Life with Snow at the end of October

Can you believe it? That’s right, you are seeing the first snow in October. I was very surprised when I woke up this morning.Too bad I didn’t grab the snow suit for Ian when I saw it. Who would have thought it would have snowed this early.

My 21 birthday turned out pretty good this year. I got some great things! First off, a crockpot. My Husband had to special order it since you cannot order them here. I made my first chili in it last night and it turned out to be a hit. Many more yummy easy meals to come with this thing! My Husband also got me a camera tripod. I finally don’t have to set up a pile of books to take a self portrait! Thanks so much!

My family back home also treated me well with some money towards my macro lens. I am working towards enough money to purchase one…those things aren’t cheap! Oh Oh and I got some beautiful roses with two heart balloons. Everyone treated me really well on my big 21. Oh wait, I also got money from my Mother and Father In-law toward my lens and my Brother-in-law gave me a pass to a indoor/outdoor waterpark. Wahoo! Thanks everyone for treating me so well.

Now that the birthday times are over, I have been busy completing classes for school, which have been keeping me super busy. My Java programming is going alright. We are required to write about 10 programs a week, take a quiz, and do a discussion or exam. I am doing all this along with my history class. So I have been keeping on my toes!

Ian is doing well. He is talking more and more every week. He now has learned to say thank you. My boy is so polite..well most of the time. He has started to pinch again. He knows it is wrong because he says oww when he does it and then shakes his finger like “no-no”. I guess this will pass..just hopefully soon.

Have a great Thursday and Happy Halloween tomorrow.

Ian's Moved Out

What a week! Not in a bad way though. I finally finished my first class of this semester and came out with a high B in accounting! Considering I am no math whiz...that is something! My new class on Java starts Monday and let me tell you..I will have no life when that class starts. Programming can take up all your time especially when you find yourself stumped.

Also Monday is my big 21! The twenties are flying by fast. We don’t really have anything planned since it is on a Monday and I am a mom with a kiddo, so you can only do but so much. Just having my family is nice. :-)

Wondering about Ian? He is busy having fun with his new playhouse thanks to his Grandma and Grandpa S. They gave it to him as an early Christmas gift. We really wanted to get him one when we saw how much he enjoyed the one at the park (that is too far away). Here are pictures of Daddy and Uncle setting it up and Ian enjoying it:

Yesterday it was really rainy and all Ian could do was pull me to the door to take him out. He had so many fits over me saying no. Poor thing but thankfully the sun came out today!

Happy Friday!!!

When I'm Sick

Flower from the Hubby when I was sick..also gave me P.S I Love You movie and a CD (so sweet!!)

I’m sure you have been wondering where I’ve been. Let see, I came down with Tonsillitis around last Tuesday and been busy with school and family. Finally now I am starting to feel better and get back to my normal me. Let me tell you what, I don’t think I have felt that miserable in years.. fever, chills, super sore ears and throat, oh and the worlds largest fever blister (which I still have..grr). I’m just happy to know what I have so I can take the proper medication and take care of my family like I should.

Flower from Ian when I was sick

The rest of my week is pretty busy. My first class of the semester ends this week so I have a final exam to take..scary then a bunch of ther quizzes to complete. Hey, what is a week without test a quizzes!

For those that are wondering, I will tell you all about my T.V stand situation when my new one gets delivered :-)

We’ll be back to normal soon!

My Expat Gal Pals

28/365: The Lake of Zurich

The weekend is here, well almost! This means another week gone by. Ian had a blast this past Wednesday visiting his little friends and so did Mommy. The children’s fair that I suggested we all go to turned out to be a downer.

Sobia, Jenny, and the child she is a Nanny for

Daugther of Sobia

There were only 3 stands and another which had an author of a children’s book. She read to the children while you were able to go look at stuff. My son was too young for that so he decided to pull books off the tables instead and try to escape out the door. Okay, so it wasn’t all that bad. I did get two books and a music CD for Ian and some English greeting cards (so hard to find around here) for me. We ended up having bunches of time left over, which allowed us to have a nice walk along the lake. We all still had a blast but now one of my gals is going home to visit family for two months. We expats have got to do what we have to do, but I will still miss the company.

