Ack! Trying to play catch up!

This week is off to a very rocky start. Everyone in my house is crabby and I can't say I blame any of them....THIS WINTER IS NEVER GOING TO END!!! That being said, this weekend is Easter and I'm behind, as well as being crabby! The house is still a wreck, although I'm trying my best to clean everything up and reorganize the spaces for better use. I haven't gone grocery shopping and I've spent the better part of the beginning of the week covered in paint. Alas!

So, I'm going to post my menu and my tackle it for this week all together, right here!

Menu:
Wednesday: Josh and Reagan-baked chicken, potatoes, veggie; Me at the office-soup!
Thursday: Mexican food--I'll whip up something from my WW book
Friday: Pasta and veggies
Saturday: Fend for yourself day!
Sunday (EASTER!): Pork loin, carrots, deviled eggs, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, brussel sprouts or asparagus; sweet tea, hot tea, coffee, pepsi and coke; strawberry cake and granny's lemon pie

Tackles:
Finish organizing, touching up paint and rearranging bedroom. Carpet clean bedroom as well.
Drop off boxes to recycling center.
Drop off items to Goodwill.
Grocery shopping.
Pick a paint color for Reagan's big girl room.

Happy 5th Anniversary to us! (Josh and Leah)

It's our fifth anniversary!

Josh and I "met" in August of 2000. Actually, we became online chat friends! Yes, that's right, we met online. We were both in a 20s something chat room and both of us and another guy were quickly cracking everyone up. Gradually the three of us moved into our own room to chat and Josh and I started meeting online, calling each other and emailing. Soon after, we were sending cards and letters and pictures. We were JUST FRIENDS however, since we had never even met, and in August 2001, Josh decided to fly out to NC for his fall break to hang out.

I was dating another guy at the time, but that quickly ended as I fell in love with Josh! In March 2002, we became engaged and in March 2003 we were married! 5 years, 1 baby, 2 cats, a couple of moves and a few jobs later....here we are!

Here are a few photos of us through the years:


Our engagement photo!


Us dancing at our wedding!


Us with the furbabies!


Reagan's first fall fest with mommy and daddy!


This past Christmas with Reagan!

Show & Tell Friday

Show & Tell Friday is hosted by Kelli. Click on her name to visit other great show and tells!

I'm almost too tired this week to do a show and tell....almost ;) Reagan has been teething and it's been an interesting week to say the least. All I can say is THANK GOD for Veggie Tales!

Alright, now for my show and tell. My Granny bought these figurines for me..hmm...either when I was just about to leave high school or shortly after I rented my first apartment. They are two of the Three Musketeers. They're made out of some sort of plastic/resin material and affixed to a marble base with a felt bottom. I'm sure they're not valuable at all and they have no identifying marks save for a sticker on each which reads "RRA 99655" and "RRA 99656". But I dearly love them. Mostly because they came from my Granny, and secondly because The Three Musketeers is one of my favorite books and also one of my favorite movies! (Unfortunately the subsequent movies in the Dumas triology have not been as good...well Man In the Iron Mask was actually pretty decent...but none of them really follow the books at all!)

To be honest, and I never really noticed this til now, they actually look like the SAME Musketeer just in different poses...but I prefer to think of them as two of the original guys..hmm...D'Artangan is missing too!

Anyway, here they are! Thank you for looking!

Say "Thank you" to a Veteran!

I received an email yesterday from someone I know that served in the military and then a follow up email arrived from someone I didn't even know, but it was so sweet, and made me think about all of my loved ones, all of my dear friends, all the customers at Fort Bragg (I was in car sales and most of my customers were military) that are away serving in various parts of the world or that spent a good portion of their life serving.

It's not anywhere close to Veteran's Day, but please remember to say thank you to these hardworking, self-sacrificing men and women anytime you happen to see one out in uniform. They deserve our respect, our admiration, our love and our support, ALL year long.

Here's a small portion of the first email I received:

A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or
national guard or reserve - is someone who, at one
point in their life, wrote a blank check made
payable to "The United States of America," for
an amount of "up to and including my life."

Thank you to all who have served and continue to do so!

Tackle It Tuesday (and my little girl doing her own tackles!)

Tackle It Tuesday! Yah! Ok here is my list for the week:
Paint bookshelf
Order dining room set (it was backordered so I need to reorder a different set that can actually get here by Easter!)
Send gifts
Do some laundry
Call and schedule Reagan's 15 MONTH appointment (wow, where does the time go?)

Reagan has her own set of tackles for this week which she proudly accomplished yesterday ;) See below!

I've been tagged for Crazy Eights!

My IRL friend Jana tagged me to participate in a meme. So, in her words, here are several things in groups of 8, that you may or may not want to know about me!

