Shout out to my BFF!!

On our way home from MI last time I took a picture of this truck we saw on the turnpike. She's not the best at reading my blog so let's see how long it takes for her to notice this. :) And let's hope she reapplied her sunscreen today at the NASCAR race!!

The Olympics

Okay, so I have to admit that I've been more into the Olympics this year than ever before. I think it's mainly because its August and there's not a lot on TV. :) And it's something the whole family can watch although Peanut gets bored with it pretty easily. But I do have one gripe....when does beach volleyball end???

Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching it, the first three times, but seriously, it seems like I watch a little of the Olympics every day and every day beach volleyball is on! And they never tell me if it's preliminaries, quarter-finals, semis, etc. So I have NO idea when its going to end. Can someone please tell me????

Go USA!!!

TV Taught My Daughter!!

Tonight Peanut was helping me change the sheets in the guest bedroom and she looked up and saw the stars in the wall border and she started saying "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight" I was totally in shock!! I asked her where she learned that and she said "Bear," which means Little Bear! And then she kept saying it trying to say the whole thing. She gets stuck on the wish part but it's so cute!! At least I know she learned one GOOD thing from TV. :)

My Stop N Go Experience

A week ago today I started working at Stop N Go. I was looking to make some money and the shift (4:30pm-12:30am) was perfect because I wouldn't need to get a baby-sitter. My first schedule was four nights in a row, which was a bit more than I wanted but it was for training purposes. And I was going to be trained by the employee who had been there the 2nd longest, which was 3 weeks. Yes, that's right. 3 weeks.

So I started my shift without a uniform or nametag, but that was fine. The guy training me was cool, he was leaving to go back to college. That night was quite the experience. I wasn't in my town, just a few miles away but I felt like I drove hundreds of miles into the mountains. :) The same customers came in frequently, at least 3-4 times a shift. They bought cigarettes and beer and LOTS of instant lotto tickets. We know several of them by name. And a group of them would hang out in front of the store every night. To better explain it, I felt like I needed to use hand sanitizer after every transaction.

The excitement was so low that we were keeping track of which product was talked about more: Camel Crush or Chocolate Skittles. By Thursday Crush had pulled ahead by one.

After finding out they scheduled me 40 hours the next week and many discussions with Tim, my trainer, I decided that at the minimum I would have to be transferred, but most likely I would quit. I know it sounds funny to quit after a week, but I gave it a try, right? I was exhausted every day because Peanut got up early in the morning.

So, on Thursday I handed in my resignation and now my Stop N Go career is finished. Farewell John, Jim, Rodney and all the other fine customers I saw over and over and over. I honestly can't say I miss it but it certainly has given me lots of stories to talk about. I can't remember everything now so I'm sure I'll post more later.

My heart is still racing!!

I'm sitting at my kitchen counter and I see someone walk up to the door and it's a cop. And there's a cop car in my driveway. Immediately one thinks the worst, right? I answer the door and he's serving me with papers. What did I do? Have I committed a crime? And then he tells me its about some guy and I realize it's the hit and run accident I witnessed last month. The guy is fighting the charges and its going to court. So for the second time in my life I'll be a key witness in a case. I feel like I'm on Law & Order!! But seriously, my heart is still racing from seeing the cop walk up to my door! I wonder what my neighbors are thinking!!

Girls Gone a little Wild

Last weekend I went on my annual girlfriends camping weekend with three of my bestest friends. :) This year we headed back to St. Joseph to the first place we ever rented a cabin. It was just as we remembered...well, except for a few things. The place was dead quiet at 11pm, which is technically "quiet time" but usually there are a few rowdy campers or hoodlums we call them. We like to think that we're hoodlums too during our campouts. Nothing, nada, barely a crackle of campfire. And every campsite was filled with families. Now this may seem like a weird thing to complain about but we go camping to get AWAY from family life. And our neighbors weren't especially friendly and we were totally being watched by the campground owners. Probably because we were the only ones awake after 11pm!

Needless to say we drank beer, played euchre, went to the beach and laughed ourselves silly. All in all still a good time.

But next year, we're going back to where the trouble is, TUBING ON THE RIFLE RIVER!!!

And p.s. today was the first day that I wasn't scratching a bug bite!! :)

Growing like a weed!!

Peanut went for her 2 year check up yesterday and she's doing great! She now weighs 27 lbs (70%) and is just over 36" tall (95%). Yup, she's my tall skinny girl!! Thankfully she didn't have to get any shots, just going into the room is traumatic enough for her. We brought her doctor's kit and that seemed to help a little, until they checked her ears! My ears are still ringing from the screaming. LOL

She can finally wear the rain boots she got for Christmas!!

Running in her rain boots!

Happy 2nd Birthday Peanut!!

