We're Supposed to Leave Today....

But I haven't heard from Leo yet! I saw him this morning when I had a doctor's appointment (he watched Isabella and my doctor commented on how she wanted to see my little munchkin :) I love my doctor and am so lucky to have such a wonderful woman as my doctor. So, I guess I will bring Bella back at my next appt :) ) He had hoped to leave by 1....it is now almost 2:30 and he isn't answering his phone. My guess he is stuck at work. The good news is I have showered, packed us and unloaded the dishwasher as well as fold 3 loads of laundry. I am really ready to leave already!

Today while we were at the hospital we went up to Leo's work to say hi and show Bella off. She had been smiling at strangers all morning long but that was sure to change! Sure enough, right when we made it up to the 3rd floor one of the housekeeping ladies was talking and cooing at Isabella....and Isabella totally broke down!! I told her not to take it personally, she had woke up really early and was ready for a nap. After we reassured her that she didn't do anything we made our way into Leo's office where she took one look at one of his co-workers and started shrieking/crying with huge alligator tears rolling down her cheeks! I don't know what's going on with her lately, strangers seem to terrify her :) Maybe it's her attachment to mommy/daddy already? Not sure....or it could be that she is sah baby and doesn't interact a whole lot w/strangers....which needs to be changed! Hopefully w/visiting Texas for a week she'll start getting better.

I hope everyone is staying warm today. It's a rainy mess outside here today so we are trying to stay dry and warm. For everyone who is an area getting ice, please be careful and try to stay home, I want you all to be safe. Have a fantastic Thursday and I'll try to blog as much as possible while I am away, bye!

Our Little Girl is Growing Up!

You know, I knew Isabella would grow up quick, but this quick?! Wow! She is now standing on her own when she holds on to things!! I couldn't believe it today when she was holding onto her sing stage and when Leo was home tonite I had to show him, too. We stood her up on the couch and there she stood all by her big self! What a big girl we have!

We're leaving for Houston tomorrow and cannot wait! It will be nice to see everyone and also get some shopping in while we are there. I may be chopping my hair off as well....not sure yet, but really thinking about it....I guess if there are some new pics of me posted they will be of me with short hair like I used to have!

Enjoy the pictures and I hope everyone has a great nite.

Peaceful Days=Happy Family

Hello to you all! What a peaceful day Isabella and I had. She played w/mommy and took a couple of naps even. She has been sleeping in her swing for over 2 hours now! Aw, I just love days like this!

On to other news, we are going to Houston on Thursday to see Leo's side of the family. We are very excited! Isabella and I will be staying there a week and Leo will come to pick us up the following weekend. Isabella's (only) cousin will be there, too--and they haven't seen one another since he was born! I am sure Isabella will be curious to who this other little baby is.

Forgot to mention yesterday that we got new curtains for our living room and I really like them. They are the sheer material but in burgandy and the top is ruffled? Maybe? For those of you who have seen our curtains we have the ones that hang down in our other rooms and these new ones aren't like that. We wanted something other than the brown we had since all of our furniture is brown lol! I'll be using the brown ones in the kitchen now.

Well, I need to figure something out for dinner that I can use chicken in...if you have any ideas, please, help me! Enjoy the pic above that I took of Bella with her bunny in her swing. Bye!

Oh, Lowes...

Lowes, Lowes, Lowes....why do I love Lowes so much?? Leo and I were there for 2 hours, yep, 2 whole hours today, aimlessly wandering every aisle and configuring all the renovations we want to do to our home. We did make some purchases, though! I got 2 curtain rods for the kitchen windows and curtains--which I cannot wait to put up! We also got some outdoor lights to line our sidewalk, they are really pretty and we can't wait to start our landscaping out front to put them in! We are planning on starting the landscaping in a month or so...I want to take out all the old shrubbery before we start so that part will be done. We are so excited!! We have also picked out a new paint color for the kithchen. It's an Eddie Bauer paint called Oatmeal. It is a nice, neutral color which will make our home feel even homier to us. We want to paint that room soon, too, so we'll see how soon we get started! We also picked out a new light for the kitchen, also. I can't wait to update it! We just have so many ideas on what we want and it seems like we will have to do a little at a time, but that's okay with us. At least we pretty much know what we are looking for :)

Other than that, today was pretty slow. We drove around downtown and Leo took me to our favorite Chinese restaurant for lunch. Isabella was sooo good all day! She took a long nap in Lowes and had fun at the Chinese restaurant looking at all the decorations in there.

