Time passes so quickly.  We all know this, have experienced it, and have bemoaned or welcomed it depending on our mood or the situation.  For me, time has recently been measured by the rapid growth of my children.  How has it been a year since Katelyn was born?  However, it most definitely has been a year.  Time is so strange.  It feels like just yesterday, but when I stop and consider, I realize it has indeed been a “long” time.  How is that possible?  My baby is growing up and will soon bear the title of toddler as opposed to infant.  I couldn’t ask for a more wonderful child…. almost.  😉

She has 4 teeth, eats lots of varieties of food, and has such a fun personality.  She jabbers constantly, clearly telling a story.  She is active, adventurous, and has little fear…except when it comes to inflatable hobby horses.  Then, she has an irrational fear and will not venture to the side of the room where said toy is.  It cracks me up.  She is one of the happiest children I’ve ever known, but once in a while portions of a temper shine through (to go along with her hair? Nah, just sin nature).  She is very small.  11th percentile for weight, and….this cracks me up as well, is in the 0 percentile for height.  Shorty.  She is not a good sleeper.  I guess she could be worse, but she still doesn’t sleep through the night.  On a good night, I get 9 hours out of her before she’s “hungry.”  Of course, for the first 3 of those hours, I’m not in bed yet.  Regardless of her few faults, she is a delightful little child.

Her favorite toys are…anything that is not a toy.  🙂  She enjoys playing with her sister and is starting to get excited when recognizing family and friends.

She is such a joy to our family.  A wonderful addition.  We love you, “Katelee!”

It’s strange, but I used to despise tomatoes.  Ketchup was fine.  Tomato soup was fine.  But put a tomato on my sandwich or in my salad, or like my sister, try to get me to eat one raw?  Forget it!

Over the years, my tastes have strangely changed.  Now I love tomatoes on my burgers.  I even learned to love them on my grilled cheese.  I especially look forward to my in-laws giving me fresh tomatoes from their garden.  However, I still hate them in my salad.  Once in a while, I will even eat a tomato slice by itself.  Only if they’re homegrown though.  Somehow, they taste a million times better.

I’ve even reached the point where I have attempted for 2 years to grow my own! So fra, I’ve been unsuccessful.  Last year, I planted them too late. This year, my dog has developed a fondness for green tomatoes. I even have 2 cages around my plant. He just jumps into it and either takes the tomatoes he wants, or eats the half he can reach! I’ll have to take more drastic measures next year.

Not ever eat a tomato? Only in my salad.

I know it’s been forever, but guess what?!  We finally have internet capability at our house.  Now, it’s very limited, so I don’t know if it will actually affect my blogging frequency, but it’s nice to dream.

We had a very interesting and not so wonderful experience the other day.  I had just put my 2 yr old daughter down for her nap and was preparing to get a little catnap myself.  As I was walking through my living room, I heard a strange rustling noise and turned, and saw….

a 2.5 foot (maybe 3) long BLACK SNAKE.  IN. MY. LIVING. ROOM.  This is where I was thankful it was Labor Day and my husband was home.  I ran outside (in my bare feet) and frantically waved at him across our yard.

I told him what I saw, the direction the snake slithered in and the next step was to see if it was still in the house.  Unfortunately (or fortunately?  I can’t really decide).  It was indeed still in the house, hiding under the very couch I was planning to snooze on.  I’m still not sure if the knowledge of his presence was good or not, but I’m definitely leaning towards I’d rather know he was there so I can do something about it.  Or rather, my husband can do something about it.  We blocked off all the sides of our couch with chairs and boards so that the snake only had one point of exit.  After about an hour of observing the snake, letting my husband think about what to do next, and moving various toys and furniture out of his way, he came up with a brilliant plan.  It was a brilliant plan, but I felt as if it were such a long shot.  I figured we’d be there the rest of the day trying to capture the thing.

He cut a little hole in a pizza box, slid it up to the corner of the couch and just waited.  After about 10 minutes, the snake started going in the box!  I couldn’t believe it.  He got a broomstick and tapped the wall behind it to encourage it the rest of the way in.  We blocked the hole, then dropped the entire box into a big storage Rubbermaid container.  Taped that shut and my husband drove it far, far away and let it go.

