Christmas Excitement

As I'm sure a lot of posts out there lately have been revolving around Christmas, mine are no different.  But I saw on Facebook the other day by Jen who I know from high school but now blogs she said that she now realizes why her parents were so excited for Christmas...it was to see the excitement in their kids faces. (I'm paraphrasing...that's the gist of it because I can't remember word for word...) And I completely understand that sentiment.  While it is completely annoying every time Leo walks by a present he asks me if that is the Nerf gun we got him (We didn't get him a Nerf gun...Santa did and it's not wrapped and won't be seen until Christmas morning) but just seeing the joy in his face every time he moves the candy cane a day closer to Christmas moves me.  And we did the Portable North Pole tracker and I almsot cried because I was so excited for Leo.  It's just amazing to see the excitement and joy in the little kiddos faces around this time of year and we always take a minute to let Leo know why we are celebrating Christmas.  For us it's the birth of Jesus and while we don't shove it down his throat we (I) try to remind him when he gets crazy about the presents.  But seriously...as we were sitting as a large family at the in-laws last night I won't lie that I made the comment that we should open presents then because I was excited for Leo to be excited!  But we waited and will do the opening of the gifts tonight and then Santa will come and Leo will be so thrilled when he wakes up tomorrow morning with a stupid-awesome Nerf gun and of course new undies and candy to fill his stocking.  I hope you and yours all have a happy holidays and Merry Christmas.  I will try to post some pictures of Jacoby's first Christmas (in his hand-me-down Christmas outfit--it was Leo's Easter outfit!) and of course all the awesomeness of the holidays through a 4-year-olds eyes!

Chrismtas Goodies

 Yesterday in my random post I said I was going to do some Christmas baking.  I really had planned on doing this and giving it to my peeps on Christmas but then realized my plan was flawed.  It was flawed because I was going out of town from Wednesday-Sunday and I wouldn't have time to make them between Christmas gatherings on Sunday.  Soooo I didn't want to give them old goodies.  So I got to making on Tuesday.  And I had a little elf that helped me. 

His ridiculously cheesy face

His happy face

Of course after realizing that he couldn't eat every single thing I made he quickly tired of his task.  So after he left and I finally got him and his brother napping at the same time (HALLELUJAH!) I had some quiet time to myself listening to Christmas music and just enjoying the time spent with myself.  My menu consisted of sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, rice krispie treats and chocolate covered pretzels. 

The cookies

with the rice krispie treats (I forgot to take pictures of them separately)

Chocolate covered pretzels

And the finished product

All in all I think everything turned out great!  I delivered them Tuesday night and hopefully the recipients enjoy them as much as I did making them (and of course sampling them!)

RTT: Christmas Random

Aaaugh!  5 days until Christmas!  Well technically 4 if you count what Leo counts and don't count today or Christmas day! So here's some random to get you by these next 4 days.

 

I am done Christmas shopping.  Woo hoo!  My mom watched Leo for a little bit on Friday night so the hubby and I could get his presents.  I really like including the hubby even though we talk about what we are going to get Leo I just feel better with him being there.  And we got everything on our list.  Not that it was huge but Leo will definitely be pleased Christmas morning!

All of mine and the boys laundry is done and put away.  That way I can make an easy task of packing to go to the in-laws. Not that I ever know what to pack.  Especially since we will be there longer this time AND a new baby.  Gah. 

I spent $30 at the store last night all on stuff to make treats.  I am making some for my presents and I hope they turn out.  It will be my first foray into chocolate covered pretzels so we'll see how those turn out.  I will also be making 2 types of cookies and rice krispie treats.  I am of course saving some for us to take for treats for on the road. 

And I keep talking about traveling to see the in-laws but the hubby has to work tomorrow and so with all this crazy weather that Kansas is getting (who am I kidding?  It's not crazy it's Kansas so we should be expecting this...) we might not make it.  Western Kansas is getting bogged down with over a foot of snow and the hubby is a nervous driver so he may decide to wait or just not go.  We shall see. 

I'm making this short today because those treats aren't going to make themselves! Go visit Stacy and all the other rebel randomers and it will make your holidays! Happy Tuesday!

Christmas Christmas!

I stole this from Vandy who stole it from someone else who so on and so forth.  But it's fun so here we go...

Egg nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows!

Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? He fits what he can in the stocking (undies, candy, gum) and then the big(ish) present is sitting next to it.  Since we are in Dodge every year for Christmas and his parents don't do Santa we do it in our room where we sleep.  So it's kind of a hodge podge of where we put it.

Colored lights or tree/house or white?  White lights look so pretty!

Do you hang mistletoe? No

When do you put your decorations up?  I try to get them up the weekend of Thanksgiving but that doesn't always happen.  So whenever I have time!

What is your favorite holiday dish?  Green bean casserole.  Yum!  But only made by my mom.  She makes it amazingly!

Favorite holiday memory as a child? No one in my family remembers this but I remember going to a tree farm and getting a tree and drinking hot chocolate.  So much fun.  Also, we sometimes got to open 1 present on Christmas Eve. 

When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I still believe because he still brings me stuff at my parent's house!

Do you open a gift on Christmas eve?  We always do now because we go to my hubby's family Christmas and they open all presents on Christmas Eve.  So we do all their stuff on Christmas Eve night and then open presents with my family (and our little family) Christmas day.  If we have a movie or something that we are giving to Leo we sometimes let him open a present in the car on the way to Dodge so he can watch it.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree?  I string lights as best as I can and then hang our ornaments on it.  Nothing too fancy.

Snow! Love it or dread it? Love it.  But it sometimes ruins our travel plans.  Like it might this year with this crazy storm coming from the southwest.

