new year, new us

2010. Well, here's hoping this year brings us better things on the financial front then 2009 did. We just seem to be taking hit after hit financially and because of this I have started looking for a job again. I don't want anyone to say, "oh you can find areas to cut costs... but you are the most important person in your child's life... they are only young once." Believe me, I know all this and it pulls (more like YANKS) on my heart strings and I've cried my eyes out about it but there is only so much that one income can do for you and when it can barely pay all your bills there is a problem. We need to eat. We have a mortgage. We have medical bills. We have student loans. We have credit card debt - which is scheduled to be paid off in Dec 2012... then we will be debt free... what a feeling! We have propane, cable/internet, cell phones, electric, water/garbage, a 2nd mortgage, car insurance, life insurance, 2 car payments, gas, groceries and I'm sad to add... we'll soon probably have daycare costs. We do the minimum on everything... we don't have fancy cable where you can watch movies on demand or tivo your favorite shows. We don't have internet or anything fancy on our cell phones... just the basics. But yet even with the basic everything we cannot seem to get ahead. It is so frustrating. So please pray that I can find a job that I somewhat enjoy. That my children are happy and thriving in whatever environment they are put in (home or daycare). That a little weight is lifted off my husbands shoulders. The last thing I want him to feel like is a failure because he can't support his family. We simply have to many bills.

My New Years Resolution is to become more stable financially (and to post more entries here!). To have savings. To be able to go to a movie or out to dinner once in a while with my husband... which never happens now because we wouldn't be able to afford this bill or that bill.

I dislike money. The end.

On to more happy things... my kids are cute. I know.

Cooper - 3 months - in his baptism outfit and Santa hat!
Ellie - 3 years - in her pretty dress from Great Grandma R.Santa came to Grandma Judi and Papa's house! I just think their mantle is so pretty and festive!
This morning we were up and dressed. Cleaning up the house... getting ready for the Vikings game... happy as can be.
Then he did this... while breastfeeding. So you can imagine what I also looked like. :)
I cleaned up Coop and took a shower. Then we got all ready for the Vikings game! Go Vikes!!
Now it's been hours since I started this post (funny how that works, huh!) and the Vikings game is over and we WON! 44-7! Woot woot!! They are gonna go ALL THE WAY!! (hoping anyways :))

Hmmm... what else has been going on?

Greg is having surgery in a week and a half. Our health insurance is SO AWESOME ((sarcasm)) that the hospital wants $1700 down in order to do it... they told us this LAST WEEK! So in other words... no, they are not getting that much money from us... $500 if they are lucky... but that will put a dent in our already barely there $$ for bills, so starts the falling behind... see what I mean now when I say we keep getting hit with odd ball things financially!

The weather here is TERRIBLE. Cold. Why do I live here? Today's high was supposed to be 4. Not 40, no. 4! Brrrr. I'm ready to move somewhere warm.

We bought a for sale sign for our house... it is still sitting in the kitchen.

We watched the Hangover the other night. Hilarious.

Ellie went to her first movie yesterday with my parents. They went to the Princess and the Frog. We were wondering how she'd do with the dark and the loudness of it all. But she loved it!

Ellie funny: today she asked me if my boobs also made juice!! haha! Those little kids and what they think up. Cracks me up. I love her to pieces. :)

Happy New Year!

the weather outside is frightful...

Or at least it's going to be. Another foot of snow (or more) predicted on top of what we already have... snow blower's ready and so is Greg!

We are headed to my parents house tomorrow to spend a few days there... otherwise I have a feeling we are going to be snowed in on Christmas eve and Christmas day. So I better go make my gigantic list of baby/kid stuff that they require to get through 2 (maybe 3) days. Ugh.

A few more pics before I go... my attempt to get a Christmas card... didn't go so well.

Merry Christmas to you all!

i hate snow

I'm hunkered down. Are you? (If you live in SE Minnesota) 10-15+ inches of snow is headed our way this evening and tomorrow. Yippee. ((sarcasm))

I will not be going anywhere. I HATE driving in this weather. Honestly out in the boonies where we live we'll be lucky to have our roads plowed by Thursday. Ish. Why do I live here?!

home sweet home

We are home. While it's nice to get away, it's so nice to get home!

