My Great Day!!

Today started at 6:45 AM. No ones fault but my own. Elliott woke half an hour later with a smile on her face! We enjoyed a nice shower, bananas for breakfast and I worked on hand sewing the new cushion cover for my rocking chair (I'll have pictures for that in some other post.)

We left the house about 10:30 AM. Nice and sunny! Took the bus to the little strip mall that's about a mile from home. In target I immediately found the perfect socks to make sock monkeys!! They were 2 pairs for $5!! So I got 6 even though I'm only making 5 monkeys.

One each for: Elliott, my two nephews, my little cousin and my little sister! I of course get the last pair of socks to enjoy and add to my growing collection of knee socks (I have over 25 pairs!!)

Next we went to Micheal's and got embroidery floss so I can embroider their names into their monkeys, and buttons so the monkeys can have eyes!!

The entire time I was out I resisted the urge to go to Starbucks! Matt is going to be so proud of me. =) Oh and there were at least 3 Starbucks that I could have  gone to while out today! One of them right next to the book store that I went and got the final installment in the Eragon series. (it's about freaking time that book came out!!)

After we were done shopping (also resisted the urge to go into Old Navy, Plato's Closet and Ross!! Although going through Micheal's and only getting buttons and floss was more difficult than resisting clothes!!) We went to 5 Guys Burgers and Fries. I'm not a big hamburger person but it was tasty! And a much better choice than McDonald's!

Elliott stayed awake until we got home and nursed to sleep with out a fuss 10 min after we did get home! So there you go, 2 updates in one week! I know it sounds kind of like a boring day, but it was so great to get out on such a pretty (and warm!) day! Elliott and I are in great moods and I'm glad we got some fresh air! Now I'm going to go work on my projects!!

My Forced Post

I feel like if I don't write a post than my sister will fly all the way from Texas and beat me up! =)

I know, I know. I'm a horrible blogger. I don't really have a good excuse. Although my daughter keeps me very busy...I guess I could always write at night after she goes to sleep...But don't count on it.

As many of you know, my husband was laid off a little over a month ago. The same day we signed a lease for a new apartment. Thankfully after only one real week of job searching he found a new job! He is going to be the lead tech at Firestone in Lake Oswego. It's a bit of a commute but he'll survive. He starts tomorrow (Tuesday 11/08/2011) We are actually really happy with how things turned out. We put up with a lot of sh*t at his old job, but this new place offers over 31 benefits! Including, but not limited too: Health, dental, vision, 401K...The important stuff! It will be nice to have that kind of peace of mind. Knowing that *if* we get sick we can actually see a doctor about it!! haha

Our new apartment is...ok. We will definitely not be staying more than one year here. It's a townhouse connected to 4 other town homes. Unfortunately we have neighbors on both sides. The neighbors to the right are quiet and I hardly ever notice them. The neighbors to the left however...5 or so college students. And yeah, they like to party and play drums at 1 am, and go out and converse very loudly on their front porch well after the "quiet hours" They have gotten better since we filed a complaint with the managers, but every now and then we will hear their tv/drums/music louder than our tv.

Some of you may have heard that we signed our new lease with my best friend. Scott. We have also taken in a "lost puppy" who had no where else to go. To clarify this "lost puppy" is actually a human not a dog. The first month of her being with us where...frustrating. There was a lot of miscommunication and personality clashing. Finally we all sat down for a pow-wow and got things settled. Mel (the puppy) has also found a job that she will also start tomorrow. She'll be working at Bath and Body Works.

Elliott has a cold right now and is still trying to cut more teeth. So she's pretty cranky. You know, I'm excited that is didn't take very long for Matt to find a job...but I will be sad to see him go back to work. It was nice having someone else to help out with Elliott so I didn't have to do everything. He's actually better at putting her to sleep than I am, so I'm really dreading nap times after he goes back to work.

Me...well having Matt home, and Mel and Scott has probably actually been a good thing. Matt has watched Elliott so I can go out with Mel and Scott. I even got a new outfit and makeup! So I feel great. Tired and frustrated at times but great about myself! =)

Ok that's it for now. Here's some pictures!

A Messy Post

As well all know...I suck at keeping a blog. It's been months since I wrote and a lot has happened. I'm not sure what I last said so forgive me if I repeat anything.

So, Elliott turned 1 this last Thursday! ONE! Holy freaking cow! She's so smart too. She's been walking since before 10 months. She is now trying to say more words and she knows how to wave "hi/bye" and the sign for "milk" She still sleeps really crappy at night unless she's in bed with Matt and I which means I sleep really crappy. She still has no interest in solids. She's even getting tired of Nilla Wafers. Everyday I offer her snacks and food aaaalllll day long and every now and then she'll taste something but usually only once or twice. And by taste I mean bearly put it to her mouth and then pull it away with a funny face. It's tough but I think she'll get over it when she's ready.

We went to Minnesota to visit Matt's family this month. That was very fun. We stayed with Matt's mom. We went to The Mall of America and Valley Fair. We went to the aquarium under the Mall which was pretty awesome. Valley Fair is an amusment/water park...pretty freaking amazing! We went on a nice warm day but hardly anyone was there. Our longest wait for a ride was only 5 mins. I went on a bunch of rides I thought I never would. Roller Coasters, water slides...we even got a characature done of Matt, Elliott and I. We gave it to Janice.

