Another $50 down the drain!

It is no secret that our dogs are obnoxious...especially Sammy! The BarkBuster's training did not work, beating her does not work and we can't seem to find it in our hearts to get rid of them. After all, they were our first 'babies' and the girls absolutely love them. Some good friends of ours have been using a remote controlled shock collar on their dog and it works great! We decided to try that. I ordered 2 of them, spent $50 and waited 10 very long business days for them to arrive. I was so excited to try it out (doesn't that sound horrible?!?!?), but was quickly disappointed! I don't know if Sammy is just too stubborn or the shock is not strong enough, but either way IT DOES NOT WORK!!! Your can shock the crap out of her and she keeps doing what she's doing...and I know the collar is working. Now we are out more money and stuck with 2 useless collars! We don't know what else to do!! A farm is looking great right now! Any suggestions???

Oven Update

So, basically, Whirlpool sucks! Apparently, although very rare, sometimes pressure can build up between the two panes of glass and cause it to explode. I, nor anyone I have told, has heard of this happening or a warning that it could. Sounds dangerous, but of course, it is a warranty issue and our oven is no longer under warranty because it is 4 years old. After talking to several people at their customer 'care', emailing back and forth and being assured they are 'very sorry I had to experience that and be inconvenienced', the most they offered to do was give us 15% off a new Whirlpool oven!!! Yeah right!! If I have to buy a new oven you better believe it will not be a Whirlpool...or anything made by them!! Luckily, the oven door is covered under the Homeguard warranty since we have our house on the market. We still have to pay the $100 deductible, but at least they will pick up the rest to replace the glass (which Whirlpool told me was about$185!!!). I am SOOOO mad...but also incredibly thankful no one was hurt! I am still trying to find out the name of a Whirlpool executive to write a letter to voice my concern and practice my consumer responsibilities, but no one can seem to give me that information...and, of course, that is no where to be found on their website. Whatever happened to 'The customer is ALWAYS right'!?!?

Hannah's Party: In pictures...

Hannah and Aly have been obsessed with riding on this cart since grandpa had surgery on his foot. By the way...Dad, you are officially on the 'blog' now. Aly helping GG decorate cupcakes for the party.
Hannah's Cake...don't ask! I wonder what she wished for...
She didn't make as big of a mess as I thought she would!! Aly opening presents (for Hannah)! She got some fun toys, books and some money for her savings!

Hannah's future husband, Elijah Seed. He may only be 11 days old here, but he is a handsome little man from a good family ;)

Even though her party wasn't uber-planned and the birthday girl was tired, I think it went pretty well! I hope you had a great first birthday Hannah baby and I hope your wish comes true!

Happy Birthday Hannah!

Our sweet Hannah baby turned one today! Dan and I both took the day off of work so we could spend the day together. It started out rocky, but we had a great day together!

To start, Hannah was so excited to celebrate her birthday, she woke up at 5:30!! Somehow I managed to get her to snuggle with me on the couch for a little while before we actually had to get up. We went to have pictures taken this morning at Polaris and it was a nightmare! Neither one of the girls cooperated. We only got a few of Hannah by herself -none with smiles- and only one family picture that was somewhat ok. On the bright side, I only spent $25...which is about five times less than what I usually spend. I think I am either going to take some myself with my new camera or go to another portrait studio. After pictures we went the the indoor playground they have in the mall. Aly calls it the 'Jungle Junk' and we call it the 'Jungle GERM'. Luckily, she didn't want to play too long because she had a 'headache in her leg'. We went to Max and Erma's for lunch and then, because it was so nice out, we decided to go to the zoo. We went to the zoo on Aly's 1st birthday too! The zoo was really fun, but I don't have any pictures since we weren't planning on going there!

After the zoo we just came home and relaxed. I made dinner and Alyssa helped me make a birthday cake for Hannah (The oven exploded on us...see the previous post!). Hannah was so worn out from her big day she went right to sleep.

Here are some of the things Hannah is doing at 1 year old: walking, going up the stairs, babbles alot (not really words though), loves to play with Aly, giggles...alot, loves to eat, loves the dogs, will not go anywhere without her blanket or pacifier, has 4 teeth on the top and bottom...plus a brand new molar peeking through, loves to swing, loves cereal bars and mandarin oranges, doesn't like strawberries, likes to watch 'Blue's Clues', gives lots of kisses, loves bath time, HATES getting diaper or clothes changed and throws MONSTER fits!

My sweet baby girl, we love you soooooooooooo much...how fast the first year has gone!

Oven EXPLOSION!!

