A little look into our lives...

Jack's 2 year pictures

2009-03-04T20:08:00.000-08:00

So by now I'm sure most of you have seen these on my Facebook or elsewhere...(great pictures travel fast, huh?!) But in case you haven't had the opportunity to see our cutie yet, here they are again :) Many thanks to Amy Carroll for her awesome talent...she's been our family photographer since Jack was still in my belly!

On a sidenote, Jack LOVED Amy. He kept saying her name over and over and over during the session. In the car on the way home he asked for my phone. I handed it to him and asked him who he was going to call. He held the phone up to his ear and announced "Mommy, call Amy. Hi, Amy. Thank you. Love, Amy. Bye bye, Amy." So I decided to let him call Amy real quick and leave her a voicemail... (Amy, I'm not sure if you even understood it, but that jumbled message the other day was Jack expressing his thanks and love :)

Now onto the pictures...which can also be viewed here:

New floors!

2009-02-15T10:35:00.000-08:00

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

Rob is not a "Hallmark holiday" kind of guy. Nonetheless, he really made a HUGE effort on Valentine's day! And I mean literally. He installed new floors in the house! (And of course, thanks to my father-in-law for helping too!)

Two of the floors are done and the third floor will be finished next weekend. Everything except bedrooms and bathrooms will be done. We're still waiting on the stair and trim pieces to arrive...so it will likely be a couple weeks before it is completely finished. But I love them already! I'm finding they are so much easier to keep clean :)

(Pardon the messy living room...and we still can't agree on new living room furniture...a quest that has been going on for almost a year now. *sigh*)

And I also did a little project in the playroom. I found some Martha Stewart letter cards at Michael's. They have the alphabet and corresponding animals in a vintage fashion on them. I hung some twine and used baby clothespins to hang the pictures. I'm happy with how it turned out! Altogether, it took me 15 min. and $18 :) (No his play room is NOT always this clean...most of his toys are just shoved in the closet right now!)

On vacation...details later, pictures now...

2009-02-01T20:15:00.000-08:00

These are not in any particular order...

At the Lego Store in Downtown Disney...he really wanted to have the dogs.

I think this is Quincy (?) from The Little Einsteins...whoever he was, Jack loved him!

Having fun in the seashells at the Orlando Science Museum (a really cool place!)

Getting ready for the 3-D Toy Story Mania ride at Hollywood Studios (which was super fun!)

The Magic Kingdom in the rain is still fun.

The "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" giant playground at Hollywood Studios...very cool!

Admiring Kermit...a very giant Kermit.

Watching the Muppets 3-D show...

His first rollercoaster ride...which he loved :)

The Magic Kingdom...in sunshine.

Does this really need a caption? Jack with Mickey...On the safari at Animal Kingdom...it's rather up close with the animals...no fences

King Louie!
Obligatory mouse ears...
He just looks so cute (and big!) here...

We're still vacationing...more to come later!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T17:48:00.000-08:00

Happy 2009!

We had a wonderful Christmas spent with both sides of our families. Jack was so much fun this year :) We are blessed.

For New Years Eve last night, we headed to the Grand Rapids Griffin's game (hockey, for those of you not from around here). It was Jack's first hockey game...and what a riot! He was SOOOOOOOO excited and kept running around and smacking the plexiglass, yelling "BOOM!" everytime the players would smash up against it (we had front row tickets). He was so hyped up on the sounds, the action, the "airplane" (the blimp that flies aroun and drops coupons/etc.), the people, etc. I have never seen him have more fun :) Sadly, I forgot my camera.

Well, I am officially done working my crazy holiday season with Chanel. Yahoo! Each year from the beginning of October through the end of the year I am insanely busy freelancing for them. This year was no exception, though it's still a lot of fun. I certainly welcome the break now and opportunity to breathe and get my home and schedule back in order. Mostly, I missed a lot of storytimes and bedtimes with Jack; so glad to have those back again.

Very much looking forward to our much needed vacation in just a couple weeks. All for now...I'm actually going to bed at 9:15!

Counting is fun!

2008-12-20T20:17:00.001-08:00

My precious little boy is learning to count and I just had to share :)

Updates

2008-12-18T05:56:00.000-08:00

Major apologies for the time lapse between blogs. I've been so busy and blogging hasn't been the first thing on my mind!

Jack is becoming such a little boy, running faster, talking more and such a little delight :) This morning he asked me for some "boobies" (hopefully you can all see the humor in this and not the offense!) I was taken aback at first...and then when he pulled my hand to the fridge I realized he wanted BLUEBERRIES! I had a good laugh :) We'll have to work on that one.

Another funny talking incident...We had a lot of puffy, white snow a week or so ago. Jack looked out the front door and yelled with a lot of excitement "Lellows!" He thought all the snow was marshmallows, which he loves :)

He spent his first night away from mommy and daddy last week too! Unfortunately it was because Rob and I were both completely out of it with the flu. But I'm happy to report all is better now and even happier to say Jack did wonderful and had so much fun at Grandma and Papa's he didn't want to come home.

I've been so busy working for Chanel again this season. I'm in the middle of working 9 days in a row right now. After Christmas, most of my work with Chanel slows down majorly and I get time to breathe again :) It's definitely fun and I'm thankful for the flexibility it offers.

I think most everyone reading this knows this by now, I also launched my own website last month: www.juliestrating.com I've received great feedback and also booked some really exciting events for early next year.

And in other news, the sock animal business My Amalies that I run with my friend Amanda could soon be coming to an end if there are no changes to a bill that was recently passed by Congress. In a nutshell, the new law (the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act [CPSIA]) will require all children's products (intended for those younger than 12) to be tested for lead and phthalates. It also requires each component to be labeled individually providing the manufacturing date and stating that it complys with the mandated testing. My initial reaction to this was "Excellent! We need more accountability with our children's items especially with all the toy scares in the last year." Except I realize now many, many small businesses that cannot afford this mandated testing will be affected negatively: be forced out of business. You can read more about this at: www.handmadetoyalliance.org

I think that's the bulk of updates I have for you now. (I'll put pictures in the next post!) I can't believe Christmas is one week from today! Jack and I are headed out to buy our last two gifts today and then we'll be all set.

Enjoy your day and Merry Christmas everyone (in case I don't update again before then :)

"I lub eww!"

2008-11-16T05:56:00.000-08:00

Jack's latest...

He loves to dust the house...with baby wipes???

He much prefers showers over baths all of a sudden.

He loves to "read" books to us (it's rather funny.)

He's a little obsessed with Curious George and talks about "Dirge" (George) often.

His newest word, as of this morning, is "raintint" (raisins). And he will gladly go help himself to a little box of raintint from the pantry cupboard.

He tries to put diapers on his stuffed animals. And cleans them with baby wipes also.

He can *almost* jump. He's been "jumping" for a couple months (squat down, and spring up quickly with his arms up), but his feet never actually leave the ground :)

The truck/car/tractor/anything-on-wheels phase I don't think is just a phase anymore. It's just part of being a boy I'm convinced.

He's learning his colors! He's pretty good at identifying blue, green and yellow now.

His vocabulary is right around 70 words now...(I only know that number as I was making a list for his baby book the other day)

He learned to say "I love you" and it melts my heart :) See the video below...

