Photo for the Day

Just enjoying my youngest little lady today! My maternity leave is almost over :( so we have been spending a lot of extra time cuddling! :)

My New Favorite Wine

This is delicious! Even if red wine is not your speed, give Ménage à Trois Red a try. It just might change your mind. This wine exposes the fresh, ripe, jam-like fruit that is the calling card of California wine. Three saucy grapes make up the blend. Zinfandel adds a juicy character, Merlot mellows and Cabernet adds backbone. Forward, spicy and soft, this delicious dalliance makes the perfect trio. And besides, it's quite fun to ask for! Do you happen to have any Menage a Trois? Try to keep a straight face with that one! :)

Lauryn's First Slumber Party

My sister-in-law, Nicholl and her 4 girls came down yesterday and spent the night at our house. We had an absolute blast with them and Lauryn was thrilled to have a slumber party in her bedroom! We spent the evening playing American Idol on the Wii, running around the house, watching movies and Jake made personal pan pizzas with them. Their was a ton of energy in the house but it was so much fun! Where else can Jake spent the night with 8 ladies and not make me upset?! :)

Lauryn, Tara, Desiree, & Madison

The youngest of the Schleusner girls, Gabrielle (5 months) & Jenna (2 months), get reacquainted.

AMERICAN IDOL-Here we come!!!

Move on over Beyonce...Nicholl's in the house!!!

I've Got You Babe?

Bedtime-notice my child is still awake...my childhood friends-wasn't this me at our sleepovers about twentysome years ago too?! Yikes...does history always have to repeat itself?!

Cutest little flower and frog I've ever seen! :)

80's NERD at heart!

Does anybody know who's phone number this is???

Snow Days

We have been enjoying the extra days home with Daddy during this UNBELIEVABLY cold winter! I can't believe it was -26 degrees...yikes, the weather reminded me of the day Jake and I got married! I am already sick of winter, but we love it when school is cancelled! :) It's like a lovely surprise day off which most often turns into a family day for us (and a ton of help for Mom).

Jake and his little ladies

Making tents is one of Lauryn's favorite things to do right now.

Lauryn had become quite innovative with her four-wheeler she received from Uncle Jason for Christmas. Here she is being stunt girl and has also discovered how to hook up a wagon to it and haul toys back to her room during pick up time.

Jenna is over two months old now, I can't believe it! Time is not slowing down by any means and I am already preparing to go back to work. :( I am going to miss the girls sooooo much!

Yes, I did it....I bought the girls their first matching outfit! Aren't they cute?!

It's not something I will do frequently, but it was fun! Lauryn loved it too...sometimes I think she thinks Jenna is her own live doll to play with! :)

I don't Love Max...

Anybody who knows me knows that I am not a dog lover. I am not a dog hater, but prior to Max, the only two dogs I have ever liked were Britney and Jager. In fact I actually liked them better than our own dog Max. I never wanted Max. I caved in a weak moment trying to find the perfect Father's Day gift for Jake one year. And so here we are stuck with this huge, fluffy, goofy beast we call Max. FYI, Jake and Lauryn are CRAZY about him so I had to accept him. Anyway, he has grown on me slightly (after 1.5 years), but then I read this book and I don't know if I should laugh or cry. The book is incredible-a great read. But now I find myself looking at Max in a different way...I even defend him when Jake gets mad at him or doesn't spend enough time with him...yikes what is happening to me? Oh well, regardless, I highly recommend any animal lover to read this book, it is wonderful. And for the record...I don't love Max, do I?!

All for one photo

Look how many attempts it took to get one good recent picture of the girls!

Jenna was sneezing in this one

Honest to God, Jenna had just farted in this picture

I told you so-notice the smile on Jenna's face...she feels better!

Are they singing to me now? Or begging me to put the camera away?

And finally...definitely worth the wait!

Music

I love music. My ipod is full. I have an ecclectic blend of tunes that I call my favorites. I credit this to my Mom for introducing music to me, and to Ma and Pa (Jake's Mom and Dad), as they have a fabulous music collection and have shared genres I never even knew existed. Anyway...just wanted to share the lyrics of a song I fell in love with this fall while making a labor/delivery CD for when we had Jenna. I am not even a country fan, but this song brings tears to my eyes...and brings me right back to the first time Jenna was in my arms.

My Wish by Rascal Flatts

I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow,

And each road leads you where you wanna go,

And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,

I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.

And if one door opens to another door closed,

I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,

If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile

But more than anything, more than anything...

My wish, for you,

Is that this life becomes all that you want it to

Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small

You never need to carry more than you can hold

And while you're out there getting where you're getting to

I hope you know somebody loves you,

And wants the same things too

Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but you never forget

All the ones who love you, in the place you left

I hope you always forgive, and you never regret

And you help somebody every chance you get

Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,

And always give more than you take.