Can you ice skate? No.  I tried when I was younger but my ankles are too weak so it hurt them really bad and I always fell.

Do you remember your favorite gift?  My favorite gift was from a babysitter when I was 3 or 4.  It was a Popples sleeping bag.  It was AMAZING!

(image from Google)

What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? Spending time with my family.

What is your favorite Holiday dessert?  Pumpkin pie

What is your favorite holiday tradition?  I read Twas the Night Before Chrismtas to Leo every year on Christmas Eve before bed.

What tops your tree? A star that is a little cheesy but I like it!

Do you prefer giving or receiving? I like giving.  I love picking out things that I know the person I am giving it to will really like!

Candy canes: Yuck or yum?  I like the strawberry flavored candy canes, not the peppermint ones.

Favorite Christmas show?  My favorite is Love Actually.  I've decided that is a Christmas movie!

Saddest Christmas song?  Christmas Shoes

What is your favorite Christmas song?  Any Christmas song by Straight No Chaser!

Tulsa Aquarium

A few weeks ago my mom and I took the boys on an overnight adventure to Tulsa to visit the aquarium.  We had such an amazing time and Leo behaved about 95% of the time.  That's pretty good for a 4 year old right?!  So here is picture overload for you about our trip!

Ok so I think this picture of Jacoby is hilarious so I had to include it!

Leo and Jacoby welcoming us to Oklahoma

The biggest catfish I have ever seen!

Leo feeding the turtles.  They ate carrots!

Petting the sting rays

Jacoby taking his turn! (Why yes I do exploit my children for funny pictures!)

Feeding the shrimp.  Yes...shrimp

Leo's favorite fish because it was yellow

Nemo



Dori

Cool jellyfish

A family picture!

We had so much fun.  We went down on a Monday night and stayed in a hotel so Leo thought he was pretty hot stuff.  Then we woke up Tuesday morning and headed to the aquarium.  We stayed there for almost 3 hours and by that time it was definitely time to go.  We hit up Braums on the way out of town for lunch and then got home around 4:30.  It was a pretty whirlwind trip but so much fun.  I'm so thankful to have a mom who will do fun stuff with me and take the boys on adventures!  And she said that she is looking forward to taking my niece on a trip like that soon too.  She recently took my brother and his family to see his other son that lives in Missouri to watch him play football and they hung out for the weekend and had a great time.  I think it's really awesome that she does that for us kids!  Love you mom! :)

Job Update

So if you've been following me for the past few months you know that I had a pretty crappy encounter at work.  You can read all about it here.  And while I haven't had much interaction with work since I've been on maternity leave I have had a little.  I applied for an internal job at the same level I am currently at and was denied the position due to the same stupid test that prevented me from being promoted.  So because of that I had another face to face with my upper supervisor who told me that she was not against promoting me but that I wasn't going to get anywhere with the current upper-upper management because she was all about sales and was sold that the test was GOD within the sales world and only what was on the test was taken into account.  So after the 20 minute meeting I told her that I was going to start looking outside of the company because it didn't seem like I would be going anywhere and a job at my current location was really not in my future.  The hours (until 8pm Monday-Friday and until 6p on Saturdays) just did not fit into my family life.  She said that she would keep her eye out for internal jobs and said that she would be looking to promote me.  (But apparently she's not the one that can do that...)

So I have applied for an internal reconcilement job that is in my pay range but still leaves me room to grow in the future.  But of course I haven't heard back from them.  Granted I applied for it on Monday but still.  I also applied for 2 jobs at other banks.  One a management job where I would be over my own branch and the other is an assistant branch manager but I know someone that works at that bank and he told me they start out much higher on the pay scale and they have really awesome benefits.  Soooo...I guess we shall see what happens.  I've already been contacted by the one for the manager job and I had to take a test.  It was very strange.  All computerized and I had 8 minutes to answer as many questions as I could out of 30.  They ranged from math questions to word questions.  I answered 27 of them.  So I have no idea about that one.  And my friend that worked at the other bank said he already has put in a good word for me with the manager that would be hiring me and the manager said he would be looking for my application. 

Really though...I am so nervous.  I haven't looked for a new job outside of the bank I work at now since 2004.  So this is a whole new ballgame for me!  I have been the one interviewing the people!  I also kind of want the job at the bank I'm at now only because it is away from "retail" and I would be working Monday-Friday 8-5 with no Saturdays.  How amazing would that be?!  I wouldn't know what to do with myself!  Plus the hubby works at the same bank (what you didn't know that?!) and works downtown currently so we would be able to carpool.  And no we wouldn't be in the same department so it wouldn't be crazy weird.  But still we would be able to eat lunch together if we wanted AND save money on gas.  So I'll keep you guys posted on what I hear.  I did tell both the outside banks I would be able to start January 9th or later.  That would let me give my current manager 2 weeks notice plus I would be in the new year so I would be entitled to my 3 weeks of vacation!  Woot woot!  That would be nice to use that money to...oh wait...pay off all of my doctor's bills from giving birth.  Damn...I thought a tropical vacation might have been in my future.  Haha!

Ornament Swap and Decorating our Tree

I was so excited to participate in my first swap between bloggers and it didn't disappoint me.  I was lucky to be partnered with Alyssa from Wish You Were Here and she was so nice to "meet"!  After she saw my blog and saw that we recently had a new addition she was thoughtful and got a personalized ornament for us.  Here it is...

 on our tree front and center!

And because I need to show off the rest of our tree...I let Leo do most of the decorating.  And the hubby told me we need to get a new tree because it looks pretty cheap (in his words) and when I was getting it out and "fluffing" it up I kind of saw what he was talking about.  But it's only 2 years old and I want to get the most out of it.  And it's not too big which is good because we don't have a lot of room.  And seriously...Leo loved decorating it and that was enough for me. Plus he told me it looked beautiful when it was all lit up and we were standing in front of it in the dark.  That was good enough for me!

