Four Years Ago Today...

...Jake and I were married on the sandy white beach at the Riu Negril in Jamaica. We were joined by our family and close friends and celebrated by ringing in the New Year the next day as a married couple with a pretty sweet tan (or, in Jake's case, a nasty New Year's Eve Day sunburn).

Our wedding day was one of the happiest days of my life, and something I wouldn't change one thing about. Everything was absolutely perfect and we were blessed with friends and family who believed so much in Jake and I as a couple that they were willing to fly to another country to witness our marriage -- with only two months notice. Shotgun wedding due to a pregnancy perhaps (for those of you who don't know the whole story)? No, no, no. That wasn't the case at all. It was more of a shotgun wedding due to a pending deployment. Which, was delayed for eight months after the wedding. We were thankful to have that eight months together as newlyweds though, that's for sure.

Let's see... to sum up the past four years as the Sherman's:
- we married in Jamaica
- April got a new job with Wells
- Jake continued locking things down at Central Middle School
- we said bye-bye to the city and hello to Hartford when we bought our new home
- got a puppy
- Jake was deployed
- April got another job with Wells
- Jake returned in '06
- April got pregnant
- Bought two new vehicles
- Bought two snowmobiles
- Bought an ATV (reckless spenders, much?)
- April got another job with Wells (seriously)
- Bought a nursery set
- Had our baby Layla Jennifer
- Wrecked one snowmobile
- Sold the other (cuz we're grown ups)
- Killed a bunch of deer
- Won the lottery (hehe... who's still paying attention)
- Lived happily ever after

Happy Anniversary Babe! Love you!

Merry Christmas 2008!

Merry Christmas everyone! Today Layla decided to start the holiday a bit early... early as in oh, about midnight. She was up for some Motrin (teething again) and got a glimpse of some of the new toys under the Christmas tree. It was all downhill from there. The little stinker would NOT go back to sleep after that. She wasn't upset or fussy or anything, in fact she just kept laughing. But she refused to go to sleep. At about 4:30 a.m., Jake came out of the bedroom to join us on the couch. We were sitting on the couch in the dark, laughing. Layla would laugh, then I would, repeat, repeat, repeat. I told Jake that she wouldn't go to sleep so he decided we should just kick off Christmas. So, we've been celebrating for a while now.

Layla made out pretty well this year. Santa brought her a fisher price "grow with me kitchen", a stroller for her babies, a helicopter thingie, and a bunch of books. She'll likely be getting more gifts on Saturday at the Christmas we're hosting here. Spoiled rotten, I tell ya.


A few pics to share from this a.m.'s festivities, along with a snap shot of our winter wonderland, for those of you fortunate enough to be updating yourselves on our lives from afar, in a warmer, less frigid and brutal climate.

Layla's first swear word

Yep. She did it. She swore. She's only 15 months old, her vocabulary to date consists of mama, dada, Hudson (not pronounced perfectly, but that's what she's saying), all done, no, uh oh, mmmm (when she's eating) and some other random stuff. Now, we can proudly add, "Damnit" to her vocabulary. Note to self: stop swearing.

On Saturday night, Jake had some friends over to watch football and partake in some holiday "spirits", when the topic of Layla's first swear word came up. The guys were wondering if she had said a swear word yet, and if so, which one. I told them no, she hadn't but that I thought maybe we had witnessed her saying, "G. Damnit" a few times in recent weeks. She heard me say that, turned around and looked at everyone in the kitchen and as clear as day said, "Damnit". The guys blew up with laughter, which only reassured her that saying that word was the bee's knees. Crap. Double crap.

No more swearing in the Sherman house. Shit.

Just tell me when it's Christmas!

Mama mia... this has been one whirlwind of a week. This past weekend, Jake went hunting on Saturday (AGAIN) and got his third (AND FINAL) deer of the season. Congrats on a great season babe. On Sunday, we had Christmas at my cousin Quinn and her husband, Jamie's house. It was great to see everyone, and Layla had an absolutely amazing time. I think because she had her very own party hostess - Jada. Jada is almost 5 and was having a great time escorting Layla through the house, showing her fun toys, wiping boogers off her face, etc. Little baby Emma (Jada's younger sister), who's six months younger than Layla, was a bit overwhelmed with all the commotion, but is as cute as ever. Layla still has her beat on the "chunk front", but darn Emma is cute. Things started to get a little confusing with all the little girls with names that end in "a", but we managed to stutter through the night.

