Thursday, August 7th, 2008

I dropped my niece with my sister in law at the halfway point between Valparaiso and North Judson. I took the opportunity and I let her take Jasmine to her aunt's house, who's having a sleepover for her 3 year old. For a second I thought Jasmine would cry as I was loading her up in my sister in law's car, but she looked at me as she sat with no car seat in the back of the van, and smiled. She said with joy: "Bye mommy, bye..." I was happy to see that we wouldn't be going through the horrible goodbye of it all, but it was certainly sad to see my baby so detached. She was happy to go. Growing up so fast. It's fun, but sad!

I stopped by the post office as soon as I dropped her off and went inside to send back the Shutterfly book I purchased through the website of Jasmine's second birthday. Turns out, my aunt had about 20 more pictures of the event that I didn't know about. Thankfully, when I called customer service, they said they would refund it and i can order a new one. That's why I love www.shutterfly.com and I recommend it to everybody.

After that, I wanted to go everywhere. Having only one 9 month old to worry about is great. I wish I would've taken advantage of having only one child when it was just Jasmine and I. First, I stopped at Winfield because I've been meaning to do a tour of the child care that Jasmine will be attending. Turns out it's closed til August 27. That's strike one... Then, I wanted to go to Direct Buy because I want to look at the dining room chest we'll be buying. Steven called and said to stop at Sam's Club for a few things. When he asked me why I wanted to go to Direct Buy, he replied; "not right now." Strike 2... No more strikes thankfully. We ate at Texas Corral, where you can eat all the peanuts you want and throw the shells on the floor. I kept asking Steven if it was okay to throw them on the floor. It felt weird. We went to JC Penney home store after dinner to buy a blender. We're making margaritas baby! That comment goes out to my beloved brother in law, who loves me, but loves gossip even more! I love gossip as much as the next person, but I learned my lesson many years ago. It always came back to bite me in the ass. NEVER AGAIN!

One blender, and many many decorating ideas later, we were out of the store and headed home. This week, I went to www.HGTV.com and applied to get a room makeover. I hope we get picked. It will be the highlight of my life.

My dad called today. I wished he called more often. His new family is beautiful, but we were a family once as well. I miss him...

Last day of Steven's vacation!

Today, Sunday, July 20th, 2008, is Steven's last day of vacation. Tomorrow, not only does he have to go back to work, but he is also on call! What a pain! The basement is almost finished, and I should be able to start the refinancing steps this week. Porter County Fair started this week. We might go check it out, but for now, we are all 4H Fair-ed OUT! We went to the Starke County Fair EVERY DAY last week! It was fun and all, but the heat was too much. I don't think we've been able to catch up on our sleep, and Jasmine's routine is officially messed up! We went to see Batman The Dark Knight yesterday but before that we had dinner at Applebee's. Steven's coworker Rihannon came to babysit. The movie was amazing and during dinner, the supervisor came and gave us free desserts due to some misunderstanding with the hostess. SCORE!
When we got home, Rihannon said that Jasmine kept climbing out of her crib and ended up sleeping on the floor. Once she left, Steven transferred her to her crib. At 3am, she woke up screaming and I had to give her some water and put her back to bed. I was surprised she fell asleep so fast. The night before that one, she had been a nightmare because she's been so tired from the fair all week.

I have a quatrillion pictures from the Fair, but I wont post them all. I'm making a remix with the best ones!

Also, this last week, we went to the Picture People, and got Family Pictures taken!!!

Trip to Gatlinburg, TN for a family reunion!

Monday, May 5th, 2008

Today has been a slow day. Tranquility at its best. Jasmine has been behaving so good compared to other days. The terrible 2s have definitely arrived early. Alexander took an amazing two and a half hour nap at the same time as Jasmine did. I had time to be online, watch the news, finish the photo book project and order it, balance the checkbook, pay some bills...

Saturday was my jewelry party. Turnout wasn't great but it was a good time. Steven hated it but it wasn't up to him. I got 91 bucks worth of free jewelry after it was all done. Not bad, but its not the reason why I was having the party. I did it for Angie.

It started raining just now. Now I can really say that today is tranquility at its best. My cousin Ida and her boys spent the weekend here. We went to bed super late Saturday night. We just talked and talked. She's super fun. Sunday morning, I was a bit slow getting out of bed cause I was so tired. We went out to breakfast and then came back home.

I bought some materials to make California Rolls here. I figured I would teach her how to make them, instead, she schooled me on it. She was so good at rolling them. Her rolls were so pretty and mines were as ugly as can be. Too funny!

Last week, we got to see the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It was so incredibly funny! Arielle and Jeff babysat.

Tomorrow Indiana votes. Wonder who will take the state. I can't wait!!!
Steven is still at work. Poor dude. I bet he can't wait for our vacation in Las Vegas. It's gonna be awesome. I can't wait to see mom, and she can't wait to see Jasmine and Alexander! I heated up some lasagne today. I know Steven will love it; if he ever gets home. LOL!

It's gonna be sort of a busy week. Tomorrow, the drywall for the basement gets delivered. This past Saturday, a guy came for a drywall estimate. Part one of the electrical is done. The plumbing and vent guy comes tomorrow for a more in depth estimate and then we're on our way to a finished basement. I can't wait. Once the basement is finished, we'll be able to refinance. I hope the rate doesn't go up!!!

On Wednesday, I'm finally getting my IUD placed. No more babies for me! Two is more than enough!!!

On Thursday, Angie is having a Tupperware party at 6pm. I hope Steven gets out of work on time. If not, I don't think I'm gonna be able to make it! I just can't do it with two kids.

