Cake poll

see over there ----->

please vote on a cake design for Noah's first birthday party. I'm making the cake myself. No real theme for the party, so the cake will help decide that.

Thanks :-)

Projects

I'm currently in the middle of (or planning portion) of several projects and they're all starting to run together, so I'm blogging them for me (and you're just stuck reading about them :-P)

-wool dryer balls for Steph. i have the yarn I need for them, just need to actually wind and felt the balls.
-cloth wipes for Noah. I have several already cut out and pieced together, just need to run them through the sewing machine. and i have fabric for a bunch more.
-seat belt cushion for myself. the seatbelt's in the car always dig into my neck and shift around, so I'm going to make wraps for them. have the fabric, need velcro(and time)
-put the bed back together. right now we're sleeping on the mattress on the floor. the bed frame is upstairs in the new room, i just need to take the time to put it back together.
-clean out the old bedroom and Noah's old nursery. once they're emptied, we can...
-paint the new office and play room, and reclaim my living room!
-patch the header after our demolition project

and, a project I have in mind but need the weather to get nicer for...yanking up all the plants in the front 'garden' and replanting. Jen might come over to help :-)

oh, and somewhere in there I need to plan Noah's first birthday party. I'm keeping it really small, but still need to pick a cake pan and invitations and food. speaking of...time for another post!

Small Talk Six (errr...3)

This week's topic: 3/28 – 6 things you would like to do naked if you lived alone

I think this week is going to be a challenge for me. I don't enjoy being naked. Maybe it's because I'm paranoid that there's going to be an accident and I'll need to be ready to run out the door at any moment. or maybe it's just b/c I'm not that proud of my body...but, i'll try.

1. swim. especially if I still lived in the middle of nowhere. I love the feel of water rushing over my body when I swim
2. laundry. b/c inevitably I'm always wearing one of my favorite outfits when I do laundry and I can't wear it again until I wash it.
3. painting- b/c I always get paint on my clothes and ruin them

and now I fail. I can not think of one other thing I'd like to do naked. hopefully next week will be a topic i can actually complete.

I'm a slacker

This week was a rough one in my world. I'm having some problems at work that I'd rather not share with the blogging community, but suffice it to say that my simple pleasures were far and few this week. Nevertheless, I'll attempt some:

-fun words on the daily dictionary calendar
-black raspberry blast ice cream
-Noah discovering new foods he enjoys
-play dates with friends!
-and, counting down to birthdays. (only 10 more days!)

Here's hoping for a smoother week coming up.

7 in 7

i'm stealing this from Steph for this week b/c I need to get some things taken care of and if I put it down I might remember to do it.

1. call and schedule Noah's 1 year checkup (sob!)
2. look into pictures for Noah (completed! check out Noah's Pictures)
3. put the bed back together
4. clean the kitchen (completed 3/28)
5. go through all of my magazines and put out for recycling (in process)
6. send surprise gift box to Jenni and diapers to Meagan
7. re-order crunchy clean detergent (for my clothes, i've decided i don't like the CD version as much) (completed 3/29)

To clarify:

-driving with open sunroof(unless you're steve, in which case you should never open your sunroof again).

I work with(mostly) a great bunch of people. We have fun together, we tell stories. and the story from last week was Steve driving with his sun roof open. Friday after work he went to his car and discovered he had a flat tire. He went to happy hour for a bit and then had a friend drop him off back at the garage. He put the donut on the car and drove home. Saturday morning he had to go get a new tire for the car. It was a beautiful morning, so he had the windows open and the sun roof down. He was flying down the highway, doing about 60-65...and a bird crapped on him- straight through the sun roof.

The story cracked me up then, and it still does now. But, I'm leaving my sun roof on the 'vent' setting for awhile. :-)

Small Talk Six

This week's topic is six things you love or hate about springtime. This one might be hard for me, Spring is my favorite season so I'll have to try and keep it to 6.

