Camden is a 1 month old!

As of December 28th, Camden is officially a 1 month old!
In some ways it feels like it has been 6 months since she was born, but it also feels like we went to the hospital yesterday... funny how that works. Well I go back to work on the 19th of January and of course as any new mom would, I have mixed feelings. I am excited to get going with my job but also nervous about leaving our little peanut during the day (not to knock on our childcare, I couldnt be more fortunate, its just the new mommy worries)

Any who.. here are a couple cute pics from SundayShe still has to grow a bit before she starts sharing hats with Adam ( ok A Lot, thats one big hat to fill :-)

Sound asleep in her carrier. She doesnt really like the concept of a pacifier, but I may become her security blanket, just putting it next to her calms her down when she is in the carrier. weird

Enjoy the day! more pics always on the way

What a week!

Oh what a yawn!
We had one busy week!

Here is Camden 'Flying' with my dad!

Camden and Grandpa! So cute

Just chillin'

Sleeping with daddy! She loves to sleep on her belly, only with supervision- dont worry

Super baby, look at how fast she is running!! OMG Cammie G is getting her daily workout routine in preperation for her athletic dominance in every sport! jk

I hope everyone had a fabulous Holiday and now its only days from 2009! Hard to believe.

Wow! Christmas was a blast, especially because my family, mom, dad and sister, were able to come up from Florida for 8 days! I couldnt have asked for a better xmas present. They are now back in FL and I am back to blogging. Camden did great for her first Christmas, she slept through most of it and even got a shout out at church during the xmas eve service. Camden is now 1 month old and growing more and more each day, its so exciting to watch her focus on objects and follow sounds and faces. Thankfully, Adam and I have both gotten better at diaper changing at a lightning fast pace because our little sweetie loves to be free and pee everywhere as soon as her diaper is off!

Baby annoucements have been ordered and are on their way to all of you in the next week or so, bare with me and the slow distribution, having a babe kinda changes the priorities :-)

The Gators and a Little Girl!

It is official, I am blogging again. Now with a busier schedule I am aiming for 2-3 blogs and baby updates a week!

First Go Gators! How about it, pulling out a crazy win vs. Bama for the SEC championship and also earning the right to be in the National Title game! Go Gators Jan. 8th

AND even more exciting....
Camden Grace Horseman was born November 28th, 2008 at 1019pm at Southview Hospital in Centerville, Ohio. We didnt expect to be surprised with her birth until early December. I went in on Friday morning, after doing some black friday shopping, for a checkup on fetal heartrate, contractions and my amniotic fluid levels, the Dr. could not get a sufficient reading of the amniotic fluid level, so they decided to induce labor that day; about 38 weeks gestational age.

So, about 10 hrs after being induced and about 6 hours after the epidural (Dr. Bob is the best ever!) we had ourselves a baby girl! Camden was 6lbs 13.9 oz and 20 in long, not bad for 2 weeks early. I was so blessed to have the doctors and nurses I did during my labor and delivery, they truly were remarkable and made the experience one of the most memorable of my life... by far.

Here is a pic or the proud parents and Camden the next day, at the hospital. The hospital now does a series of 'glamour shots' for the new family rather than the regular mug shot. To see more pics check out this website... www.bellababyphotography.com/interim use username and password: camdengrace1128


our bundle of Joy right after birth, check out that hair! She has blue eyes, her mommy's nose and brown hair

A proud Daddy!


Camden's First bath (at the hospital)

Go Gators! One week old watching the SEC Champ Game with Dad and Mongo

I am soooo big! She loves to sleep all stretched out with her hands above her head :-)

Sleeping with mom, how could anyone ever be mad at this face?! Oh no, I think we are in for a wild ride... I can't wait!

Check back often for more fun updates on Camden and the whole Horseman Crew!

Back from Vacation

Dear Adoring Public,

I am back to the blog, I took a mini hiatus from filling you in on every detail, but now I think i have enough goofy things to write about again. The baby shower was awesome! It went off without a hitch and I want to thank everyone who attended and especially my mom and sister for coming up from Florida and also Anna Maria for coordinating the entire adventure. Also Gwen and Mandie Lebowitz and Angie for their awesome help ( you should have seen the cake, it was a baby cake...so cute) My sister has the pics on her facebook page, www.facebook.com search s stopka.

Now that is November, the holidays are quickly approaching and I think something else too....hmmm oh yes, baby Camden's arrival. by the end of the week I will be 35 weeks pregnant and I am very excited to see what the next few weeks has in store for the Horseman family. Currently, Adam and I are being good parents to be and taking the recommended baby classes at our hospital, last night was our first night and we did great! Nothing too new or mind blowing, hey women have had children for 1000's of years without the help of a $175 exersaucer and $55 teddy bear mobile. I got this down (at least thats what I think now, until I am responsible for a 8 lb bundle of joy)

I swear Mongo is a mutant human/dog combo, the other night he was sitting like a person on the couch next to Adam with his kong toy (pacifier) lodged in his mouth, rocking back and forth on the brink of sleep, mesmerized by sleep, drooling and all. I wish I had gotten a picture, it was the funniest thing ever! Oh Mongo!

