The Roof is on Fire.. ha!

Well, Yesterday the house got a little facelift! The old roof was torn off, and new roof put on!



Samantha and I had to go check it out! They worked so fast. It was done all in one day. Yeah! Cross that off our to do list! Today Daddy is over the house doing some plumbing and cleaning the basement so we can bring more stuff over!

Sidenote: Samantha had an AWESOME first birthday in Buffalo! More pics, updates and party decor to show, but I must get the pics off the camera and onto our other computer.. Why is it so hard it seems to do this one single task... I dont know.. But I procrastinate with it every single time we have more pics!

She did get a new radio flyer, and push car, but for sleeping.. stroller works best these days...

This morning Sam and I had errands to run... Carter's, Target, Wegmans, and Babies R Us., She was so very well behaved. I think she's diggin' shoppin' with Momma after all.

After many wet nights.. I decided to try these..





I hope they work!

She's Walking!!!...

Today was get ready for Samanthapalooza day. Jillian came over to help me with Sam, but Sam was SOOOO incredibly cranky, that I got very little accomplished.. So I threw in the towel and we went for a walk with Jillian, and by the end Samantha was out like a light. Ahhhh. I worked for a bit, then continued the partY prep!

As you can see.. things are coming along. I set the table and have some of the decor out now. I made all the cupcakes and tomorrow Im a frostin' fool!



After her nap, she started letting go of things in the house, and just began walking all over the place.. it was amazing. She suddenly had no fear! SHe's been walking here and there across the grass and rooms, but today she took off and totally did it on her own! So proud of her!!

After the walking adventures.., we got the mail and this adorable outfit was in it .. COULD THIS BE ANY CUTER? Its from Julie, Adam and Baby Joey in Cleveland.. Thank you SO much Julie!! Samantha Jane will for SURE be sportin' this on her bday!! And ruffly socks to match.. Julie knows Samantha's style.. She is a girly girl Julie.. Thank you so much again!



Samantha and Grammy hung out today as well. Grammy had a 1/2 day which Momma was very greatful for. She's even keeping her shades on now!

June 21-25th 2009 - One Year Ago - Warning .. Long post!

Exactly one year ago on Father's Day.. I was huge and pregnant, just taking a nap with George and I started getting unbeleiveable back pain. I knew it wasnt labor, although I was about 36 weeks pregnant. So I took a shower, and it got so bad, that Mathew found me crying on the floor in the bathroom in pain, and throwing up.

This was my "home" for 6 days, and I came home with no baby.. and pain not totally gone.



He called the Labor and Delivery line at the base to see what this could be. They said it may be back labor .. beginning.. and not to worry, and I dont need to come in.

The pain escalated so badly .. by 6pm, we were racing to Camp Lejeune, and had to pull over, so I could get sick in a parking lot on base. I had no idea what it could have been. All I knew was that I was scared for the baby, and wanted this unbeleivable pain to go away.

They hooked me up to a fetal monitor, and asked me where the pain was on a scale of 1-10.. I cried out .. 10!!

So after tests, etc.. they sent me home with a HUGE bag of medicine, which I didnt want to take .. b/c I was scared for the baby.. So at 5am, the pain was back.. and we were back on the road to the hospital again. and I stayed for 6 days.



They had me on Morphine to control my pain, and it was the ONLY thing that worked. I checked in to a regular room for the first night, and then they moved me to the post-pardum wing.. So I had my own room, which coincidentally ended up being the same room and SAME bed after I had Samantha.

My stay was so tough.. since no one could tell me what was causing the pain. They did tests, blood work, xrays (what they could do with baby inside me) and they attributed it to a possible Kidney Stone. But again I was there for 5 days... hooked up to an IV and just hoping I would at least go into labor.

I was in so much pain I couldnt do anything. I hardly ate, and drank, and Mathew had to help me do everything, He washed me in the shower, and held my IV cord so it wouldnt get wet, and he'd help me get dressed and since I wasnt home to cook dinner, he and George had to fend for themselves, so he'd come to the hospital every day.. and usually again around dinner, and we would share one of these...



We got to like the food, and I remember I loved drinking chocolate milk most of all, and we both loved this dish they gave us one night called Chuck Wagon Stew! haha.. I'll have to try and make it someday.

We'd eat, and cuddle, and watch Seinfeld on TV. Then Mathew would go home, and get ready for work the next day, and spend some QT with George (the kitty)... By the end of the week George was sleeping next to him in bed.. awww. ( miss you boodie)!!!

So at night I would hear all the crying babies and I would start crying myself, thinking, will I ever have this baby, and please God, make everything be ok. Please let my baby be ok after all this.

So exactly one year ago today.. around this very time .. 12 noon they let me go home. No baby, no explainations as to why all the pain. They wouldnt induce me before 39 weeks, so I had a follow up appointment with the doctor on July 4th at 10am. to see how I was feeling after being discharged.

