My Funny Valentine

Happy Valentines Day ( a little early)



This is was the valentine card we made for family this year- Bel was in a very (rare) photogenic mood and actually let me take her picture. On Saturday night my parents kept her overnight so Jason and I could go out to dinner on a double date with my bestie Katie and her new boyfriend. We went to Cooper's Hawk Winery- our second visit- and it was just as great. This time we did the wine tasting before dinner and then I had a huge steak,  cheesy potatoes and shared the dessert with my hubby. 10, 000 calories later I was a very happy girl! It is so nice to be able to go out with friends and laugh. Even though I was still pretty sore from my SHINGLES  (no, they are not really contagious) we had a great time.

 My sweet Valentines!

 New stamps and paper from Grandma and Grandpa- Bel was ready for her sleepover

 My hot husband!

 Daddy's girl :)

 Katie and I! Always fun being together

Awwww.... PDA alert.

Happy Valentines Day!

Winter Doldrums...

So... I haven't felt much like updating lately. I mean what has there been to say? January and February have been BLAH. First, we have had the house on the market now for a few weeks and have had very little interest. Actually ZERO interest. Our realtor put together a nice brochure and even had a "realtor caravan" for us. She brought in 28 realtors to see it and they said our place looks good and is priced right. But..... no has come to see it. In the meantime, it kind of stinks because we need to keep our place pretty clean and "show ready" at all times. That isn't the easiest thing to do when you have a toddler.

Then, there have been the illnesses. I caught some kind of nasty bug (from my students I'm sure) in January and just couldn't shake it. Then Bel and Jason got a variation of it. Unfortunately, the three weeks of being sick (coupled with some stress) left my body feeling pretty run down and my immune system at an all-time low. Cue a new and mysterious illness that started last Monday. Itchy rash on my left arm and back- radiating pain through my armpit and and arms- ouch!! I couldn't stand it anymore and went to the doctor. Guess what? I have SHINGLES! No... I am not a ninety year old woman. Just one of the few but lucky people my age who come down with it. The good news is that there really isn't a cure (I just have to ride it out) and it is extremely uncomfortable. I am on all kinds of steroids and other fun pills. It can last for weeks... and can come back in the future. One funny side note- whenever I tell someone I have shingles with Bell around she starts singing "Shingle Bells"- lol

At work I have been feeling a little overwhelmed with new curriculum and brand new resources. I have a really nice group of kids but I just haven't had much spark this year. Not feeling very excited to go to work in the mornings. The blizzard of 2011 helped. I soooo loved being snowed in and have a few extra days home with my family. Even if it means we have to make them up in June.

 Poor Lucky- he gets lost in all that snow!

Check out the mailboxes behind me! We got around 20 inches when it was all said and done.

On a positive note, Bel is doing great. Other than her minor illnesses and testing our limits (she is becoming quite comfortable in her time-out area) she is having a great time. She is so smart! (yeah.. I'm totally biased) but she is a great little talker. Uses phrases and sentences now. Telling us about her day at school and asking  us questions. She is learning to count, sing her ABC's and can tell us the names of shapes. She loves puzzles, stickers, playing dress up and dancing. We still have our "dance parties" at night and its a good thing too because this past Friday Bel got to go to her first middle school dance. She joined me for about an hour and danced till she dropped (literally) with all of the kids. She actually wanted very little to do with Jason and I at the dance- she would run in the opposite direction of us- trying to ditch us! (23 months going on 13) It was really fun to watch her dancing with the "big kids" and they were so good with her. Her fave song is "I Got A Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas. Maybe I'll post some video of her dancing to it in a future post.

( a style all her own! She loves to "dress up" for dance party)

That has been about it for us. Jason has been busy with work and has been really great about keeping the house clean for our showings (he is much better than I when it comes to "deep cleaning") About this time of year we start dreaming about taking a vacation somewhere warm but we figure we better save for a possible move.
Here's the good news- as I'm writing this the snow is melting, the ground is thawing and it is 42 degrees. That is going to go a long way towards helping me break out of these winter doldrums.

Wish us luck...

