Moving

I've decided that I like the layout better over at wordpress, so I'm moving my blog over there.  I've imported all of my posts from here, so there should the same info, just a very different look.  I'm still working on it, so don't judge.  Here's the new address:

http://meettheneebs.wordpress.com

Vacation

Roger and I had planned to go to out West for a long vacation this fall, but our plans had to change.  Instead, we stayed in STL and had a 'stay-cation'.  We did a lot of things around here that we don't usually get to or have the time or money to do.  And we were able to get a lot of things done around the house.  Here's a glimpse at what we did:

We got Elliott's "coming home" outfit

We moved around tons of furniture.  Rearranged Mia's room for her new, big-girl (twin) bed and rearranged our room to fit all the baby accessories.  Amazingly, it all fits!

We ate some sweet fall treats and got to hang out with some friends - without children! 

 

The dog (Chase) got a much-needed hair cut.  Everyone's much happier.  Vacuuming 5 times a day gets annoying to everyone.

And we got to visit a winery west of St. Louis.  It was great to be able to sit on their deck, soak in some sun, enjoy the emerging fall colors, and eat some delicious lunch.

Our vacation wasn't quite the grandiose trip that we had originally planned, but it was a great, refreshing break for us and a chance to appreciate our home, our friends, and our marriage.  Now Mia's home, we're getting back into our routine and completing final preparations for the next big thing - the baby coming!

At the Zoo

Roger had the day off Friday, so we took a family trip to the zoo.  We hit the elephant trail first, to avoid as many field trip groups as possible.  Once we were done there, Mia said she wanted to ride the carousel, so we headed that way, seeing the bears and penguins along the way.  Then she said she was ready to go home.  I was shocked!  A trip to the zoo without a trek up the large, long, looming hill to see the lions and giraffes and zebras?  Amazing!  She must have sensed how much she would have been torturing Mommy to go that far.  What a lovely little girl I have!  

Water, Water Everywhere

Hurricane Ike hit Missouri.  That's right - Missouri.  We had crazy wind and tons of rain Sunday morning as the storm passed by, leaving over 5 inches of rain here at our house and basement full of muddy, nasty water.  At its highest, the water was up over the bottom step of the basement and up to Roger's knees.  

 

The rest of Sunday was spent cleaning and trying to salvage things that had been damaged.  One of our friends, Will, came over to help Roger demo the drywall.  Another friend, Jason, brought by a shopvac to aid in cleanup.  Some other friends, the Lankfords, were very gracious and let me and Mia come over to launder some of the clothes that had been doused by the flood waters.  And my mom came down and was here all day Monday to help haul out damaged goods from the basement and mop up the mess.  Although we're all exhausted and sore here, we know that we're very blessed to have so many people surround us who care and are willing and ready to help at the drop of a hat.  In the midst of the storm we've found immense blessing.  So, thanks to everyone who's prayed for us - it's made a huge difference!  And thank you to those of you who have supplied labor, parts, or food to bless us.  We don't know what we'd do without you!

Apples

We took our annual trip to Eckerts' this morning for apple picking.  We were blessed to have a break in the rainy weekend weather to squeeze in some outdoor fun.  Mia really enjoyed picking the apples herself this year.  And she helped me make an apple crisp when we got home.  Despite lots of stress this week, it was nice to have some family fun.

Waiting for the tractor

Baby Corrine

I had the privilege of doing a photo shoot with the lovely little baby Corrine and her Mommy, Micaela.  Corrine was a little fussy, but she still cooperated enough to get some great shots.  I love doing newborn shoots and working with Micaela and Corrine was the highlight of my week so far! 

Emotions

We've been working on teaching Mia about emotions lately.  Just to be silly, we've taught her how to make the different faces for each emotion.  It's pretty humorous because each emotion-face is mixed with a smile.  

                   Happy                Scared

                       Angry              (Scared?)

 

Sad Surprised

Just Plain Cute

I love my wrap!

My lovely Aunt Donna was super-generous and bought me the wrap I had been wanting to get for life-with-a-toddler-and-newborn that is quickly approaching.  And it just came in the mail the other day!  I popped in the DVD to see how the big piece of fabric would transform into a baby carrier, and Mia came in to watch too.  She wanted me to try to put her in every hold that was demonstrated (of course, she's much too big for many of them, but we still gave it a try), which kept us amused for a good, long while.  The wrap is amazing!  Even with my 6-months-pregnant belly, I can still comfortably carry Mia around.  I love it!  So, a HUGE thanks to Aunt Donna, not only for the hope of simplified life come December, but for the fun Mia is having with the wrap now.

Waiting on Paint to Dry

Tackling yet another household project this weekend, Roger and I put on our "working" clothes and painted one of the last two rooms in the house to be altered since we bought this house 4 years ago - our bedroom. (The other room that hasn't been painted or anything yet is the kitchen.  I'm waiting for a total over-haul to take care of that one.) We have a two bedroom house, so after the baby comes (and masters sleeping through the night) the kids will get to share the larger, master bedroom.  I wanted to get the room kid-ready so that it will be an easier transition once Elliott and Mia are ready to share, so we painted the white walls a lovely, neutral yellow.  Roger cleaned the walls and moved furniture yesterday and we were able to get the whole thing completely painted in about 2 hours today.  Yah, we're good.  I know.   And the whole thing has satiated my nesting compulsions for the time being.  Since we had to change our Labor Day plans, it was nice to be able to get this project done earlier than we had planned.  Of course, we won't be able to see the complete kid room for about another year or so, but the palate is set!

