A Girl and Her Guitar!

For Christmas, Santa brought Abby a guitar... something she has shown interest in for some years, but we have really never pursued it- for one reason or another. Well, since Santa dropped it off under our tree, we HAVE to get involved!

The original plan was to have her take lessons at the place that we found nearby- but at a rate of $80.00 for a minimum one hour ($20.00/per 15 min.), we decided to wait. Thankfully Peggy found a place even closer, that gives lessons to children AND adults, at a rate of $15.00/30 min. A MUCH BETTER deal! So she initiated the first lesson and it is now up to us to continue on. =) Abby and Henry will go once a week for as long as they can face the music! Tom and I are not going to 1) force her into performing for us and 2) listen to her play until she is ready/has had a few lessons. For now, Abby and Henry will practice together (at his place) for at least 15 minutes a night...granted he is not working, at which time she can practice alone.

Tonight was their first official 'homework' gig =) They were at it for a good 45 minutes. I tried to sneak in, but I was busted! Here are just a few poses... she is not actually playing for me, because like I said, I want to hear AFTER she has had a few lessons =)


OK, I lied, I did hear them tuning up their guitars... but that doesn't count as 'listening' to them. That was just noise!

They were both on cloud 9... As you can see in the picture on the left! I have not seen a smile on her from ear to ear in a while! I hope that she continues to show such enthusiasm and he is able to put up with her learning.... This kid needs to make mama millions someday! LOL =) We are so incredibly proud!

California trip explained...in a nut shell

So some of you may know, doctors did the angiogram on my father last week. Once they got in, they discovered that the stent that they had put in place in his circumflex artery had plaque build up...again. It is ~90% blocked. Which explains a lot. From my understanding, his health has been pretty shaky the last few weeks... but being the stubborn man that he is, he never said anything (until his routine stress test). Anyhow, doctors told my mom that they don't want to do a bypass because of the location and possibility that it could block once the bypass is done... yeah, and I might trip while walking and fall on my face. But whatever. I hate when doctors live by mights, but hey, I am not the cardiologist. Sorry for that sudden outburst.

Anyhow, he also has anemia and in the past was littered with ulcers- so before they could put in a new drug-eluting stent (DES) in, he has to be seen by, and approved by, a gastroenterologist to have the DES be put in place. Why? Because the DES secretes a medication overtime that prevents restenosis (reblockage/plaque build-up). Because it is directly in the circulatory system, it makes it's ways to and through his digestive track... he will need to take aspirin and up his dose of Clopidogrel/Plavix (an anti blood clotting med), which can effect his ulcers AND anemia... a vicious circle of nonsense!

For now he is at home and until he sees the gastro doctor on Jan 25., he has to take things easy. The earliest he can have the old stent removed and DES put in is soon after that.

Isabella and I had a great visit- not only with my dad, but with mom, mother-in-law, niece, nephew, friends and our newest friends-Heather and Dakota! We will miss being 'at home' and hope that dad takes care of himself :) You'd better be behaving!

Isabella, meet Dakota!

Isabella and I FINALLY got to meet Heather & Dakota... our long distance friends. Once again, Heather is an amazing woman that I met online when pregnant with Boo. Can you believe that we have been 'friends' for over 2 years and have never officially met? That is until Jan. 15, 2010!

Heather and I decided to take Boo and Dakota to Downtown Disney to stroll the shops and take in the atmosphere! They were phenomenal together. They acted as if they had been friends forever...and getting into mischief just like forever friends would do! It made my heart melt and smile at the same time.

They loved splashing in the water and running Heather & I in circles in Hagen Das. They were double trouble, that is FOR SURE! As much as I would LOVE for the two of them to grow up together, I'd hate to be witnesses of their chaos!




After a couple hours of fun, it was time to go home. Sadly. We wish that we had more time to spend together... but 'all good things must come to an end' :( Next time we visit, hopefully it will be all the Werner Clan.

Thank you Heather and Dakota! Isabella and I had a GREAT time and are going to miss you terribly from Ohio. :'(

Playing with Ted

My parents adopted a mutt dog last year. His name is Ted. Ted is a crazy puppy... full of energy!

Upon arrival, Isabella was not so sure of the puppy...I think his shear size alone frightened her... it would me if I were as small as her! Over the few days we were there, she really warmed up to him. She finally grew the courage to pet his head...and even let hi give her kisses! I think Ted is really going to miss Isabella!

This video is the day after we arrived, so she is still a tad bit afraid of him!

Sit Back, Relax & Enjoy the Flight

The ride on the plane was quite the event- to say the least! We got to the airport way early... Tom dropped me off curbside. OK, so if you plan on having a 'lap baby' and you fly Southwest, just know that you have to register the kid and have a boarding pass. I had NO IDEA she needed this... but hindsight, it makes 100% sense! So We arrive and I don't have her birth certificate, proof of age or name. Well, thankfully I did have her medical card, which has that info on it; and THANKFULLY the man accepted it!

