March 17- **Irish Eyes are Smiling**

HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY EVERYONE!! ENJOY!!

March 16 - B-E-A-UTIFUL Day!!!

What a BEAUTIFUL day it was today! I couldn't hardly make myself stay at work! When I got off at 3:30 it was time to RUSH out the door and go get Alaina. We went home and spent a little time outside letting the piggy toes run free! Here are some pictures on our "goodbye bench." When Daddy got home we decided to take a trip to the outdoor mall and walk around a little bit. Mommy wanted to go to Archiver's - he he he. Archivers made me mad though, apparently, they decided not to carry Cricut stuff anymore. Jerks. They have some new fan-dangled machine called a "silhouette" or something like that. Ugh. So, eBay here I come! I did get some fun paper and "stuff" for some pages for Alaina. Then we walked around a little bit and came home. Duncan was ready for some action so we took a short walk through the neighborhood and then came home to have dinner. Alaina ate her cereal and now she is in bed and I am catching up on some much needed blogging! :o) What a wonderful evening!

March 15 - *I can hear the Cricut{s} sing!!!*

Ahhhhh!! It is BEAUTIFUL!!! I am so excited to use it that it is just driving me crazy, but, too many dishes to do, laundry to sort, wash, dry and fold and bottles to make!! Maybe tomorrow night! *I hope!* Today was a busy day around the house. I had to finish working this morning, which, I hated, but it was only a little over an hour today to finish and I got the rest of my day with the family. Alaina was very happy this morning. I got some great pics of her for St. Patrick's day, but, sorry! You have to wait until Tuesday!! :o)
This afternoon we went out and I got my cricut!!! When we got home we decided to grill out since the weather was pretty nice and I have been dying for something grilled for weeks now! A sure sign of warm weather to come is smelling the grills!! So we threw on some steaks with some potatoes and mushrooms. Oh! It was so delicious! Then it was time to clean up and give Alaina her cereal. Then I at least got to take it out of the box and put the little blade in and plug it in and turn it on! Anyway, after unpacking the box, Sam decided it looked like a fun place to take a nap! Sadly, he takes up the whole box!

March 14 - Did I mention I HATE crowds?!?

The day started off well. Alaina slept in a little more than usual. She got up early and ate a little but she went back to sleep and didn't want to get up until 8:30 which was really nice. So we came downstairs and let Daddy sleep a little longer. We watched some cartoons and played and then she wanted to eat and fell asleep. So, mom signs back on to work. Ugh. I really really dislike my job at this point in time. They have people doing things that are not part of our job and therefore, putting more work on those of us that are doing our job. And they just don't seem to get that they have way too much work for us to do to be doing things like that. If I hear someone say "Do more with less" or "I will look into it" one more time I am going to just lose my mind! Ugh, so anyway. I worked for like, three hours. Basically, until Alaina was hungry and I needed to stop and feed her. So after that Teddy decides we need to go do some more TV research. He wants to go to NFM and I am not at all looking forward to it. IT IS SATURDAY at NFM. Not the place you want to be. Once again, I hate crowds. People are rude and I just don't like dealing with them if I don't have to. But, we went. It was a beautiful day and a chance to get out of the house. So off we went with Alaina in tow. We got there, and there was NO WHERE to park. People were parking across the street!! The phrase "I told you so" immediately popped in to my mind, but, I refrained. We did somehow manage to find a spot not across the street. So we go in and they don't even have the TV that Teddy wants. They only had a smaller one and a bigger one. So Teddy decides we need to go check Sams Club. WHAT?!? The only place worse than Nebraska Furniture Mart on a Saturday is SAMS CLUB and of course the ghetto Wal-Mart. I tried, without success to talk him out of this. He was set on going. Oh my goodness. You want to talk about a CROWD of RUDE people. Oh my word. I don't even know how we found a parking spot. It must have taken 20 minutes. So we make it inside and, they don't have the right TV either. *Sigh and Shake my Head* BUT, Teddy wants to buy some bulk Gatorade, you know, since we are already there. So we get the Gatorade and I got some ink for my printer and a book for Alaina... Just getting around the store takes like 40 minutes. Then we get to the checkouts and every line is like five people deep. This took FOREVER and we still don't have a TV. By this time, Alaina is done with the whole shopping trip. She is ready for snack and a nap. So we went home and Teddy decides he is going back to Best Buy. I am out on this one dude. So he went alone, and of course, comes home with a TV, from Best Buy, where we were last night. Ugh. But hey, we checks ALL of our options. :oP
Anyway, Alaina likes the new TV, see?

