Adjusting... and waiting.

Well, Michael left about a week ago. This week hasn't been too bad, though. I've talked to the hubby twice since he left, and it's enough to get me by:). McKaleigh's been behaving pretty well, so that makes things much easier. There are, of course, moments when I want to scream, but she always makes up for it by doing something adorable like giving me hugs or kisses.

I've been pretty bored, lol. I have so many plans for things I'm going to start doing regularly, to make the time pass by more quickly. It stinks though, because most places are closed for the holidays, so I have to wait until after New Years to really start anything.

Maybe I'll finally start writing on here regularly to pass the time as well. Who reads this anyways? Haha... I can just make it my online public diary;).

We've recently taken on a fourth dog. We have our two mutts, Jack and Bella. Then my parents moved to Italy and we took on one of their three chihuahuas. Then my husband's parents moved to Korea, and after a complicated situation, we took on their 9 year old rottweiler. The chihuahua is a short term situation, because my brother would like to have him back as soon as possible. We could have the rottweiler for 3 years. It's fine, though, because they've had him almost all of his life and I'd hate to see him re-homed or put down. And he is such a good dog, very low maintenance, lol.

Anyways, not much else has really been going on... but I'm so ready for the holidays to be over with! Bring on 2010!

Seize the Moment

Sunday, for our wedding anniversary Michael let me buy the new Samsung Moment. It's amaaaaaaaazing! It uses the Google Android OS, and I am absolutely in love with it. I already have a ton of apps downloaded, hehe. This includes an app called Ringdroid, which lets me make my own ringtones out of songs I've uploaded to my phone. It is awesome. Right now all I have on my phone music-wise is The Beatles, hehe. My notifications sound is the horn section from Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. My default ringer is the end of the song "Getting Better." Michael's ringer is the beginning of "I Want You." Hehe, so as you can see I've been having a ton of fun on my new phone. I totally recommend for anyone who is considering it!

I don't think I've mentioned it on here, but I have new upstairs neighbors. They are horribly noisy and have driven me crazy from the moment they moved in. This made me finally get serious about finding an actual rental house, versus remaining in a downstairs apartment. We found a house, the deposit has been put down and we start moving Friday! I'm pretty excited to be in an actual house, with a decent sized yard, as opposed to our tiny sandbox of a yard. We're gaining both a bedroom and a bathroom, not to mention more kitchen counters, an actual garage, and a fireplace!

I'm so ready to get movin'!

The death of Myspace

So I spent the last hour or so copying and pasting all of my blogs from MySpace onto here, all the posts with ** at the end are from MySpace. I really don't use it anymore, but I had a lot of posts on my myspace blog from when I was pregnant with McKaleigh and the first year of her life. Now that I have all of them on here, I can delete my MySpace. I don't know anyone who has a MySpace that doesn't also have a Facebook, and I prefer Facebook, so MySpace is pretty much obsolete.

Anyways, I got to talk to Michael for the first time since Sunday. He has one last thing to do tonight, and then they start getting ready to leave tomorrow! I'm hoping he'll be home in the middle of next week, but we pretty much won't know until it happens, lol. Love the Army:). The last two weeks have gone by pretty quickly though. Let's hope the deployment goes by quickly, too! I'm sure it will. I have to have a positive outlook, can't let myself have a pity party, or who knows when it will stop! I know that when all is said and done, he'll be coming home to me, and that's all that matters. Keep us in your prayers, I'll keep you in mine:).

One week down.

Three more to go. It hasn't been too bad, although I was pretty grumpy yesterday, hehe. It's weird how it feels like it's been so much longer than a week, but also less than a week, at the same time. I always remind myself, at least I have a husband to miss:).

So I'm like totally obsessed with naming my future children, and I think I have the names for the next one picked out. If it's a boy it will be Torin Joseph Lee. I've had this picked out since I was pregnant with McKaleigh. McKaleigh is named after Michael, so Torin would be after me. McKaleigh's middle names are Elizabeth (my mom's middle name) and Anne (mother in law's middle name is Ann.) Joseph is Michael's stepfather's name, and Lee is my dad's middle name:). If we have another girl her name will be Mariela Stephanie Lynn. Mariella is after my maternal grandmother, Mary Louise -> Mary L. -> Mary Ella -> Mariela:). Stephanie is my mom's BFF's name, and Lynn is Michael's aunt's middle name. McKaleigh & Torin or McKaleigh & Mariela. Do you think they go together? I like them, obviously, or else I wouldn't have picked them!

