the seats fold into the floor), navigation system, everything a van can have, it has. Its in really good condition and we couldn't be happier about it. We loved our car, but it was just too small for us and all the baby equipment that comes along with having a child. The car just wasn't comfortable for all of us. Adriana loves the van because she sits so high and can see out so good. Although it makes seem like old folks having a van, I'm truly happy we got it. Now we just need to go on a road trip. (sorry the pictures aren't the best, I'll try to get better ones later.)

My Soap Box

As a mom of a little child I have many frustrations. One of the biggest ones that I have is over giving medicine to a child under the age of 2. I know that this may seem like I'm writing this out of mid-air, but Adriana was under the weather this weekend, and it just reminded me of this frustration of mine. Anyone who has a little child can probably relate. There is nothing worse to a parent than to have a sick baby on your hands and them not being able to communicate with you and tell you what they are feeling. You would want nothing more than to take away that stuffy nose, or achy, swollen gums or stomach flu from your child and even bear it yourself, if it would make them feel better, but unfortunately we can't. So whats the next step? Medicine. What do you do when you have a head cold or upset stomach, you take medicine to try to help ease the pain. I'm not all about doping up your baby, but I do think that there are times when your baby needs medicine. If you go into a pharmacy or call your doctor's office, and your child is under the age of 2, you are out of luck. There is nothing they can do, or so they say. I think that is a load of crap! Let's take a stuffy nose for instance, baby's get stuffy noses pretty easily. I'm sorry but saline solution doesn't do the trick all the time. Last winter they took off any decongestant drops for infants. I remember last Christmas we were down in Alabama and Adriana got pretty stuffed up. I ran a humidifier, I sucked out her nose, I gave her drops but nothing was working. I called my doctors office to see if they could prescribe something, and they refused. Are you kidding me! You want to pump my newborn baby with tons of vaccines that can shock their little nervous systems and can even cause permanent damage, but you won't prescribe me some nose drops?! I just get highly irritated, I guess little babies are just suppose to suffer and not sleep because they have a stuffy nose! This goes beyond stuffy noses. They don't want to give any child that young meds, which I can understand their cautious behavior, but come on, every once and awhile, I think its okay to give them something. I just get so irritated! I ran into the same problem this weekend, looking for over the counter meds for her and found NOTHING at Wal-Mart or Walgreens. "Sorry I guess you and your child are out of luck!" I get so frustrated at the whole system.
Okay, breathe!! Sorry, had to get that off my chest. Have a great Monday! :)

I am excited for something. Gas prices have dropped. I'm sure you have noticed where you live that the same is occurring. Well yesterday, I about drove off the side of the rode, gas dropped below the $3.00 mark. Last time I checked it was $2.91 at Wal-Mart, hopefully it will still be cheap today, since I have to fill up. Isn't that sad that we think gas at $2.90 something is cheap? With the world feeling like its spiraling out of control these days and scary economic times, it feels like a little bit of light when something like gas actually goes down in price instead of up. Hopefully this is a good sign, probably not, but for now, I will take the cheaper gas and run with it.

Magic Tub Ride

Here are a couple of videos I took last night. This is Adriana's new favorite thing. We keep her legos in this tub and she loves to dump the tub out and have Ryan take her for a ride. She could do this all night, but Daddy can't last as long pushing her around. Anyway, thought you would like to see some videos. (The first video looks like we live in a cave because its so dark, I had the lights on, but for some reason it turned out too dark, we pay our electric bill, I promise).

Our Day Out

Our Tour Guide, the black cat

Adriana trying to pet the mini horses

The Playground and the barn with the animals

Today we went on a field trip of sorts, just me and Adriana. There is a new park that is open called Wilson Rutledge Farm. We have been there one other time with our church for a picnic, but I decided to go today to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather. We had a great time! Adriana loved looking at all the animals. They also have a pretty cool play area that she enjoyed too. There was a little black cat that was our tour guide the entire time we were there. He looked just like Zoe but was all black and Adriana LOVED him and loved following him around. I have a couple of videos posted. One is where we were looking at the roosters and they kept crowing. Its not all that exciting to watch, and Adriana really didn't know what to think of them at first. After a while she kept making the noises they were making, that is in the second video. The footage isn't that great, because she insisted on walking with me holding on to my pant leg. After we left the Farm we went to Chick-fil-A to see the other side of chickens, the sadder side (well, for them anyway). We had a good time and it was great getting out of the house and taking her to a place that she loved so much.


Here's the Rosters "talking" to Adriana


Adriana telling me what the Roster says.

Our weekend

Adriana not wanting to pose for me.




Adriana giving the scarecrow a kiss.






My parents came down this weekend to house hunt. They found some they really liked, but don't like the location really, so we're still looking. I know one will pop up that will suit them to a "T" its just waiting for it to "pop" up is the hard part. I pretty much spent the whole weekend with them house hunting. I think on Saturday we were looking before 9am and didn't get home till after 6:30pm or so, it was a long day!
I have to tell this story on my mom. We went to the mall on Saturday to eat lunch and to kill a few minutes while we waited for our meeting with the realtor. Now as you know, I have had a recent traumatic experience with a hair cutting incident (although I'm really over it) but nevertheless, this statement from my mom didn't help. She said "look over there at that person standing over by the counter, they look a lot like you, your profile and hair cut, etc." I waited for the person to turn around to see what she was talking about, I did a double take. My mom went on and on about this person and how similar they look like me and I looked and it was defiantly a 14 or 15 year old BOY! Thanks mom! It was hilarious and me and my dad thought it was funny. I said, "mom, that is a boy". Mom's response, "oh, oh, sorry, well it just looked like he had some of your features". So either that guy looked like a woman or I look like a teenage boy, you pick, I'm sure most will agree on the latter part of that statement! :) I thought it was so funny and had a good time razzing my mom about it.
Other than being called a boy, not much else went on this weekend. Here are a couple of pictures of Adriana that we took on our front porch, their not the best, but its better than nothing.
Well, I hope all is having a great start to the work week. Have a great day!