tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22081913267274017692023-11-16T09:43:33.469-05:00Cooking, Cleaning and KryptoniteAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13674481853716985014noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208191326727401769.post-89518133029886657222015-01-08T07:58:00.001-05:002015-01-08T08:04:03.316-05:00New Year's Goal<div style="text-align: center;">
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New year's goal this year is to have a cleaner and more organized home. I love having a clean home but for some reason it doesn't happen very often. It's like I go in spurts or something, one day the house is clean and then the next it's dirty and it stays that way and builds up until I am like "okay, it's time to clean this house". Why can't I clean my house and keep it clean? I always list off reasons in my head when my house is dirty to make myself feel better like how i have a two year old, or how I don't have a dishwasher, or if I clean it will make me neglect other important things that i need to do that day. So I came up with a plan to make a once a week, six hour house clean up into an hour to hour-and-a-half house clean up each day...<br />
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First I made a list of all the rooms in my house and listed under each room what needs to be done to make it deep-cleaned and spotless. I also created a list of "other" things that would need to be done like laundry and grocery shopping. I then decided to do something each day of the week, a "chore." Some days of the week have multiple things for that day, so i combined easier things together. So each day, i now have a room or two as a daily chore but what about the rest of the house? I need to have time to clean up all the messes made through out the day. Oh - and what about dishes?<br />
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I will have two 30 minute clean up times - one in the middle of the day right before or during my son's nap and then a second one right before and after my son goes to bed. Now the "right-befores" would be if vacuuming needs to be done. I try and have Ollie help clean up his toys so i don't normally count that into my time. I will if i am doing it alone. So that gives me an hour of clean up time and a daily deep clean chore each day. Now to me that seems doable, that gives me time to clean but doesn't make me have to do it all in one day, each day!!<br />
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I have a second list that has all the things that I want to organize from the small to the big that I have also thrown in to do biweekly. I think once I get those all done, I will repeat the list because I am sure they will need it again and again and again.<br />
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I have been doing this for one week so far and I am loving it!!! I have had people stop by to give me back borrowed stuff or drop off late Christmas presents, and I have not felt embarrassed by how my house looks or just talked to them in the door way but invited them into my home. We had some friends over for dinner and I didn't have to spend hours getting my house clean. Or when I cook dinner, I don't have to make space on the counter or was a dish needed to make dinner. Like I said, I am loving it!!!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13674481853716985014noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208191326727401769.post-79582112595141805582014-04-07T12:35:00.001-04:002014-04-07T12:48:54.862-04:00Oh Ollie!Oh Oliver. How many times a day do I say that? He gives me a great big hug when he gets up, Oh Ollie, so cute I love you. He throws his breakfast onto the floor making a huge mess, Oh Oliver, really... It is so crazy how many things bring out those two little words.<br />
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Oliver is in the stage of being a picky eater and he can be very stubborn. Yesterday he came up to Corey with his cup asking for some juice. There was a bottle of un-opened grape juice on the table that he was pointing at, so Corey opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of grape juice that had already been opened and filled his cup. Oliver started freaking out and threw his cup on the floor. Corey, being confused, asked me what was wrong. Figuring out that he wanted the one on the table, I pretended to pour some into his cup. Now satisfied, he drank his juice. Oh Oliver! </div>
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This last week the weather has been so nice we have gone on lots of walks, as we are walking Oliver will say "slide" and "wee" which is his way of saying he wants to go to the park. So we go. He loves playing on the playground and going down the slide, he loves running around with all the other kids and doing what they are doing. It is so fun for me to watch him grow and interact with other children. When it's time to go Oliver climbs into the stroller and as we are walking away he starts waiving and says "bye slide" and "bye kids". Oh Oliver, your so cute!</div>
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After Oliver wakes up from his nap and has his snack, he has so much energy. He rides his toy truck, plays tag/hide and seek with mommy or dances to his singing farm toy. He also really loves to run around the house dragging a ribbon around behind him, with our cat Rex chasing it. Oliver loves playing with his Rexy. Sometimes when he plays with him he can get rough, he tries to pick him up, or he lays down and put his head on Rexy's belly or just lays down on him. I say "Oh Ollie, be soft" or "Oh Oliver, don't do that". That poor kitty, but he is so good with Oliver! Those two are so cute together and always have been!</div>
