Truly Scrumptious

What a time son!

2011-11-22T22:37:00.007-05:00

Well, what can be said other than that time is flying by. Charlotte turned 3 a few weeks ago, Clark will be 8 months tomorrow, and Amelia will be 5 in just a few more weeks. That being said, I love my family, and the craziness that is our life. I'm sure one day I'll look back and miss these days.

Some Egg-cellent Fun!

2011-04-28T20:00:00.000-04:00

A few pictures from our ward Easter Egg Hunt and Easter Sunday.

The Dreaded Question

2011-01-24T12:13:00.005-05:00

I'm always on the look out for something new to make for dinner. Its not that I mind cooking so much, its the effort of planning, deciding, and shopping that takes its toll. We seem to eat the same thing over and over again. My go to place for new recipes is allrecipes. I like to read the reviews and see the suggestions that others make. I've tried some good recipes, and we've had a few busts too, but since my family expects dinner EVERY DAY, I keep trucking along. Here are a few recipes I've found to work (with a few personal tweeks) for our family. They aren't going to win any recipe contests, but it may be something different to answer the dreaded question of, "What's for dinner?" Let me know what you think:)

Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Soup
1 pound shredded, cooked chicken
1 – 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 – 10 ounce can enchilada sauce
1 – 4 ounce can chopped green chilies
1 – 8 ¾ ounce can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can tomato paste
4 cups chicken broth
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 bay leaf

1. Add all ingredients to a slow cooker.
2. Cook on low setting for 6 – 8 hours.
3. Garnish with sour cream, shredded cheese, and fresh lime juice and serve with tortilla chips.

Pizza Casserole
½ pound penne pasta
½ pound mild sausage
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup sliced pepperoni cut into quarters
14 ounces pizza sauce
4 tablespoons milk
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, brown sausage with onion and garlic. Drain excess fat.
3. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and add sausage mixture, pizza sauce, pepperoni, milk, and 1 cup cheese.
3. Transfer to a 13x9 inch baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Top with remaining cheese and bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes.

Salsa Chicken Casserole
1 – 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 2/3 cups water
1 1/3 cups uncooked white rice
1 onion, chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 ounces sour cream
1 ½ cups salsa
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake chicken for 10 – 20 minutes, or until fully cooked. Let cool and shred.
2. Boil water, add rice and onion, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes.
3. Mix together cream of chicken soup, sour cream and salsa.
4. In a greased 13x9 inch baking dish, layer half of the rice and onion, half of the soup mixture, and half of the cheese. Repeat rice and soup layers.
5. Bake in 350°F oven for 30 minutes. Add remaining cheese and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T17:05:00.000-05:00

Our House, On the Corner of Our Street

2010-10-20T20:32:00.002-04:00

Here is a little advice. Never buy a house that has to be completely painted from floor to ceiling and needing various other home improvements, when you are in your first trimester. Or really, if you are pregnant at all. You know those shows you watch on Saturdays that are about people who buy fixer-uppers hoping to rehaul and "flip" them? I watch those shows and I see all the mistakes people make, thinking they are going to get X amount done in X amount of time. I always thing of how foolish those people are.

Now I know better. While we are not attempting to flip our house, we did intend on making many improvments before we moved into the house. We went into closing thinking we could get everything done in six weeks. Yeah, right. Combine a sick and tired pregnant woman, a guy already putting 40 hours a week into his day job, 2 rambunctious children needing constant entertaining, and a house older than half of my siblings and delays happen. I had such high hopes of moving into a house where all the projects were finished and we just got to enjoy living there - gone! The plan is to move in this weekend. While the driving back and forth between houses (a 20+ minute drive) and living off of fast food life will hopefully be over, I think we'll just be trading one form of chaos for another. Well we've got about five months until the newest Lewis joins our family, so that is our new goal. Wish us luck!

I Simply Remember

2010-06-06T21:22:00.003-04:00

Over the past week I've been thinking about a few things that have brought a smile to my face. In no particular order, these are a few of my favorite things.

* Living on the coast and already having been to the beach three times.

* Already rocking an awesome tan.

* Girls night out and wonderful friends to spend time with.

* Hearing my 19 month parrot back almost everything that is said to her.

* Mani/Pedis and having long nails (not super long, but longer than usual).

* No Bake Cookies (Yes, I got the recipe to work!!!)

* Talking to my mom and my sister.

* Good books to read.

Yes there is more, and this list is ever evolving, but for now this will do:)

Like Dust in the Wind

2010-05-10T09:48:00.005-04:00

Last Sunday I wanted somthing sweet. Big surprise, right? I decided to make some cookies - some No-Bake cookies. Now I used to make awesome No-Bake cookies. They were pretty and shiny and moist. Now my cookies are dry and flaky. I found a recipe that assured me my No-Bake cookies would be restored to their previous awesomeness. That was not the case. As I was stirring in the oatmeal, the mixture became dryer and dryer. Eventually I was left with this, not even suitable to try to shape into cookies. All wasn't lost as Erik is using it as an ice cream topping. Perhaps my problem is in trying to halve the recipe. Maybe I'll use fewer oats next time. If there is a next time.

Sprinkle

2010-04-30T16:39:00.009-04:00

It was warm enough today to get the sprinkler out and have some fun. Amelia loves to play in the sprinkle (her version of sprinkler), and although Charlotte was hesitant at first, it didn't take long for her to get in on the action.

Relaxing after all the fun in the sun. I'm appreciating all the hot but not sweltering days while they are here.

A Trip to the Circus

2010-04-28T20:18:00.013-04:00

The Cole Brothers Circus came to town and we decided to give it a whirl. The circus likes to trick you into coming by offering "free" tickets for the kids and discounted tickets for adults. The adult tickets, with the discout, are $12 each, and then if you want to sit in acutal seats instead of bleacher seeting its a $2 upgrade per seat. It was amusing to watch people show up 5 minutes before the show started and being surprised when all the bleacher (free) seating was taken up.

All in all it was an enjoyable evening. There were tigers, and trapezest, camels, zebras, elephants, clowns, dirt bikers, motorcyclist, dancing, and more. Amelia really enjoyed the show and Charlotte amused herself by walking up and down the stairs and climbing on the stairs.

Daddy and his girls. I'm not sure why Amelia has a grumpy face.

Amelia and Taylor (her cousin) riding a camel. Please forgive the evil eyes, the lighting wasn't great.

Mommy and Charlotte

Enjoying some cotton candy.

Charlottes favorite part was climbing up and down the stairs and playing on the chairs.

Part of the Show

Charlotte loving some soda and then crying when I took it away. She would seriously have drunk all 30+ ounces if I let her.

The Finale

Easter Tulips

2010-04-07T08:19:00.010-04:00

Not having found anything I loved, I decided to "make do" when it came to Easter dresses for the girls. Unexpectedly we found ourselves in Raleigh Easter weekend and a quick trip into Gymboree on Friday, while taking a turnabout Crabtree Valley Mall, yielded these beautiful tulip dresses. Well actually it yielded Amelia's tulip dress. We had to trek to Triangle Town Center for Charlotte's dress, but I was enamoured of the dresses, and it was worth it.

Sunday morning the Easter bunny "hid" eggs around grammy and grandpa's house for the girls to find.

Amelia checking out her booty.

Charlotte sharing a chocolate bunny with her Aunt Catherine.

I'm not exactly sure what Amelia is doing here, but this picture makes me smile.

Sweet Charlotte

Grown-up Amelia

It was a wonderful weekend to be spent with family celebrating both my Grandpa Joe's life and the resurrection of our Savior. I am grateful to have so much to be grateful for.

Retaining the Retainer

2010-03-28T15:39:00.001-04:00

re-tain-er [re-tey-ner] noun
1. a person or thing that retains.
2 .a servant or attendant who has served a family for many years.
3. Also called cage, separator. Machinery. a ring separating, and moving with, balls or rollers in a bearing.
4. Orthodontics.
a. a fixed or removable device worn in the mouth to hold the teeth in their new position during the adaptive period after straightening appliances have been removed.
b. Prosthodontics. a part on a bridge or the like by which the bridge is attached to the natural teeth.

Twelve years ago this month I received what every 17 year old who is about to graduate from high school and go on to college wants: braces. Despite my perfectly straight teeth, at a routine cleaning it was decided that those baby teeth I continued to hold onto had to go. And, in order to make room for the adult teeth they were going to have to pull down, I need to have braces attached to my teeth. Excuse me? Braces? At seventeen? No thank you! Its not like I hadn't had these baby teeth for years and years. Where was this decision when I was 13 and everyone had braces?

So for the last few months of my senior year of high school and then through the first two years of college I wore braces. So hear I am in college, 17 years old, looking 15 at best, and I have braces. Is anyone shocked that the boys didn't come in flocks? Do you know how difficult it is to say "Plautz" with braces on? I wore braces for two year. In March of 2000, 10 years ago this month, the braces came off and I received a retainer. The doctor told me to wear it everyday, all day (except meal times) for something like six months. Did he seriously think that was going to happen?

I tried wearing the retainer for about two days and decided that it wasn't working for me. I finally was free of the mandatory metal mouth and I wasn't going back. Well at least during the day. I dutifully wore my retainer every night, and I have continued to wear it most every night for the last 10 years. Now I'm trying to decide if I should keep wearing it. Has ten years been long enough? Should I give it five more years? Should I have a new retainer made? Should I have it plated in 14kt gold and made into a keepsake pendant for only $300? Decisions, decisions.

A Little Show

2010-01-21T21:34:00.002-05:00

A cute video courtesy of my sister.

