Shopping Cart

Here is Nora busy with her shopping cart! I put Brody in there and she was thrilled with being able to push him around. I was surprised that he did so well in there!!!

Where have I been???

The last month I have been busy with a new venture. I have started being a consultant with a company called Thirty-One. They have great bags and home organization solutions. I had my first party through a friend and loved the items I got as hostess gifts. I wanted to grow my collection of bags and I needed tools to help keep all of Nora's toys organized so I decided to become a consultant. They also have great thermal totes for the summer to help keep food cold when we go to the beach! I am keeping this a quick post since Nora is now awake, but view my website if you are interested in Thirty-One.


I will post more about life and of course Thirty-One soon!!!

http://www.mythirtyone.com/spalm/

Wordless Wednesday! Let's go Shopping!!!!

All set to go spend some money!!!

My husband the Med student!

Steve and Nora the day he got his white coat for Medical School.
Med Student!!

Steve and I before the ceromony for him to get his white coat.

This week is a big week for Steve. It is his midterms for his second semester of Med. School. He has been busy studying away, making an office in our bedroom since Nora and I hang out in the living room where he normally studies. I am in awe in how dedicated that he is. He always wants to learn more than he knows already. He really is dedicated to being a student and to being the best Doctor that he can be in the future. Sometimes he takes Nora and tells her about what he is learning...I am sure she is soaking it all in. The best part about the start of this week is that he had his first midterm and he got 100% on it!!!! Way to go babe!!! So proud.

I am amazed everyday at how he manages his life. Between Med. school, being a dad, husband, working part-time and his national gaurd duties he is one busy man! He always makes time for family. Even his fellow med students always comment they do not know how he does it. How do you do it?? Nora and I are so proud of him (sap away readers).

Congrats on your 100%!!!!

Minnesota State Dance Team!!!

This weekend is a weekend that all high school dance teams, coaches, parents and alumni look forward to - STATE!!! It is almost like a holiday for everyone that participates. I am proud to say that I am an alum of the Maple Grove High School Dance team. It is crazy to think that 10 years ago today was my senior year state tournament, I definatly do not feel that old to be out of high school for 10 years. It seems like just yesterday that I was backstage with my team and coaches getting ready to take that state floor for finals! My senior year, was the teams first time going to state. There were six seniors that were on the team (including me), and we were so excited to finally make it. After three years of striving to achieve the state level we made it our senior year. During those three years we went through a lot that only the coaches and members of the team during that time would understand!! I remember standing in our line for awards after prelims and hear "Maple Grove" announced - this meant that we were going onto finals!!! There were hugs and tears of happiness among the team, coaches and parents. We worked to hard to get to that point and we made it. We ended up getting fourth that year in state. Our first year and we got fourth! It was a memory that I will never forget.


Now the team has won numerous state titles in the ten years since the first appearance at State! Maple Grove is known as one of the top dance teams in the state of Minnesota!!! I could not be more proud of saying that I was a part of the beginning of the legacy of the MGDT. So to my former team and all the other teams competing good luck, dancing on that state floor is one of the best moments in my life so enjoy every minute of it!!

Wordless Wednesday, Valentines Day A Year Ago

Nora with her first Valentine from her daddy last year!!!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Looking at her Valentines Day Book
Opening her Gift

Happy Valentines day

Nora's gift!

Tonight Steve and I are going to celebrate by making dinner in. We are going to make Roasted Red Pepper Bruschetta, Chicken Piccata, Parm. Asparagus and Red Velvet Cupcakes! Num!!! Hope you all have a loving Valentines!!!

Getting Better

This week has been a week of sickness for this household. Nora got sick on Monday around dinner time, I got it around 11:00 at night and Steve got it the next morning. Tuesday was spent on the couch watching movies and sleeping. Wednesday we were all feeling a little better. Thursday Nora got the sickness again. Now that it is the weekend we are all feeling better! Yeah!