There hasn't been too much going on around here. Just staying up too late and sleeping in too late. It's a never ending cycle, blah.I need to go grocery shopping, but I so don't want to! I've left the house once I think, and that was to take McKaleigh to her 1 year appointment, well other than checking mail.

My life is dull:P.

Right about now is when it gets hard.

So being a stay at home mom, the only thing that really differentiates the weekdays from the weekends is my husband being home. With him gone, I've treated today like any other weekday. We're getting closer to the end of the work day and it's starting to sink in that he's not coming home tonight.

Today is McKaleigh's first birthday. I bought a little "cake for two." I tried to make it a somewhat special day for her, but it's just so hard when there's no one around to celebrate with. I hope next year is better, but Michael will once again be gone, so I don't see how it will be.

I wish I could be stronger, but I'm not, and I'd rather get this all out then bottle it all up.

Tell me how I'm supposed to breath with no air?

For the first time the Jordin Sparks song, "No Air," doesn't seem so corny. Michael has left for his month of pre-deployment training, hours short of McKaleigh's first birthday.

I didn't think I would be so upset, because it's only a month, it's not like he's leaving for Iraq right now. But then I think about the fact that, when he gets back, those will be the last few weeks we have together before he does leave for Iraq. Thinking about how this is all happening so fast leaves a pit in my stomach and makes my heart ache a bit.

I have yet to cry, but my head hurts from not crying. You know that scene in "The Holiday" where Cameron Diaz tries to cry, but can't? Well, I cry more often than she did in that movie, but still, there are so many times when I want to cry but just can't! And I feel the same way she does, sometimes it hurts not to cry. There are certain occasions where crying just feels good, and I really wish I could cry right now. Maybe I'll watch last season's finale of Grey's Anatomy, that'll have me crying right away. Real life is where I have trouble letting go of the tears. I've always been that way.

Before I know it, this will all be over with and it will seem like it was just a not-so-pleasant dream. I know a lot of good things will come from the next year. It's just hard to remind myself of the positive, when all I want is my family in tact. McKaleigh's 3rd birthday will be her first birthday with her daddy present. That alone breaks my heart a little.

Better than yesterday...

McKaleigh's behavior is leaps and bounds better than it was yesterday, and I'm so glad. Normally she's very independent and loves playing alone for a good portion of the day. Yesterday she was having none of that! She wanted to be with me constantly, which makes it difficult to do anything, seeing as she's not as teeny tiny as she used to be and is so hard to carry around! Right now she is very happily playing in her jumperoo:).

Michael found out that he's leaving next Saturday instead of next Friday. So at least he'll get to be there for a little bit of McKaleigh's birthday! Well, that is, if they don't leave super early in the morning. We still have to go out and get her presents. I wanted to do it without her, so there's some element of surpise. Even though I doubt she'll get too excited anyways, haha. I'm pretty sure we're going to get her a Fisher Price Little People wagon full of blocks. Maybe we'll get her one other smaller item too. You hate to spend too much on toys at this age, since they outgrow things so quickly.

Michael just sent me a text and said the official list of names of those getting promoted just came out and he is on it! So there is our 100% confirmation that his promotion is happening on the 1st! Yay for raises:)!

One year old and Sgt all in one week;)

My baby girl will be one year old in ten days!!! How crazy!

My husband will be a Sergeant in eight days!!! Finally! Haha.

And nothing significant is going on with me.

I did get a new computer:) It's HP and I love it. It's nice to finally have a built in webcam and mic. Plus, I'm tired of sharing my hubby's computer. I downloaded Google Chrome, and I love that, too! Google really know what it's doing!

So, bad news, right before McKaleigh's birthday, Michael will be leaving for training. So sad! And then sometime near the end of this year he'll be leaving for a year long deployment. I'm really just ready to get it over with, though. It will be a nice opportunity to pay off some big bills. I'm just glad it's only a year. Think of the wives during the world wars! When their husbands left for war they didn't come back until it was over! So I am grateful that it is only one year.