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Having Oliver has made our lives so busy and has made our home so full of life. The good and the bad, the fun and the frustrating. So the number of times that I say "Oh Oliver" add up to make a great day, sometimes frustrating but still great!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13674481853716985014noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208191326727401769.post-13862628742545236682014-04-05T16:04:00.002-04:002014-04-05T16:04:48.695-04:00Cooking<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Continuing with my challange to improve, I want to work on my cooking skills. I enjoy cooking and baking and would love to get better. This will require me to get out of my comfort zone and start making more then my 25ish dinner recipes that I make over and over again and stop making desserts that come in a box. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Food just makes people more happy. For me cooking is relaxing and satisfying, especially when everyone loves the food and are vocal about it! :) The smell of something cooking brightens a home and makes it more of a welcoming and inviting place. Eating yummy food satisfies the hunger and the soul. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Along with cooking, I love hosting. Having friends and family over, eating my cooking, playing games and laughing around the table. Eating together is a great way to bond, strengthen relationships and get to know new people. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I want to strengthen relationships and make new friends eating yummy food and enjoying each others company. So I am on the look out for new recipes. I have a goal to make at least 5 new recipes a month, to grow my recipe book and better my cooking. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you have a great recipe that you would like to share, I would love that. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13674481853716985014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208191326727401769.post-25456911300234449272014-04-03T09:41:00.000-04:002014-04-03T09:41:31.250-04:00A New Skill<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So my last post I talked about needing more hobbies, to gain more skills and to better myself. So this post is about that. I want to have something I can do when Ollie is sleeping and the house is quiet. So this new skill is Sewing. I would love to be able to make curtains for my windows, Halloween costumes for my family, and other fun projects. I think this is a great new hobby for me. It will give me time for myself but it will also better my home and family. So I now have a sewing machine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I grew up around sewers, my sister <a href="http://www.toadlygood.com/" target="_blank">Jenessa</a> is very crafty and is pretty amazing! If I ever need help with my projects it is her that I call (she has already helped me in getting started with my first project). I took some sewing classes in high school and learned to do the basics and how to read a pattern, so I have some basic knowledge on this topic. It's been about 7 years since I have done any sewing and don't really remember much, but I am hopeful that once I start it will all come back to me pretty quick.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZN-o_6NCgdB9r4K4c1FT9oVX-WPH3Fovgx5DIFzO76h3nFktOn48JA9guaHa6QjQFdvrcrlACwrtm6mnC79Gl73wm4jEZ9J27c9m0gt0pft3Zj0DDAx8ACHRCsqv4x8JsefHVeH0KniWJ/s1600/IMG_0237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZN-o_6NCgdB9r4K4c1FT9oVX-WPH3Fovgx5DIFzO76h3nFktOn48JA9guaHa6QjQFdvrcrlACwrtm6mnC79Gl73wm4jEZ9J27c9m0gt0pft3Zj0DDAx8ACHRCsqv4x8JsefHVeH0KniWJ/s1600/IMG_0237.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have a few fun projects that I think will be great starters for me and I really hope that I can pick it up. I am most nervous with reading the patterns and getting it right. I remember struggling with patterns when I was learning and now I am not sure that I really remember anything about it. This is the one I picked to do first, it's a sewing machine cover and organize pockets. I thought that if I did this first, then I would have them for the other projects that I do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So wish me luck and hope that I don't ruin the lots of fabric needed for this project. I will keep you in the loop on how this all turns out and show you the finished works.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13674481853716985014noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208191326727401769.post-75536286162502302662014-03-25T11:49:00.001-04:002014-03-31T09:03:58.416-04:00BalanceOkay so I have been thinking, I need to do something that will better myself, something that helps me feel like I am accomplishing something. I feel that through getting married and having a baby I do less things for myself, spending my time on everyone else or wasting it by doing a lot of nothings. <div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div>In high school<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> I was involved in sports and have always found ways to continue playing them, but I have relized I haven't played much sense being pregnant and having Ollie. I worked and now I stay home. I stayed up late hanging out with friends, reading or doing whatever and now I am lucky to make it to 11. I </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">love being a stay at home mom, I love watching my 1 year old grow. It is one of the most amazing things to be a mom and I would never want anything different. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I am a wife and a mother, but I am so much more. I need to take more time for myself, to find things that make me a better person. I compare myself to what I used to do, to what I do now and feel as though I am not fulfilling my full potential. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">So basically I am saying that I want to push myself to do more. To play sports, to cook more, to exercise, to keep up on cleaning the house, to gain more hobbies, making more friends and being more social, to get involved in the world around me and still be a great stay at home mom. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I am not sure how I am going to do this yet but I am determined to find ways to make my life feel more balanced. Are there ways that you have found that help you feel more balanced? Well wish me luck!</span></div><div><br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13674481853716985014noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208191326727401769.post-81465294775432429592014-03-25T10:39:00.000-04:002014-03-29T12:11:21.541-04:00AcceptanceWow it has been a while sense I have been on here! With it being winter we just haven't done much that I have wanted to write about. I have been feeling like what I do with my time is lame. No one wants to read about the lame day to day, same old boring things that a stay at home mom does. What I wanted to do with this blog is to just write about anything and everything, the same old boring day to day things. So it seems that I am just being to critical with wanting my posts to be awesome, I did this for me and not for who reads it. So no more being critical and judging myself to harshly. I will be better! <div>
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So on the note of being better I am going to write about the thing I am struggling with the most, My body! When we got married in December 2010 I weighed 130, at my last Doctors appointment when I was pregnant June 2012 I weighed 209, and now March 2014 I weigh 155. I <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">have lost about 60 of the 80 lbs that I gained and would really love to lose the rest of it. But the weight is only part of it. </span></div><div><br></div><div>The weight I gained while being pregnant was a quick gain which of course gave me stretch marks everywhere. And my stomach was pretty much stretched to the max so now I have a lot of stretched out skin. The birth ended up needing to be a c-section giving me a scar and a pouch that will probably never go away. </div><div><br></div><div>So I am struggling with these feelings of not being pretty or sexy. I have a pretty bad muffin top, which is hard for me to find a shirt that looks good on me. So I put on shirt after shirt, getting more discouraged and having more negative feelings about myself. Some days I feel great, self accepting and I look pretty. On these days I think it is more, state of mind then my actual appearance. </div><div><br></div><div>So on being less harsh and judgemental on myself, I want to be more accepting on me as a whole. To like me as a person and view myself as whole and not fat, ugly and broken. To accept myself on who I am and not how I look, to find talents and hobbies that better myself, to eat healthy and exercise, to be HAPPY!</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13674481853716985014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208191326727401769.post-37875207379673227352014-01-27T13:56:00.001-05:002014-03-29T12:12:28.470-04:00Cabin Fever<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Being a stay at home mom during the winter is a hard thing to be. I have found myself wasting my day with doing a whole lot of nothings. Heating our 150 year old house is kind of hard to do and pricey too, so some days Ollie and I stay in our warm Pajamas, sweats or on the couch under blankets. So those days turn into lazy days reading books, doing puzzles, coloring or watching TV.<br>
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The TV doesn't really work for Ollie because he only watches a few movies and for only a few minutes and it is not a good thing for me because I tend to watch too much of it. Once it's turned on it's hard to turn it off. I have this thing that if I start watching movies that have sequels or a TV show, I want to watch the whole series. But I turn it on because I hate my house too quiet or I am bored. It's a hard, deep rut for me to fall into, and it's harder and deeper in the winter.<br>
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Being outside is a great way to destract Oliver and me, to get fresh air and to exercise. It motivates me to be better and to fill my day with somethings rather then nothings. When it is winter it is hard to be outside with sicknesses, bad weather and being just plain cold! And a lot of the indoor places to go to cost money, so we find ourselves at home most of the time.<br>
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My husband and I only have one car and so we share. During the summer this is quite easy because we usually walk when we can and drive only when we need to, making the car available more often. Corey works about a mile from our home and a park and the library are just a few blocks away. But these close places seem much much farther away when it's 20 degrees outside or worse. So driving the car is done for all needs, big or small. </div>
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Our cabin fevers are burning quite hot and our activities are dwindling fast. I have found myself being affected by a depression that is brought on by doing too much of nothing but have no ideas of what I should do. My poor Ollie has a lot of energy and is getting sick of the same old things. Please share what you do during these winter months that keep you sane and your children happy!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13674481853716985014noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208191326727401769.post-44986474056859951932014-01-02T11:28:00.000-05:002014-01-02T11:28:03.457-05:00The Dreaded ChoreI have mentioned before that I am a stay at home mom. My day is full of tending to my son, cleaning the house and other such things and love it! But I have something that I hate to do, I do everything else before doing this one thing. I am sure that you guys have one too?! Mine is the dreaded DISHES!<br />
