Goals Update!

I realized it has been quite awhile since I've spoken about my goals.. and the reason is.. I procrastinate!

big surprise... not!

Well I'm forcing myself to give a little update to my many goals in life... specifically the ones I wrote about several weeks ago... need a reminder?

Well here goes nothing...

First - Life - I am still happy and healthy and so is everyone in my family! Yay!

Second - Michael and Ella - A. well we've been going in spurts of eating healthy dinners at home.  We have been on a bad kick though since Ella had a cold for a couple weeks followed by me having an ear infection.. but I went grocery shopping last night and I have a roast in the crock pot as we speak!  So hopefully this time it'll last longer!

B. Oh I am making all of Ella's food so far!  So proud of myself for sticking with it for the first few weeks.  I've been grinding the rice and oatmeal myself and cooking it on the stove!  Ella loves it!  She tried her first juice this week!  Pear juice!  Who woulda thought it'd be pear juice?

C. Eating at the table... honestly... we have failed MISERABLY.. but we are getting an old new dining room table soon.. so heres to hoping!

D. Enjoying time together with no tv?  umm yes!  We actually have been doing good at this!  We are in the living room but we aren't watching tv.. we are watching Ella!  It is very easy to not watch tv while we are together when we have a little one who is discovering new things every day!!

Third - Financial - still in debt? yep.  8 month savings? nope. started saving for college? nope.. but I think my dad might have.  Well these things take time.  I can't unload thousands of dollars to get rid of all our debt... common sense tells me to relax on this and do what you can.

Fourth- prayer - Ella and I pray every night together as part of our bedtime routine.  

Well there are those goals!  I guess I'll keep working on them.... 

I have more goals?? No!  Okay... yes I do.

Health and Exercise? 

Oh yea... I went without soda for 2 full weeks!  ... then Ella got sick or we moved her to her crib and I needed caffeine.  Not a coffee drinker.. so back to square one.. still drinking soda but thinking about quitting.  And fruits and veggies.. not horrible not bad.. definitely not twice a day but definitely more often than before.  So yay!

Exercise.. don't even ask.  On a plus side.. I haven't gained any weight... :)

Last one!

I'm sure you've got this one already.. but yes Ella is sleeping in her crib still!  It is quite funny though.. for a little girl who HATED being on her belly the first 5 months of her life.. she sure does love sleeping on it lately.. is this normal?

I'll be trying to get reach these goals still!  Do you have any new goals you'd like to share?

Have a good Wednesday!!!!

Taco Night!

We had tacos the other night.. and tacos is one of our favorites!  Michael will eat anything Mexican and I just go along for the ride...

except tacos.  I make the tacos here and I learned from my stepdad.  So here is how I make my tacos...

Ingredients:

                  ground beef 

                  spices

                  refried beans

                  cheese

                  taco sauce

                  shells

Seasoning Salt; Chipotle Pepper; Crushed Red Pepper; Cayenne Pepper; Chili Powder; Smoked Paprika; Salt; Pepper

(the smoked paprika and chipotle pepper add a nice spicyness to it)

How to:

Brown the meat with the spices in a skillet!  Add as much of each spice as you want.. I add a lot of chili powder and seasoning salt.

In a sauce pan put the refried beans and top with some cheese and taco sauce.  Keep it on low to medium until starts to melt.  Stir it all up and keep it warm.

Warm the tortilla shells on the burners for a few seconds each side.

Then put it all together.. first the beans, then meat, then cheese, and any veggies you want!

It is yummy!   Add a side of a margarita and you are all set!!!

 

 

our weekend

A little peak at our long weekend!

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.4

Ella update

Miss Ella is trying really hard to crawl!!! Look how close she is!

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.4

365 Love Letters: Days 23-36

Love my little girl!

Pride and Prejudice

Look what I found at bn ... Barnes and Noble...

This is possibly my favorite book and I can and have read it over and over again! The movie isn't bad either!!!

I am ecstatic to have found a board book of it! Bn had a few different classics like this...

I wondered how they could make it into a board book... Turns out its a counting book! Like that Christmas song 12 Days of Christmas.

Check out the few snap shots of it I took.  Sorry it looks odd... my lighting wasn't working right!

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.4

allergies?

I went to the doctor due to my cold and cough that will not go away! I saw yet another doctor... not my normal one. This one said a few surprisingly things...

1 - I have an ear infection... Weird since they haven't bothered me.

2 - I have an allergy! Really? I have never had allergies in my life. How is it possible?

3 - I may have asthma! Now this is just crazy..

You would think I'd have found one of these out in my 25 years... I am refusing to admit the doctor is right. I don't think my throat and chest would've gotten this bad if the doctor I saw last week had given me meds! If I had seen my normal doctor I would've been fine. 

