We're Moving!!

Our new site is going to be www.abc-west.blogspot.com, so if you'd like to keep reading, CLICK HERE. (It will be under construction for a while!!)

Merry Christmas!!

Taken two weekends ago... I just haven't had much time to post!! Brynn wasn't a fan of the "Big Guy" in person, I think this picture explains it all. ;o)



Brynn loves Santa in all other forms (stuffed, pictures, ornaments, etc.), he just really freaked her out in person. If you ask her what Santa says, she'll tell you "Ho, ho, ho"!!

Have a Merry Christmas!!

Bob - we went BPS, like you did last year!! ;o)

All I Want For Chrismas...

Is a digital SLR camera.

Check out these pictures of Brynn that were taken over the weekend at a birthday party.









*** EDIT ***
I would like Photoshop too. ;o)

Instead Of Sending Out Cards...

Our friend Brian rocks. He took some pictures of us that we were originally going to send out as Christmas cards.

Well, the budget is tight this year and you're probably just going to throw out the card after the holidays anyway, so we thought we'd just post this instead. (If you REALLY want the picture, you can right click on the picture and save it... or print it out and THEN throw it out after the holidays!!)

Thanks Brian!!

Sleep

Brynn and I woke up at 9:40 this morning. How awesome is that?!

DANG IT!! (Take Two)

Ugh. I had an annoying last five minutes at work tonight. There was a sign by the timeclock that in my mind, I read as "Due to the economy being a big piece of shit right now, you are not getting a bonus this year".

WELL, that money was going to be our "Going to Ohio", a.k.a. vacation money. So, it looks like I may not need to decide between the reunion or the fair. It may be neither.

I know you're not supposed to plan on bonuses but damn it, I'm a good employee and I work my ass off.

I know there was a lot of swearing in there but I'm frustrated. We can't seem to get ahead. We were doing great and now I'm not working for 2 1/2 weeks.

Chad told me I need to look at the positives and realize that I'm lucky. I FINALLY like what I do... and I have a job. So yeah, I'm trying to be more positive, it's just hard sometimes.

P.S. I bought a lottery ticket tonight. That would be a MAJOR positive. ;o)

DANG IT!

My highschool reunion is going to be on August 1-2, 2009. That isn't Labor Day weekend.

So, what should we do?

A. Go back for the reunion and go to Cedar Point?
B. Go back around Labor Day weekend, use one less day of vacation, go to Cedar Point and go to the fair.

Those are the choices for next year. A or B?

SO PROUD!!

Tonight...







We had to throw Abby Cadabby to try to get her to walk and once she did it a few times, she was a pro! We even caught her turning around for the first time in this video. Now we're in trouble...



(And yes, our living room is THAT messy at night!!)

Candy Cane

Enjoying her first candy cane...

Ice Cream Treat

Brynn tried her first chocolate and vanilla swirl cone today...

********* CORRECTION!!! (Thanks Michele!!) She had her first chocolate and vanilla TWIST CONE!! **********

A Few...

STEPS!

BRYNN TOOK A FEW STEPS TODAY!!

Brenda called me while I was at work today and I was all worried, because she never calls. Brynn took two steps at daycare AND a few tonight at home too!!

Everyone keeps telling us that we should be thankful that she's not walking yet and that it's actually really good for her other developmental skills. Who knows.

Babies, Babies Everywhere!!

* Our friends, the Blakesley's, had a baby girl on Monday. (They have a son who is 2 months younger than Brynn - yikes!!)

* For those of you who know the Deegans, they found out they're having a BOY! (Due in May)

* We probably won't find out what Ana and Keith are having until next month but I'm 99.9% convinced it's a girl!!

Jobs Schmobs

It's so weird that I've only been in my new position for a month and a half. Sometimes it feels like I've been there forever. I think everything is going pretty well, one of the guys that I work with told Amber I'm doing a good job yesterday. Today, another guy told one of my bosses that I'm doing a really good job. So, that was pretty cool.

