Ugh.

Confession first, we live with my parents. 

My husband, daughter and I live in the same house as my parents

....sometimes, it drives me insane!

When you're starting a family of your own,

you tend to move away from how you grew up and start to make your own rules,

traditions and memories while figuring out what things are truly important to you.

Doing this while living your life in front of an audience is hard.  Really hard sometimes.

Sometimes it's the little things that really bother me.

This may seem trivial but last night, my mother made dinner.  She asked me what I wanted to have, we had Shepards Pie, I asked for this so I could take the leftovers for lunch to work today... 

SHE FED THE LEFTOVERS TO OUR DOGS

Seriously? 

I was kind of angry this morning when I went to make my lunch and there was nothing there. 

Nice Ma, thanks!

She does things like this all the time.  It's like she has no reguard for what someone else wants or needs. 

(Please know that I'm just venting.  My parents help us a LOT and I love them to death.  This just threw me over the edge this morning)

I hope the dogs enjoyed my lunch.

Christmas Breakfast

For Christmas breakfast I wanted to make something fun for Olivia. 

I recently read a post (or saw an instragram - I don't remember) from

Katie @ Loves of Life where she used cookie cutters to make eggs in a basket, Christmas style!

I was sold.

Our little Christmas breakfast was so adorable and easy to make... 

Not to mention it was a huge hit with Olivia who loves eggs and toast!

 

Since Olivia likes scrambled eggs, I scrambled one egg in a bowl. 

Chose my cookie cutter shape and cut the hole in the bread. 

Put a little margarine on each side, placed it in a pan and let it cook for about a minute on low. 

Pour the egg into the cut out shape, let it cook a bit and then flip it over.

Cook the egg to whatever consistency you like and that's it. 

We served ours with a bit of ketchup and a sippy cup of milk!

Enjoy!

~Laura

The Post Where I Whine...

...I'm allowed an off post once in a while right? 

Well, today is the day. 

I'm tired, Olivia isn't sleeping well and I'm getting a cold.

Woe is me. 

I'm just out of sorts today and I want to go home,

crawl back in bed and catch up

on the precious sleep I've been missing because my

teething 15 month old cant put herself to sleep yet

and cant seem to keep herself asleep either.

I've tried earlier bedtimes, later bedtimes, rocking, not rocking, bottle, no bottle etc...

Olivia will not just fall asleep on her own. 

Maybe I'm misunderstanding this whole "putting your children to bed" thing because

I thought that at 15 months old, Olivia would be able to have her bath,

read a book with me, have her bottle/milk, brush her teeth and I'd be able to

place her lovingly into her crib, close the door and she'd be able to go to sleep by herself. 

What am I missing?

She whine's/cries for a while, starts talking, stands up, "drops" her bink out of her crib and proclaims

"I drop, I drop"

over and over until I go in there and give it back to her,

pick her up and rock her to sleep.

This wouldn't be so bad if it lasted about 15 minutes and she slept though the night...

but lately she's been up 4 or 5 times throughout the night. 

She's either lost her bink in her crib and whines,

or she's fully awake and wanting a drink and a diaper change. 

Mama's TIRED!

Any and ALL advice is appreciated!

~Laura

Sometimes & Always

Linking up with Megan over at Mackey Madness today for her Sometimes & Always series.

Go visit her page, you'll love her!

Sometimes - I wish Olivia slept through the night,

especially on weeknights because I'm too tired in the morning to get up on time for work!

Always - I'm grateful for my healthy little girl in the next room over

who's here to wake me up 5 times a night!

Sometimes - I tell myself that I'm going to stop biting my nails.  (I know, horrible habit)

Always - I keep doing it because it's just such a bad habit!

Sometimes - I wish I was thinner, smarter, prettier...etc.

Always - I try to remember that God made me just the way I am for a reason...

Sometimes - I wish the Christmas season away because of the hussle and bustle.

Always - when Christmas is half over, I'm wishing it would slow down so I can enjoy the time more.

Sometimes - I wish I could call out of work sick on Mondays,

especially on "Tuesday Monday's" after a 3 day weekend.

Always - I get my butt out of bed and go to work.

Happy "Tuesday Monday"!

Fun Fact Friday

Here are a few fun facts for Fun Fact Friday!!!!!!!

~Olivia is named after both of my grandmothers -

my maternal Grandmother is Olivia and my paternal Grandmother is Yvette. 

We love her name because it means so much.

 

My favorite picture of Olivia.

~my husband took my last name when we got married - yup, that's right...

~my husband and I met when we were 19 (where did the time go???) and have been together a total of 8 years and married for almost a year and a half.



