Corless Clan Corporation

Christmas 2010

2010-12-22T11:36:00.001-06:00

With Love Chartreuse Christmas Card

Make a statement with personalized Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Emma's Self-Portraits

2010-11-12T18:18:00.000-06:00

As promised...pictures of Emma. Taken by Emma.

These are just a few of the MANY that I've discovered on the camera. They've been taken when she's SUPPOSED to be in her room RESTING if not napping....

I've had to delete SO MANY random pictures of her room and toys and tv shows that she's taken just so we can have room to take "necessary" pictures.

Maybe she needs a kid camera for Christmas?

Hi!

Wasnt ready for that one!

Chocolate face ... "Am I caught?"

This one cracks me up everytime I see it!

You lookin' at me?!

My Favorite Holiday Cards

2010-11-12T18:02:00.000-06:00

Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly… sign up: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Hello All!

For the last couple of years, I send out very few Christmas cards. But it's only because I spend several hours making and personalizing them for my parents and grandparents, (ie emma's grandparents and great-grandparents.)

I make them out of the foam sticker kits and I have such a BLAST making them! Partly because the only mess that’s made is the sticker backs. And Emma can make some at the same time.

I bought a big bucket of winter foam stickers that a lot of different shapes like penguins, snowmen - which you can actually dress up with scarves and hats and mittens...so cute! The kit also comes with five different colors of 5x7 sized foam backgrounds - red, blue, black, yellow and white. It also included the same five colors of letters. There was even a sheet of white dots to look like snowflakes!

Each set of grandparents and great-grandparents got their own personalized card with an updated family picture. And if they were especially lucky and I felt adventurous, there was also a family newsletter included.

This year, since I’ve depleted my foam sticker supply, I’m hoping to use Shutterfly to not only send Christmas/Holiday cards for the family, but to also show off our new addition to the family that should be making his arrival soon!

Here are a few of my favorite things I found while browsing the site:
-- Christmas cards http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards
-- Canvas art http://www.shutterfly.com/home-decor/canvas-wall-art
-- Christmas photo cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery

Home Stretch

2010-11-01T14:34:00.001-05:00

About a month left to go and I'm SO TIRED!

My house is a complete disaster.

My checklist just keeps growing.

I've been going through old toys and clothes and trying to find where I "stored" all the other baby stuff in my house. (It's been more like Hide and Seek...and I think the game is pretty much tied!)

But the start of my projects for COMPLETE organization is on hold until this Saturday afternoon when a piano will finally be gone from my house... and I can get some furniture rearranged. I'm a little frustrated with that. I'm feeling the urge to nest and organize but have no room or supplies to get it done correctly the first time...! Luckily some of that can be put on hold a little longer until the Queen of Organization ... AKA MY MOM! ... can get here and help with the insanity!

I am grateful though, especially for such sweet generous friends who were giving clothes away and thought to ask me if I wanted anything!

We are still trying to get Emma's big girl room put together and have fallen severely behind schedule of that as well. Add more frustration.

I have gotten a few things done like getting the pack and play out, set up and ready to go. We got a little dresser that will double as a changing table and both are set up in a little corner of our room. While doing that and hunting for all the pieces of everything, I stumbled upon a box that had about 4 packs of newborn sized diapers left over from Emma! It was like Christmas! I was certain that I had given all of those packs away as baby shower gifts over the years. Now we can stock up on larger sizes instead of figuring out how many packs we'd need of newborn diapers.

More of my sweet friends hosted a baby shower for me in early October and I got some amazingly thoughtful and HOMEMADE gifts! I also continued a "tradition" with a journal.
--When I was pregnant with Emma, a friend of mine got a journal and had all the guests write down their advice for me in it -- I thought that since this time I REALLY feel like I don't know what I'm doing, I wanted to get advice, whether it be about sibling rivalry, the difference between boys and girls or both. I wanted as much help and advice as I could get!

Our camera has pulled a couple of disappearing acts since July and I just refound it, so I'll be posting the pictures of the great outfits and gifts that I got from the shower. I'm telling you there are some CUTE things! I know I probably shouldn't have "favorite" gifts, but I think I do. :)

I'll also be going through and hopefully posting something soon about our budding photographer Emma! Her self portraits are HILARIOUS!

Emma was Tinkerbell again this year for Halloween. I was SO happy to hear that was what she wanted to be. That meant that I didn't have to put much, if any, thought into a costume for her. (that sounds awful, I know, but remember...I'm SO TIRED!)

Since Halloween was on a Sunday this year, we had our trick or treat days the day before. Our church hosted a Trunk-or-Treat and chili cook-off around lunch time. And then that evening we went to the mall and did some more trick-or-treating there.

Sunday, the Primary had their presentation and it was Emma's first one. She had a line and needed minimal help! I was SO proud of her!

She's very excited to see her "broder" and asks everytime I say "Ouch!" if her "broder Liam" is hurting me. She's even tried to tell him to stop a few times! Very funny.

Emma loves Pre-K and always has stories about who had the snack bag and who was the helper and what she did that day.

Matt is still working nights at the hospital as security, but recently applied to work for the city in the animal welfare division. We're hoping we hear something soon.