But more than anything, yeah, more than anything...

My wish, for you,

Is that this life becomes all that you want it to,

Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small,

You never need to carry more than you can hold

And while you're out there getting where you're getting to

I hope you know somebody loves you,

And wants the same things too

Yeah, this, is my wish.

My Husband

What can I say-I absolutely LOVE this man! He is soooo much fun-a major super Daddy! These are the kinds of games he comes up with to play with Lauryn. This one is 'pillow monster' and he is going to be really happy that I put it out there on the internet for everyone to see! Love you Babe!Guaranteed belly laughing from Lauryn, Daddy is her FAVORITE person to play with!

This is the kind of fun I think of! I don't think this is what my Mom had in mind when she bought Lauryn new bath toys for Christmas! :) FYI-Slice is one of Jake's nicknames at school.

And Jake's response the next day....

Joining the Blog Community...

My First Blog Post

So so so much to include in this first post as I have been contemplating starting a blog for quite some time now! As a mother of two beautiful little ladies I am realizing just how fast time really does go. I find myself calling my own Mom every time we have a funny moment to share and every time she says, 'You really should write these moments down.' And of course i never get around to it. So here we go, a place to record fun moments, great pictures, and simply the days of our lives.

We welcomed Jenna Grace to our family on November 16, 2008 at 12:49pm. She weighed 9lbs., 9.8 oz, 20 inches long! Now we know why I was really starting to ache and move slowly! Everything worked out so well, I am still so amazed. My parents were in town from Iowa that weekend so I was hoping and praying I would go into labor. By Saturday night (after walking a lot all weekend) I had pretty much given up hope, but things changed Sunday morning. Lauryn woke us up at 6am and as I was going to put her back to sleep (hopefully) my water broke. I was absolutely thrilled! It was awesome to have Mom and Dad here to be with Lauryn and to get to meet Jenna so soon!

Daddy patiently awaiting-what an incredible support he was!!!

Here I am, enjoying the labor process-seriously, this is always an exciting time for me! This time I was quite emotional-at one point our awesome nurse, Mary Kay, asked me if I needed more pain medication because I was crying. I simply replied, "I am not in pain, I am just so happy!" I feel so blessed to have such an incredible husband and to be able to experience life with him. Here she is, Miss Jenna Grace Schleusner!!! And here is Mom, falling in love once again!

Proud Daddy and Mommy


Lauryn's first time meeting Jenna-she was almost speechless! I had no idea a 2 year old could cry tears of excitement, but she was close. She was so excited she was shaking as soon as she saw her, she said, "Mommy, baby Jenna come out!!!" Amazing what young ones can grasp....

Papa and Mamma (my Dad and Mom) meet Jenna




First days at home

Jenna was slightly jaundice so I had to teach her how to sunbathe at a very young age! This picture cracks me up-I am trying to get her chest and abdominal area some sun while protecting her eyes at the same time! She looks like my little thug girl!

In my never-ending quest to take great pictures (yes I am a photographer wannabe, never gonna be) I decided to take few shots of the girls.


Not bad, right? but then I tried to get one of the two of them...

Yes it would have made a funny card, but not really what I had in mind! :) Thank goodness we discovered a fabulous photographer, Tammy Hoeger, to take the girls' pictures and create amazing Christmas cards this year!!! I highly recommend her, she does awesome work, has a great modern style, and is incredible with kids. http://www.capturingmomentsphotography.net/

Here's a picture of Lauryn I couldn't help but capture. She was actually saying goodbye to our dear friends, Brad and Kari, but to me it looked like she was watching for Santa!


Lauryn LOVED decorating for Christmas this year. She got to go with Jake all by herself to pick out the tree so that was pretty special.


Here's Lauryn with her best buddy Blake, drinking their milk together one morning.

Wonderful Mom Moments...

I absolutely love the way Lauryn and Jenna are looking at each other in this picture. They already totally adore one another!

Tradition Carries On-For years, for every event my Mom made cut out cookies. And I mean every holiday, every baptism, first communion, etc. So here I am, becoming my mother, and starting the tradition in our own home. However, I plan to keep it a Christmas thing. Period. :)

the finished project

Christmas Eve 2008

gotta love a man that sets the table for Christmas dinner and makes sure Jenna has a stocking too!

MAX

This is what happens when your two-year old figures out that Mommy's hands are full when she is feeding baby Jenna! I think I have 5 different shades of lip gloss in my purse and of course she would chose the raspberry flavored and colored! She came out to the living room and asked, "Mommy I pretty?"