the best is yet to come...

Fantastic and Five!

2010-09-10T10:54:00.000-07:00

My girl is 5 years old today! Isnt' she great? We all love her so much. We love her dancing, her fashion sense, her insightful questions, like "Why do people need to sleep? Is it because they have to have dreams?" ( she really got me with that one!). We love her passion, her imagination, her art work, her jokes, the way she loves and plays with her brother and new baby sister. She is our very most favorite Savannah! Happy Birthday my girl!

Weepy

2010-06-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

For days now I have had this...well it can only be described as weepy. Anything and everything could very easily cause the tears to engage and the heart to beat at a heavy aching pace. I am emotional over commercials, tiny moments with my kids, seemingly "harmless" conversations with my husband. He continues to watch the smallest changes in my face to determine wether now is a good time to talk to me about weekend plans, work updates, or baby excitement. Three pregnancies with me has molded him into a cautious, overprotective, and gentle husband. I sure love that man! Its almost over honey!
But here is what I've decided...these symptoms of pregnancy: overly emotional, weepiness, nesting, fits of frustration are only a "symptom" because thats the natural resulting response when you take a perfectly capable, independent, attractive woman and turn her life upside down. You add 20-40 extra pounds on her already (not so perfect) body. This weight affects not just her self esteem but her ability to move and maintain her life as she knew it. Suddenly everything from the waste down can't be cleaned the way she'd like, the tiny McDonalds toys escape her practiced hand because well she can't bend down that far! But its not just the things below that confound her now. No! The things above her head, for instance cupboards...her belly actually shortens her reach now too! And forget grabbing a stool to get to the rarely used food dehydrator. The stool will be her demise if she risks her unevenly proportioned self on top of the tiny pedestal. And thats just the house cleaning overview. What about chasing after toddler children? Forget it....its not happening. Here is where the fits of frustration enter. She has lost her temper and her sanity...and her kids in terror slowly and cautiously approach what is usually their mom. Then the weepiness begins...guilt....oh the guilt! "Mommy just doesn't feel good and its not your fault. I'm sorry mommy scared you! Please don't run away from scarey mommy again!" Yeah right! And then that process repeats over and over again as that belly gets bigger and she finds herself limited even more. Until, like myself, she is reduced to mostly weepy because all the things she used to take pride in: her appearance, her ability to organize her home, to clean her home, her ability to be a good mom, a good wife, are not only compromised they seem completely gone! So doctors you call it a symptom, I call it a big mean trick! Thank heavens that within the first year of the new babies life you regain all those things again. Just takes time.

94 Years of Livin...Why am I in such a hurry??

2010-06-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

As most of you know I am very pregnant right now and had to quit work as a precaution because of my unpredictable dizzy spells. These dizzy spells have interrupted a number of plans and goals I've had and have been a great source of irritation for me. Somedays they don't seem to happen at all and then other days its constant. So I've learned some tricks that help me cope. The most important of these (and the most often overlooked)is SLOW DOWN! How many times have I learned that being in a hurry makes the dizziness worse...I run out of breath... my body really can't go that fast right now and yet I still continue to push it. The phone rings I feel this urgency to answer it...why? So I don't get to it in time, isn't that why I have an answering machine. I wake up in the morning and take inventory of my wreck of a house and panic...."there is so much to do today I better hurry!" I tell myself. Does it all need to be done today? Is it so urgent that every dish is done by 10am ? If I do meet that goal by noon will they still be done??? Nope. So why the hurry?? So much of what I am in a hurry for is classified under general maintenance... which logic would tell you will always require you to maintain it...it can never be described as done. My nesting tendency has also kicked in a great deal much to my husbands amusement (and I'll be honest occasionally his irritaion as well) I feel this need to clean and organize the utensil drawer. Organize my kids dresser drawer and I hear this clock ticking in my head counting down the seconds until this wonderful baby will be here and I want it all to be done before she comes. Done! Not possible is it. What is the worst that can happen if I haven't cleaned behind the bunk beds? A number of socks will be missing their mates and the stale popcorn back their will continue its process of decay. But the funny thing is they'll be there no matter when I get to that. In a year those socks will still be there if I can't manage to get to it now. What is my hurry? I decided to repeat, as a montra, what I learned from working in a nursing home "Actually life is really long!" That doesn't mean procrastinate what you can do, but lighten up on the things you can't get to yet....life is long! So I got curious "How long?" I looked it up here at http://www.livingto100.com/ and answered some pretty easy questions and found out I'm expected to live to 94! I'm going to turn 28 in a week...I've got 66 years to get to that stale popcorn...easy does it Rachel....slow and steady wins the race!

Date Night on a Budget

2010-05-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

We had the best time! I find that when we don't have our kids it gives us the opportunity to be kids ourselves! We are more spontaneous, and much more fun! We were at a loss for what to do with our freedom when some friends needed to borrow Joes truck to pull out a stump. Due to past experience with this we strapped on our protective head gear revved up the engine and had a ball. We even got the 100 year old dead maple out of their yard too! The thing behind us is the top part of the huge root ball we un-earthed!! Thanks for always showing me a good time honey! I'll pull stumps with you any time!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-02T21:35:00.000-07:00

I went to run some errands and this is what my family was up to while I was gone. I think the kids were in good hands, don't you? I love that their daddy hasn't totally grown out of his childhood. He's an awesome dad.

Other highlights of today:
I counted how many times the phone rang today from 8am to 8pm.... 26 times. I hate the phone. I hate telemarketers. I hate when I answer the phone and no one is there because the automated system that dialed the call has failed and repeatedly wasted my time.

I decided to finally roast that turkey that I have had sitting in the freezer. I had never done it before 10 lb turkey according to my research should be done cooking in 4 hrs. We were supposed to eat at 6pm....no turkey until about 8:30pm I made tuna helper at 7pm....we'll have turkey tomorrow :)

And as a fine finale, Savannah took a dive off the bunk bed and landed on her face. I didn't see it happen but she screamed and screamed. Her nose was bleeding by the time I got there and it took it a good 10 minutes to quit. Poor thing, her nose swelled up and her top lip. You can kinda see it in the pictures. A little tylenol later and she was back to her bouncy self. Poor Chase got the raw end of the deal he was napping in the bed below her and woke up to her cries of terror and pain. He was scared to death, and all the blood, he was so worried about his sister and he kept looking at me like, "is everything okay mom? It doesn't seem okay?! Have you got this under control?"

All in a days work right?

The Honeymoon is over

2010-03-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

I like to think that I have been a pretty involved mom since going to work for the last year. I told myself that I was in the know about their lives and demands and day to day behavior. It has been a year since I have been home with them full time. The last time this was the case, Chase had barely learned to walk and the brother/sister dynamic, only in the beginning phases. It turns out that while I saw them everyday in that last year and interacted with them as much as I could before and after work....I still missed a lot. I am going to show you a behind the scenes look at life at our house. You mothers (bless your hearts) will not be surprised by what you witness and I'm sure it will not phase you. But I, in truth, after having had children now for 4 years, suddenly find myself feeling a little green! Like I'm a rookie in the toddler on toddler brawl and have somehow forgotten just how hard the daily grind of life at home as Mommy really is. How do you forget that! At one point a couple days ago I said to myself, "I'm ready to go back to work I need a break!" So, heres to you Mama's, whose finest hours are spent in the care of the little ones you adore, and you may or may not be recognized for that on a daily basis. I salute your accomplishments, and am (after regaining my resolve) glad to be counted among you.