Foiled

2010-01-10T22:07:00.003-05:00

I've been really struggling, and pretty much failing, at trying to get to church on time. Three months into my pregnancy with Amelia, Erik was called as the Elders Quorum in our ward. Pretty much from the time Amelia was born, through Charlotte's birth, and to the present I've been getting our child, then children, ready for and to church on my own. There have been easier times and more difficult times. I am currently going through a difficult time. Yesterday I decided to get up a half hour earlier than usual to ensure we would leave on time for church so last night I asked Erik to wake me up at 6:30am. This would give me the opportunity to have a little time to myself to take a shower and eat breakfast. Do you think that happened? Nope. Amelia was up at 5:45 this morning. Erik woke up with her and tried to convince her to go back to bed, but that is pretty much a fruitless task. Despite my extra half hour we were still 15 mintues late to church. Add the fact that I couldn't find one of the earings I wanted to wear, I had the most frustrating time trying to find Amelia's shoes, and I left my cell phone at home, by the time I got to church I was not a happy camper. So it looks like I'm going to have to get up even earlier next Sunday. We'll see if it helps or what obstacles I will have to suffer through. She sure is cute though!

Lost in Translation

2010-01-08T13:12:00.004-05:00

A conversation between Amelia and me yesterday during lunch.

Me: Amelia, you're beautiful.

Amlelia: What does that mean Mommy?

Me: It means I like to look at you.

Amelia: Oh. (Pause) Mommy, you're so pretty.

Me: What does that mean Amelia?

Amelia: It means I have to look at you.

Hmm . . .

How Cliché

2009-12-31T23:42:00.002-05:00

So here is my requisite end of the year post. I'm dubbing this season the Holidays from Hades. The weekend before Christmas my brother Michael married the lovely Kristin. They were married on Saturday, December 19th, which also happened to be Amelia's third birthday (we ended up celebrating her birthday on the 12th instead). We left to go up to Raleigh for the wedding Friday morning. Saturday was wedding day from beginning to end. We had planned to go to sacrement meeting on Sunday, but Charlotte was not feeling well when she woke up, so we just headed home. From there on Charlotte got worse, Amelia got sick, and then I succumed also. Horrible, miserable sick.

We came back up to my parent's house on Christmas eve, partly because all of our presents were already at my parents house. We were very blessed to be able to spend this holiday season with Erik's and my family, just most of us felt pretty miserable the whole time. On the upside we are finally starting to come out of the woods. Just in time for the new year. I can't believe it is almost 2010. I hope everyone has a happy new year!

Little Black Dresses

2009-11-28T00:34:00.008-05:00

Right now I am up late waiting for a ebay listing to end. The listing is for the dress that Amelia will wear for Michael and Kristin's wedding next month. The girls will be wearing matching dresses, but Amelia's size was sold out on gap.com, so I'm having to stay up until this auction ends at 1:17am. What is that about? I have about 40 minutes left.

Speaking of dresses, I finally found a dress for Michael and Kristen's wedding. As a back story, after being a bridesmaid for Christan and Mary's wedding I swore up and down that it was the last time. Well shortly after Michael and Kristin got engaged, Mom, Catherine, Mary, Kristin, and I went out for a celebratory dinner. During dinner I let Kristen know that I appreciated if she considered asking me to be a bridesmaid, but I would politely decline the invitation. Kristin said she would like me in the wedding party and that the plan was for all the bridesmaids to wear black dress, and it could be any black dress. Well I reluctantly agreed thinking, "How hard will it be to find a black dress?" Well, its proven to be rather difficult. I didn't want to spend a ton of money, and the dress had to be able to have a teal sash worn with it.

So like I said, I finally found a dress. I even got a great deal on the dress. I had high hopes. I purchased the dress on a Saturday night, and because I was going to be visiting my family in Raleigh (well, Fuquay) the following week I decided to have the dress shipped to their house. Well the week came and went and the dress was not delivered. Long story short, my sister came to visit me and brought the dress with her. I love the the dress, it seems really well made. I put it on and zipped it up and . . . no dice. The dress fit my perfectly everywhere, everywhere except, well if you know me you know where it didn't fit. I went online to look into exchanging the dress, thinking I could get a larger size and have it tailored down to fit. Well the next two dress sizes up are both on back order until December 25th. What?! I am so frustrated. So its back to square one with the wedding in three weeks. After some major stressing, visit a few local stores ('cause that is all there is around here), and spending a few hours online, I think I've found another dress that will work. I am praying it fits well, it is delivered quickly, and that I have enough time to get it tailored if needs be. I swear this is the last time. Never again.

12 minutes to go.

I'm Officially Me

2009-10-26T19:10:00.004-04:00

I finally learned that I could create my own profile to sign into this blog. I'm offically me and I'm very excited. Many thanks to my Mom for asking blogger related questions to my sister (-in-law) Mary; and and many thanks to Mary for her answers that lead me to this discovery. It just feels good!

So . . .

2009-10-24T19:42:00.003-04:00

So it is a week to Halloween and I still don't know what the girls are going to dress up as. Blerg.

Bon Appétit

2009-10-12T08:54:00.002-04:00

Dinner and a show!

One Word

2009-09-30T11:37:00.003-04:00

There are certain words that can change a persons life. There are good words like "raise," "pregnant," and "yes" after a marriage proposal. Then there are the scary words. Yesterday the word was cancer. My mother has been diagnosed with breast cancer and at this point we would be fortunate if it is only breast cancer. She meets with her cancer team tomorrow and in the next few weeks we will find out if there is more cancer and treatment options and so forth. Even though I have known a number of people whose parents, family, and friends have recieved this diagnosis, this still seems surreal, like it isn't something that should be happening to my mother and my family. I guess today's word is "denial." If you would like to follow her journey you can find it at http://the-powerislove.blogspot.com/.

If . . .

2009-09-17T21:34:00.002-04:00

If you were my sister, you would have surprised me with a visit this weekend and then watched my kiddos the next morning so I could sleep in.

If you were my sister you would be awesome!

If you were my daughter Charlotte, between bug bites and taking falls, you would look completely abused.

If you were my daughter Charlotte it would absolutely kill you if I walked by you without picking you up.

If you were my daughter Amelia, when you saw people kissing on TV, you would come up to me and say, "Give me a kiss."

If you were my daughter Amelia then as much as I love you, I would wish that almost everything you did didn't drive me crazy.

If you were my husband you would not appreciate how much ebaying I've done the last week.

If you were my husband and you became very upset about my ebaying I would promise to make it up to you (wink, wink)!

If you were me then you would have inexplicably, finally, joined facebook.

If you were me you would not have taken a shower today.

If you were me your main accomplishments this week would be cutting your daughters finger nails, doing a gabillion loads of never ending laundry, and titling all the shows on your DVD-R.

Step By Step - Ooh Baby

2009-08-18T22:03:00.004-04:00

My little nine and a half month old is walking. She has been determined to make this happen, and about a week ago she started taking two or three steps at a time. The next day she was up to five or six steps at a time. By the third day she was ready to run, which really means that she falls a lot. I just can't believe it!

Amelia wanted her turn on camera. She is growing up so fast too!

The Breakfast Blahs

2009-08-04T14:04:00.010-04:00

I'm in a breakfast funk. Each morning I wake up and have a hard time deciding what to eat. For the past few months I've been on an oatmeal with brown sugar kick, but that's over now. I tried a bagel and cream cheese for a week. I only have three cereals I enjoy eating - Frosted Mini Wheats, Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds, and Cheerios (with bananas if possible) - but I haven't been feeling any of those options either. I don't want toast and eggs are too much of a hassle. Plus I really only enjoy eating eggs if they are accompanied by bacon or sausage, which really isn't healthy to eat everyday. Pancakes or waffles with syrup (because eating them any other way isn't an option for me) is too sugary. Do you see my conundrum? I need something filling so I'm not super munchy an hour after breakfast, and I'd like something reasonably healthy. Maybe I'll try banans and yogurt. What are you eating for breakfast these days?

It's 11:05pm . . .

2009-07-27T23:05:00.003-04:00

And I'm still awake. I used to aim to have lights out between 10 and 10:30pm, but for the last few months my bed time has gotten later and later. I so much enjoy the hours at the end of the day when everyone else is asleep and I can enjoy some quiet Elizabeth time. Every morning I pledge to go to bed earlier that night, and I made that same pledge this morning when I was stirred from deep slumber by the sound of my daughters over the baby monitor. As a side note, I think it is so adorable to walk into my daughters' room in the morning and see Amelia entertaining Charlotte. If only I could witness this joy about an hour and a half later. Not since my days of seminary have I been so sleep deprived. I guess I should quit blogging and get some sleep while I can. Good night!

Ere we sing at parting

2009-07-21T05:41:00.003-04:00

No, I'm not actually going to sing (that might bring on too many dogs barking nearby). I am getting ready to leave on a short three day trip for work, and I would be remiss if I didn't take the chance to say just how much I LOVE my wife! She is truly my compliment - everything that I am not. I will miss seeing the sparkle in her eyes, and her beautiful smile. Elizabeth, I hope that the next couple of days go by quickly. I love you with all my heart, mind, and strength! You are a wonderful mother and a joy to be with. Until I return - I LOVE YOU!

The Odyssey Begins

2009-07-10T20:56:00.004-04:00

Well, after a few weeks of searching and many more months of pondering prior to that, we took the plunge. We are now mini-van people. We also have to give high praise to Carmax. They made the whole process so easy without all the back and forth haggle we had experienced at other dealerships. I'm sure we'll have more to say later, but I wanted to get a picture up for all those who haven't seen us already sporting around town. (Oh and Elizabeth, that's two back-to-back posts in-case you weren't counting)

Goodbye June, hello July!

