We are off!

Today, after many days of hard work, we are off to Maryland to see family and friends for Christmas. I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday and a VERY Merry Christmas.

Even though I said we weren't doing a lot for Christmas gift wise, which we really don't have that much, I still spent 3 1/2 hours yesterday wrapping. Along with being a wedding nut, I LOVE to wrap!! So sue me!

LOVE Chris Greg and Sam

Queen Slacker of Blogging

Wow...it has been awhile. I think I say that everytime I blog. I am officially the Queen Slacker of Blogging. BUT have no fear....I have not been a slacker for anything else. Sam is getting to be quite a handful these days. I thought the infant stage was tough....NEGATIVE....the toddler stage is the worst so far. He wants up, he wants down, he wants cereal, he wants pears, he loves veggies, he hates veggies, he sleeps through the night, he stops sleeping through the night. He has become a pretty clingy little guy, also prone to head injuries. He has fallen and bumped his head on more things then I care to count. He will never play football.

I am so close to being done for Christmas. I only have one present for Gregory left to get and I am done! BUT I am hand crafting lots of stuff that isn't done yet. Ana-I need your expertise in editing video :)

Hope all is well! We'll see you soon family!!

Money, Money, Money

I love the holidays and especially this year's Christmas. Everyone has felt the pinch of the crappy economy and it really has brought back. at least to me, the meaning of Christmas. I truly just want to spend some quality time with my family and friends without all the stress of buying the perfect gift for them without spending a ton of money and hoping that they like it. This Christmas I hope all of you spend QUALITY time with your friends and family and enjoy their company because God knows we all will not be here forever!

So, here's to you crappy economy for helping me see the great side of Christmas with the greatest gifts of all, family and friends.

Continuation....

Ok....so swinging a golf club. Greg played many holes of golf over the week and by Saturday he knew he over did it. But he felt pretty good and didn't play too bad either.

It was great to see all of the Toland's and Naughton's. We do NOT spend enough time with them. It's nice to have another baby around too! Finton is ADORABLE and pretty good for an eight week old. Jayme and Derek are settling into parenthood with ease! They are both naturals.

We ate lots of carbs and drank lots of beer and ate lots more carbs! So much for sticking to a diet around the holidays. We are now back on the wagon called the gym and not eating crap! I made my goal weight of 157 lbs but I would still like to lose 15 more lbs. I think I'll wait to get on the scale again until after Christmas. I feel great and hope to just keep getting healthier.

Here are some pics of the week at Hilton Head, SC...Enjoy!

Oh My God, Oh My God

It's Britney B***** My girl is coming in concert to Verizon Center in DC in March. I will have to find several part-time jobs to finance me seeing her but I will give blood, sell furniture and maybe even try to get sam into some modeling jobs to get a seat ring side!

I have problems, I know but it's Britney!

Wpheeewww!

We are home after a whirlwind November and guess what...it's December already! I have been to multiple states, as have Greg and Sam! Greg was in MD for a doctor's appointment right before Thanksgiving and got his final clearance from Dr. Speciale (his back surgeon). He is as good as new...but really better than new!

Jess came to visit us in Raleigh and then the following weekend after another horse show in Raleigh Jess and I hit the road to Palm Beach, FL. It was only a 14 hr car ride but it was so much fun. Jess and I, along with our family, have been on many a road trip and we always had such a great time. This time was no different. We chatted the whole way and we didn't even touch the radio once! She is a hardworking and very talented young lady! Florida was great but short. We got in late Monday night and I left very early Wednesday morning. Boo Hoo!

Then we all turned around for Thanksgiving week and went to Hilton Head, SC. We left early Monday morning with the Kastendike's and the Naughton's to drive to SC. Our house was gorgeous, on a golf course and had a pool (it wasn't heated though and it certainly was not warm enough to swim). Greg and I had a great week....not to mention Samuel! I don't think he was bored for one second! Greg and I had some alone time! It was worth more than I can say. We golfed a VERY fast 9 holes, drove around looking for somewhere to eat (we hit up 2 closed restaurants) and finally ate at a tourist trap called the Crazy Crab where grease was a main course. But it was nice to see my husband for a while without thinking of him as Daddy! It was also a joy to see him swing a golf club for the first time in a year without pain! He was elated to be able to play again!

Ok--the man is up so this is a to be continued post.....

