Louder than words

Bathing Beauties!

2010-06-15T21:10:00.003-04:00

Kate was just thrilled that we put her bumble seat in the bath with Isabelle. And Isabelle was super excited to be sharing bath time with little sis! They both are too funny!

Spring fun

2010-05-14T09:49:00.005-04:00

Whew, well the total lackage of sleep is certainly starting to affect me. Kate made it a point to make sure I didnt get more than 2 hours of continuous sleep last night (FUN). However she does make up for it during the day, cause shes crazy entertaining. Shes rolling and squealing and laughing. She loves to be entertained by Isabelle. Which is GREAT cause Isabelle LOVES to entertain!

If you cant find us....we are probably out swingin'

Enjoy the day :)

I "heart" valentines day

2010-02-15T16:50:00.002-05:00

Hello reader world... Lots of happenings since my last post.

Had a baby.... Cute isnt she :)

Survived Christmas with a newborn

Hosted a birthday princess tea party..yeah Isabelle is 4, can you believe it?

launched my own etsy shop while feeding a baby...

http://www.etsy.com/shop/AnnRoses

Turned 29 and ate some lobster

showed some love on Valentines day

Pumpkin lanterns

2009-10-06T16:29:00.004-04:00

My darling daughter is a creative child and will find creative things to do on her own if that energy isn't channeled into a constructive activity. So today we interupted my craft fair prepping for these cute lanterns!

All you need is : Jars...various sizes would be cute. I dont know if we either haven't taken our recycling out in a while or SOMEONE is eating alot of pickles around here. But I happen to have 4 pickle jars of the same size
Orange fabric or tissue paper
Modge Podge (we used elmers glue, works just as great!) and paint brush
Cute ribbon or fabric strips

Jars...

I cut two inch squares out of fabric, but tearing orange tissue paper would be great too!

Paint the jar with glue...

Apply orange

Cover orange with a layer of glue, let dry
and voila! Jar one is done (almost)

Multiply by as many as you would like...4 will look lovely on my window sill

Tie bows around the top (leaves) I also thought that raffia would look great too! and add some faces and put some lights in them or I am going to line them up and stuff them with orange halloween lights (its not dark yet, or I would show you!)

Enjoy!

Fall Photos

2009-10-01T12:29:00.004-04:00

I was feeling artsy this morning, and Isabelle was feeling....er..model-y shall we say? So we decided to go out for a little photo adventure. Here are the results. Enjoy the day!

Most of the pictures we took...somehow resembled this...our pig face. Charmed, Im sure.

Thanks for looking!

And were back....

2009-09-25T07:52:00.005-04:00

Sorry for the hiatus! I feel like I have been absorbed by facebook and all the other happenings of the last year. My poor blog has suffered for it. We are doing great! Jim is coaching soccer, Isabelle starts pre-school in a few weeks and I only have 10 more weeks of being pregnant! YEAH! Here are some pictures of our activities over the last few weeks up to just yesterday! I will try and get some more of our summer fun on here. Hope everyone is well!
My little helper...Changing the color of this rather aged shelf for my kitchen.

Always a super star...

The lovely Lola stayed with us for a few weeks...Her family was away on vacation (check out the bow and hot pink toenails! We miss you Lola!

New wheels! I have been dying to get Isabelle a scooter! She has had a blast on it!!!! We go out "scooting" on it everyday!

Fair time! We went to the fair yesterday with our good friends! So much fun. But to me the fair is really the sign that summer has ended :( So sad, seeing that it wasnt much of a summer to start with. This was really Isabelles first time on rides! The merry-go-round was the favorite (3 rides!) the tried others...motorcycles, planes, ect...She was looked slightly terrified while on it, but said she had fun. Im off to see what I can find to do in the craft room....Also tossing around starting a blog about projects..stay tuned!

Christmas Wreaths

2008-11-03T09:51:00.002-05:00

I know it seems alittle early...but Janel and I started making wreaths this week! We have a company that buys them from us, then ships them out. So we will be making wreaths for them for the next three weeks! Then we start making wreaths for our own little business. Last year we made around 75 wreaths. We will probably double that this year. It was such a gorgeous weekend, that we tipped balsam boughs. We filled the Jeep and the Truck. The kiddos had a GREAT time too. Thank goodness it was sunny and (somewhat) warm.

I hate to brag...

2008-11-01T07:27:00.004-04:00

But they dont get much cuter than this.....

Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!

Fall Activities!

2008-10-15T10:18:00.003-04:00

Every good leaf pile needs a launch pad

Lots of love for the little pumpkin

In the quest for the perfect pumpkin...pop-pop found this one for Isabelle

Fall is coming! Between soccer games and youth activities, we are desperately trying to get our house ready for winter, and finished on the inside. I say finished, but it will never be really finished, but the projects we have started, need to be finished. Anyway. Painting has begun in the living room. The Entertainment center is nearly finished. Now we just pray I get a house sold, so we can put carpeting in! I need my living room back!

Beads!

2008-09-15T10:27:00.002-04:00

We have discovered the fun world of beads. Isabelle has created a few bracelets and necklaces for us (and herself!) Its very fun to watch fine motor skills and creativity develop!

Very proud of the final product!

House update: Living room is finished with mud and tape, soon to be sanded. Back room is still being mudded. Entertainment system is being build into the wall. I am within a few weeks of having my living room back! I am so excited.