The bad thing is, that same guy who told my boss that I was doing a really good job gave me some quantities of something that I needed to order today but he accidentally gave me a number that ended up being about $5,000 more than what it should have been. I ordered the items and then realized afterwards that it was wrong. Luckily, I caught it in time and got it fixed. So, technically, um, maybe, I saved the company $5,000 today? Ok, not really, I shouldn't have trusted what the guy said anyway... but it was a nice thought.

We're supposed to be closed from 12/18 through 1/4 for the holidays. Well, normally, that would be awesome but I don't get paid for the time off. I think it's pretty shitty that they're doing that, really. The good thing is that I think we're actually going to be busier than what they thought, so I might be able to come in a few days. I HOPE.

Chad's going to be off work the week of Christmas and all of the following week, except for one day, ON VACATION. His company is awesome. He gets 3 weeks of vacation and 5 sick days. PLUS, 5 personal days (unpaid days off) if he wants them. I'm jealous.

Thanksgiving - A Little Late

I'm behind on everything this month.

We went to California this year for Thanksgiving. This trip, we stayed with Chad's sister Ana and her boyfriend Keith. We had a lot of fun and it actually ended up being a pretty relaxing trip, I think because we had a few more days than what we normally would have. We gave Ana and Keith lots of tips (I'm sure it was a lot more than what they wanted to hear), Ana is pregnant and is due on June 2nd!! We're excited for them, they'll be great parents. Brynn really had a fun time with "Uncle Keith". We're hoping they're going to have a girl, we have plenty of stuff to let them borrow!!

Chad's youngest sister Jami also came home from a two-month trip on her ship the day before we got there. We were really bummed that we weren't able to be there to see them pull in to San Diego (Chad was off work that week, but I wasn't). We did see lots of pictures though, it looked really cool. I got a text message from Jami shortly after she saw everyone and it said "You knew Ana was pregnant and you didn't tell me?!". ;o) I didn't want to ruin Ana's surprise!!

On Thanksgiving Day, we went to Chad's parents' house for a nice meal!! Thanks for everything Jody, Ana and Keith!!

The day after Thanksgiving, Chad, Brynn, Ana and I headed to Big Lots and Toys-R-Us to see if we could find some deals. We didn't get what we wanted at Big Lots (that's what happens when you don't get up super early in the morning, everything is gone!) and we didn't really have anything that we wanted to get from Toys-R-Us but we ended up coming home with a big box... you'll see what it was in a few weeks!!

Here are a few of the pictures from our trip (I have several other posts to do from when we were there!!):















From left to right: Jami, Keith, Ana, Jody, Mike, Me, Chad and Brynn, of course!!

Brunch With GGMa and GGPa

GGMa and GGPa have been traveling since May and they just returned home a few weeks ago. We caught up with them just after they got back. Here are a few pictures!! (Brynn gave GGPa LOTS of kisses!!!)

16 Months!!

I'm REALLY late on posting this one.

Brynn, you are talking like crazy. We really have to watch what we say around you now because you try to repeat everything!! Some of the things you say are hi (HA!), bye (BAH!), no, more, more drink (sometimes you combine more and drink to say "mork"), milk, dog, doggie, kitty cat, dada, mama, baby, thank you, bird, birdie, car, bug, da da's bug, donut, socks, shoes, pants (pats), gramma, nana (Chad's sister Ana), Bri (sounds like BEEEEEE) and more that I can't think of right now.

You know what Santa says (Ho, ho, ho) - I need to get that one on video!!

You have stood up by yourself several times but still don't want to walk without holding on to something. You love your walking toys though. When you're ready, you'll do it!!

Here are a few pictures that we took throughout the month:

Our Blog Is Moving!!

On January 1, 2009, we are hoping to move our blog to www.abc-west.blogspot.com. I wanted to use abcwest but that was already taken. If you want to keep reading, make a note of the new site!!

