Ali Standing!

Looks like we'll have a little lady walking pretty soon!!! :)

Christmas Book

Alright, so I was trying to think of a good gift to give my mom & mother-in-law for Christmas.  I wanted it to be something special, having to do with Alina since it is her first Christmas and she is the first granddaughter! :)

My idea is this:
-  Make a mini scrapbook that grandmas can use as a "brag" book
-  Make the mini album all about Ali
-  Make the mini album holiday themed
-  Make the mini album to the theme / tune of the 12 Days of Christmas

Here are my ideas so far for the 12 Days:
1st day:  1 big brother Jakey

2nd day:  2 tiny teeth

3rd day:  3 fuzzy blankies  (she loves to snuggle blankets to her nose when sleepy!)

4th day:  4 slimy smooches

5th day:  5 cute cousins (or 5 silver bracelets cuz she likes her bling!)

6th day:  6 dirty diapers

7th day:  7 Ali's clapping

8th day:  8 milky bottles

9th day:  9 girly giggles

10th day: 10 building blocks

11th day:  11 dancing darling

12th day:  12 Ali's leaping


I tried to mimic them after the original 12 Days, which was hard for me to remember all of (I actually had to google it!), so that's why there are things like "leaping" or "dancing".  


Any suggestions on the days?

I will definitely be using my new toys to make it! :)  I can't wait to get started on it.  

Does anyone have any other ideas for what I could do as a special gift for my mom & mother-in-law?

My Big Splurge!

So, I am a very spoiled girl.  My husband actually likes when I spend money on myself.  This is probably because we are very good about not spending money really except on our bills and groceries.  We are NOT big spenders or shoppers.  We don't eat out a lot or anything like that.  We've done a great job of saving money and making ourselves comfortable and for that reason, my husband likes me to splurge every once in a while.  :)  My splurge?  Oh, I bought a cricut!!!!  I can't wait to get it!  


I had been watching it for quite a while now and a few months ago I saw it on HSN bundled with this other product called "Your Story" which allows you to make your own scrapbook albums however you'd like.  (Kind of like what shutterfly & snapfish sites can do.)  When I saw the program months ago, it was an amazing deal.  I think the bundle priced out separately at over $800.00, and HSN had it for $350.00.  Well, of course I didn't want to drop that much cash so I didn't order it.  Nick kept telling me I should and that it wasn't a big deal because we never buy things. Well, he almost had me convinced then, but I just didn't do it.  A few days later, I really thought about it and thought, well, I should get it.  But by then it was sold out! :(  I had been watching for it to come back in-stock on HSN, but it was out for MONTHS!  Finally, it came back on the show on the 24th!  I ordered it IMMEDIATELY!  It is supposed to come to my house Dec. 2nd!  It's already in Port Huron (I checked the tracking!), so maybe I'll get it early!  How exciting!  It'll be great because my sister is coming over to scrap with me one day this Christmas break, so we'll have a great time! :)


Here are some pics, in case you are wondering what I got!

Ahhhh, Fall!

I love this season.  I love the weather........not so cold that I hate being outside for more than 2 minutes, but not so hot outside that I melt, either! 


I love this holiday.  I love the whole feeling of it.  This Thanksgiving was especially great for a few reasons:
-  It has been 1 year since my dad's accident & he has really come a long way.  Last year we didn't even have a Thanksgiving dinner with my family.  It was spent in Beaumont hospital at my dad's bedside!  I know that this year I've said many more prayers than I ever have in my life and I know that God is working in my life & is healing my dad.


-  Our Thanksgiving dinner with my family was wonderful.  The food tasted incredibly good (maybe because we were all together this year and not stressed about my dad) and all of the kids got along well.  The Wii that we got my dad last year for Christmas to entertain himself while he was not allowed to put weight on his legs, has really come in handy to entertain the nephews (and even the husbands!).


-  I got to see my great friend, Lisa.  We went to Panera for a mid-morning coffee & snack.  Lisa is one of those few, amazing friends that I have that no matter how much time has passed between when we last met up, we never miss a beat.  She is a person I know I can always count on, trust, confide in, and just be myself around.  She never judges me or makes me feel ridiculous, even when I know I am! :)  It was so good to get to see her and I really miss our jaunts to the Raven cafe to vent about life.