2010-03-06T01:06:00.001-08:00

"C" is for Carebears, Camping, Cars & Chase

2010-03-03T15:20:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged in months and rather than try and catch up I'm just going to begin with today. I have recently been excused from work because .....SURPRISE! Baby #3 is on the way and I have been suffering from the usual dizziness that I have had with the two previous pregnancys. But don't offer sympathy yet because it has given me the opportunity to be at home instead of passing out at work Yay! I am so glad to be home I missed my kids! We have started the new routine off with a bang and have started "Alphabet Days" in honor of Savannah getting ready for kindergarten in the fall. She has had some resistance to learning in a conventional way and I'm not sure if that because I haven't been home or what. She is a quirky little thing anyway...so in order to accomadate her cute little personality we have instituted a practice of honoring one letter everyday, all day.

We began of course with "A". First we learned about air by playing with a fan and a balloon and other things that float. We made paper airplanes and had a race to see who could fly farthest. And then we calmed things down a bit and watched "Ariel" aka the Little Mermaid. For lunch we had apples and other non A foods.

For "B" day we rode bikes, played badmitten (mostly we just ran around with the rackets in our hands) we tried baseball (with much the same result) and at lunch we learned about Bees and had peanut butter honey sandwiches with some gummy bears for desert. We even went to the grocery store (something we had to do anyway) and identified the letter "B" all around the store not forgetting the Bakery where grandma is a Baker and of course she gave us a cookie. We wrapped up by Baking cookies of our own.

SO today is "C" day and we so far have had the remaining cookies which Chase decided to mash up into the couch and so in honor of "C" day he helped me Clean it up!! Little stinker. Then we collected all our Cars and had races we ate Corn dogs and Cheese sticks, and Crackers for lunch and the finale was camping on the living room floor with a makeshift tent and we even invited our Carebears and Cat stuffed animals. The great things is this has really jump started her enthusiasm and really given us all something to look forward to everyday. I love that it is applied learning for her and that because there are activities she doesn't feel like shes learning all day even though she is! The part I love best of all is that I haven't spent any money and have managed to still find fun things to do with things we have at home. Yay! Mostly I'm just glad to be home.

Earth to Planet Stanek????

2009-09-12T23:12:00.000-07:00

Wow where have we been??? To quote a favorite movie of ours "Lovin' life 24/7" (anybody seen Elizabeth Town?) Heres a brief summary of our lives over the last few months.

We have had quite a year so far. Lets see where to begin. The beginning of the year was rough no work, no real security in where our lives were heading. Lots and lots of prayers later I began working full time as a CNA at Valley View Estates a local long term care facility and have learned so much there. Joe switched gears for the first time in our marriage and became a stay at home dad for a couple months. He took on the many roles of playmate, chef, housekeeper, and errand runner. I experienced the pressure of providing for a family and knowing what I made never seemed to be quite enough. What a tremedous blessing that has been to our family. We have literally been able to walk in eachothers shoes and been able to appreciate eachother so much more. That is an understatement. We went on our first family vacation to The Museum of the rockies AKA "The Dinosaur Museum" as a reward to Savannah for finally mastering that potty training!!! What a big girl! And then in May we went to Washington to visit the Sagan's (our wonderful friends that moved away) for three days and they showed us the ropes. Somewhere in there Joe started working nights stocking shelves at Super 1 Foods a grocery store in Hamilton. Practically the same week he started there in April we got all kinds of calls for masonry work. Feast or famine right? SO he suddenly had a very busy schedule. I cut back on hours a little and he worked everyother night stocking shelves and every week day doing masonry. He slept every couple days. I'm not exaggerating. We did that for the entire summer. I worked 6 days a week (still do) mondays off and tue-friday 5-9pm and weekends 2-10pm. On week days we'd pass eachother on the way out the door give a quick hug and kiss and then be off to either work or child rearing. I know! It sounds crazy doesn't it. Joe turned 28 so we celebrated by doing kid stuff and spent the day at Qwivals (an amusement park) then I turned 26 and he orchestrated a surprise BBQ for me and gave me a bike for my B-day. Around the spring sometime we planted a garden and named it a successful learning experience. We finally bit the bullet and started that food storage. We ripped out the ugly juniper bushes in front of our house, and we got a puppy named Nitro. Joe impressed us all by pulling off a "Tour of Homes" home on little sleep and made it through smiling. Chase has a love for eating food off the floor or off of his sisters bed (see picture). Savannah is learning her letters, and is full of imagination. Chase is beginning to talk and among his first words used to communicate are eat "eeeh" and hungry "uuhry". Hes is really good at saying no and giving his sister advance notice before he retaliates physically by saying "owie" before he pulls her hair. That one makes me laugh so hard and I really need to hold it in. We went to 2 parades, braved the roller coaster at the fair and caught a chicken. Savannah had a Cinderella birthday party complete with a Cinderella cake (courtesy of our local Baker and cake maker Grandma Stanek). The cake was such a big deal to Savannah we planned the party around it. She talked about it for 2 months previous to the big day.

That pretty well brings you up to date I think.

Its been pretty nuts but I think we lived life to the fullest and enjoyed almost every minute of it.

OUT with the Old.....IN with the...uhh not so Old.

2008-11-06T08:03:00.000-08:00

This is our old fridge.
It has done a good job for us over the last couple years. It has kept out milk cold and our ketchup frozen. It has endured our squeezing and squishing everything inside it just to get the door closed. It was brave when it was time to defrost the shoe-box size freezer. At which time I would literally hammer and pick the ice inside to make the process go faster. It has been the best it can be.

This is our new fridge.
Let me tell you all of its amazing features. First please notice that all the stuff in the new fridge was packed tight in the old fridge! I got it all in there and was like "I have to go shopping we have nothing to eat! It has a place for all of the condiments. It has ample room for 2 jugs of milk and with even more room for juice! I can put my butter in the door along with who knows what else! A bin for meat/cheese items. And then 2 bins for produce of all sorts! But the absolute best part..... is
The Freezer! We have a freezer. I had to go buy a huge thing of ice cream just to feel the joy of putting it in there.

See how excited Savannah is? This is a big deal at the Stanek house!

Happy Halloween

2008-11-05T09:19:00.000-08:00

We had a fun fun fun Halloween....I'm so tired of costumes now...Savannah was something different every day that week! I'm only showing you actual Halloween day costume choice. She was a witch one day. Then she was Jessie the Cowgirl, then she was a princess, and lets not forget the princess clown. And then all the days in between a strange collage of all of them! Chase was a pumpkin I thought his stout little cheeks lent themselves very nicely to the part. He was such a good sport about the whole thing. He is such an easy going baby. We love him so much. We trick or treated at both Grandparents houses and went to the Halloween Parade downtown Hamilton. Big Day! Grandpa Stanek and Uncle Dusty even dressed up!

How do you get video's to upload??

2008-10-28T16:04:00.000-07:00

Okay so, I'm annoyed. I have all these cute video's to share with grandparents in other parts of the world and I cannot get blogger to upload my videos. AND I know people do it....cuz I've seen them. So I did a little digging to figure out the problem and apparently its an issue they are aware of but have not resolved. The most recent update on the matter is from 2 years ago!!?? I guess what bothers me is that they are still offering it as a feature on blogger. Yet they haven't been able to fix why it sometimes works, but mostly not. I feel silly whining about this...I'll be honest. But right now, exactly right now...I just don't feel embarassed enough to stop venting about it. **SIGH** I'll be fine. Afterall 20 years ago video cameras were a novelty....I should be grateful.

