My Very First Mother's Day
It's been a great day so far celebrating being a mommy and the wonderful husband and daughter God has blessed me with. (Because without them I wouldn't have a reason to celebrate!)
It's amazing to think back to this time last year. I was a little over halfway through my pregnancy and there was still so much to do. We hadn't prepared the nursery, had my baby showers, toured the hospital, or gone to any newborn preparation classes. We were still so far away from even meeting our daughter, and we were wondering what she would be like.
Now, we've had Lily in our lives for 8 1/2 months and we have loved every minute of it. (Okay, probably not every minute of it, but pretty darn close.) I love being a mom and I know this is truly a calling God placed on my heart. I'm grateful for the gift of my daughter and I take very seriously the responsibility He has trusted me with.
So, I've very much enjoyed spending some extra special quality time with Jordan and Lily today including a wonderful breakfast of eggs benedict, getting Lily dedicated at church, and watching the two of them get super messy making me a Mother's Day painting (check out the pictures!). But most of all, I've been counting my blessings and thanking God for our little family. They're the best!
Newest Project
I don't know about you, but I've collected a lot of recipes in the 10 years since I left home. I got a lot from my family, a few from Jordan's family, and the rest I've found randomly in magazines or online. However, my organizational system beforehand was far from satisfactory. Some recipes I had written out in a nice recipe binder my mom had given me right before I got married, which filled up very quickly. A good number I had handwritten into a little spiral bound notebook. Several were saved as Word documents on my computer. A ton were just randomly shoved into different folders and hiding around the kitchen. It was incredibly hard to remember where I had each recipe; far from ideal.
I knew I had to do something about my recipe collection and found a great solution on Pinterest - make a recipe binder of my own! I used regular 3-ring binders I already had lying around the house. Jordan and I are kind of binder freaks. We probably have 15 empty binders on hand at anytime.
Then, I got pretty printer paper from Staples and 2 pieces of beautiful scrapbooking paper for each binder. I typed up and printed out all my recipes and divided them between two binders, one for family recipes and one for favorite recipes. Next, I simply put them in page protectors to keep my awesome recipes safe from spillage and organized them by type (appetizer, side, entree, dessert). I also included a couple empty folder pockets to collect recipes I want to try, but will eventually toss or type up.
If it sounds time consuming, it's because it was. It took a lot of time to get the recipes typed up and formatted in a way that was both esthetically pleasing and would fit around the border of the printer paper. The original Pinterest version just told you to insert the recipe as you found it into page protectors. I'm too anal for that and needed my recipes to have a more consistent look. Yes, I'm a little OCD.
I also went and found pictures of either the person who gave me the recipe (for family recipes) or a picture of the dish itself and included that as well. Once they were all typed and formatted things went a lot faster. I simply had to print and alphabetize before slipping them into the page protectors. Finally, I cut the scrapbooking paper down to fit the front, back, and spine of the binder to make it look absolutely fabulous and more professional.
In the end, it was a lot of work but totally worth. I now keep my recipe binders proudly displayed on my counter where I can see them and smile every time I walk by. I also love actually getting to use my recipes! Even though I had all these amazing recipes I had collected, I realized I was only using the same recipes over and over again because I had forgotten what I had squirreled away. Now, I'm enjoying my old recipes and trying a lot more new ones. It's great!
For pictures of my awesome recipe binders, head over to the Crafts & Organization album.
Toothless Wonder No More!
I don't have any pictures yet because not much of the tooth is exposed at the moment and Lily tends to cover it with her tongue when she smiles. It'll probably be a few weeks before there's enough to see in a picture, but I promise I'll post one as soon as I get it!
Happy Easter!
The weekend was really perfect and we had a wonderful time catching up. However, we missed all of our other family members very much and hope you had a great holiday as well!
How Times Have Changed
I'm also realizing how much child-rearing practices have changed in just one generation. Check out how I was raised.
State of the art in car seat technology (which my grandfather thought was completely unnecessary and "spoiled" me)...
Sleeping soundly on my tummy in my crib all decked out with plush bumper and stuffed animals...
And finally, my parents getting me to fall asleep by putting a blanket over my face, which apparently they did on regular basis...
I'm amazed I survived!
(Love you, Mom and Dad!)
Storm Chasers
Well, last night was another night of weird weather patterns, and the uncommonly warm weather meant an unfortunately early start to tornado season here in the Midwest. It hadn't even occurred to me that the forecasted storm system could mean potential tornadoes, but I was rudely reminded of it when the tornado sirens starting going off at about 6 p.m. I quickly turned on the local news and saw the tornado warning for our county. Darn it.
We were supposed to be hosting our small group from church for a BBQ, but we knew those plans were going to be put on hold. One family was already on their way, but the rest had all decided to wait it out at home until the storm passed. Our friends Dusty, Noelle, and their daughter Ava got here just as the sky was darkening and rain was starting to fall. Next came hail, thunder, and lightening.
All in all, we didn't get hit that bad. The storm only lasted for about half an hour over our house and we didn't get hail nearly as bad as some places just a few miles away. Luckily, no tornadoes touched down in our town but one hit just a few miles north and damaged over 100 homes. It was pretty bad, but thankfully it was only property damage and no one was hurt. It actually hit only three blocks from Noelle and Dusty's home, but they suffered no damage and only lost power for the evening. Thank God!
So, we had another exciting evening in the Winter household. Lily survived her first tornado warning, and I realized I should probably have some kind of emergency kit set up in the basement. Jordan is using my temporary weakness to try to convince me to get that generator he's always wanted. We'll see...
However, the night wasn't a complete loss and most of the families from our small group came over at about 7:30 and we still had our BBQ. It certainly was a nice way to de-stress after all the worry over the storm.
The Day the Power Went Out
*just breath*
The only major concern we had with the power outage was having no heat on a day that was predicted to only get into the mid-30's. On top of that, the temperature in house had already fallen to 59 degrees when we woke up a little after 7 a.m. Thankfully, we had a large supply of firewood ready and Jordan got a nice fire going in the family room. We stuck close to the fire all day and were grateful for its comfort as the temperature continued to drop to 56 degrees by the late afternoon.
In general, we were more bored than uncomfortable, but I was concerned about putting Lily to bed in such a cold house. Mercifully, my worries didn't come to fruition because the power came back on a little after 5 p.m. and Lily was able to go to bed in her nice cozy room that evening.
So that was our fun over the weekend. I hope your weekend was much less eventful!
Getting Crafty
It's called Pinterest.
I'm sure most of you have at least heard of Pinterest, but if you haven't... It's a new online phenomenon basically like a digital bulletin board. You can create as many boards as you want, and then "pin" cool ideas, pictures, and websites to it. That way you'll never forget or lose that amazing recipe, craft, parenting technique, etc. you read about months ago and all of a sudden need right now. Lately, I've been browsing on Pinterest constantly and have already accumulated 20 bulletin boards and 442 pins (as of this writing).
I've got it bad.
On the up side, Pinterest has given me lots of fun ideas for things to do around the house. It's rekindled my love of crafting and organizing and I've been going on a bit of a binge recently. I organized all the drawers in my kitchen including our stationary drawer, junk drawer, and Wrigley drawer. I also tackled the top of our coat closet, which was just a jumbled mess of scarves, hats, and miscellaneous crap. Once things were nice and neat, I started getting crafty and made a paper heart wreath for Valentine's Day, spray painted some awesome bookends, and filled our ugly shoe tray with beautiful river rock. (Check out pictures of my crafting and organization under the Our Place tab.) It's been a lot of fun and I've got plenty more ideas pinned to my boards.
My only problem is deciding which project to tackle next!
Winter Family Library
Well, this past weekend we got one step closer to realizing our dream. You see, our living room and dining room have been largely unfurnished since we moved into our new home. We didn't have all this space back in New Jersey and our meager furnishings only filled the kitchen and family room. All the furniture we had in the living room was a wicker set and one IKEA bookshelf. Not too impressive.
Thankfully, Lily really came through when we did our taxes and our new deduction gave us a pretty good refund. We're putting most of it away, but decided to spend a little bit of the money on ourselves. It's been a tight year going down from two incomes to one, replacing the engine in our car, and taking a loss on the sale of our house so we really haven't been spending anything on ourselves lately. Now, we were able to give ourselves a late Christmas gift and splurge on some shelves to go in the living room to start our library. Luckily, Jordan found a great sale at a local furniture store and we scored four units for only $350. Not bad!
We're very happy with the finished product and I've posted pictures of our "library" on the Our Place page. The only problem is we realized we don't really have that many books. Looks like we need to work on stocking up!
Snow Day
Fast forward to the middle of our first Michigan winter and we've had almost no snow. There have been a couple of light dustings, and one snowfall that left us with less than 2 inches but even that melted quickly in only a few days. What happened? Where did all the snow go??
Yesterday and today we finally got our first real snow. Actually, it's not that much snow (again, only a few inches), but enough for us to take Lily outside for her first snowy experience. We got her all bundled up in one of her snow suits (a la A Christmas Story) and took her out on the sled Nana and Pop Winter got her for Christmas. We pulled her around the back yard and even let her go down the little "bunny slope" in the park behind our house. She wasn't overly thrilled with the cold weather (as you can tell from the pictures I posted), but Mommy and Daddy had a lot of fun experiencing this first with her.
Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!
2012 Kick Off
We hope everyone had a safe and happy start to their new year so far! Originally, we had planned to spend New Year's Eve with my parents, but our plans changed a little bit and we decided to head home a day early. I was starting to come down a nasty head cold and all three of us were missing home sweet home a lot.
We're glad we decided to go home last night for two reasons: 1) no one is on the road on NYE, and 2) we didn't hit any bad weather, which would not have been the case if we waited until today like originally planned. We made excellent time on the road even though we left at 3 p.m. and had to make a couple stops for Lily to eat, and, once her belly was full, she slept pretty much the rest of the way. It was a very smooth trip and we made it home with an hour and a half left to spare in 2011.
After I put Lily to bed, Jordan and I started to do a little unpacking and waited for the ball to drop. At midnight, we kissed and then happily settled into our very own bed. It was the perfect way to end a wonderful trip and a memorable year. 2011 had a lot of ups and downs for us, and we're hoping 2012 will be a good but uneventful year. Only time will tell.
Lily's First Christmas
It was a busy day for us starting with visiting Jordan's younger sister's family for breakfast and then going to his older sister's home for lunch. We stopped briefly back at his parents house in the afternoon before hitting the road again to see his aunts, uncles, and cousins along with the rest of the family for a traditional Christmas dinner courtesy of Aunt Tam and Uncle Jim. Not only was it Lily's first Christmas, but it was also the first time she met her cousin Emma and all of her extended family and it was an awesome reunion. Overall, she held up really well and did a good job being passed around among lots of loving hands. Towards the end of the day, however, she had a pretty big melt down, but she's now happily tucked into her bed. Hopefully, she'll get a good night's rest and be ready for the day tomorrow.
We had a great day celebrating Lily's first Christmas with Jordan's family and hope you had a wonderful day as well!
BFF's!
One Year Ago...
Wedding Gown Reborn
The big day comes and the dress is everything you wanted it to be and more. You love it and spend the most magical day of your life wearing it. And then...
The wedding is over and the dress gets forgotten. Shoved in the back of a closet, only taken out once in awhile to relive the beautiful memories before being put back in its lonely place. This is exactly what happened to my wedding dress. In fact, it wasn't even in our house because we didn't have enough closet space. It was taking up room at my aunt's house who graciously allowed me to keep it there. After a few years, my mom came up with a brilliant idea to help keep my wonderful dress alive: have it made into a christening gown for my future children.
I loved this idea! I never expected my daughter to wear my dress and had no other purpose in keeping it. So I happily agreed and handed the dress over to my mom for safekeeping until we could find a proper seamstress. As fate would have it, our timeline got moved up a bit when I found out I was pregnant last December, so Mom got moving on finding someone to work on the dress. Luckily, the mom of one of her coworkers happened to be a seamstress and we hired her for the job. I picked out a pattern and she got to work.
Over Thanksgiving, my mom brought the completed dress out to Michigan with her. It looks awesome! It's like a mini version of my wedding dress and will be a wonderful keepsake for Lily and any other children we may have. I love it and I'm so excited to have Lily christened in it. Hopefully, in a few months.
The kind seamstress also made a few other keepsakes for me - a pillow and a christening blanket with an "L" for Lily on it. I love all three pieces and I'm so grateful my mom came up with this awesome idea! Check out the pictures!
