Thursdays Thirteen

Thirteen ways to spend our (miracle) tax return money:

1. Go on a second honeymoon
(We'd love to return to the Gunflint Lodge)
2. Pay off our last student loan (We had four between Brian and I)
3. Get off to a great start on a family vacation fund (We want to see the National
Parks out West)
4. Pay off a credit card
5. Barely make a dent in a different credit card
6. Make a dent in yet another credit card
7. Buy a (much needed) new bed
8. Replace our dying dishwasher, garage door, or driveway
9. Put it in a savings account (boring, but the responsible thing to do)
10. Hire a personal trainer to help me lose the last 15 pregnancy pounds
11. Buy a killer digital camera
12. Put it towards classes for the kids: swimming lessons, music lessons, early
childhood classes etc....
13. Pay a cleaning service to come clean my house (at least for a little while)

Thursdays Thirteen

Thirteen ways to spend our (miracle) tax return money:

1. Go on a second honeymoon
(We'd love to return to the Gunflint Lodge)
2. Pay off our last student loan (We had four between Brian and I)
3. Get off to a great start on a family vacation fund (We want to see the National
Parks out West)
4. Pay off a credit card
5. Barely make a dent in a different credit card
6. Make a dent in yet another credit card
7. Buy a (much needed) new bed
8. Replace our dying dishwasher, garage door, or driveway
9. Put it in a savings account (boring, but the responsible thing to do)
10. Hire a personal trainer to help me lose the last 15 pregnancy pounds
11. Buy a killer digital camera
12. Put it towards classes for the kids: swimming lessons, music lessons, early
childhood classes etc....
13. Pay a cleaning service to come clean my house (at least for a little while)

Wordless Wednesdays

 

Wordless Wednesdays

 

What a difference a year makes!

 

Sam on March 27th, 2006 in Las Vegas
(We made a pit stop there on our way home from California.)

 

Sam today at the park. I'm not sure what this new smile is all about.

What a difference a year makes!

 

Sam on March 27th, 2006 in Las Vegas
(We made a pit stop there on our way home from California.)

 

Sam today at the park. I'm not sure what this new smile is all about.

Here Today....Gone Tomorrow

One day Sam is playing in the snow and the next day, poof, it's 75 degrees and we're off to the park for some dirt scooping and swinging.

Cool Slideshows

Sam insists on pushing his dump truck all the way to the park by himself. My back sure wouldn't take that much bending over!

Julia has a new perspective on the world now that she can sit in the stroller like a big girl. She thought the swings were pretty fun too. Daddy had the pleasure of giving her the very first push.

This is going to be a great summer of playing and discovering new things as Sam is talking now. I can't wait!

Here Today....Gone Tomorrow

One day Sam is playing in the snow and the next day, poof, it's 75 degrees and we're off to the park for some dirt scooping and swinging.

Cool Slideshows

Sam insists on pushing his dump truck all the way to the park by himself. My back sure wouldn't take that much bending over!

Julia has a new perspective on the world now that she can sit in the stroller like a big girl. She thought the swings were pretty fun too. Daddy had the pleasure of giving her the very first push.

This is going to be a great summer of playing and discovering new things as Sam is talking now. I can't wait!

I don't remember that part of the song

7:00pm - Start bedtime routine with kids
7:30pm - Sam in bed, nurse Julia
8:00pm - Julia asleep, Mommy tackle a mountain of laundry
8:45pm - Hear yelling from Sam's room, go investigate...

Sam was singing:

Joy, Joy, Joy, in my heart
OUCH!!!
Joy, Joy, Joy in my heart
OUCH!!
Joy, Joy, Joy in my heart
Where?
*repeat many times*

8:50pm - Mommy is laughing too hard to tell Sam it's time to sleep, go get Daddy to talk to his son about how late it was getting, how he needed to sleep, etc....
9:15pm - all is quiet. Too bad - Sam's song was really cute.

I don't remember that part of the song

7:00pm - Start bedtime routine with kids
7:30pm - Sam in bed, nurse Julia
8:00pm - Julia asleep, Mommy tackle a mountain of laundry
8:45pm - Hear yelling from Sam's room, go investigate...

