Monday, December 19, 2011

Gingerbread houses!





We were supposed to go to my Aunt's house yesterday and celebrate Christmas with her, my uncle, and my cousins. Unfortunately, my cousin got into a car accident and ended up breaking her neck. She's in one of those halos and really isn't feeling well enough for a get together. My Aunt decided to postpone it until after the new year.
It ended up working well for us. We hadn't had a chance to buy presents. I ended up inviting my parents over to make gingerbread houses. It was an absolute blast and I hope we make it a yearly event. After putting together the gingerbread house and letting it sit, I tried making a house of out graham crackers. I am here to tell you that this is not an easy task. Every time I would get something decent going, it would fall over.



I finally gave up and let my Dad (the master artist) take over. He actually managed to make it work by literally shellacking the thing with frosting. At the end you could barely tell there was graham cracker underneath.



Dylan, naturally, had more fun eating then decorating. For some reason, he started rolling the candy down the table at me. Every time it rolled near, I would make a big deal out of it. He would just crack up every single time I did. When he did decorate, I was surprised by how serious he was about it. He had to have every candy just perfect.


All in all, they came out really well. Dylan has now been steadily demolishing it. I'll go to do something and come back and another piece of the house is gone.

I love this idea of carving out holiday traditions for Dylan. My parents have always strived to do this for me so I'm trying to do the same for him.

Hope everybody has a very happy holiday (whichever you celebrate)!




Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: Watering the plants..

He takes his watering job VERY seriously. :-P

Monday, December 5, 2011

BYOC-Monday Edition

It's Bring Your Own Crazy straight from Drazil's Blog. BYOC is where we answer 5 questions in order to get to know each other better and give our blogging brains a break. (Stolen from Holly!)

Let’s do a little themed version of where you live and why!

1. Describe the structure you live in. (apartment, condo, house, mansion, cardboard box?)

I live in a 2 bedroom apartment in a fairly big apartment complex. I'm really hoping we can start looking for houses in the next year or so.

2. Describe the city you live in. (population, main attractions)
The city I live in is probably best described as a suburb. It's about 25-30 minutes south of Chicago. It's a nice family-oriented community with lots of activities to do and places to go with little ones.

3. Why do you live in the town you live in? (job, to get away from a different town, family, schools?)

We moved out by Ryan because his job was out this way. He just got another job and it's still fairly close to where we are. Plus, it's a great community, close to family, and has great schools.

4. What’s the view like from your backyard?
Uh, we have a creek behind us. There's also a parking lot with tons of cars.


5. Repeat question: How has your week been in blogland and in real life?
My week in blogland has been fairly quiet. I haven't posted much but I haven't had a lot to say. Real life weekend was nice. We went and helped my parents decorate their tree yesterday. Very nice and relaxing!!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!! Hope it's an amazing day filled with family, good food, and love. :-) This time of year always reminds me to be thankful for what I have-a beautiful son, amazing S.O., loving family, great friends, good health, a roof over my head, etc.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Wordless Wednesday! (Halloween Party 2011)


I love my Carl too much to leave him behind. :-)

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

A-z

A Food Alphabet Get to Know You

"Borrowed" from Holly

A is for Apple: What’s your favorite variety?
Jonagold or Gala

B is for Bread: Regardless of nutrition, what is your favorite type?
Honey Wheat

C is for Cereal: What is your favorite kind currently?
Lucky Charms or Cinnamon Toast Crunch

D is for Donuts: You might not currently eat them, but what kind do you fancy?
Boston Cream!

E is for Eggs: How would you like yours prepared?
scrambled

F is for Fat Free: What is your favorite fat free product?
Jell-O, Sour Cream

G is for Groceries: Where do you purchase yours?
Aldi, Ultra, Trader Joes, Target-I shop around!

