One.

Today you're one. And though you won't remember it, I drug you all over creation running errands and then tried to find bargain toys because I'll be rolling over in a grave before I spend $37 on a silly Little People toy that you'll play with a few times and then get bored with. We finally crammed the stroller into the too-narrow aisles of a consignment shop and I found what I was looking for on the VERY TOP shelp - a Little People schoolbus: $6.50. Then I woke you up after you JUST drifted off so we could run into a beauty supply store so I could buy some clips for your hair that I could fasten bows to. Buy a bow for $5? Not your mom - if she can make it! Natalie I hope I pass on to you the good things about frugality - not the annoying "pinch a penny at any cost" kind. I think its fun to find a bargain. Hopefully you will too.
Right now you're sitting on my lap, fussing because your nap wasn't QUITE long enough and you're not getting the attention you want from me. You say you don't like it when I type on the computer and expect you to entertain yourself? Come on, kid...this one's for posterity!
I'm so looking forward to watching you grow up. To when we can bake cookies together or scrapbook together or you can slide down the slide all by yourself. But I dont want to rush the now. The first steps, the way you reach out for me to pick you up, the cute way you sign "more" and "all done" and the obnoxious way you push my hand out of the way when you REALLY DONT WANT ANY MORE GREEN BEANS! I can't wait for later, but I want to hold on to NOW with all I have. I love you, Natterbug. You're the sunshine in my day - even when you are having a complete melt-down in the middle of the floor. Gotta go!

Take Me Back!

So I know its been a while since I've written, but I've been off doing important things like sipping fruity cocktails by the pool, stuffing my face with jerk chicken and getting stung by unknown reef inhabitants in Jamaica. Last week, I had a first ever girls getaway with my sister and we really had a terrific and relaxing time. I have yet to get all of the pictures, but here is a snapshot of one particular moment I take myself back to when sogging through poopy diapers and wiping snotty noses.

Walking Breakthrough!

Natalie has had a walking breakthrough! Before today she'd only done 3-5 steps at most. Suddenly she's pretty brave!



I should also mention that she has some teeth coming through! About time! It was getting a little difficult to gum all of her food. There's one poking through on the top and another on the bottom just starting to show (not pictured).

Here's the closeup of the top tooth.

Branson Pics...Finally!

So, we had a wonderful time in Branson, MO last week for our family vacation. You know how you wonder if you just "glorify" things in your youth and if it would really be just as much fun as your remember? Well Branson delivered. I probably had MORE fun at Silver Dollar City than I've ever had. Probably due to the sheer number of memories I've made at that place.

Here's a picture diary of our trip.

On the way down we stopped at Mr. Yens for some Springfield Chinese and then on to Pineapple Whip. I didn't get a picture by the hula girl because I was in a hurry as it was raining. But I did get a picture of me holding the beloved pineapple whip/grape twist cone. I love those things!

We stayed at a huge community of timeshares, actual homes and nightly rentals called StoneBridge with my parents and my sister. It was a maze inside, but very nicely kept. Our lodge was right on a humongous pond.

My uncle and his family came up from Arkansas to hang out with us and see Natalie. It's been a while! My grandparents were also in town staying at a hotel in the "show district".
Uncle Mike and Natalie
We had breakfast here - it was GOOD.
The weather was weird the week we were there. It was COLD for August (68-72). Too cold the first few days to do anything in the water. Here's a run-down of what we saw...
I still love Grandfather's Mansion at Silver Dollar City
We had to bail Natalie out of a little trouble
We got a chance to meet up with Angie, Reese and Miriam at the Landing at a good restaurant called Cantina Laredo. My visit with Angie and Miriam was too short, but I was SO glad to be able to catch up over dinner.
Cantina Laredo was so good we took the rest of the group back for another meal. Guacamole prepared table-side, flank steak wrapped around roasted poblano peppers, frozen margaritas... can anyone say "YUM"?
Reese - such a doll!
Don't we look saintly with those flames over our heads??? The light show at the Landing was pretty cool!
Poppo and Me
We HAD to take a picture of this down at the Landing. This was NOT the only sign we saw like this. Come ON folks.
On our last full day in town the sun peaked out for the afternoon and we took advantage and rented a boat. I am DEFINITELY not as young as I used to be - I was SO sore the next day from tubing.


