Holiday fun!

L's had a cough at night for awhile now.....I think it's just allergies....but she does the cutest thing.....she's learned to hold her arm up while coughing because I've held her arm up before while she's coughed.....she cracks me up!

We celebrated Christmas with the extended fam in Yaktown over the weekend. Was lots of fun! It was so good to see people we haven't seen in sooooo long. It's just too hard to get over there most of the time, so it was really nice to get to spend some holiday time with our families.

We went to an Ugly Sweater Xmas party at a friend's house on the 12th.....it was so fun! We bought some pretty hideous sweaters from the 2nd hand store down the street and donned them for the party. We even got the host to take our picture:



I sent the photo out with the cards I made this year! LOL I love how "classy" the pic is! =P

I also finished all of the goodies that I planned on making for gifts for our immediate families for this year....I handmade soap (hubby says it looks professional!), I made dog treats--since our families are dog lovin, and I made biscotti....we also gave out a pound of SBux coffee to each fam....I'm so proud of myself for getting it all done and on time, with almost no stress because I planned ahead-----thank you FLYLADY!!!!!

Halloween pics finally!

Updating!

Alright.....it's only been forever (think of how the kid in The Sandlot says it!) since I've posted something!

Here's a little catch-up:

Thanksgiving was great! Food was good, family was good.....and thanks to the Flylady system, we were able to help a friend in need of a place to stay for a couple of nights during that week.

Hubby and I have had another dentist appointment since then....we've got horrible teeth....I guess that's what happens when you don't go to the dentist for several years in a row! Ugh.....we still have more work to be done before the end of the year.

Speaking of teeth--L has gotten 3 of her four pre-molars....still working on the last one, and she's been such a turd! And super slobbery. Poor baby, I hope it comes in soon for her!

I've made all my xmas cards already! They're even addressed....but I'm hoping to get family portraits done in time to send pictures with them. One of my friends came over to work on some, too.....it was really fun.

I've also made the non-food item that will be gifts for our family, and it turned out great! Hubby says it looks professional. =)

Today L got a haircut at a local children's hair salon....they do such an awesome job there....and they are so great with the kids. She sat in the pink Jeep chair and they even have little tv's that L watched. She was really behaved and wasn't scared until the very end (when the hairdresser blow dried her hair-hehe). There was a little boy in the salon--probably 2 or 3 years old that was screaming the whole time he was getting a hair cut! I felt so bad for his mommy, she looked so stressed and embarrassed......but you can't control how your kids are going to react to things!

L has been dancing so much lately......she loves to dance to most types of music and even dances to the little tune on a computer game I play sometimes.....it's super cute. She also claps whenever there is any sort of applause on tv, it's so hilarious!

She's also been expressing interest in using the potty.....we've gotten her a little potty seat that goes on top of the toilet. She even goes sometimes when I put her on it, and claps a whole bunch! She even claps if she's in the bathroom while I'm going. It's so fun to be a parent!

Time?

Oh Blog.......how I wish I had time for you in my busy day!

Maybe tomorrow?

I'm FLYing!

Another day....another flybaby step down! I'm totally loving the flylady system, my house looks amazing, and I'm not even done with all the cleaning and decluttering. I've been doing the "crisis cleaning," in the last couple of days and it has really made a huge difference! I know how to clean, but this system is helping me keep the house clean. Here's a big shout out to www.flylady.net and all the wonderful people who run the site!

Thanksgiving is fast approaching.....I think it has to be one of my favorite holidays of the whole year! I love that we get to spend it with family and talk about what we're thankful for. I've been slowly working on the menu. We're going to be doing our brined turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes (some with butter, some w/o) with gf, dairy free gravy, gf cornbread stuffing (also dairy free), gf rolls, glutenated rolls, roasted green beans with olive oil and salt and pepper, 3 pies: 1 gf, dairy free pumpkin pie, 1 traditional pumpkin pie, and 1 traditional apple pie. I've also bought some wine and sparkling cider. Hubby also has some homemade hard cider and some sour wine that he made from the grapes growing on the vines in my parents' yard. I still need one or two more side dishes but I don't know what else to add to the list....any ideas?

We are having my mom, dad, and youngest sis over this year! I'm excited to share a mostly gluten free meal with them....my poor mom, she has no idea what gluten is. I've tried explaining it to her and she seems to understand but then just the other day asks me if hubby can eat turkey! How silly! (haha....there's a word I never, ever used before becoming a mom!)

For Xmas gifts in the past, we've always made goodies for our families. But with hubby's and my diet restrictions, I've decided to go a slightly different route. Instead of doing all different kinds of goodies (fudge, cupcakes, cookies, truffles, etc), I'm going to make only 3 things.....and 1 of them isn't even food! I'm excited to get started on making the gifts. I'm also going to finally get back to making cards this year, too. I didn't do it last year because L was only 2 1/2 months old, and I wasn't ready to take on the task and make the goodies. But this year I'm going to do both!

