One of the best thing about living in Michigan is apple picking. We go every year to Apple Charlies and pick apple, eat cider and donuts and go to the petting zoo. This post is a little late getting up since we went this year on October 8th. Below is some of the fun we had at Apple Charlies this year.
We are still in the process of making our new house ours. We just moved in June first and I didn’t get a lot of help in the painting and decorating department so I only got two rooms done when we moved in.
This past Thursday I paid my cousin Rachel to paint our living room and it looks GREAT!
Before it was all a cream shade of white very dull and made the whole place really look like a rental. Our house was built in the 70s and there is no overhead lighting only lamps. With the layout of our living room it makes our living room really dark.
Below are some pictures of the new walls.
So those crazy Duggars are expecting another child. Yep number 20, I’m sure her god will be good to her and she will come away unscathed. I have to say I’m really glad that not everyone in America has 20+ kids, like the old saying goes not everyone can live like we do in America.
I really love the watching the Duggars, and I really hope everything is good with this pregnancy. I almost want to get cable just to be able to watch them. But I hate Comcast and won’t pay them anymore than I have to.
Oh a diet related note I did good today but have been having a hard time with Oliver’s first birthday party this weekend and all. There was lots of cake and mosticolli yum.
So I am having a hard time and probably will all month with this blogging stuff.
NaBloPoMo prompt of the day.
Making family time is important to me. How do you balance your children, relationship, and work life?
I make every minute count by constantly reminding myself to stay in the moment and not get caught up in little things.
I drank too much wine last to sleep well.
WTF stupid people!!!!!
A year later what do I remember about this day.
The days leading up to November third had been cool and sunny with lots of wind. When I went to nonee and bumpa’s house the week before you where due all the leaves where still on the trees and looking out over the pond was amazing sea of orange, red and brown. But not the third, the winds had blown all the leaves onto the pond and ground around the pond.
Your dad and I had had a long conversation right before I went to bed about what your name was going to be and I told him I didn’t think your name was supposed to be Topher, but I didn’t know what your name was supposed to be. He stayed up late, like he normally does but this night he was looking at names on the computer. He finally came to bed around 12:30.
I woke up at 1:45 feeling really uncomfortable and thought I had a contraction, so I got up to go to the bathroom and see if they would continue. They did.
I tried to lay down, but it didn’t help so I walked around the living room and told Nonnie and Dad.
Labor lasted only 11 hours and I got to watch Teen Mom and Shawn of the Dead. I ate some crackers, but they didn’t taste very good and I thought I might get sick. You arived after only 15 minutes of pushing, did a summersault coming out and where in my arms within second.
You were beautiful and chubby, you looked like a little football player. You didn’t smell like baby at all. It was so much fun. Then we had mostaccioli.
Over the next few days everyone wanted to come and meet you.
In the week after you were born you developed jaundice, like Xander did. A few very sweet mothers donated milk to me to help suppliment you while my milk was coming in.
Your first two months were a little crazy with parties and events. First your birth day, Dadies birthday, Thanksgiving, Dadies graduation party, Xander’s birthday, Christmas and new year. Through all of the craziness your didn’t get sick one time!
In February you took your plane trip to Florida to visit Capa for a few days.
In March was your baptism, Uncle Sean and Nicole are your godparents and I’m sure they will be able to lead you and be there for you throughout your life. You also got to meat uncle Jim and Aunt Michelle from Colorado and we played at the imagination station.
April was your first meal, a little early but you really liked it. We also visited your cousin A in Lansing and went to small animal day.
In May we moved to our new home in Ann Arbor. That and the unpacking took up the most of our next several months.
In August we went on vacation with our whole family to the upper peninsula for a week and when we returned I started at job. I got to spend your whole first ten months with you and I loved every minute of it.
Xander, mommy and daddy adore you and we are so glad that your here with us. Happy Birthday!
This year in an attempt to gain more readers I’m participating in NaBloPoMo or National Blog Posting Month. NaBloPoMo, is a month long writing exercise intended to occur annually in November. I will be writing some stuff about me and about kiddos and about food. But I will also be following some of the NaBloPoMo promps and sometimes reviewing other NaBloPoMo blogs.
I’m really excited and even thought this counts as a post I have some other stuff to post about today as well. So look for more stuff from me soon.
Also check out the NaBloPoMo blog roll for other blogs, http://www.blogher.com/nablopomo-november-2011-blogroll.
Happy New Year!
Halloween is really a time to celebrate the harvest and the end of the growing season. The earth will go still through winter when the time to sow seeds will come again.
This was our celebration. First we went to the Museum of Natural History where they where having a really cool Halloween festival.
Then we went trick or treating, the next day. Xander was Billy The Exterminator, his current favorite show, and Oliver was a bee.
It’s getting to be birthday season in our house. Oliver will be one on Thursday, Dave has a birthday around Thanksgiving and then Xander is a Christmas eve baby. Not to mention over the next two months are my dad, aunt and cousins birthday and Xander’s cousin Anne. So lots of birthdays.
When we were kids we got to pick birthday dinner and party ideas. Once year I wanted to go to a hotel and have a pool party and it was one of the funnest birthday parites ever. I want to start doing some special tradition stuff for my kids, especially Xander. Not that I think he gets hosed by having his birthday on Christmas eve, but I want to make sure he knows its his birthday and that is special.
So I have been asking people what their parents did to help them feel special on their birthdays and some ideas I have come up with are.
1. Balloon room, fill his room with baloons so their there when he wakes up!
2. 20 questions, ask him the same 20 questions each year and record what his answers all to add to that years book.
3, start a yearly photo book! I love this idea and am going to start for both boys and for our family in general.
4. hide and seek presents!
5. Birthday banner, I’m going to see if Grammy will make us one for each boy!
What do you do special to celebrate you birthdays in your house?
