Thursday, November 13, 2014

Fresh Powder

At 7AM I sleepily peeked outside and I couldn't help but let out a squeal of delight. It snowed over night. And it was still coming down at a nice and steady pace. Most people that I know cringed when they saw the snow this morning. But not me! I L-O-V-E snow. Winter is my favorite season. I can only hope that little miss Sadie loves it as much as her Daddy-man and I do!

The first big snow usually causes people to panic when they get out on the roads. And this year was no different. It took Sadie and I a good forty minutes to drive to our local Meijer to load up on diapers (they were on sale and I had mperks rewards cash that was burning a hole in my pocket). On a normal day it would take up to 15 minutes (at the most) to make the trip. We attempted to take the highway until traffic came to a stop. After patiently waiting for a few minutes we pulled a u-turn and hit the back roads.

I am obsessed with Sadie's little foot prints!


After our adventure to the store we made it back home and decided that we should probably go play in the snow. Getting Sadie bundled up in her snow clothes did not take as long as I thought it would! Once she was dressed I couldn't help but laugh at her. She looked like she couldn't move. It reminded me of Randy from A Christmas Story.




Last winter was fabulous! We got slammed with snow. There were several different occasions where basically everything was shut down due to the weather. It was AWESOME!! However, Sadie was only 6 months old so she didn't get to enjoy as much as we did. So today she got to have her first real encounter with snow.

When I put her down she was very cautious. She insisted upon holding my hand for the first few minutes. After she got comfortable she was off to explore. She had a blast. She thought it was the best when she would stop and fall down face first into the snow. We didn't stay out too long though. Her gloves were soaked after about ten minutes. We are hoping to go back out once the Daddy-man gets home. Our fingers are crossed that it snows a ton more over the next few days!








Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Feeling O-L-D

I have come to the conclusion that I am old. In less than two months I will be 26. I know, I know, that is not really old but I sure feel like I am an old lady.  The other night my husband and I were watching TV and a commercial for the AMA's came on. When it was over he looked over at me and said,"I have no clue who any of those musicians are....". Then I began to laugh because I was just thinking the same thing. 

Since I have been feeling like time has started to fly by I looked through some storage containers of old photos that have made there way into our extra bedroom. And looking at them made me laugh (and still feel old). 

After look through those photos I hopped on Facebook only to find a notification that my baby cousin Emily turned 21 today. I am willing to admit that I am in denial that she is 21. I feel like she was just born!

You see, when I was 4 my Aunt Shelly (my moms youngest sister, and Em's mom) babysat me while my mom worked. My mom would drop me off at my Aunt Shelly's and my cousin Erica (I am only a few weeks older than her) and I would hang out in our jammies until it was time to get ready for school. My very pregnant Aunt would then takes us to pre-school at the church that was only two blocks away from her house. 

After school was over we would make the short walk back to her house.  Eat lunch and then we were spend the afternoon playing and causing trouble. I remember one day we were being really REALLY naughty and my Aunt Shell told us if we kept it up the nuns were gonna come take us away and spank us with rulers. Another day I ate too many pudding cups during snack time at school. She picked Erica and I up from school and we went to Big Lots. On the way to the store I puked pudding all over her back seat. She deserves an award for dealing with two crazies while being pregnant.

When Em was born our attention turned to her, rather than playing. I remember her not wanting to sleep/nap when she was really little. My Aunt tried everything to get that girl to go to sleep. Then one day we discovered that she would fall asleep if the song "Hero", by Mariah Carey was playing. You can bet we played that song a thousand times. When she was old enough to eat solid food, Erica and I realized that she would make funny faces when she was eating. We took it upon ourselves to feed Em onions, the faces she made were hilarious!

When she got older some one made up a story about her having a twin sister that lived in the basement, her name was Eleanor. Whenever we would hear weird sounds coming from the basement we would always blame it on ol' Eleanor. It seems like just yesterday Em (and Eleanor) were born. So, in honor of little Em's birthday here are some lovely photo's that I found during my "old lady" pity party.

Erica, Em, and I on Halloween.   

 
Me, Amber, Erica, and Em (in front). This before my brother graduated HS in 1999.

Erica, Me holding Shane, and Em. This is from 2001, shortly after I finally was allowed to get a puppy.