So now I'm taking the zpak, zyrtec, and an inhaler! Isn't this crazy? Now I think if I don't believe I have allergies and such then maybe I should stop taking the pill and inhaler.. but I want to feel better so I'm going to take it.

I plan to make tacos tonight! I use my own spices... Maybe I'll share the recipe! I just need to remember to do it...

Yay for hump day!!

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.4

Ode to Swing!

Miss Ella Grace

You have been such a great baby and I know you love your swing.. but it must go now!

Here are a few memories of Ella and her swing...

.... a bit of break in age there because she was always sleeping in it! I picked my fav photos :) The last one was last week.. no more swing if she can reach the mobile!  

Happy Tuesday!

My name is Fresco

Hi!

I'm Fresco!  I'm a pure bred toy fox terrier and I love to run, jump, and bark!  My favorite thing is to chase the squirrels in the yard!  I swear they tease me on purpose.  Why else would they shake their little bushy tails at me!!  I'll get one some day!  I also like to chase dogs, cats, birds, leaves, people, children, balls, toys, and bugs!  Anything that moves I know I can catch! 

I can jump higher than the door handle and if my mommy and daddy aren't careful I will scamper out the door to find something outside to chase!  I've done it a couple times and man was it fun!  Although I kinda got in trouble when they saw me.. it's not like I was lost, but they did find me even when I woulda came right back.. after I caught everything I could see! It was fun!  I did it once when mommy had a big belly.. before the noisy little human came along.. and she had to walk all around and man did she look tired by the time I decided to come to her!  Then I did it again just a few days ago and this time mommy didn't have a voice!  I felt bad for her so I came when she whistled..

I love my mommy and daddy and the little human also!  They let me snuggle up next to them every night!  My favorite is mommy because daddy moves too much.  I really like it when they rub my belly!  I like to fall asleep like that too! 

My big brother Max is fun sometimes too.  He lets me pull on his ears and nose and fur!  He doesn't like to play too often though.. but when it's nice out I can stay outside for soooooo long!!!  Then I can chase and catch those squirrels who tease me!  One time I did catch a bug!  It was crawling on the deck and I went and smelled it and licked it right up!  ... and everyone says I'll never catch anything!  Ha! I showed them!

Ok.  Time to go bark at the neighbors dog.. and their neighbors dogs.. and the other neighbors dog and anyone walking or driving down the street! 

Love Fresco 

PS  Mommy and daddy call me Little Buddy :) 

Number 2

READY FOR TWO??

Michael and I have been discussing this issue...  neither one of us would respond to the other.. 

 We have been talking about if and when we would like to have another baby.  Now don't get me wrong.. Ella is almost 6 MONTHS!!! Oh my god!  And did come to the conclusion that if we decide to have another it won't be for a few years.  

So... here are the reasons we WANT to have another baby:

1. Ella will have someone to play with
2. We miss the 'newborn' stage
3. I want another go at labor haha
4. We both have siblings... seems natural to have more than one child

Then... here are the reasons we DON'T want to have another:

1. We want to give Ella everything she deserves
2. We don't want to take time away from Ella
3. It's expensive
4. We like our sleep

With these in mind.. we have decided to put this decision on hold.  I mean we should probably pay off our current hospital bills first right?

Finally... here are some things I want to do before we decide:

1. Ella walks
2. We go on a family vacation
3. We fix up parts of the house
4. Find a good park
5. Make more money :)
6. Pay off current bills (hospital, car, credit card)
7. Take Ella out to eat
8. Sleep in past 730am many many times
9. Do arts and crafts with Ella
10. Celebrate a few more birthdays
11. Go to a couple zoos with Ella
12. Spend many afternoons outside with Ella
13. Go swimming with Ella
14. Ella is out of diapers?
15. Take a sewing class
16. Relearn Spanish and French?
17. Take Ella horseback riding
18. Spend the night just the two of us
19. Get another dog?
20. Paint the bathroom

I'm sure there are plenty more things I could come up with.. but 20 seems like a solid number.

Good luck to anyone trying to decide the same thing!

my little fun toy!

Have you ever had the privilege of using a rubber band ball?  Well I knew they existed, yet I never used one before.  So when I went to Office Max yesterday to get some paper and envelopes for work.. I also got this!  ... we did need rubber bands... 

And oh my gosh.. I have probably spent a combined total of 1 hour of my day playing with this dang thing!  

It is just too entertaining.. reminded me of being in school...  playing with random things to avoid paying attention or doing homework.  Except now its avoiding doing mid month things and writing a couple articles for our newsletter...  

I'm debating going back to the store today to get a couple more for home!  haha

Ok no I won't do that due to miss Ella being able to swallow them... but I'll enjoy it while I'm at work until it is gone!  

So excited for the weekend!  Hopefully my horrible icky cold thing will be gone by Monday!

Enjoy!

