New Windows!

Our new windows were finally installed yesterday. They are wonderful and have made such a huge difference on the noise level and of course no drafts either! The tax credit was an added bonus. Now that we have the new windows, I have been bitten by the redecorating bug. If only I had the money to do everything I want. Here are a few pics. The window I love the best is the kitchen window. It went from an up & down to a slider, such a difference when you look outside.

The kitchen window before:

After:

 Living room before:

After:

The end...a day late

I am completing the 30 Day Challenge today, at 31 days. I have 5 days to talk about so let's get started.

Day 26 - your week, in great detail

My weeks are usually the same. Ever since little man cam into our lives, our lives as we knew them changed. It is all about him and his needs, as it should be.

Monday-7:30-ish get woken up if I'm not already up, feed little man, play then make breakfast for little man and myself. When we're done with breakfast, get him dressed and me if I haven't already. Go to the park and walk 45 minutes-an hour (little man is usually napping for this). Come home feed little man, play, make lunch for us, play a little more and put him down for his afternoon nap. This is usually when I get on the computer and clean up. When he wakes up, feed him, load him up and go to my mom's for dinner. Hubby meets us there. We all eat dinner, I feed little man one last time and we pack up and go home around 7:30. He usually falls asleep on the way home, so when we get there, put him to bed. Then I get on the computer again sometimes while hubby works out. Usually in bed between 10-11.


Tuesday-Same as above except insert dinner at mother in law's for my mom.


Wednesday-same as above plus: 10:45am we go to story time at a local library or a mom's group that meets the first and third Wednesdays of the month. Make dinner. We actually eat at home this night! I may also have a play date with my friend some Wednesdays too.

Thursday-same as above plus: 10:00am we go to story time at a local library. I do take him to two different libraries for story time. I wanted to see if I liked one over the other and I like this one better. The hubs plays volleyball this night, so I do dinner for just me and little man

Friday-same as above plus: One Friday a month, I go to a moms group. Start dinner unless we go out when hubby gets home.

Saturday & Sunday-same as above but usually run errands and go to church. 

We try to do date night once a month too. That is so important when you have a little one. It is important even if you don't have kids. We used to have date night once a week, so we feel for right now once a month is good for us.

Day 27 - my worst habit

Procrastination! I couldn't even finish this challenge on time. Enough said.

Day 28 - what's in my handbag/purse

Right now my handbag/purse is a diaper bag and here is what I always carry with me:  wallet, phone, chap stick, diapers, wipes, burp cloths, bib, nursing cover, travel first aid kit, hand sanitizer, teething ring, toys, disposable bags for dirty diapers, hat, blanket and the most important items an extra set of clothes for little man and me.

Day 29 - hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days

For the next 365 days I hope to become more confident as a mother and wife. I also want to work on my procrastination.  I hope little man grows up big and strong and stays healthy. I hope my husband enjoys the job he has and quits doubting himself. He is doing a great job providing for our family. I wish he knew what an amazing man he is, and what so many people see in him.


My dreams for the next year are to work on making our house a home. Decide if this is where we are going to stay for awhile or if we will in fact move sooner rather than later. I would also like to decide what I want to do with my life career wise. I am thankful I am able to stay home right now but it isn't going to last forever. Adding to our family is also a dream. Little man needs a little brother or sister or maybe twins!


Plans for the next year: be the best wife and mother I can be. I want to cook great meals for my family. Which entails me learning how to cook. Baking I can do, cooking not so much. Make little man's childhood wonderful and full of the things the hubs and I didn't have. I want my husband to be proud of me and know that all of his hard work is appreciated to allow me to fulfill my goals and dreams. I want to do the same for him.

Day 30 - a dream for the future

When I reenter the workforce, I want to do something I love or can at least tolerate better than my last position. I have a few ideas, but need to really sit down and think about what I want to do and what would make me happy to do for the rest of my life.

Day 25 - Your Day, In Great Detail

My days are generally the same give or take an activity or 2. I usually am woken up anywhere between 5-6:30 by little man wanting to eat. So I get up, feed him and then usually put him back down for an hour or two. I try to stay awake and start my day but depending on how many times he got up during the night I may go back to sleep too. Yes, he isn't sleeping through the night yet and we were at a point where I only was getting up once a night but recently he has been getting up anywhere from 2-4 times a night. I'm assuming it is a growth spurt or teething or a combo of the two.

When little man does get up for the day, I feed him breakfast now that he is having solids and I try to eat my breakfast at the same time. Then we get dressed for the day. Afterwards we play for a bit, then it is time for him to nurse again. When that is done we try to go to the park. I love taking him for walks, especially now with the leaves changing color. He is such a curious little guy and is always looking around in wonderment. The fresh air usually also puts him to sleep, so he gets a nap in. Depending on the day, we also might go to story time at the library or I joined a moms group that meets once a month. No matter what I try to get out of the house for a little bit each day.