Until next time...

WE'RE HAVING ...

2010-07-17T10:08:00.002-05:00

A BOY!!!!!!!

There was a high five done in the ultrasound room.

I am SO excited to have a little boy in the house! (Is it true that little boys are easier? Or is it like everything else with children...it just depends on the child?)

I grew up with 5 younger sisters and NO brothers. That was ALOT of estrogen...

People always asked my mom and dad if, because they had all girls, they saved a bunch on groceries. My mom would chuckle and say that whatever they didn't get in groceries, they'd make up for in makeup, hair stuff, and feminine products.

I tended to think that sometimes, we could almost out eat boys....! Hey, there were six of us...We would get hungry too! :o)

I knew that when I had kids I would want all boys...I didn't want any more estrogen than what I could bring to the table...That didn't happen. But I do have a very sweet (when she wants to be) little girl who is slowly getting used to the idea of having a sibling.

Matt is pretty stoked about having an "even playing field" - as he put it - in the house.

We may be done...one of each is a good combo, however, I have lots of cute girl stuff that I'd like to use again at least once. And I'm pretty sure there will be lots of cute boy stuff that I'll want to use again too. I don't know...we'll see.

We have five names picked out. (In no particular order...)
1. Nicholas Evan
2. Liam Edward
3. Oliver Dean
4. Ethan Mark
5. Ian Matthew

What do you think?

FINALLY!

2010-05-25T11:15:00.001-05:00

There will be an early Christmas present at the Corless house this year....

Baby #2 is on the way! We just passed the 12 week mark and are excited to share the news! It's been a very nerve-wracking first trimester for me. Last year's miscarriage really messed with my head.

Now no one can ask/say "When's the next one going to be here?" or "Aren't you going to have more?" or "You know she needs a sibling!"
What are your suggestions for names?

Hurricanes, Blizzards and Rollercoasters

2010-01-18T11:09:00.001-06:00

2010 is here and hopefully more blogs will be here too!

The last few months have been quite the rollercoaster...I feel like I've been through a hurricane, blizzard and on a rollercoaster all at once. A little overwhelming to say the least.

The Hurricane: EMMA. Need I say anything else? She has graduated from Nursery and is now a full-fledged SUNBEAM! And every day I am shocked and amazed to hear her say and do new things that she's learned, like taking pictures with the digital camera....That post to come soon!

The Blizzard: Christmas Eve, literally! Well, it was a blizzard by Oklahoma standards...I'd say it would just be classified as a severe snow storm in Colorado/Wyoming/ Utah/ Idaho...but I'm not a meteorologist, so I could be wrong....just my opinion.)

Anyway, I'd been hearing on the news that we'd get something like 5 inches of snow for Christmas, and I kept thinking..."Yeah right! I'll believe it when I see it! We don't get snow here in Oklahoma, we get ICE."

Well, sure enough, we got ice, but MAN! We got about a foot of snow! People were having to leave their cars stranded in the middle of the road because it was coming down so fast. And I have to admit that Matt, Emma and I were among the few crazies that went out and and to Wal-Mart for a few last minute snack items...But we went out in a four-wheel-drive truck. It made it a little easier.

Luckily enough for us, our power stayed on through the whole storm and the two weeks of negative (with wind chill factors) degree weather and very high winds. (A side note: the weather here for the next week: high fifties to mid-sixties!!! Crazy Oklahoma weather!)

The Rollercoaster: November 1 we found out we were pregnant...about 6 or 7 weeks later, on December 15th, found out we had miscarried. Ten days before Christmas. That wasn't plesant. December 16th was my surgery to "take care of it" (sounds so horrible and evil maffia-ish).

The next few weeks were, obviously, a trial. Trying to figure out how to make it through the day, trying to figure out how to get out of bed and trying to "be strong" because I had a child that needed her mama and needed to be taken care of too. And the hardest part of all, trying not to be insanely jealous and downright irritated and mad at alot of women around me that are pregnant. It's nothing personal...it's just the situation. It's just how my irrational grief is playing out for now.

I NEVER want to go through a miscarriage again...EVER.

I read another blogger's story recently and it helped. I really liked the first few paragraphs of her blog...

"There are some words in our Englis language that I would like to delete; some are just ignorant and some are hurtful and some just don't seem to be adequate for the definition they've been assigned.
One of those words is "Miscarriage."
It seems to imply that there is a party at fault; a finger of blame as though one has been careless in what they were "carrying"."

I recommend this if you know someone who's been through this, or you've been through this yourself...

Until next time...!

Potty Training Update

2009-10-17T10:24:00.000-05:00

So a few months ago I posted that Emma decided to Potty Train. Well that first attempt didn't go so well after a week. I was still working which caused a big problem for the logistics of a babysitter at the time. Not that she wasn't capable of helping Emma, it was just I felt bad for the girl!

I was also a nervous wreck about the whole process. I was too nervous to just put her in big girl underwear and ended up using the Pull-Ups. Those just made the whole process worse. Now don't get me wrong. They're good for some people and that's great! But for Emma it just resembled a diaper that she could pull up.

