scharff story: 2008

Monday, December 29, 2008

What Would You Do with $2?

Well, this is what I purchased at Walgreens today with my $2...

Garnier Fructis Shampoo + Conditioner
Olay Body Wash Radiance Ribbons
Revlon Translucent Finishing Powder
Revlon Blush
Revlon Eyeshadow
Revlon Mascara
Gillette Fusion Razor
Dawn Dish Soap x2
Roll of Christmas Wrapping Paper
Box of 12 red ball ornaments
Pack of 4 gift boxes

After Walgreens sale prices, coupons, manufacturer's coupons, mail-in rebates and register rewards I spent $2 out of pocket. I have a new hobby -couponing. Yes, I have reached the pinnacle of dorkhood, but you know, I'm saving my family a ton of money. The most awesome part about today's trip was that I did it all by myself. There are a TON of couponing blogs and websites out there that I find deals on. But most of those people were taking a break for Christmas so I figured out the deals myself!

Anyway, that was pretty much the highlight of my day...possible my week, so I thought I'd share!

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Use Your Imagination

Dec. 7th...dispicable. I'm ashamed to call myself a blogger. I have an excuse. Soon after that last post (well, ok, probably like a week)we sent our computer off to HP for repairs. It had recently become possessed and apparently the deliverance is taking longer than they thought. Of course they promised the holidays wouldn't impact the repair schedule (why did we believe them?) BUT since they are fixing all the problems for free I shall not complain.

Anyway, Andrew has been bringing his work laptop home in the evenings. I've been able to check my email and read all your entertaining blogs. But the USB drive for this computer is programmed to scramble any storage device plugged into it. My husband works for the CIA apparently. All that USB business means I cannot load pictures nor share them with you. Tear. So, had I been blogging over the last 20 or so days they would have been pictureless posts. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. And I would not want to bore you with my blabbering on and on.

But so much has happened since then. How can I wait another 2 or so weeks to share Christmas with you? I just can't. So...you will have to use your little imagination for this post.

We rotate holidays between the Scharffs and Marshalls. I think I mentioned that at Thanksgiving. So we headed to Safety Harbor, Florida for Marshall Christmas. Since Wade absolutely LOVES to ride in the car (HA!) we decided to drive through the night hoping he would sleep. And he did!!! It was totally worth all the junk I ate to keep myself awake driving.

So, we arrive Saturday AM about 7:30. After food, showers and naps we headed to the Safety Harbor Christmas parade. Imagine all the public works vehicles in New York City. Now imagine them driving past you at 5mph honking their horns. That's pretty accurate of the first 20 minutes of the parade. Following that were about 100 classic cars. Then a few dance companies who missed the memo that they should actually stop and dance. The shriners riding in a trailer playing their little oboe things. (Back in my day these guys would dress in the these goudy vests with no undershirts and fake belly rings. They would belly dance as they marched along playing their oboes. While it was extremely disturbing it just didn't seem right that they were fully clothed and sitting in chairs.) Hmmm, let's see, what else? Oh, Santa. Yah, after about 2 hrs. Santa finally comes on by. First of all, he wasn't even real looking. Second, there was no music...he barely waved. Sadness.

Sunday my brother joined us for a trip to the beach. I learned a secret this week. I should have had a kid 5 years ago. I saw more of my brother last week than I have in 5 years. The beach was fun. Wade wised up since October and did NOT eat any sand. Um, what else to share...it was a gorgeous day. The water was cold. See this is where I'd love to just show you a handful of pictures.

Monday we went to IKEA in Orlando. Swedish meatballs. CJ came, again. The plan was to buy a barstool for Wade, we bought 2 last summer and needed a 3rd. We had a fun day discovering how to live in 300 sq. ft. What's hilarious (or NOT) is that when Andrew unpacked and set up the barstool yesterday we discovered we bought the wrong height. Brilliant.

Tuesday, Christmas Eve Eve. We decided to do some shopping. What? Why? Good question. Of course what was supposed to be a 2hr. trip took about 6hrs.

