Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Sadie

We now have a new addition to our family - her name is Sadie and she is our 16-week old Chocolate Lab. I sometimes think we are still crazy for bringing a puppy into our new home, but we love her!! As some of you know, I am fine living without a dog (not saying I don't like them), but Jason REALLY struggled when we had to find a new home for our other dog, Smokey. When he really, really, really wanted a new puppy, I thought I'd be a good wife and be OK with it. So we brought Sadie home last Friday, March 27, 2009. Hey, at least there is another girl in this household...she may very well be the only girl we'll ever have - LOL!!! So anyways, here are a few pictures of Sadie:




I've gotta run - time to bring Sadie in :) I sure hope this potty training goes VERY quickly!!!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Motown week...blah

Well, I must say that I wasn't super crazy about A.I. last night...I mean, some people did well, others I could have cared less for. Here is my review on each contestant:

Matt - I really liked him a lot!! He is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I think he has had two great weeks in a row now and definitely one of the top contenders!!

Kris - I really like him a lot also!! I love the song he sang, "How Sweet It Is" - I absolutely loved it! I think he did a fantastic job and I hope he makes it very far in the competition.

Scott - Oh Scott. Well, I really like him as a person, but I don't think last night was one of his greatest performances. He is such a sweet guy and I really wish him the best, but though I think he may stick around for a few more weeks, I don't see him making it past the top four.

Megan - Wow, her performance was awful in my opinion...she has such a unique voice, but her song choice was terrible and she just did not do it well!! I would not be surprised at all to see her in the bottom three tonight!

Anoop - I thought Anoop did good...nothing to rave about, but he didn't do badly either. I am just not really on board the Anoop train - there is something about him that just rubs me the wrong way. Is it just me, or does he seem cocky at times?

Michael - Not a good night for Michael in my opinion. I really wasn't impressed with his performance at all and I would not be surprised to see him in the bottom three tonight.

Lil - Also a very disappointing performance. This should have been her week to shine, but as great of a singer as she is, she did not pick a great song nor did she sing it very well. Sadly, I think she may be in trouble. This is two weeks in a row now where I have not been super impressed by Lil which is a shame because I really liked her in the beginning.

Adam - What to say...well, I am not a big Adam fan because he is just weird, but WOW, that boy can really sing...he is AMAZING!! I much prefered this look (no nail-polish, dark eye-liner, etc), but I'm sure he will revert to his old look next week.

Danny - I love Danny!! I don't think this was his best week, but I still think he did well :) I think he will be in the competition for quite awhile!! I am definitely a Danny fan (and Matt and Kris fan!).

Allison - She was incredible...that 16-yr old has an incredible voice!! She did MUCH better this week than last week...what a way to end the show!! She should definitely be safe this week!!

So, my guess for the Bottom three would be Megan, Michael, and Lil...I think Lil will be safe, but it will be a tough pick between Megan and Michael...in my opinion :)

Anyways, American Idol aside...the basement is almost finished!! Well, it's almost there. The carpet is being installed as I type...they have almost got that in. The painting is all done (except for the trim) and it finally looks "finished" - I am very happy! I will try to post pictures soon.

Cole is really getting around now...he will walk around holding onto things - he is still a little wobbly, but goodness, he's only 9 1/2 months!!! He has climbed the stairs TWICE today...I was so shocked. I left the room for like 5 seconds and came back - he was on the 3rd step! He's too young to climb stairs! Time to get another gate up!!

Landon is being such a goof as always - I really need to type out my stories on here, but right now I don't have much time...it's crunch time. Still lots to do before everyone comes tomorrow...LOTS of cleaning...UGH!!!

Well, that's it for now!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Good-bye Alexis

To my fellow American Idol fans...last night was the end of the road for Alexis. I saw that one coming. Is it just me or did she really look/act like she could have cared less and like she really wasn't into the competition to begin with? I really think she could have done better, but it's a little too late now. I am VERY glad that the judges did no use their save on her...I have a feeling they will need to hold onto it later on.