Wacky Wednesday-- Peace Out--

Who's weekend looks awesome and

has to thumbs...? THIS GIRL! (that was for Adam)

I am so pumped, its the baby shower weekend for baby Camden Horseman, now 32 weeks strong! I am more excited about the fact that my mom and sister Stephanie, age 20, single, blond, blue eyes... oh sorry this isnt a personal ad (hehe) Anyways, they are coming in to town tonight at 1130pm on flight 2266 into Dayton, woohoo! I have not been up that late since like April so I am also excited to get a little taste of the night life (oh gosh, I'm just shaking my head at that last comment)

As a funnier sidenote, this weekend will be coldest weekend so far this fall with lows in the low 40's and highs around 50 or 60 degrees. This morning I got a text from Stephanie that said "Whats the weather like? I packed shorts, T's and a sweatshirt for the plane, thats ok right?" HAHAHA! oh the poor FL child, like a good sister I told her she may want to throw in a pair of sweats just in case :-)

Anna Maria, Adam's Mom, is taking care of all the prep and party needs...Thank You!

The mom and sis will be in town till Sunday night, so I have a lot to do in 2 days!

I can't wait! By the way GO Raiders Vball, Beat Milwaukee and Green Bay!

Have a great weekend and TGIF

I am the opposite of Mongo in this candid shot, he is sound asleep with his Kong toy wedged in his mouth like a pacifier! I love the little beast!

My Quirks

What are my quirks? Diana Bradford blogged me to write about my quirks about 6 weeks ago, so I better get to it. First off, let me tell you I am a very quirky person I have may uncommon traints.. readers beware... just kidding.

In no specific order

Quirk #1

I often do not think before I speak, like dropping a sh^* in the middle of a church group or restaurant. Sometimes I do not think about the tone or way in which I say something. I am not a super sensitive person (most of the time) so a sarcastic mumble or odd reaction to say my husband are often taken in way that make me seem like I dont care or hardly have a heart. I do care, I just have no filter (if you have met my mom, it becomes more clear) So this I will attempt to process my word choice and tone before blarring out my opinions or excitement.

Quirk #2

I am gross. Thats all that needs to be said

I am not gross in the sense I leave dirty stuff everywhere or live in a pigsty, I am quite the opposite, but that I really do not monitor my bodily functions when I am at home or with family. Sorry Adam, I know burps ranking on the ricter scale from you wife at dinner is not the most attractive thing, or blowing my nose into my shirt or a towel, or hacking a lugie in your ear in bed (disclaimer: I was asleep and did not mean too) EWW I am gross, maybe an ettiquete class wouldnt hurt?

Quirk #3

The Wash

First of all lets get one thing straight... I do not Iron!

My mom is a clothes washing extradronaire! If they made a Nobel Prize for washing it would be a toss up b/t my mom and Adam's gma. However, I see laundry as a chore, not as a "time to get away from it all and recharge" like the aforementioned women of steel.
When I wash its about once a week, however it goes in the washer is how the clothes are folded, I like to only do 2 loads, so where things a couple times or buy me a bigger washer. If a button pops off, check back in 6mos I might have had a moment of motherly instinct and sewed it back on, but not with matching thread and really dont count on it. I use one type of detergent and if I see a stain as the clothes are being thrown into the washer there is a 50 /50 shot I will get some shout stain remover in the general area.

Now I know this sounds harsh or un womanly but wait till you see my other quirks... haha! No really I understand once the babe comes I will have to revise my wash habits, but until then its off to the races (Sidenote: I do things quickly b/c 90% of the time I am racing Mongo for the socks and underwear, he loves dirty laundry)

Quirk #4

This is actually a productive quirk! I love to mow the lawn! This habit is actually not because I get freaked when someone else does it, Adam actually is a lawn conisseur, but I just love mowing (once again knowing my mom explains many things). I really concentrate on my lines too in hopes to impress Adam. The front always looks awesome and the back usually has a bit more character when I am done, but I sure love doing it. I just throw on my mp3 player, and off I go. However, this morning was the first time I learned how to work the gas trimmer, so watch out lawn service professionals!

Quirk #5

Dyson
I love to vaccuum, its a super easy way to see a great improvement in the house cleaning. Now that we have a Dyson vaccuum I am addicted, but with the two dogs its a needed addiction so that Saturday morning cleaning isnt a 3 hour adventure

Quirk #6

I really have too many to count so this is YOUR chance to fill in the blank... what is my 6th quirk?
Fill in your favorite or most obnoxious... have fun!

Pumpkin Carving

Go Gators! The Gators dominated at the Swamp on Saturday night vs. the LSU Tigers. The final score was 51-21, as fans it nice to finally see the offense loosen up and play some football. Our running backs (the Gators have about 4 of the fatest) were unbelieveable and Timmy T was controlled and made smart decisions rather than trying to run up the gut for 3 yards on a must need conversion (oh just a bad memory of the Ole Miss game) UF is off and running, hopefully we can keep up the smart play! Its an off week this Saturday, this is also the reason my baby shower is this Saturday... no need to miss any Gator Football! Ha Ha.

This weekend was a cleaning extravaganza, with my mom and sis coming up for the weekend, I had to make sure the house was dust free and clean, now hopefuly it can last 3 days of daily living before they get here :-) The pups also went for grooming at PetSmart, and they did surprisingly well. Mongo loves being with new people, the vet, the groomer, he loves adventures. Mellow is not as fond of strange places, especially the groomers. As I was pulling into the parking lot Mongo had his head and two front paws out of the window ready to face the next adventure, Mellow was shaking in the passenger seat, starring at me like "what and where on earth are you taking me? Dont leave me" Mellow made it into the store, following Mongo, with no problems, then she put on the brakes, I had to drop off Mongo and then slide Mellow through the store to the groomers office... but she does leave without any problems, :-)

Saturday I went and picked up two pumpkins for the front porch so our house looks somewhat festive for the fall season. If you could see the houses on our street, these people spend more on fall decor than xmas gifts... whatever floats their boats, I am stopping with the pumpkins. The real reason I went with the pumpkins was so that Adam and I could have our annual pumpkin carving contest! This may seem harmless, but after last years results... all is far in love and war right? Let me explain, last year, I had a great plan for a funny pumpkin, big eyes, big teeth, just a goofy but fun pumpkin. Adam's mom, Anna Maria, and I were giving Adam the hardest time about his pumpkin carving skills. He was carving in secret the entire time, saying "you will be sorry, I am carving an exact representation of the one I love, joke now, but you will be surprised" blah blah blah right?! I finished my pumpkin long before he was done, so I kept perfecting the details, but all the while making fun of Adam. He was hiding out and not showing anything to anyone, I think his mom was making for fun of him than I was. Finally, his pumpkin masterpiece was done... OMG he unveils it and....

