Trick or Trading!!!

Happy Halloween everyone! So without further delay...here is our sweet baby ZOMBIE!!!

So I am sure that you might be mortified but think about it this way... Sydney waddles when she walks (thats how toddlers are at this age). Zombies waddle too. Its a no brainer. And every other year from this year out she will get to choose this or that costume and she will get to choose all of the amazing Disney princess or other trendy character. And I will LOVE that just the same. And we will dress up and twirl and sing together. But this year we had a little bit of entertaining fun. :) and you know you LOVE it, ha ha. Anyways....We had a great time. I am so happy that we did it.

We also did our first Mitchell side of the family "trick or trading"! I always traded my candy in to my Dad for one small item each year. So we went ahead with that this year and will do it for every year after it. This year we got Sydney a new Elmo training potty. She is starting to show us small signs here and there that we may be ready for potty training sooner instead of later. She tells us when she has gone potty (very rarely but still happening) and at school she sometimes goes between some cribs to have some privacy. So just to make sure she is ready for what it looks like when we finally do get there we went ahead and bought it for her trick or trading present.

Hope you all have a great week and had a safe Halloween!

Happy Halloween!!!

So lastly, I have to get a head start on the Halloween update. Tomorrow I will have more but we have been very excited about our year so far when it comes to the Halloween plans. I was dead set on getting a pumpkin this year and really wanted to go pick one out of a pumpkin patch to really get the whole experience of it with Sydney and boy did we have a great time!!

She had such a good time. We really wanted to reward her for being such a good girl that day because this was the same day that we went Yard Sale-ing for the morning. So we really appreciated how good she was that day.

My honest confession--I had never actually carved a pumpkin :( so I had to do some googling to make sure I didnt mess it up and knew that I could probably get a template or pattern or something. Well what I came across was so amazing and it was definitely a "Sydney Pleaser":

If you don't speak "toddler" that is Blue from the show "Blues Clues". He is a favorite in our house and the second Sydney saw the pumpkin she said "Boos Coos?" My life was complete. I met my purpose. I was so excited. I felt like such the cool mommy, I can't lie. And I know my picture up there is blurry, but you can really see the excitement that I was feeling :).

Friday, they were allowed to dress up to school (daycare) and they went trick or treating in the shops around the school. We picked up a very cheap "Pumpkin Witch" costume for the day so that it was no fuss, easy to keep on, and not expensive enough to ruin and be mad about it. It was so cute. Here is Sydney at school with one of her teachers, Kellie.

I was amazed that it stayed on all day. Now for tomorrow we are doing the trick or treating thing and I am soooooooo excited about her costume. I am so excited about it that I am not going to reveal yet what she is going to be. I haven't been keeping it a secret, but if you don't know, its going to be better just to see it. It is just so funny! But I will show you all tomorrow or Tuesday so stay tuned! Have a great Monday!

End of October update continued...

So back to the updates :) I am sure if you are reading this, you understand how the time goes when you are living with a toddler. There are no other events that can really go on productively when you have a toddler on the loose. Not that I will ever complain about my responsibilities of being a parent, but it has to be understood that it is very hard to get anything else done around the house when they are in "that" stage of their development. Sometimes it makes me feel like a failure of my other life "duties". Most days I feel like I am the failing at wife duties, household duties, and work duties. The only thing that I usually want to do is devote every ounce of attention to her and that means that cooking, cleaning, and many other things are thrown to the side. Well when they can. Sydney has to eat too so the cooking thing comes through. I find myself getting very tense though and I probably should find some type of creative outlet that is affordable to do but will let me keep my hands busy during the little bit of downtime that I have. Probably wouldn't hurt. I totally wasn't planning on going in that direction during this update, but since my last update thats what has transpired (in about 4 hours time) so I felt the need to vent. That is what a blog is about right?