Clean it up!

Anyone heard of FLYlady.net? I'm going to start it today! I'm getting excited for it....I already took "before" pics of my house.....which I won't show to anyone until I have some "after" shots as well!

L is getting sooooo big! She has 2 more teeth.....and she's quite the hell-yun these days.....she likes to get into the dog water and turn the tv off, and finds throwing things into the garbage (toys and such) fascinating. =P

Halloween & Soy

Halloween was fun this year....we took L to the mall with some friends...it was cool to see all the other kiddos in costumes! Then we went to the gov.'s mansion and got a pic with the governor! L will totally appreciate that when she's older.

L was a lady bug this year, hubby didn't dress up (booo!)....and I was a gypsy! Pics to come!

The rainy season is full fledged now....today it poured all day long....it's still pouring now...we're supposed to get a full inch of rain between today and tomorrow. The poor dog doesn't even want to go outside to pee! She steps out onto the porch, looks at the wetness, and turns around to come right back in. I have SAD, so the rain's starting to get to me.....thank god I have a job! Helps me to get out of the house and do something. I'm sure hubby is getting completely soaked tonight, he works outside for the majority of his shift.

L's been doing some climbing lately....she thinks it's fun to climb on top of the coffee table and stand up on it! Scares the crap outta me....she's been biting a lot more lately, too. I think it probably has a lot to do with her teething....she's working on getting a canine and 4 (yes I said 4!) molars! These two things (biting and climbing where she shouldn't) have led to several time outs in the last few days. She also tells me "don't" or "stop" or shakes her head no at me when I tell her not to do something....she's turning into a real diva! Haha.

Something that annoys me: soy is in everything! I can't digest beans or soy very well...let's just say I don't spend enough time in the bathroom as I should when I eat them. =/ I finally have started to pay attention to labels......and ya know what?!?! Soy is in EVERYTHING! I made chocolate chip cookies the other night and there is soy in chocolate chips! (I ate them anyway!) Now I am beginning to see the frustration that hubby goes through with food.

Okay off to bed for me!

Oh and I think I'm a hoarder. Ugh.

Risotto and Yakima

Yay for blogger working again!

I made risotto the other night! I used a recipe from my America's Test Kitchen cookbook.....it was really good! I put purple and orange carrots, onions, leeks, garlic, white wine, brown rice, and love into it. The purple cooked out of the carrots and the rice soaked it up, so it kinda had a purple tint overall, but was delicious.....L liked it, too.....in fact we had leftovers of it for dinner tonight. =)

We spent the weekend in Yakima. I took photos for my youngest sister's senior pics.....I hope they turn out great! We had dinner at my grandparents' and the whole fam competed in a pumpkin carving contest.....the winner was a big pumpkin with a cute little dog carved into it! (not mine....I'm not that creative, mine just had a bat carved into it)

My other sis and I ran a bunch of errands over the weekend, too.....we went to a local bookstore over there and I bought a new book for my self The Clutter Cure, we'll see if that gets me anywhere! Haha.....and some blocks for L, she loves them already.....she tries to stack them, then destroys whatever she's stacked....it's pretty funny to watch her. Hubby stacked up a pyramid today with the blocks and L came along a wrecked it and laughed!

Speaking of hubby, he went hunting over the weekend with his dad. Hubby didn't get anything, but his dad did! A deer. Hubby's been hunting twice this year and both times has come up empty handed, but I think he has fun just being in the woods and doing man stuff.....I'm glad he has something to do that he enjoys! After having L, we've both struggled to find time for ourselves.

Tomorrow I work, then L and I will carve her pumpkin....I'm excited to see how she likes the guts!

This year we're doing Thanksgiving at our house! My mom, dad, youngest sister and probably her boyfriend, are coming over and staying the night with us. We did Thanksgiving here a couple of years ago and I think it turned out great, some of our friends and their kids came over that year. But this year will definitely be different. Hubby was diagnosed with Celiac disease in March, so we've got to make an entire comfort-food-dinner with no wheat/gluten! I've already got some ideas for how to change some of our favorite recipes into gluten free goodness, still not sure how to change the green bean casserole, though. We're going to make the stuffing with gf cornbread, the pumpkin pie with gf gingersnap cookie crumb crust (say that 5 times fast!), and some yummy gf rolls. I'm excited to see how it all turns out!

Needing Inspiration

What a long day......

I'm in need of recipes for dinner.....I'm tired of just snacking and making the occasional soup or casserole....I need some inspiration! Anyone have any?

Label away!

Well Bear ate some of his dinner, so I think he's on the mend.....no more barfing since this morning either.

I got my P-touch labeler!! Heh, it's very exciting for me! I've already labeled a bunch of stuff, and I'm sure I'll find lots more to label tomorrow.....I am easily pleased, what can I say?

