A year in a blink

I know, I know- 'Where have you been Ashley?'. You know the old saying, 'If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all'? Now you understand my quiet front over here. I've been on the fence about writing this for awhile now. But, with it being our STL year anniversary, I think this is the perfect way to put the past behind us so I can start blogging on the upbeat again.

Let's start this off pleasantly-- CONGRATS TO US! We've been here a year and are still managing to wake up everyday! Woo hoo! I just re-read some of my old posts from when we moved here. Silly children, we were so young and naïve. So full of excitement of things to come. Little did we know this was to be our 'test your strengths' year. We made it.. yay.

Don't get me wrong, you've seen my facebook posts, it's not as though every day has been bad. Audrey is... crazy (I use that because it truly can go either way, just like her personality, lol). Since moving out here, she seems to be doing really well. In the last year she has:

- Learned to walk
- Learned to fly thru 3 year old puzzles
- Although she started slow, her verbal skills are rocking now!
- She sings along to all her favorite kid songs, as well as Mommy's favorite jams
- Has started to read a bit; in fact- we are in her first chapter book currently (Secret Garden)
- Can count(and recognize) to 20
- Can sing (and recognize) the alphabet
- Has moved into a Big girl bed
- Is slowly mastering the potty
- Is about to dip her fingers in the Gymnastics pool

I guarantee every 2 year old mom out there is saying '...and ??'; but with her being our first born- we are quite impressed with our nugget. Poor Nathan...

Rob is doing really well at work. Everything we do basically revolves around it. They need someone on call? You do it! They need someone to come in? You do it! They need someone to head a project? Guess what? YOU.DO.IT! It seems to be paying off and he really enjoys the team he works with. I've only been able to meet the group a couple of times, but the crew actually reminds me a little of MY old crew at Hyatt (If you know me, you know that is a HUGE compliment). I really couldn't be more proud of him. He has worked so hard these last couple years, and somehow managed to work even harder this last year. I know it broke his heart to move us away from Ohio, but he did it for us, and we'll always be so grateful-- even more so when we are back in the OH! Babe, I hope you know your squad will always be behind you, cheering you on like the '72 Fins :-*

Rob is also dominating the golf course these days!! Ladies, I highly recommend getting the golfer in your life a 'golf swing evaluation' as a gift one day. Rob is able to get out at least once a month, round the year, and once Spring hit- we sent him out as often as possible. His game has improved-- aka, his mood when returns from the green has improved as well. Watch out Jon Rudy--he's coming for you!

Our little family has been thru some pretty rough waters this year. As everyone knows- in order to make this move, we had to sell our house. After over 400 days on the market, 3 different realtors, several price drops, a buyer drop out the day before closing and an ultimately HUGE monetary loss, we finally cut the chord on our first home. In this time period we also had to deal with a surprise trip back to Cleveland to handle our home having been broken into (which was discovered during a showing of the house--perfect timing). I'm not going to lie- I am scarred from buying again. I mean, deeply deeply scarred. I have nightmares. If I had my way- we wouldn't buy again until we are building- back on Ohio soil.

In addition to that, we have also had more car trouble between both of our cars this year than either of us individually in 6 years. On a day packed with errands, we discovered my battery to be dead. Tow, buy, replace. And we are currently down to one car as Rob's 'deathtrap' car is getting it's entire frame replaced. Chrysler claims the rust thru on his 6 year old car is due to salt.... we'll see about that. Are your dollar signs adding up yet?? I've spent a year feeling so incredibly guilty about not working-- but I have mastered meal planning and were the best prices are for our most consumed items. That's like a job, right? Please say yes....please...

I think one of our biggest let downs about the move was this misconception: Missourians are some of the nicest people to talk to. That's a fact. Here is another fact: If they grew up here, they don't need new friends. I have been blatantly told this from several local people (as I'm desperately trying to make them my friend). So our first 6 months out here were very,very, VERY lonely. HUGE shout outs to Cy, Abby, Drew, Jackie, Kevin, Kim, Angela & Ashley who all came to visit; I truly think your visits are what got us thru the first half of the year. Honestly, we adore you <3 Oh, and please come back!!