McKaleigh has been a little terror today! She wants my laptop so badly and will not let me be! Normally she play very well by herself, but today every time I put her down she comes straight to me, to steal the computer! I tried to leave my hair down, and she just yanks on it, so hard! I grab her hand and tell her no, but she just thinks it's funny. Oy vey.

What's a girl to do?

I'm not good with titles...

I'm blogging again! Woohoo! Hehe...

So I just got gmail, and have started using all of the google programs, and I gotta say, love it! My computer is broken, so I've been using my hubby's and he has NO spreadsheet or document programs. GoogleDocs definitely comes in handy:).

I've done really well with working out! It's exciting to actually be in a routine of sorts. For so long I was making so many trips. I don't think I was ever home for an entire month, which made it so hard to get into a good routine! I can't believe my daughter is going to be one in a month! I should probably call in to set up her one year appointment soon.

The crib thing... so didn't work. I have her back in bed with me, and I'm pretty sure we're co-sleeping for the long haul, lol. Things went well for the first two days, then she realized she could stand up and scream her head off. We live in an apartment, lol, I was scared the MPs were gonna come knockin' on my door! Haha. She sounded like she was being tortured and I just couldn't handle it:(.

Hubby is gone, TDY (temporary duty) in Missouri. He'll be back soon, but it's been crappy having him gone. Can't wait for him to get back:). Just a small preview of what next year will be like.

Oh the times, they are a changing**

McKaleigh is going to be 11 months old in a few days! She eats all of the same foods we do, and it's so cute watching her eat, hehe. Right now she 's putting her blocks inside the train they go in. It's crazy how much she's grown and changed. She scooches all over the place and gets into everything! She loves to walk around while holding onto our hands, so I think that walking solo is right around the corner. She's also pretty into harassing the dogs, too, lol.

The next few months are going to be pretty crazy. To sum it up without giving out too much info, we're looking at leave, NTC, leave, and then deployment. It's gonna be hard, but we'll just have to enjoy the time we have together.

My parents have moved to Italy, so it totally sucks not hearing from them for awhile as they settle down. I can't wait to go visit them, although it probably won't be for another year or so.

Not much else to say right now. I'll probably post again in a couple days,

PS: Congrats to Jennifer Brosi who had a baby girl today:)!

More than 5 months?

Holy moly! I'm horrible at keeping up with this! I'm no blogger at all, haha. I do love writing, it just seems that I haven't had time lately, and I never have anything that I deem worthy to blog about.

One thing I would like to say is that my daughter will be one in little more than a month! Wow! The time goes by fast. I finally have her sleeping in her crib, which is exciting and gives me a lot more time to myself. Normally I just have to cuddle with her until I'm ready to go to bed, making it difficult to do anything. Now I can do whatever I please! Woohoo!

I have fallen off the train of doing most the things that make me feel good, and I'm slowly hopping back on. I've worked out two days in a row:). That's a good start for me, and I have a feeling I'll stick to it this time. I really do enjoy working out, I don't know why I ever stop working out to be honest. Also, I've totally gotten out of my money saving, penny pinching habits, and things are as tight as ever! I love payday, because it's always a chance to start over and make better decisions. I've done pretty well with the end of this paycheck. Now if only I could get my hubby as excited about getting out of debt as I am!

Well I'm going to cut this off here, because I'm ready for bed!

I'm feeling pretty good today.**

I don't know how to explain it, nothing big has made me feel this way, but just a bunch of little things have made this day great so far.

I woke up this morning to play with my beautiful, smiling baby. Brushed my teeth & made my bed.

Took McKaleigh out to eat her breakfast, which she ate like a champ:).

I weighed myself on the wii fit for the first time in almost a month and a half. I was pleasantly surprised that, in spite of totally slacking in the area of working out these last couple of weeks, I had only gained 1.5 pounds. I was expecting a much larger number than that, lol.

I ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast and then McKaleigh and I hung out for a little bit, until she fell asleep sitting in my lap (one of the cutest things ever.)

McKaleigh was in such a good mood that I figured I'd give working out a try. I sat her in her pink chair, with some toys, and she kept herself entertained throughout my entire workout! Not a single whine or tear. That never happens!

