Updates on Samantha and MNO

Oh what a booger Sam is!

She is beginning to test her boundaries now that she is "mobile".  Her favorite item to test me with?  The electronics on the TV console.  The sound system, the Wii, the computer; its all a blast!  All I have to do is say 'Samantha Marie', or 'Sam Berger' and she turns right around, looks at me and smiles.  "No, No.  Don't touch that," Mommy says.  Big grin for Samantha and back at it.  :)  She even laughs at me on occasion.  Somehow I do not see this turning out well for future listening skills!!  ;0)

I'm not sure if I've said this but Sam also has waving bye bye and hello down pat.  When someone walks it in the door, her arm goes crazy!  She's so excited to see ANYONE!  Then, when you tell her to say bye bye, she waves again.  What a smart little girl we have!  She is also beginning to (finally is!) pulling up on things.  She hasn't made it all the way to her feet, but can pull herself up to her knees.  I can't decide if this is a good milestone, or one that just says "Watch out Mom.  I'm going to be walking before you know it!"  :)

                                                                   Sam on the move!

                                                                     My favorite smile!

                                                                   Such a cute tushie!



MNO:

Last night I attended Mom's Night Out with a group of StLouisMommies gals.  What a blast!  We went to trivia, which we were all just amazing at, ate lots of delicious food, and I met some pretty awesome Moms!
I told myself and even wrote it down that I was going to get more involved with St. Louis Mommies, and I'm so glad I did!  I'm excited for the next adventure that group takes me on!  :)  Woo for new friends!!!


Be expecting a post on the Bac 'O Palooza I will be attending on Sunday.  I'm sure I will have some delicious bacon dishes to tell you about!  :)

Politics

I hate them.

If it were up to me, I wouldn't vote.  The issue?  My father.  Die hard Democrat.  Involved in everything and anything and LOOOOVES what he does.  So for him, I support.

But let's be completely honest for a second.  Half the nation is always upset with the President in office.  No matter the President.

Obviously and currently, there are a heck of a lot of right wingers who despise Obama.  He hasn't "man"ed up to the things he said he was going to do, and on some of them, he back tracked.  But let's be honest. The man has only been in office for a year.  Cut him a little slack.

And let's be completely honest about another fun fact, right wingers.  G.W. Bush.  What a shame of a president. Did he truly do anything for our country?  I can't truly remember one positive highlight of his 8 years running our country.

Okay, so you lefties.  Are you still happy with the choice you made?

Do you think Obama is going to pull through?  Is he going to "change" this country?  Will he make it a better place for you?  Your children?  Your grandchildren?

I just want to reiterate.  I don't care for politics.  I don't like them, actually.

I went to political button shows with my dad so I could help sell buttons and make a cut.

I watched the State of the Union address last night and was bored to tears.  I always am.  Go Obama.  Go Nancy Pelosi and your awful purple suit.  Go Biden and your silly grin and your silly head nod.  Go Michelle and your fight to conquer obesity in children (okay, this I 100% agree with!).

Do your thing Mr. President, because a few short years (whether it be 3 or 7) someone else will take your spot.  And then "we" will hate him more than "we" hate you.

There is always cleaning, tasks, or duties to do at our house on a daily, if not hourly basis.

Do I ever do them?  Sometimes.

Do I ever want to do them?  No.

For instance, today I need to get laundry started if not finished.  I like to do laundry on opposite days as diaper days because that takes a while. 

Tomorrow is a diaper day.

I need to clean.  This past weekend I dusted and picked up some, but I just don't ever feel like doing it.  It may be because I never really get to experience the cleanliness because the dog drools all over my newly mopped floors, the babies throw their food on the floor or take out every toy, book and anything else they can get their hands on.Or it may be that my DH throws his clothes on what is supposed to be our window seats.  I haven't sat on them in quite a while!  :)

I also need to get to working out.  Just 30 minutes of Wii sounds lovely.

But what I would rather do, more than anything else, even more than sitting here and writing this post is to take a nap.

Why is it that no matter how much I sleep at night (8 1/2 hours last night) I just can't get enough???  Maybe I should start staying up and getting things done around the house.  Then at least my lack of motivation during the day would be justified.  :)

Oh the choices!!!!