March 13 - *I <3 Old Navy!!*

Yeah yeah...I know. The last thing she needed was more clothes. But, these are for SUMMER! ;o) Old Navy and Gap had a friends and family weekend this weekend. My daycare handed out the coupons {previously pictured} for 30% off your ENTIRE purchase and it can be used for the whole weekend. I knew I didn't want to deal with Old Navy on a Saturday. I HATE crowds!! So we went tonight to check it out. I bought Alaina two outfits for this summer. The one on the left is adorable because it has the matching hat. I loved the little plaid shorts too. Then I saw the other outfit with the tank top and hot pink plaid shorts. And are those not the tiniest and cutest little flip flops you ever did see?!?! Oh my gosh! They make my heart melt! So anyway. My trip to Old Navy was the highlight of my day. We also went to Best Buy tonight. Daddy wanted to look at TV's. We got our bonus's at work this week and he has been dead set on getting a new TV for our bedroom. While there, I bought Alaina Pinocchio since it was released from the vault this week. I have been collecting the Disney DVD's for years so she already has most of them but this is one we did not have. So Teddy found a TV he liked but he wanted to look at the mecha of all stores, Nebraska Furniture Mart, before making a decision. So, we came home. Alaina ate her cereal and played for a little bit and then fell sound asleep. So, at 9:45, I logged in to work. Yeah...I know. LAME-O!! Believe me, I didn't want to do it. But I would rather work late at night and be able to spend time with Alaina during the day than take that time away from her. So, I logged on and didn't log off until midnight when I was practically propping my eyes open with toothpicks. I was very relieved that when I went to bed, Alaina did not wake up for a little "snack" and I was able to just go to sleep! Unfortunately, I did not get finished with my work, so...I will have to try and finish tomorrow. I love the guilt of a working mother...

March 12 - Busy Night!

Where did you go mom? There you are!!

Blah...is this work week over yet? Today drug on forever. After work I went to pick up Alaina. Thankfully, she was in a good mood because we needed to stop at the grocery store. Mommy had to make food for food day at work on Friday, Daddy needed stamps and milk and Mommy also needed to get some medicine filled. So off we went. When we get there, I discover that Daddy had taken the stroller out of the back of the car, so, Alaina just rode in her carrier in the cart. She didn't seem to mind... ;o) We dropped off my prescription and set out to get what we needed. Alaina had some admirers along the way. Teddy jokes that maybe we shouldn't have any more kids because we hit the genetic "cute" jackpot with this one. Why tempt fate? Ha ha. He isn't being serious but it is funny how she gets attention, and lots of it, wherever we go.
Anyway, we finished our shopping and checked out, making sure not to forget Daddy's stamps and then stopped back by the pharmacy to pick up Mommy's prescription and set off towards home. Daddy got home not too long after we did and he spent a little time with Alaina before he had to leave to sub for bowling. *Sigh* I hate when he subs on Thursday nights. After Daddy left Alaina decided to take a nap so that gave me enough time to make all of my veggie pizza that I needed to take to work tomorrow. I was worried when I was going to fit that in but it all worked out! After that was done Alaina was waking up so I got her changed and we ate our cereal for the night. She CHOWED it down again. She is really liking this cereal thing and she is doing really well so I definitely think we will start introducing baby food here in the next few weeks. Won't that be exciting!?! I know Alaina will be happy. After our cereal we played for a little bit on her jungle mat. She wants to roll from her back to front so badly but she just can't quite do it yet. She can, however, get her head completely turned around to find you, as seen above. Ha ha! No matter where you are in the room, she will find you! We also took a picture with our mommy!! :O)

