Blessing #9...My Grandparents

I feel so fortunate to have grown up directly next to two equally amazing people, my grandparents. Although I am close and appreciate all of my grandparents, there is a certain rapport one builds when they grow up 1/4 mile from their paternal grandparents.

My grandparents were there for me at nearly all of my sporting events growing up, fed me, sewed many pieces of my wardrobe, taught me about farming, about hard work, love, religion and family!

Grandma's house is the Clubhouse and all of the family are members. After an addition put on by my in-laws, the Clubhouse is now large enough to host all most of the family at once! Daily, there is always visitors dropping by to "hang out" and of course Grandma feeds them a meat and potato meal with some banana nut bread on the side and Grandpa invites them to try his homemade Strawberry Wine. This happens naturally as their five grown children live within a 5-mile radius of the Clubhouse. But also b/c they are the type to never turn anyone away, always have their door open and are hospitable. 

Grandpa is practically the mayor of our small town, after driving bus for decades and transporting generation after generation to/from school, sporting events and Cedar Point and Band Camps. Grandma is recently retired, yet still works nearly every day at one neighbor's greenhouse or farm; meanwhile, is a great grandma to a growing family.

After being "away" from home for six years now, I can attest that I miss these two people dearly.
Yesterday they celebrated 55 years of marriage...what a milestone!! I am so proud to call them Grandma and Grandpa!

Happy 15-month Birthday Lil' Girl

Today marks the 15-month milestone...we are just toddler-ing along, month-after-month.

And for my personal records so that I may update Miss L's baby book in the {hopefully} near future, I write the latest updates.

Miss L your smile is contagious and your giggles make me smile!
Current stats {unknown, dr appointment in about 10 days}
You definitely have been "filling out!" Milk does your body good

6 shiny white teeth, working on more
Enjoys grilled cheese, yogurt, granola bars, & milk
Chases after Mr. Cole, Carlos the monkey, & hugs her dolls
Loves to give kisses and high fives
Knows ears, toes, belly & more
Getting uber-cuddly as of late
Sleeping & eating well
Happy as always!

 

With that said, today I am thankful that I am a parent...but not a single parent. J doesn't travel routinely for work, but when he does {this week} it is a constant reminder of how difficult the job of a single parent is. I have a friend that holds the fort down while her husband travels week in and week out. I have a lot of respect for her. Thankful to be blessed with a great partner and most importantly, the ability to be a mommy!



Blessings #6 & #7...family!

Subject Line: Operation Minneapolis for Christmas

That is the subject line between an email exchange of my sisters and I. They are finding the best possible way to find their way 700 miles away to my home to play with their niece and visit us. They have sourced pricing on airlines, trains, buses, driving their own car, etc. A lot of work has been put forth trying to make this happen, and I am sooo thankful! I cannot wait to see them, hug them and spend quality time with them {we definitely do not get enough time together!}.

For the last decade, my brother and I have grown extremely close. In fact, I would call him my best friend, aside from J. And the cherry on top: J and my brother are also best friends, often texting about fantasy football, Detroit Tigers updates, and so on!

We felt really lucky when J's mom made her way out here in September to enable us to get away together {for work...and a little pleasure!}, a much needed and appreciated getaway!

Then, there is my mom who constantly hand-crafts items for Miss L: from "scarfs and shawls to a Halloween outfit" - it is always nice to get a package of made-with-love items.

And then there's my aunt, uncle and younger cousin that flew out to visit us this summer for their vacation!!! Yes, they vacationed in Minnesota. Although beautiful in the summer, I can think of other places to vacation in this beautiful world. They were so determined to see us, visit with Miss L, they spent their hard-earned money and precious vacation time to be with us. Quite a touching thought! And we had a blast!

I'm pretty lucky to have so many grandparents living still, and to have so many caring individuals in my life that I call family! More than just two days worth of blessings, certainly appreciated daily!

My siblings -JJ, JJ's gf Lauren, Lynnae & Jener - I heart them!

 

 

Blessing...#5

The ability to vote. I'm not super political, but I do exercise my opportunity to participate in democracy.

Right now, I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook...as I hate reading the hundreds of posts pushing their political viewpoint.

