11mos

I can't beleive that we are 1 short month away from celebrating your 1st Birthday Buddy. For now we will focus of what you've been up too this past month.

-You are a boy on the MOVE now that you've figured out the whole crawling thing you're constantly GOING. You have also mastered pulling yourself up and walking along the furniture. The idea that we wouldn't be saying NO and instead be using other words instead flew out the window real quick. For now it will be no, be careful, take care, come here mister until you are at the age where you can understand.

-You don't seem to have gone through any seperation anxiety you easily go to others. We've only had a few instances where you haven't and I don't blame ya. You tend be shy while out in public, we were out this past weekend and you were a tight lipped not gonna smile baby as soon as we got to the car and I put you in your car seat you started laughing and smiling.

-You GRADUATED from your helmet and have a beautifully shaped head. We went back today for a check-up and you still have a perfectly shaped noggin. So aside from paying off your helmet we are done with Midwest Orthotics, they are a good family owned business.

-You had a rough week of eating but we got over that and your back to eating without issues. The dogs have learned to stay close during your meal/snack time. They are our Emergency Spill Team and always quick to respond.

-You experienced your 1st Thanksgiving. You slept through both dinners but you did get leftovers and you liked the turkey but not the stuffing (don't blame ya).

-You LOVE jumping, you will pull yourself up on the couch, us, the chair and will just jump. On my days off with you, you jump in your jumper while I work out. It works prefectly.

-You got your 1st boo-boo and if your anything like me you will get many more and have scars to go along with them.

-Starting to become a bit picky with your meals, applesauce and yogurt our the mask foods though which helps everything go down a bit smoother.

-sleeping hasn't improved too much, you need to work on putting yourself back to sleep and I need to work on letting you cry it out. It's hard!!

-You wear 6-12mos (I don't get the sizing what so ever) clothing and some 6-9mos stuff still.

-You have handled the combining of breast milk and formula very well. You will have that combo till about Christmas day then it will be formula and milk combo.

-you have 3.5 teeth, that you hate having cleaned. Aunt Jen came over and showed us how to clean those babies and needless to say she was not your favorite person. It's gotta be done though.

My attempt to get his monthly pic:

As I said a boy on the move:

Could we make this anymore diffcult

I see you, now just lay on your back and keep your legs straight

Gotcha...

Enjoying some Cheerios:

YUMMO...

recap

Yesterday was Ian's 1st Thanksgiving and he slept through both dinners. And actually I was kinda glad about that. Everyone was able to enjoy their meal without playing "pass the baby, or entertain baby". Marcus and I enjoyed 2 dinners and we practiced moderation. Each only having 1 helping of the things we like. We both came away feeling full but not over stuffed and our pants still fit..SUCCESS!!

Dinner 1: was at my parents, we arrived early to assist in preperations. My dad was frying the turkey and all was well until the fire went out and they couldn't get it re-lit. So the turkey headed inside to continue cooking and beverages were passed around. Thanks to skype we were able to see my sister and talk with her. Ian got to "play" with my cousins it was the 1st time they spent any real time together. Due to turkey glitch we ate about an hour later and all was well. We had all the typical turkey day foods: mashed potatos, sweet potatos, turkey, gravy, dressing, fresh green beans, rolls, pumpkin pie, and fudge. There might have been other things but you see I'm a picky eater and only had the following: turkey, both kinds of potatos, green beans and of course pumpkin pie.











Dinner 2: We left my parents soon after we ate, since the turkey glitch set us behind in our schedule everyone had to adjust. Thank goodness for understanding in-laws. We enjoyed some of the same foods we enjoyed at parents but also enjoyed homemade noodles, carrots, ham and some other stuff I don't like so I didn't pay attention. I know you're trying to figure out how one can be picky on Thanksgiving...I'm just a not fan. Turkey isn't really my thing either which I think makes it easier for me to not over eat. After dinner we all watched the movie Date Night which is a pretty funny movie and reminds me that we need a date night. Maybe that will happen in December. We headed home as Marcus had to work today, poor guy he did take Wednesday as a vacation day (we both had the day off although I still did some work) in which we cleaned the house as if we were having guests over and he worked on stuff for his jeep.

Overall the past 2 days have good and productive. I'm done being professional until Monday and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

10 thanks

No, I don't only have 10 thanks but since we all have lives here I decided to save us all some time and only mention 10. In all honesty I could go on and on but as noted we all have lives and with that said let's get it underway in no particular order.

1. Ian, my sweet baby boy who is the light of my life. Gosh I love that kiddo!

2. Marcus, I'm one lucky girl who has a husband who gives and gives and puts up with my wackiness.

3. Family who loves us.

4. A job, it may not be the job I want but it's a pay check.

5. Our home, it may not the house we want but we have roof over our head and thanks to #4 we are able to pay for it each and every month.

6. Basic essentials: we have food in our fridge, fuel in our cars, clothes to wear, clean water to drink.

7. Ability to be picky when it comes to what clothing we wear, food we eat, car we drive, TV/Movies we watch, so basically the abilty to choose

8. Health, everyone is in good health aside from a few sniffles every now and then.

9. Our Country, we may not agree with everything but we are living in the land of the free. Big thanks to all my family who have served for our country, Thank you

10. Friends, may not get see some often but knowing they are there warms my heart.

May you all have a blessed Turkey Day!

it happened

Ian acquired his 1st boo-boo this weekend, I've been asked how did he do it. Well, here's what I know he was standing and then he was on the floor and in the process he must have bumped his head. He maintained consciousnesses and stayed alert after the fact so we declared him to be ok and a hug was giving as well as one of his cookies to help soothe him. All is well and he acquired a few more, which in my mind says he did get one of my traits...clumsiness. I'm proud!

45min=saving a life

Time for me to get out my soap box.

Last week I went and donated blood for the 1st time since March 2009. Before then I would always donate every 56 days which is the time one must wait inbetween donations. Anyways donating blood is a simple thing that you can do to help your community and save a life. The blood that is donated is used in the ER, ICU, PICU, NICU, in surgeries and for cancer patients. Donating can take about 45min, now I'm pretty sure everyone has 45min of their time every 56 days to donate some red stuff and help someone out. Plus on your first visit you get a t-shirt and a sticker, who wouldn't want that?? And after every donation you get cookies, hello yes I just said cookies!! But really you save someone's life, you give them the ability to BREATH, FUNCTION, LIVE! Here is some info from our local blood bank:

Whole Blood Donation is the most common type of blood donation. During this process approximately one pint of whole blood is donated. Each unit of whole blood is separated into 3 main parts: red blood cells, platelets and plasma. Therefore, with each whole blood donation, up to 3 lives can be saved!

Donating whole blood is safe and simple. The entire process, from registration to refreshments, takes approximately one hour. Strict procedures for every step of the process ensure the safety of the donor and of the blood supply. Whole blood donors can donate every 56 days or up to six times a year. You must wait 56 days between whole blood donations to allow plenty of time for your body to replenish red cells.

About 400 whole blood donations are needed each week in our community to maintain an adequate supply for area hospitals and doctor offices. Approximately 200 patients in St. Joseph County use blood and blood products each week. These donations help patients, heal and recover, and they save lives. Even more donations are needed during the summer months and around the holidays. During these times, the number of donations drop and the amount of blood being used increases.

Here's a story from RyRy you can read his whole journey here

Ryne’s Story
Posted: Aug 21, 2007

Ryne Ewald is seven years old (now 10) and lives here in South Bend with his mom, dad, older brother, Chad, and his stuffed monkey, Stinky. A few years ago, Ryne got sick and wasn’t getting any better. Ryne was diagnosed with lymphoma and needed 25 blood transfusions to help him fight the disease and recover. Red blood cells and platelets are often given to people suffering from cancer and undergoing chemotherapy. A family friend sent Ryne a balloon bouquet in the hospital to lift his spirits. A stuffed monkey was attached and soon became Ryne’s best support through all his treatment. Ryne’s stuffed monkey, Stinky, goes with him everywhere… Just like the 25 people that donated the blood that helped to save his life.