Funny Story
Decking the Halls
I love Christmas as much as the next guy, but I also think we should appreciate each holiday as it comes. Therefore, I don't start decorating for Christmas or playing Christmas carols until Thanksgiving is over. However, I immediately start celebrating the weekend after Thanksgiving and it's been my own personal tradition to do all my decorating at that time. This year was even more fun because it's Lily's first Christmas and we have a much bigger home to decorate. Yay!
I was torn over whether or not to get a tree this year because we'll be going back east to see family for the actual holiday and I didn't want a house full of fallen pine needles when we got home. Luckily, that problem was solved for me by my mom's dear friend Gail who had an artificial tree she was looking to get rid of. I happily volunteered to take it off her hands and love the way the tree looks in the alcove in our living room. It makes the house look so cheerful, inside and out! (Thanks again, Gail!!)
I've also put out all our other holiday decorations, but I admit it looks sparse in such a big house. I definitely need to up the ante in the years to come. Hopefully, I can catch some good after holiday sales and pick up some cheap decorations for next Christmas. Yeah, I'm already thinking that far in advance.
Anyway, I hope you're having a great start to your Christmas season! May it be always merry and bright!
Happy Thanksgiving!
We not only got to celebrate Lily's first Thanksgiving, but we also hosted our very first holiday! We jumped in with both feet by inviting my mom, brother, dad, my dad's girlfriend, and her two grandsons out to Michigan for the big day. Jordan and I had a lot of fun planning the menu, though we probably went a little overboard. I think we could have easily fed about 10 more people than were actually present at our meal.
We had a 21 lb turkey (Jordan named him Tom), kielbasa (a Spencer family tradition), stuffing, pineapple stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, salad, corn bread, coleslaw, cranberry sauce, and deviled eggs. Everything turned out wonderfully, if I do say so myself.I'm so grateful that my family was willing to make the 7 hour drive out to see us. Originally, Jordan and I thought we would be on our own for the holiday, but I'm glad it didn't turn out to be the case. We're loving having a house full people and Lily is getting plenty of love. (Even though my dad and brother are harassing me as I type. Oh, the joy of family.)
We have a lot to be grateful for this year, most importantly being our healthy, happy daughter. This time last year, we had no idea Lily was on her way but I'm so thankful she's here with us now. She's the most wonderful addition to our little family and we have loved every minute of being her mommy and daddy.
We hope you had a great Thanksgiving as well and enjoyed more blessings than you could count. God bless!
Cone of Shame
He has to wear the cone of shame because he has a spot on his leg. It's red and irritated and he's been chewing at it for the past few weeks, so Jordan took him to the vet over the weekend. The vet wasn't exactly sure what it was, but said it was probably a bug bite Wrigley never let heal. As a result, the vet had to shave the area and now we have to put cream on it twice a day and Wrigley has to wear the cone to keep him from irritating it any further. It doesn't seem to bother him too much overall, but he looks pretty pathetic. Poor little guy...
The "Greats" Come to Town
"Big Brother"
Overall, Wrigley is doing really well now that we have Lily home, and he doesn't pay her too much attention. Sometimes he'll come up when I'm playing with her and give her a few sniffs and kisses, but other than that he pretty much goes about his own business. I was actually pretty grateful for this reaction because I had no idea how a highly energetic and playful dog would react to a baby, especially when it means he gets less attention. The only difference I've noticed is that he can be more persistent when seeking attention, especially from me. I spend the majority of my time holding Lily or playing with her and it can cause Wrigley to get a little needy. He'll come over and sit right on me or keep pushing my hand with his nose until I have to pet him. He doesn't do this quite so much with Jordan, but Jordan still gives Wrigley lots of attention so I don't think it bothers him as much.
To sum it up, Wrigley has adjusted well to his "little sister" even though he doesn't pay her too much attention at the moment. He knows she's around and that she's a member of the family, but he's happy to do his own thing. Though at times he likes to remind me he is still my "baby" too...
First Family Outing
Yesterday, however, was Lily's first official family outing when we took her to a local apple orchard and pumpkin patch with Pop and Nana Winter who are visiting from New Jersey. The weather was absolutely perfect and we took her on a hayride, picked a some apples, and walked through the pumpkin patch. She was a great sport and humored us while we took pictures of her in all sorts of places... up in apple trees, being "picked" out of the pumpkin patch, and bouncing around on the hayride. I know she won't remember it, but it made a great memory for her mommy, daddy, and grandparents! I also know we'll have a lot of fun next fall when she's big enough to enjoy the bouncy castles and slides, pony rides, animal feeding, and playgrounds. Can't wait!
Check out the pictures from our day on the Adventures page.
Cookie Bowls
Grandma Allie Comes to Town
As most of you know, my mom had stayed with us almost the entire month of August to help us prepare for Lily's arrival, and the original plan was that she would also be present at the birth. Mom and I were both sure Lily would arrive before her due date of August 21st because Mom could only stay until August 23rd and we had no doubts Mom would be there on the big day. We thought we had things under control.
But then August 21st rolled around with no sign of Lily and even the 23rd came and went. Mom delayed her departure an extra day (missing the first day of school), but I still didn't go into labor. We had one stubborn little girl on our hands! So, Mom had to leave, and unfortunately missed Lily's arrival, which eventually came on the 27th.
While we were bummed Mom couldn't be with us when Lily was born, we were really excited that she had a whole week off from school at the end of September and she was able to come visit us for the entire week! Lily couldn't wait to meet her Grandma, especially after listening to her for almost an entire month while she was in the womb. Of course, Grandma was pretty excited as well and it was pretty much love at first sight for the two of them. Mom had a great time cuddling and loving on Lily all week, and Lily loved all the attention.
I'm glad I finally got to introduce my daughter to her grandma, and that we were able to share such a wonderful week together. We went on a few walks when the weather cooperated and pretty much just sat around staring at Lily discussing how cute she is. (We're a little biased.) It was a great week and one a long time coming!
Baby Blurb Book
I got this idea from another blog I follow (the sister of a friend) and a new mom who had done similar pictures and updates during her pregnancy. She took all of those journal entries and pictures and had them printed in a great book as a keepsake for her son. Luckily, since I'm using Shutterfly to host this website, I had a pretty easy time converting all my pictures and musings into a great photo book for Lily.
I had started working on my book almost as soon as I started blogging about my pregnancy and it was pretty easy to keep up with it. By the time Lily was born, all I had to do was add her birth story and some pictures from the big day and it was finished! Our keepsake book, titled Baby Love, arrived earlier this week and I love it! It turned out beautifully thanks to Shutterfly's pretty backgrounds and I think Lily will enjoy looking back at my pregnancy when she gets older. For now, I'm really enjoying looking at the pictures and reading the journal entries and remembering what it was like to have her inside of me. I'm glad I found this great idea and I hope to share the book with family and friends when I see them.
(For now, I posted the book on the right-hand side of this website so you can see a virtual copy of it!)
She's Here!
I've already changed the Baby Winter section of this website to Lily's new page and promise to have pictures and the entire birth story posted soon. (Don't worry, no graphic details.) Overall, Jordan and I enjoying our transition to parenthood and we're really excited to share this journey with all of you!
Distractions
- We tackled a few home projects - refurbishing my old toy chest and spray painting a set of wicker furniture.
- We finished off the nursery by purchasing and putting together a bookshelf.
- We made lots of yummy meals and froze some for after the birth. (Actually, Mom did most of the cooking while I provided moral support.)
- Jordan and I showed Mom around our new town.
- Mom and I went to see a few movies (Harry Potter and The Help) and pampered ourselves with pedicures.
- We browsed Etsy for cute baby stuff and bought a few things (two hats, a pacifier clip, and Lily's first Halloween costume).
- I helped Mom make her first photo book on Shutterfly.
- We took Mom to a local park and walked around for an afternoon.
- I helped Mom purchase a Nook and learn how to use it.
- As Jordan puts it, "We shopped the deals." (I.e. we went to a lot of local stores and tried to find the coolest thing on the clearance racks.)
After awhile, we realized we had been so productive we were running out of things to do. At this point, we were also starting to get impatient with our stubborn little girl and began researching and trying out ways to naturally induce labor. So we started doing giving those a try...
- Taking lots of long walks
- Eating spicy food (Mexican and Thai)
- Eating Eggplant Parmesan
- Baking and eating fresh lemon cupcakes
- Trying out acupressure points
Unfortunately, none of these measures worked but they did provide some entertainment and we enjoyed eating so much good food.
On the downside, my mom had to go home yesterday and now it's just Jordan and I waiting on our little girl. With so many distractions already exhausted, there isn't too much left for us to do to keep our minds off the waiting. Sitting around looking at each other is not option. Jordan especially is getting pretty antsy and has taken to asking me if there's been any "action" every few hours.
Yesterday, we killed some time by adopting two new family pets. Don't worry! Jordan didn't talk me into getting a new dog. We stopped by Petco and got two cute Beta fish and made a nice little environment for them to live in. (My mom took the 17 toads we were raising back with her to live as classroom pets in her 7th grade science class.)
Today, we took Wrigley to a local park and let him play in the creek. It was a nice cool day and we had fun watching him goof off in the water for about an hour. (Check out the attached pictures.) He's in dire need of a bath now, but we're just happy to see him passed out in the family room.
As for tomorrow, we have no idea what we're going to do. I'm starting to think Lily won't show up until I'm induced Monday night and that means we have four whole days with nothing to do but wait. Any suggestions??
Secret Santa
Well, it's that time of year again and Jordan's mom sent us our fact sheets in the mail to fill out. (It's tradition to exchange sheets during the annual OBX trip, which unfortunately we can't attend because of the timing of Lily's due date.) I filled out my sheet and left Jordan's for him to fill out on his own. I later found the sheet on the kitchen island and was a little surprised by what I read. I've attached his sheet to this entry. Open it, and give it a quick read...
Done? So who do you think this sheet was filled out for? And what do you think Jordan has on his mind?
My crazy husband has it in his head that we need another fox terrier. With a baby on the way. I don't think so! I just shook my head and laughed and proceeded to ask his mother to send us another sheet. I think I'll be filling this one out for him...
Emma Ryleigh
Addicted
Never heard of Etsy? Well, you're in for a treat! Etsy is an online marketplace for individual artisans to display and sell their creations. You can find just about anything on Etsy, and in the past I've used it mostly for finding gifts for other people. For example, my mom is a big jewelry lover and I've found some nice unique pieces on Etsy for Christmas gifts for her.
However, ever since I became pregnant I started looking at the kids section on Etsy and Oh.My.Gosh. They have the cutest stuff!! So far, I've been really good and I've only bought two things to use for Lily. One is a nursery decoration, which will be revealed shortly, and another is for taking monthly pictures of Lily to show her growth over the next year. (You'll see what I mean after she's born.)
While I have managed to restrain myself so far, it's getting much harder not to go reaching for the credit card every time I log on. My bookmarked list of favorites is growing longer and longer every day! How can you resist some of this stuff?? Like this teddy bear hat, these bookends, or this headband! It's just too cute and my little girl deserves the best. ;)
(I can just see Jordan's look of utter confusion when he reads this.)
*sigh*
For now, I'll keep my spending in check and my wallet locked away. However, I'm happy to spread the addiction and have recently spurred my friend Andrea onto quite the buying frenzy after a recent Etsy hiatus. It's okay. Her daughter, Lena, is going to look adorable in all her new shoes!
Hair Donation
Originally, I was planning on waiting until closer to my due date to take the plunge, but it's been so hot lately and my hair has gotten to be a real pain to take care of so I went ahead and cut it earlier than anticipated. I had also planned on donating to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program because they only required a minimum of 8 inches in length versus Locks of Love, which requires a minimum of 10 inches, and I didn't think I had a full 10 inches. However, I also found out that most Great Clips locations will give you a free hair cut if you donate to Locks of Love. I decided to give it a try and I did indeed have the 10 inches needed to make a donation to Locks of Love.
Now, I have a new shorter cut that is a lot easier to manage and feels a lot cooler in the hot summer weather AND I did something good with my hair in the process. I donated once before to Locks of Love and I think I might try to do it more often. It's so little inconvenience to me and makes a big difference to a cancer patient. It's a win-win situation all around!
Nursery
P.S. I'll post a nursery reveal in August so check back!
