Back At It

Hello everyone.  I’m back.  I needed a break from most everything plugged in for a while.  The legislative session was very busy this year and then with the whole foot surgery thing, I just needed a break. 

This has been a busy summer.  Aside from the previously mentioned items, we’ve been to Gulf Shores, AL with Mitch’s family.  Long drive with a 3-year-old, but we had a good time.  I get to have a couple long weekends with Gaby coming up, so Linda can have a babysitting break.  Mitch and I are going on a float trip with some friends.  And I’m going to try and fit in visits with the sisters.  Oh, and we are having another half-marathon girls weekend in October with more runners this year.  We are going to be busy. 

I’ve got some crafting projects to work on and need to start on Christmas gifts.  Life is great right now. 

Please anticipate more frequent posting from here on because we are busy and have lots to show for it.  Happy summer everyone!

 

Good and Bad

Sorry for the unexpected blog break. I have a feeling that as long as I work at the Capitol springtime blogging is going to be rare. Session is over. I survived another year, and this one was a crazy one. 12 of my bills passed, so that’s pretty exciting. It was a good session. The good news is I’m back.

Bad news is I’d been having some pretty bad heel pain. Went to the doctor and he told me I had a heel spur that would need to be surgically removed. I had than done today. I’m going to need crutches for the next 10 days, a real sexy black moon boot for at least 3 weeks, and the potential for limited daily activities for 3-6 weeks. Yuck!

But the garden is pretty much in and doing pretty good. The family is good. And I’m looking forward to a great interim this year. Regular updating will resume shortly. I have lots if updates for you.

 

Random

Sorry, that’s the best title I’ve got in me due to the nature of this post.  First, I’ve finished a painting I’ve been working on for a guy Mitch works with.  This is the same MU fan who asked for the logo.  He wanted some tiger eyes, on a canvas, to hang in the bar area of his home.  So, this is what I painted on a 48×24 canvas. 

I think it turned out pretty good.  The photo isn’t the best because it was taken with my phone, but you get the idea.  Now, my plan is to paint some artwork to put up in our house.  I think we need more than just photos on the walls. 

Other news:

After a lot of thought and discussion, Mitch is changing jobs.  He was no longer happy with his job as a loan officer and it was apparent that upward mobility was lacking at the bank.  So, Mitch has decided to go back to work for Metropolitan Insurance with his dad.  This is going to be a bit of a change for us but in the long run will provide our family opportunities that the bank simply wouldn’t offer.  Mitch is excited and ready for a change.  I’m nervous and ready for Mitch to make a change.  What’s nice is that this will likely change the dynamics of our household a bit and take some of the pressure off of me to make the big bucks.  What’s nice is Mitch will be working in a supportive environment with his father who only wants the best for our family–that makes me feel a little better about the decision. 

Also, for those of you who don’t know, my youngest sister Missy got engaged just before Christmas.  She is so excited, and Bryan will be a great addition to our family.  The down side is that she will be moving back to Oklahoma.  I’ve already told Mitch that her move will require Gaby and I take some long weekends over the interim breaks to go see Aunt Missy.  We have our girls weekend coming up this weekend and dress shopping is on the agenda; along with other shopping, dinner at a fusion tapas restaurant, and Legally Blond at the Fox Theater.  The four of us are really looking forward to this time together.

 

A Year Ago This Week…

We had a horrible ice storm. 

Some of the sights were beautiful.

Our backyard, not so beautiful.

We were without power for two days, not bad compared to thousands of other people.  Our trees were severely damaged, to the point that we decided to cut two of the huge maples down in the back yard to make more room for the play set.  All in all we were very lucky.

 

Spoiler Alert Mom and Mitch

So, Mom and Mitch, if you are reading this quit!  Anyone else please enjoy. 

A couple of months ago, we had some studio pictures taken of Gaby, Phil and Linda, and the Rizner crew.  This pictures turned out adorable and one of Gaby is even going to be blown up for display downtown for the 4th of July festivities.  However, regardless of how cute they are, I tend to lean more toward candid shots.  Long story short, one of Jessie’s long-time friends is starting a photography business.  I checked out her work and loved it. 

On Saturday, Erin and I took Gaby to the Governor’s Gardens and Capitol grounds.  I am in love with her work.  Erin was so patient and never once got frustrated.  You can tell she has a two-year-old too.  She got some really nice shots of Gaby and I, so I am really looking forward to getting these for presents for Mitch and Mom. 

Also, there will be some crafty items posted later in the week.  We have three people having little boys in the next couple of months, so I’m going to make some baby gifts.  Stay tuned. 