Em and I. Judging by my shirt, this is from 2003.
Me, Aunt Shell, Erica, and Em at my 16th Birthday party. It blows my mind that this was almost 10 years ago (and Scottie 2 Hottie was totally there).



Wednesday, November 5, 2014

A Typical Indiana Halloween

For those of you that don't know, we live in the great state of Indiana. If you have never been to Indiana then you may not be aware of how crazy the weather can be (especially around this time of year). Last Monday it was around 75 degrees outside. Which means we rocked shorts and played outside in the leaves all day long! I can never remember there being nice weather on Halloween when I was a kid. It gave me hope that Sadie might just get a Halloween with wonderful weather!

The wind blew almost all of the leaves off of my tree. AND it began to sleet.

My dreams for a wonderful warm Halloween were quickly dashed. When Sadie and I woke up we peeked outside to see that it was rainy, cold, and WINDY. (SIDE NOTE: We live about 30 minutes from Lake Michigan and the waves there were 20 feet high.) Which meant that we ate Halloween Peep's and pancakes for breakfast. We also had a vote and ended up staying in our pajamas for majority of the day.

Chillaxin' after breakfast. She got her mind on her candy, and her candy on her mind.
We had plans to go out and visit Aunt B and all of our other friends at the SBCC until we heard about the crazy 40 mile an hour wind gusts on the news. So we stayed home and continued to be lazy. After lunch we played with the Daisy dog and watched some Halloween toons. And then we looked outside and there was almost a white out. Yes, it SNOWED! We were pretty pumped. After a quick call to the Daddy-man (his work is about 15/20 minutes south of our hood so weather is often varies) to tell him about the snow. We sat and watched it for a good 10 minutes.

Everything was dusted with snow!



Before we knew it, it was time to get ready to go trunk or treating! It was only 30 something degrees out by the time trunk or treating was suppose to start. After two layers of clothing it was time to put on the costume and take a photo!

The lone Halloween photo. It was too cold for photos outside.

I am glad with out decision to go trunk or treating at a local church, rather than the tradition door to door business. It was just way too cold for all of that! It only took about 30 minutes to hit up all of the trunks. Which was perfect Sadie was over it by then. She had a hard time moving with all of those  layers and a big ol' winter coat on. Even though it was a long and cold day it will be fun to tell her about the year she was Pebbles Flintstone and how determined we were to go trunk or treating!


Wednesday, October 29, 2014

It's the little things. (Like peanut butter kisses!)

Last night I had the chance to sneak away from my little Sadie Laine and the Daddy-man for a few hours. While I had a great time catching up with friends and family at dinner, I missed them boat loads. My friend Katie and I carpooled, and on the way home we got to talking about how fast our girls are growing. Her youngest daughter, Avery, and my Sadie were born 8 days apart. It is crazy that they are already 16 months old. Talking to her made me realize how quickly time has flown by, and that I need to spend less time stressing about silly things and more time focusing on my not so little baby.
How is my 7lb 9 oz girl so big already?! Puppies are her favorite.

Today I did just that. I didn't worry about the fact that my house looks like the toy box threw up inside of it. Or that the bathrooms need to be scrubbed down. That will all be there later. I needed a big dose of Sadie Laine today. She woke up super happy this morning with wet jammies. After a quick wardrobe change we made our way out to the living room.



When I sat her down in the living room I realized she has grown a lot! The pants that fit her nicely a few weeks ago now looked like they were cropped. But golly she sure looked cute. Her hair is barely long enough to put into a clip but long enough to be messy after a good nights sleep. She was full of shenanigans during breakfast! The girl refused to feed her waffle to herself. Instead she threw back her head and opened her mouth for me to feed her. I couldn't help but laugh at her! She reminded me of a little baby bird (she would have been pumped if she got to have gummy worms for breakfast).



After her first nap it was time for a snack. She ate one Nilla wafer and then attempted to feed the rest to her beloved Daisy May. Daisy is grumpy and ignored her, which resulted in Sadie running around the house waving Nilla's and yelling, "Daze, Daze, Daze....." (Daisy) in a last ditch attempt to get Daisy's attention. Then it was time for me to fold some laundry. Sadie had to help, folding laundry is her jam.