Ugh, a snake in my house.  And here I thought we had an understanding.  The black snakes by my house are supposed to eat all the mice, but leave me, my family, and my house alone.  I guess we will have to have a talk about appropriate snake behavior.  And guess what?  I never even screamed and my daughter slept through the entire thing.  Amazing. However, he is never invited back.

I haven’t blogged in ages. Most of this is due to the fact that I don’t have internet at home. This also makes it very hard to narrow down my blog post subject when I do get time to post. For instance, right now, I have about 6 separate subjects I want to write about. One of them being that before I lived in a more rural area (which isn’t even that rural compared to other parts of the country), I didn’t realize there were places where you couldn’t get good, reliable internet. Growing up in the city suburbs, internet was everywhere. Where I live now, on a busy, and rather populated road, there are several stretches that cable and high speed internet don’t cover. I happen to live on one of those stretches. The cables stop a half mile on either side of my house. There are at least 30 houses within that stretch and I don’t understand why the wires weren’t run on this stretch, but it is what it is. Our only options for internet are through our phones or satellite. Satellite is unreliable, limited, and on the expensive side considering those qualities. Also, to save money, my husband and I don’t have smart phones, and as a result, have no internet access at our house. This concept never entered my mind before moving away from “home.” There are a few benefits to not having internet at home, but the cons far outweigh them. It’s life for me right now, so I do what I can when I can and leave the rest alone.

I also have a really exciting story about my dog that involves a raccoon and a gun, but I’ll save that for another time.

The reason I actually started this post is to talk about my hair. I’m a bit slow when it comes to my hair. I must admit part of it is due to the fact that I never wanted to pay for the expensive styling products. I have come to realize that this was a serious error of ways. I could have had luscious, gorgeous curls for years now, but since I chose not to buy the better products, those years have been spent with mediocre hair. I was always afraid to try the more expensive products for fear they wouldn’t work on my hair and be a waste of money.

Recently, during the missions conference at our church, I asked one of the missionary wives what products she used on her hair (her hair was gorgeous, not frizzy, and looked so soft). Her answer didn’t really surprise me: Frizz Ease by John Frieda. I had previously tried the Curl Perfecting Spray (see, I did splurge once), but didn’t really find much difference from the cheaper Herbal Essences Spray I was using. Looking back, I’m pretty sure that was the only one that Walmart carried, so I guess my cheapskate ways aren’t entirely to blame for this lack of oversight. One of the ladies at my church who had heard the question and answer brought me the serum and the “Secret Weapon” on Sunday.   The result is absolutely amazing. I didn’t realize (due to my lack of enthusiasm, internet, and research) that there were more products in the Frizz Ease line than the one I had tried. I must admit, now I want to go buy them all. When I mentioned this to my husband, he laughed and said that he’s sure I spend less money on my hair than most ladies by not going to the salon, so it basically evens out. Lol

I also recently had started not shampooing my hair every day. All previous suggestions of this were stubbornly set aside. I can’t not go without “washing” my hair. Of course, that was mostly because I couldn’t style it without it being wet, and I can’t get a comb through it without the shampoo and conditioner routine. However, I started only shampooing a few times a week, but conditioning every day. This allows me to actually comb my hair (in the shower) and style every day without actually shampooing. It works well for me. I really haven’t seen much difference in my hair, but my shower times are shorter. J

I still plop my hair after my shower, I still blow dry it briefly, but as you can see by the pictures, product makes a huge difference. At least I won’t be spending as much on shampoo.

Well, it’s been forever since I blogged.  I do miss blogging, I just don’t have time or internet access for it right now.  My life is zipping along.  My daughter just turned 11 months old!  Where did that year go?  She recently started crawling and is so much fun.

Is that a BUG?!

My husband is almost done with his semester of evening classes and I’m so happy.  I’m hoping this means I’ll see him a bit more, but I really know better than to plan on that.  The month of May is going to zoom by as it is filled with activity, trips, and all around busyness.

The weather is finally turning very spring-like and I’m loving the opportunity to be outdoors.  My daughter loves being outside, so on the nice days we spend some time playing.  Our dog is loving all the extra attention and “people presence.”

I recently have gotten back into my genealogy work and have made some good progress on my family tree.  Uncovering new fun or interesting facts and getting a clearer picture of different people in the tree.  I have been in contact with some distant relatives and we have been sharing information and photos.  It’s been really fun.

