All by myself...

So Jeff is out of town this week and I am getting just a small taste of what it takes to be a single parent. Although I have to admit that I am getting some help from my in-laws. Tonight Jimbo picked up Samantha from the babysitter and brought her home until I got home from work. Once I got home, I made her dinner, bathed her, brushed her teeth, read 5 million books to her, then put her to bed for the night. Phew! Once she was in bed, I drained the water from the tub, cleaned up her dinner mess, packed her lunch for tomorrow, took the trash out, unloaded the dish washer and packed my lunch. Phew again! I had to take a minute to post this really cute picture then I still have to shower and figure out something to eat for dinner. I say all this to really give it up to single parents. I have no clue how there are enough hours in the day to do it all! Hat's off!

Pizza and Family

Last night The Hague's all went for pizza at Massey's to celebrate my cousin Jason's birthday! I have not seen Jason in a long long time so it was nice to get to catch up and meet his little boy Lane, above. Lane is 4 1/2 years old and a very sweet boy. He loved talking to me and Samantha. At one point he asked Samantha how old she is and she obviously did not answer so Lane said, "Come one, just tell me, I will be nice to you!'. HAHA it was really cute.

Samantha shoving pizza in her mouth!

L-R: Alex (A.J.), Grandpa and Jason.

The whole Hague Family, minus my dad who was out west on vacation.

L-R: Jeff, Nick, Travis, A.J., Grandpa and Jason.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today we went over to Nick and Mandy's for Thanksgiving Dinner. We went over around 12:30 and all the food was ready by 1:30. The spread was amazing and we had more than enough to eat!

My really cute family!

L-R: Mandy, Gretchen, Nick and Dave.

L-R: Tara, Charlie, Cindy, Vikki and Larry.

Mom, Samantha and I.

By 2 PM Jeff, Samantha and I had to head over to The Hauser's Family Thanksgiving. By the time we got there everyone was done eating so we just grabbed some dessert. Then we spent some time hanging out with the family. But like years past, I had to be at work by 3:30 PM so I had to run out by 3:10. Overall we had a great Thanksgiving, but I am so looking forward to next year when I no longer have to work on holidays!

And I need to spend a second talking about what this holiday is really about. My laundry list of things to be thankful for is growing by the day. This year I have to say that I am most thankful for my husband and daughter! They are the light of my life and without them I would not be the woman I am today. My family and The Hauser's have been a blessing in Jeff's life and mine. Also, this year I am thankful for our financial stability. In fact, just last week we paid off Jeff's car 2 years early! Woo Hoo And all of the people I love are in good health and happy. I couldn't be more thankful than I am this year. Cheers to many more thankful years to come!

P.J.'s and TuTu's

Tonight, while Jeff went for a run, Samantha and I played in the basement. She found a bag of clothes that I had loaned to a co-worker and brought them to me. She said; "ON". So ON the tutu went.

She can also say, "MINE". And would take the remote from me saying Mine Mine Mine. She even knew to point the remote at the t.v.

She then found the t-shirt and brought that to me too, "ON". So over her pajamas she wore the same outfit she wore on her first birthday!

Aunt Lisa bought her this baby doll stroller for her birthday and now Samantha thinks she should be able to fit too. She is constantly climbing in. Although only her feet fit where the baby doll sits.

OSU beat IOWA!

Saturday, Jeff, Samantha and I went over to Nick and Mandy's to watch the OSU game. We spent more time talking and catching up while the kids had a chance to play. Samantha and Chase really liked playing together. We would catch them in the guest room giggling together...so cute.

Samantha is not really a fan of dogs but she did like checking Lola out thru the glass. Maybe one day she will be an animal lover like her mom.

Daddy's can be so boring sometimes...

When I got home from work tonight this is what I walked into. Samantha had fallen asleep on the couch while Jeff was playing play station. She must have fallen asleep due to boredom!

In all likelihood she did not get any good naps in today at the babysitter. So I jumped on the couch with them and moved Samantha to my chest. While she laid on me sleeping, I got to snuggle the stew out of her....and I LOVE those moments!

Cute Dress.

This morning Jeff got Samantha dressed up all cute for church and I wanted to get a picture. But as soon as she saw the camera she wanted it all to herself. Hence the whiny face... And I couldn't even get a shot with her matching tights in it to show off how cute she looked. Good, sweet smiling pictures might be a thing of the past. But I will keep on trying.

Samantha is 17 Months Old

Today Samantha turned 17 months old. Like I said before, she has been in a pretty bad mood for the past few weeks and she just started acting like her normal happy self. I wanted to get some really cute pictures of her to mark the occasion but she just wanted the camera all to herself. So I ended up using my phone while she "took pictures".

Taking a quick moment to hug her Daddy.

I was taking the picture here and she was trying to get the camera from me!

Wanting that camera more than anything! She loves pushing the button and making the flash go off.

The past few weeks.

I know I have been terrible about blogging the past couple weeks. But just let me tell you that there have not been many oppurtunities for cute pictures lately. Samantha is getting 4 new teeth...the canines....and she has been generally unhappy about it. Plus she has had a sniffly nose and cough. And with my new work schedule (4 Ten hour shifts) her schedule is a little off. Not to mention she is getting a mind of her own and wants to do EVERYTHING herself....like put on chapstick (getting most of it on her teeth)! I am thinking that if this is just the start of the "terrible twos" then I am going to be in for a real treat. And I am pretty sure that my parents are secretly delighting in the fact that I am getting just a taste of what I did to them as a child!

I don't want to imply that the past couple weeks have been awful because they haven't been. I mean she will be acting terrible and then walk over to me and give me a big hug and a kiss. Or she will hop up on my lap and snuggle into me. Or she will bring me her milk and put it up to my mouth to share. So I know that my sweet little girl is still in there somewhere!

Right now, all I care about is Samantha feeling better and all those teeth being in already. Then I will be able to do fun things with her again! And hopefully get some cute pictures to post!