Posting??

So I haven't posted in a while, it feels like. There really isn't much that's happening around here, to blog about.... Here are some highlights o the week...

• After Finnegan's big fall on Wednesday, he had his first nose bleed on Friday! That was exciting!
• We visited a friend of ours in town who had a new baby last week. Finn and I went over and took her some meals and played with her daughter for a bit. It was nice to see a new born baby. But amazing too, to think that my little guy was that small!!
• Today we had a mommy and daddy date with Finnegan. We still have a few make ups to do at Gymboree and so we went as a family today. And of course I forgot my camera. But Finnegan had a good time with Daddy, especially! What a special time it was for us to play together.
  
• On the weight front, I'm a little frustrated still. I've not only broken the plateau, but gone in the wrong direction. I am hoping its because we've been doing sculpting ths week and I'm gaining muscle mass. And although the scale is up by 2 lbs, I really don't feel like I've gained 2lbs. I feel good about how I look. I keep working out each day and we're plugging along. So whether or not the weight is moving, I'm still doing right by my body. :)
• Ken and I went on a date last week to see Revolutionary Road... It was pretty good. Nothing, I'd own, but definitely I enjoyed the Winslet/DiCaprio duo.
  
• We have a Super Bowl Party tomorrow. I've made Tomatillo Salsa Verde. Hopefully it will taste good. If so, I'll post the recipe. I've never used Tomatillos before, but I'm excited to see how they taste.
  
• I've been freezing the last week. And complaining all the way. So this week, instead of buying a Snuggie, I pulled out my fleece robe that I got for Christmas several years ago. I feel like an old lady who walks around in her robe all day, but its the only solution that I can come up with for staying warm :)
  
• I have begun cropping the over 400 photos I have from our vacation so that I can start on Finnegan's scrap book. I also realized that I bought, WAY too many photos. But when 5 people took photos, and your ordering from 5 (or more) albums, it's hard to remember which other photos you purchased. :) So, the extras will go in Finn's personal photo album that Aunt Kate got him for Christmas.

Have a great weekend. Hopefully I'll have more to talk about next week... perhaps I'll do a review of Superbowl commercials.

Oh, we're rooting for Arizona Cardnals, as a hopeful revenge for John McCain! :)

Finnegan meets the Coffee Table

Here are some photos of Finnegan's "run-in" (literally) with the coffee table leg. Today, he was playing and watching the dogs run around. He was on his knees and I think he was attempting to stand up, and he feel into the coffee table leg. Immediately, he started crying and I rushed over to him, because I knew it was a bad fall. I scooped him up quickly and tried to comfort him and he was crying much harder than I'd heard him in a long time (as we are in the days of lots of falls, bumped heads and slips). I tried to lean back to see where he'd hit himself, and then I noticed it, this HUGE goose egg on his forehead. I went quickly over to the freezer to get a cold pack, but knew he wouldn't keep it on his head. I picked up my phone to call a friend who lives close. She's like a mom to me, and I knew she could look at it and tell me if I should take him in. I called her, and there was no answer. So I called her daughter to see if she was at her house. As I began to talk to Shawnta and tell her what happened and I began to get panicky. She was quick enough to pull out the "What to expect: The Toddler Years" book, and flip through the first aid section. I pulled my book out too, but couldn't find a darn thing!! She read that perhaps I should take him in to the doctor. So I quickly put our shoes on and got us in the car and over to the walk-in clinic.

We got there within 10 minutes of the accident and waited to be seen. While we waited, Theresia, Shawnta's mom arrived to wait with us. She was so supportive and helpful. The doctor saw us and said that although he looked ok, he wrote up his accident as a mild concussion without the loss of consciousness. He was acting ok, and eating a bit, but it was right at nap time, and I wasn't sure if I should put him down and wake him up each hour... I just wasn't sure.

The doctor sent us home with a list of "what to watch for" and a good sense of security that our little boy would be ok, dispite how ugly this bump looks. :)

We went home, he feel asleep while I was giving him his medicine and slept for 3 hours (nap). After the nap, he came down and asked for milk, went to the pantry and pulled out the cherrios and sat on the carpet with his milk and cherrios. It was the cutest thing!! :)

Here are some more photos:

From above. You can see the bump on the left hand side. These were taken about an hour after it happened.