Adam Horseman carved an exact representation of my face, when I had Bells Palsy from a freak Jello Wrestling accident! WHAT! He didnt even know me then, he has see like one or two pics of my half paralyzed face and heard a couple stories of how I had to hold my lips shut when drinking out of a straw. Luckily the pralysis only lasted 4-6 wks. But yes, My loving hubby created an exact Bells Palsy face, my face. He no more than turned the pumpkin around and I knew exactly what it was! So to you Adam I say "Touche" haha! Yesterday, we couldnt stop laughing about it, so I had to share our wild and crazy pumpkin carving story!

Hilarious, I am laughing just writing the quick story! Have a great Monday and dont forget to laugh!

This whole Prego thing...phew I am out of breath

Well after sleeping about 11 hours two nights in a row I think I am back to a decent energy level. This weekend I decided to conquer just a bit of home improvement work. Adam left for Chicago Thursday morning with the WSU vball team and was set to return Saturday night around 1 am. I automatically make a "To Do List" but on the list is not laundry, clean the house, etc.

I decided to go ahead and paint the guest room/office (the room is completely furnished) and several other exciting things. Friday night I moved the furniture away from the walls and managed to get everything done but the walls behind the corner desk. I slept for a few hours, woke up Saturday morn and got to more painting. I moved the desk, finished the office, cleaned the house, put the pictures back on the walls in the office, then did the grocery shopping for the week, finally watched the Gator Game and cat napped during the 3 rd quarter. Then I decided it would be a great afternoon to mow the lawn (over a .5 acre lawn). During mowing I got a call to babysit that night, so sure I could use a couple bucks why not.

All in all I got home around 1130 and went straight to bed. Sunday I was useless and Adam had to use his grade A ATC skills to get my scapula and surronding muscles to relax. Its now Wednesday and I am planning for this weekend, haha... no painting at least this time.

On a separate note, Mellow is hilarious! thats all I have to say. Ok I will tell you more... Mellow decided that she was not only going to claim her territory for the night on the bed but she was going to make her presence known. When she was younger she loved to sleep on the pillows (like a queen on a bed of clouds.. shes not a princess or anything... haha!) So Mell hops up and plants herself on my pillows and then strategically lays over Adam, she looked like his pet Parrot! I was sleeping with the Pirate Adam and his faithful 80lb pirate dog Mellow. The best part she fell sound asleep and snored louder than Adam for the rest of the night. Its amazing how one will modify there sleeping habits or positions for a darn dog, but the second Adam trys to get in my spot or steal a pillow its ON! but if Mell decides to sleep with her butt all over my face, thats just cute! Oh my, if your not a pet owner just disregard the last paragraph, you wont 'get it' hehe

Just a little over a week before my mom and sis come up for the baby shower on the 18th.. I am super excited I am not sure if its bc I havent seen them or b/c Stephanie has never met Mongo before....HAHAHA this is going to be great.. Stephanie, meet Mongo, Yes he jumps, lays, sits, slobbers all right on your lap... enjoy! HAHA! I may have to invest in a video camera just for this!

An Ode to Adam Part 2

Oh my dear Adam Horseman "Horse" The man is famous, I kid you not! He knows everybody and even better, people like him too. As most of you know in the sporting community, when the season is in high gear the coaches, players and athletic trainers see more of their hotel rooms than their families. So this weekend Adam is in Chicago (polish eatable goodness capital of the USA) I told him to say hello to my family and the sausage and deep dish pizza in Chicago. But anyways, Friday the Vball team is playing UIC and then Saturday Loyola. As he was grabbing some breakfast this morning Adam not only sees and meets but make friends with Chris Higgins alter ego MLB star Casey Blake (who until recently played for Cleveland Indians).

Casey Blake

How cool. By the end of it he met his dad, brother, sister in law, etc, we might as well make plans for Thanksgiving! Ha Ha. Its just amazing, I would never have the right thing to say let alone the nerve to say hello let alone make friends with famous people. What a guy, it just shows you how personalbe he is, I am lucky lady, I always knew he could get almost anything for free or discounted or who knows what because of his charm, but now he is invading the pro sports world, ESPN hold on to your hats, The Horse is in town! Ok I feel star struck and I am sitting in Beavercreek, OH.



Aside from being the next E news know it all, Adam is also a great lover of music. This is great, I learn so much just from listening to the radio. By this I mean, I am constantly quizzed everytime a classic rock 'esque' song comes on the radio... "artist go..." My face is blank as can be about 70% of the time but thankfuly he gives me hints. This brings me to my next point, Adam if given the opportunity would make a great comtemporary country singer here is a video below of one of the latest country songs, I think this would be Adam as a country singer minus the weird facial hair:



Link to

"Country Fried"
Zac Brown aka Adam Horseman is the guy with the beani e and too long beard (middle left)

My rocker hubby :-)

video link
http://www.cmt.com/videos/zac-brown/255924/chicken-fried.jhtml

In order to show my love I am painting the spare bedroom/gator room this weekend while he is making friends in Chicago.

as always, Go Gators and have a great weekend.