March 11 - COUPONS

My daycare is trying to break my bank! They keep giving me coupons for kids clothing! Just this week I got the 30% coupon to be used at either Baby Gap or Old Navy and then I got the coupon for the brand new Carter's store they are opening out at Village Pointe Mall. So...guess what Mommy is doing this weekend?? ;o) Ha ha ha! Lainey is agreeing with me right now that we need a Mommy/Daughter shopping trip! Especially since Mommy found out today that she is getting a nice bonus from work on Friday. How can money you don't have already burn a hole in your pocket?? ;o)
For those of you scrapbookers out there, I am also FINALLY getting my Cricut Machine. I keep talking and talking about it and now I am going to do it! Spend some money on me! Woo hoo! I am soooooo excited. Think I am going to get any housework done this weekend?? I think not! ;o)

March 10 - The House is Clean... What to do?? PLAY!!

Tonight was pretty easy. The guy that came to interview Teddy was only here for about 20 minutes. While Daddy was busy, Lainey and I played on her jungle mat as Sam looked on. Alaina was playing with a teething ring that I had placed in the fridge. She actually stayed on her stomach for awhile instead of immediately rolling over! She really is a good, happy baby. We are very blessed!
There are my big beautiful eyes! I could look at them all day! Pretty Girl! We have continued with the cereal and tonight she scarfed it down! The little bug was STARVING! (Or so she thought...) After her cereal she played some more with daddy while mommy did dishes and made up bottles for daycare. Now it is time to turn in for the night! Goodnight!

March 9 - One of the only two things you can be sure of...TAXES

Yep...that is right! Tax time! We got our taxes done tonight. Thankfully, things went well! :o) I attribute that to the fact that "we got people." He he he! It is funny how many people ask us why we pay someone to do our taxes. Honestly, there are multiple reasons.
#1 If something goes wrong, someone else has to deal with it for me
#2 I like not having to buy a program and get updates for it every year to make sure I am not claiming something I should not be
#3 The advice. We have been going to the same tax lady since we got married and she is amazing. She gives us advice on how to get the most out of our money and what we should be doing to save on the taxes, what kind of accounts we can open for Alaina's college, etc. Does a computer program give you that?? ;o) I think I will keep "my people." He he he!
The highlight of the whole thing was all the attention Alaina got. I didn't think the receptionist was ever going to go back to her desk. She sat with us until our tax lady came to get us and I think she would have gladly watched Alaina the whole time had we allowed her to! She said her grandkids lived out of state and she missed them so much. I told her there were a couple grandmothers in Iowa who missed little miss Lainey a lot of the time as well! (Right Grammy NiNi??) Alaina ended up falling asleep near the end after a short spurt of crankiness. Overall she was very good, I have no complaints. Teddy and I picked up Chinese for dinner on the way home and we spent the evening getting the house cleaned up. A man is coming to our house tomorrow night to interview Teddy about one of his friends that is trying to get a job with the government. Apparently they take these things quite seriously?? Ha ha... So anyway...we had to get everything all picked up. Yae...
I guess that is about all for tonight. I hope everyone had a nice start to the work week!

March 8 - Alaina's Favorite Activity - BATH TIME!!!

Bath time! Alaina's favorite thing! No matter how crabby she is she always calms down with a bath! Especially when we get to use our hippo washcloth! I tried to keep this rated G with the strategically placed hippo ears... ;o)

Today Alaina and I went to church with Grammy and Papaw while Daddy went to a bowling tournament with his grandpa. Grammy couldn't wait to show off Lainey at church! All she has had up to this point is pictures! Alaina was pretty good, except, papaw was tickling her and making her talk and was trying to get her in to trouble! Ornery Papaw!!

After church we went to have lunch at Great Aunt GG's. That was a lot of fun! Then off to get packed up and go get Daddy and back home to Nebraska. When we got home we had to do laundry and get ready for the week ahead which includes a bath for baby!