And the side view.



And from the other side...

Discipline

Ok, so not the discipline that I'm dealing with my child... well I suppose these thoughts could be applied to that as well. But today, after a discussion with my sister, I've been thinking about discipline. I've mentioned to my work out partner, in the last couple of weeks, how I get so frustrated that things just can't be easy. It can't be easy to lose weight, and its not easy to keep a budget and it's not easy to maintain all the relationships that are important to us. Why is it so hard?

My friend reminds me that losing weight, keeping a budget, even being a dedicated Christian, is all about that, BEING DEDICATED. Just because I work out once, doesn't mean I'm gonna lose 20lbs. And just because I think about handling my money right, doesn't mean I'll save every extra penny. I have to make intentional plans and take intentional steps towards those goals.

From my last post, you can tell that I've been really frustrated with my weight loss progression over the last 3 weeks. I'm frustrated that my body thinks that it's being starved to the limit that it refuses to lose any more weight. WHAT??? I woke up this morning and almost called my friend and cancelled on her... because really. What's the point? My body's not responding to the work outs and I'm not losing any weight.

But in the same light, when I hit a plateau in my relationships with my husband or Jesus, do I just give up, and go back to doing MY thing. I would hope not. I still have to facilitate conversations and get to know them and make an effort to make the relationship work. The same I feel goes for weight loss. You must find ways around the plateau. I need to work around it and take a few extra steps to get myself over the hump. UGH!!!

Why doesn't working out, relationships, budgeting, etc, seem to get any easier the more you do them? It seems that there are also days that you just "fall off the wagon". You don't watch that budget for one week and your REALLY in the hole. Or you don't watch those calories or don't work out (or maybe both) for a whole week, and you've gained 3 lbs! Or what about those relationships that you don't mend, or give anything towards, and then you get back together with that person and realize that there's something "missing".

Discipline is what ties all these things together. I don't think that at any age, or any experience, discipline gets any better. I remember going to school and getting so frustrated at the people who school came so easy too. They could hear a lecture once and remember every word. Or writing that paper was just so easy for them. I don't think that has to do with discipline. I don't know what controls that, perhaps just God given talent. And we each have a part of that, but its all in different areas... But we each need discipline in particular areas of our lives. And discipline isn't easy. And most definitely not fun! But when you're disciplined, you are a more in depth person. It also seems that it never gets easier. There is never a point that you reach with any discipline where your not effected by a slip up. I suppose that's part of being human!!

Odds and Ends...

So just a few notes for the day, before I go to sleep...

• I miss my family today. I wish I could be at home helping my parents move into their new house.
  
• Finnegan's been trying my patience the last few days with the hitting and throwing of toys. I take away at least 5 different toys each day because of throwing. Today, I even took away all the blocks because he was throwing them. And the hitting... Oh, who taught this kid to hit?? Each time, we go to time out. Today we did 3 time outs in a row, because he'd get to the end of a time out and he'd hit me again. Oh!! But then later in the day, I was making dinner and he just walked over to the time out corner and just stood there for 10 seconds (we normally stand 20-30 seconds (and I count outloud) when he's in trouble). Then he just went about his business. :)
  
• Ken spent some time with Finnegan tonight which was really nice. They played and picked up toys together. I always feel better about my life when the toys are picked up when Finnegan is sleeping :) I HATE stepping over the toys when no one is playing with them!
• I've hit a plateau with my weight loss, and it's really bothering me. I've been hovering at the same weight for 2 weeks now (after I gained 2lbs back). I just can't get them off and it makes me mad. I know that I'm working hard, but it's just a reminder that sometimes it's just not enough. Ugh!!! Frustration, for sure!! And disappointment!! But hopefully the weight will come off... one day!
  
