Happy Halloween!!

I cannot remember a Halloween past where it has been this warm. Upper 60's and sunny....perfect! I am excited to take Lauren trick or treating tonight and get lots of pictures. She went to a few houses last year, but it was really cold and she was still pretty young.

A funny story....Lauren's daycare teacher told me Lauren told her yesterday to make sure her mommy checks her candy after T or T! LOL! My little wiz kid! Have a freaky time and stay safe! I will have pics to share later.

And a little flashback....

Halloween 2007

Halloween 2006

A Little Winter Shopping

So the cold weather is approaching fast...YUCK! I found a few new tops and sweaters to get me through the freezing Wisconsin winter months. They look so warm and stylish.

Happy Anniversary Friend!

I want to wish my best bud a very happy 4th anniversary. Four years ago today, Tara and Nate got married. While it was MUCH colder that day...I still have great memories of a wonderful and fun wedding. Hope you enjoy many more years of wedded bliss!

Battling A Cold

So, I got sick on Saturday night in Vegas....full blown, knock you on your back cold! And it is getting worse by the day. Granted, I will take being sick any day if that means Lauren is NOT.

Can I just say that being a woman/mom sucks sometimes. You get sick, yet you still have to take care of everyone. Husband gets sick...he is on his death bed. When do we get a chance to cash in and just lay around? One answer...never!

So here is to sucking it up yet again...we are needed sick or not.

Vacation From Sin City

So we got back from Vegas yesterday afternoon and I just have to say that I need a vacation to recover from my vacation. Why does that always seem to be the case? Anyway, here is a brief report on our 3+ days in Las Vegas.

The weather was amazing...mid-upper 80's the whole time. The food...again amazing and too much of it. Gambling...not my thing and not lucky. Jas did manage to win $300, so it wasn't all bad. My pedicure at the MGM Grand Spa was sooo nice!! We saw Carrot Top (yes, there was NOTHING out there that we didn't see 5 years ago) and I will admit he was pretty funny. We walked 5000 miles...which is good for helping burn off a few of the 10 million calories you consume. The bad part was that I got an awful cold Saturday night and had to stay in bed...I am still battling it today. The smoke really got to me after a while too.

Now for a couple pictures to document our family vacation:

Me hanging at the pool....notice my nice pedi??

Our view from our room at the MGM Grand.

This is how we roll...our stretch limo from the airport

Jas and I in the limo.

All of the fam before boarding the plane to Vegas.

Does This Classify As An Awful Day??

I picked up Lauren from daycare yesterday to see a sign posted that a case of scabies was confimed in her room. First, what the hell is scabies? I run home to jump on the internet and do some research. Scabies is an itchy skin condition caused by a tiny, eight-legged burrowing mite called Sarcoptes scabiei. The presence of the mite leads to intense itching in the area of its burrows. The urge to scratch may be especially strong while you're in bed at night.
Scabies is contagious and can spread quickly through close physical contact in a family, child care group, school class or nursing home. Because of the contagious nature of scabies, doctors often recommend treatment for entire families or contact groups to eliminate the mite.
Take heart in that scabies is readily treated. Medications applied to your skin kill the mites that cause scabies, although you may still experience some itching for several weeks.

EWWWWWW!!!

And another wrench to throw into the equation, Jas and I are suppose to fly to Vegas tomorrow morning. Wonderful! We took Lauren to the doctor this morning and she was checked out and has no symptoms, which means nothing since it can take 4-6 weeks for them to show up. So, we play the waiting game. We have to wash ALL our clothes, linens, towels, etc in hot water, vacumm, disinfect everything and use this nasty cream that you put all over your body and leave it on for 8-14 hours and then wash it off to get rid of scabies. Sounds like lice only this itches like the bejeezes!!

So, me being the worrier that I am starts thinking we should not even go to Vegas and OMG we have exposed so many people...blah, blah, blah. Basically I am about to put myself in the loony bin. Deep breath...we have been tol by numerous docs and nurses to go on vacation and we just have to wait and see what happens. I hate not being able to plan for this.

So it looks like we are off to Vegas tomorrow after all. I may need to start drinking as soon as we land. No amount of tears or praying can help us now...only time will tell whether we come out unSCABIED!