March 7 - Baby Shower

So today we threw a baby shower for my friend Erin that is due the end of this month. It was kind of fun because she is the first of my friends to have a BOY!! The shower turned out to be a lot of fun and Erin let us know she got lots of compliments from those who attended!! :o)
After the shower, Teddy and I went out to dinner with his parents, sister, sister's boyfriend, two of their friends and Chad. Last week was Teddy's birthday on Wednesday, Amanda (his sister's) birthday was on Thursday and her boyfriend BJ's birthday was today so we all went out to celebrate. Mmmmm - steak! Alaina got to stay at home with Grammy and Papaw and she did pretty well but was ready for her mommy to come home! (Mommy was ready to come home to her too!)

March 6 - Shots and Cereal

Today was Alaina's 4-month well child check-up. She was 12 pounds 4 oz! The Dr. said she looks great and is doing fabulous. She is right on target and maybe even slightly ahead in her development. AND we get to start Rice Cereal! Hooray! Along with all the good stuff, we had to get shots... Sad! She did well though. She mostly stuck her lip out in protest but there was a little bit of crying on the second shot. You can see one of her band aids above and there is another on the other leg. Thankfully, the legs are chubby, so, less pain!

So after the Dr's appointment we drove back home. We got back in good time and had dinner with Grandpa and Grandma. Uncle Chad came out too. After Mommy had dinner we decided to try the rice cereal for the first time. Here are some of the results...

Not sure about this...

Might be ok...

Ok...it's kind of good!

I liked it!! :o)

Then I fell asleep with my papaw!

And tried on a hat from my Grammy! Do you like it??

March 5 - Spring has sprung??

It's a BEAUTIFUL day for some piggy toes!!

Has spring sprung?? What is up with this GORGEOUS weather that is SPOILING me?!?! Since it was absolutely beautiful today I decided to give Alaina a little taste of spring and put her in a skirt. I love this outfit. It is from Baby Gap but it is last years "model" that I got at the second hand store. Don't know if I have ever mentioned that our second hand store is AMAZING. A lot of times you can find things with the tags still on them that some rich mom with a kid with too many clothes sells back there. I think I bought this before Alaina was born when my mom and I went shopping. I thought it would be cute for spring! It has a little yellow jacket that goes with it too but it is still a tad to big and, it was amazingly too warm out for it anyway! Anyway...here is my little spring chicken in all her glory!

Threw the hat off and just chillin

Hi Mom!! My piggys are ready for some green grass!!

I also got her a little gift from Gordmons tonight...I couldn't resist!!

March 4 - Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Today is Daddy's birthday! So Lainey got a card for Daddy and we made him some lemon bars. Yummy! Now we just have to wait for him to get home because he had bowling tonight! We are soooo excited! :o)
Other than Daddy's birthday, not much to talk about today. Daddy picked up Alaina from daycare because mommy had to run and buy plates, forks and napkins for the baby shower she is helping hostess on Saturday. While there, I also found a really cute easter basket for Alaina so I was really excited about that! Tonight, while Daddy was at bowling, Alaina and I just hung out together. She has been really cute and funny all night! She even talked to grammy on the phone! Well - time for Lainey to get a bath! Goodnight!

March 3 - Her Name Came! And...you should never send me to Target alone!

