Home Sweet Home

Being in Bozeman for two weeks was so. much. fun!  It felt great to go on a "vacation" and just relax for awhile.

While in Bozeman Zoe had to sleep in a big bed for the first time in her life.  She has always slept in her crib or in the pack-n-play with Max.  Well, we soon figured out they were getting too big to share a bed together, so Zoe slept all by herself.  As you can see from the picture above, she was pretty nervous in the beginning!  After Mommy laid with her and talked about how exciting it was to sleep in a big bed, and after a little sip of apple juice, oh, and after turning the bathroom light on, she was good to go!  I remember her saying in a shaky voice, "Mommy, you sleep over there?" I said, "Yes baby, Mommy is sleeping right here."  She said ok, rolled over, and I could tell she was asleep in a matter of minutes.  I'm so proud of her!

We had to spend some time in the hotel room because I needed to work, but when I was not working I tried to take the kids out on the town and explore.  We FINALLY found a park and the kids LOVED it!  Max got to swing for the first time and he chuckled the whole time.  Zoe got a kick out of seeing him swing with her too.  Zoe also claimed that the whole playground was "me house" which means.. her house. =D  Everything has turned into her house lately.  It's adorable!

When we did have to spend time in the room I made sure to play with them with their toys, or we even did some finger paints!  One of Bubba's birthday presents. =)  Don't worry, I'll post about his birthday too!  But that will have to be a completely seperate post.

When Paul was off work for the weekend we made sure to go to some museums AND a corn maze!  It was so much fun to spend time together as a family!  I loved every minute of it!

Now we're home and back to the daily grind.  Kind of. =D  We came home to find a horrible bee situation!  My kitchen alone is covered in hundreds of dead bees.  There are dead bees everywhere in the house.. it's disgusting!  Yesterday in the morning/early afternoon I didn't notice any live bees in my house so I figured it was cool enough that they were gone for good.  Unfortunately that was wishful thinking. =(  By the afternoon we had 80 degree weather and there were multiple live bees in my house!  The kids and I spent the afternoon at Gram & Papa's house.

So this morning, while it is cool, I plan on getting things done around the house and trying to get organized since being gone for so long.  By this afternoon, though, I'm packing the kids up and leaving.  Max has been stung once already this year and that is one time too many for me!  I will be buying junk from Walmart to try and stop this madness.

While over at my inlaw's house we made a homemade pumpkin spice latte!  Literally everything was homemade -- even the whipped cream on top!  It was so amazingly delicious that I want another one this morning!  I had to tide myself over with a pumpkin pie poptart.  Haha!  Not the same.  I will definitely have to keep the ingredients on hand at my house, though.  I have a feeling I'm going to gain weight this fall/winter with this drink...

It is nearly 10:30 and my kids FINALLY woke up!  It's time to greet them with kisses and a poptart! =)  Happy Tuesday!

Coffee Inspirations

Here I am, in all of my morning glory, enjoying a nice, hot cup of cup of coffee -- sweetened with white chocolate powder, caramel sauce, and a touch of caramel macchiato creamer.  It's dessert in a cup this morning!

Side note: I promise to be more presentable the next time I snap a picture of myself!

Anyways, while drinking my coffee I am surfing the web and also looking up ideas via Pinterest for something special..

Paul and I are hosting our first party ever!  Saturday, October 29th, we're wanting to throw a Harvest party in our backyard.  We'd like to have a bonfire, bob for apples, wear fun costumes, etc.  So this morning I'm trying to find some fun harvest games and snacks as well!  I'm so excited!

If anyone in Havre reads my blog, you're more than welcome to come!  I'll have more details later..

What else has my coffee inspired me to do today?  Hmm..  Oh!  I planned on cleaning and organizing my bedroom.  It never gets any attention and it needs it.. badly!  I think I'll check out Pinterest for decorating ideas too!  But later..

What has your morning coffee inspired you to do today?