Birth Center Tour
I was also happy to find that all their rooms are private and are LDR (labor, delivery, and recovery) so I won't have to move from room to room as I progress. I'll get to stay in just one room my entire time in the hospital and Lily will stay with me as well. Their whole birthing philosophy seems to be very natural and not as regimented or strict as I've heard other hospitals can sometime be. (For example, the baby is put right onto mom's chest after delivery and stays there until she nurses for the first time.) Overall, it was a very positive experience and it makes me even more excited for what lies ahead!
Baby Shower #2
After celebrating with Jordan's family two weekends ago, I drove back to my home town with my mom and got to spend a wonderful week with her. We went shopping, visited with friends, and prepared for the shower my mom was hosting for me on Saturday at her home. It kept us very busy, but was well worth it!
Saturday afternoon, I had the pleasure of spending a few hours with my family, Jordan's mom and aunt, and many old friends to share in this very exciting time in my life. We played a few games, ate lots of good food, and of course "oohed" and "ahhed" at all the cute baby things I was showered with. It was a lot of fun and I'm once again humbled by the generosity of so many wonderful people.
Thank you again to everyone who attended both showers. It meant a lot to me to have you there, and I can't wait for you to meet Lily in just a few short months!
Check out the pictures on the Winter Baby page!
Baby Shower #1
I've posted pictures from the shower on the Baby Winter page. Check them out!
Memorial Day Weekend
We had a pretty relaxed visit and spent our time watching movies, shopping, and catching up. She also helped us host an impromptu Memorial Day barbeque yesterday with one of Jordan's coworkers, Caroline, and her husband, Nick. We had a very nice meal and enjoyed teaching Nick (who is from Germany) how to make real American smores. It was a fun experience and I think we'll be making smores often!
I'm very grateful for all the friends I made in college and it was wonderful getting to see Amanda again. She even made us a "Welcome to the Midwest" basket and we had fun going through all the contents. Thanks for coming to see us, Amanda! Wrigley and I will miss you terribly and hope you'll come see us again soon!
Upgrade
Well, we've always said that when we got a bigger house we would treat ourselves to a king-size bed, and, as you can imagine, it was on the top of our list when we found out we were moving to Michigan. The car trouble on our way out here made affording it a lot trickier, but housewarming gifts from my parents and a lot of comparison shopping made our dream come true. (Thanks Mom and Dad!)
We bought the bed frame at IKEA over the weekend, and had quite the adventure getting it home. We had to tie the box to the roof of our car and drive very slowly back home. What is usually a 25 minute trip took us 50 minutes and a lot of anxiety. It wasn't until we were pulling onto our street that Jordan confessed he didn't think we would actually make it all the way home without the box falling off the car. Oh geez. I'm glad he didn't tell me earlier because I was worried enough as it was!
Jordan put the bed together and then the mattress and box spring were delivered yesterday afternoon. Thankfully, our new place has an open stairwell, so it made for a very easy delivery. No worries there! The bed looks great in our new room and fits perfectly even though it's huge. I can't believe how much space there is! We're definitely happy with our purchase and know we will enjoy it for years to come. There's even enough room for Wrigley, so it makes the entire family happy!
Camp Out
P.S. We're still without a bed because the moving company couldn't find the parts used to put together our beds and kitchen table, so we're still using the air mattresses tonight. Hopefully, we'll either find them or the moving company will figure out a solution tomorrow. The fun never ends!
New Beginnings
Secondly, we got the keys for our new home out here in Michigan. Technically, our lease doesn't start until Sunday, but the cleaning and preparations were finished early so we got the keys ahead of time. Our things won't be delivered until Monday so we're still living in our apartment for now, but I'm going over to do some cleaning tomorrow and we're going to move some of things we have with us. It's a great home and I can't wait to share pictures with you!
So as the Semisonic song goes... Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.
P.S. I added a picture of the house to the top banner of the site. What do you think?
Car Trouble Resolved
The Power of the Snoogle
Now, I've also found the Snoogle has a special appeal to dogs as well as pregnant women. All day, I've walked into my bedroom to find Wrigley snuggled up inside my pillow happy as a clam. I guess he feels secure inside the curls of the pillow and yet it supports his head so he can keep a watchful eye on the neighbors. I gotta tell you, it's just about the cutest thing! I'm glad my Snoogle is able to do double duty for me and the dog.
Michigan or Bust
Jordan was able to go to work this morning to get caught up, and I'm settling into our temporary apartment today. (We'll only be here for about two weeks before we move into the house we're leasing on May 1st.) You can definitely tell Jordan's been living a bachelor lifestyle in the apartment and it's in need of a serious cleaning. I'm definitely up for the job!
All in all, the situation is an extra stress we don't need right now, but there's nothing we can do to change it. We're just doing our best to deal with it, and we're looking forward to life calming down once we settle on our home in New Jersey on the 28th and then get into our new home out here. Hopefully, God will take pity on us for a while!
Stranded
Jordan and I were about as prepared for this move as two people can possibly be, but we couldn't have foreseen the problem we've been dealing with since Saturday - car trouble. We were packing up the car to leave my mother's house Saturday afternoon when Jordan noticed white smoke coming out of the tailpipes. He checked the oil and found the tank nearly dry, which was very odd considering the oil had just been changed three weeks ago. We were both really worried about driving it and decided to play it safe. All the mechanic shops in town were already closed for the weekend, but we would wait until Monday to have someone look at the car.
Well, to make a long story short, we're still waiting on the car. It's been in the shop since first thing Monday morning where the mechanics had to take apart the entire engine. We're still not exactly sure what the problem is, but we've been assured we should have the car back on Friday or Saturday at the latest. We shall see...
In reality, the situation isn't as bad as it could have been. We're in my hometown and my mom has graciously opened her home to us and Wrigley. It's been nice to have the extra time with my family, and certainly better than spending hundreds of dollars to stay in some random hotel in the middle of nowhere. I've also appreciated my mom taking care of us because both Jordan and I have come down with nasty head colds. (As a matter of fact, my grandfather has the same cold so it's 3 against 1. I'm amazed my mom hasn't gotten sick as well!) We're also very lucky that Jordan's boss has been understanding about the situation, and he's been able to do some work from here on his laptop. However, we do need to get to Michigan by the weekend because he's scheduled to leave for a conference on Monday, so we are under some time constraint.
Overall, we're very grateful this car trouble happened when it did and that we've had my wonderful family and Jordan's sympathetic boss to help us out. You guys are the best!
It's a...
We had the anatomy scan on Friday morning, and our little one is growing healthy and strong with a heart rate of 146 and estimated weight of 13 ounces. It was amazing the amount of detail we could see on the ultrasound - from the beating heart to the vertebrae of the spine. I have quite a few pictures that I'll upload once we get settled.
We also wanted to find out the gender of the baby, but it was a lot harder said than done. The baby had its legs crossed at the ankles and gave the tech a very hard time of it. First, I had to roll over to one side and then the other. Then, I had to get up and walk around. Finally, the baby moved enough that the tech was able to give a prediction with 98% certainty that the baby is a girl.
We've decided to name our little girl Lillian Christine, and we'll call her Lily. Lillian is after Jordan's paternal grandmother and Christine after my maternal grandmother (it was her middle name as well). We're both very excited to know we're having a daughter and especially happy to know she's healthy! Thank God!
Moving Day
As I type, a group of very speedy and efficient movers are loading the entire contents of our 800-square foot home onto a big truck and getting ready to take it to Michigan. Yesterday, a different group of guys came and boxed everything up - an incredible gift because what took them 6 hours probably would have taken me 6 weeks to accomplish.
So far, it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be watching our stuff get packed up. I would imagine it's because I'm not going through everything myself and thinking about purchasing it and bringing it into our home. I would most likely be a mess if I was doing this myself. Another small blessing from God! However, I know I will get emotional when we finally leave our house for the last time. We've had so many good memories here... Buying our first home together, getting married and starting our lives as husband and wife, bringing Wrigley home, and finding out about our little one's arrival are all wonderful memories I will always hold dear to my heart. It's been a great starter home and we've had a lot of fun here.
Here's to happy endings and new beginnings!
Unexpected Shower
Movement
Sidelined
Unfortunately, fate was not on my side.
First a little background... We had just had my car into the mechanic on Monday and Tuesday to get it tuned up for the drive to Michigan, and on Wednesday the check engine light came on. I took it back to the mechanic and he checked the car but didn't find anything wrong. He told me to keep an eye on it and let him know if the light came on again.
I didn't have any other problems until I pulled out of work on Friday and found the car wasn't accelerating like it normally does. I was able to get up to 40 miles an hour but it took a long time. Then, I came to a light and tried to accelerate quickly when the light changed to see if the car did the same thing. Well, this time it was worse and I couldn't even get the car over 25 miles an hour. I immediately pulled off to the side of the road to get out of the way of traffic and called Jordan. I told him what was going on and he called the mechanic because I didn't have the number with me. While Jordan made the call, I was able to pull off into a business parking lot before the car died and wouldn't turn back on.
Great.
Unfortunately, I was stranded in the middle of the parking lot and was blocking several cars in their spaces. Luckily, I wasn't far from work and was able to get a couple of my co-workers to come and push me out of the way. They were a big lifesaver! I waited in the parking lot about 20 minutes for a tow back to the mechanics shop where my father-in-law met me to drive me home.
So, my early exit from work resulted in a very long and aggravating journey home where I promptly put on my PJ's and didn't move for the rest of the night. Thankfully, the rest of my weekend hasn't been nearly as eventful.
Contract
Quad Screen Results
Visiting Ann Arbor
Next, we drove around a few of the neighborhoods where we're considering living and saw a few houses. We didn't find the perfect place but there seems to be a lot of inventory out there so I'm not *too* worried about it. (One thing at a time, right?) Again, there seemed to be a lot of things to do in the suburbs and there were plenty of shopping centers everywhere we looked. The Ann Arbor area seems very much "my speed" with space between towns and farmland. I like having room to breath and everything out there lived up to my expectations. As far as I can tell, our time in the Midwest will be lots of fun!
Guessing Game
Happy Valentine's Day
Happy Valentine's Day! <3
New Section
Baby Love Hits Home
I'm really glad to finally be able to share this news with everyone, and I will continue to update you on the progress baby and I are making along the way. Praise God for blessings big and small!
Decluttering
Emotionally, however, is a different story.
Don't get me wrong. I've done what I need to do to make my house marketable, but it was harder than I had expected. It's weird not seeing all of our family pictures up where they used to be and all of our quirky knickknacks hidden away. It's also started the process of emotionally disconnecting from the house and getting ready to leave it. This has been a great starter home for us, and I'm very grateful for all the memories Jordan and I have made here. I will always look back fondly on our time in this house, and I will definitely be sad to leave it. On the other hand, I think this move will be a really good thing for us and I'm excited for all the possibilities it will bring. It's sad to say goodbye, but I'm looking forward to the future.
Meeting Lena
On a side note... The #1 thing I will not miss when we move is the traffic! What should have been an hour and a half drive home took over two and a half hours because of construction and disabled vehicles. I can't wait to get back to the country!
Taking This Show on the Road
Ready or not... here we go!
Baby Love Continued
Happy 2011!
We rang in the new year in my hometown with my parents, and we also did a belated Christmas celebration with my dad and his family. It was a restful weekend for all of us and we had a lot of fun spending time together. Soon, we'll be heading back home and preparing for everything 2011 will bring for us. I think it's going to be a very busy year! (More on that later.)
We hope you had a wonderful time celebrating the new year and that 2011 will be a spectacular year for you as well!
Merry Christmas!
It was a long day for us, which started at the Watkins home where we got to watch our nephew open ALL his gifts. He must have been a very good boy this year because Santa was very generous! Drew is almost three now and Christmas is so much fun now that he understands the concept of Santa and opening gifts. He had a ball!
After our Christmas morning marathon, we headed over to my aunt's house where we celebrated with my extended family. We laughed a lot and enjoyed a wonderful meal together as always. Next, we headed over to Jordan's aunt's house where we then celebrated with his extended family and gave presents to baby Weston. Jordan spoiled the boys this year - I think he was going for the favorite uncle award! He got them all sorts of fun Disney related gifts and he is well on his way to bringing them into the Disney fold. (Watch out Watkins and Hammachers!)
It was another successful holiday surrounded by the people we love, and we are looking forward to ringing in the new year at my dad's house next weekend. Once again, Merry Christmas from the Winters!
Holiday Countdown
I'm *getting* there. Yesterday, I finished the last of my shopping, but I am still waiting for one online order to arrive. It shipped this past Monday, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be here early this week.
