1 Month

It has been a month since my last entry (wrist slap). I feel like I am seriously Livin' la Vida loca! Chris has been working a lot, and I have the kids during the day while I work, and trying to keep up the house, plus fitting in me time is almost unheard of. I would say that I should get up early or go to bed late to blog, but if I was to lose sleep over something constructive, it would be exercising. I have also been trying to do the whole craft thing, which is turning out to be a total bomb.

So, Christmas is coming up! Absolutely my favorite time of year! Makes me wish I lived in a cabin in the mountains with fireplaces and free time and stuff. There is just something about Christmas that is so special, that makes you want to be home in your jammies and cozied up to your favorite people. And bake cookies, and make crafts, and looking outside at the frigid cold, knowing that you have your family to keep you warm. I know it sounds like a cheesey Hallmark card, but it really does make me happy.

Well, I shall return, however, now, I have a crying kid. Merry Christmas if I don't get on here before then.

Happy Birthday Munch!

My little girl turns 1 today. All my life I waited for the day that I would find out that I was pregnant. Now that day seems like an eternity ago. I remember the day so clearly. I was craving pickles, chocolate chip cookies and garlic bread, all at the same time. I wanted to take a test, but had so many disappointing results, so I hesitated to go to the store to buy one. But something just told me to do it. So, I was on my way home from work and I prayed that God would show me a sign, because I didn't want to be disappointed. I looked at the clouds, and the road signs, and saw nothing. I was just about to pass walmart when I saw a bumper sticker that said "Good things happen". I figured that was sign enough, so I got it, peed on it, and it popped up positive right away. I was speechless, and Chris came home while I was still in the bathroom. I was waiting for the line to go away, because it couldn't be real. When Chris got home he kept banging on the door to mess with me, and little did he know that his life was about to change. I came out of the bathroom,and ran through the house looking for him, and I found him outside, and I cried out to come here. He was speechless, and made me take 2 more tests that night, and 1 digital one the next day before I took the blood test to avoid disappointment. I had a pretty easy pregnancy. Almost no sickness. I just couldn't stand for very long because I would get dizzy. Then on 11/17 at 6:14 am I had my first contraction, and had my little angel at 8:39pm that night. She was everything I ever dreamed of. She started sitting up at 5 months, crawling at 8 months, and walking at 10 months. She now says momma, dada, baby, stop it, hi, bye bye and night night. I think she also says thank you, but I'm not positive that's what it is. She loves bath time, kisses, turning upside down, eating, being thrown around, pushing things along the floor, dancing, and anything to do with music. She hates being left alone, put down, and the doctor. Right now she is in to smacking her lips with her tongue, necklaces, picking things up while she walks, holding more than one thing in her hand, emptying out her drawers and putting her head on the floor with her butt in the air. Everyday, she makes us laugh. Always with something new. She is a ham. Sometimes she will put something in her mouth like a dog, and look at everyone to make sure they can see her, and they think it's funny. Or when you say "YAY" and clap, she will stop whatever she is doing to clap, even if it means falling down or dropping what she is playing with. It makes me laugh, so sometimes I do it just to be mean. It has been a great year, and I am looking forward to many more.

Random Hawaii

Ahhh.... Hawaii. My love for Hawaii. As I told you before, I love Hawaii. It's just such a cool place, and I wish I was there. Hopefully me and Chris can take a trip there sometime in the next year or 2. It would be such bliss. But in the meantime, I just have to look at it on the internet. Since it was on my mind, I figured I would give you a few random facts.

That's me in he middle-ish. You see, he one with the big bass? Just kidding, I stole this pic off of the internet.