There you have it by donating you could help someone's child, mother, father, grandfather, grandmother, aunt, uncle, cousin, neice, nephew, friend, neighbor and the list goes on. This month if you donate you receive a certificate for a turkey from Martin's Supermarket (local grocer) that doesn't expire until Jan. 15, 2011. Now, go and donate and help save a life.

put back together

I arrived at the store and handed over my claim ticket and the manager got my ring and also handed over a ESA. That's right folks the store made good on what was found in the computer system and we now have the paperwork to prove we have a lifetime warranty. She also put a ring guard on it so it doesn't twist around or randomly fall off (yes, my ring has randomly fallen off before).

Feeling put back together.

swim float swim

Do you or your parents have a pool or do you belong to a neighborhood pool? If you answered YES, then my next question is do you have children/grand children? If you answered YES, then my next question is if your child was to fall into the pool (I hope this never happens) and no one was around would they know what to do or how to save themselves? Well look no further, welcome Infant Aquatics (visit them at )and join Little Fins Swim School, LLC for two weeks in December right in Michiana. A certified Infant Aquatics instructor (who happens to own Little Fins) will be in town teaching at the Varsity Club in Mishawaka (Edison Lakes area) from December 21- January 3rd.

Infant Aquatics teaches swimming survival lessons for children as young as 6mos of age; that's right your 6mo old could learn water survival techniques such as "swim-float-swim". Now in two weeks they may not master the second swim but really all that matters is that they grasp the idea of "swim-float" as floating is what's going to save them in the case an accident might occur.



Some other steps you and your loved ones can take to deter your child from getting close to the water at all times is to install a pool fence similar to this and make sure your doors and locks are not accessible to inquisitive little ones!

Back to the lessons they are approximately 10 minutes long, but because of the shorter time frame (lessons usually take up to 4 weeks to complete) they may be stretched to 15-20 minutes depending on your child. Every child is different developmentally so every child may not have the same exact result but that's why lessons are done one-on-one!

Please "LIKE" Little Fins Swim School, LLC on Facebook or message Marci Hummell if you are interested in joining her at the Varsity Club December 21-January 3! One last thing lessons are $50/week (total of $100 for the two weeks) and this is special pricing as it is normally $80/week, so if anyone is looking for a good, useful Christmas gift I would HIGHLY suggest this!!!!

this is on my fridge

=

This was a craft that was done at Ian's sitters' house. It's meant to be for your front door but I'm quite found of my own personal craft I made for the front door (I know what a mean mommy I am). So instead I hung it on the fridge. To remind us when we open the fridge and are wishing it was stock full of everything we want at that moment. That instead we are thankful for what is in it at that time.

feeling naked

*WARNING SUPER LONG (but if it saves someone else from experiencing what we've been through then it's all worth it)*

My ring finger that is. The jeweler has my wedding band and engagement ring in order to tighten the prongs before the diamond falls out and is forever lost for the 2nd time. Yes, you read that right. I'm currently on my 3rd diamond, a girls dream right?? NO!!! One would think I do manual labor for a living.