Sam was singing:

Joy, Joy, Joy, in my heart
OUCH!!!
Joy, Joy, Joy in my heart
OUCH!!
Joy, Joy, Joy in my heart
Where?
*repeat many times*

8:50pm - Mommy is laughing too hard to tell Sam it's time to sleep, go get Daddy to talk to his son about how late it was getting, how he needed to sleep, etc....
9:15pm - all is quiet. Too bad - Sam's song was really cute.

See What I Found?

 
After Julia's first
big tub bath
the other day I was
surprised
to find....
curls!


 









This is Sam, about the same age Julia is now.
He had curls too - lots of them.

See What I Found?

 
After Julia's first
big tub bath
the other day I was
surprised
to find....
curls!


 









This is Sam, about the same age Julia is now.
He had curls too - lots of them.

California Sun - Here We Come!

 

A year ago to the day we were in Independence, California visiting our friends Carrie and Troy. They work for the National Park Service there and were gracious enough to host our family for a week. We had canceled the trip a few weeks earlier because I was still pretty sick with morning sickness. Of course the very next day was the first time in two months that I hadn't felt too terribly bad. This got us thinking that maybe we should try to go anyway. So.....on a Friday evening we decided to reinstate our plane tickets for Tuesday morning and then scramble to pack all that we'd need to travel 1,000 miles from home with an 18 month old. It was so worth the hectic couple of days! We've enjoyed looking back at the photos a year later. We hope you do too.

California Sun - Here We Come!

 

A year ago to the day we were in Independence, California visiting our friends Carrie and Troy. They work for the National Park Service there and were gracious enough to host our family for a week. We had canceled the trip a few weeks earlier because I was still pretty sick with morning sickness. Of course the very next day was the first time in two months that I hadn't felt too terribly bad. This got us thinking that maybe we should try to go anyway. So.....on a Friday evening we decided to reinstate our plane tickets for Tuesday morning and then scramble to pack all that we'd need to travel 1,000 miles from home with an 18 month old. It was so worth the hectic couple of days! We've enjoyed looking back at the photos a year later. We hope you do too.

Rise and Shine!

A huge grin - that is what I'm greeted with when I get Julia up from a nap or when she wakes up in the morning.
 

 
I wish I could crawl in and snuggle with her like Sam can.

Rise and Shine!

A huge grin - that is what I'm greeted with when I get Julia up from a nap or when she wakes up in the morning.
 

 
I wish I could crawl in and snuggle with her like Sam can.

In Lieu Of

So how am I suppose to survive without water for six hours today? With my handy, dandy, luggable loo of course!
Seriously though, our water came back on a little while ago and I never needed to use the portable potty once. (I suppose that probably means I'm not drinking enough water.)It pays to be prepared though! I had every kettle filled with water and sitting on the stove just in case the repair took longer than expected.
It'll be a while before I take for granted the ease of turning on the faucet or flushing the toilet.

In Lieu Of

So how am I suppose to survive without water for six hours today? With my handy, dandy, luggable loo of course!
Seriously though, our water came back on a little while ago and I never needed to use the portable potty once. (I suppose that probably means I'm not drinking enough water.)It pays to be prepared though! I had every kettle filled with water and sitting on the stove just in case the repair took longer than expected.
It'll be a while before I take for granted the ease of turning on the faucet or flushing the toilet.

There was a note on my door this morning. It said....

NOTICE Water Shut Down
Due to an emergency water main repair, there will be a water shut down today,
from 9am to 3pm. We apologize for any inconvenience.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Water & Sewer Dept. at 555-4335. Thank you for your patience.


This should be an interesting day!

There was a note on my door this morning. It said....

NOTICE Water Shut Down
Due to an emergency water main repair, there will be a water shut down today,
from 9am to 3pm. We apologize for any inconvenience.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Water & Sewer Dept. at 555-4335. Thank you for your patience.


This should be an interesting day!