Yae!!! Alaina's name came in the mail today!! I ordered this from a lady off of eBay. I really liked how I could pick whatever font I wanted, how big I wanted the letters and she even paints them and hangs them with the corresponding color of ribbon! They turned out AMAZING! Since they are going to hang on the green wall, I did not get a green letter. I will have to post a picture after I get everything all hung up! I think Alaina likes them?? ;0)
Today wasn't such a great day at work. I was super busy but, at least the day went by quickly. I left on time and went to pick Alaina up. They explained when I got there that she had only taken ONE nap the entire day. Eeeee... Not good. So we got home and of course she wants to nurse and have mommy time. So we get all settled on the couch and she is out like a light. Teddy gets home around this time and we needed to run to Target, but, we didn't want to wake her. So, Teddy decided I could just run the errand alone. BIG MISTAKE. Sending me to Target is like a kid in a candy store. So, I get there. I enter and of course the first thing right inside the door is cards and stuff. Tomorrow is Teddy's birthday and I wanted to get him a card and a little something from me. So, I picked out a card. Well, actually, two cards. I couldn't decide. One was hilarious and one was just cute so he just got them both. Then I decided to get him the new John Grisham book that just came out because he really likes that author and I heard it was good. While in the book section I see a book on baby sign language that I, of course, have to get! I am dead set we are going to learn this sign language thing and the daycare uses it some too. So anyway - I get that. Off down the aisles I go. of course then I am passing the scrapbook aisle... Oh my... my hands start sweating. Do I chance going down there? Maybe just a quick peak... Big mistake. Three things of stickers/jolees and some stamps later I am walking out of the aisle. Hey - they were on sale!!! So now I am nearing the middle of the store. Hmmm...straight back to toys or turn right for baby clothes and shoes... Tough decision but no contest. Baby clothes win every time! Zoom zoom zoom over to the baby clothes. Lord help me! It is the new spring line! Agh!! Let's see... One pair of pajamas, a white sweater that we NEED to go over some short sleeved things, a spring outfit complete with plaid pants and a jean skirt/sweater combo later I am wheeling out of the baby clothes... Teddy is going to kill me! Oh, and a new blanket because heaven knows we do NOT have enough of THOSE! I am out on the backside of baby now which is the front side of toys. Thankfully, no good toy buys today! So now I am off to what I ACTUALLY CAME TO TARGET FOR, baby wipes. Yeah - see?!?! Target is EVIL! I go in for baby wipes and look at all of this stuff I have in my cart already!?!?! Big brick of baby wipes for the house, medium brick of baby wipes for daycare because I gave them part of my big brick on Monday and of course some travel wipes. Gah...that is like $15 in baby wipes... Oh yeah...Teddy wanted some soda. Better get that. Oh wow - that is that new pledge multi-surface. Hmmm - I heard that worked really well. I better get some of that. Ok, now the soda. Oh yeah, Ivan needs lettuce. I am out of potatoes - better get some of those while I am standing right here... I finally convinced myself that I just needed to leave. Not just leave, RUN FOR THE DOOR. So, I check out (we won't discuss this part) and trudge off to my car with my baby wipes...plus a million other things taking up the other 5 sacks... Spent the 10 minute ride home trying to decide how I would explain the extra sacks of stuff to my husband. So, I started off with distraction tactic #1 "Hey Honey, I got you something for your birthday!" He is surprised and really liked the book. Then the attention turned to the other stuff. "What is all that?" Distraction tactic #2 "I was thinking about making some round steak with mushroom gravy tonight so I got some potatoes to mash and I was thinking some green bean casserole - does that sound good?" Ok, good - wheels in the head are turning. "Yeah - that sounds great. But what is in these sacks?" Uh oh...I need more distraction tactics!!! "Ummm...just a few things for Alaina..." *Acting like it is no big deal* "Please tell me you did not buy her more clothes!" Uh oh... "THEY WERE ON SALE!!!"
This is why Target is the root of all evil...

March 2 - The Little Pink Bear

Today, a little pink bear wondered in to our yard. While it was here, it made a little imprint in our snow.
It is a very small imprint. I happened to catch the little pink bear in the act and the little pink bear was very upset. It's little pink paws got some snow on them and the little pink bear became very cold.
So I scooped the little pink bear up and brought it inside to get warm. The little pink bear was very happy to be warm and I even gave it a little something to eat. After this the little pink bear promptly fell into a deep sleep because it was very happy. The End. :o)

March 1 - Do you Want to "Squeeze Me"??

Look at those chubba wubba legs!! Don't you just want to SQUEEZE them? Hence, the onesie... ;o) Today was a long day. I had a headache most of the day which made it hard to want to do anything. I think I took, like, three naps all day. Fortunately, after naps and some Advil I finally felt a little better last night. Lainey was, of course, in a great mood pretty much all day. Now when you put her on her stomach for tummy time - you can't keep her there. She just rolls right over. Thankfully, she was into the nap taking too! After dinner we spent some time "stretching our toes" and then we took a bath and got ready for bed.