"_affle House"

Last night I tagged along with the Bradfords to see Jim Gaffigan at the Nutter Center at WSU. Wow, it was a great show, even the opening guy was pretty good. Jim Gaffigan is on Comedy Central alot and he is most famous for his "Hot Pocket" skit where he tears apart the whole meat in a dough pocket concept that somehow made the product such a success. Gaffigan had a lot of new material (or at least stuff I hadnt heard) so that was awesome. He discussed the hilarious 'sport' of bowling, his love of bacon, a warm cozy bed, camping, Waffle House and husband and wife communication. The Waffle House skit was hilarious, just because it was so true, the guy making eggs is smoking a cigarette, puke from last night still on the floor and usually a light out on the sign so it reads... _affle House (awful house) ...HAHAHA! The hubby and wife communication was great too, he nailed it, why women always decide to have in depth conversations when there husband is on the verge of falling asleep... Diana and I just looked at each other and cracked up when he said that, we are both guilty as charged with that communication style. All in all the show was hilarious! I definetly recommend it.

Heres a pic of Jim Gaffigan

Who has two thumbs and is really cool?

This Girl! or maybe it goes "whos really cool and has 2 thumbs?" Good question, Adam thought this was hilarious when I goofed up this quote last night. HAHA! Oh I have never been known for my quoting abilities unless I am watching the moving While You Were Sleeping or Serendipity... as Adam can also attest too.

Thursday it was back to the Doctor for my monthly OB appointment. The baby is doing great and so is mommy. I had to do my 29 week glucose test this time around. I had to drink a 10oz pure sugar syrup drink in 60 sec and then have my blood drawn an hour later. Since I have not gotten a call I assume I dont have gestational diabetes.... gotta love doctor's communication skills. I heard horrific things about the sugary drink, but it wasnt all the bad, I think the worst part was how cold it was.

Thanks to Adam and his huge network of people, afterall he does know 99% of the people in Ohio! We were able to do a 3D/4D ultrasound on Friday. It was awesome, we have a DVD of the 30 minute session with heart tones. The image quality was like night and day compared to the usual 3D ultrasound pictures. SO COOL! The Ultrasound Tech said she definetly has my nose and Adam's sleeping habits. Let me explain, our little bundle of joy was SOUND ASLEEP during the session, nothing would wake her up, much like Adam when he is sleeping...haha. The tech was pushing and poking on my stomach to try and get her to move her face towards the "camera" and all she did is bury her face more into the placenta and move her hand in front her face, as if saying, "I am trying sleep, go away" Oh I think she may be a bit stubborn like her mom too.... oh goodness...hehe. Well enjoy the pics below!

Here she is, sleeping, her arm is going across her chin

She's sleeping again, and not happy about us waking her up... :-)

this is when she put her hand in front her face, while sleeping

This is a really cool shot of her legs crossed and her feet at the bottom

Football.. I mean greased pigskin!

So Saturday I got off to a great start, now 29 weeks prego and only 10-11 weeks to go before baby is here I was anxious to get back into some competitive sporting events. Well this may not have been a marathon, but I did walk the AHA Heart Walk 5K Saturday morning. It felt great to not be dragged by dogs through the same old neighborhood route and finally get back to a road course of some sort. This weekend I am going to paint the guest room and walk/run in either the Alzheimers or Childrens Miracle 5K and hopefully be back in time to watch the Gators take on Arkansas. This brings me to my real point... what is the world was going on in the heads of the UF coaches and players on Saturday afternoon at the Swamp. WHOA! Someone forgot to take their Vitamin B12 or something. 5 Fumbles, 3 turnovers (first of the season) like the title suggests, there must have been too much bacon grease on the pigskin Saturday down at the Swamp. Oh well, I just wonder what the outcome would have been if UF would have gone for the 49 yard field goal as opposed to the 3 yrd run up the gut on 4th down. HMMM it makes a girl wonder.

The Gators are now 3-1, falling to Ole Miss who seems to give us more trouble over the past 10 years then any other SEC team... a bit shocking. But now we are ready, ready to fight and win it all! Go Gators Beat Arkansas this Saturday!

Light me up!

YES! The power is on! The power came back on Friday night around 9pm. I was actually out in the backyard messing around with some storm debris and the dogs, when I looked at my neighbors house and noticed that they had a lot of lights on for a generator to be powering all of that...then I noticed there ceiling fan. Not even thinking that the power could actually be on, I just assumed they had dangerously hooked the generator up to their 220v house power and moved on...about 3 seconds later my brain started working again and I eagerly walked toward the house...HOT TAMALES! we had power! As my parents can atest i was very excited to have power again. The first thing I did is start the dishwasher and then i headed for the vaccum cleaner (a week of not vacuuming and 2 large dogs = one messy house)

Saturday was catch up day... I made it to the grocery store along with half of Beavercreek to restock the freezer and fridge. Then it was time to mow the yard, but after only a couple sweeps of the lawnmower I was out of commission. I was stung 2 times by yellow jackets (fiesty little things) I then noticed the large swarm living in our gutter...ewwww! Adam's medical skills helped me through and then it was time to become bee hunters. After the bees laughed at our attempts to kill them with the wasp and hornet spray we called in a professional and in about 15 minutes we were good to go. The lawn will be finished today...Finally :-) (being the good husband he is, Adam wouldn't let me mow with yellow jackets swarming, good call)

The Raiders of WSU managed to pull out the win Saturday afternoon and the Gators rocked rocky top! On Sunday we gave in, the dogs got 2 new toys, which gives them a total of 4! WOW! We got the dogs 2 indestructable nylabone kong like toys and a bag of hooves to chew on, sounds gross but if it keeps our monsters occupied I am all for it! The dogs love their newest toys and have already attempted to destroy them :-)

All in all a darn good weekend, now if I could just shake this cold!

