Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Taylor & Bedtime

Taylor has always been fairly easy to put to bed each night and never was the kind of kid who drug out bedtime, asking for more water, stories, or hugs. The past week though she has been having a hard time falling asleep and will come out at least once to the family room where Jeremy and I are usually at. Each time she walks out there we ask what's up Taylor and tell her that she needs to get some sleep. The first few nights she would just turn back around and go to her room. The past two nights though she has been saying random things that we can't help but laugh at.

Two nights ago, we hear the footsteps both Jeremy and I look towards the hallway and there stands Taylor, and the random words out of her mouth..."I can count to ten in sign language". Our response "That's awesome, now get some sleep Sweety".

Last night, we hear footsteps look towards the hallway and the random words out of her mouth..."I'm bored". Our response...laughter, followed by "Taylor it's time to get some sleep".

It almost makes me excited for bed time tonight to see what she is going to come up with next.


Peace Out...Cub Scout!!!
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Monday, November 10, 2008

Cody's Stitches are Out

Today I was off work as my company was observing the Veteran's Day holiday. It was no day for relaxation though...busy, busy, busy. One of my to-do list things was to take Cody to get those mean old stitches out of his head. Cody did awesome when they took those little buggers out. The cut is healing very well too which makes me a very happy mommy.

Peace Out...Cub Scout!!!
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Sunday, November 9, 2008

New Furniture - Couch & Dinette

Now that the house has been painted, yes it's done!!!! Jeremy and I decided we should finally treat ourselves to a new couch we had been eyeing for a while. We picked this couch out months ago, but it didn't really go with the color we were going to paint the family room so we kept on looking. Now though, that the room is a more neutral color the couch we have wanted will match perfectly. So we went and did it today and bought the couch. We also decided to go ahead and get a new dinette set why we were there too. I can't wait for the new stuff to be delivered...hopefully it will be soon. But you know how it is with furniture people they always take forever.
Here are some pics of the furniture...
obviously not from our house since we don't have our stuff yet.
Peace Out...Cub Scout!!!
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Saturday, November 8, 2008

Freecycle

Freecycle is paradise for people like me that hate clutter and stuff being in my house. I simply post an item that I no longer want to look at, stick it on my front porch and BAM it's gone. Just like magic. For anybody that hasn't discovered Freecycle I highly recommend it.


Peace Out...Cub Scout!!!
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Friday, November 7, 2008

Bittersweet Day at Work

Today is the first day that I'm writing about my job on my Blog. I'm sure that I have made mention of what I do, or maybe I haven't. I'm not sure. I guess it is the one part of my life that I keep to myself and I'm not sure why really. The reason though that I'm going to fill you in on what I do is that I got a new job (promotion), same company though, and today was my last day in my current job. As excited as I am to start the new one there are always the memories that you leave behind.
I have been with NBC Universal now for over 4 years, working with the same people. 4 years is a long time to build great relationships, which I feel that I have done.
Today at work, my team threw me a wonderful going away party complete with cupcakes a ton of professional, but cool, things for my desk in my new office. I of course teared up at the thought of what a great team I was leaving behind.
Now onto the new job though. HR Generalist for our IT department. New challenges and exciting opportunities for growth are ahead for me and I couldn't be more excited for that.


Peace Out...Cub Scout!!!
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Thursday, November 6, 2008

Thanksgiving

Now that Halloween has passed the focus gets put on Thanksgiving, which is probably on my list of Top 2 Holidays, coming a close second behind Christmas. I think the part about Thanksgiving that I like so much is the cooking. Ok, now for those of you that know me really well you probably think this...


Jessica + Cooking = Insanity


However, the truth of the matter is, even though I don't cook that much I really do enjoy it and people have told me that I do a pretty darn good Thanksgiving meal. The countdown begins to the big day. I have already begun a mental list of my must make again and things I want to give a try. If you have any good Thanksgiving recipes feel free to send them my way.



Peace Out...Cub Scout!!!
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Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Cody's First Stitches

