I am Thankful For...

What a week at the Tracy's!

We really broke in the new home with these fabulous guests.  We hosted my parents, my sister and fam and brother and fam this year for Thanksgiving. If you can't tell from the photo, that's 13 people, 16 total! And I would do it all over again :)

We were only missing my brother Brandon and his little fam, and then we would have had the whole clan of Furnell's!

 

Here we all are at the end of the day, bellies and hearts full.

I am so grateful for my family, near and far. They truly are the greatest blessing in my life. 

Now if I could only get Norah to go back to entertaining herself, sigh...

I will call her, Princess Tiger Lilly

 

Each  year our church has a congregation Halloween party. All the kids dress up and we "ooooh and aaaaah" over the cute babies, laugh at the funny costumes, congratulate the inventive ones and silently mock the "what were you thinking" ones. Naturally, Norah was honestly the cutest one there. Everyone loved our little Indian.

 

However, the night did not go how I had in mind.

Our little Indian was pulling on her necklace, tutu, feathers...really anything touching her. Daniel captured the perfect photo to sum up our (my) evening.

Me: I made this damn costume and you're gonna wear it whether you like it or not

Norah: Nooo, No, No, No, NOOOOOO

 

Luckily as time went on, we let the little Indian run wild and that seemed to please her. Sometimes we just need to learn to let it go. I'm still learning...

 

By the way, I miss homemade costumes. I don't think I ever had a store bought costume growing up and hopefully, I can help my kids be imaginative with their costumes through the years. Because really, look how cute this is (and simple).

 

There you have it folks.

End of the night, all smiles. Well... one smile and a cookie. Good enough :)

 

 

Fall has arrived

 

Are those leaves changing colors???

I THINK SO!

 

I must say Fall is a beautiful time in West Michigan!

I love the changing of the leaves, pumpkins, apple cider, light sweatshirts, boots, layers, return of my TV shows...it's a glorious time!

 

And Norah thinks so too.

Here we are on a gorgeous Autumn afternoon, setting out our pumpkins we just bought out of a wagon off the side of the rode, $2/pumpkin. That's the way to go folks! 

 

I do, however, fear what comes after Fall.

The darkest, deepest, saddest despair you will ever know...

 

Chi Town 2013

Usually when Dan travels it's to far away lands where wives and babies are not aloud. But last week he had a mini conference Thursday and Friday and you bet your blue bottom dollar Norah and I crashed the party, Chicago style!

Norah and I got downtown Thursday night just in time for dinner with Dan and his co-workers. Of course the 5 star, fancy-smancy italian restaurant they chose wasn't best suited for a cranky, hungry baby so after waiting an hour (just to get our food) we kindly took ours to go and scarfed it down in the hotel room:)

Friday morning Dan headed off to the rest of his conference, while Norah and I cruised Michigan Ave! The weather resembled a delightful crisp fall air! After window shopping all our favorite stores (Norah was particularly fond of an american girl biddy baby doll), it was back to the hotel for naps! 

Dan was finished with meetings mid-day Friday so we continued shopping and decided to take in the view from the Hancock Building. My ears were popping the entire 42 second elevator ride to the 96th floor(I think that's right).

WHAT A VIEW!!!

 A lot of our time was spent deciding on what food we were going to eat! Friday night it was Chicago deep dish pizza. Fabulous! Saturday morning was chocolate croissants and salted caramel hot chocolate. Is your mouth watering yet? It should be.

It was a fun weekend getaway and we wished Daddy Dan traveled domestically more often so we could tag along and take advantage of the free room service :)

We got home Saturday night, just in time for bed. Look who got brand new Snow White jammies from the Disney Store?!?!

We are already  planning another weekend in Chi Town! We would love to go to Shedd Aquarium, the Zoo, Navy Pier, all the other fun stuff we passed on this trip! Until next time...:) 

Who says you need to be 13 to get your ears pierced?

I knew long before I had Norah that if I ever have a girl I wanted to get her ears pierced as a baby. And that's just what I did! I was visiting home in Missouri (Dan gone again) and me, Grandma and Grandpa took the little lady in for this fun milestone.

I was scared, nervous and excited all at the same time.  All the while, I knew Norah had no idea what was coming. But I must say, she did MUCH better than I even expected. She only cried for about 3 seconds.

Someone give that kid a sucker!

Poor little baby whimpered and sucked on her sucker and then 2 or 3 more suckers after that. But she has been a trooper and she looks adorable!!!

Ocean Voyage

I found this little beaut on the corner waiting for the trash (it had drawers in it, I had already taken them out). I made Dan haul it off to our garage while it sat for...I'm too embarrassed to say. Let's just say a very long time. Our conversations went something like this:

Daniel: "When are you going to do something with that piece of junk?

