Little OSU Fans

Avapolooza!

Uncle Troy makes Ava laugh!
Aunt Christina and Uncle Troy at Mary Kelley's during Ava's birthday weekend.
Dad, Uncle Nick, Brandon, Troy, Creston and Christina enjoying the lasagna.
Mae, Mom, Julie and Sheraya





















Aunt Rita, Aunt Cindy and Sharon

Princess Buttercup

Ava opening her gifts. We had to do a rush as it was just before her nap!
Aunt Becca, mommy and ava before cake time!
Girls lunch! Lunch with Grandma Shmidt, mommy and Ava at Brio. Sharon was down for Ava's birthday and got to spend some time with her.
Princess buttercup!Ava's crown that she wore (for a second), while eating her cake.

It's her first cake! (It looked a lot better than it was! I had to redo all of the cupcakes because they were so gross!)

Ava's birthday

In honor of ava's recent birthday, I thought it would be cool to dig up some cute photos of her. I couldn't get over how tiny Ava was when she was first born. Brandon and I were talking with a person at Panera last sunday who had a five week old and just looked at Ava sitting happily eating a grilled cheese and said, "Why can't my baby be that old!"

I totally understood what she meant! Being a mommy to a five week old when you are sore all over, looking your worst, at your lowest point with two hours of consecutive sleep and feeling worse than you look, which is a miracle in itself, is a rude introduction to motherhood.

You pretty much don't comprehend people's complaints of only getting 6 hours or sleep, and you don't see your husband except to mutter, "don't forget she needs to have her diaper changed."

But, then she starts sleeping through the night (well, 5 hours is something to jump about --technically, that's sleeping through the night!), you get to actually have a date night (still wearing your maternity pants, but hey, they were the Gap maternity pants, the "sexy ones").

Slowly, all of those horrible nights pacing the floor at 1 a.m. and the long days changing endless diapers and being spit up on 20 times becomes a faint memory. And those memories become sweet like a bowl of summer peaches.

It's just about dinner time. She reaches up and wants me to pick her up so she can get a closer look at what I am making for dinner. She leans over, and I kiss her cheek and melt. This is it. It was all worth it. This is paradise.

How about a little Jack Baurer?

If your family is anything like mine, you probaby love to quote movies and funny one-liners. Well, I have been reading Christina's blog and got inspired by her thoughts of the day. Here are some of my onesie t-shirt ideas that Ava's inspired!

"Milk Junkie"
-inspired by ava's incessant desire for milk. she was told to lay off the milk from our pediatrician.)

"How about a little Jack Baurer?"
-who doesn't like a baby pushing 24? We love watching 24 and nobody kicks butt better than Jack Baurer!

warning: do not try to imitate jack, doing so may result in a broken toe.

Walking and loving it!
-ava is walking now!

turning 30...III

Turning 30 with the Shmidt boys--Geoff and Brandon.























Felicia and Ava admiring jewelry! Thanks for coming so far!
Uncle Luke and Ava

turning 30...II

Jessie with Ava at Christmas
Momma Jane with Ava at the party...helping mommy celebrate.
The b-day crew!
Amber, Trevor, Ava and I.

Shaun, Annabelle Ava and I. This was Ann before she schooled us all in a little guitar hero. She is amazing!

turning 30
I turned 30 Jan. 13 and it was erinpolooza! Seriously, it was great to see everyone who came to my birthday party and it meant a lot to have everyone there with me. Friends and family are number one with me--and I love to celebrate anything!

suprise visitor
It also was really special to have both jessie and rachel there! Thank you so much for making the special trip jessie! She suprised me and flew in for the weekend to celebrate with us! So brillant! I didn't know what to do when I saw her--I just kept saying, "What are you doing here?"

amazing grace
Some people don't like to turn 30, but it doesn't make me sad because I feel like I am at such a great place in my life right now. I have a great family and one that loves me even when I am a pain, great friends who really are fun and who I don't see nearly enough, and a great relationship with Christ. I had so many questions with my faith when I was first being serious with my walk with Christ, but I think that I just have to rely on his strength and not mine! Control freak that I am, this always scares the bejeebees out of me, but I can't do it by myself. I have tried to be the perfect wife, friend and mom, but I fail miserably every time. Just ask Brandon! It really gives me such a peace to know that God is and always will be in control.