-  While at Panera with Lisa, we had to fend off a strange-ish Panera worker / greeter.  He tried to feed Ali a pretzel..........good thing I have those cat-like mommy reflexes!  And the best part was while this worker was kind of creeping us out and invading our personal space, Lisa texted me a "WTF" message.  Too hilarious!



- I got almost all of my holiday shopping done on Black Friday at 4am.  Sara and I braved the crowds and got some great bargains while we power-shopped.  I was happy to hang out with her.  She didn't think I was coming, so she was really excited that I showed up to shop with her at Younkers at 4am! :)  We had a great time shopping and then had breakfast at Denny's at 5:30am.  I was done by 6 am, headed to JoAnn Fabrics for a little self-reward for a job well done, and then was home by 7am, before most people were even out of bed! :)  

-  After Black Friday shopping, I came home and wrapped all the gifts I had bought so that no snoopy children went peeking around the house in search of gifts.  Now they are all wrapped and ready to go.  Just have a few more things to get for Jake, Ali, & my in-laws!


-  I came up with a great idea for a special book I"m going to make for my mom & Nick's mom.  More about that in a later post.


-  Nick & I went to his 10-year class reunion event at Quay Street on Friday night.  It was nice to get out for a few hours alone with Nick.  Kind of sad that out of the 300 invitations we sent out, only about 20 people showed up to the event.  I wonder what it'll be like for my 10-year reunion next year.  My class only had 34!  Maybe 1 or 2 will show?  Yikes!


- Cheryle & I checked out the Port Huron museum to prepare for an upcoming field trip we are taking there soon.  We will be taking our kids to a CSI event they will host.  It should be fun!  Cheryle and I had a good time there, it was really interesting and well-done!


Alright, I think I've gone into enough details about why I had a lovely break.  I really enjoyed this break and got a lot done.  It was relaxing to not have to be at work and be stressed out from that.  Next up is the Christmas season and my last day of work is the 18th.  Can't wait for that! :)

7 Months Ago

7 months ago today, I was going about what I thought was just an ordinary day at work.  I was supposed to be going to a shower thrown for me by my co-workers, but my little sweetheart had plans of her own!  (I should have known then that she was a sassy little lady!)  After a whirlwind day & things being totally out of my control, Nick & I were blessed by the most beautiful baby girl we've ever seen............

She has changed my life in so many ways......just being with her & seeing her grow & learn is  making me happier than I ever knew I would be.  She truly is a gift from God sent to my family and we thank Him every day for keeping her healthy.  Most people don't believe me when I tell them that she was 5 weeks early and had to stay in the hospital for 7 days.  She's such a chunker now, I think it's hard for people to imagine! :)  
Alina Claire Richmond.  5 lbs, 12 oz, born Thursday, February 26th, 2009 at 8:23 pm.  What a little miracle!
And here's my darling girl today, 7 months after her early arrival:

 
















She's a very happy & easy-going baby, which is a true blessing for us since we both work full-time.  She likes to be in a routine, which is also a good thing for us because then we have some down time every night!   We are also blessed to have Nick's mom be able to watch Ali while I work.  It's reassuring to know that she is getting the very best of care while I'm away from her.  
I'd say the only thing that hasn't changed dramatically since Ali's birth is the amount of hair the poor darling has.......She's still only got a few wispy strays going on up-top!  Poor lady!
These have been the best 7 months..........and as much as I want to slow down time so I can savor these small moments, I can't wait to watch her grow up!

Alina's 6-month Portraits

If you'd like to check out Ali's studio portraits we got taken at Walmart for her 6 month photos, here's a link to them.

http://portraits.pictureme.com/pr3/store.aspx

You need this info:

Last Name: Richmaond (yes, she spelled it wrong, but couldn't change it)

Studio ID: 11611

Session ID: 103989

Let me know which one you like! I got LOTS of the photos, but my favorite is the one on p. 16. She's got such a cute grin! :) It was hard to pic only a few!!!!!!!!!