1.Hawaii’s nickname is the “Aloha State.” The word aloha is derived from the Proto-Polynesian, alofa, and its meanings include “love,” “compassion,” and “mercy.” Aloha is used both as “hello” and “goodbye

2.Because their society was largely an oral rather than a written culture, ancient Hawaiians would learn values and history through trained storytellers. Because the stories were considered sacred, listeners were not allowed to move once a story began

3.Surfing, or heenalu, was invented thousands of years ago by the Polynesians who first settled Hawaii. Their boards weighed more than 150 pounds and measured up to 20 feet

4.When written with the English alphabet, Hawaiian uses only 12 letters and a symbol (‘).

5.Historically, Hawaiians gave leis to their local ali'i, or chief, as a sign of affection. Warring chiefs who wanted to make peace sat down to weave leis together.

6.The hula was originally a form worship performed by highly trained men who were supposedly taught the dance by the Hawaiian god Luka.

7.Ancient Hawaiians believed that the heavier a woman, especially a chieftess, the more beautiful she was.

8.Everyone is a minority in Hawaii—there are no racial majorities. Haoles or Caucasians, constitute about 33% of the population, Japanese about 33%, Filipino-Americans about 16%, and Chinese-Americans about 5%. Most of the population has mixed ethnicities

9.The average projected lifespan of those born in Hawaii in the year 2000 is 79.8 years (77.1 years if male; 82.5 if female), longer than the residents of any other state

10. In the older hotels on the islands, the windows face to the island rather than the ocean, because travelers came by ship which took days even weeks. They were sick of the ocean.

Hawaii's Good Luck Symbols:

Some other Hawiian symbols:

Pinapple is a symbol of friendship, welcome, and good hospitaity. They often give pinapples as gifts, much like we would flowers or wine here.


This symbole means Shaka or hang loose. It's used towards people a lot like Aloha would be, to say Hi, bye, or to symbolize friendship.


Flower leis are used as a greeting, and a symbol of hospitality and honor.

The language
If you would like to learn how to pronounce Hawaiian words, here is a little trick. For instance, the word ali'i the 2 i's would both be sounded out like eee. So ali'i would sound like uhlee-ee. Every vowel is carefully sounded out. Kauai which is one of the islands, looks like it would sound like coway, but actually sounds like Kuhwyie. The word a'ina meaning meal would sound like ah-ee-nah. Here, now you try:
Humuhumunukunukuapuaa
Hahaha... did I throw you off there? The Humuhumunukunukuapuaa is the state fish. It would actually sound like - are you ready for this?
Hoo-moo-hoo-moo-noo-koo-noo-koo-ah-poo-ah-ah.
Say that 10 times fast. Anyways, that is your lesson for the day. If yo would like to extend your lingo, here is a pretty good website - http://www.alohafriendsluau.com/words.html.
Aloha!

Dances with David

This week I started keeping our nephew David. He is a fun, on-the-go 2 year old. I'm definately going to have to get used to having a 2 year old in the house all the time, but it's great for him and Alyssa to be able to have eachother to play with.

Strolling Through IKEA

We went to IKEA the other day. I need a highchair to keep at my in-laws house, and don't want to spend a fortune since she doesnt eat on it everyday. We went, and I couldn't find the one I wanted with the other highchairs. Who would have thought that they would be in 2 different sections? So I forgot to look at the tag to find out where it was in the warehouse, and we had lunch reservations, so I ended up leaving, and going back after lunch, only to find out that the one I actually wanted was sold out. Oh well. But the first time we went, I was giving Alyssa a much needed break from her stroller, and let her walk a little with my fingers. She let go, and went to te stroller, and decidd that pushing it sounded like more fun. And I thought it was cute, so I decided to post up a couple pics up for you.