So I gave up.

Until this last Monday (Oct 12).

We've had her potty chair out in a visible corner of the living room for about a month now, as kind of a subconcious reminder for her.

Then we ran out of diapers. I figured that it was now or never. So I plunged right in.

And ... SUCESS! She's been in big girl underwear for 6 days with only 4 minor accidents.

It's so funny to hear her. If she goes she says "Mama, I did it! I did!"

She's even gone #2 twice in the potty and has initiated going to sit on the potty two or three times all on he own! (i've reminded her about every 15 - 30 minutes to go and sometimes I have to make her stay there for several minutes).

And part of this potty training is making her take the potty chair bucket, dump it out in the big toilet and wash it and her hands.

We were even able to go out and not have any accidents! Next step is making sure that the bathroom is not a playroom! Good luck with that right?

This kid is SO smart and I'm SO proud of her!

Another Man's Trash ...

2009-08-05T17:14:00.006-05:00

Last night (Aug. 4) I hosted a baby shower for a really good friend of mine. She's having a little boy, and his daddy is very much into baseball.

A couple of months ago was our city's semi-annual Clean Up day. Basically, people get the stuff they don't want anymore, set it out on the curb outside their house and the city picks it up. Usually a few days leading up to this, one could go for a walk and ...

"Another man's trash is another man's treasure"

I found a dresser on the morning of the trash pick-up day. I had Matt give it a once over. He said it looked decent to him - which was the second opinion I wanted to hear - so I had him haul it inside. I knew it would be the perfect gift for a first time mom.

I sanded it down, primed and painted it the week before the shower, in my living room on a tarp.

And voila! I replaced the top drawer knobs with wood ones painted to look like baseballs, and the bottom four drawers pulls were replaced with ribbon ... an idea that I saw in another friends house for her girls' dresser.

I'm pretty dang proud of that dresser and best of all my friend and her husband LOVED it! The other party guests were pretty impressed too! I might think about making this a business... :o)

I'm also proud of the cakes I made for her. Little baseballs... SO CUTE! There was a small cake for just the mama-to-be and cupcakes for the party guests.

Emma Milestone

2009-06-25T09:07:00.003-05:00

For those of you who have not heard...

Emma has started POTTY TRAINING!!!! YAY!

I was sure she was going to go to kindergarten in diapers.

Wednesday (June 24) right after lunch as I was changing yet another diaper, Emma said to me, "I potty train." I was unsure at first that she actually had said that without coaching.

(Every time I would change her diaper, I would tell her that she was a big girl, and big girls don't wear diapers, they sit on the potty and wear panties.)

I asked her what she had just said and she said it again, "I wear pannies...I potty train."

I about did a jig right then! But seeing as she was about to go down for a nap, I put her in a diaper and said that right after her nap, we would start.

True to my word, right after her nap, I ushered her in to my bathroom and placed her on "the throne."

I was brushing my hair and after a few minutes I heard a sound that I thought I'd never hear ... the tinkling of ... well you know!

I was so proud of her ... I kept saying how proud I was of her and how she was such a big girl! And her response to all of that was, "Thanks...I know!"

I put her in a pair of big girl underwear, and every ten minutes or so would ask her if she needed to go. We had a little accident, but it was just a little wet. Later that afternoon, I went shopping with a friend and had to take Emma with me, but we put her in a Pull-Up and she stayed dry the whole two hours we were gone from home! (Once again...could have done the jig!)

We're still working on the timing, but we've at least made the first step. The next step is to by more underwear for her! I'll probably let her pick them out this time.

The princess in all her glory!

New Outfit

2009-06-25T08:46:00.006-05:00

As promised ... my new outfit from Dots.

(Please excuse the fat girl in the picture!)

Complete with shoes!

(completely painful, but SOOOO worth it!)

Aren't they just so scandalously sexy?!

Easter Festivities and More

2009-04-16T10:44:00.008-05:00

Corless Family Easter 2009

Not happy about pictures being taken
(But aren't those bows pretty? mama made those!)

The MUCH needed nap

After Naptime
(thank you Mimi for the dress!)

Much happier!

Easter Egg Hunt at the Hannah's house.

Easter Egg Hunt at the Sam Noble
Museum of Natural History.
(Three Egg Limit Per Child = what a JOKE!)

Shirt says "You're looking at One
Cute Cougar" -Thanks Aunt Julie!
Complete with football bows that
mama made...

Can't believe she posed this way.

Pretending to cook!

Baking Apple Peanut Butter Dipper Cookies with

mama on a rainy day. First time helping with

baking and she did very well. She even knew

to turn the bowl while mama used the hand mixer.

Not in the mood for a picture -

Once again, Thanks Aunt Julie for

the outfit!

2009-04-01T16:18:00.003-05:00

I must echo my sisters sentiments on being sick...

germs = BAD

antibiotics = SO GOOD!

Strep throat is horrible, the flu is horrible. Being sick in general is horrible.

I noticed a funny thing this morning. The last time we had nasty icy weather, I slipped and fell and broke my wrist. This time around with rain and snow falling, I get strep throat!