2009-07-01T07:34:00.000-04:00

As Elizabeth pointed out in her blog post, June was a hard month on us. I’m glad to be done with all the back and forth to New Bern, living out of a suitcase, and sleeping on air mattresses. Now, I look towards the next task at hand, unpacking and organizing in our new digs. I am very thankful to be back at home, and to have the opportunity to help out here. It also goes without saying that I’m thankful for all the help we’re getting from my Mom especially when she is able to watch the girls.

Well, that is about all for this post. I know it is not as entertaining as those made by Elizabeth, but I want to rise to the challenge she extended several weeks ago that she is the only one that updates this blog. I do not have any cute pictures of the girls to post, I’ll leave that for her next post.

Dear June,

2009-06-26T12:27:00.005-04:00

You've been a difficult month, full of ups and downs. Lets review. First there was the awesome bunco night at our new friends, the Cleaves, home. I never got a bunko, but I did get two baby buncos, and while I didn't win, I did do better thank Erik. Then there was packing up the house in New Bern. Bleh, I hate packing. While packing went okay, the continual driving back and forth between Beaufort and New Bern took it's toll on all of us.

I grimace when I think of Friday the 12th. Sheesh, all I wanted to do was get home so I could do laundry before we had to turn around and leave to go up to Raleigh the next day. What happens? Twenty minutes out of New Bern and the car starts overheating. I call Erik, he comes, sees the coolant level is quite low so he adds water The car is still overheating. So I join AAA, get a tow, get a mechanic to look at the car, all of that, and $150 and five hours later we find out there is nothing wrong. Probably there was an air pocket created when we added water and the system just had to "burp" itself. This is me not swearing. I get on the road and Erik heads to the house in New Bern to finish packing up. Five people signed up to help Erik get all of our stuff loaded in the moving van, and only one person showed up. Where is the love? That was a long night of moving for Erik and laundry for me.

The next day we drove up to Raleigh. Erik was going on a business trip to Baltimore, Charlotte and I were going with him (we all flew out of RDU), and Amelia was staying with my parents. While in Baltimore Charlotte and I both got sick, which means neither of us sleep very well. I did get to see two of my old roommates from my Ricks college days, which made the whole trip worth it, plus Maryland is absolutely gorgeous, but I was still pretty miserable and sleep deprived throughout the whole trip. I was so glad to get back to Raleigh at the end of the week. We did enjoy spending the weekend and celebrating Fathers' Day with my family .

Sunday night we drove back to New Bern to clean our house before closing. We were supposed to close on Tuesday the 23rd at 2 o'clock. Unfortunately for our buyers, Bank of America royally screwed up on getting everything ready and to the lawyers office in a timely manner. For the next 24 hours we exchanged phone calls with our agent over where (New Bern or Havelock) and when our closing would be. We finally closed on our house the next afternoon (2 o'clock in Havelock) . Hurray!!!! Then I promptly got so sick I could barely stand being conscious because every single part of my body was in intense pain. Thank goodness for same day doctors appointments, antibiotics (an ear infection), and a wonderful husband to take care of me and the girls. Fortunately I'm feeling better and I'm hoping a full recovery comes soon.

So June, you see, I won't miss you when you are gone. I promise not to hold any grudges, and we'll make a fresh start next time you come around. Good bye and good riddance.

All my best,
Elizabeth

In the Beginning

2009-06-14T20:40:00.003-04:00

Six years ago, June 14th was a Saturday. The day started out with Erik and me helping my sister move out of my parents house. She was moving in with her BFF Mackenzie. I was taking apart a shelf and when I pulled out one of the plastic legs it hit me in the forehead and I sustained an injury. Nothing too serious, but there was blood and a I was left with a headache. I still have a scar in my right eyebrow from the incident. After helping Catherine, Erik and I went back to his apartment to hang out. We spent the afternoon flipping between SNLs (this was back in the day before E! had the exclusive rights and SNL could be found on at least one channel any hour of the day), watching a movie with Andrew McCartney, dozing on the couch, and making out.

After a fairly uneventful, but thoroughly pleasant afternoon, we decided it was time to get some dinner. We went back and forth and finally I picked Golden Corral. All that moving and kissing can wear a girl out and I had quite an appetite. After dinner Erik and I went over to Lake Johnson to walk around the park, which is something we had done often while dating. After walking for a bit, we sat down on a bench to rest and enjoy the scenery. While we were talking I picked up a stick and wrote E hearts E in the dirt. Erik said it was his turn and told me I had to close my eyes. When he told me I could open them, there was a message that said, "Will you marry me?" written on the ground. Then he got down on one knee, pulled out a ring box, and proposed. I, of course, said yes. For the next hour we sat on the bench, and all I could do was laugh because I was totally in shock that I was getting married. As a side note, I would not have picked going to Golden Corral for dinner had I known that I would be getting engaged later. The rest is our story. I just want Erik (and anyone who stops by) to know that I love him. He is a wonderful husband and father and I'm am truly grateful to have such a wonderful man to ride this rollercoaster of life with.

Fluffy Day

2009-06-10T08:21:00.007-04:00

Monday was declared a no nap day by Amelia. Instead of napping, she decided to pull the fluff out of her pillow. Fluff everywhere. I'm not sure if the memory foam was better than if it had been feathers. The following is what took place when it was time to clean up the fluff.

After getting up as much as we could by hand it was time to employ the vacuum.

Fatal Attraction

2009-06-07T22:42:00.009-04:00

As Charlotte's mobility increases, those things that she is and is not interested in become more apparent. Currently a few of her favorite things are electrical cords, paper, and plastic bags. This is very reminiscent of Amelia's likes and dislikes at this same age. Why is it that the baskets and bins full of toys hold no interest, while those things which can cause the most harm are intensely attractive? I believe surviving infancy is truly a feat. More specifically, I feel that me surviving my daughters infancy warrants congratulations. The fun goes on.

On a completely unrelated note, today we attended the christening of Erik's nephew Anderson. Before the service began I took Amelia to use the bathroom. We walked into the stall and I turned around to latch the door. The latch looked something like this, except that there was a hole in the door for the bolt to slide into.

The hole and the bolt and hole were not lined up very well, and I worked and worked trying to make the door latch. I even tried lifting the door in attempts to get the door to latch. I was getting somewhat frustrated when I glanced up a few inches and saw there was another option.

The hook slipped into the eye without a problem except for the feeling of foolishness that lingeres with me.

It's going to be like Christmas . . .

2009-06-05T11:37:00.001-04:00

As I've been packing the remaining items at our house in New Bern, I realize that in twoish years when it comes time to open these boxes, it's going to be like Christmas seeing all my, um sorry Erik, our stuff again. Mostly this applies to the kitchen and bathroom stuff because all of our bedroom stuff is already with us in Beaufort. I also wonder if it is worth keep the electric skillet that I use maybe once a year. I'm trying to convince Erik to get rid of the George Foreman Grill, but he has some sort of unnatural attachment to that thing so off it goes into storage. Perhaps if I get rid of the skillet he'll let the Foreman go. We'll see.

Perhaps someday when we finally organize all the stuff that we've brought to Beaufort it will be like a wonderful Christmas present not to live in the disorganized chaos anymore. Keeping up with two children day in and day out leaves me with little desire to clean and organize when, and if, the opportunity arises. Oh well, I guess I should go and try to get some more stuff packed.

Goals Schmoals (OR This is for you Catherine) AND Mean/Medium/Mode

2009-05-30T21:30:00.009-04:00

A few days ago I was talking on the phone with my sister and as we were hanging up she said, "Post on your blog." For the past three weeks or so, each Sunday I set a goal to post on my blog that week. Quite obviously this has not happened. Perhaps at this point you are wondering if all my blog posts are going to be devoted to my lack of posting. Well, its possible. I'm not making any promises at this point. I would like to remind everyone that Erik started this blog without first consulting with me, so I made no inherent promises at the onset of this blog. Maybe everyone should email Erik. Email Title: Post on your blog. Email Message: That is all.

I would now like to change the title of this post to Mean/Medium/Mode. All of these are a way of measuring an average. When we listed our house on the market, our agent told us that the average market time is six months. We listed our house the Monday after Easter. Not quite four weeks later (Mothers' Day weekend) we received and offer on our home. After some back and forth, we now have a contract with a closing date set for on or before July 2nd. The inspection went well and now we are hoping that the buyers loan process goes well so that we can get this wrapped up. I can officially say that all those hours of HGTV I watched were not for nothing.

In other news Charlotte has officially started crawling, sitting up from the crawling position, and pulling herself up in her crib. What the heck? My little almost seven month old (on Tuesday) is growing up so fast! This is how I found her after one of her naps today.

Ugh

2009-04-26T20:03:00.004-04:00

I'm not sure what my problem is (no comments from the peanut gallery please) but I just cannot get motivated to post on our blog. Quite a bit has gone on in the last month or so. We've finally got our house on the market (fingers crossed for a quick sale!), I've been working on potty training Amelia (don't get me started), Easter and so forth. We've had some fun weekends meeting up with my old roommate Risa and her husband Bryan and last weekend Catherine came down to visit.

Adjusting to our new routine here in Beaufort is going pretty well. Amelia has been waking up at 6:30 in the morning and I DON'T like that at all. The girls have been sicky sicky this last week, and unlike previous boughts of illness, the girls actually slept well (instead of less) during their illness. I'm definitely enjoying having cable. One of my new favorite shows is "Say Yes to the Dress" on TLC. Love it! I feel like I'm apart of cultural America now. On that note, I'll leave you with a couple pictures of my completely adorable girls.

