Love is....

I really don't strive to be a crappy blog owner. I write post all the time in my head while I'm in the shower. Then I get out of the shower and have zero time to myself and before you know it I have forgotten what I'm going to write about! What I really need is a waterproof laptop....or more time to myself. Anyway, I wanted to write about my awesome hubby! I love him so very much and he made this Valentine's Day very special.

First off I should tell you that Kevin is an avid deer hunter. He hunts with a compound bow and a shotgun but his passion is the bow. A couple of years ago we were messing around one night with some friends and they talked me into trying out Chey's bow. Well...I fell in love and ever since Kevin and I have been looking for the right bow and the right time. That time came about a week and a half ago when Kevin found my bow online. I got it on Wednesday and Thursday Kevin had it set for my draw length and we had a friend cut my arrows down.

Isn't she pretty??!!

Friday we decided to let Jaelynn stay the night with Grandma and Papa so that we could go out on our Valentine's date. Kevin was taking me shooting! I was soooo excited. I even brought my camera but he told me it really would be kind of embarrassing to take pictures of me. We were just about to Happy.Apple when Kevin says, "Man...I really hope it isn't packed tonight." And I totally freaked out! In my mind it was going to be just Kevin and I and the person running the shop. It never occurred to me that there would actually be other people there. When I was younger something like that wouldn't bother me but the older I get the more I dislike being around a lot of people...especially in a situation like this one. Needless to say by the time we actually got there I was so wound up I was shaking.

I finally started to calm down a little once I started shooting. Kevin reassured me that I didn't suck and we were able to get my 10 yard pin and my 20 yard pin dialed in. Then my arm felt like it was going to fall off so we stopped. I had so much fun but did learn a couple of things from my very sexy instructor.

1. Wear warmer clothes! I was dressed up a little because we were on a date. But the place where we shoot is a lot like a Mor.ton building and was not warm!
   
2. BREATHE!! Kevin told me over and over to not hold my breath and to relax. So I'm going to work on that.
3. Wear a sports bra. If you know me then you know that God really poured out His blessings on my chest. In archery you have to have a certain posture to help you shoot. I found this difficult because every time I got into the correct position my boobs were in the way. Kevin told me I need to flatten them out a little...not something he usually recommends!

I don't know if I will ever actually shoot a deer but I might. Right now I'm just going to enjoy target practice and spending time with my husband. Oh!! Here is a picture of what Kevin got me for Valentine's Day:

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Wordless Wednesday: All You Need is Love!!

Great Weight Challenge of 2010

It happens every year....January 1 comes and you vow to be healthy, get organized and lose weight. Well I decided this year not to make any 'resolutions'. I guess I figure if I have not expectations for the year then I can't be disappointed on December 31 right? It makes sense to me.

This all started a couple of weeks ago when we were getting ready to go run some errands. Kevin knocked on the bathroom door and said "Babe, I need to lose some weight....my pants are too tight!" I totally agreed with him. I need to lose some weight too so hey...lets do it together! In the spare sits a practically brand new elliptical that we got last year. (FOR SALE!!) Kevin told me that he doesn't like to work out on that because he is too tall and hits his head on the ceiling. He would rather have a bike. I was honest with him and said I don't work out on it because I lack motivation.

So we head off to run our errands and instead of stopping at B-Bops for supper we made the healthy choice to have Jimmy John's. Go us! On the way home we decided to put the elliptical up for sale and I decided to join Curves again. But that wasn't enough. You see we both needed even more motivation, so the challenge was thrown down!

Challenge:
30 days to lose 5 pounds or more. It started on January 11th and we will weigh in again on February 11th. The winner gets a 30 minute massage from the loser!

So far I have lost 3 pounds! Due to the weather this week I've only been to Curves once and I'm surprised and pleased to say that I miss it. What a great stress reliever 30 minutes on the circuit is! I think to date Kevin has lost 1.5 pounds. He says it isn't fair because I have equipment to workout on. I say it is fair because guys lose weight faster then gals anyway. Ah...I can almost feel that massage already!

The rundown

When I actually list everything out I can see why I haven't wrote a decent post since August. I've been really busy! And looking back on the days when I could have wrote something I don't think it would have been that great. The last 4 months have been rough in the job area and I'm really trying to not think about it much. I can't change what is happening so I'm not going to stress over it! So anyway...here is what has been going on over the last 4 months:

September:

• We found out that my younger sister Gabrielle was pregnant and getting married! Tentative date was set for November.
• Potty training is in full swing. Goodbye diapers and hello pull-ups!
• I became even more obsessed with canning. This year I dabbled in salsa, dill pickles, lime pickles, spaghetti sauce, strawberry jam, strawberry raspberry jam, caramel apple jam and apple butter. The 2010 garden will be planned around canning!
• Jaelynn and I went to the Farmer's Market with Tiff and Abby. It was a lot of fun but so crowded. And a little pricey...
• Kevin turns 30! We threw a small party for him with our family and close friends. I decided to do a walking taco bar and it was a huge hit.
• We took Jaelynn to the zoo for the second year. My mom came with us this year and we had so much fun!
• After a heated city council meeting Kevin decides to run for one of the 5 open spots.
• Gab decided to move the wedding to October 10th!! 5 weeks to plan! Jaelynn is the flower girl.
• I started my second season of women's rec volleyball and had a blast with all of the ladies! We did pretty good this year and our final standing was 3rd I think.