I came down with strep throat Friday night or Saturday morning. And while at work, Saturday morning, I got progressively worse. I couldn't stand for more that a minute or two at a time, I couldn't keep warm my vision was fuzzy and I started to get really dizzy by the time I was able to go home. I stayed longer than I probably should have, but my two other coworkers needed to take their lunches...(aren't I nice?) :o)

I somehow drove myself home and passed out on the couch...shivering the whole time. I lightly slept for about an hour and a half and decided I needed to go to urgent care. I painfully got shoes on and two coats on and Matt packed us all in the car for urgent care.

Vitals were taken and fared better than I thought. Although I had a 102.9 fever my blood pressure and blood oxygen were normal.

The nurse also took a throat culture (hate those!) and within minutes I had a positive diagnosis of strep throat, a doctors note for work and a precription for meds.

Over the last few days, I couldn't talk very well, due to an almost closed off throat, but I came to appreciate my husband SO much. (He probably appreciated my forced silence too though!) His weekend and days off turned into a second job having to take care of a two and a half year old and a very sick wife. He pretty much waited on me hand and foot, made sure I was taking my precscibed meds on time as well as keeping me on a rotating schedule of Tylenol and Motrin, all the while dealing with Emma, making sure she was fed and safe.

I am not a fun person when I'm sick. Lots of women like to say that they're husbands/boyfriends are complete babies when they're sick. Well, I am like that when I'm sick. I don't do so well with the continuing on as normal routine when I'm not well. And knowing that I have a husband who still wants to be around me after all that makes me appreciate him so much more.

I must also say that I am VERY grateful to live in a time where I can go to the doctor, find out almost instnatly what the problem is and get the right treatment for it and start feeling better within hours or days depending on the problem.

Are you pregnant yet?

2009-03-12T10:41:00.003-05:00

Okay...just as a warning...this is going to be a venting, griping, fuming session.

Continue on if you dare!

So what IS it about people that make them think they can ask me when I'm having another child? Who made it their business to tell me that #1 is getting older and I need to get cracking and give her a sibling? And who in their right mind thinks that it's okay to ask me this and then look (very obviously I might add) at my stomach?

No joke. That really happened to me. Two weeks ago. At work.

Really? Honestly? Are you freaking kidding me right now? I don't know why I'm so suprised, but I am!

People...WAKE UP! It is NOT polite to ask that of ANY WOMAN!

Her husband either for that matter. They may be just fine with only one child.

Or what if they might be having health issues in that particular area (which I am by the way, thank you very much!) and by asking that you're opening up the wounds and throwing it in their face!

I have a friend who has had two miscarriages and people have asked her when she's going to have children because she's "not getting any younger." Same principle applies! Don't ask if you don't know the situation.

It's rude.
It's mean.
It's thoughtless.
It's NOT a small talk topic.
Period.
End of Story.

I will make an exception for those who DO know the situation and the trial the couple is going through. And if you do know the situation, ask with kindness and love IF and ONLY IF the topic comes up. DO NOT bring it up!

Until next time...

Hug a family member who might be having this or any trial in their life at the moment!

In my world

2009-02-17T13:21:00.001-06:00

When I create a world ...

There will be no such thing as HEMORRHOIDS!

No If's, And's or BUTTS about it!

Organization Update

2009-02-10T09:07:00.005-06:00

Well, guess what? No update to give other than the fact that I can't do a whole lot of anything right now.

I broke my wrist about two weeks ago (January 29) when I slipped and fell on a patch of deceivingly safe looking sidewalk...covered in ice! All the while, my brain was screaming NO! Don't step there you'll ... fall. And as I am thinking "fall," I'm on my tooshie on the ground, with my wrist underneath me somehow.

When it first happened, I thought I'd be okay, I'd shake it off and all would be well. Kind of like when you twist an ankle or something and if you give it a few moments the normal feeling will no doubt return. I was on my way to a doctor's office anyway, and I figured that I'd just have a nurse there look at it, and I'd be fine.

Sadly, this was not the case.

I got in the car, luckily with Emma already buckled in, and headed towards the doc's office. About two minutes into the trip, I realized the pain was sticking around a little too long, so I looked down and I freaked! My wrist was already swollen and I had a large, about a dollar-coin sized, bump right over the radius bone end in the wrist - the syloid process of radius. In other words, the bumpy part of the bone close to the thumb.

I call Matt, put him on speaker and through the pain and tears, I tell him what happened and that I'm on my way to urgent care. I also had him call his brother Mike to see if either he or his wife could come pick Emma up at the urgent care. I also heard Emma asking me "Mama booboo? Kiss it better?" (awwww what a sweetheart!)

After hanging up, I started flipping out again because a fresh wave of pain had taken over. At that point I started getting mad, because the cars in front of me were not going fast enough nor were they paying attention to green lights and stopping instead of going through them! I started yelling at them telling them to move it...GO!

And then I heard a little sniffle come from the back seat. I looked back through the rearview mirror in time to see Emma hang her head and pout. I immediately knew that in my yelling at the vehicles in front of me, she thought I was yelling at her. Poor thing! I told her I wasn't mad at her and that everything would be okay.

