Five Question Friday 1/29/10

1. Would you ever vacation alone?

I don't think I would...but it's hard to imagine being in a place where I wouldn't have anyone to go with me. But, I don't see myself as someone who would even go out to eat by myself, let alone take a whole vacation alone!

2. Do you go the speed limit?

Usually pretty close. I know I'm not right at 55 if that is the posted speed, but I don't usually go more then 2-3MPH over. I'm too scared to be pulled over and get a ticket!! (Something I have NEVER had happen!!) :)

3. Why did you start blogging/following blogs?

I think the first blogs I started following were of friends and family members...so I was just keeping up with what they were doing. I started my blog so family and friends could keep up with our lives and see pictures of my little ones!

4. Where do you shop for yourself?

I guess it depends what I am shopping for. If it is fun stuff, I'd say JoAnn Fabrics, or some other scrapbooking store. For clothes, usually Fashion Bug. For other things usually Walmart or Target.

5. What was the song that you danced your first dance with your spouse to at your wedding...or...what song would you like your first dance to be to?

If You Could See What I See by Geoff Moore. I always knew I wanted to dance to this song from the time I heard it (when I was in Jr or Sr High School). The neat thing is that my hubby loved this song and knew he wanted to SING it to his bride on his wedding day. It was a very special song for both of us and made for a very special wedding day. :)

To see more answers to this weeks 5QF head on over to Mama M!

Where have I been???

*sigh* It's been a long week. My girls just aren't sleeping...worst yet...when they do sleep it never seems to be at the same time. I'm tired. I'm spent. I'm drained. Oh yeah...and hubby heads out of town next week. It's hard when you know you need sleep, you are desperate for sleep, but you just can't get it! Ruth is my worst offender, of course...but the other night she went to sleep at 9:30pm (unheard of!)...but Grace was up until 12am!!! Francis had a meeting or I would have tried to go to bed when I laid Ruth down. I hope for naps during the day...but Ruth takes 30-45 minute cat naps and Grace doesn't sleep most days now (even though she is in her bed). I know this is only for a time and a year from now thing will be a lot different. I know because Isaac has grown up so quickly before my eyes. Now he isn't even here during the day (*tears*) to keep me awake...and what I wouldn't give to have him here right now asking me to read him a book or to play. I miss my buddy...and I know I will miss my girls when the time comes. I just wish I could enjoy this time more...I just wish I could get a little (okay a LOT) more sleep so I could be a better wife and momma.

You Capture-Color

This is my first ever You Capture. Every week is a different theme, this week is Color. I LOVE taking pictures and I especially love taking pictures of my babies...so that is what my pictures this week involve :) (Unfortuneately, all I have is a point and shoot camera, terrible lighting in my house, and a poor editing program, so what you see is what you get!!!) :)

Isaac brought this picture home from school yesterday. He loves the writing center and usually will make something there to bring home. It is a cherry tree because he knows how much I LOVE cherries! :)

I love our playroom. When Isaac was little and we were turning our living room into the playroom we knew we needed to do something because of the hardwood floors. Thankfully, for not a lot of money, we wer able to find the very colorful floormats for in there. Before nap yesterday, Grace brought me to the playroom to show me her hard work.

And finally... Ruth has ventured from boring old oatmeal cereal this week. She had her 1st taste of carrots and wasn't too impressed. She didn't spit them out..but she wasn't gobbling them up either. I'm excited to see how she takes to some of the other veggies and fruits in the coming days and weeks! :)

It's nice to see some color during this long stretch of white winter snow! To see more, head on over here!

Five Question Friday

1. What is better, growing old without money or dying young and wealthy?

This is an easy one. Definitely growing old without money. I love my hubby and little ones so much that I can't imagine a moment without them. I'd rather spend as many moments with them that I can then have anything money could buy. Besides, we do just fine now without a lot of money and I'm sure that in 50 or 60 years we will have learned a few more things about living frugally :)

2. Who takes out the garbage at your house?

This is easy too. Hubby takes out the garbage. Even if he is away it will wait until he comes home (he usually isn't gone for that long). I always make sure he dumps it before he goes and will resort to using another garbage in the house if I need too. I'm sure he is looking forward to the day when he can show Isaac how to do it and pass the chore on to him :)

3. Have you ever had the same dream many times?

I don't think I've ever had the same dream before, but one thing I've dreamed about quite a few time is my teeth falling out. They will literally disintergrate in my mouth and come falling out into my hands in these tiny pieces. I'm never in any pain, but it's very unnerving and I wake up making sure my teeth are all there because it feels so real!

4. Can you play a musical instrument?

The easy answer is NO. Though, I can play some easy songs on a piano (Heart and Soul, Mary had a Little Lamb, etc) and I was taught a few songs on the flute when I was in high school. But, besides that I can't play anything (well, maybe the tambourine!) :)

5. If you owned your own store, what would you sell?

Hmm...interesting question. I think I would have either a coffee shop or a scrapbooking store...well, a combonation of the two would work well. It would have a place that you could actually work on your book and enjoy your coffee at the same time! I think that way I'd always have a place to work on my own scrapbook, something I don't get to do nearly enough now!!!