It's Not Just My Birthstone

2009-03-21T16:02:00.004-04:00

Opal, that is - now it is the name of the street we live on too. Yes, we've officially moved to Beaufort. We've been here three weeks and so far things are going pretty well. Amelia absolutely loves living with Nana and having Tay-Tay (her cousin Taylor) close by. Life has been a little, well a lottle, crazy between settling into our new surroundings and going back and forth to New Bern working on getting our house ready for sale. I am exhausted and very tired of not being able to find anything. Hopefully, in the near future, we'll be done working on our house (and it will sell quickly) and we'll be settled in here.

Who Needs a Bed - Part the Second

2009-02-27T08:54:00.003-05:00

Well nap times have gotten better, but yesterday after an hour plus of going in Amelia's room to tell her to stay in bed, she finally quieted down. When I went in to check on her this is where I found her.

Yes she is sleeping like an angel (whatever that means) underneath Charlotte's crib with her beloved (naked) Raggedy Ann. Well I am grateful she had a nap!

I Never Thought

2009-02-22T20:38:00.003-05:00

I never thought I would be sad to leave New Bern. "Leave New Bern?" you may ask. Yes, next weekend we are moving down to Beaufort to live with Erik's mom. Figuring we could sell our house easier if we weren't living in it, we decided to go ahead and move and then take the next month to get get our house in order before putting it on the market. The plan has always been to move down that way, and doing this will allow us to make the move sooner than later and also to get rid of some of that pesky student loan debt.

We moved to New Bern in August 2004 and I was underwhelmed from the beginning. Erik and I joked that no matter what we would never be "from New Bern." Well four and a half years and two children later, we are definitely New Bernites. We've made many friends and lived some of the most memorable years of our life here. Not to mention we are leaving just as we get a Dunkin' Donuts and Little CaesarsPizza right down the street. What is that about?! I'm sure we will return here quite often, and not just because most of the stake meeting are held here - there is the Target also.

We're excited for the next adventure in our life and to able to be closer to Erik's family. And to answer the question I get asked most often, yes Erik's mom and I do get along well enough for this to work:) Hopefully we'll all still like eachother when this adventure is over!

Who Needs a Bed . . .

2009-02-04T23:27:00.004-05:00

When there is a perfectly good changing table to sleep on. A week and a half ago we set up Amelia's new "big girl" bed. So far night times haven't been a problem, but nap times aren't working out so well. To be fair, they weren't working out so well when she was still in the crib. I still put Amelia in her room for a nap, and while she stays in her room, she doesn't stay in her bed. Often she doesn't fall asleep at all (which I wouldn't mind too much if she wasn't completely beastful once 5 o'clock comes) and instead plays in her room for an hour and a half or two. The room is always in some state of disarray when I get her from her room. Today I noticed that after about a little over an hour, it was quiet in Amelia's room. I went in to check on her and found her asleep on her changing table. What a monkey!

Those bronze looking metal bars are the bed rails Erik's sister Allison used when she was a girl. They often wind up on the floor during nap time. I took them off for a bit, but Amelia fell out of bed last night, so Erik put them back up. Also it may look like it is really light in Amelia's room, but actually the room is quite dark - the light was from the camera's flash.

On another note, I'm sure if someone asked you what color your child or childrens' eyes were (presuming you have a child or children) I'm guessing you would be able to answer that question. Not me. Amelia's eyes still seem to be changing colors, and I'm wondering if they will ever settle into one color. They are not quite green and not quite brown. Charlotte's eyes, on the other hand, are 7/8 baby gray, and 1/8 brown. Go ahead and click on the picture and see. It's crazy!

Who'd a thunk . . .

2009-01-21T20:12:00.000-05:00

That the weathermen would get it right? Often when we get predictions of snow nothing comes of it. Monday night we got predictions of 2 to 4 inches, but when we woke up Tuesday morning, there was nothing more than a light dusting. I thought, "too bad, Amelia would have enjoyed it." Well then it began to snow. And it snowed, and snowed, and snowed, and snowed. By two o'clock there was a good two inches on the ground. So then we layered up and played in it. Amelia had a ball but Charlotte wasn't so keen on the cold. Erik and Amelia built a little snowman and enjoyed their snow ball fights which was mostly throwing snow at each other. The snow is mostly gone now but we had fun while it lasted.

Erik and Amelia (Erik brought the tape measure out to see how much snow had fallen)

Mommy and Charlotte

Our Snowman

The Family

Our House

Baby It's Cold Outside

2009-01-19T22:46:00.008-05:00

Amelia is kind of like the post office motto. Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow can keep her from enjoying being outside. On Friday mornings we attend story time at the library and then go play at the park. Even though it was 28°F outside, while we were loading up after story time, Amelia ended her half real words, half gibberish sentence with, "go to the park." Luckily I had anticipated this and had both of the girls bundled up. We were the only ones at the park, but we had a fun time none the less. I must say that I am truly enjoying this cold winter. We're anticipating snow tomorrow, so perhaps we'll have some more fun in the cold soon!

High on the slide

Amelia on the swings

A self portrait

Charlotte giving me smiles during story time

Giggles

2009-01-13T23:01:00.003-05:00

This is for Grammy, Grandpa, and Nana. Enjoy!

Alright, Alright

2009-01-08T22:12:00.003-05:00

I've been tagged 4 times since this blog started. Well, technically this is both Erik's and my blog, but lets be realistic, I've pretty much kept this going myself. Most recently I was tagged by my mother. Well, I can't ignore that, so to be fair, I went back and did all four of the tags I received. I'm officially done after this, so I would appreciate if no one tagged me again. My brain hurts from doing this.

From Mom
I am: tired
I know: I didn’t get everything done today
I want: to like this more
I have: to prepare for Sunday
I hate: cutting my nails
I miss: “me” time
I feel: hopeful
I hear: the computer and the TV
I smell: neither good nor bad
I crave: caramel brownies
I search: using Google
I love: getting a break
I care: about my husband
I always: love checking the mail
I believe: I’ll never have enough pairs of black shoes
I sing: to Amelia all day
I write: nonsense
I lose: my temper a lot
I win: sometimes
I never: go to bed without a clean face and clean teeth
I listen: to my new under the cabinet radio (thanks Erik!)
I am scared: I’ll have too many regrets
I need: to try harder with Erik
I am happy about: Lost starting soon

From Catherine
10 years ago:
1. I lived in Idaho
2. I was in college.
3. I still had braces.
4. I lived with some of my best friends.
5. I missed my family

5 things on today's to do list:
1. Fold laundry.
2. Put laundry away.
3. Renew my library books.
4. Make dinner.
5. Survive.

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Cocoa Chex Mix
2. Granola Bars
3. Chocolate milk and a banana
4. Chocolate Chip Cookies
5. Popcorn

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Buy a fabulous car or two.
2. Payoff all debt.
3. Give my parents money to buy a new house.
4. College fund for the girls
5. Shopping Spree!

5 places I have lived:
1. Indiana
2. Ohio
3. North Carolina – Goldsboro, Fayetteville, Cary
4. Idaho
5. North Carolina – Raleigh, New Bern

5 jobs I have had:
1. The Party Machine
2. Bagel Girl
3. Fabric Store
4. Temp
5. Banker

From Andrea
20 years ago:
1. I lived in Fayetteville.
2. Amber was my best friend.
3. I was considered one of the “cool” kids.

10 years ago:
1. I was in college.
2. I still had braces.
3. I lived with some of my best friends.

5 years ago:
1. I got married.
2. I was still in college.
3. I was a lot thinner than I am right now.

3 years ago:
1. We were trying to have a baby.
2. I got a job at RBC Centura.
3. I had no idea how my life was about to change.

1 year ago:
1. My father was about to celebrated his 50th birthday.
2. I was crazy.
3. I had just been called to the Primary Presidency.

So far this year:
1. I’m adjusting to life with two children.
2. I can’t stop baking.
3. I finally got our checkbook back in order since having Charlotte.

Yesterday:
1. I did a ton of laundry.
2. I finished reading a really good book.
3. I talked to my sister on the phone.

Today:
1. I baked pumpkin muffins with butterscotch chips.
2. I took a shower even though I had decided not to take one when I woke up.
3. I got both girls down for a nap at the same time and then folded some laundry.

In the next year:
1. I’m thinking about growing my hair out again.
2. I’d like to make more of a conscious effort to enjoy the little things.
3. I’d like a real vacation.

From Heidi
1. Where is your cell phone . . . kitchen counter
2. Your significant other . . . is my rock.
3. Your hair . . . brown and actually “done” today!
4. Your mother . . . is the standard which I measure myself
5. Your father . . . is a very intelligent man who sometimes enjoys acting like a child.
6. Your favorite thing . . . whenever I get to do exactly what I want to do.
7. Your dream last night . . . ???
8. Your favorite drink . . . mostly water but I’m lovin’ caffeine free pepsi right now too.
9. Your dream/goal . . . to pay off all our debt.
10. The room you're in . . . office/guest room
11. Your hobby . . . reading
12. Your fear . . . trapped in a small space
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years . . . closer to the coast.
14. Where were you last night . . . at home.
15. What you're not . . . energized.
16. Muffins . . . chocolate chip
17. One of your wish list items . . . bigger car
18. Where you grew up . . . Fayetteville, Cary, Rexburg, Raleigh, New Bern
19. The last thing you did . . . work on dinner
20. What are you wearing . . . my standard of jean, a t-shirt, and my adidas sandals.
21. Your pets . . . none
22. Your TV . . . Oprah is on, but no one is really watching it.
23. Your computer . . . in front of me.
24. Your life . . . challenging
25. Your mood . . . not too bad right now.
26. Missing someone . . . not really
27. Your car . . . needs gas
28. Something you're not wearing . . . a watch
29. Favorite store . . . Target
30. Your summer . . . HOT
31. Like someone . . . lots of people
32. Your favorite color . . . green
33. When is the last time you laughed . . . today (it was either that or cry)
34. Last time you cried . . . yesterday
35. Who will resend this . . . n/a
36. Done something stupid to entertain . . . the story of my life

Just in the (St.)Nick of Time

2008-12-31T18:59:00.001-05:00

Well December has been a busy month, and I wish I had had the time (or made the effort) to devote individual blog posts to all the fun times we've had, but I didn't. My last goal of 2008 was to get a post in. So here is a (very long) recap.