After my workout I started cooking an actual (not microwaveable) meal for Michael and myself. Normally neither of us are full after lunch, so it was nice to have a real meal for once.

Michael came home while I was feeding McKaleigh her veggies. He finished feeding her, so I could concentrate on our meal. What a sweet and helpful husband I have.

We've also decided that we are going to start taking advantage of all the amazing history we have in the area we live in. It was a hard decision, but this weekend we'll be going to the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Pooler. The second option was a Maritime Museum in Savannah. We figured we could go to that one at a later date. It's a much smaller museum, so we want to plan other things to do on the day we go.

I love that I have such an intelligent husband who enjoys things like history and museums. It's hard to find someone you can enjoy these things with:).

Well it's time for my munchkin's afternoon nap. I'm off to do more things around the house that will make me even happier. I hope everyone else is having a wonderful day, as well.

~Tara

Rantin' and ravin'**

...About my new phone! Hahaha... I really don't have a good blog topic. So I thought I would brag on my new phone, hehe.

So starting from the beginning... Michael had a very craptastic phone. Something was wrong with the charge port and his phone would not even hold a charge throughout ONE day! So we go to Sprint to replace his phone, and decide instead of just getting a replacement, let's upgrade his phone. And then, of course, instead of just upgrading his phone, let's upgrade mine too!

I had my phone for more than two years. It was the first phone that was actually MINE. Michael's phone was a year younger than mine, but it started out being crappier than mine, even when it was new, haha. Because we had our phones for that long, I was eligible for a $150 free upgrade and Michael was eligible for $75, so we figured why not.

We looked through all of the phones for quite some time. It's very annoying because the actual retail price is in very very very small print, and the price that is in the big numbers is for like all these rebates and yada yada yada. So it was hard to get a good idea of what the phones were going to cost. I was tempted to get the Instinct, but I'm a freak about fingerprints, and the fact that the whole phone is essentially a screen would mean that I'd constantly be cleaning off my phone. It is also more expensive, which would make me even more paranoid about something bad happening to the phone.

Neither of us wanted to get the typical flip or brick phone, so we decided we liked the side sliding ones. This brought us to the Rumor or the Rant. The price difference wasn't huge, about $20. The saleslady of course told us that the more expensive one, the Rant, was the better phone. I went back to compare the features, and indeed the Rant has EV-DO, which makes your internet better, and gives you things like the TV right on your phone.

We both got Rants, mine is Purple, his is Black. We changed our plan, almost doubling the cost , but now I have MTV and Comedy Central, plus a ton of other cool things, on my phone! We also now have unlimited texting, so if you have my number go ahead and text whenever you want .

Now you know the story of my new phone. I really only write these blogs from my own boredom. I like writing, even if it's random and unimportant. I applaud anyone who reads this whole thing, hahaha.

~Tara

I love the Shred:).**

So today was day two, level two of my Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred, twelve days overall! At the end of level one I was waist-25, hips-34 1/4, thigh-18 3/4. I was actually surprised to see any change at all, hehe, but the workout is awesome! I'm pretty much sore everyday, and it is totally worth it, because I am feeling great. I definitely cannot wait to be done with the strict 30 days I've put myself on, because I'm really excited to start running! I'd really like to run the Army ten miler this year. I figure six months should be enough to get prepared don't you think? I guess we'll see, lol.

Anyways, this weekend we went up to North Carolina to see Michael's family. It was fun, and with everyone spread out it's hard to get everyone together, but it happened. Pictures were taken on Saturday and the amazing photographer managed to get McKaleigh to smile in EVERY picture!!! She looked simply adorable in each picture, so we just had to decide which picture Michael and I looked best in.

Well it's bed time for me:) I'll write more later this week!

~Tara

Maybe it's time to blog again?

I keep up with my MySpace blog pretty well (blogs.myspace.com/michael_and_tara) I forget about this one though!

To update from my last blog, we've paid off about 7k in debt since I last wrote. A big chunk of that was from our tax refund, but nonetheless we're making progress! It's nice to have our income loosened up since we have fewer minimum payments now. We totally got rid of the 5k in random unsecured debt and the 2k in credit card debt! We're down to student loans and car.

