Silly Survey - From Roni!

This survey was posted on Roni's site and I'm taking the challenge...

1. What time did you get up this morning? 8:30am
2. Diamonds or pearl ? diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Transformers -- Last July before Finn was born.
   
4. What is your favorite TV show? Ellen DeGeneres, Lost, Anything on the Food Network, Grey's Anatomy, Hopkins, Last Comic Standing, Tori and Dean, Today Show
   
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Toast, or eggs, or cereal
   
6. What is your middle name? Michelle
7. What food do you dislike? Thai food. I'm learning to like other things that I used to hate.
   
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Shane and Shane... I've fallen in love with their music again!
   
9. What kind of car do you drive? Pontiac Vibe
   
10. Favorite sandwich? Grilled cheese
    
11. What characteristic do you despise? Rudeness or Arrogance is a close second.
    
12. Favorite item of clothing? Um... Do Flipflops count? If not, I've found a new love for V-neck t-shirts. With a little white tank underneath. Very fun.
    
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Disney Land - any of them.
    
14. Where would you retire to? Um... I have no idea.
    
15. What was your most recent memorable birthday? I suppose the last one... but it was about 6 months ago. So I don't really remember it.
    
16. Furthest place you are sending this? Good Question -- You all have to answer this one.
    
17. Person you expect to send it back first? Um... Not sure on that one.
    
18. When is your birthday? Feb 27th
    
19. Morning person or a night person? Is it possible to be both? I think I’m a bit of both. I really like to stay up late sometimes, but like to get up early other times. But not on the same evening/morning. :)
    
20. What is your shoe size? 8
21. Pets? 2 dogs - boston terriers.
    
22. Any exciting news you’d like to share with us? Well, my parents and in-laws are traveling across the country for Finnegan's first Birthday. Pretty fun!!
    
23. What did you want to be when you were little? Um- A concert promoter. I also wanted to be a chef.
    
24. How are you today? Pretty good today.
    
25. What is your favorite flower? Dahlias or roses.
    
26. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to seeing? Finn's birthday.
    
27. What are you listening to right now? Last Comic Standing.
    
28. What was the last thing you ate? Sechwan Beef that I made from scratch. No mix!!
29. Do you wish on stars? No, I ask the Lord. :)
    
30. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Fuschia or Plum Purple
    
31. How is the weather right now? Cloudy and the sun is going down.
    
32. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Mom and dad on speaker phone :)
    
33. Favorite soft drink? Root Beer
    
34. Favorite restaurant? Mexican anything!
    
35. Favorite color? pink
36. What was your favorite toy as a child? cash register
    
37. Summer or winter? SUMMER!!
38. Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla
39. Coffee or tea? latte :)
    
40. Do you want your friends to email you back? always
41. When was the last time you cried? Over the weekend. I feel much better today.
    
42. What is under your bed? Summer and Pregnancy Clothes
    
43. What did you do last night? Internet and TV
    
44. What are you afraid of? Intruders.
    
45. Salty or sweet? Sweet
46. How many keys on your key ring? 5
    
47. How many years at your current job? Just one so far.
    
48. Favorite day of the week? Friday!
49. Do you make friends easily? Yeah, I hope so. I hope I'm friendly.
50. How many people will you send this to? Whoever reads the blog.
    
51. How many will respond? not sure… Let’s find out…. Leave a comment if you played along!

Photos of Finn (again)... Hahaha - the pun was intended!!

Here is a photo of Finnegan and his new talent. Very fun!!


Finnegan just got a music table from Uncle Steve and Jenn. He LOVES it and plays with it a lot.

Finnegan's been teething a bit this week and we found a new key that works... Cold Soda Cans... He loves them on the teeth!!
Here is my new favorite. What a handsome little dude...

Dancing Man

Granted, it's not much - he's still learning. But we can already tell he's gonna be a mover and a shaker!

The Adventures of a Frugle Women?

As many of you have already discovered, it pays to be frugal. Many of you are up on the coupon craze and the CVS/Walgreens deals. Just like any family, we want to live just as we did during recent years in our current time but we're finding that harder and harder to do. Especially on one income!