Ode to our Wagon!

2008-10-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

We love our wagon! We have put some serious miles on it this summer and fall. I've been thinking of a way to measure it...does anyone know how to do that? We take it with us in the grocery store, to the park, to our friends house, across small streams, to the library! I was desperate one day...we needed a bathroom and the library was very accomodating all except for the "easy access" for the handicapted and stoller/wagon weilding mothers! If you've been to Hamilton library I'm sure you can imagine me dragging this wagon up those ridiculous switchbacks just to go to the bathroom! Some of you may be saying "why didn't she just leave the wagon outside?" Because the wagon is a very important holding device for brand new babies while the mommy is frantically pulling her daughters pants down before we have "a acc-ne -dent" Thank you Wagon!

"Oh you chitty chitty bang bang! Chitty Chitty bang bang we love you! Bang bang Chitty Chitty bang bang our fine four fendered friend!" Thats how we fell about you wagon! I love that movie! And the soundtrack is one of a kind "Truly Scruptious", "You're my little Teddy bear"

Has anyone seen that movie?? I give it 5 stars!

BUMMER!

2008-10-15T12:35:00.000-07:00

IneedaJOB!!!
Unfortunately even Stanek Masonry has been affected by the sorry state of our economy... and so it is time for me to re-join the work force. If anyone has any info about jobs I'd love to hear about them!

7 Random Things about me

2008-10-08T11:20:00.000-07:00

So Heather tagged me and in keeping with the rules shown below here is her blog http://familyofhatchlings.blogspot.com/
So my 7 random facts about myself are....

1. I encourage myself to lose weight and have a healthy lifestyle with a sticker chart much like my daughters potty chart. At the end of the day if I have followed in pursuit of the goals I have set which are 1. Eat all meals before 6pm 2. Drink half the recommended amount of water per day (because I am having reasonable expectations of myself and will work up to 8 cups eventually) 3. Write in my journal at least weekly about my life and my progress 4. Work out 5 days a week 3 of them are areobic and 2 are strength training. 5. Eat at the kitchen table, then I get to have my sticker. It has been strangely motivating....and when I don't get a sticker at the end of the day I've committed to not have an all or nothing attitude and try again the next day.

2. I am one of a kind... I have no whole brothers or sisters. But I have 4 half brothers, 4 Step brothers, 3 half sisters, and 1 step sister. Crazy huh! For the record though the 3 brothers I was raised with I don't think of as half brothers....they're my brothers through and through!

3. I involuntarily squeal when I'm excited. During my childhood my mom noticed that when I was watching an exciting part in a movie or about to go do something fun, Christmas it happened a lot, I would let out this squeal of excitment. As an adult I have been able to control it a little better. When I feel it coming on and I'm in a place where its not quite appropriate like Church, or in the grocery store...I can make myself squeal on the inside rather than letting it out audibly.

4. I rub/itc the right side of my forehead/eyebrow with the palm of my hand when I'm frusterated, overstimulated, or tired. Its one of my "tells"!

5. My favorite kind of jokes are PON (Play On Words)jokes, according to my husband, he discovered he consistently gets a laugh out of me with this kind of joke.

6. I get road rage at slow drivers. I can be in a perfectly lovely mood but if I come aross someone who is going slower than the speed limit I feel deep deep anger at them! Then I go on a tirade (in my head) and what I would say to them if I had the chance. I've imagined even fashioning a sign to look very much like a speed limit sign with a popscicle stick handle to have in my car and shake at them as I pass by....once I can finally pass them.....curse you 2 lane highway!

7. I hate forwards in email. They are a waste of time and effort...I have dial-up internet so if I'm going to take the time to wait for a page to load, it better be good, it better be something that someone wrote to me for me.

THE END

Hubby Tag!

2008-10-04T21:08:00.000-07:00

1. Where did you meet your husband? I met him at a Know your Religion in Stevensville, MT before he was even really investigating the church. It was the first time he's ever gone to anything LDS. He worked for my old YW leaders husband and was wearing the company logo I had designed on his coat... I'd never seen it used before....it was a sign!

2. How long did you date before you were married? Almost a year to the day...we started dating on leap day 2004 and were married Feb 25th 2005

3. How long have you been married? 3 1/2 years

4. What does he do that surprises you? He likes Opera! He came home one day and said did you know _____ died? ( I don't remember his name.) you know, of the 3 tenors? I said no I didn't. And then he replied "I'm really sad." I started laughing cuz I was sure he was being sarcastic....he wasn't.

5. What is your favorite feature of his? I love his man hands and blue eyes and his Fred Flintstone feet! (I'm so serious they look just like Fred Flintstone which is funny because that company logo I did was a cave man modled after the flintstones)

6. What is your favorite quality of his? He is very self motivated. Hes always making goal lists and plans. Notebooks and notebooks of them. I found that very promising when we started dating. And he doesn't mind being silly around me....note the pictures... 7. Does he have a nickname for you? When he wants somthing he wisks me into his arms and holds me close and traces tiny cicles with his finger on my back or shoulder and says "Whose my cream puff?"

8. What is his favorite food? He loves Stir-fry and mashed potatos...long story....

9. What is his favorite sport? Right now its UFC (Ultimate Fighting Club)

10. When and where was you first kiss? At the back door of a friends house we kissed goodbye after a dance party. Could you resist that?

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? We like to watch movies together...its all we can afford and we love it Yay for Netflix!!! No late fees!

12. Do you have any children? 1 girl 1 boy

13. Does he have any hidden talents? He is crazy good at fractions...yeah like math...yuck! And he is all about history...everyday I get a history lesson of some kind. He just somehow remembers it all.

14. How old is he? 28 but in his heart I think hes still about 5

15. Who said I love you first? He did

16. What is his favorite music? He likes noise...thats what I call it. And he loves the soundtrack to Star Wars and Lawrence of Arabia

17. What do you admire most about him? His commitment to always better himself in someway, or learn something new.

18. What is his favorite color? Maroon (not red, yet not black...he wanted me to specify)

19. Will he read this? I hope so.

20. Who do you tag? If you are reading this I tag you.

Wasting Time....

2008-09-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

This is me waisting time

I have been sucked in. So a friend of mine invited me to view some pictures of her on facebook and I haven't seen her in a long time and I was really excited to see what she was up to now. So I had to join facebook to see them. And then you won't believe the assault that followed. I suddenly get like billions of emails saying so and so has added you as a friend and then you need to confirm that they are your friend and then on and on until you've seen and read everyones pictures and profiles and have a totally dead bum cuz you've been sitting there so long. *Sigh* Really I'm so happy because I found some long lost friends of mine from like elementary school and junior high! Amazing... But my children have suffered the consequences of neglect. Savannah just now got panties put back on after running around in the buff for most of the morning (she is dressed now) and Chase was soaked through with slobber and beside himself with teething discomfort. Then theres like these games people were inviting me to play and I don't know what I'm doing... someone ducked me???/what? Yeah like duck duck goose....and other friends of mine have their own mafia....I just feel like this is making my A.D.D.worse (not that I actually have it) but I think I'm gonna get it...there's all these places to click on stuff and then people are clicking on you and writing stuff on your wall....(panting) I'm out of breath. Oh jeez, I went on there for like way to long, talk about a run-on sentence. I think the whole experience was worse because Joe and I refuse to join the rest of the world with high speed internet. Thats right folks we are on dial-up...so be patient I can't play duck, duck, goose or help you take over any kingdoms until I attend to real life.

