Gobble Gobble!

What a wonderful Thanksgiving we had this year! Thank you Aunt Jeanna and Uncle Steve for having us all over! And Jeanna...the butter was very much a conversation piece:)

I can't believe it's ....turkey butter??


When we finally arrived after the car ride, we were ready for a snack. Little did we realize the repercussions of some cheese the next day :/

Only the cutest of men get to sit between two hot girls:)

Turkey time?!

I got it dad!

No really, I can do it myself!

Time to make Gingerbread houses!

Step 1. taste test every piece of the house.

Step 2. taste candy. ummm...no.

Mommy and daddy put the house together.

Who needs candy when mommy had fruit loops in her bag:)

While Gavin is a bit young, mommy got into it and wanted to finish the house. Aunt Jeanna helped do a side too:)

Now here is a pro gingerbread house decorater! Do you see the nerds in between all the bottle caps??!! Now that is some dedication and patience.

Now after the ginger fun...we needed a new focus. Anyone seen the youtube video of cell phones making kernels of corn pop?? well...yes, we tried it...and no, it didn't work. Stupid youtube.

So the girls decided to go and see the flower shop!! It's so pretty there! Especially at Christmas time! (I've only been there at Christmas, but I am blown away by it) I was lucky enough to have them do the flowers at my wedding, and they were on Extreme Makeover Home Edition last month!!

Poinsetta anyone:)

And naturally, we forgot to take the pack-and-play with us, not that he would have gone down with all the excitement, but when all the ladies went to see the shop...I returned to this. Perfect end to a perfect day:)

Turtle.

I am thankful...

Thanksgiving! There is always something to be thankful for..
I would like to take the time to reflect and be thankful for all my blessings. Sometimes, I don't take the time to stop and think about how wonderful things in my life truly are. I get caught up in the hustle and bustle of...well, ...life.

*I am thankful for my husband, Tim. For better or worse, we have been strong. He "gets" me. We have shared together the last ten years and I couldn't ask for a better partner. He is a wonderful man and an amazing father.

*I am thankful for my son, Gavin. I have a remarkable little boy who has shown me the meaning of unconditional love to another level. He brightens my day just by being here. He is a happy and healthy little boy and now a curious little explorer:)

*I am thankful for my parents. They have helped out in ways I can never thank them enough. They have offered assistance, guidance, and support my entire life.

*I am thankful my brothers have become independent young men. Way to succeed Mike and Matt! I'm also thankful to have added many brothers and sister-in-laws and nephews into my life. It's wonderful to have so much family!

*I am thankful to be employed!! While I may not have the dream job, it has allowed me to buy my own home, but food on the table, and support us. The same goes for Tim. Job security is an amazing feeling.

*I am thankful Tim had a super recovery from knee surgery and was welcomed back to work easily.

*I am also thankful that Tim is in school. I never thought I would see the day. But to better our lives, he has attended. And believe it or not....he likes it:)

*I am thankful for our home. While it may be small, we have spent time remodeling and decorating it to make it our own. We have a wonderful place to live and will treasure many memories here...even after we have moved to a new place.

*I am thankful for friends. New and old. Everyone gets busy with work, school, children and the like. To know I can run into them, or pick up the phone and chat, as if no times has passed, is comforting.

*I am thankful for the Internet (corny, I know) but sites such as this one, babysites, facebook..etc.., has allowed me to keep in touch with people that I may not run into often enough. I love to share stories and photos. Shopping has also become bareable again online, not to mention online bill pay!

*I am thankful for patience. Without it, I would most definitely lose my mind.

*Last but not least, I am thankful for sleep. I am completely quoting my friend when I say, some days, it doesn't come soon enough:)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!! Remember your blessings!

Family Resemblance.....

This weekend was Grandma Ivoska's birthday!! We went and surprised here early! Maybe even a little too early....because we got to hang out while she got in the shower..haha. Uncle Matt wasn't able to be there because he went to the big exciting Browns vs Lions game! We finally were able to see Uncle Mike for an afternoon though! :)

We had a wonderful afternoon doing absolutely nothing! It was great!
Grandma loved here new kindle! I want one too! But I think I want a video camera first:)
Gavin hung out and played. He walked around the house and rode his horse a bit. He also became strangely attached to his orange vest as if it was a security blanket. Glad it didn't last!

While we were at Grandma and Grandpa's house we were talking about Gavin's red hair. It led us to get out some old pictures of Uncle Mike when he was a baby. It's scary, but I see a very big resemblance! Gavin looks like Uncle Mike!