Wednesday, my descriptions are getting shorter. I'm getting bored without the pictures. I'm sure you are too. We hung around the house I think. At 5pm we went to church then to a Christmas party. Andrew started a tradition of making cookies with Wade for Santa (pretend you can see the adorable picture of them).

Thursday, Christmas! CJ came over and we had a great morning opening presents and watching Wade play with his toys. That afternoon we went to my uncle's for the family get together. Wade loved getting to see all his great aunts, uncles and cousins.

Friday, Andrew and I ran out to do a few errands while mom hung out with Wade. Andrew packed and then we took a nap. We hit the road about midnight and returned to Chattanooga Saturday morning.

I'm so done with this post. I really hope you're not as bored as I am right now. Actually I hope you don't even get to this sentence. Maybe you quit reading 500 words ago.

Ok, perhaps I can find a way to get pictures posted before the computer returns.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

A Real Page Turner

So I mentioned the other day that Wade loves to turn the pages as we read books. Here’s the proof. Now unfortunately his talent is slightly downplayed by my expressional (is that a word?) reading. After we finished the book Andrew proclaimed that we had chosen the wrong book and I wouldn’t want to post it. But I figured you might need a good laugh

Thursday, December 4, 2008

10 MONTHS!!

Wow! Wade has been in this world longer than he was in my belly. Yesterday was his 10 month birthday. I managed to get the picture taken on the right day but still can’t seem to post it in a timely fashion. Oh well, I got 2 more months to get it right!

In honor of 10 months (& Dave Letterman), here are the top 10 current happenings in Wade’s development…

10. He has staged an all out boycott of the bottle. Each day he gets one bottle with Jamie while I tutor. But over the last month apparently he’s decided he’s too big for that. He prefers his milk in a sippy cup and he likes to sip on it rather than drink it all in one gulp. You know, like a normal human would drink.

9. He LOVES to read books. He will pay attention the entire book (well, an 8 page board book at least). His favorite part is turning the pages. After we read a page I left up the next page a little and he flips it for me. His current favorite is Brown Bear, Brown Bear…he thinks it’s hilarious.

8. His signing has progressed. He consistently signs “milk” (although he uses it for water too) and “all done”. Occasionally he signs “more” but I haven’t been as diligent about that one. He also waves hello & goodbye. Although he doesn’t move his hand, he just holds it up towards the person. Kinda like a guy who’s too cool to actually wave.

7. He LOVES LOVES LOVES his daddy. Every day when Andrew comes home he goes nuts. His favorite time is when he gets to wake daddy up in bed. He does his excited dance and starts panting and crawls all over him. This morning as Andrew was leaving we were pointing to him saying “dada” and I swear he said “da”. Now he does ramble dadadada a lot but he had been working on “thu” since he woke up so it wasn’t just a continuation of his rambling. So maybe, maybe….

6. His best friend is his cousin Sydney. Syd is 18 months old. They love to play together and hug and kiss.

5. Although he will eat virtually anything, his favorite food is grilled cheese sandwiches. How can you go wrong with bread and cheese, right? Just like his daddy.

4. His shoe size is a 2 1/2! That is VERY small. Like, baby shoes start at a size 2 generally, so many newborns wear a 2. The other day at the mall we stopped in Stride Rite and had his foot measured. The lady laughed at him. Not in a condescending way, just in a “wow, you’re 10 months old and you wear a size 2 1/2” kind of way. Guess he takes after me.

3. He is a crawling champ. A sprinter, really. He pulls up onto his knees constantly but doesn’t really attempt to pull up onto his feet often. When standing he will occasionally move a foot but is very reluctant. We don’t expect him to walk anytime soon.

2. As of 2 weeks ago he weighed 19lbs. 4oz. (35th percentile) and measured 28 7/8 inches long (75th percentile). He swims in most of his 12 month clothes but the 9 month pants are too short. Do they make belts for babies? Or maybe suspenders.