For me, I just can't seem to get the hang of the coupon thing. And I really hate shopping... well, I suppose not shopping so much but the actual driving to get there and getting in and out of the car with the baby. So, I try to do as much "one-stop" shopping as I can. I am also in the process of 'decluttering' our house (yes, I know... i STILL am in the process), and I can't imagine buying things (or getting things for free) that I have to store for a while.

When we first were married (almost 6 years ago) I was diligent about budgeting and we did very well. Once we moved into our home, I stopped budgeting because I didn't know what to expect with having a home. I have once begun to budget again and find that we can always make changes in things. Along with the budgeting, I was trying to find other ways to make money or to save more money and I came up with this idea...

Our lawn is a nice size and I took a stab at mowing the back half on Friday. I think I did an ok job, although it needed to be mowed again. Normally, when Ken mows it, it takes him 3-4 hours to mow the lawn, edge it and all the little extras. And it takes him so long, because he can't mow it as much as it needs to be mowed in the summer, so when He gets to mowing it, it has to be mowed more than once (at different levels) to get it cut sufficiently. I'd been contimplating hiring a neighbor boy to mow it occasionally and then I thought I'd hire a landscaping company (owned by another neighbor) to take care of all the yard (lawn and shrubs and flowers).

After this mornings short reading about being a frugle women, I thought "Hey, I could mow the yard and it would benefit our family in many areas."

• We would get to spend more time with Ken as he wouldn't be mowing for so long when it needed to be done.
• Ken could work more over-time now and again because he doesn't have to mow the lawn so often.
• I would get my exercise once a week, mowing the lawn. I do break a sweat pretty good!
• We wouldn't have to pay anyone to do it.
• I get a chance to be outside while Finnegan is napping.
  

So, this is my first attempted to be frugle! Now, hopefully Ken will teach me how to edge the lawn and then it will really look nice :)

Any other tips to be frugle that you have and would like to share are appreciated :)

Baby Steps...

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New Video of my little Munchkin... I can't believe he's growing up so fast!!

What the Hell Are Those Kids Talking About??

As most of you know, I LOVE Ellen DeGeneres. I think she is absolutely funny and I thoroughly enjoy her daily show - especially because it's during Finnegan's nap time :) Even though this summer is all reruns, it is great to see some of the better shows from this past year. This past season, Ellen started a new segment called "What the Hell are those kids talking about?" During the segment, she takes current hip-hop and Rap songs and explains the lyrics. It is so funny!! I love this segment from todays show, especially the part with the Justin Timberlake song! Enjoy!!

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Cardboard Testimony

What would you're cardboard testimony be??

Random-ness

So this morning, while watching a very interesting interview on the Today Show, my TV switched channels to CSPAN. Thinking I must have been sitting on the remote, I looked for the remote and found it under my lap desk. I tried to change the channel back to the interview, and the remote would not let me change the channel. So, I walked over and swapped the batteries with the ones in the secondary remote, and nothing happened. It wouldn't let me change the channel! So I went upstairs to the TV up there (luckily Finn was taking a nap) and that TV worked just fine. So I watched the rest of the interview up there and then retreated back to my larger TV to finish the program. But it was still on CSPAN and I couldn't change the channel. I couldn't figure it out. I turned the cable off and then on again, and when I turned it on, it told me that the Today Show was on, but then some trial from CSPAN appeared. WHAT?? I figured someone from the Cable provider was having fun with the power :)

So after I couldn't get the TV downstairs to work properly, I went upstairs for a shower and to do some chores while the baby was sleeping (or resting in his crib as it may be). I returned back downstairs after a bit and the TV was back to normal. Weird!

Favorite Quotes...

Do you have a favorite quote? Something funny that you've heard in a movie or on a commercial that just makes you smile when you hear it and laugh when you try to say it? I have... Here are a few of my favorites:

• "Fruit: Good. Cake: Great. Fruit Cake: Nasty Crap!" - Jim Gaffigan
• "You have a baby... In a Bar!!" - Melanie on Sweet Home Alabama
• "Eminem called and needs your decision." "Plain... Peanut!!" - 13 going on 30
• "My sister loves them candy cigarettes. I got second hand diabetes from them things." -Larry the Cable Guy
• "Your son Rip called and he's on line Toot!" -Gas-X commercial

What are some of your favorite quotes??

