VEGAS!!

Our trip started out Tuesday night. We left work a little early and drove Baby Doll to stay with the grandparents. It was sad leaving her, but I knew she was comfortable and in good hands. We got home around 9:45pm and then started packing. Yes, we procrastinated and didn’t start until then. Not too smart since we got to bed late and then had to get up at 5am Wednesday morning to catch our flight.

WEDNESDAY
We made it to Vegas around 10am their time and checked right into our suite at the Venetian. We got upgraded to the Venezia Tower with a view of the strip!

After getting settled, we headed out for some lunch and to check things out. Had our first (and only) “celebrity” sighting in the Venetain shopping area. It was Fabio from Top Chef. I didn’t notice him until right as he was walking past us, so I didn’t say anything. We kept walking and ended up at the Mirage. We were about to go through their Secret Garden when we decided we were too exhausted to walk anymore. It had been a LONG DAY of travel and we needed a break. We ended up taking a 2 hour nap, then it was off to a casual dinner and Fremont Street. We gambled at the Golden Nugget and then headed to the Bellagio. We didn’t do much here since it was late and we were starting to crash hard, so we called it a night.

THURSDAY
We slept until 6am and then I just couldn’t sleep anymore. We walked all the way to the casino floor to get some coffee, which was quite a trek, let me tell you! Two sets of elevators and a good 7 minute walk. After getting some breakfast, we got ourselves cleaned up and headed out for the Strip. We went to Caesar’s Palace, New York, New York, Luxor, Mandalay Bay and the MGM Grand, stopping to gambling along the way, of course.

We also stopped at the M&M Store and got Madeline the cutest onesie.

By the time we got back to the hotel, we didn’t have much time to chill. We went to dinner at an Italian restaurant in the hotel......

.....and then made it to Blue Man Group just in time for the show to start. It was AWESOME! I definitely agree with the all the reviews. Just fantastic and very entertaining! Afterwards, we hit up the Blackjack tables to try our luck….and I guess it ran out. We lost all the money we had won so far, but at least we were even and not in negative territory yet. We ended the night at V Bar, one of the Venetian’s lounge bars. It was okay. Meh.

FRIDAY
We woke up early, AGAIN. Damn the time change and my body clock! Went down and had a great breakfast at one of the restaurants in the hotel and then attempted to play some Blackjack. There weren’t any $10 tables so we decided to go check out the Wynn.

Oh my gosh, what a nice place! They have a Ferrari dealership/showroom/whatev and Andy wanted to check it out. It was neat, I guess. Andy liked it. Then we took a cab to the Hard Rock. We wanted some $10 tables DAMNIT! The Hard Rock was great. No one was there so we had our pick of the tables. We played for awhile and left about even. The memorabilia was pretty neat too. Sublime is one of Andy’s favorite bands, so he really liked this display.

Then we headed back to the hotel to relax for a bit before going out that night. It was our last night there so we wanted to stay out late. (Late for us anyway. Hehe)

We went to the Strip House at Plant Hollywood for dinner. Wow, what a great place! Probably one of the nicest restaurants we’ve ever been to. It’s a steak house so of course we had to get a steak…..and a bottle of wine, famous goose-fat potatoes, and then brownie ala mode for dessert. The food was divine! And check out the décor too. The walls were adorned with pictures of 1930’s pinup girls. It was just a really neat place.

Afterwards we walked over to Paris and then to the Bellagio for the requisite viewing of the famous fountains.

Then it was time for more gambling. We were doing great and having a good time and then I hit a wall. I told the dealer I wanted to stay on a 9. He didn’t notice until he had already flipped over his cards and he was like, “What did you do? You didn’t want to do that!” Ugh, I felt like an idiot. He called over the pit boss and they let me play it through. I doubled down and ended up winning the hand. Needless to say, we called it a night after that.

All in all, it was a great trip. We left Vegas up about $150, so I’d say we are winners. We didn’t do as much as originally planned, but there is always next time. There is just too much too see and not enough time.