Blueberry time!

2008-08-20T11:38:00.003-04:00

We spent the afternoon at the Wilton Blueberry Farm, it is gorgeous and has acres and acres of high bush blueberry plants. It was so fun!
Isabelle got tired of picking up high, so she found a little shady spot where there were berries down low, Im pretty sure she was eating as many as she was picking.

The fruits of our labor. We picked 10 lbs of blueberries, they will taste yummy this winter! and in the pie I am going to make tonight too!

I Survived!

2008-08-18T11:19:00.000-04:00

We take our canoeing very seriously

Girls Camp.....Check

Cute Painted Toes......Check

Another successful Kayak trip.....Check

Back to renovations on the house.....Catch you all later

Rain, Rain...

2008-08-11T09:48:00.003-04:00

Go away, come again another day.... Little Isabelle wants to play

ahhh, heck, lets just take the clothes of and go run in the rain anyway!

I am off to Girls Camp (with a group of 15 girls! yikes), Send your kind thoughts and sympathies to my poor husband, whom I am abandoning for the week with a half gutted house and our toddler and her potty training maddness! It should be a fun week ;)

Catch-up

2008-08-01T16:42:00.011-04:00

Ok, ok...so I have totally neglected my blog for the past month and a half. Let me give you all an update as to the crazyness of our lives right now.

Mom had major neck surgery the June 6th. Recovery has been a bit slower this time around, but we have all be able to get a good laugh out of her minnie mouse voice :) Its only temporary.

Grampa Lish passed away June 9th. Even with an understanding of a greater plan in this life. The loss has affected more than I thought.

I got my garden in...late but in!

Jim finished the school year and started with

his summer transition program.

I swear Isabelle has grown 4 inches this summer so far. All this warm sunshine and rain apparently has the same effect on 2 year olds as it does the weeds in my Garden.

We have started a few projects around the house.

Project 1.We made a play area for the house and slide for Isabelle

Project 2. We have NO insulation...I mean NONE. so, we are tearing down the walls re-building the wall (since they are only about 3 inches thick) and putting in some lovely insulation and then sheet rocking it back up.

This is my living room.... minus plaster and a few lathes. We are finding that this house is built like a barn....

Quick Pics

2008-06-15T16:58:00.004-04:00

We found a fun spot to throw rocks in the river by our house!

Sorry about the lack of posts. We have had a very eventful few weeks. I will write more later.

Good Times

2008-05-28T09:40:00.003-04:00

Jim had a conference in Freeport, so we decided to make alittle trip of it and we stayed down there with him. It would be our first experience taking a 2 year old to a hotel for 2 nights.... You all can stop snickering now.

The first night was great. Granted no one fell asleep till 10:30pm. We were up the next morning and headed to the childrens museum for the morning. That was a blast.

Then we came back, did some browsing around Freeport (we REALLY enjoyed the fish at LL Bean Kids). That night was a bit more exciting. At about 10pm. Isabelle still wasnt asleep and was CRANKY. A small bug bite that itched turned into near hysteria. I had to quickley scoop her up and go for a drive (So that we wouldnt wake EVERYONE in the Haraseekeet). In about 3 minutes she was fast asleep.

The next morning she was still alittle cranky...so we went for a drive to portland so I could run a few errands. As we shopped around Babies r us, my dear Isabelle asked to be picked up and then proceeded to puke down the front of me. We are talking a soaker here. I asked someone who was working there and was standing near by if she could help me. She just kinda stared in this disbelieve of what was happening.

HELLOOO...child is puking, get me some paper towels or something!!!

We cleaned up, and had the clothes from the hotel (we had just checked out) so we changed.

Isabelle was better after tossing her breakfast and fell asleep while I strolled around the other shops in the area.

Never a dull moment.

Noses

2008-05-14T12:05:00.006-04:00

So Isabelle has a runny nose. But yesterday she came around the corner sniffling and watery eyes.
The conversation went something like this:

Do you need to blow your nose?
Yes.
(Nose is blown)
Ooowwwwweee Momma
Whats wrong?
Pretzel inna nose
You have a pretzel in your nose?!?!?
Yessss (sniffle)
OH MY GOSH!

(A small panic attack...deep breath)

So after some blows and no success. Then a small temper tantrum. We all calmed down and I was able to take some tweezers and pull out the pretzle which was an INCH LONG!

I--------------I

HELLOOOOO, what posses a child to stick that much pretzel in her nose?!?!
I never cease to be amazed.

Congratulations!

2008-05-12T11:40:00.002-04:00

Weeeehooo!!!

Baby Bro just graduated college! Onward to grad school!

Nick and Janel just had a baby boy! Silas James... A fine, strapping, handsome baby boy

Siiri and Jared had a baby girl!

It was a busy weekend of Mothers day happenings, graduations and babies...

Whew, I am beat,

back to work in the office!

Sunshiny Days

2008-05-12T11:29:00.005-04:00

Loads of fun in the sun, here are some pictures for you all to enjoy.

Happy spring days!

2008-04-23T10:55:00.006-04:00

Well the iceburg has offically left my front lawn and green grass has started to grow. I have spent the last week raking AROUND the snowpiles as the slowly melted, but a few days of 60+ weather has freed our front lawn from its icy, dirty mess.