 Leo helping decorate the tree

 Jacoby's first Christmas ornament from one of the hubby's sweet co-workers

 Leo's first Christmas ornament from his great-grandma in 2007

 Our Charlie Brown Christmas tree

Finished product lit up.  Beautiful! :)

RTT: sleep, vacations and freezing December

Hi hi!  It's Tuesday and that means RaNdOm!  Yep.  And I'm back to blogging this week so you can get some random!

Jacoby has not been sleeping the best in his bed.  It has to do with a huge amount of congestion he has and the lack of us being able to give him anything because of doctor's not giving decongestants to babies.  So we do a lot of nasal sucking with the little sucker thingy.  And he doesn't have a lot that is readily available for sucking.  So we don't get much which means he continues to be congested.  But I bought a sleep sack and he seemed to do ok with it last night.  I'm hoping as the congestion subsides he will sleep better.  But the nights where I'm up every 2 hours suck.  I'm just saying!

It's flipping-flapping cold here in Kansas.  And it's not even that cold.  But I hate to turn up the heat during the day while I'm at home because of stupid-high gas bills.  So I sit here typing in a sweatshirt, yoga pants and socks pulled up to my knees!  But don't worry...I'm not keeping the house too cold.  It's set at 66 during the day but the wood floors really cool the house off in the winter.

I've realized since I've been home that I am not a normal meal eater.  I could easily just snack all day and be fine.  Today all I've eaten are 2 cookies left over from my shower this weekend.  By the time I start to feel hungry I think it's too late to eat lunch and so I just put it off and snack.  So not a good way to start my eating healthier campaign!

I watched a show on the Galapagos Island this weekend on National Geographic Wild and it was so amazing.  It made me want to travel the world. I have never had the desire to just go everywhere but watching that and seeing the wildlife it definitely made me crave independence to just be able to travel wherever and whenever I want.  I think an added baby has really made me see that my life is definitely theirs for the next 18 years.  Not that I regret it though!  I just need to learn to save better/spend less so I can go on vacations when they're a little older!

Leo has been being extra defiant lately to me and I know it's a phase but it is annoying me.  Everything I ask him to do I have to say 5 times before he listens.  I have got to the point where he is losing privileges when I have to continually repeat myself.  Any suggestions?

Enough from me...throw your random down and link with Stacy.  It will be the best thing you do today!

 

another busy weekend

Seriously December? I honestly don't remember you being so busy in the past.  And I'm not even working.  So I can't imagine what you'll be like next year when I have a walking little one along with my already big boy.

This weekend was another busy one.  It started Friday night with my work Christmas party.  While I was not looking forward to it I actually had a great time.  Interestingly enough though, the new people did not come so it was all the people I already knew so it made it more fun!  We went to Laser Tag and ended up at a new sports bar afterwards where I had delicious bread pudding.  Yummo!

Our little group.  With the 4 of us on the right in our "ugly" Christmas sweaters.  The one in the pink won the $10 prize!

Then on Saturday 2 of my lovely sister-in-laws threw me an awesome "sprinkle" for Jacoby where instead of gifting the baby I was gifted with pampering items.  And let me tell you...it was awesome.  While I was uncomfortable with the idea of a second shower and them giving me presents I really had a good time.  It was a small turnout which was nice because we all had a chance to talk and everyone got to hold the baby!  Here are a few pictures...

And then Sunday we had a pretty lazy day.  We watched football and then I went to Target to get a few gifts and then I took the boys and headed to my friends graduation party.  Of course the only time on Sunday I was getting out with the boys it started raining.  Lame!

All in all though it was a pretty awesome weekend.  But so busy!  And it seems like the rest of the month is just as busy.  I have another dinner get-together with friends this week, a Christmas program for my niece on Thursday and then a Christmas party on Saturday for my mom's work for the kiddos.  And that's just this week!  And sadly I only have 2 more weeks until I go back to work and then the real fun begins...real life with 2 kids and a job. Yikes!  I hope your weekends were all as nice as mine!



Day 30: Peppermint Ice Cream and Jillian Michaels

Ok...so this is the last day of November so I'm going to make this one a silly thanks but a thanks none the less.  Today I am thankful for peppermint ice cream and all other desserts.  They have made this November a November to remember!  I have had one too many desserts probably every day.  So that makes me thankful too for Jillian Michaels.  Because starting December 1st I will be doing her videos every day to help work off all those delicious desserts.  I'm going back on the bandwagon folks!

RTT: Sick kiddo and busy times ahead

Here we are again you mangy Tuesday!  Another week has come and gone and that means that I only have 5 more weeks of maternity leave.  I dread each passing week!  Oh well...let's get down to some Random!

Jacoby got sick this weekend.  It was very unexpected because I didn't know babies got sick when they were this little and still nursing.  But apparently that is not true.  I'm like those women who know nothing about babies and am like...I didn't know you could get pregnant when you just had a baby! :)  But I'm definitely not pregnant! Thank the heavens!  So yeah, that was a strange tangent but back to the thought at hand.  He has an ear infection.  And he is severely congested so it makes his feedings very sporadic and short.  So I definitely feel like a cow because since he only eats for about 5-10 minutes at a time I have been letting him eat whenever he wants the past few days because I want to make sure he doesn't get dehydrated. And he's been throwing up.  A lot.  And it's not just milk but TMI it's like phlegm.  So gross! 

Ok...that's enough on that!  It's almost December.  I've finally started a little bit of my Christmas shopping.  Not much though.  I did order something for my mom but since she reads my blog (HI MOM!) I can't tell you what it is.  But it is super awesome and I can't wait until it gets here!  We also got a few things for Leo like a Transformers Play-Doh set and a few Kinect games.  Next Monday is the annual shop with mom and grandma day so hopefully I'll get the rest of my shopping done then. 

