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).