Her uncle was able to pick her up at urgent care, I had x-rays taken. And I was told what I already knew. My wrist was broken. They splinted me up, and sent me of with an orthopedic specialist referral, a copy of my x-rays (on a cd-rom!) and a precription for pain medication.

I went to Wal-Mart to fill the pain med prescription, and they gave it to me in a child-proof cap! I'm right-handed; the casted arm is my right arm...think about this a minute. Just imagine what I had to do to get that sucker open! I started out the typical way, trying to push and turn the lid at the same time. Well, with only one good hand that could grip and twist it didn't work out, I tried using my teeth...I even handed the thing to Emma and told her to open it! I seriously considered pulling out the hammer and breaking it open that way. After about 10 minutes of wrestling this thing with my broken splinted wrist I FINALLY got it open and by then I was sweating and REALLY needed the stuff!

The next monday, I was told that I had a couple of hairline fractures in my wrist. The casted me in hot pink and sent me on my way with a doctor's note with a 1 pound weight restriction - I'm not supposed to lift, twist, pull or push anything heavier than one pound - and an appointment for three weeks in the future to be re-x-rayed (if that's a word). Hopefully all will be okay and I won't have to wear a cast for any longer than three weeks, but I'm not holding my breath!

I know, I know...

2009-01-20T10:00:00.003-06:00

I'm not very religious about updating this, but I'm at least trying!

I'm in the process of trying to sell some little pieces of furniture that are just taking up space in our house, organize and get shelves and other organizational items built and/or purchased so I can have some semblance of order in a few of the rooms in our house that are just randomly thrown together. Our entertainment room and a front bedroom are the main focus this year.

I have yet to make it to Sam's Club and buy a home storage magazine that has been recommended to me, but I plan to get that soon!

Our entertainment room is a room that used to be a garage, so it's a fairly nice-sized room, but like I said...its just kind of thrown together. And I have a baby grand piano that has become more of a dumping ground for things that need to be put back in the attic. I have a lot of sweing itmes and a desk that need to be put together somehow, along with all of Matt's tools and home improvement items that will hopefully get put together in a tool armoire of some kind. We also have lots of Emma's toys scattered around everywhere, which takes me to the front bedroom. We're going to try and make it a play room. The room is almost twice as big as Emma's room now and it would allow for some bigger toy items, like a play kitchen. She's recently started pretending that she's making pizza in "her kitchen." The playroom idea would also allow for naptime and bedtime to be distraction free from toys!

We'll see. Maybe I need to start with a list of things to do per day per room and start small. I just hope I don't get frustrated and give up before I start, because I'm not seeing the drastic changes that could be seen if I had some TV show at my house...!

Wish me luck!

Christmas Tag

2008-12-19T09:28:00.003-06:00

I'm It!

It's always fun to see what other people say.

Thanks Jenny for the Tag!

1.Does Santa wrap presents or just put them under the tree?

WRAP! All gifts under the tree MUST be wrapped!

2. Colored light or white lights on the tree/house?

I like the white lights. I'll use the colored lights if I can ever find strands that are

just red, green and white.

3. Do you hang mistletoe?

Nope

4. When do you put up decoration?

ASAP. We Kind of dropped the ball on all the deocrations this year, but since Matt's not home the day after Thanksgiving, we put up our tree and decor on Thanksgiving.

5. What is your favorite Holiday dish?

Oh Boy, I have no idea. I'll eat just about anything this time of year, which causes my waistline to really not like me!

6. Favorite holiday memory as a child.

I don't have a favorite memory, but I do remember that no matter how old I got it was always SO hard to stay asleep or patient until mom and dad said we could come out of our rooms. That part was always the LONGEST part of the day...waiting for dad to set up the camera and mom getting breakfast ready.

7. When did you learn the truth about Santa?

"The Truth?" What truth are we talking about? Is he sick or something? :o)

8. Do you open a gift on Christmas eve?

9.How do you decorate the tree?

Well, once again, this year I dropped the ball, but normally, since Emma's been too little, Matt and I have decorated the tree with random ornaments that we've collected over the years growing up and while being married. I might get Emma her own tree next year and she can decorate it herself.

10.Snow. Love it or dread it?

I think my relationship is a love/hate one with snow.

As long as I don't have to drive in it, I don't mind it.

11.Can you ice skate?

I do well enough, although the last time I went was about 12 years ago,

and I think I broke my tailbone ... ouch!

12.Do you remember a favorite gift?

The look on people's faces when they opened their gifts from me and it was something they really wanted is always one of the better gifts.

13.What is the most important thing about the holidays for you?

I think remember the true reason for the holiday, and the gift of giving.

14.What is your favorite holiday desert?

CHOCOLATE.....among other things like sugar cookies

(since for some rason I have a hard time baking those from scratch!)

15. Favorite holiday tradition.

Cheeseburgers for dinner Christmas Eve!

16. What tops your tree?
Once again, nothing on the tree this year other than the lights, but usually its a star I think.

17.Do you prefer giving or receiving?

I like seeing the reaction from people when they open gifts from me that is something they really wanted, but it's also nice to get a gift

or two from those who've paid attention to the hints i've dropped! :o)

18.What is you favorite Christmas song?