Why I hate Detroit - Dedicated to Brian Toti

So, apparently my blog is leaving much to be desired. Thanks for pointing that out, Brian. And now my brother Matt. I recently went to visit my home town - Perrysburg. It was so nice up there. Saturday night I actually froze! I was walking to my car an it was like 50 degrees outside. I miss having the fall weather though, that's for sure. But let me tell you about some things that happened.
I leave sunny Orlando with shining happy people holding hands, and make my way to... dun dun dun... Detroit. Whew. Close your eyes an imagine me with a rolling carry on, a crying baby, her stroller and car seat, and diaper bag. I'm trying to find my way after I get off the plane, and there are NO bathrooms in site.
So I am walking all over the place lugging this stuff around, about to wet myself, and I finally come up to te bathroom. I am now forced to use the handicap stall because of the stroller. I get in there, and someone had pooped on the floor. Yes, poop and yes, I was desperate, and this was my ONLY option.
So after this, I leave to go get yet another suitcase. I get lost on my way to baggage claim. I finally get there, and I guess I wasn't the only one with these problems, because I was the first person there, and God was shining his beautiful face on me, because my bag was the first one on the convey er, and was just happening to be coming down right when I walked up. So that was the easy part.
I make my way over with the stroller, car seat, diaper bag, and 2 rolling suitcases over to the car rental kiosk. Everything seems smooth thus far. Then I call. She says ''ma'am, you need to go upstairs to the ground transportation area". With my mouth, I am saying ok, thank you, but in my heart I'm saying - ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME WOMAN?!?!
So I go back to the elevator, and hit the button that says ground transportation. I get off the elevator, and follow the sign that leads me directly to.... an escalator... to take me downstairs. I'm a little annoyed at this point. Like the escalator is some secret passage you have to take to get to the rental cars. So I ask some random individual standing there innocently, looking like he was just dieing to help a stressed out mom with a million things in her hands. He says "uh, I think you have to go down a floor" Annoyed, I once again had to find the elevator. I go one floor down, parking garage, another floor, parking garage. Finally, one floor down I see the shuttle area that I needed to be at. Coincidentally right behind it I see the baggage claim area that I just came from.
So I get the shuttle, and go to rent my car. She recommends that I get the next size up because of the stroller, which ended up being a fantastic idea, since they rented me a Nissan versa which may have gotten the model design from Steve Urkel. After jamming everything in the car (20 minutes later) I look and notice that my wallet is missing. If you have ever been to Detroit, you know that this is a serious problem. I remembered putting it in Alyssa's car seat since I had so much to carry, and I assumed maybe she's dropped it. So I have to take the baby out, and look over the whole parking lot until I get to the office, and scope that out, praying that I would find it. I asked the security guard if anyone turned it in, and to my suprise, she said no.
I'm freaking out at this point, because it's not like I'm at home, I'm across the country, and would have no way of getting home. The security guard offered to help me look. Again, my steps were traced, and it was no where. She opened the trunk and shook somethings around. It turned out that my jokester of a kid shoved it within the walls of the stroller. That was my experience with Detroit. Maybe next time I will fly into Toledo.
Luckily te rest of the trip was a breeze. I had a great time. I got to spend sometime with my sisters and my friends, and see people that I haven't seen in 12 years. It was really great until I had to go back to Detroit, but that is a whole nother blog.

Shedding Skins

Sometimes you look in a bush, and find something white hanging in it. You look a little closer, and realize it's a snake skin. I hold it up to see how big the snake is that shed it. But then I realize that the snake that shed it, is just a little bit bigger than the skin it left behind. A snake can't grow with the dead skin on it; it needs to be removed.

I'm so excited to go back up to Perrysburg. Every time I go back up, I get really sick of where I am, and really wish that I could just move up there. Who could blame me, it's beautiful up there. Minus the subzero winters full of gray skies,and slush, it is a really pretty town, and seems so picture perfect.

There is just such a difference between Florida and Ohio. Sure, our weather is ideal from the outside looking in, but what most people don't realize is that we only get like 4 weeks out of the whole year that you would want to open your windows, and enjoy nature. The summer is too hot, the winters are too cold, the spring brings on mosquito's, so that leaves fall... but anyways - soap box.