Friday, December 19th was Amelia's 2nd birthday, although if you ask her how old she is she says, "Three." We had a small celebration with Erik, Charlotte (who slept through it), and me. It was really nice not to have to do a big production. I made beans and rice for dinner, which pretty much is Amelia's favorite dinner (with spaghetti and tacos being close seconds). I also made a cake for Amelia and was once again reminded that I did not inherit the cake baking genes from my mother. (You can see her fabulous creations at www.CakeDreamsbySally.com) I made vanilla cake, and even though I followed my mom's directions to watch for the sides of the cake to start pulling away from the edge of the pan, all three layers were under baked and turned out more like pound cake after they fell. Luckily they still tasted good. I didn't feel like making icing, so a little butter cream icing from Betty Crocker worked for me.

Amelia and her Cake

Yummy Cake!

After we enjoyed cake it was time to open presents. Amelia was all for this. She tore the wrapping paper off the first present and then proceeded to go for another present. We had to point out that there was something inside the box. Even better!Lucky Amelia received a doll stroller from Mommy and Daddy, an Elmo guitar from Aunt Catherine, and super cute outfit from Nana. Later she received some giant lego-like blocks from Nana and a tea set from Grammy and Grandpa (I'm sure its for herbal tea). The next day Amelia had a piece of cake with lunch, and after she was done she asked, "Presents?"

This box was in the running for best gift.

Amelia didn't have to wait long to open presents as we celebrated Christmas three times! Sunday after church we headed down to Harkers Island to celebrate Christmas with Erik's Dad, Grandparents, his sister Allison, her husband Russell, and Russell's daughter Avery.

All the presents.

Charlotte sleeping on Great-Grandmama

Yea!

"I help!"

Charlotte and her Grandaddy

Christmas Eve was a miserable day full of wrapping all the presents, a doctors appointment (Amelia has an ear infection), folding laundry, trying to keep kids happy, and packing for our trip down to Nana's house. I originally was hoping to leave around 2pm. The time kept getting pushed back as 3pm, 4pm, and 5pm came and went. Finally around 6pm we were ready to get on the road. Thankfully it was only an hour long drive. We got settled in at Nana's and woke up the next morning to see that Santa had come!

Amelia and Nana with a puzzle.

Elmo Dishes!

"What did Santa bring me Mommy?"

I carried on a tradition by taking a picture of Charlotte in her stocking.

This is Amelia's stocking picture.

Last, but not least, we headed up to my parents house last Saturday. This is the Amelia opening the tea set that is actually her birthday present.

In a way I'm glad the craziness of Christmas is almost over. The bad part is that we have to find a place for all the stuff when we get back home. And we have to take down the decorations. It has been wonderful to spend so much time with our family members this holiday season. We are looking forward to 2009 and the adventures it will bring.

Goodbye Pop Pop

2008-12-16T20:28:00.004-05:00

This past weekend we spent time with Erik's family mourning the loss of his step-father Johnny. Johnny died last Wednesday, and although he was having health problems, his passing was quite shocking. It was evident when hundreds of people showed up for the visitation that he will be missed by those he left behind. The man I will remember is one who loved to tell a joke and loved his friends and family. The family is doing well, thanks to a lot of love and support from extended family, friends, and neighbors.

Charlotte and Pop Pop

Happy Bird-day!

2008-11-30T17:45:00.009-05:00

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. There is no stress of buying gifts, no leftover candy, and no worrying about how late my stupid neighbors are going to set off fireworks. Its all about the food, and of course being thankful. And I am thankful for the food. This year, in what was supposed to be an effort to make things less stressful for us (in not having to travel), Thanksgiving Dinner was held at my house. I'm not sure it was less stressful, but perhaps stressful in a different way. Wednesday was spent baking. I made pumpkin pie and pecan pie, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, and cream cheese danishes. The latter two were for breakfast.

Wednesday night most of the family arrived (Catherine and Mark had spent the week with me) and the chaos ensued. Well, organized chaos. Christian and Mary spent the night at a hotel, but the rest of the Plautz family stayed at Casa de Lewis. Catherine and Bryan slept in Amelia's room, Mom and Dad were in the guest room, and Mark, Michael, Daniel, and Alex kicked it in the living room. It was tight quarters and a lot of stuff. Still, it makes me happy to have my family together even when it is crazy.

Dinner was delicious and our 20lb turkey surprised everyone by being fully cooked in an hour and forty-five minutes. It was still juicy too! The fixin's included macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, green beans, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole and rolls. Dessert was pumpkin, pecan, french silk, and lemon meringue pies and a blackberry jello dish. Mmm, so yummy. In fact I think I may have to go enjoy a piece of pie when I'm done. Charlotte slept through dinner so I actually got to use two hands to eat. That is something to be thankful for! I am so thankful and feel so blessed. I have such a wonderful family.

All the Cooks

How the guys chilled while waiting for dinner.

Playing the Guitar

Playing old school video games on the computer.

Dinner

The Kids Table (ha, ha)

Amelia Enjoying Pie

Sleeping Charlotte

Amelia and Grandpa

The Blessing Day

2008-11-13T20:39:00.007-05:00

Last Sunday we had the whole crew come and we blessed our sweet new daughter. My brother Eric is leaving on a mission (Georgia Macon) on the 19th and we wanted to have him be able to participate. I caught some flack for being at church the Sunday after giving birth, but next week is our Stake Conference, and Eric is speaking in church, so it had to be last weekend. Here are a few pictures from the day. Erik gave a beautiful blessing and it is always nice to have our family all together.

Sweet Baby Girl

The Participants

The Four of Us

Our Family

Without Further Ado

2008-11-07T10:50:00.010-05:00

Erik and I would like to introduce the newest member of our family, our sweet daughter, Charlotte Eleanore. She is lovely little girl, who has spent most of her time on earth thus far sleeping. (I'm not sure why the pictures aren't working, but if you click on them, you can see the whole picture.)

8lbs

Charlotte with Aunt Catherine

Our Family of Four

Sleeping

The Birth Story
This birth experience was much different than the first time around. For starters I actually had contractions on my own this time! With Amelia my water broke and then nothing happened, so I ended up having to have pitocin induced contractions, which are horrible! I started having contractions Friday night around 11pm, but they weren't really painful or regular, and they stalled out around 4am. Saturday around 11am, I started having some contractions again, and had them on and off all day, but again, they weren't all that painful or regular. Around 11pm they stopped, and I was able to get a couple hours of sleep before they started up again around 1am. This time they seemed more regular and they started getting painful. Erik woke up around 2am, and kept me company.

About 3am, I figured out I probably wasn't going to get any more sleep and I decided that if this was happening, I was going to do what I could to get things going. I broke out my electric pump, and did 20 minutes of pumping and 20 minutes of walking. I had read this was a good contraction picker upper. After two rounds of this my contractions were much more intense and starting to get pretty regular. When the contractions were 8 minutes apart and lasting 45 to 60 seconds (around 4:45am) , we started making phone calls. First we called Erik's mom, who would be staying with Amelia, and then my mom and sister.

We were at the hospital by 6:30am, and much to my amazement and delight, I was 4cm and 80% effaced. Go me! I gratefully received my epidural. The doctor broke my water around 11:30am and pronounced me 7 to 8cm and I we were all thinking we'd have a baby in the next few hours. Well, of course it didn't work that way. My contractions started slowing and pretty much stalled out between 1 and 2pm. By four o'clock I asked for some pitocin to get things going. It started working, but slowly. About 4:45pm I was pronounced fully dilated and effaced and we started making predictions on when the baby would be born. Catherine, optimistically guessed 5:05, my mom said 5:15, I said 5:35, and Erik said 6:15. I looked at him and said, "6:15?!, You better not be right." Well, like I said, things were progressing slowly. I didn't even start pushing until 5:45, and lo and behold, Charlotte popped out exactly at 6:15pm. I guess Erik's guessing skills are being honed - I mean he did win the candy contest at the Library.

By the time I had delivered I was starving, and as much as I was happy to have my baby, I was truly delighted when the nurse brought me my dinner tray. Erik's mom brought Amelia, and she was none to impressed with what turned out to be baby sister. All in all, things have been going well and I'm not even too sleep deprived yet. We'll try to keep everyone updated and thanks for all the congratulations!

Dinner!

Baby Girl Lewis

2008-11-03T14:05:00.001-05:00

We welcomed Baby Lewis to our family Sunday night at 6:15. She was 8 lbs, 20 in. long, and very healthy. We'll have pictures and a name posted soon. Mom and baby are doing fine, and recovering in the hospital.

Two Years Late, But Not Too Late

2008-10-22T13:30:00.004-04:00

I thought I would share some pictures of the nursery (a word that amuses me to no end) or as it is also known, Amelia's, and soon to be baby's, room. With Amelia, our time, attention, and dollars were focused on getting the room ready, and everything into the room, before she was born. After she was born, the room was more or less a complete disaster. There were bins of too small clothes and clothes to grow into everywhere. After a while I just started throwing everything that didn't fit into clothes baskets in her room. Needless to say, it really wasn't something to show off. This time around, we've put our time, attention, and dollars into organizing so that we can fit two children's worth of items where there was previously only one.