Then Tom almost drove off with 1) my carry on and 2) Boo's paci. Luckily I caught him before speeding off. THEN we make our way to TSA. OK, I didn't take off my shoes, Boos shoes or either one of our sweatshirts. Strike one. The liquids I declared had to be swiped. Strike 2. I couldn' collaps the stroller (but eventually got it). Strike 3. Pushed Boo through the beeper and knocked her to the ground. Strike 4. The TSA guy asked me if the backpack was mine (yes, it was) because he needed to rescan it from another angle...just look in it. Strike 5. THENNNNN, I set off the alarm while walking through. I forgot to take my wallet and phone out of my pocket. So the security process took about 45 minutes! Ridiculous!!!!

The actual flight, from Columbus to Vegas, was pretty uneventful. I gave Boo Benadryl... which is now my new BFF! She was zonked out the entire 3.5 hours. She finally woke when we landed.

In Vegas, we had a little over 2 hour layover/plane change. We grabbed a bite to eat, and I found/bought the cutest Southest stuffed plane (with engine noise). I think I wanted it more than the baby! We took off on time from Vegas. That ride was uber quick (like 30 minutes), but SUUUUUUPER turbulenty! It sucked. Who ever heard of a mom burying her head in her toddlers lap, because she was scared? YOU! You all have heard of her! Yep, I was such sissy in the turbulance, that I pu my head in HER lap! Anyhow, we landed safely in Ontario and made it to my parents by dinner.

In-N-Out Burger

http://www.in-n-out.com/default.asp
Today I was FINALLY able to get a burger! It has been over a year since having a juicy In-N-Out Burger, so I savored EVERY.SINGLE.BITE!

Naturally, I messed up my own order- so it wasn't exactly what I wanted... but I live thousands of miles away, so I can't complain! I wanted spread, pickle, fried mustard and raw chopped onions... but dopey me ordered grilled onions. But hey, it was just as yummy!

My mother-in-law and I went to the La Mirada location. #105... how I remember that after all these years, is beyond me. But then again, as I sit here thinking about them, I can recall many of the location numbers in that area :)

This was Isabella's first experience as well. She only ate fries, but now, come to think of it, she could have had a bun. I was worried about milk being in them... but unless they have changed in the last 5 years, they are made out of sponge dough... so she could have had one... just not the meat or cheese! O'well, she still enjoyed the fries!

New Years @ Nationwide Arena!

For New Years, since daddy was working the Blue Jackets game, we got tickets to watch the game too! The tickets were in nose bleed... but honestly, they were probably the best tickets in the arena =) From our view we could see the entire ice- goaltender to goaltender.

What made this even more of a memorable event, is that it was all three girls FIRST time to a 'real' NHL game! They were totally into it... especially Abby! Neither one fully understands the rules, so I was having to explain things here and there, but that's all in the learning process!

Nationwide arena is very family friendly and oriented, so it made the trip that much more enjoyable... even with a toddler! Isabella did well- focusing with all eyes on the ice during the first period... she LOVED Stinger (Blue Jackets mascot) and the National Anthem. I was actually worried that she would start screaming through the anthem, but luckily she seemed to be content with me singing it to her! During the second period we walked around the arena, played in Stingers house, met Stinger and got a bite to eat. By the third period Isabella was OUT! So I made my way to our seats... Carly and Abby were already there... I was just waiting until the baby was asleep to truck up the stairs! Towards the end of the period, we got up to walk about. By that time the score was tied 1-1. Unfortunately we wound up losing in OT 1-2. Dumb Predators.

After the game was over, we met up with Tom and walked back to our hotel room. We decided that we were all going to stay in town and enjoy a little mini vacation. The plan was to get changed, warm up and head back out to enjoy the downtown festivities... buuuuut apparently most events had 1) moved indoors or 2) been canceled because of the weather advisory. So we decided to stay put and celebrate from the hotel. We walked the front door minutes before the strike of midnight (to hopefully catch view of fireworks), but we are guessing those were canceled too. As we stood out, firetrucks and police rolled by with their lights and sirens... all we could thing was 'drunk driving'... but as it turns out, there was a shooting... just TWO BLOCKS from where we had planned to be! YIKES! So by the grace of God (and everything being canceled) we stayed indoors! But we had fun and that is all that mattered!

I have so many more pictures on my camera... these are from my phone... but I promise, one day I will have 'real' pictures up!

FREE SIPPY!!! (and other crap!)

So I logged on to http://www.juicyjuice.com/Login/Register.aspx and registered to receive announcements regarding Juicy Juice and their products. As part of registering, you can receive a free sippy or guide to your child's nutrition... well, I chose the cup. The fine print warns to allow 8 weeks for shipping, but I got it in less than 3!!! AMAZING!!! This is just one of the wonderful free things that I have signed up to receive. What makes it better is that my inbox has not been clogged with junk either!

Aside from the cup, since my last update, on free crap that I have got, I have received in the mail= Dental floss (adults and kids), diapers, tampons, pads, 2 coffee samples (different companies), Aveda hand lotion, Aveda shampoo & conditioner (these items I had to print a voucher and take to a participating salon) and a sample of John Freida 'Brilliant Brunette' shampoo/conditioner! Not bad for being lazy behind the computer! And all it takes is a few minutes to fill out!