Please note the heaping laundry basket in the background of this one.... and there I sit.....I am such a brain washed zombie!

Happy 3rd Birthday!

2008-09-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

Can't believe my baby girl is 3! She had a fun birthday and a few days of celebration. We had a party for her and invited all of her friends. Originally it was going to be at the park but it was a rainy day so the gym at the church was the final location. I decided all you need at a birthday party is lots of balloons and a big area to run. That was a big hit! It was a costume party so that was pretty entertaining too. She is growing up and learning how to pronounce words like "truck" which for so long has been pronounced with an "f" at the beginning instead of the "tr". She loves to tackle her little brother...it sounds cruel...but she really is very soft with him and the tackling makes them both laugh so hard. Someday though its gonna cause tears. She loves to sing songs now. That is a new thing. For most of her speaking life if someone (mostly me) sings to her she holds out her little hand with authority and shouts "No! Stop!" This really hurt me actually...I sing alright I would tell myself. Surely if I had a repelent (sp) voice my Choir teacher would have let me in on it in High School. I was glad to find out that others had also experienced this with her (sorry grandmas'). She knows her own mind and once its made up well thats the way she feels. Anyway, singing is a good time now...she used to love it as a baby...I thought....

I really didn't mean to get lost on that little tangent. My own insecurities surfacing.

So yes that is me in a Rainbow Bright costume for her birthday party. Savannah was so happy I broke it out just for the occasion. My mom really deserves the credit for the amazing costume. Thanks Mom! She made it for me in college.

My favorite things she has been expressing are:

-when offered something to eat...."No, I good." using my own words against me when I tell her "No, you're good, you've had enough juice."

-"Moos-kick" for music

-(whispers) "I tinkerbell" because tickerbell doesn't talk she only twinkles.

Happy Birthday my darling girl!OliverTylin

Jacob

Adam

Brynne

Kelsie & Lauren

Matthew

Ella

Why all the pictures you ask??? Because they wouldn't hold still for the group picture and because I'm nuts!

"Arting"

2008-09-04T21:15:00.000-07:00

I recently completed an art project. I haven't done anything really technically challenging in a long time. And I found myself a little rusty at first but after a while I got my groove back... I haven't had it in a while (like 4 yrs). I have lame excuses for not keeping up with it but the truth is I really need to be doing a little "arting" all the time. So I have committed to myself to make sure I always have a project in the works. The one I just finished was a sign for my parents that has been in my head for years and finally I just had to do it. It was a gift to them for being my wonderful parents yes...but also because they just bought their first home and I'm so proud and happy for them! It is going to hang from the front porch of their beautiful home. I made it from a cupboard door that used to be in my kitchen. Joe and I did a little demolition when we bought the place to make room for a refrigerator in the kitchen. Before that it was in an adjoining room (so silly we thought) any way but I asked him to save the doors so that I could art on them when I got a few free minutes. The door was perfect because it was kinda knotty old ply wood but the edges had been beveled so it gave it a little character and I wanted it to look old because it was going to hang on an old house. Below it says "Welcome Home" the picture doesn't quite do it justice.And the colors were simple they were fall colors which my parents both love and they have recently become infatuated with copper so I decieded to showcase it a little in there name. It was really fun to personalize it to there specific taste. I haven't had so much fun in a long time with art. This felt like a little safer indeavor to dive in after an extended vacation from any serious art. Some time soon I'll start drawing my favorite subject... people. But for now my new project is painting some of the furniture in my living room. I found this way cool article of a woman who decorated her home with all kinds of colors none of them really matched but the way she used them with eachother made the whole thing make sense. As soon as I saw it I was so excited. The article quoted her saying "For many designers there are rules, for me there are none." And I tell you she was speaking my language!

I've got some tweaking to do on the little end table I painted but when I'm satified with it I'll post a picture.

2 months later...

2008-09-01T13:52:00.000-07:00

So time went by fast and now the summer is over. I actually had to turn on the heater today. It was so chilly. We've had a good summer though. Chase is 7 months old now (I can't believe it!) and Savannah is getting ready to be 3 years old. They are so fun to watch grow up and interact. I'm so proud of my kids, they love eachother so much and that just makes me so happy.

So hmm... to catch everyone up...Our computer crashed. We lost everything on our hard drive. Which was very sad and stressful. I had the task of putting it all back on the computer which proved to be too much for me. So we hired a new book keeper. She was Joe's old boss's wife who did the books for their business. So she already knows the business and will be able to give us great insight. We're really excited. We've partied it up we went to a luau and a couple parades and the fair and now we're ready for fall.

Chase was our family's Big Kahuna at the ward luau.

Savannah watched the water balloon fight in disappointment when her water balloon broke before she could get in on the action.

They also had their very first bath together and it was quite an event. Savannah was so excited to have a buddy in the tub with her. Chase wasn't quite prepared for her enthusiasm but as often is the case he tried his best to be a good sport as she squealed and splashed. Adorable!

2008-06-27T05:56:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to Music in the Park. Every thursday at 8pm at Claudia Driscoll park they are having a band of some kind play. Its so fun! Its been so fun to get out and feel part of the community I live in. Last week the Bitterroot Band played and this week the Kent Curtiss Band played. Savannah loves it she flits and dances all over the place and I even got up and jammed with her for a while. Chase loves it too he likes to stare off at the sky and listen. I think hes gonna be a deep thinker. We took our fun wagon and walked to the park and met some friends there and had some snacks. The kids wore themselves down and by the time it was over they were pooped. So on the walk home (they were in the wagon of course) Savannah and Chase wound down and were all ready for bed. It was a great evening....all except for one part...you know those fireman poles at play grounds that you slide down? Well there was a little boy in front of Savannah and she saw him step off the edge and go down. But I don't think she understood he was using the pole to slide down. She must of thought he just floated down somehow. Because she stepped off the edge didn't reach for the pole and landed on her back and bit her tounge. Oh she cried! And I was clear across the park feeding chase when it happened. I felt so bad.

Turning a new leaf

2008-06-23T06:48:00.000-07:00

It has become apparent that there simply is not enough time in the day. Duh! Of course you already know this. I've been in denial for a few months. I was sure I could accomplish all I had to do with smile on my face and energy to spare by the end of the day. After failing time and again I decided to look at when my day started....8 am most of the time. And I decided there is a whole world out there of people getting up a few hours before that. Maybe they had the answer to my problem. So last week I gave it a shot. I woke up at 6 am giving myself two extra hours a day for a total of 14 extra waking hours a week. I tell you I am a new woman. Not only do I get things done I also have time to work off my baby chub since the gym is just a couple blocks from my house which increases my feel good hormones (so the researchers say puts you in a better mood.....and it has!!!) and I have 2 hours a day that I am awake that I have time to myself! My house is still a heaping wreck but now I have these two hours to think on how I'm going to change that. And the best part is the rest of the day I can be the happy mom and not worry about the stinkin dishes.

Pass it on

2008-06-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

I am always frusterated because it seems I can't find what I'm looking for online in the time I have to find it. Often this problem comes up when I am researching parenting questions or health concerns or whatever. Stuff that mommies need to know. So I have found a great resource in my friend Lindsey who does research on that kind of stuff for a living while raising a 2 year old boy at the same time. She has started a blog on her findings and I love it! She has it all organized and linked to her sources and her writing is a hoot to read. So informative as well as funny....can't ask for more. The link is http://mommy-multitasking.blogspot.com I highly recommend checking it out.