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The last place we lived had a dishwasher and it was so easy to just load it through out the day, run it after dinner and unload it in the morning. Making it very convenient to keep the kitchen clean. Here we do not have the same luxury. I feel like I have to wash dishes all day to keep the kitchen clean. Or let the dishes build through out the day and wash them all after dinner which always takes so long.<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Lately I have found myself putting them off more and more and letting them build. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So I do all sorts of things trying to procrastinate doing them (like blogging). I even now like folding laundry more then dishes and would do that all day to not wash dishes. When all else is done or when the counter is getting to cluttered with dishes, I then head into the kitchen to clean in there. I stack up the dishes, clean off the counters, wash the stove, sweep and mop all before I delve into the dishes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I don't know why I hate doing them so much and I wish I could just get over it and do them everyday and not let them build up little by little. I love cooking and even more so when the kitchen is clean. Which of course cooking makes more dirty dishes. It's a viscous cycle that I know I can't escape. </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I need to come up with some type of routine or some way to stay more on top of them. The</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> next place we live will have a dishwasher!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13674481853716985014noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208191326727401769.post-63288510449132403292013-12-31T20:25:00.000-05:002013-12-31T20:25:54.511-05:00New YearsToday is New Year's Eve but here at our house you would never know it. I spent the day cleaning up a bit, paid some bills and ran errands. And tomorrow will be a lot of the same.<br />
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We did celebrate a bit and went out to a local Mexican restaurant (thanks to my dad). The food was great and it was fun to go out. Ollie was pretty cute, he tried eating a lemon that came with my water and we had some fun with that (see attached video). He also insisted that he would feed himself and not let us help and made a giant mess. We got Ollie ready for bed wished him a good night and put him down at his normal time. My husband and I then looked at each other and said "now what?"<br />
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Usually we would be with my sisters and their families gathered at my oldest sister's house around a table eating treats and playing games. Most of the men would be upstairs watching a movie or some sports game and the kids would be running wild and getting into all sorts of mischief. I am sad that this year isn't the same for us, but hope they have fun.<br />
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We plan to have a low key night watching the new movies that we got for Christmas and enjoying the fact that Corey doesn't have to go to work tomorrow. Something that we do every year that we did this year was our New Years resolutions. I have never been good at keeping goals or sticking to a long term plan. I feel like I only make it through January or into February with my resolutions so this year one of mine is to keep them going till at least June (by then it will have become a habit, right?). Good luck to all of you with your New Years resolutions and I hope that it was a fun holiday for you all. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13674481853716985014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208191326727401769.post-8530763383186588722013-12-27T14:38:00.000-05:002013-12-28T10:44:20.256-05:00TraditionsI hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas! Our Christmas was pretty awesome! We have had 3 Christmases together before this one that have been so good and full of family. Before we have had to balance and split up Christmas so we could feel like we both had times with our families and having time with our own little one. But this year it was all different. This was our first Christmas in Virginia and our first away from our families and being on our own. We put together our favorite traditions growing up and made new ones, making our Christmas this year our own.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We built a fort on Christmas Eve and Oliver loved crawling in and out of it and playing peek-a-boo. The fort didn't last very long before Ollie started to pull down the blankets or trying to climb up on the blankets bringing them down. It was a fun way to pass the time but I'm not sure if it will be done every year.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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We opened up two presents on Christmas Eve - pajamas and a Christmas book. We changed into our pjs and then read our new book (The Night Before Christmas) and then put Ollie to bed. And the next morning it was fun to see how excited he was when he saw all the presents stacked up in the middle of the floor. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcAbV6SEg_X03uin_WBVIzfjt86sWDd3TCBawXGgMgkUbWxXEkyN5AGwHr1hzK_mvhpWvUT3qWfYuQ93utxoYko9sj61XnfzUt5XKeP7rg08MU56Emdpz7ib35yc5GKbFdEcB35nLC0CtH/s640/blogger-image--374192538.