So I had two root canals done in May and I'll be getting the crowns and fillings on some cavities in July. I have 3 appointments in July...ok the last is August 2nd but close enough. At least none of them are on my or Matt's birthday. Hopefully I'll be all done with teeth probably for years and years. lol Yeah right, I have terrible luck when it comes to my teeth.

I know I shoud be writing more since it's been forever since my last post...but I'm done writing for now. =)

Sorry it's sideways

Yoga, Zoo, Nap, Sewing, Food

YOGA:
I recently decided to take up yoga. I've managed to do it for 3 days in a row! Yay me!! Anyway, instead of actually going to a class I found a video on Netflix that isn't too cheesy and I actually enjoy it. I try to aim for Elliott's nap time to do it, but that has only happened once and she woke up 10 min before the end. Haha. I'm hoping to keep up with it and do it every day.

ZOO:
Yes we went there today. We were going to go with a group of ladies and their kids from church, but after a misunderstanding (and being forgotten) we ended up going by ourselves. Which I completely enjoyed. The sea lions and otters where very nice and swam close to the glass so Elliott could see them. The sea lion kept doing circles and his belly would touch the glass on his way around, Elliott never took her eyes off him. The animals that were sleeping and/or far away she didn't really notice. And I think the only reason she noticed the zebra is because of his black and white stripes sticking out so brightly against the green grass. We walked around for an hour and then went to the cafe and ate lunch then went home.

This was at the zoo.

NAP:
Unfortunately Smelliott didn't get much of an afternoon nap so she fell asleep around 5:45, woke up at 6 and has been super cranky ever since. She is currently taking shower to calm her down. She loves showers and baths, they work like a charm. As soon as she hears the water she stops crying.

SEWING:
So, (haha!!) I'm sewing again. I'm finally making some cloth wipes so we no longer have to buy disposable ones. I've got a recipe for some solution (if you want it just ask.) I'm just taking Elliott's old receiving blankets and cutting them into 7in x 7in squares and sewing them together. I'm also using some of the receiving blankets and old towels to make some breast pads. Eventually I'll get some water resistant material and make some menstrual pads as well. None of these things are fancy or the prettiest fabric but I don't care. They work, they do what they are supposed to do and they do it well with out us have to spend money every few weeks to a month. Which is awesome. Here are the first two I made. They are two pieces of flannel sewn together. The one on the left was sewn with the right sides together than turned inside out and top stitched. But I don't like how that turned out, it seems stiff and bulky. But the one on the right was sewn with wrong sides together with a zig-zag stitch, to prevent fraying. I wish I had a surger (serger? surgur? sergur? how do you spell that damn word!!) The rest I will sew with the wrong sides together and the zig-zag stitch. They rest will probably be different colors as well. The first two I was just trying to see how I wanted to sew them.

FOOD:
Elliott doesn't like it very much.We tried giving her the baby food from a jar, which she gagged on (if we could actually get it in her mouth!) but most of the time she'd simply refuse to open her mouth for a bit. So we are now moving on to different foods. The soft real people kinds of foods. Like yogurt, bananas, avocado and whatever else we can find that is easy to mush between gums and 2.5 teeth. The first night we offered her yogurt she went crazy and ate a ton!! (Well like 5 spoonfuls, so to us it felt like a ton!) But we've tried since then, same flavor of yogurt and she refuses. We've tried the bananas, avocado, soft cheese...I even cut them up and put them on the tray for her to pick them up her self, thinking that baby she just wants a little Independence. She'll pick up a few pieces, accidentally drop them, and then suck her thumb. Looking at me like "I'm not touch that crap again...now give me some booby milk!" *sigh* Her pediatrician is starting to get a little worried about her weight gain. Well...more worried that we will have to start to worry. Does that make sense? Any way, the ped said to feed her what she'll eat and add butter to it. Elliott isn't gaining as much weight as a baby that is actually eating solids, so we need to load the food she will eat (though we haven't found one yet) with calories. Here's a picture of Elliott "eating" yogurt. This is the second time we offered it to her and she didn't want it. So I gave her the spoon and poured a little of the tray to let her play with it and get acquainted with it. lol

Ok. That's it for now. If I kept talking I'd go off on a rant about how stupid Matt's work is and how much I hate everyone who works there (besides Matt of course.)

Cleaning and Roger's visit.

This is the first time I've actually sat and played on the computer for an extended amount of time in a while. I've completely forgotten about my blog until now. Sorry! =) Anyway, I've had a busier day than normal. I've moved Elliott's bed into her own room. Scary, I know. It's going to be hell until she adjusts to not being in our room. I'm sad, but it's time. I'm taking a break for a moment, but I'll get back to cleaning soon.