We left Sunday for Greg's dad's side of the families house in Steven's Point, WI. His grandpa passed away last week. We had a real nice time visiting with his family, some we never get to see. Ellie had a blast getting to know her new "cousin" Emy. We ate to much food, stayed up to late, got up to early and I'm exhausted.

The funeral was a small grave side ceremony in 90 some degree weather at a VA cemetery with no tent above our heads... it was hot and we got burnt... but it was a quick ceremony. I didn't know Greg's grandpa well (I'd met him a few times) but dang it was very emotional for me. It was the mixture of seeing Greg cry, remembering my grandma's very similar ceremony and all the prego hormones running thru my system.

It is just over a 4 hour drive home for us and my body just wasn't to happy about that. I was so uncomfortable in the car and we have a trail blazer so it's not like I didn't have enough room! We came home Tuesday morning since I had another lia sophia party last night (I'm loving this jewelry thing!! It's so much fun!)

Today I have my 28 week OB appt. Update on that to come later. Then off to get some groceries and then come and get some baby clothes separated into lots for ebay. It never seems to end. I seriously feel like I work 10x harder now being a sahm than I did while working 40 hrs a week and being a mommy.

I wish I could just crawl back into bed right now! Tata for now, will be back later this afternoon!

Conversations with Ellie

In the mornings before we leave the house Ellie and I will sometimes walk outside and look at the sky talking about what kind of day it is going to be weather wise, we'll look at the birds eating in the neighbors yard, look for snow :(, etc... this morning we did just that.

There were all sorts of birds out and they were chirping LOUD this morning.

Ellie looks at me and says: "mommy they want a treat!"

I said: "they want a treat?"

She responds with: "yes! can't you here them, treat, treat, treat, treat!"  (tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet)

I have had a grand old time sharing that story with everyone I see today.  Her little mind amazes me!  :)

life - part 2

Once again I'm almost a week behind... have basically been working all week... dealing with all this damn snow we've been getting... preparing for Christmas... all that fun stuff we do every day.

Monday night Greg's photography club was having a cookie exchange/Christmas party/gift exchange. We planned to go but with the temp's being in the negatives I just didn't feel like packing Ellie up and hauling her into town when I got home from work. We decided that Greg would go alone. I had a nice quiet evening to myself. When Greg got home he informed me that there was a girl at the party (a guest of another photo club member) who wouldn't stop hitting on him! ALL night long! He said he kept mentioning his wife this, his daughter that and she didn't seem to get the hint (or just didn't care)... I hate girls like that. Next time I don't care if it is 40 below zero... I will be there! :)

Tuesday after work I was driving home (alone - Greg was home with Ellie for the day). It had been snowing for a few hours already and the roads were pretty slick and snow covered. We live in the middle on nowhere and I take quite a few country roads to get home... so I'm on my way... on a road where my cell phone doesn't work... and my back tires start sliding so I tried to correct it which only makes it worse and I do a couple 360's and all the sudden I'm sliding down the ditch sideways (drivers side first) and boom... I'm in the corn field. It happened so fast I can't even tell you how many times I spun around... I seriously have no idea. I was so scared and I remember thinking, as I was sliding into the ditch, that the trailblazer was going to tip over onto the drivers side... I was just waiting for my window to explode all over my face. Thank god it didn't happen.

An angel of a man pulled over, jumped out of his truck and came over to me to make sure I was ok... which I was... just a little shaken and my heart was racing... and he told me he could get me out... I was like, "um you can??!!" and he said, "yeah, ya got 4-wheel drive right?" I told him yes and he offered to try and drive it out of the ditch for me... I was like, BE MY GUEST! He got in and after a few seconds of turning the wheel back and forth and spinning tires he pulled up into and through the cornfield and out the driveway to me. I'm such a newbie to this 4-wheel drive thing that I had no idea I could just drive myself out! Not that I would have been able to do it myself anyway!

I feel terrible that I didn't even get the man's name! He asked where I lived and I told him, then he said he lived just up the road. I thanked him and gave him a little around the shoulder type hug (?! not sure what I was thinking there, I was just SO THANKFUL for him). He asked me if I'd ever had a 4-wheel drive vehicle before and I told him I hadn't... and just like my dad he says to me, "even with 4-wheel drive you have to slow down because once these vehicles start spinning they just keep going... " But seriously! I was going maybe 25 mph! Not 55!