Last, our most trying situation. What tested us the most, was the loss of Baby I.2. Yes, Nathan is actually Baby I.3. When we found out we were expecting last winter, it was the greatest. Suddenly all of the dark we had been surrounded by lit up and we felt we understood why we had been dealt the hand of cards that we had. And almost as quickly as we found out, the baby was gone. Being alone out here didn't help. We had 2 hours to adjust our lives to the news and become parents again. I can honestly say it broke me. I had to set alarms on my phone to ensure I wouldn't forget to feed A, as I clearly wasn't feeding myself. It's so interesting to see what an 'uncomfortable' discussion miscarriages are. I was surprised by lack of communication from some people, and bit let down by some support. As a mom, I don't think there is a worse feeling than knowing you can do absolutely nothing to help/save your child. No matter how far along you are. That's the worst by the way- 'at least it was early'. Please, please erase those words as sentiment. When your test is positive, you are a mom. End of story. Doesn't matter if it's a day later, or 39 weeks later. I can't even imagine the pain if it had been later, but I assure you, it throbs no matter what. I hope by the time my daughter grows up, this is no longer such a touchy subject. Look at all the things we can openly talk about now that you would never have brought up years ago. I've discovered so many people I know who have endured this pain and had to keep it bottled up because it 'makes people uncomfortable'. It's one thing if you decide you want to keep it to yourself, but I read a lot of obituaries and beautiful memory posts on passed love ones..... I never see any on the loss of ones own child.

As I mentioned earlier, it has NOT all been horrid.

We finally stumbled upon another STL transplant family--and even though that was the only common denominator I was looking for; we won the lottery!! Kids the same age, husbands interested in the same things, fellow crafter--and thrifter! This poor family has been forced to hang out with us weekly, sometimes even more than that, if we're lucky.

We've  also moved into a really great rental home for the duration of our time here-- being in a neighborhood is so different from an apartment. You instantly make friends because 'this is your home'. There are so many other kids around us, unfortunately most are older than A and she has a hard time keeping up with their energy. We lucked out with some stellar neighborhood parents too, it's nice to just sit in the driveway and chit chat while the crazies run around.

This last weekend we celebrated our beautiful blue eyed girl turning 2 (um, what?!?). We were incredibly lucky to have the whole Ihasz clan come out and join in the celebration!! And in true Ihasz fashion, we kept our streak of never missing the Fins opening game together :) So, basically- perfection!

I still can't believe we've managed a year out here. Before we moved, we were told by a wise Aunt & Uncle that a move like this would bring us closer together- we had no idea how strongly that comment would pertain to us. Closer we are. I'm excited to strengthen our marriage and family in the years we still have ahead of us, but I'm hoping that maybe the 'chunk' of bad is behind us. Don't get me wrong- I'm not expecting only rainbows and unicorns; but maybe just a little break :)

Not too exciting...

Hey y'all! Not a whole ton of exciting stuff going on over here. It has been brutally chilly (well, that's how the weatherman has described it- I still haven't worn a jacket yet this year), so we've been staying indoors. With Audrey's ability to get an ear infection by just looking at a windy day, I felt it best to keep her inside unless necessary.

That being said- it takes a lot more energy to keep her occupied inside.....

- We made some skinny funfetti cupcakes-- which are devine, you simply substitute the eggs,oil& water with 1.5 cups of Sprite Zero, but they are crazy sticky. I mean, you have tear away pieces of the cupcake from the wrapper, but again- worth it.

- We brought back our favorite rainy day activity of colored pudding, but moved it to the bathtub. Still as messy as ever, and probably too messy for an activity she only has interest in for about 20/25 minutes (wahhhh). But it's followed by a mid day bath which I'm pretty sure is her favorite thing ever.