Bible in Basic English
According to Proverbs 3:5, "Put all your hope in God, not looking to your reason for support."

We sang "Amazing Grace" today at Vineyard and it really made me feel so loved. Christ loved me in spite of me. John Newton, an english slave trader turned vicar, wrote this song after fighting for the abolition of slave trade. I mean, he traded human beings and then realized that Christ died for those same people. Below is Chris Tomlin's adaption of Amazing Grace. It's really moving--give it a listen sometime.

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed
My chains are gone I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, Amazing grace

I think that's why "Amazing Grace" is so powerful. It shows how God can use anyone wherever they are in life. He doesn't want us blameless and perfect because that is the best way to show you and others His grace.

Turning 30...

Phoenix babes lookin cute!
Becca (middle) and Kelly (right) help me ring in my 30th birthday at El Vaqueros in Dublin
Stroller hot mamas! My workout/mommy buddies helped me celebrate!


Dave, Emily and Wesley

Daily happenings

(top) Ava's rockin the inside the house 'hat look'

(bottom) Engaging in a tete a tete about world economics with cousin ethan













I am literally pulling my hair out kid!
Cousin olivia and ava together--priceless!

New year, new look!

After looking at more blogs, I got inspired to change our blog site to increase reader ease and spruce up the place! So enjoy reading our blog in its new digs!

The two hercules of the cleaning world!

Are you sick of winter yet? I am! When you are doing daily cleaning or household chores though, you can really use products that perk up your mood, as well as clean your home!

Lemon and vineger are great all natural cleaning aids that you may use in place of harsher chemical cleaning agents. I think it's loads of fun to use these things because they make your sink or faucets sparkle and clean without making your home smell like ammonia!

Here are some great ways to use up those extra lemons!
Lemon
1. Use in place of detergent to clean high chair trays! I just used this for getting that red stain lasagna always leaves on Ava's tray. Just let your water run over the tray while you are rubbing lemon over the stain. Keep rubbing and it should dissolve in a few minutes! And the smell helps relax your blood vessels and produces an anti-inflammatory affect.
2. Freshen up your trash disposal by using leftover lemon peels.
3. Grind up the lemon peels and combine with a cup of sugar for lemon sugar! Great in tea.
4. Stop a nosebleed by squeezing some lemon onto a cotton ball which will help lessen the nose membranes.
5. A great natural disenfectant.

Vinegar always smells like your grandma's house! It's a wonderful all purpose cleaner for showers, counters, hardwood and vinyl floors and adds sparkle to stainless steel. I use it all of the time in place of cleaners.

Vinegar
1. Combine one part vinegar and one part water to a spray bottle and spray on any stainless steel surface. Buff with a cloth and watch the glorious shine appear!
2. Vinegar cuts through grease and grime quickly. Use on sinks to remove build up.
3. Unclog your drains by pouring 1 cup of vinegar down your drain overnight and cover with a cloth. It should be unclogged in the morning!
4. According to the Vinegar Institute, you can clean berry stains on your hands by using white vinegar! For more information, visit www.http://www.versatilevinegar.org/.
5. Frosted windows:For those rare winter mornings when there is frost on the car, wipe the windows the night before with a solution of one part water to three parts white distilled vinegar. They won’t frost over.
6. Clothes will rinse better if 1 cup of white distilled vinegar is added to the last rinse water. The acid in vinegar is too mild to harm fabrics, but strong enough to dissolve the alkalies in soaps and detergents.
7. Cotton and wool blankets become soft, fluffy and free of soap odor if 2 cups of white distilled vinegar are added to the rinse cycle of the wash.

Enjoy these tips.