I'm just so thankful Ellie wasn't with me and that the car wasn't damaged. Oh duh and that I wasn't hurt.

Do you know how happy I am that it's Friday night? You have NO IDEA. It has been a long week. This is usually what it takes to get me through my day...


We are due for more snow tomorrow... here's the forecast...
Minnesota, Goodhue County
Winter Storm Watch
Statement as of 10:09 AM CST on December 19, 2008
Expires 7:00 PM EST on December 21, 2008
... Winter Storm Watch remains in effect from Saturday morning through Sunday afternoon... A Winter Storm Watch remains in effect from Saturday morning through Sunday afternoon. A strong low pressure system will enter western Minnesota on Saturday and reach central Wisconsin by Sunday. Accumulating snow will accompany the low pressure system with amounts possibly exceeding six inches by Sunday night for central and east central Minnesota and west central Wisconsin... including the Twin Cities metropolitan area. In addition to the snow... strong northwest winds will develop Saturday night and continue on Sunday causing considerable blowing and drifting snow. Another round of bitterly cold air and dangerous wind chills is expected to arrive later Sunday. A Winter Storm Watch means there is a potential for significant snow... sleet... or ice accumulations that may impact travel.Continue to monitor the latest forecasts.

More below zero temps and more snow... love MN, just love it... why do I live here??

We were supposed to have Christmas with Greg's family tomorrow at his aunt's house but because of the incoming storm my MIL, SIL and GIL have decided it would be smartest to not make the drive down (from Hayward, WI)... and I don't blame them... after Tuesday night I never want to drive in the snow again... very unlikely. So I'm pretty thankful that we get to hunker down tomorrow and just stay home... no driving what so ever. Sunday afternoon we have tickets to go to the Vikings game with my parents and sister and BIL... I'm not so sure we're going to make that either... I'm hoping things clear up by then but I guess we'll have to wait and see. MN winter weather is pretty unpredictable.

My favorite picture of the week...