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcAbV6SEg_X03uin_WBVIzfjt86sWDd3TCBawXGgMgkUbWxXEkyN5AGwHr1hzK_mvhpWvUT3qWfYuQ93utxoYko9sj61XnfzUt5XKeP7rg08MU56Emdpz7ib35yc5GKbFdEcB35nLC0CtH/s400/blogger-image--374192538.jpg" width="400" /></a>One thing that I wanted to do was to have shrimp salad with our Christmas dinner (which has been done by my family ever since I can remember). We usually only have it on Christmas and it's so good that I just had to have it this year too. It was my first time making it so I was a bit nervous that I would mess it up. I checked everything twice and was very careful in making it but still for some reason I messed it up and it was not very good, so this year we did not have shrimp salad. <span style="font-family: inherit;">But we still had a very yummy dinner with turkey, funeral potatoes, super yummy rolls and other yummy foods. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFWeeWj64oUtInHIMxw5sQp7quZ10XYsi14ZxSlAZWXSvWNg4poBPaywWwBGn_VMzK1o6v1daqwRIMWZ90AkpW0p2LHwKEcBULIBUtVkayLUsn00xzhgWKALU3acUiAUecwxpe0HCnsF9y/s640/blogger-image-962762492.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFWeeWj64oUtInHIMxw5sQp7quZ10XYsi14ZxSlAZWXSvWNg4poBPaywWwBGn_VMzK1o6v1daqwRIMWZ90AkpW0p2LHwKEcBULIBUtVkayLUsn00xzhgWKALU3acUiAUecwxpe0HCnsF9y/s400/blogger-image-962762492.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another tradition that both of our families have had but that we really don't like and have tried not to follow (and I am sure other families have this one too) is of course having a child sick on Christmas. We had a great day full of food, presents and fun. We enjoyed opening our presents and spending the day enjoying them and each other, but then late afternoon our little Oliver got a fever and started to be fussy. We had a rough sleepless night and early on Thursday we took him to the doctors. It ends up that he has strep throat. No fun. Another rough night leading to a morning of tired people, and Oliver just didn't want to be awake but did at the same time. So this is us still in bed at 10 am. I hope that all of you did not take part in this tradition and that your children are all healthy but if you did, I hope that they get feeling better soon and can enjoy the rest of their break and the beginning of the New Year.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13674481853716985014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208191326727401769.post-89691830967270654872013-12-24T09:01:00.001-05:002013-12-24T09:02:26.203-05:00The Artistic HusbandBefore I started my blog I wanted it to look cool, have a good title that would sum up what I was going to write about, and attract people. This blog is for me, to write about the things in my life. It makes me excited to know people are reading it but it has been fun just writing what I want. So my awesome husband Corey did this fun illustration for my blog header and changed the font, making it more of a SUPER blog.<br />
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He is so talented it's crazy. I have no artistic abilities so it always amazes me with what he can do. He has just started his life long dream of being a book illustrator and has had the opportunity to illustrate 4 different books and is in contracts to do 3 more. I am very excited and happy for him!!! He also loves painting, mainly with oil. When he paints, his art comes alive and I love to see what he comes up with. One of his books that he will be doing this year will be done in oil, so he gets to combine both loves into one. To see more of his work, check out his <a href="http://www.coreyegbert.com/publications.html" target="_blank">website</a>.<br />
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So thank you Corey for making it SUPER and always helping me when I need it. I love you! And thank you readers for reading my blog - it makes writing so much more exciting!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13674481853716985014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208191326727401769.post-1366830004526400392013-12-23T13:38:00.000-05:002013-12-23T13:44:11.292-05:00Christmas MagicLike many of you out there I love Christmas! I love the Christmas music, the holiday feel, the food, the time with family and all of the fun Christmas decorations. So in my excitement I convinced my poor husband to help me decorate the house a little early this year. Oliver was so helpful hanging up ornaments on the tree and pulling things out of boxes. It was a fun night and made me all the more excited.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvT6_uENjx3ZXDGYlDC7TvSeji3JHEifyvW_LgCRLYIyTiMPKFVyptoaDVz5x5yyyAmly_ioEOBdMkJKNjkgsMHBT2Qiln-PmI53_I_BBJVA6YKlTFgg5o14KvxipllNzvIaDV1z-AUGmY/s1600/photo+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvT6_uENjx3ZXDGYlDC7TvSeji3JHEifyvW_LgCRLYIyTiMPKFVyptoaDVz5x5yyyAmly_ioEOBdMkJKNjkgsMHBT2Qiln-PmI53_I_BBJVA6YKlTFgg5o14KvxipllNzvIaDV1z-AUGmY/s320/photo+1.jpg" width="240" /></a>For the first little bit Oliver was good at not touching the tree, But our cat was a different story. Rex loves to go behind the tree and sleep in the corner, try and climb it or swat at the hanging ornaments. After a while Oliver decided he too wanted to climb behind the tree and be with his Rexy or play with the ornaments. We pull him away telling him that it's not okay, we distract him with toys, books and songs, we put him on our laps to be on time out, or just leave the room to play somewhere else. Our once pretty tree has become quite sad looking, the lights are starting to come loose and the tree has become slightly top heavy.<br />
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So I came up with a plan, I would wrap all of our presents and stack them up perfectly under the tree so that they could not climb under it any more. This amazing plan of mine worked for a bit but a few days ago he started to play with presents and now tries to unwrap them. I have not decided yet which one is worse but I can say that I think Oliver will love Christmas day when he can open all of the presents under the tree and I can't wait to take down the tree! If you have had this problem or something similar how did you solve it? Some moms have the coolest tricks and I have yet to learn them.<br />
