Exciting!!

Normally, my weeks drag... Not in a bad way; I just always think it's Thursday and it's still Monday. Now I'm exhausted from how quickly time is going!

We had such a nice weekend- it finally felt like Fall on Saturday and we took full advantage of the weather by hitting up the local Pumpkin Farm- Rombach's Farm. It was so cute! My only let down was that it failed to have any sort of a legit 'store', lord knows I've got to get my shop on regularly, haha. But the pumpkins were impressive, they had pony rides, tractor rides, live animals, funnel cakes (I died) and even a Beer & Wine tent for Mommy and Daddy! I wish Audrey was fully walking because I think she would've enjoyed it more; however, she did her fair share of crawling around and was incredibly amused by the pumpkins! I hope she grows up with our love of the fall... oh who m I kidding- who doesn't absolutely love Fall?!?!

Sunday was a bit more quiet. With no Dolphins game to miss, I left my 2 favs at home and ran out to this little homegoods store nearby that we came across when Rob and I came out here in July. It's called 'At Home'- but you have to do a pretty serious search to find it; imagine simply searching 'at home' or 'at home store' in google... the possibilities are endless! But once you arrive, what a gold mine! Some of it is crap- but a lot of is pure treasure! I got a ton of fun new nick-nacks to support the new color theme of the apartment (and our future), a handful of new frames, new curtains for A and a couple of items for the gallery wall I am putting together. Thank heaven it's a solid 30 minute drive away or we would be in debt in no time ;-) Rob also let me make dinner on Sunday night- a meal I felt didn't make the cut. It was a crockpot meal- basically a Chicken Pot pie, without the 'pie' part. I threw together chicken breasts, potatoes, peas, corn and a handful of spices/mixtures; then we whipped up some crescent rolls when it was time. Here is my problem with meals like this- we don't have a very large crockpot, 4 qt I think? The potatoes never seem to cook correctly!! We had 1 1/2-2 hours left to cook when we noticed the potatoes were still raw! They had already been cooking for 5/5.5 hours! This is the 2nd attempt at a crockpot meal with potatoes, and the 2nd failure. Well, failure to me. We turned up the temp to rush the potatoes and Rob said the meal was actually pretty good. I've never liked Pot pies too much, but since I like all the items IN a pot pie, I was really hoping for a change of heart with this meal. My dinner consisted of almost all the crescent rolls (mommy win). Auds really seemed to love it though!!

Then Monday came. My first day back at work, Auds first daycare.. or do they call it school? I've heard other people refer to daycare's as 'school' . I guess I'm not sure if it's one in the same? Either way- this child of mine couldn't get out of my arms fast enough on Monday. She saw the toys, food and other kids- and she was done with me. Not even a 'buh bye' or a second glance. I, however, had to leave due to the embarrassing scene I was causing of (literally) not being able to communicate to the teachers because I was bawling. BAWLING. I even failed to get a picture because I knew I just needed to leave. Thank heaven, my darling Erin picked up her phone as I made my 8 minute drive to work so I could restore my sanity and get talked down to calmness. Luckily, when I got to work- I was far to distracted to focus too much on the los of my baby girl's presence. It was a great first day. I feel really good about this position. I'm on a 'fast track' to be on the Sales side of this operation, unfortunately I am the only one in this position, so I don't really have anyone else to relate to in our training class. I'll be doing the marketing side for 3 weeks, then will start my training for Sales which should last another 3 weeks. It's really flattering that they claim to have 'seen something in me' that makes them feel I would be successful with this 'fast track' ordeal. Here's hoping I don't let them (or A or Rob) down!! I will be getting an hour lunch during my day-- and if I've ever worked with you in the last 15 years, you are fully aware I've NEVER had this much time on my hands... unless I snuck it in somehow ;-) I had no idea what to do with myself... So I made a rookie mommy mistake- and went to see A. I love that our daycare has an open door policy so I am welcome to go in whenever I want- I can even take her into an open playroom separate from hers if I have time and can play with her as the other kids are sleeping, eating, etc. I meant to only peak in at her- but discovered it was nap time and my stubborn nugget was just laying there with her eyes on the door.... the door with a window... a window that showed my sneaky face very clearly. Instantly she was up and it melted my heart- the smile she got on her face. My baby was excited to see me!! Now I know how amazing it must feel for Rob to come home everyday and get that reaction- from BOTH Audrey and I! Wowza. I only stayed a couple minutes to give her a hundred kisses and tell her how obsessed I was with her- then back to work I went.

