Sold... Kind of

Wow, it's been a long time. We have had such a fun holiday season and to top it all off, we got an offer on our house. There have been a few hiccups in the process, but if all goes as planned we will be moving out this weekend. I am really sad to leave our little home because we have been here since we were married and I am so attached, but it will be fun to start a new chapter in our lives. The plan is to live with my parents and save the mortgage payment while we build a house in Syracuse, but that is still in the works. So right now we are just gonna hurry up and wait and breathe a big sigh of relief when it's time to close the sale of our house. I am not a big fan of the new real estate contracts - they are so not seller-friendly and it is giving me serious anxiety. Poor Zac has to put up with my craziness. On another note, has anyone been involved with the recall of Jardine cribs this past year? I got an email saying that Harrison's crib has been recalled and i am wondering how smooth of a process it all really is. I am pretty happy about it though because whenever I go to get Harrison out of his crib Maisey can't stand the excitement and jumps up and scratches at it, so it will be nice to have a crib that looks new again. Harrison finally started climbing stairs. I was not looking forward to this one so i was in no hurry for him to take interest, but he figured them out yesterday. He climbs up just great. It's the going down part that is going to take some work. He gets to the top of the stairs and tries to walk down them. Zac spent probably 20 minutes last night trying to teach him how to crawl down stairs backwards, but Harrison just kept trying to go up. So much easier. He learned the hard way this afternoon. Luckily our flight of stairs is "L" shaped so he only fell down half a flight. Poor guy. He'll learn...

Meeska, Mooseka, Mickey Mouse!

Harrison turned one. I am so happy and so sad. I can't believe how big he's gotten and all of the new things he's learning. It's so crazy to me that a person can change and learn so much in just one short year! To celebrate, we went to a place called Jumping Jacks, which is pretty much a big room with lots of blow up slides and bouncy toys. He loved it! I have never seen this kid more hyper.

The next day we had his birthday party with my side and zac's side of the family. It was a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse party. My mom and I spent all afternoon decorating and we were pretty happy with the results.


Harrison loved his party. He had so much fun opening all the presents and eating his very own cake, as you can see, and his tummy is still paying for it!





Happy Birthday Harrison!

Starstruck

Last night was Zac's work Christmas party. It was a beautiful dinner, and the decorations I am sure cost so much more than our whole wedding. One of the perks about Zac's job is that we sometimes get to go to parties with some prestigious 65+ers , which is fun for me just as long as I don't have to talk to them, because a room full of them is really intimidating. No big deal, we'll just sit safely by Zac's work friends... the other 4 people in the room in our demographic, right? Uhm, no. They had place cards and seating assignments, all meticulously planned out so that us little people would have no chance but to sit next to and eat with the ones that make us nervous. Gulp. After the initial 2 minutes where we were politely and zealously bombarded with questions (one of these couples is not like the others) it was really fun to listen to everyone's intelligent conversations and politely nod. Does anyone else get really freaked out by being with important, fascinating people? In the end we had a great night and left without saying anything really stupid, and we even won one of the beautiful centerpieces.

And because it wasn't the type of place to take pictures since apparently no one else was starstruck, we decided to snag some sort of momento from the night. So after he left, we snatched the placecard of the gentleman sitting behind us who, I must admit, I have a little crush on.

Mr. Destructo

Oh Harrison. This boy keeps me busy. He started walking and needless to say is into EVERYTHING. I was making cookies last night and Zac asked Harrison if he wanted to give Maisey a dog treat. We are trying to teach him the difference between his toys and food and Maisey's toys and food. Either way, everything pretty much goes into his mouth and it grosses me out. So anyway, Zac pulls out the dog treats, hands the bag to harrison and says probably ten times "No, give it to Maisey." then "Good boy!" After a couple of minutes I realize it is quiet, which is weird. I look down and see Harrison and Maisey sitting on the kitchen floor, surrounded by dog treats that Harrison somehow opened the bag and dumped all over the floor. Maisey is going crazy eating treats and Harrison looks up at me with his cheeks all puffed up. Yes, he was having a feast too. Disgusting. These aren't just like little dog bones. They are called "Mar-o Treats"...gag... and they are stuffed with a nasty meat substance. No more lip kisses for awhile, at least until I forget about this whole incident. Maisey is just as naughty. As you can see in the picture below, she is right there with him when he gets into trouble. She follows this boy everywhere, and anytime she knows food may be involved I swear I can hear her tell him "Get some for me too!" Gotta love my two troublemakers.

Fall so far

I have been horrible about blogging lately. I figured that since I have so much to catch up on I would just do a slideshow, so here goes! If you care what the picture is about drag your mouse over the slideshow.

History

I am more proud to be an American today than I ever have been. I didn't think this election would effect me this way, but I have been so emotional and sobby ever since I found out that starting next year we will have an African-American President. This country that we live in is so incredible and last night is proof. It doesn't matter which political party you belong to. It doesn't matter what your beliefs are. A people who have been fighting for so long for the same rights as others and have suffered just because of the color of their skin finally feel vindicated. Congratulations! I am so proud to be an American and a part of history when the first African-American became President of the United States, most especially when so many African-Americans never thought they would live to see this day. Most of us will never understand, can never comprehend, the suffereing of so many because of the color of their skin. After the announcement last night I watched many people sobbing in disbelief. Whoopi Goldberg described how she felt about it this morning on The View. She said that she has always felt like she was an American but she feels like she can finally set her suitcase down. Sherri Sheperd sobbed as she told her son that he can be President. This is one huge, long-overdue step towards breaking down all the barriers for anyone who has suffered because of their skin color. I pray that one day everyone, no matter what their difference, will be given a truly fair chance at anything they desire. I applaud Barack Obama for the huge ceiling that he has shattered for all of us. What he has done is an incredible feat. I pray that none of us will take for granted this great country and the rights that we all posess. Thank you Barack Obama for being brave enough to face this enormous challenge. Congratulations to anyone who has ever been discriminated for any reason. This is a victory for us all.

Can I also say how great it is to see a President who outwardly adores his family? Love it!

Thankful Thursday

* The weather is just perfect so that I can open the windows in my house to keep it cool and I can hear the kids playing at the park across the street

* I was folding laundry this morning and Harrison was sitting right in the middle of the pile throwing clothes around when the "Elmo's World" song came on (for any of you that ever have Sesame Street on at your house)and he snapped his head up to look at the TV and started laughing. Love his laugh

* I am not wearing any makeup because I ran out of it yesterday, so I have been rubbing my eyes and face all day and it is nice for a change

* I think I know what I am making for dinner tonight

* The Office is on tonight

* Halloween is next week, which means I get to put Harrison in his monkey costume that I bought in August - it can't come soon enough.

* The laundry is done for the week

* Maisey is asleep on the couch, curled up like a cat. She is so funny.

* The pinatas I am making for the family Halloween party are almost done, and they are looking pretty good!

* The mountains by our house are so pretty, especially this time of the year, and I have a great view of them from my computer.

* Harrison is starting to eat more and more solid food every day. He turns 1 in about a month, which means no more formula! Can't wait for that.

* Zac is in cub scouts and last night was the pumpkin carving pack meeting. We managed to haul 30 pumpkins into the church and the boys carved them without any injuries and without ruining the carpet in the church.

* I get to vote, which is a big blessing. And I get to vote early, which means that I don't have to wait in the super long lines on November 4th. Plus I will probably get one of those cute stickers that says "I Voted" with a fingerprint on it.