~we have a dog named Penny, before Olivia, this pup was my baby. 

She has taken a backseat but she's certainly loved!

~I love Fritos.  I mean I love Fritos.  I crave them and always have to have some in the house.

~same with Reese's peanut butter cups...OMGahhh they are delish!

Last fun fact, I wrote this post on Thursday... wishful thinking that it was Friday... FAIL!

~Laura

Corny or Cute Christmas Present

My husband loves his electronics. iphone and XBox 360 to be more specific. 

I'm pretty sure I'm married to a 12 year old boy!

Having Olivia doesnt leave much time to relax, destress and do what you want.

Joe helps me SO much with household chores and taking care of Olivia. 

(we work opposite shifts, I work days, he stays home with Olivia and he works nights and I stay home with Olivia)

So, I made these corny cute little vouchers so

my sweet hubby can have some time to himself when he feels like it... 

providing I'm home to take care of Olivia that is.

Now, please dont get me wrong, I'm not some kind of crazy wife who makes her husband ask for permission or anything, this is just all in good fun!

I hope he likes them and finds them funny...

Is it bad that I'm also kind of wishing that he loves this present

...and then loses it right away so he cant redeem them?

~Laura

You know when....

...you know when you're in a public restroom and there are 5 other stalls

open and someone comes in and goes in the stall right next to you... awkward. 

I hate that. 

Cant you go do your business at least one stall over?

...you know when you're about to give a present that you thought was a good idea

and right before you hand it to the person

you second guess it and feel like it's the dumbest gift ever?

I hate that feeling!

...you know when you're in bumper to bumper traffic

and you've been waiting in this line of traffic forever and then

some jerk comes up from the next lane and cuts the whole line off?

I hate that!

~Laura

Olivia's Feet Part 2 & More

I'm happy to report that my daughter's feet are fine! 

The doctor was not concerned at all with her inner foot walking. 

He said it's fairly common and not to worry. 

It may correct itself and it may not,

she may just have flat feet but as long as it isnt bothering her

and she has range of motion, not to worry. 

I mean seriously look at these adorable little toes!

My husband bought Olivia an Elmo stocking that sings "Jingle Bells" and let me just say, girlfriend loves it! 

She says "what's that" over and over and we play it over and over!



Olivia dancing & clapping to her Elmo stocking!



And I'll leave you with one more adorable picture of my girls cheeks,

because seriously, there's just no way to resist this cuteness!

~Laura

Sometimes & Always

Linking up with Megan over at Mackey Madness today for her Sometimes and Always post! 

She's such a sweet blogger girl - go check her out!

Sometimes - I plan on finishing Christmas shopping early to beat the crowds and be prepared.

Always - I'm shopping on Christmas Eve.

Sometimes - I feel wide awake before bed so I read.

Always - I fall asleep with the book open in my lap.

Sometimes - I get an early start in the morning to make sure I get to work super early.

Always - I find a million extra things to do with my time and I dont make it to work any earlier than normal.

Sometimes - Olivia says "what's that" to her singing Elmo stocking a million times.

Always - I press the button a million times to see her smile and dance to Elmo's song!

Now, go over and check out Megan's blog, Mackey Madness! 

~Laura

Olivia's Feet

Olivia has been walking for about a month now

and this past weekend I noticed that she's positioning her feet funny. 

Her ankle and inner foot is almost rolled inwards and her outer foot where her pinky toe is, is up. 

She's putting most of the pressure on her inner foot & ankle area.  See pic below.

 

This picture is taken from behind, her left foot is worse than her right foot.  See how she's standing on her foot rolled inwards but more on her ankle?



                                       She walks well and now that she does know how to walk,

she prefers it over crawling so I'm not concerned with pain

but rather with the formation of her foot & ankle. 

We are going to see a Pediatric Orthopedic specialist tomorrow at 10:15am. to have her checked out.  I

'm so thankful for my friend who's dealt with her fair share of her son's foot problems,

he has clubfeet. 

She was able to help me find a great doctor in the area and

give me some good information on what to expect.

Obviously I'm still worried because anytime something is potentially wrong with your child,

as a mother, you freak the heck out but

thank God I didn't have to wait long for an appointment.

Last night I didn't sleep much thinking about her little chubby feet and of course all these irrational thoughts flooded my mind...

...what if she cant walk? (wait, she's already walking)

...what if it's a syndrome or a condition - like not just a fixable physical issue?

...what if she needs to wear braces on her feet like Forest Gump?

...what if this affects her for life and she cant play sports?

...what if the doctors cant help her?

Obviously we are just at the beginning of this and this is small beans compared to what some families go through but it's still making me nervous for my baby girl.

