We are the Millers

If you haven't already, stop over and check out  Lovely Life of Leah .  Her blog is the cutest and I love her posts!  She posts Leah's Five Friday Fav's and her number one pick was amazing!! Hundreds of Hundreds is a blog that chronicles Jill who hands out one hundred dollar bills in honor of her mother.  I was truly touched by all of the stories that I read on her blog and can only feel humbled by her graciousness.  I mean, some of these people are really hurting and she is giving them at least a moment of joy with her generous gift.  This is the true definition of paying it forward.  Wouldn't the world be a much better place if we could all practice this kind of giving? 

Today's Topic: Tell us about your dream vacation! Where would you go? Have you been there before? Who would go with you? What about it draws you in? This is the easiest question for me to answer!!  I have always wanted to go to Italy.  I can't remember how old I was but I remember thinking how cool it was that you had to travel by Gondola in some places.  That's what really drew me in.  I just thought it was so romantic.  And then as I got older, I realized that there was so much history in Italy.  So many beautiful buildings to see.  So many amazing cities to visit.  I mean, just look at all of the amazing things you can see!!!! Florence Venice Verona Naples Milan Rome This would be my dream vacation.  Of course I hate to fly so the 8-10 hour flight would really suck but they serve alcohol on the planes right?  HA!  I also always feel so out of my element whenever we go somewh...

Linking up with Mrs Stephanie T for the first time A friend of mine just had a sweet baby boy.  He is almost an entire month early but he is doing well and I am so excited for her.  Every time I see a new picture of this little man I get huge tears in my eyes.  I can only hope they find as much joy in him as I have found in my Baby Girl. Welcome to the world Anthony Thomas Eager!  Born June 26, 2012, weighing 5lbs, 7oz and 18 inches long! He's just too stinkin cute! Pool parties bring me happiness too!

Today's Topic: Tell us about your hobbies! What do you do in your free time? What are your favorite books, movies, music etc? I don't have very many hobbies anymore.  This blog is probably my number one hobby and it is definitely my favorite hobby.  I love to write.  I have always loved to write and I should have probably pursued a career involving writing but oh well. I like to read but I never have any time to do it.  I have two books started and I just can't get myself to sit down and read them.  I started The Hunger Games because I don't want to see the movie until I read the book (I do that a lot).  I also started  Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected .  I came across Enjoying the Small Things  and fell in love with the blog and the book so I bought it.  Now if I only had time to read it. I am a big fan of music.  Again, when I have time, I love to search iTunes for new artists.  I'm really good at findin...

My husband and I came across Spartacus: Blood and Sand in 2010. Although the show was a bit gruesome, we were immediately hooked. We watched Spartacus: Gods of the Arena in 2011 but sadly lost interest for Spartacus: Vengeance in 2012. We lost interest because the main character, Andy Whitfield, died September 11, 2011. Do you ever feel like you get to know a character in a movie, series or book? Like you personally know that character or person? You kind of fall in love with the character. You say, no one else can ever play that part the way he does. You see his real life and relate to it. You feel bad when bad things happen and happy when good things happen to him. That's kind of what happened. We kind of fell in love with Andy Whitfield. Ok, I did. But I know my husband and I were both sad to find out that Andy died of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and we both knew the show would just not be the same without him.   My heart immediately broke for his family. For his wife, hi...

this time flying by thing......so not for me. People keep asking me how old Ashlyn is and I keep saying, 6 months.  It kindof sortof just hit me that in 12 days, she won't be 6 months anymore.  She will be 7 months.  My heart kindof jumped a little bit when the thought hit my brain.  How did she go so quickly from 6 months to 7 months?  How quickly are these next few months going to go?  Why is it all moving so quickly?  What happened to my 8lb baby girl?  She turned into an almost-7-month-old-amazon-baby that's what!

This week, I'm saying so what if... I saved this to my drafts two days ago so I wouldn't forget to at least attempt to write it because I just have so much shit going on in my brain that I didn't want to forget. I am RIDICULOUSLY excited that a friend of mine just had her baby.  I mean I'm like super dooper crazy lady excited! I have almost all of Baby Girl's dedication Thank You cards written out but I just can't bring myself to sit down and address them.  I'm being lazy. I gave my husband an utlimatum:  get my hair cut or get another tattoo.  He still hasn't answered me. I would be super excited and willing to leave my hair its ridiculous length if he says tattoo.  I really want another one (or five). This will be the ninth blog I post this week.  I have a lot to say this week! I'm dreaming about next Wednesday already because it's the 4th of July and I'm off work and might get to sleep in for just a minute.  And because I ge...

