Another Greenery Update

Well, we've had another pretty productive day over here in our neck of the woods! Pulled more weeds in the garden and flower beds, Michael cut the grass, we cut back and transplanted the mums from the front to the back yard, I laid out flowers to plant in the flower beds so Michael could plant them, later we're going to install the infant car seat base and possibly start to tackle what's in the guest bedroom so we can start getting that transformed into Julia's big girl room!

Here are some pictures of the greens popping up around the yard...(sorry for the photo overload!)

The lilacs.

My peas.

My carrots.

My corn.

The raspberry bush.

The lilies (they're INSANE!!!)

The peonies.

The hostas that I got from my mom - before.

And the hostas - after.

Julia's tree =)

And the flower beds after Michael planted the Zinnia's (Thumbelina mix), and the white Geraniums.

All in all, another good day! =)

God Bless!

I often wonder...

I always say that my siblings and I all turned out pretty well. We're level headed, have good intentions, and love our family. We all have the ability to see things from just about any angle. We may not agree with one decision, and it might grate on us, but for the most part, we can at least see that point of view. We can all multi task efficiently, can cook with the best of them, and have each others backs when the time arises. I always have to give credit to my parents because of how well we turned out.

There are many days that I sit and wonder if my kids will turn out as well as we all did. Will they understand that everyone has their own opinion? Will they be accepting of said other opinions? Will they be polite? Will they listen when someone is talking to them, or continue doing whatever they were doing? Will they be courteous? Will I be able to teach them that family should always come first, and that when they gets married their family comes first? Will they be able to see all sides of the story when a dilemma arises? Will they do well in school? Will they be athletic? Will they understand that unconditional love means just that...unconditional? Will they be patient in their life and with their decisions, or will they jump to conclusions and in and out of relationships trying to find "the one"? Will they be able to understand that they need to be independent, but at the same time know that we will be there - as their parents - should they not be able to do it on their own? Will they be respectful? Courteous? Honest?...

I know I have no way of knowing the answers to all of these questions right now, and that it is in fact all in the way that I raise them, but I can't help but wonder especially now that we've entered the stage in Julia's life that tantrums are more prominent. She's still so young, but I wonder if there's anything I should be doing differently...

*sigh* the joys of parenthood...

God bless

It's DONE!!!

Finally! The baby sweater is done! What I thought would take me only a couple of weeks, wound up taking me FOUR MONTHS. Guess that's what I get for over estimating my abilities! Brand new pattern with new stitches, first time making a clothing item...yeah...but...here's a picture!

Now I'm down to 3 projects. One hat to match the sweater, a blanket for the tot, and a blanket for my sister!

God bless!

This mama....

Is SLEEPY!!! What a busy day today...we went grocery shopping, I was able to sneak a nap in this morning, we did our laundry, I swept the floors and vacuumed, Michael put up blinds on our door wall, put the screen on the front door, sprayed some dandelions, measured to finish the lattice around the shed, started staining the doors for our little tables, and we cut up some watermelon, strawberries, broccoli, celery, and cauliflower. Now, I'm going to sit down with my hook and yarn (the sweater is thisclose to being done!), and then...I'm going to bed!

Good night blog world.

God bless!

Greenery update

So, in my last post, I mentioned a lot of things "popping up" around here. Today, I managed to get outside and get some pictures of them!

Pea sprouts

Bean sprouts

Lilacs

Lilies #1 

Lilies #2

One of my peonies

Japanese snow maple that my mom bought for Julia when she was born

Yay!!! I can't wait to see how all of these do this year!

God bless!

Fresh veggies...here I come!!!

Michael and I took Julia outside for a little while this evening. Wait...let me rephrase that. Michael took Julia outside, and I caught up with them about 10 minutes later. Anyways...we wandered around the front and back yard for a bit, getting some good old fresh air and vitamin D. While in the back yard, I decided to investigate my lilac bushes and my garden. I have purple buds on my lilacs already, and...get this...I HAVE PEA SPROUTS!!! I'm so excited!!! The beans were supposed to sprout first, but they haven't popped through yet. But...I have peas!!! LOL

Anyways...while we were in the front yard, I checked out my lilies and the peonies that I got from my mother-in-law last year. The peonies are starting to sprout up a bit (some of them are already 3" tall!), and the lilies...OH THE LILIES!!! They're coming in like crazy already. I can't WAIT to see them once they bloom!!! Even the little ones that didn't sprout last year are about 2" tall already. Now I just need to get to the local garden store to get some hostas to plant under the pine tree, and possibly some short annuals to replace the mums that are taking OVER. Seriously...when we got the mums, they were about 3" in diameter, and now they all average about 8". I think one might be as big as 20" around...at the base!!! I will be splitting them, and quite possibly pitching half of them...I'm not a huge mum fan, but Michael really likes them. Plus, they're a fall flower, so they're a good replacement when the spring annuals are gone.

Hopefully, if the weather holds up tomorrow, I'll be able to get outside and get some pictures of all the "activity" going on!

