Top Ten Tuesday ~ 2010 in Review

We didn't have any really wild or crazy things going on this year, which is really good. I would have to say that all-in-all, 2010 was a pretty solid year. A few moments (in no particular order) that stand out his year are:

1. Little Man's 1st Birthday ~ Of course this is on the list! My baby turned 1! That year went by so quickly. As a parent, I am always excited when my kids learn something new or meet a milestone, but it also signals that they are growing up and I am having a hard time with that. Especially with Little Man because I am pretty sure he is our last baby, and he is not really a baby anymore.

2.  Visiting Wisconsin to see family & friends ~ We usually make one trip to Wisconsin/Minnesota a year to see all our family and friends. We would love to go more often, but between work schedules and the cost to fly these days, one trip a year is about all we can manage. I love taking this trip. I have great in-laws and I love everyone. It is great to see the kids with their grandparents, great-grandparents, COUSINS!, and other relatives. It also really great to catch up in person with all of our friends because we miss them, too!

 3.  Little Man meeting his Great Grandpa that he is named after ~ On our most recent trip back to Wisconsin, Little Man got to meet his Great-Grandpa Lungo that he is named after. I am so glad we were able to do this. Grandpa Great is 91 and while I don't think he's going anywhere soon, I know that it was important to me and the rest of the family that they meet each other.

4.  Halloween - It was Little Man's 1st Halloween and it was the first Halloween that Peanut really "got" the whole dressing up and trick-or-treating. She had so much picking out her costume and dressing up that it made lugging a 20 + pound unhappily costumed baby around the neighborhood while she trick-or-treated.

5.  Dad's 60th Birthday ~ My daddy turned 60 in 2010 and we threw him a small surprise party. And he was actually surprised! It really means a lot to me to be close to my parents now that we have kids. I love that they get to spend so much time with their Nana & Papa. I wish they go to spend as much time with their other grandma and grandpa.

6.  Seeing my brother ~ Part of the surprise for my dad was my little brother coming in from NYC for the party. Talk a bout HUGE SURPRISE! My folks hadn't seen him since Spring 2009 when he came to visit. I was lucky enough to see him 2x this year - once on a quick trip to Seattle to see friends and he happen to be in town and then when he came home for the party. I was also lucky enough to see my lovely sister-in-law during my Seattle trip because she couldn't make for the party.

7.  My girls from Seattle coming to visit ~ I have a village in WA that I love and miss dearly. They are a fantastic group of women and I don't what I would with out them. One has move to STL and we all miss her, too. Anyway, these amazing girls drove out to Boise for a weekend to hang out and cheer me up because I get to feeling pretty lonely sometimes. Thanks ladies, it rocked!

8.   My in-laws coming to visit in January to meet Little Man ~ I love my in-laws and it is always great when they visit. But it is even better when they come to visit their new grandson. Because of him, we actually got them to come out 2 times which was great! They are amazing grandparents and I am so happy we got to see them more this year than we usually do.

9.  Our 5th Wedding Anniversary ~ It really isn't any crazy milestone (unless your married to me) but I can't believe it has already been 5 years since that amazing day. We celebrated by eating dinner like we do every night with each other and our 2 beautiful kids. Here's to many more.

10. Small, Happy Moments ~We were also thrilled to learn of friends getting engaged, friends finding out they are pregnant and having new babies, friends buying new houses and more! Good news should always be celebrated!





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Sweet Shot Tuesday

Way late on posting this today, but I have been behind in general since about August, so it really isn't anything new.

Finally going through all the pictures I took this month and came across a few from when we had snow. We bought this sled just in case we got some snow because we have 2 big slopes on either side of the house going into the back yard that are perfect for sledding. Peanut was so excited to try it out.

You can tell by the look on her face.

Linking up over at My 3 Boybarians for Sweet Shot Tuesday. Swing by, say hi and check out all the eye candy!

Wordless Wednesday ~ My Boys

2010 Holiday Card

I finally got around to getting our 2010 holiday cards ordered last week and now that they are in the mail, I can share them. They are super cute and a bit trendier than we normal go. I really like them. I had such had time choosing the final card, so I made hubby pick from the 12-16 cards I had picked and this is it:

Spot The Snowflakes Christmas Card

Shop Shutterfly for elegant custom Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

We had a bit of a challenge taking our own photo and getting everyone to look at the camera and smile at the same time, but they turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself.

It's Santa!!

The kiddos school had a great Christmas potluck last week and they invited all the parents and families. There was lots of good food, fun crafts and projects and Santa!

The Peanut was adamant that she wanted to sit on his lap and tell him what she wanted. Her teachers worked with all the kids for the few days prior, talking about who he was, and why he had a bears in hopes of having fewer meltdowns.

I was surprised how good she did! She waited her turn in line, sat on his lap and told him what she wanted. (Which by the way was a Barbie.)

I thought I was going to be testing my luck when I put Little Man on Santa's lap, but he actually did really good, too. He seemed really interested in his beard.

Overall, it was a good Santa experience and I am glad I got a couple pictures.