After lunch there was a unanimous agreement that Monsters University needed to be watched. As the movie started Sadie  plopped down on her little pink couch and watched the movie for a good 45 minutes (that is the longest she has ever stayed still for a show/movie). Then she needed to sit by me and give me 581 kisses during the rest of the movie.

What a cheese ball!




It is now 4PM and she is taking her second nap (she has to have energy to chase the Daddy-man when he gets home from work). I am still in my pajamas. And I am fine with it. Spending time with my little and enjoying her is totally worth it. I need to remember to slow down and enjoy the little things in life more often. You can't get any better then Monsters University and peanut butter kisses from my favorite little lady!
She was a messy eater today!


Monday, October 13, 2014

Pumpkin Patch Fun

   According to Facebook and Instagram my family (along with everyone else I know) made a visit (or three) to the pumpkin patch over the weekend. I would have to say that going to the pumpkin patch is one of my all time favorite fall activities. Last year it was cold and Sadie was only 4 months old so it was not a very exciting trip. We had a little more fun this time around.

   There are several pumpkin patches near our house. There are a couple of big time operations, you know, the ones with petting zoos, corn mazes, and pony rides. Those can be fun but I would rather not have to fight my way though crowds of people just to get an over priced pumpkin. So we skip all of that fun and go to a smaller place. We LOVE Fischer Farm's!

   This is the second year we have gone to Fischer's to fill my yearly pumpkin habit. It is a small family run farm that has a great variety of pumpkins, gourds, and apples that don't cost an arm and a leg. Plus it is not over run with people! We love the friendly old farm dogs that run around and greet everyone. Sadie could have cared less about the pumpkins all she wanted to do was follow the dogs around. She wasn't happy until she got to pet all four of them.

   After petting all of the dogs we parted ways, I went to pick out some pumpkins and gourds while the Daddy-man followed Sadie around while she explored the farm. She got tired on a few occasions and had to take a couple rests in the middle of a few skids full of pumpkins! Everything is so much more fun when you have a little to share it with. Here are a some photos of our trip to the pumpkin patch!










Thursday, October 9, 2014

Seriously Sadie: Fabric Store Edition

   Sadie and I went to the fabric store yesterday. It made me wish I knew how to use my sewing machine. The purpose of our trip was to get supplies for the big Halloween costume. You are probably wondering how I am making a costume when I can't sew? We are collaborating with one of our favorites, Aunt Jill!

   2 Hottie's Aunt Jill has mad sewing skills. She is going to be doing what I would consider to be the hard part of the costume. I forgot to mention, Sadie is being Pebbles Flintstone for Halloween! It is going to be so freaking cute! Once Aunt Jill is done working her magic I get to use my favorite weapon, glue, to add the finishing touches.

Pumped about visiting the fabric store!


   Back to the fabric store.  I probably said my most used phrase "Seriously Sadie?!" 1,000 times. Sadie has entered the stage where she has to touch everything that she can get her little hands on while we are at the store. From the cart she managed to knock a half dozen different fabrics on to the floor. Oy! She was a hit with all of the little Mam-maw's that worked there. They loved hearing her "ohhh" and "ahhh" over all of the pretties.
 
   After wandering around for 15 minutes (and picking up all of the fabric Sadie knocked down)  I finally decided on the perfect fabric for Pebbles.  I was super pumped when we got out of the store with all of our supplies for under $12. We could not have bought a costume from the store for that price! I can't wait to dress her up and take her to trick or treating at Zoo Boo!


  

Monday, September 29, 2014

Weekend Fun

   On Saturday my husband and I finally got to have a grown up fun day! My mom came over and watched Sadie all day for us! (It was the longest we have ever left her)  We headed out with my husbands parents and made our way down to the little towns of Fairmount and Gas City, Indiana. People flock to these cities for two reasons around this time of year because they love two things. James Dean and cars.
   James Dean grew up in the tiny town of Fairmount (as did the creator of Garfield). And that little town sure is proud of one of their most well known residents! People come from all over the world to visit during the James Dean Festival. Lets keep it real, he was a total hottie. But, the main reason we made the 2 hour drive was to check out all of the cars! My husband and father in law are total car  dudes and it was fun to see them all excited!
This Big Bertha was my favorite.