Jim Cantore... You WIN!

I would like to apologize to the entire state of Ohio for the hurricane forced winds we had for about 5 hours on Sunday afternoon and evening. Yes, I thought mocking the weather channel and the amateur hurricane coverage down in Texas was hilarious...however, the force has spoken and apparantly the hurricane gods did not find it funny one bit. On Sunday, Beavercreek, OH was the recepient of a front coming in from Chicago and the remains of Hurricane Ike. We had up to gusts of 75mph and over 2 million people without power throughout the state. 200,000 people in the Dayton area, including Adam and I, we lost power Sunday and still are awaiting its return. The DP and L power co. says it could be till the weekend before all power is restored... lets hope its tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest for us, or I might loose my mind and all the food in our house. Because Beavercreek never sees winds of this strength, more damage was done than expected. The trees in the area are so mature and heavy that the whipping winds just snapped them like toothpicks. Several were uprooted and luckily only minor damage happened to many of the homes, just a lot of clean up to do. Adam had to work yesterday, so I spent about 4 hours in the yard and around the house picking up debri, branches, sticks and raking up the rest so our yard no longer looked like a war zone. Chainsaws and mulchers have taken the place of birds chirping and dogs barking in our neighborhood. But with all that said, 2 streets away they have power and never lost it so hopefully ours isnt too far off.

As for now, I am at work catching up after yesterday with no power to the office and then back to the home front to hang out with the dogs. I must say that the weather looks great for clean up and luckily no AC or heat is needed at this point.

A lesson on hurricanes... Oh Jim Cantore eat your heart out!

Disclaimer: this is a satire, please read with caution...haha

First, I know I have been lacking on my blogging in the last week, Adam let me know this. My reply was "I dont have much to write about" his response "Oh my gosh, you have me, the greatest thing ever, what is there not to write about" In that case.. Oh Adam you are wonderful!

Ok back to the blog, as most of you know Hurricane Ike is on its way to Galveston and Houston Texas. Only 100 or so miles off the coast, expecting to hit around 1am tonight, the Weather Channel is on Red Alert and Direct TV is broadcasting a local Texas news station around the nation. Whoa! as a native of Florida and having been through a hurricane or two, I know WCJB channel 7 of Gainesville, FL was never broadcasts nationally! Its another Pres. Bush Texas realtions conspiracy! (jusk kidding) As I watch the updates on Ike, its more entertaining (with all do respect) than 90% of the shows on TV. These guys are great, how many ways can you say "we are 10 hrs away from landfall, please leave the area for your safety, we expect to see a surge of 15 ft." Not many? Oh 'On Contrare' meterologists must take a class in how many ways to say "hurricane coming, leave now" As a sidenote, please be aware if you are awaiting your local forecasts on the 8's you are not going to see it, 10 hours out and the Weather Channel is in FULL coverage, so eventhough Ohio is about to get slammed by strong storms and potential tornados, hey have some respect, there is a hurricane 10 hrs away. I must confess, I understand the Weather Channel has been awaiting the landfall of Ike since August, but seriously I could use some form of local weather.

It gets better, in preparation for hurricanes I find it best to motivate people to make a decision, leave or stay, and then prepare for the best outcome in which ever choice they have made. For example, if they are going, leave early, pack light and make sure you are prepared to wait in traffic. If you are staying, pull out the canned goods, fill the bath with water (to flush the toilets) make sure you have a radio and batteries and a flash light handy, charge the cell phone and hang on tight. Oh NO, not the news... At the top of the hour Ike segment on the Weather Channel the lead anchor come on and says word for word "Hurricane Ike is coming, Prepare for loss of life, catastrophic damage!" Holy crap I am in Ohio and now I think the world is about to end. Way to reasure the people in Texas. In all respect, I do understand that they have to be realistic and show the danger to deter people from galavanting on the coast as a storm surge increases.

This brings me to my next point,...

First this just in, the news is now refering the hurricane to skinny ice skaters vs. long armed hockey players...No Joke! Or they could just say centripical force is an awesome power, here is how it works.. no it appears Ike is "wobbling hockey player, not a skinny short armed ice skater" Local Texas news station channel 11.

As I am watching the coverage, really mesmerized by it for the aforementioned reasons, the news is showing people (very brilliant people) taking pictures and playing in the ocean surf (10 ft surges already). First of all, the water is disgusting, really why play in that. Then they show people jet skiing in the background and finally a person dressed up in a bear costume running and skipping on the beach....wow go Texas! If this isnt good entertainment I just dont know what it is. Here is a link to the video of the news report http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iul__OgJlas#

With all the best going to those in Texas, I hope the damage is limited and the Cat 2 Ike isnt near as damaging as they are calling for. As the weather channels says, "Stay tuned through out the storm for the latest information on Ike, especially those in the path of the storm" At first one thinks whats wrong that, well considering the power is going to be out long before and after the storm hits, I guess they wont get those up to the minute updates.

have a good weekend all, enjoy the 'Katie Satire' for the day and yes Ohio is now probably going to get hit by a hurricane b/c I wrote this... I will be prepared.

Finally Pictures

The baby has somewhere to sleep... YES! I am on my way to being a world class mother! All jokes aside, below are pictures of the furniture I picked up and built Sat. afternoon while watching the Gators pound Hawaii. Sidenote: Gators play Miami on ESPN, Primetime Sat. Ok back to the blog... Here is the beautiful glider and ottoman, I think these are a requirement for a nursery, almost more than the actual crib. Let me explain, when I went to register for the babe at the very end, they give you a printout of everything and also "missing items" on this list was not a crib, dresser but yes a glider and ottoman! Haha, that just seemed amusing to me. But here is the chair with a beachy bucket ready for books and the bedtime routine.