Today is Peanut's 2nd birthday and I can't believe it, the time has flown by. It's hard to believe this time two years ago I was lying in a hospital bed hoping the contractions would kick in enough to keep dilating. And it was only a short 14 hours later that she was brought into this world. 11:18pm, July 5, 2006. And I'm even more happy today with my decision to make sure she wasn't born on the 6th, George W. Bush's birthday. :)

Happy Birthday Peanut!! Mommy and Daddy love you so much!!

I-Freem Cone!!!

A week or so ago Franklin and Peanut were on a walk and they heard the ice cream man, Franklin told Peanut what that was and bought her a popsicle. I had purposely not told her what the pretty music was driving by because I pretty much knew what would happen. Well, now every time she hears the music, she runs to the window and shouts "I-freem Cone!" And yesterday she woke up asking for one and continued asking all day long. We decided to go for ice cream last night and got her a cone, yeah, that's not what she wanted. She wanted a popsicle! That would've been cheaper.

Good Samaritan/Superhero

I had a very exciting moment today. I was on my way to my friend's house and stopped at a light when I heard screeching brakes and then SLAM! I looked over and a car in the right turn had been rear-ended. Well then the guy that hit them took off through the light! Well since I was going that way anyway I followed him!! He got caught at the next light trying to turn left, the direction I was going as well, he tried turning on red but there was too much traffic so I was able to get the license plate and make/model of the car. I then called 911 and reported everything!! My heart was racing, I felt like I was on COPS, but one of the good guys!! LOL They told me on the phone the car was being chased down, they asked me info about the car that got hit and I was like "I don't know, it was white." LOL I was more about getting the bad guy. But I felt pretty good about myself and I'll be watching the police beat for that one!! Beware of a Mom with a pen and paper in the car!!

Happy Belated Father's Day!

Because our schedule for June is so crazy we're actually going to be celebrating Father's Day on July 20th, it's our first weekend day at home by ourselves. However, Peanut did give Franklin a homemade card on Sunday morning. :)

Congratulations Tom & Renee!!

We headed down to HotLanta this past weekend for Frisbie's wedding. Peanut did wonderful on the plane, she ended up with her own seat which was wonderful and I only had to bribe her with candy once on the plane. :)

The wedding was beautiful and Peanut had a great time dancing. The one thing I loved most about this wedding is that they let us eat dinner before they even arrived! How cool is that?? I don't know how many wedding receptions I've had to wait forever for the bride and groom to arrive and do all the toasts and stuff before we get to eat. So hats off to them!

We also got to spend time with the Price crew while we were there. It was great being with them and seeing how the kids have grown. They really entertained Peanut which I loved. I actually got to sit and watch tv for an afternoon while they played with her!! Thanks you guys!!

Just our average day

I haven't posted in awhile, but there really hasn't been anything that exciting to post. I decided today to put a few video clips of Peanut and our daily life. Enjoy!



Little pool fun!




Big pool fun!




Figuring out how to reach the light switch

Sophie the Doggie Diva

Last weekend I tried out a new groomer for Sophie. Just trying to save a little money and I found one that was $10 cheaper. When I picked her up she looked good, had the normal bows in her hair and bandana around her neck. But when I put her in the car I noticed something VERY different...her toenails were painted!!! Yes, that's right, pink painted toenails on my little Shih Tzu!!! I had saw this was an option at my previous groomer's but never did it because I think it's silly, but apparently its all part of the package at A Day at the Spa Grooming. :)

Peanut's New Swing Set!!

On Memorial Day weekend Franklin had two people come over from his office to help build Peanut's swing set. It was a big undertaking but they did a great job! She loves every part of it and talks about it every day. She especially likes sending baby dolls and stuffed animals down the slide. Here's a little video of her enjoying it:

The dreaded day has come

It's something I've dreaded for a long time but thought it may never happen. You sort of prepare yourself but think it won't happen to you. But it did. Last Friday morning, Peanut climbed out of her crib!!! I know to some of you this may not seem like a big deal, but it is. Gone are the days of putting her in there and knowing she can't go anywhere. Now I have to worry, is the gate closed at the top of the stairs, is her door closed, should I put anchors on the back of her chest of drawers so IF she climbs on it, it won't fall on her and cause great bodily harm! Ugh! Growing pains!!

So, for those of you who have gone through this, how long did you keep the crib up?

My Mother's Day

I just wanted to thank my wonderful husband for such a relaxing Mother's Day. I got to sleep in, have breakfast in bed, open presents, watch a movie and then have a bubble bath!!! I didn't even go downstairs until 2:30pm!!! I love the clothes and the gift certificate too!! And then we had a nice dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse.

Thank you baby!! I love you!!!

So quickly

As all new parents are told "It goes by so quickly" you can expect it but can't imagine how it feels. As my second Mother's Day is almost here I think about where I was two years ago. I was much larger, swollen so badly, but I couldn't wait for my baby to be here. And now she is and she's the most wonderful, sweet, intelligent and crazy girl. Even though I look forward to my "day off" tomorrow, I can't wait to wake up and give her hugs and kisses!