Savannah running for Mayor

2008-06-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

Got a deal on pictures for Fathers Day and thought hey why not. I'm pretty happy with them so wanted to share. However I feel that this will be the last time I try to go without some back up. Savannah bless her sweet heart was bored to tears. The picture taking process is really not a problem because she can be the center of attention. But when that part is over and its time for Mom to pick out what picture we want Savannah went to great lengths to entertain herself....
Chase, my sweet boy, was smiley and happy and more than willing to cooperate during the picture process too. He did a great job! I really was expecting more of a struggle with him but again the picture taking process was good...

So we went and had lunch after....the studio requested a few minutes to get everything ready to show us. When we got back there were people everwhere. Standing room only. Okay maybe thats an exaggeration. So we wait another 45 minutes (that is not an exaggeration) in this little tiny waiting room with 3 other families. My stroller is constantly in the way because Savannah is trying to take it for a walk. And my son is ready for a nap and I'm thinking I'm gonna leave... you people suck. But I didn't want to do that because its not like I can just run back over when its convenient. Its an hour drive from Hamilton. Not to mention the whole reason we went was to give a picture to Daddy for Fathers Day and that wasn't going to happen if I left. So I stayed.

Sigh.... Then Savannah started to meet the people. I like to call it "Running for Mayor" because she turns on this charm and will not relent until they have been charmed. Which they all think is really cute and stuff but it makes me crazy sometimes. The waiting room of Sears portrait studio is more like a very small section of the store. There are no doors to close to contain my 2 and half year old. Across the way is the infant section of the store where Savannah thinks it would be nice to go shopping. And there is also an exit to the parking lot right next to where I'm sitting. So people are walking in and out of this door all the time. She is welcoming these people in, she even gave a couple little girls a hug just for visiting sears that day!
Her crowning achievement was when a family with a little almost 2 yr old boy came in and his daddy was in a wheel chair. And Savannah made fast friends with them by playing ring around the rosy circling the wheel chair. They went in to take their pictures. in the adjoining room....again no doors....nothing is holding her back. And of course she is curious. So she peeks in and I'm telling her "Its there turn to take pictures now, you need to stay right there." Okay Mamma is her reply and she seems content just to peek in. And by this time the stinking sales lady is ready to talk to me about our pictures...so I'm doing the head bob trying to give my attention to both events. Savannah really was a good girls for most of it... I'm just relating the "social" encounters she had. So after a while I feel confident she is going to stay still and just watch. As I'm making my final selections I hear this "Vanna's turn now!" (she calls herself Vanna...Savannah is hard to say) and she climbs over the daddy in the wheelchair past the photographer and parks herself right next to that little boy in the middle of taking pictures. What can I say...they all thought it was hilarious...so no harm no foul. But I sure was happy to have everyone in their carseats and driving home.

We love our backyard!

2008-06-05T21:06:00.002-07:00

Freedom! As many of you may know our yard has resembled a construction site for the last year since our business has taken off. It really caught us by storm and we weren't prepared with a storage plan for all the gear. So just recently we got it all cleaned up and child proof. So now it is Savannah's wonderland and she had been loving exploring in a world of her very own (until Chase grows up of course) So we decided we needed a swing set to finish it off. And we have been loving it.

Potty training has taken off in the last week I finally got serious about it I think. We didn't go anywhere for 4 days and focused on the potty. Of course we did other stuff in between. SO it turns out that Savannah needed to actually wet her "big girl panties" in order to take the whole thing seriously. Shes the kind of kid that would sit in pee or poo forever. But getting her panties dirty was a sad sad thing for her. So we're going through a little more laundry than I'd like but hey...at least we're learning.

Chase our sweet boy, has been teething for the last month and we have pretty much no progress so thats just awesome. Hopefully it will be better than Savannah we started teething at 3 months and never got a single tooth until she was 13 months old. He however is a giggler which Savannah was not. He laughs when I change his clothes... shoving his arms in and out of sleeves is the funniest thing to him. Its so darling. He will outright crack up. I love my boy. And he is growing lots. This week he started reaching for things and has been successful already so far his left hand is better at it... we'll see if it stays that way.

As for the two of them they are thick as theives. Savannah loves to play with him. She bends over and lets her hair hang in his face and he doesn't really like it but she thinks he does because each time he opens his mouth and kinda smiles (I think he thinks hes supposed to eat it) so she thinks hes laughing or at least smiling at her. He is making lots of sounds now and the two of them chatter away ( in baby talk) and giggle. I love my kids.

Cute Kids!

2008-04-23T21:23:00.000-07:00

Savannah and Chase are making friends now. Savannah is learning how to make him smile and even giggle once in a while. So cute! And he is so patient with his big sister who doesn't always remember to "be soft" and repeatedly startles him awake with her squeals of excitment. I love this new mother of two business. I feel very blessed to have such darlings in my life.

Oh how time flies!

2008-04-09T15:40:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love a little yoga in the morning? Baby Chase 2 months old!
Our neighbor gave us these two giant bunnies (so nice) and so we justhad to have a cute easter picture.
and another
and another

Isn't he sweet! Still has all his hair... its so darling

Savannah is beginning that oh so fun mile stone POTTY TRAINING! Her expression below is a pretty good visual for how she feels about the whole thing. "If it ain't broke don't fix it Mom!" She likes the arrangement we've had up to this point. But this time we're in it for the long haul!
Joe is pretty proud of his boy! As shown here, Joe displaying his son's Darth Vader "Who's your daddy?" onsie. You can't read it very well but thats what it says.
Savannah has got a new obsession, "Princess" anything. A princess by her definition is a dress especially the fancy kind. She must wear one at all times. So when bed time rolls around getting into PJ's is a tragedy. So here she is in her princess nightgown. Its not as good as a real "princess" but its better than nothing.

Happy Easter! The "Es-a Bunny" came to our house!

We are a happy Family!

2008-02-20T14:04:00.000-08:00

Here we are together together together, oh here we are together, See? Even Mommy! Theres Daddy and Savannah and Baby Chase and Mommy! Oh here we are together Our Happy Family!

A brand new baby and brand new life...

2008-02-07T12:29:00.000-08:00

We are loving our brand new baby boy! Savannah has only had a few brief moments of all out jealousy but she gets over it. For the most part she is loving her little brother, the biggest adjustment is the amount of attention shes getting now that baby Chase is here. She loves helping mommy put things in the laundry and bringing wipes or diapers to mommy. She helps take off baby Chase's socks and "helps" give him baths. Joe and I are very proud of her.

Joe has been a wonderful daddy to them both. He continues to be Savannah's playmate and best buddy. Saturday morning they hung out while mommy slept in. Daddy and Savannah made pancakes in all different shapes... it was a big hit! When Daddy is taking care of baby Chase and mom isn't available to feed him right away he pacifies Chase using his nose. I was in the tub and came out to find our new born son sucking on my husbands nose...aparently it had been going on for a while.

Baby Chase's favorite things to do are sleep and eat...of course.... I think deep down everyone would have those on their top ten list. I know I do. Right now he is sleeping in our room in the radio flyer wagon with the portable infant bed in it. I think its pretty clever myself....when hes bigger he'll sleep in his crib. As my mama would say "He's only little."

And I am very happy being a mother of two, and pretty tired. I'm getting adjusted to functioning on 5 hrs of sleep and tell myself it could be much worse... My lap is a popular place to sit for both of them...but we manage just fine.

Baby Chase is here!