If you want to see other answers to these questions head on over to Mama M and see all the other bloggers who have linked up this week!!!

Post #100 +10 :)

yeah...so I just realized that I passed my 100th post already so this is my celebratory "yay I have blogged 100 times!" blog post :) It took me almost 2 years, but I did it! I'm also doing much better this time around. Maybe I'll write 100 posts this year alone :) Thanks for sticking around and coming back to see what's going on here!

Ruth is on the move...

We took the above video last night before bed. She really is on the move now, dragging herself wherever she wants to go. This morning she ended up "crawling" into the guest room chasing after a beach ball. She's getting into trouble already. Time to get out the safety gates!

AND I just had to add this video now because she is just too cute moving and I know you (well, mostly my family) can't get enough of seeing her :) I took this one tonight. Ruth is obsessed with the wipes and "attacks" them whenever she gets close enough :)

My Boy...

So not to leave my baby boy out...here are a series of pictures I found the other night. They might not mean anything to you...but when I found them they made me smile and laugh. I am thankful I took them and so many in a row because it brought me right back to that moment...a moment I wouldn't have remembered otherwise. :)

My Girls...3 years apart...

This is a picture I took of Grace on August 28, 2006:

I just took this picture of Ruth on December 28, 2009:

It's fun finding pictures of my babies that are alike and seeing their differences and similiarities. Hopefully I'll stumble upon some more and put them up. :)

Ruth is 1/2 a year old!!!

Where does the time go? She is growing and changing so quickly. Ruth has started on rice cereal, which we found out she is allergic to and has now moved on to oatmeal. She LOVES to eat! She doesn't have very much, but she gobbles down what we make for her. :) She is also very mobile now. She isn't full out crawling, but she can get where she wants to and can do it pretty quickly. She was weighed about a week and a half ago and she is 17lb 10oz! She can sit by herself now for fairly long periods of time and is able to get to the floor without crashing. :) She also started saying ah-goo instead of just ahh. She still isn't the greatest sleeper, but is taking more consistent naps during the day. We just need to work on bedtime and the overnight! I know she will get there...just for now I am one exhausted momma! :) But it is all worth it...all too soon she will be all grown up like Isaac and Grace and I will miss my baby girl! :)

Five Question Friday

Five Question Friday is here again, hosted by Mama M. :) Enjoy!

1. Worst trouble you ever got into as a teenager?
Honestly I can't remember getting in too much trouble as a teenager. I remember getting in trouble for walking with my friend from our high school to her house (3/4 of a mile, I looked it up!) :) Maybe my sisters or mom can remind me if I am blocking something from my memory :) I had a great group of friends and really wasn't allowed to get in trouble growing up.

2. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Oh, I am definitely a night person. I can stay up till all hours of the night...but don't try and get me out of bed in the morning even if I do get to bed at a decent hour. Isaac did great as a baby and even Grace did well too. They both slept until 8:30 or later and did that fairly consistently until Isaac started preschool last year. Since he was getting up early to get to school, he was going to bed early and that meant Grace did too. So, my days of sleeping in was reduced to once a week (on Saturday, if hubby didn't have a meeting.). Now, with Ruth, sleep is virtually non-existent. She is a night owl and most nights isn't asleep until 11:30PM! Which was fine with one child...but now with 3 and Isaac in kindergarten! *sigh* Thankfully, Francis gets up with Isaac and Grace in the morning and I sleep until 8:15 and then get up to spend a few minutes with Isaac before he heads off to school. So...long story short...I'm a night owl... :)

3. Are you a one-handed or a two-handed Texter?
Umm... I don't generally text. We don't have a cell phone that we use on a daily basis (just a Tracfone). The only person I text is my sister and usually only when we are traveling on long trips because it's cheaper then calling her. I think when I do text it is with one hand. (I also hate predictive text...drives me crazy!!!).

4. Democrat, Republican, or Independent..or maybe even Green Party (whatever that is).
Out of the 3 (or 4) listed I would say I am more Republican...but also pretty Conservative.

5. Are you a pet person?
Not really. Growing up we had a cat and a dog (as well as birds, fish, and rabbits throughout the years) and I loved them. But as I've gotten older and had my 3 babies I have become a lot more germophobic and the thought of the licking and the hair and the bodily functions just turn me off. I'm sure down the road when the kids are older we will consider having a dog (hubby and I are both severely allergic to cats!)...but it isn't anything I want around anytime soon!!!

Blog Delurking Day...

Come out, come out wherever you are :)

So, I've learned from other blogs I follow (and lurk) that today is Blog Delurking Day. I lurk in the shadows of MANY blogs (too many to admit to!) and seldom post a comment. Today I tried to comment on a lot and on blogs I haven't ever. Now it's your turn...if you are out there and haven't commented yet do it today :) Tell me where about you are from, how long you've hung around for, what you enjoy doing... anything really. I'd love to know if there are more then just my family and a few friends who are interested in what goes on in our family! :)

Pumpkin Pie Spiced Nuts

I've had requests (okay, one persistant sister mostly) to blog more. I told her the other day that I don't always have new and exciting things to write about so I said maybe I should just put up a recipe. She thought it was a great idea...so here is my first blog recipe! Let me know if you try it and how they turn out!!