 
The orange Chevy had burlap seats. The interior was awesome!




There was a handful of pink cars. This one was the prettiest!
     We spent 6 hours walking around and drooling about cars that are way out of our price budgets. There were thousands of them! It is cool because they all bounce back and forth between the cars shows in Fairmount and near by Gas City, which is why people also refer to this festival as the James Dean Run. I can now openly admit that I have an obsession with station wagons. Forget a mini van, I would gladly drive a Vista Cruiser.

   I think that the coolest thing that I got to see during our trip was the old Fairmount High School. James Dean graduated from there in 1949. It is a GORGEOUS building! Unfortunately the backside of if collapsed in July of 2013, so there is little hope of being able to restore it. However, a few years a go the stage original stage that James Dean performed on was removed from the building. There was a fundraiser happening during the festival so that the stage could be restored.
Fairmount High School. It bums me out to see cool old buildings falling apart.

   We had a wonderful Saturday! We need to get out and have grown up fun more often. However, I could not wait to get back to my little. We sure  missed hanging out with her! But, I know she had a blast hanging out with Grandma while we were gone.


Tuesday, September 23, 2014

My Picky Drinker


   When I found out that I was pregnant I decided that I wanted to give breastfeeding a try. My husband agreed, so when Sadie was born we hopped on the breastfeeding train and never looked back. Thankfully we got lucky. It turns out I am a milk machine AND Sadie fed like a pro. When Sadie was 2 months old school started. I had to go to campus once a week for 3 hours which meant 2 Hottie was on baby duty all by himself. That also meant that he had to bottle feed her. According to him bottle feeding turned into a circus act of sorts.
Milk coma! I sure do miss that squishy brand new baby.
   As weeks went by we came to that conclusion that bottles were not here thing. Which wasn't a big deal because I did not leave her much. When she became big enough to introduce water/juice my mom got her a sippy cup. You know, the old school kind with the little spout on it. She wanted nothing to do with it! So, I broke down and got her a cup with a straw. She LOVED it. She drank like a pro from her favorite fox cup for weeks. And then after much abuse it sprung a leak.
The fox cup that started it all. (Cup was purchased at Target)
  After looking around I finally decided to break down and get her a Munchkin Click Lock Flip Straw Cup. And it was wonderful! I loved it because it did not leak and the straw flips down so it doesn't get funky while it is not being used. Sadie loved it because it had a straw and it was brightly colored. She had a love affair with these cups up until a couple of weeks ago...

   She has not decided like she likes drinking out of the daddy-man's "big boy" cups and mama's water bottle. She would go into freak out mode if we suggested she use her usual cup with the straw. I cringed when she would drink out of our cups because it was super messy and usually resulted in a change of clothes. Then I remembered that she had a Wow Cup in the cupboard.

   What is a Wow Cup? It is a magical cup (with a lid) that allows your little to drink from it (like a regular cup) and not spill or make a total mess! My Aunt bought it for her back in May. She did not have much interest in it at first. But now that she thinks that she is really something when she drinks out of her Wow Cup. That poor cup has been used and abused lately and it has never leaked (nor does it have a scratch on it). I love it because it is super easy to clean and it makes her happy! I did just discover that Munchkin has their own version. It is called the Miracle 360 and it holds an ounce more than Sadie's beloved Wow Cup. I really want to get her one so we can compare them.
***This post was not sponsored by any companies mentioned. It is just for fun!***

Monday, September 22, 2014

Good Riddance Summer!

   Sayonara Summer! It's been real, but I am ready for you to leave. My memories of your 2014 visit will forever remind of one of those Sour Patch Kids commercials. However, you did things a little backwards. They started off sweet and then got sour. Our trip to Brown Country for my mother-in-law's surprise 50th Birthday weekend was a blast! We had so much fun celebrating with family and friends. And it was Sadie's first overnight trip which made things extra memorable. Then before we knew it Sadie's first birthday arrived. We celebrated her actual birthday with lunch at OG ( aka Olive Garden), a trip to Hobby Lobby (for party goodies), and we stopped at Whole Foods for a mini cupcake. It was a wonderful day, I didn't even cry!