Amelia is still using the crib, but I think she'll be in a twin bed before the year is out. Baby girl #2 will be in a pack'n'play in our room for at least a couple months.

The Changing Area.

The dresser - refinished by Erik. We got the dresser from a thrift store when we were first married. Before Erik refinished it, the dresser was white with light green drawers.

My beautifully organized closet. I heart closetmaid.

And yes that is a hand painted (by me) border around the room. I really love the way it turned out. As a side note, I know I've been tagged twice, and I promise to respond shortly.

The Stash

2008-10-19T20:27:00.004-04:00

Well I'm on countdown to this baby arriving. It could happen anytime between now and two to three weeks. Although, if we were placing bets, I'd definitely go with two to three weeks. Here is me as of yesterday morning (first thing, before a shower, and still in my PJs).

Because we are having girl #2, and her due date is approximately six weeks earlier than Amelia's due date, there wasn't much we had to do in the way of preparation. Most of it was organization, and we've been nesting like crazy over the past few weeks. Erik is a big time nester - in fact I don't think I ever nested while pregnant with Amelia, but Erik sure did. This time around I've been much more gung-ho about getting things in order.

One of the things I did get to do was prepare my diaper stash. For those of you who don't know, we use cloth diapers and for anyone who is truly in CDs their diapers aren't just diapers, they are a diaper stash. We started CDing when Amelia was about six months old, so CDing a newborn will be a whole new experience for me. I've enjoyed buying itty bitty diapers and getting ready to put them on an itty bitty newborn. Well as itty bitty as an 8ish pound baby is. Not that anyone who reads this blog truly cares, but I though I'd share pictures of my diaper stash.

Here are the prefolds, what most people think of when they hear cloth diapers. These are from Green Mountain Diapers and they are scrumptiously soft.

These are fitted diapers, they still require covers, but they are a little easier to take on and off, and they come in super cute designs.

These are the AIOs (all in ones), they are the most like "regular" diapers. They don't need covers, and while the outsides aren't all that cute, often the insides have cute designs.

The covers come in two types, PUL and wool. PUL (Polyurethane Laminate) covers are waterproof and what the old school type might call plastic pants, but PUL is a lot nicer. Wool covers are super breathable, and when lanolized can go through many changes, air out, and be used again.
PUL

Wool

And here is the whole thing with Amelia playing in the background. I know some people think it is a lot of work, but it really makes me so happy. Once baby girl gets here I'll post some pictures so you can see how even more adorable they are on a little baby.

Living Without You

2008-10-14T20:45:00.004-04:00

My feelings on the following subject can best be related through the chorus of the song "Without You" written by Pete Ham and Tom Evans, originally recorded by Badfinger in 1970, made popular in 1972 by Harry Nilsson, and covered again by such artists as Heart, Air Supply, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston.

I can't live if living is without you
I can't give, I can't give anymore
Can't live if living is without you
Can't give, I can't give anymore

I've recently experienced a loss and it has been difficult for me to go on. Every fall the Dairy Queen in New Bern shuts down until the spring. This is a very sad time of year for me. Reeses cups with chocolate ice cream Blizzards bring such joy to my life, and to be denied this pleasure for months at a time . . . well I'm sure you can relate somehow. While it is true that during these dry months I can still enjoy at blizzard at a number of other Dairy Queens, such Havelock, Morehead City, and various Raleigh locations, being able to drop by the local DQ when cravings hit is out of the question.

Erik, Amelia and I enjoyed our last blizzards of the season on Friday night. Until the spring I have resigned myself to be tortured with longing each time I drive by the vacant store. Then one day next year, it will suddenly be open again. I may be on my way home one day and see cars in the parking lot and it will be like manna from heaven. Until such time I will have to try to fill my cravings with Baskin Robbins, Cold Stone Creamery, and Hagan Daz. Or, since I'm about to have a baby and will need to get off some pregnancy weight, I might just have to eat an apple.

Score!

2008-10-08T14:13:00.005-04:00

Over the past week there have been some small, if not noteworthy, highs for the Lewis family. Last Tuesday Erik and I went over to the library. I needed some more fiction and Erik needed a couple books about leadership for this Executive Leadership Program he is a part of. As we were checking out, Erik noticed a jar of candy corn and pumpkins behind the librarian. When he inquired about it he was told there was a "Guess How Many" contest going on and that it was the last day of the contest. He decided to enter and I declined because I do not care for candy corn in the least bit. He studied the jar intently and then wrote down his guess. On the way out he told me he had guessed there were 365 pieces. I gave him an "okay, great" smile and a nod and promptly forgot about it.

Well obviously he won or else I wouldn't be telling this story. Wednesday afternoon the phone rings and the caller asks for Erik, to which I replied he was at work. The caller identified herself as a librarian from the Craven County Public Library, and told me that Erik had been the closest guesser, and he could come down and get the candy and prizes. Erik had guessed 365 pieces and there were 366 pieces. That evening Erik went down and picked up the candy, two certificates for a library movie rentals (a $2 value) and a certificate for 2 paperback or 1 hardback book at the Friends of the Library Book sale (the value to be determined later).

The Candy Jar

Erik and His Prizes

The second score came earlier that same Wednesday. I had taken a trip to Target and was moseying down the isles when I saw that the shower curtain I'd been eying for months, which was previously $26.99 was on clearance for $6.74! It totally works so well in our oh so neutral bathroom.

And last but not least, I had about ten minutes to kill before my OB appointment yesterday so I decided to stop in our local Goodwill. I saw a Sit'n'Spin for sale for $2.99. I knew I had minimal cash on me, and I never carry the checkbook, but I broke out the calculator on my cell phone and figured out the total would be $3.19 (price x 1.0675). I decided to raid the coins in the ash tray of the car and add it to the $1 bill and coins in my wallet. No joke, between what was in my wallet and the coins in the car, I had $3.19 down to the penny. When Erik got home he decided to see if the sound worked if he put some batteries in it. Much to Amelia's delight, and my undelight, it did work. Why do they have to ruin a perfectly good toy by putting lights and music on it?

The Sit'n'Spin

Amelia showing various ways it can (safely and not so safely) be played with.

So that's it. Sometimes it is the little things that bring a smile to my face.

Thanks Mom!

2008-09-28T17:44:00.004-04:00

Well this post is able to happen because we are visiting my parents this weekend and I'm using my mom's laptop. Our laptop is still not working and who knows if it will ever work again? Anyway, here are a few fun pictures from over the last couple months.

Amelia and Daddy playing horsey.

Amelia trying to manage all her phone calls.

Amelia's new diggs.

"Hi Mom." Yes that is Erik in the background. He will get in the house, but I refuse.

Daddy and Amelia washing the car.

Amelia loving on some watermelon.

Amelia enjoying mommy's shoes.

And last, but not least, Amelia enjoying one of her favorite dinners - beans and rice.

#%@!%*#!

2008-09-15T11:50:00.004-04:00

What do you get when you combine a laptop balanced on the arm of the couch, one bouncy toddler, and gravity? I'll give you a hint - this post is being typed on a desktop computer circa 2000. I will say the blame lies with Erik and me in leaving the laptop in less than safe circumstances. To be fair, this isn't the first time the laptop has fallen, and probably 50% of the time it was my fault. This must have been the straw that broke the camels back. The problem is that when the charger is plugged into the back of the laptop it doesn't catch and so the battery isn't charging. We've taken it to be looked at and we're hoping that this is fixable without being ridiculously expensive. Naive, right? In the mean time we might be somewhat slack on posting because loading pictures to the desktop is not as easy and this dang computer is so slow and aggravating to use.

Holy Hanna

2008-09-08T14:34:00.000-04:00

Well hurricane, no wait, tropical storm, umm, not quite, tropical depression Hanna blew threw NC this past weekend. Not generally a big deal to us NCers, but when you are planning a wedding, the last thing you need is the threat of a hurricane. That was the position Erik' sister, Allison, was in last week. The plan had been to take a couple boats out to Cape Lookout and get married in front of the lighthouse. You can see how Hanna upset those plans. Fortunately enough other plans were able to be made and we were able to celebrate in the wedding of Allison and Russell. It was a lovely ceremony and reception. And now a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Amelia before the wedding, her usual charming self.

Dum, dum, da, dum . . .

The Vows

Amelia and Cousin Taylor (or Tay Tay)

Erik and Allison

A Family Photo

Amelia and Grandpa (my Dad) after a long day.

Cinco de Uso

2008-09-02T09:18:00.004-04:00

Five Years Ago

On Friday Erik and I celebrated our five year anniversary. Coincidentally we were married on a Friday - although I'm not sure how coincidental that is; maybe it works out that way for everyone. We shipped Amelia off to my parents for the long weekend. After Amelia was born people would ask me, "Do you even remember what you did before you had a baby?" Well, yes I remember that part. I would do whatever I wanted for hours at a time. I don't, however, remember what Erik and I used to do together before we had a child. I guess we used to watch a lot of TV and go grocery shopping together.

We started the day by sleeping in and then heading to The Baker's Square for a delicious breakfast. Their butter syrup is to die for. Here is a picture of us fat and happy after breakfast.

After breakfast we went home and proceeded to have a wonderfully lazy day, not doing much at all, and just enjoying spending time together. It was lovely. For dinner we decided to give the Harvey Mansion a whirl. The Harvey Mansion was converted from a home into a restaurant, so we were actually eating in what used to be the drawing room. Erik had the Chesapeake Chicken and I enjoyed the Fillet Mingon. It was pretty good. For the first hour we were the only people there. It was cool and weird at the same time. Here is us after dinner. The picture isn't that great, but that's what you get when you depend on the kindness of strangers.