100 things about me

1. I'd be lost without my computer.
2. I'd be lost without my blog!
3. I love my bloggy friends!
4. I want to have 4 children.
5. My husband would be happy with the one we have.
6. I'll probably settle for 2.
7. I'm addicted to chap stick. Natural Ice Original to be exact and if I don't have one by my side at all times I might just freak.
8. I'm also addicted to Netflix. Can't wait for the next season of Weeds to come out!
9. I love shopping online... I just finished a bunch of x-mas shopping this morning.
10. I like my house to be clean. Though it rarely is.
11. I hate a dirty kitchen floor... I hate anything sticking to my feet.
12. I was Mrs. Edward Cullen in another life time. No really, I was. So there.
13. I love watching Oprah and Dr. Phil... but we no longer have tivo... so I'm shit out a luck.
14. I think Jeremy Piven and Chris Evans are HOT.
15. I don't like my job... who would like working in a child support office. Blah.
16. I get yelled at at least once a day by some cranky guy who's drivers license we took or some bitchy girl who wants her money. Ugh. If you are involved in child support... please be nice to your worker.
17. Whoa, this is going to take me a long time to think of 100 things...
18. I just bought a new winter coat on Ebay! Can't wait to get it.
19. I love coffee... especially my iced vanilla latte from Clara's in the St. James Hotel (only make by Becky!)
20. I enjoy a good appletini every once in a while.
21. I'm always up for a good glass of red wine.
22. I love Ellie's daycare. I can drop her off and not have an ounce of worry throughout the day.
23. I graduated from high school in 1996 and from college in 2001.
24. I have a degree in Community Heath Education... which I obviously am not using.
25. I met my husband in Dec 2003.
26. We were engaged by Feb 2004.
27. Married in May 2005.
28. Had Ellie in May 2006.
29. I hope to be pregnant/have a 2nd baby in 2009.
30. I love this time of year. The holidays make me really happy.
31. I still am not eating meat. I have eaten chicken and had a sliver of turkey yesterday. But it sorta still repulses me... especially since seeing that video with Sarah Palin pardoning the turkey... you seen it? The guy in the background... yeah... ish.
32. I want an economic bailout.
33. My last semester in college I interned at Planned Parenthood in the Twin Cities.
34. I managed a Planned Parenthood clinic for 1.5 years right after graduating college... was laid off from that job when Mr. Bush got into office as he didn't think funding for women's health and family planning was all that important. For the record, we did not do AB's at my clinic. Just the regular old things you'd get done at your OBGYN office, pap's, sti screenings, pg tests, family planning education, birth control rx's... etc.
35. I LOVED this job and totally planned to retire from it. I guess someone else had another plan for me... which I still don't quite understand.
36. I want lasik next year. You had it? Let me know how it was.
37. I'm addicted to Mellow Yellow.
38. Greg is addicted to Dt. Pepsi.
39. We are talking about having a pop free house, since we both need to lose weight.
40. Wow, I'm already to 40.
41. I'm going to order a workout video I read about on another blog... can't remember exactly who's since it was a while ago... but it's called Jillian Michael's 30 day shred. I'm excited to give it a try.
42. I'm currently selling a coach purse on ebay, one that we bought on our honeymoon. I paid well over $100 for it and it is currently at a $31 bid... I hope to god it goes up higher!
43. I just checked... it's now at $33 with 5 hrs and 22 min to go.
44. I really need to get in the shower.
45. I'm being extremely lazy today.
46. But that's ok, it's a nice long 4 day weekend for me.
47. Well I guess not too lazy... I've done dishes, made lunch, done 3 loads of laundry, ordered 5 x-mas gifts and washed the kitchen floor... so I've been somewhat productive.
48. My cat Max, snores... loud.
49. My husband snores... louder than the cat.
50. I got into a somewhat heated debate with my chiropractor about vaccines. Yikes.
51. TMI... if you are family you probably don't want to read # 52.
52. I usually want it more than my husband does, is that weird?
53. I hate cold weather... but live in MN.
54. I was born to live on the beach. I love the warmth, sand between my toes, the feel of my skin with a slight burn, the smell of my body and hair after being slathered in sunscreen and lying on the beach all day.
55. I am not a morning person.
56. I like Letterman better than Leno.
57. I already put my Christmas tree up and we've had our lights on the outside of the house for over a week now!
58. I drive a trailblazer.
59. Greg drives my grandpa's old buick.
60. Ellie drives me crazy.
61. Ellie is really starting to talk back to me. When I say, "now that is enough Ellie, it's time to be quiet/listen/behave/watch your mouth/etc" she will turn back to me and say, "no! you watch your mouth/behave/listen/be quiet momma!" How the heck do I deal with that??????????????
62. My grandpa is in a nursing home and he has lost all interest in living. He used to LOVE seeing Ellie and would talk to her and smile... we went to visit him yesterday and he barely looked at any of us and was pissed that my mom didn't bring him his coffee from Caribou... which was closed by the way... happy fricking thanksgiving to you too.
63. I just discovered Envirosax and I am IN LOVE WITH THEM!
64. I love to eat butter spindle pretzels and dip them in peanut butter. Nummy snack!
65. Ellie would eat 5 lbs of blueberries a day if I'd let her.
66. She'd also drink a gallon of apple juice if I let her.
67. If you ever visit Red Wing, MN you MUST visit Lily's Coffeehouse and ask for a 7 layer bar. They are TO DIE FOR.
68. Red Wing, MN was just voted one of the top 100 cities in the WORLD to visit by National Geographic magazine... I think we were voted #22 or #23... can't remember exactly... but pretty cool, huh.
69. I hate when people challenge me about not eating meat... try to convince me that animals were made for us to eat them... whatever... I have my opinion you have yours... let's live in peace... what is it to YOU that I don't eat meat? I never make it inconvenient to the cook by not eating meat... I work with whatever the meal consists of.
70. I love OPI nail polish remover. It is the best.
71. I haven't had my haircut in, oh gosh, it must be almost 4 months now.
72. I hate spending $30 on a haircut.
73. But I will spend $25 on a bottle of Kenra hairspray... go figure.
74. I really do need a haircut.
75. I LOVE New Kids on the Block... did you see them on the AMA's!
76. My body just hasn't been the same since I had Ellie. I'm guessing it never will be.
77. I broke my cheekbone when I was little... fell face first off my bike, over my handlebars. I have such a clear memory of that accident... who was there... where it was... what happened afterwards...
78. I played the cello in elementary/middle school... then wanted to be "cool" in high school so I quit.
79. I had awesome friends in high school.
80. They are still my awesome friends.
81. I crashed our high schools drivers ed car. My idiot instructor took me on a FREEWAY the first (or second, can't remember exactly) lesson I had. I was terrified and didn't break fast enough. I rear ended a huge pickup truck. I was humiliated. My instructor made me drive all the way back to Red Wing in a smashed up little Acclaim that still had the "STUDENT DRIVER" stickers on the side of the car. The most humiliating experience of my life, hands down.
82. I was very thankful I had my sunglasses that day... but I could still see the passing cars pointing and laughing at me.
83. I never had another hour of drivers training. My instructor passed me.
84. I have 2 tattoos. One I love, the other was a stupid one I did on a whim. Stupid.
85. Greg has an awesome tattoo of Ellie's name on his body. I love it.
86. Nolan, Brody, Ethan, Kellan, Tegan, Lane- possible boy names in the future.
87. Jenna, Ania (ahn-ya), Kinley, Bree, Mallory- possible girl names in the future.
88. I love all kinds of fruit and veggies.
89. I hate drinking water. It's plain and boring.
90. I worked in retail for 9 years at a small family owned gift shop.
91. I'd love to be able to buy that store after they retire next year.
92. I'd love to be my own boss.
93. Or have my sister be my boss.
94. Unlike most people I know... I really do like and have fun with my in-laws.
95. And I'm pretty sure Greg likes his in-laws too. We both got lucky.
96. I think hunting animals is repulsive.
97. I hate opening presents in front of people... but LOVE giving gifts to others and watching them open them.
98. I have a really wonderful husband. I feel very lucky when I hear stories from some of my friends/coworkers/family... I am spoiled.
99. I could lay in bed all day and read/watch movies/nap... that is my dream day :)
100. I get 3 dates with my husband in 3 weeks! 3!!! I haven't had that many in the last year!