I'll update tomorrow after the appointment.

Until then, please keep my girl in your prayers.

~Laura

Blog Makeover!

I bought myself an early Christmas present...

my little corner of the internet got a makeover! 

I love it!  Katie from Loves of Life created it and she did an amazing job and was super easy to work with.

In other news... I made a little progress on Christmas projects last night. 

Did I take any pictures to share?  Nope... fail.

So, what do you think about the new blog set up?  How do you like having my smiling face over there staring at you reading???  Is my little Olivia not the cutest thing ever? 

Love, Laura

My "To Do" List

I've taken on so many projects this Christmas season and hello?!?!

Christmas is only 10 days away and I'm only 3/4 the way done with my first project. 

What was I thinking??

To Do...

• Finish the 3/4 finished fleece throw blanket
• Make a matching pillow case
• Make a matching hat
• Make another fleece throw
• Make 5 Hot/Cold Rice Packs
• Make 4 Hot Chocolate jar kits
• Make Peppermint Bark (a ton of it!)
• Make 4 dozen Sugar Cookies & decorate them
• FINISH SHOPPING for 5 people!

See, I'm sure I'm forgetting something from this list...in fact, I've made more lists and

lost them over the past few weeks that I'm not even sure what I'm doing anymore.

I did some shopping yesterday and got a bunch of things for my to do list above. 

I do have a big package with 6 gifts being delivered today which is helping my nerves a bit! 

I'm a little anxious to open the package because all items are breakable and I swear,

if they're broken I'm gonna probably cry a little bit.

 Send me some love and energy to get all of this stuff done.

I'm so thankful for good friends that are coming over Friday

to help me bake and decorate said Sugar cookies. 

Should I add that I'm a horrible baker and can pretty much assure you we'll end up

throwing away just as many burnt or messed up cookies as we'll end up keeping?

Let's hope all goes as planned.  Or, not planned, because had I planned I wouldn't be in this situation!

Merry Christmas - 10 days away!!!

~Laura

Crazy Shenanigans!

Seriously, this week has been full of me feeling like any minute

I'm going to turn around and be "on Candid Camera!"

Yesterday when I got home from work, I let the dogs out and when I let them back in my little one stunk. 

I wasn't sure what had happened and then I saw it... she rolled in sh*t!!

Mind you, she had a bath this past weekend, I guess she wasn't a fan of being clean.

Since she now had smeared herself with crap, off to the bath we went.  Don't worry, she's clean again.

...and she's really lucky she's cute.

Monday morning, after a particularly restless sleep,

I woke up, took a shower and as I was putting make-up on, I noticed it. 

A GRAY EYEBROW HAIR!  Really? 

What a horrible way to start the week!  I'm only 28 for goodness sake.  I don't even know how to fix this. 

I dye my hair every so often, guess my eyebrows will be taking a bath in the brown dye too! 

Online Christmas shopping has really been a savior for me this year. 

I don't have time or the energy to battle the crowds at the store after working all day

so this weekend I was looking online for a specific hat for my father. 

Well, in my haste, I just left the internet page up, walked away and forgot about it. 

My Dad went to use the computer and what's the first thing that pops up - a motorcycle hat website...

FAIL. 

Great way to ruin the surprise. 

Our conversation goes like this:

Dad - "Laura, if you're looking for a gift for someone,

you should make sure you close the page when you're done." 

Me - "Do you like the hat?" 

Dad - "Yes, it's nice."

Me - "OK, good!"

I kind of feel like I'm living out the bloopers right now!

Merry Christmas.

~Laura

Sometimes & Always Link Up

Linking up with Megan from Mackey Madness today for Sometimes & Always!

Sometimes - I feel like the most inadequate mother.  Olivia bumped her head last night because I didnt catch her in time.

Always - I try to remember I'm doing my best and love her more than life itself!

Sometimes - I plan on sleeping in and relaxing in bed until Olivia wakes up.

Always - I wake up at 7am the latest, even on weekends.

Sometimes - I think it's going to be easier to go to shopping without Olivia.

Always - I end up wandering around the store when I'm alone because I feel like a part of me is missing.

Sometimes - I wonder what people really think of me.

Always - I try to be true to who I am no matter what people will think of me.

Thanks for reading!  I love these link ups!

~Laura

Christmas Projects

Thanks to Pinterest (follow me HERE) I had a bunch of Christmas craft ideas that I wanted to make and I finally got around to one! 

This has got to be the cheapest Christmas wreath ever.  I used shatterproof dollar store ornaments in a variety of sizes, foam pipe insulation from Home Depot so I could make a big wreath and a TON of hot glue!

Final result...

