Saturday, October 24, 2009

Saturday Morning...

J is back from his trip. It was a long week without him. Even though he was only gone for 3 days, I really felt empathy for all the "single" mom's out there who have to do it EVERY day on their own. Kudo's to you, ladies. We also found out lastnight that Josh's aunt passed away suddenly, and that combined with everything else has just worn us out. We were all set to move in to the new house on Sunday, but we went ahead and rescheduled it for next Sunday. In the meantime, I'll try to make an effort to enjoy our last few days in Maricopa, and continue organizing so our move into the new house is smooth.


Mikey will be 10 months old on Thursday! I'll make sure to take plenty of pictures!


Monday, October 19, 2009

Getting Crafty... Digital Scrapbooking

I've been meaning to give digital scrap-booking a try for some time now. I don't know why I put it off for so long, because once I finally just did it, it was so much fun! Plus, it was way easier than I thought it would be. Did I mention there was no glue or scissors involved? No picking up after myself, either. Perfect project for me! I used Shutterfly to create a photo book of cute pics of Mikey to send to his grand mother for her birthday. There was a great how-to post on digital scrap booking done over at Becoming Mom that really has me inspired to finally start digital scrap-booking on a regular basis. What saved me? Taking the time to carefully catalog all the pictures I have taken of Mikey as I've uploaded them during the last 10 months.


I really can't believe that Mikey is almost 10 months old! Only 9 days left! Where has the time gone?! So looking forward to spending my favorite part of the year with him (Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas). I've got some awesome projects planned for The White House (thank goodness for websites like Apartment Therapy for great ideas on decorating rentals), but while all that is going on, there is an awesome Halloween carnival in Gilbert on the 24th, an ASU homegame on the 31st (where better for Mikey to wear his adorable costume) and of course I'm looking forward to the rest of the fall/winter after the ridiculous hot summer we all just endured here in AZ.


Friday, October 16, 2009

The White House...

J and I picked up the keys to the new place tonight. The home was NOT cleaned to our standards, yet, it was fine. We'll have to do a little cleaning ourselves, but we can handle that. I'm excited about our new temporary living space (we will likely only live here a year or two). I never decorated the home we owned, however, I feel inspired a million times more by the layout of this home and the wonderful nooks, crannies and built in shelf's around the great room and kitchen. As I mentioned before, the house is white - white everywhere - with the exception of gray carpet. The plan is to move into the White House next weekend. Who said "If you want god to laugh, tell him your plans..."?


New...

Today is a day for new things! New home (we get the keys today), new utilities. In fact, ALL of our utilities will be different (Electric, City Utilities, Cable/Phone/Internet). It all gets turned on today, but we will likely not be living in the new house for over a week when the hypothetical movers that I'm planning on calling today will transport our things from one city to the next.

Other new things: Mikey is walking. Amazing.

I look forward to this next chapter in our lives.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

The Weekend Ritual...

Today has been peaceful, calm, serene. A perfect Sunday to end a somewhat stressful week. J and I have managed to get by the worst, and we are ready to begin again, starting over with the intimate knowledge of bankruptcy, foreclosure and all of the other worst possible things that anyone can experience financially. But, we are ok. We made it through, and we still have each other.


This week seems like a good week for soup. The cooler weather always makes me want to curl up with a good book, and of course fill up the house with the delicious scent of a home cooked meal. It isn't quite warm enough for pot roast, but we are getting close! In the mean time, I've got a potato and garlic soup planned out, as well as a leek and potato soup for this week.


I'm becoming more and more interested in vegetarian eating, but I'm worried what implications that would have for Mikey. I want to make sure he is getting everything he needs to grow up healthy and strong. Also, it doesn't help that J is very anti-vegetarian. For that reason alone, I am tempted to just continue on with my old habits. Cooking several different types of food for meat and non-meat eaters sounds like a lot of work!


Speaking of Mikey and his nutritional needs, J and I are worried that he isn't getting enough to eat. Now, of course looking at him you would think we were silly. He is easily in the 99th percentile for weight and height. My primary concern is that I'm not feeding him the right types of foods, and then again, I'm also concerned that I am not exposing him to enough variety.