Packing Pain In The Ass

Does anyone feel like I do when it comes to packing and unpacking? I dread it! I am always worried I will forget something and chances are I will. I am a VERY organized person and always make lists and such, which helps considerably.

So we leave for Vegas on Friday and I have yet to pack our suitcase. I have Lauren all packed for her stay with grandma and papa. She was easy. I know that tonight there is no more putting it off....I have to pack and once again I am dreading it. Is there any way to make it fun...even just tolerable?

Guilty Pleasures and Such

We all have them, we just may not share. So, I will let you in on a few of my (guilty) pleasures:

One Tree Hill: Don't knock it till you've seen it. I caught season one on replay about a year ago and got hooked! Granted this season is getting a little crazy, but it is a show I just love!

America's Next Top Model: I have seen every season of this show. I am not sure what it is that draws me in so much, but I never miss it. Maybe it is becasue I am so "fierce"!

US Weekly: I have a subscription to this magazine and I run to the mailbox every Thursday in hopes it will be there! I curl up in bed at 8:30 and read it. It is pure entertainment....not thought provoking plots or mysteries to solve. It is relaxation for me.

Chocolate: Namely, Kit Kats and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. These are just the best treats ever. With Halloween approaching, I am sure I will be tasting these delicacies.

Morning Person

For those people who know me well, know I am definately a morning person. Hence the reason I get up at 4am to workout every week. Now I know many people think I am nuts, but I actually enjoy it. It is such a great feeling to go through the day knowing your workout is already done...not looming over you. I always feel incredible after a workout too...so energized and alive. The gym is not packed full of people at 4am...don't get me wrong there are a few other crazy people who share my early morning routine. I am finding that the darker mornings and the cooler mornings do make it a little harder to get to the gym, but this is the price I pay for a workout that is guaranteed to make me feel amazing as I begin my day.

Kudos to Anytime Fitness for the great service of providing a nice gym that is open 24 hours to members and can be used anywhere across the US. Here's to your health!

Delicious Dish

I love trying new recipes and thought this looked really good. Oh boy, this ranks in my top 10 meals of all time I think. It was a hit with the entire family too. So just try to resist....CREAMY CHICKEN LASAGNA

INGREDIENTS
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
6 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 cube chicken bouillon
1/4 cup hot water
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 (26 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce


DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
Meanwhile, place the chicken in a saucepan with enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Cook for 20 minutes, or until no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove from saucepan, and shred.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Dissolve the bouillon cube in hot water. In a large bowl, mix the chicken with the bouillon, cream cheese, and 1 cup mozzarella cheese.
Spread 1/3 of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover with the chicken mixture, and top with 3 lasagna noodles; repeat. Top with remaining sauce, and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven.

My quick tip: Instead of boiling the lasagna noodles, I put them in a pan of water to soak while I bail the chicken and prepare the filling. Works great and cuts time.

O Christmas Tree

I know what you're thinking....it isn't even Halloween yet. Well, we have a slight dilemma in our family this year. We had planned to do an addition to our house and we were going to get a bigger tree and all. Well it all fell through and I sold our old Christmas tree at our garage sale for $5! So now we are treeless, which isn't awful since we have not put it up since before Lauren was born. We do plan to get a new tree, but probably not until AFTER the Christmas season (BIG SALES) So I was looking through the devil magazine, AKA Pottery Barn Kids, and fell in love with this:

After debating with myself for a while, I decided I should get it and start a tradtion in our family to last a lifetime. It will be fun to put little notes, candies, trinkets in there for Lauren to count down the days until Christmas. So there you have it....this will be our official tree this year.

Pure Genius

I found this fabulous Etsy seller the other day and couldn't resist ordering a gorgeous crocheted hat for Lauren. It is so pretty and so functional. It goes with anything and everything...how you ask? That is where the GENIUS comes in. Simply J Crochet (Jenel) uses her talents to create these beautiful hats and then attaches a snap so you can change up the flower accessory. It is brilliant!!!

Check out her etsy store: http://www.simplyjcrochet.etsy.com/

Here is Lauren modeling her hat....sort of. Give her a break, nothing can compete with Dora.

Rich and Chocolatey

TA DA!!

So I think my fabulous hairdresser (Krista) hit the color right on! I love it...it is the perfect fall/winter shade.