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Graco Direct Connect™ Digital Monitor Review

I can't tell you how excited I was when asked to review the new Graco direct connect™ digital monitor. Why you might ask? Well, I have used Graco products in the past knew I wouldn't be disappointed. If you remember, I talked way back when I was pregnant with Little Man about the monitors we had with Peanut and were going to use the same style for Little Man.

The kind folks at Graco were generous enough to send us a single household unit of the new direct connect™ digital monitor to try out in Little Man's room.

This monitor comes with several thoughtful details, including:

• “Talk to baby” intercom feature allows you to reassure baby remotely
• Sound, lights and exclusive vibration to see, hear and feel baby’s call
• Parent Unit features room temperature reading to ensure baby’s comfort
• Nightlight feature operated from child unit or remotely from parent unit
• Low battery alarm reminds you to charge the parent unit
• Out of range alarm ensures you won’t lose your connection to baby
• Battery back-up in child unit for added peace of mind
• Belt clip gives active parents wear-it-with-you convenience

Complete Household Coverage

• 2000 ft. range for complete household coverage
• Secure digital technology for optimal clarity, performance and privacy
• 900 MHZ frequency means no interference from phones and electronics
• Includes: 1 child unit, 1 parent unit, 2 a/c adapters, 1 instruction booklet

Click here for the interactive demo!

By far my favorite feature is the night light. I can turn it on while I am putting Little Man to bed and the turn it off when I am done. And, in the middle of the night, when he sleep hurls his pacifier out of the crib and wakes up screaming for it, I can remotely turn on the night light so it is on when I walk into his room to look for said hurled pacifier without turning on the hall or overhead light. And talk about clarity, just like the other Graco monitors we have, I can hear him breathing. It is crystal clear. Fantastic. I also love that the parent unit tells the room temp. The only thing I didn't like about it was that Graco only sent me one parent unit instead of 2 so Hubby and I could each take one! :)

If you are registering for yourself or looking for a shower gift, I would definitely put this monitor on the top of the list.


I was provided a Graco direct connect™ digital monitor to facilitate this review. No other compensation was received and the opinions expressed here are my own.
 

Wordless Wednesday ~ Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!, originally uploaded by The Lungos.

What a wild ride the last year has been! We love you and are so lucky to be your mama and dada!

Sweet Shot Tuesday (Again) ~ One Year Ago

I can't let this day pass without recognizing what this day was for me one year ago.

38w 4d, originally uploaded by The Lungos.

This was me one year ago,  on my last day of work the day before my schedule c-section. I was huge, uncomfortable and so excited. I was so ready to meet my baby boy.

I am linking this picture up for Sweet Shot Tuesday as well. I know I already did one for today, but I am doing this one, too.

Sweet Shot Tuesday

Little Man LOVES his Sissy. He follows her around the house always wanting to do what she is doing. Most of the time she is more than willing to play with him and share.

But not this time. She was in her own little world playing with her tractor and duckies and she didn't want brother to mess it up.

As usual, I am linking for Sweet Shot Tuesday. Stop by and check out all the other great pictures!



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Some Turkey Day Food

So, I meant to post this sooner, but right after Thanksgiving I had to head to the great white north of North Dakota for week of work. (More on that later.)

Anyway, we had Thanksgiving at our house this year and my folks came over. If you read this blog at all, you know that Hubby does most the cooking in this house, except for Thanksgiving. His only food duties to Thanksgiving are the 2 most important - the turkey and the cherry pie. The rest is up to me and I love the challenge!

I made my usual sourdough pear cranberry stuffing with mushrooms. Sauteing veggies and bread and fruit:

I also made candied yams, garlic mashed potatoes and pear-rum gravy but I was too busy cooking to remember a picture. They turned out awesome ~ you can take my word for it.

As for Hubby's turkey - well I think it was the best one yet! We normally buy a free range turkey from the PCC or Co-Op because we have found that they just taste better. But this year, Hubby found a local farm that raises the the turkey chicks and then lets them range in an orchard where they eat fallen fruit, melons and whatever else wild turkeys eat. They only raise them for Thanksgiving and you can order them online and pick them up fresh - no frozen turkey here. So, Hubby decided to try one. He went online and reserved their smallest bird - 16 pounds.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, Hubby happened to be out near the farm and decided to call an see if he could get our turkey that he was going to pick up Tuesday. Well, he couldn't because they hadn't killed it yet! Now that's fresh! He went out and picked it up as scheduled and returned home with a 20.6 pound turkey because that was the smallest they had. But he only had to pay for the 16 pounds he reserved.

It was the prettiest turkey I have ever seen. It was plump and healthy looking and the butcher did an amazing job. Hubby made his usual herb brine and the turkey barely fit in the bucket! He let it sit over night and cooked it per the farms instructions and this was the result:

It came out of the oven as pretty as a picture. (see above) and tasted even better than it looked. It honestly is the best turkey we have had! I don't have the words to tell you how awesome it was.

Equally as awsome and tasty was dessert. Hubby made his famous (in our family) cherry pie. It really is the best cherry pie and by far my favorite of all pie types.

I hope all of you had great Thanksgivings with fabulous food! I will be dieting until Christmas Eve when Hubby cooks my birthday dinner (menu to be determined) and and Christmas when my mom cooks Christmas dinner!