I'm addicted

One of my cousins posted this on Facebook just for me.  I think it best describes my mornings. =)

Zoe woke up around 7:30 this morning and I felt just like Garfield.  I grumbled and complained all the way to the coffee pot.  Just one swig and I was a different person!

I love my magic potion I like to call coffee.♥

How do non-coffee drinkers function?!

What a boring life.. ;)

I think I've been addicted to coffee since before 2.  My Grandma Babe and Aunt B would slip me a spoonful here and there when they thought no one was looking.  I even remember being at a restaurant with my Aunt B and BEGGING her for a drink.  She finally let me take a drink from her mug and I remember thinking it was so heavenly.. that hot, vanilla flavored coffee..

When I worked at coffee shops I had access to all the coffee I wanted.  I took advantage of that.  My addiction got so bad I could drink a 10-shot caramel frappe without feeling a thing.  I don't even know if my own mother knows that!  Don't worry, Mom, I don't do that anymore..

I.  Love.  Coffee.

I now live in a town where 2-shots is risky.  If I told anyone what I used to drink back in the day they would fall over!  I love it hot, iced, strong, dessert-like, I don't care.

Paul and I are planning a trip to Great Falls soon.  Do you know what's first on my list?

Starbucks.

Morning Person vs. Night Owl



Source: meinlykkelig.blogspot.com via Nike on Pinterest

Zoe is a morning person.

She gets up between 7:00-8:00 every morning.

Mostly around 7:00.

Max is a night owl.

He doesn't really go to sleep till around 2:00-4:30.

Mostly around 4:30.

Mom is a zombie.

She drinks 4-6 cups of coffee, tea, coke to function.

Mostly around 6.

(I'm writing this while drinking a cup of iced Coke Zero.  Ha!)

Let me explain.. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

In case anyone is interested, I did tidy my house, I did wrap all of the presents, and I did watch one more Christmas movie before Christmas was officially over.  So there you go. :)

Also, Paul and I have come to a decision.  It was a hard pill to swallow for some, but we decided to bring the pacifier back.  Here's our proof.

::Sigh::

Just for the record, Paul and I have nothing against the pacifier.  The reason why we took away in the first place was because we spent more time keeping it in her mouth than she did herself.  I spent hours, literally, keeping it in her mouth during the night because she would accidentally spit it out and want it leaving us both exhausted and slightly crabby.

It didn't take long and she forgot about it, but lately something else took it's place.  She started doing something that I absolutely despised.  She became a thumb sucker.  At first I thought she was simply chewing on her hands, but yesterday Paul and I realized that she deliberately puts her thumb in her mouth.  We counted, and she did it 25 times.. in a row.

So we brought the pacifier back.  I refuse to have a thumb sucker.  It's unsanitary and just plain gross.  You can throw a pacifier away.. not a thumb.

On to more exciting news..  Christmas was absolutely lovely!  It was Zoe's first Christmas and I think she loved it!  Here are some pictures.. mostly of Zoe.

We hardly ever have any pictures of just us anymore so I had Paul take a quick snapshot on Christmas Eve.  This is us in a nutshell, don't you think?  Paul looking like his Uncle Steve and me laughing at how crazy he is.  I absolutely love this man!

Here is Zoe, Christmas morning, trying out one of her gifts from Mommy and Daddy.  He first tea set!  I don't know who loves it more -- Mommy or Zoe.  The teapot sings catchy tunes.  I can see Zoe in the future.  I'm sure she'll memorize those songs and sing away pouring tea for her stuffed animals.

Here is Zoe with her stocking from Santa Claus.  I absolutely love this picture!  She is such a smilie kid.  She was so interested in everything that was going on.  Her arms and legs were constantly going because she was so excited!  She got her first cans of baby food, and we let her try pears for the first time.  It was pretty hilarious!  It gave her the heebie jeebies every time she took a bite.  I have a feeling she will be like her dad and enjoy sour things because even though every bite gave her the willies, she kept accepting bites.