Monday, I was hit with the flu like a ton of bricks. And when I say "hit", I mean "HIT". I didn't even make it home from work... had to throw up in a bag, pull over at a gas station to throw it away and pray that I wouldn't have to stop again. Jake was a doll, picking Layla up from daycare on Mon night and taking care of her all night long. Layla didn't even know I was home because we didn't want her near me. By 3:00 a.m., Jake was dashing across the house, trying to make it to the appropriate vomit receptacle. He was slammed with the flu and I felt terrible. I stayed home from work on Tuesday as well, because I still felt like death and wanted to disinfect the house from top to bottom to prevent Layla from getting the bug. No such luck. We were called yesterday afternoon to pick Layla up from daycare and Jake spent the day as Mr. Mom. She hasn't thrown up (knock on wood) but has a fever and is very sleepy. I'm home this a.m. with her, and Mr. Mom will be coming home for the afternoon shift. We're not sure whether she still has that fever or not, but in an effort to keep her on the mend, and, to "not spend the holidays dead" (note Christmas Vacation quote), we're taking the safe route.

This morning, I woke up and looked at Jake and said, "I really have no idea what day it is." And I didn't. When he told me it was Thursday, I about passed out. Thursday???? December 18th??? Come on!!! I'm not ready for Christmas!!!

With all of that said, I'm going to need someone to give me a call on Christmas Eve, to give me, I mean Santa, a heads up on getting the toys put under the tree.

Soooo sleeepy.

Oh, and CONGRATS to Jason and Jaimie Schultz. Their baby boy, Mason James, was born yesterday!!!

Christmas prep

Bean Pie leaning in for her close up when I asked her to "smile for mama!" :)

Shovely Joe, racked out with his eyes open last night after a HUGE snow day with dad. He helped Jake shovel all day long and was BEAT.

Another, "I'm ready for my close up, mama" moment. Can you see that booger in her nose? Yum.

It's not going in our yard, Russ. It's going in our living room. A preview of the Sherman family Christmas tree... This is before the angel or ornaments have been put on... but at least we started it. We got distracted making chili for Jake's Central Middle School Christmas party tonight.

This is another attempt at a smile for the camera, however I think it looks a bit devilish, don't you? Awww... our little devil.


And, last but not least, a video clip of our chatty little girl. The lighting in this video sucks. Sorry. Didn't realize how dim it was until I watched the video this a.m. Next time I shoot her on video, I'll have Jake stand behind me with his deer shiner. Geeze.

If you can't say anything interesting...

...don't say anything at all! Okay, so I think the real quote is, "If you can't say anything NICE..." but you catch my drift. I'm trying to excuse myself for being such a bad December blogger. I haven't posted an update since Dec 1st and haven't taken any pictures of Layla since before then, I don't think. Bad blogger mama!!! Things have been a bit crazy (nothing out of the ordinary, just work, life, lack of sleep type stuff) so I haven't motivated myself enough to chase the little one around with a camera lately. But, I promise, tonight I will.

My very own Clark W. Griswold (a.k.a. Jake) got all of our Christmas lights up this weekend (yes, in the cold windy storm we had) and went out and got our family Christmas tree (Layla and I didn't go because I had already run all over town with her that a.m. and she had had enough of the wind in her baby blues). Jake takes the Christmas tree thing VERY seriously, so has not allowed us to decorate it yet since the branches haven't fallen into the "perfect position" yet. Tonight, we'll decorate the tree and then follow our annual Christmas tradition by watching "Christmas Vacation". We LOVE LOVE LOVE that movie and can pretty much recite it word for word. Props to Jake's family as well (parents included), as they can quote most of the movie as well. So, I promise to take pics of the tree, and our little beepa trying to rip all the twinkly lights off of it. ;)

This weekend was a big shopping weekend for me. Ruh roh. I picked up Jake's gift from Santa (a muzzle loader, yes, I bought a gun and there is one long hilarious story that goes along with this that I will save for an upcoming post) and got all of Layla's gifts from Santa as well. I also coordinated one of my coworker's surprise baby showers that we held for her yesterday and was responsible for buying and wrapping all of the gifts. So with the gifts I bought for Layla and all the gifts I bought for my coworker, I pretty much bought out Babies R Us and made a total scene. It was a sight, that's for sure.

