It's a start

So, we found out we were pregnant shortly after we moved into this house. and first trimester sleepiness took over pretty quickly. needless to say, we haven't done a lot with the house since we moved in, especially the upstairs rooms.

After Santa came and delivered Toys R Us to our house, I've decided we need a play room. My bedroom makes perfect sense. So, we're shifting all of the rooms around. my room will be the playroom. Noah's room will become my craft room/office. The office upstairs will become Noah's room. The large guest room will become my room. Since we're already doing all of this rearranging, we decided it would be the perfect time to paint! Today we picked out colors :-)

My Room will be Canyon Trail by Behr

Noah's room will be Grass Cloth by Behr

The Playroom will be Liquid Blue by Behr

The office will be Cool Melon by Behr


I'm SO excited! Decorating on a pretty much non-existent budget is going to be a challenge, but I'm up for it.

I'm most excited to get my living room back. Currently it is taken over by toys. While I love playing with Noah, I'd prefer for the toys to have their own room. oh, and once all the rooms are painted I can cross it off my 101!

101 in 1001

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days? Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Some common goal setting tips:
1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.

2. Stay Focused. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.

3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.

4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.

5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.

My List: (can you see the theme of my categories?)

Our House
1. Paint the upstairs bedroom
2. clean out the closets and donate clothes that no longer fit every at least once a year (1/3)
3. make dryer balls
4. make a playroom for Noah
5. landscape the front yard
6. get a porch swing completed 04/12/09
7. organize the home office
8. clean the kitchen every night for 1 week
9. baby proof the house
10. fix the door on the laundry closet
11. make a barrel pond for the back yard
12. plant a rose bush
13. get(or make) window treatments for all the rooms in the house
14. get new bedding for the master bedroom
15. decorate for all holidays
16. decorate the master bedroom
17. go a whole day without asking Joe to do something in the house

Stay Beautiful

18. get a 'fun' streak of color in my hair

19. lose 10 pounds
20. give up soda for a month
21. give up coffee for a month
22. no nail biting for 2 weeks

23. take a bubble bath once a month

24. get a pair of kick-ass shoes

25. find a dress that makes me feel sexy

26. lose 10 more lbs

27. reach goal weight and maintain

28. dress nicely every day for a week, no sweats!

29. wear make-up to work every day for a month
30. get a massage
31. eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies every day for 2 weeks
32.toss out all expired makeup and medicine
33. sit on the front porch swing with a pitcher of sweet tea and a trashy romance novel
34. buy flowers for the house at least every other month

We don't need no education

35. finish 12 weeks to better photos
36. do 10 on 10 every month
37. read a new book every month

38. learn to sew
39. learn to crochet a blanket

Been around the world

40. take a family vacation

41. go to the beach

42. go to Key West

43. go to one new state

44. go to Lancaster with Joe and Noah for an 'off' weekend

45. do the haunted tour in Gettysburg

46. go to the Holocaust museum

I don't wanna grow up

47. complete a puzzle
48. make popsicles

49. wear fun socks 3 days a week for 6 months

50. see New Moon on opening night

51. catch lightening bugs

52. eat watermelon off the rind
53. play miniature golf
54. read my horoscope daily for a month
55. complete an entire word search magazine
56. go crabbing in OC

Love will keep us alive
57. Tell Joe and Noah that I love them every day (ongoing)
58. identify 100 things that make me happy
59. complete at least 1/2 the Learning To Love Yourself More assignments
60. cheer someone up that is having a bad day
61. perform a random act of kindness once a week for a month
62. meet up with friends at least once a month
63. go on a date with Joe
64. write a letter to my mother, that i will never send.
65. write a letter to Joe
66. write a letter to Noah
67. make a new friend

Go on take the money and run

68. avoid Target for one week
69. pay off credit card
70. donate $1 to UCP for every task not completed
71. give up eating out for 1 month
72. stay out of bath & body works for 6 months
73. keep track of all spending for 1 month
74. take lunch to work every day for 2 weeks
75. play the lottery
76. open a custodial account for Noah

I'm so much cooler online
77. no computer for one weekend each month
78. no facebook for 1 day a month
79. send in a post secret
80. complete this list
81. make a new list of 101 by the time my 1001 days are done
82. update my journal once a week
83. blog a Simple Pleasure every Thursday