I just can't watch this damn show The Locator without a box of Kleenex! Wow. It is so good. I can never watch an episode without crying like a baby. Full on sobbing almost! I'm pathetic. Must be PMS'ing.

Today has pretty much sucked. I've washed about 8 loads of laundry. Ellie has been puking all day. We've gone thru 5 outfits, I've washed clothes, blankets, pillowcases and toys. Yuck. Tonight she ate a piece of toast, a banana, a small bowl of applesauce and an itty bitty glass of water over a span of 2 hours and has kept it all down. About 10 after 7 she told me she was tired. Love that about her, she just knows when she is tired and wants to go to bed. Things are picked up and I'm FINALLY relaxing. Why does it seem like kids are always sick?!

So I'm a week behind. We went to Hayward (Greg's hometown) last weekend. Spent the weekend with his mom and sister and had a really fun time. I was feeling a bit exhausted and a little under the weather... got off work early Friday and we headed up. Got there just in time for dinner... had a nice dinner put Ellie to bed and then played a game of cards... I never win, ever.

Saturday morning we woke up and planned to go to Copper Falls and hike one of the trails. It is an awesome place and if you are ever in northern WI head to the little town of Mellon and visit Copper Falls. You won't be disappointed. Ellie slept during the ride there... I fully intended that she would walk during the hike... but no. She was half asleep when we got started and wanted to ride in the stroller. I don't recommend a stroller. There are to many steps and tree roots to climb up, down and over. Here are a few pics.

Ellie and Grandma Melly

Auntie Becca... told you this place was beautiful, huh!
Miss Ellie... she keeps calling the forest the "jungle"... cracks me up.
Beautiful waterfall
the stairs sucked arse... going up and down... lifting the stroller... usually with Ellie in it... I biffed it while going down one set... while carrying the back of the stroller (they were stone steps and they were wet)... good thing Greg had his footing or I would have pushed them both down the stairs... see how happy Greg and Grandma are to be carrying it up these steps!
Grandma and Ellie. I think Ellie's face looks SO FUNNY here! :)
awwww... aren't we cute :) and yes, my eyes are open... the sun was just bright
I thought this tree was SO WEIRD!
After the day at the park I was wiped. I crashed as soon as we got home. Greg woke me up when our Vietnamese take out dinner arrived. It was SO GOOD. After dinner I read a bit, Greg enjoyed a few of these... and Ellie carved a pumpkin with Grandma.
Sunday we woke up... Greg helped his sister move a few things from her old house... then we went to our usual lunch spot, Coop's, for pizza. They never disappoint. I am craving their garlic bread right now!