Dirt, Mud and Horses

This post is about our day at the stables. Jessi is here for the weekend because she is riding in a couple of events at a horse show here in Raleigh. So of course we bombard her at the barn yesterday. It was raining, Greg got stuck at work and Sam had not had a nap (except for in the car on the way). I totally forget what it's like at a barn. I had on my running shoes, which got completely covered in red clay/mud and a pair of jeans. They were wet up to about mid-calf. And since there was so much red clay mud and water I thought that the stroller would be pretty much useless, so I carried Sam all day. I had a few breaks when we were inside and finally I just let him down in the dirt. A little horse poo won't hurt, right? (Grammi, don't have a heart attack OK) Of course the first thing he does is go for Jessi's scissors, syringe with ace and I gave him a clip to play with...what's the first thing he does???? Puts it in his mouth...that's right....the child that puts NOTHING in his mouth but a blanket, immediately picks a clip off of the ground and puts it in his mouth. Just my luck!


Please don't think I am complaining, I had so much fun watching Jess ride and win a class! She is an amazing girl, not only at riding but at everything she does. How lucky are we that she is related to us?!
All in all it was a GREAT day. Sam was a trooper. He loved the horses. At first he had a look on his face that was half smile half petrified. I'm sure he was thinking....That's a huge dog! But after a while he warmed up and LOVED watching them run around the ring. BIG DOG!!

Happy Fall Ya'll

I think it is officially fall here in the south. It has been frosting overnight and only getting into the 50's during the day. We took Sam to the park the other day and he loved it. He is getting so big and trying to walk everywhere! He is a true boy though....all he wanted to do was play in the dirt and mulch on the playground. He was such a big boy and went down the slide. He wasn't so sure about the swings this time. He looked like he was panicking so we took him out...he didn't look like he was having a ball. Um, could Greg and Sam be any sweeter?! Greg is such a good daddy! As Sam is getting bigger I think he is looking a little less like Greg and maybe a little more like me...at least a smidge?!


We do have snuggle time in the mornings. When he wakes up he usually plays very quietly in his crib until we think it is too cute and we have to go get him. Then he gets his prilosec and then we have to wait a half an hour for him to eat. So we snuggle on the couch under a blanket. He is so sweet. We usually watch a little Noggin in the morning so it is either Franklin or Jack's Big Music Show. I know, I know....I said I wouldn't put him in front of the tv but sometimes it really is educational! So here is snuggle time with Daddy.


These were just too cute not to post! Look at those chompers and curls!!

Halloween

Sorry this is SOOO behind but we weren't here over the weekend so I couldn't post these ADORABLE pics of Monkey Man Sam. He had many costumes over the weekend. He loved halloween. And we were very good and didn't collect any candy and we got rid of all of ours, so nothing was left to tempt us. Even though we did binge quite a bit over the weekend. Sam loved seeing all the kids in their costumes and was toasty even though it was pretty cold.

This outfit does have a cape attached...just in case you were wondering.

We had a great weekend visiting family in MD. GiGi and GiPoppi's house on Saturday to see them, PapPap, Aunt V, and Jessi. We had a great lunch from TGI Friday's. GiGi is doing much better and even Poppi seemed to be enjoying himself and he seems to be getting around ok. Now if we could just get GiGi off of that walker. I know she would be a happy camper.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Onto Nanny's house. We spend Saturday night and Sunday at my mom's. Everyone, at some point came by to see us. Mom got Wii for her birthday so Greg hooked that up and it entertained everyone for hours. The girls and I baked cupcakes for mom with Keith Urban and family pics on them...thanks Amy. Sam got the BEST shirt from mom...check it out. Charlie Brown face and all.

Greg and I went to vote together yesterday. We had NO line what so ever at our polling place. It took all of 10 min. We didn't have electronic voting so we actually had to fill in the bubbles! Greg was very disappointed. It was also George 4's birthday too! So happy birthday and I hope everyone got out there to vote!!

I've Finally Done It!

Yesterday marked a very important day in my life. I packed up the last of my maternity clothes. Bye, Bye my favorite plaid shorts! To be truly honest, they are the most comfortable things I have worn in my life but they were actually getting too big.

I have lost a few pounds and my maternity stuff is just too big...not to mention, I'm not pregnant any more and Sam is 1 so the whole, "I just had a baby" spiel so isn't working anymore!