"Beet, peeze!" and costume party :)

2008-10-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

Jack loves to play in the sand at the beach, a place he learned to love this past summer. As of late though, he will randomly start talking about the "beet!, beet!...peeze!" (translated: beach...please). The other day we were outside playing and Jack RUNS around the side of the house to the backyard as quick as he can! Then he goes straight for the neighbors yard. I'm just watching him, scratching my head wondering why??? They have a little swing set to play on but Jack hasn't shown much of an interest in that. Then it dawned on me. Just beyond the swing set is....the "BEET!" A sandbox. I couldn't help but start laughing when he started yelling "beet, mama! beet mama!" as he started digging in the cold sand. My sweet, sweet boy :)

Running as fast as he can...

The beet! The beet! (if you look close it's just past the little swing set.)
Later on, he found some "crunchy" leaves.

And he brought them to me so we could crunch them together. It was fun :)

Last night we had our annual GR Baby costume party at Chuck E Cheese's! Jack had a lot of fun :) And not surprisingly, we had a huge turn out once again (roughly 40-50 of us???) Here are a few photos (Amanda and Tricia, I'm borrowing some of yours!)

Jack and Addie, he kept giving her hugs...

...and kisses.

A group shot...the lighting is awful in there, so I don't think anyone really got a "good" shot. Anyway, here are most of the moms and kids. The dads are all taking the pictures :)

By the way, Jack was a dinosaur...a slightly unhappy one...

When he was staring into the case, mesmerized by all the goodies, he kept saying "Woooooow!" over and over in a really soft voice. It was really too cute :)

Seeing orange...

2008-10-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

Almost a month of no blogging...oops.

There's so much orange around, I love it! It is after all my favorite color. If you ask my mother she may even recall a time during my childhood when I refused to eat anything that wasn't orange. (True story. Though it didn't last longer than a week at most.)

Anyway, with fall in the air Jack and I have been going outdoors a lot. One of our favorite things to do is "crunch" the leaves (they turn a lovely rusty orange shade when they're perfectly crunchable). Whenever we see these leaves on the sidewalks, we walk all over them (ok, it looks more like a little dance) until they don't crunch anymore. Then Jack announces "all done!" And we look for another one :) Seriously fun times with a 1 1/2 year old.

In other orange news, we went to the pumpkin patch tonight! We took the hay ride out to the pumpkin patch to pick our own pumpkins. At this point Jack was more interested in the tractor that towed the hay ride than the pumpkins or the hay ride itself. After we picked out the perfect pumpkins we headed back for homemade cider and donuts (which are beyond delicious.) And then Jack found great happiness in a couple of the kittens roaming the farm...

The hay ride

The tractor...of course.
Beautiful day!
Jack announces enthusiastically "APPLE!" And I shake my head and say "No sweetie, it's a bitter pumpkin!" Too late. But too cute!
One of the cats that caught his attention...he was SO happy to hold it all by himself!And the video...(it's about 2 min. FYI)

For more orange cuteness...take a look at this!! I ordered Jack's winter gear and it arrived today. I can't decide if he looks more like an astronaut or a convict or a little orange Eskimo. The coat however will be going back b/c Jack's noggin is really too big for the opening in the pullover style (we'll get a "regular" zip up coat instead...but still orange!) Anyway, I at least had to snap a couple pictures...even though he wasn't very happy :) (He kept saying "Mommy, no, no, no furry!")

And last bit of orange news...I bought a new pair of shoes for myself :) You guessed it...they are orange! (And while slightly ugly, unbelievably comfortable...)

Mackinac Island...(the first half)

2008-09-18T14:52:00.000-07:00

We made it home today from Mackinac Island. We had a FANTASTIC time! What a beautiful place to visit in the early fall. It's not too crowded and the weather's not too hot (or cold!) There are way too many photos for one blog...so here's the first round. I'll try and get the rest of them up soon with another blog.

First, a picture from last week that I just love. Jack and his "og." My friend Carrie got this for him before he was even born and now it gets carried around with him everywhere :)
On the way up north, we met up with Rob's parents who were just coming back from the island. Perfect timing to meet them for lunch :)
The ferry! It was windy, but not too chilly so we decided to ride on the top for the best view. And Jack loved it :)

We headed to Fort Mackinac the first day. Wow, it's been a long time since I've been there, but the walk is just as high/steep as I remember...
...but what a beautiful view from the top.

Having fun in the children's area in the fort.

And getting into things we probably weren't supposed to.
A canon! (But I think the bird nearby was more interesting at that moment.)Chasing the geese with daddy on Mission Point

Mission Point Resort
Walking the streets downtownAnd at the not surprisingly vacant harbor

The horse outside of our bed&breakfast...Jack didn't want any help holding on.
See! I'm a big boy.But I guess I'll take a picture with you too, mom.
Up at daddy's level

Lunch on the water...it was a BEAUTIFUL day.We found a playground!
Wee!
Hmmm...what's up here? The top was nowhere in sight.Beautiful and well worth the 20 min. climb.

...and the rest to come in a later blog!

Pictures

2008-09-02T10:21:00.001-07:00

Just a few pictures to share from the last week...

The "big boy" swing, all by himself :)

Tuckered out and taking a rest at the park after lots of fun.

Corndogs in Grand Haven (yummy) and watching the boats.

First time actually IN Lake Michigan...of the bazillions of times we've been there it's always been too cold to actually go in. Rob and I forgot our own swimsuits though. Oops.

And of course, can't forget to mention how much he enjoys the sand.

Being goofy with daddy's shoes.

And Holland State Park...where we frequent the most. It was BUSY on Labor Day.

My usual (and unsuccessful) attempt at a sweet family portrait.

Watching the boats head out to the big lake...while waving and saying "hi" to each one.

Ready to go home! Or as Jack says "dull dun!"

The tractor video

2008-08-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

I finally was able to upload it to youtube...enjoy :)

The zoo, fair and swimming lessons

2008-08-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we ventured the hour and a half drive to the Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek. It was very cool! Much much larger than John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids. We decided to do the Wild Africa part last as you had to take a tram ride there. Jack had so much fun seeing all the animals and being outdoors. Lastly we headed out on the tram to "Africa." When the tram pulled up to Wild Africa, I really imagined that's about what it would be like on an African safari! There were huts and great rolling hills with all sorts of animals roaming. We were not able to complete the Wild Africa part as it was getting so hot/humid and dangerously close to nap time but still were able to spend a couple hours there. We know now we'll definitely head back there to complete the Wild Africa portion...maybe when the weather cools off just a bit more :)

Riding the ant.

"Puh-kuck!"

"Goh." (Pygmy goats, which he was actually afraid of!)

He was ok with this one...it was behind a gate.

Whatchu lookin' at?Moo.

Yep, he's still cute...even on a cow.

The walk to the Wild Africa tram ride.

The tram. Jack was very intrigued with the voice over the loud speaker.

And I didn't take any pictures actually IN Wild Africa...I guess I was too busy admiring the animals.

Later that day, we headed to the Hudsonville Fair. Oh my goodness...Jack was in heaven with all the tractors! He LOVED (and that's an understatement) riding on all of them. And I do mean ALL. Forget about the actual fair with elephant ears and rides and carnival games...all he wanted to do was walk through the tractors and try them all out. I think I'll just start calling him John Deere now.