The only real disappointment was that the Venetian didn’t have more $10 Blackjack tables. (I know, we are small fish.) That’s our game though and basically all we play. Every other hotel we visited had them at all hours of the day. The Venetian only had them in the wee hours of the morning, if at all. So for that reason alone we aren’t interested in staying there again, but it’s a nice hotel.

As for Madeline, she did great staying with the grandparents. I called about 2 times a day to check on her and see how she was doing. We did well about not missing her too much. We had fun, but it's good to be home.

We're back

We just got back from a wonderful, 4-day trip to Vegas. I wish we were still there, but it's great to be with our sweet little baby again. We really missed her. I think she missed us too because she wouldn't sleep in her crib last night and she's been slobbering us to death with kisses.

We are taking it easy today and getting caught up on laundry and other stuff. I'll post a re-cap of our trip with pictures soon!

This is dangerous

A coworker just delivered my order of Girl Scout cookies.

Five boxes of yummy goodness.

How likely is it that all 5 will make it home tonight?

Dewey's Pizza

Months ago, we saw a sign down the street from where we live that said "Dewey's Pizza opening in February 2009."

We have salivated since.

We loved this place when we lived in Cincinnati and were sad to find they didn't have a location here in Columbus. We tried the popular California Pizza Kitchen and it did not compare at all. So we've been left without....until now. Not only did one open in Columbus, but it's within walking distance of our house! I have a feeling we are going to be here entirely too much.


So they opened on Monday and we were planning on going at some point this week anyway. With the nice weather today, we decided to walk up and make a nice evening out of it. (Don't pay attention to Madeline's flood pants. She's growing up too fast and her wardrobe hasn't caught up yet.)
We love this place for two main reasons: 1) the pizza is absolutely delicious 2) the beer selection actually satisfies Andy's palate, which as some of you know, is hard to do. We got a large with half Ryan's Inferno (their seasonal Buffalo Chicken pizza) and half Billy Goat (Olive Oil, garlic, goat cheese, green peppers and more). It was pure heaven!


Madeline had a good time too.

They have a window into their kitchen where you can watch them make your pizza. There were all kinds of kids and the guys would throw flour up onto the window. Madeline loved this!

I can't wait to go back.

Online coupons

I’ve never been much of a penny pincher and I’m still not. But that doesn’t mean I can’t save a few bucks here and there. We don’t get the Sunday paper because, in my opinion, the Columbus newspaper sucks and it’s not enjoyable to read. We get the Wall Street Journal instead. So…no Sunday coupons. But I’m discovering online sites that have a lot of the same coupons anyway. I went out and got a coupon organizer and everything. I sorted the ones I already had this weekend. I know, exciting stuff, eh? Now I just need to take the next step and buy items on sale WITH a coupon….now that’s serious couponing (i.e. TheGroceryGame.com).

I’m getting a lot of my tips from free sites like www.moneysavingmom.com and www.stretchingabuckblog.com. I’m getting extra coupons from CouponSuzy.com and SmartSource.com. I think there might be others but I can’t remember at the moment.

Then there is this underground world of CVSing. CVS has this program whereby you buy certain products and you get money back, called Extra Care Bucks (ECB). I think that’s it in a nutshell. There are whole online blog tutorials about how to use the system to your advantage. It’s super confusing for the uninitiated but I hear it’s super easy once you get going. I haven’t delved into this realm yet. I need to get my couponing down first.

We also joined Upromise which gives us cash back to put towards college loans. We don't have to do anything extra that we weren't already doing. We just buy participating products on our registered credit cards and we get a certain % back. Easy peasy.

Big Guns!

I knew I had a good reason to skip my exercise class today. Madeline pulled herself up for the first time. We were so excited. She did it like 10 times in row (after falling down on her toosh each time). Andy caught some of it on tape, but then she wore herself out. She only seems to use her arms to get herself up at this point. She's got baby guns of steel.

So then we immediately went upstairs to move her mattress down to the next notch. If we didn't, I would worry about her climbing out and falling. Even though she isn't quite crawling yet, she can still get around.