Today, as all of you are reading this in the Southeastern WI area well know, we are completely buried in snow. Jake has yet ANOTHER snow day (jack ass) and the snow is continuing to fall. In Hartford we got over a foot of snow already. This isn't supposed to stop until tomorrow sometime, so the commute home tonight should be awesome. Good thing I have a GIANT family bus of a vehicle. The thing is magic in the snow, I tell ya.

Happy Tuesday everyone. Enjoy the snow! Please no hate mail or blog posts about the lack in pics. They're comin!

Happy Thanksgiving, a few days late!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, a few days late... Sorry for the lack in posts and pics. We traveled to the North Woods for the holiday and Jake spent some time in the woods while Layla, Grandpa and Grandma Sherman and I hung out and played with everything under the sun in the Sherman house (thanks again to Grandma and Grandpa for letting us completely take over your home and destroy it)!

Lots to be thankful for this year... especially the fact that Jake is home with us to stay, no longer has to go away every month for Guard drill and we no longer have to worry about a possible 2nd deployment. Whew. Also, of course, we're thankful for this being our second Thanksgiving with our gorgeous baby girl. Layla keeps us busy every second of every day, that's for sure, and seems to learn something new all the time. She definitely understands every single word that comes out of our mouth, which is hilarious, and she's stubborn as they come when it comes to nap time and bed time (thanks a lot, Uncle Jeremy... we hear she inherited her sleep habits from you)!

I should've been spending time over the weekend snapping pics for the blog, but completely neglected my camera, and the computer. I think I simply needed a break from technology. After we returned home from the North Woods Jake and I laid low for the weekend, played our hearts out with Layla, and I cleaned the ever loving CRAP out of our house. I even got on my hands and knees and scrubbed all the floors (which I've done before but this time I had just changed all the light bulbs in the bathroom and it was in my face how badly we need to replace that disgusting floor). I couldn't believe how much flippin laundry we had either. I started laundry on Saturday, did it all day Sunday and we still have 1 or 2 loads left. How does that happen? Please someone tell me.

Today, Jake has a snow day (no fair). So, I tried to shoot from the hip with an impromptu "honey do" list but couldn't come up with anything better than "finish the laundry", "scrub the tub" (that's the one thing I didn't get to yesterday) and "schedule the basement construction" (the last thing to complete is the bathroom and a few doors and Jake says he's got a "team" constructed to help with this at the end of the month). I just have to do a little nudging to help him PLAN, as "PLANNING AHEAD" doesn't really exist in his vocabulary.

So that's the latest and greatest with the Sherman fam. I'll get back on the picture train soon and will post some snaps asap!

Move, Biatch, Get out tha WAY!!!

To quote one of my favorite "Luda" songs, "Move, Biatch, Get out the WAY" was my motto driving into work today. I have a question... does the "left lane is for fast drivers" rule still apply??? I thought it did, so stick to the left lane religiously on my commute. Anyone who has driven with me knows, I have somewhat of a "lead foot". When I used to drive the Honda (moment of silence in its honor please), I would FLY and weave in and out of traffic like Mario Andretti. The Envoy has proven to be a little more difficult to do that with, but, if you can imagine, I make it happen.

Today, on the way to work (not with Layla in the car... I abide by all traffic rules with our little Angel in the car, trust me), I managed to come into contact with (not literally, don't flip out) about 38 different drivers who were sure that the left lane is now for lame slow ass Sunday drives in the sun. NEWSFLASH - the left lane is for those of us who are constantly on the go, who have a slight to moderate case of A.D.H.D. and who straight up just enjoy driving fast while blaring some sweet Christmas tunes, or, straight up ghetto beats.

There. I feel better. Tell your friends... if they see a blue(ish) Envoy hauling up on their ass, they'd be wise, to MOVE, BIATCH and GET OUT THA WAY!!

Sorry family...