H: is for Hot Beverages: What is your favorite hot drink?
Hot chocolate

I is for Ice Cream: Pick a favorite flavor and add a fun topping.
Neapolitan, Pumpkin Pie

J is for Jams or Jellies: Do you eat them? If so, what kind and flavor?
Yes, strawberry

K is for Kashi: Name your favorite Kashi product?
Haven't had much Kashi product

L is for Lunch: What was yours today?
Peanut Butter and Jelly, Doritos, Jell-O

M is for microwave: What is your favorite microwave meal/snack?
Hot Pockets

N is for nutrients: Do you likes carbs, fats, or proteins best?
Carbs

O is for oil: What kind do you like to use?
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

P is for protein: How do you get yours?
Meat, Peanut Butter

Q is for Quaker: How do you like your oats?
In cookies or as oatmeal

R is for roasting: What is your favorite thing to roast?
Marshmallows, LOL.

S is for sandwich: What’s your favorite kind?
Peanut butter and Jelly, Ham & Cheese

T is for travel: How do you handle eating while traveling?
Fairly well. :)

U is for unique: What is one of your weirdest food combos?
Hmmm, I can't think of anything off the top of my head.

V is for vitamins: What kind do you take?
None

X is XRAY: If we xrayed your belly right now, what food would we see?
What I had to eat earlier

Y is for youth: What food reminds you of your childhood?
Pita Bread Pizzas, Mac & Cheese

Z is for zucchini: How do you prepare it?
I hardly ever use it.

Now it’s your turn! Pick a few letters, maybe that spell your name or your initials, and share your answers. Or do the whole alphabet on your own blog :)

Wordless Wednesday

From our recent visit to Boo at the Zoo/Creatures of the Night at Brookfield Zoo.


Wordless Wednesday

I just found this draft that I never published. It's time now.

From our recent visit to Boo at the Zoo/Creatures of the Night at Brookfield Zoo.



Monday, October 10, 2011

Getting to know me...

A. Age - 27

B. Bed size - Queen
C. Chore you dislike -Dusting and mopping
D. Dogs - Pugs, Bulldogs, Labs
E. Essential start to your day - Shower, eating breakfast
F. Favorite color -Yellow, Pink, Red

G. Gold or silver -Silver

H. Height - 5'9"

I. Instruments you play(ed) -None, I'm not real talented.
J. Job title -Mommy, Homemaker
K. Kids -1 son, 2.5 years old
L. Live - Westmont, IL
M. Mom's name - Jennie
N. Nicknames -Lee, Leah Jayne
O. Overnight hospital stays - 1, giving birth
P. Pet peeves - Bad drivers

Q.Quote from a movie -Too many to name..
R. Righty or Lefty - Righty

S. Siblings -1, a brother

T. Time you wake up - Around 7:30 or 8

U. Underwear - boy shorts?
V. Vegetables you don't like - None really
W. What makes you run late - Dylan or myself
X. X-rays you've had - Just my teeth..
Y. Yummy food you make - Probably everything..

Z. Zoo animal favorites - Penguins, giraffes, dolphins

Monday, August 29, 2011

New bikes..

Dylan fell back asleep this morning after we dropped Ryan off at work so I have a few minutes to update on here!

Biggest news right now is that we just bought bikes for ourselves yesterday. Ryan had a minor health issue a couple of weekends ago. It scared me enough that I told him that enough is enough. We need to start exercising and eating better. I want us to be healthy for Dylan and ourselves as well. He loves to bicycle around so after doing some research we went and bought one for each of us. I can tell they're going to be well loved already. While we were there, we saw little man bikes. Dylan is going to need one soon so we might as well start looking now. He has a tricycle but I think he has a hard time pedaling it. Sooo... big boy bike it will be!

We ended up buying a bike trailer yesterday so we could haul D around with us. We get home to set it up only to find that a piece is missing. We had to order the piece. Hoping it'll be here in the next day or two so we can get out and ride.

We also found out that I can get in under Ryan's parents plan over at the YMCA. All we have to do is bring Cindy over and she can add me. We'll officially be members of the Y and can go work out and exercise whenever we want. I'm going to drag Cindy along with us. She wants to work out, but like I told her-it's hard when you're by yourself. Hopefully with all of us together, it'll go smoother.