 

 

Ice

Anyone need some ice?  We have it.  And from the looks of the forecast, it looks like we’ll have some more.  Our power went out sometime yesterday morning between 4:30 and 5:00 am.  All night long we had thunder and lightning with the freezing rain.  All of the wives tales suggest that is not a good sign.  I woke up at 5:00 to take some migraine medicine and discovered the power was out.  Gaby woke up at 6:00 and Mitch tried to get her to play.  At about 7:00 he called his mom and dad to see if he could bring Gaby over; I was going to try and sleep off my headache.  Well, Mitch came in from starting the truck and told me to get dressed because it didn’t look like the power was coming on any time soon. 

On the drive to his mom and dad’s, we could see how bad things really were.  I have some pictures, but I can’t post them now since I don’t have the software to get them off my camera.  A few hours later, we decided to run back home and check on things.  When we got there, it was obvious we needed to get several days worth of clothes.  Some lines were down.  Limbs kept snapping under the weight of the ice, which is a nerve wracking sound when  you have to walk under them to carry stuff from your house to your car!  We checked on a couple of our retired/elder neighbors, and then decided to leave our house to the mercy of the falling tree limbs. 

Mitch stopped by the house this morning just to check on things.  The house is 48 degrees.  Thank God my in-laws let us bring our dog!  Well, anyone reading this please send warm and safe wishes our direction.  Mid-Missouri is under an ice storm warning until 6:00 am Wednesday.  There is no estimate on when we’ll have power again, plus they (whoever “they” are) are predicting that by Wednesday most of Jefferson City will be without power.  Which is interesting, because nearly half of the town is/has been without power since yesterday. 

 

From Thanksgiving…on to Christmas

We had a week full of Thanksgiving celebrations.  The Sunday before, Mitch’s mom (Linda) had most of the extended family to her house for dinner.  We brought the potatoes (mashed and gratin–both are excellent recipes), the turkey and the gravy.  Mitch brined the turkey and I roasted it the next day.  This ended up being the best turkey I’ve had (if I do say so myself).  Not to brag, but the inside was moist and the outside was perfectly golden and flavorful.  In the rush to get to Linda’s, I forgot my camera.  So I have no pictures to share.  Regardless, everything was great and we had fun visiting with family. 

Then, on Thanksgiving we had breakfast with Mitch’s family and dinner at my parent’s house.  This was again the traditional dinner and everything was great.  Plus, one of my mom’s brothers and his son were there.  I haven’t seen Les or Robert for several years, so it was nice to catch up with them. 

 Finally, on Friday, more family came to town: my sister, Jessie, her boyfriend Chad, both of my dad’s sisters and an uncle.  Plus, Les and Robert were still in town.  Everyone came to our house for a shrimp boil and smoked pork loin.  The great thing about this is most everything is cooked outside, so there is really little mess in the house.  We had a great time.  Gaby got to meet more of her extended family.  Plus, since we had this at our house, I was able to put Gaby to bed and enjoy the company rather than having to run home at 7:30. 

Then, my family spent the rest of the weekend at home, all three of us not feeling our best.  We spent a lot of time together, which was nice.  We also watched MU play KU.  We aren’t the biggest football fans, but the game was great.  So we are excited to watch the upcoming game this weekend. 

On to Christmas!  With everything we’ve had going on, I still don’t have my Christmas decorations up or Christmas cards purchased.  The weather is supposed to be questionable this weekend, so it should be a good time to get all that done.  

I do, however, have two of the three gifts I’m making completed.  I love the pants I’ve made for Missy, and I think the purse for Melissa is adorable.  I wasn’t sure about my fabric choices after I got them home–but now that everything is together I love the bag.  I’ll post pictures sometime this weekend, after I get my decorating done. 

 

A Week Without School

Last week was my first week without any school work to do for a while.  I really enjoyed simply sitting around and doing nothing without feeling guilty.  It was really nice.  Now back to some semblance of reality because I have several handmade Christmas gifts I have to get started.  Yesterday I spent a few hours working on my youngest sister’s (Missy) gift.  It’s turning out really cute and coming together pretty quickly.  I’m pleased.  Also, I’m working my way up to the Amy Butler Weekender bag for my other sister (Jessie).  (She knows what she is getting because she picked out the fabric for the bag.)  From what I’ve read on other blogs this project could test my patience but will be completely worth it.  

In other Green family news, we had a great weekend visiting some friends.  Here’s some  back story for you: Mitch has been friends with Joe for about 15 years.  Interestingly Mitch and Joe’s wife Tasha went to grade school together, and Joe and I went to grade school together.  However, Mitch and I didn’t meet until I was a senior in high school because we had completely different circles of friends.  Anyhow, we have always enjoyed late nights just sitting around with them, playing cards, talking, whatever.  Since they had to move to Sedalia a couple of years ago, we haven’t really been able to have much fun adult time.  Anytime we get together someone has to go home and put kids to bed.  So we stayed Friday night at their house, all the kids went to bed pretty early, and the adults stayed up way too late having too much fun.  It was so nice.  So, thanks again Joe, Tasha, Julia and Cody for letting us stay the weekend.  I don’t have any pictures because neither Tasha nor I thought to pull out our cameras.  Oh, well. 