Mary Did You Know or O Holy Night or Silent Night.

19.Candy Cane. Yum or yuck?

It depends on how I feel. And what flavor it is.

20. What do you want for Christmas.

I would love a day at the spa...getting massaged and pedicured and manicured and facialed and pampered. Oh heaven. (Hey Jenny, lets go together!)

Now YOU'RE IT! ... Dad, Kimberly, Julie, Caitlin, Lauren, Elyse, Kendra

2008-11-25T10:15:00.002-06:00

Fall is here...
The leaves have changed into some of my favorite colors...
The weather has (finally) cooled...
And it's time for me to start baking!

For those who know me or remember one of my first blogs, you'll remember that I don't so so well in the kitchen. However, in the fall, I can't get enough of the goodies that could and do come out of the kitchen! I love the smell of the spices, and the warmth that engulfs the house. I love drinking apple cider and eating pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (thank you Kimberly!). I don't even mind cooking either. I've found some really yummy recipes from Rachael Ray, and from Stephanie that have made life a little easier in the kitchen too.

And this year, I'm involving Emma in the whole process. We'll see how that goes.

Mmmm, I need to get baking. I'm almost drooling thinking about the wonderful goodies I've got lined up to make. (At least 5 different things...including pies, cookies and cobblers!)

Hope I don't have to be rolled to and from places when I get done...
Look for pictures soon!

Win a cute handbag

2008-10-12T09:19:00.001-05:00

I just registered to win a free handbag from HandbagPlanet.com and thought you'd like a chance to win too! To celebrate their upcoming launch, HandbagPlanet.com is giving away 24 handbags in 24 hours.

Visit www.HandbagPlanet.com to check it out!

You can choose which one you'd like to win, and there's some cute ones!

Or did you just sit down and cry?

2008-09-11T23:31:00.000-05:00

Seven years ago, I had just turned 18. I was living overseas --Azores Islands, Portugal to be exact-- and I was at work in the base newspaper/public affairs office. The morning started out just like every other morning.

All of a sudden, our Portuguese civilain in the office, Mr. Lima, suddenly after hearing something on the Portuguese radio reporting something jumped up (scaring me in the process) and hurredly turned the tv on. And there it was. The first of the two towers was engulfed in flames. Within minutes the whole office (all 4 or 5 of us) was standing in front of the tv. Seconds later, I was collapsing into a chair and silently freaking out. I had a close friend in New York City at that time. It took all I had not to lose it there in front of everybody, including the brand new base commander, who by this time, had walked by the office, saw us all staring at the TV with jaws dropped, had come it and joined in the shock.

What's ironic to me, is that day was the day that had been chosen the week bofore for me to audition for the base protocal office to sing the National Anthem for an upcoming commanders call. Hours after seeing the terror, I auditioned to sing the the National Anthem for a commanders call. And what song did I audition with? The Star Spangled Banner. It was quite the struggle to get through it. When the audition was over, I returned just in time to see the second tower get hit. And all the worry and panic and fear came bursting through. It was just too much. I broke down. I was amazing to me to have several people, all of different faiths, comfort me with the same words. "It's okay. God is watching over him. God will protect him. Just have faith. Turn it over to God."

Needless to say, there wasn't a whole lot of work that got done that day. There were several tears, freak outs and stresses that day and for the next few days to come after that.

To this day, I can't forget. I don't want to forget. I never will forget.

Birthdays

2008-09-11T22:54:00.000-05:00

Emma turned 2!

It's hard to believe that she's already two years old. We didn't do much. I had been sick earlier that week, was trying to plan and execute a garage sale and had picked up extra shifts at the YMCA, so I was exhausted. We actually did all the birthday stuff the sunday after her birthday, which was actually my birthday.

Emma was very excited to get a stroller for her baby doll! Thanks Grandma and Papa!

Grandpa and Mimi Andersen gave here lots of clothes. Mama and Daddy gave her a color wonder coloring book of Tigger and Pooh. Uncle Mike and his family gave her a church bag filled with a coloring book, crayons and a quiet book. The front of the bag even has pockets labeled for snack and drink! So neat. Now Emma carries her own bag into church. Aunt Rachel and her family gave her a gift card with which we bought her some new church shoes...Great-Grandma Lee gave her money and we had Johnny Carino's for her birthday dinner with that. :o)

Summer Days...

2008-08-13T11:47:00.001-05:00

The City of Norman has this great thing called "The Splash Pad." For those of you who don't know what it is, I'll tell you. It's a fenced in concrete pad that has water toys. Remember running through the sprinklers in the yard as a kid? Think of the splash pad as an industrial-like running-through-the-sprinklers type area. It's great becuase kids can play in the water and parents have the peace of mind knowing that they can see their kids in the entire area and they won't escape... :o) And I also like the fact that I think it would be very hard for any child to drown.

We've taken Emma a couple of times this summer and she LOVES it. Emma is a fish. It doesn't matter if the water is in the tub, a pool or sprinkler, she loves the water. Funny enough though, she doesn't like the shower...

She likes it...she likes it not?