We went "on the market" this past week. As I'm sure you know, the housing market is not exactly booming-- so we'll see if we get any interest. Jason has owned this condo for almost five years... and although we have been pretty happy here. We are starting to outgrow this place. Currently, we have a storage unit- so that's where we have stashed our truckloads of baby clothes, toys, gear etc...

Anyway- we thinkit would be pretty awesome to own our own house (and on the other end of the market you can find some REALLY great deals.. so we'll see!) Ultimately, it is in God's hands .. so we'll find out where he wants us to be. In the meantime, if you know anyone who wants an extremely WELL PRICED condo- send them our way!

Swimming.... in January

We finally got around to signing Bel up for swim lessons at the YMCA this Januaru. Jason and I are pretty poor swimmers (we plug our noses!) but we love water and since my parents have a backyard pool we think it's pretty important that Bel learns to swim well. So "parent/child" swim class it is.....
Yeah... that's the bad part. The PARENT is supposed to get in the pool for this class too. Now, I made it pretty clear to Jason that I am not getting my pale, white, out of shape, winter body into a swim suit any time soon -so lucky him!
Actually, we are on our third class now and Jason and Isabel seem to be enjoying it. Lots of singing, splashing and playing- I just go along to watch (and to calm Bel down when she throws a tantrum because she has to get out of the pool).

Happy Girl!

oh yeah... and she likes her bathing suit and swim suit cover-up so much that she insists on wearing them around the house too.

Cutie Cousins

Now that Mandy is back to work, Isabel is getting a chance to share her time at Grandma's with Payton. I must admit that I was slightly worried since "share" is one of Isabel's least favorite words. However, according to grandma (and this pic) Bel is taking her older cousin job very seriously. She loves her little Paytee and even told me this morning that she "missed Paytee". I hope they grow up to be super close! Mandy and I already decided that they will give us a run for our money.

22 Months

We have a 22 month old! In other words, our little Belly is almost two years old already. When I say it like that it is kind of amazing. I try to update the blog once a month to keep everyone updated on Isabel's many changes. I know our family likes to see what she is up to and to be honest, I have begun using this blog as her "baby book" since I never really got around to filling that thing out. In fact, I found a website online that will print and bind my blog for me. I decided to print out my first year of posts- it was cheap and easy- and now I have a little record of my pregnancy to look back on. Eventually I can print out my other posts to make a baby book. Definitely not as cute as scrapbooking but less work for the mom- I love technology!

My first blog book. You can get hard or soft cover- hard cover was $30.00. Not bad!

You can decide which posts you want in the book and then you can play around with the format (I didn't do anything but it turned out cool anyway).

So... on to my Isabel update. I try to jot down things during the month so I can remember what I want to share on the blog and this month I did write a few new "firsts" and things down. Only I think I threw it away when I was cleaning so I'll just share a couple of random details that I remember.

*Isabel has STYLE! She loves playing dress up now at school and at home. The more plastic necklaces, purses, and dresses the better. She even loves dressing up in her daddy's clothes and hats.

* Isabel likes to dance! (and so far she has about as much rhythm as her mom and dad, poor thing) At night we turn on the IPod and we have a "dance party" for a few minutes before bed.

* Isabel can count to 12 and knows several colors. She knows all of her friends names at school and LOVES reciting the names of her family and friends. She can also say her ABC's but there are some questionable letters included in then " A... B... C...D...ENE...EM...SHE..." She still likes to read with us but now she wants to say some of the words with us and likes to hold the book by herself.

* Bel is obsessed with the movie "Cars". Since seeing it at her friend's house she has requested it 14,000 times. She loves Lightning McQueen and Mater. It does not ever get old. She would watch it all day if we let her. (She also still loves Sesame Street, but has been requesting the Wiggles now too- heaven help us!! Those guys are too weird)

* In her new classroom Isabel is encouraged to use the potty and drink out of a cup. She is getting better with a cup but isn't super interested in the potty. (Well she is interested in following everyone else in to watch them go potty)

* Finally, Bel can throw a MAJOR tantrum. She has had two really big ones in the last couple of weeks- I'm talking screaming, crying, throwing body on the floor, thrashing etc..... It is awful! She is stubborn and emotional (hmmm..where does that come from?) and she doesn't respond too well to the "time out" concept yet. It's funny because I consider myself a pretty strict disciplinarian- I have always had good classroom control etc... but I think Jason has been more effective when it comes to disciplining Bel. We both admit that we don't really know what we're doing though... fingers crossed and prayers that we raise her right.