The rest of the weekend was great. We definitely missed Amelia, but it is amazing how many things we accomplished on our "To Do" list with out the demands and counter productiveness a toddler provides. It was great to have a nice lazy long weekend especially because we've got about 2 months before baby girl #2 joins us and life gets super crazy again!

Les Miserables

2008-08-23T10:38:00.001-04:00

Perhaps you know the song, "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes." That is fun. The illness "Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease" is not fun. Amelia came down with HFAM Disease starting on Monday afternoon beginning with a slight fever. Tuesday morning there were tiny bumps on her legs and torso, and by Tuesday evening the mouth sores had appeared. Amelia was miserable and Erik and I were suffering also. There was little sleep for us the next two nights because we are lucky enough to have a child who sleep LESS when she is sick. What is that about?

The biggest problem were the sores in Amelia's mouth. She was in pain every time she tried to eat anything and this is a child who loves to eat. So she was cranky from being tired, cranky from being in pain, and cranky from being hungry. Did I mention that all four of her eye teeth are coming in too? It has been a rough week for Amelia and a rough week for Erik and I. Things are better now, but not totally better. She is sleeping more, but she has gotten used to being rocked to sleep which I am not thrilled about. Plus the terrible twos seemed to have started at 20 months. I need a vacation.

The Neighborhood Pool

2008-08-14T08:30:00.003-04:00

My parents' neighborhood pool is awesome. It has a kiddie area with mushrooms that rain and buckets that fill up and dump water. If that doesn't take the cake there is also a sweet water slide. Needless to say we enjoy enjoying the pool when we visit my family.

As noted before we were up in Raleigh (Morrisville) last weekend and we went to the pool twice. Amelia could not get enough of the water slide so Mommy, Grammy, Aunt Catherine, Uncle Mark, and Uncle Daniel all took turns taking her down. As soon as she was off the slide she would start saying, "Again! Again!" Another reason for Amelia to love the pool is all the planes that kept flying over as they made there way to the RDU airport. And a day at the pool is never complete without snacks. Yummy!

Together Again

2008-08-11T08:48:00.004-04:00

This past weekend we took our millionth (seems like) trip to Raleigh (well Morrisville) to welcome home my brother Michael from his mission (the Denver Colorado North Mission). When he left I was 4.5 months pregnant with Amelia. Now Amelia is 19 months old and I'm 6 months pregnant with #2. So much the same, so much different. It was great to see him again and it was really fun to have my big fat family back together again, if only for a short time. My brother Eric's papers went in last Friday and he'll probably be at the MTC before the end of the year. Hmm, wonder if I'll be pregnant when he gets home?

After Church (The picture was taken with my cell phone, so not so great.)

This pictures was taken with a self-timer camera. Yes that is my sister's dog in the photo. Apparently I'm in the minority when it comes to thinking family photographs should only including humans. Love you Catherine!

Back row L-R: Mary, Christian, Eric, Amelia, Catherine, Sydney (the dog), Bryan, Michael, and Daniel.
Front row L-R: Alex, Mark, Mom, Dad, Erik, and me (Elizabeth). I'm not sure how I ended up in the front on both pictures, but I don't like it.

Uncle Michael and Amelia sharing their love of the piano.

No Pictures!

2008-08-05T16:40:00.004-04:00

We've had a few requests from Erik's dad and grandparents for a new wallet photo of Amelia. The problem is that most of the photos we have are more candid type shots and not really what I would think of as a wallet photo. Last week after I finished putting piggies in Amelia's hair I decided to try and get a few close-up shots that could be used as wallet photos. Well Amelia was not into having her picture taken. I guess she was bored because all she wanted to do is go bye-bye in the car.

As evidence these are the two pictures I was able to get. She just isn't that cooperative - but at lease she was looking at the camera when the picture was taken, which is a rare occurrence. I guess we'll just have to keep trying.

Just In Case You Were Wondering...

2008-08-01T17:09:00.003-04:00

I am friggin' awesome! Erik's pants (especially Old Navy brand) have the unfortunate tendency to develop holes where the belt loops and pockets are. Bad for him, but somewhat advantageous for me. Inspired by this, I decided to see if I could turn his old pants (and an old tank top) into a maternity skirt for me. I am currently very impressed with myself.

Here is the before; I'd already cut off the top part of the pants.

Here is the after.

Here are some action shots complete with my 6 month pregnant belly and some stretch marks.

Front

Side

The 2024 Summer Olympics

2008-07-28T17:56:00.006-04:00

We've started Amelia training for the 2024 Summer Olympics, focusing on the 100 meter dash. Amelia loves to race from one point to another, particularly when I've just suggested its time for a diaper change. Here's a little video of Amelia's training. It also contains one of her new favorite things to do which is jump. Perhaps we'll combine the two and start focusing on hurdles next.

20 Minutes

2008-07-19T14:08:00.006-04:00

I don't know what it is about Saturdays, but the past few weeks Amelia and I have struggled with nap time on Saturday. One of us wants Amelia to take a nap, and one of us isn't so keen on that idea. I'm sure you can guess which "one" I am. Today I put her down at her normal nap time of 11:30am and within 10 minutes I heard her calling out, "Mommy, Mommy." I went in there, picked her up, walked and sang for a couple minutes, and put her back in bed. Well, by 1pm there had been two more trips into her bedroom and she still wasn't asleep. It isn't my preferred method of getting Amelia to sleep, but I hate no nap days, so I decided to pull out the big guns and take a drive in the car. Within 20 minutes I had a sleeping Amelia. Pure Bliss!

Sacked Out

Post Nap - My Darling (Still Sleep Dazed) Daughter

What's in a Name?

2008-07-16T12:12:00.004-04:00

So if you've read this blog since its creation, you may know that I didn't start this blog. I have certainly kept it going, but Erik was the creator, and because of that I had no part in the name. It has been "The Lewis Family" since its creation, and frankly that lacked a certain je nais c'est quoi. Last night as I suffered through another few hours of insomnia, I started thinking of what I would want to rename our blog. I thought about doing the alliteration thing, such as "Lewis Laughs," but wasn't really feeling that. I'm not sure when or how the name "Truly Scrumptious" came to me, but at 2:30 in the morning I decided it sounded pretty good. We'll see if it sticks. Ten points to whoever (whomever?) knows the movie reference without googling it!

Yummy In My Tummy!

2008-07-14T12:26:00.002-04:00

I have the debatably good or bad habit of making sweets on Sunday afternoons. Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite, and that is actually what I wanted to make yesterday until I sadly discovered I didn't have any chocolate chips. As I pondered on what other sweet would meet my cravings, I spied the bag of popcorn that had been sitting on my shelf for months.

I have been meaning to make carmel corn for ages but just hadn't gotten around to it. As groceries have been put away, and the bag of popcorn moved around, Erik would always question if I was ever going to make the carmel corn. I would always reply, "Lay off, its food storage."

Yesterday I finally got around to making carmel corn, and it was worth the wait. I thought making the recipe was going to be difficult, but it wasn't too bad. It is so yummy! Thanks to Grandma for the recipe!

See what you're missing.

Better Late Than Never - Happy Independence Day!

2008-07-09T18:25:00.005-04:00

I've been reading everyones 4th of July post and I thought I'd share how our Independence Day went. Erik woke up with Amelia, so I got to have a nice lie in. After waking up and eating breakfast, I decided to wash the towels and bathing suits from our pool adventure the day before. I started the washer, added detergent, bent down to grab a handful of laundry, dropped it in the washer, then bent down again to get another handful. As I stood up the muscles in my lower back seized up and I cried out and fell to the ground. Erik came running and helped me to our bed. I couldn't lay flat on my back, and every position seemed to hurt in someway. I was in agony.

I pretty much spent the rest of the day laying down. I've never missed having cable TV so much as I was bored beyond belief. My parents and brother Alex came in the afternoon, and it turned out to be fortuitous to have some extra hands to help with Amelia and around the house. We enjoyed some steaks, corn on the cob, salad, and watermelon for dinner. I don't know about you all, but we've had some delicious watermelon this year. It was a beautiful evening here and Dad and Alex went to enjoy the fireworks at Union Point Park (they shoot them out over the Neuse River) while Amelia slept and Erik, Mom, and I watched Duel on ABC. Not the most exciting day ever but Happy Independence Day one and all nevertheless!

Rainy Day

2008-06-29T16:05:00.004-04:00

What's more fun that a rainy day? Not much to Amelia. We were at the pediatrician for her 18 month well check when I heard the rumbling of thunder. It was pouring when we got out, but I knew we would just have to go for it because I couldn't exactly leave her on the sidewalk and expect her to be there when I drove the car up. Amelia was in heaven as we walked in the rain to the car. She started crying when I put her in the car so I told her we could play in the rain when we got home. Well I was true to my word and as you can tell she loved every minute of it.

A little video.

Sisters

2008-06-26T15:56:00.005-04:00

This is my sister Catherine and me. Our relationship over the years has had its ups and downs, but I do have to say that I'm grateful to have her in my life. She is pretty great and a wonderful ally in this world. We found last Friday that Amelia is going to have a sister too!

This is Amelia's sister.

And don't you know she has Erik's profile.

18 Months

2008-06-19T17:41:00.006-04:00

Erik and I have officially been parents for 18 months today. I really can't believe how much our life has changed since Amelia joined our family. And it is especially hard to believe that in less than six months our family of three will become a family of four!

Here is Amelia one year ago.

Here is Amelia today, eating a cookie and showing off her vast knowledge of the human anatomy.