I love feeling like we're getting ahead... then Michael has to go and break his computer, there goes 300 dollars. It's a desktop, not a laptop, and he did just buy things to rebuild a computer, instead of actually getting a new computer. At least he found a cheap way to do things.

His computer stuff just got in today, so of course he'll put it together tonight, when he FINALLY gets home. He's had to work til 9 every night so far this week and most days he doesn't get home til 7 anyways. Even though MOST units get released at 5. It's bad enough I have to be a single mom when he deploys, but I'm practically a single mom now. He's at work almost 12 hours everyday, because of PT in the morning. I'm sick of his unit. I love where we live, but because of them, I can't wait to leave! It felt good to let that out, lol... Not including PT, the Army is typically 9-5, with exceptions for certain things. But his unit has been going non-stop for the last couple months. Even on days where he's supposed to get off early or have the day off, he ends up needing to go in, or gets home later than what is assumed early. Blah di blah di blah.... I'm done now, haha.

I forgot this month!**

So I didn't post on the third to say that McKaleigh was another month older, lol. It had to end some time. Not much has changed though. She's getting closer and closer to sitting on her own, but she's not quite there yet. McKaleigh can almost reach the toys in her jumperoo, but still can't touch the floor when she's sitting in it! We put our Wii Fit box underneath her, lol. Michael can make her laugh, but I only really make her smile a lot, haha. She's at a fun age. Whenever she lays down now her feet go straight up so she can grab at them. Her hand eye coordination is getting really good, too. Yesterday my phone was sitting close to her and she picked it up and decided it was hers to chew on, or should I say "gum" on, no teeth yet.

Back to baby names, because I like them so much, lol... These are all of my possible scenarios, haha... I'm only planning on three, but four is a possibility.

Two girls:
McKaleigh Elizabeth Anne
Mariela Stephanie Lynn
Mallory Julianna Renee
4th: Melanie Patricia Jane or Torin Joseph Lee

One girl, one boy:
McKaleigh Elizabeth Anne
Mariela Stephanie Lynn
Torin Joseph Lee
4th: Tucker Adrian Ray or Mallory Julianna Renee

Two boys:
McKaleigh Elizabeth Anne
Torin Joseph Lee
Eli Sanford Ray
4th: Scarlett Julianna Renee or Schuyler Adrian Robert

I love them, but can still wait to have number two:) I just like making plans, haha!

Also, today is day one of my 30 Day Shred! It's a Jillian Michaels' workout, and I love Jillian, hehe. If the name sounds familiar but you're not quite sure why, think "Biggest Loser." I measured today and I actually wasn't too upset by the results, lol, but I wouldn't mind losing an inch all over. Right now I'm waist-25, hips-35, and thigh-19. You do three different levels, one every ten days. At the end of each level I'm going to post my measurements again. I'm excited, today's workout was a lot of fun! Intense, but fun:). Then after my 30 Day Shred, which with Sunday breaks will take me 35 days, I'm going to start a month of running. Then hopefully the month after that I'll be able to combine them both into my workout.

I love exercising, I don't know what I'll do when I (eventually) go back to work, lol, well that's still quite a ways away, haha.

~Tara

Together Again:)**

So after that long two week stint in the field we had barely a whole week together before he had to go out to the field again! It was only Thursday through Tuesday this time, but seriously, must they take our weekend??? Oh well, he gets a long weekend this weekend:), starting tomorrow!

McKaleigh laughed this past weekend, but it wasn't for mommy or daddy, it was for Grammy Jane. Apparently Michael and I are just big lame-os, who aren't that funny, hahaha. She hasn't laughed again since, but I was in the kitchen and my mom was changing her in the bedroom and I could hear it. So I do know that it happened, lol. It was a beautiful sound and I can't wait until the next time we can hear it.

So as many of you have probably already seen, I did some decorating in my living room. We went from totally blank, to very full and cozy. It all started with a clock, a frame, and a mirror. Then Michael went to the field and I went decorating crazy! The first day he was gone I printed out pictures at Wal-Mart and bought some pictures frames. Day number two I bought curtains and a picture frame to match the first one I bought. Day three was when my mama and sister were here, so I took advantage of her Chevy Equinox and bought a 6' bookcase and two pretty tall plants, plus curtain rods. We got these really cool, simple curtain rods that are similar to shower rods, it took like a minute to put each one up! So much easier than screws and nails!