-birds in the morning. I love waking up and hearing the birds singing. it just makes my whole day start off on a good foot.
-Rain on a tin roof. I love rain. the smell, the sound, the way it feels dripping off your nose after you've danced in it. and one of the best things ever is falling asleep listening to rain falling on a tin roof.
-light jackets. that's right, it's time to put away the heavy winter coats and pull out the fun bright colored jackets.
-longer days. The sun is still up when I get home from work, which means Noah likes to stay up later...which means I get to spend more time with him now!
-flowers. I'm a big fan of flowers, and I love watching them bloom. there is honeysuckle in the yard across from us and I can't wait for it to bloom because the whole alley smells wonderful
-capri pants. In case you couldn't tell from the jackets...I'm not a fan of heavy layers. so I love being able to wear capri's and shorts again.

and some other various things of spring I love: umbrellas and rainboots, bright splashy colors, switching to springtime purses, driving with open sunroof(unless you're steve, in which case you should never open your sunroof again), sleeping with the windows open, and food on the grill!

Pleasures

i know i know i know, it's not Thursday. and I was late last week too, so this is unacceptable. but forgive me anyways :-P

-lunch with friends
-making someone happy
-Eye-Grow plant!
-Dead until Dark
-fluffy mail
-pulled pork sandwiches
-fun socks in the dollar aisle :-)

Small Talk 6 (or 12)

I'm doing my small talk 6 on Sunday again
3/14 – 6 things you love that are green
and because I think this weeks topic can be interpreted in 2 different ways, I'm doing a small talk 12. So first:

6 things I love that are (the color) green:
-fresh cut grass in the summer. There's just something about the way it feels between your toes
-key lime pie. i love the tartness/sweetness, and it's just good.
-my green sweater. it's warm and soft and fuzzy, and it just always looks good (or, it did until it got stained. now I only wear it at home)
-brocolli and peas. yup, they are two of my all time favorite vegetables!
-Kermit the frog. he just makes me smile, nothing too complicated about that.
-Willow trees. they make the perfect hideout when you're little, and I just love the way they look and feel. I spent hours reading under my grampy's willow tree when I was a little girl.

and...6 things I love that are (eco-friendly) green:
-Cloth diapers! I never thought I'd say this, but I love cloth diapers. they are cute, they're friendly for the environment, and they're so soft and squishy. Plus, I just love that they give Noah extra butt padding while he's learning to cruise around.
-Crunchy Clean laundry detergent. it smells like a small slice of heaven and has sooo many uses
-Chico reusable bags. they fold up into a neat compact bag that clips onto my keychain
-the Eco-Friendly Family board on the bump. those ladies are amazing and so helpful
-Love Bottles. I don't actually have one, but I'm lusting after it strongly. They're reusable glass water bottles, because lets face it, water just tastes best out of a glass
-Vinegar and baking soda! they're like my little magical solutions to almost everything. I use them for cleaning, laundry, cooking, freshening carpets...

if you have any questions about my eco-friendly green choices, let me know. I'd be more then happy to share web-links for the items I've mentioned :-)

Simply Simple

Noah and I went out with my mom yesterday and I never got around to blogging. So, pretend it's Thursday still :-P

-cheering up someone that's had a bad day
-leaving little gifts for co-workers
-coffee and donuts from a friend
-Noah standing and cruising
-lunch with mom!
-chicken and gnocchi soup :-)
-the best episode of The Office in a long while
-a good night sleep
-beautiful weather! I got to wear a dress with no pantyhose, that's lovely weather.
-plums

I had a relatively good week, lots of things to laugh over and that usually makes for a good time.

10 pictures

I can't call it my 10 on 10, because I actually forgot it was the 10th until just now. but to appease the blog-gods, I'm going to post 10 recent pictures of Noah.



Joe pushing Noah on the swings at the City Park. Noah was more interested in the ground then looking up at me.



Giddyap horsey! Noah riding his horse fast and furiously.



Noah contemplates grass.




Noah and daddy on the slides at the city park


This bee is fun mom!



the face says it all



caught mid-laugh



Testing out the new blanky mommy made



baby you can drive my car



Bye-bye for now!

Learning to love you more #27

Assignment 27- Take a picture of the sun.
This picture was taken from my back yard. Joe was grilling dinner while Noah and I sat in the grass and watched the sun set.