Top 10 Tuesday

INPO:

10. Our home.  We are rather blessed to be living in a nice home, in a nice neighborhood, with a dog, a child and warmth.

9. Babies.  Any baby, really.  They are so fun to watch as they grow, discover and learn!

8. My baby.  She's pretty awesome.

7. Fat Flush Diet.  It was my best friend before I got married, and its going to be my best friend again.  It will be hard to stick to it since I work from home, but I will conquer it. (And the last 5 pounds)

6. Reconnecting with old friends.  I told myself 2010 was going to be a good year and a year to rekindle, and I'm glad that is what is happening!

5. A new coffee table.  :)  It should be here today.  A nice leather ottoman to be exact.  No longer will I have to fear that the babies will hit their head or knock their face into the sharp edges of our table.

4. Salads.  I love them.  They are so tasty!

3. Books.  I really need to read more, but when I find one I love, I find it hard to put it down.

2. Chick flicks.  Haven't seen one in a while, but they always make me so warm and fuzzy inside!

1. "Sam Marie".  My new favorite saying.  She stops what she is doing, looks at me, and smiles.  Its usually when she is doing something that she shouldn't, but goodness she's so cute!!  :)

There you have it.  I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend.  I have had a hard time finding something to write about.  My creative juices just haven't been flowing. :(  Hopefully soon.

Colorado

I truly should post about our trip to Colorado.   I'll do a shortened version:

Plane Rides: Almost missed our flight into Vail on Friday.  Ran through the Denver airport.  Found out today that Homeland Security recommends you don't do that because you look suspicious.  Ha.  Somehow I don't think a 5 foot white girl running with 2 jackets, 2 books and a Coach purse looks all that suspicious.  It just looks like I am going to miss my flight.
* Side note: Running at high elevations is HARD!  I had forgotten until I had to run through the airport.
Flight Home:  Almost missed our flight OUT of Vail because we were misinformed about when to get there.  Oh well.

Skiing: Awesome.  Exhausting.  Exciting.  Enthralling.  AMAZING!!!  Oh, and icy.  No snow since New Years.  However, I think its the best thing I've done in a long time.  So fulfilling.  Granted, I cried about 2x the first day because the 2 year olds (not exaggerating) next to me were better than I was. BUT!!!  I was able to teach myself to ski without forking over $150 for ski lessons!!  HOLLA!

The Views:  Breathtaking.  Beautiful. Jaw Drop worthy.

Baxter: Cutest Goldendoodle I know.  Seriously.  Puppy for sure, but cute none the less.

Melinda and Justin:  Great time hanging out with them.  Justin skied with us both Saturday and Sunday and he was pretty impressed with how well I did.  WOO!
Got to sit in and participate in Melinda's campaigner's group.  That was pretty awesome.  And she had an amazing talk too.  Its crazy how far we've come since our days in campaigners.

The major question that people asked me was if I missed Sam.  Sure, I did.  But I'm not gonna lie.  I didn't dwell a second on the fact that I wasn't going to be with her for 4 days.  I was rejoicing.

Hey, sometimes even Mommas need a break!!!  Especially if you spend every waking moment with that sweet, precious baby.

Post pictures soon.

Picture Montage.

6 Months

7 Months

8 Months

Excited to open presents! First Christmas

Bergers Christmas Eve

Family Christmas Picture

I love to eat wrapping paper!

Tortured by her parents

First time in the snow

Helping Mommy make a tiny snowman

I love clementines!

SO BIG!!!

Could it be?!

Do I see a bump on Sam's gum?!  Could she finally be teething?!  I can't decide if I'm happy or scared for this next step!
 

My only hope now is that this tooth decides to break through while we are in Colorado :)

Top 10 Tuesday

Here ya go!

10. Borrow Me clothes.  Probably the best thing ever.  Sam gets GREAT clothes and I don't have to store them when she grows out of them!  :)  (Thanks Courtney and Tracy!)