Well day three was the end of my buying, but not the end of the adventure, oh no. The bookcase I bought was oak, and all of my furniture is cherry. Obviously not going to work, but for only thirty bucks, I was going to make it work. The other bookcase I wanted was more than a hundred dollars! Haha, so I just bought some paint and started the horrid experience of painting, at the end of day three. I'd say I did two coats of beige over everything, because I thought it'd be a good idea to paint it all before putting it together. The next day I put red on certain parts and more coats of beige on others and it was looking good. I flip over one piece so I can start assembling this thing. When I flip it back up there's a huge "tear" in the paint, like it got scratched and the paint just came right off like it wasn't even attached to the bookcase. I ended up tearing off all of the red paint and putting on a new coat that night! It was frustrating, lol. Then day five, Monday, I finally slide my perfect shelved into the perfectly painted beige inside of the bookcase and of course the paint gets all ripped up on the inside of the bookcase!!! I really did a pretty good job of minimizing that damage, but still, it was upsetting, lol.

Tuesday finally came, the day that Michael was supposed to be home. I spent quite a bit of time cleaning and vacuuming and putting that powder carpet freshener on the carpets, lol, so everything would be just right. He ended up not being released to come home until after midnight! I was not too happy, but I was happy that he was finally home!

Well, I've already written quite a bit, and can't think of too much else to say:). Check out the pics of the living room, if you haven't already, and even if you've already looked, look again and comment!

~Tara

I almost forgot!!!**

McKaleigh is four months old today!!! I can't believe how big she's getting, she's already outgrown sooo many things, haha. She's been grabbing things like crazy, she definitely loves pulling on hair... good thing I keep mine up most of the time, lol. McKaleigh has taken a liking to pulling out her binkie and sucking on different parts of it and then trying to figure out how to get it back in the right way. She seems sturdier and sturdier everyday. It's easier to set her in like the corner of the couch without her tipping over! We got her the jumperoo, which she likes sometimes, but only if she's in the mood to play in it. Other than that she hasn't done too many new things, just finetuning the things she's been doing. I'm sure these next few months will be full of firsts:).

So for baby naming I think I've picked two favorites. For a boy either Eli or Emerson Sanford Ray, and for a girl Scarlet Julianna Renee. Just a though.

So I'm in my own house for the first time in awhile. It's kind of nice, but I hate being here without Michael. When I'm out of the house, I forget he's in the field, lol. Well tonight and tomorrow night will be all, because then I'll be heading to North Carolina for a few days. And Sunday Michael will be home! Yay! I miss him:( ...but I suppose it's preparing us for deployment next year, yuck. But I knew what I was getting into when I married him, and I wouldn't trade it for the world:).

~Tara

It's been a good week:)**

So I'm sitting here, watching the UFC fight and decided to go ahead and blog... it's not the big fight yet, lol.

Anyways, my mama and I went dress shopping today and I found my dress for our Valentine's Ball! It's navy blue, down to the ground, kind of plain and flowy in the front, with a sweetheart neckline. The straps go straight over my shoulders and then come around to my side(up by my underarm), without crossing, but they're connected by a pretty silver ring. Then there's another silver ring down by my lower back, with most of the back very open. I love it! I've always gotten dresses that were really pretty in their material and colors, but were very plain in design, so I decided that something with an open, decorated back, was a must! I'll definitely take pictures, just not right now:).

I better keep working out, keep my back and arms looking nice, hehe... or get 'em even nicer, is probably my real goal, lol. I definitely want to kick up my workout regimen a notch or two... I kind of want to do Tae Kwan Do again, but who knows if I'll be able to find a "beginners" class for adults, lol, since I only had my green belt, and I don't even know where the certificate for that is. I think it's in one of my boxes. But, anyways, I want to get into a class of some sort, just to change things up. McKaleigh will be in solid in like two months, and when that happens it will be so much easier to leave her with people. I definitely need to find out if they have daycare at any of the gyms on post.

Well I don't have much else to write:) I'm sure I'll have more later. I love writing! Hehe...

~Tara

Just my thoughts.**

So I've been watching HGTV like non-stop since I've been at my parents' house! It really makes me want to express myself creatively, haha. I just feel this urge to decorate and renovate. Someday I will get to turn a house into my dreamhouse.