The beautiful crib, which is gorgeous - thank you Stephanie, great pick on the furniture. Oh yes, did I mention my sister, the one who asks questions like "what is the difference between a tall building and a sky scraper" at the age of 15 picked out this awesome, 4 in 1 crib and matching pieces.

The dirty diaper station.. This is going to be Adam's station, jk, he would rather tackle more plumbing adventures than be the permanent diaper changer. :-)

The Dresser, which has to weight about 400lbs.

the ensemble

Enjoy the pics! when there is actual art on the walls and a mattress in the crib I think the room will really be pulled together.

Beep Beep!

That is the sound of the Babies R Us scanner! YES, we are registered at BABIES R US! Just go to baby registry on their website and type in Horseman or Stopka to find our list of goodies!
www.babiesrus.com


First of all, Saturday marked the begining of football season for the Gators and after a sluggish start they won their game against Hawaii 56-10. At the last minute, I found out it was on TV...Perfect! So before the game came on I got all the chores done and ran to the Sugarcreek Target and got all the Baby's Nursery Furniture! Yes, somehow it did fit in my Rendevous! I got it home, carefully unloaded the four pieces and started building. By the time the Gator game was over I had a fully furnished nursery... minus wall art and decor :-) GO KATIE! This being Adam's first road weekend with vball, I had to find something to do to keep myself occupied. haha. Pics coming soon.


Then on Sunday, Angie and I went to Babies R US to register for the baby shower and Camden's 3 month away arrival. I must thank Angie tremendously, she spent 2-3 hours with me in that crazy store giving me all the practical advice I never would have known without already being a mom. The registration process was crazy but also really fun, now that I know what I am doing, I totally want to go do it again! haha.
Happy Labor Day to all, enjoy the day off and dont work to hard!

Bring It On!

The Swamp!

OH YES! It is that time of year again, College Football Season! Living in a state surronded by obnoxious fans (OSU fans...seriously you play Youngstown State) Ok I will back off, UF plays the Citadel later in the season. Still, I am out of my element not being surronded by my beloved Gator fans, so in order to tune out the other teams, my car and wardrobe are Gator crazy! The Gators start their season Saturday at 1230pm in the Swamp where they will take on Hawaii. The team who played UGA in a bowl game last year. Predictions are for a Gator victory 49-21 but its not over till 00:00 is on the clock. Unfortunately, the game is not televised all the way up here is Ohio, so I will be checking web updates and looking for ESPN halftime coverage to see how UF is doing in their home opener.

Adam and I were planning to go down to FL for the opener and a couple other games this year, but our work schedules changed... which reminds me this is Adam's kick-off weekend for WSU volleyball. They have their first road trip this weekend, a tourney in Cincy, and next week they are off to Albany. So I am a single woman on the weekends for the next couple months...jk haha! I think baby furniture will be the next project to tackle while Adam is on the road, protecting and saving the lives of the WSU volleyball team... it cant be that bad watching 20 year olds run around in spandex... I played vball... I know why my HS team had a great turnout for games :-) haha! Alright thats my cue, the phone ringing, back to work.

Have a great Friday and Labor Day weekend!

Go Gators!

25 weeks and going strong

This morning I had my doctor's appointment for 25 weeks prego! I will go back in four more weeks to do the glucose screening test to check for gestational diabetes and my 29 week checkup. The doctor said everything looks perfect, my blood pressure, measurements, heart rate, my weight (omg lets not go there hehe) etc. Adam went with me, and we got to hear the heartbeat. It was 144bpm, which is right smack in the middle of the "safe zone" for babies in the womb. We are so excited that baby Horseman is only 15 weeks away!

Fun Fact: at this point in pregnancy my uterus is the size of a volleyball or soccerball and measures 25cm in diameter! Cool! No wonder my stomach feels squished, haha :-)

Plumbing... How hard can it be?

Oh yes another adventure for the Horseman's. Adam decided it would be a great idea to hook up our ice maker to the house water supply from the crawl space, really how hard could it be? He did some research (asked the guy at Lowes) and was ready to go. So Monday evening he drilled a hole through the floor into the crawl space and pulled the water line through to hook up to the house supply down below. Off to the crawl space, the had all of his materials (we thought) and successfully punctured a hole in the pipe and presto, water connected right? WRONG! My darling hubby in the heat of the momment forgot the washer that seals the contraption onto the existing pipe so there is no leaking and a tight enough seal to pressurize the water hose enough to bring water into the ice maker. OOPS! well back to the crawl space (this time with the water off) he tried to put the washer on and puncture the SAME hole, oops, now there are 2 holes in the pipe.

At this point I have now called my Dad in FL, whos advice was priceless "you know it costs like $50 bucks to have someone do this for you" and the refrigerator manufacturer who also advised professional assistance. By now, Adam's Dad was over to watch the entertainment. Now Adam and I go into the crawl space (yes nearly 6mos prego and in the crawl space haha) we managed to cover both holes with the fitting and left it overnight with a small trickle leak and the ice maker started to work. AWESOME.

Tuesday evening:
The ice maker has made about 6 ice cubes at this point. Adam and Jason F. venture to the crawl space to fix the leak with "Hard as Steel" Plumbers Putty. 1.5 hrs later they realized this isnt working. Adam and I hit up Lowes, where the Plumbing dept guy, Justin, tells us exactly what we need and how to fix it (yes after 10 min of loitering in the aisle, he came over and gave us a live demonstration) The big thing here is we had to CUT pipe! oh uh, thats permanent! So we cover ourselves by buying 30$ worth of equipment just in case... We end up cutting a 1-2 in section of pipe out, use a nifty coupler (no sodering) and presto!