Now I have to see if they have child care so we could leave D and come back for him. Going to research that in a few minutes and see what they have.

Ooh just can't wait to get out there! It was exhilarating being back on a bike after all of these years..

Monday, May 9, 2011

Ah I love my son..

We spent an hour at the E.R. tonight. I stepped away to cook dinner for a few minutes. Next thing I hear was 'WAAAAAAH. Nose. Stuck." Dylan kept pointing at his nose and repeating this so I asked him if he'd put something up there. He tells me "NO" and follows this up with "crayem. nose. stuck." I ended up trying to touch his nose and he pulled away from me while crying. I finally laid him down on my lap and looked up his nose only to see something purple in one nostril. Called Ryan and he came home to look and confirmed what I'd seen.

We went to the E.R. where they confirmed they saw something. Turns out it was a purple crayon that took two seconds to extract with a big pair of tweezers. Let me tell you.. that purple crayon turned out to be the most expensive crayon we've ever purchased. $300 later and we didn't even get to keep the crayon as a memento. :-)

Gotta love my silly kiddo and the things he does..so long as he doesn't do it again!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day on Sunday!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Potty training..

Okay potty training...

Any helpful hints? I think Dylan is ALMOST there. He's showing a lot of the signs of readiness. I'm not entirely sure he knows when he has to do it though. Everything else is pretty much there though. I'm hearing about this potty training boot camp book. Anyone heard of it? I'm willing to give it a try to see how it works.

Help! I'm lost over here. :-)

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Things I love Thursday..!


This past weekend, we took our 2 year old son bowling for the first time. It took him a few times, but he eventually understood the point of the "game." He loved every minute of it and didn't want to put the ball away when it was time to go. <3<3




Also:
There's nothing I love more than the simple joy that comes from watching my son eat a cupcake. There's nothing dainty or clean about the way he eats a cupcake. It covers his face, hands, sometimes his hair, and usually his clothes. I don't care how messy he gets as long as I get to see him smile and say "mmm" after every bite he takes!




Saturday, March 12, 2011

A few things...

A) Happy 2nd Birthday Dylan!!!! Mommy and Daddy love you very much. At the risk of being sappy and weepy, I'm just going to say that I love you very much and you are the best thing that's ever happened to us. Hope this day is as great for you as I think it will be!!

We're off to celebrate with family and friends at Portillo's in just a little while. Have to make a pit stop and pick up balloons and we are good to go. :-) Kinda sad some friends have canceled but it's understandable that things come up. Also picked up the cake earlier! I must say she did an amazing job and she was cheap! If it tastes as good as it looks, I'll use her again. Although like Ryan said, nothing will ever top the epic treasure chest cake of '09, LOL.

B) I'd never say this on my Facebook because many friends are photographers, but I hate selective coloring. That's where everything in a picture is B&W but then one little spot on it has color. Just looks so silly and most of the time, it isn't done right. :-( Unfortunately, most of my photographer friends think it looks adorable. It can be done right, but usually it isn't.

Hope everyone is okay and having a great weekend! Can't wait for spring to get here and bring warm temperatures and sunny skies. :)

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Good news...

YAY!!! Ailene had her baby yesterday!! 6 lbs, 13 oz and 19.5 inches long! She said delivery was very easy and baby is very handsome. I'm hoping to go visit them today around 2, but I'm waiting on a reply from Vern to see if they'd babysit Dylan while I go.

Just had to say congratulations to a very good friend even though she'll never read this!! Congratulations Ailene, Ken, and Jimmy (the big brother)!!!

On a side note-4 days til D's 2nd birthday! I'm so teary eyed these days that I must be driving everyone nuts. :-)

Even more exciting news-I enrolled back in school and start today!! I'm super excited to get back in the swing of things. :-)

Monday, March 7, 2011

5 days..