We could barely keep up with him. As soon as we set him down from one tractor it was on to the next...

...and the next...

...and the next......and the next...

His "vroom, vroom" face.

...and the next...

This one! I didn't get to try this one out!

...oooh....exciting.

Super giant tires...quite intimidating, really.
Yikes.
The best (ok, very poor!) attempt at a family photo of the day, but obviously Jack's too intrigued with the tractor (which matched my purse as you can see the strap on my shoulder.)

In other news, Jack and I previewed a gymnastics class early this week. I was contemplating signing him up for their program this fall as he enjoys tumbling at home. I am glad we did the preview though because I think he's still a little too young to comprehend all of the instructions without being overwhelmed. It's an absolutely fantastic program but I think we'll postpone it a few more months until he's closer to 2. Instead I just signed him up for swimming lessons which start in a few weeks and run through the middle of fall. (He loves the pool!) It should be lots of fun for a few months :)

(Edit: I added the photos finally and waited over an hour for the video to load...no such luck! I'll try uploading it to YouTube or another site this week and then will post the link.)

Words are fun :)

2008-08-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

And now a lesson (er, rather interpretation) in Jack's vocabulary. At least the ones I can think of for now besides "mommy," "daddy" and "hi" that is.

"wing"= swing
"paco"= pinecone
"pone"= phone
"nigh nagh"= night, night
"pi-eee"= pretty
"uh-pane"= airplane
"et"=jet
"buh-eee"= birdie
"beet"= beach
"wuh-how!"= wow
"ow"=ow
"baby"=baby
"cook"=cookie
"per, per"= cooper the cat
"dull dun"= all done
"call con"= all gone

I think my favorite of all of them is "paco." It just sounds so cute to hear him running around saying "paco, paco, paco!" Well we're off to run errands and then I have a wedding to do this afternoon. Have a great weekend everyone!

The shoes are here!

2008-08-20T05:02:00.000-07:00

We're now the proud owners of a Hoover SteamVac (although I can't figure out why it's called that b/c no steam is involved?) It's a carpet shampooer, basically. Our carpet actually looks new again and it's pretty excellent :) With 2 cats and Jack I wish we would have invested in something like this a long time ago! (Another example of "you know you're old when...you get excited about household appliances.")

Jack's new shoes arrived today. (They're even more adorable in person and on his feet!) First of all, just seeing the UPS driver was exciting enough and Jack was babbling up a storm to the driver and waving (we were playing outside at the time). Then he was even more excited about what was IN the box. (I let him help open it.) When he saw his shoes he immediately whipped off the shoes he had on and held his foot up for me to put them on. He was so tickled and excited he ran all the way down to the end of the street and back to give them a little test run. I think he likes them :)

What he doesn't know is that there's another pair that should be arriving tomorrow too. He's going to be in for even more excitement :) These are tomorrow's shoes (but I bought them in a size up for later this fall/winter). Little boys really are so much fun to dress!

In other news, after much thought we've changed our February trip to the Bahamas slightly around. Instead of going on a Disney cruise, we are going to rent a condo in Orlando for 5 days and have time to relax, a day at the ocean, and a day at Disneyworld. We'll also spend a day at Universal Studios with my family after they return from the cruise. We're excited about it!

Well, Jack's sleeping and I have a million things I'd like to accomplish. Hope everyone has a fantastic day!

Play time and new shoes :)

2008-08-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

We decided to meet up with some friends today at one of the mall play areas. What fun! Jack had to "check in" with me every couple minutes...maybe he thought I was going to leave him! He also wasn't too sure about the slide. But loved going around to all the little babies and giving them little "thigh squishes" (he learned that one from me as I love to squish his little chunky thighs!) A few quick snapshots from the morning:

And yesterday's shopping trip for fall clothes inspired me to find shoes for Jack (his sandals are the only ones that fit him right now). Say hello to his new shoes (I just ordered them today on a super fabulous sale...even better!):
And lastly, reading with Grandma a few days ago. I love this one :)

Long time, no blog...

2008-08-13T17:54:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness it's been almost a month since I've blogged. Sorry.

I just booked a little 3 day trip for us in September. We're going to head up to Mackinac Island for a couple nights. I haven't been there in probably 5 or 6 years and I'm so excited about it! Rob had some vacation time to use up yet this year (or he just loses it) and we didn't want to do anything too expensive or far away since we're going to the Bahamas in February. I think this will be just right :) We can bike around the island in perfect sweatshirt weather (ah, I love fresh fall air with a lake breeze!) Definitely looking forward to exploring everything on the island with Jack :)

Last Friday night I had a GNO (Girls Night Out) with a great group of my girlfriends! We headed out to Reds on the River in Rockford. It was great fun mingling for several hours and laughing. (The food was delicious too!) It's not often I head out with my girlfriends for an evening and I so much appreciated it! Here's a group shot of the evening... (and I wore the great yellow heels Rob bought me a few weeks ago on his business trip that he picked out himself!)

We headed to the beach in Holland on Sunday evening just to putz around. Jack and I both got our pants and shoes drenched when we didn't quite run back quick enough from the water. (It was COLD!) Jack learned to say "Beets! Beets!" for beach :) It's darling. We had a great time! (Forgot the camera, of course.)

Tuesday night we headed to Saugatuck. We decided to take the sand dune ride, which we'd never done before (well, at least in Saugatuck.) Let me say, it was probably the best sand dune ride we've been on. It was beautiful and the driver was beyond entertaining! Jack had an absolute riot yelling and screaming "Whooooooa!" every time we rounding a corner quickly or headed down the steep hills. It was hilarious! (This time I remembered the camera just as we were pulling out of our neighborhood and Rob wouldn't let me turn around to go get it. Boo!)

Jack and I had a few errands to run today. We also stopped at the mall and ended up buying him almost all of his fall clothes because there were super awesome sales! He picked out some really cute things and I can't wait until he can wear them! Except I started looking in the 18-24 mo. sized clothes...and then I realized that those probably won't fit him in a couple months. Well, the next size up is a 2T. Did you catch that? A 2T. (One more time.) 2T. No more buying clothes in "months." Just further proof that he is growing up.

Speaking of growing up...my (and Jolyn's!) birthday is Saturday. And boy, I'm starting to feel older! 27. No longer "young twenties" or "mid twenties." I've moved into that "late twenties" group. And I'm only 3 years away from 30 now. At least I have 3 years to get used to that idea.

Enough of my rambling. Sorry for only one picture! I need to get better about remembering the camera when we're out... More pictures next time :)

I can never think of appropriate blog titles...

2008-07-16T09:22:00.000-07:00

My grandma passed away yesterday :( She was my last grandparent that I had left. I am sad, but also know that she is in an even better place now :) She lived in Colorado and though I didn't get to see her often, I do have some great memories for which I am thankful. I am mostly bummed though that she was never able to meet Jack.

On a sort of related (but more cheerful!) note, I am so thankful to have Rob's grandparents in our lives! They let me call them my own and they are so kind and welcoming. In fact, just last week Jack and I went swimming at their pool (all to ourselves :) one afternoon and then picked some fresh lavender in the garden. Then grandma fed us popsicles and fruit on the lawn while we dried off in the sun. I instantly relived my own childhood memories of my grandparents and it was nice. Grandparents definitely play a special role in our lives :)

In MyAmalies news, I invented a new animal last week! Say hello to the bird (this ones name is Hank):

And then I made this whole gang. They are all sold already...bittersweet. It sure was fun to make them and I sort of didn't want to part with them!