To Do List:
`Vacuum Elliott's room
`Vacuum my room
`Put the rocking chair in Elliott's room
`Continue doing the laundry
`Fold all the previously cleaned clothes
`Put Elliott's clothes in her room
`Move my bed (So Matt can have more room on his side now that Elliott's crib isn't in our room)
`Clean the living room
`Vacuum the living room
`Clean the kitchen
`Make dinner

All of this may or may not actually get done today (or this week, depending on if laziness comes back to soon). And depending on Elliott's mood.

Matt's father was here last week to visit. It's the first time he met Elliott. She fell in love with him. She likes trying to scratch his tattoo's off, and chewing on his watch. We took him to the beach because he had never seen the ocean before. Unfortunately Elliott got sick and was vomiting all the way there and back. We stayed there not even 2 hours. While we were there Elliott was super happy, talking and laughing at the top of her lungs. It was funny. But as soon as we got back in the car she got pissed and was throwing up within 15 minutes of being on the road. Poor thing. Oh did I mention she had pink eye too. It's gone now, but her poor little eye was all goopy and some times after waking up she couldn't even open her eye because the goopies had turned to crusties.

OK I feel like there was more I wanted to say, but the cleaning bug is nibbling at my toes again so I better get crackin!

Here are a couple of the pictures I got of Elliott with Roger.

Fail

Ok So It's obvious that I have already failed that the 30 day picture challenge. Let me catch up real fast.

Day 02- a picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest.

Tarek. My cousin. (No that is not Harry Potter)

Day 03- a picture of the cast from your favorite show.

Scrubs is probably the best show ever created! We've seen the entire series twice. 

Day 04- a picture of your favorite memory.

I know it's cheesy and all...but I'd have to say the birth of my daughter was a pretty awesome memory. 

Now I know that technically today is day 5 so I should be posting one more picture. But the picture for day 5 is supposed to be "a picture from your night" And since tonight is still happening I will wait until tomorrow to post that picture. Let me give you fair warning...it won't be anything spectacular.

So since I just got home less than half an hour ago, after standing in the literally freezing cold outside for 45 min waiting for the bus to take me home...I'm going to make some hot chocolate.

A Week Late and Day 1

Do I have you scared? lol I'm only a week late on my New Years post. (Nothing else is late!)
Christmas was pretty awesome. Holly and Peggie were here, we won Super Mario Bros Wii and got really close to beating Mario Galaxy 2. We played LIFE, 1/2 of Monopoly, plenty of card games, and some new games Peggie got us called Privacy, and Truth be Told. I don't know about everyone else but I had fun. I had forgotten how easy it is to mess up the house and how hard it is to clean with so many people. They've been gone 3 days and I'm just now finishing up the kitchen/downstairs. Haven't even begun to clean upstairs. Which of course is not entirely their fault. I seem to slip back into my childish ways and get even more lazy than I am regularly and didn't fold any of my clean clothes...they are spread out on my bedroom floor.

We had a slightly...anxious...holiday season. Just before the sisters got here I found a lump in breast. Rather than waiting we went to the doctor straight away. I had 2-3 screenings, an ultra sound, a mammogram and finally a biopsy just to find out that it was something to do with breastfeeding. But I'm glad we went in sooner rather than later. I'd rather know what it is and be safe, than not know and end up dieing from breast cancer because we didn't catch it in time.

Elliott is doing more "proper" crawling than army crawling these days! She's amazing and gets were ever she wants to go. She has already even attempted to climb the stairs. I was there watching her, just seeing how far she would get. It's time to invest in some baby gates. We've finally got out the play pin, because she is to big for the bouncer now and I can't just leave her in the middle of the floor when I need to clean the kitchen or vacuum.We've been toying with the idea of moving her crib into her room, hoping that since I won't immediately hear the tiniest noise she makes, than I won't jump up to get her before she's actually awake. But I'm still not sure I am ready for that. If/when we do that I'll be getting up and sitting to nurse her, rather than bringing her into our bed and going back to sleep while she nurses. Which will make me more tired come morning...but with the chance of her waking up less often...Well after a few nights (or weeks) we all might get more sleep. It will happen eventually...just not tonight. =)

This post is kind of jumping all over the place...sorry about that. I just have one more thing I want to share. And that is...

I think that sometime (a few years from now) I want to become a surrogate mother for a couple that can not have a child of their own. I'm not old enough at the moment, and I want to be done breastfeeding Elliott before I even begin the surrogate stuff. I want to spend time and enjoy my own daughter. In a year or two when Elliott is older Matt and I will talk and if we decide we want another child for ourselves...then that is what we will do. If we decide that Elliott is the only child we want, than we will discuss me being a surrogate further. If we do have another child for ourselves...than I'll wait a few years after that child is born to entertain the idea of being a surrogate then. This is not the first time that I've come across this idea, but I know that right now is not the right time, and I know that I will need plenty of time to thoroughly think about this (and maybe some counseling) before I will know if I am truly able to carry a baby for 9 months and then give it away at birth.

OK I think now one last thing.I've come across a "30 Day Challenge" That I would like to try. For the next 30 days I will post once a day with a picture of some sort. Sounds a little stupid but at least it will get me writing right??

DAY ONE:
A picture of yourself.

This is the most recent picture of me. Taken before Matt's work Christmas party.