2008-01-31T21:22:00.000-08:00

Here we are! Everyone of us is tired and exhausted (I wonder why...) but we're all so happy to finally have him. Savannah loves him to pieces all our pictures of her holding him are on our other camera.... we didn't have this camera's battery charged in time for the big day so we used our old one and will get that film developed here soon. We'll be taking more pictures to post too so check in on us.

Piggy PJ's and Pretty Faces.

2008-01-22T08:37:00.000-08:00

New Christmas PJ's with piggy feet are making bed time a breeze. Who wouldn't want a pair of these! Whoa that rhymed! Savannah has been busy preparing for a new baby brother and learning all about what it is to be 2 yrs old. She is talking lots and lots and is very passionate about what she has to say.

She is also big into practicing her faces. She likes to stand in front of the full length mirror and see all the things her face can do. Just recently she has added other things into the mix... notice the hand placed under the chin...shes a hoot.

Here she is working her hip action. She was dancing to Uncle Caleb playing the guitar.

Stanek Masonry update...

2008-01-22T08:05:00.000-08:00

A huge fireplace! Its hard to tell how big it is without someone in the picture. Way to go you guys its beautiful!

Our hardworking crew pulling out all the stops to make it look fantastic. They are actually inside a tent they constructed to keep themselves and the column they are working on warm. It gets pretty toasty in there.
Joe and Caleb...

And here is the newest member of our crew and hes doing great work! Travis!

Joe examining the fireplace now with a critical eye. You can see a little better how huge this thing is.

This is the front of the house. Those columns were built the same way, using a tent to keep them warm while the mud dried.

Thanks for all your amazing work guys! You rock!
I'm such a corn ball.

In winter we're rounder

2008-01-16T08:25:00.000-08:00

First time playing in the snow...She went to her cousins bithday party who lives up in the mountains where there is lots and lots of snow. Daddy helped her get around and pushed her on the sled. Daddy had to help mommy get around too...I was out there to take pictures and found myself almost falling over a couple times.
She really liked this....

She stayed close to Daddy though she still wasn't too sure. And after a about 15 minutes she was done!

Stanek Masonry in action

2008-01-07T15:18:00.000-08:00

Here is a huge house Joe has been working on for 2 years off and on! We're pretty impressed with how its turning out and wanted to share...actually Joe would be embarrassed that I'm sharing it he's humble like that.

I couldn't got the whole house in the shot without backing up lots... Thought I would include a picture of the hardworking men that have worked so hard on this house. The first is Joe, and the second is Caleb. Sorry Travis I'll get a picture of you next time!
This is going to be the grand entrance of the house after you come through the front door. Very fancy!

This is a wine room with an arched ceiling shown below...

Here is the arched ceiling its hard to get a good picture of it and even harder to do the work to get the brick up there.

Here is Caleb working on more of the grand entrance through the front door. You can see the big front doors behind Caleb.

This is going to be a bathroom I'm pretty sure. Amazing!

We're still working.... we'll keep you updated!

A Very Merry Christmas

2007-12-26T15:23:00.000-08:00

We were most blessed this Christmas. The only thing that would have made it better is if it had snowed...but you can't have everything. Savannah had lots of fun this Christmas and is now really good at ripping wrapping paper. Joe wins the award for being more childlike than his daughter as he woke me up numerous times on Christmas Eve to see if we could open presents yet! Bless his heart I love him. Savannah had a hard time that night she was over tired and over stimulated so neither she or I got very restful sleep until after about 2:30am. And I don't know what time I finally fell asleep after that. But Joe boy he was ready to go. Finally at about 8am I decided he wasn't gonna let me rest until we opened presents. So he went in and woke Savannah up and led her into the living room. At first she wasn't sure what to do cuz we had been telling her to leave presents alone now for a couple weeks (the ones I had wrapped under the tree for family) and all the sudden it was okay to rip into them. We had more fun watching her open presents than we did with our own....its fun to be a parent.

Savannah is seen here playing with her Geo Trax train set that daddy helped her build....hours of fun! She also got a baby doll to get her ready for her new baby brother that will be here in about a month! As you can see these pictures are only a day old and thats because I got a digital camera for Christmas from my parents! I feel extremely spoiled this year because I also got a new dishwasher and my own set of tools as Joe has scattered my former set of tools to the four winds. And let us not forget a new washer and dryer. What else can a girl want? I feel very very blessed and grateful. Joe got his "Gigantor" star wars Lego set that I forgot to take a picture of but is very impressive. So I'll post one next time....it is actually motorized and walks around.
We hope you all had a merry and bright Christmas too!

No sense of smell

2007-12-18T14:24:00.000-08:00

My nose if broken....I mean to say that it doesn't preform a basic function for me....I can't smell. I've always been aware of this but recently it has come to my attention just how much of the world I am missing due to my broken nose. My washer is old like 20 + yrs old and Joe got it from his parents when he moved out on his own. So its been worked hard. They've got a ranch and all manner of farm animals and that was the machine that used to wash their grimey clothes. Well fast forward a few years to the present day when I am washing my family's clothes in it. Apparently there is a leak of some kind and it smells like mildew in this washer making our clothes smell that way (didn't know this...) on top of that all the years of washing farm animal stink out of clothes has compounded the smell to some odd mildew, poo, dead animal smell (didn't know this either...). So apparently this smell is getting worse. (didn't know this....my nose really is broken) and finally a brave soul (who I am very grateful for) decided to let me in on what the rest of the world has been smelling for a while. I now thinking about all the hours I've spent washing clothes for nothing. It does seem that washing them still gets out stains and stuff just doesn't leave them smelling fresh. I'm so embarassed. I want a new nose. My mom is the brave soul that very kindly brought my attention to it. And it is her theory that when I had my head surgery...the one that I had when I was a brand new baby for being born without a soft spot....(some of you may not know this story) anyway I have a scar from ear to ear so that they could fix my brow bone and give me a soft spot. The brow bone broke during birth because my head wasn't giving at all and if it hadn't we both would have bled to death. Anyway so what does this have to do with my washer and my nose??? Well to preform the surgery they cut me from ear to ear and then peeled the skin downward even with my nose. It seems that there may have been so wires crossed when they put everything back in its place. I have a short in my nasal system...sometimes I can smell things sometimes I can't and I can't always count on my nose to alert me when something smells bad. So....my nose is broken. I need a new washer.... and then I have to wash every single piece of clothing all over again to get rid of the smell....it might take a couple washings....I won't know unless I ask if the smell is gone. So my friends who love me please just tell me, I'm beggin you. It will be much less embarrassing coming from you than nobody ever telling me and I just have to stink in ignorance. I mean it please tell me. I love you all Merry Christmas!

Its all business!

2007-12-17T13:59:00.000-08:00

We made a gift basket for some of the people we do business with and needed a card. So I added a few "christmas-y" touches to our logo and printed them up as tags. I was pretty happy with the finished product. Whaddaya think?

Christmas Past.....

2007-12-12T21:06:00.000-08:00

Here is a little stroll down memory lane. This Christmas will be our 3rd Christmas together as a family. Christmas is an extra special time of year for us because Joe proposed to me on Christmas morning 2004 we were sitting in about the same spot we are in the family picture of us a year later! Savannah wasn't in the mood to be photogenic....

This picture is of Savannah in her special Christmas dress. Mom decided to have a little Christmas photo shoot. Savannah just knew she was pretty....