Endless Summer

2008-06-16T12:28:00.004-04:00

While the technical beginning of summer has yet to come, the weather would suggest otherwise. In efforts to keep our darling daughter entertained we have pulled out all the stops.

First we got the slide.

Peek-A-Boo

One day we were having a family sicky sicky day so Daddy got out a little tent to play in.

Cheese!

Occasionally we blow some bubbles.

Then, when it got really hot, I decided we needed to cool off in style.

Swimming

Splish Splash

All these fun things to do and yet the days still seem to drag on. It would be nice if new toys actually entertained Amelia for longer than one day. Gratefully the 100+ degree temperatures have taken a break for awhile. Hopefully we'll make it through the long hot summer!

Everything's Bigger in Texas

2008-06-03T20:33:00.001-04:00

So, I just got back from a four day trip to Arlington, Texas for work. I led a team of engineers and technicians as we visited three factories of Bell Helicopters Textron, INC. We were there looking at the facilities, so we can begin planning efforts for similar facilities at Cherry Point. Enough of the boring details, I'm sure some of you have already fallen asleep. Anyway, this was my first time actually staying in Texas longer than a lay over at Dallas/Ft. Worth airport.

I actually have to agree with the saying that "Everything's Bigger in Texas!" First, DFW airport is rather large. I mean if you have to have a sky rail to connect the terminals, you gotta be a large airport. The interstates are monstrous in an of themselves, I'm talking 6-8 lanes, with 2-3 service/frontage roads on each side. Once you figure out how to use the service/frontage roads, navigating around isn't too bad. The hotel I stayed at was literally in the shadow of Six Flags, but the park wasn't open. I was also less than two minutes from The Ballpark at Arlington, home of the Texas Rangers. HUGE! And a few more minutes down the road, the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium. FREAKING GINORMOUS! I got a few pictures, but they're on my cellphone and I've not bought the data chord to transfer them to the computer yet; maybe I'll do that one of these days so I can post those pictures.

On another note, has anyone flown lately? I'm frustrated with the airline industry on a whole after this trip. Each flight I was on had at least a 20 minute delay after we were boarded and "locked" into the plane. That Tuesday, we sat on the New Bern runway for 35 minutes because of air traffic controller (ATC) delays in Charlotte. We landed in Charlotte, five minutes after our connecting flight was to start boarding. My team had to make the mad dash from concourse E to concourse A, and got there very winded only to find the next flight hadn't started boarding. Shortly thereafter it did, and we were on track to leave on time until the Captain came over the loudspeaker and said that there was a weather front around the Dallas airport, and we were going to hang tight right here for a while...we'll 2.5 hours later we were in the air. That's right, we sat on the runway for 2.5 hours! Now this wouldn't have been too bad if we could have gotten up or moved around, or if the flight wasn't packed. I was crammed in a middle seat for 4 hours when I should have only been there for two (original flight time). It totally sucked! On the return flights, we sat on Charlotte's runway for 40 minutes waiting to go to New Bern, according to the stewardess's "I think there were atc delays." Well, DUH! I've got to fly to Jacksonville, FL at the end of the month and am already dreading the trip.

Customer Care Center

2008-05-21T21:05:00.004-04:00

After starting this blog I haven't done any of the postings. Elizabeth has done extremely well in keeping the posts coming, and I've enjoyed keeping up with everyone else and their postings. I have particularly enjoyed keeping up with a certain posting contest (Go Mary!). Well, we've added a new feature to our blog. For those who do a lot of business online they will appreciate the ability to contact our customer care center. They will do their best in responding in a timely manner. They do not accept any emails that are forwards, or have been forwards at one time but have had the "FW" removed from the subject line. The management at our Customer Care Center will block those email addresses of those who send forwards. Actually, its just an email address that we've created just for this blog. Feel free to drop us a line anytime as long as its not a forward, Elizabeth will block your address! We're not kidding.

Sleeping In

2008-05-21T12:02:00.004-04:00

There was a time in my life that sleeping in meant waking up between 9 and 10am. I wouldn't ever schedule anything before 10am, because that was simply too early. My friends with children would roll their eyes when I would say, "Not before ten please." Waking up was a process, a slow roll into consciousness. For those of you that are still in that stage of life, cherish it.

These days I usually have one day a week that I have the opportunity to sleep in. My wonderful husband will take Amelia duty on Saturday mornings so that I can have a leisurely lay-in. The unfortunate part is that, even provided with the opportunity, my body is now on a schedule of its own, which does not include sleeping in. These days my eyes pop open between 6 and 6:30am. What makes this situation even more frustrating is that there is no reason for me to be up this early. Amelia doesn't usually wake-up until between 7:30 and 8:30am. So from anywhere from an hour to two hours I toss and turn in bed, dreaming for 20 to 30 minutes at a time, until I hear Amelia's "talking" through the baby monitor. Perhaps my body is preparing for the early morning nursing sessions that will inevitably be here before I know it. I guess somewhere along the way my "mom genes" kicked in and sleeping in is no longer part of my life.

I miss sleeping in. I am hoping that one day I will return to the sleeping in stage of life. Until then I will remind myself how cute my reason for not sleeping in is.

Neigh

2008-05-16T13:25:00.004-04:00

So we've got a horse in our house - a clothes horse. To be fair, Amelia loves clothes but she really loves shoes. Within minutes of waking up in the morning she is requesting shoes, "shoe, shoe, shoe," and pointing towards her dresser. Sometimes I have to remind her that she already has shoes on her feet when she requests shoes. I have to put her shoes out of sight or else I would be putting a new pair on her every five minutes. She enjoys Mommy and Daddy's shoes too, and will often try to put those on either her feet or our feet. One morning we went through several pairs of shoes.

Dark Pink

Light Pink

Please!

While her love of shoes is nothing new, she has newly discovered clothes. One morning, after an out of town visit, Amelia discovered her duffel bag and started trying to put on the clothes she found - all the clothes she found. Things are going to get interesting once she figures out how to actually get them on and off. I fear I've created a monster!

Blog Hopping

2008-05-09T09:40:00.004-04:00

So I've discovered a new online past time - blog hopping. While we don't have any of our friends links listed (no offense to anyone) there are several people that have linked us to their blog. In fact, it was when Britt told us that she had linked us to her blog that I realized someone (meaning me) should probably do something with our blog. Back to my point. When I have exhausted my online communities, perused all the craiglist listings, and am looking for a reason not to go to our bank website to balance the checkbook, I will start blog hopping. Who knows where I will start out, who knows where I will end?

Turns out it is a small, small world; at least the LDS world is (small - for those of you who don't like dangling whatever that may be). I have hopped around and found people I hadn't thought about in years. And these people have children, grown children. Okay well, not grown, but six and seven years old - significantly older than my almost 17 month old. So now I feel old. These are people I went to church and school with; these are my contemporaries. I guess the jig is up. I am an adult now, an official grown-up. If they are, then I must be too. Sigh.

I do enjoy catching up on people lives, at least the parts they find worthy enough to share with the online community. And I want to thank those who link to their friends and families blogs because without them I may have never discovered that I was a grown-up. Off to start acting like one.

We Procreated

2008-04-29T16:42:00.009-04:00

Well, following the commandment to be fruitful and multiply - and much to the delight of our grandparents, parents, and siblings - we created Amelia. She joined our family approximately 16 months ago. We also have baby #2 on the way, but not much is going on there unless you have an immense interested the many degrees of nausea a person (specifically me) can experience. I'm going to assume my nausea is not in the general interest of this audience and so we'll turn our attention back to Amelia.

Amelia is an angel - a delight in every way. She never cries or whines and her moods consist of happy and happier. She is smart as a whip and even did our taxes this year. Okay, okay, well none of that stuff is actually true. In fact, if there is one thing Amelia excels it is making her opinion known often and with much noise and flailing of the extremities.

Things Amelia loves: being outside, shoes, balls, her Raggedy Ann doll, guitars, music, books, pulling the bookmark out of Mommy's book, baths, taking dishes out of dishwasher, pulling wipes out of the wipes warmer, and helping putting the laundry in the dryer. Foods: bananas, yogurt, mandarin oranges, strawberries, green beans, cheese, chocolate chip cookies and strawberry milkshakes.

Things Amelia does not like: being told "no", riding in the car (especially when there is a lot of getting in and out of the car), getting her diaper changed, bedtime, riding in shopping carts, getting her hands and face washed after mealtimes, and when Mommy isn't giving her complete attention.

Amelia loves her Mommy and thinks her Daddy is okay too.

And now for the photos.

Easter

A Tantrum

Yes, We Have a Thumbsucker

Adorable in Polkadots

Getting in Trouble

Playing in the Rain

I Guess We Have a Blog Now

2008-04-14T15:46:00.006-04:00

So my husband tells me a couple weeks ago that he had been blog hopping and decided to jump on the band wagon (not his exact words - more of my summary of them). So I guess we have a blog now. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this. I mean now that we have a blog, people are going to expect us to update it. And then I feel the need to be witty, clever, and interesting. I can tell you right now that my life seems the exact opposite of witty, clever, and interesting. If you asked me what was going on in my life right now, I'd probably tell you that I've caught up on Ugly Betty through Netflix and the wonderful www.abctv.com. I've been feeling pretty miserable lately because I'm have horrible morning sickness. Erik has been painting rooms in our house. Amelia's molars are coming in. Now you know what is going on in our lives. Witty, clever, and interesting it is not. Well perhaps next time.

New Beginnings

2008-03-27T00:24:00.002-04:00

Well, after keeping tabs with the Hancock clan for awhile now I decided to create our own blog page. I'll try to get more on this over the next few days. Please feel free to leave posts.