Happy Valentine's Day from Madeline

8 months old

We are dangerously close to having a crawler. We haven't even thought about baby proofing yet. Eek!

She's up to 3 meals a day now with cereal and baby food. And daycare just started her on an afternoon snack of puffs.

She absolutely LOVES to stand. Those new ottomans we bought for the living room are perfect height for her too. She'll hold herself up on one of those playing with her toys. We still have to be behind her in case she falls, but she'll stand for a long time

Also, today she growled at me for the first time. Yes, that sweet little face gets mean when she doesn't get what she wants. She looked straight into my eyes, got this evil look on her face, clenched her fists and growled at me. I'm sure my Mom would say I'm getting a taste of my own medicine. hehe

Life is so fragile

Nothing like bitching about my small bathroom and then posting something like this.

My uncle is being taken off life support today. Hospice is coming in but I don't know what to expect yet. I imagine he will pass very quickly. We are all at peace with this decision. He was looking at living in a rehab facility or nursing home with 50% brain function and all the stuff that goes along with that. Jim would not want to live like this.

For those that don't know, he was in a tragic accident only less than two weeks ago. It’s been a roller coaster ride since. He's 61 years old and worked on a golf course as a maintenance guy in Florida. Don’t let his age fool you. He was a young 61 and Golf was his life. Last Monday, he and a bunch of his co-workers were headed out on a golf cart. He jumped on the back and the cart took off. Somehow he fell off and cracked his head on the cart path in 3 places. It hasn’t looked good from the beginning, but everyone held out hope that he would recover. He was unconscious until two days ago when he finally woke up. However, it’s not like he woke up and was okay again.

He is surrounded by family and I hope he passes peacefully.

Sometimes having to share a bathroom with one sink to get ready in the morning for work is enough to drive me to divorce court. Argh!

Top on my list for a new house......a master bathroom with TWO sinks or at least 2 full bathrooms.

Puffs a.k.a Baby Crack

I worship whoever invented puffs. For the uninitiated, they are like little baby fruit-flavored Cheetos. They are wonderful for many reasons:

1. Madeline LOVES them!! Her eyes get huge as soon as she sees the container.

2. They keep her entertained long enough for me to actually get something done around the house. She likes to pick them up and eat them herself and she isn't too good at this yet. So it takes her a long time to actually get one in her mouth. Alot end up on the floor or in her seat though. (The dogs are her shadow now more than ever.)

3. Because of #'s 1 and 2, these things are my savior! She will be mid-scream and I can get her to quiet down in 2 seconds once I pull out a puff.

Some parents don't leave the house without at least 2 binkies in tow for fear of a meltdown. Me....I make sure I have a whole baggy full of puffs.

IT'S A GIRL!

My sister is having a girl!! Madeline is especially excited to have a cousin to play dolls with.

Now on to planning a pink baby shower. :)

I’ve had enough…..

…of winter, that is. I’ve been dealing with it just fine up until now. It’s time for old man winter to go away so I can stop warming up my car in the morning, having to bundle all of us up and trudge through all the snow. Good thing I have a lot to look forward to this winter to help pass the time a tiny bit quicker.

First, my sister finds out what she is having on Thursday. My bet is on a boy. Once she finds out, then I’m in full baby shower planning mode.

Then Andy and I are planning a trip to VEGAS! We haven’t been on a real vacation since our honeymoon almost 3 years ago. Everyone has been saying how Vegas is on sale, so we looked into it recently and scored a great deal. We cannot wait!! We’ll be gone for 4 days and I have no idea how I will deal with being away from Madeline that long. I can barely stand not seeing her when I’m at work. I guess I’ll figure something out.

Laughing with Daddy

A Day in the Life of M

Mommy's been slacking on the pictures lately so I thought I would show you how I spend my days...

I love seeing Mommy in the morning and always greet her with a big smile.

While Mommy and Daddy get ready for work, I sit and play with my toys.

Then it's time to go to daycare.

Don't worry about me Mom, I like it here.

After playing all day, I'm excited to see Mommy pick me up.

Then it's dinner time. I love Sweet Potatoes!