Dud's & Bean and After Bathtime

These two hardly ever leave each other's sides anymore. It's either Hudson following Layla around because she's carrying her Snack Trap of goldfish crackers that she consistently digs into and shares with him, or it's Layla following Hudson around to give him a kiss or to pet him or use him as a balancing support system.

And here's a quick video of our little walker. She has made the full transition from a "new walker" to an "all the time walker". She's hilarious and always wants to carry something from one place to another. She is very determined and stubborn about this walking thing which is good and bad. It's good in the sense that I truly need to give my back a break from lugging her around, but bad in that when it's time to get ready for work and get her ready for daycare, it's really hard to chase her down and get her to sit long enough for a new diaper, clothes and shoes!!!

Hunter Bean

Well, here it is. Layla's first buck. ;) She shot it with the pink .22 that Grandpa Ice bought for her when she was first born. Alright, so she didn't really shoot it herself. Jake did, but Layla wanted to take the credit for it so we threw her up on the truck w/the deer to shoot some pics w/dad's win. We were wondering if she'd be afraid of it, but she wasn't. I'm pretty sure she thought it was a dog, and, that it was still alive. We didn't have the heart to tell her the truth. Hudson, on the other hand, was scared out of his mind of this thing and thought for sure that at any moment, it was going to come alive and start beating him to a bloody pulp.

Nice job on the buck daddy!!

What a difference a year makes!! Here's Bean with her prize from Grandpa the day we got home from the hospital with her. She was two days old with her shiny new gun. Whoa mama.

Walk it Out!

Well, you asked for more, and here it is. Layla is really getting the hang of this walking thing now. I give her maybe two weeks before crawling will be a thing of the past for her. She is loving this new found skill, and most of the time she'd prefer to run at a dead sprint rather than walk. She took a digger at daycare yesterday that landed her with a bruise on the forehead. It will definitely not be the last massive fall she takes, judging by how wobbly she still is.

Just a quick one here, but thought her face was cute once she fell on her butt. :)

And here's a random one. Layla LOVES shoes. She ALWAYS wants us to put her shoes on, no matter what time of day it is or what she's doing. She's definitely my little girl! ;) Here, she wanted to put my shoes on (yes, I'm aware that these shoes are ass ugly... They're my go get the mail shoes). She tried walking in them, but it wasn't working out for her so much.

Veteran's Day ... Two Years Ago

It's hard to believe that this was only two years ago. Two years ago, on Veteran's Day (ironically), Jake returned home from his 15 mo deployment. It was an amazing belated Bday gift for me, and the end of a very long year apart for Jake and I. Thankfully, I had my dear friend Jaimie to keep me alive and afloat for the length of the deployment. Her husband, Jason, returned the same day as well.

Happy Veteran's Day, and thank you to those of you who've served our country and risked you lives to protect the privileges that we enjoy as Civilians of this great country.

10th Anniversary of my 21st Birthday

Yesterday was the 10th Anniversary of my 21st Birthday. ;) Big day! In fact, it was by far the best birthday of my life. Not because of some grand party, or cake or presents. Not because of anything like that. This weekend was Jake's very last drill with the Army. No more weekends of him being gone for absolutely no reason at all, to stand in a line and take useless orders that really just send him walking in circles for 10 -12 hours a day. Besides having a full weekend back for family time every month, we're also blessed with knowing that we do not have to worry about the possibility of another deployment. That thought alone is enough to send both Jake and I sailing into heaven with happiness.

On Friday night, Jake went to drill and was told that he was free to go and wouldn't have to come back for Saturday or Sunday's drill times. He was thanked for his service and commitment to the Army and sent on his way with a blessing to enjoy his life as a civilian. Very final and very comforting. What an AWESOME birthday present.

To celebrate the weekend events, Jake and I got a surprise visit from his parents. They hand delivered my birthday gift on Saturday, an awesome t-light candle holder / wall hanging thingie (okay, I don't know what to call it really but it's super cool and I saw it in a boutique up in Crivitz the last time I was there and told Jake's mom how much I loved it). How sweet of them to make the trip down to say happy birthday, deliver the gift and bring us lunch! Love you guys!!