Love,

Jen

Last Days of Summer

Had a super-fun weekend enjoying the last few days of Alina Claire's first summer with me! :) Here's how the weekend has panned out so far:
- Friday, Sara & Matt came to town & we hung out. Went to Red Lobster for dinner!
- Saturday, Trish & I had the fun fiasco of running around PH trying to get keys to get into my school (I left me keys in my sweatshirt INSIDE the school.), then headed to the DIA to meet up with some friends, then had dinner for Lisa's birthday at Fishbones in GreekTown. Yummy!
- Sunday, Ali & I went to church, got her 6-month pictures taken at 12:30, got groceries, unpacked them, then packed up & headed north to PS for a BBQ at gma & gpa Z's house.
- Tomorrow, I want to run out to Sam's Club for some bulk necessities & maybe hit up TJ Maxx or some other store for a look-sie at clothes for work. :)

Can't believe the summer is already over & the kids are back to school as of Tuesday. This means I don't get any long weekends / time off work until Thanksgiving. This is the longest stretch for teachers without a break. Keep me in your prayers for patience & sanity! :)

How Do YOU Relish Moments?

Lately I've really been struggling with finding the time, energy, creativity, and more to do fun & new activities with my family. I am so exhausted with taking care of Ali, our home, & working full time. One of my biggest fears is that I'm wasting these precious days with my baby girl. She's already 6 months old & it has flown by.

I am blessed to have a loving mother-in-law who cares for Ali while I work, but at the same time I resent myself to some degree for missing those 8 hours of her life everyday. I feel as if some one else is raising my child at times. I'd give anything to be a stay at home mommy, but that's just not in our financial possibilities.

The other piece of myself that I resent is that many nights when I am home with my baby, all I want to do is sleep. I wish I had the energy to spend more quality time with my sweet baby than that, but I'm really struggling to do that. I usually stick it out & go to bed immediately after she's sleeping in her crib, but there are so many other things I should be doing!

I've begun to realize I can't do it all & I can't be perfect. I've begun to relinquish some of my "control" over some things. And I've realized that life doesn't end (or isn't any different) if I don't sweep that day or don't have my counters & table spotless. (I have some OCD tendencies that have been put on the back burner.) But it's been a tough thing for me to do & I am still struggling with it.

My big fear is that i'll look back at this time & wish I had been a different person. Wish I had been stronger. Better. Had a bigger heart. Or something. I want to do my best & I'm trying; I just feel like it's not enough.

So, how do you other ladies out there do it all? How do you have it all together? How do you keep all of the balls in the air & not drop them all like I feel I am doing?

What are some of your favorite activities to do with your family / friends? Do you have any stress-relievers you use? What can I do to just SOAK IN these days & moments of Ali's life?

Working with 9th graders & seeing how some of these teenage girls treat their parents just really hurts my heart & makes me wish I could do something to prevent my sweet girl from ever acting that way.

OK. Enough of my sob-story for today. But I would love to hear your thoughts!

J

Alina - 5 months

A few new ones to add to the pile! :)

A few of her teething & chewing. And a few of her in the bath tub. She's liking them more now & likes to kick & splash the water. Getting out & dried off is still not her favorite thing to do, but at least the bath part is a bit nicer!!!
-Jen

Alina - 4.5 Months!

Here are some new pics of Alina. She's almost 5 months old now! It's gone by so fast & she's gotten soooo big! She's a very happy little girl, too!

- She's almost filling up her bouncey seat now!

- I think she looks a lot like Nick in this picture!

- She loves the little phone rattle that my mom got her! It's small enough that she can hang onto it!

- She's starting to learn how to brush her teeth.............my aunt is a hygienist so she's gotta start early!!!!!!!!!!!! Plus, she's getting her bottom 2 teethies!

- She loves the exersaucer my friend gave us. I take her outside in it sometimes so she can get some fresh air!

- If you can see her little piggy toes, they are painted!!!!!!!!!! A girl's gotta have pretty toes! ;)

- She's a happy girl.............loves to smile, laugh, & squeal now! She also likes to do this little "cough" and laugh at the same time! It's too cute!

- This pic is a one-of-a-kind..............I captured drool strings from her hand to her mouth. Toooooo funny & yet toooooooooo gross!

Enjoy the pics!
-Jen

My Beauty!