So rumor has it that most, if not all, young families struggle with finances. I really hope that this is true. Not that I will whine about specific things here and there but we pinch pennies sometimes and I would really hope that this is fairly normal. One thing that I actually have found a little bit of an outlet in is the ability to find a deal at any point in time. I LOVE finding a steal. Coupons or yard sales....love them both. Last Saturday we went out and about looking for yard sales. We had the paper so we definitely branched out and found some and let me tell you---I was so excited. I spent $15 that day and this is all that I got:

I just have to say it...saying that I spent $15 and even just seeing 2 books in the picture is pretty lucky, am I right? Books are so expensive! and Sydney LOVES them. I LOVE that she LOVES books (I was a killer nerd for some books as a kid), but this can be an expensive thing to keep up with. Luckily, you can really find the deals and that way Sydney doesn't have to miss out on a single thing because Mommy is really tight with our finances.

Anyways, on to lighter notes :) If you know my husband...you know that he is very 'specific' about the foods that he eats. Ever since we first met I have been trying to get him to try Pierce's BBQ in Williamsburg, VA. They have the BEST BBQ I have ever had in my life. Well, Cory is from Texas so he begs to differ on that fact. And he also says that he eats BBQ in Texas but I have NEVER seen him eat it ever---in the entire time that I have known him. Long story short, I got him to try it finally. And he loved every minute of it. And I loved every minute of the experience as well. As weird as it is to say, it was some of the best comic relief that we have had in a really long time. This is his first bite...look at how scared he was!!! But he loved it so that is the only part that matters.

So as it is the end of October we are now in full swing getting ready for our Thanksgiving trip to Dallas. Last year we went for Christmas and this year we are going for Turkey Day. It is really important that we get down there to see Cory's family. We miss them so much during the year and wish that we could go down there a LOT more. But with finances and everything that goes into it, it gets tough. But we are very very very excited for this trip. We are going for one of the longest trips we have been on yet so its going to be some good quality time. I am still waiting for some of the time off of work, but I am thinking that with the way things are going that I should not have much difficulty. But we are planning on catching some great sports events while we are there if everything works out. First up would be the Thanksgiving day Cowboys game between the 'Boys and the Lions. That is like monumental right!? We are hoping so. We are also going to check out a Dallas Stars game on Black Friday. Very exciting. But overall, its going to be a very exciting November. Cory is going to a Carolina Hurricane game with the "guys" on the 12th and then all of the Thanksgiving month activities. So it should be a good month! Hope it is for all of you as well!

End of October already?!?!

I am in absolute shock that tomorrow is the last day of October. With that being said, it seems like a good time to update the blog because I have (once again) been slacking on my postings...

I don't even know where to start here! I guess the first thing to mention is that I have been in my new rotational position at work for about a month now and I am LOVING it so far. No one situation is alike so you are always learning something different or new. This has kept things exciting and I have definitely been on my toes for the last few weeks. It is also an extremely long training process, with no set time line, so my type A personality is really have to adjust to the way that things are in there. But it's great. I cannot complain one bit. Friday was our Fall Fest at work and to say that we get into the costume part of the day is an under-statement. Here is the proof:

Sydney has been a full two hands full lately, but in the most amazing way possible. She is too funny. She is learning so much that it is hard to keep up. She tries to pronounce things like hockey, thank you (which she signs very well now), please, milk, papa, down, up, trick or treat (for Halloween of course), and the numbers 1-10. When it comes to counting and the numbers she will repeat what you say so I am not sure that there is any true understand or comprehension but maybe a little bit. Or at least we are getting there, so I think that for 16 months she is doing pretty well. She is turning into such the little nurturer and she is always trying to take care of Elmo, Tad her Leapfrog, or her Baby. She changes their diapers and tries to feed them. She also puts them in their pajamas and puts them night-night.

She is also becoming such a little ham! She understands the concept of the camera and that she is supposed to do something sweet or funny for the camera:

She is also constantly doing the funniest things, like the modern day version of "mouse"kercise:

And then of course there is her helping Mommy clean the house. I am hoping to help this continue as long as she would like:

So we are absolutely loving our little angel. I will have to update more later :) The little princess just decided that she isnt going down for her second nap and that means Mommy isn't allowed to touch anything else but her! Isn't that what that means?!?!?