Going up to Hayward is like a little mini vacation. I love it. Greg and I get an extra couple hands with Ellie and can take a little bit of time to ourselves. Which we rarely get. I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed, feeling sorry for myself (lame, get over it, I know), crying, sometimes angry, usually frustrated... I'm either at work (which is highly stressful lately) or I'm at home with the demands there of Ellie and Greg... I just don't get a ton of "me" time or "us" time with Greg... which we also really need. I'm hoping in the next month or two we'll get a night or two to ourselves... I'm attempting to get those in the works.

BTW... read Greg's blog lately? Yup, my bright hubby got PO'd at work and punched a cement wall... BROKE HIS HAND. (big eye roll) I figure at least he didn't punch the guy who pissed him off, huh! And to all you over-reactors out there... I've never seen him display this form of anger or aggression EVER. NEVER EVER. So don't think he does stuff like that at home.

last night sucked

It was storming. No sever weather warnings. Just lots of bright lightening and thunder rumbles. Turned the news off at 10:20 and was going to go upstairs when all the sudden I heard the loudest boom/crackle/fizz/pop I’ve ever heard. I thought my house got hit by lightning. We lost power. I was home alone with Ellie, Greg was working. I *HATE* thunderstorms. So I was having anxiety pour out of my ears. I was scared. Called xcel. They finally came around 2 to turn things back on, and yes, I was still awake! In the mean time my sister came out to stay with me cause she knows what a freak I turn into when we have bad weather. Then the stomach cramps/nausea started and I was up sick in and out of the bathroom until after 1. Have no idea if it was something I ate or if I seriously made myself that upset! We didn’t end up falling asleep until almost 3 and my alarm goes off at 6:10. FUN. Fun Thursday. Fun. What a SUPER night.

Then I swore I was going to call in sick today. On 3 hours of sleep - go to a job I don't really like? Sheesh... why wouldn't I call in? Cause I'm a huge wimp. I felt guilty. Sometimes I hate being so honest, ya know? So went to work. Got doped up on mellow yellow and a nice sugary donut and made it thru my day.

One of my coworkers is like a serial garage saler and she knew I was looking for any fun little tikes toys... well she gave me this sale ad this morning:

Thurs. 8/28, 5pm-7pm; Fri. 8/29, 8am-10am. AGES FIVE & UNDER SALE!!! Trek Double Bike Trailer, Leap Frog Learning Table, Fischer Price Aquarium Cradle Swing, NEW Carseat. LITTLE TIKES: Castle Slide/Swing, Workshop Workbench, Sand & Water Table, Beauty Shop. Scooter, Trikes, Potty Chair, MUCH MORE!

Well thanks to J my coworker Ellie is the proud owner of a brand-new-to-us vanity table with a stool, blow dryer and pretend makeup. A washer/dryer and ironing board. And a swing/slide set. I don't have a pic of the swing/slide, but will get one. For now here are the other 2. I paid $20 each. Not bad. The swing/slide set, that is outside cause it won't fit through the front door, was $60 (grandma and grandpa paid for that one!) Thank you mom and dad! She loves it :) I'll post a pic tomorrow.

I'm beat. I need sleep. Night!

So we decided to do a little more landscaping... what do ya think?

the front yard

yeah, that is the electrical box that was pulled off the house

the deck (the table seriously flew 5 feet and flipped upside down and the glass didn't break!)

the back yard (a branch flew off the tree and ended up in the back seat of our neighbors car)
Everyone is safe. The house is still standing. That is all I care about. We still have lots of cleaning up to do. We were without electricity for about 27 hours. There is minimal damage to the house... a bent screen door, some dented gutters (had quarter size hail), some damaged trim on the back of the house and a few shingles lifted slightly. Many people lost homes, livestock, barns, machine sheds, vehicles and crops. It is really sad. We were very, very lucky.

**Edited to add**
We just survived round 2. Just came up from the basement, it's 10:50 p.m. I think we made it through the clear again. I'm sure we'll have many more branches on the ground tomorrow morning, but nothing like yesterday. I really hate this weather. It totally scares the shit out of me. Go visit my hubby's blog... he got some more good pics of our house after the storm yesterday... the driveway had a huge tree branch over it... it was cleaned up before I got home so seeing those pics really shocked me!