The one thing I've been procrastinating on has been wrapping. I usually like to wrap, but it's annoying to do in my house. I don't have a big table, so I have to work on the floor, which is never comfortable. I also have a dog that loves to steal my supplies, especially the tape, bows, and wrapping paper cutter. I usually have to put him out back when I'm wrapping, but then he scratches at the door the entire time. Fun, fun. Anyway, I'm hoping to get most of my wrapping done today, but first I have to make a quick trip to the store get more supplies. It's going to be a busy day, but when it's all said and done I'll be ready for the big day!
R.I.P. Einstein
It was really hard to hear about Einstein's passing because he was my first "real" pet. When I was little, my parents weren't really pet people and would only allow my brother and I to have pets that stayed in cages. As a result, we had all sorts of strange pets - a turtle, mice, rats, gerbils, a guinea pig, an iguana, frogs, and even cockroaches. I, however, really wanted a non-caged pet, but knew that a dog was out of the question. A cat, on the other hand, was within reason and I pestered my parents until they finally gave in. (Gave in, gave up... What's the difference?) They agreed to let me get a cat when I was 11 and I was thrilled!
But the story of how we ended up with Einstein is actually pretty funny. Every spring my elementary school holds a May Fair with all sorts of games. My favorite was the cake walk (like musical chairs but with carpet squares and in the end the winner gets a cake), but I had NEVER won. That particular spring, someone brought three 6-week-old kittens to the fair and said they didn't want them. The people running the cake walk thought they would make for appropriate prizes since they were running out of cakes faster than was expected.
The kids were thrilled!
The parents were not.
Of course, I played with a kitten as a potential prize and I actually won! (It was the first and last time I won at the cake walk.) My prize was a cute little tabby kitten, who we named Einstein. (Keep in mind that my mother is a science teacher.) He was actually a little terror at first. His favorite game was hiding under couches and tables and then running out and attacking people's ankles when they walked past. At times, he could actually be quite vicious and even sent me to the ER once when he bit me in the hand so badly I needed a tetanus shot. At that point, mom was ready to give him away, but I wouldn't give him up. Instead, we got another little kitten to be Einstein's friend. Once we got Ti, Einstein calmed down and he became the lovable family pet he was for the last 13 years. He was a very good first pet and he will be missed. <3
Congratulations!
Reality TV
No particular reason...
That changed, however, when I watched The Sing Off on Monday night. I wanted to watch the show because I knew On The Rocks would be competing. Never heard of them? They're an a cappella group from the University of Oregon, and I'm guessing you've seen their viral YouTube video. (If you haven't, you must check it out!) I loved the video and was excited to see them on a national show that had a cappella only groups competing against one another. I figured the show would be pretty good if the other groups were anywhere near as talented as On The Rocks...
Oh
My
Gosh
I was blown away! All ten groups were so good and created the most amazing music with no instruments other than their voices. On The Rocks didn't disappoint when they recreated their video performance of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance", but I loved some of the other groups too. My favorite is definitely Committed, but I like Street Corner Symphony, The Back Beats, and Grove for Thought as well. I was also sad to see the Whiffenpoofs (of Yale University) be voted off last night because I thought they were amazing, but the judges basically had an impossible choice of who to send home.
This is one reality show I heartily recommend, and I know I'll be looking forward to the next few weeks of competition. I only wish the show lasted longer!
P.S. You can catch up on the last two episodes online if you missed them.
Happy Thanksgiving!
One the down side, we were unable to see either set of parents today because Jordan wasn't able to get time off from work, but we were able to see my extended family for a wonderful meal and fun evening. All in all, it's been a great year and we have much to be thankful for...
I'm most thankful for my wonderful husband and the life we're building together. It's not always perfect, but we have a lot of fun and laughter in our home and I'm really looking forward to what the future will hold for us.
I'm thankful for our parents and extended families. These relationships take effort and work, but they are an amazing blessing to us. I'm also grateful that we've both been accepted so wholeheartedly into each others families and I know we've both come to love our in-laws as our own.
I'm thankful for our friends both near and far. You certainly bring spice to our lives and help to keep things interesting. We're so lucky to have you as an extension of our family.
I'm also thankful for our dog, Wrigley. The first few years were tough, but he's created his own special place in our hearts that I know will never be filled by another. He is our first dog and our first "baby" of sorts, and I will always love my little furry boy.
Last but not least, I'm thankful that we are both employed and able to provide a good home for ourselves. Having a job is not a given thing anymore and I know we're lucky to be able to support ourselves. I'm especially grateful that Jordan loves his job and is looking forward to growing his career there over the long-term.
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving too, and pray you're blessings will grow even more over the coming year! God bless!
Photobook Continued
Now, I'm waiting for our Christmas cards to arrive. I ordered them last weekend, and I'm really looking forward to sending them out for the holidays. Yay!
Photobook
Now, don't get me wrong. I really enjoy scrapbooking and think it's one of the best hobbies around. I would have loved to spend countless hours and lots of money to make an elaborate scrapbook for our once-in-a-lifetime vacation. However, I don't have lots of extra cash lying around and I don't have a great scrapbooking space in my house. (All you scrapbookers understand... It's not a lot of fun to work on the floor and have to pack everything up when you're not working on it.) Plus, having a dog that likes to steal your supplies doesn't make it any easier.
So, I took the simpler and faster route using Shutterfly's photobook maker. I liked the program a lot more than I had expected, and I was able to make a nice book in just a couple days. I even included my journal entries from our vacation website. It should be here in a couple of weeks and I can't wait to see how it turned out!
Trick or Treat
I didn't get to see my two nephews on my side of the family, but my dad sent me pictures of our little Buzz Lightyear and Woody. They looked so sweet! It makes my heart melt. :)
Geocaching Mania
We had very lofty goals for our three days of geocaching: 1) I wanted to see all my dad's hides, a total of 43 in our local area, 2) We wanted to break our personal single-day find record of 32 caches (from back in July). We also wanted to try to get 100 finds in just one day, but we realized it was probably not going to happen. That was okay with us. All in all, we did accomplish both our goals. I finally got to see my dad's hides after hearing about them for months, and we did break our single-day find record with 57 caches on Thursday. We also enjoyed the time together and seeing the beautiful fall scenery as we drove around the many small towns we visited. It was great trip. Not to mention we were stopped by a state trooper, got chased by a flock of hungry ducks, and confused some muggles (i.e. locals who don't know what geocaching is).
My dad also gave me a new experience when he brought me along to help him place a new cache. He had already found the perfect spot in the woods, so I hiked up there with him and we figured out the best container to hide. I also gave him the name for the cache, which will start a new series based on the movie The Princess Bride. (He already has a whole series based around Monty Python and the Holy Grail.) I can't wait to see what else he comes up with for this new series!
NLCS Game #1
The seats were on the 100-level between 1st base and right field. They were good seats, but we were under the awning so the view was a little more restricted. On the other hand, I think our protected spot kept the wind away, so we weren't nearly as cold as we thought we would be on a chilly October evening.
We were really excited to see Roy Halladay pitch, especially after his amazing no-hitter in game #1 of the NLDS. However, our high hopes were not completely realized because Doc did indeed pitch, but the performance was far from perfect. Unfortunately, Doc gave up 8 hits resulting in 4 runs (2 of the hits were homeruns by same the player, Cody Ross). Our Phils lost the game 4-3, but we're hoping they return for a victory tonight and ultimately win the series. Go Fightin' Phils!
Baby Showers
Okay, I know that's a gross exaggeration, but I came home from vacation to two invitations to baby showers on two consecutive weekends so it didn't feel that far off. This past Sunday was baby shower #1 for my very good friend, Andrea Gebely. She and her husband are expecting their first child lovingly nicknamed the Geblin. It was wonderful to see Andrea and her baby bump as well as two of my favorite Messiah girls, Katie and Noel. We had a wonderful time showering Andrea with fun baby gear and making predictions about the sex of the baby. (Everyone is split 50/50, but Katie is really pulling for a girl.) Only a few short weeks until we find out!
This upcoming weekend, I'll be attending shower #2 for one of Jordan's cousins. I haven't seen that side of the family in a long time and it'll be nice to catch up. In addition to his cousin Kristine's pregnancy, the family is also celebrating the adoption of a little baby boy by Jordan's other cousin, Janel. (It's not a joint shower, but it's the first time most of us will see the family since Janel started the adoption process.)
See what I mean? There's a lot of baby love in the air!
To Oz and Back
Fantasy Football Mania
Jordan, on the other hand, can't get enough of fantasy sports. I generally tolerate his love of this particular past time, but September is always my least favorite month of the year because this is when football and baseball overlap. Baseball still has another month of regular season play and football is just getting warmed up. On top of his normal two fantasy baseball leagues, Jordan is also currently drafting for his four fantasy football leagues. As a result, I've seen very little of my husband the past few weekends. This most recent weekend was the worst with an all-day draft on Saturday and then a draft on Sunday at a friend's house over two hours away from our home. Now, there are definitely plus sides. I didn't mind having an afternoon to myself on Saturday, and Sunday we got to see our good friends from college (who I haven't seen in almost a year) so that was a great visit made possible by the draft.
However, I'll be very happy when baseball season draws to a close and Jordan will only have football to concentrate on for a few months. I think fantasy sports has brought a whole new meaning to the term "sports widow". Oh, my!
Box Seats
Bus Trip
We really enjoyed the stadium and the game, though we would have enjoyed it more if Lidge hadn't blown the save. After the Phillies came back from a four run deficit, Lidge gave up a walk-off three-run home run and we ended up losing 5-7. *sigh* So, it wasn't the perfect ending to our day but it was still a fun ride.
Busy Busy Busy
Anyway...
I went away the last two weekends. The first weekend was to visit my dad and do a little geocaching as a belated Father's Day gift. We drove down to my alma mater and then on to Gettysburg and Maryland. Overall, we got 32 finds in one day and brought my total finds up to 60 and Dad well into the 400's. It was a very successful trip and I finally learned how to use my new GPSr! Ever since, I've been doing caching around home and I've moved along a few trackable items as well. (I also used the opportunity to test out my new camera and will post pictures soon.)
The second weekend, I went out to Womelsdorf to visit Andrea and my other Messiah girls. We had a wonderful weekend planned of doing absolutely nothing and it was perfect! We walked to the carnival in town, sat all day by the pool, and went out to dinner. We all lead very busy lives and it was great to slow down for a few days and just enjoy spending time with each other. It was also a very special get together because Andrea told us a few months ago that she's expecting her first baby and we were so excited to see her and talk baby stuff. She's going to be a great mom and I'm thrilled for her and Ryan!
Lastly, we celebrated our third anniversary this week and we were lucky enough to have off from work. We drove to Ocean City and spent the day on the beach and then came home to have dinner at Capital Grill. It was the first time we've done a "fancy, dress-up" dinner since we've been married, and I really enjoyed it. It was a wonderful way to celebrate three great years together!
Three Years
Happy 4th!
I hope you had a relaxing and safe celebration with family and friends, just like we did!
New Camera
"Away" Game
The only thing that was unbearable was how the Phillies played. Despite an amazing performance the night before (beating the Jays 9-0), our Phils were greatly effected by the heat and lost 1-5. The only high point for the "away" team was Ryan Howard's single home run. Cole Hamels gave up three home runs and we stranded multiple runners on base. Not great. Hopefully, our next game in July will be more eventful.
Day Out With Thomas
And let me tell you, he loved it!
It was so cute to see how excited he was to meet one of his favorite characters and he kept asking for more all day long. However, Drew is only two so we had a limited amount of time we could spend at the railroad on a 90+ degree day before a melt down would occur. As a result, we couldn't indulge his desire for "more" but put as much into our two hour stay as possible. We road the train, bought souvenirs, met Sir Topham Hatt, and ate lunch at the railroad cafe. It was a great morning and I'm grateful Andy and Tachelle let us join them on Father's Day to be with Drew!
Catching Up
In any case...
This past week was Jordan's last conference for his leadership development program. He's very happy to be done because it was a lot of work above and beyond his daily duties, but he's glad he did it and I know good things will come out of it. It was a wonderful opportunity to network and he's met some very important people within the organization during his involvement.
This week was also my birthday, but I didn't have to spend it alone because my mom came out for week. We watched movies, went shopping, and ate lots of good food that Jordan doesn't like (Shrimp Scorpio with feta cheese, Eggplant Parmesan, Ravioli, etc). On my big day, I took the day off from work and we ate at my two favorite restaurants: Qdoba and Tokyo Tasty. My grandmother, aunts, and cousin joined us for dinner at Tokyo Tasty and I educated them on the wonderfulness that is sushi. *happy sigh* My mom and I also went out to dinner with Jordan's mom and sisters to celebrate the next night and we indulged in a big meal and dessert at the Cheesecake Factory. All in all, it was the perfect food week. (Though my waistline is protesting profusely.)