I need to explore the internet and find out if there is a community especially designed for feeding children!


Big week ahead of us here in the Gaines household. We get the keys to the new place on Friday. I'll need to get the utilities and cable/internet turned on by Friday so we can start moving in right away. Did I mention that we haven't packed a single box? Yeah, probably should get on that, too. I'm sure I will take plenty of pictures to document all the excitement coming our way!


About 'Making Gaines'

This blog is a gift. Imagine, if you will, that your mother, or grandmother, had started a scrapbook many years ago. Perhaps the day you were born, or the day she was married. And also imagine that this scrapbook chronicled the simple every day events, that when strung together over a lifetime, were truly magnificent. Wouldn't it be fantastic to be able to know the music your parents or grandparents were listening to, the foods they loved, to witness the seemingly mundane everyday events that you, or your parents or your grandparents experienced over the years? While the concept of blogging was one that I have always been enamored with, I have always struggled with a purpose in writing, until I realized that this blog wasn't for me. This blog is a gift to my children, and their children. A way to remember the good times, our struggles, milestones and accomplishments. This is my gift to you...


Enjoy!


Saturday, October 10, 2009

If I Had A Million Dollars...

I think I could spend it all at Old Navy today.








 
 
 
 



 
 
 
 

And after I was done making that purchase, I would have roughly 999,800.00 left to spend. Perhaps I should have picked a more expensive store than Old Navy. Seriously, though - it is all so awesome!




So I go on stuck here in the backseat

I don't need to know where we're traveling
I don't need to know if we'll make it there
I just need to love you while I can.
-The Noises 10

Today felt like a brand new start to me. A day to start being a better mom, a better wife. A better everything, really.  I think these feelings are being inspired by the change in season here in AZ (finally!). I love the fall. It is the first relief we have from the waves of Arizona heat. Its mostly been in the 80's here... and I can't wait for it to drop into the 70's so I can finally pull out my sweaters!

To bring you up to date, J and I put a security deposit down on a rental home in Gilbert. We are so excited to get out of Maricopa, and back closer to civilization. The home has a nice sized kitchen w/ an island (hooray for counter space!). A few other things I'm excited about are the soaking tub in the master bathroom, the full length covered patio (with misters) in the backyard, and the enclosed garden in the backyard. Fortunately, the landlord is completely fine with animals - no pet deposit or pet rent required. Oh, and J? J is just happy to be back w/in the area that Cox Cable covers so he has reliable internet, lol. The house is in an awesome neighborhood, and there is a park 50 yards across the street. Awesome awesome awesome. Besides all that, there are a few more "conveniences" that this house offers that our current dwelling does not. First, you can walk into the kitchen from the garage (ie, you don't have to carry your groceries across the house) and there is an actual laundry ROOM! No more laundry closet for me, thank you very much.

One challenge - the house is completely stark white. Very neutral. White walls, gray carpet, light colored cabinetry. I'm sure the landlord would be fine with us painting a wall or two to liven the place up, but it might be a fun challenge to decorate the place without resorting to painting.

My plans for the rest of today are to finish devouring "Love Soup," and to cook up a pot of delicious soup for dinner this evening. I'll take pictures and report back on my success.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Reality Check...

Have you ever seen yourself one way, but in reality you ACTUALLY look completely worse than you figured. For example... I know I need to lose weight. I know my clothes don't fit. I know I'm miserable, out of shape, out of breath and tired. I know I have a terrible diet. But, for some reason it just didn't look so bad in the mirror. /shrug. And then, a cruel and unusual camera that was merely attempting to snap a pic of my sweet baby, managed to capture my fat ass on camera at the same time. Lets just say it was just the dose of reality I needed!

MikeyandMama

Doh! Especially since a mere 2 years earlier (pre-baby... pre-pregnancy even) I was looking quite alright:

DSC00411

But, I am armed with a google reader list full of great blogs relating to weightloss, healthy eating and exercise, a couple of workout DVD's, some awesome new cookbooks:

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and photographic evidence that I truly am a fat ass.