February 28 - **WE FINALLY DID IT!!!**

Alaina is four months old today and this morning she rolled over for the very first time!! Mommy was really excited and Alaina just had this look on her face like "Whoa! How did I get here?" Alaina does not keep it a secret that she is not a huge fan of being on her tummy. We have done tummy time like we are suppose to since she was little but she has never really liked it. Normally after a few minutes she is done and throws a fit to be turned back over. Well, today she finally just decided she would turn herself over. We had been having a problem with getting the arm out of the way and now she has figured out how to tuck it in so she can get on her side. So, that was exciting! We have TWO stickers on today's baby calendar entry. Our four month old sticker and our roll over sticker! What a day!!
This afternoon we just played and Alaina took a long nap so mommy got some much needed cleaning done and some baby laundry. This evening daddy took us to dinner and we got to go out for a bit after being snowed in all day!! I think we got almost 5 inches last night. Just like the past few snow storms, I am sure it will be melted within days. Well...time to be getting ready for bed! Goodnight!

February 27 - *A Mommy & Baby Afternoon*

(Our bow flipped back a little!)

IT IS FRIDAY!! End of the work week! We made it - thank the Lord! :o) I got up and went in to work at 6:30 today because I was getting off at 10:30. I took a half day of vacation and went and picked Alaina up at 11:00. We met some of mommy's friends from work, and another girl I used to work with who had her baby in early August last year, for lunch. Since I was already going to be back down by work I decided I would take Alaina up for a visit. I haven't taken her in since she was around 4 weeks old and here she is, going to be 4 MONTHS old tomorrow. Where did all the time go?!?! I guess that is the point of the blog...to keep it all in my memory. :o) So, I took Alaina up and she met pretty much everyone I work with, have worked with, will work with, and then some more people that I didn't know just because they saw a cute baby going by! She got LOTS and LOTS of attention. Everyone commented on her beautiful big eyes and all of her pretty hair, her little outfit and shoes, everything. I think Mommy and Baby both left with a big head full of compliments... ;o) After that we went home and Lainey had a little afternoon snack and we took a little nap. It was a great afternoon off and I am so glad I took it!

Tonight we are just at home. It is snowing, so, we made some dinner and now I am blogging, Alaina is playing on her mat and looks a little sleepy and Teddy is playing a video game for a little bit. Nothing exciting, but, I like weekends at home with little to no plans. It helps offset those CRAZY work weeks!!

Me in my little sweater...

The whole outfit

This face just cracked me up...

February 26 - Play Mat Loved by All + A Giggle = A Great Night!

Alaina isn't the only one getting use out of the play mat! Duncan decided to play with his Milk Bone on it and promptly fell asleep. I guess it must be comfortable? Sam also enjoys batting at the toucan that jingles while lying on his back. Unfortunately, I am yet to capture Sam's adventures on film. (Hopefully soon) Today was a long day for Mommy and Daddy. Thankfully Alaina took a pretty good nap this evening and we were able to both get some work done from home. Not exciting, but, it did help us catch up a little. One very exciting thing did happen this afternoon and this evening. Alaina tried to giggle. When I say tried, I mean, it was short, but, it was definitely a giggle. She did it first for me when we got home from daycare. I was kind of hopping her up and down and she decided that was just hilarious and let out a little "hahaha." Of course, no matter how many times I bounced the kid after that, I could not replicate how funny it apparently was the first time. She was just looking at me like "You seriously think I am going to do that again for the same trick? Come on, amuse with something better." So later last night I was talking to my mom on the phone and we were watching TV and Alaina was sitting in her bumbo next to me and we were playing with her little pink puppy. I was making it hop up and kiss her and suddenly she just did it again and this time daddy heard it and Grammy kind of heard it too! One of these days we are just going to crack up!!
(Can you tell our family room is baby land from all of these pictures? Ha ha ha! That isn't Alaina's tug rope in the background though... Guess there is a little of Duncan around too...)