• Ken is so busy with his school work. I can't tell you how excited I will be when he graduates. We'll just have time to sit together, and he won't get home and go straight to the computer and stay there all night. We might even go to bed at the same time for once in A LONG TIME!!! Oh man. He's so dedicated and I really appreciate it. And I know the project is time consuming and really important, but I am just excited to be married to someone who is only working, not working and going to school too -- seeing that he's been in school ever since we've been married :)

Ok, enough complaining and whining. Just a bit down today, I suppose.

What is worse.... Guantanamo or faciliating murder?

** For months, I've been confused on why so many of my friends voted for Obama. Many of them have written thesis' about why they wouldn't vote for McCain. But I've yet to hear a detailed view of why someone wanted to vote for Obama. I don't post this to be rude or disrespectful. I just don't understand where Obama is coming from or what his agenda is. So, here's the first of many posts that I will throw out ther to try to understand this man that I don't get, but want to respect for his position.**

Ok, So I'm having a little bit of a problem. I'm having difficulty deciding which is worse: Guantanamo or facilitiating murder... Ok, so Guantanamo Bay is a detention center in Cuba for "enemy combatants". Essentially it is one of the locations that the United States holds those it caputres and believes has information regarding terror attacks, attempts and plans. Granted, there is controversy about its uses and practices, but it has proven to bring in "combatants" who are directly linked to Bin Ladan. And although it's practices aren't pretty, I believe that just "talking" with these criminals isn't going to make them spill their beans. (This is a touchy subject, and I dont really know exactly what I believe, but I do think that for the most part -apart from the aparant and clear cut wrong actions and practices - I believe that some of it's practices are helpful, useful and warrented methods of getting information, by those trained to do so for our safety and freedom.)

However, I believe that murder is wrong. I believe that abortion is wrong. So, to hear that President Obama has passed a bill that says that Guantanamo Bay will be closed within the year falls in line with what he promised while running. This signing was highly publicized by the media. However, they didn't highly publicize that he also signed another bill the next day to ban a bill passed by President Bush prohibiting government funds to aborition information and services. So, instead of using force to protect our people from terrorists and those who are close to Osama Bin Ladan (and others in Afganastan), he is now giving tax payer money to agencies who will administer aboritions to people here at home.

I just don't get it... So why again, reader, did you vote for him??

Ethan James Sapp

Our friends Heather and Brent, delivered Ethan James today, at 10:05am, January 24th. Although Heather was induced, she had a total of 4 hours of hard labor and with 2 pushes, delivered their son! What an amazing women!

Ethan has strawberry blonde hair, like his daddy, and has steel blue eyes. He looks much like his older brother :)

We are blessed to have this precious boy in our lives, even if he's a world away!!

A New "Sapp"ling

Most of you, if not all of you, haven't met our friends Brent and Heather Sapp. They were our dear friends when we lived in Blacksburg, VA. We met them at church and had a wonderful bond with them. We spent many game weekends and movie nights with them, as well as Heather was the one who taught me to make jam and can it! She and I bonded over baking and cooking. What a blessing they were when we were living close. Well, after we moved to WA in Jan 2005, they had their first son in Feb 2005. And although we've never met Garrett, he is the sweetest little boy and remembers us and is excited to hear from us.

Earlier this year, Brent and Heather had been told that they couldn't have any more children and obviously they were devistated. She has lupus and other health ailments that concerned them with her pregnancy with Garrett, so they weren't really suprised, but were saddened that they couldn't have more children without serious medical intervention or adoption (although those methods weren't ruled out). Well, about a year later, they are preparing to deliver their second son, Ethan James in a hosptial in NC. They've had a rough year, lost homes, and living with parents, and Garrett's health. So they are just exstatic about this new baby. They were admitted into the hosptial this evening for her induction. Please keep them in your prayers this evening as an induction isn't always the most pleasent way of birthing a baby :) Brent and Heather are just the sweetest "southern" couple that you'd ever meet. And they are so special to us, even through the distance... And Ken and I will also be Ethan's godparents, which builds another special bond between us. :)