We get home about 8 oclock and not 10 minutes later we are completely fixed, good as new and on the way back to Lowes to return all the unused supplies. What an adventure! PS the ice maker is history until we make friends with a plumber :)

I must praise Adam for having the do it yourself homeowner initiative to do this project and for not giving up until the problem was fixed. :)

Dinner a Movie and a groundhog

This weekend Adam and I grabbed some dinner at El Toro (the new one in Beavercreek) it was really good, I totally recommend it. Then we went to see Tropic Thunder, the new movie with Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr. and a surprise Tom Cruise roll. Before the movie, I bought one of the kids pack popcorn deals. You get a small drink, kid pack candy and a handfull of popcorn, it was just enough. However, the only straws they had were the one for the $7 super XXL drinks, sooo I had a 3 ft straw for my small kids meal 10oz diet coke...OMG it was the funniest sight ever! I thought I was going to poke my eye out. I didnt even have to move the cup when i was thirsty, the straw was already BAM in my face. Ok this may not seem too funny, but I was rolling, almost in tears, for some reason I thought the straw to cup ratio was hilarious.

As far as Tropic Thunder goes, it was awesome! The movie was hilarious and just that hilarious, no weird sentimental twist just funny! I loved it, Tom Cruise was almost unrecognizable, he definetly got to let loose and just have fun! I recommend for anyone who wants a good belly laugh :)

Now the groundhog. So on Saturday, as Adam was down in the crawl space, checking things out, the dogs started going NUTS at the door, I walked over to tell them to hush. I opened the door and they were off to the races. I look into the yard and see a 15lb groundhog watching me about 15 yards off the patio. OMG, the thing doesnt even move when the dogs barrell towards it, the groundhog was ready to fight! Sidebar, ok so what a ground hog, well they have sharp teeth and long claws and can really tear up a dogs snout. So I start yelling "Mellow, Mongo, no , come here , Adam " Mellow grabs the animal in her mouth, meanwhile it manages to get a scratch towards one of the dogs, mellow drops it and it scurries off about 10 ft and then faces the dogs ready for more!! By now I am freaking out, Adam is fighting to get out of the crawl space and the dogs have cornered behind the shed. Finally the world champion fighter groundhog decides to run off and dogs come galluping over to us like "what, we were just protecting the yard" luckily, I couldnt find any scratches on the dogs, but Adam did scrap up his knees running out of the crawl space as I yelled for help. Just another adventure in the Horseman house I guess.

Phew I need a nap!

What a weekend. First of all, last night the Beavercreek Ohio area finally got some needed rain, Yay! Since I have been here, I dont think its been more than a week that Ohio hasnt had some rain, but this time around, we were definetly going on 2 or 3 weeks. Hopefully, the grass, not just the weeds, will be green now. As a matter of fact, one of our weekend projects was to fix the sub pump drainage system from the crawl space. Saturday, Adam decided it was time to fix the drainage system, this was also because next spring we plan to do some landscaping around the patio in the backyard. Before the pipe led right out of the crawl space and dumped water about 10 ft off the house. For many reasons, including the fact that Mongo likes to eat PVC pipe, we went to lowes to get our supplies and extended the pipe underground, barried it and angled to run down the natural slope of our yard. Yesterday evening was a true test with the rain we had, the new system was perfect...Way to go Adam!

Before the home improvement project, we took the dogs to the highly anticipated "Dash N Splash" at the Greene Cnty Fairgrounds. This is an event just for dogs, at the end of the swimming season, the park holds a day where dogs are invited to come and go swimming for the whole day, no humans, just dogs in the pool. We went last year with Mellow and had a blast! I was so pumped to bring both the dogs this year.
Adam thought is was too cute how Mongo was just taking it all in and really enjoying the wind in his ears on the way to the Dash N Splash. Every car ride, Mongo just finds the window and hangs his head out, he loves it. The pups were so excited to go swimming, they were a bit wild on the way to the pool.

A close up of Mongo enjoying the 45mph speeds against his face.

Finally, we made it! There must have been 200 cars in the parking lot! Luckily, it didnt seem too crowded at the pool! Because it was a hot 92 degrees Sat afternoon, we went right to the pool, Mellow was in heaven, she wouldnt be stopped from jumping in and chasing down the tennis ball in the water (can you say one track mind... "ball throw, chase, jump, swim, ball, throw") However, Mongo would jump in, ok slither into the water, go all the way under, pop up and slowly paddle his way to the edge and then just stand there like he was at a swim up pool bar ready to order a drink! Mongo loved it though he made about 20 dog friends, and about 100 human friends. One lady was in the pool to help the dogs, Mongo swam to her, when she went to pat his head, Mongo rolled over on his back, in the water, and acted like "No, pet my belly, thats much better!" Hello, dog you are in the water, when you roll over, you cant breathe...Oh Mongo! Thats why we love him, he is very "in the momment"

Mongo at the swim up pool bar ordering a peanut butter mudslide

Here is the star of the show! Mellow! She was so content just swimming after the tennis balls in the water

After the pool and our home improvement project, everyone was tuckered out, especially Mongo. Mongo loves his Kong toy, no matter what he 95% of the time has it with him in his mouth. Here he is sound asleep with his "pacifier" Kong lodged in his mouth, dreaming of the days adventures.