Here is Zoe opening a Christmas gift.  Like I said before, she was so excited!  She did such a good job ripping the paper -- for a 5 month old.  She also showed interest in all of her gifts.  I think she loves all of them!  I'm so glad.

Later Christmas night Zoe and I had our first tea party.  She really showed interest and watched my every movement.  It made me so happy to watch her "play" the best she could.

In this picture right here I see an addiction to caffeine just like her mom. :)  Can you see it?  I wonder who will break first and give her a sip of their coffee.  Me?  One of the Grams?  I remember my great grandmother sneaking me some sips of her coffee.  My aunt did as well!  I thank them for my addiction. :)

Here's the last picture for tonight.  The cute little teapot!  Did I mention that I love her toys?  We need to buy her a toy box now.  She has plenty of toys now so it's time.  ::squeal::  Who knew that buying a toy box would be so exciting?!

So there you go!  Zoe's first Christmas was a lot of fun -- for all of us!  I know that Christmases are going to be amazing here on out thanks to having children.  It's so much fun to watch their excitement.

Well, Christmas is over and the new year is just around the corner.  It's time to take down the decorations and start making a list of new resolutions.

What are your New Year's Resolutions?

I have decided to make changes in my life, but I am not waiting till the new year to start!  I decided to register at MyFitnessPal and start keeping track of my calorie intake, my workouts, etc.  Of course as soon as I decide to change my eating habits I am constantly hungry -- but don't worry!  I have written down everything I've eaten/drank today and I'm doing well.  I even burned some calories by cleaning vigorously.  Bonus!

As soon as the dreaded snow is melted away it's back to walking.  Oh, now that I have an iPod (thank you honey!) I would like to try and run.  Paul was telling me that in order to start I need to jog until I feel tired and then walk for awhile.. till I have energy again and then pick up jogging.  I think I can do it!  I want to..

There is so much more I could write about, but I'm worried I'm boring my fans.  So I'll leave off here. :)  I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

Good morning. What's that smell?

I absolutely love that Paul is done with finals and we can ::sleep in:: every morning.  WOW!  It feels so good..  There's just something magical about waking up with my husband and baby in bed with me.  It's simply amazing!

But there was one thing that wasn't so magical..

That would be the smell of a poopy diaper.  I.C.K.Y.  I knew I was smelling something funky when I woke up, but I thought it was her usual morning gas!  Nope.  It wasn't that.  It was the real deal.  A diaper full of poo.

Aside from that, it felt good to get up and start brewing coffee, feed Baylee, hide from the Jehovah's witnesses that were at my front door, work more on Christmas cards, and kissing my baby good morning!  It was simply a wonderful morning!

I plan on being completely finished with cards tomorrow morning and will put them in the mail so if you sent me your address, be on the lookout!  If you didn't send me an address, well, sorry Charlie!

I have so many things to do before Christmas.  I'm running out of time!  This Christmas is going to be wonderful spent with our little Zoe!  And as my little sister pointed out, only 20 more days before we head to Arizona!  Wahoo!

Ok. The drama is over.

I'm so sorry for that last post.  I don't know what came over me!  Well.. yes I do, it's just not something you share with millions of people.  Once a month I simply feel like I'm going crazy.  During those few days it seems like everything possible will go wrong.  Some months are worse than others.  These past few days were pretty extreme, even for me.  But we're good.  Life is good!

I got to sleep in with my little family.  Finals are over so Paul and I were able to sleep in till nearly 11:00.  ::yikes::  I'm so thankful we have a baby who likes to sleep!  We finally rolled out of bed, took showers, and I did a very bad thing.  I made pizza rolls for lunch.  So very bad for you but Oh. So. Good.  We ate those while watching a movie and then I got a pleasant surprise -- a shoulder massage.  Wow!  Sure, things did get a little stressful for me when I couldn't find certain paperwork, but it all worked out and everything is ok.