Our first snuggle
My Peanut growing up so quickly

Princess Sophie

For those of you who know my dog know she's a little different. She loves to lay in the sun, hates walking in the grass and will always wait on the porch. Today was a little different, she decided she didn't even want to lay on the driveway any more, she's too good for that. If she wasn't so old I'd shake my head. :)

March for Babies...The Event

Franklin, Peanut and I walked in the March for Babies today. It was a great event with beautiful weather, lots of refreshments and good company. We walked with two other moms from my moms club. Surprisingly enough, even with 7 kids the 2.5 miles went by quickly. Thanks to all who supported us!!

The most awesome business name EVER!!

Have no idea what the actual business was...use your imagination. :) However, it was closed on this Saturday morning. :)

Another Peanut Video

Everyone seemed to like the other videos so much I took another one! This is Peanut playing with Sophie:

$.23 Madness!!

Yesterday was a big day in Northeast Ohio. Papa John's Pizza was offering a $.23 large pizza to northeast Ohio customers as an apology for ripping on LeBron James, click here for the story. My initial plan was to get one, easy dinner, right? Nope, after hearing about all the crowds on the news and the radio I decided to call and try to order. At 3pm they weren't taking phone orders anymore, so I was driving by and this is what I saw:
Now remember, this is Medina, who knew there were so many people!! So at that point I decided I didn't want to wait in the 1-2 hour line for pizza, other dinner plans would have to be made. Later when I went to the store and went back by at 7:30pm, this is how it looked:It was madness!! And this morning they said they ended up selling 125,000 pizzas and had to give rainchecks to some people!! There were even arrests because of fighting! Craziness. But it was stupid of them to do something so public when they have stores in Ohio.

But as I was sitting in traffic watching the line grow I was thinking how the other pizza chains should have taken advantage of this. Offer a $1, $2, $4 pizza and people would have been going to them. And they would've kept all the money, Papa John's was giving the money they made to the LeBron James foundation. But hey, what do I know. And it may not have mattered anyway, a lot of the people they interviewed on the news said they wanted Papa John's to pay for what they did. I just wanted a cheap dinner. :)

March for Babies

In two weeks I will be participating in the Akron March for Babies walk and I need your support! To donate, please visit my page at: http://www.marchforbabies.org/kellyfaro every $1 counts!!

What is the March of Dimes about?

The March of Dimes is about all babies – those born healthy and those who need help to survive and thrive. We’ve been protecting the health of babies for 70 years. From pioneering genetic research to promoting folic acid to fighting for lifesaving newborn screening and finding the causes of premature birth, the March of Dimes continues to champion the needs of moms and babies.

March of Dimes has touched your life if:

- Your baby received a vaccine to prevent polio

- Your baby received critical newborn screening to check for potentially dangerous but treatable conditions

- You took folic acid before and during early pregnancy to prevent birth defects of the brain and spinal cord

- You had a premature baby who spent time in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or was treated with surfactant therapy, a lifesaving treatment developed with March of Dimes research grants

- You had a healthy baby due in part to good prenatal care at home and from your doctor

Did you know March of Dimes:

- Is one of America’s best known and most respected charitable organizations

- Was founded in 1938 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt

- Meets Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance Standards: 77 cents out of every dollar spent funds our mission – one of the highest rates of any not-for-profit

- Has offices in all 50 states, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico

To learn more about March of Dimes, visit www.marchofdimes.com

Silly girl

It's amazing to watch Peanut grow and develop into a little girl. She's saying new words every day and is always trying new things. Yesterday she decided to see how it would be to fall on purpose.

Our little fish

Peanut has always loved water. Whether it was in a cup, tub, pool, hose or sprinkler she couldn't get enough. I was worried that her love of the pool may have been hampered over the long winter months, but I had nothing to worry about. Franklin and I took her to the rec center and she had a great time.

Sorry the video is sideways, I forget about that when I take video on my camera and I've tried and tried to rotate it but it won't work.

NKOTB Reunited!!!

That's right, New Kids on the Block were on the Today show this morning and announced, officially, they're reuniting!!! I had heard about this months ago and didn't think I was that excited but it was totally different when I saw them all on tv. LOL All of those teenage crushes came roaring back! They all look pretty damn good!!! Their first performance together will be on the Today show on May 16th, set your TiVos!!!

A bunch of posts

Since I've been kind of lazy about posting lately I figured I would back track and try to catch everyone up on what's been happening in our lives. I've tried to date them as best I can, so scroll down to enjoy!

Loving my neighborhood!!

One of the things I love most about my neighborhood is how many people are out and about. Now obviously in the winter most everyone hibernates but the other day when the sun came out and it warmed up into the 40s everyone came out! The kids were riding their bikes, dads and sons were tossing a baseball, people taking walks and neighbors were socializing. Driving through the neighborhood felt a little like driving back through time. It was lovely. :)

Happy Easter!!!