This weekend is going to be a weekend of relaxing! I am looking forward to tonight. I am going to be sitting myself down on the couch and watch Breaking Dawn Part 1. I am so excited to watch the next chapter of the Twilight series and be Team Edward. Haha!! Hope you all have a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday!

It's Friday!

I was talking to my husband the other day and Fridays came up in the conversation. We talked about how Fridays have changed in their meaning since we have had a baby. Before Nora we would look forward to Fridays as a night out with friends. Having cocktails, not having to worry about how much we drink and if we were going to spend the night at a friends or if we will be able to make it home. We looked forward to Fridays as a break from school and work. Fridays meant it was the weekend and we could lay around and watch movies all day. We could just be lazy for 2 days.


Now Fridays have a whole new meaning. Usually Friday nights are spent at home. We spend time playing with Nora, if she is lucky she may get to stay up a little longer than normal... a whopping 7:30!!! After she goes down we usually watch a movie or catch up on TV shows that have been on our DVR for the week. We may have a drink, but nothing to crazy. Now these Fridays are perfect. I get to catch up with my husband and how his week has been. Friday then leads to Saturday which is usually a trip to Target (maybe Bed, Bath and Beyond... haha). We also usually do a "family" activity on Saturdays. Last weekend we went sledding. Other times it is a walk in the park, mall, something just to get us out and have let Nora get some interaction with others. If we do go out on the weekends it is usually on a Saturday. We try to go out atleast once a month and Nora is able to have a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's. Sundays are just stay at home days. It is a day to get ready for the upcomming week.

This weekend is a little different for us though. We are going to Target today...on a Friday!! Saturday will be a night out for us! And Sunday will be relaxing...

What are your plans for the weekend? Have your weekends change since having kids, getting married or just getting older?

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday!!!

Nora having fun playing with Play dough!!!

Nora's Winter Onederland

Nora's Winter Onederland Birthday went perfectly. I had so much fun planning everything! The colors were white, pink and silver. I made a hot chocolate bar that had a variety of topping. Some of them were: chocolate shavings, crushed peppermint, chocolate mint marshmellows, plan marshmellows, marshmellows topped with peppermint and sprinkles, whipped cream, sprinkles and for the adults we had some baileys and DiSorono! SO GOOD!!! I am thinking that we made have one at Nora's birthday party every year!! We had lots of food and it all went. Nora got lots of great gifts and loves playing with all of them. I think we had over 30 people over to celebrate her big day! My Grandma, Uncle and Cousin also came to celebrate--it was a three hour drive for them and I did not know they were coming. It was a nice surprise. The following are just a few pictures from Nora's Big Day!!!

Here is a balloon wreath that I made from Pinterest. It was so much fun to make, but I never knew how expensive balloons are! There are over 300 balloons on this wreath!

Singing Happy Birthday to Nora. I could not sing, because it made me cry. I cannot believe that my little girl is one and that I no longer have a baby, but an infant.
Family picture. Behind us is our hutch. I put out pictures from each month during her first year so people could see how she has changed.

The Birthday Girl!!!

I am back!!

I am back! The reason I have not posted much lately is that our monitor for Nora blocked my internet connection...well no more! For Christmas Nora (Steve) got me an internet adaptor for my laptop so the monitor no longer blocks the internet!!!

Since my last post we have had a lot of firsts for Nora...Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and being her being away from Steve and I for a week.

Halloween was a blast she was a lady bug and we went Trick-or-Treating. Thanksgiving she gobbled up the food and Christmas she was one spoiled little girl!!! Over the New Year Nora was with my parents. Steve and I went to Mexico for a week and it was so nice. Nora did great being away from us and my parents loved every minute with her and Brody, of course.

Now I am busy planning her Winter Onederland birthday this weekend! Check back for updates and more posts!!!!

Wordless Wednesday!!!

Num!!! Eating Cheerios as a snack!!!

Lost Camera Cord!!!

Well, the entry way is clean and I have pictures to show you all the progress, but I have lost my camera cord to get the photos off of my camera onto my computer! So once I find that I will post pictures of the entry way. It looks super nice and it is so nice to come home to a clean space greeting me!