To top it off, I got a Christmas present from my ::secret sister::!  I couldn't help it.  I opened it early.  It was exactly what I wanted!  You know those plastic coffee cups that look like the disposable ones from Starbucks?  Well she got me one of those -- the ones for iced coffee -- and Starbucks instant coffee as well as caramel macchiato creamer!  Oh, and chocolate covered coffee beans.  Thank you!

I think all of our Christmas presents are bought; I just need to wrap them and put them under the tree.  I only have a few more Christmas cards to address and then send them on.  Everything is working out -- for the most part. :)

So as you can see, the drama is over.  At the end of the day all that matters in life is your relationship with God and with your family, right?  Oh, and if you have a coffee in hand then that's just the icing on the cake!

Stop the ride! I want off!

It seems like I'm having one of those weeks where everything most seem to go wrong.  Not just one thing, but many things.  Things that I don't even want to share with you.  But here I am, feeling like I'm going crazy, feeling like I can't breathe, feeling like I need a vacation from my PROBLEMS!!!!

::breathe in::

::breathe out::

I know that all I need is a good night's sleep without funky dreams, a foot and shoulder massage, bubble bath, and finish my book that I picked up two weeks ago.  Oh, and to run away for a day with my husband and daughter.  Then I will be hunky dory!  Back to my happy-go-lucky self!

Until then.. stand back and don't talk to me unless you have a Coke or McDonald's caramel frappe.  Thanks! :|

For all of you coffee lovers out there

My husband has me addicted to this guy.  I think I have seen all of his clips on YouTube.

I can't think of anything to talk about right now ::that's what stress will do to you!:: so I figured I would post something comical.  If you check out any more of his videos I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

::QUESTION OF THE DAY::

What is your favorite Christmas movie?

I love so many Christmas movies but I would have to say that It's a Wonderful Life and White Christmas are my two all-time favorites!  You can't forget the classics like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, The Year Without a Santa Claus, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

Make sure to post your answers in the comments below ::OR:: by emailing us at andzoemakesthree@yahoo.com

I think this calls for a double shot

This past weekend was our local church's picture fundraiser.  We do it every year around this time and though it's a lot of fun.. it can be work!  Zoe and I were up there all day Friday and Saturday, and I have to say, Zoe is the best baby I've ever seen!  She did so good this past weekend!  She barely made a peep the entire time.  Almost like she wasn't even there.  And, we did it without a pacifier.  You gotta give me some props for that mommas.

Paul and I were so excited that we had a baby to take pictures of this year!  I was a little nervous because I had no idea what Zoe would be like.  Would she smile at the camera?  I hope she doesn't cry.. etc.  

Well.. here are a couple pictures my mother-in-law snatched during the session.  You tell me how she did..

That smile can brighten any person's day!

I love my little lady!

Pretty much she was adorable and the easiest baby to get to smile.  All Derek (the photographer) had to do was tell her how pretty she was and she would smile the biggest smiles!  Silly kid is so vain.  I have no idea where she gets that from.. {ahem}

We are very anxious to see how the pictures turned out, and I'm sure we'll buy a huge package just because she is so ridiculously adorable. {gulp}

Anyways, the weekend was great, but so tiring.  In one day I drank 3 coffees and at least one of them were a double shot.  I had to!  I was so stinking tired..  Thankfully Zoe and I slept in till we decided to wake up and we both feel so good!  Paul is happy about that too. :)

Anyhoodles, check out the post under this one.  I caught up on my 30 Days of Truth challenge.  And like I said in my previous post, enjoy the rest of your weekend!  I know I will!

Hot blooded! Check it and see.. I got a fever of 103

Note: Parts of this post are slightly personal.  For my few male readers, I suggest you skip this post.  For your own sake.  Thanks!