Let's back track 5yrs ago. In April 2005 I acquired my 1st piece of left hand, ring finger jewelery. June 2006 the diamond fell out and was forever gone (we were getting married Aug 2006). Off to the jewelery store with diamond bond in hand, where the manager Ron (I was going to change his name but decided to scrap that idea and since I'm scraping that idea I'll also scrap the idea of not revealing the name of the jewelery company: Gordon's Jewelery) said it would take 4-6wks (we barely had 6wks) to get it back. There is good news and that is with the diamond bond they have to match what you had or upgrade you to the same quality but larger carat weight, see I told you good news. 6wks go by and we get my ring back and to say we were not satisfied is an understatement. The new diamond was bigger but had a huge carbon spot dead center in the diamond, which did not meet the diamond bond policy. However, we had no time to send it back and have it back to us in time for the wedding. A few months after the wedding we ventured back to Gordon's where Ron said it would be another 4-6wks...lovely just what a new bride wants to be without her main piece of hardware for 4-6wks. Anyways, the 6wk mark goes by and we hear nothing so I start calling and Marcus starts making weekly visits on his lunch hour to basically drill Ron on the ring whereabouts. Turns out it came back but he wasn't happy with the newest diamond (so I guess this is diamond #4) so he sent it back without telling us till much later. Meanwhile we now are calling daily and Marcus is up to 2 trips a week to spend his lunch hour drilling Ron on a arrival date. A total of 3months go bye and my ring is finally back on my hand. Marcus picked it up and in his drilling Ron guaranteed us a lifetime warranty on the ring and went about making note of this in the computer system. Marcus asked if we needed anything and was told no it's in the computer.

Fast forward to this past week Ian and I were at the mall to get a new battery in Marcus' watch and while at the jewelers I decided to have them clean my rings and necklace. And during this process is where the noticed the prongs were lose and the diamond could fall out at any given moment. They obviously suggested we send it to the jeweler ASAP which I agreed. This is where things took a turn, they asked if I had the ESA (extended service agreement) I said yes and told them the whole story behind the diamond that was currently being held in by loose prongs. They do a search and tell me that I don't have an ESA and that I can purchase one for 149.00 or pay the price of what needs to be fixed, in the meantime I'm on the phone with Marcus whose response when I said my ring has loose prongs and they can't find the ESA was "you've go to be kidding me and we aren't paying for anything". I knew I had all ring related paperwork at home tucked away safely so Ian and I headed home which he was more than ready for our departure. I will save you all the details, I found nothing in our paperwork all we had at the time was what we were told almost 4yrs ago. I call the store and tell them what I know, the store manager calls me back and says there is nothing they can do, they want a happy customer though (umm hello NOT happy). I rely this info to Marcus and he is for better words PISSED and heads off to the mall. He comes home after about a 1/2hr and it turns out they found where in the computer Ron had put the note about a lifetime warrant. Oh I forgot to mention that Ron is no longer with the company (fancy that). The new store manager would have to run this by her district manager but they would cover the repair costs for the prongs. As the store manager was writing up the repair she said to Marcus "Oh I get it the wife sends in her big burly husband" (really lady that's what you want to say to someone?). I stop in on Friday to drop off my ring and the SM tells me that after this repair we will have to purchase a lifetime warranty or pay for repairs as they come up. I tell ok that I will rely the message to Marcus and she says "if you want to send him again that's fine I'll talk to him" (again not making any friends here). Now, the only reason Marcus went into the store was because he was the one who purchased the ring and dealt with Ron one on one. Not because his wife couldn't handle a situation. As it is I'm the main situation dealer in the family. Marcus has since emailed corporate in how the situation was handled and how he was treated.

We've been told to expect it back on the 18th, she put a rush on it. How nice!!

A Few Thoughts

We'll wrap up the week with a few random thoughts.

1.Time change, we fell back an hour this past weekend and I must say I prefer this time than the spring forward time. Yes, I know it takes a while to get use to it being dark by 6p. I much perfer driving to work in the daylight rather than darkness it makes having to go much more doable.

2. I have come up with some great ideas to get for others for Christmas but as usual I think of them in the car, shower, while working out, etc and therefore not around anywhere to write them down.

3. Tuesday morning Ian wanted to start his day early so we were up at 5 something and I had yet to put my contacts in and just had my glasses and he attacked me and bent the frame. Marcus was able to fix them luckily.

4. ADD kicks in when I try to pick out pictures and arrangements.

5. I can dress Ian for about 5wks without doing any of his laundry aside from bath towels, pj's, and bibs. Yes he has a tons of clothes.

6. I made the 1st batch of sugar cut out cookies today. This is the 1st double batch of many to come. I will frost/decorate them later for now they will go in the freezer.