Speaking of our little princess, she now says "mamamamamama" anytime she is upset! We know she isn't saying mama, but just to hear her say that melts her mama's heart. She also LOVES her exersaucer!! It is one that bounces so we didn't have to buy a jumperoo on top of the saucer. When she knows you're watching her she stands up and drops down so hard! It is hilarious!! When we start laughing, SHE starts laughing and keeps doing it over and over again. It is too cute and we cannot believe how much she has changed. She is an amazing baby and we constantly thank God for blessing us with such a sweetheart.

Time to go, I need to get some laundry done before it's time to turn in for the nite. Hope everyone's Monday was wonderful!

What a Fun Day!

Today Leo surprised me by taking me to Mobile to do some shopping! We hit up Target first where I bought new rugs, towels and pictures for our kitchen. I have been wanting new ones for sooo long and today I got them! I think they look great in our kitchen and I love the change, something about redoing a room to make it feel new, fresh and exciting again. I am posting pics of the new goods as well.

I also got Bella some clothes, a pair of cute sandals, I got me a pair of pj summer bottoms, t-shirt and flip flops. We also got some random items as well. Bella was sooo good! She sat in her stroller all day and even fell asleep--which I just must add that she hated her stroller before and would never consider riding in it, so this was a huge accomplishment for our little one :)

We went to Olive Garden afterwards which was sooo yummy! We had originally planned on sushi, but we haven't had Olive Garden in years and it just sounded so good, so we had a nice dinner, too! We had such a great day today and it was so nice to go to Mobile and do some real shopping!! We hope everyone is having a great weekend, too!

Okay, Okay...

So my dinner didn't turn out the way it, um, was supposed to...as you can see! That there, was my "yummy chicken nachos". Except mine weren't yummy. And I don't even think I can call them chicken nachos anymore! Leo was laughing so hard and when I went to go see the latest damage to my yummy dinner, I couldn't help but laugh either! What happened?! Next time maybe I won't start them so early on....

On better news, my strawberry pop cake turned out delicious! We ended up having that for dinner instead :) All washed down with a Diet Coke. Now, THAT'S my kind of dinner!

I am attaching (with the DISGUSTING picture) some pics of Bella with her Valentine bear from her Mema and Papa back in Missouri. They were just too cute not to post! She absolutely loves the bear and holds on to it when it's next to her. Thank you, Mema and Papa!

We are all going shopping this weekend and I want to pick Bella some stuff up then, too. We decided to celebrate our Valentine's on Saturday when Leo will be off of work. He's taking me out to sushi, which I have not had for a long time! So we are looking forward to that.

Well, that is my last post of the day....sorry if the first picture grossed you out! It grossed me out, too!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to you all! I woke up early this morning with Isabella and Leo gave me the sweetest card! I was for sure he forgot, but he didn't! It was a nice way to start our first Valentine's Day with Isabella. We aren't going to really do anything tonight. I made strawberry pop cake (yummm) and we are having some yummy chicken nachos, made in the crockpot. Saturday night we plan on going to go and eat sushi to celebrate Valentine's Day. For us it makes more sense to go out on a night when Leo doesn't have to work so late. I am attaching some adorable pictures (of course!) of Isabella and of the card I made Leo. I hope he likes it!

Not a whole lot else going on here today. It is a beautiful sunny day and we are grateful for the sunshine instead of the heavy rain we had been having. Until later, good bye and have a great Valentine's Day!

Yumm...Chocolate....

Can you see me drooling?? Can you smell that delicious smell of chocolate drifting through your house?? No?! Well, what are you waiting for--grab a sheet pan and these ingredients and get to baking!

My Mom's to Die For Buttermilk Brownies

Brownies:
2 c sugar
2 c flour
4 tbsp cocoa
1 c cold water
1 stick butter
1/2 c veg oil
1/2 c buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs

Sift flour, cocoa, and sugar together in a bowl. Set aside. In saucepan bring butter, cocoa, oil and water to a boil. Pour over dry ingredients and beat until creamy. Add buttermilk, soda, eggs and beat thoroughly. Bake on greased sheet pan for 18 minutes at 400 degrees.

While that is baking, combine the following:

Frosting:
1 stick butter
1/2 c cocoa
1/3 c buttermilk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 box powdered sugar

Bring butter, buttermilk and cocoa to a boil. Take off heat and add vanilla and powdered sugar. Mix well and spread on warm brownies.