Sadie at her Birthday lunch.

   Then things got sour. The next day my Dad had to make a trip to Chicago to see if the cancer treatments he had been receiving had worked. They didn't. He was told that he probably had two weeks to live. He made it two weeks and 2 days. Loosing him was sour. But during those last two weeks my family spent more time together than they have in the past ten years, which was pretty friggin' sweet.

Big Tom and his "Little Booger Head".
   So, like I said earlier sayonara Summer! The 2 Hottie's are MORE than ready for fall. I decorated our house two weeks ago for Halloween/Fall. Winter is my favorite season, but Fall is my favorite to decorate for. I live for visits to the pumpkin patch, Halloween costumes, candy corn, crunchy leaves, bon fires made by my pyromaniac husband, and the festivals!

I may have an obsession with the movie Hocus Pocus.
  Fall festival season officially kicks off for my little when we visit the Blueberry Festival. We love browsing the fall crafts and the blueberry donuts. Those donuts are worth waiting in line for half an hour. On Friday we went to Falloween at a near by high school. There were carnival rides, games, a garage sale, and loads of yummy food. Falloween is especially wonderful because majority of the money raised goes toward scholarships for students. In the past five years over $94,000 has been raised, which is pretty awesome. Next weekend Sadie gets to hang out with her Granny Ronald while mama and the daddy-man go down to James Dean Day's. 2 Hottie is pumped about the car show! I am excited to get out of changing diapers for a few hours. Happy Fall!

Thursday, September 18, 2014

15 Months

   Little Sadie Laine turned 15  months old on the 12th! Holy moly, time really does fly when you are having fun. She is a silly little chick and we wouldn't trade her for the world. We made a trip to the doctor's office yesterday morning for her 15 month well visit. We did not get to see Dr. W because she is still out on medical leave. We did score big time though because we got to see Dr. D! He rocks. Have you ever noticed how desolate the waiting room is at 8:15 AM? Sadie made a friend while we were waiting, they loved looking at the fish tank together!

Sweet little explorer!

   Once the nice nurse called us back to the exam room the shenanigans started! Sadie attempted to do her best gymnastics moves when the nurse was measuring her. After a few minutes we determined that the little chick is 31.25 inches tall. And her noggin is 17.75 inches (she has a peanut head like her Da-Da). She weighs 21 pounds and 8.5 ounces. According to Dr. D she is a string bean just like the Daddy-Man, she is tall and skinny. Once Dr. D left the real fun began. It was time for SHOTS! God bless that poor nurse. Sadie kept trying to ninja kick her to keep from getting her two shots. Which resulted in me having to hold her down (not fun at all).

She LOVES (to try and eat) dandelions.
  Thankfully Sadie is a champ after she gets her shots. She never runs a fever or anything. We made a quick diaper run and then headed on home. She spent the rest of her afternoon napping, playing, snacking and sipping on chocolate milk. Once the Daddy-man got home from work we ate supper and went on a bike ride. We have an inStep Sierra bicycle trailer and Sadie LOVES it. She just kicks back and enjoys the wind blowing on her. We made a quick stop at the church down the road to snap a few photos! There is a big open area on the edge of a corn field and I couldn't resist stopping to snap a few photos.

Bossing the Daddy-man around.


Monday, September 15, 2014

Wannabe Junk Gypsy

   I am a total wannabe Junk Gypsy. My husband and I love watching that show, but unfortunately we have Dish and it is cray cray and that channel comes and goes. So, as a result I have been having Junk Gypsy withdrawls (and it has been making want to craft/create like crazy). If we ever hit the jackpot and become ridiculously rich we are totally building a huge house out in the sticks. And those two gals are totally coming to decorate the place for us.

   Until then, I have to decorate our  house with some help from my husband/baby daddy/assistant/carpenter, Scottie 2 Hottie. We were pretty busy this weekend because we finished up several projects around our house. 2 Hottie has been working on a new baby gate to keep Sadie away from the basement stairs. It is about 97% finished and it looks AMAZING. He made it out of wood from some pallets and we have about $10 into the entire thing. I plan on posting a photo once she is 100% completed.