Syruping is done too! here is a great story for you. I ran out of wood so we checked out the hardware store down the road if they had any pallets that they wanted to get ride of...they sure did! so we took home a jeep full of pallets (6 I think) and Jim started cutting them up, well we got distracted and didnt finish cutting them up. Actually he only got through one! so the next day I am looking at this pile of lumber trying to figure out if I am going to have enough that is cut to last me the day. There wasnt enough and I had the sap at a good boil, so I didnt want to have to go through the whole process again of starting the fire up..yadda, yadda. I decided to take matters into my own hands. I am terrified of the skil saw...HATE IT, large rotating blade on a little heavy piece of machinery, hooked with an electrical cord. Just seems like a horror movie waiting to happen. (I do run the radial alarm saw!) I am chicken.

SO, I decided to put my big girl pants on and start the skil saw and cut up my own dang pallets. And sure enough, I did. I brought the large pile to nothing but the spines of pallets.
I was so proud. I am woman, HEAR ME ROAR! We ended saping with 4.5 quarts of syrup! Not bad for my first year.

Family life is good, since the temperatures have warmed up we are spending endless hours outside. Isabelle loves to help out around the lawn (she has her own little rake!)and she is entertaining herself well, which is leaving me with lots of time to get alot of work down on the yard (it needs it, 1 inch of gravel on the front from thsi winter! YIKES!)

I got it to work...here is my masterpiece

2008-04-12T09:37:00.001-04:00

March Madness

2008-04-08T19:16:00.006-04:00

So how do you kill a blogsite...well, dont write on it in a few weeks. Sorry to all you faithful readers. Here is an update

Boston was awesome. This is the view out our gorgeous hotel room. We saw blueman group one evening. If you ever have a chance to go see them, DO IT. It is nothing like anything you have ever seen. Isabelle had a blast with Nana, ask her for some stories...she has some doozies to tell. Mostly evolving around the bathroom....hmmmm.

Spring has sprung. and with it, my itch to get out of the house. Immediately upon arriving home (and to a nice clean house...thanks NANA!) the next morning I got up and tapped my maple trees. Random, yes I know. Do I not have enough to do...who knows. but I needed one more project I guess. But we have had some success. So far I have made almost 2 quarts of syrup. Which mean we have had almost 20 gallons of sap. I only have 2 BIG old maple trees, so I am pretty pumped about it. The only way I can cook it is in a small make-shift fireplace in my yard. A bit redneck. I know. My father was all to amazed and my husband is wondering about my ability to be left home alone for any extent of time for fear of what my next project might be. But its temporary and then will be replaced by new grass and flowers soon.

Birthday party for Mom and Dad...Dad being the BIG 50 this year...Mom being younger..haha. Isabelle and I made cupcakes, I didnt put her in the outfit, this is one of her own design.

Snow is melting and with it, puddles. Check out my sweet video I made of Isabelle testing out her new rubber boots.
...or nevermind, I cant get the video to upload, I will try again later.

Isabelle has moved out of the crib and into a big bed. She is way to excited about it. We are still undecided on the matter, but it is fun. She is nothing but a little lump in the bed ;)

I am back in the saddle selling houses too. Last summer I got my license, and with a busy fall and even busier winter I havent done anything, but now I am back in the office trying to earn my keep :) If your interesting in buying or selling houses or land, LET ME KNOW!!!

BOSTON!!!

2008-03-27T16:28:00.003-04:00

Hey to all...I am reporting here from the big city of Boston. Jim and I took the train in last night and we will be here till sunday afternoon. SO EXCITING. We are in a gorgeous hotel in the financial district (finally after a long night of shuffling hotels because our hotel overbooked!!! YIKES) And I plan on doing a few days of shopping and touring about without a two year old (and a Hubby!) Jim is attending a conference. Isabelle is partying at home with Nana! I am sure she will be spoiled to pieces and Nana will be exausted when we return. Hopefully they all have a good time.

This was Isabelle on Easter Morning with a hand full of smarties and her cool sunglasses she got from the easter bunny!

I dont keep up on politics

2008-03-21T09:54:00.003-04:00

Nor do I claim to. I should probably do better, but regardless of your views or personal preferences of our presidential canidates, this video has a great message and is beautifully executed.

OK, dont think I am weird!

2008-03-21T09:34:00.003-04:00

I love this band Daft Punk, but I have never seen anything like this. It is the coolest thing.

Check out this video: Daft Bodies, Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

Add to My Profile | More Videos

New Rubber boots

2008-03-19T09:21:00.004-04:00

So I think I just made the best investment....rubber boots for Isabelle. Our driveway is slowly (very slowly) thawing, so there is lots and lots of water and mud to be played in. After going out a few times in our normal winter boots, I determined that the rubber boots were a must. I quickly made the purchase, brought them home and she hasnt taken them off yet. I have fight with her about not wearing boots to bed. There is a bonus to the rubber boots being worn inside. We are in the process of potty training, and once we had an "accident," but the rubber boot caught the "rains" before it could make it to the carpet. Rubber Boots are much easier to clean then the carpet!

This springs latest in toddler fashion. Outfit put together by non-other than Isabelle!

Many Thanks

2008-03-17T10:53:00.002-04:00

To all those who serve our country. Thank you.

Thank you for your bravery, for your willingness to defend a cause that this country is divided upon.

Thank you to your families for letting you go, and keeping you in their prayers.