  Tell us about your social media! Where can we find you? Link to your twitter, pinterest, Facebook, instagram, or google +. If you don't use those sites, then tell us why not! Also, what are your favorite websites? Are there any that you check daily? What do you like about them? I don't use instagram but that's only becuase I thought it was an Apple App only. Now that I know it's for Android too, I may actually start using it! I pretty much live off of my Facebook account. I have a personal facebook which is completely private and I also have a page linked to my blog. You can like that here: Facebook . I use Twitter but not very often. I usually forget that I even have Twitter so I will go weeks without posting a comment on there. Then I will go days when I blow it up! My handle is @vmiller0918. I do have many Pinterest boards. I love Pinterest. I don't go on it nearly as much as I used to but I still love it. I have tried q...

Linking up with Justchalkintherain  via Lifeafteridew for Is That Normal?!  I think this will be fun! 1. Is it normal to lie about your age? I don't think I have ever lied about my age but the older I get, the more sensitive I feel myself getting about it so maybe I will eventually.  It's definitely normal to avoid the question! 2. Is it normal to have mistaken someone for the opposite sex? Have I done it?  Sure.  Is it normal?  No.  And I always feel really bad if I do it.  What if someone mistook me for a man?  Not sure it's really possible but you never know. 3. Is it normal to go #2 in a public restroom? I have a serious issue with going #2 in a public restroom.  I just can't do it.  I will wait as long as I possibly can even if it feels like my guts are going to spill out onto the floor.  I just need the privacy of my own home.  My husband, not an issue for him. 4. Is it normal to sit RIGHT ...

Ok so anyone who knows me knows that I am not exactly the most emotional person in the world.  I can be crude and blunt and, well, a jerk.  I'm ok with it.  It's me.  I say what's on my mind and I don't have much of a filter.  I've gotten better over the years but people don't change that much.  So this whole new world of melting every time Baby Girl does something new or something really cute is just crazy to me!  I mean, the kid is just ridiculously cute and almost every freaking thing she does is cute.  She even has a 'cute cry' as my husband and I like to call it.  The I-will-do-anything-and-give-you-anything-you-want-to-ease-your-pain kind of cry.  So I am now giving myself the title of Goo Monster.  Why?  Because whenever this kid does something cute, I mean REALLY cute, my heart starts to swell, eyes start to tear up and I melt into a giant pile of goo onto the floor and I hug the crap right out o...

Commenting Challenge Day 2 Tell us about your blog. What do you blog about? Why do you blog? How did you start blogging? What kinds of things do you/are you willing to share with the world? Where do you find your topic inspiration? (Hint: Don't share about your social media just yet!) My blog just recently celebrated it's first birthday!  Happy Blogiversary!   I began writing this blog shortly after I found out I was pregnant.  The original idea was to keep track of all of the changes that were happening and all of the things that were going on with the little person growing inside me so that I could the make a scrapbook for her to read some day.  It turned into so much more! I tried to post weekly or bi-weekly updates and belly shots, I posted every doctor's appointment, every sonogram picture, announced the sex of the baby and I took topics from articles I read since I was signed up for every online baby resource there was out there. My pregnancy was...

So, since we all know how gooey mooey I have become since having Baby Girl, I figured, why not use my new found gooeyness to spread the word about little Atticus and TSC. (AJ is his nickname so I will use that throughout since it's shorter and I have this weird thing about using plurals with words that end in S) Meet Atticus. Atticus is just 3 months old and he has just been diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosis. I don't really know AJ's parents.  His parents are friends of friends.  I was in the wedding of said friends last October.  AJ's Daddy was also in the wedding and AJ's Mommy attended the wedding.  She was one of the 7 or 8 pregnant ladies at or in the wedding.  Yes, there were a lot of us.  But when I heard about what was happening to this poor little guy, I just couldn't help but feel heartbroken for AJ and his family.  I really felt the need to extend any help I could possibly offer and I'm hoping this blog post will...

