Farmer's Market

This week started out pretty well. Steven and I met with a realtor to get the house-search rolling. We specifically asked for Yolanda, she helped Kristen find her home and, since I tagged along on many house viewings with Kris and Yolanda, I am already comfortable her. After our meeting we grabbed a bite to eat and went grocery shopping. I love when Kris is working, we always go through her check-out line. Even a minute of conversation with her is so recharging :)

Avery's new back pack

The next morning was a tough one, I was completely unable to fall asleep the night before. Steven was having a slow day at work so I was able to nap when Avery napped. I woke up feeling much better! Steven had class that night so after I put Avery to bed I cleaned and booked our tickets to California! My mom, dad, brother, Avery, and I will all be visiting California in October - Steven is staying behind because the week after our trip is his big annual hunting trip. My mom, Avery, and I are flying to California; Quinn and my dad are flying to Nevada, renting a car, and driving the rest of the trip. I am SO excited!!! I'm really going to miss Steven though. I'll be gone for a week and then a few days after I get back he leaves for a week.

Week 5

April showers? May showers? Nope, June showers. Wednesday was cool and rainy, it was such a nice change from the dry heat. Avery slept until 10 am that day! I thank the comfortable temperature and calming sound of the rain. Avery has recently fallen in love with taking walks. That day she took my hand and walked me to the front door. She grabbed the door knob and tried to open it, when she realized she couldn't she simply pointed to the door and said 'walk'. We went on a walk - Avery chased several neighborhood cats and meowed at them. We played on the swings for a bit before she saw a dog and chased after him while barking lol. Avery loves making animal sounds: dog, cat, monkey, cow, chicken, and horse are her favorites. She also does something we call 'monster baby' where she talks but in a super low growl voice - she cracks me up!

Nudity, Avery is obsessed with it. She spent most of Thursday running around the house semi-naked, I'm just thankfully she didn't have any accidents on my floor. My mom came over after work to have dinner with us :) My dad had left earlier that day to go see his brother, mother, and grandmother. My mom brought coffee and dinner which was very thoughtful considering she had a late lunch and didn't eat a bite of what she brought over.

New life jacket for camping

Steven had school that night and my mom snuck out shortly after he did. Avery has a melt down every time Steven or my mom leaves so we got smart and put her in the bath first. I was feeling very house wife-ish so I did 2 loads of dishes, a load of laundry, scrubbed the counters and stove, vacuumed, tidied the house and cleaned the bathroom - definitely a once in a blue moon event. I managed to do all of that while Avery was still awake, she decided to wait up for Steven instead of going to bed - he didn't get home until 10:15 pm!

Friday was date night! Avery had a slumber party at Mimi's house (my mother), she loves it there! Since my dad is out of town its nice for her and Avery to have some one on one time. Steven and I went out for dinner before meeting Quinn and Ashley at the movie theater. The four of us saw The Purge, it was a good movie but definitely could have been better. When Steven and I got home I realized I had no contact solution. I ventured out of the house wearing my glasses which is a rare event. Luckily the gas station was open at that time of night and had a small travel bottle of solution.

The next morning Steven and I woke up nice and late. Steven had fallen asleep on the couch the night before watching something on Netflix so I had the entire bed to myself! We went downtown for brunch but the wait was over an hour, Steven put our name on the waiting list. We ventured around the farmer's market to kill time. I haven't been there since I was pregnant with Avery. I remember accidentally walking when the sign said not to walk (I blame pregnancy brain) and then absolutely freaking out on a woman when she honked at me - oh pregnancy hormones. Anyhow, Steven was determined to find this homemade jelly that he loves and we went to every booth looking for it. We eventually found the jelly though and got a jar :)

After brunch we went to my mom's house. My mom, Avery and I went to Alberston's to get a tri-tip roast for dinner, Quinn was working the BBQ stand so we bothered him for a bit. Afterwards we cruised around a few neighborhoods looking for garage sales and drooling over homes that I could never afford. My mom's master plan is that Steven and I buy a small starter home and when our family grows we trade houses with my parents. They'll be empty-nesters and need a smaller home and we'll be a growing family that needs the extra bedrooms.