I think the Doctor's thought that if I did have a kidney stone, I would most likely go into labor anyway, and thats why they admitted me, to control my pain, and wait it out. But after 5 days.. I had just about had enough, I wanted to go home and wait there.



So I said farewell to my home away from home, for now.

It was a Friday afternoon in Jacksonville, and we headed to the commissary.. Me, slowly waddling down the aisles, still in pain ....but pain I could deal with. We got groceries and headed home, where I took a long nap... I got hardly any sleep in the hospital, since they kept bringing me my pills in the middle of the night and I would call them for more pain meds as I was literally crying out loud with pain some nights.

Ahhh, but I was home....and who knew when the baby was coming. It was nice to be in our big bed again, and with Mathew and George.

Time for a Quick Post!

While the baby is asleep, I figured I'd take advantage of a few pics I took the other day and get a posting underway.. (yea im a rhymer)

These pics were taken the other day when we closed on our house. We visited Grammy's work in the AM on our way to Hobby Lobby where we had a little tantrum in the cart. But Momma stayed firm and did NOT take her out. I think she's getting the idea.. I took her to Sears, JoAnn Fabrics, and the hardware store today and she was in the cart for all 3 stores.. no tantrums.. thaddda girl!

Anywhoo here are a few pics of my almost 1 year old.. (tear*)





At the hardware store, we went in for a utility knife so Daddy can get to rippin out some rugs in Momma's Craft area on the third floor of our house, when I came across these cute little 2oz. Bottles. -


Ben Moore color samples.. THE COOLEST!

I ripped out the wallpaper in the new kitchen yesterday. And our cupboards are all white with black handles, and we will be getting stainless appliances.. Sooo.. I thought a Deep Gray would look awesome. plus I saw it in a magazine too...ha! Cant take total creative credit for that one. So Im gonna head over and paint a section, just to see how it looks..

I also need to take some serious before and after pics of the rooms in the house....So much to do .. so much to do!

Tomorrow is the day before the Samanthapalooza Part 1 in Buffalo. Cousin Jillian is coming over to lend a hand with Sam, and Grammy's takin a half day.. Praise the Lord I have helpers tomorrow!!

I want to try not to neglect posting during this period of madness before and after we move!

Party Preparing and Poolside

This week was busy busy.. and next week is busIER!
We close on our new house on Monday.. eek!.. So Mathew and I are getting ready to do some major cleaning and preparing to move.. again.

Since Turkey Day 2009 we've been crammed in here at Grammy's house. All my housewares, linens, decor, furniture are scattered about or in boxes in the attic or garage. And next week is SJM's Birthday Bash as well.. wheew wwweeee.. busy.. I'll say it again.. busy.

So I've had Sam in the car so much .. like I mentioned in my last post I think. And she's getting used to the in and out and re-buckling..Sometimes she throws a little tantrum, and other times, I look back and she's doing this...



ahh she melts my heart ...so sweet. I love those moments when I catch her concentrating, and she doesnt know Im looking at her. She is so precious.

So on with the party prep. I must have visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels and JoAnn Fabrics 10 times last week.. and I have another return to make at Hob Lob..
There are bags, paper, fabric, sprinkles,and party prep stations everywhere.. My goal was to have all this cleaned up, but since the closing date on our house took FOREVER.. things are looking a bit like this



We've had some HOT HOT weather here .. so we've been in Samantha's blow up pool a lot and in the big pool. Samantha loves water, and being outside. So Momma and Daddy went on a little date to get some of these...




And Samantha and Grammy had a swimmin' good time!

The Beginning of the End

Its officially the beginning of the end for Samantha Jane's Breastfeeding Escapades.. ha! I decided to cut out her daytime feedings a little at a time. IN late May I cut out her morning feeding. So whenever she'd wake up, we would just come downstairs, and have breakfast instead of breastfast.. ha!

Last week .. Monday (6/7/10) - I cut out her afternoon feeding before her nap, and sometimes before dinner feeding. So this meant she would ONLY get fed at bedtime, and during the night.

It wasnt as hard to distract her the first day.. I thought, "oh wow, this isnt that hard at all, what was I so afraid of?" - Well I said too much that day.. the next 3 days she was a beast. Screaming and hollering and thrusting her back neck, arms, a full on temper tantrum ..I felt so bad. Its all she has known since she was born, and I took it away from her.. But I know it was the right thing to do. She doesnt need it.

So we've replaced my milk during the day with her new beverage choice...




She didnt like it at all at first, and since I dont like waiting for things, I was discouraged until today.. when she gulped it down the way she does with water.. So I think she's liking it.

I even got her a pretty pink sippy cup, 1) because I feel guilty taking nursing away since I know she loves it, and 2) to persuade her that what's inside is delish!haha!