Well, with that behind us, I have to share a link to my other blog that I use for Nana and Pops - I will occasionally post videos on there for them since they don't see their grandboys often (they live in MA). I posted a video on their yesterday of Cole and instead of loading it on this blog, I thought I would just give the link and you can watch it if you'd like. I found it quite humorous - but that's because I was so frustrated that day that I was either going to laugh or cry...and I laughed :) Read the description first before watching it (before you assume I am a terrible mother). Click here for the link.

Jason and my dad are making great progress on the basement - most of the electrical is finished, so it's about time to start drywalling. They are hoping to knock out quite a bit this weekend - I'm praying that they get lots done, especially since everyone is coming next weekend to visit and they will need a place to stay!!! It's going to look great - they've done a great job!! Here are a few updated pictures of what they've gotten done.


Well, I've gotta run...mommy duties call!!! I will be back hopefully soon - I have several funny Landon stories to tell!!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

American Idol Review

So, to all of my fellow American Idol fans...once again - another great night, well, for most anyway! I'm not a huge country fan, so I was a little worried about last night - I didn't know like any of the songs. But here is how I thought everyone did (hopefully I get the right order and don't miss anyone):

Michael - He did average...he's not someone who is really standing out to me in the competition and I don't think he'll make it very far. I was a little surprised to see him make it into the Final 13.

Allison - I thought she did OK, I honestly don't remember what she sang. She definitely has a great, powerful voice! She's very young and I know that even if she doesn't make it very far in this competition, she'll go somewhere!

Kris - I really like him and I thought he had a great song choice last night!! He has a great voice and I really like him as a person! I hate to say though that I don't really see a WOW factor in him...but maybe it will come through soon! He seems like such a sweet guy!

Lil - I've liked Lil in the past, but I thought last night did not do her any favors. She can really sing, but that was a terrible song choice for her!! I was not impressed at all and think she might be in trouble this week.

Adam - CREEPY!! His song, his appearance, everything about him creeped me out. I really think he has a great voice and can sing, but even though I know I shouldn't judge, there is just something about him that makes me so uncomfortable!! Needless to say, I thought he did terrible last night - the entire thing was just WEIRD! I agree with everything Simon said about him!

Scott - What a sweetheart...that boy is genuine and really sings from the heart. I thought he did great! Is he the best singer? No, but like I said earlier, he really sings from the heart and he's the real deal - such a sweet guy. I can't imagine how much "extra" work he puts in each week and still comes out with a smile on his face and reaches everyone's hearts through his songs!

Alexis - Ever since Hollywood, she has been very unimpressive in my opinion. I think she is a decent singer, but she doesn't really seem to be into it and she has NOT been doing well. I think she might also be in trouble this week.

Danny - LOVE HIM, LOVE HIM, LOVE HIM!! I think they should end the season now and make him the next American Idol. If you can't tell, I am a huge Danny fan! He may not have started the verses out great, but he really nailed that Carrie Underwood song. I really like Danny a lot and I think he will definitely make it to the Final Two, if not win it all!

Anoop - Anoop, Anoop, Anoop (what a cool name). Well, I'm not sure what to say. He did great last night and I really did like him in the beginning of the season, but he seems to be getting really cocky which is a huge turn-off for me. I don't know...I'm just not sure what to think of him, but he did do well last night.

Megan - {{chuckle}} I have to laugh because she has got the weirdest "dance" - she does the same thing EVERY week and it's getting really awkward and old!! What a trooper though for coming out and singing as well as she did while battling influenza!! I thought she sang well. I like Megan because she has a very unique voice, but I could REALLY do without the ginormous tattoo and he weird dancing!

Matt - He is definitely becoming one of my other favorites...I thought he nailed it last night - I really enjoyed his performance!! I loved him at the piano and I thought he did such a great job!! I think he will make it pretty far in this competition...he just brought Danny and Adam some competition (I still don't agree with how great everyone thinks Adam is, but whatever).