No matter hw perfect things look like up there,the reality is that I have my life here now. My family is here (with a couple exceptions), mine and Chris' jobs, and his family. Not to mention that we have a baby now, and us leaving would be devastating for the grandparents. I have friends here. And as much as I would love to be back up there, I'm constantly reminded of the life that I left behind.

Much like the snake that sheds it's skin to grow, I had to shed somethings to grow as a person. I was treated horribly by my peers. There wasn't a day that went by that someone wasn't trying to make my life miserable. I tried my best to fit in, but no matter what I did, or how nice I was to people, I was constantly scrutinized. I ended up doing a lot of things that I'm not proud of like stealing, and drinking and partying. I thought that those things would make me a better person, and people would like me more, but all it did (now looking back) was make me look like an idiot. Sometimes I wish I could go have a talk with teenage me, and go over all of the things I have learned since leaving Ohio, and tell myself to get a grip, and that you wouldn't even remember half of those people.

Basically what I am saying is that I had to shed my old life. Shed the things I did that held me back. Shed the hurt feelings and the bitterness that I have towards those people. Shed the fact that I wasn't perfect, or te fact that my parents bank account didn't look like everyone elses. Shed the fact that I never had perfect hair, perfect skin or perfect teeth. Shed the fact that I didn't look as good in a pair of jeans, or play sports, or live in a huge house on the hill. Shed the fact that I was too ashamed of myself to stand up for myself, or the fact that I let others make me feel that way. Shedding off the fact that I still have layes and layers and layers of scars, that I feel like will take me the rest of my life to shed. But each layer that I shed makes me that much bigger, and that much stronger. I no longer have that dead skin weighing me down, and I can finally conquer the world that I have around me!

When I moved to Florida, I moved with the intention of not letting people control how I felt. I figured no one knew me, and even though my esteem was shot, I would put up this strong front. I wouldn't let anybody make me feel the way that I felt up there. But now I am strong. I am a mighty woman of God, and I have authority. No one cn change me but Him and me. He helps me everyday to shed off those layers. He made me strong. He made me love me for who I am. I'm still far from perfect, but you know what, thats ok. I can still try to achieve perfection, but it will never happen. And that is ok too. It doesn't matter, because life is short. Too short to let dead skin get in the way of your happiness. Thank you God for showing this to me. I love you guys, and I love me.

Quiet Times

In the everyday hustle and bustle, sometimes we forget to sit back and just take in life. Every night and every morning, God paints us a picture, and we hardly notice. We get caught up in what we are doing and where we need to be, and we forget that we are given this gift everyday. Chris and I have been reflecting lately about appreciating things, and cherishing our lives more. This time that we have with Alyssa is precious, and we can never get it back again.

The other night, we were just sitting there, and I caught a glimpse of the sunset over the lake, so I asked Chris if he wanted to go on a walk. We decided to go accross the street to the dock, and watch the sunset. The breeze was perfect, and the scenery was awsome, and I would just close my eyes and feel the wind, and jut listen to the waves. It was so nice and relaxing. Alyssa seemed to really be into it too, but of course, she loves to be outside. It is one of those times that I will always cherish.

Boogs Obsession

Meet Boog



Most people pronounce it wrong. They try to say it like boot but wih a g instead of t, but it's actually more of a lazy o - much like Booger. Boog is actually short for Booger, but if we ever called him that, he wouldn't respond. The funny part is that his name isn't even Booger at all, it's Tyson. We named him Tyson, because he is big, and he likes to bite (hehe) and he has a really soft feminine voice. So we named him Tyson, but decided his nickname would be Booger, but ended up calling him Boog. So that is where his name comes from.

He's a funny cat. He is just so big, and he thinks sometimes that he's a dog. But he is incredibly loving. He loves to cuddle and be around us at all times. The only time that is ever a problem is when I'm working. I guess he sees me as his own personal lounge chair. So this is what he's been doing lately.



Did you pass gas?



No Boog, make your self at home!
Oh, that's still not right? Well, move around some until you're comfortable. Don't worry about me here.