A close up of sleeping beauty and his beloved toy (security blanket)

Like I said, everyone was pretty tired after all that, here is Adam, about 5 mins after he sat down, sleeping

Who doesnt love a good nap. Happy Monday!

Success

WooHoo! the infamous surfboard is complete! This wraps up the room painting saga for Miss Camden Grace. I managed to free hand the letters and used some neat stamps to give it that final touch of flare. There is a lizard stamp at the bottom and a sun stamp at the two points to balance it out. Now, lets just hope she likes it, hehe.

Here is a brighter view, just me playing with the camera flash

Before the final touches, but after my straight line fiasco. I cheated here and used painters tape to guide the middle white stripe.

The onezy set that Adam bought me for the babe, it reads "My mommy makes me smile"
(thank you Jason Franklin for the guidance)

Back to that thing called work, have a super day!

Painters Block

How hard can it be to paint a surfbaord? Piece of cake, from any angle you see it. Its just a stretched out oval with a pointy end, Right! Oh no my friend, I may be able to paint a darn 9 foot palm tree, but heaven forbid I paint a 24 inch surfboard. So I am on round 4 of the painting, I have finally got the base shape and outer white line edging completed. The inside color matches the pink fabric we are using for the crib bedding detail. Before I move on, let me share this, it took me 2.5 hours to paint the original mural in the baby's room, but I have spent at least 3 hrs on the darn surfboard. I had no idea painting a clean line was so difficult, but finally I have the outer edge done, now I am just trying not to screw it up, haha. I just have to quickly paint over the center so it is a solid pink and then a center white line opening at the top and bottom of the board with "Camden" or "Camden's Ride" painted down the center of the line.

The plan of attack: I am going to use painters tape to mark the center stripe, giving myself the best chance of a clean edge line. Then free hand the letters and cover up any goofs with stamps of beachy creatures that I have left from when I painted our adorondak chairs. Phew I feel better, Ok tonight is the night, to get started at least.. done by the weekend, look for pics!

Schools Out!

Yesterday was my last class at WSU for my masters degree. I graduated in June, but still had an intership to wrap up, last night was the final intership 'class'. Earlier in the day Adam had texted me asking if I liked High School Musical or if there are any new cds I was interested in, I said no and completely forgot about the conversation.

On the way to my class, I had to stop and get gas, I was literally running on fumes. I headed for speedway, who is currently closed for remodeling..."shi*" so running on faith I make it to BP a couple miles down the street, and they who never are cheap are 8 cents cheaper than anyone in town and bam, I am now waiting in a line 2 deep for gas. I now have 10 min to be in class; there goes my diet coke and tootsie pop before class. Finally, I get some gas, walk in with seconds to spare. After class, I made it back home and Adam was waiting in the garage for me, I thought because some baseball players were on there way to pick up our hand me down couches. Little did I know he had a surprise waiting for me. SO I dive into the details of my day while in the garage and Adam patiently waits for me to wrap it up. I walk in and bam! I have presents. Adam, such a sweetie, got me 2 wonderful cards, that I will keep forever, a baby outfit for our little munchkin on the way, a book on what to expect the first year of baby and most of all a framed picture from our wedding, one of only a few I have managed to get framed! Lastly, Adam also put together 3 boquets of tootsie pops and crystal light individual packets. I got my tootsie pop after all ! This may seem cheesy, but I am the hardest person to buy for, so for adam to make the effort and come out with an A+ is awesome.
Note: the boquets were special because on our first dinner date he formed three roses out of paper towels and used the art as the centerpiece for the meal, I kept these silly papertowel flowers up until our move into the house in May.

So to my hubby I say thank you for making me feel so special and I love you!

ps. never forget Your A Keeper!

$$$ Island for Sale $$$

As I cruising the town the past couple of days I kept wondering what it may be like to live on a private island. So I did some investigating. First of all, after thinking up my clever idea I realized there is always added cost for grocery's, running water, cable, phone all of the needs for development, I figure we can live on the main land in S. FL and then jump on our speed boat (150K) with grocerys in tow and in a couple hours be at the private island, just off the bahamas. The technology with satellite communication would allow work to be done from the island, wireless. Now with all the logistics worked out, I found a great island off the Bahamas, it already has several homes on the property with docks and furnishings. This saves a chunck of change for building and plumbing, etc. The island below is Bone Fish Cay selling for a negotiable 14.5million $$$. Now this may seem pricey but seriously some homes cost 14.5 million!

Bone Fish Cay - A charming $14.5 mill Bone Fish Cay - Dock for boats etc

Now because I am planning on racking in some major bucks, i have already prepared by story for the tv show on VH1 The Fab Life of... Where they showcase super rich people or clubs etc.

No I dont plan on making millions, but I thought this would be an lighter way of approaching the next subject. How in the world does someone buy an island? My thinking is that when you have that much fun money, money has less value, meaning $100 becomes more like $5 bucks and 100,000 is more like 500$. Oh to be the super rich, i think it may be more trouble than its worth, money goes a lot faster for instance I get pleasure out of mowing the lawn, but super rich just have people mow, clean, move, landscape, buy grocerys, cook, babysit, etc. So after this detailed and super researched evaluation I am happy where I am, surronded by my family and friends that love me and are happy to do the simple things in life, and really interviewing that many people to work for me could really stifle my plans of scouting out the perfect private island. To keep the dream alive, i will keep an eye on the job market in the FL Keys. Plus in the keys they already are developed, grocery stores and all. This is awesome because I now dont have to waste the money on a 150k$ speed boat to get grocery's to the island, yes! See honey I know how to save money! haha.

So to the super rich, I will watch you on VH1 Fabulous life of ... while I am mowing my lawn and cooking for my family ... haha.