There you go! They are sooo easy to make and absolutely to die for! Let me know what you think....although I know you won't be disappointed!! Happy eating!

Strawberry Pop Cake Here I Come!

For awhile I have been thinking of selling my cards that I make. I do love making cards but am afraid if I start selling them and making them all of the time, the love of making them will disappear. Leo has told me for a long time that I should sell them. I used to make them for people if they requested them and just gave them away, but the thought never occured to me to sell them. Leo's cousin gave me a link (she sells jewelery) for a site where you can sell the crafty items you make. I checked it out and on the plus side nobody sells cards!! So that would be good. I'm just not sure if I want to take this up at the moment....it sure has it's upsides and downsides, so I'll keep ya'll posted on my decision when (and if!) I ever make one. :)

I found this recipe on one of the blogs that I visit daily (her link is the second on the right) for chicken nachos. You make the chicken part in the crockpot and it sounds so delicious! We're gonna try it out tomorrow nite, so I'll post my review on it tomorrow. It sounds soo good! It has chicken, cheese, tomatoes and chiles....how could you go wrong!

I also posted another link to a site I frequent ALL the time. Her name is Ree aka "The Pioneer Woman" and she is hilarious! I love reading her recipes and her narrations while she's posting...hilarious! I tried out her cinnamon rolls and they were sooo yummy! Leo loved them and can't wait until I make them again *laughs*....but I'm not so sure when I'll be doing that project again--especially because they have RHODES CINNAMON ROLLS here finally!! I bet you're wondering....now why did she caps locks that? I'll tell you why....they are delicious! *Almost* like homemade! But close enough that you won't pine for a homemade roll :) They are that good....yum, now I'm getting hungry just thinking about them!

Speaking of baking, I will be doing quite a bit tonite and tomorrow. Tonite I am baking buttermilk brownies or sheet cake--whatever you wanna call it--for a pot luck Leo is having tomorrow. He better save me one or else I'm gonna go on strike! :) I'll also be making strawberry pop cake. The yummiest Valentine's treat a kid--I mean adult *hehehe* could have. I'm thinking of maybe starting another blog for recipes....if you are interested, let me know and I'll start that up for ya. I used to do one on my myspace, but think I'll just start one here since I'm on here so much!

Alright, well, I am going to relax for a few minutes. The baby is sleeping, my house is clean (I decided to clean it during the week so we don't have to on the weekend when Leo is home) and I have some gooood tv shows on that DVR :) I'll be sure to post some Valentine's day pics tomorrow of my cake and of my little Valentine. Bye!

Rain, Rain Go Away....

Today started off nice enough, it was almost 70 degrees when we woke up, a light breeze blowing through the windows. That sure changed, though! We had quite the storm blow through--with winds blowing and gusting up to 52 mph! Lightning flashes and the loudest thunder you could imagine. Bella and I took cover in our closet and we called Leo to see if there were any warnings for our town (we don't get local channels on our satellite and I couldn't check our tv in our room-more about the tv in a sec). Anyhow, he called me back and told me there were wind warnings, tornado watches and thunderstorm warnings. I told him to call me if any tornadoes were spotted. I took a picture as the storm was rolling in...I really like these trees and they are everywhere here!

Okay, so I promised above to tell ya about our tv. Well, mom and dad had gotten me a nice Phillips tv when I lived in SA (6-7 yrs ago). We have had that tv ever since and I loved it! The other nite when I was watching some tv in bed it kept turning off on it's own. I was a little spooked at first and especially when it kept happening! Sure enough, the tv went out. Any time you turned it on it would turn off. Tonite Leo moved "his game" tv into our bedroom so I could watch Idol. But the good news is on this new tv we get ABC, NBC and FOX!!! We just don't get CBS, grrrrr.....but that's okay, I am happy I can watch the Today show, Medium, American Idol...you get the picture :) We have decided to use some of our tax return money for a new tv for the bedroom, though, as well as a dvd player. The rest will be going into savings with the exception of me buying some summer clothes since none of my old clothes fit me yet!

Well, I am going to go now...Idol's on and Bella is napping :)

Bella Can Sit!!

Okay, so I just took these today to capture my little girl sitting! Can you believe it?! This was the longest she has ever sat on her own...I am just so proud of my little one. Aw, I love being a mommy!

Valentine's Cards Galore....