Dinner was fantastic, as usual. Quinn got stuck at work so he didn't get to partake in family dinner with us. We left after dinner so that Steven could pick up a tent he bought from a guy off of craigslist. We have a tent but are upgrading to something larger than can fit two adults as well as a pack n play. The man we bought the tent from happened to live in the same neighborhood as a long time family friend of Steven's. We didn't have their number so we decided to take a chance and stop by unexpectedly, thankfully they were home and happy to see us. Avery loved running around their big open backyard, I'm hoping we can give her that soon.

We decided not to go to Meridian for dinner on Sunday since we had gone out there the day prior, instead we hung out with Steven's father. Avery happily chased after the dogs and ran around the back yard. Steven grabbed a few of his camping items and fishing stuff for our trip. It was a very laid back Sunday afternoon, just we needed :)

Avery Quinn - 17 months

Father's Day 2013

I had my follow-up appointment this week. The doctor said my labs were perfect. I'm no longer anemic, my thyroid is still fine, and my kidneys looks spectacular - but still no reason for the itching. Avery was a perfect angel during my appointment which was really such a relief.

Keeping busy at the doctor

My mom stopped by after work to visit Avery :) It was a short visit so after she left we went to the pool. Avery wasn't really in a swimming mood but I got to splash around for 15 minutes before we went home. Steven had school that night so I enjoyed some alone time after Avery went to bed.

Avery attacking Mimi

Week 4 of hair and beard growth

Wednesday was absolutely gorgeous! Avery and I walked to the gas station for cold drinks. We got stuck in line behind two women who weren't wearing shoes, it was gross, they need a no shirt/no shoes/no service policy. That evening we went to Meridian for dinner with my parents. Steven and Quinn didn't get to see each other during regular Sunday dinner because Quinn got a position as a checker - they were having brother-in-law withdrawls. We found out that my grammy (my dad's mother) will be coming to Idaho at the end of June - I am SO excited! I haven't seen her in 3 years since I flew to California in 2010 so I could drive with my grammy and great grammy to Idaho for Quinn's high school graduation.

Trying to drink dog water

Avery has been a major klutz lately. In the past weeks she's smashed her fingers with the toilet seat, bounced off our bed and hit the side table, smacked her head on everything (I swear its a table magnet), fell over a push toy and split her gum (which was really freaky because there was so much blood!!). She's covered in cuts and bruises.

On Thursday, Avery took a very long nap which was great considering she got to bed late. When it came time to give her a bath the night before the water was a gross brown color. The maintenance guy informed us that they flushed the pipes so we had to keep running the water until it was no longer disgusting. We were supposed to meet Kristen and the boys at the park but a few minutes before Avery woke up from her nap Conner went down for his lol. I took Avery to Ann Morrison but it started raining almost immediately after getting there. Instead we went to Carter's to shop :D I found 5 cute items on the clearance rack and only paid $12 for all of them. After work Steven took Avery with him to the bank to deposit his first check from his new job!

Peanut butter jelly time

TGIF! Friday was amazing. My mom asked if Avery could spend the night so of course I agreed. Steven and I dropped her off after work then headed out to Caldwell to hang out with friends - their son also happened to be sleeping over at grandma's so we had a toddler-free evening!! The men grilled while Sarah and I had girl talk. Dinner was fabulous, we watched funny YouTube videos, and the guys played video games. Steven and I go on double dates but actually having a double date with another married couple who are also parents is refreshing, they GET you in a way that childless friend just can't. 

Helping daddy get through the workday 

Saturday was full of adventure. Steven got up bright and early to ride ATVs with his dad for Father's day. I went to Meridian to pick up my mom and Avery (who had spent the night with her Mimi) so we could check out garage sales. The plan was to find a gently used BBQ for Steven but no one was selling one. We ended up going to Walmart to buy a new BBQ but I found a nice one for under $100, an employee assembled it for free. My dad met us for lunch so we could pick up the BBQ after we ate. Afterwards my dad and I went to Albertson's for dinner supplies.

Steven was supposed to be gone all day but called to say he was heading home early. My original plan of having the BBQ all set up on te patio to surprise him kind of fell through at that point. When I got home I asked Steven to help me carry groceries inside, when he opened the trunk he found a BBQ instead :) That evening we had teriyaki tri tip, Hawaiian sweet rolls, carrots, mash potatoes and gravy, and sparkling cider. It was a great pre-Father's day.

