He does what???

Liv's teacher, Mrs. Runder, saw Hyland on his way to class up at UAMS the other day. When she asked Liv if her Daddy-Hy worked up at the hospital Liv quickly replied, "No. He does drugs up at the Kroger!" (Hyland works in the Kroger pharmacy.) Funny stuff.

First Day of School Blues

Today was Liv's first day of "big girl" school. When I say "big girl" school I mean, it's public school, they wear uniforms, and take attendance. There is no Tuesday Thursday option, or even a half day option. I am not allowed to keep my baby home on Friday just cause I miss her and want to spend the day goofing off together. In fact all this "big girl" school business is making me realize that my baby is no longer a baby! She is in fact a big girl. It's not just a line anymore..."Okay, let's act like a big girl today". She really truly is a big girl, and it is absolutely breaking my heart.

So, yes, I am having a very unexpected break down with this whole first day of school thing. Liv, however, is acting totally cool, and very much like the big girl she is! When I dropped her off this morning she was very excited to play with the other kids. No crying, no whining, no asking me to stay, not even an extra long hug. And I must say she is absolutely the cutest in her little uniform with her red mary janes! She says her favorite part of school is her teacher Ms. Runder and her new friends she has made. Her "school family" is called the Runder Rockets and they do cute things like give each other "firecracker high fives" and have cute little songs to sing with every type of activity.

Anyway, I am so proud of her, but somehow this whole school thing feels like the end of a really special part of her childhood that I am really going to miss. Yes, I know that this is all going to be a lot of fun too, but it still stings. Okay, I am going to stop my boo hooing now and take a trick from Liv and be a "big girl" about all of this!

One Big Post!

Okay, so yes, I have been a terrible blogger! It is my new resolution to get better at this! The things is, life has just been so full and busy, I find it hard to find time to sit down at the computer. Anyway, updates... here are all the things I could have blogged about in the last few months and plan on trying to get in to post some of the pics from each really soon.

First up, summer vacation. This year Hy, Liv, and I all headed down to Florida with Hyland's family. It was absolutely beautiful, fun, relaxing, and all that good stuff. It was Liv's first time to the beach and by the end of the week she was really loving playing in the ocean.

Second, Liv's 4th birthday. I think Liv's birthday this year was one of the most successful birthday parties we have had. We love going to Travelers games (minor leauge baseball team here in LR) as a family. So earlier in the summer Liv decided she wanted to have her birthday at a game. It was very low key and small but we had a great time. Liv got to get on the field and race the bases with Shelley (the team mascot). Shortly before they took the field Liv looked up at this giant moose mascot and said very sweetly, "You're going down". It was too funny.

Third, WE BOUGHT A HOUSE! This is the number one main reason I have been so busy! Between working to pay for a house, house hunting, running around getting everything the bank needed to let us buy a house, and actually fixing up the house, moving, and getting settled things have been crazy. Did I mention we LOVE our house?

Okay, so there is a mini-recap of the last few months. Like I said earlier I plan on posting pics of all said events...just as soon as our little office area gets fully set up. In the mean time if you want to know what is up with us feel free to stop buy for a cold beverage on our fabulous deck if you happen to live locally. If you are an out-of-towner...well, we have a spare bedroom now so please come for a visit! Just make sure to bring your painting clothes ;-)

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

This is a thank you post to everyone who made my birthday so wonderful! Granted I had to work the night before and the night of so I spent aproximately 13 hours of the actual day working and 6 hours of it sleeping, but somehow it still turned out to be great. The kids at work colored me pictures, painted my nails, and made me a bunny necklace. It was so sweet! My mom sent me a beautiful boquet of my favorite flowers (irises). My good buddy Tasha brought me an ice cream cake to work (YUM!). My hubby and Liv bought me a new awesome pair of jeans, and my girls went in together and bought me a new wok so that I can cook all kinds of fancy asian dishes. All the rents sent monies which was promptly turned into new clothes! All in all being 28 isn't that bad. I have an awesome family, great friends, and a job where I get to play Candyland with cute kids. Life is good (=

Snow and Daffodils

I love Arkansas. Really I do! The only thing is...well, this crazy weather kills me! I am really trying to take it in stride this year, though. I mean, it is almost comical that just last weekend we were having snow and this weekend we were headed to the daffodil festival. Both were great photo ops so I just thought I would share!



Liv and Hyland cheesing it up at breakfast.




Yes, those are socks on her hands...you wouldn't buy new gloves after February either!



Liv and Sam having a snowball fight.



Our Little Family



McPretty



Liv n Me



Liv counting her flowers

Update!

Things have been crazy busy around our little home. I really think this is the first week in a while that neither Hyland, Liv, or I are sick! Anyway, I have been hearing the rumblings going on about my lack of posts as of late so I thought it was time I got on here and gave everyone an update on my teeny little family!