- We've opted to cancel our Gym membership until our 'South Euclid Nightmare' sells, so I have made an exception to leave the apartment so we can utilize the pool while we still have it. This girl and her water- not surprising she is such a little fish at all. We had the whole pool to ourselves yesterday! So much fun- and she is hilarious checking herself out in the mirror as I blow dry her hair after; I may start blowing it dry at night so my little model can idolize herself some more.

- We have literally been running circles allllllll overrrrrrr the apartment. We have a good little race track here with the way everything is set up. Aunt B got Audrey  doll set of a crib, stroller and diaper bag for Christmas- but A doesn't understand that it's for her dolls, not her. This means she cries and signs 'please' until I sit her in the stroller and push her around the apartment. What an adventure, right?

- She's starting to excel at puzzles, this is actually our favorite indoor activity at the moment. We have 4 puzzles that she does on rotation and is starting to understand that each piece in her hand matches a picture on the board and will place the matching pictures together. This isn't always constant, but 85% accuracy is pretty solid I think! She hasn't mastered placing the piece in the designated cutout area, but with good time we'll be there :)

- Dancing....oh man, the dancing. The dance parties we have would knock the socks off of Justin Timberlake himself. Her favorite jams are 'Shake it off' and 'All about the Bass'- but she also has a crush on 2 little boys (PB & Jam) on the Baby TV channel who have a dance show. Homegirl comes running (full speed) out of her bedroom if she hears them, then just wiggles around & claps until they disappear. It's adorable!

Audrey's boyfriend, Matthew, (sorry Con man, this distance thing just isn't working) is coming over this afternoon for a play date. I love watching them together, he's SUCH a sweet boy- always wanting to hug and kiss her....then there is my daughter, who screams/cries every time he touches her. This reaction will obviously make Daddy happy, but I'm hoping this 'unfriendly-ness' is merely a phase. Haha.

Poor Rob has been dealing with some pretty nasty back pain recently. He bit it a couple years ago in a friends driveway (we're suing you Clemily, hehe) and is dealing with the aftermath now. All that driving over our holiday vacation certainly didn't help the situation- but luckily he met with a great Chiropractor and is already feeling a bit better. But this keeps us pretty low key these days. We do have a little date night planned for next week- dinner and 'American Sniper'. Heaven help us, we cannot wait to see this movie!!

Hope all my Clevelanders & Buffalonians are keeping safe & warm during these crazy snow storms I keep reading about (whomp whomp).

XOXO

Happy 2015

Oh, hi...Remember me? That jerk who was supposed to keep you updated on our lives and well being in St Louis? Yes me, Hi and Happy New Year :)

To sum up the last 2 months, it's been a struggle. A struggle trying to fit in, to find 'our zen' in this new location; a struggle to enjoy the Holidays to the fullest; a struggle trying to plan and execute a 16 hour roundtrip 'vacation' with a toddler--with several minor trips in between; a struggle to keep up our optimism and happy attitude towards our new life when we truly weren't feeling it. Audrey has been such a light in this otherwise 'grey time'. She is getting into everything, and we all think it's hilarious! She's developed a stink eye smile, loves to flash off her belly button to other kids in public and immediately starts to twerk when 'Shake it off' comes on. Thank heaven for this outrageously awesome human we created!!!!

We just got back from our 2 week adventure back to Cleveland- and while it was great, it still somehow wasn't enough time?? There is a whole list of people we wanted to see so badly, but we just couldn't find the time, we never even made it to South Euclid to check on our empty home! The month leading up to our trip I couldn't wait to get my hands on some Oreo Cookie Cheesecake from Corbos--never happened; nor did we pick up any of the appropriate Hungarian Paprika we need for our Sunday Paprikash. A new North Face outlet opened in Aurora- I haven't stepped inside; and Castle Noel in Medina is still on our Bucket list.....

