We got our Christmas Tree tonight :)

Hello All,
We took it upon ourselves to go out and choose our Christmas tree tonight. We had fun. But, we're very tired, so we put the lights on it and the tree top and now we are relaxing. We'll do ornaments and string popcorn tomorrow. Maddie had a blast. She liked the lights on the tree. We had to corral the tree because she's VERY interested at this point. I'll have to teach her to try and leave it alone. Plus, Tucker has always enjoyed a bite of Christmas when he thinks no one is looking. So, to us, the Christmas season has begun and I'm liking it. We listened to Kenny and Dolly's Christmas the whole drive home :) Gabe said that if someone would have told him 3 years ago that he'd be driving home with a wife, baby, Christmas tree and listening to Dolly and Kenny's country Christmas album, he'd have said they were "bat shit crazy." I thought that was funny-sorry for the language...

Stuck

Hello All,
Hope you had a wonderful weekend. We did. Just stayed around the house, ate leftovers and enjoyed the weather. Today we went to Gymboree and the teacher told me that Maddie will be ready to move up to the next class in January when she's 15 months; so a bit earlier than normal. It's a class that starts at 16 months usually, but she said that since Maddie crawled and walked early, she'd be ready for it. It's just more active of a class; which is hard to picture because the whole time we're there now Maddie's active :) So, the title of this post is "stuck" because I'm having a block as to how to make this card business work. I bought the camera and I've been messing around with it-really fun-and uploading my pic's to my computer and tweaking them there. But, the problem is getting it from looking awesome on my computer screen to printing it well. I have a nice, new printer that prints photo's really well, but printing a photograph onto a card material is difficult. The picture loses detail and comes out looking like a card made at home (which it is, but that's not the look I'm going for). Plus, producing cards (ink, paper, etc) can't cost more than I'll make on the cards themselves-otherwise it's a hobby and not a money earning business venture! Not sure what to do here. Dog School has a printer person who prints all of their business cards-Gabe says I need to talk to him. I'm stuck because if I upload my pic's to a website that will print them and then send them to me, they aren't going to print with my logo on the back-it will be the logo of the company that printed them-which I couldn't sell then...I'm stuck. Comment with any ideas and if you're confused, that makes 2 of us :)

Black Friday

Good Morning All,
Today is "Black Friday" because of all the sales at retail stores and I don't know if it's just me, but I'm not drawn to going shopping whatsoever. Are you? I don't even like going to the mall on the weekends because of the crowds! They always show all the people on the news going through huge bins of "stuff" like vultures and it makes you think: "Do they really need all of that?" Strange. Yesterday was a great Thanksgiving and I hope yours was too. Ours was very relaxed and the food turned out amazing-thanks to Gabe. He outdid himself. Our dogs had Thanksgiving dinner too! They make a dog food in the can called Thanksgiving dinner and they loved it; licked their bowls clean :) We were home at our house by 6:30pm and got to get in our pajamas and just relax. I missed being with my family, but that's the one thing about being here for Thanksgiving; no traveling. Today it's back to the grind; Gabe's going to work, our dog's are getting groomed, and Maddie and I are going to try to go to Gymboree. If you have the day off today-enjoy it and if not, then remember that tomorrow is Saturday :) Oh, and it's officially the start of the Christmas season which can mean only one thing-it's time to pop that Dolly and Kenny Christmas CD in the CD player!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Afternoon Adventure

Hello,
Well, Siobhan, Aibha, Maddie and I took a metro ride into DC this afternoon to watch Macy's unveil their Christmas windows and really kick off the holiday season. It was great. First, we thought we'd arrived late, only to find that the newspaper had been a half an hour early about the time-so we were right on time. We had a great view of a couple of windows, plus the man on stilts, the helpful elves that passed balloons out and the highschool dance team. Quickly, I need to say here, that while the dancers were trying very hard, they danced very sexy considering the environment and also their age. I was sort of thinking this and then I turned to Siobhan and she had the best way to sum it up. She said "It's like dirty dancing gone strange." And that's my favorite quote of the day. It was a very celebratory atmosphere. Santa stopped by to welcome us, a band played and the windows were exposed for all to see. They were beautiful and reminded me of Macy's Union Square windows last year when I saw them before Elisabeth's wedding. After the windows were shown, we went inside to have hot apple cider and cookies. The girl's seemed to really like it. It was entertaining and Siobhan and I both felt like we were being good mom's and taking them to create a memory-that we will probably only remember. The photo collage above tells the whole story. The last 4 pictures are of Maddie (but not from today) riding a train in the mall last week, her and Aibha shopping (which they seem to do a lot lately), Maddie hiding from me (can you find her? :) and Maddie with her warm, bunny hat. It was a great time and worth the effort! Now it's time for tea and bed.

Still here...