It's times like these when being a parent is the toughest thing out there...Last night I got home from work and it was just like any typical day. The kids were excited and greeted me with hugs. I began my nightly ritual of taking off my ring and necklace and getting into more comfortable clothes. The kids are usually on my ankles this whole time telling me about their day. I love this part of my day being with the kids and hearing their stories. This is when the night took a turn for the worse though.
As I was taking off my necklace Cody was sitting on our bed but for some reason decided he wanted to get off and go get something....well in his excitement he fell off the bed and hit the rocking chair in our room at just the right spot and ended up with a giant gash to the right of his eye. At first glance I knew this was going to a "in need of stitches" cut. I immediately yelled for Jeremy who came running to the room scooped up Cody and held a towel to get the bleeding to stop.
Taylor was a basket case...she thought her brother was dying. In probably what was the sweetest moment I've ever seen from my precious little girl the following words were flowing out of her mouth over and over "brother please don't die, is Cody going to die, I'll miss my brother, Cody please be ok". My eyes tear up just recalling the innocence of my little girl. Capitalizing on the benefit of having my parents (thanks Mom) just a few streets over we were able to drive Taylor over to my parents house without taking extra time so Jeremy and I could focus on getting Cody to the doctor and taken care of.
After dropping Taylor off we headed straight to Kaiser and within 45 minutes Cody was checked in, stitched up, and on our way home. Cody did awesome while he was getting stitches. Crying only while getting the first shot, then after that just simply letting daddy know he didn't like the poky thing that the doctor was using. Six stitches later Cody now has two new nicknames from Taylor, Red Eyeball Head (really silly one that she just basically made up) and Frankenstein (which is of course more obvious).
When we got home from Kaiser my mom had already taken Taylor back to our house to get her ready for bed and we were all in for the second sweetest moment of the night. While Taylor was at my parents house she made Cody a Get Well card and a Get Well Book. The book ended with Taylor and Cody holding hands, complete with a band aid on Cody's head.
Boys will be boys and I am pretty prepared to know that this event is just one of many that I'm sure we will face over our lifetime as parents. But that sure doesn't make it any easier.

Even with stitches, still my happy boy

Final Score
Rocking Chair: 1
Cody: 0

Peace Out...Cub Scout!!!
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Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Porto's Potato Balls

Saturday we decided to take a drive to Burbank to do some shopping at some of our favorite stores, that we just don't have close by. We did some shopping at IKEA & Steve and Barry's before heading over to check out one of the RV dealerships that I pass by every day on my way to work. After those stops we were starving and what better place to eat when one is visiting Burbank, but Porto's Bakery. And who can make a stop at Porto's without having some of their potato balls. I ordered a few of the potato balls for Jeremy, Taylor, Cody & I knowing that the kids would love them. Only, I didn't know just how much Cody would love them. As soon as the plate hit the table, he assumed they were all his. When Taylor tried to take a potato ball from the plate drama ensued as Cody now had one less potato ball to feast on.

Moral of the Story: Don't mess with a Boy and his Porto's potato balls


So excited to get his hands on a potato ball
Taylor takes one away

I can't go on any longer

Peace Out...Cub Scout!!!
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Monday, November 3, 2008

Halloween 2008

Halloween this year showed me just how different Taylor and Cody really truly are. Instead of spending the evening together they each had their own ideas of what they wanted to do. Taylor insisted on attending the Carnival that evening at her school while Cody was dead set on trick or treating. Instead of forcing one of them to make a decision, Jeremy & I split up and satisfied both of them. I took Taylor to her school carnival while Jeremy, my mom, and my sister took Cody out trick or treating.
Taylor had a blast at her party playing games and winning candy. She tried the Cake Walk a few times, but came up empty handed, however she had so much fun giving it a try. Cody took his group on a whirlwind tour of the town and had them out trick or treating for close to 3 hours. Just when Jeremy figured he had enough Cody would respond with "Just 2 more minutes please".
It must be something about this year in a childs life that they realize how cool Trick or Treating is...When Taylor hit 3 years old that was her special Halloween that she stayed out for hours and refused to stop until she couldn't walk anymore.

Some pics from the evening...The Magician and his Bunny

Peace Out...Cub Scout!!!
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Sunday, November 2, 2008

Ritz Apple Pie

Last weekend during our visit to Grandma Jackson's house we got on the subject of recipes, more importantly recipes that are out of the norm and something you wouldn't normally think of. We talked about everything from mayonnaise chocolate cakes to peanut butter fudge with Velveeta cheese. The one recipe though that really caught my attention was an apple pie...with no apples in it. Now, really that just didn't seem possible. Being a fan of apple pie I knew exactly what I needed to do. As soon as I got home I signed on to the Internet and began my Google search. And there it was right before my very eyes...a recipe for apple pie using no apples.

Pastry for two-crust 9-inch pie

36 RITZ Crackers, coarsely broken (about 1 3/4 cups crumbs)

1 3/4 cups water

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Grated peel of one lemon

2 tablespoons margarine or butter

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Roll out half the pastry and line a 9-inch pie plate. Place cracker crumbs in prepared crust; set aside.

2. Heat water, sugar and cream of tartar to a boil in saucepan over high heat; simmer for 15 minutes. Add lemon juice and peel; cool.

3. Pour syrup over cracker crumbs. Dot with margarine or butter; sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll out remaining pastry; place over pie. Trim, seal and flute edges. Slit top crust to allow steam to escape.

4. Bake at 425 F for 30 to 35 minutes or until crust is crisp and golden. Cool completely.

I have not yet had a chance to give this a try but will be doing so next weekend. I'm make sure to let you all know the outcome though.


Peace Out...Cub Scout!!!
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Saturday, November 1, 2008

NABLOPOMO

In case you have no idea what NABLOPOMO stands for...It's National Blog Posting Month. And what better way to celebrate than posting at least one Blog per day for the entire month. Yup, you got that right 30 posts in 30 days. Let's see how this challenge goes.


Peace Out...Cub Scout!!!
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