Father's day 2013! I let Steven sleep in until 11, when he woke up we went out for breakfast. The three of us went to Cabelas afterwards to get Avery an infant life jacket, she screamed bloody murder when we put her in it to make sure it fit lol. She better get used to it because I will not let her near Lake Cascade without wearing it. We also hit up Babies R Us and Payless in search of water shoes for Avery. Our kid is so spoiled, she ended up getting water shoes, a life vest, baby back pack, mini ATV, and new sandals!!

Avery trying bacon - she wasn't a fan

Playing around at the toy store

We went to my parents' house for dinner that evening. Mom and I made tortellini alfredo with broccoli and shrimp for the men-folk. Okay, you got me. I didn't cook a damn thing, I rinsed the shrimp off and my mom did all the cooking lol. Avery played in the kiddie pool in the back yard and had uncle Quinn push her around on her ATV. Steven and I set up our tent in the driveway to let it air out, it hasn't been used in years. I'm getting really excited for our 4th of July camping trip :)

Avery Quinn - 17 months

Swimming

The beginning of June was also the beginning of a new job for Steven. He started his work-from-home job on Monday the 3rd :) He really seems to enjoy this job. Avery has always been stand-offish when it comes to Steven but since he started working from home she's become a full blown daddy's girl. Its nice having him home with us.

Week 3

On Wednesday, Avery and I went to Kristen's house. Kris watched Avery for me while I went to the doctor and had blood drawn. The lab took 3 vials of blood and I didn't do as well as I had hoped. I nearly passed out and continually dry heaved so they made me hang out in the office for a while. I've been suffering from extremely itchy palms for about a month, its mostly just bothersome but lately it has been waking me up at night. Itchy palms can be an early sign of renal failure so the labs were to rule that out and check for a thyroid problem. It was a gorgeous day so when I got back to Kristen's house we played in the backyard. Kris filled up the kiddie pool for the little ones :) They splashed around while us mommas tried to catch some rays.

The next day I took Avery to the big pool, she LOVED it! Avery was trying to swim and even jumping off the side of the pool into the water, she wasn't scared at all. I was surprised to see so many unsupervised children at the pool though considering we don't have a life guard. I was equally surprised to find that so many pre-teen girls had little string bikinis since our apartment complex is completely surrounded by child predators and sex offenders.

(Oh, side story. Two teens were robbed at knife point by three men at our community pool!! Sex offenders, armed robbers, and drug dealers, oh my. Luckily we meet with a realtor later this month and will hopefully have found a nice house by the time our lease is up. http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/06/05/2603974/police-search-for-weekend-robbery.html  )

After the pool, Steven left to run a few errands while I made dinner. He had his first real night of class (I'm not sure if i mentioned this before but Steven is a college student now yay!) Steven was in class from 7 pm - 930 pm. My doctor's office called that evening and asked me to come into the clinic, the doctor said she would see me during her lunch hour.

Friday was just awful! Steven was craving donuts so he sent Avery and I to the store. We bought the donuts then got in line for Starbucks. Avery normally stays close to me while in line but on Friday she tried to run out of the store, three more people got in line while I grabbed Avery :/ She then proceeded to throw the biggest fit in front of everyone because I'm the meanest mommy ever and wouldn't let her run into traffic. I assumed Avery would be in a better mood after a nap but I was wrong. We went to Shopko to get a floatie for the pool, Avery was awful again. There was only one checkout line open. I only had one item but of course got stuck behind a woman with at least 20 things. After the woman had paid she and the cashier had a 5 minute conversation about the store's reward card, all while my toddler threw a tantrum and there were 5 other customers waiting in line. When the cashier finally rang me up she said that she needed to see ID because I hadn't signed my debit card. I was not about to drag my screaming kid out to the car to get ID for a $2 item. I flat out told the cashier 'NO' and after a few seconds of us silently staring at each other she decided she no longer needed to see my ID.

After work the three of us went to the pool with Avery's new floatie, she absolutely hated it and screamed bloody murder. Avery was still so crabby that we left the pool and went over to my parents' house instead. My parents always cheer her up.

This week Steven got to spend the weekend on the actual weekend :) We drove around checking out garage sales and hung out with his grandma and grandpa afterwards. The next day we went to my mom and dad's house for dinner. My dad bought Avery a little kiddie pool which she had a blast playing in :) It was a great weekend.