HOWEVER.... the things we managed to do and people we were lucky enough to see- were done in such a fabulous fashion that I have to say it was an incredibly successful trip back! We made it to Akron in only 8 hours and 13 minutes (woot!), which meant we had to wake poor little A up from the ride at only 4:45am. But this kid was a champ - went right back to bed immediately and slept until 9:30am! That night we were able to reconnect with the entire Wyszysnki Clan for the annual Christmas party- what a great time! Audrey wasn't having it, it appears she suffers from 'Mommy and Daddy only' syndrome- Poor thing has been stuck with only us for so long that she forgot what a big family she comes from :( But it was so much fun to see the 3 babies play together!!

The next day we ventured to Erie to see the Buffalo crews! It started with all my girlfriends and their kiddies- I can't believe that 7 years ago we were closing the bars down, and now we all have munchkins! This was also the first time that all the kids have been together, so it was even more amazing for me. My Godmomma and cousin also came to play for a little while, I can't remember the last time I saw my super cool cousin Evan because he lives the super cool life in Brooklyn.... because he's super cool.... but seeing him was-you guessed it--SUPER COOL!

As if everyone was scheduled, my Olson family arrived next. My twin cousin, Kella, was in from Charleston and with us being in Cleveland- it was only obvious that the whole family needed an entire overnight to watch us be down right hysterical. Perhaps many of you are not familiar with the term 'twin cousin'- allow me to explain.... Born a mere 107 days apart- our families were blessed with 2 blue eyed, blonde hair (amazing) babies. As we grew- it became evident, that these 2 were oddly connected. Many examples include - consistently receiving or giving identical gifts without prior knowledge; purchasing identical items (rarely in alternating colors) without prior knowledge; identical desire to spend Saturday nights learning every step to 'NSYNC: Live in Madison Square Garden'; or being separated at meals because we simply could not stop laughing....over nothing...literally. So, it came as no surprise when my twin cousin and I exchanged gifts this year- and both opened earring bags from Kate Spade, or during family game time- that we basically ran the game for one another. I'd love to see the damage we could do on 'The Amazing Race'.

It really is so far and few between that my whole side of the family can be together and I couldn't be more thankful that we were able to do it this year. Unfortunately, it was such a short trip, that Auds wasn't able to readjust to everyone as quickly as I had hoped. I guess I'll have to start implementing everyone into our everyday routine more.

Back in Akron, we were surrounded by family & friends! It was great, being able to just chit chat with anyone at any given point because they were there, play an absurd amount of ping pong and merely regain that 'homey' feeling we have been lacking.

Christmas was a whirlwind of wrapping paper- Audrey was SO into it!!! She unwrapped every one of her gifts- and a handful of others! Her honest reactions to gifts was so cute and funny too. She, as well as the rest of us, were all spoiled once again-- one of these years we will all understand the meaning of 'don't go crazy' when it comes to gift giving. Our family from Tampa was in town for the holiday as well, which was so great for us because we couldn't make it on our annual Family vacation this year with the move. I've come to the realization that marrying into this clan was such a great decision, haha. There is something so easy and relaxing when it comes to being around everyone.

Let's see here.... Rob was able to see some old friends from work (Congrats to Jason again on your upcoming new baby!!!) and I was able to down some wine with my Hyatt-iers. Audrey and I took a trip to Stow to visit some Buffalo friends of mine, and we discovered the most amazing restaurant, House of Hunan, thank to Becca & Kevin--- well, 'amazing' unless you wanted Chicken in your Chicken fried rice; then it was just OK. We ate some of our favorites foods and were even lucky enough to grab a date night to see 'Horrible Bosses 2'.

Then came New Years Eve. I'm not gonna lie- we were dreading it. We had to drive over an hour to the location, Audrey had slept really bad the night before, and the last thing I desired to do was shower. But once we arrived at the Rudys to get ready, I received my glass of wine and was prepping with the ladies- I was officially on the New Years bandwagon. Let me tell you- it was the kind of night you pray for. All the stars aligned. It was quite literally, perfect. We gambled, we drank, we ate, we laughed, we danced, we WON gambling, and when the night was over--we went home and danced some more. I've pondered if it's better we had such an epic night ('epic' in the eyes of our new lifestyle as parents)-- or worse. While it was a complete blast- it made our departure the next day that much worse. With each hour that we got further from Cleveland, we got more depressed. We just wanted to go back. We had just had an awesome 2 weeks, we were reminded everyday why we miss Cleveland so horribly.... but it was worth it.