All in all it was a wonderful time. I even squeezed in a visit with my friends Matt & Beth (at a pizza place Natalie sent people packing from because she was SOOO super tired) and Rachel (all in KC). I wish I had more time to spend and hate the fact I have friends I only get to see for a few hours once a year... but I am so grateful that we still maintain those connections. I HEART Missouri.

Almost 1 Year

It's been a little while since I've put pictures of Natalie up and I know my parents are always chomping at the bit for new ones. I was going to post pictures from our trip to Branson, but I'm still awaiting pictures from my sister's camera. I haven't forgotten to post, though. So, stay tuned.

These pictures are from today. She figured out how to get herself behind the tv armoire where I can't quite reach her and there's all sorts of fun cords to play with. Quite the little rascal.

What a Bargain!

Kevin and I have been pinching penny's in August. Well, somewhat. We had a few things we planned to spend money on (family birthdays, our anniversary and vacation to Branson) but otherwise we're trying to reign in our "normal" spending. So, I've tried to find some creative ways to enjoy a day out of the house without spending a ton of $$. Today I was marveling at a deal I'd gotten on something in particular when it hit me...I'd had a WHOLE DAY of bargains. "What do you mean?", you ask out of politeness, really hoping I wont bore you with the details. Well...DON'T PUT IT PAST ME. =)

Lauren's Cheap-O Day of Fun (aka Wednesday)
1) Breakfast with a friend at Panera...Natalie in tow - $3.39

2) Pedicure...Natalie NOT in tow, thank goodness - $4 (thanks to a bit of birthday cash from my grandparents I hadn't yet spent...thanks Mommo & Poppo!)

3) J.Crew Bermuda Shorts on clearance at the THRIFT STORE - .50 (yeah, that's 50 cents!)

4) Style & Co. polo-style shirt (thrift store find too...looks like its never been worn) - $4.79 (I actually thought this was a bit expensive for the thrift store)

5) Semi-annual haircut - $15 (honestly, she gave me a discount and didnt dry it)

6) Re-usable plastic cup full of soda from Baja Fresh - 2.02 (not a deal but I can use this for my upcoming trip to Jamaica)

7) A trip to CVS to buy things and get Extra Care Bucks - spent $14 using a coupon and got $6 in Extra Care bucks for next time

8) Baby seat for my bike (Craigslist find) - $15

9) Meximelt for Natalie's Dinner (I'm cringing at this one. I just fed my daughter horse meat or something I'm sure, but I didnt want to cook.) - 1.39

10) Chipotle Salad for dinner for me & Drink - FREE!!! (my work had some sort of appreciation day with them today where all employees could get a free meal...woot!)

Total for the day o' fun (net out-of-pocket): $54.09 That's not too bad for a haircut, an outfit, a pedicure, three meals, a baby seat for my bike, a few things from CVS and a cup!

I did also go to Target and get some essentials that didn't really factor into the "day o' fun" so I didn't list them here. However, I did buy one thing there that I thought was a pretty good deal.

How could you pass this up for $2.98?

Why I blog...and other randomness

A friend of mine asked why I blog...and it got me thinking.

I dont blog nearly as much as I'd like. But I guess I blog because I have a lot of people I care about that I get to talk to rather infrequently. So its a good way for them to keep in touch. It does weird me out that people read my blog that I don't know, but not enough to lock it down. I guess I figure if somebody I don't know is actually interested in something I type - that validates my thoughts that maybe my friends dont just read my blog for the pictures of Natalie. Or else it means they're a psycho. I'll go with option A.

