The Good & The Bad

I have some really great news and some really bad news.

Let's start with the good news, well let's call it absolutley great news. I think I have told everyone, but if you haven't heard here is a clue.



Our family is growing. I found out on Sunday and I am making my prenatal appointments this week. I am so excited, I should be due sometime in October.

Allison is going to be a big sister. I hope she can handle it, sharing the spot light will be a tough one for her.


Alright, now the bad news.
My sister was rushed to the emergency room last night with liver and kidney problems. They put her on dialysis, she is doing fine right now. I am scared and saddened by the fact that she is only 29 and I wouldn't know what to do without her, she's my little sister.


I don't have much information as to what caused all the problems or what is going to happen so I am hoping to go and visit with her this week to find out more and to help her get through this.


I hope that all of you can say a prayer to help comfort her in this time of need. She could really use the love and support from everyone right now.

I pray she gets better, because I need her here in October when baby #2 is due.




We love you Holly, get well and we will see you very soon!!!

What a Great Celebration

As you read yesterday I had a birthday. For dessert Allison & I made some frosted brownies with sprinkles.
They were delicious. I think Allison enjoyed them the most, she had a great time eating her own brownie, as you can see



It was a wonderful evening. Scott brought a pizza home (a surprise) so I didn't have to cook and he did the dishes for me as well. I love that guy!!!

I had a wonderful birthday, one I will remember for a while because of one precious little girl and her daddy.

Heave a great weekend!!!

32

Today I am 32.

Some things that I have treated myself to, which seems like such a luxury now, are sleeping in an extra 1/2 hour, no laundry today, and I am going to give myself a pedicure in the next hour while Allison naps.

Ahhhhh, the live of a mom, you never take anything free time for granted ever again.

Allison helped to bake my birthday brownies and really enjoyed herself when I turned around to put dishes in the sink





I have had a great birthday so far, I am going to go enjoy the rest of my day and take it easy.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!!

No Shoes Required

Well, where to begin. A storm hit us on Sunday and hasn't let up. Today there are gusts of wind up to 40 mph and tomorrow the gusts are going to be 50 to 60 mph, can you believe it??? And it has been raining non stop.
B
ut I don't care. Allison and I went to play date today and she had a blast, as always. She did however, try and throw some balls in the pack & play with a 2 month old and she fought a little boy for a toy vacuum, oh, and she kept getting in the cupboards and throwing pot lids on the ground, but other than that she had fun.

Tomorrow I was hoping we didn't have to leave the house on account of the weather but Allison has her 18 month appointment. So we have to bundle up and brace the storm.

Yesterday we went grocery shopping. On the way home my backseat passanger decided that she didn't like the shoes ans socks idea and pulled them off. I turned around to look at her and she was playing with her toes. I was cracking up so when we got home I took a few pictures



I thought I would throw these in because I htought it was funny. We put Allison down for a nap the other day. She was playing and laughing and I thought she was playing with her cat and elephany.
Well I went to check on her and she had taken her jammies off. The are the zip up feetsie type that have a button thing that covers the zipper. She somehow managed to get that undone and unzip the thing. This is how I found her, trying to pull her feet out of them.

Exercise & Fitness

Well, I thought since it is a new year I would stop lurking at all the "Show Us Your Life" entries and start posting some things.

As far as diet and exercise goes, the only exercise I get now is chasing the "One Who Only Runs...Everywhere" and my diet is anything I can stuff in my mouth between housework and chasing her around keeping her out of everything I just put away.

Here she is, the hummingbird in action


Seriously though, I am not trying to lose any weight this year. I am trying to get healthier. We are trying to have another baby soon so I have put the diet on hold and just started eating better. Stuff like oatmeal in the morning, salad or sandwich at lunch and dinner is usually chicken and a grain and veggie. A pretty basic diet of nutritious foods, less sugar and more water.

Exercise is something I dislike yet I still do it so I can keep my energy levels up. I walk, dance (which I love, ballet or jazz, put on some music and off I go, Allison also loves to join in but only to Stevie Wonders "I Wish"), I also do some stretching and some core exercises. Nothing to exhausting and always something fun.

Hey, if you are a new reader please leave me a comment I would love to hear from you, I love reading blogs so leave me a link and I will check it out.

Everyone have a wonderful evening and a great weekend!!!