Next week we are going to the aquarium in Tulsa.  I am so excited.  I've been to an aquarium in Texas when I went with a family as a babysitter but that was a loooong time ago.  Leo loves animals and fish and so I'm hoping that the trip 3 hours away is worth it. We shall see!

For the next 3 weekends I have stuff going on.  Apparently December is going to be a busy month!  We have our work Christmas party where we get to see a movie and eat breakfast buffet style at the theater this weekend, next weekend is my "meet the baby" shower for my friends that my awesome sister-in-laws are throwing and the Saturday after that is a Christmas party through my moms work where you can take your kids and see Santa and do crafty stuff.  Then the following week is Christmas and then I have to go back to work!  Booo! :)  So yeah, a very busy December.

I'm also going to be very busy with friend things.  Tonight I am going to dinner with friends from college, I'm meeting my old manager for lunch this week sometime and then next week is the aquarium.  Plus I have a get-together with my co-workers where apparently we are going to play Laser Tag and then a get-together with some previous co-workers for dinner.  So yeah.  Super busy!

Every commercial that Leo sees he says he wants me to put it on his Christmas list.  And what I've learned is that toys are super-stupid-expensive.  There is a fire truck that shoots blue balls (yes, I get the joke) that is the water and it hits the cardboard fire.  It is not an extremely large toy and it is $60.  I've also been looking at Legos because Leo has been playing with his a lot and those suckers run anywhere from $15 (which I'm ok with) to over $100!!  I couldn't believe it!  $100 for some legos.  Ridiculous!  And I looked at some Barbie stuff for my niece and the Barbie dream house is $135.  Yeah, so I guess I'm glad I didn't have any girls after all!

Enough with my random.  Go see Stacy and the other randoms.  Happy Tuesday!

Day 29: Old Friends

I am thankful for old friends. My friend whom I've kept in contact with the longest is Camdin. And I'm lucky enough that when she came into town this past weekend she came and visited my little family. And we had a blast! We spent 3 hours together which it seems like in the world we both are living in is unheard of but I'm so glad that we got to. And it was nice that even though we haven't talked for an extended period of time in awhile we were able to pick up where we left off. And just so you all know...she's amazing and just got a new job with Linked In and lives in Chicago currently working for the Tribune. Yeah. For real. And she reads this blog so I'm sure she's thoroughly embarassed but I don't care! She's pretty awesome in my book because not only did she leave to go to college she left from there first to Dallas and then to Chicago. So I'm a little jealous of her jet-setting ways but glad that when she comes back to Derby to visit she comes and sees me! So I'm definitely thankful for her!

Camdin with Jacoby

Giveaway Winner

Happy Monday!  So...it's 4 and you know what that means!  Giveaway winner time!  I used the random number generator and my winner was comment #6!  So Toni you are the winner!  Aren't you glad you were a last minute entry! :)

So shoot me your address to kendrasue18@gmail.com and let me know which prize you want!

Hopefully when I hit another big milestone I'll do another giveaway! 

Day 28: Proximity of our city to a bigger city

I am very thankful that we live in a little city (town) that is very close to a bigger city.  So we are able to have the luxury of living where the school system is better but still be close enough to go to work.  We also have the opportunity to go to the different things in the city that we don't have in our little town such as the zoo, children's museum, etc.  And we live about 3 hours from an even bigger city where they have pro sports teams and lots of other cool things to do.

Day 27: My hubby's job

I'm thankful for my hubby's job because it is pretty flexible.  He is no longer in the retail division of the bank where he works and so he is quite lucky when it comes to time off.  He was able to take 2 weeks of paid leave when I had Jacoby and he was able to save 3 additional vacation days to take the day after Thanksgiving off so he has a 4 day weekend to spend with us (and his family!) and he is taking the Thursday and Friday before Christmas off so we can go visit his family for an extended weekend.  Plus he is able to take time off if the kiddos are sick and his boss is pretty cool about that.  So I am very thankful for that!

Day 26: Holidays

I'm thankful for the holidays because that is the time we get to see our extended family!  We got to see the hubby's side on Thanksgiving day for lunch and then for the evening we saw mine.  And then for Christmas we will see a lot of both of our families.  And I love it!

Day 25: Sweet Boy

I'm thankful for my sweet boy Leo.  I know I was already thankful for him once but on Monday I had the WORST migraine I've had in about a week (gotta love not being able to take your migraine meds when you're breastfeeding and can't take anything stronger than Tylenol).  But this one wasn't like the others...this one came in the middle of the day so I couldn't just sleep it off when everyone was sleeping too.  So the hubby told Leo that I didn't feel well and he was quiet and good ALL. NIGHT. LONG.  He even went to bed without any complaining or anything.  There were a few times he even came in my room and stroked my hair and kissed my forehead telling me he loved me.  That's the Leo that I love and I wished everyone got to witness him like that.  Not the heathen that likes to show off for anyone and everyone!  So I'm doubly thankful on the days that he acts like this!

Day 24: Food

I am thankful for all the good food my family will get to eat today (and every day for that matter).  There are too many people in this world that will not get a good meal and we will get more than our share.  So I am very thankful for that.  I am also thankful that I have the opportunity to help people get food to eat through many charitable organizations.  Some that I actually given food to and some that all you have to do is "like" them on Facebook and they'll make donations. 

Day 23: Sleep

Today I am thankful for sleep.  I haven't gotten a lot lately but just in the past week has Jacoby started sleeping for longer than 2-2 1/2 hours at a time (knock on wood).  He's sleeping in 4ish hour stretches at night and let me tell you the difference it makes!  And here's hoping there is more sleep in my future!