Ok, is that better? Good.

Oh, Boog, I love you too. :)

What? A Nap? No Thanks!

Alyssa was sleeping in the swing the other day, and she kept jumping and waking herself up. So me, being a good mommy decided I would put her in her crib to take a nap. Of course, I didn't have high expectations, because moving her during a nap could mean war. So I put her in her crib, and gave her her little blankie, and paci, and she closed her eyes. She fussed just a little, but I left her in there. Knowing her, she will usually stay in for a few minutes before she starts crying. So about 30 minutes later, I noticed I hadn't heard her. I was like 'oh, she must have went to sleep'. Because I am the kind of mom that has to see what she is doing t all times- including how she is sleeping, I grabbed the camara, and snuck over to her room, thinking I was going to snap a sweet angelic picture of her sleeping. Instead, this is what I find.


She decided since she wasn't going to take a nap, that it would be much better idea to throw all of her stuff out of the crib. Because you know, you don't want anything near you that might temp yu to close your eyes for a few minutes.

Ode to Living by a High School and Middle School

Oh how I love the trash in my yard,
Chip bags and soda cans, whatever you discard.

Come and sit on my seawall, please don't think twice,
and screaming when my baby is sleeping is incredibly fun and nice.

If there is no room on the seawall, I have a seat for you.
It's on the bumper of my SUV- I promise I wont ask you to move.

It's really great at 7 and 2 when I have somewhere to be,
please ignore all of the no parking signs, and plant your car behind me.

I really love it when you hang in my yard, and closely examine my stuff,
Please look inside for anything you want, I'm sure I have enough.

I think the mail man may have delivered your mail to my place,
so check the mail box for stuff that's yours, it's really taking up space.

Don't hesitate to turn up your music for everyone to hear.
I don't own a tv,or radio- nothing fancy here.

By the way, I waited ALL summer to hear who you're in love with,
the idea that I don't care, would certainly be a myth.

And thanks for digging up my flowers I have planted in the bed,
I was going for the pretty look, but you're right, dirt works instead.

Underaged smoking and toking is legal at my place,
but if the cops come by you should put it away.. you know, just in case.

It's a blessing to watch you bully, and all the kids you taunt,
to see the outcome of undisciplined kids that get anything they want.

The best part about living in a house by the school,
the drama keeps life interesting, and the trash really is a jewel.

Haha

Yummies!

I let Alyssa feed herself today. But don't worry, I made sure to apologize to the high chair first. She had peas and spaghetti, then some canned fruit. She loved it!

Seven

Us when we were dating

Today I have been married for 7 years to the most amazing guy in the world. Every day he makes me smile, he makes me laugh, and sometimes he makes me poke my eyes out, (inside joke). I can't even begin to imagine my life without him. He never ceases to amaze me. Always willing to help someone out, and does it with a smile on his face. And speaking of his face, not only is it incredibly handsome, but it is also very kind. You can look in his eyes and see that he is very kind, and genuine, and trustworthy. I had no idea how much God would bless me when I was praying for a husband. I love you babe, my best friend, my husband!

Taking a Fall for a Good Cause

Anyone who doesn't know my daughter, has no idea how incredible intelligent she is. As you can see in the pictures, I have a huge layout for her, so I can get my work done, and she can be entertained. Well, she has figured out a couple ways to get me to gear my eye towards her instead.

Step 1. Things in the mouth.
As you can see, I have a cushy little rug for her to play on since we have all tile floors. I also put down a play mat from ikea that has a ton of cool bugs and stuff on it- that she refuses to look at. But lets focus our attention on the speckled rug. She has figured out how to pull all of the little speckle peices out and put them in her mouth, thus me having to get up, and take it out of her mouth- giving her a good reason to cry and therefore, me having to pick her up to calm her down.

This is when I thought I was being the smart one, and replacing this rug with her room rug... or was I being smart?

