Never Say Never

Lately, when people ask me what I've been up to- I draw a blank. Does this happen to anybody else? I guess now that I stay at home the days just seem to evaporate and I find myself having to really think hard about what we've done all week. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm busy. It's just different busy- not very memorable busy. That's one of the reasons I really like having the blog. Now, whenever people ask me what my life's been like lately I just try to remember about my last post.

On a side note, I just want to brag about my friends and family real quick. First of all, as many of you know, I live on the same street with some of my family and we've recently made a commitment, with some other amazing women, to get together as a group monthly. The guys are even getting together monthly and I'm really excited about it! I know some families can't even sit in the same room with each other and I'm so grateful that we know how to have a good time together. We've got some pretty outlandish activities I'm looking forward to and one of them just might include the phrase...Vegas Stripper University. Stay tuned for some future posts on that!

I have also met some incredible stay-at- home moms this past year that I've become really close with. We usually get together at least once a week and each week I get so excited about the play dates! Siege loves it too of course, but sometimes I think- Geez, I'd want to be a part of this play group even if I didn't have a kid! We also have some fantastic girls' nights out. The last time we went out together I didn't get home until 12:30 AM! Most people call me Grandma (I could go to bed at 8:30 every night), so when I got home past midnight I felt like I was sneaking in from curfew! It's crazy to think I probably would have never met these women if I didn't have Siege and now they've become some of my best friends. There's reason number 3524651654 that Siege has enriched my life.

So, what have I been up to lately? Well- I decided a few days ago that I was going to do another 1/2 marathon. It's December 4th (14 weeks away) and the course is the entire Las Vegas Strip. I've talked a few people into doing it with me, including my husband! I think I blogged about my last 1/2 marathon way back when, it didn't go quite as planned. I mean who plans to puke their guts out at mile 12? And after the race I repeatedly vowed to NEVER do another. "Never say never," my mom would always say. This time, I'm hoping it will go puke-free. No guarantees though. I started my training on Sunday with a 3 mile run. Pushing my little chunker up the hill isn't the easiest, but we made it! After I finished on Sunday I thought- Really? 10 more miles?? But you gotta start somewhere.

I've also started couponing. I took a couponing class about a week ago and I've decided I want to be on TV. Joking, but I do really want to save some skrillah if I can.

I just looked the word "skrillah" up in the urban dictionary for spelling purposes. Incase you're wondering variations of the word skrillah include skriller, skrill-dizzle and skahrill. Strait from Urban dictionary-

"If I don't get my skrillah by midnight, y'all gonna get capped!!"

Anyway, couponing...it doesn't seem too hard, or I should say, it seems like it's getting easier everyday. By the way, I'm collecting coupons now, so if you get the Sunday paper (I think it comes in your junk mail too) and don't use your Smart Source, Red Plum, or P & G, I would love to come dig it out of your trash can.

Last week was pretty miserable for Siegers... and me. Let's just say lots of Pedialite was involved, my washing machine was tested to its true limits, and I could smell the surprise I was walking into from across the house. He had a lot of rice that week. Glad we made it through that!

On Saturday, we had Siege's 1st year photo shoot. I had to get them done a little early in time for his birthday invitation. I haven't seen all the photos yet but my photographer (who also happens to be my lovely neighbor) Lisa Deering, sent me a sneak peak and I love it!

I can't believe my baby is going to be 1!

Nap Time Activities

Siege has been on a pretty consistent schedule for a few months now, which makes taking care of him so much easier. However, I started to fall into the "If Siege takes a nap, why shouldn't I?" pattern. Two naps a day for an adult, I've decided, just isn't the most efficient thing I could have been doing with my time, one of course, but two is a little much.

So my latest phone app, Pinterest (If you don't have it, get it), has inspired me in several ways. I'm sure all you bloggers already know all about it, but I just thought I'd publicly share my infinite love for this smart invention. Pinterest is a digital idea board that lets you pin different images/websites that you want to save for the future. For example, I've pinned sewing tutorials, fashion, recipes, etc. in hopes of one day creating these beautiful masterpieces. It also helps to organize your ideas into different categories. This is a little piece of my holiday pin board. Who knows if I will ever make these crafty things, but I sure like the idea of it being a possibility.

And, I have actually completed my first Pinterest-inspired project. I did a patchwork quilt. The sewing tutorial I pulled was so easy, even I could figure it out and I wasn't even entirely sure how to use my sewing machine before this project! Just call me Martha Stewart.

My latest nap time activity though, has been reading The Help. I cannot wait to see the movie now! I loved reading bits and pieces aloud to Chris. It was just hilarious! Anyone have any other really good book recommendations? I will read pretty much any genre as long as it's a can't wait to pick it up again and read sort of a book. You know, amazing.

I will leave you with a short video clip of Sieger eating my Taco Soup. It was a little spicy for all of us!

The Bling.

Over the last few weeks I have started to realize that my baby just isn't a baby anymore. I know a lot of women say "it happens too fast" and "time slow down," but I honestly didn't really feel like that until this last week or so as I was rocking my ginormous baby in my arms. I looked down and noticed that I couldn't see any of me anymore. It was all Siege... long, chunky Siege. He's in the 90th percentile now and he can WALK. And when I hold him I see that my little baby is rapidly turning into a toddler. Chris and I have been married for 5 years now and I swear the first 4 years of our marriage didn't go this fast. But when you can see time in little human form- it's a little scary.

Which brings me to my next topic- our five year anniversary. That's right, 5 years this month, and we've been together 9 years (over 1/3 of my life). Everyday I count my blessings that I have been lucky enough to find such a wonderful man. We are a perfect match in every way. He compliments my high strung- erratic behavior with a calmness that soothes my soul. And I put a little pep in his step. For our five year anniversary I got a new wedding ring. When Chris and I got engaged 5 years ago, I was 20 and he was 21. I was working at a bridal shop and Chris was going to school. We knew we were going to have to save our pennies if we were going to get married as young a we did. My ring was beautiful, but Chris always said one day I'd wake up and there'd be a big rock that replaced mine. Of course, I didn't care- it suited me well. But when he started hinting at a new ring a few months back I got a little excited. We started going into ring shops just to look around. All the salesman would greet us with the same line,

"You two engaged, Congratulations!"

And then Chris would inform them,

"No, we're already married and it's our five year anniversary so we're looking for an upgrade." One guy said in reply,

"Man, you're smart. Give her the 5 year trial period first and then give her the real bling. I know an awful lot of men who probably wished they would've done that."

He's the guy that ended up selling us our ring. I guess I'm glad I made it through the trial run.

Anyway, Chris sure makes me one happy woman... and not just because he picked out this beautiful ring for me. The morning of our anniversary I woke up from a deep sleep to see Chris kneeling down on the floor next to my side of the bed. He had this frustrated look on his face. After I wiped the drool off my pillow, I asked him what the heck he was doing. He informed me that for the past 1/2 hour he was trying to get my old ring off my finger and the new ring on without me waking up, but as he put it, "You're finger is just too fat." So even though I didn't wake up with my new big rock on my finger, it was still a good try.