My take is that I love everyone the same, regardless of their political beliefs...so stop preaching to me. And if you don't vote, you cannot complain about our elected officials.

So...off I go to vote first thing in the morning...complete with my sample ballot!

I hope you will do the same!

Blessing...Day 4

Tonight, as I lay my Miss L down to sleep in the beautiful crib and on special bedding that I spent hours trying to find, I am reminded of how special this is. Not everyone has the ability to physically hold their baby, rock them to sleep, bath them or even lay them into their crib. I was thinking of this yesterday at about 5:30am, when she was coughing so much during a period of restless sleep. I went in her room, picked her up from her crib and held her upright for a while as I rocked her in her rocking chair. It was such a bittersweet moment, I wanted her to be free of coughing and back to sleep for both of us...but I loved her cuddles.

For one reason or another, many people are short one of their 5 senses. I feel so fortunate to just have the ability to hold her tiny body, smell her baby-scented hair, see her beautiful smile, touch her baby soft skin and taste her sweet {mostly sloppy} open-mouthed kisses! Our health and hers...I am very thankful for both.

Having fun picking out pumpkins!

Riding the wagon with pumpkins, mums, clay pots and more!



"Mommy says I'm Boo-tiful"

Blessings Day 2 and 3

Okay, November 2nd came and went...so now we're onto November 3rd and me writing 2 blessings at time...but that's okay, as that is life!

Today, I am thankful for my dear husband and that God blessed us with a little doll. I even said this outloud today as we were browsing a shop in the Cities called, Oh Baby! It is filled to the brim with adorable and over-priced baby everything from bedding to bows. When looking at some of the frilly, sparkly, adorable merchandise for my doll, it makes my eyes sparkle and my face light up. And I look to J and say, "I'm so glad God blessed us with a girl." It is not for everyone and by all means, I hope the next (future) baby is a boy...but I am loving our world with Miss L.

Nearly every day I am reminded how sweet and thoughtful my husband is, not only to me but to our daughter. He is my best friend, true love, partner in crime, motivator, and biggest cheerleader.

Here are a couple of photos from our adventures today, particularly the car seat aisle of Target (not one, but 2...and we didn't come home with a car seat)...

Having fun, playing in the boxes!

Where is Miss L?

Blessing #1

With a lot of posts of Facebook illustrating a daily thankful post during the month of November, I decided to do a less subtle method here on my blog.

On this 1st day of November, I am thankful to have a job or jobs that I absolutely love. I am blessed to have found a paid job that I love and enjoy (for the first time in about 6 years!), and am VERY thankful for the best job in the world...being a mommy! Or as Miss L says, "mmmommmmma!" Lots of mmms.

Both jobs are challenging in their own right, and yet both jobs feel so natural and enjoyable to me.

Making a "kitty" pumpkin - Oct. 30th

Happy Halloween! October 31st

I must love this job, if they got
me to dress up as a Chicken!
Halloween Party for 550 people at the Club
October 26th

 

Happy 14-month to Miss L!

Wow, 14 months ago today we welcomed this burst of sunshine into our world. Not that our world wasn't already filled with optimism, blessings and joy...but Miss L's arrival took it to a whole new level.

These days, we are gaining confidence with climbing on anything and everything! Sometimes mom and dad are quick on the draw with the camera, other times, we just have enough time to grab her before trauma occurs.

We have six teeth (4 up, 2 down) and are eating most everything except peanut butter and honey. We recently have slowly introduced egg into her diet after a little rash on the day of her birthday party in MI. So far, so good! Her favorite foods include: cheese, yogurt (pumpkin, especially), pumpkin pancakes, oatmeal, milk, strawberries, grilled cheese, pasta and bread.

We point to everything, understanding that things have titles, exercising receptive language, and says dadda, kitty, and on occassion mmmmmomma. I love how she is particularly chatty after I pick her up from daycare daily.

We have been sleeping in like a teenager lately. Some nights this past weekend, she even sleept 13-14 hours! Definitely learning something or growing

Since we do not have a 14-month sticker to slap on a onesie, here is an assortment of new photos from the past week...

Sitting on the sound amp, we have even caught her standing on the it!!