This past weekend was spent on the couch with a painful breast infection.  I believe it started on Thursday..  all of a sudden I had the chills, body aches, and I looked like I had a whacked out boob job- thanks to being engorged.  With a lot of rest, fluids, and plenty of prayers I was good to go by Sunday.  {whew}  Thank you Jesus!  Of all weekends I don't know why I had to choose that one to be sick!  It was our last Saturday before our big church fundraiser and everyone else was out of town save my sister-in-law.  Poor Mandalou!  I'll make it up to her.. maybe I'll buy her a coffee this week during the photo shoot!

Yesterday my little princess officially turned 3 months old.  There will be a photo shoot this week- with her pink Chuck Taylor's of course!  Though plenty some think we're crazy, Paul and I decided today that it is time to break Zoe of her pacifier.  I know, I know.. she's only 3 months old!  But she isn't totally hooked on it anyway.  We hold it in her mouth most of the time.  So.. no more!  Let's see how it goes.

Now that I'm back in business I need to make sure my house is picture perfect since the photographer will be staying at our house, and he arrives sometime Thursday.  {EEK!}  Psh.. no big deal.. I got it all under control..  {gulp}

30 Days of Truth will be coming up next!

The Newlywed Game

I saw this on Katie's blog and I just had to do it myself!  You're always curious to see how much your spouse knows about you.  After nearly 3 years of marriage, this is what Paul knows.. or doesn't know..

1. She's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?

Paul: Teen Mom

So true!  So true!  I'm a sucker for reality TV shows, and Teen Mom is definitely my favorite.  I'm so addicted I actually buy the rag mags whenever I see one of the girls on the front cover..

2. You're out to eat, what kind of dressing does she get on her salad?

Paul: Ranch.

True! I didn't used to like ranch dressing, but now I use it on everything.

3. What's one food she doesn't like?

Paul: Seafood.

True!  I cannot stand seafood.  I know it's good for your brain and all that jazz.. but I can't make myself like it!

4. You go out to eat, what does she drink?

Paul: Cherry coke.

True! I love me some cherry coke with a delicious (fancy) dinner!

5. What is her shirt size?

Paul: Large.

True.. unfortunately..  The bosoms make it impossible to wear anything smaller.

6. What is her shoe size?

Paul: 7 1/2 - 8

True!  It depends on the shoe..

7. What is her favorite type of sandwich?

Paul: Turkey.

True!  I love a good turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles.. as well as cheese, mayo, and mustard!

8. What would she eat everyday if she could?

Paul: Steak.

Though I love me some steak, I have always been a fan of good ole chicken and salad--with ranch dressing of course!

9. What is her favorite cereal?

Paul: Cheerios. Gross!

True!  I love boring ole Cheerios.  I think they're great!

10. What should she never wear?

Paul: Tube top.

Though that is true, that is not what I had in mind.  Ever since Ugg Boots came out I said I would never wear them, and I have stayed true to my word.  They may be comfortable.. but they're too ugly to be on my feet!

11. What is her favorite sports team?

Paul: Denver Broncos.

I'm not as big of a fan of sports as I used to, but when I do watch something on TV, I'm watching my Denver Broncos.

12. What is something she does that you wish she didn't do?

Paul: Take my phone charger.

.....

We'll go with that one. :)

13. What is her heritage?

Paul: German/Jew.

I'm really a mutt.  Aren't we all?  But if you ask me, I'll tell you I'm a German/Jew first.  I find it rather comical.

14. You bake her a cake, what kind of cake?

Paul: Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate--with more chocolate.

True!  Most the time.. I'm thinking of chocolate.

15. Did she play sports in high school?

Paul: Not organized.

True.  I played family football and that's about it.

16. What could she spend hours doing?

Paul: Blogging.

So very, very true!  I'm addicted to blogging!

17. What is a unique talent that she has?

Paul: Touching her nose with her tongue

True!  Ha!  I think it weirds him out.. but I'm pretty proud of my talent.

18. What is her type of coffee?

Paul: Iced white chocolate caramel mocha.

So, so, so true..  I'm crazy about my coffee!

Now it's YOUR turn!  How much does your newlywed know about you?