We had a very laid back Easter this year which I guess was good because the three of us had colds. Yuck! Lots of sore throats, coughing and snot! But Peanut did hunt for eggs for the first time this year and had a great time. Although she didn't like her hands getting dirty!! LOL The Easter Bunny was good and brought yummy candy, toys and a purse. Doesn't get better than that!!

Happy Birthday Franklin!!!

Today we celebrated Franklin's birthday. He would rather that I didn't post how old he is, he's not happy about it. But hey, when you have a good marriage, beautiful daughter, nice house and a good job, what more can you ask for? :)

Happy Birthday Baby!! We Love You!!

Congratulations Danielle & Jeremy!!

Franklin and I headed to Tulsa this past weekend for his step-niece's wedding. The wedding was very nice and we had a lot of fun at the reception. It was nice to have a quick getaway. :)

Pee Pee in the Potty!!!

We had a big day in our house this week, Peanut went pee pee in the potty!! She wasn't nearly as excited as Franklin and I were! Although I don't think we're anywhere near being potty trained it was nice to have her start getting used to the potty.

Our turn

Well until now I think we've been pretty lucky this winter. We've had some good snow, but nothing in the double digits or anything, until now. It started snowing yesterday at 10am and it hasn't stopped. Franklin plowed the driveway yesterday afternoon, as well as two neighbors driveways, and there was about 2 1/2 inches at the time. He's out there again this morning and I went to measure, 8 inches in the driveway!! That means 10 1/2 so far and they're calling for 14-16 inches. They've even closed one of the malls!! You know it's bad when they close the mall!! LOL Guess we'll just stay inside and stay warm!

Update: Now they're calling for 19 inches. Why can't weather people be wrong when it comes to things like this????

Back to the cold reality

Franklin and I returned on Thursday afternoon from a wonderful trip to Hawaii. We spent the majority of our time on the big island, but did fly to Maui for a day (on a very tiny plane!!). The weather was beautiful, 80 and sunny every day. Which made it even harder to return to the cold, gray reality of the Midwest. It's nice to get a break in the middle of winter, but it's so hard to come back.

Peanut did fantastic while we were gone. No crying for me or her!! She had a blast with Nana and Papa and even got to spend two nights with her Aunt Nenny and cousins. They LOVED having her. Guess if it went that smoothly we can go on trips all the time!

Leaving just in time!!

Franklin and I are headed to Hawaii on Wednesday and it couldn't come soon enough. The frigid air is here and we're expecting 11 inches of snow tomorrow!! We've decided to trek up to the grandparents tonight rather than tomorrow to avoid the snow. Hopefully our flight isn't delayed on Wednesday!!

Aloha!

Happy 1st Birthday Hunter!!

Maya wants to send a big birthday hug to her friend Hunter!!

Sorry we can't make your party, but we can't wait to see the pictures of you tearing into your cake!!

Message to Nana & Papa

We can't wait to see you next week!! The howler monkey in the background is Brady (and those are happy noises). Turn your volume up for the full effect. :)

Giants win the Super Bowl!!!

Last night was one of the best games I've EVER seen!! A very close second to watching my Peyton winning last year. But to see the looks on Bellichick and Brady's faces....PRICELESS!!! Franklin was rooting for New England and I of course was rooting for the Giants. I even broke out my jersey and hoped that my jersey-wearing curse would not come alive for this game and it didn't.

To all the people who thought the Giants had a chance, CONGRATULATIONS!!! To all the people who didn't, nah nah na boo boo!!! In your face!!

PS - Loved the Bridgestone tire commercials!!!

I saw an AWESOME movie tonight!!

Franklin and Peanut are in MI and I had a free evening all to myself. I went to the movies and saw 'Juno.' I loooooooved it!! It is such a great movie with awesome dialogue and Ellen Page TOTALLLY deserves the Oscar nomination. And Rainn Wilson's small part was hilarious! I recommend this movie to everyone! :)

Tom Cruise is a Whack Job

This is something that I've thought for awhile and was confirmed on Oprah's couch as well as his interview on the Today Show (Matt, Matt, Matt...). But this latest video just magnifies the confirmation. If you haven't seen it, check it out here

But what makes it really funny is that other actors are finally vocalizing their agreement with us, check out Jerry O'Connell's parody of the video here

Congratulations Steve & Marci!!!

Woohoo! I'm an aunt again!! Gavin Jack Faro was born a short time ago and is 7 lbs, 5 ounces. Mother and baby are doing well and I can't wait to meet him!!

Priceless

Priceless pep talks

I could listen to these over and over. I just love hearing Peyton say my name and I don't care if it's just some voice over sound alike person.

Happy 60th Birthday Dad!!!

I just wanted to wish my Dad a Happy 60th Birthday!!! I love you Dad!! Wish I could be there with you to celebrate.