I'm working on a few more animal concepts and I think Amanda has a few up her sleeve as well! Fun times for us :) Also, we are excited to announce that you can now find MyAmalies critters at Hopscotch Children's Store in Grand Rapids! Rumor has it there will be a MyAmalies animal exclusive to their store in the near future (in other words, not available online so you'll just have to visit!) We're very excited about this partnership!

Jack got to have a little buddy, Colton, come and play for a little bit today! Most of Jack's little friends are girls right now so it was a nice change of pace to have a little boy for him to play with. Colton is 3 months older and such a sweet little boy! They got along so well and Jack couldn't stop giving him hugs :) I think we'll do more play time with Colton again soon!

Well, I'm off to catch some TV with Rob and relax. Everyone have a good evening!

Maybe my longest blog yet...or at least with the most pictures.

2008-07-05T18:31:00.000-07:00

Lots of recaps for you! Enjoy the pictures :)

What a fabulous time we had last weekend with Rob's sister Jen and her husband Derek. Jack LOVED spending time with them. Last Friday we went to the Whitecaps game and although we left early b/c it was raining and Jack needed to get to bed, we still enjoyed the time with family (and all the calories that ballpark food has to offer.)

Jen and I pretending we know what's happening in the game...

The "lemon chill" pucker :)

Dancing and singing on the stage during the rain delay

Saturday, Jen, Derek, Rob and I went kayaking down the Rogue River in Rockford. Such a great time! I haven't been kayaking in probably 10 years. The river was very very calm though and (at most spots) only a couple feet deep. I didn't want to get my camera wet for obvious reasons, so no pictures from that event :(

Later on Sunday we did fireworks at Grandma and Grandpas! Too much fun!

Some of them were LOUD!

Admiring the pretty displays :)

We even managed to spring a leak in one of the buckets. Oops.

We also finished our vegetable garden last week. (Well we need to put a gate up yet...) As I mentioned previously, we had a really late start to the whole thing so we had to go with pre-grown plants this year. I just hope they stay alive :) Jack was having a blast helping us plant everything and putting up the chicken wire.

And as usual, Jack can always be found where the water is...

Yesterday, the fourth of July, we headed out to Holland to bike/skate. (Rob skates while I bike with Jack.) We all had a great time and it's one of our favorite things to do as a family! Not sure how many miles we covered as the odometer thing wasn't working but it was several hours worth. After a stop to get ice cream at the general store (yum!) we headed home. We did a few sparklers and some leftover fireworks from last week but were all in bed well before the big fireworks started.

Before biking, we made a pit stop to play some miniature golf...Jack just liked to throw the ball.

(Sorry, no pics of biking and skating or the sparklers we did that night...I forgot!)

Today Jack and I woke up early and made blueberry pancakes (from scratch :) We went back out to Holland but to the beach this time! So much fun! Jack had a riot playing in (read: throwing) the sand. We did go for a few quick dips in Lake Michigan as well, but it was quite chilly.

A quick shower after breakfast as he was covered in blueberries. (Oh and a favorite current pastime is brushing his teeth. All. the. time.)

And more random pictures from the last week...

Parading around the living room in mommy's pink heels. Well, one of them at least.

After a really rough night (TEETHING! And it's 7 all at once now...not 6 as I had thought!) this is how I found Jack and Daddy in the morning.

Four generations of Strating men! It was really bright in the sun, hence the squinty eyes :) (Each one of them has their father's name as their middle name too, a family tradition.)

Jack loves playing with Great Aunt Nan every Sunday!

Being goofy or charming...or both.

Every morning at 10am we have a date with the underground sprinkling...

Fun times...

2008-06-27T10:15:00.000-07:00

We love spending time with Uncle Derek and Aunt Jen!

A game of checkers with Uncle Derek...

Mom, I don't know how I feel about this...he's winning!

Take that!

Ducks!

Nan, save me! They're after us!

Surfing in the pool

...and then tonight we are going to a Whitecaps game and tomorrow is kayaking (sans Jack, of course :) Have a great weekend everyone!

Great day :)

2008-06-25T06:35:00.001-07:00

It's a wonderful day because...

1). My sister-in-law and brother-in-law arrive any moment now from Colorado! We are so excited to see and spend time with them over the next several days.

2.) The FedEx man brought my newly fixed camera back to me this morning!

3.) I made delicious strawberry pie today with the strawberries we picked on Monday...Yum!

4.) ...simply because every day is a beautiful day in some way or another :)

Let me just rave about Canon's customer service for a moment. When I called them several weeks ago about my camera instead of waiting on hold, they called ME back when they were available (which was only 15 min. later). Then the gentlemen I spoke with was incredibly kind and Canon paid for me to send my camera to them. The camera was fixed free of charge and now I have it to take lots of pictures with again! I'm happy :) So very soon I can start blogging again with photos! Because blogs with photos are much more interesting.

Jack and I spent yesterday running through the underground sprinkling in the yard we have 7 different zones which means a lot of sprinklers! As one zone would turn off and another on, we would just move to a new area. He would get all distraught when they went back in the ground and then laugh hysterically moments later when the next zone turned on! He had a riot! Then Aunt Nan came over and we went swimming later on which is always a blast. And there was also some play time with the sand and water table...which is just a water table for right now. So lots of water play yesterday!

In other Jack news...he's teething. Has been for a few weeks and the first molars are just peeking through on top. Then last week, I noticed the eye teeth (aka the "fang teeth") on top are also cutting through. And today...add two more to that list! He has two (first molar and eye tooth) coming through as well! SIX teeth at once?! Poor baby dude! After these 6, only 6 more baby teeth before he has a full mouth!

Rob and I plotted out a vegetable garden a few days ago...I know, terribly late in the season. But I'm hoping to pick up some pre-grown plants for this year at least. (Next year I would like to plant my own from seeds.) It's all roto-tilled (is that how you spell it?) now and the wood beams that frame it and fabric-type stuff (that you lay between the clay ground and the soil) are in as well. We just need a lot of soil and plants now...and hope that it works :)

And now a funny story for the day...

Rob called me this morning. He was laughing and said "Don't let Jack play with the PS3 remote." I was wondering why he would say this? In fact, Jack DID get a hold of it this morning pressing buttons (I told him "no" and took it away, not thinking it was that big of a deal as the tv and receiver were off and I assumed the PS3 was off as well.) Well...with the PS3 you have the capability of purchasing games online from your remote control. Apparently it was NOT turned off and at 8:34 this morning, Jack purchased (brace yourself!) $1700 worth of video games!!! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry! Rob then told me he had already called Sony who was more than understanding and canceled the charges.
Whew!

Hope everyone has an excellent day!
(I'll put pictures in the next post!)

Announcing...

2008-06-23T06:07:00.001-07:00

......................Drumroll please....................

THE WEBSITE IS FINISHED!!

www.MyAmalies.com

This is the website I mentioned a while back that I've been building. Amanda and I are so excited to launch this and we look forward to everyone's feedback!

Have a splendid day everyone! Jack and I are headed out strawberry picking this morning...

Lots of updates!

2008-06-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

Hello, hello.