I am pleasantly happy with my weight loss but I still have a few pounds to shed. Suzzanne really helped me by taking my baggy, maternity clothes wearing self shopping for some clothes that actually fit! I truly feel better about myself now that I can wear a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that doesn't make me look frumpy or have a muffin top. If you don't know what that is....google it.

Thank you to everyone out there that helped me along this journey, especially Greg. He has put up with me whining about not having pizza and how HUNGRY I am all the time. He really tries hard not to hurt my feelings and says that we need to stay on this diet! Someday I will be able to eat pizza again......

Due Date

Today is Sam's original due date. It seems like just yesterday that we found out we were pregnant. Now we have a VERY rambunctious 13 month old. He is walking a lot more on his own and loves to turn on and off the tv and cable box...something with the buttons. We are working on buh-bye and a wave. He has finally started to clap his hands :) I never thought he would do it!


He still was meant to be born into royalty. He refuses to feed himself or hold his bottle. The bottle part I am fine with...I love our snuggle time but he won't even feed himself cheerios. He just picks them up, looks at you and then throws them on the ground with a big ol' smile on his face. He has 8 gigantic teeth and they are adorable. I think Greg and I will have a very hard time disciplining him...all he'll have to do is smile and we will melt.


If you notice, in this pic he has little spots on his face. He had his MMR and Chicken Pox vaccinne at his 12 month check up and they have developed. Poor guy had a fever and little spots all over. His face is looking much better and the spots have disappeared from his arms and tummy.
Today we are going with Amy and her boys to Jumpin' Beans, an inflatable funhouse. I can't wait to post those pics! I'm gonna cheat and tell them that he will be one this weekend to save the seven bucks....technically he really is just one, right? Maybe I'll be honest!

Punkin Patch

My little man is so cute but right now he is not feeling good. He had shots last week so he is now developing a fever and slept 12 1/2 hrs last night and took two solid naps today and just zonked out about 1/2 hour ago.

Um...oh yeah, I have full body hives. Went to the doc, long story short I was exposed to Meningitis a few weeks back, so I thought I had it. But no luck! They don't know what is causing them...probably stress they said and told me to come back with something easier to find causation like diarrhea.

We did get pumpkins from the pumpkin patch the other day. We went to a local farm and they wanted to charge $10 bucks to get in, EACH. They had lots of things for kids to do but Sam is just too small so we opted out but got some cute pics before we left.


Then we stopped by the little patch right down the street from our house. We thought we would support a local farmer. Turns out the pumpkins come from Tennessee. So much for local business! But we got some big ol' pumpkins and Greg already carved his...it says phillies on it. Are you surprised?

I feel beat up. Spinning is not for sissies and I am a huge one! Yoga isn't for sissies but I can laugh at myself there because I have no idea what I am doing. But riding a bike shouldn't be that hard!

Ahhhh a working computer!

I know it has been a while! But amazingly, I have a working computer, a husband who is home, a child who is in the process of going to bed and 3 min of quiet to blog :)

Too long of story to go into so let me summarize:

1. Congrats Ashlee and Christopher
2. Greg's Car died
3. Sam's 1 year check up:
all fine and dandy--he's small, doc said fatten him up
19 lbs. 10 oz. and 30+ inches long
4. Cupcake Envy is BUSY!
5. Visited enemy territory today...I was in the guts of Cameron Indoor! It was beautiful but don't tell anyone I said that!
6. My house is a fricken mess!
7. Can't wait for Halloween
8. My back is broken
9. I am 8 lbs away from my goal weight.
10. I think I need new glasses!

Flock of Flamingo

Happy Belated Birthday to ME!! As most of ya'll know I turned the big 3-0 on Saturday. I know I am officially old because Greg and I ate dinner at like 4 o'clock on Saturday. No, we did not go to Golden Corral, but we did eat early!

I awoke on my birthday to find this....a flock of 30 pink flamingo in the front yard. Thank you Lindy and George and Greg. I know ya'll worked very hard to get them out there! It was the highlight of my day!

Greg bought me a shower curtain rod and some great picture frames for the living room. Also, my favorite napping movie, The DaVinci Code.

I'm off to nap...

PS--I would post pics but my ilife software was deleted at the mac store and now I have to wait for it in the mail! Whoopee! So you'll have pics when I can upload them!

AHHHH I'm Back

I promise that I will be more dillegent about posting. I just got my computer back and I am looking forward to spending much time with it :) For those who don't check our turkey melt down blog here are some pics from an awesome website www.yearbookyourself.com