L and I have been going over what animals say, and she's getting the hang of some of them! She knows a duck says "quack," but she says it more like "wack." It's real cute! When I ask her what a cow says, she says "moo." But when I ask what a dog says, she just says "dog." =) She's a funny girl. She also thinks she's mommy......I'll ask "where's mama?" And she'll point to herself, she also points to herself when I ask "where's L----?" She must be having some sort of identity crisis! Haha!

Under the bed

It's been a few days.........

I didn't get to go to Ladies night.....instead I fell asleep on the floor in the living room, while hubby was doing the dishes and L was beating on the floor with her toy microphone.....apparently I was tired.....oh well.

My sis is finally feeling better today, so that's really good! L has two more teeth now, which explains why she's been such a stinker lately.....and Bear, the cat, has decided to eat something he shouldn't (again) and has been barfing since this morning, and wouldn't even come out from under the bed for his breakfast.....when that cat won't eat it means there is something really wrong......he's already had surgery twice to remove household items that wouldn't pass on their own....he's a real dummy. Thank goodness there's a vet or two in the family....but I don't know if we could ask them to do another surgery that we can't afford.....we'll see I guess, hopefully whatever he ate I'll find in the litter box later.

My little munchkin has decided to join me in my blog entry, and she won't leave the mouse alone.....I feel a nap
com
ing on soon.....oh look at that, she has even left her mark on the blog! =) Yay, now the mouse pad is entertainment enough for the time being.....maybe I'll be able to finish.

Speaking of L, she has been walking all over the house! Daddy finally got to see her doing it, and he's very proud, although he's a tough guy, so he hasn't really shown any emotions about it, but I can tell.

Ooooohhhh, today I'm going to go buy a P-touch labeler!! I'm easily entertained, haha! I'm so excited to start labeling where things go in this house, then maybe it will resemble something other than a tornado.

Ta-ta for now!

Alrighty then....

We had a super lazy day.....L and I chilled while it poured outside all day long.....ugh, and it's supposed to rain even more tomorrow.....it'll probably be a slow day at the bucks....

L did decide to walk a whole bunch today! I think she's pretty proud of herself, and already embarrassed that her mom is excited about anything she does! Haha, little does she know....that I can't wait until she's older so I can embarrass her in public! Muhahaha!

Oh, my poor sissy has pneumonia and the flu! And she's so hard core that she went back to work after a visit to the ER because she couldn't breath all that well! I swear the girl is wonder-mommy.

Bud Light--you are so unsatisfying right now....what I wouldn't give for a good white wine before bed!

Tomorrow's going to be a long one.....long day at work, then too short of an evening with my little fam, and then...........................girls' night out!!!! So very exciting and it couldn't come any faster....I think I might even shave my legs for the occasion! =)

Rings and Things

It is the end of my day, finally.....let's see....today L and I cleaned (well she threw laundry on the floor while I picked up her toys), we picked up the last week of veggies from our farm for the year, and made a trip to the mall to pick up my "new" ring. I had my wedding ring altered for my birthday last week.....and I'm totally loving it! I haven't been wearing it for almost a year because the diamond was loose, for the 4th time in as many years.....so we had a jeweler add prongs to it to hold the diamond better........so help me, if it becomes loose again, I'm swearing off all jewelry!!
I'm sad that we've already come to the end of our veggie deliveries.....even though I don't cook (I really should....but, eh?), I've looked forward to every thursday's delivery....it's been an earthly present to be unboxed and sifted through, that I will miss! But the rainy season is upon us and with it comes the end of the harvest.
In other news: hehe.....my table woes are over! Hubby drilled the four needed holes for the supports on our dining table this morning, and it is up and in use! Yay for finally having a dining table again.....*I feel one of my friends from high school chuckling at that line.....she always thought I was weird for always needing a dining table.....even when she moved into her first apartment, she got one just so I could use it when I came to visit!
Okay......must.....sleep....dang, don't you wish sleep was optional?

Table woes

So, we've been without a dining table for 3 years now.....that's not entirely true I suppose, it's just been in storage for 3 years....well, it was inadvertantly given away, so 2 days ago I went and bought a new one!
I started to put it together tonight, and WTF?! The dumbies at the factory forgot to drill enough holes in the base for the supports!!! Granted I only paid $100 for it (on a super, awesome sale!), but I still expect to be able to put the damned thing together!!
Good thing Hubby's handy, he's going to drill the extra holes tomorrow, and we'll finally have a dining table again!!!
Now how to transport my chairs from storage (on the other side of the state) without a truck? Hmmmm....

What's blogging?

Okay, so just starting out (obviously!)....but what the hell is blogging? What am I supposed to write about? So many questions!! I have a few ideas.....maybe what it's like being a mom, but I'm sure that's been done! What it's like being bipolar. Excuse me: What it's like HAVING bipolar disorder....probably been done. Maybe parenting while have bipolar disorder? Or something more mundane, like the struggle to become a Martha-Stewart-version of myself....since I don't cook or clean, that would be a major challenge!
Is there spell check on here? Oh, good there is!!!