Home Sweet Home

I've had a few people request pictures of our new home, so for those of you who care, come on in.

Here's the living room. If you look close you can see the place I spend lots of time cleaning up each day, along with the cute little mess-maker herself.

The Kitchen. I'm seriously becoming gourmet in here. No really, last night I made homemade pizzas- four of them.

See my pizza stone? I wasn't lying. I also made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Yum. I have too much time on my hands! Might explain why my pants fit tighter these days :(.

Downstairs Bathroom. Needs a picture or something.

Master bedroom. Needs more furniture to fill it up.
Master Bath. We have contests who can keep their sink cleaner. He usually wins, so I'm tempted to not clean it next time I make my rounds.
Laundry. Love them with a passion.

Guest Room/ Office. Not used enough. Please come visit. Please!

Maddie's Bathroom.

Place where Maddie spends most of her time. Seriously this girl has to get her 13 hours in. She also still likes two naps a day. I'm not complaining.

Front yard.

We kind of love it here.

I Love

Being a Mother.

And I love my own mother for teaching me all I need to know. I love how she adores my baby. I love my mother-in-law for being the most pleasant person in the world. And I love that my husband can't ever remember a time when he was mad at her. I love my sister-in-laws and friends for the amazing mothers they are. I love and feel for those women that anxiously wait to become mothers. There isn't anything more beautiful than motherhood.

Book Reviews

I have a really bad habit of starting long books, stopping half way through for a quick read, and sometimes finishing the epics. Right now I'm really bad cuz I'm in the middle of two long ones and just finished two quickies. It's a miracle I can keep all the details straight. (I spend alot of time re-reading!)

So, on that note, I'll give you my opinions on these two:

I really liked this one from the beginning. It's about a cooking class, but of course the students learn more about life than how to follow a recipe. I loved how the author used sensory imagery to bring food to life. I still think it lacked some 'essential ingredients'- maybe character development or a more complex plot/ relationships, but if you're looking for a "delicate, meltingly lovely hymn to food and friendship," this will do. I may or may not have put the book down to indulge in some chocolate and pick up some potted fresh basil.

I didn't put this one down once I picked it up. Not because it was such a thrilling page turner, but because I really wanted to make it to book club the next night. Unfortunately, JD had to work late, and a nap-less Maddie would not have been very pleasant, so I stayed home. Oh well, next month is this book, which I love, so hopefully I can make it. Anyways, I'd say this was along the lines of the Twilight series, but not near as good. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the action-packed, death-defying stories of survival, no matter how unrealistic or juvenile they might be.

Sweet Baby

This is my newest nephew Will. He is stinkin cute. We all agree that he's the spitting image of his dad, but there are moments when I see Johnny in him. I can't remember my baby ever being so tiny.

He's so precious. I know he'll change so much from now til the next time I see him. I'm baffled by how much they change in the first year.

This little one is no longer a baby. She's officially a little girl, growing by leaps and bounds every day, and I love her every inch!

Can't Forget These

We're gettin on an airplane in a couple hours to head back to YL. {We just can't stay away!} I just remembered to pack my headphones. Last time we flew the lady next to us let Maddie play with hers. Kept her entertained for a good 30 minutes. Excited to:

-meet our new baby Will

-swim in papa's pool

-go to two of my best friend's bridal showers

-get pampered all day

-see Maddie give her grammys kisses!!

To Work...

...Or not to work.

That is the question that has been on my mind lately. If you can't tell, Maddie and I have been doing alot of playing. With absolutely nothing on my schedule, I have more than enough time to hang out at the park with my little toddler. She's the coolest kid, and I could probably be content hanging out with just her all the time. But lately, for some reason, I've started going through made up patient scenarios in my head. Like yesterday, while running on the treadmill I was thinking, ok, so a man comes into the ER with chest pain. What is the first thing I do? 12-Lead, check. O2, Assess, check. IV, check. Labs, check. Aspirin, nitro, morphine, check. Next I started my checklist for what I'd do in a full arrest. Sadly, after only a few weeks off I was having trouble remembering critical details...how much epi; amiodorone or atropine next? Etc. Weird, I know. But I wondered, am I supposed to go back to work? Is there a situation in the future where someone will need me to be their nurse? It would be so easy for me to focus only on being a mom and forget all the valuable knowledge I've gained over the last 4+ years.

I think what I really want is to work just enough so it feels like fun instead of work, and not enough to where my baby will even know I'm gone. Guess I'll start looking for that perfect job.

We Made It

So after almost two weeks of being here, I finally have the internet and the house mostly put together so I can blog! We really love our new home. We feel like we've got tons of space, and love the community. While JD's away working most of the time, Maddie and I get to play at the park across the street, get lost running around town, and attempt to cook again! On the weekends we've been exploring our surroundings. Last weekend we went on a long bike ride through wine country. It was beautiful and fun to get back on my bike.

This weekend we watched a parade downtown, picked up yummy sandwiches at the market, and drove out to the beach. (Next time we'll remember our sweatshirts! It's not like home). We love that our family drove out to hang out with us! It's so nice to be close enough to see eachother often.