25 Random Things about me. :)

1. I married my high school sweetheart....we have been together for 13 years!
2. I could eat Chocolate Chip cookies every day of the week with no guilt :)
3. I LOVE the Food Network!
4. I am addicted to "What not to Wear" on the TLC network!
5. I don't like to drive. If I didn't get stir crazy with a toddler at home, I'd stay home for days.
6. I have a new hobby of working out. I work out every day, 5 days a week, and then twice on one of those days.... crazy!
7. I lost 27lb during 2008.
8. I used to not like going to Disney World with my family. It got old after a while... Then I found the magic again! And LOVE it!
9. I want to go to Hawaii with my husband for our 30th birthdays next year... but don't know if that's gonna happen!
10. Loved every moment of going to Cornerstone University.
11. I still take naps when Finnegan does. :) He's 16 months old! :)
12. I pray that my next child is a girl.
13. I never wanted to be a stay at home mom.
14. I love to cook, and bake.
15. I love to host parties at my house.
16. I love clean counters (no paper, toys, mail etc) , but they don't always get that way... perhaps once a month. :)
17. Its a small hobby of mine to send little things to my nieces and nephews. :)
18. My husband is in his second Master's Program, and is almost done (Praise the Lord!!)
19. I lived in the same house my entire childhood.
20. I hate to vaccum and do the dishes.
21. I love to play the crosswords in People Magazine! :)
22. God gave me wonderful Christian friends in a public place!
23. I love Mexican food!
24. I don't like falling asleep alone in my bed.
25. I love looking at other peoples wedding photos.

Husband Quotes

Here are some quotes from my husband today...

"Obama is a punk!" My husband is a man of little words, so this one just caught me of guard! :)



:)

Today's tasks, taken off the "to do" list

Don't you love it when your day is productive?? Today was certianly a productive one for me. Here's a list of stuff that I got done in 2 hours during nap time - with still another hour to spare. :)

• Medical Bills Paid
• Ordered a new Drivers Liscense
• Ordered new Dog Tags for the Pups from the County
  
• Boxes prepared for Nieces and Nephews and sisters (4 boxes total)
• Baby Gifts ordered
• Birthday Gifts ordered for 2 children
• Birthday gifts wrapped (other items)
  
• Baby Gifts wrapped (other items)
• All mail prepared - enveloped, stamped, addressed - ready for the mailman
• Sliding door window cleaned
• Front window cleaned
• Carpet Vacuumed
• Dishes done
• Four CD's burned of photo files

Boy! I wish every day was like today!!

More Disney Photos

Here are a few more photos from our trip. I just received these ones today and wanted to share them with you!! Each trip, we do a nice dinner as a family. Everyone dresses up and we have a nice Christmas dinner. This year it was a dessert, but we still had the same photos we take each year. These are all taken at the Grand Floridian Resort at Disney World. This is also the same night that Ken got sick. You'll be able to tell in the photos that he just isn't smiling very much and in the one of all of us, Finnegan wasn't being supported very well... This was just moments before he got really sick. Regardless of that, we had a nice family time and I love how these photos turned out!

The worst of the damage...

If you didn't catch my last post, Finnegan spilled coffee (with sugar and cream, none the less) on my laptop on Friday morning! Oh, I was in for a bad day! I cleaned it up as best I could and called Ken. He told me to let it dry out before turning it back on... So I did. I let it dry, and turned it on about 6 hours later... Not thinking much of it. Well, it wasn't real dry. The fan kept blowing and that didn't settle with me. So ken suggested taking it apart and cleaning the inside. Since he didn't trust me to do it and to do it properly, he led the way, and I stood by with supplies and helped as best I could. There was coffee in the fan, and in the keys. We cleaned it as best as we could, and then took it out to the air compressor to blow any other liquid out of it. And even more came out. I let the computer sit again for another 24 hours and have just opened it again for todays use. The only problem that it has now, is sticky keys. Particularly from f9-the backspace. The backspace button is the worst. Last night we attempted to take off several keys and found them almost impossible to put them back on. So I may attempted to pull of this one key and clean under it, hopefully making it better.

Did I mention that this is a brand new computer. About 6 weeks old? Oh, I still can't believe it!!