God bless!

Baking...

Yummy...my house is filled with the wonderful aroma of lemon loaf!!! See, there will be a handful of people welcomed into the Catholic faith tomorrow - whether by baptism, confirmation, or first Eucharist - at the Easter Vigil, and they needed donations of snacks for afterwards. I made a double batch of this yummy bread so that we can keep some at home too. It's been way too long since I've had it, and I can't wait to crack into it tomorrow!!!

God bless!

Sprout update!

So, I started 2 cups with tomato plants, and the one that I posted was the first to sprout. But check this out!!!

This is the same sprout that I posted a couple of days ago...

 This is the second cup...

 This is both of them, just for comparison...

And a picture of the cutest girl in the world!!!

Happy Good Friday to all of you!
God bless

New Life...

Yes, I'm a nerd. Don't laugh...this is my first tomato sprout! I can't wait for this little guy to grow strong enough to move outside...

Good couple of days...

Well, I've been trying to buckle down and get back on my "to-do" list. Again...PLEASE don't hesitate to give me a hard time if you don't see the list on that page updated daily!!! Yesterday I got a few things done (washed diapers, swept the floors, and vacuumed downstairs, among other things...see list), and today, I got some more done! I got the diapers stuffed, the downstairs bathroom cleaned, pulled some more weeds in the flower bed, and got the dishwasher running.

Oh, and I am totally excited!!! I can see my lilies coming up, there are buds on my lilacs in the back yard, and my peonies are starting to pop up too! Yay!!! I can't wait to see those come in... In the next few weeks, I need to plant my cucumbers, plant some hostas under the pine tree out front, transplant the mums from the front flower bed, to back by the garden, and get some spring annuals put in the front flower bed. I don't know what I'm going to do this year yet, but I'll find something! And doing all of this while 6 months pregnant is Oh So Fun...lol

Anyways... We recently got a DVR (finally!!!) so now I can go to bed at a decent time, and record the shows that I want to watch. I had a DVR a few years back and LOVED it...it's going to come in very handy! With that said...I'm going to peruse BabyCenter for a few minutes and pick up my hook and yarn since I didn't have a chance to do it while Julia was napping.

God bless!

Idol Rant

Yes, I watch American Idol, and can I just say I am BAFFLED by tonights results!!! The only save that the judges get for the entire season was wasted a couple of weeks ago on Casey...now, Pia, the favorite of just about everyone (including myself!) is going home????? WTH? Seriously. I hope the judges feel like crap for wasting their save now that the best contestant out of all of them is gone!!! Oh well, she'll get a record deal and be more famous than whoever wins...

I'm in shock...have a good night blog world...

God bless,

Better...

Well, today has been better than the last few days. I am still computer-less (using Michael's right now since posting from my phone is a pain in the patootie), but that's ok. It's in good hands, and even if it doesn't come back in working order, I'm hoping to have the majority of the important stuff salvaged...

Today was fun. Did some laundry (which, by the way, ALL of it is put away already!), Julia fought her morning nap, so we went grocery shopping, then, we managed to get her to take a nap. After that, we went to see my mom's new place, and went shopping at Costco. I started getting all kinds of cramped (abdominal) walking around, so as soon as we got home, I tried to take it easy. I'm exhausted, but tomorrow should be easier!

The bad part of the last few days...my back has been hurting SO bad. It's not really any out of the ordinary pain, but it's magnified due to the pregnancy. I get a pinching feeling sometimes in my extreme lower back, and it can get rather debilitating. No, I haven't had it checked out yet because it hasn't really gotten bad enough to justify a doctor visit. Well...the other night made me think I should see someone for it after the baby is born. Julia had woken up in the middle of the night, and when I got out of bed, the pain in my back almost crippled me and about put me on my knees. I got Michael up to go take care of her, and it took me a solid 2-3 minutes before I could move relatively normal again. Albeit with a hefty limp. I don't think it's sciatica (the pain doesn't radiate down my legs or anything), so I'm thinking it might be the sacroiliac joint that is causing me the pain. We'll see!

Oh! Speaking of the baby...we're officially in the double digits!!! Holy cow where did the time go? Here I sit, 26 weeks 1 day pregnant, with 97 days to go until my due date...and that's if this little bundle stays put longer than Julia did! Tot's heart rate is still in the 150's, and even though I'm already about 10lbs heavier at the same point than I was with Julia, I'm happy!

Anyways...one more change to make to the blog really quick, and I'm signing off!

God bless...

Day Full Of Fail

I just can't seem to do anything right today...

Got a little freaked out today.