Stay tuned for more about our new life. And come visit us because we miss you! You know who you are!

Easter

One day I'm gonna have one of those classy, amazing blogs- you know, the ones that have one or two really great edited pictures along with something remarkably simple written to go along with it? But until then, you get my hodge podge of pictures cuz I can't just choose one!

Check out how we made these beautiful eggs here.

My very own Little Bunny Foo Foo

Finding her basket

Eating her favorite food in her Easter outfit
Hunting for eggs

Carrying all the baskets

We had a lovely Easter watching conference and spending time eating waffles with the Whites and prime rib with with the Lindseys. What are we going to do without all these delicious meals? It's no wonder my baby's at the top of the charts!

Soakin it Up

The past couple weeks I've been anxious to get out in the sun, especially cuz we're moving up north next week where it's just not the same. (No offense all you NorCal people). Maddie quickly remembered how much she loved swimming, and played in the kiddie pool for 2 hours straight.

(Dumping water on your head was the cool thing to do if you didn't notice.)

p.s. - Can I please live in Ladera Ranch someday???

We also went to Pretend City with some friends.

Besides making a scene while Maddie choked on some apple, we had a blast!

Went to Newport last weekend when JD was here. It was still a little too cold, but Maddie learned some new words: bucket, sand and beach.

(Enjoying that orange a little too much :)

I'm excited to start our new life. We're ready to move and have a more normal life where we actually live together and JD can see his baby every day. We will definitely miss the beach a little and our families a lot. The past 10 months have been an amazing blessing to be able to save money and watch our little bundle of joy grow up surrounded by so many adoring family members. I know she's formed bonds with her grandparents that will last forever.

House Hunting

Got back Sunday from a fun weekend with the hubs. I flew into San Francisco so my part time lover and I could go on a much needed date. We went to Fisherman's Warf, Aquarium of the Bay, took a taxi through the crazy streets of San Fran, (got a stomach ache), waited a couple hours to eat at a yummy restaurant (can't remember the name), got lost looking for our car, got lost trying to find the 101, got to the hotel by 2am, and spent lots of $$$ in the process! I decided I'm intimidated by the city and need someone who appreciates it to show me the ropes! I'm happy I don't have to live there though. Interesting place, but not my style.

Saturday we set out to find a place to rent. Without many options, we got a little discouraged. We found one charming little (and I mean little) home on the west side, walking distance to downtown that we love, but haven't heard back yet. We'll see. I felt bad leaving JD all alone in the Quality Inn. Poor guy misses his Maddie so bad.

Left this little cutie pie home with Papa and Grammy. She didn't miss us a bit!

She is growing up so much lately. She says "bleshew" if you sneeze, folds her arms and bows her head during prayers, colors with crayons, and even tells you when she's going poopoo. She's the luckiest little girl to have so many people around that adore her.

***So, right after I posted this, I checked my email, and guess what- the charming little house that we loved, ya, she found other "more qualified" tenants. Who's more qualified than us, seriously? I'm crushed. Oh well, back to square one.***

Did Anyone Else...

Wear green today out of the fear of being pinched? I mean, come on, who's really gonna pinch a grown woman. But I wore it anyway. And I dressed my baby in the only green shirt she owns. (Good thing it's 80 degrees!) We packed a lunch and headed down to the park for a picnic. I couldn't help but chuckle at all the moms wearing green right along with their kids. And I was right there with them. What happens to us when we turn into moms? We thrive on doing nerdy things cuz we can get away with it.

We had a lovely day making green ice cream, looking for four leaf clovers, and giving plenty of kisses (even though I don't think we have an ounce Irish blood...maybe Maddie does?). We sure do miss daddy all week though. I'm going up there this weekend to find us a place to live. Wish us luck!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Papa Dougy

Almost two weeks ago JD's beloved grandpa passed peacefully from this earth. It was a very special time as all of his children and many grandchildren, great grandchildren and friends were able to spend his last moments with him in a beautiful hospice center in San Diego. We will truly miss him, but will always remember what an amazing, wonderful man he was.

So, last weekend was quite busy. We had a wedding on Friday, funeral on Saturday, travel to Utah on Sunday, and the burial in Logan on Monday. With a baby used to taking 2 naps a day and getting her molars, we were pretty tired after the fact, but we were so happy to get to be at everything.

I decided to stay a few extra days in Utah to see friends and satisfy my yearning to hit the slopes. Seeing all my friends I used to play bunco with and walk with really made me miss Utah. Walking on ice in the freezing wind from the car to the Chase's house and having to dig a car out of the snow made me miss California :)! Kyley and I boarded half day at Snowbird and it was so fun. I was in heaven. (Thanks to Leslie for watching my baby last minute!!! And thanks to Megs for planning my trip and making it all happen :).

Needless to say we are happy to be back home. Maddie's got a cough and hasn't been herself today. She's been asleep all day. Poor thing. Maybe she's just catching up from our crazy week!

Now it's time to head up to NorCal and find us a place to live. The traveling continues...

P.S.- This is what I've been doing with the rolled fabric roses. I'm obsessed :).

Happy Saturday!