So its about a little over a week since I started, and we are both learning of alternate ways to take a nap. Most times she is so tired I put her in her crib and she snoozes off to bed..

I am scared about weaning from night feedings, and hope once she's a little older she'll gradually start to move away from it. No time soon though thats for sure. She knows that she only gets nursed once a day now, and she gets so excited/or mad if I'm not fast enough with getting ready ..

I am proud that I was able to nurse her for 12 months so far. It was hard in the beginning, but so easy and definately convenient.But, it is something I never hesitated to do, and I know Samantha will thank me someday.. haha!

Baths, Babies and Beyond

So we've been havin fun at Grammy's lately..



Hangin in the tub...



Continuing our obsession with balls...

Just hangin out and loving the wonderful weather. Samantha is obsessed with the vaccuum, and now the summer is here and we've found a new favorite thing, the lawnmower. She knows Grammy takes her to watch Uncle cut the lawn lately, so EVERY time now Grammy picks her up and she says "bbrrrrrrr" .. which means lawnmower in SJM terms. I took some lawnmower watching pics today.. we'll be posting them soon!



Samantha is finally crawling.. yea.. I said what's the point now, she's already almost walking on her own, but it seems to get her from A to B a little faster, and safer.. She already had her first bruise on her forehead.

And we've been spending a lot of time in the car



doing errands for her upcoming birthday bash,


and getting supplies and stuff for the house. So she's learning to love her carseat these days..



last night we had a family trip to Bed Bath and Beyond to look at these



but Samantha was more interested in these....


and is quite the busy body.. Daddy had his hands full, while Mommy did a little window shopping and measuring...



And at the end of the day today we FINALLY found out that we close on our new house next week! ....ahhhh I hope all goes well. Seems like it has taken forever .. and I cannot wait to get things moving.

I've been busy working on SJM's birthday gifts, birthday chair, birthday decor items, menu, and cleaning out Grammy's house a little before we have everyone over..

Sheesh.. Im pooped!

Nice little Saturday

We had a nice little Saturday today. Boy it was hot! 87 Degrees! Get outta here.. I think we brought the North Carolina summers to Buffalo with us when we moved! Mom (Grammy) says it was NOT like this last year, and that it rained and rained..

Sam woke up around 7am, and we headed to the Outdoor Farmer's Market in North Tonawanda. They have the best produce, farm fresh eggs, plants, fruits, veggies..ahhh and so cheap! All locally grown!

Here is Da-da pushing Sam down one of the aisles





I look soo creepy and tired in this pic.. but Im posting it cause of course.. the baby looks cute! .. The mom always looks like crap! .. Maybe its because Samantha woke up 4 times last night. yea.. I said 4...





We came home and Momma ran to Marshalls with Grammy, and then we heard on the radio they were giving away free lunch at Tops! -- So of course we ran over there.. and it was awesome! Pizza, Grilled Chicken Salad, Strawberry Shortcakes, and Gelato Samples!.. There was hardly anyone there.. so we took advantage, I think they were promoting Taste of Buffalo..

I picked up this cute butter dish at Marshalls on clearance for 1.50.. not bad at all!



We ended the day with some swimming in the pool, bbq chicken, green beans and breadsticks .. Then we took a family walk to Wegmans for some groceries. On the way home we got caught in a rain storm! .. We ran home in our non-jogging stroller. Samantha was so funny, she loved getting all wet!

Summer Avocado Salsa - Yummy in the Tummy!

I made Celery Soup this weekend and as a side.. tried out this fabulous Salsa.. If you love Guac... you will LOVE this!! Its so refreshing.. I actually may prefer it over guac.. as crazy as that sounds.. Let me know if you like it/try it too!

ingredients:

3 ripe avocados (slightly soft to the touch, not mushy), seed & skin removed.
1/2 cup cucumber
1 medium tomato, or a handful of grape or cherry tomatoes (darnit, not a handful. maybe… half a cup?)
splash (4 tbsp) of lemon juice
2 turns of the salt grinder (1/4 tsp salt)
4 turns of the pepper mill (1/2 tsp pepper)
directions:

just chop everything up by hand for a more chunky version, add the lemon, salt and pepper to taste and gently toss it with a spoon






the picture DOES NOT do this recipe justice.. You need to make it .. make it now! ha!

Month Eleven!

Samantha Jane……….. Month 11



You wear size 3 diapers, You wear mostly 12-18 month onesies. A lot of 18 Month outfits, shorts, jackets, even some 24 month stuff. You have 3.5 teeth.. Your 4th is a top tooth that is almost all the way through. Which you were a little feverish, and not sleeping too good.. but you NEVER drool! EVER.. so funny how all babies are different!

You are still nursing (God be with me) haha.. You have cut down to maybe 2-3 times during the day, and maybe 2-3 times at night which isn’t bad.