Avery Quinn - 17 months

Short post this week

I found a gun :) Its small enough for my oddly small hands and easily concealable yet packs a punch. I put it on layaway for the time being but stupidly registered with my current address instead of the address on my license, so guess who gets to go get a new license :/ I like the one I have now, I got it the day that Steven and I were married, I don't think I can replicate that kind of smile. Later that afternoon I went to the park with my friend Ari and her three kids. Avery had a blast and was thoroughly worn out.

Steven's beard (and hair) progress - week 2

Steven's younger sister graduated from high school on Friday May 31st. My mom came over to our house after work to watch Avery so Steven and I could attend the graduation. My mom spoils us. Not only was she baby sitting Avery but she also bought me coffee, dinner for all of us, snacks for Avery and several boxes of cereal that were on sale :) The graduation ceremony was nearly unbearable, this year Borah high school had 450 kids graduating! Steven and I tapped into our immature side and giggled during silly names. After the ceremony we went to the Ram for dinner (well just dessert for us) with Steven's parents and grandparents.

Avery playing with Mimi

And enjoying an english muffin

Saturday was Steven's last day at Goldy's! He had to work the night shift which was 5 pm - 2 am but it worked out because I got free dinner out of it :) I haven't had a Steven-less night since he was pulling 24 hour shifts in Korea, it kind of sucked. We have a system - I bathe Avery and Steven puts her to bed. I'm excited for Steven to start his new job :) The only thing that will get in the way of our night time routine will be my trip to California and his week long hunting trip.

Avery Quinn - 16 months

Memorial Day

I couldn't sleep on Tuesday night so I made myself a very long to-do list, although I was exhausted I managed to get it all done! One thing on my list was to NOT have coffee on Wednesday. I don't think I drink too much coffee but the numbers don't lie - I spend roughly $1,500 + a year in coffee. When I was working at the bank I spent much much more a year on coffee but I had disposable income at that time. In an attempt to save some money I plan to only have coffee every other day and eventually work my way down to once a week. Wednesday was my first day of no coffee in a very long time, it was awful! I didn't realize how reliant on coffee I was - I was exhausted all day! I tried to keep myself busy to stave off the cravings. I took Avery to the kids' room of our community club house, she had fun playing with 'new' toys and they have a wall mounted flat screen so I could catch up on day time TV since we only have Netflix. When Avery was done playing I faxed off some paperwork to Steven's college so he can start his classes this summer :) I also went to the bank which was tough since I had to drive by a Starbucks, I wanted coffee so badly! That evening I went to my Total Tone class at the gym - I was still so sore from the personal trainer but it was a great workout.

Week 1

My mom picked up Avery after work on Thursday, she asked if they could have a sleepover :) Steven and I had nothing planned so we went to get shaved ice. Their card machine was down and I had deposited all of our cash into the bank the day before - long story short, we didn't get any shaved ice :/ We went home, ate dinner, and watched a movie before Steven went to bed. Insomnia kept me up for an additional 3 hours.
I had planned to sleep in nice and late but Yvette woke me up with a phone call - she wanted to see Avery. I turned off my alarm to get up since I was already awake but ended up falling asleep again and waking up later than I wanted. I quickly went through Avery's old clothes (keeping the really cute ones in case we have another girl in the future) and boxed them up for the consignment store. My mom and I had planned to go to lunch but by the time I got to her house Avery was napping, we were starving! When Avery woke up we went to Red Robin's, Quinn met us there and we enjoyed a mellow lunch.

The four of us went to AT&T after lunch to help Quinn upgrade his phone, in the process I shaved my phone bill by $16 a month :) Quinn went home while my mom and I went to Kidz Again, the children's consignment store. I had only been in there once with my friend Ari but it was years ago. The store is actually very nice and has a ton of stuff!! I tried very hard not to buy everything in sight. I did end up buying a $4 dress for Avery to wear at my grandparents' 50th anniversary/vow renewal ceremony. We dropped off the baby clothes and went back to my mom's house. I gathered Avery's belongings and went over to Kristen's house for a little play date. The kids played outside on the jungle gym, it was a blast!

Saturday started out a little rocky. I had been up until nearly 3 am the night before and Avery woke up at 6 am. I felt absolutely horrible and asked Steven to stay home but he had to work. A few hours later I put Avery down for a nap and went back to bed myself. Steven woke me up 3 hours later, he had come home while I was sleeping :) He made me lunch and entertained Avery, I was finally starting to feel better. We went to Meridian so I could pick up the money I made at the children's consignment store.