Have you EVER seen anything like this before?!?!?!?! Aly and I had just made Hannah a birthday cake and I was standing at the island with my back to the stove. Luckily, Aly had already gone in the family room because the oven door EXPLODED. Glass shattered and flew all over the kitchen. No smells, sounds or warnings of any kind...just hot, broken glass everywhere. The inside of the oven door was fine, but the outside...well just see the pictures below. At least everyone is fine and no one was hurt!! Whirpool better be will be replacing it - for free!! Maybe they should upgrade it too, to a nice smooth cook top...

Is it really March??

We have been having absolutely beautiful weather lately! Mid 60's, sunny...very un-March like weather. We have been taking advantage of every moment and playing outside while it lasts. Our favorite activity, by far, is the swing. I get tired of it LONG before they do! It is hard to believe that this time last year we were burried under 2 FEET of snow in the worst blizzard I have ever seen!!! That's good 'ole O-H-I-O for you!

So Proud!

Yes, this is exactly what you think it is...poop! Only parents in potty training can truely appriciate the value of this photo! I am still not planning on pushing the issue until I am out of school for the year, but much to my surprise, Aly has taken an interest in the potty of the last few days. I have even had to move the potty in the family room so she could continue to watch Dora while she used it. She has been peeing on it pretty often and, as you can see, she has also crossed over. She knew she had to go and started to go into the play room (her bathroom of choice), Dan quickly suggested trying the potty and she got excited. He took her pants off for her and she went into the bathroom, shut the door and emerged a few minutes later, victorious, with a huge smile on her face. Maybe she has decided it is time...

Only 7 days left...

until Hannah turns 1! I can't believe it, yet at the same time I can't remember what is was like without her! This has been the fastest year ever. I can't wait for this summer with the girls...and hopefully a new house!

By the way...we are planning on having a party for Hannah at my mom and dad's next weekend. Nothing huge but just enough to celebrate. I will let you know the details later. It really is true what the say about the second kid...poor Hannah! It will be fun though, but I don't think Hannah is going to ask for a spoon with her cake...she is going to need a bath afterwards ;)

Back on the Market

Last year we put our house on the market as an 'experiment'. We thought if we could sell ours and buy something else that is really cheap (like a short sale or foreclosure), we could make some easy money when we sold in a few years. Then, we quickly realized that our house wasn't going to be as easy as we first thought. Around Christmas, our listing agreement expired and we put the thoughts of a new house aside...or so we thought.

I got bit by the 'new house bug' again, thanks to our realtor...who happens to be my aunt, so we put the house back on the market. We started out thinking that we would sell and go for a foreclosed 'fixer upper', but Dan is not all that handy and I am not even almost patient, so we found a new option. Building! It provides the solution to all of the problems we had about buying a foreclosed house...and the one we like is, literally my dream home! The best part is that we would be in Gahanna schools so we could live there indefinitely. Plus, the interest rate and the promotions the builders are running are amazing!

The girls have really been troopers about us dragging them through so many models and specs of the last few weeks. Aly has actually be having fun! She is really excited about bunk beds (which I am hoping she forgets about, but she saw one in the model home and thinks it comes with the house), fake food and a basement to stay safe from the "tormados"! The builder we like the most is Schottenstein Homes, and very randomly, Dan may also have a job opportunity with them....so be praying about that!!

There is just one little snag in our grand plans...selling our pesky house. So, who knows if we will really get to do what we want. Really, it is just a waiting game to see what happens, and I HATE waiting...did I mention I am impatient. But when it does I know exactly what we are going to do!

BTW...Here is a shameless plug: If anyone you know is looking for a nice family home in Blacklick, here is the link to our house...it really is a good deal!

**UPDATE**

We signed a contract on an inventory home...it is a GREAT deal and we have nothing to lose by trying to get it. We only have 60 days to sell ours though, so we dropped the price another $10k! The new house will be done around the end of May...pray hard for a buyer for our house!!

¿Dónde está el mago?

If you don't remember anything from your high school Spanish classes, let me help you out...the title says, "Where is the magician?" Confused? We were too, but Aly surprised us yet again with the things she remembers! My mom called Dan yesterday morning so he could talk to Aly. She couldn't understand what she was saying...maybe, just maybe, that is because she was speaking SPANISH. She kept asking for 'el mago' (or in English, the magician). Long story short, there is an episode of Dora the Explorer about a mean magician and they call him 'el mago'...she just wanted to watch it.

Hannah's First Steps -- The Video

Here is a short, but sweet clip...she is getting much better!