After a few baby pics, I was ready to pull out Mike's two year old pics to see what Gavin may look like next year:) haha.

Look what I can do!

So this past week, Gavin has really begun to walk everywhere! He gets very excited sometimes and when he tries to walk too fast he falls down and becomes agitated. So we encourage him to take it slow and get from one solid thing to another. Today, he surprised me with his newest ability! I believe the videos explain themselves.

We've had a good time watching him explore and become more independent.

I also have spent the majority of his nap downloading these clips and trying to figure out how to rotate them. Fact is, I can't figure it out. So please tilt your head to the right and enjoy:)

I hope to figure out what I'm doing wrong in the future for more videos, but it took long enough to get these up to try and delete them and start over. You get the idea....

Go Bucks!

Ohio State vs Michigan!! Go Buckeyes!!~

Don't you all worry...I'll be paying attention! :)

To Catch a Thief...

I would first like to say that I'm really happy that Tim went back to work this week. It was nice having him home in the mornings, but I don't think he could have handled another week off work. As you know, Tim is not the type of person to sit around.

His first week back to work the trailer that his shop uses was stolen from out front of their place. Now this isn't just any trailer, it has been customized to be the best use for their (Jordan Power) equipment. Actually, it wasn't stolen this week, but the end of last week. Tim's boss didn't report it stolen at first because he thought maybe one of the guys had borrowed it for their own personal use. Which they do occasionally do. But always with permission.
Now I am not sure what made Tim look for it on Craigslist, but sure glad he had a hunch, because he found it. His boss called the seller pretending to be interested in it and had him describe the custom diamond plating and the lower mounting/hitch/ something or other. I obviously don't know my customization of trailer's. The seller described it very well.

They make the police report and send in the Craiglist info, and the next day Perrysburg detectives are on the scene of the seller. The detectives are on the phone with Tim's boss and asking him to describe the stolen trailer. He is able to describe every last part of it. Even where their logo was stickered on it. Naturally the thieves removed the stickers with the company logo, but they failed to remove the glue backing of the exact size and location where they were.
How dumb!

Before the end of the day, the trailer is back where it belongs and the guys are very excited to have solved the case. Way to go Super Sleuths!

Always check Craiglist when things are stolen, because odds are, whoever stole from you isn't too bright and listed it there. I mean, they obviously weren't bright to have stolen it in the first place, right?!

Do I hear rain???

Today we finished our mailing tube rain stick. This was another craft that I had discovered on http://www.familyfun.com. I have a roll of Con-tact paper from our collage project and was looking for more activities involving it.

This project started last week when we painted.
This weekend, the paint is dry and the con-tact paper has been carefully wrapped around it. We are ready to complete the inside. First thing we had to do was roll out a piece of aluminum foil. Gavin loved the shiny, crinkly, noisy material. It made him laugh. We crushed it lengthwise into a long cylinder.

Gavin enjoyed whipping the long piece of foil all around. Who knew it would be so exciting. After some fun waving around of the foil, it was time to wrap it around a broom handle to make a coil.

Alas, we have what resembles a spring! This was pretty exciting too. Gavin helped to stretch the coil out a bit so it would slide down the inside of the mailing tube. He first attempted this by using his teeth, that could not possibly have felt right, yet he didn't seem to mind. I wish I knew what he was thinking sometimes.

The last step was to pour some rice and uncooked corn into the tube. Mommy had to help with this part so we didn't have little pieces everywhere. The dogs would not have been eager to clean up that spill. Gavin did watch closely though. He reached out to catch some of it too.

Now we just need to super-glue the ends so that we don't have any accidents later, but someone was too eager to shake it immediately. I will let you now that when shaken, the nose made, is nothing even close to resembling rain. I tested it a few minutes later to see if when tipped back and forth I heard rain......well, kinda.... Regardless of the outcome, we did have fun making it AND we have something new that makes noise!

A brighter day!

Today was a great day...and not a minute too soon!

I woke up this morning to Tim already feeding Gavin breakfast. He had let me sleep in!! I'll take every extra twenty minutes that I can steal! I met my mom for a haircut and shopping after lunch. I decided to stop highlighting my hair and have it colored to my natural hair color. It is DARK! Tim says he likes it, so maybe in a day or two and several washes, I'll love it! I did the same thing last year.