The whole corner

My dad also worked on this sleigh project for a while and he finally finished in time for us to put it out for display and use it for our Christmas card picture.  Olivia did such a great job sitting in the sleigh!  This is the picture we're using for our Christmas card! 

Wishing everyone a happy week!

~Laura

My Friday Night Friend

I do realize this title could look like I'm having some type of immoral relationship but I assure you, I'm not.  My life isn't that interesting. 

Since having Olivia I've spent a lot of time alone.  My husband and I work opposite shifts and we rarely see each other.  My mother watches Olivia in between Joe leaving for work and me getting home, so the only days I see my husband is Wednesday's (my early day from work) and the weekend.  After Olivia goes to bed, I either go to bed myself, do housework, read or watch TV...alone. 

At work, I'm an auditor for a bank and all the work I do is 90% by myself, in my office.  After a while, 14 months to be exact, things tend to get a bit lonely.

My sweet friend Jenn and I have been spending more time together lately.  She is really my only friend who doesn't mind going to dinner on a Friday night, coming over and sitting alone in my living room during Olivia's bath and bed time, waiting for me to put Olivia to sleep and then spending an hour or two with me at home doing nothing.  She is probably the one person who shouldn't want to do this since she's single with no children and could be out painting the town red with all of her single friends... but no. 

She totally doesn't mind that our Friday night get togethers involve dinner at the closest restaurant and maybe a trip to Target down the road to make sure I am able to get Olivia home by 7:30 so I don't interrupt our bedtime routine of bath at 7:45 and bed at 8:15.

I truly enjoy spending my Friday night chatting with my friend.  It's so nice to end my week with good conversation, companionship and fun! 

Happy Weekend!

~Laura

My Continual Journey

Lately I've been feeling like I'm on a million different journeys all at the same time. 

Whether it's my marriage, parenting, my relationship with God, work or just discovering me.  I'm on journeys, and let me tell you, these journeys are hard. 

I could choose to ignore them but obviously that's not going to work.

Most recently one that I've really been focusing on is my relationship with God.  This journey seems to be the one that's taking the most amount of effort since it's personal, takes a lot of thought, research, time and hearing what other people have to say.

Religion isn't really what I'm questioning but rather, my relationship with God.  I feel like there's a missing piece to my life right now and I think having a better relationship with God would fill that spot.

I read lots of blogs where women talk about how involved they are with their church community and I want that.  But, I haven't found it. 

My family belongs to a church, we go sometimes, but more often than not it is out of obligation, not because we really want to be there.  That's the issue.  I want to find my place in this religious journey that makes me want to participate. 

I want to have a meaningful relationship with God that allows me to have faith that things will turn out alright, or always feel like I have a spiritual place to go to when I need some comfort.  I don't want to wait until, God forbid, there's a negative event that makes me start to pray.  I want to pray because it's what I feel, not just because I need something.

My issue at the moment is where to start.  I'm 28 years old, have a semi religious background meaning I know facts that the Bible says, but how, at 28, do you develop a relationship with God?  If you have any advice, please share.  I'll take all the help I can get!

Sentimental Christmas Stuff

My Grandmother has been gone for over 2 years now and this season makes me miss her that much more. 

It's funny, or sad, how when you have a child you think about how important your older generations are and you appreciate them that much more.  My Grandmother would have loved my daughter and it pains me to think that they'll never get to meet on earth. 

Olivia is named after my Grandmother for goodness sake.  My Grandmother died in August 2009 and when I found out I was pregnant in January 2010, my husband and I just knew that if we were having a girl, her name would be Olivia.  Anyhow, I digress.

So, my uncle lives in the house my Grandmother owned and since she passed away I haven't been there, nor do I want to visit because I'm perfectly content remembering her house exactly how she had it. 

When she passed, my mother and uncle went through her stuff and did what they wanted with it.  I dont exactly know what they did with it, I never asked.  It's too upsetting for me to think that they threw stuff away. 

Well, with the approaching Christmas season, there are a few things that I want that used to belong to my Grandma, her Manger and the small Christmas tree she used to set up in her bay window.  I specifically want them for Olivia.

I remember as my Grandmother got older she wasnt able to decorate herself, but those two things were so important to her so I'd go to her house and make sure to put them in their respective places.  (Although for some reason I cant remember where we set up the Manger)

I wanted to ask my uncle for them but wasnt sure how to go about it.  I'd be crushed if he said that he'd thrown them away and I couldnt prepare myself for that.  So, what does any good daughter do, make her Mother call.  So, my mother did just that, and thank God he still had them and he's happy to let me have them.  So, Sunday he's going to bring them over (since I cant bear to visit my Grandmother's old house)

I cant wait to set them up in Olivia's room and share pictures with my blogging friends!  This is something that's so important to me to have for Olivia.  Something from 3 generations older that meant so much to my Grandmother and so much to me.  I'm so glad that I get to pass them down to my daughter from my Grandmother.