1. Bathtime is still a favorite activity. No matter how cranky he is as soon as we go in the bathroom he starts his happy dance. His newest trick is laying on his back with both arms stretched out touching the sides of the tub…kinda like he’s floating, but he’s not cause there’s only like 4 inches of water, but don’t tell him that.

Well, there you have it folks. 10 facts. And just in case you weren’t convinced that Wade is the best kid in the universe then let me seal the deal….

I mean, really…I’m probably a little biased, but could he get any cuter?

Monday, December 1, 2008

Gobble Gobble Gobble

I really have no excuse for not blogging for so long. So I’m just going to pretend that I’ve been blogging along and jump right back in.

Of most recent importance would be Turkey Day. This year we celebrated at our house with the Scharffs. We, like most families who live away from extended family, rotate between the Scharffs and Marshalls for holidays. Last week I intended to share with you what we were planning to feast on…yah, that didn’t happen. And now that we’ve all had our fill of the Thanksgiving meal and it’s leftovers I doubt you’re interested in reading what we had. We had the same stuff you did. I will say that I took the Crockpot Lady’s advice and used the pots to cook 2 sides freeing up the oven. Brilliant.

This, as you know, was Wade’s first Thanksgiving. Just a week before the big day we got the go ahead from Dr. Wiley that Wade can eat most table foods (referring to the food we adults eat). So, Wade ate…

Turkey

Creamed Corn

Green Bean Casserole

Rolls

Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

Stuffing

I kid you not. My son ate all of those items and not just a bite. Hoss. He also spread all of those items in his hair. Some kids need a bib, mine needs a hair net. It’s just too hard to pick one photo so here’s a slide show.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Menu Plan Monday Plus

Goodmorning! Enduring last week's icky weather brought a great reward. It was too soggy on Saturday for Andrew to work on the Outdoor Classroom Project (with his Leadership 21 class I mentioned before) so we got to spend the day together! Wade was ready to begin his day at 6:30am Saturday so we headed for Niedlov's for some yummy baked goods and coffee. And then it happened. It started to rain just as we headed for the car so we got into a hurry and didn't notice. Puppy. Puppy is gone. Not a real puppy. Wade's lovey. We have not really pushed the lovey concept too much (after seeing our nephew get EXTREMELY attached to a very ragged horsey) but Wade was starting to form a little attachment to Puppy. Once we got home we realized poor Puppy was probably lying in the parking lot getting rained on and perhaps even run over by a car. Tear. Sniff. No, we didn't go back to look for him. Unfortunately the rest of the day's events didn't really allow for it. So, now Wade is adjusting to a new blue puppy lovey. He's not quite as soft and cuddly but we're hoping he does the trick.

Ok, on to my menu for the week. This plan is pending the grocery shopping that needs to be squeezed in between Wade's two naps that have to be finished before 2:30pm, the first of which he has been fighting the last 30 minutes.

Monday: Crock Pot Chicken & Rice Casserole (w/ broccoli)

Tuesday: Swedish Meatballs (new recipe!), Mashed Potatoes and Cranberry Sauce

Wednesday: Four-Cheese Stuffed Shells, Green Beans & Crescent Rolls

Thursday: Parmesan Baked Salmon, Twice Baked Potatoes & Asparagus (depending on the price)

Friday: Spinach Pasta with Shrimp & more Crescent Rolls

Check out more menus at http://orgjunkie.com/.

And for persevering, here is a Wade snapshot for ya. Yesterday we bundled up and took Sam dog to the D-O-G P-A-R-K. Of course he didn't really interact with the other dogs, but he did pee on every tree in the entire park.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Ol' Man Hair

Wade...

November 13, 2008

Wade...

November 13th,2088

Seriously, the hair is resembling an old man more and more every day...a very cute old man!

Wade has had such a good week. He is all better and back to his happy self. I don't know if I've told you this but since returning from Florida I've increased my tutoring hours to 7hrs. a week. I take Wade to the school with me and a high schooler babysits him there. Increasing from 2 to 7hrs. has taken several weeks to adjust to but he is doing so great now.

It's going to be frigid here this weekend and we have no plans but to stay warm!