A new do

I have a hair appt today and I think I am going to go darker. With it being winter and all. I was thinking something rich and chocolatey...oh wait that is dessert. Honestly though...maybe a color like Sophia Bush??

We'll see how it all turns out!

Memory Lane Monday

Today I was looking at old pictures and these two just made me sigh at how fast Lauren is growing up. These two pictures were taken when she was just a week old. Look at that tiny face!

A Peaceful Saturday

We woke up early Saturday morning and I made waffles for breakfast. We had a date with the needle at 8am. The family flu shot. Overall, it went well and so then we decided since Lauren did such a good job we would go do something fun as a family. It was chilly out, but sunny and a beautiful fall day so we headed to the Arboretum to go for a walk. The pictures above document a fun time. It was so peaceful and so pretty. I think we will make this a yearly event.

Una, Dos, Tres

Wednesday night Jason, Lauren and I were hanging out in the basement (this is basically Lauren's play area) all doing something different. Jason was on his Playstation, Lauren was playing with her kitchen and I was sorting through clothes Lauren had outgrown.

After about 20 minutes, we heard this little voice, "una, dos, tres...pause...quatro, cinco..pause..seis, siete, ocho...pause...nueve, DIEZ!" Jas and I looked at each other in disbelief. Was that our daughter counting to 10 in Spanish? We tried to figure out where she learned that....daycare, Dora, the few times I have counted in Spanish for her, all of the above?? Of course when we ask her to do it again, she is too busy to oblige.

Camera How I Love Thee

So I broke down and got a new camera about a month ago. I am so in love with this thing!!! My old camera was nice, but it could not keep up with an active toddler and I knew I needed something that could do the job and do it well. Voila....I found it! Introducing my newest love

Nikon D40 Digital SLR

I highly recommend this camera to anyone. It takes the clearest pictures and is so easy to use (well, I have only used the Auto settings) I cannot wait to play around with it and get more fancy! And just so you can see what great pictures it takes....here you go

This camera can make any amateur look like a pro. Ok, maybe that is a bit extreme. I plan to take it with us tomorrow when we visit the Arboretum.

Viva Las Vegas

One week from today I will be in Vegas. This was a Christmas gift last year from his mom and stepdad. They are taking all of us ( Jason's sister, brother in law, 2 step brothers and their wife/girlfriend) for a 4 day vacation to Sin City. Jason and I went to Vegas for our honeymoon 5 years ago. It will be neat to see how it has changed since then.

It will be hard to be away from Lauren for 4 days. I know she will have so much fun with Grandma and Papa. I wish I was a bit more excited to go. I think Jas not having a job yet is putting a damper on our excitement, but we will suck it up and try to enjoy our first real vacation since 2005.

Fall is...

taking your daughter to the park and watching her smile while she swings. Not a care in the world....loving life. Now this is what parenthood is all about.

Say Cheese

I would like to personally thank the maker of this game that has ruined my daughter's inability to take a good picture. Here is a piece from the said game.

And without further a do....I give you evidence 1, 2 and 3.

It's Been Awhile

So I have not blogged in almost 2 months...yikes! I may have to make up for that today and post a bunch of updates, funny stories, etc.

First, I just have to say how much I love fall. I welcome it with open arms each year and shed a tear when it leaves (way too early in my opinion) If it were up to me, it would be fall 9 month out of the year. The weather is a perfect 50-70 degrees, leaves changing colors, pumpkin patch, apple orchards, Halloween..just to name a few fall perks. So here is to hoping fall sticks around until December 23rd!!

Second, this tough economy has hit us hard. J lost his job due to cutbacks the day before our 5th anniversary. Happy Anniversary to us! He has been searching for a new job ever since...he is fast approaching week 4 of unemployment. He has had a few interviews, but with all the people looking for work right now, you have to be the perfect fit to get the job. The hardest part is that Lauren and I were covered under Jason's insurance too, so that was the biggest blow. I purchased some online insurance for catastrophic emergencies to get by.

And this brings me to my final point in this post. The election! It is so hard to pick a president. Both sides are saying the other is doing this and that...no one really gets to the issues...politics always seems to corrupt people in the end anyway...it is all really frustrating! I just pray that whoever is our next president things can get turned around and fast.