Me: "I can't decide what color to paint it, or where to put it."

Daniel: "If you don't do something with that crap, I"m throwing it out.

Me: "If you throw it out, don't bother coming back!!!"

You get it.

I waited until my parents said they would like to come visit over Labor Day weekend. If you come stay with the Tracy's, you're gonna work for it! SCORE!

Mom and Dan chipped off the veneer, it was then sanded, painted and then glazed with an antique finish (I choose not to publish the long, frustrating bit on how we had to buy new trim for the bottom. It's happier this way lol).

The color was tricky! But Ocean Voyage won out over close contenders, like Sea Song and Mermaid Tail ;)

And here she is!!! Isn't she beautiful!? I love her, I love her, I love her! 

I had lots of help, but now that I've been through the process once, I can't see how I will ever pay full price for a piece of furniture again! Ok, that's not true. But I will definitely be keeping my eye out for hidden treasures like this one! 

Mini Me and Gossip Girl

It's been 6 nights and 7 days.

Just me and this little lady.

 

Daniel's been away on business and to tell you the truth I was t.e.r.r.i.f.i.e.d to be alone all week. It seems like most days when 6 o'clock strikes I have a whinny kid clinging to my leg, I'm trying to fix dinner, I'm sending death threats via text to Dan tell him he better walk through that door in 10 seconds, "or else." So I thought a week being a single parent would be the end of my sanity as I knew it.

 

But I must admit (and rarely do I admit, or am ever, wrong), I had a very pleasant week with my mini me. The house has been a mess all week. The main ingredient in all our meals were bread, laundry piled up, it was very relaxing :)

 

Perhaps, maybe on day 5...6... and/or 7...I was a tad, tiny bit bored (I think we hit up every park in the Grand Rapids metro by the end of the week). But really, I couldn't have asked for a better week with this gal.

 

She loves me. And I love her.

 

 

Oh yeah, and I'm on season 2 of Gossip Girl. Will Dan and Serena ever work out their differences? "XOXO, Gossip Girl"

Dirty Little Secret...

INTRODUCING....dun dun dun

 

My new dirty little secret

 

They call it

 

{Dirty Diet Coke}

 

My friend Alisa let me in on this dirty secret. Apparently it's all the rage with you Utah moms. Go figure. But for us MICHIGAN moms, this well kept dirty little secret has breached our borders. They call it. Dirty Diet Coke, and it sure is dirty (I just like saying the word dirty).

 

What you need

• Diet Coke (regular coke is too sweet, trust me)
• Coconut Syrup (check in the liquor aisle, by the mix-ins)
• Limes

 



 

Crush some ice. Pour some Coke. Drizzle about 1-2 TBL of coconut syrup. Squeeze 1-2 lime wedges. Stir.

 

This is what you'll get...A muddy looking, coconut-zesty tasting beverage!



 

 

You're Welcome.

Boho Baby

So for Christmas I got my first sewing machine! Ask me how many times I've used it...nada. I've put so many projects on the back burner because I didn't want to lug the thing out just to put it back. Yet another reason I need my own sewing room (cough, cough). Anyway, Too many Pinterest to-do's have been piling up so here it is, my first ever sewing project on my brand new, never used sewing machine!

1/2 Yard of fabric. Hobby Lobby. $1.50. 

I love Hobby Lobby

...Into THIS!!!

Tutorial courtesy of www.ohsweetjoy.com

It's so cute I can't even stand it! 

I just kept looking at her, like wow you are beautiful!!! Oh, and nice head wrap too ;)

 I've got the sewing itch!!! What will be my next project??? 

4th of July

Par-tay at the Tracy's!!! I'm not gonna lie, at our new house we have a pretty sweet set up for get-together's. You should be jealous. Not really. But seriously, I LOVE being able to have friends over! At our old home we rented, which was the size of a postage stamp, we could rarely have groups of people over. But now....every night's a party with the Tracy's!!! 

Norah in all her 4th of July festive-ness

This girl sure loves her Daddy

But she loves her Mommy too:)

Norah loved watching the "big" kids and playing in the grass (She used to be afraid to walk in the grass lol, but she has since overcome her fear).

Not to forget Sadie Sue. She also had a friend come over and they played till they dropped

Sometimes I feel like Norah is a baby bird...and I'm the Mama Bird. Sigh...

After a while we broke out the swim suits for the kiddo's and played in the water. This is Norah's bff Ivy. They play really well together when they're not stealing each others toys and snacks ;)

Norah even got her hand on a water balloon. I wish I would have had the video running when it popped in her face. Pure Shock!