I wish that I could blog mentally... that would be the best. Like when I'm standing in line at Target and some kid starts picking their boogers and flicking them into their mom's hair without her knowing. The big problem is that I take note of that and think "I should blog this" but then I get distracted and the day ends and all I can think of to blog about that night is "went to the store, ate dinner, went to bed". Sounds a bit like a gerbil. I started carrying around a digital recorder so I can remind myself of those blog-worthy moments later on. I'm not sure if it's helped so much, but it is rather amusing. I bought this thing about 4 years ago for a work presentation I needed to memorize. I never really did that, but in the process of carrying it around I used it to rant one particular time about a *ahem* disagreement my darling husband and I had. I never deleted it and to this day its still there. I think I went on for about 10 minutes detailing my side of the story and how he was SO WRONG. We listened to it recently because I thought it would be a good laugh but we just ended up bickering about it all over again...4 YEAR LATER. Nice.

...WARNING: BIG Tangent...Is it just me or does everyone HATE their voice on recordings? Why is it that your voice inside your head sounds so much less annoying when its coming out of your mouth rather than a tape recorder? And will Natalie ever know what a TAPE recorder is? She'll probably just think tape is what you use to wrap a present. Speaking of... I was thinking of not getting her anything for her birthday. Is that bad? Do I have to go out and buy her a toy for her 1st birthday? I know... it's awful, but what does she need? I could go out and pay full price for a toy that would be just as nice as all the other garage sale finds we have, but honestly, my child would enjoy a cardboard box at this stage of the game. Do you recycle? I started recycling last year on Kevin's birthday and I feel pretty good about it. My BIGGEST pet peeve about that is holding onto all of the recycling in our garage for two weeks at a clip. It takes up so much dang space! Speaking of pet peeves, I'm starting to get REALLY annoyed by sitters/nanny's that you ask to call you and instead correspond in email. My last sitter was so frustrating as she would ONLY communicate through texting. I, even though I'm a techy person, happen to HATE texting. I've warmed up to it ever so slightly since I've gotten a phone with a QWERTY keyboard, but it's still obnoxious because I could have had my questions answered in a whole lot less time on the phone than it takes me to text them back and forth.

Alright, I probably better sign off. I've been avoiding my devotionals for the past few weeks and its starting to really bother me. So I'm off to try to focus. I need to get into something really good - because just flipping open the Bible to any old verse is NOT inspiring in the least. I'm reading a book entitled "The Deeper Journey" and getting ready to start a study with a few girls I know. Hopefully something will kickstart my butt into gear because things are pretty D*R*Y. Anybody else struggle with this stuff??

Signing off. Night all.

Happy Anniversary to Us

((picture removed by Editor (Kevin)-- Reason: Kevin thought this was a terrible picture of him!!!! ))


Has it really been 6 years? My, how its flown by!

I can still remember the nerves I had on our wedding day and the fear I saw in your eyes as you worried I might hike up my skirt and sprint down the aisle with a case of cold feet. I think if Natalie ever tells me she wants to get married to someone she met 3 months prior I'll sit on her myself! But God knew what He was doing when He lead us to each other... how glad I am now that we listened to His voice.

You're my very best friend and my biggest cheerleader. You challenge me get to the root of what I'm sad about and don't let me mope without reason. You sing silly made-up songs to make me laugh and enjoy getting excited about good food with me. You're a bit of a redneck-renaissance-man and make me laugh with you're diverse interests like fine wine, classical music, gourmet food, fishing and hunting and beer. You love our daughter without reservation and are actively involved in the not-so-glamorous details like diapers, feedings and getting out of bed to soothe her when she's crying. I never have to worry about asking you to stay with her - you're a natural and always so attentive. Kev, you're more than I could have asked for in a husband and I hope we get to have a ton more anniversaries together each one growing more and more in love.