Saturday night Jake and I had our friend and neighbor, Jenny, over to partake in some celebratory wine drinking. Good times had by all, that's for sure! Sunday Jake went hunting for a bit and our other friend and neighbor (we have awesome neighbors), Lori, took Layla bean for a while so I could make dinner for Jake and I (I made steak for Jake, fish for me, but seriously, aren't you proud!? I made steak!). Then Jake and I were able to have a quiet dinner alone. Which, I must say, was super odd. We both kept looking around as if we had lost something. We were set to pick up Beepa at 8:00 and by 7:45, I looked at Jake and said, "Okay, can we go get her now? I miss her."

This weekend Jake and I will be heading to Vino 100 for some wine and to the Ale House for dinner to have a formal Bday celebration. Should be a hoot. I just said "hoot". Yep, I'm 31 for sure. I'm old.

So, all in all, a super awesome 31st birthday.

14 Months Old

Layla Bean,

You're 14 months old today. One year and two months. 60 weeks (I think). Our little baby isn't such a little baby anymore. Last night, I came home from work to you "little" Layla, standing in the living room, looking more like a little girl than ever before. You are getting so tall, and are really developing a funny personality. You do all that you can to make us laugh, and, when we are laughing at something totally unrelated to you, you start laughing with us, thinking that there couldn't possibly be anything else in this world that would invoke laughing besides you. I understand that feeling. ;)

You are still a little reluctant to go full go with the walking thing. I remember back in August I took you to visit the Schultz's, and Jaimie asked me when I thought you'd start walking. Maybe I jinxed it, because I just didn't think you'd be ready for a while and I told her, "Probably not until she's 15 months old." I think Jaimie was surprised to hear that, but here we are, on your 14 month bday, and since that first video we snapped of you taking your very first four wobbly steps, you've decided that taking more than 1 step at a time is just too much to handle. You can scale the couch and walls like nobody's business, and you stand at attention for as long as your legs will let you. But as far as walking on a normal basis goes... not so much. You'll do it on your own terms, when you're good and ready. That's just fine with us beepa bee.

You've become quite independent in the recent months and do not like to have anyone "help" you out with anything. You'd much rather feed yourself, fill up your own bath, and "fold" your own clothes. You're making some solid attempts at using forks and spoons, but it's a messy attempt, that's for sure. We recently discovered that you may have a slight fear of the dark, and finally put a night light in your room last night. So far, it seems to be comforting you. Daddy says that because it took us so long to figure out such a simple thing, that I get a free pass to kick him in his "nuggets" (you'll learn what nuggets are soon enough).

Every night, I give you your bath and we talk about your day. You seem to have more to tell me each night, which I love. My favorite thing in this world to do, is rock you to sleep. I stare at you and think about all the things you did or "said" that day that I'm thankful for. You make your daddy and I so unbelievably happy, more and more happy each day we trot into your room to see your smiling face.

Love you little beepa.

Pics

For a better view, click on the "view slideshow" link. There are a ton of them here!

Username: dreamingofdogs06@yahoo.com
Password: Hudson

http://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/view.sfly?fid=7ca0b94672974b493315f89dbf2f35f7#1225737790812

Weekend Haps

First, let me start by saying the new pic of Layla is one of the pics we had taken recently for Layla's 1st Bday / family pics for 2008. I just love it. But, I cannot figure out how to make it appear smaller on the blog. I'm not sure it's necessary to have it so giant, but I'll deal w/that later. Also, I'd like to give a shout out to Jaimie, who also does photography but was not our photographer for this shoot. We set up our pics w/Amy before I knew that Jaimie was back at it with her photography. Jaimie, we'd still love to do a shoot w/you again soon!! I'll post more of the pics for everyone to see when I figure out why blogspot hates me today and will not let me upload these pics. Grrrr...

This weekend was spent at Grandma and Gradpa Sherman's in Crivitz. Mama forgot the camera, so she doesn't have pictures to post. :( We had a great time relaxing and being away fromt the "hustle and bustle". Thanks to Grandpa and Grandma for letting us take over your house, and for all the fun stuff you pulled out for Layla! She had so much fun, that when we put her in the truck to leave on Sunday, she cried her eyes out. Grandma Sherman had so many fun toys to share with Layla - Uncle Jeremy's play kitchen set from when he was a little tot (yes, Uncle Jeremy had a play kitchen set, and he may want to deck me for calling it out on the blog), blocks, cookie monster piano, books, you name it. And all of it are toys from when the boys were little. So neat!! Thanks for the great family weekend D and Ice. We love you!!