October:

• Gabrielle finds out that she is having twins 1 week before the wedding!
• First snow of the season falls on October 10...wedding day! This made for some beautiful pictures and a very quick ceremony due to the cold. Jaelynn walked most of the way down the aisle but would not be part of the pictures.
• Kevin and I celebrate 4 wonderful years together!
• Jaelynn and I did Race for the Cure again this year with my sister Anna. We also met up with Angie and walked with her group. It was a great morning but cold! This marks the 3rd year Jaelynn and I have done this.
  
• My 28th birthday! Kevin and Jaelynn spoiled me with perfect cards and cookbooks! They also took me out to dinner.
• I took Jaelynn to the pumpkin patch so she could pick her pumpkin out. It was so cold that we didn't stay long and we went during the week so we weren't able to take the tractor ride.
• We decided to do a fancy pumpkin this year.....I'm sure that won't happen again.
  
• Jaelynn was a bow hunter for Halloween! She looked so cute and was able to stay warm on the rainy dreary beggars night.

November:

• Kevin won a spot on the city council! I'm so proud of him!
• A wonderful candle making adventure with my new friend Jessica. We still have some kinks to iron out. ;)
• Thanksgiving! All food, family and fun! This year we went to Kev's parents first and had a wonderful filling dinner. I cooked the turkey and it turned out great. Then we went to my parents for dessert and games...and leftovers. We rolled into the house at the end of the day.

December:

• We found out that Gabrielle is having BOYS!! Yay!! I can't wait to have nephews!
• We had our friends Christmas party this year at Angie's beautiful new apartment. It was a great night and so wonderful to spend time with our great friends.
• Winter has been rough on us so far. We had a major snowstorm on Christmas Eve and that wasn't even the first.
• Due to the wonderful slick conditions my boss back into my car. I wasn't in it when it happened but my car will never be the same...until the body shop repairs it that is.
• I skipped my Christmas baking this year. It felt weird but I just wasn't feeling it this year.
• I started working for Green Turf Florist as a subcontracted bookkeeper. This is the first of hopefully several clients.
• Christmas was just wonderful this year. Jaelynn really understood what was going on and loved leaving a note for Santa and seeing all the presents the next morning. We are blessed to have so many people that love the little rug rat and he was spoiled.
• Another highlight of the Christmas season was getting to see Kayla and Jason and their super cute bulldog Billy! We haven't seen Kayla and Jason for years and they had never met Jaelynn. Kayla let me sample her Kona coffee and I will never be the same!
• The Johnston's came over on New Year's Eve for a bit. We love letting the kids get together and tear things up!

January

• 2010 started with a bang of freezing cold weather!!
• By the second week of January we were all sick. Hopefully that means we are in the clear for the rest of the winter.
• Ryley turns 3!! I did a Spider Man cake for him this year and it turned out great...he loved it! His mommy and daddy threw a great party with yummy food!
• My good friend Marsha finds out she is having another little girl! I love this baby boom!

Well that about covers things so far. I know I didn't post any pictures but I just had so much to catch up on! Keep me in line everyone...I don't want to start slacking on this blog again!

Work in process

I'm working on moving everything over to this new blog and getting things organized again. When I do I'll try to do a run down of the last couple of months and get everyone up to date. I've said it before...several times...but I'll try this again! I am really going to try to keep this updated to document our lives! For now enjoy the old posts and I promise I will update soon!

Calling all experts....

I tend to blog a lot about all the good stuff in our life but I skim right over the top of all the not so pleasant stuff.....like the tantrums and misbehaving. But trust me this stuff does happen and I'm at my wits end. I know there are at least 3 people out there that read this and I hope that you can all help.

Here is the deal...Jaelynn is very stubborn and things are getting kind of out of hand. When I tell her I'm going to sit her in time-out or in the corner she laughs and thinks it is a game. I thought maybe I should find a rug or a chair and have it be the time-out spot but I'm not sure if this is going to work. I mean, the child puts her toys in time out!

Another thing that we are having a problem with is hitting. She doesn't really hit other kids but she hits me and her grandma and sometimes Kevin. We discipline her...not that it helps a lot....then make her tell us she is sorry. Here is the kicker though....she won't say she is sorry!

I know a lot of this is the age but I'm so scared that my sweet little baby is turning into a brat! If I offer to send cookies to anyone who gives me advice will that help?

She's a big girl now

I know that it had to happen eventually. I just didn't think it would happen so soon! Friday evening we picked up Jaelynn's big girl bed. As promised we also took her shopping to pick out her own decorations...with my guidance of course. I must say that I do love what we picked out and so does she!

Saturday morning...before I could change my mind....I took down the crib. I didn't stop to think about the very first time I laid my baby in the crib, until later. I didn't think about it Saturday morning, when I went in to pick my sleepy-eyed baby up, that it would likely be the last time I ever take her out of a crib. I just did it and threw myself into the set up and decorating.

We've had a couple of rough nights but I went and got a bed rail and that has made a huge difference. All in all, Jaelynn loves her new big girl room! And mommy and daddy...well...we love that we can sneak in and snuggle with our munchkin.

Here are a few pictures. I'm doing some more decorating this weekend and hanging things up but this is the start. Oh, and as if having a big girl bed wasn't enough, Jaelynn woke up dry the other morning and proceeded to use the big girl potty! Don't worry....I'll get use to this big girl thing....