SNOW DAY!!

Well here in the midwest we are being hit with a snow storm. It started some time during the night because I woke up to a nice blanket of snow all over the ground. Unfortunately I had to get out in it and go to work. UGH! According to the news it was supposed to stop some time this morning. Well here it is after noon and it is still coming down and harder than it was before. I kind of want to bundle up Lauren and take her out to play. She really hasn't experienced playing in the snow yet. I personally don't like to be cold and get wet so that is probably why we (I) have avoided taking her out in it. But today I feel like getting her all bundled up in a cute snow bunny outfit and taking some pictures of her playing in the snow. I guess we will see what Daddy has to say about it!!

Sinus Infection

Well for the past week pretty much I have been sick, and when I say sick I mean sick!!! I am not one who doesn’t get colds or anything like that. Actually my nose probably runs more than it doesn’t. But last week was different. I got this strange headache on Tuesday so I took some Advil and it pretty much went away. Then Thursday I just felt poopy all day. I woke up in the middle of the night that night and my head was killing me. I had the worst pressure and ringing in my ears that I have ever had. Brian got up and went to work and I called my mom to come over and help get Lauren ready and if she would take her to day care for me because I wasn’t going to be able to make it to work. I had my mom take me to the chiropractor to adjust my neck, thinking that would help and it did for about 24 hours. My mom was nice enough to keep Lauren for me overnight on Saturday and when I woke up Sunday morning the pain had seemed to intensify. Brian had already went to work and I called my mom and told her I still wasn’t feeling well and that I probably need to go to the ER and be treated. So I called my dad and he came right over and took me. Turns out I was dehydrated with a pretty nasty infection. They gave me fluids, some pain killers and an antibiotic and sent me on my way. Here it is Thursday and after spending several days lying flat on my back, either in bed or on the couch, I am just now starting to feel better. I am still pretty weak and really tired. My neck is still tight and the muscles in my shoulders just burn. My chiropractor tells me that is because the infection/virus settled in my neck and just needs to work its way out. Tuesday when I went back to my chiropractor I had acupuncture done for the first time. It wasn’t really what I was expecting. It wasn’t like what I had seen on Private Practice the week before where the lady had 40 needles sticking out of her face!! I only got about 6 and most of them weren’t even on my face which I thought was strange since it was my sinuses they were supposed to be treating. It was still pretty weird for them to poke needles in me though!!

Little Ways to Show You Care

Well as you know Brian and I went out to dinner last night on a very romantic date. It was very well needed as we have been having a bit of a rough patch. Our first year of parent hood has been hard. We never used to disagree much let alone fight or argue but here lately it seems like that is all we do. (I guess sleep deprivation will do that to you)



Well this afternoon I get a very sweet text message from Brian. It said "Last night was nice when I was staring into your eyes. I forgot how beautiful they are. It's been a while."



How incredibly sweet was that!! That is the man that I married, who used to call me beautiful and say sweet things to me all the time. It brought tears to my eyes. I truly, deeply, love this man!



I have been reading several books lately and I am about a quarter of the way through "Becoming Parents: How to Strenghten Your Marriage as Your Family Grows" by Pamela L Jordan, Scott M Stanley and Howard J Markman


I have made it through part one, which talks about how to handle conflict and effectively communicate. I am looking forward to finishing this book and gaining knowledge of how to make my marriage better.

Coming Home

I love coming home after a long day at work or being gone for the evening and seeing my little girl. When I walk through the door she gets so excited (some times she even screams!) and immediately puts her arms up for me and when I pick her up she gives me the best hug ever. Even with her little arms she can manage to get them around my neck and shoulders and just give me the biggest, and tightest squeeze and then she will give me a great big kiss, sometimes more than one. Leaving her and going to work everyday is very difficult for me so coming home is always the best part of my day!