Sorry that it seems like I haven't been as on top of my blogging lately as I used to be. There's a lot going on around here. Maddie is super busy and doesn't really appreciate when I'm online and not paying attention to her. So, I usually have to blog once she's down for a nap and lately during those naps, I've felt selfish with my "me time." As a stay-at-home-mom, the "me time" thing is so coveted; you tend to day dream about it during your child's awake hours :) It's necessary for the sanity factor and often I want to read, take a long shower, make tea and something to eat-and just be unplugged. In order to be unplugged and really enjoy my time, it has put the blogging on the back burner. But, I'm still here. And, as most of you know, I still have plenty to say. I will post newer pic's of Maddie soon, but I'm in the market for a new camera (a high-tech, fancy one) for a new venture I'm pursuing. Only a handful of people know what I mean, but I'm still working on it and then I'll post about it. I know, the suspense is killing you. Let's just say it has to do with photo's and dogs (shocker). Leave it at that.
So, Thanksgiving is upon us and it really is a time to reflect on all that you're thankful for. To be honest, I really try to remember often all that I'm thankful for and not just leave it for one turkey-stuffing-cranberry day a year. This year I'm thankful for:

• the church I've found (very comfortable fit for me)
  
• family (all types-not just the ones related by blood)
• patience (I've used up more this year than I even thought I had)
• books (a private other world that you can get to through quiet)
• cinnamon sugar cookies and tea (the BEST afternoon and evening treat)

There's so much more, but this is what I felt like sharing now. It's a funny thing with blogging; when you're sitting here typing these words, you feel like you can be as open as you want, but if you let your mind really think about it, you become more restrained in what you say. Strange. Hey, if you read this and you're going to comment-tell us a few things you're thankful for.

I normally wouldn't complain, but...

I did. I meant to blog about this yesterday, but time got away from me. Plus, Gabe came home early and I didn't want to waste that time blogging. So, yesterday, Maddie and I stopped at the grocery store, Giant, in Hayfield on our way home from Gymboree. It's on the way home and I normally don't like Giant (the one near our house is pretty ghetto), but this one is actually nice and Gabe and I have been there several times before. The checkers are usually really nice and helpful and the store is clean and well stocked. Well, yesterday was a different story. Maddie and I had finished our shopping and picked lane 5 to pay for our groceries. We were 2nd in line and I kept reminding myself that I want to ask for paper bags (I have to remind myself to ask for this, as well as if I have any coupons because often I get caught up with the baby, or finding my wallet, and I forget). So, it was my turn, and the woman was ringing me up (strange saying) and halfway through, I realized I forgot to say "paper please." I want to note here that there used to be a time when you, as the customer, were asked "paper or plastic?" Remember that? Now, it's just assumed that you want plastic, even though the facts are that it takes about 500 years for that bag to disintegrate at a landfill. Don't get me wrong. I, too, have plenty of plastic bags-they are very useful for poopy diapers :) Anyways, I tell the woman "Oh, I'm sorry . I meant to ask for paper bags. You don't have to re-bag the items already in plastic, but could you please bag the rest in paper bags?" If looks could kill. This woman was sooooooooooooooooooooo put out by the fact that I dare ask for paper bags! This really pissed me off because isn't my choice? She acted like I had totally put her out and she continued to not only ignore me when I thanked her, but she bagged my groceries the way Maddie would do it; not in any sort of order and without thought to how heavy they were. She basically threw my groceries into the bags (including dropping my apples). It left me with a TERRIBLE taste in my mouth and as I drove home I debated calling the manager of the store. I thought to myself, "she's just having a bad day." But then I decided, "that's not my problem." So, when we got home and I put Maddie down for her nap, I called the manager. He was pleasant and listened to what I said. He said he'd take care of it and I did feel better. Whether he talks to her or not-I did feel better because the level of service in many industries is terrible and I think I'm sort of done dealing with that. Especially in the name of the environment. It got me thinking that there should really be a way for grocery stores and stores like Target, to promote paper bags instead. I know many are thinking that this takes trees, but if you reuse or recycle the paper bags then it's a win-win situation. I encourage you all to ask for paper from now on. At some stores it's a little less convenient because they don't have the paper bags with handles-but it's worth it. Or, better yet, bring your own reusable bags. They sell them at almost all stores for like $.99. That's my rant/opinion for the day. Discuss amongst yourselves...

Monday

Hello,
Sorry that I haven't blogged in a while! I tried to upload a video of Maddie wearing her new coat on Friday (see picture), but I got frustrated with our internet. We've been having problems. I even had the Geek Squad people out here last week and yet starting again last night, it's not working properly. I'm able to be online now via our wireless card, but it's much slower than our DSL-so another phone call to Verizon is in store. So, it's Monday and it's raining and pretty cold. It's 46 degrees here, but it's nice. I love the rain. Siobhan, Aibha, Maddie and I are supposed to walk this morning-which will be fun because we haven't seen them in a week :) Later, I'm having an eye exam because I'm having trouble seeing clearly. I feel like a lot of things are hazy; so we'll see. I need new glasses anyways. Gabe will be home early to watch the baby-so I'll have a break. I never thought I'd look at a visit to the optometrist as a "break." Funny.
This week isn't too busy. We'll have Gymboree, our neighbors (Sean and Rita) over for dinner on Thursday and depending on weather, Maddie and I may visit a museum this week. The National Gallery of Art has an Edward Hopper exhibit that I really want to see. The last time Maddie and I went to look at art, she wasn't a walker. We shall see how she does. I'm watching the news and the oil spill in SF Bay is a nightmare! I can't believe that happened. It's hard to watch them clean the birds and they showed air footage of the sea lions that live in the bay. Very sad. Oh, and I'm reading a really good book. It's called "The Rest of Her Life" by Laura Moriarty. Very good. It just came out, so it's hardback. She wrote the book "The Center of Everything" which I really liked and this is her second book. Maddie is getting into drawers in the dog's closet-so I gotta go :)