Olivia is going to love them and I know that my Grandmother would have wanted her to have them. 

~Laura

Sometimes and Always - Link Up!

Today I'm linking up with Megan at Mackey Madness for her

Sometimes and Always post! 

(I hope I'm doing this right!)

Sometimes - I wish I didn't have to wake up and come to work

Always - I'm glad I have a job when our economy is so scary

Sometimes - I wish I could go to bed whenever I wanted and not be woken up by my 14 month old

Always - I'm infinitely thankful and in love with my daughter and wouldnt change a thing!

Sometimes - I waste time at work reading blogs

Always - I regret my time wasted on Friday's when I'm hussling to finish my work

Sometimes - I wish I owned my own home - small house, big back yard and a huge tree!

Always - I'm thankful that we can afford to live where we do and have a nice warm home to go to

Sometimes - I think the grass is greener on the other side

Always - I remember to be happy and content with what I have

So, head over to Megan's blog and link of for her first ever Sometimes and Always link up!

~Laura



A Santa Story

Friday night, a friend and I went to dinner with Olivia at a local restaurant.  It was pretty busy and nearby there was a family of 3, Mom, Dad and little boy around 6.  I heard him talking the entire length of their dinner about another patron who was there eating that looked just like Santa.  Funny thing is, the guy, did look just like Santa.  Red coat, blue eyes, wire rimmed glasses, long white beard and long white hair.  He sat with his wife in a corner booth unaware of this little boys accusations that "he was Santa!"

As the family was getting ready to leave, the little boy walked over to Santa, tapped him on his shoulder and sweetly asked "excuse me, are you Santa?"  Now, this man had no idea that this was coming.  He didn't skip a beat and answered, "why, yes I am!"  I couldn't hear the rest of the conversation but, Santa let the little boy sit on his lap for about 10 minutes with a full blown conversation about what he wanted for Christmas.  When he was done, his parents thanked this kind man and took their son and left. 

Then the entire restaurant erupted in applause for this kind soul, Santa.  Seriously, I was in tears.  He made that little boys night.  Just imagine how he must have felt, how his parents must have felt that this complete stranger just went right along with it and made this little boys night.  Unbelievable!  It was just such a heart warming moment.

This, my friends, is what the Christmas season is all about!

~Laura

Busy, busy, busy

I'm thankful that this work week is almost over.  I.need.sleep like whoa.  With the end of the year approaching, work is busier than ever, more people are on vacation which means more work for yours truly.

Pair that with Olivia teething, that equals little sleep for me. 

Of course every weekend from now until the end of the year will most definitely be filled with something to do, shopping, my nephew's birthday, family get togethers, Christmas etc.  While it's so fun and I cant wait to spend my baby's 2nd Christmas with her, I need a vacation! 

Ok, enough of my whining.  I get it, I'm not the only sleep deprived mother out there.  Thanks for reading my pity party.

Now, onto the fun stuff.  TGIF.  Thank God it's Friday.  I am missing my husband something fierce.  We never get to spend time together since we work opposite shifts so weekends are our family time. 

This weekend, we will be shopping for our nephews 2nd birthday and attending his party.  Fun with the mother-in-law (sarcastic tone applies).

Here's my cutie pie - seriously, look at those toes.

~Laura

December already?

This year has flown by.  Really, just gone by so fast that I couldn't keep up.  Our family was busy with Olivia and watching her grow, learning how to be the best parents we can be, learning how to be married, incorporating being married, parents and both working full time opposite schedules.  Wow, it's been crazy.  Crazy but amazing all at the same time.  I've loved everything about this year.  Our first full year of parenthood.  Our first full year as a married couple.  This is one year I'll reflect on for the rest of my life.

This time of year I often think about just how much I have to be thankful for.  This year, I think my list is the longest it's ever been.  I think that sometimes with the hustle and bustle of the season, we tend to forget the small things we should be thankful for.  Here's my short list.  Believe me, I could go on for days about what I'm thankful for...
     ~My daughter, husband, family and friends
     ~our health
     ~coffee
     ~our warm home and working cars
     ~a job to come to every day
     ~technology
     ~good food, and enough food to feed my family
     ~watching my daughter learn to walk
     ~my husband for working nights so he can stay home with our daughter during the day
     ~my DVR
    
Like I said, my list could go on for days.  I'll keep it short for now.  What are some little things you're thankful for?