After our hair was cut and dried we headed over to my favorite store for some shopping...Kohls! My mom is the BEST! We shopped a bunch for Gavin, and then I picked out some new shoes for work and a pair for everyday wear. I must remind those that didn't already know, that my shoe size went up not one, but two sizes after Gavin. So needless to say, I have no shoes, and the ones I have been wearing to work are a half size too small. No wonder my feet ache and I get more irritable at the end of the shift. LOL. I never went to replace many of my shoes this past year, in hopes that MAYBE my feet would return to the old size. I've now accepted that they are not, and my girlfriend welcomed many of new shoes to her closet:)

I also got some new jeans and sweaters! I can't wait to have somewhere to go! I'm really excited about new clothes:) The majority of my wardrobe has Fricker's somewhere on it. Most of my other clothes double as sleepwear. Again, I haven't bought a ton of clothes this past year, because I had hopes to have returned to my prepregnancy wardrobe. No such luck.

I did have luck when I returned home to a little boy fresh from his afternoon nap. Fun!
I almost thought he was going to take off walking here....but he just stood there thinking about it for awhile. Then decided against it. We have been able to coax him into 2-3 steps at a time with animal crackers. I know, that's horrible. But we do it. Not often, but we do.

Then we decided to go and mess with the dogs. Chance hates it. He doesn't like being in the kitchen when we are having fun. We let him out here shortly:)

Does anyone see where Gavin went?? This lion keeps looking at me, maybe he knows. We love our animal and silly face cards!

Oh, I must not forget the blocks we picked up today. Gavin is into stacking things lately. He also likes to put things into containers. I learned today what Gavin likes more than stacking things....

He LOVES knocking the tower down. He gets the biggest, cheesiest grin and darts across the room to wipe it out. Ah, the joy of destruction in a little boy's world:)

Now what would put a perfect end to a wonderful day?? PIZZA!

This hungry guy ate two pieces! Yes, we just put a piece on his tray and let him go to town. He loved it. Daddy is going to have some competition in the future.

Emotional Week......

So I have to admit that this week was truely exhausting for me. When I say exhausting, I mean, utter and complete despair at some moments. I can't explain it. Some days, I would wake up ready to go and happy, and then lose it half way through the day. Other days, I woke up in near tears. I did do my fair share of crying this week as well. I think maybe I'm just completely overwhelmed with trying to take care of everything. Yet, I don't feel like I am taking care of anything!

Everyday I work, my wonderful mom picks Gavin up from daycare until I can pick him up. They have a great time together. While she doesn't live that far away from me, it's the extra time everyday to pick him up that puts me home later everynight. The time change to where it is dark before I even leave work gives the feeling of even later. I am sooooo excited and relieved that Tim has been released from the doctor to return to work this coming week!! It's all the little things you take for granted that hit you like a ton of bricks when they aren't there anymore. Examples of little things is the ability to give Gavin a bath before 8:00p.m., having a morning and nightly routine, and the ability to make dinner and eat together. One thing I will miss is the 30 minutes extra sleep in the morning I have been able to enjoy the last two months.

I've also been working extra shifts the past two months while one coworker was on maternity, and another got married and went on her honeymoon. Both are wonderful occasions and I knew months and months in advance that I would cover them....what I hadn't planned on, was Tim having knee surgery, being off work, and the extra bills accumulating. I thought I was going to be bringing in "extra" money. As if there is really a such thing as "extra."

Both coworkers are back to work, and I am looking forward to this first weekend off! We don't have any plans other than I am getting my haircut, and I hope to just hang out together as a family. I feel I haven't spent enough quality time at home in awhile.

Another positive event coming up is Tim will be finishing up his LAST math class for his program! Tim is not keen on math. In fact, I spend more time on it than he does some days. Don't misunderstand, I'm not taking the class for him. I am going through the study guides and practice problems to refresh my memory (being I took these classes about ten years ago) and then "tutoring" him on how to complete the homework and tests. It's been going really well until this last chapter. I haven't had the energy to figure them out. I don't recall this type, and well....this test might not go so well. Only one chapter left. Wish him luck.

We've also been starting to receive ALL the medical bills from his surgery....some even TWICE! You have to love when offices and insurance companies make mistakes and send two bills, for the SAME THING! Because trust me, there are plenty of bills as it is after surgery! I'm just glad we caught it and had it taken care of quickly.