These are of last Christmas....we had just barely finished the bedrooms in our "construction site" home and it was just in time to put up the Christmas tree in the new living room we had been using as a community bedroom. I was so excited...It felt like a real house!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-07T18:14:00.000-08:00

I am almost done with the craziest part of Christmas....the shopping. I'm so excited. Savannah is loving every moment of the holiday season and I just love that she loves it. We got up our Christmas decorations and brought our family pictures out of storage....they've been in there for over a year! It was so fun to see them all again. So now our house looks more like a home with things hanging on the walls and everything. It was such a relief to get those up on the wall. I have all these goals to accomplish before the baby is here...many of them I have done. I just want this stuff done cuz otherwise I won't get to it for like 6 months to a year. So far all thats left is:
1. Finish organizing the kids room and find a place for all the baby gear that I will be needing.
2. Clean and organize our room so the baby has a place to be for the first little while before he seems old enough to put in a crib.
3. Organize our business files and paperwork to prepare for doing the books ourselves.
4. Get all the home improvement left overs out of the house (they've kinda blended into everything else I'm so used to seeing them there... things like boards and empty paint cans we don't need anymore.) I think that I'm forgetting something but thats a good enough list.
Wish me Luck! I am going to be 32 weeks or 8 months along on Monday! Yahoo!

Five things Challenge

2007-11-19T22:49:00.000-08:00

Five things I was doing 10 years ago.....
1. Had just moved to Frenchtown, Montana and were getting ready to move to Darby, MT....it was my freshmen year of High School 15 yrs old
2. Became confident in my ability to draw people, especially faces, I really fell in love with art making around this time.
3. Learning how to be adaptable to a brand new place....I hated Frenchtown, MT
4. Discovered in MT you can get your divers license at 15.....I didn't actually get it until I was 22.
5. Tried out for my first High School Drama production....A Christmas Carol

Five things on my To Do list Today
1. Do the dishes (partially done....are you ever really done???)
2. Make a house payment (done)
3. Go Christmas shopping (done)
4. Pay bills (done)
5. Schedule visiting teaching appointments (sort of done)

Five snacks I enjoy
1. sunflower seeds (pregnant snack craving)
2. string cheese (pregnant snack craving...I hate cheddar cheese right now it tastes bad to me)
3. Banana Nut Crunch cereal (pregnant snack craving)
4. Rice Krispie Treats (pregnant snack craving)
5. Stuffing.....(yeah I think its just my anticipation of Thanksgiving?? I'm pregnant.)

Five songs I know the Lyrics To
I've lost my identity because most of the songs I'm thinking of are Savannah's favorites

1. Care Bear countdown
2. Five Little Monkeys
3. Alvin and the Chipmunks theme song
4. Daughtry's "I'm going home" song
5. The Turkey song "Theres a big fat turkey down on Grandpa's Farm and he thinks he's really gay.
He spreads his tail into a great big fan and he struts around all day.
You can hear him gobble at the girls and the boys and he thinks hes singing when he makes that noise...
He'll see his song another way upon Thanksgiving Day!"

Five of my bad habits
1. Assuming that just because I'm pregnant that people should get out of my way in public places and on the road.
2. Procrastinating.....always
3. I stay up too late
4. I get caught up in meaningless details
5. I am bossy

Five things I would do if I were a millionaire
1. Pay off my house
2. Pay of my medical bills
3. Get health insurance
4. Get a massage...a good one...no just get a servant that just does that for me.
5. Help my family

Five things I will never wear again
1. any dress from before my first pregnancy...the girls don't fit anymore.
2. 2 pairs of neon socks layered on top of eachother
3. big glasses with way to big lenses
4. the bangs that stayed in a perfect curl across my forehead
5. holiday inspired sweaters and turtle necks my mom thought I looked adorable in.

Five of my favorite toys
1. paint brushes
2. finger paint
3. my vaccume
4. my non-stick frying pans
5. paper on which to make art

Five friends I am going to tag
1. Heather
2. Lindsey
3. Jean
4. Patty
5. Jen

What's New?

2007-11-19T07:22:00.000-08:00

I thought it was about time I changed my blog to something else! We are finally a week free of the plague. It took Savannah 2 weeks to get over it. I was pretty ornery about it by the end. We're all grateful its over. Now she is getting her eye teeth. I know what you're thinking....she hasn't had them this whole time. No. So she is kinda grumpy lately and in short supply of patience. At the grocery store, Super 1, they have car carts. Its basically a shorter version of your average cart and then this plastic car on the front for kids to sit in and make them think they are driving. I'm sure you've seen something like it before I don't know why I'm giving a description. Anyway Savannah loves these things. We have a 2 yr old moment when they're not available at the grocery store. But usually she gets over it pretty quick. Not lately though.....its more of a long moment of screaming. And not just at the grocery store. Something in her little head decided all stores we enter should have car carts. And no matter how hard she cries its not enough to conjure up one. The scene usually is something like this. I try to calmly explain that they don't have car carts here. We'll just use this kind of cart. And then my pregnant self will try to heft a struggling 2 year old into the front of the regular cart. However when she knows I'm placing her in the wrong cart she screams louder and then tucks her legs awkwardly so I end up holding her suspended above until I can get her legs straightened out and get her seated. Its in this position I try to use the mommy voice about not throwing fits and screaming. But I'm so out of breath (pregnant 7 and 1/4 months) that I don't sound very convincing. Once she is finally in the seat I am hot, red faced, and struggling to catch my breath. Still unable to express my disappointment in her verbally. So I rely on the stern face to get the point across until I can squeak out a "that is naughty Savannah. No no!" By this point she is pretty much over it and the only evidence that remains is one alligator tear lingering below her eye and the occasional shuddering breath from crying. It just goes to show how much she really does run my life as much as I like to think I am the boss.

"My piggy and me!"

2007-11-02T22:23:00.000-07:00

Here is Savannah at 7 months sleeping on the couch with new piggy. His tail still curled then and he was very plush and had the softest pink fur. She loved to play with his tail as she fell asleep. And she still does to this day. There is very little they don't do together.

I made the mistake of answering the phone while Savannah was in the tub. Upon returning I found this. She explained to me "piggy....tubby, in!" And the picture shows the desperate clutch she had when I tried to take piggy away.

Piggy got to stay. I washed Savannah.

Savannah washed piggy. Everybody wins.

Then once piggy was dry... they took a nap.

THE END

The Black Plague

2007-11-02T22:04:00.000-07:00

This illness is never gonna leave us alone! Savannah is now sick with it. I thought she got it a little the first time...not that having it once is enough in our family. We have the Black Plague at our house. I really feel like crying as I'm typing. I don't know wether to laugh or cry. It's been 3 weeks of this nasty thing. Savannah has been so brave and down right detemined to not let it get her down. Five minutes after throwing up she is bouncing around the living room happy as can be. She is my hero....I did not feel like bouncing at any point! I guess the most challenging part of her being sick is she doesn't understand to throw up in a designated area like a bucket, or a toilet. I'm the meanest mom shoving her head down over this bucket and saying "Its okay honey, mommy's here" as she is forcefully trying to push the bucket away. Meanwhile I am having dizzy spells (I feel like an old woman saying it like that). I pretty much always have a low blood count but its a little more pronounced when I'm pregnant....and even more pronounced when I've been up all night with a two year old. I almost passed out in Super 1 today, I think I scared the cashier to death....poor woman. She helped me to a bench and got me a cool compress. I felt so stupid. And there is Savannah crying in the store worried about me when she is the one throwing up all day. So today I have a great respect and love for mothers all over the world. My mom is amazing I can't even touch the amount of times shes battled the ugly world of sick children. I woke up today feeling very much in awe of her. How did she do it? Then she says to me...." thats just what you do...you do what you have to for your kids because you love them, theres just no question."