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween a day early to everyone. The fam is headed north tonight to Crivitz, so we won't have access to anything resembling a super high speed internet connection. I thought I'd get these pics posted before we left, in spirit of the holiday tomorrow.

Layla dressed up on Sunday as a puppy - it was our trick or treat day in Hartford. Our neighbors, Paul and Jenny, had their annual Halloween party for all the kids and parents so we took our little pup next door for the festivities. She had a great time and was ready for a good long nap afterwards. Tomorrow, we'll be taking Layla to Grandma Sherman's school for a Halloween party, so she'll be able to suit up in her pup gear all over again! Hope she's more excited than she lets on in the pic below. ;)

This face says it all... "Seriously mom? I'm sweating my butt off in this thing. I think I've been wearing it long enough, don't you? Take the flippin thing off already."And here's one of Layla's cousin, Poopsie (Meg and Poopsie came for a visit this past weekend and the four of us had a girl's weekend since our boys were all hanging out in trees). She seems to be saying pretty much the same thing to her mama, Megan. Meg dresses Poopsie up in the most fabulous outfits all the time, so you'd think she'd be used to it. But this night, Poopsie was just pissed about it.

"Hey! What the?! Did I just hear someone say MILK?!!"

"Oh yeaahhh! I have my pink boots on today! These are snazzy, don't you think?"

" Alright, I admit it. I'm too cute for words. I know you can't resist me in this puppy costume. Even Hudson loves it!"

Early Mornin'

This morning, Layla decided to get up to play at about 4:00. It was dad's turn to get up, but after I while, Layla decided she wanted the whole family up to talk to and play with. So, after listening to her talk and cough (poor little girl has a cold) Hudson and I joined everyone in the living room for our a.m. coffee and news. Hudson, as you can see, was not super pumped about the early a.m. wake up call. He's not supposed to be up on the couch except for the spot we've designated for him with his blanket. He insists on this spot however, I think because it's usually in between Jake and I. I tried getting him to move today and this is the look he gave me.

By about 5:45 a.m., Layla decided she'd had enough and fell back asleep on the couch. Great. You go right ahead and sleep. Dad and I will just clean the house and do some laundry since we're up (which, is actually kind of what we did). I will give Layla kudos for last night though, since she actually slept from about 8:45 to 4:00. That's much better then Mon and Tue nights!

And here's something I was doing to pass the time before the sun came up... No, I am no photographer. That's for sure. I also have a camera that can now be considered ancient so that doesn't help things either. For a better view, please tilt your head to the left. Anyway, I bought this bottle of wine this weekend at Vino 100 with my friend Beth. It was the very first bottle of wine I saw when we walked in. It's called "Layla" and is a 2006 Cabernet. Of course I had to buy it! I bottle of wine, called Layla, which was bottled the year before she was born! I won't be drinking this one. I'll keep it and give it to Layla someday when she understands that it's no use to try to bust into the thing since it'll be old and fermented by the time I give it to her, and when she understands that it'll be pretty sweet to have a bottle of wine with your name on it. I dunno, if you ask me, I'd dig it if I had a bottle of old ass wine from 1976 called "April".

First Steps!!!

Last night was the big night!! Layla took her first steps, and we were actually both home to see it, and, get it on video! Unfortunately, mama didn't have the camera battery charged, so we only got this shot of her and weren't able to record more. But, I will definitely charge that sucker up so we can get some more clips of her trottin' around like a drunken sailor! She was sooo proud of herself and just wanted to keep trying over and over and over!!!

Go Layla!!

A Miracle for The Shermans

As many of you know, Jake and I have been living on the edge over the past several months as a "military family". Jake is just finishing his 7th year in the Army National Guard and his scheduled ETS date (contract end date with this unit, basically) is November 20th.

Recently, we received word that his unit would be deploying in March, 2009. There were many dates, schedules, etc., that played into this deployment date that left us unsure as to whether Jake would be going on this deployment in March. Shortly after hearing that his unit would be deployed, we received a "stop loss" date for Jake (in civilian's terms, a stop loss date is a date that the military assigns to a unit being deployed to snag soldiers who are nearing the end of their service into a deployment. It's their way of "minimizing loss"). The date assigned was November 21st. That's right, one day after Jake's scheduled end date with this unit. After 7 years of military b.s., I knew better than to do back flips over this one day saving grace.