BabyWise HELP!!!

Friends - This post is in request of help from those of you who are "Babywise" parents (read the book, followed the methodology etc)

I need some help! Some major help! Up until now, Finnegan (10months tomorrow) has been pretty consistent with his schedule on Babywise. He'd sleep 12 hours (or 13) at night, and sleep 2 naps during the day, each about 2 hours each. Then we went to MI and adjusted to the 3 hour time difference and had a super crazy schedule. Although he wasn't getting many great naps, he was sleeping well at night. We've been back home now for 3 full weeks and although he's adjusted back to our time, his schedule continues to be off. He started to pick it back up but now we've introduced two new factors into the game... teething and crawling. This week, he's been teething (front left tooth coming in) and I definitely know that for a fact. So we've had the awakeness with him and he doesn't want to go to sleep. He's also learned to crawl and I can't get him to lay down during the night (or at nap time when it's time). So, I've been leaving him in his crib to figure it out (he doesn't really cry, just crawls around and plays with stuff, grunts and squeals). Sometimes, he'll cry, but I time it and go in to calm him etc. But when he wakes up in the morning, he's not happy anymore. He's cranky and whinny.

So, after a week of following our same old schedule, with no improvement, I changed it up abit. He woke up (after 10 hours of sleep) and was cranky and all, so I got him up and fed him and then put him back in his bed (he was rubbing his eyes all during breakfast) and I was sure that he'd lay right down and go back to sleep. But he hasn't. He's been up there for 45 minutes now, playing and crawling and all and hasn't gone to sleep. Even during this previous week, I'd feed him, play with him and then put him down, and he'll play for an hour or so in his crib (some whining), and then sleep for 45-1hr and then be up. But not waking up happy. He wakes up cranky, so I know he hasn't gotten his sleep down right... Any suggestions?

Part of me thinks that I need to just chill out and let him do what he's going to do, while I decide that place (whether his crib or where-ever). If he falls asleep, great, if not, great. I guess my main concern is that he isn't waking up happy. He doesn't wake up content like he used too. He wakes up cranky and whinny (and no one likes a whinny baby! especially mommy :) )

Thanks for your help friends!!

Hugs!
xoxo

Family Search...

So, several years ago, I became interested in my heritage and where my family came from. I worked on some things back when Ken and I lived in VA and then kind of got bored with it. Recently, my curiosity has been sparked because of meeting a fellow "Stepleton" on Facebook. So, I've begun to work more and more on my family tree and see if I can find the roots of my family within the United States. It has been very interesting... And here are some things that I found...

• I have a line of cabinet makers and funeral directors in my family.
• I have collected 8 generations of people that I am related too (mom and dad's only - and only a selected "sibling" lists
• I have a legitimate set of twins in my family.
  
• I am related to a murderer (scary - but we knew that)
• I am related to a Native Indians
• My great-great grandfather's grave is in Mecosta County... about 20 miles from where Trina lives.
  
• My great grandfather's cousin was in the circus after living in Oregon and Washington for a while.
  

Just a few random tid-bits about me. And tracking your family is becoming so much easier on line and there are many people out there willing to help you with information. It is very cool. But some people don't know what their talking about, so you have to weed those weirdo's out :)

Anywho - That's my new hobby - especially now that my TV lamp is broken and I can't watch TV. I'll post more when I get to it. :)

Hugs all!

We have a 3rd tooth!

Finnegan woke up this morning with the front left tooth making a debut! How exciting!! Yesterday he was super fussy and wouldn't nap at all and had difficulty falling asleep. And now we know why! And because he was super shy on his sleep amounts yesterday, he is sleeping a lot today. So we both get a break today!

We have a stander!!

So we have a stander now... And he's even taken a few steps with the help of his tonka truck. We are so proud of him and so happy that he's learning all these new skills.



On Sunday, after I opened the toy chest, he pulled himself up and proceeded to reach in and grabbed out his BearBear and other toys. So Cute!!


Finn and his favorite daddy!! (Ok, his only daddy - but still his favorite). He just squeals when Ken come home. He gets so happy!!
I love these boys!

Sore Throat and Runny Nose?