I don't have many new pics but here are a few cute ones...

Is she Michael Jackson? She insists on wearing one glove or sock on her hand.

Oh wait... I'm NOT supposed to eat the paint?

Oh ... I love this little dancer.

Rockin' New Year's Eve

Well "rocking" might be a bit of a stretch.... but we had a great date night out. Ya Ya and Grandpa watched not ONE... but TWO little grand babies so we could have a romantic dinner date. Mandy made reservations for all of us (including her friends Mallory and Jamie) at Biaggi's. This is a DELICIOUS Italian restaurant and extra special for Jason and I because it was the sight of our very first date. (ah yes.... that awkward first EHarmony blind date....) We hadn't been back since then but the food was even better than I remembered. (Probably because last time we were there I was really nervous, paying little attention to my food, and downing a glass of white wine- lol!)
Anyway, dinner was great and afterward we went back to Mallory and Jamie's to sample some of Jamie's homemade wine and beer. By 9pm my horrible cold was catching up to us so we stopped at Jewel for nasal decongestant, taco dip and assorted other snacks and by 9:30 we were in our pjs and watching Dick Clark's Rockin New Year's Eve. Wild, huh?!
Stuffy nose aside, we had a fun night and just enjoyed each other's company. And while we made it to midnight we were both crashed out by 1am. We even got to sleep in a little because Belly stayed at her grandparent's house. Overall, a great New Year!
Here are some pics...

 Off to see her grandparents!

 Ready to PARTAY!

 Try as she might she couldn't make this work

 What a handsome husband!

 I just can't get over how fast Payton is growing! She changes so much every time I see her. Not a little baby anymore!

 My two besties

 The craziest party girl of us all!

 Me, Mandy and Mallory

 Cheers! Happy New Year!

It wouldn't be a New Year without banging my pots and pans!

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1/1/11

Wow! It's a new year and a new decade.... time for a fresh start. It's funny because as a teacher I generally consider September more of my "new year" than January- but I am going to take a stab at making some resolutions this year. (No scratch that. These are NOT resolutions because I will most certainly not keep them - especially if I call them that. Instead these are some goals that come to mind for 2011.... I think posting them may actually give me some accountability. Feel free to remind me of these in February when I have long forgotten my good intentions)

1. Read and study my bible more regularly.
    There is some pretty great stuff in there. It is just hard to be consistent.
2. Read more- period.
    I find reading to be much easier this year now that Isabel has gotten older, but I still don't read as much
    as I used to. Need to read some GROWN up books. Not just middle school lit.
3. Run 2 5K's.
    No... not back to back- as in a 10K. I would just like to do it more than once a year :)
4. Drink more water
    and by default- less Diet Coke
5. Eat better!
    Note I didn't say "diet". My goal would be smaller portions and fewer carbs and sweets
6. Take a flight
    Ugh.... on an airplane. My phobia and anxiety is probably only growing worse each year that I avoid it.
    I need a short flight and a lot of drugs.
7. Sell our condo! (and if we are lucky.. buy a single family home)
8. Decide what my next step is career-wise.
    Back to school? Another Master's? Adjunct teaching position? Stay a classroom teacher? Become a
    reading specialist? ... some other possibility?
9. Make time to exercise.
   Not to get skinny... but just because it is healthy and makes me feel good.
10. Find a place to serve in my church.
11. Make more time to see girlfriends
      (and not feel guilty about it! It is good for us moms)
12. Enjoy all the little moments....
      Even the sick ones .. or the tiring ones... or the tantrum ones... the little moments are what really matter.
      I am understanding this one more and more.

I suppose I could go on forever. How about you guys? If you are reading my blog (and I sometimes wonder if anyone is :) What goals do you have for 2011?