Gross and Disgusting

So this past Monday I was diagnosed with Hand/Foot/Mouth virus. But unfortunately it's all in my mouth. It's quite possibly the worst thing I've ever had to deal with. I have sores on my lips, gums, cheeks, tongue and back of my throat. It hurts to breathe, drink, and swallow. It hurts to eat, which I thought would be a bonus and I could drop a few pounds, but no. The things I can eat are ice cream, pudding, etc. Basically it sucks.
I thought you could only get this disease if you touched someone with an open sore, but no! It's transferred through the air just like the common cold!! My doctor said I probably got it from a shopping cart or something! So word to the wise, use those wipes to clean the handles!

The Perfect Storm

Today we took Peanut to see Santa. It was a Breakfast with Santa event and there were a lot of people there and a lot of people talking to Maya. She didn't really care for that. And it was around nap time AND she has a tooth coming in. So you can probably guess how things went, right? As Franklin set her down on Santa's lap she let out a glass shattering scream. I guess a room full of strangers, being tired and teething created the perfect storm and Santa should have been avoided. Below the pictures speak louder than words:

Still happy, next in line to see Santa.

Screaming, crying and jumping off Santa's lap.
Recovering with Daddy

Christmas Traditions

Last night Peanut and I sat down to watch "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." This was something I watched every year as a child so I was excited to see she was so into it. Yeah, she was into it for about 2 1/2 minutes and then she decided to get down from my lap and go play. So much for our bonding moment.

Sheriff Franklin

Last weekend Franklin, Peanut and I headed out to the barn where our neighbor keeps her horse, Buddy. It was a lot of fun to see Peanut's reaction being that close to a horse. And as an added bonus we all got to ride Buddy too. This was Franklin's first time ever riding a horse! Although at first he didn't look quite comfortable, by the end of the afternoon he was riding without anyone holding the reins!! Now he says he's ready to be a cowboy!

Congratulations Kiel & Erin!!!

It's official, we've crossed over to the (gulp) adult side!! On Saturday Franklin and I attended a wedding where we were the guest of the (gulp) parents!! That's right, I've now gone to a wedding where I was a friend of the mother of the groom. Sigh. Oh well, it was a gorgeous reception and we had an awesome time! Here's a picture of the lovely couple:

Happy Halloween!!!

Our Halloween Party!

This past Friday Franklin and I hosted an awesome Halloween party! We had over 50 adults and kids and everyone had a great time. Some of the costumes were hilarious!! Franklin and I dressed up as K-Fed and post-breakdown Britney. Enjoy the pics!

Yummy???

What is Peanut enjoying so much? Ice cream? No. Cool whip? Nope. It's sour cream. That's right, my baby is enjoying a spoonful of sour cream. Bleh.

Such a big girl!

It's amazing how grown up Peanut is becoming. Every day she's talking more, usually not words we understand, but still talking. And today she successfully ate spaghetti with a fork! I'm so proud of her!!

Weekend in KY

Franklin and I just returned from a weekend in Lexington, KY. It was just lovely. We were down there for a work thing for him, but that included going to the horse races at Keeneland and then visiting a horse farm. Franklin got to get up close and personal with the horses! He was a little nervous but did great. I did well betting at the tracks, I won 5 out of 7 times. I probably won $20 but still. :)

Peanut was taken care of at home with Nana and Papa. She had a great time too!

And my birthday is today, the big 31 Franklin says. I don't feel any different than I did yesterday, probably because we spent the day driving back and then just visiting with my parents and Peanut. Although, my mom did make me a cake. :) Thanks Mom!!

Mommy time

Today I cashed in my Mother's Day gift certificate to the spa. My Mom is visiting so she watched Peanut and I headed off for 3 1/2 hours of total relaxation. A steam shower, an hour massage, a pedicure and a lunch topped off with a mimosa and a glass of wine. It was a great way to start the week!! Thank you so much Franklin!!!

Too flippin hot!

I should not be sweating while putting out Halloween decorations!! It's hard enough to do those damn spider webs when you don't have sweat in your eyes! Damn global warming!!!

Where do you think it's going?

When we were on the turnpike we passed two trucks with tons of celery. Cut up too small to be packaged so where's it going? And let me tell you, it was quite fragrant!

Peanut's 15 Month Check Up

Franklin and I took Peanut to the doctor today for her checkup. She hasn't grown too much, still 31" tall and 22 lbs. She has moved into size 5 shoes though! We have to get our picky eater to eat! The Dr. said to put butter on everything. :) She does have a yeast infection from teething. :( She's getting her molars in! But other than that, all is well.

Wrong number

Okay, I have a question to pose to all of you. If you get a call on your cell phone and the person hangs up before you answer it and you didn't know who it was, do you call them back? That irritates the hell out of me! I messed up, I punched in the wrong number realized it mid-ring so I hung up. The next thing I know that person is calling me back. Seriously, if I really wanted to talk to you I would've let it ring or left a message. Geez! So, what do you all do? Do you call the number back?