My MIL didn't come down due to the weather! We are totally bummed cause we had such a fun weekend planned!!! But with this crap I have it is probably just as well so I can stay home and rest. I have been trying to teach Ellie how to say grandma Melody. She is so funny cause all she can say is gamma melly. It is pretty cute.

Oh! Oh! How could I forget! We are trying the big girl bed for the first time tonight! She fell asleep just fine in it... I'll take some pics of her when I go up to bed and will post them tomorrow.

Just for the hell of it I took some pics (very unflattering) of me last night when I was having the worst night I've had in a long time. (A few other blogs I read have been daring others to post pics of themselves first thing in the morning. That I will not do! Although, these aren't much better than that I suppose!) I was feeling so sick as hell, Ellie just wanted to climb all over me and Greg was at work. Those things don't make for a fun night. I would have paid anyone to come into my house and watch Ellie so I could go to bed! I was short tempered and really weepy last night and poor Ellie took the brunt of it. But the sweet girl that she is... wiped my tears away with her little hand and said "mommy cry?!"

Don't I look pissy and sick. Please ignore the zits. Yes I'm almost 30 and still get the damn things. OMG I HAVE A HUGE FOREHEAD!! Note to self: don't pin bangs back... I tried to not look so pissy in this one. Oh and btw I got a haircut last weekend. God, don't my eyes look tired?!
This one was just funny cause it took me a few tries before I could figure out how to take a pic of myself in the mirror.
Tonight though I had a much better night. When Greg picked up Ellie from daycare they stopped to pick up a few things at the grocery store and brought these home for me! How sweet.
I *LOVE* tulips! They were my wedding flowers... I'll have to show you some pics of our wedding flowers.

Here are my beauuuuuutiful wedding flowers... My favorite picture of my sister and I...
Pretty flowers...
My girls...

One of my favorite pics of Greg and I...
I'm in the mood for pictures, so here's a couple more of Ellie at my parents house the other night...


Wow, this post has been everywhere! I think I'm outta here... until tomorrow. (I'm sure I'll be laying on the couch all day again and will have PLENTY of time for a few more posts!)

My ass is plopped on the couch right now... watching reruns of Keeping up with the Kardashians... while my throat feels like a swollen raw mass of yuckiness, my ears feel cloudy and my nose is so full of crud I've gone through a entire box of kleenex in 2 days. I went to work yesterday and decided after 2 weeks of this crap I better go see my dr. Yup... sick again. I have an ear and a sinus infection. Possible strep, but with this new health insurance we have we pay everything until our $4400 deductible (!!!)... so we passed up the throat culture since the antibiotics will get rid of it if that's what I've got.

I am so ready for spring to get here. If any of you out there don't catch the national weather... our lovely state of MN has been dumped on with snow. Last week many northern MN cities got 32 inches of snow. Last night they got another foot with 6-10 more expected throughout today and tomorrow! These poor people could end up with almost 5 feet of snow!! Do you know what it is like to shovel 6 inches of snow, let alone 60! OMG!! It would take days to get out of that! We are lucky that we live in the very southern part of the state so we usually end up with less than everyone else. Yesterday and today we've seen only rain and thunderstorms, no snow. Thank god!

My MIL is supposed to be on her way down from northern WI today. I know they've been pummeled with all this snow too. We are really hoping she can get down here. We have a fun weekend planned for Ellie! If she gets here we are going to the Mall of America tomorrow to have lunch at the Rainforest Cafe and afterwards will be going to Underwater Adventures Aquarium! So fun! I hope I'm feeling good enough to go. I actually thought of staying home and letting them go if I still don't feel well, but I don't want to miss out! It sounds like too much fun!

Back to the weather... this is crazy MN. We must be the only place where we can have low to mid 30's temps for the weekend and by next Tuesday it is expected to be in the 60's?! I cannot wait to open the windows and get some fresh air in this house and get all the winter germs out!! I am ready to have a fun and healthy summer!