Here's my gorgeous little girl. She's 4 months old already & I can hardly believe it. She had her 4-month appointment with the pediatrician today and, according to the doctor, Ali is basically "all caught up" from being born 5 weeks early! This is so wonderful, I am so happy for her! And she is now "on the charts" and doing great in all of the categories..........Height: 26 inches (in the 50th %tile), Weight: 14lbs, 7oz (in the 75th %tile), Head: 16.5 inches (in the 50th %tile). YAY! :) At 1-month, she wasn't even on the chart! :) I'm so excited!!!

Here are some pics..............

This is Nick's classic "napping" pose. He'll probably be angry (or just a bit embarrassed) that I'm posting it here.....hehehehe. :)
Daddy & Alina napping:
This is my Alina giving me a crazy face when I was playing with her. She uses her eyebrows so much & gives so many cute expressions. I just love it! <3>
Here she is playing on her activity mat. She loves kicking her feet & trying to hit the little dangling objects. She's getting really good at it now & loves to work on getting them!!!

A Productive Monday

Wow. So far I've had a great Monday. I've gotten a lot of things accomplished so far, which is a big deal for me since with having Alina Claire, it has become infinitely harder to get things done that I'd like to do!
So here's what my day has looked like:

Fed Ali at 8:00, then got right to doing my housework. Some days I"ll lounge around and watch tv or snuggle with Ali & that makes it harder for me to actually get up & get going. So, I got right at it..........vacuumed the house, did dishes, put a load of baby clothes into the washer, played with Ali, got Ali to rest for a bit, & then I finished up the baby shower invitations & put them in the mailbox.

By then, it was time to wake Ali & get her back on our normal 10, 2, 6 nursing schedule. I woke her around 11 and fed her a bit then we got her "pea pod tent" ready & I took her outside while I pulled weeds and did some gardening. I was outside for about an hour & a half. Ali dozed off, played with toys, and watched me while I gardened. She did very well out there! I have about 3/4 of my garden weeded. Ali was getting a bit whiny by 1.5 hours and I figured I"d better not push my luck, so we came back inside. I'll maybe finish it tomorrow or possibly even tonight when Nick gets home from work (depending on my energy level & if it's raining or not!). After gardening, I came in, took a shower, got Ali to take a cat nap while I snagged some lunch. Then she was up & ready to play, so we played for a bit. Just a few minutes ago, I ordered a new cutting book for a scrapbooking tool I have. It's supposed to be my anniversary present. Yippee! Can't wait to get it!

Now I'm off to fold 2 loads of laundry & maybe throw in another one. Laundry is my least favorite chore. Just as soon as I get it done, someone comes & gives me more. :*(

Here's a newer shot of my beauty.............

All for now!

ABCs of Me!!!

Found this on another blog and thought it would be fun! Here goes:

ABC's of me
A - Age: 27
B - Bed size: Full (when we move, this is the first thing we're upgrading!)
C - Chore you hate: Folding Laundry
D - Dog's name: Aragorn (rat terrier) & Arwen (siberian husky)
E - Essential start your day item: SHOWER!
F - Favorite color: blue
G - Gold or Silver: white gold! ;)
H - Height: 5'6"
I - Instruments you play(ed): piano, trumpet, & flute
J - Job title: Teacher (hoping to land some sort of administration job!)
K - Kid(s): 1 7-year old step son & 1 3.5-month old baby girl
M - Mom's name: Bonnie
N - Nicknames: Jen, Jenny, Kissyfur (courtesy of my big sister Mary!)
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: birth of Alina Claire!
P - Pet Peeve: anything put out-of-place around my house! :)
Q - Quote from a movie: "The best love is the kind that weakens the soul, that makes us reach for more. That plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. That is what you have given me and that's what I hope to give you forever." ~ The Notebook <3
R - Right or left handed: Right
S - Siblings: 2 older sisters, 1 younger sister, 2 sisters in law, & 3 brothers in law!
T - Time you wake up: 5:30 when I work, 6:15 when not! :)
U- Underwear: No thongs for me!
V - Vegetable you dislike: beets
W - Ways you drink your coffee: with a bit of cream, NO SUGAR!
X-rays you've had: teeth & my back
Y - Yummy food you make: spaghetti pie & tostada pizza
Z - Zoo favorite : lions

Late

If I’m ever late in the morning, it’s because it’s hard for me to leave this cute, smiley face! :)

I <3 My Job......Just Not Today!