Last night Brian and I went out to celebrate Valentine’s Day. We went to my favorite restaurant, The Melting Pot. It was WONDERFUL!! I ate way too much but it was so nice to have a relaxing evening to ourselves and just spend some well needed time together. If you have never been to The Melting Pot, it is this amazing fondue restaurant. They have a meal that they call their, Big Night Out. It is a four course meal that is so incredibly yummy. You get to choose from a selection of cheese fondue for your appetizer, salad, an entrée and then chocolate for desert. It is a bit pricey so we don’t go there very often and usually only for special occasions. They do however have a happy hour where cheese and chocolate is half price and I love doing that since those two are my favorite anyways! With the cheese course they make the fondue right at your table and then they give you some apples, bread and a few different kinds of veggies to dip in the cheese. The entrée course is different than any other restaurant I have ever been to. They bring the meat to your table raw! Then you skewer the meat onto the fondue fork and cook it for a few minutes in a pot of boiling oil, broths and other flavorings. Last night we had several different meats. We had shrimp, lobster, filet, chicken, pork, and teriyaki beef. They also bring out veggies like broccoli, squash potatoes and mushrooms that you also throw in the pot and let boil. One of my favorite parts of the entrée course is all the different sauces that they bring out for you to dip your meat into. There are like 10 different ones. Then there is the chocolate, if you have never had fondue you should at least try the chocolate course! They have several to choose from and I haven’t met one that I didn’t like. We chose the Cookies and Cream, Marshmallow Dream which is a mixture of dark chocolate, marshmallow cream and crushed up Oreo Cookie. They bring several items for you to dip like bananas, strawberries, pound cake, brownies, rice krispy treats, and cheesecake. It is truly absolutely wonderful!!! It was a great evening of food and company with my favorite man. J When we got home from dinner, L, was still awake and we walk through the door and she just got a huge smile on her face and she went back and forth between the two of us giving us her hugs and kisses. It was the perfect way to end our evening.

It was so nice to come home and know that she truly missed us!!

Valentine's Day

Usually for Valentine's day my husband and I do something really romantic and give each other gifts. This year we decided no gifts and that we would just go out to dinner one night later in the week instead. Imagine my suprise when I got home from work on Friday night and he handed me a card and said he got me a little something! My first thought was oh how I love this man and then my second thought was panic because I didn't get him anything but a card. So he strolls over to the refrigerator and hands me this





It honestly was just what I wanted. He has never bought me chocolates before so it was sweet for him to think of me and to bring me two of these. He didn't even ask for one of them but of course I shared.

Tomorrow we are going to the Melting Pot. My favorite restaurant of all times!!!

One of those moms

I read a post this morning on a blog that I follow. MckMama wrote about almost joining a club.

While I am not one of those mother's, my mom is. My mom had trouble concieving and had several miscarriages and then her and my dad were blessed with my oldest brother via adoption! Three years later after another miscarriage my mom got pregnant with my brother and then three years later I was born.
5 1/2 years ago my oldest brother, Paul, was taken home to be with Jesus at the age of 27. While I cannot imagine the pain of losing a child I know the pain of losing a sibling and watching my parents fight for their sons life. And then fight to keep themselves afloat as they wade through the process we call grief.
The death of my brother was very unexpected and it has left a permanant scar on my heart and on my family. So while I have not joined that club, I too have a soft spot on my heart for any one that is in that club. I thank God every day, multiple times, for the blessing that is my daughter. I thank all of these women for sharing your stories and touching my heart.

Binky Kisses

I just have to say that I must have the cutest daughter in the entire world! When I rock her or hold her I always kiss her on the forehead. As I was rocking her to sleep the other night she kept raising her head from my chest and leaning in towards my lips so that I would kiss her forehead and she wouldn't lay her head back down until I did. It melted my heart!!! Well last night as I was rocking her to sleep she kept giving me binky kisses. (kissing me but the binky is still in her mouth, so binky kisses) She even does the mmmmwah sound. I absolutely love her kisses and it just does something to me every time she does it and last night I think it was her way of avoiding falling asleep so I probably got 30 of them!! I relished each and everyone of them.

I'm New Here

This is my first post. I am fairly new to the blogging world. I follow a few blogs and have been inspired to start my own.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself. My husband, Brian and I, Sonya, have been married for 4 1/2 years and we just had our first child, Lauren, in January of 2008. She is the light of our lives. I love my family, photography, cooking, scrapbooking, reading and movies.

I wear many hats in my life. I am a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, an aunt, a loan officer and most recently a financial coach. The company I work for is trying to help families improve their finances for free. So I am pretty excited about taking on this new role.

I want to blog about cooking and post tons of recipes that I have tried out. Since I love photography I also will be posting tons of pictures!! I am sure that I will also talk about motherhood and raising a child and about being married and everything that entails.