OK so I totally stole this from this blog post: Perfect Advice Read it.  It's good.  "Here’s the only tidbit you should follow: Find a few GOOD moms out there that you trust. What does a “good mom” look like you ask? Here’s the test to finding one: When you share a hardship, they will say “Oh my god! ME TOO!” If they don’t immediately react like that they are A) lying and B) not worth it. And make sure you return the favor. If things are hard – tell someone. Share your woes, so other mommy friends don’t feel alone either." Holy to the point.  I think this has got to be some of the best advice I have ever heard.  The best part about it is that I notice myself spending more time with Moms who do that to me!  I don't usually call people out on my blog but in this case I had to. Um.....Monika?  Holy crap!  Are we not constantly saying 'ME TOO' to each other??!!  I think this was directly meant for us.  Tracy....you too! I love having Mo...

Linking up with Jenna's Journey  for the 3rd Annual Blog Commenting Challenge! Hi! I'm Vanessa! I live with my husband Bryan and my amazing 6 month old Ashlyn in Pennsylvania. I was born and raised here and love it very much! We have 2 pugs, Katie and Utley, one black lab, Camo and one cat, Joey. Our second cat, Kitty, is sadly recently deceased (on Father's Day). I work full time as a Marketing Analyst for a supply chain consulting firm. I don't even know what that means really! I have been here for 3 years and am thinking about a career change. SAHM is looking better and better. My husband owns his own landscaping business which has been both wonderful and horrible at the same time! My husband and I know each other for about 17 years now and we have been together for 12. We got married in September of 2010, just 2 weeks shy of our 10th anniversary! We got pregnant after only 2 months of trying and last December we were greeted by Ashlyn Marie Miller,...

Last week's menu Monday - Hamburgers and hot dogs at the church softball game. So healthy. - Turned out they didn't grill that night so we had to stop at Taco Bell/KFC on the way home from the game.  BLAH! Tuesday - 20 Minute Skillet Lasagna  - It was soooo much better this time!  We used turkey burger to be healthier and it was sooo good!  The only bad thing I have to say is that it always takes me more than 20 minutes. Wednesday - Red Potatoes and Ham Casserole  - I'm still not crazy about this one and I think I'll stop making it.  It's not bad, it's just not my style. Thursday - Garlic Parmesan Crust Chicken on the grill with Homemade Mac and Cheese  - I almost forgot about the mac and cheese until my husband reminded me.  (Yes, he actually looked at the schedule for a change!)  I guess he really like it last time.  Not quite as good this time, though.  Not creamy enough.  The chicken was the best though. Friday ...

So one of my co-workers calls me Momma Grizzly or the Grizz.  He calls my Baby Girl Baby Grizz.  I think it's kind of funny that he refers to me as a Grizzly so I went and did some research on Grizzly bears.  Grizzly bears normally avoid contact with people - This is very true of me.  I avoid contact with people at all costs.  There are very few people I actually enjoy being around and I like it that way. Grizzlies are considered by some experts to be more aggressive than black bears when defending themselves and their offspring - Totally agree to this as well.  Don't F* with me or my kid.  It's pretty simple. When a black bear sees a grizzly coming, it either turns tail and runs or climbs a tree - Pretty sure I have seen people turn and run away from me.  Never seen anyone climb a tree, though.  I'll have to work on that one. Grizzly bears are cute and they look adorable with their little cubs.  I mean, how is this not cut...

I'm not sure I should even dare to attempt a Summer bucket list but I keep seeing everyone else post one and now I want one.  It's really hard to do anything worthwhile when you have a full time job, a husband with an exploding business, lots of animals and a 6 month old at home.  But, I'm going to write this bucket list and I am going to do my best to actually get a few things crossed off of it this summer! Go for more walks - We live 5 minutes away from a beautiful museum and park and it's so nice to take walks there.  Plus, post baby belly that should be gone by now could really use the exercise. Spend more time with friends - I'm thinking Ashlyn and Maya will be spending a lot of time outside in the baby pool this summer. Cook at home more - We are always on the go which is BAD for our diet. Eat out on our deck more - Which will be challenging since we just gave my parents our bistro set. Spend more time with the animals - Our poor puppies have SO not...