A Familiar Sight in the Pauly House

 












Our dog, Conor, is going to be nine in May. For the first seven years of his life he was our baby. We planned our life around him. Two kids later and he's become low man on the totum pole - spending much of his day on the steps away from kids who would love to pull his hair. Despite this, his love for us hasn't changed a bit. EVERY time I come in the door he is there to greet me with his tail wagging a
mile-a -minute. Each time I pass by him on the steps he looks up at me with his shifty eyes (he has major vision issues) and is thrilled to receive even a little pat on the head. So when Conor nosed his way into Julia's room this afternoon while I was trying to put her down for her nap I was annoyed, but then my heart soften when I thought of how how he just wants to be where I am.

I sat in Julia's room for a couple of minutes to make sure she was asleep before coming back downstairs. To pass the time I picked up my Bible from the nightstand and turned to
today's devotional. Psalm 23....a familiar passage. Today what spoke to me was that even when I push God to the back burner and don't make time for Him, He is there to walk through the valleys with me - to be my comfort. It is so humbling to think that no matter what, I can confess my sins, turn to God, and He'll always want to be with me.....I'll be reminded of this every time I step over the dog on my way upstairs.

A Familiar Sight in the Pauly House

 












Our dog, Conor, is going to be nine in May. For the first seven years of his life he was our baby. We planned our life around him. Two kids later and he's become low man on the totum pole - spending much of his day on the steps away from kids who would love to pull his hair. Despite this, his love for us hasn't changed a bit. EVERY time I come in the door he is there to greet me with his tail wagging a
mile-a -minute. Each time I pass by him on the steps he looks up at me with his shifty eyes (he has major vision issues) and is thrilled to receive even a little pat on the head. So when Conor nosed his way into Julia's room this afternoon while I was trying to put her down for her nap I was annoyed, but then my heart soften when I thought of how how he just wants to be where I am.

I sat in Julia's room for a couple of minutes to make sure she was asleep before coming back downstairs. To pass the time I picked up my Bible from the nightstand and turned to
today's devotional. Psalm 23....a familiar passage. Today what spoke to me was that even when I push God to the back burner and don't make time for Him, He is there to walk through the valleys with me - to be my comfort. It is so humbling to think that no matter what, I can confess my sins, turn to God, and He'll always want to be with me.....I'll be reminded of this every time I step over the dog on my way upstairs.

Testing....Testing....1..2...3...

If you've noticed that there haven't been many posts about Julia lately it is because I've been having lots of trouble posting pictures to my blog. I've been taking gobs of pictures of my growing baby girl, but haven't been able to share them. Today I'm testing out a new method of posting pictures. If you can see this one of Julia's many belly rolls, let me know. Thanks for your help!

 

Testing....Testing....1..2...3...

If you've noticed that there haven't been many posts about Julia lately it is because I've been having lots of trouble posting pictures to my blog. I've been taking gobs of pictures of my growing baby girl, but haven't been able to share them. Today I'm testing out a new method of posting pictures. If you can see this one of Julia's many belly rolls, let me know. Thanks for your help!

 

A blast from the past

 

Without a tape deck in the house Sam has to use my old Walkman to listen to my childhood tapes.




Today selection: A 1977 Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too story

A blast from the past

 

Without a tape deck in the house Sam has to use my old Walkman to listen to my childhood tapes.




Today selection: A 1977 Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too story

Where's Waldo?

When your two year old is literally bouncing off the walls you know it's time to find a place other than your house to absorb some of the blows. We decided to take the kids to an indoor park where Sam could burn off some energy and Daddy could try to keep up.

See if you can find Sam in the tree house.
Hint: He's wearing green (It's St. Patrick's Day after all.)

If you have trouble, look at the second photo - a zoomed in version of the first one.

 

 

Where's Waldo?

When your two year old is literally bouncing off the walls you know it's time to find a place other than your house to absorb some of the blows. We decided to take the kids to an indoor park where Sam could burn off some energy and Daddy could try to keep up.

See if you can find Sam in the tree house.
Hint: He's wearing green (It's St. Patrick's Day after all.)

If you have trouble, look at the second photo - a zoomed in version of the first one.