The kids are getting pretty awful. I can't wait for June 12th.....my last day!

Yesterday a student used a pair of scissors to shave off pencil lead onto his desk & smear it all over. Then when I caught him, he tried to "fix" it be using his eraser. This only smeared it worse! So, as punishment, I had him come in to my room first thing this morning & scrub all of my desks clean. Pretty good deal for me! :)

Also today, a student got angry with me for holding him after class for talking & being disruptive while I was trying to conduct my class. My rule is: If you waste my class time, I waste your break time! :) Anyway, he said some super-jerky stuff to me that was pretty disrespectful so I sent him to the office. While there, he told the secretary that I need counseling or therapy because I sent him out. I hope he enjoys his out-of-school suspension tomorrow!
WHAT A PUNK!!! He put a damper on the whole rest of my day! :-(

More Pics

Here are some more new pics of Ali.

Her newest thing is to chomp on & suck on her hands & arms. It’s really funny to listen to…………she really gets slurping sometimes! J

The close-up shots crack me up because of how much she’s changed since we first brought her home almost 3 months ago. I can’t believe how big her little cheekies are now! J

And the one of her sleeping with her hand up by her forehead is one of her classic sleep poses. She looks like a damsel in distress! J

Our sweet baby girl………….can’t believe she’s already 3 months old (well, not until Tuesday)

Alina - 8 weeks

Wow. I can't believe that Ali is 2 months old now. (Actually she's 9 weeks now, but these pics were during her 8th week.) She had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday and now weighs in at a hefty 10 pounds, 7 ounces. She is doing great! :) No more worries about her gaining weight (that was a main concern when we brought her home at 1 week of age at a measly 5 lbs 5 ounces!) She's been doing great adjusting to me being back to work. (And I've been doing ok with it, too!) My students have been pretty nice to me since I've been back. They made me a welcome back banner with little messages on it, which was really sweet. My favorite message is from one of my boy students it said: "Welcome back Mrs. Richmond! I hope your daughter grows up with happyness." And yes, happiness was spelled with a "y". It was soooo sweet! :)

The pics of Ali are:
- Ali on her boppy pillow trying to do some tummy time. She hates it because it's hard work & usually whines & screams. :)
- Ali in her hospital hat sleeping! :)
- Nick holding her with Aragorn on his lap. This is the classic "dad" position. Every time he holds her, she nuzzles into this position & falls asleep..............she's already a "daddy's girl"!!! :)
- Ali crashed out in her car seat after the short drive from Gramma's house to our home.
- Ali in her bouncy seat at 9 weeks. :)
- Ali staring at her bumblebee.

I could take pictures of her all day! :) Also, at the doctor's appointment on Tuesday, she had a blast kicking on the table because it was lined with the crinkly white protective paper. She'd kick her feet and it'd crinkle. She got going so good that I thought she was going to roll over. She'd rock herself up onto 1 shoulder, but couldn't quite sling the rest of her 10 pound body over! :) Pretty soon, I think!

Isn't it amazing how big she is now. I just can't believe it. She's such a sweet darling. Hope you enjoy the pics!
Love,
Jenny

Easter Pics

Here are some pictures of Alina from Easter. I had soooo much fun dressing her Easter morning. I sort of wanted to paint her fingernails but Nick wouldn't let me! :) (Probably a good thing!!!) She wore a dark pink dress with lace detailing and a white under-lay with matching bloomers. She had on tiny white tights & sweet little white shoes. I even found a cute little white sweater with coordinating buttons to keep her warm! And of course the traditional pink headband with a bow!

The photo of Nick sitting with Ali just cracks me up.................she's looking right at the camera with wide open eyes. What a cutie!

There is a photo of my mom, my grandma, me, & Ali................4 generations of "Albrecht" women!!!!

A nice pic of the three of us together at my mom's house.

A pic of Ali "praying" for everyone to have a nice Easter.

and

A pic of Ali holding Nick's finger! Now I just need some pictures of her sweet baby toes & feet!!!

Hope you are all well & enjoy the photos!

-Jen