Then we go home and it is nursing/lunchtime. We play or read for a little bit and he goes down for his afternoon nap. During that time I get on the computer or clean or do laundry. There is always something to do. When he wakes from his nap, another nursing session. Then we play and wait for daddy to get home. When the hubs gets home, he plays with little man while I get dinner ready (unless it is a day we go to my or his mom's, then we meet over there). We eat dinner at the dining room table. After that, it is bath time for little man. One last nursing session and off to bed for him. When he is down for the night, then the hubs and I get to talk about our day and I am usually in bed by 10 or 11 because I never know when I am going to get my middle of the night wake up call(s).

Challenge Days 21-24

Our internet has been down for the past 2 1/2 days. It was bad in one respect because every time I wanted to look something up I realized, I couldn't. No Facebook, email, nothing. It was also good because when little man went down for a nap, I got to read some and actually finished the book I was reading and talked about in Day 20. What did we do before we had the internet? 

I am going to write about the challenge day 21-24 which takes me through Sunday.

Day 21 - a recipe

I am not a cook by any means and this is one area I would love to improve upon. My goal right now is to cook one meal a week with leftovers. We currently go to my mom's house and my husband's mom's house for dinner during the week so that is 2 days I don't need to cook. We also get leftovers from them. Hubby plays volleyball one night a week, so I don't make dinner for myself. We try to go out to dinner one night a week. So if I cook a meal once a week we should be covered. This recipe is from one of my my besties, Donna. It is so good and so easy and different from your regular pizza.


Ranch Chicken Pizza
Pizza dough (I get mine form a local Italian store)
Boneless Chicken Breasts or Tenders
Ranch Dressing
Roma Tomatoes
Mozzarella Cheese


Grill/Brown Chicken separately (I usually use 1-2 breasts depending on size or 4-6 tenders)
Flatten dough on pizza sheet
Cover with thin layer of ranch dressing
Add chicken, then cheese and tomatoes
Cook according to dough directions.

Enjoy!

Day 22 - a website
 
Right now my go to website to save money is  Money Saving Mom.
The tag line for this website is Helping you be a better home economist. Who doesn't want that? It has great ideas and tips on how to save money, which is important to me, as I'm sure it is to anyone. She has deals of the day as well as great ideas, you can also subscribe to stores near you to get their deals as well.

Day 23 - a youtube video

This video is Cleveland's response to LeBron's Nike commercial. Yes we were upset when he left, but it was his decision. Do I agree with it? No, but he's young and living his life the way he wants to, this is our response to it. Looking forward to seeing what happens when he comes back to town.


Day 24 - where I live

I have no photos of our house. But as we do home improvement projects I will, so you'll have to come back and see this one. We have a split level house and a great back yard. I'm not a fan of the split level, but this was my husband's house before we started dating.  My biggest complaint is no storage. We have no attic and no basement, so when i moved in, we put all my stuff in the spare bedroom which then became little man's room. I have thrown stuff out as has my husband but we still have things that need to be stored. They are currently being stored in either my husband's office or our guest bedroom. So when we do move, I will make sure we have storage.

Day 20 - A Hobby Of Yours

These days I don't have much time for hobbies. Little man has me occupied quite a bit. One hobby of mine I am getting into during late night feedings (3 last night-ugh) again is reading. I love to read and am always looking for new books. If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know. Right now I am reading:

For those of you that watch True Blood on HBO, this is the first book that the series is based on. I am enjoying the book but after seeing the show, I have preconceived ideas of what the characters look like and I'm not sure I like that at all. Plus I think there are characters in the show that aren't in the book. As I'm reading, I'm thinking to myself, that not what happened on the show. I don't know if I'll continue with the series or not. I want too but the show is still fresh in my mind, so maybe that is ruining the books for me.

Day 19 - A Talent Of Yours

A talent, I don't know that I would say I have a talent. I am a good listener but that isn't a talent is it? I enjoy art, creating and looking at. I wouldn't say it is a talent of mine though. Sculpture is my favorite to do, but unrealistic at home. No kiln to fire any pieces in. I love going to museums and galleries and seeing what other people create and try to figure out their reason for making what they made.

Blog Challenge days 17 & 18

Well I only missed 1 day this weekend with the challenge, not too bad. Halloween was a busy day going to both grandparent's houses and then getting home for trick-or-treaters. I was disappointed this year, they were all older kids and not as many as last year. I love seeing all the cute costumes for the little kids. Oh well, the older kids made out at the end of the night because we gave handfuls of candy away, so we wouldn't eat it all. Of course we did keep some of our favorites. On to the challenge.
Day 17 - an art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc)
Monet's Water Lillies is one of my favorites.

Day 18 - my wedding/future wedding/past wedding

Here are a few pics from our big day: