Happy Birthday, Taylor!

Stop Hogging the Blog!

In the summary of this blog, you might have noticed this sentence: New mom, Designer and Research Freak and her husband share their adventures in parenthood! You see the "and her husband" part....? Well, that's me. I'm the husband. But the wife has been making most of the posts, so I told her it was my turn. After all, it's our blog.

So, summer is coming to an end [even though it doesn't feel like it today], and I was thinking back on all of the fun our family has had in the past few months.....trips to Cedar Point and Seattle, Nick's first birthday, hot days at the pool, weekends of sailing.....it's been a good summer.

This photo is from Cedar Point. My girls, Taylor and Sarah, are in front, and Nicholas and I are in back. My wife took the photo. Taylor was so excited to "drive" the old car!

In the photo above, the girls are having fun on Lake Sammamish. My best friend, Rodney, recently bought a boat. We took it out on a beautiful afternoon, and everyone had a great time playing out on the water. Sarah was too afraid to go on the tube alone, so her loving big sis went along for the ride.

We're looking forward to the good times we know will come with the holidays.....

Tastefully Simple Party

Last night, Taylor and I attended a Tastefully Simple party at my friend's house. I haven't seen my friend in awhile, so I was looking forward to catching up. I think Taylor was excited about trying all the food!

Taylor wasn't the only child there, but she was the oldest. The Tastefully Simple consultant brought her three daughters. The youngest was a few months older than Nick, and Taylor was so excited a toddler was there. She loves babies, and I think having the experience of a baby brother has helped her prepare a little for being a mother herself one day [a looooooong time from now, of course].

We had a great time at the party! Taylor especially loved the beer bread they had, but she tried everything. I was very proud of her for keeping such an open mind! Her younger sister isn't so open when it comes to food and will insist she doesn't like something even though she's eaten it multiple times before. If you let her, she'll ask for Mac and Cheese every meal! Definitely a carb girl.....

Some of the samples were pretty garlicky....oh boy! We had some major garlic breath. But Tastefully Simple has some pretty good stuff, and it's SO easy to make. We're looking forward to our order arriving! I know Taylor will want to make the pumpkin bread first.

If you are interested in learning more about Tastefully Simple, please contact:

Robyn Stuhan
Tastefully Simple Team Manager
616-247-0840
rstuhan@gmail.com
www.tastefullysimple.com/web/rstuhan

This One is Going to Be Short and Sweet

All day, I meant to take ten minutes and write in my blog....but I got busy with work. So, I kept forgetting to start an entry.....and here it is, 9:40 p.m., and I'm finally getting to it before I am off to bed.

Tonight, I did, however, get my Excel spreadsheet updated with my products for Froogle. I just keep running into issues with my bulk upload....oh, what fun! I should just splurge on the script that uploads your products from Cafepress...would make life easier.

I'm so brain dead today. It's just been one of those days where I'm tired and feeling oh-so-uncreative and blah and ick and.....if I could type the raspberry sound, it would go here.

Plus, I'm already dreading next week and dealing with the not so nice people......Calgon, take me away!

Tomorrow night, we are trying a new sitter for Nick, our baby. There's a progressive dinner in our neighborhood, and we are planning on attending. We are required to make a dessert, so I'm going to whip up some of my infamous Tiramisu. It's not really MY Tiramisu, and it's not really "infamous", but this stuff ROCKS nonetheless. If I think of it, I'll post the recipe tomorrow or Sunday, and you can decide for yourself.

Anyway, our babysitter is named Jennifer, and she's in high school. She sounded nice on the phone and comes highly recommended by our good friends and neighbors [who will also be at the dinner]. I really just don't trust anybody with Nick -- unless Taylor is here. If Taylor is here, then we're okay with somebody else watching Nick, because hubby and I know Taylor will take care of him. Otherwise, I get nervous......

This was going to be short and sweet, and I feel myself teetering on the edge of a major topic that will have to wait until another time....a time when I am not so tired!

Good night, sleep tight!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Oh my GOD, it's cold! My car tells me how cold it is, and it said 1 this morning. ONE! ONE DEGREE. If this wasn't a "PG" blog, I'd probably throw in some colorful language between the "ONE" and "DEGREE." It felt like it, too. And yes, I'm aware that I live in OHIO, not HAWAII, and this sort of weather is to be expected in FEBRUARY. But STILL....that doesn't mean I'm not going to complain about it!

So, de Bears lost yesterday.....speaking of complaining! Oh well, I guess I should have expected it. And a Colts fan I dislike is celebrating, I'm sure. Blah, blah, blah, phooey. I'm in a mood. I'm sure it's due to the evil Phlegm Beast that kept me coughing last night and this BLASTED COLD WEATHER.

I packed lunches for the girls last night. I've never done that before. Pathetic, I know. Their mother packs lunches, but we usually just buy the school lunch for them. I should mention that I have two step daughters named Taylor [10] and Sarah [soon to be 6]. They are from my husband's previous marriage.

Anyway, I thought I would surprise the girls by packing a fun lunch. I made some fettuccine with a garlic and basil tomato sauce and organic, free range, hormone-free meatballs. Sounds good doesn't it? I should be in Marketing.....wait.....I AM in Marketing.

And, you know, that sentence makes it sound like there are free range meatballs out there, roaming the prairies or something! As usual, I digress with my odd sense of humor....

In addition to this fabulous pasta and meat mixture, I packed cinnamon applesauce, chocolate pudding, a bag of those fishy crackers [which I personally think are nasty!], a piece of buttered garlic bread and some candy. I made sure to include plastic spoons and forks and a cute little blue gingham napkin. I'm such a domestic Goddess.....when I try!

Hopefully, they enjoy their cold pasta. I made sure to include a lovely variety of food items....so, I am sure they won't starve! The girls are good eaters, and I know they often complain of being hungry during the day at school. Honestly, I think they were both the most excited about the candy I packed! Truth be known.....Twizzlers has a powerful hold on Taylor.....

I did forget the "I hope you have a wonderful day, and I love you to pieces" note, though. :( Next time! I'll remember it next time. After all, I am new to this lunch packing gig.