You love food .. esp we noticed you like meat! You little carnivore! Eggs, Fish, Chicken , Pork, Beef.. you love it! You are a good little eater.. Daddy is best at feeding you I must admit. I think you associate Momma with milk, so you sit in your highchair longer for Dada.

Holy Cow, we cannot believe you are almost 1.. Invites for your birthday bashes(yes you will have 2!) have gone out! the time has flown .. and Momma misses her teeny weeny baby!... Not really. You are so much fun these days and you crack us up!
You continue to love the outdoors, and you know when a Schoolbus is going by, you point and get all excited, yesterday one even gave us a little honk! Ha!




While outside, you are picking up all the twirly bird things that fall from the tree .. and you usually just hold them, but you are sneaky.. you quickly shoved one in your mouth the other day.

You are almost walking! You take a few steps & come to Daddy and I, but this past Memorial Day we were working on walking in Cleveland in the grass and you fell pretty hard and hit your head… so now, you’re a little cautious. You still walk all around the couch, coffee table and your Einstein. You are CONSTANTLY wanting to move!

You are opening the cupboards, and taking stuff out.. oh boy – time for baby proofing once we’re in our new house – Oh I cant wait for you to have your OWN ROOM!
You have recently started to “army” crawl and you’re pretty quick! You are a very determined child. And you’ve recently started having some tantrums which we are not ready for yet! We just try and ignore it, because we do NOT want you thinking that this behavior is any way to get what you want! Oh, and you are starting to hit… yeah… hit.. so we are trying to really be firm with you, and say NO!.. but sometimes you laugh at us.. yea great.. we’re in trouble!

But you are so SMART! You understand so many things that we are saying now, and if we show you something new, like how to work a toy, or a noise… you remember! Your memory is like a sponge!

Dancing Queen… you have recently decided to shake your booty. Its hysterical. You jiggle your right leg mostly and bounce up and down, or if you’re sitting and music comes on, you move up and down and wave your hands… adorable.. looks like you got some pretty good dancin’ moves at age 11mos! Hah! We have to take video of it!

Momma and you went to visit a daycare this month just to see what its all about, and you love kids…so you were so happy, shrieking, and having fun (of course I was still there with you) but it is something we’re considering a couple days per week.. You need to learn how to share, no hitting and no biting! Haha..


Let the birthday countdown begin! Until Next Month…

Lately...

I had to make another post and just comment on how BUSY Miss Janie has been these days.. She's almost walking, and when she's on the ground, she does an army crawl to get what she wants or where she wants, and is almost fully crawling at this point as well.

And...lately I have discovered that this little lady loves taking the clothes out of her drawers, and putting them back in again. Its hysterical to watch. She has an oh so serious look on her face when she's meticulously placing each item back in her drawer, but she flings them out onto the ground in such a funny way.. Hey.. it gives Momma some time to do something right? haha!






Up next, Samantha Jane's 11 Month Update - which was this past Saturday 6.5.10. Her Buffalo party is in less than 3 weeks.. I have a lot of planning to do!

Memorial Day Weekend in Ohio

Ok - again - life is crazy. But it seems like its been EXTRA crazy lately.. thus the reason for the late posting of pics and updates.

This past weekend.. we drove to Ohio for Memorial Day weekend to see Mathew's parents. We had a great time. We got there late Friday afternoon and left on Monday morning. Samantha needed about 1/2 of a day to warm up to Baka and Pa-Paw, but by the end of our little getaway, she was giving them hugs AND kisses and wanting to go to them when either of us was holding her. - This ic was taken on Saturday when she fell asleep when Baka was walking her around the yard.





She slept pretty well in Cleveland too.. She took a 3 hour nap on Saturday which was awesome! Momma hit up her favorite Cleveland stores, Pat Catan's and Marc's... and I also made a stop by Heinen's to pre-order Samantha's Cupcakes for her birthday party in July.

We had some good eats thats for sure! We had Flounder on the grill, Steaks, Hamburgers, BBQ Chicken, Salads, Corn on the Cob.. Yes a LOT of meat.. We dont eat that much meat anymore, so I think we had our fill this weekend for sure! But it was delicious as always.

Mathew packed up the car with some of his nice leather books, and a few things for our house, and I found some cool things at Marc's when shopping, and some crafty things at Pat Catan's for my crafting area in the new house.



Baka and Pa-Paw's yard is like the wild animal kingdom. We saw birds, ducks, geese, deer, rabbits, and she has right now about 12 cats running around 7 of them are kittens! I tried to take pics, but I dont think they came out too clear.



Bake and Pa Paw have an amazing garden.. I cant wait till we can eat all the wonderful things from it this summer and fall. Last year when I had just had Samantha, Baka flew down to North Carolina with an entire suitcase full of heirloom tomatoes, herbs, and peppers, and they were to die for!




We had a fun weekend!