TGIF!!!! (Friday's have renewed meaning to me now since it's the only day I don't tutor!)

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Humidity

We seem to be quite concerned about humidity around here. The other week we bought a dehumidifier for the basement. We had a leak in the bathroom and the plumber recommended we get one to suck the water out of the floor and wood. Does it seem like we have a lot of plumbers visit our house? Yah, that's what I was thinking too. Anyway, that thing has been going nuts down there. It is mind boggling to me that there is enough moisture in the air to fill a bucket of water over and over and over again. Another interesting thing to me is that it has a digital humidity register. A few times it has been at 90%. Now I've been under the impression that 100% humidity essentially means it's raining. My question...could it rain in our basement? Ha.

Wade's illness of last week is heading out the door but it's leaving one last little gift-a nice cough. It's not a productive cough-it's that dry cough. You know the kind where someone insists you have a drink of water. So yesterday I visited Wal-mart and bought a humidifier for the little man's room. I grew up in Florida so there was no need for adding humidity to any space in our house-this idea is new to me. The one I bought has a place where you can add some kind of Vick's product. Sounded cool. Anybody ever tried that?

Anyway, so last night Andrew comes into the house and apparently spotted the humidifier box. His first words to me were "so now we're trying to get rid of humidity in the basement and add it to Wade's room?" Yah, I guess so.

P.S. Did you see Biggest Loser last night? Oh, I cannot stand that Vikki...her behavior is atrocious.

Monday, November 10, 2008

I Wouldn't Let You Down...

Earlier I promised amazing photos to come. So here they are. You'll notice there is pretty much not one photo of that amazing smile we all love. Wade was still recuperating from being sick so we're pleased that he wasn't crying. Last week was definitely the peak of the foliage here so we had to take advantage.

Menu Plan Monday

Well, this isn't about Wade...so sorry. But if you're patient I will post some totally-worth-the-wait pics of the little man later today. For now I've decided to participate in Menu Plan Monday. I already plan my menus before the week begins so I thought I'd share what we're having with you. If you're interested in a recipe just ask and I'll tell you where I stole it from!

It kinda stinks that I'm starting this week because we are having a "Clean Out the Freezer for Dinner" week. So, I'm not that excited about our meals but oh well. Next week will be better, I promise. Here goes nothing:

Monday: Sherry Pork Roast (at least I think that's what it is, I didn't label the bag of leftovers well)

Tuesday: Breakfast

Wednesday: Lasagna Rolls, mixed veggies

Thursday: Yankee Pot Roast (courtesy of Skillet Sensations)

Friday: Barbecue Pork Chops, Baked Potatoes, Creamed Corn

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Do You Want Some Milk?

Over the past 4 or so months I have given a half-hearted effort at teaching Wade sign language. I got this great book that explained the signs and shows you which ones to work on each month. Well, I think I've only read the first 2 chapters. The instructions are to start slow. So I chose milk and have since added food and more. The sign for milk is to open your hand wide and squeeze it closed in a fist, kind of like you're milking a cow. Which most of you have probably never done. For the record, I have milked a cow. Anyway, you get the idea. So, every time I would get ready to nurse Wade I would squeeze my hand a few times and ask if he wanted milk. He would kind of stare at my hand like I was an idiot. After weeks of this my self-esteem really started to drop so I let up on the milk sign a bit. Also I forgot. Since he's been eating I have been working on food and more although probably less than half the time.

All of this explanation does have a reason. This morning my sweet husband got up with Wade at 6:30am so I could sleep a bit more. Love that guy! I woke up just as he was going down for a nap at 8:30am. Normally he would nurse at 8am. So, I'm changing an ever so stinky diaper when I notice something. Wade is opening and squeezing his hand. I said "do you want milk?", not signing myself. And he repeats the sign! Now you might say this is happenstance. But I have never seen him open and close his hand like that.

This is just amazing to me. Seeing him communicate. I mean obviously he has been communicating through cries and smiles for 9 months now but this is just mind blowing. As you can imagine my motivation is renews and I will be reading chapters 3-9 of the book this afternoon!