8 things I want to do before I die

1. Know that my daughter is a Christian and saved.
2. Meet my grandchildren.
3. Move to a secluded mountain hideaway with Josh where we can grow old together.
4. Write a book.
5. Create a prize-winning recipe from scratch.
6. Ask a life-changing question of a candidate that really makes people think.
7. Teach my children to appreciate life in a way that I am just discovering.
8. Take one incredible vacation with my entire family.

8 things I say often

1. No, no, no, no.
2. Reagan. Reagan. Reagan.
3. Yah!!! (when we learn something new!)
4. Grrr! (to make Reagan laugh or when I'm exasperated)
5. Silly! (to Reagan!)
6. I love you.
7. I'm tired. (to Josh or anyone who will listen)
8. She's just so smart and beautiful. (to Josh as we stare in awe at our daughter every night)

8 songs I sing over and over again

1. If you like to talk to tomatoes...(Veggie Tales theme song)
2. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
3. Blue skies and rainbows
4. As the deer
5. I love Reagan (made up song)
6. If you're happy and you know it
7. ACK--I can't think of anymore..I sing the same ones over and over! In the Jungle (I can't believe I forgot this one..it's our favorite!)
8. A medley of Little Einsteins theme song, Tigger and Pooh theme song, Mickey Mouse theme song and Higglytown Hereos theme songs!

8 things I’m passionate about
1. My daughter.
2. My marriage.
3. My family.
4. My friends.
5. Reading.
6. Politics and the state and future of our country.
7. PPD awareness.
8. Taking care of my family and those I love.

8 books I’ve read recently
1. Slugs in Love
2. A cheesy historical romance
3. Quack! Quack!
4. Oh where, Oh where has my little dog gone?
5. Dancing with Degas
6. Harry takes a bath
7. The tawny scrawy lion
8. And yet another cheesy historical romance!

8 things that attract me to my best friends
1. Loyalty.
2. Sense of humor.
3. Integrity and honesty.
4. Similiar interests
5. Similiar beliefs
6. Shared experiences.
7. Our families mesh well.
8. They like me for WHO I am. Not who they want me to be.

8 people I think should do Crazy Eights, ok I don't know 8 blogging people!!
1. Stace

Show & Tell Friday!

Show & Tell Friday is hosted by Kelli. Click on her name to visit other great show and tells!

Everyone from last week wanted to see more roosters! So meet my second rooster. He's cast iron (I think) and soooooo heavy! I found him one day while purusing TJ Maxx, didn't get him the first day, so I had to make a special trip back! He usually has a place of honor on top of the fridge and I love seeing him first thing every morning! Reagan enjoyed 'petting' him while he was perched on her craft table this morning!

I dream of spring....

We're in the middle of another wonderful northern snow storm. How I long for Spring! I can't wait til I can throw a pair of shorts and a cute T-shirt on Reagan, head out to the backyard and just play. Blow bubbles, play in a sandbox, garden (even though I literally have a BLACK thumb when it comes to plants!), play in the kiddie pool, swing, slide..just have a good time in general!

I've already made a list of fun items to buy for this summer and can hardly wait to go shopping!

-Sandbox
-Plastic wheelbarrow and gardening tools
-Kiddie pool with sprinkle
-Swing/slide combo
-Inflatable ball jump thing

It's going to be a great time! More fun than sitting around in the house all day which is what this winter has been. However NEXT winter, I'll be prepared and she'll be a little older and I'm sure there will be more things to do!

At any rate, I'm off to dream about warmer weather...anyone who is currently enjoying warmer weather..you lucky, lucky dog.

Tackle It Tuesday

ARGH..needless to say that last week's tackle did not get done and I've learned a valuable lesson--don't plan too much for one week!

This week's tackles are as follows:
-Mop the kitchen
-Order dining table and chairs
-Clean laundry room
-organize tons of plastic bags
-Send letter to adoption agency
-Send package to Eileen
-Pick up baby gifts for two more people! (OK what is in the water lately???)
-Grocery shop for the week

And for now, get off the computer and play with my daughter until storytime!

I missed Menu Monday!

Yep, I missed it, but I guess I can still play along, if for nothing else than my own sanity. So here's my menu plan for the week:

Monday-Dinner: Baked chicken, steamed orange cauliflower and green beans! YUM!
Tuesday: Baked fish, new potatoes and green beans
Wednesday: Josh and Reagan: I'll make them meatloaf (a rare treat since it's NOT WW!) and mashed potatoes; for me: Healthy Choice Chicken Noodle Soup
Thursday: Chicken with creamy herb gravy
Friday: Easy Chicken Quesadillas with mexican-salsa salad

Lunches: soups, sandwhiches, veggies, baked potatoes
Snacks: fruit, 100 calorie snack packs, string cheese, light popcorn