Small Talk Six (thanks Steph)

I follow my friend Stephanie's blog: http://pleasestickitinthefridge.blogspot.com. She's a much better blogger then I am and it makes me envious. She's also the person that inspired me to do my 101 in 1001. She does several little blog projects that I love but just don't seem to have the motivation to get into, but this one looks like a lot of fun! Granted, I'm a day late- but better late then never :-)
so without further adieu-
3/7- 6 places you would like to travel to if you had someone trustworthy to watch your children and pets

1. Hawaii, I've never been but I love the pictures that I've seen and I love the water, so I think it would be a good fit for me.
2. Key West- my favorite vacation place. I once aspired to live there, but the COL is high and jobs are scarce...maybe when I retire.
3. New Zealand- I had no real interest in New Zealand until Dawn moved there. Then I saw all the pictures and now I want to go. and of course i'd have to do the LOTR tour while I was there
4. Forks, Washington- yes, i'm that obsessed. but it wouldn't be as much fun without Jen and Kim...either way, I've always wanted to go to Washington state so now I just have another reason for it.
5. Scotland- I have a fascination with the LochNess Monster. I would be happy just to sit by Loch Ness and watch the water for awhile. but if i'm over there, I might as well tour the castles too :-)
6. I'm gonna go with The Grand Canyon for my last spot. There are actually a ton of places that I would like to visit, but I feel that there are a ton of beautiful things in my own country that I haven't seen yet.

so there it is, my small talk six!

10 month update and weekend adventures

Noah turned 10 months old on Monday. and on Thursday he started cruising on the couch. He's crawling everywhere, climbing everything he can, and talking up a storm. Right now he likes to wave and say 'hi' and 'bye' to everything, so walks are fun. He also says: mama, dada, cat, up, all done, baba, and lately he's trying to say 'book' it comes out kinda like baaaah, but he's always pointing to his books when he says it. I'm amazed by how smart he is, every day is something new.

as for adventures...Jen and I tried to go to Toys R Us Tuesday night to get a new toy for Noah to practice walking with. We went to the mall first and spent a gift check (thanks erin!), then we headed on to Toys R Us. Now...Jen is practically blind, and is waiting for new glasses to come in. But she knew her way and I didn't. I was following her in my own car when all of a sudden I realized we were on 795 South. No worries, I figured the closest Toys R Us must be in Catonsville and I was getting ready to call Joe and tell him i'd be later then I thought...then my phone starts ringing. It was Jen letting me know that we went the wrong way but we'd just get off at the first exit and turn around. I started cracking up...there's no exit off 795 until you get to 695. She was so upset, but I just thought it was pretty funny. We went down Liberty Road and got back home but decided against Toys R Us that night.

We finally made it there on our lunch break Wednesday and picked up a Fisher Price walker/car type toy for Noah. and we got Chocolate frogs while we were there!
Thursday Noah and I played around the house with his new toy and practiced climbing on the couch...then we went shopping. Michael's now has a dollar section, full of toys. I had so much fun.

Friday was absolutely gorgeous, so Noah and I walked to the playground. He played on the swings, played peek-a-boo with another little girl, rode down the slide (with mommy holding onto him), and played in the grass for a bit. I'll have pictures once I get them uploaded.

Saturday was even prettier then Friday. I got the wonderful idea that we should go to the Baltimore Zoo since it was so nice out, and b/c Noah loves animals now. I went online and bought tickets because they're 1/2 off online. then we got all dressed and packed up the diaper bag and headed out. It was a pretty quiet drive down, Noah was babbling in the back but relatively happy. yeah....turns out the zoo doesn't open until NEXT weekend. *sigh* at this point we just said, lets drive somewhere to be able to get him out and play. so we headed to Playwise Kids...he started pulling on his ear and felt pretty warm and was fussy. as i was trying to decide what to do, he fell asleep. at this point, i just said go home. so we made it home, gave him lunch and then walked up to the city playground.

We all had a nice dinner together, then it was bath time, book time, and time for bed. :-)
so all in all, a nice weekend with a few detours.

Simple Pleasures

Here are my pleasures for the week!
-having a friend that understands you so completely you don't have to finish your sentences
-Toys R Us during lunch breaks
-stickers
-bubbles
-bubblicious bubble gum
-noah snuggles, especially when he curls his fingers into my hair and falls asleep on my shoulder
-a great LOST episode
-pediures and haircuts
-cinnamon raisin bagels
-batting cages

I had a pretty awesome week so I had a lot of pleasures. I hope everyone else had a fantastic week as well :-)