I had a lot of fun yesterday making all of my Valentine's cards. It took me longer than expected and I was pooped out afterwards, but today as I was writing in them, I realized that I was really happy I had a chance to do that for the people I love. I am attaching some pics of them, tell me what you think. I basically stuck to a couple of styles and tried to vary them up some, but all in all I am really proud of myself!

I also attached a few pics of Bella. :) Imagine that :) One is of her on our bed one day when it was warm. I love it because she has that "Mommy caught me!" look on her face. The other one is of her in the cutest outfit her Great Great Aunt and Uncle Davy and Joyce got her. It's so cute!!! I just love that blue on her. I really think she looks good in darker and brighter colors, don't you :)

It was another fun nite last nite...there is someone who lives behind us (we still have not figured out who they are yet...)who insists on playing the LOUDEST music and have the LOUDEST parties and their friends have these really loud trucks and you can here them start them up over and over in the middle of the nite...it is really lovely. Leo and I have wondered why none of their neighbors complain??? Needless to say I couldn't sleep, stayed up and watched a movie (more about that in a minute) and finally fell asleep around 1:30 or so...which in turn we all overslept this morning for church. Ugh!! We are going next week for sure, so I may just go to bed really early before their "party" starts.

So, I watched a couple of good movies this weekend. The first was Little Children which I mentioned yesterday. I loved it! I thought it was really good. The second one(that I watched into the nite) was Alpha Dog. It was based on a true story about a drug dealer who kidnaps another guy's younger brother (the guy owes him $$$). Anyhow, I had seen one of the nitetime news shows do a story on the real guys who did this and it was shocking. At first I wasn't sure bc there was a lot of bad language, but after seeing that it reminds you of how important it is to raise your children and teach them the dangers that lurk out there in this world of ours. It just made me so sad that this was someone's 15 year old son who gets kidnapped...heartbreaking, I cannot even imagine! Anyways, I liked both of the movies and would recommend them.

Okay, well I need to go on now and get some things done. Have a marvelous, relaxing Sunday and until next time, bye!

Can I Get a Drumroll....

Isabella is getting her 2 bottom teeth in!! I cannot BELIEVE it! If you remember in my other post I was talking about how cranky she has been, etc. Anyhow, today during another screaming session I peered into her mouth and what do you know, 2 little blister type bumps on the bottom gum. Poor baby! We are going to get her some stuff when we go to the store tomorrow, so hopefully it will help a little....not really sure how much they will work, though.

I'm making homemade Valentine's this year. I love making cards and we are trying to budget, so why not be creative? I have done 2 so far...I have a lot more to go! I hope they all turn out cute, I really think they are.

Well, I need to go, we are watching a movie, Little Children, it's pretty good. I also need to finish up the cards so we can mail them by Monday! Bye all and I will try to take some pics of some of the cards and post on here within the next day or so...bye!

Thank Goodness Today Is....

Leo's Friday! Poor Leo....he has an infection in one of his glands...I knew he should have called the doctor on Monday before things got worse and this morning he woke up and by his right ear was soooo swollen. It looked like he got his wisdom teeth removed :( It probably didn't help him that Bella was awake most of the nite, fussy....I am wondering if she is A)getting sick again or B)teething. The past 2 days have been pretty rough. Her not wanting to be away from me (she cries if she doesn't see me or sees me walking away), not napping, not wanting mommy to lay her down...lol--do you see a trend here :) Not that I mind, but today I am exhausted--I haven't even had a second to shower! Oh, well, Leo gets home soon so I will take a shower then I suppose. Bella is asleep in her swing at this moment, she just isn't sleeping very well lately and I hope her ear infection isn't coming back...

On to better news....I am in love w/a new ice cream and cannot believe I have never tried it before!! It is Ben and Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch...yuuuummmm...to die for. If you love Heath Bar, this is your ice cream!! Huge--and I mean ENORMOUS--chunks of it throughout the entire pint...purely sinful, but oh so delicious. There is one down side, for Lent I gave up sweets (candy, cake, ice cream) so no more for me for quite awhile!! But I had to share that with all of you ice cream lovers...try it, you won't be disappointed!

Not a whole lot going on here otherwise. Just wish for one day/week everyone in our house will be healthy! Hopefully Leo's meds will work out for him. Well, I need to get some things done, just wanted to post a quick blog since I haven't for a few days....bye and talk to ya'll tomorrow!