 

Crazy Around Here

Things are just really busy around the Green house right now. We are weening Gaby off baby food and she doesn’t seem too happy about it. How can giving up a bottle be easier than giving up pureed vegetables and fruit? Thank goodness for mac and cheese, bananas, and bread!

The ceiling saga has continued, but is finally wrapping up. We got both the kitchen and bathroom ceilings sprayed on this weekend! You can barely tell there were ever holes through the ceiling. So some minor clean up, paint, and a little wood working and we’ll finally have our bathroom back. I’m very excited. I’ll post some before and after pictures once all is said and done.

I’ve had absolutely no time for anything crafty. Between studying for the course I’m taking right now and keeping up with Gaby, I don’t feel like I have too much extra time. I’ve decided to hold off on the next class since it is right before Christmas. I want to feel like I have a little time to prepare. Plus, I have a bunch of projects I want to work on. I’m feeling selfish and want a little me time and some more family time. Take care everyone. Hopefully about four weeks from now, this will be a more interesting read.

 

Two Projects Done

I picked up my china painting brush to work on a gift for my mom’s birthday. She collects tea pots, so now with a little granddaughter, I thought she needed a personalized tea set for two. This project came together so easily; I wondered why it has been so long since I’ve picked up a paint brush. The lavender oil in my painting medium is so relaxing and when the paint lands on the piece just right the first time, I feel a great sense of satisfaction each time I pull a piece out of the kiln. I really need to paint more often. Enough about me.

Gaby’s floor pillow is done and she loves it! She loves to sit and read a book or play with toys on it. No more dog pillows for her. Luckily, we’ve been able to keep Ike off of it. This was my first major sewing project and I’m hooked. I’ve got lots of ideas for other things to make.

Gaby update: We go for her 15 month check-up in a few weeks, and I won’t be surprised if she’s lost a few pounds but grown an inch. The child runs everywhere she goes. Plus, I hear myself in the few things she does say. The other night she was standing up on the couch, jumping, and I said, “Gaby, on your bottom.” She plopped down, looked at me, and smiled as she said “Good girl.” I realized that every time I’ve told her to sit on her bottom, I’ve followed it with “Good girl.” She says “Hi” to everyone right now, and is quickly becoming Daddy’s girl. They are big-time pals. The time is going way too fast watching her grow up!

 

We’re Still Here…

We’re still here. Things have been pretty busy over the past couple of weeks, unexpectedly so. With the whole bathroom ceiling collapse, my 9-week summer class wrapping up, and the 15-month old investigator things have been kind of crazy around our house lately.

Mitch is coming along on the bathroom. We are both just ready for the project to be completed. I’ll post pictures and the whole story when it is finished. We’re both just ready to have our house back to normal.

I picked some tomatoes with my dad on Friday, so Mitch and I could spend Saturday canning salsa. Hours of work produced only 12 jars of salsa. It is kind of disappointing right now, but I have to remind myself in December the reward will be completely worth the frustration I’m feeling now. But, if I do say so myself, the salsa tastes darn good.

I have to give a huge presentation this week in my class, so wish me luck. I’m looking forward to a relaxing weekend this coming weekend.

Gaby is, of course, expanding her vocabulary all the time. She says “no” to everything right now. She uses “eat” and “yum” frequently. “Hi” is another current favorite phrase. It is so much fun watching our little explorer check out the world around her.

I hope this finds you all doing well. Maybe things will eventually settle down, probably not.

 

Swimming and Other Fun

Our offices were at noon today, so my mini vacation (at home) started a few hours early. My favorite Chinese restaurant was closed so I met Linda (Mitch’s mom), Jess (Mitch’s cousin) and, of course, Gaby at the second choice. Although it was my second choice, the food was great. By the way, Gab loves Egg Drop Soup and the peas from the fried rice. After we filled our bellies with rice and various fried foods, Gaby and I stuffed ourselves into our bathing suits, slathered on the sunscreen and ventured out on the deck for some back yard swimming. She had a blast. Obviously, she had too much fun because she never got settled down for a nap and went to bed by 7:00. We’re looking forward to tomorrow. Mitch and I are dropping Gaby off at my mom and dad’s for the morning while we meet our neighbor for a golf outing. My first time out in two years–wish me luck.

So, with the early bedtime, I have some time to get a few projects going that I’ve been itching to start. I’ve been absolutely inspired by other blogs I’ve been reading. These women are amazing sewers, knitters, crafters, you name it–all while they go about their varied, busy lives. So, I thought, why don’t I join them and share some of my projects along with the stories that go with them.