Step 2. Taking the plunge.
She has gotten very good at standing up- and even better as using this to her advantage. She will stand up- exhibit A. Then she will look back to see if there is anything behind her, look at me to make sure I'm not looking, then fall down and cry- exhibit B. Thus leads to me picking her up, to comfort her.
Exhibit A

Exhibit B


Step 3. "Sleeping"
Next thing she tries is pretend sleeping. She has started this since I started putting her in time out. She will lay there very still, and very quiet. Then I go to pick her up to put her in bed, or in her swing, and she usually will "wake up" and be so happy and wide awake. So, I go to put her down, and she starts to scream. Other times, she will stay "alseep" and I put her down and that is when she decides to "wake up" and sometimes she will play in her swing with the little toys, and other times she just cries. I seem to have outsmarted her on this one, so she will lay there silently as long as she can, then just start crying so I will.... drum roll please....... Pick her up.


Finally she does give in, and decides that maybe a nap is the best option... or is it? The world may never know!

Some More of my Favorite Things

Ok, so I'm not a big fan of raindrops on roses, or whiskers on kittens, but I left off some of my favorite things yesterday, and I sort of felt bad about it... so here is list #2 of my favorite things.
1. My whole Family... my parents and my brother have seen me through a lot, and I will always love them.
Forgive me please, I can't find a picture of all of them right now.

2. Writing... I love to write. It has always been theripudic for me. I am actually in the process of writing a childrens book, but I put it down a while ago, with many revisions that needed to be made, and haven't picked it back up again. I think it would be so cool to be the author of childrens books. Those are my favorite kind anyways- I don't really get into novels. I also write poetry and lyrics. Writing has always been a passion of mine, and can't believe that I left it off.


3. My Kitties.... Boog and Taco. The wierdest cats that you will ever meet. Boog is big and a little dumb, and taco is really needy, but I love them both.
Boog

Taco
4. My friends... I don't really have pictures, because I would be uploading like crazy, but I cherish my friends so much. There is nothing like having a good friend to lean on when you need it.
So thats all for now. I may still be uploading this list- once I think of more.

Some of My Favorite Things

So I have been kinda down lately... stress from my job, and struggling with that, and having the baby at home with me has been pretty difficult, and a couple deaths, including my grandma. Then I find this blog that I posted the other day, and I literally cannot get it off my mind... so I have been trying to perk myself up, so I decided to let you know some of my favorite things in my life.

1. Jesus... He died for me, a humiliating death at that, and then He rose from the grave and saves everyone who choose Him. That's pretty cool. And He continues to help me everyday of my life. Even when I don't deserve His love.


2. My Husband.. This goes without saying that he is the perfect guy for me. I love him, and would do anything for him, and I know that he would do anything for me. He is by far my best friend ever, and no one in this world knows just how silly we are. I love him.


3.My Daughter... Obviously. Shes so cute, and loving. She has a 1 in a million personality. You gotta love her past her drama...lol.


Now that we got the obvious out of the way....

4. Laughing... They say it's the best excersise, I don't know about that, but I love anything that can make me laugh.
5. Plumeria... my all time favorite flower, and you want to know how many I have?, 0! One day when we buy a house, I am going to plant a tree, so I can look at (and smell) Plumeria all the time.


6. All things Hawaii.. this and plumeria go hand in hand. I love Hawaii, because it is so full of culture. The people there- even though they hate tourists- are so loving, and deeply in love with their family and their beliefs. One day I plan on having a vacation home there, so I can go back whenever I want.


7. The Waltons... don't ask me why, it's just one of my obsessions


8. Japanese People... One of my goals in life is to go to Tokyo- but before I do, I want to be fluent in Japanese


9.Photography... I believe that just about everything is art, and I wish that people viewed the world as everything being something to cherish.


10. Marilyn Monroe... not that I would have desired her life, but she was classically beautiful, and thats how I look at her