Actually when we finally decide to own a house, I really think we'll end up building. There are so many specific things that I want, that will be hard to find already put into one house. I hate ranch style houses, I MUST have at least two stories. My ideal house will have a finished basement, main floor, second floor, and a finished attic! I want a large two story foyer, with either a grand staircase or winding staircase.

I want at least one, if not two guest bedrooms, we both have big families, lol. I could easily put four bedrooms upstairs, plus one attic and one basement bedroom, and even a bedroom off the garage, lol... There are plenty of options. I need to get some graph paper so I can draw some floor plans, just for fun. I did that a few years ago, and honestly, that house pretty much rocks, but my tastes have changed... I no longer feel that an atrium is necessary, haha.

In other areas of brainstorming, I've decided to use a different method for picking baby names, so some are still up in the air. I'm pretty sure that I'll use those middle names in some combination, but now the first names are not for sure. Well Torin Joseph Lee is still definitely going to be our first son's name.

Instead of all boys T's and all girls M's we're going to have every kids' name start with a different letter, using Michael's and my initials, M, S, T, J, and E.

For a second boy I'm thinking Sanford(my mom's maiden name), Jefferson, Ewan, Schuyler, Strom(?), Jude(like Jude Law, yummy, hehe), Eli, Emerson, Emery. And Adrian Ray will almost definitely be a second boy's middle name.

For another girl I like Evelyn, Jacqueline, Janelle, Janine, Janie, Eastlyn, Eileen, Elaine, Eliza, Emelyn, Emelia, Evette, Joelliane, Juliet, Sadie, Scarlet, Seraphina, Sienna, Stella. I'm not sure what the middle name will be but it will be some combination of Stephanie, Julianna, Renee, and/or Lynn... well unless I choose one of the many names that end in the lynn sound, because that would sound weird, lol.

So which ones do you like... don't even tell me if you don't like one, haha!

Well McKaleigh's up:).

~Tara

101 things I love....**

I love...

1) Being me.

2) Being married to Michael.

3) Going to bed with him every night.

4) Waking up with him every morning.

5) Having long talks with him about nothing at all.

6) Knowing I'll spend the rest of my life with him.

7) Being McKaleigh's mommy.

8) At the end of a feeding when she looks up at me and smiles.

9) Her smile anytime, really.

10) Her coos and other babbles.

11) How cute her face is when she's grumpy.

12) How cute her face is all the time.

13) Watching her grow every day.

14) Being my parents' daughter.

15) And being my siblings' big sister.

16) Thinking back on all the times we've had, good and bad.

17) The house on 17th street, that'll always be home.

18) Remembering all the friends that have come and gone in my life.

19) Reminiscing with old friends.

20) Getting to know new friends better.

21) Rekindling friendships that were lost (I love you Leanne and Jen B.)

22) Looking at old pictures.

23) Taking new pictures.

24) Cuddling with my dogs.

25) The calm I feel when I pray.

26) Running on a nice day.

27) Being sore after a workout.

28) Stretching.

29) Yoga.

30) Pilates.

31) Denise Austin :).

32) Saving money.

33) Paying off debts.

34) Not acquiring new debts.

35) Dave Ramsey :).

36) My big TV.

37) Watching movies on it.

38) "Casablanca"

39) "Breakfast at Tiffany's"

40) "When Harry Met Sally"

41) My furniture.

42) Making my husband rearrange it ;).

43) Reading a good book.

44) "Great Expectations"

45) "The Great Gatsby"

46) The Gossip Girl Series

47) Anything written by Dave Ramsey.

48) "Shattering Glass"

49) Writing when I'm bored.

50) Writing when I need to sort something out.

51) Writing because I just want to write.

52) Getting picture comments, blog comments, any comments really.

53) Watching McKaleigh eat her hand, hehe.

54) A big ice cold glass of water, when I'm really thirsty.

55) Babycenter.com.

56) The girls I've gotten so close to through that site.

57) Realizing how much things have changed in the last few years.

58) How much better my life is than I thought it would be.

59) A really good PB & J.

60) A huge breakfast.

61) Trying new seafoods, for Michael's sake :).