Blessings with a Temper

So, we'll start off with the super exciting news. Mom and Dad's house went up for sale on Thursday of last week. They had their first showing appointment this morning and even before the lady arrived, her real estate agent said she'd take the house. Before they arrived, they'd talked about the specific things that she wanted in a home:

• 4 bedrooms
• 1.5 baths
• Full Basement
• Two car garage
• nice size back yard
• Deck in the back
• Burnt Orange Carpet - THIS IS NO JOKE - She requested this color carpet!!

Well, as most of you know, each of these things is exactly what my parents home is. Down to the T! It is really crazy! Earlier this morning, while lifting my family up in prayer I asked the Lord that the person viewing the home would walk in and it would be exactly what they wanted. And it has come to be! Now, it's a matter of moving! Mom and Dad have to be out in 2 weeks, and completely moved to the Rochester House (only 12 miles away). (Plug - so if you have some free time in the next two weeks and want to donate an hour or two to my folks and them packing or making a couple of trips over to the new house, let me know - I know they'd really appreciate (and need) the help! ) So we are praising the Lord through this time, as it has only been about 4 months that they've been actively seeking a real estate agent, and working through the possibilities. The sign has only been up a week, and there was really no listing of the house on the internet. This lady will be only leasing the house, but this is a blessing. We pray that she'll continue to be in the house for many years to come, and hopefully purchase it one day!!

And now to the not so good news... So I talked about my temper earlier in the week. It seems like I'm PMSing or something because I am completely unable to harness my emotions. It's crazy! Today, Finnegan was pushing my buttons all morning, and then, completely unexpectedly, he picked up my coffee cup and lifted it up from the coffee table but not high enough to make it over the arm rest of the couch, and poured it all over my lap top! I was quick to clean it up and quick to call the hubby for instruction... but I could have blackened his backside - Finnegan, not Ken :) I was so mad! He's into everything, and I can't keep up. My question the other day was why do I even want another one?? Crazy!! Well, the good news is that I was able to harness my anger enough to be only a medeocre mom until nap time. Good thing it came early this afternoon!

Summer Vacation

Pack your bags, ladies!! Your vacation plans are awaiting you! I got an email several days ago for a summer vacation option... an NKOTB Cruise!! Can you believe it?? All you've ever wanted in a cruise! Jordan, Jonathan, Danny, Donnie and Joe!! All on one boat with concerts and cocktail parties and meet and greet parties! Oh, I can't wait!!

Ok, so I'm not really going!! The cheapest ticket was $850 per person of 3 days!! I called my dad and mom and we joked that we could all go as a family vacation this summer! :) But can you imagine? I've checked out a bunch of videos of these once teenagers who are now businesswomen, mothers and ADULTS falling all over these men... And these men who like it. It's completely crazy! Granted, I did go to the concert, and enjoyed my time, but I've moved on... Really ladies, we all know I could listen to Joe sing Frank Sinatra all day long, but that's as far as my obcession goes! I don't think that he'll choose me out of a crowd and we'll live happily ever after :) It's just crazy, I think! Absurd on some levels even!!

Spittin' Mad

Why is it that I get so mad, so quickly when I'm tired? Oh, if I had the answer to that question. When I'm mad, I yell and have no tolerance. And sometimes that temper resorts to throwing things. It is so bad! And it doesn't even feel good. You'd think that after I yell or force my way through, but I don't. I feel worse. It just makes me madder!!

Oh how complex we are!!

Finnegan's Dedication

I've always wanted to have our children dedicated. I felt that it was something that was important to do. So, it's better late than never... Seeing that Finnegan s 16 months old :)

Here are some photos from the ceremony...






Us with Pastor Mark... He's talking.



Here is us and the Matthew's Family...Us praying... Finnegan was distracted.
Ok, so this is vein me... I was really proud of my outfit (and my red boots)
And here is Finn's afternoon adventure with the blocks!
And resting with Daddy!