RTT: Giveaways, Optimism and Social Media Spewing

Another Tuesday.  Would you look at that.  Let's get right down to the random!

Did you see my post yesterday?  The one where I'm giving away something totally awesome?  You didn't?  Well you should check it out!

If you've been following me for the past few months you probably know that we are trying to sell our house.  And we've had it on the market since August.  And we just had a baby also.  Well let me tell you...when we get a text message to show our house the same day in less than 4 hours...it's kind of unnerving.  Luckily I'm on maternity leave so I was able to get up and get everything ready to show.  But then I had to get Jacoby out in 30 degree weather and go to Wal-Mart just so we could be out of the house for an hour.  That sucked.  It also sucks that we keep having showings and no one wants to buy our house.  I guess I am an extreme optimist (or it could also be seen as naivety) but I really didn't think it would take this long to sell our house.  But apparently no one wants to buy a house in our price range ($80,000).  But of course all the houses in the price range we're looking at are selling.  Because we keep finding houses we like and they keep selling.  Lame!

I have a twitter (@kendrasue18).  And some of my followers are family members.  And I'm ok with that.  BUT if I tweet something I have to know that they will see it.  I am also ok with that.  I'm usually a pretty nice tweeter.  On Sunday we were going out to lunch with the hubbys sisters and their husbands.  And I was looking forward to it.  But then they decided to go to Olive Garden.  Which I don't like.  So not really thinking about it I tweeted something along the lines of: 'if you know I don't like the Olive Garden why do you insist we go there. Gah.'  Now to me I didn't see the big deal about that tweet and didn't think anything about it.  But I got on Twitter last night and saw a tweet from the hubby's sister saying something along the lines of if your family or friends can read your tweets why would you complain.  It wasn't sent to me but I looked at who she followed and I am one of 2 people she follows that she actually knows.  So I'm assuming it was meant towards my tweet.  So I told the hubby about it and said if she says anything to you please let her know that I was not trying to be mean. I guess I use my social media for myself and not really for anyone else.  Oh well. 

We got our swap partners for the ornament swap!  I'm so excited to check out my partners blog and see what she's into so I can pick out a really cool ornament!

I started watching New Girl on Hulu and it's pretty funny.  I'm also almost completely caught up on Glee to where I can start watching it on TV and not on the computer!  That will be awesome!

Ok...that's all the random I have.  Don't forget to check out my giveaway and then go visit Stacy and all the other randomers!

Day 22: Caffeine

I am thankful for Diet Dr. Pepper/Diet Dr. K (the generic brand!).  These get me through the days that were proceeded by loooong nights made possible by little boys!

Day 21: My BLOG, post 500 and a giveaway!!

Wow!  Look at me...I've gone 3 weeks of being thankful for something!  And today is no different.  I am thankful for my blog.  Not only has it given me a place to spill my guts and get out my frustrations but after a little bit I have come to realize that even though I don't have a lot of things that I like to do I really like to write and so blogging has become my hobby.  It also gives me a place to throw out some things that my little heathens are doing and so my family that reads this can keep up on what is going on in our little world!

So with saying what I'm thankful for here comes the fun part...this is my 500th post!!! I've been blogging for 3 years and I feel like this is a little bit of an accomplishment!  Outside of work and school I'm not sure I've really stuck with a single thing for this long!  So I think that this would be a perfect opportunity to do my first GIVEAWAY!  Woot woot!  And I've seen some other giveaways (and unfortunately mine isn't sponsored!) but I've seen some really cute stuff from ETSY so from what I've seen recently I'm going to give you readers a choice of what you want if you win!

You will have the choice of stationary (either the personalized or monogrammed) from Oh Louise Designs

My favorite design is this:

OR

You can choose from either of these 2 ring bowls from Say Your Piece:

Check out both of these options at the website above.  They are under the wedding gift/keepsakes tab. 

Of course both the stationary and ring bowl are on my Christmas list but unfortunately I can't win my own giveaway! 

So here is how you can enter:

1 entry for following my blog and leaving a comment
1 entry for tweeting this giveaway and letting me know you did it!

And that is it!  I will end the giveaway on Monday, November 28th at 4pm so get at it!  Good luck!

Day 20: Health

I am thankful for my health!  Knock on wood but I don't remember the last time I've been sick.  And it's AMAZING! 

Day 19: A Home

I am thankful for having a home to come home to every day.  Not everyone is as lucky and even though we are not always as satisified with the amount of space and the quality of some of the things in our home (because for realz...I'm pretty sure our appliances were built with the house...in 1950) I am thankful that I don't have to worry about where my family is going to sleep.

Day 18: Maternity Leave

I am thankful that I am able to take 10 weeks of maternity leave.  After reading on some message boards I know not everyone is as lucky.  And I'm thankful that because of saving up my sick leave and vacation all of it will be paid.

Not only am I able to spend the time with Jacoby I am also able to spend additional time with Leo as I am keeping him home a few days a week.

Day 17: A Happy Marriage

I know my #1 thing I was thankful for was my hubby but not only am I thankful for him I'm thankful for a happy marriage. We know people who have divorced and we've talked openly about the arguments we've had with each other. But we've also always talked about how even though we sometimes get super mad at each other and sometimes just want to walk away we always know that life would be so much worse if we did that. We enjoy each other too much (most of the time!) that I'm pretty sure my life would suck without him.

Throw in 2 kids and to me divorce is pretty much out of the question. That was one of the things we discussed before we got married and I'm holding on to that. My family is #1 and so I would do anything to try and make it work before throwing in the towel. Also...I think I would make a terrible single mother so yeah.

