An Afternoon In The Gulf

We can now add splashing in the Gulf of Mexico to Max's summer adventures. The trip to the beach also had a first for me...getting pooped on by a bird. GROSS!! Thank goodness the water was nearby-credit to Courtney for cleaning it off me...eww enough about that. Here are some pics:

Giggling at Grandpa Tim blowing bubbles :)

Working on my photography skills

Skyway Bridge

9.11

This year marks the 10th anniversary of 9.11. At the time, I had just started college at UM. My suite-mate Melissa came into my room and told my roommate and I to turn on the news. We saw one of the twin towers was ablaze. Glued to the TV we all watched as the second plane hit the towers. I remember thinking this couldn't really be happening. I called my best friend Jackie to make sure her dad was ok (he worked in the city) and she was hysterical; away at college as well, she couldn't reach him. That was the last time I got in touch with her for a while because then the towers crumbled and the phone lines were no longer working. Classes were cancelled. TV's were set up in the common areas of the dorms and there were students everywhere glued to the news coverage. I felt so far away from my family and friends. What happened was unimaginable. Still today, every time I watch something about 9.11 I can't help but tear up.

Recipe for Steak Sandwiches

Chris was home for the first Hurricane Football game so I wanted to make something special and manly. I made what Chris calls a Melly Steak Sandwich :) I made cheese fries to go along. This recipe was super simple and tasty. It served 2

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 green bell pepper
1/3 medium onion
1/3 package onions (I buy whole & chop myself)
2 bakery subs
4 slices provolone cheese
1/2 pound beef round steak/flip steak (it was sliced thin, I used 1/3 pound-kinda small)
Vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees
-Heat oil in a skillet over medium to medium high heat
-Add peppers and onions and saute until the onions are almost translucent
-Add mushrooms and cook until browned
-Remove veggies and place in a bowl
-Using the same skilled, cook the steak a little less than your desired doneness (thin steak cooks fast)
-Assemble the sandwich using 2 slices of cheese on each & put in the oven for 5 minutes or until bread is toasty looking and cheese is melted.

Max's First Beach Visit

While we were in Chicago for the family trip earlier this month, my friend Johanna and I took Max to the beach! He enjoyed playing in the sand and even crawled over to another family with better toys to play with! He splashed around in the lake and even crawled through the water by himself . He is such a brave little boy. Here are some pics:

I Know I Should Be Packing, But.....

**Interesting Commercial:

I saw this commercial on tv the other day and thought to myself, is this for real?? I think if a kid activated their alarm while being bullied, they would for sure get beat up. And I don't think this would deter a predator...although I do carry a whistle, Max will not be wearing this backpack.

I Can't Quit You Baby

Hello everyone, I've been determined to resume my blog again before one year elapsed...so here we go!

MAX: Max is 11 months old today!! It seems like just yesterday I was holding him in my arms taking him home from the hospital; a helpless little baby. But as I look at him in his monitor, I know that little baby boy is quickly turning into a little man. He is nearly walking by himself and his babble is almost comprehensible. He eats real food and points at what he wants before crawling over to it. He is an entertainer and loves to be entertained. (Up to this point, pictures are on kodakgallery.com-I will post some here going forward)

ME: Motherhood has really been an incredible experience for me so far and I am so happy that I am able to spend time with Max and be there for him when he does something new, giggles, or cries. It is exhausting, but so rewarding. Now that he is eating regular food, I've started cooking again, which I'm really enjoying.

A couple weeks ago I dreamed that I ran, and ran, and ran and it felt so good in the dream I woke up telling Chris I was going to start running again. So this past Monday I took Max and went for a run! Not quite like in my dream but it was a start. Today was my second run...correction JOG. I was sore today from Monday's run and felt like I was hardly moving but I'm going to keep at it and build up to running a 5k race by the end of the year. I am tracking my progress on RunKeeper.com so hopefully that and your help will keep me motivated.

BASEBALL: Another baseball season is winding down and it has been a great one so far. The team has taken us for quite a ride and Chris has definitely been an important part of that. It would be incredible if the Indians can find their groove again and take us into the post-season, after all, they've made it this far. But as usual, I have to be prepared for anything and today I began making our arrangements to go home to Tampa. I'll be packing some things we're done with here and shipping my car back to Tampa next week. Max and I will fly to Tampa for 10 days or so during Chris's long road trip in September and return to Cleveland to make the final push and to start the celebration of Max's 1st birthday!

That's all for now! Stay tuned for product reviews, recipes, pictures and more!!

Belly Pic 5 and more

Starting on the left, the pictures are from weeks 31 and 33 (last Friday). As of now we have less than 7 weeks to go! I'm feeling great besides some tingles and swelling in my right hand.

My Golden Birthday was great! Chris gave me beautiful jewelry and an unforgettable card. The other wives made a fabulous dinner and cake for me and spoiled me with presents. It was really nice! I'm so thankful for the wonderful women I've met this season. I couldn't have asked for more.

September is going to be a very busy month for me. I'm flying back to Florida in 2 days with Brody, so my least favorite activity is here....packing! Today my friend Julie is coming over to help me get all packed up; seems like things get done so much quicker when someone else helps guide you along, so I'm grateful that she volunteered for the job!

We're closing on our new home in Tampa on Sept 10th. It's about 10-15 minutes east of our current home so there's even more packing in my near future. The movers are going to take care of most of the packing though, thank goodness! We've had great memories in our old home however short our stay there was, but the new house is amazing and we're looking forward to having everyone over and starting our new family memories there.

And then of course there's getting ready for baby Maxwell! So much to do...so much to do!