Not Me! Monday

Hello all! Welcome to my version of MckMama's Not Me! Monday! I find it therapeutic to "admit" to the things that you'd never find me doing, because, you see, I am the perfect mother! (Melissa and Jenney both post this fun post, and I thought I join the crowd)

I did not allow my son to stand in the basket of the grocery buggy in order to avoid from hearing temper tantrum at Costco. You know those crazy screaming fits that everyone hates to hear... yeah, those were the ones I was avoiding. I did not allow him to stand next to the produce and hope that he didn't stand on it. I did not think about (and even attempt) to buckle him to the seat while he was standing to assure he didn't fall out - but it didn't fit :)

I definitely did not skip out on the church service after my son was dedicated on Sunday. You'd think that if I wanted to train my child in the way of the Lord, I would stay at church to hear the sermon.

I did not set my son's pack-n-play up in the walk in closet while on vacation so my husband and I could have some privacy! It was definitely not my idea and I did not smile each night when we put him to bed in his quiet little room away from ours.

Prayer Request!

** I'll post again later, just wanted to throw this out there for you all!!**

Please be praying for my dad today as he has another job interview. This prospect seems much more promising than the previous ones and it is an exciting opportunity for him. This job is much more up his alley than anything else, it would seem that the job was made for him (at least what I know about it). Please pray for God's continual faithfulness to my parents. We ask that you'd pray for God's continual provision and mercy in this situation and dealing with their house (it went on the market late last week).

I am confident that God has a plan, and he is forever proving himself to be faithful and just in each step. Continue to pray that Dad and Mom will be trusting and that Satan would not get a foothold in their perceptions, or emotions. And that they would only see the face of Jesus.

I'll update you more and give you more information, when it is mine to share :) Thanks for your prayers!

Food for Thought!!

Ken and I are involved in a Bible Study that is going through the Truth Project. If you're unfamiliar with it, it is study faciliated by Dr. Del Tackett on the foundation of Truth and all of the pillars of our life and how truth should look in each of the areas. The study goes through the hard questions of "Who is God?" "Who is Man?" ethics and philosophy, family, church vs. state etc. The studies purpose is not for evangelism but to help Christians realize the foundation of our faith is in Christ and to see the true face and nature of God in the world that is around us. The study has really helped to remind me why I believe what I beleive and to really show me that God has a plan and he will continually work through it. The study is very academic, which Ken and I enjoy. Anywho, this week, we talked about the "State". And the role of the state and why we moved from judges to kings and so forth. The most interesting part of the study for me, came at the end, when Dr. Tackett explained the following:

"This is what happens when you disconnect yourself from absolute
truth. When truth is dead there is only power and we are vulnerable to manipulation
and all the atrocities of government.

Social disorder in America is strikingly similar to that which marked the decline of Rome
5 attributes marked Rome at it’s end:
1. a mounting love of show and luxury,
2. an obsession with sex, including homosexuality,
3. freakishness in the arts, masquerading as originality,
4. enthusiasms pretending to be creativity.
5. an increased desire to live off the state."
Edward Gibbons, Decline and fall of the Roman Empire.

I've never been one to be a ney sayer or to stand on the street corner and claim "the end is coming" but to me, the stricking resembelance is hard to ignore. The fall of America is on its way. It may still be 50 years off... or more... or less. But the fall of America is imininate. Just as the fall of Rome. We will not be the "super-power" any longer. We have forgotten that God is our King and that we should worship him. We've forgotten that God is the one whose saved us, not any one man.

Continue to pray for our country, our new president, our old president and all those who work in our government. We've lost our way and we must find it again, or the end will be ours, wrapped in a pretty red bow!

I am no island!

Oh, yes you are!! Western WA is an island as of today. All passes heading to eastern WA have been closed, and I-5 to Portland has been closed and is under water. A section of I-5 north of Seattle is also temporarily closed. Who would have thought that the only way to get out of the Seattle area is by air! Thank goodness Horizon Airlines has lowered their rates between Seattle and Portland for the week! :)

It doesn't rain in Seattle, it pours!!