Come back to us safe Micah, we are proud of you and we are always keeping you in our hearts and prayers.

Thank you.

Be cool Momma, just be cool....

2008-03-12T11:22:00.002-04:00

trivia

2008-03-12T11:20:00.001-04:00

Here is a bit of trivia knowledge for ya.

1 inch of snow, over 1 acre, can produce 1653 gallons of water.

How much water is on your front lawn???

Sigh

2008-03-07T18:11:00.004-05:00

Sickness.....

I have avoided it all winter. To the point of...Purel-ing my kid's hands after nursery on sunday, purel-ing the handles and anything that Isabelle might touch on the shopping carts. I used that stinkin' little thing of purel everywhere I go and still....

Sickness.

Isabelle and I spent Wednesday nursing a fever under the electric blanket on the couch. Tuesday she managed to spew all over the back of my Jeep. And I new that was the beginning. My luck had run out. A somewhat horrifying event for a new mom and any one who doesn't deal with puke well. I happen to be both. The image is still too fresh in my mind, and I have yet to regain my appetite (that could be somewhat due to the PLAGUE that I have contracted as well)

Even better I had to pull myself together Thursday night to go to my Ski Banquet and present awards to my kids. All I could muster was a clean shirt and a pony tail. The evening went off without a hitch though

Hope.

I am better today, Isabelle is 100% better. She will run by me and pat my face saying "better momma?"

"Yes dear, Momma is better" I will be back in my "A Game" tomorrow as we all wait for Daddy to catch it.....

Snows coming tomorrow...time to get the one woman snow moving machine, out to work....

Birthdays?

2008-02-27T09:34:00.002-05:00

Isabelle loves to open presents. No, we are talking LOVES to open presents. She has figured out that birthdays equal presents. It also didn't help that her birthday was drawn out over the period of two weeks. She sings Happy birthday nearly everyday. At first I was like...its not your birthday. But now, I kinda have to laugh because I figure...she's two. Why not celebrate the day of her birth everyday. Celebrate that we are alive and healthy and learning something new everyday. So why not Happy Birthday. Maybe she has the right idea, what if everyday was a birthday party.

WE WON!

2008-02-25T09:32:00.000-05:00

Congrats to the Girls Ski team for an excellent (and exciting) victory over many yuppie southern maine ski teams.

STATE CHAMPS BABY!!!!

(picture soon to come)

Champions

2008-02-21T18:02:00.002-05:00

Busy week. Sorry to all for the lack of post. But here is a bit to catch you up

Jim left Wednesday Morning for his annual winter camping trip. Chuck, Jared, Bob and Jim headed to Gulf Hagas. I came to the realization that my dear husband needs at least 5 hours to properly pack everything. Through out the day on Tuesday we were in and out of the house. So at about 7pm, Jim decides he had better start. Well the phone rang…then rang again. And 10pm rolled around. Still not finished of course. I headed to bed. I am useless after 10 anyway. At 1am I woke up. Jim had still not come to bed. So I headed down stairs. Now picture if you will… We have a large plate glass window that looks over our porch. I glance out the window and I am startled because someone is on the porch. I look again. It is Jim standing in the middle of the porch. Winter gear on, belt for his tow sled is on and he is clipping and re-clipping the blasted sled to his belt. AT 1:00 IN THE MORNING. The man has a 12 mile ski tomorrow and he playing with his toys on the front porch! I will never understand.

So anyway, in the mean time.
My ski team won MVC’s (moutain valley championships) last Friday. We won across the board. Alpine and Nordic combined. It was great and made us look forward to States.

Today was the GS portion of states which the girls won! (Despite Sunday river not knowing how to run a proper race, miserable cold and wind)

Slalom is tomorrow and its another day of being up before the sun, so I will be rockin the same socks and jocks till then. Not that we coaches are superstitions, but why chance it…..

Winning is fun

Till then…happy trails.

Isabelle digs her new jacket for next winter.

Happy Birthday To Me.

2008-02-09T23:00:00.000-05:00

A perfect day to have the "changing of my age" celebration. I was up before the sun and on my way to Rumford for a race. It was a gorgeous day. Sunny and warm. My girls won in honor of my birthday. Not just won, but smoked the competition. We are talking 1st, 2nd and 3rd were all my racers! Thats awesome. Ate some good food, shared some laughs and got to open some presents. And to top it all off. Its snowing again. What a great day to be me.

Dear Mr. Plow Truck Driver

2008-02-08T07:59:00.000-05:00

Thank you for your service. Your ability to make sure that our roads are free of snow and ice is outstanding. Your skill in making sure that the 8 foot plow that precariously hangs off to the side of your truck and doesn't render my mailbox to splinters is remarkable. Also your attention to detail in making certain that you plow by my house at least once an hour has got to be above and beyond the call of the town of Strong plower duty. But please, next time you drive by try not to look so happy as you fill in the end of my driveway once again with all the goodness that fourth day of snow brings. You see, as you drive by and I am out shoveling again, with my two year old, terrible thoughts and words come to mind that a lady should never think or say. I have to withhold the feeling of flipping you "the bird" and throwing snowballs at your windshield, because I am a good person and a mother. I have a desire to go to your home and shovel a mound of snow at the end of your driveway 3 or 4 times a day but I lack the energy to do that because I am shoveling out my own mound. So please skip the cordial wave and nod when you see me. Its nothing personal, I know its your job. Im just tired of shoveling.
Thanks again,
Leah

