Thursday, October 30, 2008

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!"




Thursday, October 23, 2008

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".



Wednesday, October 22, 2008

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!!

Friday, October 17, 2008

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!!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

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.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

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!



Wednesday, October 1, 2008

"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.