   I also finished up a few projects. I have been working on a bench that my husband found in our basement. ***For those of you that don't know, we purchased our house from my husband's Aunt and Uncle (almost a year ago) and they left some stuff that they didn't want when they moved out. Which, is why we did not know there was a rad bench hiding beneath the basement stairs.*** I sanded the ol' gal then covered her in some pink paint left over from Sadie's lemonade stand. Then I painted her again with a coat of  jazzy teal color and gave her a light sanding to make her funky.
It totally reminds me of a bag of cotton candy!
   While Sadie was napping I remembered that we had a ratty old wooden screen door laying out back by our bon fire pit. Naturally, I went back there and rescued it. I ripped out the screen and gave it a good sanding, and then I gave it a light coat of that same teal paint that I used on the bench. After it dried I gave it another sanding to funk up the paint and then it got hung on the big blank and boring wall in the living room!
The plan is to hang mismatched framed photos inside of it.
   After this was hung up I realized that we are developing an obsession with doors. This screen door is the third one that we have used to decorate our house. Our second door is from a set of french doors that were abandoned out in front of my father-in-law's work. Of course he rescued them because he knew that I would use them for something! One of them is now a shelf above our basement stairs (his brother is in the garage waiting to be used).
   Our first ever door came from the local Habitat For Humanity Restore shop. It is tall and we think it is from an old school or church. After some Pinterest surfing we decided that it would make a perfect corner shelf. Our old house was only 600 sq ft, so we needed something that would not take up tons of space.
It is a terrible picture, but you get the idea.

Monday, September 8, 2014

Super Fun Weekend



   We had such a fun weekend! It started out with a sleep over at my house with my Aunt Pam and Cousin Presley (she is 8). They live two hours away and we do not get to hang out with them that often. They came into town early for my future sister-in-law’s bridal shower, which was on Saturday. Sadie had soooo much fun playing with Presley and eating pizza with her on Friday night. She got to stay up WAY past her bedtime, so she slept really well.

    Once every one was up on Saturday morning we made breakfast. And then Presley and Sadie played until it was time to get ready to go. The shower was really cute! It definitely reflected the personalities and lifestyle of my brother and his fiancĂ©. They spend a lot of time outdoors and my brother is an avid hunter. The decorations were very rustic and reflected their interests. It made me even more excited for them and the upcoming wedding. They have been together for ten years so it has been a long time coming.

   Of course, I stressed over what to give them for their shower gift. I looked over their wedding registry a thousand times. Nothing really spoke to me. They have been together for years, and just built a house last year. After much thought I decided to make them something instead. I have a phobia of people getting multiples of whatever I have given them. I think it stems from the fact that my husband and I received four or five tents at our wedding shower (I think people forgot to have the cashier scan our registry list at check out).

   I ended up making them a bubble wreath. I have always thought they were adorable and I found a really easy tutorial (via Pinterest) on the Craftaholics Anonymous website (here is the link: http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/burlap-bubble-wreath-tutorial-easy). It only took me two trips to Hobby Lobby (on the hottest day of the year), an hour, and repeating the words “Seriously, Sadie?” about 158 time (she kept trying to steal my supplies). It actually turned out cute and it is already hanging in the happy couple’s house.


   After the shower my Aunt and Presley had to head home. So Sadie and I went home to wait for the Daddy-Man to get home from work. After some dinner we went into town with his parents to get ice cream. And then we came home to watch Michigan (our fav team) play their last game against Notre Dame (our hometown team). Sadie had a blast staying up past her bedtime (for the second day in a row) and running around the living-room yelling at the TV.
Reppin' the Wolverine's in her new headband (made by me). GO BLUE!
 

Sunday definitely turned into a Sunday Funday. After a quick trip to the grocery store, I was able to start refinishing an awesome bench that we discovered in our basement. And then Sadie’s (puppy) cousin Walter came over to play. Walter is Pete’s (my sister-in-law’s boyfriend) pit-bull. Sadie is obsessed with him because he actually pays attention to her. Daisy, our beagle, ignores her 95% of the time. Sadie was so tired that she was in bed by 6:45 pm. It was a GREAT weekend.
Kisses from Walter. Photo Cred: Aunt Tabi

Commercial watching and cuddles. Photo Cred: Aunt Tabi

 

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