Even though it was an awesome week with my mom, I missed Jordan terribly. He's back home now and we enjoyed a nice evening at his cousin Chelsea's graduation party and then we have big plans tomorrow with our nephew. (More on that later.) As always, I'm very blessed to have such a great family and I loved getting to spend my birthday week with them. Thanks everyone!
Touring the Park
Party Time
Once everything was done we were ready to party! There was tons of great food and many of the wonderful people we love came to celebrate Keith's accomplishment. It was a beautiful day and I'm glad we were all able to come together for such a great occasion! Now, Keith has to get ready for the "real world" but I'm not worried about him in the least. He'll do just fine.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
It was a great evening nonetheless and I'm looking forward to our next game in June. It'll be a very historic game (as Jordan has endlessly pointed out) because it was supposed to be held in Toronto but got moved because of the G8 summit. Therefore, it's an away game for the Phillies but it's being played at home, so they'll wear their away uniforms and bat first. Jordan also claims that the Canadian flag will be flown and we'll sing the Canadian national anthem. We'll see. Should be fun no matter what!
Pomp & Circumstance
Shark Steam Mop
Then I found the Shark Steam Mop.
Actually, a couple of my friends recommended it to me and I've been nicely suggesting the idea to Jordan for the past few months. He finally got the idea and found one on clearance for me at Bed Bath and Beyond. (Gotta love a good deal!)
I immediately tried it out on my linoleum and tile floors and I was indeed impressed with the results. It only takes a minute to heat up and doesn't require any chemicals. It also dries almost instantly, which is great when there's a crazy dog running around the house. I actually had to go over my kitchen floor twice, confirming my dissatisfaction with the Swiffer's ability to really clean.
Shark Steam Mop: Two thumbs up!
Steaks
Ingredients:
T-Bone Steaks
Grape Seed Oil
Sea Salt, Large Chunk
Pepper
1) Heat grape seed oil in a stainless steel pan until it begins to smoke.
2) Rub both sides of steak with sea salt and pepper, to taste.
3) Cook steaks in oil, 3-5 minutes on each side.
Worst Service Ever
Well, it turned out to be very different from one the in the city.
Our reservations were for 8 p.m. but we were a little late getting to the restaurant so we sat down at 8:20. We were kind of surprised to see it was more of a bar/club kind of place rather than the upscale sushi and champagne bar Jen had visited. Oh, well. Not a big deal. On the other hand, we were pleasantly surprised to find it wasn't busy even though it was a Friday night. Besides us, there were only two other tables with patrons in the dining the room. We soon found out why.
When we got to our table we started checking out the menu and ordered our drinks and an appetizer. The first sign of trouble was when our beers came out warm. Huh. That's weird. Then it took the waitress half an hour to take our meal order. Whatever. When we ordered, we were very specific that we were ordering by couple. Okay, she said. No problem. We were told it was a "family style" restaurant and the food would come out as it was prepared. We were fine with that.
It's not how it happened.
We eventually got our salads but were left alone the majority of the time we were at our table. Ten o'clock rolled around and we were getting really antsy. Why was it taking over an hour and a half to get our food? Like I said, there were only two other tables with guests so they obviously weren't that busy. At 10:10 we finally got our food but their version of "family style" was to mix up all our rolls onto different plates so no one knew what they had ordered. We tried to divide it up but we were still very confused and found we were missing some of our meal.
Now we were really frustrated.
A manager (in just jeans and button-up shirt) came over and asked what the problem was. We were really upset with the service and the amount of time it had taken to get our food. His response? They only had one sushi chef on staff that night and we had placed too big of an order. He was rude and argumentative and we were so disgusted we no longer wanted to eat the food or pay for it. You would expect a normal restaurant manager to offer to comp at least part of the meal (the drinks or maybe a few rolls) but his response was to call the police. Are you serious??
Our brother-in-law is a state trooper so we weren't too worried about the cops being called but that just put us over the top. We had patronized his restaurant on a slow night and ordered a large amount of food. You would think he would want to keep his customers happy and apologize for the service but that was beyond his comprehension. Instead he blamed us for the poor service and would rather call the police than make amends.
The saga finally ended at 11:30 p.m. without us eating our dinner. We ended up having to pay for the food (the law in our state is once the food is on your table you can't refuse to pay) but we weren't surprised when the cops told us the place is closing down in two weeks.
Not surprised at all...
Weekend Recap
Things didn't slow down on Sunday either. It started with lunch with my family for my grandmother's 76th birthday! We met at a local diner and had fun celebrating my grandmother's big day. Afterward, we headed south to have dinner with Jordan's family because his grandfather and his grandfather's girlfriend were up from Myrtle Beach to meet Weston for the first time. We also made the day into an early Mother's Day celebration since we were all together.
It was a busy weekend with a lot of traveling but it was a great one. It's such a blessing to have a big family and we're very grateful to have so much time to spend with them!
Bamboo Wars: Return of the Shoots
When will I learn?
I've been pretty proud of clearing all the bamboo and every once and a while I would look out into my yard and relish in my triumph. But yesterday was a different story. I looked into my backyard and saw defeat.
There were a lot of new bamboo shoots pushing out from the dirt. How could this happen? And so soon?! It took less than two weeks for the bamboo to advance on my yard yet again, so this morning I went out to do battle once more. I cleared all the shoots I could find and counted a total of 50. 50!! It looks like I'm going to have to be pretty diligent about clearing the bamboo otherwise it's going to be worse than before.
This would be a lot easier with a light saber.
Shore Times
After the craft fair, we visited Jordan's parents and the Hammacher family. Weston is growing so fast and has already changed a lot in just seven short weeks! (Check out the pictures I've attached!) We didn't get to see them for long because they were on their way to a soccer game but we did get to spend some time catching up with Jordan's parents and we enjoyed a nice lunch together.
Once we returned home, we got to work doing some more jobs around the house. Jordan mowed the lawn and I worked on paint that needed touching up in our kitchen. We're continuing to check a lot of projects off our list and the house is looking good. In fact, I've changed the picture at the top of the site to show off the newly painted steps and porch. It makes a huge difference!
To cap off our day, we drove down to Ocean City with our friends Pat and Chrissy. We got there kind of late and a lot of things were already closed on the boardwalk but we managed to fit in the essentials: dinner at Mack & Manco's, ice cream on the boardwalk, and playing games at the arcade. It was a wonderful evening and we finally got home happy and exhausted. We hope you enjoyed your Saturday as much as we did!
Bamboo Wars
As a result, I try to prune back the bamboo every spring to keep it from completely taking over but I've never had the guts to actually clear the entire thing. Well, this year we're trying to finish a lot of "little" home projects that we've been putting off and I figured now was as good a time as any to take on the bamboo. It's just a plant. Surely I can handle a plant.
I was so naive.
Three hours later I finally finished clearing what I had thought was a small clump of bamboo. I had started with my pruning shears and quickly found them to be useless. I actually had to take up a hack saw in order to make any real progress!
So, if you're ever thinking of planting bamboo in your yard please take some advice from me. Don't do it!
Phillies Phever
Just kidding.
Sort of...
Easter Recap
Jordan and I were very blessed to spend the holiday weekend with my family. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed taking Wrigley on walks, going to a campfire cook out, attending the Easter service at my church, and spending time with the hometown crowd. It was a great weekend and it was made even better when I ran into my childhood best friend, Kelly, who I haven't seen in almost four years. (The time goes way too quickly!) It was great to see her and catch up and I also got to meet her husband for the first time. It was a wonderful little gift from God that we just happened to bump into each other while walking around the neighborhood and it really made my day.
We hope you had an equally wonderful Easter as well!
The Quiet Life
This past week, we enjoyed the beautiful spring-like weather that arrived a few months early and we've been spending more time with family and friends in various places. Last night we had a little adventure in Manayunk with Jordan's good friend Pat and his girlfriend Chrissy. We got a little lost trying to get there, but all's well that ends well because we found ourselves at Chabaa Thai. It was a long wait for a table on a Saturday night but the food was awesome and we will definitely be going back. (I would recommend the Tom Yum soup and Gaeng Dang if you like spicy food.)
Baby Weston
A Tale of Two Birthdays
On the home front, Jordan's sister went into labor this morning and we're anxiously awaiting Weston's arrival only a few hours from now (hopefully)!
Celebrating 50 Fabulous Years
Now, the next time the family gets together will be to welcome baby Weston! Jen's due date is tomorrow and at the latest she'll be induced March 1st. Yay!
Snow Days
Blizzard of 2010
Spoiled Dog
Before I get into my story, I need to explain about my favorite fleece blanket. I love this blanket. It's oversized, soft, and warm and 90% of the time during the winter I can be found wrapped up in it.
So I was a little surprised this morning when I woke up and couldn't find my blanket. I looked all over the living room and guest bedroom but to no avail. I finally gave up and continued on with my morning routine. I made my coffee and then I went to let Wrigley out of his crate. Can you guess what I found Wrigley snuggled up in? Yup, my blanket.
I was more than a little confused so I e-mailed Jordan when I got to work asking why the dog was hogging my blanket. Here is Jordan's reply...
haha. it was funny.
so last night he was sleeping on the couch with me and i started to go to bed, so i tried to put him in his crate, but he wouldn't go for some reason. i even tried to force him in and he wasn't going.
so, i put the blanket in his crate, and in he went.....
spoiled dog. but i think we might need to get a new blanket
Spoiled dog or indulgent owner? You be the judge.
Building Walls
As I'm writing this I'm listening to the beautiful sounds of circular saws and hammers hard at work. It's truly music to my ears!
When we bought our home, Jordan and I had very different ideas about what we wanted to accomplish as our first major home project - he wanted to finish the back porch and I wanted to finish the basement. We talked and talked and talked about it before deciding on a compromise. The back porch was a much easier and less costly project so we decided to work on that first. Actually, it wasn't quite that diplomatic... Jordan simply started working on the back porch and since he would be doing the majority of the labor, I really couldn't argue.
So, we've been in our house for more than two and a half years now and the back porch still isn't quite finished and I was starting to get nervous. At this rate, would the basement ever be completed? I love our little home but it is just that... little. The basement would almost double our living space and give us room to grow. And so, I started to "nicely suggest" to my husband that we start working on the basement. (To him it was probably more like nagging, but I don't think you can avoid that in any marriage, right?)
Thankfully, I didn't have to nag, I mean suggest, for too long before Jordan jumped on board and decided to start planning out our basement renovation. We discussed floor plans and wall placement and today he started constructing those walls with the help of his father! The two Winter men have been working hard all day and we now have two walls up in the basement! We still have a long way to go, but it's a big step in the right direction!
Test Dog
Quote of the Day
I had a big meeting at work today for a committee I co-chair, and we had about 30 people in attendance, one of whom was a Regional Manager. Well, it's a big deal to have an RM in the room and we invited her to say a few words in closing. I had met her a couple times before and she's a very sharp woman who really knows her stuff. So, maybe it was the fact that it was 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon or maybe I just never realized how funny she can be because all of a sudden she said...
Sometimes, you just have to find a nice way to tell someone, "I'm sorry you're stupid."
I nearly died.
When you work in a bank and you find yourself day after day having to tell grown adults (many more than twice my age) how to keep a register and run a simple checking account you will eventually get a little frustrated. But wanting to deliver good customer service and be a considerate person, you often have to bite your tongue and not say what you really want to say. Her quirky quote absolutely captured that feeling.
It was nice to end the week with a laugh.
Expensive Taste
We have come to find that Wrigley has very expensive taste, but he doesn't limit his appetite to just food items. Oh, no. He likes to chew on expensive objects we leave lying around the house as well. (It's our fault, really.) We saw his capabilities firsthand when he ate my cell phone after I left it on the couch, but he's been pretty good since that foray into the world of electronics about a year ago.
Last night, however, another object caught his eye and he just couldn't resist taking a bite... Jordan's glasses, which had fallen behind the couch in our living room. We knew Wrigley was hiding back there but didn't put two and two together until it was too late and the glasses had gone to a better place. So Jordan spent all of the day going to Lens Crafters, waiting for it to open, getting an appointment, and then waiting for his new glasses to be cut. On the plus side, he spent his wait time at the jewelry store and now I'm excitedly awaiting the arrival of my Valentine's Day present. Go Wrigley!
