Birthday Weekend {Mama}

My Birthday weekend started on Thursday.

My Mom took the day off, and it was a gorgeous day .. almost 70 and Sunny.

We took a walk to the park and creek with her

And she made us a fabulous lunch

My all-time favorite.. She makes it every year for me on my birthday.

Pork Chops & Dumplings

I love this meal just as much as I did as a kiddo...

It was delicious.

Even Andrew liked the pork!

But she didnt stop there..

Dessert .. were some amazing cupcakes.

I may have had more than 2 that day.. and I dont care.. it was my um,, pre- birthday? haha

 

I cant beleive how nice the weather was..

Samantha was pretending she had a leaf blower of her own.

I took the kids home about 1 and Samantha and Andrew both took awesome naps..

 

Friday the day of my birthday it was the same weather.. warm and sunny nearing 70.

I took the kids to the park

 It had been a while since we fed the ducks, and they were waiting for SJ.

She was so happy.. We spent about and hour there, and then went home for more good naps and lunch.

Daddy, Andrew and Samantha spoiled me with a couple new sweaters, a HUGE bag of all kinds of Starbucks coffee,and some reading glasses from Anthropologie

It was such a nice birthday.. Im afraid it was the last nice day until ... gosh, do I dare say, April???

Saturday

It was a cold and rainy day..

we were supposed to go to a college trick or treat .. but when we got there people were all waiting OUTSIDE... in downpouring rain... so we decided to skip it and head to the grocery store where they also hosted trick or treat stations, little goodies for the kids, and we got some grocery shopping done too.. bonus!

Samantha was a dragon last year too.. but she insisted on being one again on Saturday.. she had fun walking through the store eating all her chocolates.. and samples.

 

Sunday

SJ and I headed to church

After we stopped at the cafe and had a little late breakfast.

It was still raining Sunday, so we stayed in most of the day..

And made Mahi Mahi fish tacos for dinner, they were sooo good.

Samantha didnt nap so BOTH kids were in bed by 8:30...

This never happens.

We ended the weekend on the couch watching Boardwalk Empire.. LIVE..

We usually TIVO it and sometimes dont get to watch it for days....

 

Monday Morning @ Grammy's {RC Cupcakes}

Yesterday Grammy was off work, and Aunt Shauna is still on town from Washington, so we headed over really early for a morning of fun !

Gram and Auntie took SJ for a walk and boy did she find some fun!

They took a walk to the state park down the street from the house..

Found a "yellow brick road"...

 And she saw a "boo" as she calls any type of construciton vehicle, or vacuum, ... she's been saying "boo" since she could talk, so I try to tell her what the correct object is, but I still think its so cute.. "boo"... I will forget these things, thus, I blog about it..

 The construction worker even lifted her up ON to the tractor!

 She love love loved it my mom said.

Grammy and Samantha!

And Andrew took a great nap at Grammy's house.

I put him in the crib, and took a relaxing break

Starbucks

Breakfast Pizza

Country Living Mag...

It was a fabulous hour to myself!

Then he was up!

This boy has mass amounts of energy... all ... day... long..

Now I see what people mean when they say boys are SO different than girls

Im learning...

 We had ordered breakfast pizza, and I made cupcakes because our cousins were supposed to join us, but little Lucas was sick, so we just hung around Grammy's anyways.. and had so much fun

I was so excited for my Rice Krispie Treat Cupcakes!

They were amazing... and had I known how good they would have been, I would have made these for SJ's birthday instead of baking in 90 degree heat...

 I made them for Meredith's birthday which is today..

I topped some with just sprinkles, and some buttercream, pink sugar, and pearl decorations.

I got the idea from Pinterest of course.

I will try and post a tutorial when I make them again.. they were so good.

We had a great Monday at Grammy's !!



Happy Birthday to My Momma...

On Saturday we had My Momma over for dinner and a little birthday celebration.

Hubby made tuna on the grill for he and grammy, and a little grilled chicken for me and Samantha (I was NOT feeling like fish at all)..

We also had fresh steamed broccoli and beans from our garden

And homemade Gnocchi! - Its a recipe from my mother in law.. so so good.. Basically leftover mashed potatoes, added an egg, flour and some fresh parsley and fried.. mmmm

And we had to have cake!
Samantha loved singing to her Gee Gee.. and she helped her blow out her candle!

I told her to let me see "the face"... before she could have her cake.

My my .. she certainly has this look down!

After dinner, our town was having a little festival.. dancers, free samples, music.. It was pretty nice. They opened the Firehouse and let kids go on the firetrucks, have stickers, free ice cream and even ride around our town on a real firetruck!

She sat in her first firetruck... and loved it.

A theatre group was performing outside of the town hall and Samantha was loving watching and clapping and dancing.

We stopped at the park on the way home, and then headed back for bathtime and bed.

It was a good weekend!

Happy Birthday Grammy!!!

Its been a hot summer.. and some days... SJ's hair looks like this.. so curly and full of body if I do say so myself. I think she's gonna have her Momma's horse hair... sorry Bubba!. Its a good thing but it can be hot in the summer for sure.




