7 months old and a Merry Christmas to all

Ms. Lena on her 7th month anniversary of life! And not a day goes by where she doesn't give me her judgmental face....bless her heart I think she gets it from her father!

Even though there were just two of us, doesn't mean we didn't get to feast. Brenton continued on his father's Christmas dinner tradition with Lasagna Italian style (with a white sauce) and a whole pan of rolls!! Merry Christmas carbohydrates, merry Christmas!

Even though it's hers, the high chair is actually a Christmas gift for me. No more fighting her in the little chair thingy!

I love the high chair! I can just stick her in it while I make dinner, instead of letting her wonder around the room and then having to play, "where is the scream coming from?"

There is a Mexican Grandmother laughing right now with this picture! This is her prized new trick, the raspberry!

Well that is it for now, Ya'll come back and see me ya hear??

Snowed in Day 2, 3, 4......the last week

I don't understand why I can't remember to write in here more often. I wanted to do a day 2 of the blizzard, and I even got some pictures, but alas I forgot and now the effect is gone..sad.

To sum up the storm:

We got about 21.2 inches of snow, the average snowfall for the season is 18 inches!

Next time a blizzard is coming I am going to buy a shovel and/or ice skates because I was sliding around for a week!

The Brenton and I had way too many baked goods, impossible as that sounds, it's true!

Apparently when there is snow on the ground, other pet owners feel that it's ok to have their pets "mess #2" right on the sidewalk and they don't need to clean it up...Oh how wrong they are!!

I had come to the conclusion that I was too spoiled with my Utah snow removers, and if any of those snow removers would like to come to MD I have a great apt complex who needs some education on how to plow snow and lay down salt!

Today we have had rain come and wash the snow away, I can see grass and sidewalks again...Happy Days!

Snowed in....Day 1

Well it was mid week when the news of the big storm started circulating

"Are you ready for the 6-9 inches of snow this weekend?" Mind you the last storm that had 2 inches people were very uneasy.

By Friday the number of inches of course only increased....10-12" then the best 20 INCHES!! No one was Christmas shopping on Friday, they were all at the grocery store, all the milk, toilet paper, eggs, and butter were off the shelves. (Snow freaks people out over here)

I tracked the storm on weatherchannel.com and it said that the snow was to start on Dec 18th around 9pm...and they were right. It snowed ALL night!

I had to work Sat morning so I warmed up Sheila and we headed out on our 20 mile drive to work. Now I would like the Maryland Department of Transportation to please contact the Utah Department of transportation and have a little chat about HOW TO CLEAR A ROAD!!! Poor Maryland I know you don't have to deal with snow a whole lot, but it would help when we are supposed to get double digit inches of snow if you knew how to use a snow plow!

So after only a few hours of work, (because everything in the state of Maryland shut down!) we headed back home, and home we stayed. I was so ready to get my bake on....meaning ask Brenton to whip up some of his cinnamon rolls, but sadly we didn't have enough eggs! Ugg talk about not being prepared.

So after a full morning and afternoon of snow and blizzard warning, I took Chloe out for a little snow adventure..aka Potty Break.

This is what our apt parking lot looks like. Most of these cars didn't move since the snow started, so you can really see how much we got! Sheila got recovered after I got home from work, poor girl I bet she is cold!

Oh Chloe...if she would smell something she would bury her whole head into the snow, weirdo!

Overall it was a fantastic day of fires in the fireplace, cooking, and we started our card game tournament, we played Phase 10 ( I don't want to talk about it)

Get this...Church has already been canceled for tomorrow.I love the concept of snowing means go home and you don't have to do anything, unlike the previous state I was in..>UTAH....where snow meant just get on the freeway earlier and get your butt to work...LAME!

Tomorrow is Day 2 of being snowed in and I am excited!!! Now if a dozen eggs would end up on my door step tomorrow!!

My Thanksgiving...Dedicated to Lena

Well we did it...we survived 6 wonderful months with this beautiful little girl
You know what I say to all those women who are against having the "mom"label?
Foo-ee and Hockey Puck...that's right, hockey puck!!