Jake has been working tirelessly to get answers from his commanding officers about where his name is, what list it's on, whether he will be stop lossed, whether he'll be deploying again. What the stop loss date all came down to was when this unit was scheduled to travel overseas in March. Because so many troops are deploying in March (over 3,000), the Army has arranged for multiple travel dates. Jake's stop loss date was entirely dependant on when his unit was scheduled to fly out.

Long long long story short, yesterday we received formal Military Orders that said that any soldier who's ETS date is on or before November 26, 2008, will be allowed to ETS - translation: JAKE IS HOME. HE'S HOME TO STAY. HE'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE. HOOAH.

Thanks to EVERY last one of you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. This last year of so many unknowns has been more stressful on Jake and I than I could've ever imagined. Our approach to getting through this has always been to think positively and reassure each other that when this is all over, our lives will be so much more relaxed, calm and happy. Yesterday, after receiving the news, I felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. I know Jake felt the same, because for the first time in a very long time, I heard his laugh. That good old Jake laugh that we all know and love.

Hallelujah!!

I'm voting for...

So I've decided it's time to stop avoiding the inevitable and start being a grown up about the quickly approaching presidential elections. I don't think I've been this torn between candidates in a while (or at least I was slightly torn until today... keep reading). I can usually decide fairly quickly which candidate aligns w/my beliefs, but not this time. Maybe it's because I feel like both of them are full of shit this time around (okay, all politicians are full of shit for the most part, but these candidates are heavy on the shit). It's hard to get to the bottom of what they really believe and what they'll really put into play if voted into the white house, when most of the time your asking, "What the hell is he talking about?? Did he even answer the question or did he just go off on a tangent about Teletubbies?!"

I've been watching the presidential and vice presidential debates, and plan to do the same tonight. The debates have helped me a bit, but today I decided to take one of those online quizzes that would help me see which candidate really aligns with the issues that are most important to me. Very interesting results. The results told me that this candidate shares a 79% similarity with my beliefs! 79%! I was leaning towards this one, but now, I think I'm set (of course we'll see how the debates go tonight and going forward, and, it helps me to know that the vice presidential candidate is - in my opinion - stronger than the one I will not be voting for).

Check out this site. Helpful and interesting.

http://glassbooth.org/

Can you guess which candidate that I'll be casting my vote for?? I have a feeling there will be a number of people in my life that will be surprised.

Bad Blogger Mama!

Dear Loyal Sherman Blog Followers,

I'm sorry for my absence, and lack in posts. I have let the daily grind and responsibilities of parenthood, work and life stand in the way of what is really important - blogging. ;) Things truly haven't been "out of control" or anything, just your regular busy days and nights. Work at Wells Fargo is definitely a bit strange these days, so I'm constantly on my toes keeping up with communications that will tell our participants, "Chill out, this happens, and you'll be fine. Leave your damn money where it is." I think that has taken a lot out of me. By the time I leave the office everyday, I'm a walking zombie. Then, it's off to my 2nd job as mommy.

Layla has been doing well (KNOCK ON WOOD). Since starting her on vitamins and dophalus powder, her health has been noticeably improved. I think she's teething again, but I'm prepared to struggle through teething for the next year. At this point, we're used to it. Layla's latest developments: She can finally push her walker and make turns around corners. It's hilarious to watch and a relief to know that if she bangs that thing up against a corner or wall that she'll be able to get herself out of the bind instead of screaming bloody murder to have one of us help her. She can walk along side of us while we hold just one of her hands. She's overly cautious, and only lets us do this every once in a while, but we're getting close to the day that she takes that first step. You can see it in her eyes how bad she wants to try it. She is in LOVE with Hudson. She looks for him first thing in the a.m., everyday and has to give him his "love pats" as often as he will let her. He's a patient one, that's for sure.