Welcome to the arctic circle

2008-02-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

This is third day of snow this week, with more on the way promised for Saturday (A great birthday present for someone who loves snow!) I do really love snow and the winter time but there is a limit how often I want to shovel my driveway. 4 times in one week has got to be past the limit. This onslaught of snow is putting a damper on EVERYTHING. Every race and practice this week has been canceled or postponed. Which causes more chaos because there is nothing like getting everything ready to go so that I can be on the road this morning at 6, to drop off my two year old (waking a two year old at six is just cruel anyway) organizing times ect, ect, ect only to find out while in the shower this morning that the race (MVC's!!!!) has been CANCELED!!! DUE TO SNOW?!?!?! what the heck! So I get to spend another day at home shoveling the driveway again.

However, There is reason to rejoice.
I can post blogs from home now! Many of you may not know this but I don't have REAL internet at home. I "hack" wireless internet from the elementary school across the road. They know us, we work in the school district and they don't mind. But the internet has a filter that we have lovingly named the "Net Nanny." Which means I can not visit any sites that you can shop on, personal pages, forums, anything that might be leud or explicit. Which pretty much leaves me with checking my email, news and weather a few knitting sites and church sites. So anyway, back to rejoicing. They have changed the net nanny. There are still many sites I cant get into, but many that I can! I can shop!!!! I can update blogs!!!! Read everyone else's blogs!!! SHOP MORE!!!! when you live in a small town and hate walmart, shopping online is where its at. I am excited.

My little Picasso. We got out the paints that Isabelle got for her birthday. She's a little harsh on paint brushes but had a blast and took her painting very seriously

Beautiful Day

2008-02-05T07:52:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was so gorgeous, we went to Mt. Blue state park to do a little skiing. Skiing with a sled in tow is not so easy while doing hills, so this was moving our skills up a notch. At first it was a bit crazy. I would try and stay ahead of the sled by skiing faster down the hill. This is nearly impossible. She is small, low to the ground and practically ran me over every time. The other difficulty was usually at the bottom of a hill there was a corner. So this small sled was whip down a hill and then just before she would fly off the trail I would have skied fast enough to pull the 6 foot rope taunt with a jolt and save her from mishap. Finally when Jim was faced with a hill he had a different idea. He cinched up the sled so that the rear of his skis were under her sled and away they would speed. Isabelle didn't seem to mind. She relaxed in her sled through the two hour expedition. Once while she was going down a hill with Jim she turned back at me and said "Bye-Bye Momma! Weeeeeeee!" I think she has the need for speed.....

FREEDOM COMES AT A COST!
My ski boots bring new meaning to "blisters on my blisters man" My ski boots have always been uncomfortable and I keep hoping that either a) My feet with toughen up or b) the boots will magically soften up. Neither of which has happened yet. And I am too cheap (or poor) to buy new ones. So here is my redneck solution....DUCT TAPE! Check it out. Tape some moleskin to the ol' achilles and heel and ta-da! Back to my freedom. It isnt perfect yet, but it lasted much longer than anything I have tried thus far.

Bet you didn't think you would be looking at a picture of my heel on my website....hahaha

Happy Trails!

Guess who is Two!

2008-02-02T10:10:00.000-05:00

January 31st!

She loves Care Bears, drawing and making tents.
We love to tickle, laugh and rub noses.
We are all learning something new everyday.
My baby has turned two!

No problem blowing candles out! (Yes that is a Care Bear cake)

Birthday Care Bears!

Two birthday roses from Dad (she picked out the colors herself!)

CAKE!!!

Happy Birthday Isabelle

Tree

2008-01-30T10:37:00.000-05:00

Would you rather:

…Be planted in the ground, rooted like a tree in front of a breathtaking natural landscape for the rest of your life… or,

…Travel the world forever under the conditions that you had to leave the city you were in by 2 o'clock the next day and couldn't return to that city for 3 years; able to see the world but always moving locations at 2pm everyday.

Hmm…

Enough being philosophical I got a party to get ready for! Guess who is turning two tomorrow?!?!?!

A new look

2008-01-26T12:04:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, I like to change things around once in a while. So, I am trying a new look for the ol' blog site. Let me know what you think!

Isabelle wanted to try a new look too. Which was funny because neither of us are "girly-girls" but this outfit was pretty girly. (Nevermind the disaster in the background...that is was "hurricane" Isabelle does in an evening to her playroom!)

Cheese

2008-01-18T10:53:00.000-05:00

So, I decided to make bread the other morning and Isabelle was all to eager to help, so I gave her a bowl of flour and a small bowl of water and a few spoons. She stood at the table mixing water with flour, sprinkling it everywhere and making a good fun mess. After a while I said...Mommy is making bread, what are you making Isabelle? And with a matter of fact tone she answered...Cheese. Then turned back to her work and continued mixing. Like, Duh, what do you think I am making mom. Where does that come from??? Its not like we make a lot of cheese around our house.....

FREEDOM!!!!