Always Your Girl,
Lauren

Funny Story

I was at the grocery store today with Natalie getting a few things for a picnic I am headed to tonight. As we were wrapping up, a very nice, albeit quiet, black teenager was ringing up our items. (Why do I mention he was black? You'll see....)

Natalie was happy a clam and had been making friends all over the grocery store. She's busy babbling up a storm and then it happened. My blonde-haired baby looks at the cashier and starts saying "Da Da Da Da Da Da Da". He looked at me and raised his eyebrows. Ha! What could I do but just smile? I'm sure he'll be trying to figure that one out the rest of the day!

Heading to Branson

It would have have surprised me to know (when I lived in Springfield, MO) that I'd ever be excited about planning a trip to Branson, MO. But here I am... in the car heading that direction... very excited about said trip. Here I come Silver Dollar City, Dixie Stampede, Miriam, Angie, Table Rock Lake, and Pineapple Whip. Woot!!!

This Week in Pictures

Last weekend we went to the beach. Yeah... it was fun.


Last week we also had a shortage on childcare. Natalie occupied herself in my craft room while I pounded away at the keyboard.


Not sure if you can tell that I put pigtails in her hair so here's a closeup. Her hair is just long enough. Just.


Drum roll please....Natalie started walking behind her push toy on Saturday. She also took three independent steps toward me that could *not* be replicated for Dad. You'll just have to trust me on this one. She's been trotting all around the house with the push toy the past few days. She requires someone to follow her and straighten out the toy once she runs into something. If only she also got the concept of steering... Guess she won't be taking the car for a spin for a while!

Be Careful Who You "Throw Under the Bus"

...because that same person in line behind you that you just openly outed to the secretary for "pushing the annoying little doorbell" that she scolded YOU for ringing MIGHT be headed to the exact same meeting you are AND be a person you'll be working with. Nice one.

Weary Wednesday

It's been interesting around here the past couple days. Natalie's sitter (who comes two days a week) was out because of her 3 mos old daughter's *cough* sickness (I'm sure she probably IS sick, but I was still waiting for an actual phone call and not a text message and I was beginning to get a bit worried she was ditching me). Watching Natalie Tuesday was surprisingly fine. I had to work a full day and didn't have the time to play with her as she was accustomed. She managed to entertain herself for the bulk of the day by crawling around the upstairs chewing on some pinecones (I have a box of them in my craft room), tormenting the cat (who really has been a good sport), and attempting to make a b-line for the bathroom whenever the door was left open. (By the way, what IS it about that spot between the toilet and the wall? The dirty little spot at the base of the toilet with the little plastic piece that covers the bolt holding the toilet to the floor. She LOVES it...gross!)

Anyway, she was an easy baby.

Fast forward to today. Screaming, wanting to be held non-stop, rubbing her eyes but refusing to go to sleep, pulling folded clothes from their neat little stack, pulling all the books off the bookshelf and general mayhem. And I'm on a conference call. I swear, had I turned the phone off mute, they would have thought I had a whole daycare in my room. Everytime I tried to lay her down her head would hit the matress and she'd close her eyes, but within seconds her butt would arch up in the air and she's wave it around attempting to get up. Kevin made the funny observation this past weekend that when she fights being tired its like her head is tired, but her butt still wants to party. So true, Kev, so true.

So with a comfort feeding (and who doesn't love to eat to solve their problems?) she was finally down. When she got up a few hours later she was a different kid for about an hour. Then back to the "mommy, mommy hold me, bounce me, hang me upside-down by my toenails, etc, etc". And honestly... who can blame her? I'd be bored to tears if I had to entertain myself the second straight day in a confined area with the same old toys to play with. If only I could clone myself to hang out with her like she wanted. In the midst of the hubub I got a text from my sitter. Joys! She hadn't fallen off the face of the planet and had not decided to ditch me. She said that her daughter was now going to be checked out for allergies and asthma.