Other than that, really not much exciting on our end. Jake is diligently doing his part to kill the "big buck of '08". So far, no such luck. While he is out sitting in trees, I hang out w/Layla and make plans to hang out w/my girls. My trip north to hang out w/Theresa was a flippin blast - something I wish I could do way more often. Last week I also managed to have a dinner date w/ my old friend Jaimie, and was able to go out on the town w/the "desperate housewives" of the Redneck Riviera on Friday. That ended up as a wild and crazy night! Such a blast.

Here are few videos of Layla Bean. I have more, but blogspot is not cooperating this a.m.

Happy Tuesday to all!

"Ice"

No, I'm actually not talking THE Ice Man (Ice Man Jim Crivitz, that is), I'm talking about the latest word Layla has learned to say. Jake and I are trying to teach Layla to pet Hudson "Nice". So every time she gives him a hard whack on the head, we say, "Layla, pet Hudson niiiice." Just the other night, she started saying "Iiiiice" when she pets him. She'll also pet us on the head, very soft and say, "Iiiice". Then, she'll do it to herself. Cutest thing ever.

She's just recently started having "conversations" with us and her teachers at daycare. She's really starting to mock what we say, which is scary because I wouldn't say Jake or I have very "clean mouths" 100% of the time. If we say, "Layla, no," she will turn and look at us and say, "no!" and then go back to what she's doing. If she is reaching for something and we hand it to her, she says "thank you" (but she pronounces it "Ta-oo").

I just cannot believe how fast she's growing up and learning things. She has had me just rolling on the floor laughing this week. She has developed quite the sense of humor and it is so much fun!! Before we know it she'll be saying her first swears. Then we're in trouble.

Layla's First Shiner

The pictures don't really do it justice. This was day one (last Sunday) of Beepa's first "shiner". She took a pretty nice digger while she was "helping" me clean the fridge (she stands inside the door and pulls all the plastic salad dressing bottles off the shelf and hands them to me, or slams them on the floor). Her sock hit a slippery spot on the floor and she went down, face first into the bottom shelf of the fridge. She didn't really cry all that much, and as soon as I said, "You're okay, let's get back to work," she was fine. Funny how babies look to mama and papa for how they're going to react.

By Monday a.m., her shiner was pretty bad. Her eye was almost swollen shut and I was concerned daycare was going to call social services. ;) Luckily, they didn't and weren't surprised to see her w/her first battle wound since she's so close to walking.

The rest of this week has been spent prying both of her eyes open so that we can put drops in that help keep the pink eye away that she had last week and help w/the infection that I think she's been passing from one eye to the other on a daily basis. For this entire week she's looked like a UFC cage fighter.

On a separate note, I thought I'd give you an update on my last post, "Zen". I think I may have found him. At the Organic Market in good 'ol Slinger, WI. I stopped there (and have always wanted to but just never took the time) on Thurs after work. I spoke with a Naturopathic doctor while I was there about all kinds of homeopathic remedies for sick babies. I walked out of there w/ some infant multi vitamins, Dophilus powder (to put the good bacteria back into Layla's system that all the antibiotics she's been on have destroyed) and some ear drops for her ear infection that she's developed (grape fruit seed extract is the active ingredient). Call me a hippy or a witch doctor, I don't care. I'm desperate, and with my recent transition to all things natural with all of our cleaning products (Melaluca, thanks for introducing me Jaim), I figure why wouldn't I take a holistic / organic approach to medicine in addition to our recent conversion to all natural cleaning products?

Layla has had almost two full days worth of the ear drops and is doing great. No pain, just some oozing from her ear, which is normal w/the tubes and means the infection is draining. I'm super excited about this market I've found and think I'll be a regular customer going forward. I only wish I'd stopped sooner!!

Also, wanted to be sure that none of you think I'd ever just up and dissappear to CA, leaving my family behind to wonder when / if I'd be back. I think Jake was a little worried. ;) Instead, my dear friend Theresa has invited me for a visit next weekend. So in a matter of days we've planned the trip and I'll be flying up to Minneapolis next weekend. Just me! Holy canolis... Just me, for an entire weekend. I haven't been away from Layla for more than one night since she was born. I know she's going to have a blast with daddy for the weekend, as when I told her last night she got this look on her fact like, "Dude. Thank God. It's about time your got your neurotic ass out of here."

Peace, love and zen.