An update on the sickness...he seems to be getting better. We've been fever free for over 48hrs. Yesterday he still wanted to sleep more than usual but he didn't go down quite as rocklike as the past several days. Also his appetite is coming back a bit. He ate a huge breakfast. I only gave him a few cheerios for lunch because he's been so disinterested in lunch. Last night he would not go to sleep for anything. He just cried and cried as we tried to rock him. Finally after 45minutes. Andrew brings him in and says, "do you think he might be hungry?". My husband is a genius. He ate a huge bowl of banana oatmeal and went right to sleep! Unfortunately he has developed a rash on his upper body. It started yesterday morning and I though it was connected to an itchy sleeper he had been wearing. But it's getting worse. We're going to try to get Dr. Sandy to come take a look at him this afternoon.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

9th Monthabirthday

I think that Mr. Sicky may be on the mend. He hasn't had fever in 24hrs. and he was just up playing for about 2hrs! During that time I managed to take his 9 Monthabirthday pics. So, we're only 6 days late.

His 9 month checkup was supposed to be Friday, but I ended up taking him to see Dr. Wiley Thursday evening. Mean ol' Wiley did a strep test on the poor kid-remember that one? The large Q-tip swabbing the back of your throat...yuck! Thankfully he doesn't have strep just a viral infection. Infant Tylenol is king, I bought out Target yesterday. We did find out that he weighs 19lbs. He's gained 1 1/2 lbs. since September. Also he measured 26 inches. But that can't be right since last time he measured 27.5in. So, I'll have to remeasure here later.

If you remember the 7 Month mishap, look carefully and you'll notice my handiwork at changing the "seven" to "eight".

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Sick Snuggle Bug

Wade is sick. Not sure exactly what kind of sick but he is definitely under the weather. Tuesday he woke up from his nap with an "elevated temperature" (99.3). He fell asleep on the way to Boyd Buchanan where I tutor. The babysitter kept him semi-happy the first hour but he had a total meltdown the second hour and I ended up holding him while tutoring for the last 30 minutes. He's been happy to sleep and unhappy to be awake since then. I don't think it's teething cause usually he does not sleep well when teething nor is he interested in snuggling. Last night he woke up every 2 hrs. and would nurse and then just want to be held for a few minutes. He woke up at 8am, had breakfast and went down for a nap at 9am. He was playing on the floor after breakfast and I looked down to find him resting his head on the hardwood floor - poor guy! I got out my camera but of course he didn't do it again. But as long as I had the camera out I thought I'd share with you a few pics of the fall foliage around our house. Please excuse all the power lines.

My plan is to get some pics of Wade in the leaves this weekend-we'll see how Mr. Sicky is feeling.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Quack, Quack, Quack

Seriously, can he get any cuter?

This is the best we could do of getting all the kiddos to sit still and look at the camera.

Sorry it's a little blurry, but it captures well how the wagon riding went.

Coaching Wade on what kind of candy mommy and daddy like best.

This is what Wade looked like most of the night...no eyes!

Even Baby Callie trick or treated for a few minutes.

For the record, this is not my husband but his twin brother David.

Cousins in their Halloween Jammies

Kisses!

There's only room for one of us in this chair.

Sydney, get out of the chair.

That's right, I'm the boss.

I don't know why we keep trying to get pics of all 3 kids looking at the camera.

To browse the full all 180 or so pics from the evening check out http://s307.photobucket.com/albums/nn304/scharffstory/Halloween%2008/.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Tag, you're it

I've been tagged by some kind of blog survey thing...twice (thanks Carly and Nikki!). So, I'm going to be obedient and carry on the chain so that bad luck doesn't follow me for the next 7 days. Well, just kidding- I don't think it's quite like that. It's just for fun.

So, for the first one...

The directions are to post the 6th picture in your 6th album and then explain it. But to be truthful this is actually the 1st picture in my 7th folder because there was no 6th in the 6th.