It’s a little weird that my “little” brother is going to be married very soon.  I’m so excited for him, but part of me will always remember  him as the adorable little boy…who was very good at being annoying.  😉

Throwback 2007:

Last week, I took my daughter to the beach for the first time.  She didn’t seem to mind the sand at all.  She was squealing and having a great time.

First “selfie.” Well, actually, I took the pic, but it cracks me up.

Last week I started a new job.  So far, I’m loving it.  The people are great, the job is something I know how to do well, and the hours are perfect!  I only work three mornings a week and only a few hours each morning.  The time goes by so fast, that there is hardly time to miss my daughter!

More updates to come as I now have regular internet access.  Now, to get things organized so I can begin blogging on a more regular basis.  🙂

The other night, while sitting in the living room, my husband and I heard “critters” playing in our ceiling.  However, the sound was “bigger” than just a mere mouse.  We discussed the possibility of another rat invading our house, made a game plan and no more was said on the subject.

Around 3am, I got up.  When I finished what I was doing, got a drink of water, I turned around, and flipped off the kitchen light.  As soon as I did so, there was a “big” scuffle sound in the dining room.  I grabbed the side of the doorway, and “scooted” backward into the kitchen, with a huge intake of breath.

It’s amazing what goes through your mind in a split second.  I distinctly had several thoughts:
“Oh, no!  A Rat!  I’m NOT going to walk through there in the dark.  Are you kidding me?  I should turn the light back on immediately.”

While these thoughts were rolling through my mind, I was slightly frozen.  It couldn’t have been more than a second.  During this “frozen” time, I hear, “It’s just me.”

Wait, what?

“It’s just me.”

Oh.  My husband.  I flip the light on.

“Didn’t you see me?”

Hahaha, if my reaction is any indication, obviously not.  “Umm..no.  I just heard a ‘big’ sound, thought rat, and was going to turn the light back on.”

“Oh, that makes sense.  I would hope you’d react more strongly to an intruder.”

Hahaha, yep.  Oh, a stranger is in my house, let me hide behind the counter.  Lol

After putting our dog away who was “barking it up at 3am for no reason,” my husband returned to bed, where I had been laughing as I fell back asleep.

As he walks into the room, he says, “It’s just me.”

This limited internet access is for the birds. So much has happened in my life since last posting. My daughter is now 4 months old and the joy of my life. I’ve had 2 job interviews and I’m waiting to hear back on the 2nd one. I’m hoping I’ll get the job. It’s ideal hours, and a library job, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.
I’ve been spending any spare time (after taking care of baby, house cleaning, errands, visits with friends) crocheting. The craft show at Apple Scrapple Festival in Bridgeville is just over a week away! It really snuck up on me, but I think I’ll have a good amount of items to sell (having some inventory really saved me). I feel that I have so much to do to prepare for Apple Scrapple! I have a feeling that next week will feel really rushed. However, in the past 2 months, I’ve accumulated quite a nice pile of new items! I still need to photograph a couple.

Speaking of photographing items, my friend and I did a quick photo shoot with my daughter. It was actually the middle of her naptime, but since she wasn’t sleeping anyways, we took our chances that she wouldn’t cry through the entire thing. We got a couple of gorgeous shots (in my “professional” opinion – you know, not just because I’m her mom. ha!). Hopefully she’ll draw some attention at the craft show. Her picture, not her. She won’t be there for most of it, if any.

My daughter is growing quickly, and I’m enjoying every minute of it! She is still petite, but then looking at her parents, not much different was expected. Two local friends of mine each had boys: one three weeks before Brooklyn, and one three weeks after. They are both significantly larger than her. I’d love to get together with them and snap a picture with her in the middle!
Thankfully, we seem to be on the upswing with Brookyln’s tummy issues, and as a result, she’s sleeping more peacefully during the day and I’m getting more done around the house! It’s rather wonderful. We have finally graduated from her needing to fall asleep in my arms (her pain with tummy issues caused a bit of spoiling). She falls asleep on her own in the living room. Next step: get her to fall asleep in her crib in the daytime! We’re making good progress towards that.
Fall has arrived here and it’s a gorgeous one! I love the sunny days. I do kinda hate how early it is getting dark, though, and we haven’t even hit daylight savings! It’s rather hard to believe that it’s October already.
In early September, we had a yard sale with Matt’s parents and a friend. We did really well for the hours of the sale. I think, collectively, we made around $400. It started raining around 1 or 1:30. Kinda ended the sale and Matt and I spent the rest of the afternoon carting things in the rain. I was wet, cold, and miserable. We had to finish up the cleanup on Sunday afternoon. It was worth it though. I got rid of a bunch of junk I didn’t need and made a bit of money at the same time.
Well, I guess that’s the highlights. I will be so happy when I finally get internet at home! Who knows when that will be, though. Until then, you’ll just have to be content with very sporadic posts.