This past weekend we went to the 101 market to get Nora her first pumpkin. They had lots of activities for older kids to participate in (tractor pull, duck races, jumping pit, corn pit and many more). We particpated in the little zoo they had. The animals were your standard small zoo animals (llamas, pig, bunny). They also had a monkey and some lizards. We also did the corn maze. Nora fell asleep while we were in the maze, but Steve and I had fun find the point we had to find in order to enter a contest they were having to win $500.00 worth of merchandise from the 101 market. We also got some great pictures which I will have to post later since I have lost my camera cord!

Update to my Tackle it Tuesday--Finally!!!!

After:

Before:

After:

Wordless Wednesday!!

I love jammin' out on my piano in the mornings!!!!

Challenge!!

So last night I was looking at some other blogs and decided to challenge myself. The blogs that I were looking at had tasks that were to be done each day to keep your house clean. Just little things like make the bed, take out the garbage ect. Each week you add a new small task to do daily. So by the end of the month all the little tasks will add up to keeping your house a cleaner space to live. Also each week there will be a Tackle it Tuesday. This means that on Tuesday I will tackle an area to organize and purge. I am looking forward to this!!! I have been motivated to clean ever since I have started using Norwex cleaning products! My cousin's wife started to sell the product and got me into them. They are a green line of microfiber cleaning items...there are very few chemicals which is awesome because I do not want Nora inhaling the chemicals that are used with normal cleaning products. So off to cleaning I go! Please feel free to join me and post pictures of your before and afters!! So the first thing that I am going to have to tackle each day is....

Accomplish Daily:

Make the bed

Take out the trash

Tackle Tuesday:

Entry way and the closet

I will be taking pictures of the entry way later and will post them as I accomplish these goals...

Ready, Set, Clean...

Things that babies get called

Everyone gives their child nicknames. It starts at birth and then the names continue to grow and change throughout the child's life. When I was little my nickname from my dad was pumpkin and munchkin. He still calls me munchkin sometimes to this day. In high school I as known as pickle (due to my last name) and Lil V (again for my last name and my older brother). Now that I am in my adulthood I am known just at Stacey. My husbands nickname now is scuba steve. It was funny because for the longest time Steve did not scuba dive...a couple of years ago he decided to get certified and he is now officially scuba steve.

For my daughter we call her Nolar Bear and Bug-a-Boo. For short we sometimes call her bear (she is going to love that when she is older). It will be interesting to see how her nicknames will evolve over time. What will her friends call her??

Well this brings me to what random people call your child. Steve and I were at the airport with our daughter getting some breakfast before we had to board our plane. So we order our Egg McMuffins and the McDonalds worker precides to tell us that "the force is strong with that one." I didn't get it at first so I just looked and was like ahhh yeah thanks! Steve totally understood it and said thanks to be nice. The worker then proceeds to say "if only Yoda had that much force. She is like a Yoda here on earth." He started talking to her and calling her Yoda. When we left he said bye to "Yoda". It was interesting at first I was like my child does not look like Yoda. I was slightly mad that he made that comparision with my daughter. But Steve made me realize that coming from him (a Star Wars fanatic), it was probably a compliment. To this day we still laugh when we think about it.

So what do you call your babies? Has anyone given them an odd nickname??

First Post!!!

Hello hello hello! This is officially my first blog post. Ahhh!!! I decided to give bloggin a try because I read a lot of my Jan. Momma's blogs and they have inspired me to do my own. Bare with me as I learn the ins and outs of the blogging world and as I determine what exactly I am going to be blogging about.

I am a new mom (well 9 months new :)). I stay at home with my daughter and love every minute of it. My husband is going to school and I am so proud of him to be following his dreams. I love to cook and try new recipies....I love appetizers!! I love to scrapbook and do other crafts. My friends and family are so important to me! I am thinking this will be a blog about my life and the ups and downs that are a part of being human...I may also do recipies and other craft ideas that I am working on.

So that is a little about me and what I am thinking about writing about. Enjoy and welcome!!!