The pictures above are of fabric and the pattern for a floor pillow I’m going to make for Gaby. It is pretty shades of pink, that will last her for a long time (not too little girl). Ike is our wonderfully patient Lab, and Gab loves to lay on Ike’s floor pillows. When I saw a pattern for this pillow I knew my girl had to have it. The pattern is an Amy Butler pattern I picked up while visiting my sister, Jessie, a couple weekends ago. Each petal on the flower is going to be made from a different pink fabric. Right now I’m taking a break from ironing all the fabric before I can even get started with the fun part. Wish me luck. I know the girl will love it.

 

In the Past Month

She thinks Mom’s sunglasses are pretty cool.

We’ve been pretty busy over the past month. Gaby is getting steadier when she walks. Plus, she’s starting copy catting things we do. She has figured out how to get in and out of a car she got from Grandma and Grandpa Green for her birthday. She is just a lot of fun to watch. She continues to bring so much joy to our lives. Every day is something new.

 

First Birthday

We had Gaby’s birthday party the Saturday after her birthday. She didn’t take very good naps that day, so by 5:00 she was grouchy as can be. She didn’t want anything to do with her cake. She wasn’t too into her presents. Not much made her happy. However, everyone else had a great time.

I dressed Gaby in the Easter dress she didn’t get to wear because it was too cold. She looked adorable. The party was Elmo themed, so I borrowed an Elmo cake pan and made her cake. When she got in the car and saw a huge Elmo face sitting next to her, she got pretty excited. Mitch’s sister Melissa brought the bounce house her boys got for Christmas a couple years ago. All the kids that came to the party had a blast.

Next year, should be better.

 

She Loves Her Swing

Gaby loves to swing! Mitch put this swing under our deck. Then Grandma VanPool and I took Gaby to the park. She didn’t know what to think of that swing first, but she quickly warmed up to it. These pictures were taken mid-March.

 

I promise to be a better blogger

I promise, I will be a better blogger. I was unbelievably busy with work from March through May. Now things have significantly slowed down and I hope to update the blog with new pictures and family goings-ons. I have a mid-year resolution to better keep up with the blog.
Ang

 

Getting Big

At Gab’s 9 month well-baby visit she was 30 inches and just over 24 pounds. No question the girl is growing. Sometimes she looks like such a little grown-up. Crawling is a piece of cake now. We think it won’t be long before she’s walking. Still no teeth; although, by her fussiness this weekend and the fact that absolutely everything is in her mouth we might see some soon. We hope you are all doing well.

p.s. I tried to post some pictures, but never could get them to load.

 

Two Firsts This Week!!!

We are so excited! Gab has started crawling and said her first word.

She’s been pulling up on everything for a couple of weeks now, so we started wondering if she would just kind of skip crawling and go straight to walking. Tuesday night she finally crawled. She prefers to have her pants off when crawling (we guess that it’s easier for her that way). She’s also started pulling up in her crib. So for the last two mornings when I go in and get her out of bed, she greets me with her head peeking overthe rail of her crib and with a big smile on her face. It’s a wonderful sight.

Her first word, as we expected, was “Ike.” She loves him, and ever since she started the army crawl she’s followed him around as best she can. She got real excited last night she blurted out “IKE!” Then she said it several more times. This afternoon when I picked her up from Linda’s, I had Gab show off her new trick. Blake was impressed and then asked if she could say Oreo (the name of Linda’s dog). It was too cute!

Now if we can get some teeth in and get over this cold.

 

Christmas

We’re a little slow updating everyone, but here are some Christmas pictures. We had Christmas Eve at both grandparents’ houses. Then, we had Christmas morning at home. Gaby wasn’t too interested in opening presents, but she did want to play with her toys. She’s having a lot of fun playing with all her new stuff. These are a few of the pictures.

 

Getting Ready for Christmas

Well, Christmas is almost here and we’re getting ready. We’re looking forward to this first Christmas as parents. Gaby has already been attracted to the bright colors on the wrapping paper and the lights on the tree. Mitch has most of the gifts wrapped, and Gaby is busy figuring out how to crawl. She’s got the army crawl down and gets up on all fours. We just don’t have a full-fledged crawler yet. I guess she thinks, “Why crawl? I can roll anywhere I need to go.” As you can see from the pictures, she’s really close to crawling. It is so much fun seeing what new things she does every day. I have one more class (and a 10-page economic policy brief to complete) and I will have my first Master’s course under my belt. I’m sure you’ve guessed, we’ve been pretty busy lately. It’s hard to believe that Gaby is 7 1/2 months old already! I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun! We’re all looking foreward to Christmas!