9. Our parents.  Without them it might be difficult to go on a vacation without Sam.

8. Friends who live out of state.  Free place to stay, fun places to visit, good times had by all!

7. Samantha.  I love watching her learn new things everyday!  Since my post yesterday she has figured out how to clap and does it at appropriate times!

6. Nap time.  For the babies.  For me.  It doesn't matter.  It's awesome!

5. Good blog writers.  I'm a novice.  I know.  But some people have a knack to write, and I love reading it!

4. STLMommies.  I made it a resolution (not a new year one, just a normal one! ;0) ) to get involved more and starting soon I will be the moderator for the city group and I am headed to trivia with some of the moms at the end of the month!  :)

3. Good books.  I need to find some to read on the plane!

2. The opportunity to go skiing.  We'll see if this is in my Top 10 next week!  ;0)  First time starting Saturday.  Greg's teaching me.  This will be a testament to our relationship for sure!!!

1. VACATIONS!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

Fish Oil

I'm going to be honest.  Since my pregnancy with Samantha, my complexion has sucked.  It's like I am 13 years old again. Boo.  Ugh.  Gross.

My Mother in Law metioned something to me about taking fish oil for my complexion about 3 months ago.  She was at the vet who told her to buy fish oil for the dogs' coats to help them stay soft and moisturized for the winter months.  He also told her that his wife started taking them too and she soon began to have a beautiful complexion.  Anyway, I couldn't decide if  I was thankful for her help, or flabbergasted that it was that obvious.  (Though, I knew it was, I liked to think it wasn't.)  I just said "Yeah, Yeah" and went on with my life.

Well two months on regular hormone BC and no changes I decided to give it a shot.  What could it hurt? Omega-3 is good for you anyway and I know that I don't get enough in my daily diet, so either way I was helping myself out.  I did my research online and found that it truly does help if you have mild-moderate acne.

Well, let me tell you. A-mazing.  I think I've had one pimple since I started taking it 2 weeks ago and it wasn't my normal painful pimple.  So happy.  I still have scars on my face, but I'm going to give it time.

So if you are a sufferer of adult acne like myself, I recommend you try it.  It also makes you hair nice and shiny too.  BONUS!  :)

8 Months!

Today marks Sam's 8 month birthday.  :)  I will be posting pictures soon; I've truly been slacking.  But here's what our baby girl can do at 8 months.

• she reaches up when she wants to be held
• Dances by shaking her head and raising her arms
• smacks her lips.  Sometimes when she's hungry, and sometimes just to be funny
• She probably has the best facial expressions of any baby I know
• scoots on her bottom to get anywhere.  She can now do it forwards and backwards
• Does SOOO BIG!
• Can tell us all done
• Eats everything under the sun (seriously, she rejects nothing)
• Says Mama (not as much anymore), Dada, bleh bleh for dog, and I'm sure other words I haven't figured out yet.
• She is so proud of herself when she gets a toy she was reaching for that she holds it up until we acknowledge what she has, and then smiles really big!
• She and Ben talk all day to each other.  
• She cries in unison to Ben crying, usually a sympathy cry.
• She fake coughs if she wants your attention
• Has NO teeth!
• Can now walk around like a champ (with help!)
• LOVES to be standing

As you can see our baby girl is growing and learning every day!  We are so proud of her and we are so blessed that she is such a happy baby.  She went through a phase (growing? painful mouth?) where she was crying a lot and had Mommy and Daddy about ready to pull their hair out, but luckily (hopefully) its over!  

Wii

I love it.  Its amazing.  Especially the Wii Fit.  Today I actually had time to fool around with the programs on it and I found that you can make up your own routine or do one that it has already created.  However, you can pick a few routines and combine them so that you are working out for 25+ minutes straight!  Its AWWWESOME!

I have to admit.  There are times that I wish I had a cardio machine along side my Wii so that I was getting the best of both worlds.  Sure they have running on it, but honestly, I don't care to run in place while looking at Mii run through a cartoon landscape.  It just doesn't do it for me.  However, unless I can convince Greg that an elliptical machine is just as useful and as pretty as our dining room table, its not gonna happen.  Our basement is only 5 ft so putting exercise equipment down there is out of the question.

