Meet the Two New Men in my Life!

God sure is funny sometimes, isn't he?! I've been job hunting (like much of the rest of the world) and on Monday night of last week I signed up on a nanny service thing to see if anything came of it. The next afternoon, I got an eamil from a family looking for a nanny. I called them and they asked me to come over that night (Tuesday) and interview with them. I did, and had a great time. About an hour after I got home, they called and offered me the job! I started on Friday and am having a great time. I am taking care of twin boys who are just about 5 months old. They are a whole lot of work, but they are so sweet and full of smiles! Here are some pictures of my little ones:

Here's Aidan. He makes the funniest faces! He seemed pretty enamored with my camera :) He is a really sweet baby who likes to sit and talk to you all day long. He is also full of giggles and loves to be held so he can stand on his feet and practice jumping.

He was all snuggled up taking a nap today. So cute!

Here's Mr. Patrick. He's the more serious boy and has the craziest hair! It's hard to see, but his hair is almost three inches long in the back. He looks like a cross between a mad scientist and a rock star with his hair! I had given him a bath this morning, so it's pretty tame in this picture. He makes you work for a smile, but when you get one out of his his whole face lights up. He loves to be held and will definitely tell you if he doesn't like something!

All snuggled up and snoozing

I am so excited to spend my days with these boys! I'm sure there will be many more adorable pictures to come!

Welcome to the world, Bella!

Isabella Mae was born last week to two of my favorite people. Dan and I got the chance to hang out with the new family today and it was wonderful! Bella is a sweet little baby and the only niose that came out of her was some adorable little squeeks! She is a perect little baby, and I cannot wait to watch her grow up into a beautiful woman!

Here's Dan holding her. I caught Bella in a weird stretch so it looks awkward, but Dan did such a good job holding her! It was only the second time he'd ever held a newborn and he was awesome! Don't you think he looks good holding a baby?! ;)

I was having a blast holding her. She is so sweet!

Congrats Brian and Katrina - you made one beautiful baby!

Because who doesn't love cute pictures of a puppy

It's been a wwhile since I've posted pictures of our perfect little pup. Willow turned 6 months old last week and is definitley looking more like a dog than a puppy. She is such a sweet dog and we are loving having here in our life!

Dan was home with the flu yesterday and spent most of the day in bed trying to sleep it off. I went in to check in on him and here's what I found. She is so good at knowing how to help take care of us!

Dan gets up with her in the morning to feed her and take her out, and when he's ready to leave she comes back to bed with me. first she'll wait on the bed side table and watch him leave, then she comes over to his pillow and pushes it around with her nose until she gets underneath it. I think she loves the warmth and that it smells like here dad!

I took her to get her haircut the other day and asked them to trim her up for summer, but NOT to shave her. When I picked her up, this is what she looked like. We joke that she's the Heidi Klum of puppies - she's so tall and skinny! We had no idea such a little dog was hiding under all that fur!

We've had Willow in and out of the vet since we got her and it looks as though she has irratable bowel. It's not fun, but it's nice that we know to be more careful with what goes in! So, she got into something last week and was feeling under the weather and was so snuggly! I snapped this picture late at nice when she was curled up with me. It was so, so sweet!

Other than that, Willow's not up to much. We just got her an invisable fence that we installed last weekend and are trying to train her to know its boundaries. She seems to be really attracted to the beep and we're having trouble going about the training in the way they say to because all she wants to do is be near the beep. (We haven't turned on the electric part yet) Have any of you done the electric fence thing and have suggestions? We can't wait until she has it all figured out and can run free in our yard!

Sleep?

It's no secret that anyone who knows me knows that I am a terrible sleeper. It's bad. This past week has brought on a whole new bought of no sleeping that has consisted on 5 hours of sleep in the last four days. Here I sit at almost 2 in the morning and it seems there is no hope of that changing anytime soon. Oh well, it can't last forever, right?!

Last night I redid our blog, so tonight I bring you my new absolute favorite thing to pass the time. It's called Cake Wrecks. It is a fantastic website where people send in cake disasters that are some of the funniest things you'll see.