And that our cat may be the problem...

She also said she she wouldnt mind watching Natalie at her house if the cat turned out to be the issue. ARGGGGG!!!!! One of the biggest reasons I hired her to come to our house was so I could be AROUND Natalie more. If this *@#*$#@ cat is the only thing keeping me from seeing my kid I might poke my eyes out with a bottle brush!! (not to get too graphic) Why not get rid of the cat, you ask? Because it happens to be the beloved friend and bedtime cuddle-buddy of my dear husband and I might just nullify our marriage vows by kicking her to the curb. He claims she's the reason he married me. =)

Thankfully that beloved husband of mine came home early to rescue me from certain peril with bored daughter and peace returned to our house.

For now.

*sigh*

Please dont be the cat.
Please dont be the cat.
Please dont be the cat.

I dont know if I can handle that right now.

Extreme Yard Makeover - Kevin & Lauren Edition

This week has been an exciting week around our house. Kevin's brother, Curt, has a landscaping business and work has been slow lately for him (rain has been scarce here). So that's meant that he's had time to do some work on our yard. Our yard has been pretty scary for about a year now ever since we got two humongous (and beautiful) trees removed from our yard to both open it up and relieve pressure on our basement walls (from the roots). We had the stumps ground down, but there was a large pile of mulch and roots in the middle of the yard and much of the grass was dead. We also had a non-working 1960's bricked-in barbeque in the middle of the yard that had become more of an eye-sore than a fun backyard feature. Here are a few before pics:
Notice the large hole that is our crumbling back steps. NOT very kid friendly.


And here are a few pics of what it looks like now.

It's still underway, but I think it's going to look pretty cool once it's done. The next thing on the agenda once this is done is to get the house painted. We were thinking a darker green or a barn red. Does either one of those sound like it would look good? Any other ideas? The roof will be replaced within the next few years so don't worry about matching to it. Here's the color of the brick on the front of the house.

We're so bad about permanent decisions like this!

Pub Crawl

Well, all that stressing out about being away from Natalie for my birthday getaway was for nothing! My in-laws had a terrific time with her and Kevin and I had a wonderful night away for some "grown-up time". Let me just say my husband is SO thoughtful and planned a really nice getaway. He arranged for us to stay one night in a bed and breakfast in Fells Point (Ann Street Bed & Breakfast).

For those of you that aren't familiar with good ole' Baltimore, Fell's Point is a neighborhood in the city that is right on the water and full of old historic buildings, fun bars and pretty cool cobblestone streets. I've only ever done day trips down there and haven't gotten to experience some of the fun nightlife that the area has to offer. So this was a new experience.

The B&B that we stayed at was a neat old rowhome with only two guestrooms that was decorated in true colonial style. The owner lived right next door and we simply walked downstairs and through a door that led into her picturesque kitchen for a tasty, gourmet breakfast in the morning. The kitchen and back patio seriously looked like it had come out of a magazine...the proprieter had SUCH a knack for decorating true to colonial style.

We got to Fells Point around 2pm and after check-in we walked around and checked out the shops and got a bite to eat in nearby Canton at Claddaughs Pub (home of a very good buffalo chicken sandwich).

That evening we were pretty full from dinner so we decided to hop from pub to pub in Fells Point grabbing an appetizer and a drink at each place. I LOVE dinner this way because you don't get full. Besides, I'd never done a pub crawl before and considering I'm in the last year of my 20's I was long overdue for getting my feet wet. Blue Moon was the drink of the evening (and really refreshing on a hot summer night). We also enjoyed shrimp, mussels, empanadas and calamari.

Such a fun time, Kev. Thanks for the good memories!!!

Baby Steps for Moms

Well it's Friday night and I've spent it FREAKING out about being gone from Natalie for the first time ever. Tomorrow night, Kevin has planned a birthday getaway for me. And while I WAS really, really excited all I feel now is really, really nauseated at the thought of being gone from my kiddo-rooney for the first time. Oh the trauma!