Standing in the Bumbo

this makes me laugh...her newest "thing" is to furrow her brows...kind of embarassing sometimes when she does it to strangers, but usually follows it with a smile to recover. :)

She always wants to be part of the action...
sitting on the kitchen island while mom and dad make
pancakes (blueberry for him, pumpkin for us girls!)
 

Standing in her doll's stroller...
to look out the window for coyotes!



She loves her couch...and books! Look at that hair!!!

Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu

Today was our typical slow cooker Tuesday since we run from work to daycare to dinner, followed by ECFE class at 6:15pm. I must admit, my planning had a bit of a hiccup today. I neglected to re-set the outlet timer and I "thought" my crockpot was set to turn on at 2pm, when it actually turned on at 8am this morning.

Thanks to a very helpful neighbor whom works from home, she was able to rescue me mid-day so my chicken didn't overcook.

Anyhow, here is the recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu...it was amazeballs {I've been watching too much Guilianna & Bill}...

Six Sisters' Stuff: Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu

Yay Tigers!!

We are crossing our fingers for playoff baseball for our beloved Tigers and were fortunate to be a part of the action this past weekend when they came to Twins Territory!

 

Target Field is truly a masterpiece of a ballpark and is always a treat to attend a game there.

Miss L did great, despite no afternoon nap. She immediately zonked out in the car seat on the way home and stayed asleep all night! Mommy & Daddy stopped for some locally-made ice cream on this beautiful summer-like fall night. Soy Pumpkin with a small top scoop of salted caramel, with whipped cream...more posts to follow about my new interest in salted caramel.

 

As one of her Grandpas clevery put it: "She is quite the catch!"

Despite the English D, she was still loved by Twins fans

She just started this brow furrowing as of late. Case and point!

Tigers win 6-4 and after game 3 on Sunday, went up 3 games over the White Sox. The season after I was born, they won the World Series. I think this could be the year!

Refreshed & Recharged

Last weekend, J and I were fortunate to getaway for about 4 days filled with leisure fun and professional fulfillment in Fabulous Las Vegas. Miss L was fortunate to have 4 days of bonding time with one of her grandmas.

Just as my previous post said, we drank a couple of cocktails on our Southwest flight out west. This, combined with numerous episodes of The League, that Jeremy uploaded to the ipad...and we laughed our butts off all the way there!

Shortly after arrival, we dined at Olives, a Todd English restaurant overlooking Lake Bellagio. This was a great suggestion from my boss, who suggested I go there to do some "market research." The view of the fountains was great, the ambiance-very romantic, and the food was divine! 


J's dish was a masterpiece of scallops atop mashed potatoes atop shredded short rib beef-
as well as avocados, beets and tons of other stuff!
Olives

Bellagio fountains

 

Of course, I could sit there and watch the Bellagio fountains for hours. We also went to a Cirque show, Ka, at MGM...which was an incredible and jaw-dropping performance. This was followed by lots of fun gambling until about 3am. We spent a couple of hours at the same roulette table, making friends and making memories! We were up for nearly 22 hours straight! I couldn't believe it.

Our favorite past-time of vacationing out west is getting up on Sunday morning to watch football while belly up at a bar - enjoying a breakfast and cocktail. So we did just that...at Emeril's Sports Stadium. Breakfast menu had ceased by the time we got there...but we did find this amazingly large and delicious pretzel with cheddar beer dip - to hold us over until we went to our favorite fast food joint In-n-Out!

Mmm...In-n-Out Burger

My private club marketing conference started Sunday eve, at a resort in Lake Las Vegas...check out the view from our room...

The rest of the trip included lots of professional development for me...and J golfed 18 holes (shot a 34 on the front 9) and happened to be partnered up with the Madame of Rosie's Brothel...yep, funny stuff! He gambled more and just enjoyed some leisure time away from a very stressful work life right now.

LOVED the Fall decor throughout each casino!

Lobster tacos at Koi at Planet Hollywood -
delicious, but I should have ordered a double!!

All-in-all, it was the perfect time away from Miss L. We missed her, but not too much. And we knew she was doing well and in great care.

After our return, I felt so refreshed as a mom and wife, and recharged as a professional. It really was perfect! Oh, and I felt very blessed to come home to a clean house and happy baby!