The morning after flying on the plane home from MI, I woke up with a sore throat and runny nose. About two days later, I was feeling much better, but Ken seemed to be sick with the same symptoms. And now that I've been home a week, I woke up again today with the same symptoms. So what gives? It's sunny outside and beautiful during the day, and I'm sniffling and can hardly talk... Who knows...

Days like this...

Today temperature was 84 degrees with 50% humidity, super sunny without a cloud in the sky. Today is one of those days when I regret not buying a Pontiac Solstice or a Saturn Sky. About 2 years ago, Ken and I were both working, and we'd just purchased our house. We were having the time of our lives as a young married couple. At the time, I really wanted him to buy a Pontiac Solstice, and even tried to talk him into it after I was pregnant. He works so hard at work and at school, has a 45 minute commute and sacrafices so much for us as a family. I wanted him to have something that he was proud of having. Something that he could call his own and enjoy every day. Perhaps it was vane of me, or perhaps it was me not being wise with our money or resources, but I really wanted him to have something of his own like this. It was the only time I really felt that we could have done something like that, because we were both working and it could have been a "slurge". Unfortunately, we didn't do it, and now we can't... especially with wanting to really start a family (have more kids than Finnegan). Until we get that bigger house (with 4-5 bedrooms and a 3 car garage) we can't even think about this special treat for the hubby... And days like today, make me regret not purchasing that car and treating my husband, regardless what logic says.

Pet Peeves...

Oh, so everyone has pet peeves... and today, I experienced two in one day!! UGH!

1. I hate it when some one calls you on your cell phone and leaves a message and then calls your house phone and leaves the same message there. I know that some people aren't up on technology and don't check both phones all the time, but I do... So if you call on one phone, I'm sure I'll get the message.

2. I hate it when my husband has class in Seattle/Bellevue. I know it's a good deal and I know that he works so hard, but I hate it when he doesn't call me before he leaves, and then can't pick up his phone while he's driving (must have a hands free device in the car when you're on the phone - new law) and so I can't get a hold of him for 40 minutes... I can call him all I want, but he's not gonna answer. And I just have to wait. And the worst part is that it is at 9:30 at night. So, If there was a problem, its so late at night! And to make it worse, I'm so irrational when I can't get ahold of him... UGH!!

What are your pet peeves?

When in doubt, give underwear!

If you didn't know, I'm a huge fan of underwear. I love to buy and wear new underwear. I think it's even fun to give it as a gift. Recently, my friend Amy was putting together a basket of goodies for her mom and asked her friends to contribute. The basket of goodies was gonna be for her mom's birthday, but also would facilitate some laughs and comfort while she began chemo-therapy for breast cancer. She gave some great ideas of things we could purchase and give for the basket. When I went to "the store" which is always Target :), I tried to think of things that would be fun for her too, while she getting her treatments and put a smile on her face. I found these great underwear that had martini glasses on them... something completely fun! I saw Amy's mom, Karen, on the 4th of July and she said (again) that she loves the undies and wears them every Tuesday when she gets her treatment.

How fun is it to surprise a friend with a pair of new undies?? (Just make sure you know their size) Everyone can use them, and I know that I always feel pretty in a brand new pair! They can be fun or classic (no granny panties) or even sexy (we are all adults here). So, for a small birthday present, or just because, when in doubt, give underwear!

4th of July Celebration

Here are some photos from our 4th of July picnic. Below is the Cherry Pie that I made for my husband this year. I've always wanted to make one from scratch and thought this year would be great.
This is Karen, Finnegan and I. I haven't seen Karen in about 4 months and she's been very sick with breast cancer and treatment. But needless to say she looks fantastic and we are thankful to the Lord for her recovery, although it's been a rocky road, as each cancer survivor can attest too.
The men with this years fireworks purchase. Look how proud they look.
And the women... we had no hand in the purchase, but thought we'd have some fun anyway!
My hubby with the Incredibles boat, now called Jonah, after it was pulled from the lake after 2 years underwater. My darling husband sank the boat right after we became friends with the McClimans and Mulligans. He felt horrible. Many attempts were made to find the boat, but to no avail, it was gone. Even a friend with scuba gear came out last year to search for it. Several weeks ago, Kelly and Chris pulled it from the deep after days of calm water. And now, Ken show's his affection for the resurrected boat.
Finnegan enjoyed his new treats... Cherries and celery. And the celery felt so good on those budding teeth!