I'm sure I'm not the first mother out there to feel such anxiety about that first night away. And I know I've got to deal with it. It it's not like I can just sit on the child for the rest of her life because I have separation issues. I'm just deathly afraid of something happening to either one of us while we're apart. I want to BE there to raise my kid and BE there to see her go to prom, get married and have kids of her own. But if I keep this up, who says she's even going to be able to leave my sight to actually accomplish any of those things? So I'm really trying to not think about it and tell myself everything is going to be "fine". That and a lot of prayer.

I'm not sure what I was thinking a few weeks ago when I exhuberantly agreed to take a 5 day getaway with my sister in September sans Kevin and Natalie. I AM looking forward to the time with my sister, but if ONE night away is killing me now, I'm going to be a basket case then. Baby steps... breathe in, breathe out. I've got to go get my paper bag.

Baby babble and Peek-a-boo

Kev here -

Recently we've been enjoying listening to Natterbug learning new sounds she can make. Her babble is so happy and cheerful that is really lightens the mood around the house whenever we hear it. :)

Hope you enjoy these movies. Sorry the quality is poor, I had to use my phone to take these movies since the other one wasn't available/ready.





She's also learned recently how to play peek-a-boo, except in the reverse role! We find it fascinating that she is playing with us like this. She really cracks us up. Fast forward to about 1/2 through this video because the first bit is a bit dull, unless you'd rather watch it all. :)







-Kevin

Fishin' at Pooles Island

Kevin here -

Went fishin' last night and finally got around to heading all the way to pooles island, an uninhabited island a good ways south on the bay from us. The weather/water was just right for heading out there so we (Larry/I) went for it. Bunch of Perch, Catfish and Croaker, and a good look at this island I'd never seen before. Even has a lighthouse on it. It's off-limits to beaching because the military owns it but is still beautiful :)

My phone doesn't take the greatest pics, but there's a lighthouse there!

Down the Ocean, Hon.

For those of you that dont live in Maryland, you won't quite get the title of this post. It's a local dialect thing here... Just say it like you're talking through your nose and you're half way there.

This past weekend we took 4 day trip to the ocean with our friends the Buslers and Chris, Kera and the girls. What a good time we had! From visiting a park with the kids, hitting up a waterpark (sorry... no pics of that), hanging out on the beach (pictures of that are coming) and walking the Ocean City boardwalk and eating all of the junk food it has to offer, we had a terrific time.

Nat and Me

Kera, Callie and Sienna


Natalie and Joshua and Mike


The Families

Natalie was a gem on this vacation. Kevin and I were totally surprised because she'd been such a handful the previous two weeks. We think we realized though that Natalie was really MISSING the interaction with other kids. On the trip there was a 1 year old, a 4 year old and twin 2.5 year olds in addition to Natalie. She always had someone to play with and enjoyed crawling around the house to explore the new area. Since we got back she's been fine with us putting her down (something she screamed at last week) and has been able to entertain her self for little bits of time. It's like she's a new kid! I think we'll probably just try to get out for some more social play now that we're back into the routine.

Oh... in regards to sleeping, we're also trying out ONE nap a day - rather than two. She doesnt seem to need two and we dont fight her as much to go to bed. *Sigh* What a relief that this is all it took!

Natalie loved the beach. It was a little too cold to get in the water, but we played in the sand and she ate quite a bit of it. She had animal crackers for the first time and enjoyed shoving them (sand-covered and all) in her mouth one right after the other. All in all it was a terrific time!

Annual Crab Feast

Our friends, the Buslers, held their annual crab feast at the end of June.

Kevin, Mike, Melissa, Kera and Chris

Other than the crabs (which were AWESOME), my favorite part of the night was that it was sans children. We adults had a good time with water balloons, card games and just chillin out like old times. Such a fun time!