So, if you haven't seen it on the news, the Northwest, particularly Seattle, WA is being FLOODED with water. As of this afternoon, the Seattle area was "cut-off" by land from the rest of the country. All four passes over the mountains were closed for avalanche and mud slide concerns. The I-5 coridoore down to Portland, OR has been closed because it is under 5 feet of water for about 5 miles and recently they are saying that just south of Bellingham, WA I-5 is covered with water, which cuts us off from the North. The rain started to really come down on Tuesday morning after a light day of rain on Monday. By Tuesday night they were saying that the floods were going to be bad and folks began preparing. By Wednesday afternoon, the main highway from our home was closed, and many of the side roads in the valley were closed too. It was getting bad. Luckily, we live on the top of a hill, so it doesn't flood that often. We are very fortunately to not have flooding problems. We see on the TV that a town just 15 miles from us has been evacuated and is under about 3 feet of water for 7 miles down the main road. Super Crazy!!

Some of you may remember the water trouble we came home too last Christmas after our time in MI. To make a long story short, our refridgerator had leaked at the connection and filled our kitchen with water, between the laminate floor and the lanoliam that was under it. The water seeped into the living room carpet and we had to get a new floor in our kitchen. Needless to say, Ken and I are a little experienced when it comes to water damage.

Last night, just after I got off the phone with Ken (he was on his way home and he'd been in the car for at least an hour and a half) I was standing by our kitchen table in our dining room and thought that my socks were getting a little wet. My first thought was that the table is next to the doggie door, and the dogs tend to run in and right under the table. So I wasn't concerned. But then something told me to check the floor again. So I did... And the more I searched the more I saw that the carpet wasn't just damp, but it was soaked, especially under the chairs and table legs. So I moved all of our furniture out of the dining room, to help start it to dry and to help Ken because he'd have to do more investigation when he got home.

Ken got home, and opened the front door to ssee all the furniture moved... "Welcome Home, Honey!" I said! "What happened here!" Ken exclaimed! I explained to him what happened and that I thought it was the tree outside our dining room window that might be the culprit. He donned his water shoes baseball cap and head lamp and went out to investigate. He returned and said nothing looked out of the ordinary. So I suggested that he go under the house to see if there was flooding down there. So we cleaned out the closet to access the trap door and he went down (only after he changed out of his work clothes and into some other "play" clothes). He found the culprit. In the words of my husband, "The idiots who built the house, put insulation around a pipe that goes to the ground." So the water was puddling down there (not a ton - but water) and it was wicking up toward our house through the insulation in the floor. We'd noticed about 6 months after we moved in that a drywall seam on that wall of the house had cracked and the paint was peeling. My dad thought it was from the house still settling. Although we've never fixed it, I always thought it was from water or a leak in the window above it. But it seems like it it was gettng worse and then it's fine. Well, once Ken discovered that this was why the floor was wet, I also told him that the wall started to crack right after a large rainstorm after we moved in. I distinctly remember that!!

Well, my husband fixed the problem under the house and by 10pm that night, the floor was already starting to dry. We'd pulled the carpet and pad up to see that the floor boards were wet. So we put a fan to dry the floor and pad out and then today, I've been running the fan to help the carpet dry out. It is starting to smell a bit so i might have to clean that area again before we tack the carpet down again...

Anywho, that's our exciting evening last night. Today, it's hasn't rained as much as they predicted so the ground is starting to dry around the house and we don't have so much standing water in the grass anymore. Hoepfully other homes will begin to dry out too!

These Boots are Made for Walking!!

Oh, what a dream, Don't you think?? I LOVE these boots! Recently, I've been inspired to buy a pair of red shoes. I'm not super into high heels, and didn't know what I would find. Last night after searching the internet, I found these AWESOME boots at Sears. So Finnegan and I took a friendly trip to our local department store. Unfortunately, because they were on SUPER SALE ($25 from $65) they didn't have ANY. So I went home and looked on line at another store. They had them in stock and would hold them for me. The store was up by Ken's work, so he stopped after work to pick them up. He came home and the boots are WONDERFUL. I just love them. The heel isn't too high and I can wear them with jeans, dress pants or whatever. Oh, man. They are so sassy! I love them! And a good price too!!

Simplicity

Who couldn't love this photo??

Back to work!