We are family
84. send pictures of Noah to my sister every 3 months
85. get a family picture taken
86. go to tea with my mom
87. have a game night with zach and joe
88. call Erin at least once a month

Baby Mine
89. take one new photo of Noah every week
90. take Noah to the farmers market
91. tame my potty mouth in the car
92. nurse/pump until Noah is 1 year old
93. get fitted for a bra once I am done nursing
94. plan a party
95. make all of Noah's birthday cakes
96. take Noah to Catoctin Mountain Lake

Leave Out All the Rest
97. write a list of all of my fears
98. make a will
99. try a new food
100. bake chocolate chip muffins
101. try a new restaurant


It took me longer then I thought to reorganize and edit my list (some of my goals were not stretches for me at all, so i changed them). so, today is January 24th, 2009 and my 1001 days start today.

New Camera

I've been frustrated with the quality of pictures our camera takes. For Christmas, I asked for gift cards and money towards a new camera. I was pleasantly surprised to receive enough for the whole camera! It arrived in the mail yesterday and I immediately started playing with it. Here are some of my shots. I was pleasantly surprised and can only hope that I learn more quickly.






The last one isn't a 'good' face, but I thought it showed off his cheeks and pouty lips so I had to post it. I can't believe he's already 8 months old. My little man is growing up so quickly. He has hair and gives high fives now!

First Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with Joe's family on Christmas Eve. Noah enjoyed dinner with everyone but this is what he thought about opening presents at first:

He woke up in time to open a baby grand piano! He loves it (it already needs new batteries).

We went home from grandma and grandpa's to open Xmas Eve Pjs and go to bed. Then Santa came while Noah slept, and he left all kinds of neat things!

After we had Christmas at home, we went to Grandma and Granddaddy Bryants House! Noah enjoyed granddaddy's mustache and opening gifts with Grandma.

and this is what the living room looked like after we took the tree down and set up all the toys!

Christmas Card

Our friend Gail was nice enough to do a photo shoot with Noah for our Christmas Cards. The end result was amazing! She took a ton of really great pictures, this was the winner for our card though:

and here's the opposite end of the spectrum. I can't help but laugh every time I see it.

Catching Up

Noah turned 8 months old yesterday. Today, Gail pointed out that it's been almost 2 months since I updated my blog! I am a horrible blogging mommy. I mean to update, and I just never do. I won't say I don't have time, b/c I am always on the computer and could find the time. But- I'll try to play catch up now with pictures.

1st, Noah was approved to try biter biscuits at his 6 month appointment. He was a little suspicious:

2nd, He had his first Thanksgiving! He was so busy eating and enjoying his cousins that we didn't get very many good pics...but here's the best of the day:

3rd, Christmas Prep. Noah got his first cold right before Christmas. He was pretty miserable, but he's a ham when I get the camera out. So, I gave him his stocking and put him in a cute outfit to try and distract him. I think it worked:

also, He sits now! check him out, he loves his giraffe:

Enough with the pictures, you're worse then the paparazzi:

6 months

Noah had his 6 month check-up yesterday. He weighs 17 lbs 2 oz, and he's 28.75 inches long. I have a long, lean baby! He has two teeth, and he's doing really good with solids so far. The doctor gave us the okay to start juice, water, and teether biscuits too! Noah had so much fun with the biscuits. He sat in his highchair and chewed on it while I cleaned up the kitchen.

to date we've had: Rice Cereal, bananas, sweet potatoes, peas, apple juice, original baby mum-mums, biter biscuits, and a nibble on mommy's apple b/c it looked like so much fun.

He changes everyday and is such a joy to be around. He loves to talk and has been saying ma-ma for about a month now! His newest word is ba-ba, and he loves to say mmmm-baa (I'm hoping he's not secretly a Hanson fan). He's still working on sitting up, but he's mastered rolling- which also means he's now a tummy sleeper.

we had our first Halloween! He did not enjoy feeling the pumpkin innards. He also didn't like his costume very much. I didn't even get a real picture in it :-( He stayed up and handed out candy with us, and he was so interested. We had a werewolf stop by a few times to tickle Noah's foot b/c he just thought Noah was the cutest baby ever.

We're going to have family pictures done tomorrow. Cross your fingers and hope he's having a great day and gives us lots of smiles :-)