I think that's about all I'm sure as soon as I post this I will come up with something else to add...oh well. Hope everyone had a great week.

oops I forgot

I had more items to add to what I like about winter who knew that was possible?!?!

*Hot Chocolate, winter is the only time of year that our coffee cups get any use. I will need to look at getting a new tea kettle though.

*Christmas movies, now I have guidelines we can't start watching before Thanksgiving. So usually as soon as we are home for the evening on Thanksgiving day you can find us curled up watching Elf and then every weekend after that we watch every Christmas movie we own!! Our faves include: Elf, Christmas Vacation, Home Alone 1&2, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Santa Clause 1,2,&3 (I must admit by movie 3 they ruined it but still gotta watch it), Deck the Halls, Four Christmas', The Holiday (one of my faves, not Marcus'), Christmas with the Kranks, and Prancer (random knowledge: part of it was filmed in New Carlisle, IN about 20 min from where we live)

*Marcus loves Christmas and I made the mistake of notifying him that there is a radio station already playing Christmas music (they started Oct 1). He knows my feelings on no Christmas (aside from shopping) till after Thanksgiving so he changed all the presets in my car to this particular station, how nice of him.

*My sister comes home and I've already arranged for her to watch Ian one day while I go to work so I can the eve's of the holiday's off. Also while she's in town she will be offering some inductory swim lessons. These aren't your ordinary swim lessons either a post all about that a little later.

*Christmas cookies, you see every year since I've been married I get together with my mother in-law and we make in total about 25 different types of cookies. We do some together and some on our own. I think I will start baking my sugar cookies in the coming weeks and freeze them until it's time to decorate. One can only accomplish so much during nap time.



What things do you look forward too as winter approaches??

winter

Kinda threw up in my mouth when I just typed the title of this here blog. We woke up yesterday morning to snow on the ground and on our cars it's here folks it's here. If you recall I did a whole post on what I love about fall and I could do a whole post about what I love about spring and summer too. But for some reason I can't do the same for winter. I can come up with a few good things like:


1) Ian's 1st Christmas
2) Ian's 1st Birthday (NOOOOO.....He can't be turning 1 yet)
3) Looking out the window and seeing the beautifulness that God has created covered in SNOW making it look even more beautiful.
4) our 1st family Christmas card...good golly help me though because Marcus has quite the production going on in his head of what it needs to be.
5) you don't have to shave everyday
6) bring on the comfy clothes and warm socks
7) baking and making dinner in the crock pot or a big pot of soup
8) yeah, got nothing

Now I'll mention a few things I dislike about winter.

1)wish I had remote start
2)my hands become constantly dry and cracked
3)I have a condition called raynaud's disease which is no fun. I have in my hands and feet. Last winter was not as bad because I had my internal heater on 24/7.
4)I'm constantly cold while a work and feel someone needs to design a little heater to go over the mouse for the computer (remember the above condition)
5) members at work complain that it's too warm in the club to workout and I then whip out my cold, white numb hand and say really?!?! SUCK IT AND SWEAT WOMAN. Okay not really that's just what I think and say when I walk away.

There they are what I'm looking forward too and what I'm looking forward too. Now, you can't say move south if you don't like it or want to get away from the coldness because my sister has the same condition and lives in FL and still suffers from it. Remember to drive safe and watch out for your fellow drivers who might not have gotten the memo that snow changes the way one needs to drive. Gotta wrap this up so I can sit indian style and then sit on my hands!!