MI Trip Photos

Here are some photos from our trip to MI... Enjoy!

While our trip to MI, I attended my 10 year high school reunion. This is a recreation of a photo that we took 10 years ago at prom... I'll have to see if I can scan the other and post a comparison... I think we all look pretty much the same anyway! :)

Finnegan with Grandma and Grandpa Morgan out in the blackcap bushes. Yummy!

Finnegan with Papa Chris

Finnegan at his first trip to Bronners (and Mommy's first trip too). What a cute hat!

Finnegan and Izzie enjoying a baba together :)

Finnegan and Aunt Beth at the Zoo

Izzie is always ready to give kisses, especially when sporting their custom MaggieMoo Designs.

Finnegan visiting Great Grandpa Jack (my Papa Jack)

Oh, and Finnegan's new favorite toy... One may show up at our house shortly because he enjoyed it so much!

And we were both so happy when we were home again with Daddy and the Dogs!

Home at last!!

Finnegan and I finally got home from a long night of traveling. Our flight was to leave Detroit at 7:25pm and we didn't even board the plan until 10:30pm. And although we left at 11pm, we didn't arrive in Seattle until 1am (Pacific time). Oh, what a trip. But, Finnegan did pretty well. I felt like I was constantly moving with him to keep him calm (rocking him, patting him on the back, etc). He did let out one scream with about an hour left in the flight. He had bumped up against my thumb nail and it startled him. Once I got him calmed down, he did pretty well. We didn't arrive home until 2am or so and he has woken up this morning at 6am for breakfast (because it is 9am in the east - the time schedule that he's now used too). So, we'll work for the next couple of days to get him back on pacific time schedule.

When we left MI, we had been delayed by lightening and thunderstorms. It was pretty bad before we left the airport. It was pretty neat to see the activity from the panoramic windows at the airport, and the wide open spaces of the tarmac with nothing to obstruct your view. When we landed in Seattle, I had seen lightening from the plane, but didn't seem to notice, as it had been old hat from our experience in MI. But lightening is not a normal occurrence for us Washingtonions. This morning, I heard the statistic of 2500 lightening strikes overnight for our area - a very staggering statistic for our area.

My first day home will include some sleep (which I preparing to head back to bed right now), some grocery shopping and some baking/cooking for our picnic tomorrow.

I sure am glad to be home, and to be with Ken again. I sure did miss him while being gone. And I know Finnegan did too. I will try to post photos later today or this weekend. We had some great adventures and met many people while in the great mitten state!

Faithfulness abounds!!

Greetings from MI. I have one more day here in the mitten state until Finnegan and I head back to our lovely green state, that isn't nearly as warm as it is here :) We've had a great time and visited with a lot of people, and been a lot of places. But there is always people we didn't get to see or visit, which is always sad. (Lacey - sorry we didn't get to GR. I didn't even see Trina or Murphy while here, which I was planning on :( ).

But to the real reason for the post... Faithfulness abounds. I haven't posted about this yet, as it is sort of a sensitive subject. My dad lost his job again today, for the third time in 4 years. Needless to say this is a difficult situation. But God is still faithful. We've known for many weeks that this was coming as the writing began to be visible on the wall. Although it was demoralizing for dad, we began praying for God's faithfulness, as we knew that it was impossible for God to be anything but that... And sure enough, not an hour or two after dad was home, God was being just as faithful as He had promised that he'd be. Dad's spirits are up and he has a positive outlook on the future. He has a goal and plans for his short "vacation". And God is even providing funds that dad didn't remember that he had. Special money that God had set apart for this time as being out of work causes so much worry about bills and other payments.

God is faithful and continues to answer our prayers. Please continue to pray for Dad that he will be steadfast in this goals and plans and that he will continue to seek God's plans. Also pray for the encouragement that my mom will need and will need to give to dad as the days get long waiting for that new job. We ask God to already be preparing the new job and him for the new job. Something that he can do for a long time, be satisfied with and enjoy every day until retirement :) To God be the Glory!!