I need to have everything packed for Vegas by Friday cause we must leave super early on Saturday morning. Ida will be taking us. Also, the kitchen oven and stove fan have been malfunctioning, so the repair man will be here on Friday.

I need to get something done with this hair before I get to Vegas. Maybe also a pedicure. We'll see what this week brings!

Saturday was our niece Arielle's prom. She stopped by our house to show how beautiful she looked. Her boyfriend Jeff reminded me of Jose the way he was dressed. He had a white suit on with orange accents. It was a blond clone of my brother. On Sunday, we went to Margaret's house for some cake and ice cream, celebrating Natalie and Kyle's birthday. We left super fast cause Steven wanted to get back and get the garage back in order. He painted it this weekend with an epoxy coating. It looks great now. Maybe later I'll post a before and after picture. That would be cool.

I just found Jasmine sitting on Alexander's head!

I heard my cell phone ringing and it was mom. I was talking to her for exactly one minute when i went into Jasmine's playroom to put away a couple of toys. When I came out, I saw Jasmine sitting on Alexander's head. His nose was squished against the floor while she sat on the back of his head and neck. I exploded. I screamed so loud: "You're gonna kill him!" Mom asked me what was going on, but I was still screaming, checking if Alexander was okay. When Alexander heard my loud voice, he started crying also. Two crying babies, while a concerned mami on the phone asking me what's going on! Talk about too much going on!!!

I need to relax now. Alexander is fine, drinking his milk in the swing, while Jasmine is sitting in her thinking chair and I came to check my email while talking to Steven who called me for the first time all day. He's having a busy day!

Margaret and Arielle are coming over today after some shopping in Merrilville to kill time til 4:30pm, when Natalie has a track meet in Kouts. Today is my friend Evelyn's 29th Birthday. I text her but she hasn't text me back! I woke up at 6:50am today and remembered that I needed to email my friend Annette the pictures from our vacation to Florida. I finally got that done.

Many things to do today!!! Call the insurance company, again, because they keep sending me the most outrageous bills. Doesn't insurance pay for ANYTHING anymore?

The MORNING of a mom!

April 15th, 2008

Wake up at 6:15am
Times woken up by Alexander through the night = 9
Jasmine wake up 6:30am
Jasmine potty 6:40 am, 8:37am, 9:22, 11:21, 11:59am
Change Alexander's diaper and pajamas
Downstairs to make breakfast by 7:10am
Take dog outside, High of 70 today.
Start load of laundry
Peel orange for Jasmine 7:15am
Alexander crying (held him from 7:17 til 7:22am)
Bottle of formula for Alexander 7:22am
Breakfast for Jasmine and I 7:30am (Eggs and Toast)
Alexander crying (held him from 7:37 til 7:42am)
Load up Dishwasher and start it up
Clean kitchen
Sippy cup for Jasmine 7:53am
Alexander taking a nap 7:55am
Put on Jack's Big Music Show 7:55am
Put clothes in the dryer 8:03am
Clean counter surfaces in laundry room 8:05am
Start filling out invitations for the jewelry party on may 3rd
Pretend tea party with Jasmine
Sippy cup for Jasmine 9am
Jasmine had an accident at 9:15am, change her clothes
fold load of laundry at 9:20am
Put away dishes from the dishwasher
Change battering from swing, vibrating chair, and baby bed
Make bed upstairs
Sippy cup and some gummies for Jasmine 10am
Alexander awake at 10:35am
Bottle of formula for Alexander 10:40am
String cheese and another sippy cup for Jasmine 11am
Lunch for Jasmine and I 11:30am - Salad with corn, turkey, croutons, shredded cheese and bacon bits, tomato and romano basic vinegarrette.
12:10pm Jasmine and Alex take a nap!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm exhausted!

Back from FL!

To see the pics from our vacation visit:

http://www.triptoflapril2008.blogspot.com

Sneak peaks of the Season Finale of The L Word!

Planning meals for my family!

Recipe for Today!!!

Chicken-Almond Stir-Fry!

Prep Time:6 min Cook: 10 min

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons sesame oil
4 skinned and boned chicken breast halves, cut into thin strips
1 (2.25 oz) pkg sliced almonds
1 (16 oz) pkg frozen broccoli, carrots, and water chestnuts
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup pineapple juice
Hot Cooked Rice

Pour oil around top of a preheated wok, coating sides.

Heat briefly at medium-high. Add chicken and almonds; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add frozen vegetables; cover and cook 4 minutes, stirring once.

Combine cornstarch and next 4 ingredients; add to wok. Cook, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture thickens. Serve over rice.

Makes 4 servings.

Planning meals for my family!

Dinner for today:

Warm Potato and Sausage Salad:

Prep Time:10 Minutes Cook: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
3 lbs red potatoes
1 lb kielbasa sausage, slice3d
4 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup dill pickle relish
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar or white vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon of dried tarragon
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cloves garlic, minced

Cook potatoes in boiling water to cover in a Dutch over to 10 to 15 minutes or until tender; drain and let cool to touch.

Meanwhile, cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 4 minutes or until browned. Drain and set aside.

Slice potatoes. Combine potato slices, green onions, pickle relish, and parsley in a large bowl; stir in sausage.

Combine oil and remaining 6 ingredients in a 2 cup glass measuring cup. Microwave at HIGH 1 1/2 minutes or until mixture comes to a boil. Pour hot dressing over potato mixture; toss to coat.

Makes 6 servings...