As I knew would be the case, my blog is taking a back seat to everything else. My daughter is thriving and approaching two months of age. She does have some tummy troubles that keep me super busy throughout the day. Naptime is a struggle. Just when I get her to sleep, either her tummy hurts and wakes her up, or it’s time for her next meal! I did try letting her skip a meal, but that resulted in a rough night, so I don’t do that anymore. Lol She sleeps like an angel at night (probably because she hardly gets a good nap in during the day). For 5 nights in a row she averaged 8 hours a night…until last night, which blew that average out of the water. I think I may have managed to get 4 hours of sleep.? I really can’t complain though, since last night was the worst night she’s had since the 2nd and 3rd nights after she was born. Since then, she’s been a dream at night (no pun intended – lol).

My husband has been really busy getting our yard looking amazing. It’s so nice to walk around every evening and see what he’s worked on, what he’s done differently, or what he’s planning to do next. We have seen several deer this year right at our back fence. Of course, I never have the camera in hand when we see them, but it’s cool to watch them anyways.

I can’t believe the summer is passing so quickly! I feel like I haven’t done anything (well, besides have a baby). On the other hand, I’ve been really busy and did a lot of activities. Each member of my family came and visited me after my daughter was born, so I basically had company for 3.5 weeks straight after her birth. It was fun, though! Since we had company, we did a lot of things and Brooklyn got a lot of “firsts” in very early. She visited her first museum, went to the beach for the first time, went to the park, went out of the state for the first time (several times with day trips and trips to the airport), had her first visit to the library (and several since), went to her first aquarium, experienced her first fireworks (okay, she actually fell asleep in the middle of them), and has already even been to her first babysitter several times (of course, the babysitter was her Grandma, but still…).

Life is starting to settle into a new normal, but still manages to keep us on our toes. For instance, the other night I was awakened by my husband banging around…well, at least I thought that was what I was hearing until I became more aware and realized that we actually caught a mouse in the trap under our bed! Never a dull moment at our house, especially at night. When I was very pregnant, I kept hearing a mouse in our bedroom and it kept me awake several hours a few nights in a row. My husband “thought” he heard it too, but I think he may have placed that trap there to placate me. Lol Turns out, I wasn’t going crazy! I was happy that we caught this mouse as that evening when hanging out in the living room, a little critter ran across the floor right in front of me! I flipped out slightly, but didn’t scream. Lol I keep telling myself the mouse in our bedroom was the same mouse. I’m probably lying to myself.

Well, you’ll probably hear from me in another month.  lol  If I get internet access at my home soon, the posts will start to be more regular.  Until then, updates will be sparse.

It’s a girl!  I have a daughter!  (As I don’t have regular access to the internet, it’s taken me a while to get around to this.  My poor blog.)

My beautiful daughter made her way into the world on the morning of May 28.  She was exactly one week late and definitely worth the wait.  It’s only been 2 and a half weeks since her arrival, and the reality and feeling of pregnancy are long past.  I can’t believe it’s been 2 weeks already, and yet, it seems like she’s always been a part of my life.

She is an angel baby.  She sleeps for 2 and 3 hour stretches at night (and I’m thankful for every stretch of sleep), and isn’t overly fussy.  She’s so tiny and perfect, I’m pretty sure that I’ll be almost sad as she gets bigger. I love how little and cuddly she is.

She was born at 6 lbs, 6 oz and measured 20 inches long.  She has been eating like a little piggy and weighed 7 lbs at today’s appointment.

She has her father’s nose and resembles his infant pictures.  I think she has my mouth shape and definitely has my coloring.  She sleeps like her father… she doesn’t stay still and makes all kinds of noises in her sleep.  🙂  We are unsure what color hair she will have!  Her hair in back is light brown, with blonde on the top.  Her eyebrows and eyelashes are very light – a blonde or red.  Time will tell!

We are so in love!