My friend Deb's wedding last weekend was beautiful. It was definitely an "eventful" weekend shall we call it, but like I said, the wedding and the bride were beautiful :) Here are a few pictures (from my friend Carrie's camera):

A group of my friends from high school. I haven't seen a couple of them in years and it was wonderful to reminisce!Makeup time! Although it looks like I'm beating her with the foundation brush...I promise I was being kind.

Carrie and me. Love this girl! (And I was very happy with our dresses too...which for the first of 7 times being a bridesmaid now I think I actually WILL wear it again!)

And with the beautiful bride, Deb :) Congratulations, again!

Now let's see if I can quickly recap the events that made the weekend "eventful" for an entertaining read...

We arrived in to town just in time to throw Jack in the tub (as a result from a VERY messy diaper that soiled the car seat even!) with about 15 min. to spare before heading to the church for the rehearsal. Little did we know, it didn't start for another 1/2 hr so we rushed for nothing! During the rehearsal the power went out and there were tornado warnings and horrible wind and hail outside. On the way to the rehearsal dinner, we had to pull over in fear of trees landing on our car! (Yes, it was THAT windy. Trees were down everywhere!) We made it the 2.5 miles to the rehearsal dinner and Rob began vomiting. Needless to say, we left early. We arrived back to our friends' house to be informed that their air conditioner ran out of freon and we'd be in for a long 95 degree night! (But wait, it gets better.) Jack decides to get up at 2am and stay up until 4am (thank you to the first molars, which are FINALLY cutting through as of yesterday!) He fell back asleep after some major rocking and I pulled the crib directly under the fan. (I have no idea how we didn't wake our friends up with all the furniture rearranging we were doing at 3am!) I then crashed on the floor next to the crib and Rob was sprawled out on the bed...sort of. We were both just exhausted! Morning finally rolled around and I headed out to the church to finish getting ready with the girls. About 1/2 hr. into it, Rob shows up with Jack yelling that we needed to go to the ER right away as he gashed his head on the corner of the fireplace and he's acting odd. We rush there (right next door, thank goodness...one good thing about a very small town I guess is that everything is close!) and are told that the chapstick-sized goose egg across his forehead simply looks a million times worse than it actually is. (No major damage, yay!) In the meantime, Rob is still not feeling well so I send him and Jack back to our friends' home to wait out the wedding that starts shortly. I rush back next door in time for photos and then the ceremony, which went perfectly and was beautiful. I decided it was wise at this point to (sadly!) skip out on the reception and just get my boys back home. So as the couples were being introduced and then seated at the head table for the reception, I just kept walking...right out the door! (I'm sure people were scratching their heads wondering what I was doing!) I did apologize ahead of time to the bride who was more than understanding given the circumstances. Anyway, we had a nice and smooth ride home, thank the Lord. And within an hour or so of arriving home, our basement flooded.

Whew. Did you catch all of that?! Honestly, I'm laughing about it all :) I don't think any other weekend has topped that one.

And this weekend was the craft show! The morning started out a little disastrous...our tent broke and wasn't even duct-tape fixable...I mean metal-pieces-broke-there-was-no-way-this-thing-was-going-to-stand-up! After that we decided to set the table up at the very least and we broke that too! Finally, we dumped our stuff, headed to Amanda's sister's house to ransack it for whatever we could find to house our items. We ended up with some super great laundry racks (that worked PERFECTLY!) and another table. Then we hit up my house for Jack's umbrella from his sand and water table for some much needed shade. The combination of random items actually ended up working out pretty well! Amanda and I couldn't help but laugh about the morning's events. But! We ended up having a great (dare I say relaxing even?!) and successful day :) The best part was seeing the little excited children fall in love with a sock animal and then walk away snuggling it in their arms :)

In other news, I just booked our family vacation for next winter! We are going on a cruise to the Bahamas. All of my family is going as well (my parents, sisters and their families). It's sort of a celebration for my parent's 40th anniversary as well. It should be a grand time with all the kiddos :) And we've never been cruising before, so I'm very much looking forward to the new experience. It will be nice to have that break of sunshine and warm weather in the middle of winter for sure!

In Jack news...Oh my little boy just lights up my life! He will walk in to the room now simultaneously waving and saying "hi" ever so clear with the hugest (is that a word?) grin on his face. It is just precious! And tonight the three of us took a walk to a little goat farm right outside of our neighborhood (sans stroller because Jack wanted to actually walk himself). We stopped at I think every crack in the sidewalk to examine it and see what had fallen in there. And then every bird that flew overhead we looked up and screamed with excitement until he got so dizzy from looking up so much he fell over. Every moment with him is just too cool and I thank the Lord for bringing such an amazing little person into our lives :)

And last but not least, happy second birthday to my darling little nephew Sam tomorrow! I love you bunches, little man! I hope you enjoy your second year of life and wish you many blessings! Smooches for Sam! XOXO!

Happy June!

2008-06-05T05:50:00.001-07:00

Well, last week Jack and I had a fabulous time at the zoo with my friend Amber and her little girl, Regan. (Remember the post with Jack and his friend digging through the fridge for cupcakes? That's Regan.) He LOVES the zoo...I think it's time to invest in a zoo pass because something tells me we'll be there a lot this year! Anyway, I convinced my friend Amber to ride a camel, Jack danced his little heart away on a mini stage, and we of course saw lots and lots of animals! (By the way, the new lion exhibit opens a week from Saturday! We'll be back in the near future for that!)

So, you're probably wondering where the pictures are? My camera broke! :( I could cry about this...I use it ALL THE TIME. It's currently being sent to Canon and hoping they can fix it for less than the cost of a new one at least! But boy oh boy, being camera-less is almost as bad as not having a cell phone or laptop. (Crazy how much technology plays a part of our lives, eh?) In the meantime, use your imagination and I'll try to be as descriptive as I can :)

We're headed out for a long weekend tomorrow as my best friend, Deb, is getting married! We've been friends since high school and I'm happy to be a part of this special day for her :) Looking forward to the celebration! But alas, I remind you...My camera broke! So I probably won't be sharing any photos with you from the weekend...bummer. And wow, I haven't been back to Caro in...a VERY LONG TIME. Several years at least? It's going to be fun :)

Well, sorry for such a short entry, but I have things to do! Going to finish picking up the house this morning (Jack STILL isn't up and it's 9am...woohoo for sleeping in!) so we can head to the neighborhood pool this afternoon. It's going to be a HOT one! (Also the first day we've turned the air conditioning on!)

All for now!

P.S.- Next weekend (June 14) my friend Amanda and I are going to be doing our first craft show! We've been working on making sock monkeys and other sock and glove critters since February for this. So we're both pretty excited! Come out and join us at the Annual Craft Show, part of the Cutlerville Days celebration. (Our tent will be in Cutler Park.)

The Beach

2008-05-28T14:10:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we ventured out to Holland State Park to see the waves. There was supposed to be a storm and cooler weather (read: huge waves though they weren't that big this time.) It was very cold but the gorgeous landscape is worth bearing the temperature! This beach is special to us as Rob proposed to me here on the sand dunes and we were also married right on the beach almost 5 years ago! Anyway, a few pictures to share from yesterday :)

Jack had a blast, even though it was super windy and frigid.

There was only one other person out there and he was kind enough to take a picture for us.