I went to the store earlier this afternoon to grab a few things that we needed. The store is only about 2 miles from our house (if that), and is generally a quick trip. I got there, grabbed what I needed, browsed the clearance infant/toddler clothes, and headed out the door. On my way home, my car about gave me a heart attack! I was about 3/4 mile from the house, and my dash, accompanied by a slight 'pop', went black. It stayed that way for about a minute. Now, that doesn't seem like a long time, but it felt like forever. Then, it came back on again, along with my ABS light and the 'brake' light. This repeated two more times in the 400 yards between the first occurrence and the light. Now...normally, I go straight through the light, but today...I was one of THOSE people. You know, the people that sneak by you to make a right hand turn even when there isn't a lane there. I didn't want to stop. I didn't want to risk my car quitting on my when I was so close to home. I think it stuttered when I slowed down so I took the turn. Thankfully there were no other cars coming. There were also no cars coming when I turned into my neighborhood. After the first "pop", I kept saying "Lord just keep me safe until I get home..." I made it back to the house shaking like a leaf, and parked outside. My first thought was the alternator, and since that drains your battery like no other, I figured it wouldn't start after a few hours. Well...it just started right up...5 hours after it happened. So now I'm thinking it's an electrical short somewhere, and that will probably cost a fortune to fix. Along with the fact that electrical fires and gasoline don't mix. :-\ Maybe I'll park it outside tonight...

Anyways, hope you all are having a good weekend!

God bless

Whew!!!

Wow, what a weekend it was!!! Thursday and Friday, I busted my butt cleaning the house getting ready for the birthday party. We're talking scrubbing the back splash in the kitchen, wiping down the wainscoting in the downstairs bathroom and the trim in the upstairs bathroom, and scrubbing the "bowls" that go under the burners on the stove.

Saturday morning I rolled out of bed around 6, and I still had some tweaking to do on Julia's slide show. Somehow the timing got messed up and it was causing the songs to overlap. After about 45-60 minutes of fighting with that, I got it to a good point, and shut the computer off.

Julia usually gets up about 8 am, but I got her up around 7 in hopes that she would actually take a morning nap. See...she decided a week before her party that one nap a day was peachy! Well, that one nap usually runs from 12:30-2:30 or 3. The party started at 12! We continued to get food and other things ready for the party. Julia went down for a nap around 10:30 (thankfully!), and the first guests arrived at about 11 am. I tried to work my way around everyone standing in the kitchen and in front of the table to get everything put out and ready. 11:45 rolled around, and everyone else started showing up. The slide show ran on the TV throughout the party, but I don't know who actually got to see it... Julia actually ate well with a pretty good sized crowd, which made me very happy. The cake was BEAUTIFUL, and Julia enjoyed her little teddy bear smash cake. Then, we opened presents, and everyone went home. All in all, it was a pretty good day! I was in bed and asleep by 8:30 that night! LOL

Here are some pictures from the party:

The Table...

The Cake...

Cake Face...

Getting in one of the gift bags...

Walking with her new Explore 'N Grow Step Start Walk 'n Ride...

And with that...I think I'm going to look through the baby name book a little bit, and head to bed!

God bless

One year...

One year ago today, at 5:55 pm, my beautiful, adorable, wonderful little girl was born. She is the light of my life, and I would do anything for her. Happy First Birthday sweet baby girl! I love you!!!

Today was kind of rough for the poor thing. She's been teething like crazy, and spent the majority of the morning just laying on me snuggling. Now...I love the extra snuggles since she doesn't do it very often, but I really don't like that she hasn't been feeling so hot for the last few days. She spiked a fever on Saturday, but was better Sunday...starting to show signs of not feeling well again on Monday.  Today, we had her 12 month well check visit. It didn't go so well!!! She threw up all over in the car when I got into the parking garage (and I mean a LOT). When we got into the room, the nurse measured her (28 1/2") and weighed her (18lbs 14oz). When the doc came in and started checking her for illness since I mentioned she hadn't been feeling well, we discovered that she had an ear infection in both ears, and might have strep! Let me tell you something...I sure felt like mommy of the year at that point! They sent us on our way with some antibiotics and no standard well visit yet...not until she's better anyways.

We went ahead and gave Julia a little bit of her birthday present today (she'll get the rest on Saturday), and a cupcake to celebrate! She really enjoyed the cake once she got past the frosting! LOL

Anyways, here's our beautiful birthday girl one year ago, and today...my, how she's grown!

Hope you all have a wonderful evening...

God bless!

It's about that time...

For Lent that is! Last year, I decided that my penance would be to read up on my religion a little more. Learning about purgatory and other things that I wasn't 100% sure about. The year before, I gave up dairy (I LOVE cheese and milk...). Little did I know how much dairy actually entailed!!!

This year...I am giving up Facebook in an attempt to make myself a better Catholic, mother, wife...all around person. I'm going to make a "to-do" list on a separate tab here in order to help myself keep track, and to keep myself accountable. I'm going to try to update it on a daily basis with what I got done, and what I did extra...if anything. LOL See, my problem is I have NO motivation. When Julia is up, I'm feeding her, playing with her, etc. When she goes down for her nap, I just want to relax and play on my computer (or take a nap!). I need to stop doing that, and get some things done around here!

Anyways, watch for the new tab with my to-do list!

God bless,