Then she started getting silly.. climbing in and out of her Bumbo chair.. which she didnt like so much when she was suposed to use it.. now she's too big but loves it for some reason..


and she started being silly with her milk..

all down her face...


And Grammy has been helping us out .. watching SJ on many many nights and days - because we are STILL getting things done and house organized...She clearly loves her grammy.. Here she is putting a muffin, yes I said a muffin, in Grammy's eye..



then grammy gave her a scarf and she wasnt too crazy about it.
She is a very strong willed child these days. She certainly knows what she wants and does NOT want, and is embracing her independent self all the time. She wont even hold
my hand anymore when we walk... no no .. she wants to do it by herself!

4th of July baby?

Last year at this very moment I was hanging in there.. dialated at 4cm only after being induced at 12 noon at the Naval Hospital, Camp Lejeune, NC.

I was about 1 hour away from my epidural. In so much pain, but trying to "experience labor" and "stick it out" as long as I could. I could NOT anymore.. haha..


We had gone to the hospital to check how I was doing since my week long stay. The Dr. looked at Samantha, and said to me .. "hmm, well this changes things a bit,"... as I looked nervously. "See this black circle, thats the placenta, and see this white stuff, thats fluid.. I dont see a lot of fluid in there and this is a concern. Instead of inducing you on the 6th, we're going to do it today, okay, cause I dont like what I see."

GULP... Today? ..... I thought.. Im not ready.. I dont have my bags, this was only supposed to be a check up! My induction date was set for 7/6! - I asked.. "Can I go home and get my things?" To which he replied, "No, I want to get you admitted right away and start the process.

HOLY LORD! - So as of 12 noon on the fourth of July, I was in a hospital gown, watching TV as the nurses prepped my birthing suite, and Mom and Mathew went home to get my things, grab some food, drinks and their overnight necessities.. they were campin' out with me until that baby came! ..

We lived 45 min away from Camp Lejeune, so Mom and Mathew had no choice! haha..
Its so foggy to me, but I will try to re-collect the details of today 1 year ago.

I remember getting induced and having a bulbus placed "down there" haha.. which would help soften and get things going. At 5pm, not a lot of progess, so the doctor broke my water for me, to get things moving... they moved very SLOWLY...



By 11pm I was dialated only to 4cm, and had an epidural administered. I was in so much pain.. I had a catheter at that time, so i couldnt leave the bed once that was in.. and i just cried and wimpered all night. Mathew played Jazz music, scratched my back and I tried to relax,

I cant really recall the type of pain, I just remember that the epidural didnt take the pain away entirely like I thought it would. I imagined the epidural as being this miracle drug, and I would be numb all over and the baby would just slide right out.. WRONG!

I mean, I was numb all over, and I couldnt move my legs or feel anything from the waist down, (such a weird experience) But I still was in pain...



Since it was July 4th. The base was basically shut down. There were hardly any people in the whole hospital .. It was very quiet, and I think only 1 other person was having a baby at the same time as I was.

Mom would step out and make phone calls giving our family updates on what was going on, etc, and I remember my nurses were so patient and wonderful.We were asking so many questions and asking advice, etc.. and they were great.

Mom and Mathew I remember were on two pullout beds in front of mine, and would take turns waking up if I needed anyting. We waited and waited and all night nothing happened.

No 4th of July baby for me.. I knew it would have to happen on the 5th, but I didnt know just when. I remember falling in and out of sleep...and then before i knew it, morning was here



To be continued tomorrow!

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!

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!

Hello Mr. President - Thursday 5.13.10

We had our first official family vacay this weekend... so Im catching up on the events from last week. President Obama visited Buffalo on Thursday, and word on the street was.. that air force one was landing around 12:30pm at the airport.

I saw AFO once when Mathew, Sam and I were driving from NC to OH for Thanksgiving and it was enormous.. almost frightening to see something that big fly! Of course we were not that close this time, but I got a few pics.. It was so funny people were jammed into parking lots and standing on cars. It is very cool to see..

see that blob in the shape of an airplane.. haha . that was it...
we were on the wrong end of the airport - but afraid that the streets would get shut down because of the motorcade..



here are a few on the runway





I had to mark this historic occasion with a pic of my little monkey and her grammy...

Climbing, Swinging and Anybody Out There?

This morning I was walking Sam around and she "ran" right for the staircase. She loves climbing Grammy's stairs. But she doesnt bend her knees, she tries to walk up them with her feet (the way adults do) - Does that make sense? Anyways I got a few shots of her little butt..




and her morning face...


Then we headed outside this morning for some swingin'...



Until tomorrow... Our big 10 Month old Birthday!

Just a sidenote - Can anyone leave comments? I got some feedback that someone who follows my blog couldnt leave comments? Can someone please leave me a comment so I can make sure I have the settings done correctly? Is anybody out there? haha..

This journal is our "scrapbook" for now.. but I just was wondering if when people do leave comments, I can get an "alert" and know, or wondering if comments can be left at all, cause if not, I need to change something in the settings..

So please Comment away -- so I can see if I have everything set up correctly.