Arizona State Fair

Back in OCTOBER, we took Brynn to the Arizona State Fair. My hometown of Wooster, Ohio holds the largest junior county fair in the state. It's a huge deal back there and the kids even get a day off of school and free admission!! I really wanted to take Brynn so that she could see all of the animals. Well, the fair wasn't what I expected, I was pretty disappointed actually. Oh well.

ON A SIDE NOTE... In 2009, I will have my 10 year class reunion. We're trying to figure out when to hold it and I'm hoping that people will vote for Labor Day weekend. That way, one weekend we can do the whole reunion thing, then we can go to the Wayne County Fair, and then we can go to Cedar Point the next weekend. SO IF YOU ARE READING THIS AND YOU ARE IN MY CLASS, PLEASE VOTE FOR LABOR DAY WEEKEND TO HOLD THE REUNION - IT WILL MAKE ME SUPER HAPPY!!

Ok, back to the Arizona State Fair. It was pretty hot outside and REALLY overcrowded. There wasn't a whole lot to see and the food wasn't that great. Basically, the only choices we had were burgers and jumbo sized corn dogs. Oh and fries. BUT not the normal fair fries, they were seasoned. Hmph. They didn't even have vinegar. I think you get my point... I'm glad we didn't have to pay to get in!!

Here are some pictures though, Brynn liked the animals (one of the goats tried to eat her shirt off of her belly!) and the fries.

She's Going To Hate Me For This...

We really did take those first two pictures in that order!!

Here is one with Brynn making her "serious" face.

Big Girl!

No Time!!

Holy cow, I have no time to blog!!

Quick highlights of this week (and posts to come when I have time):

* Thanksgiving in California
* Brynn's amazing vocabulary (boy, can she talk... and talk... and talk...)
* Christmas tree is up and lights are on it, hopefully ornaments are tomorrow
* Found out I am off work from 12/18 to 1/5 - Holy cow!
* Chad is off work for almost as long as I am for the holidays!
* Trying to help organize some things for my 10 year high school reunion (IN OHIO!) and we're having a heck of a time getting valid e-mail addresses
* Brynn FINALLY stood up by herself for about 10 seconds tonight without realizing it (Um, yeah, she's 16 months old now and I haven't had time to do a 16 month post for her yet.)

That's all I can think of right now, I'm exhausted.

One Little Monkey...

Happy Thanksgiving!!

... From California ...

Will post more next week!!

Sharing

Brynn was sitting on the couch eating some snacks. Allie walked up to Brynn and sat down beside the couch. Brynn pointed to Allie and said "NO!". Apparently she didn't want to share...

Nice Try

We attempted to take Brynn to see Madagascar 2 tonight, her first movie in the theater. We made it through a few good previews and about 20 minutes of the movie. From what we saw, it looked super cute!! Brynn was dancing like crazy and then got sleepy and bored.

We'll stick with movies at home for a while... and buy this one when it comes out on dvd!!

Nie Day At Habit Salon

This morning after swimming lessons, we decided that we should probably take Brynn to get her hair trimmed. We were going to take her one of those places for kids but then I remembered that today was "Nie Day" at Habit Salon, which was right down the street. All proceeds today from 7am to 7pm were donated to helping the Nielson's. We decided that because it was such a good cause, we should go. I wasn't planning to get mine done (as you can tell, I still had my sunglasses on my head while she was trimming Brynn's hair) but we figured what the heck, why not?

Here are some pictures from our fun morning (Chad even thought it was cool!), it was a neat salon and as long as our budget permits, they've got some returning customers in the West family. I'm sure they raised quite a bit of money, they were pretty packed when we were there. They were also selling some "Nie" gear and had some raffles. We bought a ticket and won some children's books (Chad was excited, he was hoping that we'd win those for Brynn)!!

She did really great while she was getting her trim, I wasn't sure how she'd do since she's only had one other hair cut and it was by Grampie Don last year!! For whatever reason, she was super cuddly... I think she was getting sleepy!!

I'm so excited that they did this special day for the Nielson's!! Like I'm said in my previous posts, I've never met them before, I've only read articles and blogs but I think that Stephanie would really like that salon. It seems to have her sense of style, antique-y and sophisticated. Super cute. Hopefully she'll be able to make it over there sometime to check it out.