After dinner, I get to play with Mommy and Daddy. I love standing up now. Look at me standing all by myself.

Check out my new bathtub. It's comfy! And the duck quacks. hehehe

At bedtime, Mommy reads me a few books. Our favorites are "The Poky Little Puppy" and "Goodnight Moon."

The Cult of Motherhood

I read this today and just had to pass it on. It's hysterical and so true.....
_________________________________________

The Cult of Motherhood
Come, join us...By Kristen Chase

I hate to be the one to break this to you, but we moms have more in common with Katie Holmes than we'd like to think. That’s right. Because when we popped out that kid, we got an automatic membership to a special cult of our very own.

It’s called "THE NAP".

Don’t try and tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about because I’ve seen you. And it’s sucked you in too. Hell, I’ve been a card-carrying worshipper since 2004.

Sure. We don’t wear crazy white sheets, sport bad blue running shoes circa 1982, or shave our heads, but on some days, I’m thinking those would look better than my 3-day old gauchos, Old Navy shirt, and inside-out underpants.

Why do you not change your white sheets disguised in way-too-clingy-to-my-roly-ass stretch pants you ask? It’s because I’ve been brainwashed. And all I can think about is THE NAP.

Membership to THE NAP is for the kids-only crowd. If you don’t have kids, then you just don’t get it. They ask us “What’s this NAP you speak of? Why does it rule your life? You’ve got to just get out from under THE NAP.

But we know. And we laugh at them. GET OUT FROM UNDER THE NAP? Have you lost your fucking mind?

THE NAP RULES MY LIFE. THE NAP RULES MY LIFE.

It plays over in my head like a broken Best of John Denver record. THE NAP makes us do crazy things, like weird hip-rotating dances and bizarre rituals such as turning on rain machines and walking in weird figure eight patterns to avoid creaky floorboards.

And we sing crazy songs like “Hush Little Terror Baby” and “Twinkle Twinkle, Take a Fucking Nap.”

It makes us weep uncontrollably and beg for mercy.

PLEASE GIVE US THE NAP. I WILL GIVE YOU MY SOUL AND FOUR PAIRS OF GOOD-ASS JEANS. JUST FOR THE NAP.

And you never discuss THE NAP with anyone - even if you actually see THE NAP – particularly the long one. YOU NEVER TELL ANYONE ABOUT THE NAP for fear that you will never see THE NAP again.

The presence or lack thereof of THE NAP determines the course of your day. But you have no power over THE NAP – it has a mind of its own, determining your fate in a matter of 15 short minutes or 2 glorious hours.

But if you do happen to please THE NAP and it shines its face upon your pasty white complexion thanks to spending way too many hours attempting the aforementioned NAP, joyous tribal celebrations ensue – dancing in the shower with actual soap, shaving of the legs and pits, hair drying, and eating. Eating of a full meal in one sitting.

So if you thought that donning frocks formed from recycled potato sacks, wearing a $26 single strand red yarn bracelet or birthing of children in silence was crazy, you might want to think again. Because let’s face it. That daily rock, beg, lay, and creep ritual you do in yesterday’s pajamas? Makes even quiet labor look the epitome of sanity.

Epic failure....again

So, as you might have guessed already, the Cinnamon rolls didn't come out so well. As a matter of fact, this might have been my worst attempt yet. :( I think it's time to hang up my baker's hat on this one and call it a day.

Cinnamon Rolls, take # 150,001

Okay, so maybe not quite that much. But I've tried to make homemade ones alot and they come out super crappy every time. It's a recipe from my neighbor who makes T.H.E. best cinnamon rolls EVER, so I know it's not the recipe.

Well, a girl from work brought in some homemade cinnamon rolls that were really good, so I pounced on her. (Side note: Who brings in homemade cinnamon rolls to work?!) Anywho, I grilled her on what she did and think I might have figured out my downfall.

I'm giving it another try this weekend. Wish me luck! If I'm successful, I'll tease you all with yummy pictures.