The Old Ball Game

We celebrated Roger's birthday last night with a trip to Busch Stadium.  I hadn't been to a game since 2001 and Roger hadn't been to one all season, so we were both really excited to go.  And it was the start of a big series for the Cards too - vs. the Brewers - their rivals in the wild card race this season.  Too bad the game was horrible ... the Cards lost, 12-0.  But we still love the Cardinals.  And we still had a great time.   

Couldn't resist a downtown shot 

The view from our seats

Elliott got to go to a game before his big sister!

Wedgrounds

One of my favorite songwriters is Andy Osenga.  He was the lead singer for The Normals and is now the lead guitarist for Caedmon's Call.  About a year ago, he came up with a brilliant idea, mostly just as a creative challenge for himself, to put together and EP of songs based on stories, pictures, etc. that other people gave him.  He asked his fans to send him anything they thought would make a cool song, and the result was "Letters to the Editor, Vol. 1" (which can be downloaded for FREE on Andy's site - www.andyosenga.com)  Not only was the concept of the EP unique, but on the last track of the collection Andy come up with an amazing idea - he had fans record themselves singing a simple melody and e-mail the recording to him, which he edited and melded together to paint a beautiful chorus at the end of the song "Swing Wide the Glimmering Gates."  Amazing!  Such a fun idea!  The song in itself is gorgeous, but this unique ending brings tears to the eyes.  (It's on his website and also on his myspace music page - www.myspace.com/andrewosenga ) And he created a term for this new background vocal - Webgrounds.  

Well, Andy's at it again - writing "Letters to the Editor, Vol. 2".  He just posted on his blog a couple of days ago requesting people to be a part of the project again, this time recording and e-mailing in vocals and instruments!  I downloaded the instructions/mp3s just out of curiosity, but I couldn't resist being a part of such a fun, beautiful project.  I e-mailed in my vocal and guitar part yesterday.  Now I can't wait to hear what the whole, finished song sounds like!  All he sent us (those who are taking part in this) was just the part needed to be recorded.  I have no idea what the rest of the song sounds like or what the lyrics are - how fun is that?  Such a great, creative process!  I'm so blessed to be a part of it!  Be sure to check out www.andyosenga.com

Feeling Bubbly

Roger, Mia and I fought off the mosquitoes Sunday night and played in the backyard.  I was feeling slightly creative and energetic, so I thought I might try to get some photos of Mia.  She thought it was a fun idea too, giving me ideas of the pictures she wanted me to take.  Now if only she would slow down just a little for me to be able to take those pictures!  It at least gives me hope for getting some good pictures of her this fall.  I got a few good ones between mosquito swats.

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair

Roger and I got up not-so-bright and early (leaving the house at 5:30 am) and drove to Indianapolis Saturday to meet my parents at the State Fair.  The weather was unseasonably beautiful and Mia had a great first trip to the fair.  She got to see and pet some goats, sheep, cows, pigs, horses, a chick, and even saw an elephant.  Mia had a great time seeing a lot of the these animals for the first time.  (Yah, she's one of those city kids ... )  Thanks to my parents for a fun day for us all!

(A trip to the fair is nothing without a nap in the stroller)

Baklava

Our small group is having a Greek party night tonight and I signed up to bring dessert.  Since I know no other Greek dessert, I decided to attempt to make baklava.  And it turned out great!  Despite my repeated fears that I was screwing everything up, the whole thing tastes great and looks as sticky and messy as it should.  Hopefully we won't be bringing any home from the party tonight ... no need for me to be eating honey, nutty, artery-clogging squares all day tomorrow. (Actual creation pictured here!)  Here's the recipe - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Baklava/Detail.aspx

Organization makes the world go 'round

The toddler is out of town, so I'm up to some major organizing!  The "nesting" pretty much came with the little blue line on the pregnancy test, and today I'm making some major progress on the problem area of the house - the basement.  (dun, dun, dun!!!)  Right now I'm at a standstill until Roger gets home to go through his stuff, but I'm pleased with the purge so far.

Here's a peek at my progress (remember, it's darkest just before the dawn (a quote from "The Dark Knight" that I just got to see last night) - this is organized chaos.  And, no, it didn't look quite that bad to begin with ...)  Be prepared to be wowed and amazed by my organizing skillz by the end of the week!

It's been slightly enjoyable to go through all of our stuff that's accumulated down there in the 4 years we have lived in this house.  I decided to finally recycle all of my college class notes and papers (save for one 30 page paper that nearly took my sanity that I refuse to throw away!), which is bittersweet.  I learned so much during my time at SLCC, it's actually refreshing to just glance through old notebooks and folders.  I also ran across a couple of boxes of notes I had saved from college - notes my friends wrote me while pretending to pay attention in class or things they left on my door in the dorm.  I was "re-blessed" to read through those today as well.  My hormonal little self has had quite a sentimental day.

Sweet Beginnings

I've been mulling over starting a blog for months now, and today, as the extreme summer heat has chased me inside, I've decided to finally begin the process.  This will be an easy, fun way for our friends and family to keep up with the happenings of the Neeb family.  I'm not really sure what form or shape or theme this blog will carry, but it will sure be fun to watch it transpire!

Here's an introduction/reintroduction to where we're at today.  Roger and I just celebrated 5 years of marriage this June.  Basically, our anniversary celebration consisted of a lot of, "Man!  Five years?!  Really?  Time is flying..." and "Holy crap!  We're getting old!"  We've never been very good at celebrating our marriage, but this fall we're taking a big trip to Seattle.  Can't wait!  The mountains and water will be a greatly appreciated change from good ol' St. Louis terrain.  We have 1.5 kids - a two year old Mariam (or Mia) and then the growing/percolating Elliott, who will make his grand entrance somewhere around December 12.

So with the awkward, not-so-interesting post, let the blogging begin!