T-Minus 6 Weeks and Counting...
Down Under
Grocery Shopping
Grocery shopping is not one of those chores that I normally enjoy but I always have a great time when Jordan and I go together. I look forward to our weekly trips, even if it is hard to get moving after a long day at work. We have a list but Jordan likes to do a little "impulse buying" as well and I always find surprises in the cart as we move along. For example, one time he snuck belgian waffles and ice cream into the cart when my back was turned so he could have dessert when we got home. (In fact, he always does a lot more impulse buying when he goes alone, so it's safer if I go with him.) Jordan also likes to try to embarrass me in public, but he's found it's harder said than done. I grew up with a father who liked to be silly in public so I'm pretty immune to the kind of antics Jordan thinks up (like barking). Though it is fun to watch him try! I'm very lucky to be married to a man who makes me laugh and can make even a mundane chore like grocery shopping into a little adventure.
Happy New Year!
Happy 2010!
Jordan and I spent the last week in OBX with his family and we celebrated a belated Christmas, New Year's Eve, and an early birthday for Drew while we were down there. It was an eventful week and we had a great time (as always) with his family. I posted a lot of pictures and video on the Adventure page so make sure to check them out. You'll especially enjoy our "Glitter, Sparkle, and Shine" competition on NYE. There are some very creative people in this family and it certainly shows that we ALL have a good sense of humor.
We hope you had a safe and happy NYE and a wonderful start to your new year!
Christmas 2009
Merry Christmas! Jordan, Wrigley, and I spent the last two days back in my hometown visiting my parents, brother, and grandfather for Christmas. It was my first trip home for Christmas in about 4 years, so it was very special to me to be there. We had a good time visiting, but I continued a family tradition by getting sick with a bad cold on Christmas day. It wouldn't be the holidays if someone wasn't sick...
We're back home now and visiting with the extended family. We spent this evening with my mother's cousins and then we're seeing my aunts, uncle, grandmother, and cousins for our gift exchange on Sunday. Christmas is my favorite time of year, and this year didn't disappoint. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas too!
Snowed In
I like to joke that I married Jordan for his last name because winter is definitely my favorite season. (Fall is a very close second.) Unlike my husband, I love everything about this season... cold weather, warm clothing, the holidays, and SNOW! Well, I'm in heaven today because we are currently surrounded by more than a foot of snow (and counting). Everything is beautiful and peaceful, especially with Christmas lights twinkling everywhere I look. It really puts me in the holiday spirit and I can't wait for Christmas only six days away!
Wrigley shares much of my enthusiasm for snow and I posted some pictures and video of him playing in the snow this afternoon. It's so much fun to watch him bounding around the snow drifts, and I hope you enjoy what I've posted. I'm also hoping to get some pictures of the house tomorrow once the weather calms down and maybe I can convince old man Winter to join me too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Update
I posted on Thanksgiving that my grandfather had recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer and asked for your prayers. Well, your prayers really worked because his doctors told him the cancer is very slow growing and won't need to be treated. At 83 years old, it won't be cancer that takes him out. Actually, I'm starting to think only a bolt of lightning or an act of God could kill my grandfather. He's very stubborn. ;)
Thank you very much for your prayers! My family and I really appreciated them!
White Christmas
I mentioned back in August that my husband has come up with a brilliant plan to keep both his wife and his mother-in-law very happy... He gives us tickets to see theater productions as gifts, so we can visit and enjoy a show but he doesn't actually have to go the theater with us. It works well for all three of us and this past weekend we got to benefit from his plan once again.
One of my all-time favorite movies is Irving Berlin's White Christmas. And this isn't just one of my favorite holiday movies. Oh, no. I could watch this movie all year round! Well, Jordan really hit the jackpot when he gave me and my mother tickets to see it live at the Academy of the Arts in Philadelphia as our Christmas gift. We were in heaven! We got to sing along to all our favorite songs and it even snowed (soap bubbles) at the end. The evening was even more perfect because it was actually snowing outside when we went to the theater. So cool!
Seeing White Christmas was a wonderful way to start our holiday season. I hope your's is equally magical!
One Click a Day
Annapolis
I've been a little behind in my blogging this week, and now I've got to catch up on the happenings from last weekend...
Jordan and I went to Annapolis, MD, last weekend with our friends from college. It was our third annual trip and it was a lot of fun, as always. We had beautiful weather and spent the majority of the weekend walking around the adorable city checking out the shops and eating at some great restaurants. (I love Annapolis. I wish I could live there.) We also walked around the U.S. Naval Academy and took a boat tour of the harbor and Spa Creek. It was a very relaxing weekend and I can't wait to see where we end up next year!
Happy Turkey Day!
Jordan and I spent Thanksgiving with both sides of our family this year. We started out going to my Aunt Janice's house to see my extended family and then drove down to Jordan's parents' home for dinner. We had a really nice day with everyone enjoying good food and lots of laughter. We hope you had a great day too and that the upcoming year will bring you even more to be thankful for! Happy Thanksgiving!
P.S. On a sad note, I found out today that my grandfather has prostate cancer. Please keep him, my mom, and his doctors in your prayers as they discuss his treatment options. Thank you!
Salesmen
Do you ever feel like EVERYONE is trying to sell you something?
Personally, I'm not very comfortable listening to a sales pitch and I appreciate the areas of my life where I don't have to bother listening to someone try to sell me something. I have what I need and if I want something, I'll ask. However, I've come to realize that there are very few areas where I can avoid a sales pitch.
Tonight was a perfect example... I had an appointment with the dentist to get my teeth cleaned. A fairly simple, straightforward event, right? I get my teeth cleaned, the dentist tells me to floss more. Nothing unexpected. Well, as soon as I sit down in the chair and before he even takes a good look in my mouth, my dentist launches into a pitch for Invisalign braces. Apparently, I have "perfect teeth" but they could be "fanned out" a little more and it would really give me a million dollar smile. Oh geez.
Seriously, I lived through three (painful and uncomfortable) years of metal braces in middle school to correct whatever serious problems I had with my teeth. Why would I subject myself to more (unneccesary) dental procedures that cost a lot more?? I know people who have used Invisalign and I know it's a great product but there's no reason whatsoever for me to use them. And what has the world come to when my dentist's primary concern is the appearance of my smile rather than the actual health of my teeth and gums? Is the world really that shallow?
I wish we could return to the world where my dentist is a just a dentist and not a salesman in disguise.
Bridal Shower
Today, I attended a bridal shower for Jenessa hosted by Jordan's mom. It was a beautiful shower - we enjoyed a great meal and had fun watching Jen open all her gifts. She got a lot of nice stuff, especially for her kitchen! (Jenessa was particularly enthralled with her Paula Dean pots and pans courtesy of Aunt Tam.)
The boys didn't have quite as much fun as the ladies did... They were put to work all afternoon on Jen and Derek's kitchen. The old carpeting was riped out and the floor was prepared for tile to be put down in a couple of weeks. It was a busy afternoon for the men but the kitchen will look awesome when they're all done!
Family Ties
I'm definitely seeing more and more of how I take after my mother... My mother is superwoman in my eyes. She works two jobs (because just one would be boring), is incredibly active in our home church, has a great circle of friends who she sees constantly, AND takes care of my grandfather (not as easy as it sounds). I love my mom a lot and she constantly amazes me with the very full and active life she leads.
As for me, the past couple weeks I've been working what feels like two jobs (I've put in the hours to prove it) and I've still manage to squeeze in some road trips and quality time with my family. This past weekend is a good example. On Saturday I went to Elizabethtown to visit my cousin at school (I know, I know... I'm still coming to terms with such a close relative going to Etown) and then on Sunday I drove in the opposite direction to the Jersey shore to visit my mom and her two best friends on their annual Avalon trip. It was crazy and hectic but I'm glad I made the trips and it was a very memorable weekend.
So, maybe it's that we are both a Type A personality or we just like being REALLY busy but I'm glad I take after my mom and I hope to one day be able to do as many wonderful things as she does. Life is just too short and I want take advantage of every opportunity it throws at me!
Life
The past few weeks have been really stressful for me at work... The bank integrated their computer systems a few weekends back and then all hell broke lose. So I've been working super overtime and getting yelled at during almost every minute of it. Fun stuff. I've learned two very important lessons working in customer service that I think everyone should keep in mind during their daily interactions: 1) Be patient and 2) Be nice. I know customer are frustrated with the institution and its problems but I wish they would realize that they're yelling at (and in some cases cussing out) a real person who did not personally cause their problems. *sigh*
Okay, enough venting.
On the bright side, I've gotten to see my family quite a bit during this crazy time. My dad stopped by last Sunday between business trips and I got to spend an evening with him. Then I saw all the Spencer women on Friday night because Elyse was home from college for Fall Break. And then my mom and grandfather stopped by for lunch this afternoon on their way back to PA from the Jersey shore. They were celebrating my grandfather's 83rd birthday this weekend and I'm glad they could stop by, especially since Grandpa hadn't seen our home yet. My family has been the bright spot in my life (as always) and have brought a lot of laughter and encouragement when I really needed the lift. Thank you!!
Hopefully, the insanity at work will start to calm down and life can return to normal. I'm excited about the holidays coming up and Jordan and I have already started our Christmas shopping! I love this time of year and we spent a great Saturday last weekend buying a few gifts and getting Pumpkin Spice lattes at Starbucks. (My FAVORITE!) Maybe I can talk him into stopping by Brusters tonight for some pumpkin cheesecake ice cream. ;)
Hammacher Wedding
We also got a great piece of news at the rehearsal dinner... It's a boy! Before we know it, we'll be welcoming little Weston William Hammacher to the family as well! Can't wait!
Eagles Home Opener
Jordan and I were very fortunate to be able to go to the Eagles home opener today! I love football season and it was so much fun cheering on our birds, even if they didn't win the game. Either way, the weather was beautiful and we really enjoyed ourselves.
Going to a sporting event in Philadelphia is always an experience, and it will certainly be entertaining even if the game isn't going our way. I was sitting next to your stereotypical Philly fan and he kept harrassing the Saints fans sitting directly behind us. Thankfully, they were good sports about it and the "enthusiastic" Eagles fan left the game early. You've gotta have a thick skin to go to a sports game in Philly and be a fan of the opposing team!
DMB Concert
Jordan and I just got home from a great DMB concert at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden! It was concert #20 (or something like that) for Jordan but only concert #2 for me, and it was awesome! Dave always delivers a solid performance and the band was on fire. He played a lot of songs off his new album and some old favorites, though I was disappointed not to hear my two favorite songs (Ants Marching and Cornbread). I got lucky at my very first DMB concert two years ago because he played both songs (Ants Marching was during the encore... love it!). It was a very fun evening and the perfect way to welcome Jordan back from his first LEAD conference in St. Louis. I missed him so much and I'm glad he's home!
P.S. Here's the set list from the concert...
Funny The Way It Is
Seven
Why I Am
Best of Whats Around
So Damn Lucky
Raven
You Might Die Trying
Shake Me Like a Monkey
Crush
Spaceman
Alligator Pie
Dancing Nancies
Where Are You Going
Squirm
You and Me
Jimi Thing
Encore:
Baby Blue
The Maker
Time Bomb
Labor Day Weekend
Jordan and I went out to the Messiah area for Labor Day weekend to visit his college roommates, and we stayed at the Kocher's new home and met their adorable golden retriever puppy, Mia. (She is such a sweetie!) It was a relaxing weekend and it was great catching up with our good friends. It was the first time we were able to get together with everyone since the Kocher's wedding in June and everyone had big news to share (home projects, starting grad school, buying a Vespa...). I really appreciate their friendship and I'm excited to see what God has in store for all of us.
Wrigley stayed with Tachelle and Andy while we were away and had fun playing with his cousin Sam all weekend. T & A were very gracious to watch him for us because I know he can be handful. Thanks again!!
OBX 2009
We just got home from our vacation to OBX with the entire Rickenbach family! All together, we had 20 people staying in the house on the sound and we had a fabulous week together! It was a busy week (kayaking, cooking big meals, eating big meals, fishing, shopping, taking the ferry to Ocracoke, Road Rally, theme night) but we also found lots of time for relaxing and spending quality time with our family. It was a well deserved break for everyone and it lived up to all of our expectations. The highlight of the week was definitely when Derek proposed to Jenessa on Thursday at sunset. It was very sweet and we're all very happy for them! Congratulations to you both!