"I can't get my arms down"

Ya know, like Ralphie from A Christmas Story? That's what M was screaming at me this morning in baby speak. I should have taken a picture of her. She did look pretty rediculous. But it's flipping 7 degrees outside! Sorry little one, like it or not, you are getting bundled.

Andy is playing soccer again!

He joined an indoor league and his first game is this Thursday. I’m so excited for him! Unfortunately though, with M going to bed by 7pm, I doubt we will ever get to see him play. :(

Let’s hope he doesn’t break anything. Last time he played in a sports league, he broke his nose. But this is a 30+ league after all. hehe (He will kill me for saying that.)

Playdate with the boys

Madeline had a playdate with a bunch of stud muffins this weekend. She was the only girl there.

This here is West man. I just love his hair! It's so thick and starting to curl. And he crawled circles around the rest of the babies.

There two sweetie pies are twin brothers, Will and Sam. They do look slightly different than each other, but I still can't ever tell them apart. I promise to get it right one of these days. They were kind enough to share their toys with the rest of the group. And since there are two of them, there were plenty of toys to go around!

And this cutie-pa-tootie is Jake monster. His mom and I have him and M as college sweethearts when they grow up. But he plays the field alot with girls in other play groups, so I better keep my eye on this guy. ;-)

Tag, I'm it

Tammy tagged me…

here is how it goes: go to your 4th folder (where your pictures are stored) and find the 4th picture….and post it. then explain it.

This picture was taken at the beginning of September when M just turned 4 months old. I got her dressed up for her monthly birthday "photo shoot" in her cute little skirt from Aunt Jackie. She was looking cute as always.

I'm tagging:

Sarah W., Kenzi, Liz, Jody

Maggie is four years old

Yes, I have two other babies. They are our two beagles, Maggie and Miles. We got Maggie as a puppy the first year we lived together. We weren't even engaged yet so it's crazy to think how much has changed since we got her. She was a spoiled rotten puppy and is definitely the queen doggie. These two are so completely different in personality, but we love them just the same.

Happy Birthday Maggie!

Miles' arrival. She was none to happy.

But now they are best buds.

Teething sucks

We are so tired.

People would ask me all throughout the holidays, "Is Madeline teething yet?" And I would say, "No, I don't think so." She was drooling and putting things in her mouth, but she had done that for months. Then a week later, a tooth pops through. Who would have known?! But the symptom we can't mistake now is not getting any sleep at night. Holy moly, I can't wait until tomorrow night when the week is over. If I make it that far.

By the way, tooth # 2 popped through two days ago. :) It's her other front, bottom tooth.

7 months old

This picture is getting harder and harder to take. As soon as she notices the sign, she wants to grab it and eat it. There should be video of Andy and I trying to keep her attention. Now that would be funny!

Let's see, this month...

- she got a new tooth

- she likes to babble da-da-da-da-da-da-da alot. I'm trying to get her to babble ma-ma-ma but she hasn't figured that one out yet.

- she is almost up on all fours but not quite. It won't be too long though.

New tooth

Christmas pictures

Madeline writes....

"My Aunt Jackie better learn how to feed babies before my cousin gets here in June."

"My Mom finally remembered to take a Four Generation picture with my two great-grandmas on her side. "

"Here I am having a good time with my Mommy on Christmas Day."

"Look at all the new babies! We are gonna have a great time next year when we can all run around and play together."

"Good thing we took this nice family picture before my, umm, accident. We won't discuss that."

Looking Back at 2008

What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?

Gave birth!

Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don't make them.

Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes, Lots! Liz, ErinJ, Jody, StephV......

Did anyone close to you die?

Thankfully, no. Although, my husband's grandfather passed away two weeks ago.

What countries did you spend time in this year?

Only the grand ole' US of A.

What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?

More time with my husband.

What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

June 5th - The birth of my sweet little girl.

What was your biggest achievement(s) of the year?

Having a baby!
Working full-time while taking care of a baby with a husband working full-time and going to night classes.

What was your biggest failure?

Needing to quit work earlier than planned before the baby was born.
Needing a c-section

Did you suffer any serious injury or illness?

