Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Thinking of Warmer Weather

This weather has me looking forward to spring time! I've already made a list of all the outside toys we need to acquire for Julianna now that we have our own lawn. This list includes a swing set, sandbox, playhouse, trampoline(okay, that one might be more for me than her!), a john deere gator(the power wheels version, not the adult version), toddler size gardening tools since I know she will want to garden with Jon...and the list goes on. =)

Needless to say, I can't wait to be outside with her instead of being cooped up inside the house. We've played in the snow the few times we had enough to make it worth putting on all the gear, but it's just not as nice as when it's warm and you can just walk outside in what you have on and not have to put a million layers on or find that one missing glove that you swore was in the coat sleeve. =) Ahh, the joys of spring and summer time!

So with that said, we are looking forward to all the fun we will have this summer. I think Jon and I pretty much agree on what we are getting Julz for her birthday and are very excited! But for now, we will enjoy our little glimpses of spring and hope that the winter weather leaves us soon! Groundhog day is just around the corner!!

That's all for now! MUCH LOVE!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Random Things

Have you ever had a dream during the night that involves people from your past and yet when you wake up you can't figure out who the people were? Totally had a dream like that last night. And then, the light bulb went off in my head and I realized the people in my dream where friends I haven't seen in years. Dreams are so weird. I wonder what causes us to dream about people and places we haven't seen or been to in years? And before I fell asleep I had been reading the Bible. I'm currently in Numbers reading about sin offerings...so totally unrelated to my dream. Who knows!

Speaking of my Bible reading, I have decided that 2012 is going to be the year I read the entire Bible. I've attempted a couple of times while I was in high school, but never even came close. I've started at the beginning and so far things are going smoothly. Of course, I took a college course on the first 5 books of the Bible and really enjoyed it, so it's fun reading the books again and picking up on the things I missed the first time. I'm looking forward to accomplishing this goal by the end of the year.

On the home front, we had a leak in our kitchen which has finally been solved. There was water leaking from the corners and trim of our kitchen window. We thought at first it was an exterior leak, because it seemed to only leak when it was raining outside. However, it wasn't all that bad until a few weeks ago, so we never really paid close attention to it. Then a few weeks ago, we got a huge bubble in the paint by the corner of the window and decided it was time to call the home warranty company that was provided to us by the sellers and have them send someone out to take a look at it. Good thing we did. We had a leak from the toilet above the kitchen. Because of it's location, the water was running down the pipe and then down the window instead of leaking in a normal place like the ceiling which is why we weren't totally sure where it was coming from. Anyway, 3 holes in the ceiling later, the leak was located, the old pipe replaced. Let's just hope we don't have any further leak issues.

Jon is busy studying for the audit section of the CPA exam. He is scheduled to take the exam Feb. 6th. Praying he passes! That would mean he would only have one section to go. YaY!!

Julianna is still busy, busy, busy. This past week seemed to be better on the hitting and tantrum front. Hopefully she keeps up the good work. She really is a character. We love her so much!!

Well that's all for now!! MUCH LOVE!!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Three kids in One!

I've come to the realization that Julianna is like three kids all wrapped up in one. She can be sweet and cooperative one minute, bouncing off the walls the next, and then throwing terrible tantrums the next instant. I am very grateful I am 1) not pregnant and 2) do not have another child at the moment because I am exhausted just dealing with Julz and her personalities right now.

Julianna also has a hitting issue. In a lot of ways, I'm glad she only hits me 95% of the time, but it gets tiring day in and day out and she is becoming stronger so her slaps and punches are beginning to hurt. I've tried just about everything to curb this behavior but have yet to be successful. I've searched the internet numerous times for ideas on how to deal with this behavior and have found nothing that has worked, but wouldn't you know, when I was about to give up, my Parents magazine arrived with an article dedicated to toddler's bad behavior and gave me a wonderful idea: a "chore" chart. Julianna loves stickers and loves M&M's or anything sweet for that matter. Why not put that all together and reward her for good behavior?! Haven't tried that idea yet, so what do I have to lose? While there will be chores on her chart, it will also include no hitting and kicking. I realized to make this successful, I have to include some things I know she will be successful at every day so she doesn't get discouraged. I'm still working out some of the details for the reward part, but I plan on putting this into action tomorrow. I will let you all know how it goes.

Otherwise, things are moving along. This past weekend was Jon's holiday party for work. It was at the aquarium at the Pittsburgh Zoo. It was a nice party and I got to know more of the people Jon works with and the new firm that HBK is purchasing was there too. The best part of the party, though, was getting to pet a penguin!! Very cool!

Tax season has begun which means 6 day work weeks have arrived. Jon hasn't decided if he wants to go in early and be home for dinner or go in a little later and be home later. I told him to try out both scenarios and see which he likes best. Some days it won't matter when he gets to work, he'll be late anyways just because there will be a lot to get done. Based on how everyone was talking at the party on Saturday, it sounds like this season is going to be a doozy! I wish them all the best of luck!

Well that's all that's going on at the moment. Hope everyone is enjoying this burst of winter we all got! Tomorrow the high is 52 here in Pittsburgh! MUCH LOVE!

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Big Girl Bed

This past Monday, we went and bought a mattress for Julianna's big girl bed. She was VERY excited and so began her transition from her crib to the bed. The first night went really well. She slept the entire night in her bed. The next day, I went and put her down for her afternoon nap which didn't go as smoothly as I would have hoped, but she did sleep and stay in her bed. However, I did return to find that she had pulled one of her flower lights out of the wall. Not good. So we had a "talk" about touching the flowers and she has left the other one alone since. That night, we put her to bed, both of us had to get her down. We thought she was asleep, until we heard "Mama! Come Upstairs!", "Mama!"....so up I go, and what do I find? She had ripped up a book in her bed. Lesson learned, nothing beside her bed. Last night, however, was much smoother. She is getting the hang of the big bed and loves being in it. She keeps asking us to put the crib away. =)


Next thing to work on with Julz.....to stop her from saying "Shut Up!" to the dogs. Guess I need to pay more attention to what comes out of my mouth.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Sledding

Yesterday Julianna went sledding for the first time ever. She LOVED it!! We have a great little hill in our front yard that was perfect for her. Sadly, most of the snow is melting today, but next time it snows, I'm sure we will go sledding again!