Tomorrow my Mother-in-law is going to take Ian so we can get some things done... like search for a new T.V. stand! Wahoo finally, we really need something that Ian can’t get into as much and a place for me to put books and my collectables. Going to have to be a big ole’ thing!!

Happy Friday!!

Writers Block..Agh!

Did everyone have a good weekend? We sure did. Like I said on the last post, we went out to the park as a family and it was really enjoyable and not too cold! I took way too many pictures..so here they are:

25/365

Other than my usual week, I haven’t been up to much. A lot of due dates in school this week. An accounting project (finished!), history paper, and quizzes galore. That’s pretty much it for me as I am having writers block and I know you aren’t in for reading a bunch of blah blah. So, I will spare you. Happy Tuesday!

The Kid Rocks

TGIS! I am so happy it is Saturday, because I get to spend the time with my two men. Today we plan to go out to the park and have a light lunch. I am just happy the sun decided to pop out yesterday after almost a whole week of overcast, rainy, and cold. It still is cool outside but who cares because the sun is out!!! This also equals more photo moments.. doubly wahoo!

Hanging out at his favorite spot, the fireplace.

Jumping into my week this week, I meet with Sobia (expat mom) again and also another expat mother, Jenny. We had a grand time at a semi-local community children’s place. Ian really enjoyed it because it was a room full of toys and kids and I loved it because I was able to chitchat with the ladies while not having to worry too much about Ian getting into trouble. Next week I have it planned for us to go to a kid’s fair that I saw advertised online. They are supposed to have some kid’s activities, opportunities to buy English children’s books and learn about other things for the kids. Let’s hope it is as good as they say.

I am going to leave out the 365 pictures (that are not Ian) this post and just show you some of Ian from the week. Have a Spiffy Weekend!

24/365:Playing a computer game (toddler and infant games here)

Oh, and if anyone has an idea why my 17 month old boy wont take naps and wakes up 3-4 times a night now..let me know!

Product Review: Scrapbooks by Jan

Today I am going to do something a little out of my norm. I usually product review mass produced children’s products but I couldn’t pass this one up: Scrapbooks! Not just any scrapbook but ones made out of paper bags and acrylic. These albums are the 21st century way to go and show off you fantastic photos. (Note: Some pictures are cut off due to the large size. I just wanted you to see the detail so that is why they are large)

Each album is completely premade so all you have to do is slide your pictures in the slot. What is better than not having to spend hours of work and mess to show off your pictures!

So what else makes up these beautiful albums? Top quality long lasting paper, fancy charms, colorful ribbon, and hand created characters. Yes that’s right, I said hand created. This woman is so crafty she creates cute characters in some of her albums and makes each one full of detail, rosy cheeks, glitter and all!

Here is what she says about the Construction of her work:

"I especially take pride in the construction of my albums and pages. All items are adhered using strong adhesives appropriate for paper or textiles. I don't want anything coming apart or falling off! I usually use an entire roll of 3-M Gold tape in just one paper bag album! You also won't see any glue or tape oozing out where it doesn't belong. If you purchase one of my paper bag albums, you will see for yourself why I use so much adhesive; as every single fold of each bag is attached back to itself for strength. Almost all of my pages and mats are machine sewn, not just for appearance, but for durability. Threads are pulled to the back and knotted or glued so they won't come out. I use lots of ribbons, and the ends of every single one are heat-sealed so they don't ravel. Also, if there is a hole in a tag, it will have either an eyelet or other reinforcement so that rips don't occur."

Also each album is one-of-a-kind. Her vow is to never make one exactly like the other. Fantastic! Something even more fantastic..she even makes single pages so you can frame one (I have a daddy one), or you can add it to a scrapbook of your own.

These albums start at a pretty low price so you just might get a super deal, but I have to say each one of her albums always go for a super deal because she puts so many days of work into them 30,40,50, or 60 dollars is almost nothing!

So are you interested now? She has one up for sale as I speak: Go ahead.. Click Here!

Not feeling that season? You can check back with her page because she is constantly making new ones.

Have a Scrappy Tuesday!!