These last 6 months...well last year I guess it started when I found out I was pregnant, I have had this overwhelming joy that is just...indescribable . There is nothing better then to hold your baby in your arms and think...I grew you! I like to look at her feet and hands and think, " here is all the spaghetti ( I LOVED LOVED spaghetti with this girl)that I ate!. And for some people to think that a career in the business world would be more fulfilling, well I say...Hockey puck!

Being a mom rocks...and to all of you who are reading this and are not yet moms, I am no way meaning to rub your face in it, so please keep reading. My purpose here is just to express my thanks to my little darling Lena, so here it is, the

Thanksgiving List Personalized for Adalena:
From Conception (yes I just said it) to 6 months

• Thank you for announcing yourself to me in the form of severe cramps for 4 weeks, it prepared me for how pushy and bossy you are
  

**Note some "thanks" are sarcastic, but I promise some are serious**

• Thank you for making anything sugary and sweet taste horrible during the 2008 Holiday season (this is a serious one) because I would have eaten enough for 4 babies
  
  
• Thank you for never kicking my bladder hard enough and causing me to piddle uncontrollably
  
  
• Thank you for giving me an easy pregnancy, you were the test run, and so yes you will have siblings
  
  
• Thank you for coming early and allowing some healing time before we had to move across the country, that was very nice of you..oh and THANK YOU for sleeping while we crossed the country!
  
  
• Thank you for sleeping through the night at 7 weeks!! (Yup, totally bragging!)
  
  
• Thank you for bringing such joy and happiness to my Brenton, the first 45 min of your life were spent in his arms, and I am pretty sure the smile hasn't left his face since
  
  
• Thank you for waking up every morning with a smile (even though you have chosen this last week to wake up screaming) but for the most part thank you for waking up happy to see me!
  
  
• Thank you for getting good use out of your newborn clothes...even though you really ought to think about growing out of them by now, you are 6 months for Pete sake!
  
  
• Thank you for teaching me patience (sound familiar mom)...I can be like those mom's I'd see in the store. Just off in their own shopping world while their child is screaming in the shopping cart
  
  
• Thank you for allowing me to have the ultimate excuse when I have poor body image thoughts..."Well I did just have a baby..." and then I feel better
  
  
• Thank you for teaching me that a good day is if I get a shower AND brush my teeth
  
  
• Last but not least, THANK YOU for choosing me to be your mom.
  
  

I don't know how I did it, but I have 2 of the world's best people right here with me! I am a truly blessed woman!!!

Our Rejected Holiday card

Stay Tuned for more....

My Weekend of Firsts

First time I flew from coast to coast
First time Lena flew in an airplane
First time I flew by myself with a baby
So...basically my first panic attack!


First time all my siblings were all married *Congratulations Jake and Brenda*






















First time in 3 years that I saw my Ashley



First time Lena met Kingston and Lincoln, I am pretty sure one of them will be her husband!













First time it took 1 hr and 14 min to fly from Sacramento to Salt Lake (it used to be 1 hr 45 min)

First time we didn't have the green binki (Lena threw it out the stroller in the Salt Lake airport bathroom, there was no way I was even going to try and recover that!)

First time I had to sit 2 hrs on an airplane just waiting...And trying to keep Lena quiet!!

First time the airplane I was in didn't have enough oil

First time the airline comped the $2 headsets to make up for the inconvenience, but still charged $6 for snacks?????

Saw my first Christmas commercial of the season while on the flight, thank you Crayola
First time a flight attendant slammed into my sleeping baby's head while walking by

The first time Brenton had his little girl back in his arms

And the last time I am ever doing that again!

How do you Spell Slacker??

If you spell it J-A-Z-M-I-N-E well good, so do I. My blog is a slack slackie...Holy cow, if I could use my "I just had a baby" card then I am going to, because since I had Lena, I just don't have any creativity to share on the blog!

But okay, here we go giving it a try again.

The life of a 5 month old must be amazing...okay so she is not 5 months just yet, but she will be in 7 days...can you believe it? 5 months, my little peach ring. If you are wondering where the food is, it's in her cheeks, she is saving up for the winter.

Here we are doing our photo shoot. Brenton was at work and she was BEGGING me to take pictures. She has been working on her "faces", this is her serious "what is that camera in my face?" face.

We made it through the 4 month vaccinations. She was more upset about being on the table than the actual shots...

She is a 10lb 10 oz. and 23 in. long.. where is my little baby?