5 days until D is 2!! I can't believe how quickly 2 years can go by. Before I know it, he'll be 5 and then 10 and then he'll be off to college. :-( I don't even want to imagine that day. It's coming quicker than I think though!

Can't wait for his party. Maybe I'm just looking forward to eating some Portillo's and cake! I went all out and made most everything for his party this time around (invites, favor bags, cake topper, etc). I also plan on making Mickey Mouse shaped cookies for everyone to take home. Hope the kiddos that come like the stuff I put in the favor bags. If they don't.. no invite for them next year. ;-)

I'll have to update after Saturday and post some pics from his party.

And now a little pic to leave out on..

A pic of Dylan and his little best friend Jimmy.. Jimmy is going to become a big brother today so I'm sending out good thoughts and prayers for a safe and speedy delivery for my good friend Ailene. :)



Monday, February 21, 2011

Swagbucks..

I'm in love with Swagbucks so I'm passing the word on. Join and earn points so you can redeem them for prizes. I'm trying to save mine up for the Barnes & Noble gift card.

Search & Win

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Buttercream B&W..

This is an old Halloween pic, I know. I was fiddling around in CS5 with it. This edit is called a Buttercream B&W courtesy of thecoffeeshopblog.com. I love how it looks!!



Monday, January 17, 2011

Really? Snow?

Really? Snow? Again? Has it not snowed enough in these past few weeks? It seems like it's been non-stop this year. It started to snow on the way to my parents house yesterday. Snowed pretty heavily throughout the Bears game and then stopped. I just looked out our window and it's snowing again. Craziness! I have to admit I do love snow. It's just the people in Chicago seem to forget how to drive when it's snowing outside. Maybe I take it for granted. I drive a car that is pretty equipped to drive in the snow so it's easier on me. When I was driving the Taurus, I hated it. The tires slipped and made it that much worse on the road for me. That fact alone makes me take it easy on the whole of drivers without all wheel drive. At least it makes it pretty and white outside. :)

On another front, we're all sick again. I'm going to try spraying some Lysol around in hopes it kills of whatever is living around here. It probably doesn't help that we see Audrey and Jacob a lot. They've been sick on and off as well so I'm sure we're just passing it. I'm not one to take medicine, and I rarely like to give it to Dylan. The situation has to be pretty dire for me to do that. We're going to his pediatrician for a follow-up to his ear infection so I'll see what happens then. I'm just ready to stamp out the sick bug once and for all. Whatever we have is making me miserable. All I want to do is sleep at this point in hopes that it'll go away.

On the upside-Dylan is walking around humming. It's the cutest thing ever. He must still be feeling okay to be able to do that. I think we've decided to get more serious about potty training. Might try the naked approach and see how that works. I know he's ready. We've just been lazy about it. Don't like being a pushy parent. We'll try this and see how it works.

Hope everyone (and kiddos) is doing well! Time for us to get ready for the doctor!

Friday, January 7, 2011

Silence is golden..

Ryan is out with his buddy Cliff tonight and I am enjoying some much needed silence. I'm currently watching this new station I found called 'The Hub' though. It's actually Family Game Night where these families come on a play a variety of games. Creeps me out a little to be honest. They're playing Sorry. The Sorry pieces are huge and seem to move by themselves. Creep factor is up high on that one!

I might fiddle around with the Photoshop Ryan put on my computer and post it on my photography board. We'll see how ambitious I feel. I'm pretty sure the Magic 8 ball would say "doubtful" on that one.

Anyone else getting snow today? People were driving like they've never seen it. You live in Chicago people! Get used to it!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Party Planning..

Party planning drives me nuts. It just hit me that Dylan will be 2 years old in a little over two months. I still have a little time left to plan and finalize the small details, I know. I just want to get some of the bigger ideas out of the way. At this point, I can't even decide if I want to have just a family party or expand it a little and invite some of his little friends. Or should I invite his friends to the family party? So many tough decisions to make! I don't want to blow it off completely because you only turn two once but I don't want to go to a huge expense either. Ahhh!

And now he's up so it's time for lunch..