2008-01-10T13:20:00.000-05:00

We are now going through what many native Mainers know as the January Thaw. During this time most of my alpine races and practices have been canceled due to the damage that my "aggressive" skiers would do to the hill. So, I find my self restless...unable to drive many placed because of the freaking gas prices and dying to get out and do something. Isabelle and I were out enjoying the 57 degree day on Tuesday and I was going nuts. I have got to DO something. So, I was puttering around the garage and found my cross country stuff. Now, I grew up cross country skiing, going out with my family, or just me and the dog. Always a good time. It was only till my later years (high school) that I hung up the cross country skis and started down hill. I started doing more cross country when I met Jim, we would ski into places to camp and things like that. However, since Isabelle..not to much skiing, had never even given it a thought. Until now...... Isabelle had gotten a beautiful LLBean sled for Christmas (Thank you Nana and Pop-Pop!) and I made a belt with some webbing (Jim has TONS...won't miss it anyway!) Strapped it onto the sled, put Isabelle in with sunscreen on, animal crackers and water packed and we set out. We have a snowmobile highway near our house. Perfect for someone looking to get her ski on. After 45 minutes I found that I was liberated from the house! Able to get a work out! (you would be amazed had how much energy it takes to haul a 40 pound sled around) and totally excited. Isabelle was a bit skeptical at first but after a while she was yelling Weeeee! as we slid down some small hills. We have gone a few times since and I am in love. Unfortunetley I took the picture with my phone and haven't been able to figure out how to down load it from there... when I do, You all can see. Just imagine a beautiful wooden sled, kid with big pink snow suit on, hat and a face full of animal crackers.....

Whew...We made it

2008-01-04T10:08:00.001-05:00

Through christmas that is. I managed to keep my sanity intact, slightly anyway. Sorry to all those who keep up on my page, because I havent written in a month..YIKES! So much has gone on...

- Janel and I made around 60 wreaths and 15 kissing balls...merry christmas to us! I dont want to see another wreath for a while!
- My brother and his girlfriend are ENGAGED! thats right... welcome to the family Britt. Hang on, its a wild ride. Actually, I am super excited for them. She is adorable and they make a great couple.

- We got to visit with Jims brother from Texas and Isabelle got to meet her cousin PJ. He is almost 1. We found out that Isabelle is a bit protective...or should I say territorial with Mom. PJ took some of his first steps to ME! very exciting.

Santa brought us a sweet new sled to go play in the snow with.

Speaking of snow..what the heck, we have more snow now, than we have had in YEARS..there is close to 3 feet on our front lawn right now. The skiing has been excellent though. I got to go out a few times during Jims christmas break. Races start in full swing this week... Bring on standing on a hill for hours in the snow. Luckly, my ski kids got me boot heaters last year as a present, so I am psyced to put them to work tonight at Titcomb.

Isabelle is getting better about now, but still not over thrilled about it.

Great grampa got Isabelle this cool plane thingy with a light on it...well, lets just say that Isabelle finds it fasinating.....

The News...

2007-11-21T11:15:00.000-05:00

Whew...now that I am done all that tagging and such, I can get back to the news...

I just did 2 craft fairs...Bet you didnt know I was so crafty eh? Well, its Christmas money...or more like gas money right now.

Jim hit a deer in the jeep...nothing to major, but scared him a bit. The jeep is fine...the deer we cannot find.

Jim was just called to the bishopric. 2nd in command. Scarey. We dont feel like we are old enough to be in this calling. I say we, because guess who has to play Jims secretary. Did you call ____, Dont for get ______, Please be on time, ect, ect, ect. Its exciting. I am still YW president too. We will see how it goes for a while.

Janel and I have started making wreaths, its fun, messy and gets us in the mood for christmas. I am sure by the end of this, we will hate christmas and everything green. But for now, we have 14 orders to fill. And we havent even advertised yet.

Isabelle has a new infatuation with the nose. Mostly her nose. I was getting ready for a craft fair the other night and Isabelle was REALLY excited about a bag of pom-poms that I had. So I figured...what the heck, she can play with them with the understanding that they did not go in the mouth. Later in the evening, she had her finger in her nose....nothing unusual. so I grabbed it and gave her a play nibble on her nose, only to jump back in disgust. Ugh, she had something there! Poor thing, so I look...ITS A POM-POM IN HER NOSE!!! AHHHHHH. I hadn't taken into consideration that we might be hitting the phase of putting things in her NOSE! So, I pull it out. No crisis. I go grocery shopping leaving Jim home with Isabellle. I come home to find Jim sitting in the chair, a little mellow. Whats up? He had to pin Isabelle down and remove ANOTHER POM-POM from the kids nose. This time with tweezers! YIKES. she had pushed it WAY up there. I dont know if I am ready for toddler-hood.

Isabelle fell asleep to a good book... I just had to take a picture!

Tagged Part 2

2007-11-21T10:39:00.000-05:00

Interesting things about me? Gee wiz lindsay, this is a killer. I am going to invent a tag immunity.
Luckly its only 6....

6. I am addicted to dancing with the stars. I think it is because secretly, I wish I was a dancer. I lack grace. Therefore I ski and play soccer. Both activities require minimal amounts of grace.

5. I check my email about 3,000 times a day. ha-ha, maybe not that many, but a ton. I am not sure why. Its like everytime I walk past my computer I have to check. Someone may have emailed me.

4. In all the crazy things that I have ever done...Climbing (ice and rock), skiing, jumping off bridges, years and years of soccer, A little mountain biking for a while. My worst injury ever was a broken pinky! How lame is that. I guess I should be grateful. But I am by far the lamest one when it comes to showing off scars and telling stories about horrible injuries.