Time for a snooze... will be back later!

p.s. thank you to my dad who came to pick up Ellie today and took her to daycare for me so I didn't have to make the 20 mile drive into town... AND this awesome dad of mine is taking my van to get an oil change and tire rotation for me! Sweet! :)

kid and car

Yes Chas! Daycare is the guilty one. I hate having to take her there because of the germs... but I know she is a tough one and by the time she starts school she will have a solid immune system built up. Everyone I work with tells me their kids were the same way... it has been challenging I have to tell ya! Hopefully when spring/summer gets here and the weather warms up things will take a turn for the better. And we do live in SUPER cold weather... I think if we lived somewhere where the average temp for the last 3 weeks wasn't -2 we would all be a bit healthier!

Her temp got up to 104.3! That freaked me out a bit but alternating tyl.enol and mo.trin have kept it down since about 2 pm. What scared me even more is that she had the puffies red eyes. I thought for a while she may have pink eye. She looked miserable. She wouldn't nap, ate normally and played normally. Go figure. We couldn't even get an appointment at the clinic today! They were full! We were going to go to urgent care which is open from 5-9... but her temp kept going down so we thought we'd give it a go at home and see if we should go in in the morning. She finally did fall asleep at 4ish and slept til 6:15... we had some dinner and now she is back in bed... (I started this entry hours ago, it is now 8:50).

Well today we went to look at the Paci.fica. It has a terrible blind spot in my opinion. It was so hard to see to change lanes. The windows are so small! I was totally in love with the car but if you can't see... not good. So instead we drove this:

It is really nice. 4wd would be super nice out in the sticks of no-ville where we live. The gas mileage is a hair worse than what we are getting in our 2000 minivan and it has a sun-roof! Oh how spoiled I will feel!!! :) We are waiting to hear if we can get it with the payment we need. Keep your fingers crossed! I really want it! I would feel so safe in all this snowy weather we've had this winter.

week in review...

I've been having a hard time lately thinking about things to write about. I hate to bore you with the ins and outs of our day to day routine. But then after thinking about that... I realize that is my favorite thing to read about when I come to all your blogs!

Again the week has flown by (thank god cause that means work flew by too). Tonight after work I picked E up from daycare and we went to Tar.get. OH NAUGHTY ME! I just should never go there. I needed a few things... kiddie toothpaste, envelopes, b-day cards for G, hairspray, vinegar, sour cream prin.gles, black pants for E, and gum. Well I walked out with all that plus a dress for E, a book for me, 2 bags of candy bars for G, 2 elmo notebooks, 1 pack of elmo stickers, a D.ora ball, smu.ckers frozen pb&j sandwiches, a piece of keylime pie for me, a package of baby tylen.ol... and I think thats it. Jeez. They sure do know how to sucker you in, huh.

G has been gone like this entire week and that sucks. Monday he had bowling, Tuesday his crew from work took him out after work for his b-day (which is tomorrow), Wednesday he was home but we were being cranky and short with each other so E and I spent most of the evening in her room dancing, cleaning and organizing her clothes. Thursday he went to a high school hockey game with my dad and then tonight he is out doing a ride-along with one of his cop buddies. He should be home any minute, thank god, cause I feel like I haven't seen him in like a week!

Tomorrow morning I am going to get up and make us some yummy cinammen rolls for breakfast. Then if the weather allows we are going to go out for dinner with my family for G's birthday. 31 years old tomorrow!!

Today was the first day that E actually said in full, "I wouve wou"!! It was so sweet. She usually just says, "wouv wou". She is saying more and more words every day. She amazes me. Simply amazes me. If I ask her to say anything, she says it. We sing the abc's and she loves to identify body parts... especially things on her face, nose, eye, mouth, teeth, brow, chin, cheek, ear, hair, lips and neck. She is a riot.

I have had a heck of a time waking up every morning this week. I think it stems from this past weekend! I'm not sure I felt 100% back to normal until Thursday. I hope E sleeps in until at least 7:30 or 8 tomorrow morning. I would be thrilled to get an extra hour or so of snooze time.

Whew, that was a lot for one post. I think I'll leave you with a few pics! Enjoy!

I gave E a haircut on Monday night while she was taking a bath. It was looooong overdue and I think it turned out pretty cute for my first cut eva!
G took E to the malls indoor playground on Wednesday. They also shared a col.dstone cre.amery oreo treat! So jealous. Wish I coulda been there.
Me and E goofing off. She's such a ham.
And 2 seconds later she's like, moooooooooom, let go of me!!
Hope you all had a great week!