So those are my thoughts in a nutshell...I think they need to put me on the judge's panel - right next to hottie Simon :) I really don't care for the new judge AT ALL!! She really irks me and just rubs me the wrong way!!

Well, I've gotta run - it's been a VERY long day so far and it's only 1:00!! I have a very fussy 9-month old who has refused to take a nap for over a week now, unless it's in bed next to me, which I do not encourage whatsoever. I've only allowed it twice just to keep my sanity, but he really needs to learn to nap in his crib. Right now he is up there crying - HOPEFULLY he will fall asleep soon :)

Friday, March 13, 2009

Rough week!

So, I hate to complain and sound so ungrateful, but this has been quite a rough week!! Cole has decided that he does not want to nap...today has been Day 5 of 15-minute naps...and some of those days I was lucky if he even took a 15-minute nap! It has been pretty frustrating, especially since he was taking two naps a day - about 1.5-2 hours each!! He is sleeping through the night, like he always has, so I am thankful for that. However, I feel like I get hardly anything done during the day and I don't get to spend as much time with Landon. I finally caved in and just started putting him in his crib during his usual naptime. Most of the time he cries/whines and not once did he ever fall asleep on his own. I have a very strong-willed child!! He cried/whined for almost an hour once. And yes, I did check on him to make sure he was OK - he was fine...fed, diapered, and had toys to play with. I feel like a mean mommy sometimes, but I don't want to lose my sanity and this child needs to learn that he can't always control me. So, thank goodness the weekend is here and Jason will be able to help!! I am very burned out and tired after this long week!!

Last night, my family came over again to help with the basement...YAY!! It is coming along and I am so excited! The entire basement is pretty much framed except for one small wall underneath the stairs. I will try to get some pictures of the progress they are making.

On a side note, I want to give a shout-out to Ginny...THANK YOU!!! She helped me clean up the look of my blog...she's quite the blogging genius :) I would love to do so much more with it, but I don't have much time to play around with it and she was able to fix my picture and help me figure out how to fix the background on my posts!!

Well, I've gotta run - Landon is begging for some attention!!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

It's been awhile...

I know it's been quite awhile - these past few weeks have been C-R-A-Z-Y!!!! Both of the boys were really, really sick. Landon started out first with a really deep chest cough - no other symptoms. It ended up getting so bad that he was throwing up after every cough. So I took him in and they said he had a really bad respiratory infection. Well, then he had a high fever for the next 3 days (103.4) that we couldn't get to come down. So on Sunday, his pediatrician put him on an antibiotic right away since he had really worsened!! It seemed to do the trick and he's finally back to himself (about 2 weeks later). And then Cole got the exact same thing...about 2 days after Landon started with it - so they both had it at about the same time. Cole was at the doctor's twice and his fever spiked to 104.8 (very scary). The poor thing was so lethargic - it was so hard to watch. He had the same thing, but he also had a double ear infection and to complicate things, his two top front teeth popped through!! So it was a really rough couple of weeks. We got hardly any sleep and it was just really, really stressful!! Thank goodness it's behind us!! Here are two pics of my sick little guys...I felt so bad for them - just looking at these pictures makes me want to cry!




We are now in the process of finishing our basement!! We planned to finish it shortly after moving in, but Jason's family is coming at the end of the month, so there's been a big push to get it finished quickly!! I'm not sure we will have it all finished, but hopefully enough done for them to stay down there! Jason, my dad, and my brothers and brother-in-law have been working really hard!!! I will post pictures on the progress. This is what it looked like before they started (well, plus a few studs - I forgot to take pictures before they went up). I am REALLY looking forward to it being done! There is going to be a playroom down there which I am so excited about! Right now I have toys scattered all over my kitchen, family room, and living room! I can't wait for most of them to be downstairs! The basement isn't huge, but it will be nice to have some extra living space :) Here are a few pics:


Well, I have lots to get done this morning, especially with Awana tonight, so I better run!! I will try to write again soon :)