She is by far a daddy's girl. She doesn't have to see him. but all he has to do is call out here name, "Stinky!" and she just lights up. I get the screaming, puking and everything else, but he gets the smiles.
at least I still have Chloe.

I cried

You have to watch the entire 5 min if you want a good laugh!!!!

What it's like

Since I am a west coast gal, and Brenton is a west coast boy, living in the MD (it's my version of the OC) has opened my eyes to a new way of living

For example:
West Coast thrives on customer service. I mean if the hostess/check-out clerk/secretary doesn't so much give you a WARM over the top friendly smile, well then it's common to complain or vow to never return because you just didn't feel all warm and bubbly.

Well over here you are lucky if they say "hi how are you?" Because they don't care, No honestly, they don't, and get this...IT'S OKAY!!! No one complains, no one thinks to themselves "How rude!" or goes to the manager. As long as the job gets done, we are happy! :)

On the subject of rude: Okay so I have had east coaster's themselves tell me that east coast people are rude, so it's not just overly sensitive me. They know it. It's not like they are outright rude, it's mostly that everyone keeps to themselves and tries not to interact with anyone...EVER
I mean, some guy was blocking the walk way with his bag and I was coming through with the stroller, he moved it, I THANKED him, and he looked at me like I just kicked a kitten... I guess I was just supposed to keep walking....dang my manners!!!!

Lets see...oh merging lanes?? What did I just say, yes merging lanes. Do they have them here... umm No...well kinda. There is a road that goes to merge onto the freeway/highway, but the second it touches the freeway the lane ends and you then YIELD?? What?? The best is when you come to a line of cars trying to merge on the freeway, so you go from a dead stop to freeway speeds...WHO THOUGHT OF THIS??!!
Oh and they also choose not to give you those nice warning signs of when your lane is going to end, the only clue you have are the short dashed lines on the freeway. If you don't pay attention to those, bad things can happen!

The wildlife out here is crazy, anyone ever see a woodchuck standing on the side of the road?? It's CREEPY! It's like a mutant rambo squierrel the size of a medium dog.

Ahh...okay other than that. It's beautiful out here. The trees out here are like 5 stories tall and there are just mini forests everywhere. (Did you hear that Utah...TREES! EVERYWHERE!!)They are starting to change colors, and I am s-t-o-k-e-d for fall.

I promise now that I am settled and I think my brain is starting to work, that I will get some awesome pics of this place up here soon. For now...enjoy the woodchuck

Freaking-A

So last night The Brenton and I were having a little dialog

Brenton: So what do you want to do tomorrow?

Jazz: Uh..I don't know, you want to go to the gym?

Brenton: Yeah, we can go to the gym

Jazz: (takes two steps out of the bathroom) and BAM SMACK CRUNCH...I immediately collapse to the bed and then curl onto the ground

Brenton: What happened??

All I could say, well not so much say, but more of cry was : MY PINKY TOE!

Yes,I kicked the "foot" of the baby co-sleeper and so help me I wanted to die. It caught just between the pinky toe and the toe next to it. The pain, the throbbing, lasted the whole night, I contimplated cutting my pinky toe off to stop the pain!

I didn't break my toe, but I very much jammed it.

Needless to say, we did not go to they Gym....

instead I ate double stuffed golden oreos...

Happy Labor Day Everyone!!!

Another reason to Gush over her

This morning while on our bed, she threw her arm over her eyes and fell asleep. I guess I better go get her an eye mask so she can sleep now.

For the Grandmas

Just 3 days shy of being 3 months old!

We are wearing our "Girl Outfit" today

You're Welcome!!!

Sweets for your Sweetie(s)

Okay so this Sunday, August 23rd is

Make a sweet for your sweetie(s)Day

This Sunday, it's the day to say to your loved ones,

"Hey I love you, have some dessert!"

Some of you might be thinking..."NO I can't, my diet" well then pick something sweet that works with your diet. Like Angel Food Cake Berries and Whip Cream! Or Sugar Free Jello and Whip Cream (can you tell I love Whip Cream?)



Take the rest of this week to plan for Sunday dessert, make it good!

I am a Flasher!

If the art preserver people here noticed that the Declaration of Independence looks a little destroyed more today... well that is because....I Did it!!!!