Well, today was the day most people went back to work. That included me! Ken went back to work, so that means that I must be back to being a full-time mommy! Boy, I must say, I get spoiled when my husband is home. He doens't do everything with Finnegan, but he definitely gives me a break from diaper duty and dinner duty in the same hour! I do miss Ken during the day, but am glad that he's back to "bringing home the bacon!"

With Ken going back to work, I also got back to my old routine :) I took a small trip to the grocery store and then to visit my friends at Target :) I did go to get specific items and was luared over to the Christmas Clearance area. I normally don't get suckered into that section, but when I saw the signs declaring "90% Off", I had to take a look! And boy did I find deals! Anything that is 90% off is a deal in my book! So I got a replacement garland for our banister with lights, that was originally $9.99, I got it for $1. The one that we have burnt out (the lights don't work anymore), so, now I have a replacement. I also found shatterproof bulbs (a box of 82 bulbs) originally $20, for $2.00. Boy, I couldn't believe it!! So I bought two boxes :) Then, this afternoon, I went back to scan over the Christmas trees. They didn't have any large pre-lit ones left, but they did have a slimline tree, 6ft tall (35in diam) that was originally $25.00, I got it for $2.75 (this was Tax included). I couldn't believe it!! So, this will be our bedroom tree. I think sitting in the dark with only Christmas tree on is so romantic. So I got one for our bedroom! :) I ws so excited about all my purchases!! Oh, and the best part of the shopping today... I bought $44 of merchandise, and saved $65. Who does that?? That was great!!

Being back to work, also means being back to our old workout and new lifestyle! So, I woke up this morning at 5:30am and met Shawnta at her home to work out with Challene... Well, Chalene is on the DVD, but she leads the workout :) I didn't like working out. The whole time I was fighting the urge to just sit down. I was so tired. But afterwards, I felt better. I haven't even taken a nap today like I normally do. So hopefully getting back into working out will make me feel better overall!

How was your first day back to work?

Year in Review: Part 4

Ok, readers. Here's our final installment.

December 2008: Here are a few more photos from our Trip to Disney!

Finnegan and Izzie got to see Santa and Mrs. Claus (who is actually married to my mom's cousin) :)
Here is Finn with Uncle Jeremy!!
And after Finnegan and Izzie scored balloons from Aunt Fay (but right before he fell backwards off this scooter) :)
Finnegan got to meet Buzz and Woody! One of the super highlights!
Izzie was so happy to see Finnegan. And Finnegan was happy to see her chocolate milk!


Back at home, in the snow, for Christmas!!

Merry Christmas! Christmas morning was laid back and easy. We didn't get to all the presents that day, so we had several days of toy discovery! Which added to the fun!

Finnegan LOVES his horse. He loves the rocking and just laughs and laughs!

Finnegan and daddy going on a hunt with the Nerf gun, after the doggies and Mommy!!
And he is a Jedi in training!!
He loves those willow tree figurines!!




Happy New Year, friends!! We hope you had a wonderful year and we wish you many blessings and health this year!

Hugs!

Year in Review: Part 3

Part 3... Here we go!!

October 2008:

My baby boy is climbing!! And loves to climb up on the couch!!

He's beginning to really like music. He loves to listen to music and
Finnegan is beginning to be quite the talker and signer. He will be a very vocal little boy, we think!
Ernesto and Angie came to visit. We visited Pike Place Market and other sights around Seattle. It was a blessing to visit with them before they leave for India.

November 2008

Oh, the pumpkin patch was fun!!
Happy Halloween! Finnegan was a dragon and Liam was Peter Pan

Finnegan and Rylee enjoyed Halloween together!


Our Cabbage Patch kid :) What a munchkin!
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Dec 2008:
Disney 2008 Trip. We've decided that although we had some wonderful memories and had a great time with family, Disney is no place for a 15 month old! We loved making memories with Finnegan and experiencing all the magic with him. Here are a few of those photos!
Swimming with daddy!! He LOVES the water!


Oh, it was so hot on one day, we enjoyed a water fountain and lots of smiles!

All the cousins together! A precious moment!!

Oh, Minnie, what a sweetie she is!!



One more post to come!