Peanut's Sick :(

Well, it finally happened, our little Peanut got sick. We've been very blessed that it hadn't happened until she was 14 months old. It started out with a runny nose and dry cough and last night we took her to the ER for an ear infection. :( It was also the first time she had her temperature taken rectally, at least in our presence! She did great though and really only showed her irritability at home. We've wrestled with two doses of antibiotic so far and she's already improving. :)

Peanut's Love for Spaghetti

Peanut has pretty much loved spaghetti since the first time she tasted it. Well now, when she takes a bite, even after she's sucked in the noodles, she sucks the sauce off of her lips. It's the funniest thing and I tried to capture it on video today. Unfortunately she only did it once for the camera and it's quick, if you don't have the volume up high you might miss it. But hey, she's cute enough to watch anyway. :)

Update: the stupid video upload won't work. Bummer. I'll try harder for a video that's more worth it. :)

Kennyitis!!

This past Saturday Franklin and I went to the Kenny Chesney concert!!! It was awesome!! Not only did we see him, but we also saw Pat Green, Sara Evans, Sugarland and Brooks & Dunn! We had so much fun. We fully intended to get trashed, we even had our wonderful friend Dana as our designated driver. We were off to a good start at Hockeytown with our buckets of Voodoo Juice, but they weren't sold at the concert and our buzz came down fast. And getting drunk on $8 beers at the stadium is way too hard for me. :)

Parents Let Loose

Our friend Dana came to visit this past weekend and we had a great time. Margaritas by the pool and a night out with no baby!! We went to the local country bar, Dirty Cowboys. There were five of us and we all rode the mechanical bull!! Although none of us did very well, we all had a lot of fun.

Here's a look at Franklin on the bull:

Peanut's First Year Portraits

We took Peanut to get her pictures done last week and we have a sneak peek of some of the proofs: http://lisapflaum.blogspot.com/

Peanut's new love

We went to the county fair with my parents, sister and nieces last week. Peanut really liked seeing all of the animals and of course, all the people. She had her first carousel ride and fed llamas. She then decided that she LOVES the inflatables. Fortunately it wasn't very crowded and she was able to play on one of them by herself most of the time. However, she was not happy when it was time to go.

Saw this in the grocery store...

I have no words.

Harry Potter Mania!!

Last night I went to the Harry Potter Fest with my sister, her husband and my niece. We had a great time going through all the stores in Diagon Alley. One store even had Mandrake babies!! And the bathrooms were Harry Potties!! I dressed in Gryffindor's colors, good thing too because I was placed in that house by the sorting hat. :) We had to wait till 12:01am to get our books and it was just like sleeping outside for concert tickets! Ahh...the memories.

Added note: the book was awesome, it took me a week to read it which I think is pretty good for having a 1-year old. :)

Peanut's Checkup

Peanut went for her 12 month check up and she's doing great. She's exactly 21 lbs and 31 in long. That's still 95% for height and 50% for weight. She's my skinny, tall girl! She got three shots but took them very well. Well, not the first one so much, she screamed on that one, but the other two went smoothly. :)

She's walking more and more every day and I swear she broke out into a run today. She's also learned she can get behind the tv, which is great fun. And still trying to climb everything.

Life with a toddler is an adventure!

Peanut's First Birthday Bash!

This past Saturday we held Peanut's birthday party in MI. We had a great time with all the friends and family that joined in the fun. Peanut was very tired having not had a nap but she did great anyway. As the wonderful parents we are, we had the Blue Angels perform. LOL, just kidding, the air show was taking place nearby so our guests had some entertainment.

Peanut highly enjoyed her tearing into her cake. She didn't eat too much of it but she sure messed it up good! And today at the grocery store she was reaching for all the cakes in the bakery!!

Peanut turns One!!

We can't believe it but our baby girl is one year old. That year just flew by. Before she even turned a year she started walking. And boy if we thought our life was crazy before it's even worse now!! Her check up is next week so I'll post her stats then. :)

Peanut goes to the beach!

We had a great vacation in Myrtle Beach as well as my family reunion in Virginia. Peanut just LOVED the water and the sand. Fortunately she didn't eat any of it. :) I think I'm in trouble with this one and water, she crawled towards the waves!!

An 11 month old and a professional sporting event..

Franklin had to go to Columbus for a meeting with the Crew so the three of us headed down and took in a Columbus Crew professional soccer game. Fortunately we were in the VIP area so there was room for Peanut to get around and for us to walk her around. We also had a hospitality suite with food, beverages and bathrooms. That part was definitely awesome. Peanut LOVED the mascot too! I think we'll wait a little while before we take her to another pro sports game but for the most part she did great!

Happy Father's Day Franklin!!

I wanted to take this time to recognize Franklin as an AWESOME dad. Peanut loves spending time with him and is always way better behaved with him than me. I couldn't ask for a better husband or a better father for my child.

Happy 1st Father's Day!!

And Happy Father's Day to all the other first time Dads as well as the seasoned ones. :)

Congratulations Bob & Amanda!!

