Andy's Efficiency Tip of the Day

I am married to Andy. Andy has a bizarre obsession with efficiency. Anything to slice off a few milliseconds from a task is the name of his game. This used to cause arguments as he was always trying to make me more efficient, but now I'm used to it and simply ignore most of his "helpful" tips and use the tips that actually are helpful.

Today I noticed that he was putting on a button-up shirt that was mostly already buttoned. I asked him what he was doing, and his response was "if the shirt is still clean and I am just going to hang it back up, I'll just unbutton the the top couple of buttons and then take it off. That way, when I put it back on, all I have to do is slip it on and button 2 buttons!" This is coming from a guy who also will put on a somewhat wrinkled shirt before church, throw a sweatshirt on over the top of it, and then by the time we get to church the sweatshirt comes off, and the wrinkled shirt is "self ironed". The logic of my husband never surpises me!

Happy New Year!

2010...sounds so futuristic, like we should all be living like the Jetsons! Seems like just yesterday everyone was stockpiling years of food and water for the feared Y2K...phew, glad we made it threw that one okay. This past year seemed liked it was gone in a flash- 10 months and 2 weeks ago Aiden was born, and the rest of the year is a blur of diapers, sleep deprivation, and incomprehensible joy. Okay, maybe it wasn't always joyous...we'll call those parts "life lessons" :).

And of course, with a new year brings new resolutions! I decided to set the bar a little lower than usual, with the hopes that I will stick to it a little better than I typically do.

So, my New Year's Resolutions for 2010 are:

1. Only fruit and vegetables for snacks
2. Workout 3-4 times per week
3. Blog more
4. Stick to the budget that Andy gives me that I notoriously ignore every single month

I felt like these are 4 things that are not only realistic and achievable, but they are also things that I should be doing to maintain some control, focus, and simplicity in my life. That's another thing to add to the list, Keep Things Simple!!

To a great 2010!

A Christmas Treat

In in the off chance that I have any readers left (please come back, please please!), I have a Christmas gift for you!

Everyone needs a good laugh at least once a day, so my gift to you is a good daily chuckle: www.cakewrecks.blogspot.com

The gal that writes this blog finds and has pictures sent to her daily of horrible cakes...terrible decor, misunderstood words, and just plain bad ideas. It is sometimes a bit crude, but the stuff she finds cracks me up on a daily basis.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, Merry Christmas!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

Dare I say, I think I am 99% ready for Christmas! Most of the presents are wrapped, the house is decorated, our tree is still upright (Aiden has been a good boy about not attacking it), and I just have some yummy rosemary foccacia bread to bake for Christmas Eve dinner. Saying some prayers that things continue to go smoothly!!

I have to say, this year’s week before Christmas is 110% better than last year. Last year at this time, there was 2 inches of ice on top of a foot of snow outside, and absolutely no hope of Andy being home for Christmas, as 400,000 PGE customers were without power. I was also 7 months pregnant, uncomfortable, and on emotional/hormonal overload. This year is the complete opposite… I have an amazing little boy (sometimes a maniac) crawling around, a husband who is home, and a weather forecast that calls for clear weather through Christmas, YAHOO!!! I am extremely grateful to say the least!

I was just reading an article on family traditions, and I am really enjoying expanding the Christmas (and other) traditions Andy and I had started, with Aiden. When I was growing up we had lots of traditions, especially this time of the year, and continuing them with Aiden is, so far (even though he doesn’t really get it yet), a blast, and I know it will only get better. Our newest tradition is leaving snacks for Santa’s reindeer. A couple Saturdays ago I got a wild hair and decided I was going to string popcorn to put on the tree. Well, I started in the afternoon, and by 9 that night, with 5 strings made and tired fingers, I realized I still needed about 5 more to keep the tree from looking ridiculous. So, those strings of popcorn originally destined for the tree, magically became snacks for the reindeer and are nicely on our mantle! Great tradition for Aiden? I think so!!

So, from the Schaechers, we wish all of you (any of you left??), a wonderful Christmas celebration! May you stockings, and your tummies, be stuffed!

P.S...my New Year's resolution is to blog more often, I promise!!

I Still Think It's May...

If I could capture time in a bottle I would...I bet I could sell it for some good money! Aiden is 1 week away from his 8 month birthday, and I swear we just brought that kid home from the hospital. Long gone are the days of him contently sitting in his bouncer looking around and dozing off every hour or so...I wish I knew how true the words would be when everybody said you will wish these days were back when he is crawling. Well, damn you people, you were all right!! Aiden has been 5th gear crawling for the past month, and as much as I chase him around, you think I would have lost 10 pounds. I have started wearing a pedometer (the most accurate I could find on Amazon.com), and on an average day that I am home with him, I take about 7,000 steps, as I am constantly walking/running to get him out of something he shouldn't be in. The cords behind the t.v., the cords behind the end table, the hutch, the garbage in the bathroom, the garbage in his room, you name it, the kid has some sort of magnet for everything he is not supposed to be in to! I think he has knocked the fake tree in our office over about 37 times in the last 2 weeks. I wish Catholics had a word like Jewish folk have Oiy...I would use it, A LOT!! Complaining I am not, drinking I could do a lot more of, thankful I am very. I guess this is just the territory that comes along with having a boy. Yes, I know, you all told me so.

For your viewing pleasure, we had Aiden's first professional pictures taken today. And, if you ask me, those lovely teenie-boppers at the picture place in the mall could use a lesson or two in how to make a kid laugh...but that's a whole separate blog post, as is those teenie-boppers seeing two suckers named Andy and Liz walking through the door.

Yikes

Andy watched Aiden on Friday afternoon so I could run errands and get a pedicure. When I left, Aiden was asleep in his carseat, as putting him in it and then in his stroller is sometimes the only way he will take a nap. Andy left the room to do some work on the laptop, and he heard some noise and went to check on the kiddo and this is what he saw...

Homeboy had climed out of his carseat, and he doesn't even crawl or walk yet!!
I think we are in for it...

Aiden's First Hike...A Photo Essay

This last weekend to escape the heat, Aiden and I went to the beach with my mom and dad on Wednesday night...oh, it was so much cooler over there!! At their house in Waldport, to the west is the ocean, and to the east, between their house and highway 101, are a bunch of little lakes, with a trail that runs along side them. I use the word "trail" very loosly, as this path doesn't see much traffic, or much trimming. Instead, the only people it sees are my parents, who vow to take a weed eater and chainsaw to it very, very soon! So, on Thursday, with Aiden in his baby bjorn with my dad, followed by my mom and I, we blazed the trail!

On our way...We saw some wildlife...

A snail on the trail...

In the puckerbrush...

He really wanted to eat the plants!

Yes, Aiden was still strapped to my dad

An old redwood

Let's do it again!

I can't wait for this coming weekend when we head to the beach again and Andy can scale logs with Aiden! Cheers!