3. I sing in the car. Loud too. And whats even better is...I think that I sound pretty good.

2. We have a weird family number thing in the Stanley family. It is 27. Let me show you. My dads birthday is the 2nd (of april) My moms, the 7th (2,7). 2 plus 7 equals 9... which is my birthday. The 9th of the 2nd month. My brothers birthday is the 27th of the 7th month. Crazy huh.

1. I hate to be jumped. Like someone hides around the corner and jumps out. It sets off the alarm in me and I go nuts on whoever did it. Jim has survived a number of beatings because he tried to Jump me and I just snapped. I smacked some poor teenager at church because he jumped out of a classroom at me. I just dont like to be jumped. I think it stems from my brother hiding in my closet one night when we were younger and scaring me to death. I didnt beat him that night, but boy I wanted to. I got him back though...he got up to pee in the middle of the night, and I climbed into his bed. He never even noticed till I grabbed him and he just about hit the ceiling...ahhh, that was great. I think he checked his blankets every night for a while to make sure no one was hiding in them.

So there you have it..a few interesting things about me that you may have not known before.....thank goodness it was only 6.

Tagged?

2007-11-21T10:09:00.000-05:00

OK, Thanks Lindsey for the tag....er, not really. But here is the first of 2.

Jobs: I could write a novel. I am the queen of different summer jobs and of having at least 2 jobs going all the time. But lets start from the beginning.

High school-
Ski shop: I beg for this job as soon as I was old enough to get a job. I worked at Eaton Mountain (er...hill) I ran the rental and ski shop. It was a dirty, cold, tiny shop but it was all mine. I worked there for three winters. There were some very good times at the shop and at that mountain

Entrance Gate to the Skowhegan state fair: only lasted a week, but when you play soccer three times a week all summer, its hard to get a job.

College-
Archeology "do whatever they ask you to" person: I scrubbed dirt off bones and bit of clay by the HOUR. Not the most thrilling job. I did get to do alittle field work, but never turned up anything to fantastic. Just shovel and sift, shovel and sift.

SKI COACH: started coaching alpine racing at Kents Hill winter 2000. I am a classic cast of "those who can, do and those who cant, teach" I raced in high school, and wasnt anything fantastic and I certainly wasnt going to race in college. But I love to coach and I am actually not to bad at it. This was a great job. I still have managed to coach every winter (except the one I was HUGE with Isabelle)

Painted houses: Worked for college Pro painted houses. One of the best jobs that I still look back and laugh because we had so much fun. It was hard work, and I was exausted every day, but I loved the crew I had, I love being outdoors and I love painting. A perfect combination!

Red Oak Sports: You all remember that store, no?....thats because its now out of business. I pestered this guy for so long till he gave me a job. I sold camping, climbing and hiking gear. I dont think I made any money because I got such good deals that we always bought stuff there. when they went out of business...Jim cleaned house and we now outfit most of our friends on any expedition.

Computer tech at UMF- the night shift: I have no idea how I got this job. people brought in thier computers and I usually said..hmmm, I dont know, I will have someone look at it in the morning.

Pizza joint (whom will remain nameless...) It was so awful, I didnt last long. I quit after 3 weeks. gross, annoying and will never eat there again.

Mowing lawns for a summer: I worked for Kents Hill School mowing lawns and doing some gardening. I thought I would really like it..mow lawns, get a tan how bad could it be. Then there was the week that I pushed mowed for 27 hours.....not so fun.

Making Ice at the Ice rink here in town: Cold, Cold, Cold. We had a fire hose an thats how we made ice all night. nothing like being cold and wet. but it was easy and it was money and Jim and I got to work together. You do what you have to do. I would often come home from ski practice and go right to the rink to make ice.

Hostess at the Homestead: I loved this job, seat people, chat and make drinks. It was really alot of fun. I was sad when we moved

Post- College:

LL Bean phone sales: SNORE...this was the most boring job ever. I only lasted around a month. I was really just in it for the discount and by the end of it, the discount couldnt even keep me there (thank you micah, for letting me use yours!)

Assistant to the Financial and community relations director: This started out as a temp. job. She was tough to work for, but I really worked hard and earned her respect. She went through alot of assistants and was pumped when I accepted the full time position that she offered me. I stayed 9 months till we moved back up north.

I recently got my Real Estates license and I am now selling houses. I love it. I think I am a bit nosey so I like to see other peoples houses and imagine what I would do to it if it were my house.

OK, so there you have it. My jobs. There are a few I left out. like, cleaning peoples houses, Cleaning the Church, working at a gift shop in both Farmington and in Portland. I also still coach skiiing, but for Mt. Abram now (kents hill is to far away) So anyway, you get the idea.

The Potty Chronicles

2007-11-05T09:16:00.000-05:00

Ode to the potty. So we hit a MAJOR milestone this week. No, not the 165 hyper, overly dressed children that graced our doorstep, begging for candy, or the first minor snowfall that left my car covered in a sheet of thick frozen ice. Our major milestone was the poop. And not just any poop. The poop, that made it into the potty. Yes folks. Isabelle went on the potty for the first time Saturday night and boy are we excited about it. Never in my entire life had I pictured my self sitting on the floor facing my...nearly 2 year old...and cheering for every toot, grunt and eventually poop that made it into that potty. We are talking some serious cheering. Cheering that I think Isabelle wasnt laughing at the fact that she was pooping on the pot, but that mom was being so ridiculous about it her pooping on the pot. Yippee for the blessed potty. We have passed through the threshold of diaperhood and are heading in the direction of real under-roo's and potties. Oh happy day.