I've learned this week that is the most unlikely of people that are there to lift your spirits when you're down. People grow, friends change. It doesn't mean friends become better or worse, it is merely that we grow and change and we develop our own and new sense of life, family and priorites....nothing more or less. I treasure all my friends. Even those that I have lost touch with. Someday we will cross paths again.

Today was a long day after a long week. Not to mention it is the infamous Friday the 13th. I arrived home from work to find my baby boy already bathed and in his jammies! I couldn't have asked for more. There is nothing that could cure the worst of days better than a little boy, standing knee high, smiling at you as you walk in the door. I love you Gavin. I can't wait to spend this weekend, work-free, with you!! (and daddy too)

Brave...or Crazy??

Crayola Paint...a One year old...and a day off of work.
This mailing tube is going to be transformed into a rain stick in a later project...but we had to decorate it first of course:)

Now why on earth would I think my one-year old would want to sit and paint a mailing tube and an art canvas when there is a KITCHEN full of white cupboards??!

Well, because maybe I am a bit crazy sometimes, and think that projects will somehow work out they way I "imagine."

Yah , right. Move the boy away from the cabinets and we have the following:

But I soon introduced some new colors and the cabinets are forgotten..for a few minutes anyway.

And for a child that wants to stand and walk along EVERYTHING, ...putting his paint in feet and walking is completely out of the question! He wanted nothing to do with standing.

A work of art!!

Now I have to explain for a moment why daddy is sitting so far in the background. It's not because he doesn't like doing activities with his son, dont get me wrong However, he wasn't in the mood for the mess or the meltdown when trying to prevent the cupboard saftey. When in actualilty, it was a VERY simple cleanup. I'd do it all over again anytime.

So why does Gavin have a blue streak out of his right lip...well, because he thought he might try and eat the sponge brush of course. Kids will be kids. When we said no, I think it startled him more than anything. Just a streak on the face. After that he just smeared it all over his legs and the floor. Heaven forbid he paint the canvas.

So now that Picasso has completed his painting, who, but mommy would dare pick him up. My little colorful wonder:)

A plop in the tub removed every trace of paint. No washcloth necessary. It seriously just vanished in the water. AMAZING! So while there was a slight breakdown in the middle of our painting fun...I would do it again in a heartbeat!...next time with more newspaper down.

Wow

I would just like to say WOW as I comment on my previous post. Can we say "all over the place." Talk about changing the subject every other sentence. I think I must have been quite a bit more tired than I thought. I've got a few more posts to publish when I have a bit more time. I would hate to confuse any readers anymore than I have. :)

A day with Daddy

Well....Mommy had to work today. She picked it up a few weeks ago when her coworker planned her honeymoon. And a few extra bucks is a few extra bucks. What she didn't realize is that the weather was going to be BEAUTIFUL!! A great day to be outside! We have very few days left before it gets cold and we are trying to make the most of them. I don't see any more extra shifts being picked up for quite some time though. So I'm glad overall that I was able to work the few shifts I could snag and get some "catching" up. The good news is that Tim goes to his surgeon on Wednesday and believes that he will be released to go back to work. The debate now is whether he waits til Monday to start fresh or goes in immediately on Thursday. I vote for a fresh week. Tim, however, is going stir crazy and anxious to get back to work.

Tim did get to spend a FULL day alone with Gavin today. The past month, Grandma and Grandpa Ivoska have taken him for hours in the afternoon while I work so Tim didn't over -work his knee and injure himself. Gavin is quite the mover now and needs to be chased around everywhere. Today they played outside, and even went for a very long walk! They stopped by Grandma and Grandpa Johnson's to say hello! They were very happy to see the little guy and even gave some him pretzels. Gavin loved them, and it's better than candy:)

Gavin is also breaking in some molars! Let me tell you...we were VERY lucky the first 6 teeth. They seemed to come in magically. These big white pearls in the back are causing some discomfort. That is for sure. Poor guy has even cried out in his sleep. He is handling it like a champ though and overall being a very smiley tot! Once again, popsicles are magic:)

A very generous customer of mine decided last year to send Gavin his first tractor. This is the first time we actually had it out that he has been old enough and stable enough to sit on it alone. He can almost reach the pedals, by Spring, I am sure he will be riding it down the sidewalk:)

Our little farmer!!

I think there may be some bad news for daddy getting back to work and picking Gavin up himself here shortly. I believe someone is going to miss picking him up... and someone else getting picked up everyday. Because isn't it obvious that somebody LOVES his Grandma:) I love this pic!