Day 16: Breastfeeding

Ok so this one is kind of strange but I'm thankful that I am able to nurse Jacoby. I wasn't able to with Leo and while it's not my favorite parts of the day it saves a lot of money and I really feel like he is getting all the right stuff from me. And hopefully he will have a better immune system because of it.

Also...I'm waiting to see the weight fall off because of it! I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

RTT: Where is my time going?

It's Tuesday again.  And I can't believe that it is already the middle of November!  Yikes!  Only 5 1/2 more weeks of maternity leave!  But enough about the mundane...let's get to the random!

Last night we had a first for the Fernandez family.  Leo threw a temper tantrun in Target.  Oh my goodness it was horrifying.  He kept running off and this was after we had let him look at the toys.  We had a house showing so we had to escape the house for an hour and thought Target would give us something we could do.  And even though we let him do what he wanted first he kept running (literally) back to the toys.  Finally we had enough and were trying to leave and he just sat down on the floor and started crying.  I couldn't believe it.  I hate the people whose kids do that.  And then I became one.  But at least I did what I always said I would do when I see those people.  I just picked him up and walked out of the store.  I was not about to let him make a full-on scene. Ridiculous.
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Do any of you follow the NBA?  Just within the past year have I really watched much of it and I don't have a favorite team or anything (although I do despise the Lakers!).  But these whole lockouts with the NFL and NBA have really annoyed me.  I know it is all a money thing and that I think is what makes it even worse.  When there are so many people out there with literally nothing and these people are griping over 51% control or 47% control of the money I think it is disgusting.  I also wonder about the kids who left college early to go to the NBA. They aren't getting paid AND they didn't finish their college degrees.  Awesome decision making boys!
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I know 2 people within the last month that have uprooted themselves from Kansas and moved to California for a job.  I was talking to the hubby about this last night and thought how weird that would be.  I am a homebody and I admit that.  I also don't have a career that would take me different places.  Although with banking I could go anywhere with it.  BUT I would not look outside of this area for a job.  I just don't have the nerve to strike up a job halfway across the country. 
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I've seen a lot of people posting about fall flavors and what they are looking forward to eating and I was like...I don't have anything like that that I'm looking forward to.  Then I saw a commercial for Braums and their peppermint ice cream.  And now I've been craving it since last week.  I think I need to make a trip to Braums to right this.
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Why is it that every time I sit down to do something (ie: blog, eat, take a shower, etc.) the baby starts crying.  I remember this being a trend when Leo was little but for real.  I just want to eat hot food, not take the fastest shower imaginable, right a coherent blog post, etc!  Oh well.  He's worth it! :)
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The family has been asking for Christmas lists and for Leo the list is easy.  But for me...not so much.  I'm not really sure what I want for Christmas.  Maybe a full nights sleep!
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Did you guys see the Hunger Games trailer that they premiered yesterday?  I am so excited for that movie to come out!  Only a few more months!  I hope that it is as good as the books were.  I know that is hard to do but if they can be about 3/4 as good then I will be happy!
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Finally...college basketball is among us!  Woot woot!  Last night started the 24 hours of college basketball tip-off on ESPN.  The first game started at 11 and ends with the KU game tonight at 8.  I think that the KU game is an excellent way to end the day!  It has also been nice to be able to watch basketball while getting up to feed the baby throughout the night.  I say that because I don't want to start watching a show becuase I will get into it and then won't want to stop watching when I need to be going back to sleep.  But basketball, especially if it's not a team I particularly care about, I can watch for a little bit and then stop!
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Ok.  That was quite a bit of random!  And if you follow me on Twitter most of these have been thoughts from the last week but you got a little more than 140 characters!  So happy Tuesday!  And to see other random check out Stacy. 

Day 15: Dependable Vehicles

I am thankful for the fact that both my car and the hubby's are reliable. His more so since it's new(ish) but I've had mine since 2002 and it really hasn't had many problems. (Knock on wood) And it's also really nice to only have one car payment. So I'm keeping mine til the wheels fall off!

Sweet Deals for a Growing BOY

My little Peo Pants is growing up. And by growing up I literally mean growing UP. He is so dang tall these days! I'm not sure where he's getting it from because his dad is only 5'8 (in my best guesstimate) and I'm only 5'1 but this kid is growing like a weed! He's not even 5 and the boy is in 5T jeans and shirts. I bought few pairs of 4T jeans at the end of the last winter season because he was growing out of his 3T stuff and we had some hand-me-down 4T shirts that we got from some friends and relatives and when I got them out this fall lo and behold they were all TOO SMALL! So ridiculous. So I bought a few pairs of 5T jeans and shirts and my mom picked up a pair of jeans for him when she got Jacoby some stuff so he wouldn't feel left out but 3 pairs of jeans for a VERY active little boy is just not enough. Because the kid sweats like it's nobody's business. But then I received a flyer in the mail for Children's Place. And I love that place. I try to avoid it because it seems overpriced when you can get some pretty decent stuff at Wal-Mart and Target but I had 30% plus free shipping so I figured what the heck. Also, I like to get my nieces some shirts from there for Christmas as well. So all for just over $100 I got 1 short sleeved shirt and 5 long sleeved shirts for Leo, a pair of jeans, a sleeper for my nephew, and shirts for 3 of my nieces and a silly hat for Jacoby. 11 items!!! So exciting. And I ordered them on Saturday and they shipped on Saturday. How awesome is that?! So I'm pretty stoked to get them by the middle of next week! And look at me...I got some Christmas shopping done!

Day 14: My Job

I am thankful for having a job. Maybe not specifically my job, but I am thankful that when I return from maternity leave I will still have a job. And in the world we are currently living in I guess that is something to be thankful for!