Granted, I could go outside and run, but I HATE running in the cold, so that will have to wait until Spring.

I do still have those stairs, but I don't see that lasting past our ski trip.  ;0)

Alas, I guess I will stick to the Wii in hopes that my walks in the morning coincide with my Wii exercising throughout the day!

Mother's Day Idea

Dear Mother's Day gift giver,

I do not want anything fancy this year.  You can return the diamond necklace.  You can return those Gucci sunglasses.  You can return that sapphire tennis bracelet.  I don't want any of it.

Nope.  Please nothing materialistic this year.

All I want is Merry Maids.

That's right.  One day free of cleaning.  I want someone else to get the baseboards.  The dirty dirty floors.  The food stuck on the walls.  The toilet that hasn't been cleaned in a month.  The tub that has soap scum.

Let the maids do it for a day.  Merrily.

Sincerely,

Katie (The Hopeful Mother)

P.S. Yes, I realize I am asking for this 4 months early.  So be it.

SNOW SNOW SNOW

Let it Let it Let it!  :)

WOO SNOW!  The joy is not quite the same as it was when I was little, but its pretty close! :)

Top 10 Tuesday (A day early)

I won't have computer access for a few days due to Greg needing the computer...so I decided to do this a day early...especially since I failed to do it forgot last week.

10. Um, my new Wii and Wii Fit.  Thanks Gran for an amazing gift!

9. My daughter.  She's been rather out of sorts lately, but she's still my favorite as she learns new things every day!

8. Our time in Ohio.  It was good to see my family.  I miss them.

7. The new year.  I love blank slates.  I'm excited to see where this year takes us!

6. My job.  Still in my top 10 :)

5. My adventurous, goal seeking, imaginative husband.  I am excited to see where his ideas take us!

4. Netflix.  I love this program!  We are now hooked on Mad Men!  :)

3. The idea of getting rid of cable!  I am so tired of paying so much a month!  Good bye stupid Charter!

2. My dream baby gates.  Thank you to Katie and Justin O. for being my Santa 2 days early and bringing me these.  Yes, I have dream baby gates.  What's it to YOU?!

1. Finnegan.  Best dog.  EVER!

Reflection

I could sit here and describe all of the things that 2009 brought us.  I decided to spare you that pain!  :)  I think, though, that each year brings you something that you can reflect on.  Something that you can look back on and say "yea, I did a pretty good job, but there was this one thing that I wish I would have put my 100% towards."  Some say this is a new year's resolution.  To be better at something this year than you were last year.  Well, shoot.  I've had the same "resolution" for my entire life.  Honestly.  Its the same thing each year.

Stop biting my nails.

I've failed.  Every. year.  Sure,  I make it about 2 months.  But then I decide that I hate the sensation of long nails.  So off they come.

So this year I've decided to do something a little different.

I'm going to reflect on one thing that I think I did okay at, but would rather put more effort into this year.

That one thing is happiness.

Last year did bring me happiness.  And I'm not so much saying that I need to go back and eliminate the things that made me unhappy.  But more or less change my attitude towards those things and find something happy about them.  Make myself happy in every situation, in other words.

So here is a list of things that I know makes me happy:

1). My daughter.  No matter how frustrated I am with her whining or temper tantrums, I love her to death.  She makes me indescribably happy.

2). My husband.  No matter how frustrated I am with him, he always strives to make my life just a little bit easier.

3). Working out.  Its my happy place.  No matter the place.

4). Family.  Sure they annoy me, some times on purpose, some times not, but I love them very much.  I am happy that I have them in my life.

5).  Friends.  They keep me sane and happy.  Two very good things!


So there's my list. I think this year I am going to strive to have these 5 things in my life more often.  I am going to put my bad attitude behind me, find something good in everything I do, and make sure that these 5 things enter my life every day.  It doesn't have to be a face to face encounter, but rather a mental thing, phone call, email, letter, whatever!  :)

This, my friends, is such a challenge for me, but I am super excited to get started!

May you find the good in everything you do and may you make your happy list and strive to encounter those things each and every day!!!

Happy 2010!!