So Sick of being Sick!!!

2007-10-26T15:30:00.000-07:00

I think I'm done being sick now. I have been to the hospital twice in less than a week and a half. I'm done being poked and I'm done running for the bathroom....I've done my time. To those of you I have infected I want to send my sincerest apologies. I know the misery you've been through. Everyone is pretty stumped about how you can get what I got twice. So they're checking on some other possibilities....yuck! This time at least I had a perscription for nausea medicine that I started taking immediately upon feeling icky. So the good news is I didn't ever throw up the 2nd time. The bad news is that evidently all that I ingested had to come out some way....if it wasn't coming out my mouth it was gonna find another avenue and it did. Unfortunately I became just as dehydrated as I did the time before. My baby doctor ordered me to the hospital when I said that I was feeling like I was going to pass out even though I was laying down. Two liters of saline later I got to come home and still make frequent visits to the potty. Now I am a little more balanced and am feeling really tired but not so sick anymore. I am tired of the BRAT diet which is bananas, rice, applesauce, toast and am now aloud to eat a little more variety of food. I want to thank everyone who is offered to help run errands and cook my family meals, even do my dishes and laundry....what dear friends I have. Thanks!
I'm pretty sure now I'm on the mend! Just in time for Halloween! Yay!

Happy 2nd Birthday! September 10, 2007

2007-10-18T22:14:00.000-07:00

We had a party for Savannah at the park just a few blocks from our house. I made the horsey cake by cutting a rectangle cake in a particular pattern and then used Laffy Taffy rope in purple and pink for hair. I had lots of fun! And she loved it which made it even better!

During present opening time the first gift she opened with lots of help was from her friends Kelsie and Griffin and it was a pack of 3 pairs of dress up shoes! She couldn't open another present until she had a pair of those shoes on. Then she ran around for the rest of the party wearing them. They knew she loved shoes because every time we go to visit them the first thing she does is ditch her shoes and proceeds to try on everyone elses (she does this every where she goes).

"These Are My Jewels!"

2007-10-09T21:57:00.000-07:00

I ran across this cool story in the LDS living magazine may/june 07 edition. It was in an article on choosing motherhood over a career...a choice many women have faced. In a little side note this story is related and I really liked it.
"Cornelia Scipionis Aficana (born ca 190 bc) is considered the perfect example of a virtuous Roman woman and a loving, devoted mother. She married Tiberius Sempronius Gracchas, a powerful Roman politician, and together they had twelve children- very uncommon by Roman Standards.
Legend had it that after a noble Roman woman questioned Cornelia about her choice of dress and personal adornment, which was far more understated than most Roman women of her rank and station, Cornelia motioned to her children and said, "These are my jewels!"
Romans admired her exemplary virtues, and when she died at age ninety, they dedicated a statue in her honor-the first one attributed to a non-mythological woman."

I thought that was so cool. Here are a few pictures of my jewels...

The last pregnancy...we'll see whats in store this time

2007-10-04T08:41:00.000-07:00

Here I am pregnant with Savannah at my baby shower. This was a couple weeks before she was born. They are measuring me with toilet paper squares...I don't remember now how many it took to get around me. And for any of you wondering that is Silver Tolman standing next to me...sorry Silver I didn't ask your permission to post your picture.

This cutie is Joe as a baby I'm not sure how old he is... my guess would be pretty close to a year between 9 and 12 months I just wanted everyone one to see what baby chase could possibly look like. Darling!

We're Having a Boy!!!

2007-09-29T20:45:00.000-07:00

Its official! Baby Chase Joseph Stanek will be joining our family in just a few months!

I thought this picture was fitting...theres Savannah showing me some art work and theres Baby Chase riding around on my back. I suppose I find comfort in chaous! The only thing thats missing is Joe in the back ground asking me where his various tools are....ahhh home sweet home

Painting...

2007-09-29T20:15:00.000-07:00

Savannah's room I had great expectations for and I told myself that it wouldn't be that hard. It was. But after many hours of work it was worth all the effort and I may never do it again so I'm glad I got pictures of the process. I started by painting the whole room with the lighter green color and then masking off stripes where it would have the darker green. My speedy mom and dad painted the dark green stripes in a jiffy and Joe's mom Kay brushed in the border using white primer actually. Thanks for your help you guys!

Then I started adding some flower detail inside the stripes... Sometimes it is actually more work to know exactly what you want...not knowing means that you could possibly find something less complicated because your expectations didn't complicate it. I did attempt to simplify by using stencils....

But then I just painted over them and did them all by hand. AHHH! If thats not enough then I proceeded to do a bunch of little flowers (using a stencil) all over the dark green stripe. Then finally the border which I knew from the beginning I wanted to look like lace with ribbon weaving in and out of it proved to be the last straw. All the energy I had left I had to use on the trim which in the picture below is not a painted yet...I never wanted to paint again. And I don't think I did for almost a year...

Actual House of Crazy

2007-09-24T21:46:00.000-07:00

We purchased this house last summer and got a screaming good deal because it was in bad shape. We had to replace literally every surface.

Here is a pic of the front door and living room when we moved in (left).

This room was the last room to be completed but it is now done!

The pic above and on the right is of the kitchen and you can also see into the living room. Notice our marvelous "baby gate" blocking off the construction zone. It was a door to a closet in one of the bedrooms turned on its side. We hopped over it for months.

Here is a picture of the lower cabinets being reconstructed due to the disgusting mouse colony living within them. YUCK! Joe and my brother Caleb rebuilt the drawers, lining, and facing of this part of the cupboards.

This is a star I drew up and Joe masterfully converted into a pattern in our floor. It is located outside the doorways of both bedrooms. This takes lots of skill and practice, I tried to help Joe do this and all I did was confuse myself and him. After that we decided we better leave that kind of thing to him. I'll stick to painting....

Welcome to the Stanek House of Crazy

2007-09-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

Our home is made up of Daddy Joe, Mommy Rachel, and baby girl Savannah (who is 2 now and reminding me everyday she is not a baby). We are soon to have another baby join our family this winter. Our due date is Feb 4, 2008. We shouldn't forget to mention we are also running a business out of this home, Stanek Masonry, which is another little baby of ours 6 months old and growing strong.

Introducing Joe!

2007-09-20T09:22:00.000-07:00

Here is the man of the house and we think hes great! He makes us laugh and is always full of surprises. These days he is working his tail off as the owner of new business. He is very dedicated and excellent at what he does. We are so proud of our Daddy he is working so hard for our family and is doing a great job! Right now is his favorite time of year HUNTING SEASON...look out wild life Joe is on the hunt. Hes had "the fever" since he got his first elk last fall, bow hunting. It was awesome!

Lets Hear it for Savannah

2007-09-20T09:15:00.000-07:00

We just had her 2nd birthday and is now living up to age 2 in every way. She is the sunshine in our lives and more. Her favorite things right now are "Chip-icks" (Alvin and the Chipmunks), Care Bears, shoes, shoes, shoes, and her Daddy! They are thick as theives these days and it is so fun to watch. She is learning to count and so far her favorite numbers are recited as follows "three, six, eight, two, six, eight!"

And Me!

2007-09-20T09:06:00.000-07:00

What can I say I'm a mom, a business owner, a wife, a nursery leader, a homemaker...you know the list busy moms! And I have never been happier. Oh I have my days...believe me! But in between I'm doing good. This pregnancy I am loving compared to last time. I think this time I'm too busy to think about how tired and yucky I feel. We are looking forward to finding out what the baby is. We'll let you know.