Play Day

We attended play group today. After almost 2 months of nothing it was nice to get together with the ladies and talk. There were a few new members that joined us today, they were really sweet ladies. Allison had a great time playing with all the boys. She is the only girl in the bunch, so she will have a few boyfriend options when she's older...hahaha.
All the babies were so cute and they all got along very well, no crying, hitting or biting. They just shared the toys and tried to feed each other there snacks, just too cute.
We are now starting to rotate houses and I am looking forward to hostessing here. We do have a small house but with a little reagranging we will have enough space for everyone to romp around.
I am going to try and plan a few activities for the kids to do and music for them to dance to if they want to or just let Allison show the other babies how to destroy everything. Either way is fine with me.

I have also thought about joining another group. It's called Mom2Mom and is a faith based study group at our local community church. It's free, which I like the sound of and it would be nice to have a better support group then just a social group.
Mom2Mom kind of fits with some of my goals for 2010 so we'll see what happens.

So enough about the socializing mommy stuff, here's Allison.

Hey I think I an fit in here,

Wait, I almost got it...

Mommy I falled out

(she wasn't hurt, only crying cause mommy was looking)

One Little Monkey...

jumping on the bed, she climbed in the laundry basket and got on the bed. Momma got the camera and then she said, little monkeys aren't supposed to jump on the bed.


She just had a blast jumping around. I love the fact that she figured out how to get in the laundry basket to climb up there, super smart. I no longer keep the basket near the bed, just in case.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Daffodils Have Bloomed

The past few days have been really nice, in the upper 50's, so Allison and I have been playing outside. Doing all kinds of stuff like...

Playing catch with dad in the backyard



Smelling the oregano in the garden


Pushing around the wheelbarrow...can't wait to start gardening


Picking dandelion puffs and making wishes


Also, the daffodils are blooming. They are so beautiful and they smell like spring time. I am going to put them in a vase when they are ready to make the house more cheerful.







Unfortunately, today is foggy and wet outside so we are stuck inside. Luckily my parents got Allison the Laurie Berkner Band DVD. We have watched it so many times, I can't count. The music is catchy and fun to sing and she really likes to do the movements and say the words with the other kids on the DVD. Really cute and fun. I would recommend it, highly

2010 Goals

2009 is over and we are off to a great start for 2010. Everything is back to normal around here with a few personal improvments both Scott and I have started to accomplish. I have written my list of goals that I would like to achieve this year and hope that they pave the way to a more relaxed and centered life.

This is the first year that losing weight is not important, in fact I didn't even list it. I have other goals in mind that will require me not to lose weight, but to be more healthy overall.

Goals for 2010

1. Exercise more - carido and stretching/yoga
2. Eat less sugar - make it a treat not a meal
3. Drink more water - at least 40 oz a day
4. Stick to the house cleaning schedule - I have slacked on this and it shows
5. Eat more fruits - I eat plenty of veggies but need more fruits
6. Write more letters and cards - recieving cards in the mail is much better than email
7. Make gifts rather than buying them - homemade gifts are from the heart and mean so much more than store bought items
8. Have another healthy baby - yep, I want another
9. Potty train Allison - this might actually take all year to accomplish
10. Private goal - something I am working on and hope to start by next year
11. Cook more gourmet meals - cook from the heart with more local produce and less processed foods
12. Send gifts to people - small things that mean a lot
13. Have more dinners with friends and family - once a week, make it a regular thing
14. Budget groceries better - I am going to check out a local CSA and start shopping at the farmers market again.

I am really looking forward to making these changes. I hope they have given you some great ideas on things you would like to try or accomplish so you can add them to your list.

Have a great day!!

Major Meltdown

My original post was going to be a gleeful one, listing my goals and the fun stuff that is going on here but I had a major meltdown at Suzie Homemaker v2.0, lost a bunch of stuff and got frustrated when I couldn't get the dang thing to work and found out it got corrupted somehow, I told her not to hang out with those hooligan blogs, but they never listen.

Anyway I have been working all afternoon to get things back up and running. So now you are reading it here at our new address The Hippies Cancello...it has a much better ring to it, don't you think???
Even though we are not hippies in any way. Actually the complete oppisite of hippy. But it sounds cute.

I have to say I have done a pretty great job.

In addition to recreating Suzie Homemaker, excuse me, The Hippies Cancello, in a fresh new design thanks to Izzie Grace blog backgrounds, I have created a great new recipe blog Cancello's Kitchen
I am excited to share the wonderful things I cook up for my family. Not just the food but also the family life that revolves around the heart of the kitchen table. I hope you enjoy reading it and please leave comments if you try any recipes, I love feedback.

I will be back on schedule with more Allison pictures on Monday. Right now I am going to sleep, I have to go to Costco tomorrow, I need my beauty rest.
Good Night.