In case you ever wondered what to do if you find yourself in a rip current...

Seriously...beautiful.

The scenery is so refreshing. I love it.

It's been a while...

2008-05-25T19:10:00.001-07:00

A much long overdue post....apologies.

To sum up the last few weeks...

Jack was sick.
I was sick.
He's better.
I'm better.
We participated as a family in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life a few weekends ago.
Jack gave me the most beautiful balloon for Mother's Day.
He learned how to "dance." It's quite humorous. (Going to attempt an uploaded video below...???)
I went through allergy testing and had 63 scratches and 48 shots in one day....oy. It was sort of fascinating, actually, and now I have answers!
But overall, life is good. :)

We headed to Saugatuck this afternoon on a whim. We head there quite a bit during the summer...this was the first trip of the season. So fun to just stroll and browse, ice cream cone in hand. On our strolls, Jack got to meet a dog named Tiny Tim and thought he was the best little furry, squirmy thing. He laughed with delight when Tiny Tim licked him. It was a sight :) He also had an orange cream soda, chocolate ice cream cone and gobbled up some fancy cheeses (Rob and I LOVE cheeses...good to know Jack has the taste too.) Anyway, after a stop at the Spice Merchants to pick up some rice varieties and Spanish Paprika we decided to head home. What a great, leisurely afternoon :)

The neighborhood pool was opened last week. We decided to take full advantage of that later this afternoon after Saugatuck. Jack certainly didn't forget how much he loves the pool! He was laughing and smiling and screaming (happy screams). He is definitely a water baby. And he looked oh so adorable in his tiny swim trunks :) I'll take pictures on the next pool excursion.

And because photo-free blogs aren't all that exciting, here's one of my favorites from just a week ago...Jack is smiling! He never smiles for the camera...or I should say "rarely" smiles for the camera. He's such a happy boy, but when that camera shows up it's all seriousness. Anyway, I love this one with all of his 8 little teeth :)

Say "cheese!"

The dancing :)

Trips to the ER and pictures with balloons

2008-05-01T05:06:00.001-07:00

Since every post title in the month of April contained the word cupcake I couldn't break that streak. And I couldn't think of how to creatively use the word cupcake again in a title yesterday so I had to wait until today, May 1. Wow, it's May already!

Here's the latest happenings with us...er, Jack :)

Last weekend was rough! On Jack, that is. (Well, I suppose on Rob and I too, indirectly.) Jack had a runny nose for a few days last week but I chalked it up to teething. Then Saturday evening it turned into a horrible fever, wheezing, coughing, congestion and struggled breathing. We decided to take him in to the med center. After a chest x-ray and evaluation, we were told he had RSV. The dr. wanted to admit him to the hospital for observation and regular breathing treatments as he was really struggling to breathe. We opted to have the two breathing treatments and a steroid shot that were offered and to monitor him at home instead. Sunday he was making great improvements. That evening however, he woke up choking/coughing and with the concerning chest retractions again. We took him to the ER and he was put on an inhaler. (By the way, 2am must be the hour to go to the ER...there was NO wait and we were in and out in a little over an hour.) Anyway, that was the worst of it and he is doing SO much better now! We have a follow-up appointment this afternoon with his pediatrician to check his lungs and I am expecting a great report :)

Yesterday we had Jack's 1 year photos taken with the super fabulous Amy Carroll. She put a few photos on her blog yesterday and they're adorable...though I realize I may be biased too :) I can't wait to see the rest! We had such a riot :)

I've compiled a list (more for my own reference as I'm bad about actually writing things in his baby book) of some of Jack's favorite things as of late:

Skates: Every time he sees Rob he shouts "Daddy! Sssssss...." and he knows that daddy will take him skating around the neighborhood. It's so darling! Actually, it's the first thing he says most mornings too to let us know he's up...chanting "Daddy! Sssssss...." from his crib :)

Rocks: He could spend hours outside digging through the rocks (and taste testing them all). We have great fun with the simplest things and I certainly have a new appreciation for them.

Lights: Any and all lights, he is just so eager to turn them on and off himself or at least have you acknowledge, "Yes, Jack, that IS a light! Good job!" He points and shouts "di-igh!" He is so proud of himself :)

Wind Chime: We have a little wind chime that hangs in the front door. I got this for him when were in in Calgary earlier this year. For whatever reason, the chime has been nicknamed that "pretty." So he will walk over to the door, point up and yell "Pity!"

Balloons: The balloon obsession continues as well. "Ba-mooon!" He was able to point out the singular mylar balloon that had floated to the very high rafted ceiling in Meijer the other day. "Ba-moon!!!!!!!!!" he says with just passion. I'm sure the other shoppers were in hysterics over his determination to show me the 'bamoon.' :) Balloons now have a strange way of appearing most places we go...or maybe it's just that I notice them now

Hope everyone has a nice finish to the week!

Every title so far this month has "cupcake" in the title...now this one does too.

2008-04-24T07:55:00.000-07:00

First of all, Happy Birthday to my mom today! I love you!

So it's been 16 days since I've blogged...where has that time gone!?

Jolyn and her family were here on a visit for 10 days which was wonderful to spend time with them! Sam is getting so big :) I have to say I think the highlight of their time here was the day before they left. Sam colored the walls, carpet, sofa, cat (and himself) with a red marker! Muffin (the cat) is no longer pink, the walls are repainted, the carpet's looking pretty good now and I'm hoping Sam no longer has red streaks across his legs and cheeks. (Jolyn, did you get any strange looks in the airport?!) The sofa is a lost cause...but at least he was smart enough to color on the back that faces a window...it's not really visible. Oh Sam, Aunt Julie still loves you very very much! :) Thank you for that memory.

Well, scary day yesterday. Jack fell off the kitchen counter (something I never do, but for whatever reason I thought he'd have fun sitting with his feet in the sink playing and eating snacks next to me...) Even less than a foot away and I still couldn't catch him :( That "boom" was the absolute worst sound yet. On the wood floor. He started screaming after a moment and then starting getting sleepy-like, dozing in and out. I start panicking inside and grab him to rush off to the hospital. I opened the door and there was Rob, home early to surprise us for the afternoon. (His timing could not have been better!) We ended up going to the pediatrician's office instead as they could see him immediately and it was closer. After a very thorough check and recheck a half hour later, they said it was a mild concussion and he has no signs of severe head trauma. Thank the Lord! Jack was acting more like himself by the time we left. We did have to wake him several times through the night to make sure he responded "normally" which he did. And he's on Tylenol today b/c I'm sure he has a headache! But he is ok and back to his normal, happy self today :) I am thankful.

Wedding season is in full swing now...and that means makeup to me! I have so many many weddings that I'm doing makeup for this season. I don't think I will do weddings forever, simply because of the schedule (always on Saturdays!) but I very much love working with the brides and being a part of their special day. I'm slowly (and I do mean slowly!) working on a business plan to launch my own freelance makeup gig now...legally. Hoping to eventually just do more work with photographers, print...and maybe even t.v. and film. (I can think big :) But first I have a lot of things on my to-do list (and prior commitments) to accomplish. My goal is by the end of the summer to have it all up and running. We shall see. One thing I will not let happen though is for this to get in the way of being a great mom to Jack...he's my first job. I don't want to miss out on anything and always want to be available for him. It would be nice though to have the best of both...and be able to schedule events around my time with Jack. Hoping to find a happy balance.