Afterwards we went to my parents' house, I dropped off Steven and picked up my parents. Steven and Quinn hung out at the house while my parents, Avery, and I went to a graduation BBQ. Avery was the life of the party and made friends with everyone. She played in a dog house and splashed around in the dog's water bowl. We had a great time.

My trainer at the gym suggested that I exercise at least 6 times a week to reach my fitness goal. On the nights that I don't have a workout class I take walks around the neighborhood instead. Saturday night I had no class so I took my walk as usual, about halfway through my walk I realized that a car was following me very slowly. The guy pulled over and tried to lure me into his car. I had a few choice words for him and he sped off. I was worried he would follow me home so I quickly got back onto the main road and went into the Jacksons food store by our house. I told the clerks that some guy was following me and described the guy to them. I had used the restroom at the Jacksons during my walk and the creepy guy had been in line to check out, I'm assuming he followed me from there. The clerks offered to let me stay inside the food store for as long as I wanted so I waited about 5 minutes before taking the main road home instead of my normal route. I kept looking over my shoulder during the walk home and had my hand on my knife the entire time. I can't wait to move back to Meridian. I looked up guns and concealed weapons classes when I got home.

My parents celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary on Sunday. Quinn, Ashley, Steven and I had planned to make them dinner since it was also Sunday which is family dinner night. On the menu was rib eye steaks, corn on the cob, mashed garlic red potatoes, and shrimp. It was one of the most amazing dinners I've had. The steak was cooked to perfections, the potatoes were creamy, the corn was sweet, and the shrimp were HUGE and tasted like mini lobsters. Everyone ate until they were in pain because the food was so delicious.

After dinner I took Avery outside to run around, the new neighbors were outside with their 12 month old son. They offered to show us the house they were renting, I had been in there plenty of times since I used to baby sit for a family that lived there years ago. I was curious to see the house though because the previous tenants left the home in deplorable condition - I guess 4 dogs, several cats, and 6 kids in a small 4 bedroom home wasn't a good combination. The house was disgusting! I barely made it 2 feet into the house before choking on the smell of dog piss - every inch of the carpet had urine stains. The carpet desperately needed to be ripped up and replaced. The new tenants said that the urine had soaked through the carpet, padding, and into the floor boards!! The new tenants currently have all of their furniture in the garage because the house is too disgusting. The company renting out the house replaced a small area of carpet and replaced the light bulbs (since the old tenants stole them all!!) and replaced all the window screens that were shredded by the dogs. The living room, upstairs, and master bedroom carpets weren't replaced so the new tenants were sleeping in the tiny front office and using lawn chairs as furniture. The poor new tenants had lived out of state when they agreed to rent the home based off of pictures taken in 2005 when the house was built. I feel awful for them, they have been trying to get a hold of the owner (who also lives out of state) but the rental company won't release any of his information. I really hope it works out for them because they are so nice - plus it would be great to have a friend Avery's age living next door to my parents. 

Monday was Memorial day and Steven's usual day off. I found that many people do not know the difference between Memorial day and Veteran's day - I found that even more people assume its national 'have a BBQ day'. Steven lost a friend 2 months ago, he went to AIT with him and he was also stationed in Korea with us. He was only 21 and lost his life when his Black Hawk went down just outside of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Its so sad.

Steven took the Durango to get its oil changed and came home with a cool Starbucks tumbler and a frappuchino for me :) That afternoon Steven took Avery to his grandparents' house for dinner which allowed me to stay home and enjoy some alone time - a rare treat. I did several loads of laundry which probably doesn't sound relaxing but it excellent considering I didn't have a toddler unfolding everything the second I fold it.

On Tuesday Steven woke me up to say that he and Avery were going to breakfast with his mom and grandparents, I went to the gym while they were gone. I hadn't gone on my nightly walk since the creeper incident so the workout was desperately needed. I like going to the gym during the day when there are less people but its usually impossible since Avery freaks out every time I put her in the gym day care. After my workout I went home, showered, and (mostly) got ready before Steven and Avery returned. We went to Cabelas to see if they had a gun for me and then went to my dad's house so he could train Steven for the new job. We had dinner with my parents and Ashley before heading to Hooters for a mini skydive meet up. We were only able to socialize for 20 minutes before leaving to make sure Avery got to bed on time.

Avery Quinn - 16 months