2008-07-22T09:46:00.000-05:00

As promised, I got a photo of Emma eating the oatmeal bars. A direct quote, "Mmmm!" Yay!

I did watch her eat the rest of it and the only part she apparently DIDN'T like was the dried apricots. It was hilarious watching her feel them on her tongue, roll them around in her mouth and then watch her pull them out as she said "yech." Silly me...I thought she like dried apricots, but now that I think about it, I don't think she ever ate them plain when I gave them to her as a snack or part of lunch.

I found some dried apples in our food storage yesterday and the light bulb went on over my head. I'm going to make the oatmeal bar recipe again, and this time add a little DRIED apple and see how it works.

Also, I was watching The Rachael Ray show a couple days ago and saw a segment about Crock Pot Cooking. Rachael had this lady on that challenged herself to cook 365 homecooked meals for dinner, one every night. But, she did ALL the cooking in the CROCK POT! I was amazed. She also documented her journey on a BLOG, that is now linked on mine! I'm so excited to have access to more (kid-tested, I might add) Crock Pot recipes. Matt's excited too. Now I "don't have an excuse to not use the Crock Pot."

Time to start cooking...!

My first steps into going Organic...

2008-07-13T21:16:00.000-05:00

Well, I've done it. I've jumped on the wagon and started using organic products. It all started with Shaklee cleaning products that my mom gave me and last night I ventured into cooking/baking with organic ingredients. All in all it wasn't a bad venture. My kitchen is still standing and I still have all my hair.

Okay, I know that sounds dramatic, but those who know me know that I'm not at my most comfortable in the kitchen. And yesterday I think I spent more time in the kitchen than I had the entire previous week. Not only did I make dinner but I made three different breakfast/dessert items for today. Anyway, back to the organic, and how I really got kicked in the rear for going organic.

I'm an avid fan of "Jon & Kate Plus 8." And I recently saw an episode where Sara Snow (Discovery Health - www.SaraSnow.com) came to visit Kate -- who is totally all organic -- and to help her and her family "go green." She and Kate made a dessert/breakfast bar together with Kate two oldest girls and Sara said that it was her version of an oatmeal cookie. I'm not a huge fan of oatmeal cookies, but I thought it looked really good.

I didn't think much of the recipe until last night when I realized that I still needed to make a dessert for our monthly dinner with Matt's brother's family. We (matt and I) are responsible for dessert. I could have very easliy pulled out the good ol' staple cake mix and made cupcakes. but Matt's brother's wife recently cut as much sugar as she could (if not all) out of her diet and the diest of her kids and I didn't want to mess that up so I tried to help out with that by not bringing extra sugars into their house for dessert. So I found the recipe for these oatmeal bars and gave it a whirl.

The ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
½ cup ground flax seed
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 t cinnamon
½ t nutmeg
½ t cardamom (i didn't have any of this so i used allspice...just a little bit though)

½ cup (1 stick) organic butter – room temperature ( i had to use regular butter)
½ cup natural cane sugar
2 organic eggs (i had to use regular eggs)
½ cup honey
1 t vanilla extract

1 small apple, peeled and chopped
½ cup goji berries or raisins
½ cup chopped dates or apricots
1 cup chopped walnuts or almonds (optional)
1 ½ cups coconut (i don't like coconut, so i didn't use it)
3 cups old fashioned organic oats (i had to use regular oats)
1⁄4 cup applesauce

Instructions
Stir together all of the first group -- the dry ingredients (flour, flax seed, salt, baking soda and spices).
In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugars. Add in honey, eggs and vanilla. Slowly add in dry mixture and beat together. Stir in oats, applesauce, coconut, fruit and nuts.

Drop spoonfuls onto baking sheet. Bake 12-14 minutes at 350. Makes 2 dozen.

I put it all in a rectangle baking pan and made bars, baked at 350 degress for 45 minutes

I''m snacking on a piece as I write this, and it's not bad. It's actually really good! I'm one of those types of people that doesn't like nuts or fruit of any kind in my cookies or breads...but this stuff is really amazing. I'm already dreaming of savoring my next piece for breakfast (yeah i said breakfast...i'm also not a fan of breakfast...) tomorrow morning on my way to the Y for work.

Matt thinks I should have put it in a bigger pan so it didn't come out so thick, but I like it. He also said it would be really good with milk on it ... that's right ON it ... not with it. I think it would be a good idea for the crunchier (stale) pieces, if it lasts that long! I want more, but I've got to save some for breakfast. And I"ll try to get a picture of Emma eating it too, since she's the harshest food critic in the house. Look for those pictures soon.

How much fun are holidays?

2008-07-04T19:47:00.001-05:00

As Matt, Emma and I were coming back from Lowe's this morning (more on that in a minute...) I realized something. Holidays are not near as much fun as an adult. Well, let me clarify. They are only as fun as we make them. Hear me out for a minute.

As Kids:

Some federal and religious holiday gives you a day (or even weeks) off from school. There are parties, barbecues, chances to stay up late, gifts to look forward to and not much heavy duty work/planning involved.

As Adults:

We're the ones that do all the planning of parties, driving to and from parties, barbecuing (and other cooking), setting off of the fireworks, etc. In other words, all the work!