Now we are home. It's been a productive 2 days- Christmas is only a memory in our home now, I've added a new gallery wall in the dining room, organized Audreys toys so we can start a rotation system, re organized my jewelry, finished all the laundry and spruced up the home a bit. It feels good to be back in our own space- it's not fun living out of a suitcase. It' a new year and it's going to be a new me. My resolution is to do a better job of blogging and keeping the home organized. Obviously, the age old resolution of 'get fit' still stands-- BLAH! Rob and I have got to stop living in the past of 'how our lives were' and start developing our life into 'what it can be'- and that will be the focus for 2015!!

Here are just a few snapshots of our holiday adventure; I'll post a larger album on Facebook in the near future :)

I've missed you all!

XOXO

Thankful November

Yay! November is finally here again which means so is Christmas music, cocoa, sweaters & boots, Holiday Cheer and my obsession with creating a warm cozy home full of memories for the season :)

I've already started making out my Christmas lists last month- so this month is devoted to finalizing them and getting a plan in action. This year will obviously be incredibly different as I will have to order/ship presents to their desired location. Being the crafty and sentimental gift giver that I am-mixed with the inability to go to the Post Office when needed,  this could pose a larger problem than I'm even thinking. I'm always looking for new 'cute' gifts to make/give people, so obviously I'm dying to know---what was your most memorable/favorite/heartfelt Christmas gift you've received??? No really- please share with me :)

We've had a pretty chill weekend, Audrey is veering back towards a head cold and I have also been feeling pretty 'under the weather'. Daddy and I had a Gym date yesterday while Audrey ran around at the Y daycare. While it was nice, and will probably become a regular adventure- I was struggling! I couldn't believe how awful I felt- and we didn't even do anything for Halloween! We didn't even buy candy! I couldn't wait to bounce from the Gym, but I admit- I mentally felt great afterwards.

So, when we moved to St. Louis, I knew I was going to have to come out of my shell a bit. I joined a TON of 'St. Louis Mommy' groups- I'm not even kidding, I joined like 10-15 groups on Facebook- and they have been INCREDIBLY helpful! I was able to find a Pediatrician within hours, have had a ton of offers to help navigate my way around, etc. I've really loved it. But one thing I've also noticed (and I've noticed it on my Cleveland Mommy groups as well) is that there are a handful of unfortunate families out there. I see so many negative posts about Husbands/Daddys and it breaks my heart. So I've decided to make a nice post about my awesomely average husband today :)

Now don't get me wrong- Rob isn't one to go out of his way to do nice things. He isn't a hopeless romantic, he doesn't wake up with Audrey overnight, he doesn't do laundry, he doesn't draw my baths or lay his coat down over puddles for me to walk over, he doesn't do gifts 'just because', he doesn't clean the house if it's messy and he doesn't do 'surprises'.....

You know what he does do?

He taught me about Football, so that I could be included in his favorite activity- and now I love it. He cooks us dinner almost every night. Anytime he gets up to get his own drink- he makes sure I'm set too. He reads the same book 10 times in a row to Audrey because it's her favorite. He fills up my gas tank because he knows it's my least favorite thing to do. He wakes up an hour early everyday to go to the Gym so that he can spend the most time with us when he gets off of work. He asks me to go with him to the range so that we can spend our time together. He tries to find a handful of MY shows interesting so that we aren't only watching sports constantly. He doesn't make fun of either A or myself for weird or funny things that we do or like. He has no problem rocking a diaper bag so that I don't have to manage everything when we go out. He works his butt off- and lets me stay home to enjoy every minute I have with Audrey.