Day 13: Netflix

I know I said I was thankful for cable already but Netflix is pretty awesome too! Especially since I found out Glee was on there and I have been watching the crap out of it. Let me tell you...And yes I know I'm 2 1/2 years late...but it's a pretty good show!

Also, Netflix has given me the opportunity to brush up on my Power Rangers knowledge. Did you know that since the series began there have been eleventy billion different versions of the Power Rangers and Leo likes them all? You didn't? Well let me tell you...you're not missing out! :)

Day 12: Weekends

I'm thankful for weekends with my family. Especially with the hubby's job and him having weekends off it makes the time together even better.

Day 11: Veterans

I'm thankful for all of the veterans that have served our country. Without all of them I probably wouldn't have the opportunity to voice my opinion on this little ol' blog of mine.

Day 10: Cable

Yep. I'm thankful for cable TV. Especially while on maternity leave! It definitely makes the time go by while I'm nursing!

Project 52 Catch Up

Hi. My name is Kendra and I am a project 52 failure. Well I won't say failure but I need to get on this because I think it's a really cool idea. So I'm making 1 post to catch up on what I've missed! So get excited because you're about to see a photo montage!!!

Week 11: Moon
Yep. I went there. I gave you a full moon! :)

Week 12: Pumpkins
We had 4 pumpkins but one rotted out the bottom and so I had to throw it away. But the little ones Leo painted and the big one was "his" from the pumpkin patch!

Week 13: Spooky
This was our jack-o-lantern from last year. So spooky right?!

Week 14: Costume
This is Leo and my niece before trick or treating on Halloween! BFF's! :)

And then just because I'm doing a picture post I figured I would throw in a few pictures of the hubby's birthday dinner!

Here he is soooo excited for his birthday pie!

And then here is my beautiful table with my beautiful family! My hubby, Leo, my mom and Jacoby.

ornament swap: part 1

2 posts in one day? Shut the front door! But because of my thankful posts (that I was so awesomely given time to prepare to post on the given day by my thoughtful infant at midnight last night when he WOULD. NOT. SLEEP.) are set to post then if I get around to posting then there will be duplicates. Awesome!

But I was over visiting Megan at Mackey Madness and she and another blogger got together to do an ornament swap. And I always see swap blogs and I always want to participate but never know what to do and really if I want to get that into it and spend that much money but this one was simple. An ornament. With a $15 limit. And I was so there! So I'm super excited to see who I get paired up with and then of course see what I get! So fun! And if you want to participate too it seems like the more the merrier so click the link above! Or just click over to see Megan because her blog is super cute! :)

A Month of Thankfulness

Yep. I'm jumping on the bandwagon. Because I think I (along with everyone else) need to be reminded of all the good things in my life that I should be (MORE) thankful for. So I know today is the 9th so I'll do 9 things I'm thankful for today and then go from there. Hopefully doing one per day but we'll see how things go...

1. I'm thankful for my hubby! He makes me extremely happy and seeing him being a dad is extra sexy! :)
2. I'm thankful for Leo. Even though some days he gets on every last one of my nerves he is my first baby and will always make me happy.
3. I'm thankful for Jacoby. I've only had him for 3 weeks but he is so darn sweet!
4. I'm thankful for I had 2 pretty easy pregnancies and births. And I'm thankful that even though Jacoby was 3 weeks early he was healthy!
5. I'm thankful for my parents. They are super-awesome and do so much for my little family.
   
6. I'm thankful for my brother and his family. They are wonderful to have in town so I can see them if I want but they also do really nice things for my little family so I'm extra thankful to have a brother who cares about me!
7. I'm thankful for my hubby's family. They don't all live here but it's nice that if we were to need something they would be here in a heartbeat (or as fast as traffic would let them be here) to help us with whatever we need.
8. I'm thankful for my extended family. Especially the ones that read this blog! :) Because they are the ones that give me the extra love when I need it!
9. I'm thankful for my aunt (AKA my godmother!), my mom and my sister-in-law who brought us delicious foods while I've been on maternity leave. They were much appreciated and delicious!
   

RTT: I'm too tired for a title...

Hi hi! It's Tuesday. The 4th Tuesday of my maternity leave. That means only 6 more weeks until I have to go back to work. Bummer! But that means 6 weeks left with my sweet boys so I need to make the most of them! Blogging has definitely been put on the back burner and so I figured I'd try to get back in the swing of things by doing a random Tuesday. Because that's easy enough right?!
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Being a "stay at home mom" for these past few weeks have learned me something. And that something is that I was not meant to be a stay at home mom. I learned this when I was on maternity leave with Leo too. I love my boys and I love spending time with them but seriously...I need some conversation in my life. And when it's just Jacoby and me on the days that Leo goes to school I don't talk to anyone until the hubby gets home. And that is hard for my mind. Maybe if I was a for real stay at home mom I would have other moms to chat with but that wouldn't be every day. I need to be able to make jokes and talk to other adults. It has also sucked all the creativity from me. I had all these grand plans for the days that Leo stayed home but I'm just not feeling it. I did play Legos and color with him last week but today with him here I just have no energy. I'm sure that's because I was up 3 times during the night but still. I feel like I should be doing something. And the blogging? Yeah, non-existent. Even though most of my blogs tend to be about the kiddos I think when I think about them all day I don't find the things they do or say quite as funny as I do when I am not surrounded by them.
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On the upside I have been cooking almost every day since the hubby went back to work last week. The first few weeks we survived on meals people brought us and fast food but now that we got back in the swing of things I have been making dinner every night. And I have a meal plan for the next 2 weeks and my groceries are bought and we have stayed on track so far! Such a save on money!
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I did bake a pumpkin pie a few weeks ago and the crust broke while in the oven and the pie leaked over the edge. I had no idea how to clean a non-self-cleaning oven and so I let it sit there while I continued to cook things. Well the other night the hubby was "cooking" a frozen pizza and I saw smoke coming from the oven. I said something because he was standing right there and he opened the oven door and the flipping oven was on fire. We had no idea what to do and of course we don't have a fire extinguisher. Quite the excitement at 10 at night! Thankfully it was not a big fire and it went out on it's own. Needless to say I bought some oven cleaner (which they sale at Wal-Mart! :) and went to town cleaning my oven. I had to do it twice because that pie filling was caked on pretty good. But now the oven is as good as new!
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And speaking of my oven and cooking meals...it is clean and ready to be used just in time for my hubby's birthday! It is tomorrow and I have a big ol' meal planned for it! I am making a turkey and all the Thanksgiving works for him because he loves that stuff! So we will be having turkey, stuffing, rolls, mashed potatoes, corn and pumpkin pie! Yum! He is not a fan of the birthdays and it makes him think about his mortality every year but I figured something nice would maybe make it a little better!
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Did you guys realize it's November? Holy cow. That means that Christmas is just under 2 months away! Yikes! I haven't even started Christmas shopping unless you count the cashews I bought my dad from my friend's daughter who is in Girl Scouts! The hubby and I don't exchange presents for Christmas but this year we have talked about needing a new computer and how a laptop is really what we want so I think we're going to get one. Granted, it's not really for Christmas because I'm pretty sure we're going to get it this week but still. I'm saying it's for Christmas because it's close enough! I'm kind of excited. I've never had a laptop before. Hopefully it works better than the computer we have now!