Halloween night, Isabelle and I went to a few of the neighbors for trick or treating. She was so cute, how could I not parade her down the road in her bee costume. This is a face full of smarties..Isabelles favorite.

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T10:31:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween everyone! Here are a few pictures of our halloween activities!
Jim and Isabelle carving a pumpkin.

Isabelle was really into the "gunk" on the inside and spreading the seeds everywhere

And here is our busy bee!

Now, I must get back to decorating the porch and getting the candy ready...last year we had 130 kids in 2 hours. We had to shut off all the lights because we ran out of candy. We will see how many we have this year!!!

Mama?

2007-10-24T10:45:00.000-04:00

Toddlers never cease to amaze me. Isabelle has learned the power of NO, as in NO I dont want juice, No I dont want to go to bed and the ever favorite, No I dont want a diaper change. She has learned to sing...we cant quite figure out what song we are singing...but she belts it out anyway. She has learned that if she wakes up sad at night, and cries Mama...mom will come running and rock us back to sleep. We had a particullary diffcult night a few nights ago (Usually she sleeps beautifully through the night, so when she does get up, I tend to go in and check). She would wake up sad, and I would go in and rock her and cover her (and her bears) back up and off to sleep she would go. Then it takes me 45 minutes to go back to sleep, only to soon to be called back into Isabelles room with tears and more snuggling. So morning finally comes, Isabelle is in a great mood and is singing in her room, playing with her bears in bed. I feel like I haven't slept...oh wait, I didnt sleep. I go to her room and what does she say...DADDA! pointing out the door. DADDA down! (she wants to go down stairs and see if Dad is still here). I ask, can I get a good morning kiss?...the answer, NO! She seems to forgotten her nightly saviour and is more interested in Dad this morning. I give up, what does Mom have to do to get alittle recognition around here.

A little tribute to the Red Soxs making it to the World Series....

This is a sign

2007-10-22T13:19:00.000-04:00

So I woke up the other morning to find the temperature at a balmy 31.5 degrees. And then it struck me. My gosh we are done with summer and have moved straight onto winter. I had been enjoying the color of the leaves, the cheers of the soccer games and the lack of bugs. But all of these are signs. They are signs for the onset of snow, they are signs of cold, runny noses, buying oil, buying winter jackets and the need for cleaning out the gardens. There is quite a list of "to-do's" with the arrival of winter and with theses few signs and a toddler running around I have suddenly come to the realization that I am painfully behind. I need to get the house ready, I need to start christmas shopping, I need to be ready for ski pre-season with includes a 6 mile run (YIKES) ...sugarloaf has snow on it...... I need, I need, I need.... more time.

And what post wouldnt be complete with out alittle Isabelle..who is also enjoying the change in seasons. Isabelle is a going to start her own baby yoga class.

What the....?

2007-10-10T09:12:00.000-04:00

So, I know you have all experienced it before. You buy toys from the small and zippy to the large and plastic, hoping that your child will love and cherish and hopefully spend a few blissful moments entertaining themselves. My child however (like many of yours, I'm sure) prefers milk jug caps, boxes and lately the dryer. Yep, thats right, the dryer. I was washing a few dishes at the sink and heard a strange noise. Like someone trying to blow into a screen. I peeked around the corner to see where it was coming from. I see no Isabelle, but I still hear the noise. Then as I walk past the dryer...there she is. Perched inside the drying blowing into the holes at the back of the dryer. What the heck! She grinned with her accomplishment of climbing into the drying and finding such exciting treasures at the back (apparently, I had been holding out on her!) and proceed to blow into the holes some more. Ahh, the adventures of a toddler.

Recently Pop-pop made us a new toy box. This was quickly emptied and replaced with "blankie, mick" and a few books to read. What pop-pop didnt know, was that he was making a new reading corner.

Why buy toys when you have a box of packing peanuts????

Is this normal? Do normal children really enjoy clear glass plates this much..no joke, this was entertaining for at least a half hour! Not only for her, but the faces were pretty funny for us too!

About Us

2007-10-07T18:24:00.000-04:00

So here is a bit about us. Jim and I have been married 6 years. We are outdoor enthusiest, camping, hiking, climbing and kayaking. 2 years ago we decided to embark on the next greatest adventure...parenthood. Isabelle Rose was born in the middle of the night, January 31st, in the middle of a snowstorm. The last year and a half has been a whirlwind of of diapers, baby food and oversized plastic toys. Jim and I have traded in our lightweight camping gear for a 20 year old pop-up camper and an offroading stroller. We couldnt be more satisfied. This blog is a dedication to this crazy little adventure we have embarked on. So be prepared for a few good chuckles.

Testing...1...2....3

2007-10-05T11:06:00.001-04:00

This is a classic case of..everyone else is doing it, so why don't I. In all seriousness, we have tons of family and friends that live everywhere but here. So we figured, what the heck, lets try this and see if we cant keep people posted on the little happenings of our household, which seem to range from the boring to the bazaar.