ABC's of Me!

So I am borrowing this post from a friend of mine that I went to high school with and see from time to time because our families have season tickets right near each other for the Admirals games. I think that she is a great girl and I am so excited that she is doing so well. Her and her husband are expecting their first little miracle on Feb 1, 2012 and that is extremely exciting. I get excited for ANYONE that I know that is getting ready to head into this amazing journey called motherhood. It is always a learning process, but it is the most exciting learning process! Anyways...you can check out her blog HERE. It is much more interesting than mine...I can promise you that. But here is my post for the day :)

ABC's of ME!

A. Age: 25 and I know that is not old, but I feel like that should say 30 with everything we have been through! Although, I will admit that most of it is self inflicted.

B. Bed size: Queen--We have slept in a full though for a time period when we were living with my mom. Until I was about 5 months pregnant, Couldn't have ended at a better time!
C. Chore that you hate: I think that EVERY woman would say Folding Laundry! But its followed closely behind by cleaning bathrooms, doing dishes, washing bottles, must I go on?
D. Dogs: Not ours specifically but right now we are living with my Dad and his long-time girlfriend so we have 2 dogs right now. 2 jack russells Izzy and Henry. They are only here when Christy is here and not in Florida at their second house. We miss them a bunch when they are gone and they are Sydney's little buddies when they want to be ;)
E. Essential start to your day: Running to the shower to get my shower in QUICK! I am not known for my punctuality and having to get a toddler ready too only compounds that problem.

F. Favorite color: This shouldnt be such a hard question but I really have many. My favorite combinations are pink and brown or brown and turquoise. They just go so well together.

G. Gold or Silver: Silver, all day long!
H. Height: 5'8" ... I still wish I was shorter...
I. Instruments you play: I was never one for instruments, but I did chorus and show choir for the most part in school (quit in 11th grade---stupidest choice I ever made)
J. Job title: I guess my title is Sr. Client Service Representative and tomorrow starts Customer Service Appreciation Week!! Thank all of the customer service reps you speak with this week if they provide you with great service! You may be a pleasure to speak with, but not everyone is like you so you can make someone's day by just thanking them and being patient with us too!

K. Kids: 15 month old Sydney Ann, and maybe another one in a few years, but we want to be able to put full attention to Sydney through all the years that she needs us the most! Plus they are expensive!

L. Live: Virginia Beach, VA
M. Mother’s name: Melinda, but if you call her that she will choke you...so call her Mindy
N. Nicknames: Em (real creative, I know)
O. Overnight hospital stays: Maybe when I was 6 and had tubes in my ears? Also, when Sydney was born we had a 2 night stay after my C-section. But I should have stayed longer, I was so anxious to get home and should have used the hospital time to my advantage to get more comfortable.
P. Pet peeves: People who don't say words right or say them "weird": Examples, INTformation, FUStrated, Biness (for business), benefisheraries
Q. Quote from a movie: I don't really remember them

R. Right or left handed: Right
S. Siblings: Oh brother, 2 half brothers: Billy (15) and Brett (29). 2 step sisters: Kara (27) and Megan (26). 3 brother in laws: Colton, Chad, and Philip and 2 sisters in law: Leslie and Lisa
T. Time you wake up: I should wake up at 6, but historically I wake up (late) at 6:45. Sydney also wakes up at 6:45 on the weekend.

U. Underwear: no comment...my parents read this blog!

V. Vegetable you hate: green peppers...they give me SUCH bad heartburn!
W. What makes you run late: Life...we have had this conversation already.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth, wrist, back, chest, should have had my nose because it was definitely broken. Now with an MRI I have the proof (its still crooked).
Y. Yummy food that you make: I am not very good at cooking. But my husband loves my pizzas.
Z. Zoo animal: Ummmm..... I think the Tigers are pretty. :)