Liv is doing great! She is getting so big it makes my heart hurt a little. I almost brokedown in Target the other day when I realized I don't have to go to the baby section to buy her one single thing anymore! She even uses grown up bowls and forks!

Anyway, she is really in to puzzles lately. We're not talking "baby puzzles" either. We have bought out all the little 24 piece puzzles I can find, and she tends to get them done in about 2 minutes. The next step up, as far as I could find, was a 150 piece Disney Princesses puzzle. I, of course, worked it with her, but I was completely amazed at how well she could hold her own on it. She would see a piece across the table, know it was part of Sleeping Beauty's skirt, turn it just the right way and then place it. I know I am probably partial, but I really think the kid has some seriously advanced visual-spatial skills.

Hyland is just moving right along with pharmacy school. I think he has really found his thing. I mean, it all just seems to come so naturally to him, and how an understanding of pharmicokinetics could ever come naturally to someone is beyond me! Oh yeah, and he really thinks it all interesting!

Since I have started working night shift Hyland has been absolutely wonderful with helping out around the house and with Liv while I try to adjust to my new zombie-like state. I think the fact that he is getting to spend more alone time with Liv is really great for their relationship too. In fact, she actually chose him over me to cuddle up with while watching tv the other night. At least she did until he made a big deal out of it and annoyed her. Then she was right back in my lap (=

I think pretty much everyone knows that I am now working as a real licensed RN at Arkansas Children's Hospital now. I work on a general medicine floor, which means I get to see a little bit of everything. Our unit is mostly focused on babies to age 3, but sometimes we get kids a little bit older. Other than the adjustment to working nights I am so in love with my new job. It can be really stressful, tiring, and sad, but for the most part it is just completely rewarding, interesting, and fun. I absolutely love working with the kids! I can't imagine that I will ever work a shift where I won't learn something new. I also really like the role that I have in helping to educate the parents. The one major down side is that I feel like I am constantly fighting getting sick. The other nurses on the unit say it takes about 1 year to build up your immunity. I really can not wait for flu/rsv season to be over!

Anyway, there is my little update. Liv and Hyland are geniuses and I love my job!

Funny Valentine

Here is a play by play of a very funny conversation we just had with Liv...

Liv: Quincy is my boyfriend now.
Mom: Really? Why is that?
Liv: Well, I was sitting in the music room and Quincy was in there with all the boys and I told him I was his girlfriend now.
Mom: Wow! So what did Quincy say?
Liv: He told the boys that Livi was his girlfriend now, and then he asked me for how long.
Mom: What did you say?
Liv: I told him 20 hours.
Mom: Why do you want Quincy to be your boyfriend?
Liv: Cause he can read a book all by himself. He's 4!
Daddy-Hy: So do you love Quincy?
Liv: Well...I love him, but I don't want to marry him.
Mom: That's good. You probably don't need to think about marrying anyone for a long time!
Liv: Oh mom, don't worry. You will have a boyfriend one day too.
Mom: Thanks Liv.(=

Just thought this was very funny.

My Newest Obsessions!

So I have recently acquired two new obsessions. The first is Guitar Hero. Over the holiday's my brother Mike and his wife Monica introduced me to the mind numbing joy of playing Guitar Hero on Xbox 360. I haven't actually played it since we left Mom's house, but if I had a million dollars I would totally buy an Xbox just to play that stinking game!

My second obsession is saving lots of money on my groceries by clipping coupons from the newspaper and playing the Grocery Game. The Grocery Game is this really cool website www.grocerygame.com where they keep track of all manufacturers coupons along with the sales at your favorite grocery store, and they put them together to get you some seriously major savings. How major of savings you ask? Well, today I went to Kroger and saved $71! My bill that would have normally been $185 ended up being $114. I have only been playing the game for a couple weeks so I am not even saving the full amount I could if I had all the coupons from the last 12 weeks.

The website is really cool. Every Sunday morning they post a new list for that week. It is divided into 3 categories...things you can get for free (yes, I said free-I got Liv two toothbrushes, some excedrin, and a South Beach Chicken Cesar lunch wrap for free today!) , things you can get at rock bottom pricing, and things that are on sale but not as low as you could get them at a later date. The idea is to stockpile the items you use alot when they are at rock bottom pricing. My ultimate goal is to only spend about $45 per week on groceries which according to the message boards on the site is a pretty realistic goal.

Anyway, I highly recommend the Grocery Game, but I will warn you that it is a little time consuming. However, I feel that the time spent is totally worth it when you save all that money! Another thing is that it costs money to get the list...only $10 every 8 weeks, but it's totally worth it seeing as how I saved more money on my first trip to the grocery store than it will cost me to receive the list for a whole year!

Okay, now I sort of feel like a commercial, and Hyland is totally making fun of my enthusiasm, but I just really wanted to share this with my friends and family. If any of you decide to sign up for the Grocery Game list please be sure to use my e-mail as your referral so I can get a few extra weeks for free! jaime.gigliello@gmail.com