62) Chili on a cold day, with a cinnamon bun.

63) Donuts on Sunday before or after church.

64) Being back at St. Paul and feeling at home.

65) Making Christmas decorations.

66) Playing in the snow.

67) Being with Aunts and Uncles that I rarely see anymore.

68) Catching up with cousins who had grown distant.

69) Giggling whenever anyone says sixty-nine.

70) "That's what she said" jokes.

71) Watching TV on the internet.

72) "The Office"

73) "Desperate Housewives"

74) "Lipstick Jungle"

75) "30 Rock"

76) "Grey's Anatomy"

77) Looking through someecards.com.

78) Sending bumper stickers to friends.

79) Watching sxephil on youtube.

80) Listening to the news.

81) Listening to "The Dave Ramsey Show."

82) Doing our budget.

83) Helping other people.

84) Giving people advice.

85) Watching Disney movies from when I was a kid.

86) Stand up comedy.

87) Jim Gaffigan.

88) Brian Regan.

89) Dane Cook.

90) When McKaleigh grabs onto my fingers.

91) When Michael tells me he loves me.

92) Telling Michael I love him.

93) When the house is clean.

94) When I feel like I've accomplished something

95) Thinking about all of the wonderful things in my life.

96) Realizing how lucky I am.

97) Knowing there's no where I'd rather be.

98) That I have the most amazing husband and daughter.

99) Just appreciating every minute we have together.

100) Growing together as a family

101) My life!

~Tara

A week from the end of January:) wow!**

So I can't believe the first month of 2009 is almost already over!!! A week from now January will be coming to an end. Not too much has been going on. If you read the last blog I need help, because Michael doesn't like the name Talon. What are some other T boy names... they can't have ever been on the top 100, lol, and they have to sound like real names, hehe. Maybe Topher? I don't know if Topher Adrian Ray sounds right, hmmm.

This month is going by so fast! And then before we know it next year will be here! It felt like 2008 went by really quickly, considering I felt like I was pregnant forever, haha... last January I was finding out that I was pregnant!!! How weird to think about!

I've recently changed my thinking from only wanting one kid to wanting three or more. It's craziness. Every so often I think, only one would be sooo much easier! Plus I could give McKaleigh all of my attention. But then I start thinking about have one or four more, hehe, and it doesn't sound too bad. I think three sounds good :) hehe.

So McKaleigh has seemed pretty bored lately, so I think we're going to go get her a jumperoo, hopefully she'll like it! I'm thinking she will.

Well there's not much else to say for now!

~Tara

I can’t believe she’s three months old already!**

Well it's the 3rd, which means McKaleigh is another month older! We're a quarter of the way through the first year, wow! She seems to change everyday, some days she looks more like me and some days she looks more like Michael. She's babbling and cooing more and more, and I love it! As of late McKaleigh has discovered her hands which is absolutely adorable! She holds them out in front of her face and plays with them constantly. I love watching her discover the world around her! Oh, she also has pretty much mastered head control, and is always trying to sit up, it's like she's doing a little sit up because she wants to be upright, she's pretty much awesome:).

On Christmas Eve we made our way up to North Carolina to be with Michael's family. It was a ton of fun, getting to meet a large portion of her daddy's family:). On the 27th we went to the Fayetteville airport and flew to Omaha(via Atlanta.) My friend Alissa and her boyfriend Casey met us at the airport and then we made our way to Applebee's to meet up with my parents and one of my dad's friends(pretty much like my aunt, lol) Michelle. After supper we drove to Fort Dodge, getting in pretty late.

The next two days were absolutely hectic. We ran around Fort Dodge to see all of my parents' families. It seemed like everytime McKaleigh woke up she was in a new place! It was fun though, I loved getting to see everybody, and I even saw all of my mom's siblings except for one! With a family with nine kids, that's pretty hard to manage. Tuesday we drove back to Fort Benning, where Michael met us to celebrate the New Year. We didn't really do anything special, but it was still a good time.

Now we are finally back in our own house and it sure does feel nice! I love the holidays, but I also love when everything goes back to normal:).
~Tara

PS: Forgot to mention that we got to take a five generation picture! With McKaleigh, me, my dad, his dad, and his dad's mom. She has four great-great grandparents!