Baby Cereal, Bottles and Sweet Potatoes-Oh My!

What a beautiful day it was! Sunny, warm and a nice breeze set the tone for a great Monday. Bella got to wear a cute shorts outfit today and I can just tell this little girl loves warm weather! We took some time today to enjoy nature and let me tell you, Bella loves the outdoors! She is fascinated with everything mother nature has to offer. Now I really can't wait until we can fill up a little kiddie pool! With her love of baths and being outside I know we'll both be tan this year. :)
Bella had her first vegetable tonight--one of the tastier ones in my opinion! As you see above, at first she wasn't so sure about sweet potatoes at first, but she soon decided that she loved 'em! She ate the entire container and was sooo happy the whole time. She is too cute! But I did learn a lesson--remember to bathe her afterwards...not before :) Enjoy the pics and have a blessed week!

Finally!

I managed to capture the CUTEST pictures of Isabella today! She is feeling much better today and was playing so happily in her new Exersaucer (which she now LOVES!). I grabbed the camera and got some of her cutest smiles ever!! Now, for those of you who don't know, I have been trying to capture her smiles on camera for the longest time and more times than I can count I just miss that adorable little face. So, I am sure you can just see me grinning ear to ear that I got some smile pics!

She ate a lot more applesauce today than yesterday--she's still not sure what that is mommy is feeding her, but hey--it's food and she'll take it. Her cough is getting better as well as her stuffy nose. I credit that to her Vicks baby rub and our new Vicks vaporizer...magic I tell ya! That stuff works wonders!

Not a whole lot more is going on here today. Leo and I both have spring cleaning fever....could be our warm temps--65 degrees with our windows open--pure heaven in my eyes! It is supposed to be 78 degrees Monday and Tuesday, I have some of Bella's shorts out for her and I know she and I will be outside getting some wonderful sunshine and glorious fresh air. Can you tell I am in the mood for spring already? :) We cannot wait to spruce up our front yard. And now that Bella is older, she can sit out in one of her many baby toys while mommy and daddy work. Ahhhh...spring is finally in the air and it just makes me so happy!

I don't think we get the Superbowl channel :( We do have the NFL network, but we aren't for sure if it is playing it or not. We're both kinda down about that since we were in Turkey for 2 years and really missed watching the Superbowl and the commercials it will bring. I also want to root on the Giants...I usually do go for the underdogs.

Well, I have been rambling on long enough. I am going to post her cute pics. Enjoy!

Going to Try Again...

Okay, I know I said I would try tomorrow or the next day, but I hate having things hang over my head.....so going to try one more time....

We're Slowly Getting Better...

Hey everyone. I know it's been sometime since I have been on here and I apologize. It has been crazy busy in our house for the past week! Last weekend was Isabella's baptism which was wonderful! We loved having everyone at our home and everyone at her baptism on this very special and important day in our little one's life. I hope everyone had a great as time as we did and now we can't wait to see everyone in May for Adam and Katie's graduations!!
I have been kind of out this week due to an infection on my arm and my asthma has been crazy. The doctor prescribed me Advair and I take that 2x's a day....haven't had to use my inhaler yet! Amazing!
Isabella has also been sick, my poor little baby girl! Wednesday morning she woke up with a very runny nose, a cough and a fever. They had us take her to a clinic off base and it turns out she has an ear infection. Poor baby. :( Her temp is pretty much gone and she is finally eating more than she was, so that's good. However, her cough sounds worse and her nose is still runny. Her meds are done on Wednesday so I am debating on waiting until then to make her an appt--which I will probably do if she doesn't have a fever--or call on Monday. It is so hard to tell since her medication isn't through yet...*sigh*
On better news, our little one turned 4 months old today!!! I can hardly believe it!!! She can laugh, coo, roll over from front to back, plays with her toys, grabs at things and scooch on her tummy. She can *almost* roll over from back to tummy--she gets halfway over and decides, naw, I don't want to do this yet! She loves her cereal and she ate applesauce for the first time today! She wasn't quite sure what to think about it, though :) She and I also went walking around the front and backyards since it is in the 60's! She loved having that warm sunshine on her and just really looking at all the trees and bushes. I was glad it was so nice so I could take her out for a few minutes.
I am attaching some pics of Bella holding her own bottle (she really likes to feed herself now!) and tasting applesauce for the very first time and the baptism. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
**not sure if the pics uploaded, if not, I will try again tomorrow or Monday**