I literally think that I am going insane and that I need to check myself in somewhere.  I mean, life is CRAZY right now!  I always thought that having children would be really, really hard.  Lots of crying and sleepless nights and no time for myself and poopy diapers and teething and clingy days.  It's hard work.  What I didn't realize is how hard LIFE would be once I had children. My Baby Girl is amazing.  She is happy most of the time, she laughs and smiles A LOT and she really doesn't give me much trouble at all.  I am truly lucky and blessed to have such an easy going baby because I could have gotten a real stinker.  Yes there is the 24/7 job that comes with the territory now.  There are the nights when she is sick that I can't sleep a wink because I need to make sure she is still breathing.  There are the days when she is so clingy and I can't put her down even long enough to pee.  There are the afternoons when she is so cr...

This week, I'm saying so what if... Baby Girl has decided that she needs to scream at the top of her lungs every few minutes and scare the shit out of me.  I guess she found her voice. I cried like a little girl when our kitty cat died on Father's Day even though I knew it was coming at some point.  I was in total denial. :( It's really hard for me to write this because I can't hardly remember what's been happening from one day to the next. Baby Girl was so miserable at the baseball game on Father's Day, we left half way through the game. Happy Father's Day Pappa! I didn't get the kind of reaction I was hoping for when my husband opened his Father's Day gifts.  I worked on these things for months!  I know....he's a guy.  What did I expect?  We didn't eat until like 7pm on Father's Day because I had to put the dam grill together for my Dad.  It was worth the wait! I haven't been this tired since I was pregnant.  I m...

Pinterest I can't get the Pinterest button added to my page.  It keeps saying there is something wrong.  So, Follow me on Pinterest !!!

So it's been a couple of weeks since I posted a Menu Monday.  We have been so busy that I just haven't had time to plan a thing.  So, we are starting fresh.  I am only going to include a Menu for this week since sticking to any other kind of schedule just seems impossible at this point.  Here is this week's menu: Monday - Hamburgers and hot dogs at the church softball game.  So healthy. Tuesday - 20 Minute Skillet Lasagna Wednesday - Red Potatoes and Ham Casserole Thursday - Garlic Parmesan Crust Chicken on the grill with Homemade Mac and Cheese Friday - Out or leftovers Saturday - Out or leftovers Sunday - Baptism food - we are attending a Baptism and lunch afterwards so we will be stuffing ourselves with all kinds of unhealthy goodness :) What's your menu for the week? Have any recipe suggestions?

A fellow Mommy friend of mine just told me recently that she is sending her little one to daycare for a few hours a day a few days a week over the summer.  This friend of mine works for some of the schools in our area and has decided to work part time over the summer.  While she and her husband were getting help from their parents to watch their little one, the parents have all gone home (internationally) and Mom and Pop are left to their own devices on daycare for the little one. They chose to go with Kindercare because they liked the facility and because they know that their little one will learn crucial social and independence skills while she is there.  Plus, it's really really close to their house.  Problem is, Momma is freaking out!  I was in her shoes just a few months ago so I decided to write this blog post for her and for any other Momma out there considering daycare or something like it. Now, obviously the first choice for any Mommy faced wit...

While we were able to stick to the plan yesterday and do everything I wanted to, we also suffered a tragedy.  Our little Miss Kitty died.  She had been sick about a month back and we thought that was the end for her but somehow she bounced back.  For a couple of weeks she was great.  She was awesome.  But then she started to look sick again.  This time, she seemed much worse. She layed around and slept most of the day and night, only getting up to eat and use the litter box.  She disappeared for a day down in our garage and we thought maybe she was looking for a quiet place to pass.  She re-surfaced and we took her back upstairs and layed her on her favorite blanket.  That's pretty much where she stayed until the end. I had some hope because after 2 days of not eating she decided to eat again.  But then when we kept finding her asleep in her litter box we knew she was not going to make it.  So, sadly, we found her yesterday afte...

I hope that everyone had a Happy Father's Day!!  Ashlyn got Daddy some really cool gifts for his first Father's Day.  The first thing she gave him was a 20 page photo book from Shutterfly.  She gave that to him early because she just couldn't help herself.  Kids these days.  Here are a few pages from the photo book: We started our Father's Day with church.  After church we headed to a Reading Phillies baseball game.  Baby Girl was all decked out in her Phillies gear but she wasn't really feeling the game.  She watched one inning and then we decided to go eat at the buffet I had purchased tickets for.  We wound up sitting in the shade trying to keep Baby Girl somewhat content most of the time.  It didn't work as well as we hoped it would and we left about half way through.  It's ok.  We will try again.  Maybe a night game next time when it's cooler. After the game, we visited my Dad so th...