Alright, enough of my ramblings...I have painting to do while Jack's napping. (The playroom project is in tow.)

So long for now!

The great cupcake search...

2008-04-08T18:13:00.000-07:00

Jack had his little friend Regan over today to play. They are full of mischief together and decided to rummage the fridge over in search of any leftover cupcakes from his birthday party.

"OK. Here's the plan. I'll cover the door and you go for the main compartment."

"Hmmm...milk, more milk..." "And I just see veggies and fruits over here."

"Any cupcakes stationed behind the Brita?"

"Shhhh! Don't tell my mom, but I think I just spotted them on top of the butter!"

"Jack, quick! Get the cupcakes! They're on to us!"

"Rats. They got to us before we could snatch the cupcakes. Let's just settle for some Cheerios instead, shall we?"

A breakfast cupcake occasion!

2008-04-06T17:16:00.000-07:00

Happy first birthday, Jack!

A whole year old! This last year has been beyond amazing and we look forward to the many years yet to come watching you grow up :) Thank you for coming in to our lives, Jack! You bring more laughter, life, happiness, kisses and hugs, toots and giggles, goofiness, and union to our home. Our family has new meaning with you. We are blessed. Truly blessed.

And Baby, I loved having blue cupcakes over breakfast with you this morning, just the two of us (shhh....don't tell daddy).

We love you Mr. Goose!

Mommy and Daddy

...and 7 more cupcakes later...

2008-04-05T20:18:00.001-07:00

Well, I don't know if I actually had 7 cupcakes today, but combine all the sugar I had in various forms and it probably was the equivalent of 7 cupcakes...or more :)

Jack's birthday party was a blast! The weather couldn't have been more perfect and my little guy just relished in the attention, balloons, people and CUPCAKES! The presents were cool too, but mostly I think he just enjoyed CELEBRATING!

So sad my mom couldn't make it as she came down with the flu (she was absolutely devastated!) But I pray she is feeling better and though we missed her, there will plenty more birthdays and times to celebrate :)

So the cupcakes really were awesome! I had WAY too many of course, but solved that by delighting the neighborhood kids with leftovers and sending a giant box with my dad for his congregation tomorrow at church!

A few pictures to share...

7 cupcakes later...

2008-04-04T20:37:00.001-07:00

I put on a pair of my yoga pants tonight. Like I always do when I lounge around at home. Except this time they felt tight. And they are already pretty fitting pants. I think I've had 7 too many cupcakes in the last couple days.

Well, the guest room is done! As done as it's going to be until I get some new bedding in there and accessories on the walls. But done enough for Jolyn's visit next week! (Hip hip hooray!!!!) So I had to settle for a solid cream duvet set I already had. Rob told me he just can't justify yet ANOTHER bed set...(you see, I used to work at Restoration Hardware and Macy's...and let's just say I LOVE HOME LINENS). I know I already have too many sets, but none in a solid, crisp white like I'm picturing for this room. So, cream for now it is! I'll settle. I would take photos but well, it's 11:45pm and I'm quite tired. And the lighting...not so great right now anyway.

So the big birthday bash is tomorrow! Oh I am so tickled excited about it! My little boy is celebrating his first birthday! Wow! And I know he wants nothing more than balloons :) He has an absolute love with helium-filled balloons. So I've ordered a huge bunch of them! He's going to be in balloon heaven :) Whenever we are at the grocery store, we pass by the floral counter that has a big balloon display next to it. He gets this completely giddy look on his face, points and says "BA BA BA BOO?" I cannot wait to see the look on his face when he sees all the balloons tomorrow :)

Alright...very late...must get rest for tomorrow! Pictures in another post... :)

Color me cupcakes!

2008-04-01T18:51:00.000-07:00

Today I made cupcakes. 54 to be exact. 18 jumbo giant over-sized mammoth cupcakes and 36 regular-sized cupcakes. There are red, orange, green, blue and chocolate brown colors. And the flavors are red velvet, chocolate, french vanilla and yellow cake. Yummm! I love cupcakes. Oh yes, I really really do. I can't wait to frost them (and the frosting will be so many colors too!) topped with sprinkles... So, in my freezer sit 52 cupcakes (Jack and I both had one) waiting to be frosted and eaten on Saturday at Jack's birthday party. I will be sure to take photos of all these wondrous little cakes... Did I mention yet that I love cupcakes?

Tonight we worked on more edging in the guest room. I'm so painted out. It should be finished tomorrow hopefully. Then next I have extravagant plans for the playroom... Which is much larger. And slightly intimidating. But I have this image in my head of how it will look and I wish I could just snap my fingers and see it come to life! Too bad it doesn't quite work that way, right? :)

Hope everyone has a good night!

Tiffany's anyone?

2008-03-30T16:59:00.001-07:00

I have a better description for the paint color Rob selected in the guest room. Highlighter. It looked just like someone colored the wall with a yellow highlighter. Really, it hurt to look at and I wanted to run for my sunglasses. I didn't even take any pictures because I have no desire to ever see the color again. Seriously.

Anyway, I did have a chance to get out to the paint store again today. Thank goodness as anything is better than highlighter. But so much for my muted or paled down Tiffany's blue paint color idea for the guest room. I had a color matched today from a paint deck that I have. Well, after 1 coat...it's almost identical to the little Tiffany's blue box packaging. Not exactly what I was picturing. I was a little shocked at first (apparently I overcompensated for how dark the room is and it looks like you're walking right in a Tiffany's box now!) But I think I will like it...with crisp white linens and some nice white accents. Yes, it will work. (Though if you've been to my house, you know it is NOTHING like any of the other rooms which are all various shades of brown. Hah!)

So here it is. Notice the real Tiffany's bag in the background for comparison...Or maybe you don't b/c it blends in. (I promise I did not have the actual bag matched nor did I match that bag to any of my paint decks.) The edging (both my and Rob's least favorite part of painting) is left for last. So tomorrow I will attempt to get as much done as I can during nap time.

Really....pardon my appearance (although sadly, this is usually what I look like during the week when I'm just home with Jack!) I know the color will show up differently on everyone's computers as resolutions vary, so I'm including a few photos with and without flash in hopes that one of them will capture the "real" color for you :)

So now I just need to finish it and then add the details. I am pretty sure I'll like it. After I walk in and out of the room about 97 times to get used to it, that is...

Guten Abend und gute Nacht, alle!

Painting woes

2008-03-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

Countdown is on...Jack will be one in just 8 short days! Still coming up with some last minute ideas for food for his party on Saturday. And we're practicing blowing out candles, but he's just not quite there yet. Just like we did with Christmas, we gave him his birthday present early. We got him a sand and water table and he loves it...even if it's just in the playroom right now, loaded with toys because it's too cold for outside yet. It's pretty cool though and I can't wait to play with it outside...I mean I bet HE can't wait to play with it outside :)

We've decided to paint the guest bedroom today...sort of last minute. But something we've been intending to do for a long time as it's still builder's beige and very blah. It's smallish and doesn't get a lot of light b/c the deck is above the window. Anyhow, I decided to let Rob pick the color as he's been questioning my decorating ability as of late. Mistake. It's one shade lighter than neon yellow/green and hurts your eyes to look at. Even he agrees how horrible it looks and has given me full reign again on the decor of the house. Thank you. Hopefully tomorrow afternoon I can get out to the store again and get a new color...something a bit lighter than Tiffany's blue and maybe a little more muted. I'll be sure to post pictures...after it doesn't look like a sour apple exploded in the room. (By the way, the color he chose really is called Sour Apple.)