Pumpkin Pie Spiced Nuts

1 egg white
1 tsp water
24 ounces salted, mixed nuts
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

In a large bowl, beat together the egg white and water. Add nuts and toss to coat. Combine sugar and spice. Sprinkle over the nuts and toss to coat. Line a 15x10x1 inch baking pan with non-stick foil or spray pan with non stick cooking spray heavily. Spread nuts in a single layer. Bake at 350’F for 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before transferring to waxed paper for complete cooling. Break apart before serving.

Five Question Friday

I really want to try and blog more this year, so I am trying to find ways that will get me to commit to doing it a little more regularly. I found this idea on another blog I follow and thought it would be fun. So, here goes my very 1st 5 Question Friday!!!

1. What's your "comfort food"?
It's not technically a "food"...but whenever I can wrap my hands around a hot cup (or Iced in the summer) of Dunkin Donuts Decaf Blueberry Coffee I sigh and all is right in the world. Okay..well maybe not everything is right in the world, but you know. It's my one indulgence and I love when I am able to pick one up when I am out and about.

2. Do you send Thank You's (handwritten or email)?
If I send thank you notes they are handwritten, but I only send them for the "major" life events (wedding shower, wedding, baby shower, baby gifts). Even with those I am pretty bad and doing them...in fact, I don't think I have sent any thank you notes for things we were given after Ruth was born (in JULY!).

3. If you had to be trapped in a TV show for a month, which show would you choose?
Little House on the Prairie! I have loved this show since I was a little girl and I have always said I would have loved living during that time, though I know it would have been very difficult.

4. What is your favorite online recipe site?
I've recently stumbled on Our Best Bites and have found many yummy things to make and that I gave as gifts at Christmas time. Also, if I'm searching for a recipe idea I tend to head to Allrecipes.com and have had some success there as well.

5. If you had to choose: "Friends" or "Seinfeld"?

Definitely Friends. I have NEVER been a fan of Seinfeld and quickly change the channel if I see it on. But if I see a rerun of Friends I will usually watch it, even if I've already seen in many times before!

Happy Friday everyone!!! :)

Taggies

(Spoiler Alert- Mari...if you don't want to see what baby girl's looks like don't look at the last picture!!! The real one should get to you tomorrow!!!) :)

I have been making Taggies for the past (almost) 6 years. I never knew "real" or "professional" ones existed when I made my 1st one for Isaac. All I knew is that he liked to chew or suck on any tag he could find. Most of the tags on his blanket came from tags he like to suck on from other things. His is by far the most "rustic" and rough one I have made. I seem to improve on their design a little more each time. Each one has been different in size, shape, color, and number of tags. So far I have made one for each of my kids, my 2 nieces, my nephew, and one for the son of a friend from college! I've put up the pictures of the ones I've made so far... I just finished my most recent for my niece who was born on Christmas day. :)

Isaac's Taggie-The Original:

Gracie's Taggie:

Hannah's Taggie:

Elijah's Taggie:


Ruth's Taggie:

Sophie's Taggie:

10 years, A decade, a whole new life...

In this post I reflected on the significant events of the past decade and am still amazed by how my life has changed in such a seemingly short amount of time. Last night, Francis and I watched the ball drop in Times Square (not in person, just on tv!) with Ruth crashed in my arms (waiting for the perfect time to lay her down). It was nice to talk about our past and what we've done in 10 years. I laid Ruth down, he headed for bed, and I was left with a moment to think...not good. :) I crawled into bed and whispered in his ear "do you realize in 10 years we will have an almost 16 year old son (getting ready to drive) and a 13 year old daughter (hello teen years!!!)?" I just know how quickly the last 10 years have gone...I'm praying that somehow I can slow the next ten down. Maybe I just need to slow down my day to day life, try not rushing from one thing to the next, and just enjoy my babies as they are now. Maybe I need to stop what I am doing and just be with them. Maybe I need to stop worrying about the perfect time to lay Ruth down and just enjoy the moments I have her in my arms. Life goes by so fast, the last 10 years are proof of that. I want to treasure the moments I have NOW with my family knowing they won't last...

New Year, New Adventures!

Tonight was Ruth's introduction to the world of real food. She has been more then ready for a few weeks now...but we wanted to wait until the craziness of Christmas and New Years was over. She has been VERY interested in us eating and reaching out for anything we were trying to eat or drink. Here she is in her Bumbo seat, ready and waiting...


Her very 1st bite of rice cereal

Mmmmmm...yummy!

She kept leaning her head forward to try and get the next bite...

And she tried helping with her hands too!

She was all smiles at the end. She ate every last bite of what I made for her and loved it!

This is what she looked like about 20 minutes later... such a beautiful little girl. :)

I can't believe we have entered the world of solid food with Ruth. It seems just like yesterday I was nursing her for the very 1st time. It is amazing how quickly it all goes by. I just wish I could hold on to all my babies just a little longer...