Now we're home and coming back to reality... we've unpacked, picked up Wrigley, and gotten my car fixed. (After running a very expensive electrical diagnostics test the mechanic discovered that some kind of animal had been nesting in my engine and eating away at the wiring. Great.) It's good to be home but I know I'll miss OBX and all the fun we had together. On second thought, I think I'm going to miss the king-size bed as well. It's not easy transitioning back to a full-size bed. One day...
Vacation Countdown
Our big vacation of the year is rapidly approaching and I can't wait!
Yesterday, Jim & Tammy had a barbeque at their house to celebrate the one week mark until vacation. It was fun getting the group together and we did our last-minute planning for the big trip to OBX. We're in a different house this year and we're all very excited about it because the pictures look awesome and we all think it will fit our needs and tastes. Hopefully, we can continue to stay in this house for many more years.
Now we just have to make it through six more days befor we're in North Carolina relaxing by the pool!
LEADership
Grease
For my birthday, Jordan had given me and my mother tickets to see Grease at the Academy of the Arts in Philadelphia. It was the perfect gift because it made all of us happy... I got to spend the day with my mother and go see a musical and Jordan didn't have to go to the theater but still earned brownie points with the wife and mother-in-law. He's really learning the ropes of marriage quickly. ;)
My mom and I decided to make a weekend of it and she got to our house on Friday morning. And so our fun-filled girls weekend began...
We began with lunch with my aunt Pam and then shoe shopping in town. I talked them both into getting the cutest shoes! That evening we got Grandma and Emily went to the Cheesecake Factory for "dinner" (i.e. appetizers and cheesecake), and then we went to see My Sister's Keeper, a total chick flick. (Not at all true to the book, but a good movie in its own right.) On Saturday, Mom and I went shopping and I got a ton of great clothes for work and play and then we went out to dinner with Jordan in Chinatown. We took Mom to one of our favorite restaurants called Rangoon, a Burmese restaurant (present day Myanmar), for some good spicy food. If you like Thai or Indian food, you should definitely try it out!
Then our big day began on Sunday! Jordan was so sweet and drove Mom and me into the city and then we all got lunch together before show. The production itself was really good and we had fun singing along to all our favorite songs. We also saw Taylor Hicks, who played the Teen Angel. Neither of us are big American Idol fans but we thought he did a nice job and even hammed it up a little bit. After the show, we went to Pam's again for a BBQ with all the Spencer women. It was a nice way to end our weekend and we wanted to give Elyse a nice send off before she left for her big trip to Italy. (So jealous!)
4th of July
I don't usually go all out for the 4th of July but this year was a little different. My dad and I have been wanting to go to Washington, D.C. since January but the timing just wasn't working for us. We decided, however, to make the trip over the holiday as a belated Father's Day trip. We woke up early and made it into the city a little after 10 a.m., thankfully hitting no traffic on the way. We got into town and also found very few crowds that early in the day.
Another part of our trip was to go geocaching, but we weren't sure if we would accomplish this because the website had been down the entire day before. It was still down in the morning but came back up by the time we got to D.C. Dad brought his laptop and we fired it up throughout the day in order to find new caches along our route. We walked the entire loop around the tidal basin and went to seven caches near six memorials - Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, future site of the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial, Jefferson Memorial, FDR Memorial, and the World War II Memorial.
We had absolutely beautiful weather the entire day and really enjoyed our hike around the city. The only problem was the huge amount of barriers and checkpoints that had been errected around the city for the holiday. It was very annoying and prevented us from getting a few caches that were off-limits. I was also worried that Dad would get us into trouble with his constant questioning of the Metro Police cadets who were guarding the barriers. I'm very glad they had a sense of humor! ;) It was a great day trip and I got a lot of good pictures, which I posted on the Adventures page. Make sure to check them out!
Travel Happy
So it seems that everyone I know decided to have a party this past weekend, and, not wanting to miss out on the fun, I agreed to go to all of them. The first party was on Friday night for Jordan's cousin Chelsea's 18th birthday. It was a big family affair and we had a lot of fun hanging out with everyone, as always. I also got to meet Chelsea's sister, Colleen, and her boyfriend, Sam. They're a very cool couple and we hatched a wonderful scheme to get Jordan to Asia one day. China? Chile? What's the difference?
On Saturday, I woke up very early and got on the road a little after 7 a.m. to head out to my hometown. One of my best friends from high school had recently gotten married down in Alabama but a lot of us East Coasters weren't able to make the trip. Thankfully, his parents decided to have a luncheon to honor Dan and his new wife, Cindy. It was great catching up with Dan and so many of my other friends from high school. I miss them a lot, but it's great to see them so happy in their adult lives.
After the luncheon, I got back on the road and drove almost two hours to Andrea's house in Womelsdorf. (Yes, it's a real town.) Andrea was having a BBQ to celebrate her husband's birthday and our friend Noel also made the trip. (We missed you Katie and Cat!) We had fun hanging out and I also got to see a lot of the people I had worked with the summer after I graduated from college at Hawk Mountain Boy Scout Camp. They're a crazy bunch and it made for a very entertaining evening. Mercifully, I didn't have any parties to attend on Sunday so I was able to spend the night at Andrea's house and enjoy a lazy Sunday morning with her and Noel. It was the perfect wrap up for a wonderful weekend!
Joining the Quarter of a Century Club
Growing Up
My cousin Elyse turned 18 this year and it definitely changed the way I think about my family. Elyse was my very first cousin. I still remember being 7-years-old and waking up to find out that Aunt Janice had given birth to a beautiful baby girl. I've watched Elyse grow up and now she is a wonderful young woman. She's confident, smart, and ready to take on college. It's been so cool to watch that evolution!
This past weekend was a big one for Elyse because it was her senior dance recital and also her graduation party. I attended both along with her parents, my aunt Pam, my mom, and my other cousins. We had a great time cheering Elyse on at the recital and kept very busy at the party the next day. Everything went great and we couldn't have asked for a better weekend to celebrate such an amazing young woman.
Kocher Wedding
Jordan lived with an awesome group of guys throughout college but he's remained closest to the ones he lived with his senior year - Adam Duryea, Matt Kocher, Ryan Harris, and Dan Stutzman. It's also happened that all five of these guys married the girl they were dating our senior year at Messiah - Devon Walters, Michelle Taylor, Erin Cowell, and Erin Lyle (respectively). No one planned it that way, but it's the way it worked out. Luckily, I've always gotten along well with all of these girls and we've become closer now that we've graduated and moved on with our adult lives.
This past weekend, the last roommate took the plunge and got married. Matt and Michelle had a beautiful wedding, and a very fun reception at the Hilton Hotel. It was even more special for me because Jordan was the best man, and gave a very sweet toast for one of his best friends. It was a great day all around and it was wonderful sharing it with so many people I've really come to love. Jordan and I were also very happy to be able to spend the weekend at the Duryea's home and share some extra time with them as we prepared for Matt and Michelle's big day. (Thanks again Adam and Devon!!)
My Newest Hobby
While I was home visiting my parents, my dad introduced me to his newest hobby called geocaching. Don't worry if you've never heard of geocaching before, neither had I. After experiencing it, however, I think it's a lot of fun! The basic idea is that people hide caches for others to find using GPS trackers. Caches can be big or small (called "microcaches") and always contain a logbook for you to sign as proof of actually finding the cache. You can then log your visit to the cache on the website (www.geocaching.com).
Larger caches can also hold trackable items - geocoins or travel bugs. A geocoin is a large coin created specifically for geocaching with a unique serial number. A travel bug is an everyday item that someone has turned into a trackable item and attached a dog tag with a serial number. For example, I saw one travel bug that was a camera and one that was a figurine of a mouse. The owner of the trackable item then gives it a mission, which the geocachers help it complete if they so choose. My dad has bought quite a few geocoins and he's starting to leave them in active caches, and he's also starting to hide caches of his own around our hometown.
I know it sounds complicated but you can catch on pretty quickly. You'd also be surprised how many caches there are (over 816,000 in the world and growing daily) and how many are easily accessible. You probably pass several geocaches a day without ever realizing it! For example, I found one in a stop sign and several in guardrails along parking lots of major shopping centers. It's kind of like a treasure hunt and I'm having fun getting to experience it with my dad. I've also placed a widget on the Adventures page that tracks my stats if you'd like to watch my progress and I've posted some pictures as well.
While the cat's away...
Jordan often gets bursts of inspiration to do a project around the house and most of his instincts are good ones. However, I think I balance him out by showing him where moderation might be necessary and pointing out the finer details that also need attention. Well, I was away from home for the last four days because I went back to my hometown to visit my parents, and the morning I was to return I got a text message from Jordan telling me he had been busy around the house the entire time I was gone. Hmm.... What had he gotten himself into? Would I like what he had done? How expensive would it be? These were the thoughts I had to entertain myself through the 3 hour 15 minute drive home in the pouring rain.
Jordan had also mentioned that the change would be obvious, so I knew it was a BIG project. I got home and rushed through the door to check every room in the house. I looked in the living room, kitchen, and both bedrooms without any success. Then I got to the bathroom. I opened the door and there it was... Jordan had renovated almost the entire bathroom. We have a new vanity, mirror, medicine cabinet, toilet, and (my favorite part) a new tile floor! This was the project I had really wanted to do but we had been putting it off because we knew the amount of work that would go into it. The biggest problem being the cracked old tile floor would have to be ripped out. I was amazed by the upgrade and the fact that Jordan did it ALL himself for very little money. I'm so proud of my handy husband! (Check out the pictures under the Our First Home page.)
College Reunions
Memorial Day Weekend
I made myself useful finishing up some odd jobs on our screened-in back porch. We've partially enclosed the porch and Jordan had put up beautiful trim to make it look more polished. However, he didn't stain the trim before putting it up on the walls so I decided to paint it. It was a lot of work because I had to tape both sides of the trim to prevent the paint from getting onto the walls and doors. That took quite a bit of time and the painting wasn't much easier because Jordan had bought this great trim with a lot of detailing so I had to do a lot of it with little paintbrushes like you used when you were a kid doing water colors in school. It was time consuming but turned out really well, if I do say so myself. I also painted a piece of cabinetry we got from Jordan's aunt and uncle when they re-did their kitchen last year. The majority of the cabinets will be installed in our basement but one piece wouldn't fit downstairs so we've decided to keep it out on the porch. I painted it black to match the furniture we have out there and I think it looks nice. Jordan just has to finish it off by installing the countertop we bought for it.
So it was a very busy weekend for the two of us but we got a lot accomplished!
Dollar Dog Night
Jordan also plans for this work outting to be Dollar Dog Night at the ballpark, so it allows everyone to save a little bit on food. Of course, some of the guys take it a little too literally and try to eat as many $1 hot dogs as possible. This year's winner was Lee Bennett with 8 hot dogs consumed by the end of the game. Personally, it's not a title I would EVER want to hold, but to each his own.
Now this little competition was helped along by the fact that the guys tailgated before the game and were all in a very good mood by the time they got into the park. They were also a little rowdy and started throwing hot dogs up into the stands behind us at one point. It got a little touchy when the hot dogs went farther than our section and hit a Phillies fan who wasn't with our group. Security actually had to be called up to watch our section! I know Philadelphia fans are a tough group but I never thought I'd see a fight (almost) break out over flying hot dogs! Thankfully, the situation difused pretty quickly and we were all able to go back to enjoying the game.
Speaking of the game... It was a pretty good one. No home runs but we did see Jayson Werth steal 2nd base, AND 3rd base, AND home! Not to mention that we saw Ryan Howard steal a base... only the second stolen base in his whole career! And so, the Phillies beat the Dodgers 5-3 and it was another successful night at Citizens Bank Park.
Mother's Day Weekend
We were also joined by my mom's cousin Dana on our weekend away, which was very cool. The three of us spent a lot of time talking, walking on the beach, shopping, and eating really good food. We also decided to stop in a few open houses to see how the other half lives... very well. We saw two houses, both of which were over $3.5 million dollars! They were absolutely gorgeous and we had fun making up stories as to why we were looking to "purchase" these homes. My mom is a better actress than I would have imagined.
Back at home, Jordan was a busy boy while I was away. He installed a new wall unit air conditioner with his dad's help on Saturday to replace the one that broke a few weeks ago, and he celebrated Mother's Day with his whole family at a BBQ at his parents home. Altogether, it was a very nice Mother's Day for both sides of our family!