Much Better and feeling "Green"

We woke up (albeit quite early) and are feeling much better! Yeah! We needed to feel better today because it was starting to become depressing. You know that feeling? When you've been couped up in the house, sick and just dying to get out and do something. Well, we were at that point yesterday and then last night when Gabe and I were hanging out after the baby went to sleep, I realized that I was feeling good enough to joke around. That feeling is awesome. When you know you're coming out of the sickness. I'm happy to feel better. Plus, Maddie is also feeling better and that makes life a lot easier. Sick babies are no fun. So, today is Gymboree and we're going. I might be a Purel fanatic because I have a sinking suspicion that we got sick from Gymbo last Tuesday. But, we need to get out and do something-so we're going! I'm waiting for a guy from the Geek Squad to come out to the house this morning to check our Internet. It's been not working since a few weeks ago-but since we have a wireless card, we've been using that to get online. So, we'll see what this guy can do. Tomorrow we have our flu shots. Yuck. I've never had one and neither has Gabe and neither has Maddie; so it should be an experience. I talked to Alexa last night and she said she's gotten the flu shot for many years and never feels bad afterwards-so that's promising. I think older people don't feel well after the shot; so I'm expecting us to be fine. Gabe leaves at the crack of dawn on Friday morning for a dog show a few hours away. It's for one night and Maddie and I had planned to go, but then I got to thinking that I don't feel like packing and getting all ready just for one night. It's too much to do, plus in a hotel, she sleeps in our room and that is very difficult with her being such a light sleeper; we need our space. So, her and I and the dogs will be here and Gabe will go.
We're getting into Thanksgiving mode. We'll be over at Gabe's parents' house for it and I think it's just us, them and his sister Janie. Nice and mellow-which I like. No traveling-which I like also :) Gabe called and ordered our turkey the other day-free range and organic (Mom, you're proud) but not a Willie Bird. We got something local (Mom, you're proud again). When I was just home visiting, my mom talked about being a seasonal eater. Basically, you only buy/eat produce that's in season for the region in which you live-for example, you don't buy strawberries right now because they're out of season in North America. They're imported from other countries and I think the thinking is that we don't really know what pesticides/regulations there are on foods from other countries-so it's just safer to not eat them. Plus, getting produce from your local farmers market, ensures that you know the food source (which definitely is safer). I like this way of thinking. It matches all of our "green" light bulbs. (change your light bulbs people-it's worth it and it's easy to do)

Still Sick :(

It's Sunday and we're watching 60 minutes (more depressing news about why we're at war). Anyways, we're still sick and I'm going to try and take her to the dr. tomorrow. I'm not well at all. I've had a headache for 3 days and also some nausea. Not fun. Gabe thinks he's coming down with it now...We shall see how the week goes. I'll keep you posted.

Sick Morning :(

Hello,
Well, let's see. This morning has not been great. Since Maddie woke up and drank her bottle, she's been throwing up! I mean, real throw up. Not baby spit up. It's a nightmare. She is sick. I called the doctor since this is one of the first times she's actually been sick and they said if she can't even keep water down by noon, then I have to bring her in. Well, she kept a little water down and now she's having her morning nap, so we'll see. To top it off, we are scheduled to have our flu shots tomorrow :( The doctor said that if she's still throwing up later, then she shouldn't have her flu shot tomorrow. So, hopefully she's ok and we can just get that shot over with. Not looking forward to it. Plus, Gabe and I are both getting the shot also. Never had one before, but it's highly recommended, so we're doing it. I'll keep you updated.

Halloween

Hello,
Well, Trick-or-Treating was successful. We had a blast. Siobhan, Greg, Aibha and Siobhan's sister Klina joined Maddie, Gabe, Sandy and I. We went to the houses across the street from Gabe's parents' house and it was the perfect neighborhood to be in. Lot's of kids and friendly people. Aibha really knew how it worked. She'd knock, say "trick-or-treat" and grab 2 treats-one for her and one for Maddie. It was really cute. She was dressed as a lady bug and Maddie was a pumpkin. Yesterday Maddie and I went to the library and checked out some books. They had a play room with books for her age in it, plus puzzles to do also. It was fun and probably going to become a weekly trip! She's still off with the time change from California time, but today I'm making an effort to try and get us both back on the right schedule. So far, so good. Tonight is The Office and I'm excited to see it. It's November-can you believe it?