Maybe my problem is that I don't enjoy the work and planning that's associated with hosting a party because I'm not very good about organizing, cleaning and staying destressed when it comes to them. I don't like the cleaning and the prep and the cleaning and the hostessing -- did I mention cleaning? -- that accompanies get togethers, whether formal or informal.

Now don't get me wrong. I don't want to downplay -- by any means -- the reasons for holidays like the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Easter and Christmas. The reason for those holidays, to me, is to reflect, to remember and to give thanks for our country, our freedoms and whatever else our religious holidays mean to us. I just don't see the reason to plan extravagant parties and barbecues and not remember the true meaning of the holiday itself.

For example, today, being the Fourth of July, I know that this is the anniversary of our country's declaration of independence. And I'm thankful for a country where I am free to vote, drive, gain an education, work and practice whatever religion I choose. But whats the point of having a barbecue or figuring out how to schedule a nap later in the day for my child so we can all go to watch fireworks at 10 p.m.?

Anyway...enough ranting. Back to Lowe's. Our back porch is finally done! After five weeks of one row here...another there, we are FINALLY done. We even assembled our brand new barbecue grill this evening. We didn't use it (no propane -- yet. That stuff is NOT cheap!) but we can at least sit on our back porch and not have to worry about falling through it!

For those of you who don't remember what it looked like, or never even saw it, let's just say that the previous owners did a very poor job. To me, it looked like they got a couple of 36-packs of beer and made a day of it. I'm not very good when it comes to construction, but words can't describe just how unstructurally sound that this back porch was. It took a couple of weekends, a pair of missionaries, and a friend of Matt's to tear the porch down (yes, I did help! Great thearapy demolition is! -- did that just sound like a Yoda-ism?) and the hot tub out (it broke again; we didn't want to mess with fixing it again and we also didn't want to drop another $600 to fix it).

There is still a little bit of stuff -- mostly finishing touches -- to do yet on the porch and in the backyard in general, but all in all, the biggest project is done. The next thing to do is actually get all the demo junk hauled off; presently its on the side of the house. Then the next project is sectioning off an area just to the left of the door (when you look at it) for a garden, and getting some BIG flower pots to set at the corners of the porch, along with getting a patio set and some tiki torches and we might be entertaining barbecue guests by the end of the summer! If we do, I'll let you know how I handle myself and the stress. Maybe it won't be so bad.

First day of school

2008-07-01T22:17:00.000-05:00

I seem to be reliving the first-day-of-school jitters tonight.

I'm embarking on a small business venture as a Mary Kay consultant, and I have my first facial "party" tomorrow. I'm freaking out! I feel very unprepared and nervous. I have my new "backpack" filled with all my "school supplies" (all my Mary Kay stuff - ie. cleasners, color cards, foundations, etc. complete with carrying bags that, by the way are pink and black...a favorite color combo of mine!). But I still don't know what to expect.

I remember my first day of high school. I had just moved to the area and was not only new to high school, but to the actual school. I was in the tenth grade and had a fairly (surprisingly) easy first day...until after lunch. I was still learning my schedule, and mapping out in my head the quickest way to my classes from my locker. The bell rang and I thought I was doing all right until I realized that I was actually late to my third period class. No big deal. It was the first day of school...surely they give a little wiggle room on the first day.

I started to quickly make my way down the stairs and halfway down, I went down. (Ouch!) A few straggling staff members saw me and asked if I was okay. I was, with just a bruised tooshie and not to mention a little thing called an ego. I got up, brushed myself off and rushed off to my class. Huffing and puffing, I slipped into my classroom, was promptly pointed out to the entire class and marked late.

This is what makes me nervous on the first day of any new job. I'm a greenie and don't know what I'm doing and I'm afraid of falling on the toosh. I guess the "fake it 'til you make it" mantra is in order here.

Wish me luck!

2008-06-24T11:53:00.000-05:00

We'll see how often I'm able to keep this current, but this is a better way to try and keep family and friends updated on our little family...especially the star of the show - Emma!

This kid surprises me everyday with her personality and quirks! Of course, like any mom with a two-year old, I have my days where she certainly tests me, but those days are certainly overshadowed by the good days.

Here lately anytime I have to discipline her, she usually goes to a corner, cries for a few seconds and comes running back to me wanting me to pick her up and snuggle her. And on top of that, she likes to pat and rub my back while she snuggles.

This kid LOVES the Disney Channel. We can't go a day without blasting off with Little Einsteins, or learning a few Spanish words with Handy Manny or learning how to slueth and "Think, Think, Think" with Darby, Tigger (Tiggy) and Pooh. All being hosted by a pair of monkeys, Ooh and Aah! (Yes those are their names and I love those cute monkeys!) She can almost name all of the characters from My Friends Tigger and Pooh...my favorite to hear her say is either Ra-Ra (Rabbit) or Tiggy (Tigger).

Emma is also learning American Sign Language with the help of the show "Signing Time." I'm amazed at how much she can tell me with just a few hand gestures -- the good ones. :o) It has helped us both immensely when it comes to communicating.