Lovely May

Normally, I love May!  My favorite flowers.. lilacs are out and smelling wonderful!  This year they bloomed early so I've been lucky enough to enjoy it for awhile now!  

On the other hand... it is has been a rather stressful month!  It started off with a crazy May 1.. check it!

and it seemed to have slowed down a bit because we were home at least.. but then...

Starting with May 4.. Ella started to get a cold.. so grumpy little girl :(

Then we had our 4 year anniversary... which we didn't get to celebrate due to miss Ella's nasty cough..

On the 14th Ella was better!  Yay!! Unfortunately.. I came down with it.. and now I have no voice :(  which has made me not want to speak out loud but on here as well.. I kinda thought.. hey if I'm not supposed to speak then maybe I shouldn't speak to ANYONE.. well turns out I like to talk.. 

So Ella's cold last from the 4th til the 14th.. 10 days.. I can do this... until she started coughing again today :(

On a happy note!  She started to eat last week!  She had some brown rice cereal and LOVED it!  This week we added oatmeal!!!  

I made it all myself!  I bought the Baby Bullet and used it with all its glory!  I ground the rice myself and then cooked it and blended it and then fed it to miss Ella!  I did the same with the oatmeal!  It was easy!  So I may have used the Baby Bullet to make everything.. but I actually these recipes!  This book is AMAZING!  I am so excited to use the recipes in here!  I bought it when I was still pregnant.. but I know a few other people who love it too!  Check it out!

 

  Here's to the rest of May being exciting!

BEST SNACK EVER

Nothing else to say! Sweet n salty! MmmmmmMmmmm

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.4

Holy 4 years!

Today is our anniversary!

We married on May 10, 2008... that's 4 years!!!!!  It has went by sooo fast!

So instead of describing the day we got married or something like that.. I want to write a thank you note to my husband and partly to myself.

Michael, thank you for being with me first of all.  My life wouldn't be the same without you.  Thank you for the time you've spent with me and the future time we have together.  Thank you for forgiving me when I'm grumpy.. and yes bitchy.. and yes hormonal.. and for saying things I don't mean in the heat of the moment.  I've always hoped I would find someone who could take what I give out without a thought.. and still fight back when you know I'm wrong.  It takes a strong person to put with me and I know it is because we love each other.  So thank you for all you have always done to take care of me and our family.  

First it was just you, me and the dog.... and we lived in that tiny house on Grande Ave... I still remember hearing fireworks or gunshots about every other night.. ALL YEAR LONG!  Or remember the time your car got stolen because you left the keys in it and left it unlocked?  How about the time Max jumped out the car window to chase a rabbit you pointed out to him?  My favorite is cuddling on the couch or the bed with Max curled up between us :)

Then there was you, me, the dog, and the little dog.... oh how I didn't enjoy Fresco encroaching on Max's territory.. meaning me.  The longer he stayed with us the more attached I became.  Now he is my dog.. little buddy.. he literally is a little fox dog.  We live in my childhood home.. in a much better neighborhood.. and yet there are still those damned fireworks.  Remember moving here?  It took more than 4 truckloads to just clean out the basement closet of my dads things.. phew!  Remember when I came home from UNI one night and you had tore up the ceramic kitchen floor?  How about when Fresco got out because the door was left open?  We found him thank god.. we were both scared I know.  My favorite is still cuddling in bed with you and Max on my side at the foot of the bed and Fresco curled up next to me :)

Now there is you, me, the dog, the little dog, and our daughter... oh how my heart just sings when I think of her!  She is literally the best thing that we have.. no offense puppies.  She is the only thing that can get me out of bed in the middle of the night.. the early morning.. and no napping during the day.  She is both of us.  The older she gets the more she looks like you.. but I think she is closer to my personality.  She has the sweetest personality with the biggest stubborn streak I've ever seen.  She will let EVERYONE know when she is upset.. and when she's happy.. you better believe you will be too!  Now we are still in my childhood home.. but with all the rooms being used for something!  Remember when we put her nursery together?  It used to be the 'junk room'.. we didn't have just a drawer.  Remember when we brought her home.. we were so worried about the puppies.  Remember each time we took her to the doctor and she ALWAYS had gained a lot of weight!  Remember when you finally convinced me to put her in her crib to sleep.. and then a week later convinced me to come sleep in bed instead of her floor?  My favorite thing is STILL cuddling, now on the couch, with you at one end, Ella in my arms on the other end, Max in the middle, and Fresco curled up next to me :)

Thank you Michael for giving me the life we have!  Happy Anniversary!

P.S. We got married the day before Mother's Day.. and now I get to spend my first Mother's Day as a mother!  Oh wow... that sounds kinda scary :)

365 Love Letters: Weeks 2-3: Days 9-22

Well I got behind with all that had gone on last week.. but I'm back to date!