I FLASHED the Declaration today. COMPLETELY on Accident


Okay see on the right of this picture the arm of a Security Guard, well I was busy talking to him, asking if he has a specific pose when people take pictures of the Declaration, because I wanted to get that pose. He was real nice.



Well when I turned on my camera I forgot the flash is automatic unless I turn it off, and again I was so excited to get a picture of the posing guard that I forgot to turn it off....and it WENT OFF

See the hands and camera of another lady taking a picture?? Yeah, she gasped...it's not like I ripped the Declaration or something


I apologized, and the guard said the rule is I can't take any more pics....but then he did a nice sales pitch for the museum store saying that I could buy a replica at the museum store ( DUh I watched National Treasure!)

ehh o-well I got what I wanted, and that is a distant picture of a piece of paper in a glass casing

We've only just begun

Three years ago I thought marriage was going to be full of sunshine and roses




and I haven't been wrong yet!!

I have been blessed by being the wife to this amazing man for the last 3 years


...and he has learned how it is to live in a looney bin.



And now with our we are the parents of the cutest baby, this side of the Mississippi!

A Day in the Life

I am a person of routine, kinda. I don't purposely put myself in a routine, somehow I just end up in one. Usually it's due to my school and work schedule, as well as Brenton's work and school schedule. Our schedules change every Aug and Jan. I try not to be so bound by the schedule, I usually catch on that my life is like the movie Groundhogs Day and at that point I quickly make a change. Sadly though, this is usually at the end of the school term, so it's too late.

My life BB (Before Baby) consisted of waking up no later than 6am, Brenton to the Train by 7:05am, Work by 8am, Leave work by 5pm, pick Brenton up at 5:20pm, School by 5:45pm (class started at 5:30) Class done by 6:50pm, pick Brenton up from class at 7:50pm, From 8-10:30pm it was dinner, walk the dog, check my email, facebook, homework that is due the next day and then lights out. Oh and grocery shopping if needed and spend time with my husband.....Then we do it all over again!

It's kind of a vicious cycle, we work hard to earn the money so that we can provide a good life for ourselves, but...when do we have time to experience it?

Finally a break of light through the clouds....We have found a life where we aren't running around, and we can actually...do what now?? Spend time together!! Holy cow is it possible? Oh yes it's possible! And I will tell you my secret, so that you too can live in such happiness.....are you ready? Get your pen and paper.....

The secret is...
Move 2000+ miles away from the life that you are currently living and both you and your spouse be unemployed!

That's it folks, do this and your life can be as carefree and lax-a-dazy as ours!

With this lifestyle you can do things like... go shopping in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday! I know you are shaking your head saying, impossible, but no it's true!

You can sit and stare at the pile of picture frames still waiting to be put up on the walls, and then tell yourself "tomorrow!"

I keep asking The Brenton his opinion on how we can both still live like this and get paid for it...after much brainstorming we have come up with the answer that we must have someone leave money for us in their will.....And since everyone lives to be 115 now a days, I don't think it's going to work out for us!

So off to the job interviews we go! Wish us luck!


Now for those of you saying, "Who cares, show us pictures of the baby....MOM...." here you all go!

Talk about a close call

Wonder what you are looking at???

Well if you guessed a fallen tree, well you are right. This is the view from our patio this morning. We had a storm last night, it didn't seem too bad, rain, thunder and lightning nothing too crazy. This tree is right in front of our building and it fell without us hearing it...weird huh?

Can you see anything else? Well if you answered a car...you get 50 extra points. If you look close you can kind of see a hub cap underneath the branches.

How awesome is this?? Our car is the one just a space away from the fallen tree.

We are seriously rethinking where we park the car.

Thank you TLC

I have my cable back which means I am catching up on t.V. Last week I saw commercials for this show on TLC.....
This is one AMAZING show. It's basically a bunch of mom's being dum dums on film. (Not saying that all pageant mom's are dum dums, but I am just saying THESE moms are). If you ever feel down on yourself and need a boost of self esteem...watch this show!!

The Brenton warns me that I am not allowed to pageant Adalena.

I think she could be a winner!!

Well anyway we have some time...Girlfriend is 2 months old today!!!! Happy day to you Baby!