I'm happy to annouce my good friends Bob & Amanda welcomed a baby boy Ryan Robert on June 12th at 5:15pm. He weighed 8 lbs 3 oz and was 20 in long. Mommy and baby are both doing fine.

Congratulations to both of you!!

Good ole days

One of our grocery stores allows you to earn fuel rewards with grocery purchases. I've been earning them for quite some time but never redeemed them. I decided to go to their newly opened gas station in our town and use my rewards. I had $2.40/gal in rewards which meansI got gas for $.45 a gallon!!! It only took $9.56 to fill up my mini-van, over 20 gallons! It was just like the good ole days. Not that I ever experienced gas at that low of a price but I think it was $.97 my senior year in high school and I had a little car so putting $10 went a long way.

Off to buy more groceries!!

Sisterhood of the Holey Pants

This past weekend was my annual Girlfriend's Camping Weekend. We all had a great time, drank a little too much beer and ate too much junk...just as we planned. :) A few tidbits from the weekend: Inbreedsville, Meth Watch, Salve, Sue Drop, Navy boys, Pee spots and Tick Check.

But by far the fondest memory was the memorial for Bean's holey pants. She had them for 17 years and they went camping with us every year. Needless to say the holes left little to the imagination anymore. So we decided, some not willingly, that we would burn the pants. It took a little pushing (or attacking some might say) to get the pants off of her but we did. The four of us spoke about our memories of the pants and then piece by piece they went into the fire. It was sad, but the campsite will be a little more G-rated for it. :)

I had a blast girls, can't wait till next year!!

Best Day Ever!!

Franklin really spoiled me for my first Mother's Day. I had the "day off" from taking care of Maya. He woke me up with breakfast in bed and then I got presents!! A spa package and tickets to the Princess Diana exhibit from him, a tote bag with her picture on it from Peanut and flowers from Sophie. Then he made me a bubble bath, with candles!! I swear it was the longest I've spent in the bathroom in I don't know how long. And then we went to lunch at Red Lobster, got ice cream at Coldstone and then went to the park. He made dinner and gave Peanut her bath. It was pure bliss! He certainly set the bar for this holiday and I hope it repeats year after year!!

Thank you Franklin, it was truly one of the best days ever!!

Flying Duck

You know, kids toys are really dangerous especially when they're hidden in the blankets on your bed. Almost every night we give Peanut play time on our bed before she goes to sleep and we try and get all the toys back in the basket but sometimes one sneaks out. So the other night she played, I put her in her crib and then cleaned up the toys. Franklin then proceeded to get under the covers and sort of "fluffed" them up over him and WHAM!! he was hit right smack in the head by a flying plastic duck!! I immediately doubled over in quiet laughter, don't want to wake up the baby or anything. It hit his eye pretty good and I'm sure it hurt but it was pretty funny too! :) The duck looks so sweet and innocent.

I'm Hurty

So the other day I was putting Peanut down for a nap and I tried getting out of her room quickly and I busted my foot on the door frame. It hurt like hell but I couldn't yell out because I didn't want to wake her up. I went about my evening and by the end of the night my pinky toe was all swollen and purple. I was super excited because I don't normally bruise! Franklin insisted I call the doctor the next day and they had me come in and then sent me for x-rays. They were concerned that my foot could be broken. Fortunately it's not, just my 4th and 5th toe, but now I have to see a podiatrist. Even though it sucks and it hurts, I still love that I have a bruise!!!

And thanks to my friend Monica for the word Hurty! :)

Mom-Wagon

Well, it's official, we've gone out and got a mini-van! Yup, now I'm one of the many moms out there carting around their children and all of their belongings. I actually love it and I enjoy driving it. I'm looking forward to using it for our trips to Michigan too!!

Dirty Cowboys

We have a new country bar opening up soon in our town called Dirty Cowboys. We're pretty excited about it because we enjoy country music and it's always great people watching. Franklin and I were driving by where it'll be located and it's in a strip mall, guess what's right next door to it? Planned Parenthood! It makes it convenient to pick up some items for after the bar!! :)

Peanut's 9 Month Checkup

We just returned from Peanut's 9 month checkup and everything is great. She now weighs 19 lbs 4 oz (60%) and is 30 1/4 inches long which is above 95%. I knew she was gonna be a tall one!! She's nothing but trouble these days...crawling, pulling herself up, cruising around.

We also went to a Mom and Tot lunch today and had a great time with other moms and their kids. One of many upcoming social engagements on Peanut's calendar!!

Hallelujah!!!

Sanjaya is gone!! Sanjaya is gone!!! Ding dong the wicked hair is gone!!!

Disturbing

I just saw the commercial for the Itsy Bitsy Spiderman, is anyone else disturbed by this? I mean, this is a SUPERHERO and he's now singing Itsy Bitsy Spider???

It's official...we have a crawler!!