For example, here a cake someone ordered for their baby shower:

No joke - someone actually put "gril" instead of "girl"!

My favorite, though, are the wedding cakes. For example, here is the picture someone cut out of a magazine and gave to their baker as a model for what they wanted their wedding cake to look like:

And here is what they got:

I don't know about you, but I think I would cry! I go back and forth as to whether I would cry because it was supposed to be my wedding cake, or if i would be crying from laughing so hard! I imagine it would probably be some of both :)

So if you're bored, check out Cake Wrecks. I am having a blast seeing what some people end up with when they order a cake!

Oh, and if you do need to order a cake and want to avoid wreckage at all costs, do think of Brittersweet Bakery :) I hope I'll never make anything worthy of being a cake wreck!

I think it can be called a "Man Room" now

The "Man Room" in our house (aka - the basement) is now complete as far as my dear husband is concerned. After recieving his well deserved bonus today, we went and picked up this monster.

If only it made him happy! ;)

525,600 minutes

As crazy as it seems, Dan and I have been married for a whole year already! We celebrated with a great day of just spending time together. I woke up to him gifts for me. He decided it would be fun to try and follow the "traditional" anniversary gifts, and this year's is paper. He got me three new books (I have been out of new ones for too long!) and a framed poem that he wrote me. It was really special. From there we hung out and took Willow to a park near by our house that takes you along the Mississippi. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time. We came home and enjoyed beer from my sister (thanks Kris!) and watched the Twins game. We cooked a great meal together of beef and garlic mashed potatoes. After dinner, Dan surprised me with a bottle of champagne. He and my dad went shopping to find the one we had on our wedding night, but couldn't find it, so my dad helped him find the one we shared with my family the night we got engaged! It was really sweet and thoughtful. We settled down to drink the champagne and eat our wedding cake as we watched the video of our wedding ceremony. It's amazing to think of how far we've come in this first year. It has been a wild ride, but I am so thankful for Dan and all that he adds to my life. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us next year!

We spent a lot of time talking today about all the things we've learned in this first year (and are still learning) about being married. Here's a bit of what we came up with. Feel free to add to our list if you've got other good marriage advice!

• There is no substitute for forgiveness. You don't just need to forgive the big things, but the little things are just as important. In fact, they are probably more important because they happen all the time. Being a kind, compassionate, forgiving spouse is important whether you are forgiving them for not telling you they invited people over for dinner and forgot to tell you or whether they just forgot to throw their socks in the hamper.
• You're going to fight. It happens. No two people can live together forever and not have disagreements. For us, it's been all about allowing the other to say what they're feeling (in a calm way) and for us not react poorly and try to "win". If we can both say what we need to and have the other really listen then the fight never escalates. And don't forget about that forgiveness thing when you're done!
• It's way different than you see in the movies or on TV. WAY different! It is, however, the best thing in the world. Don't let the media make you think you're doing it wrong or try to conform to make it seem like it does on TV. It isn't, and it shouldn't be. Trust me, though. It is so much better!!
• Go out of your way. Sure, it's great to be surprised with a puppy, but you can't do those things on a weekly/monthly basis. If you go out of your way to buy them something extra special to take in their lunch (100 calorie packs of Cheetos work great if your husband is anything like mine!) so they know you are thinking about them, it can mean just as much. 
• Yes, you will fight, and yes, you will have amazing moments together, but almost all of marriage is spent in the middle, doing the stupid day to day stuff like paying bills and walking the dog. One of the most important things I've learned is to be a good companion during the mundane and not always be trying to create a real high or a real low. Some of the most special moments in our marriage have been well placed hugs or an "I love you". Just take care of each other and do what you can to help each other out. 
• You can't be a perfect husband/wife. There's only One who is perfect, and as long as He's in the middle, you'll be just fine.

Cool.

Dan and I got really hooked on American Idol this year. I was happy with the winner, Kris, but as more is coming out about him, I am even more thrilled. Here's a video someone sent me of his pre-idol days. It's just cool.

I really hope he keeps on showing his faith! I am glad he is the American Idol, and I hope he gives to all to the One and Only!