Stay warm!!

oh crap mode

It's amazing what can be accomplished when in Oh Crap Mode. Take for example Wednesday morning. Ian woke up at 2 something in the AM uncosoleable crying and thrashing (if anyone has some insight on this I'm open as it has been going on for over 2wks and I'm over it). Anyways I rocked him (the glider chair in his room finally coming in handy 10mos later) for about an hour and then quickly jumped back in bed and fell fast asleep. My alarm is set to go off 5:35 on Wednesday (work days..bleech) I don't have to be up till 5:45. Whoever invented the snooze button I thank you you're a genius. Anyways my phone gives me 2 options SNOOZE or DISMISS (see where this is going??). In my incoherentness I apparently picked DISMISS and woke up feeling somewhat refreshed until I looked at my phone and saw 6:29 that's right almost an hr late. Which is when my butt hightailed into oh crap mode and as I bound of out bed Marcus looks at his phone and in a sleepy state says "aren't you suppose to be ready by now?" My response was yes but my thought was Yeah, thanks for pointing out the obivious to me and you're lucky I'm not all the way awake to go off you. I head for the shower and decided that I wasn't going to wash my hair my justification was that the hair professionals say you shouldn't wash daily. I get in the shower and wet my hair down and before I know it there is shampoo in my and hand and I'm washing my hair (stupid routine). Great, so much for trying to save time with that idea. I finish up my normal shower routine and getting myself around. I head out to the kitchen and look at the clock and it was 7a prefect I still had time to eat breakfast and luckily I made my lunch and everything the night before. I was finally able to B-R-E-A-T-H and was thankful that Ian was still sleeping which saved me some time and that he was headed to my parents. In which he could go in his jammies and eat his firts meal there. That was just the beginning of my day...

Once at work I was on the phone with tech support and after being on the phone with them for an hour I headed to my next location. On my drive I passed a lady walking with a 6 pack of Corona's a few thoughts ran through my head. 1)oh that is sad it is only 9:30 2)I'm sad but also jealous 3)wonder if she needs a ride because a corona after the morning I've had would be nice.

There you go a morning I would love to forget but it almost happened again this AM, least I know I can get completely ready in a 1/2hr.

applesauce oatmeal cookies

Tuesday morning I was in search of a new cookie to make and while in the shower I had one of my good idea moments and decided to do a google search (not sure how things were done before google) for applesauce cookies. As I have quite a bit of applesauce stored in the deep freezer and kitchen freezer and always some on hand in the fridge. Anyways in my search I came across this recipe and then a slightly version. I went with the 2nd recipe that is adapted from Martha Stewart's. I used smooth homemade applesauce. I didn't have any maple syrup on hand so I used regular syrup and also cut the icing frosting in half as it made way too much. I also omitted the raisins as I didn't have enough on hand. I made a batch on Tuesday and a 2nd batch today and with today's batch I tossed in a 1/2c of whole wheat flour. They are YUM-O!



Iced Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup chunky-style applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla (I added this)
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon (I added this)
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup raisins
1 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Make cookies: Preheat oven to 350. Put butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until combined. Add egg, applesauce, and vanilla, mix until well blended, 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix in raisins.
Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies until golden and just set, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack set over parchment paper; let cool completely.
Make icing: Whisk confectioners’ sugar, syrup, and 3 tablespoons water until smooth. Drizzle over cookies, let set.

Graduate

Ian is now a graduate of Midwest Orthotics as of yesterday afternoon. They were very pleased with the results and so are we. Ian wore his helmet for 21-23hrs a day for 7wks and 6days. We will continue to go back for scans every month for the next few months to be sure there is no regression. And at night we just have to make sure he is sleeping on each side of his head.

Today is day 1 with no helmet and I'm loving be able to cuddle with him and kiss his head wherever I want too!! Ian is still adjusted to not having it on, he has had a couple times where he has put his head down and did so a little too hard. He'll get the hang of it, just like he got the hang of wearing it.

Halloween 2010

Ian celebrated his 1st Halloween we did not go door to door as there is no point. So instead he made appearances at my parents, Marcus' parents and Uncle, and my Grandparent's in which my aunt stopped by and my uncle walked over (he lives right next door kinda like on Everybody Loves Raymond but not like that at all)

Ian receivced: puffs, skidders (slippers with grippers), raisins, cheerios, a lil stuffed pumpkin, animal crackers, frosted animal crackers, and some money. I'd say for not going door to door he made out and was super cute!!!

Here's some pics of our lil guy thanks to my dad.