These AMAZING kids are part of the West Houston Church of Christ youth group. This shot was taken in July of 2007 on our middle school mission trip to Weslaco, TX. We spent a week painting 5 houses in the community. I was about 4 months prego on this trip and I may or may not have climbed onto a roof to paint some trim. Don't tell Andrew...or my mom. Our group of 30 or so stayed in a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house the whole time! I'm not kidding. There were 2 showers. But it was a great trip and I miss those kids like crazy.

Next...

[love+your+blog.jpg]

I was nominated by Nikki for an I Love Your Blog "award." And this is the obligatory survery that comes with it.

1. Where is your cell phone? coffee table

2. Where is your significant other? on his way home from class, I hope

3. Your hair color? strawberry blonde

4. Your mother? Safety Harbor, FL

5. Your father? deceased

6. Your favorite thing? geez, only one...my cheapo Target shoes I guess

7. Your dream last night? don't remember

8. Your dream/goal? to reflect the glory of God more & more

9. The room you're in? living room

10. Your hobby? scrapbooking, cooking

11. Your fear? spiders

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? in God's will

13. Where were you last night? home

14. What you're not? excited about Wade teething

15. One of your wish-list items? garbage disposal installation

16. Where you grew up? Safety Harbor, FL

17. The last thing you did? made coffee

18. What are you wearing? jeans and a Gap sweater

19. Your TV? The Office

20. Your pet? Sammy

21. Your computer? hot-why do laptops get hot like this?

22. Your mood? surprisingly calm despite my wrecked house

23. Missing someone? my mama

24. Your car? Highlander

25. Something you're not wearing? socks

26. Favorite store? Target

27. Your summer? travel

28. Love someone? uhh, do you ever read my blog?

29. Your favorite color? red, maybe

30. When is the last time you laughed? few minutes ago

31. Last time you cried? not sure

So the people I nominate for the "I Love Your Blog" award have to do both parts of this. Hahaha.

Tahnee

And just so I haven't totally wasted your time, here's a picture of Wade discovering the joy of tupperware.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Callie Baby!

On Sunday morning a few minutes after 8am I got a text from Andrew saying "I can hear her little cry from down the hallway". This was the 10th or so in a series of texts that had begun about 3:30am with "Anna's water just broke, she is on her way to the hospital".

Andrew's twin brother David and his sweet wife Anna have a sweet new baby girl named Callie Elizabeth. She weighed in at 8lbs. and 20 inches with about 3 times as much hair as Wade!

Aside from Callie being born I've just been trying to catch up from being gone. It's not really happening but whatever. Wade has been feeling pretty horrible. I'm pretty sure he's getting at least one top tooth. But my mother-in-law, Connie is here and helping TONS with him!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Florida Chronicles Part 5: The Uncles

Today was the day for uncles (and an aunt). We started off at my Uncle Sam & Aunt Joan's house this morning. Sam was my dad's brother. He and Uncle Mark Scharff are the closest to blood related grandads that Wade has. So, he's pretty special.

Wade also got to meet Jimmy, who is my Aunt Joan's 94 year old dad!

He also had a blast playing with their dogs Samantha and Brandy.

After Sam & Joan's we went to Christmas Wonderland. There were no uncles there. Well, at least none that were related to Wade.

This evening CJ (my brother) returned from 6 weeks in Serbia, Bosnia and Kosovo.

Wade was really uncertain of CJ at first.

Soon they started playing though. Here CJ is explaining an aqueduct to Wade.

And Wade warmed right up to him.

Uncle CJ, you wouldn't really put that on my head, would you? Uh, yah. And he did. Remind me not to let CJ babysit.

I guess this was supposed to make Wade feel better.

But in the end they're still buddies...

Tomorrow I am heading home. We have had so much fun the last week and a half here with Grammy. It is sad to be leaving. But it is good to be going home. I know Andrew has been missing Wade terribly. And soon after we get home my sister-in-law, Anna will be having her baby girl Callie. Then before we know it, it'll be Christmas and we'll be heading back to see Grammy again! Yay!