Ok. That's all I have right now. I'm hoping to start blogging at least once a week but I think I said that 2 weeks ago and you see how that's turned out. But Stacy is the heir to the queen of Random and she rocks so go visit her and the others who are randoming out today!

Kids Say The Darndest Things

I was talking to Leo tonight about what I should make for his Halloween party for school on Friday and I showed him these Frankentreats and asked if he would like me to make them. And he was a little sad and said that he wanted me to make Power Ranger treats. I told him I wasn't sure how to make them and he told me to buy the bags with Power Rangers on them. When I said I didn't know where to find them he told me I could find them 672 miles away in a place called Texahoma. Apparently that is a border town between Texas and Oklahoma and only there do they make Power Ranger treat bags. Who knew?

RTT: Baby Edition

Hi! Did you miss me?! I've been a little preoccupied with an early arrival of our little guy. His name...is Jacoby Layne Fernandez. And he might be tied for the cutest baby I've ever seen!

This is him on day 2. So don't mind the scratches all over his face!

So to honor the birth of this little fella this week's RTT is going to be all baby-related. How exciting huh?! And it's going to be bulleted because I'm exhausted and don't have a lot of time to just sit at the computer. It's the darndest thing!

• So...his name. Jacoby (pronounced: Juh-Kobe) That's my best phonetic way of putting it because I don't know the proper way to do it. And no Jake. I'm not into nicknames but apparently my dad likes to call him that. And every time he does I cringe. So I hope it doesn't catch on. We had about 6 names going into delivery and this one was my favorite. So I don't know if the hubby caved but I think it suits him. Even though we don't really use it right now. Everything is "the baby."
  
• I forgot how much baby's sleep. I told Leo that all he is going to do is sleep and eat and boy does he. It seems like that is really all he does. And while it's nice sometimes I want to just sit and hold him but I know that I don't want to start that habit.
• I am doing things the "right way" this time around. We co-slept with Leo and I swore I would never do it but I did. And then it bit us in the arse because dude wouldn't leave our bed. And even still he would rather sleep in our room. So this time we have the bassinet set up in what is the baby/computer room and he hasn't slept in our room one night. And even though it sucks that I have to get up and get him to feed and what-not I think (hope) that this will help when it comes to having him sleep in a crib and then as he gets bigger in his own bed. On the upside...since the baby has come home Leo has only slept in our room once and that was when we had company and they slept in Leo's room. So score on that!
• Breastfeeding is nice and sucky all at the same time. I really like that I can actually feed Jacoby this way because with Leo I could not. I think part of the reason was because Leo was in NICU and so they supplemented by bottle feeding him formula so he could get enough to eat while in there and so I think it threw him off. With Jacoby he has only been breastfed and so it works for him. But it is super-sucky because when those middle of the night feedings come I would so rather be the one that gets to sleep while the hubby went to get him and feed him. I won't lie sometimes I pretend to be asleep when he cries just so the hubby is the one that has to get up and change the diaper and then bring him to me to feed him. I'm not the only one that is able to change a diaper!
• Tonight I am leaving Jacoby with his dad while I go to a seminar at the church about how to deal with temper-tantrums and unruly children. Haha. I'm sure that's not what it's called but that's what I'm calling it. Leo is going with me for the hot dog dinner and then he gets to go in a playroom while I stay for the seminar. So I have been pumping a little bit each day and so we will see how that goes. Hopefully I can feed him right before I leave and then he'll sleep the whole time I'm gone. That would be ideal and then I can freeze whatever I've pumped to just stock-pile.
  
• I am on maternity leave until I go back on December 27th. I smile every time I say that but I know it's going to go by too quickly. But while I'm on leave I really don't have much planned other than keeping Leo home on Tuesdays and Thursdays to save money on daycare. I bought some workbooks and got a look at their daily school schedule so I can try to do some of the things he does there instead of just sitting in front of the TV all day. Today was the first day he stayed home and so far we've watched Captain America, eaten lunch and now he's in our bedroom with his dad watching Destination Truth. So yeah...so much for that!

Ok. That's all I have the energy for now. Once I get some good pictures I'll get them up. Hopefully I'll have time to blog occasionally but if not don't forget about me!