To me, my husband is the best. He's the best for me. He's exactly what I signed up for- and what I knew I was getting. Far before we had Audrey- we knew we wanted the same things for our kids which I guess has made parenting pretty OK! I promise, Rob has the ability to irritate me more than anyone- he knows every button to push, and exactly how to push it for the most anger...... but I would rather be infuriated with him, then be with anyone else.

I hope this inspires some other wives and mommies out there to just take a step back and really take notice to the small things your men do for you! There just seems to be this crazy unbalanced view of either 'out of this world extraordinary men' or 'lazy un-thoughtful little jerks'. I think we should raise a glass to those average men who love their sports, their beer AND their families!

On that note- have a fab Sunday; I'm going to go enjoy ours to the fullest as the Dolphins have just shutout the Chargers and I have a happy husband to socialize with :)

XOXO

Happy Halloween!

Hope you all got your fair share of Ghouls and Goblins this year!! We sure didn't. Although I'm certain it could have been a much worse holiday---I heard it rained in CLE, and even snowed in some other locations???--- it simply didn't feel like a Holiday to us. I suppose this is something we will have to adjust to for a little while.

Audrey looks ridiculously adorbs in her Wonder Woman costume- I'm thrilled to say that as of 8:41pm (CST) I still haven't seen another Wonder Woman costume!!! We love being unique :) Daddy was a gem and only worked a half day so that we could take part in Audrey's Halloween Party at Daycare. I was pretty stoked- super antsy to meet other parents, dare I even say potential friends? WRONG! I love A's teachers- but they totally mis-lead me. We weren't just the only 2 who showed up in costume.....We were the only 2 who showed up. Apparently it's not that big of a shindig. So after 20 awkward minutes, we finally packed A up and left.

Our Apartment complex e-mailed everyone yesterday (yesterday) and informed us they were going to host some Pizza and Goodies in the clubhouse for us neighbors. We decided to hit that up- Auds loved it! She was running around- and running up to everyone. She tried to steal several beverages and countless boxes of candy being left unattended. She snagged her first full sized adult cookie and demolished it! She was quite a riot. We didn't stay too long, not a whole ton of kids- especially not her age.

I'm very happy to report that she just finally is starting to get back to our baby girl tonight :) The other night- when we put her down to nap at 4:00pm? She didn't wake up until 7:16am the following morning! I only brought her to daycare for 1/2 day, when she got home- she went down for another 3 hour nap! The amount of sleep she has been consuming this week has had us really nervous, especially because she's been SO moody when she actually is awake. But this afternoon- she refused a 2nd nap, and was an absolute joy to be around again! YAY!!! I always feel like I should get a merit badge or something when we successfully accomplish yet another barrier with that munchkin of ours. A Badge of honor or something, right?

I have a rather funny story to share. This past Wednesday morning, I discovered my ID was not in its specified location. It is now Friday night- I have turned the apartment and BOTH our cars inside out (several times) in desperate search for it. I very VERY rarely do anything to which my license is needed. I don't get drinks when if we go out to dinner, I am usually not the one to buy any alcohol for the house, and I typically have my receipts when I make a return- so trying to think of the last time I used it has been an absolute nightmare. After clearing through the apartment again tonight, I gave up. I did my research on all the hoops I would have to jump through to avoid having to re-take the driving test to get another license; I had everything mapped out for Monday......

..... then BAM...

... As if hit by lightening- I had a vision of myself handing my ID to a woman at Target. 'There is no way...' I thought to myself- but since I had checked everywhere else, I gave them a call. Sure enough, they've had it.... for TWO WEEKS! How did I manage to not have my license for 2 weeks and have no clue?! My grandmother would be proud though- only about an hour before I had this epiphany, I said a little prayer to St. Anthony; so I really shouldn't be surprised about this discovery. What a putz I am.

On that note- Rob and I are going to try to ignite some Holiday Spirit with a little scary movie; House at the End of the Street.

XOXO