Peanut has been manuvering around for a couple weeks but not really crawling, but as of yesterday, we have a crawler. Although she doesn't crawl like normal, she's on her hands and one knee and then with the other leg she has her foot flat on the floor. It's pretty amusing to watch. But poor Sophie, right now she's faster than Peanut, but who knows how long that'll last. Baby proofing, here we come!!

And earlier in the week she started getting herself into a sitting position all on her own too!

Happy Easter Eve!!

Peanut visited the Easter Bunny!

Last Sunday Franklin and I took Peanut to see the Easter Bunny. The line wasn't long so we didn't have to worry about her getting antsy. I handed her off to the Bunny and she did just fine. Unlike Santa we didn't do a drop and run, she saw the Bunny before she sat down. Her teeth were bugging her so we didn't get a great smile, but she did smile!

TMNT

Okay, I'm just now getting into the world of Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, Noggin, etc. so can someone tell me when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became popular again? Not that I don't love seeing all the old school things (Strawberry Shortcake, Puffalumps, My Little Pony, etc.) but can't they come up with anything original nowadays?

Happy Birthday Franklin!!

Just wanted to send out birthday wishes to my Franklin! Happy 36th Birthday!!!

Do what your mother tells you!

Recently my parents got hooked up with a cable modem and now they're all about the internet. It's really never too late. So today my Mom tells me that I need to post something on my blog. She's read everything and wants to see more. Well alrighty then, here you go!! :) Love you Mom!!

Hee hee hee

As you all may know Franklin does NOT enjoy changing diapers and many of you may have seen this example:

Well tonight a diaper changing experience will now make him leary to change even the cleanest diaper. Franklin opened up Peanut's diaper to find that she had pooped. Now he handles that a lot better than before so he was happily cleaning her up when all of a sudden she decided to empty her bladder. He was leaning down making sure he was wiping her well and BAM! pee pee right in the forehead, hair and shirt! He started calling for me to come and rescue him but I didn't hear him right away because I was loading the dishwasher!! By the time I got to him he was still paralized by the event and Peanut was still laying there in a dirty diaper. I took over and he quickly went to change his shirt. Now he's insisting he needs a shower. Such a rookie. :)

A bit too long

I don't know about you but I usually take down my Christmas tree sometime after New Year's Day. Any longer after that and it just seems silly. But for some they may want to enjoy it longer, and they should. Till January 15th, 30th, etc., but February 21st? Don't you think that's a bit too long? One of the houses in my neighborhood still have their tree up, still turn on the lights every night. Do you think they'll keep it up till Spring?

Stupid snow coverage

You know, I can look outside and see that it's snowing, see the wind blowing and I can assume the roads are crappy. All the schools are closed and I'm happy to watch the little ticker go by all day long on my local channels. What I can't understand is why they have to interrupt programming ALL morning long saying the same thing over and over. Showing the poor, low on the totem pole reporters freezing their butt off.

And as I write this post someone on the news just said that people have called in and said get off the air! Too funny. But alas, they say it's a dangerous event and they've been on since 4:00am and will continue on through the storm. Do you think the meterologists get off on this? I mean, normally they're only on the air for like 4 min during a news broadcast, but during this they get to sit in the center of the news desk and tell us all about wind chills, blowing and drifting and weather advisories all day long.

Okay, I'll stop now because obviously it won't make any difference!!

Congratulations Katie & Christian!!

Just wanted to give a great big CONGRATULATIONS to my friend Katie and her husband Christian on the birth of their son last Thursday. Welcome to the world baby Hunter!!

Da da

Last week Peanut started saying da da. Now we know she's just making the noise and not actually saying daddy, but Franklin is loving it! As he should. He does do his best to get her to say ma ma but she just likes da da. Da da. Da da. Over and over all day long!

Something to ponder...

Is it just me or does anyone else wonder why all the Chinese buffet restaurants always have blinds/curtains covering the windows and they're always closed? Do they not want people to see in? Do they have something to hide? I personally like to look inside to see how many people are in there or if it looks like a clean place, but with these stupid blinds/curtains you can't see in!! I think that's just bad business.

Peanut's 7 Months Old!

I can't believe it's already been 7 months. The time has just flown by which I'm pretty sure I've said every month. She's already wearing 9 month size clothes! Not pulling herself to sit up yet but she can sit up very well when we put her that way. Not crawling yet either but that's just fine with me!!

Colts win the Super Bowl!!!

Last night was an amazing game and my favorite team did awesome!! Well, after the first few minutes anyway. :) Peyton Manning rocked and led his team to win the championship and himself the MVP. Go Colts! Go Colts! Go Colts!

The most important appliance

So last Friday the most dreadful thing happened, our dishwasher broke down. Yes, that's right, the most important appliance in the kitchen is gone. One would think it's actually one of the appliances you could live without but they are wrong. Especially when you're dealing with baby bottles! But alas, the dishwasher fairy came today!! And we now have a beautiful new sparkly white dishwasher. It's so quiet and wonderful I'm almost speechless. Almost. :)