Jordan's 25th Birthday
A Beautiful Spring Weekend
My action-packed weekend started with a party at the McDermott's home. Brian and Betsy's son Keith is getting married in June in Atlanta, Georgia, and several people from the Northeast won't be able to attend so the McDermott's hosted a party at their home for local family and friends. Keith and Jessica flew up from Georgia and we had a very nice time chatting, eating, and enjoying the beautiful Saturday afternoon.
After the party, Mom and I took Wrigley to the Griffin's home to meet their two dogs - Charlie and Lady. Wrigley was at a disadvantage because he had to stay on his leash and the other two dogs tag-teamed him at first. We separated them, however, and let Charlie and Lady play with Wrigley one at a time. That worked out a lot better and Wrigley ended up outlasting them both. He's literally a little ball of energy.
Next, my mom and I went back to her house to hang out with my grandfather for a little bit. Mom really enjoyed watching Wrigley steal various things from around her home and then me chasing after him with no success. Yeah, she had a great time laughing at my expense. ;) Thankfully, my dad interrupted her fun and invited us over to his house for a late night snack. He had just gotten back from a business trip and we had fun sitting out on his back porch and eating ice cream sundaes. It was the perfect end to busy Saturday!
On Sunday, I went to church with my mom and then we had brunch at my dad's house. After brunch, Mom and I went to a traditional British tea held at a local restaurant and attended by women from my home church. It was very fancy and all of the ladies dressed up for the special occasion. I particularly enjoyed the tea because I got to catch up with some women I've known since elementary school and several who were very important role models to me growing up. They're extraordinary women and I'm very blessed to know them!
In the end, I had a great weekend visiting with my parents and many wonderful friends and Jordan had a lot of fun in Atlantic City with his college roommates. They had a good time and didn't get into any real trouble so they all returned home happy if a little sleep deprived. It was a very busy weekend for the both of us!
Surrey with the Finge on Top
I'm also VERY HAPPY to report that we now have a dishwasher!! While the horse and buggy figures were a slight annoyance over the last two years, not having a dishwasher was down right awful. Jordan and I had both grown very tired of washing dishes by hand and we finally decided it was time to take that leap of faith. Jordan's uncle Jim was a HUGE help in all of this. He cut out the old cabinet and pretty much did all of the installation, with a little help from Jordan. We couldn't have done it without him and we are so grateful for his time and experience. We now have a wonderful dishwasher and we're both looking forward to a lot less time in the kitchen. Thank you Uncle Jim!!
A Weekend Away
After the shower, we all headed off to Duke's - home of the AMAZING crab pretzel. I had been dreaming of having a crab pretzel all week and my hopes were not disappointed! It's seriously one of the best things I've ever tasted... a big soft pretzel with crabmeat and melted cheese. It's a heart attack on a plate but so worth it. We had a big group together at Duke's: all of the roommates (Jordan, Adam, Matt, Ryan, and Stutz), the wives (me, Devon, Michelle, Erin H., and Erin S.), and all of Michelle's bridesmaids. It was loud and crazy but a lot of fun, including some very embarrassing stories about Jordan from college. (I'm so proud.)
The rest of the weekend passed quietly. We stayed overnight at the Duryea's home and then had brunch with them on Sunday morning at Cracker Barrel before heading back home. We really enjoyed ourselves and I can't wait until we're all back together again for Matt and Michelle's wedding!
Shiny New Toys
First of all, Jordan and I went to Home Depot and bought a new fixture for our bathroom. When you live in a small house, you understand that little changes can have a BIG impact and I've been wanting to change out the rusty hardware on our bathroom sink ever since we moved into our home nearly two years ago. Jordan was up to the challenge so we picked out a beautiful new faucet and he installed it all by himself on Monday night! He did a great job and I'm THRILLED with the result. I posted some pictures of the new faucet on the Our First Home page under Home Improvements. (Yes, I took pictures of a faucet... But I really like it!)
The second change is a little more exciting and very cool. Our wireless plan expired yesterday and I've been dreaming of a new cell phone ever since Wrigley ate my old phone last fall. I've been using a cheap little back up phone we had in case of an emergency ever since then and it just wasn't cutting it. So we went to the Verizon Wireless store last night and we both got a BlackBerry Storm! They were having a great deal where you bought one BlackBerry and got the second one free plus we had a $50 credit towards a new phone so we ended up getting them at more than 60% off their normal price! It's taking a little getting used to but we're both loving our new phones. We can access the internet, our e-mail, instant messenger, store music, and download all sorts of fun applications. So it turns out that Wrigley eating my phone was really a great thing. Now I wonder what else I can get him to destroy...
Samantha
Girls' Weekend
After the shower, we hopped back in the SUV and drove back to my house for a girls' weekend. Jordan graciously gave me the house and spent the weekend with his guy friends back in his hometown. Actually, I think he was pretty relieved not to have to spend the weekend with five women in our little house. Wrigley, on the other hand, was thrilled to have four new people around to pet him and snuggle with him. He was in puppy heaven! Anyway, I made dinner for everyone and then we settled in for a night of brownies and chick flicks. It was very reminiscent of our college days. The next morning, we slept in and then enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of monkey bread and mimosas to celebrate Katie's upcoming birthday. It really was a great weekend and I wish we could do them more often!
Happy Inauguration Day!
Politics is not usually a pleasurable topic for me because people can have such heated opinions on both sides of the aisle. In fact, it was a very difficult subject in our house this past fall because Jordan and I supported different candidates. But no matter who you supported during the election, I hope you will join me in praying for our new President, his administration, and the decisions they'll be making for our country. I pray that God will give them guidance and wisdom in the upcoming years and may He bless America!
Drew Bear Turns 1!
After the party, Jordan went out for a guy's night with some of his friends from work so I invited my cousin, Elyse, down for a girls night in. We ordered pizza, talked, and watched two of our favorite musicals - Mamma Mia and Hairspray. We had a great time and I really enjoyed spending the evening with my amazing cousin. I'm very blessed to have so many wonderful people in my family!
Going Home
That's what I realized when Jordan, Wrigley, and I drove the three hours back to my hometown to visit my parents last weekend. I don't get to go back very often but I'm always glad to go and this weekend was no exception. Our plans were very simple: spend some quality time with my family and eat A LOT of good food, and I'm proud to report that we accomplished both objectives. It was nice to slow down and just enjoy the company of my husband, parents, brother, and grandfather. Hopefully, we can repeat it again soon!
The Gift of Organization
Ringing in 2009
We hope you are enjoying your start to 2009 and we wish you all a very happy and healthy new year!
Merry Christmas
Jordan and I just finished another wonderful Christmas season and we hope yours was equally enjoyable. We were very blessed to be able to spend time with both sides of our family this year and we had a lot of fun along the way. Christmas Eve was spent having dinner with my family and then a double dose of church services - first watching my cousin, Morgan, acolyte at her church and then joining the Winters for the midnight service at their church. Christmas day, my mom and brother drove out from Pennsylvania and joined us at my Aunt Pam's house for Christmas presents and dinner. Then, Jordan and I made the quick trip over to his Aunt Tammy's house for a later dinner. We finished up our celebrations with a Christmas party last night with Jordan's dad's side of the family and then a party tonight with Jordan's mom's side of the family. It was a really busy holiday but we enjoyed ourselves and we're looking forward to ringing in the new year next week!
E-A-G-L-E-S! Eagles!
Updates
I know this site can be a little confusing to navigate, especially finding what I might have updated recently. To fix that, I added a section on the right-hand side of the screen to tell you exactly what I've changed. I probably won't include minor changes or site maintenance, but anything important will be listed in that section. I hope it helps!
Also, please feel free to leave a comment! (However, I think you have to create a shutterfly login to do so.)
Thanksgiving
Jordan and I are finally home from a very busy holiday week! To start off our vacation, we went to Williamsburg, VA, with Jordan's college roommate, Matt, and his fiancee, Michelle. Jordan's other college roommate, Adam, and his wife, Devon, were also supposed to join us, but unfortunately Devon got sick and they had to stay home. We really missed spending the weekend with them and I hope it'll work out better next year. We've decided to make it a tradition for the three couples to go away the weekend before Thanksgiving. Last year, we went to D.C. and this year Colonial Williamsburg. (We're thinking the Poconos might be a possibility for 2009.)
Anyway, our weekend in Williamsburg was a lot of fun! We enjoyed walking around the colonial town, eating lunch at a local tavern, and shopping on main street. Saturday night we went to Merchant's Square in modern-day Williamsburg and had dinner at a wonderful seafood restaurant called Berret's. We also visited some of the local shops and bought wine from the Williamsburg Winery. Sunday, we ended our visit with brunch at our hotel and then said goodbye to Matt and Michelle. From there, Jordan and I continued south to meet up with his family in the Outer Banks.
The Rickenbach side of the family all gathered together in Avon, NC, to celebrate Thanksgiving in style. We stayed in our dream home right on the ocean, which was absolutely breathtaking. We've been looking at this house for quite some time, just waiting for the opportunity to stay there. Well, we got our wish and it was more than we had expected. The house is called Bramasole and it was HUGE! There are four floors, eight bedrooms, a game room, gourmet kitchen, media room, and more. (I posted a lot of pictures on the Adventures page, so you'll have to check them out.) We had a wonderful week with Jordan's family and a great Thanksgiving. Jordan spent a lot of time fishing with his dad and uncles and I even went shopping at midnight on Black Friday with Tachelle, Chelsea, and Morgan at the outlets in Nags Head. Overall, it was a great vacation and we're very thankful for the time we got to spend with our family.
We hope you had a good Thanksgiving as well! We love you all and count your friendship among the greatest gifts God has given us this year!
Jordan got a pomotion!
World Series Champions!
We met up with several of Jordan's co-workers at Bar 13 at 12th and Market and prepared for the big event. We were so nervous as we watched the game - first the Phillies pulling ahead and the Rays tying it with a one-run home run. The place went crazy when Feliz batted in the final run to put the Phillies on top and we all held our breaths as Lidge pitched in the top of the 9th. We could hardly believe our eyes when the final pitch was thrown and the batter struck out. THE PHILLIES HAD WON THE WORLD SERIES!!
We immediately ran out of the bar and the few blocks to City Hall and Broad Street. You could hear the crowd roaring only minutes after the win and soon the whole street was filled with thousands of people cheering. It was emotional and chaotic all at the same time. Jordan was thrilled to finally be able to celebrate a World Series win and we had a great time partying with the crowd. As much as we enjoyed it, we eventually headed home and continued to revel in one of the most memorable nights of our lives. We hope you enjoyed watching the game as much as we did!
Check out more pictures of Philly after the win.
Jury Duty
For the first time in my life, I was summoned for jury duty. Now, I was prepared to serve my civic duty and show up for one day at the Hall of Justice and then be sent on my merry way. However, that was not how the story was destined to end. I ended up getting picked for a civil case and had to serve for two weeks on possibly the most boring case known to man.
I hope you're ready for this....
The case I had to listen to was about stuck windows. That's right. The plaintiffs claimed that the 46 windows in their custom build home were painted shut back in 2003. Yup, five years ago. It was two weeks of listening to redundant questioning about who painted what windows and when. I learned all about Pella casement windows, their operation, and the proper way to paint them. It was so much fun that I was considering jumping out a window myself in order to put an end to it all. Then to top it off, I was designated an alternate and didn't even get to deliberate. My only consolation is that I can't be called for jury duty for the next three years. And if I ever get called again, I have learned that it's just not worth it... I don't care if I have to sound silly and ridiculous in front of a judge. I never want to repeat this experience again. For now, all I can do is look back and laugh.
OBX Vacation 2008
Jordan and I just got back from a week-long vacation in the Outer Banks with (most of) the Rickenbach side of the family. We stayed in a beautiful home in Avon, NC, and spent the entire week sunning by the pool and eating lots of good food. It was great! We also took little side trips around the island, walked on the beach, did some shopping at the Tanger outlets, and I even got to try jet-skiing for the first time! It was so cool and I can't wait to try it again next summer. I will try to post pictures as soon as I get some from Jordan's family. My camera is just about dead so I didn't even bother bringing it on the trip. Hopefully, I will have a new camera for next year's trip to OBX.
Wrigley had to be boarded for the first time while we were away on vacation. He stayed at the PetSmart Pet Hotel and he seemed to do okay. We picked him up this afternoon and he's had a healthy appetite but he's been very tired. He mostly just rests and lets us make up for a whole week of not getting any attention (i.e. lots of puppy lovin'). It's hard to leave him behind when we go away but it's something we all have to get used to. At least this experience doesn't seem to be a negative one, but I can tell he's very happy to be home.