Another Nielson Article

CLICK HERE

P.I.T.A.

I met with a trainer last night.

My legs, hips and ass hurt.

It's a good pain. A good Pain In The Ass. Hmph.

CHEEEEEEESE!

Brynn received a package from my Aunt Barb in Oregon on Saturday, Brynn loves the blanket that she sent. Can you tell?



Thanks Aunt Barb!!

Cotton Candy Ice Cream

I'd say she liked it...

Wooster High School Class of 1999

If you were in my class and you're reading this, sign up for FACEBOOK.COM. There's talk of a reunion next year.

*** UPDATE ***

Please send me an e-mail with your name (maiden and married), e-mail address, physical address, phone number, what you are doing now (school, job, etc.
) are you married? have kids? have a website of your own?

We're trying to update a spreadsheet with all of this information. David Abt has sent out a few e-mails trying to get all of this information but a lot of it is old and the e-mail addresses don't work.

My e-mail address is acslax8520@aol.com.

Thanks!!

Amanda

Back In My Element

I've been in my new position for almost three weeks now. I am going to be doing all of the purchasing and they just let someone go on Wednesday so I'll be doing all of the customer service too. I still don't know exactly what all of that means, other than I'm going to be completely swamped. Some people have been a little discouraging about me having to do all of this, just because they know it's a lot of work. They keep telling me that over and over and over and over... I am hoping to prove myself soon, so I don't have to hear it anymore. I've done customer service and been in high-stress jobs before, I'm back in my element.

So far, I think it's going pretty well. I like to know everything (no comments on that one...), so training has been a little frustrating. Once I know what I'm doing, I'll be fine.

I'm pretty excited about this position and the company. People seem to be a little bit more comfortable around me this week than they were the last two. They're opening up a little bit and being more friendly, which has made me feel better about working there. Most people kept to themselves for those first couple weeks, which I wasn't used to at all.

Little things about this company make me laugh, I think mostly because I'm used to working for large companies. For example, at Layne, I had my own printer, credit card and key to the building. At my new company, I share a printer with probably 20 other people. No credit card. No key to the building. I'll be there later than most people, but I still won't have a key. Last week, I had to leave early two days because people that had keys were leaving and I'd be locked in if I didn't leave. I just got a key to the office supply cabinet today, which seems to be a HUGE deal. I bet you're jealous, aren't you?

OH and one more weird thing... I have a camera on me all day long. Kind of creepy. It's far away and I don't know how much it zooms in but it's still weird.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know that I REALLY like my new position and everything is going well!! YAY!!

P.S. My friends at Layne, I miss you!! Um, and our Kokopelli Tuesdays too.

Motivated

Jenn and I just signed up for a gym membership.

We went together on Saturday and Sunday... she walked in a Veteran's Day parade today with Matt and Luke... and I went to the gym tonight. The plan is for us to go to the gym tomorrow too.

I'd say we're on a roll... we just need to keep it up!! I'm excited about it because it gets us both out of the house and we're actually able to hang out and talk. Hopefully we'll both see some results. Soon.

YAY for us!!

Brynn's Spot

I've mentioned before that Brynn likes to take everything out of this cabinet and take it all over the house. Now, she likes to take some of the containers out, sit IN the cabinet and play with everything that's left in there with her.



Note to self: Don't waste your time trying to organize the Rubbermaid containers, Brynn will rearrange it all anyway.

PREGO!!!!!!!!!!

I bet that just made your heart stop for a second, didn't it?! No, I'm not Prego! ;o)

5 MINUTES FOR MOM is hosting a "Fun With Food Photo Contest", the prize is a $500 grocery card!! HOPEFULLY this picture of Brynn will atleast get us into the finals!! What do you think? Wish us luck!!



Thanks to BECKI for telling us about the contest!! Make sure you click on Becki's link, she has a super cute picture of Maggie on there!!

P.S. We really do use Prego's sauce! How weird!!