All my gal pals. My peeps. My possy (where did that word come from, possy)?

The men handled the fireworks quite well. And by well, I mean no one's hand got blown off. 

It was a great night! Happy Birthday America!!!

Baby Miles

Not too long ago we had a fun, quick visit with Aunt Becky and Uncle Doug. And a new addition to the family, baby Miles! Becky and Doug were making the long haul from Boston to San Jose and made a pit stop in the Great Lakes State and we're so happy they did! 

Norah, of course, loved showing off and only made baby Miles cry once when she threw a book at him (shaking head). It's not very often we get to see Daniel's siblings so it was lots of fun spending a few short days with the Norton's. 

Come back again! Norah promises to be nice ;)

Williamsburg, Virginia

Okay history buffs, start your engines! This past week our sweet little family took a quick vaca to Williamsburg, VA! Virginia might be one of the most beautiful places on the earth, just saying. We met Daniel's parents and brother Adam and his cute family at a time share (courtesy of Daniel's grandparents, thanks Grandma and Grandpa Metzger) for some quality Tracy family time! 

Here's the lot of us behaving pretty well if I do say so myself.

We began the site seeing  at the Jamestown settlement. This was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas established in 1607 (yes, I pulled this from Wikapedia). This was probably my favorite because it had actual remnants of the original settlement (in the pic below, follow the numbers around people).

1. This is a reconstruction of a "mud and stud" hut that would have been there during that time. 

2. A current excavation site where they are currently uncovering a brick foundation of something. What could it be?!

3. Original brick foundation of what is believed to be a tavern. Abundances of bottle glass, beer casts and brass spigots were found in the ground below the foundation.

4. All hail the King!!!

There was a museum on site (that we were not aloud to take pictures in) but had a lot of super cool artifacts uncovered. My personal favorite being the skeleton of a girl that was believed to be eaten because the people were so starving for food. Blood thirsty cannibals!  

1. Norah and Daniel checking out some cannons during that time period.

2. This is a replica ship that would have brought over the first settlers in the early 1600's.

3. Bambi?! Where'd you come from?

4. Us with Daniels parents and little Sarah. Smile Sarah (I still don't know who that statue is suppose to be)!

This is colonial Williamsburg. It served as Virginia's capital until 1780 when it was moved to Richmond. The town of Williamsburg has been rebuilt to depict what it would have been during colonial times. It hold a lot of Revelutionary War history back when Virginia declared themselves a free state apart from England. 

1. This is the Governor's mansion (before he fled back to England).

2. An idea of how the town shops were back then

3.  The Capitol building

This trip reminded me on how little I know about US history. So it was very neat to relearn it! Norah of course was wonderful the entire trip. Here she is spending quality time with Grandma Tracy. They were definitely buddies this trip :)

When our knowledge wasn't being tested we went swimming (before tropical storm Andrea uninvitedly showed up), ate ourselves silly while I dominated everyone in Ticket to Ride :)

Okay, so this is more like how we behaved...

Thanks for a great week everyone!!!

Someone had a Birthday!

So last year was Daniel's 30th Birthday and I went all out with a fun themed party and food! Here. (All only after giving birth 9 days earlier!) Well this year we...I kept it a little more low key. I had just thrown a huge party for Norah and was out of town in Missouri for a week so give me a break! ;)

I did however manage to get lost in downtown Grand Rapids looking for a Dairy Queen to get Dan the best ice cream cake out there!

And I did manage to rustle up a few friends to come over and rock out to Rock Band!!! (Sadie, how'd you get in there???)

It was a modest party but a fun one. We are blessed to have so many great friends :)

Happy 31st Birthday Daniel!!!

Off to Grandmother's house we go...

So our annual summer trip to Grandma and Grandpa's was a little earlier than expected. Daniel had his quarterly trip to Argentina last week so Norah and I hopped a ride to Missouri with Grandma and Grandpa! I always love visiting home and I love it even more now that I have Norah. I took her on lots of walks around where I grew up and was like, "this is where I would swim all summer long, this is where I would ride my bike, this is where I got my first kiss...." Okay, maybe a little too young but it's still fun to pass the memories on :)

While home, we made a trip to Sedalia to see Great Grandma and pay respects at the cemetery (honoring Memorial Day weekend). Norah got to play with second cousin Libby, so adorable! 

Norah also got to play with cousin Avery all week! I see these two causing a lot of trouble in the future! 

When we weren't visiting with old friends or meeting Grandpa for lunch we were outside playing in the water table. As you can see, that's all she wanted to do! Good thing that was her birthday present and there was one waiting for her back in Michigan! 

Thanks grandma and grandpa! We had a BLAST!