Thankfully, no.

What was the best thing you bought?

All of the baby stuff.

Whose behaviour merited celebration?

My husband. He has taken such great care of me.

Whose behaviour made you appalled and/or depressed?

I would say disappointed more than anything, both in myself and others. But things happen and as much as it bothers me, you just have to move past it.

Where did most of your money go?

Baby stuff

Compared to this time last year, are you,

a) happier or sadder? Most definitely happier!

b) thinner or fatter? Fatter, but it's okay. It's baby weight and I'll take that anyday.

c) richer or poorer? Poorer! We have quite the student loan bill now.

What did you get really, really excited about?

Having my baby
Andy's graduation

What do you wish you'd done more of?

Spend quality time with those I love

What do you wish you'd done less of?

Worrying about things I cannot control.

Did you fall in love in 2008?

Yes! Obviously since you read my blog, you've seen MANY pictures of my beautiful baby girl.

How many one-night stands?

Umm, none.

Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

Hate is a very strong word to use, so no.

What was the best book you read?

I don't read alot of books.

What did you want and not get?

To be a stay-at-home Mom. Maybe one of these days...

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 29 and spent the day with my little baby while on maternity leave.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Having family closer to spend more time with.

What political issue stirred you the most?

I'm not really political. So nothing.

Who did you miss?

My family. I wish we lived closer. :(

Who was the best new person you met?

I've met alot of new people this year and they are all really great! SarahW, sarah, Tammy, Randy to name a few.

Tell us a valuable life lesson(s) you learned in 2008.

That life is precious and to enjoy every.single.minute.

What sums up this year? (a word, a quote... ?)

I'm going to steal this answer from someone else, but it's fitting for me too.

Life changing!

We have a tooth!

One of her front bottom teeth finally poked through today. So that's why she's been such a crankypants. I think I feel another one coming through too.

Merry Christmas!

We are back after a wonderful visit back home with friends and family. As expected, M got WAY too many gifts. We couldn't fit them all in the car so my Mom is bringing up a load later this week.

M got us all sick so I feel like poop. I'll get pictures uploaded later when I'm feeling better. Although, I don't think I got too many. I was taking more video than still pictures.

I apologize for being a moron

This month has been a whirlwind of activity and I haven't been able to keep up. I was wrapping all our Christmas gifts today and I noticed how random my presents were. I normally have a game plan of what I want to get people, but this year it just didn't happen. Andy laughed at me and said, "It looks like your caretaker took you to the store and you picked up whatever was bright and shiny." Nice, honey. Real nice. Maybe if you would have helped me, our presents would have been better.

Then I noticed I bought way too much stuff for one person. I had purchased items and then completely forgot I had bought them something and then bought more. WTH?!

To top things off, I also realized today that I missed a bunch of people on my Christmas card list. So they didn't get one and I don't have any stuff left to mail them out. Gah! Sorry to those of you that didn't get one. Here it is. I designed it all by myself. :) It's nothing stellar, but I really like how it came out.


Is this month almost over?

First "official" babysitter

So for Andy's graduation ceremony on Friday, we decided to go out without M. Every other time we've gone out without her, it's been a weekend and a member of our family drives up from Cincinnati and watches her for us. But with it being a Friday night, that wasn't going to work.

I was a nervous wreck just thinking about getting someone else. We ended up asking M's lead teacher from daycare. You can't get any better than that, right? But the whole time we were gone, all I could think about was if she was okay. Of course she was. I know! But a Mom worries and I really missed her. She definitely missed us too! We got home about 30 minutes after she went to bed. She started fussing so I went in to calm her down and she woke right up. She was up for the next hour with a huge smile on her face. All she wanted to do was play with us. It gave Andy and I little warm fuzzies to see that she missed us so much. :-)

Jenna is engaged!

I don't know how I didn't blog about this yet. It happened about two weeks ago. They've been dating for over a year now and he is a great guy! Look how cute they are together.

Jenna wants to finish law school first, so they won't be getting married until Spring 2010. But guess who is going to be the flower girl?