Have a super excellent weekend, my faithful blog readers!

Ode to Amanda

2008-03-28T20:08:00.001-07:00

Greetings all. Jack and I had a fun morning...we got to meet a bunch of other little babes at the mall for a small playgroup! I think he played hard as he came home and crashed for a few hours. I would have loved to crash as well b/c I couldn't fall asleep until 2:30 this morning (headache...allergies? sinuses? barometric pressure and wacky MI weather? Probably.) But I resorted to touching up the trim paint in the bathroom. Something I intended to do 5 months ago. Oops. But it's done now. Other than that, a pretty darn uneventful day. For which I am thankful.

I was chatting with my friend, Amanda, tonight. She knows of my blog streak and I was asking what I should blog about...since our day was fairly uneventful as mentioned above. It was really a rhetorical question but she replied with "how wonderful I am...what an honor it is to know me." So, here goes, good friend:

My Ode to Amanda...

First of all my dear friend you're way cool,
I wonder what you were like in elementary school?
We started with the knot and then moved to the nest
Now to the baby board...yet to come is the best!
I love that you always comment on my blog,
And Elsie...she's your pretty cool white and gray dog.
And so beautiful is your little girl, Addie
I really do think she looks just like her daddy.
I know I always kid you for this and for that
But please don't think I'm just trying to be a brat.
I've never met such a ridiculously picky eater
Or someone who doesn't like to park at a parking meter
Actually, I don't know if the last one is true,
But I couldn't come up with a word that rhymed there too.
So Amanda, without you my life would be boring
Thank you for being so kind and adoring.
The end.

On the fifth day of blogging...

2008-03-27T20:28:00.000-07:00

I can't not blog and break my streak of 4 days in a row now! Oh what should I tell you about...

My darling husband took me to dinner tonight at San Chez. Yum!!!!!!! Grandma and Grandpa more than willingly watched Jack for a few hours. But when I went to pick Jack up...I think he wanted to stay there! Yes, mom got the shaft. Grandma and Grandpa trumped mommy and daddy this time :) They're just too much fun I suppose! (That or he knew what awaited him at home: bedtime!)

There. 5 days in a row.

Ah, how I love picture books...

2008-03-26T19:39:00.000-07:00

Ever feel like reading a book, minus the reading part? This post is for everyone who loves picture books. Go ahead and make up your own words and use your imagination :) (These are back from the fall but are rather entertaining.)

(My favorite picture book by the way is Flotsam. Jack and I "read" and reread it several times today making up a new storyline each time. So fun. I highly encourage doing this!)

"Feelin' Groovy"

2008-03-25T19:18:00.000-07:00

So I've been slowly learning to write in html and I'm getting fancier with it by the day. (Now if I can just do a little more something with this silly blog, right? I know.) I've been working on creating a website from scratch (no it's not launched yet...but I will be sure to say when it is.) Anyhow, it's been a fun hobby. I never thought I would enjoy something I would classify as this geeky. And I also like that I can work on it just a few minutes here and there throughout the day and still entertain and spend plenty giggle time with Jack. Surprisingly, Rob (the amazingly smart and technologically savvy man that I just happened to marry) has helped me just a TINY (that was irony, eh?) bit. I'm proud of me, if I do say so!

And I also just got Photoshop a few weeks ago. I'm slowly figuring things out on there as well. Personally, learning a new language I think would be easier. But, one button at a time...I can do this. I will not give up...that's the spirit! These are the pep talks I must give myself so I don't quit. Like the first time I painted a room. It never got finished.

Ah, I'm just impressing myself that I'm trying to learn new things. It's satisfying. I was never a person who craved going to school or anything...actually, quite the opposite :) (In fact, many thanks to Jolyn [my twin sister] STILL for all the papers and homework she did for me throughout high school. Without her I would surely not have been inducted into the National Honor Society[I still have my falsely earned pin!], been in the top 10% on the Honor Rolls or so many other things I'm sure. In return, you ask? I was her personal chauffeur. I loved to drive. She hated it. Life was good.)

Back to my original point though, the older I get the more I am wanting to continually learn new things. Maybe because I've obviously matured from the teenager I used to be and it's not forced learning, rather at my own will. Major difference there. But there's a deep satisfaction I get from making an effort to learn/try something and succeeding. Ah. Impressing yourself is way better than trying to do something simply to impress someone else. For sure. (Now that I reread that, it sounds slightly self-centered! I hope if you're reading this you can somehow understand my thought process...without thinking I'm a self-centered girl who cheated her way through high school.)

Totally random post, but isn't that what blogging is for?

Hope everyone is "feelin groovy" just like the greeter at Meijer reminded me yesterday...

The goose is on the loose!

2008-03-24T12:53:00.001-07:00

Yesterday my little man (affectionately known as "goose" by lots of family members though I've never really figured out why) conquered the art of walking. I am SO proud of him. I thought I was excited the first time he rolled over or sat up. Let me tell you walking brings about a whole new realm of excitement (and squeals and sounds) for both parent and child. A new world has opened up before him and you can see the delight in his eyes. It's funny...I had very jokingly been giving him little pep talks over the last few weeks that he had x amount of time to figure walking out before his first birthday. Little did I know...

Last year on Easter we were still in the hospital, as Jack was born on Good Friday. Easter will always have special meaning to me because of that :) And now all the more since he learned to walk on Easter.

Well, a quick entry here but laundry duties call. I loathe laundry. It's my least favorite thing to do.

Until next time...

Introducing Us

2008-03-23T15:15:00.000-07:00

I finally caved and switched my blog from Xanga (which I had yet to even make a post on there this year) to Blogger.

Just a few things you should know...I'm not very good with continuous, regular updates. I'm better friends with spontaneity for sure. And I know I overuse "..." and I use "..." when it's completely not grammatically correct. But you'll have to get used to it. It's my favorite thing to type... (see!) as if I'm composing my thoughts for a moment before speaking. Yes, that's it...

With Jack's first birthday fast approaching (2 weeks from today!) I am going to start documenting his little life here. And occasionally I will try to mention my husband Rob and me too if I remember. But primarily it's about Jack. After all he is what my life is mostly centered on now. (I say mostly b/c I do have a life outside of him though it be relatively boring in comparison.)

Well, in short (if you're new to me) I'm a stay at home mom that used to be a makeup artist for a major cosmetics company and I was also an interior designer. Aside from Jack, I now enjoy my hobby of making sock monkeys (and other sock critters) but more on that later. I'm on a continual quest to learn the ropes of the kitchen in general. I am not a good cook unless it comes out of a box. I want to get better though. I've sort of gotten the baking thing down over the last year or two and I LOVE to make cupcakes. Red Velvet to be specific. And I also want to learn how to make soap. And someday I will plant a garden. I wanted to get to it this year, but I think I need to conquer our existing landscaping first. We'll see what the coming months hold... I love being able to pick up new hobbies and try things out that I've always wanted to.

Anyway, all for now and best to each of you!