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My mom and dad were so good at making Christmas so magical. My mom started listening to Christmas music around June or July and didn't stop until January. We would decorate our house the weekend after Thanksgiving. Go up the mountains to cut down our very own tree, thanks to our dad who would trudge up and down those hills with us kids searching for the perfect one and always getting it for us, especially the ones that he would have to climb up the tree to cut off the top. And even though we weren't the richest of families out there, my parents always made sure that we all had presents under the tree (and somehow we were opening presents all day). Oh and the food we would have, there was so many choices and oh so yummy!! We would play with our toys, put together puzzles, watch movies and play games. Now that I am the parent that is making the "magic" I can now see just how much work that must have been. I am so grateful for my loving parents who gave so much for me and my siblings. And I can only hope that Corey and I can be as good of parents one day. Good look to the parents that are making Christmas awesome for there kids!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13674481853716985014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208191326727401769.post-82551838737777345702013-12-22T13:39:00.000-05:002013-12-23T13:31:36.337-05:00Church with KidsHave you ever wondered why you go to church when you have kids? Are you getting anything out of it? Are the people around you annoyed with you and your kids? When I was younger I remember looking at all the kids in church being so loud and destractive and thinking "just take them out or take them home!" I think back on that and now know how big of a brat I was being.<br />
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It's so easy to say to yourself "it's okay if we don't go this week" or "he is so tired and needs his nap". Other times you go and half way through you are tired trying to keep your little rugrat entertained and keeping him quiet so you go home. Other times you find yourself walking the halls the whole time. Of course there are the good weeks when Oliver will just sit on our laps reading books or playing with his cars and you are reassured when he folds his arms when all the prayers are said.<br />
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So today being the Sunday before Christmas, we set out to go to church, looking forward to feeling more of the holiday spirit. We get there, sing our opening song, and Ollie folds his arms for the first prayer and we're thinking it's going to be a good day at church. But then another couple with their little girl walks in and sits right behind us, pulling out toys and all kinds of snacks, and Oliver wants to do the same with his toys and snacks. Then the sharing begins - she wanted his stuff and he wanted hers. They played well together mostly, but times they fought.<br />
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Done with the first class and on to the next. Oliver is too young to be with all the kids so he comes with us to the grownups class and by this time he is restless and getting ready for his nap. Trying to get him to sleep in our laps with his pacifier and blanket only works on the rarest occasions, and today was not one of those days. He started to get loud, so the walking of the halls began which then led to our decision to leave for home and miss the rest of church.<br />
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On Christmas day is our Ollie's 18 month mark and is the age when he can go to nursery to be with the kids at church so we hope this is the end of us wondering the halls, making our excuses and leaving church early. Well I guess we will have to start all over again when we have another... To the hope of nursery next Sunday!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13674481853716985014noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208191326727401769.post-72838827478173071152013-12-21T13:40:00.002-05:002013-12-21T13:40:38.014-05:00A New Blogger in a New WorldSo this is my first post on my first blog and I hope you all like it. My name is Natalya but most people call me Tal, I grew up in a small town in Utah called Manti but we just moved in August in our little Subaru over 2,000 miles away to a small town in Virginia called Buena Vista (which people here pronounce B-you-na Vista). I just celebrated my 3rd Anniversary with my amazing husband Corey and have an 18 month old son Oliver that is beyond the simple word "active" that keeps me on my toes. Oh and an orange striped cat named Rex. I am a stay at home mom with many adventures trying to entertain my son, finding time to cook, clean and spend time with my ever so busy husband.<br />
For my blog I want to write about the whatevers of life. Planning parties and trips, cooking fun treats and meals, cleaning a house, teaching and playing with Oliver, learning new things and being a better person, but also the ups and downs of life. Life can be full of great days but then other days when you just want to stay home in Pajamas and watch TV. Days where you can take on the world and others when your bed wins. I want to be a SUPER mom and wife but like most of you out there I have weaknesses, I have my KRYPTONITES!<br />
So this is me and this is my blog. Thank you for reading and feel free to comment. Have a Merry Christmas and New Years.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13674481853716985014noreply@blogger.com1