The rest of the day was quick and full of information. First weeks of new jobs are the best and the worst- I love meeting new people, but man; you are given such a ridiculous amount of information. It is really overwhelming and exhausting. I can't wait to be fluent in this and feel the comfort that I had at Hyatt and Marriott in the day. I can't imagine I will ever be lucky enough to make the same sort of friendships that I made at the hotels over the years.... but then again, I bet if you had asked me 11 years ago- I wouldn't believe that my hotel co-workers would be my closest, dearest, most sincere and honest friends that I have. I hope it's the same here :)

Today was just another long day full of information. Another fun filled day for A at daycare, and a family filled evening at home with Rob and I battling for Audreys attention for the 2/2.5 hours that she is awake with us, haha. I feel like I have pages and pages of more 'fascinating' stories for ya'll--- but I am so so tired and have to be to work extra early tomorrow (7:15am) for a mandatory meeting on update medical insurance. Good thinking- because at 7:15am, I obviously want to discuss medical insurance in great detail when I can barely function enough to spell my name correctly. This will be great I imagine....

XOXO

Out with a Bang

Tonight we enjoyed our last meal of my 'Ashley Cooks' week and I've got to hand it to myself, I did rather well. I know I missed last night so let's start there....

Last night I made us a French Dip with peas on the side. EXTREMELY easy to throw together, it sat in the crock pot allllllllll day long and had the apartment smelling just sublime when we got back from our day. By the time we finally sat to eat, our mouths were dripping with anticipation and it was worth every drop of saliva. Although, it closely resembled my standard roast that I make- it was slightly different and we put the meat on bread and dipped it into the remaining Au Jus. I'm a bit embarrassed to say our only side was peas- we were planning on green beans, but it turns out I was wrong in assuming we had any.

Also, yesterday- we had quite the treat for lunch hand went to visit Rob at his office! What a drive, it was about an hour to get there, but really was quite scenic. Washington, MO is kind of in the middle of nowhere, so the amount of just wide open greenery was astounding! Rob's office is huge- especially when you consider he only had a cubicle in Cleveland. It's so SO sad and empty though. Unfortunately, I won't be able to dedicate as much time as I normally would've to really making it quaint. Oh well, it's his surrounding. His co-workers seem really nice and the entire office complex is actually really cool. I'm so glad we were able to get out there before I head back to work. I think that is one thing I'll miss the most about being a SAHM- being able to grab lunch with Dad whenever we want.

Now we are onto today. Nothing to fancy during the day- we ran a couple errands so that I could finish up a couple of crafts I've been wanting to try out. We have decided to change up our color scheme a bit- in Cleveland, our house was grey with black furniture and navy/deep red accents. I've been doing deep red accents since I moved into my first apartment and I am MORE than over it. I've decided I want to soften/warm up our home space so we are going to nix the deep red and add some more light blues/greens/mints. Obviously the grey is staying- we are slightly obsessed. So Auds and I spent quite an amount of time at Home Depot today gathering paint swatches. Although we will not be painting the apartment, since we do not intend to be here long, it's nice to keep them in my purse so I always have a color to compare to once we settle on them. We also know that we will be re-painting the next house the same interior as S. Belvoir; we have received countless compliments on that color and we truly did love it (BEHR: Porpoise...as in Dolphin...as in Miami Dolphins. No, I'm not kidding). I was able to finish 2 out of 4 of my crafts and so far I'm content. Obviously, I've come across everything on Pinterest--- really, what did people do before Pinterest? How boring homes must've been, haha.

Tonight for dinner was  big treat for Rob- I was most nervous about this meal. BBQ Ribs in the Crockpot. I'm not sure why I was so paranoid; maybe because the recipe said they needed to be 'stood up in the crockpot' and my mind couldn't comprehend how all the ribs would be evenly cooked in the BBQ Sauce? Either way- my worries were not needed as dinner was devine. I paired the ribs with some yummy Company Corn--which might just be what our family calls it, so it's corn bread mixed with corn, cream of corn, butter & sour cream, then baked. What a perfect little Southern meal. The meat was just falling off the bone and melting in our mouths....yummmmm....

Rob was very pleased- I was elated to hear he is no longer terrified to let me cook dinner :) Thanks Baby- but I know you're itching to get back in that kitchen!

Tomorrow we are going to head out to a Pumpkin patch and check out a neighborhood Garage Sale nearby- lovely little Saturday AND it's only supposed to be a high of 57!!! Can't wait to put on our finest flannel and celebrate the Fall, finally.

XOXO

Loving Daddy's Office

French Dip and Peas

Even Auds loved the French Dip

Ribs starting their day off

Storm Rolling through

Helping me pick paint colors

One of my Pinterst creations 9.22.12 <3

BBQ Ribs and Company Corn

Oh.My.Yum.....again

Well, turns out I don't suck in kitchen! Kudos to me :) Tonight we feasted on Chicken Tetrazzini- and for never having it before, I was blown away. This, I was told, was one of Rob's favorite meals back in the day; he hasn't had it close to a decade so it was a nice treat for us both. It's rather heavy, so obviously it'll will be added to our 'Fall/Winter only meals'- but that's what makes the Fall and Winter the best Seasons ever!! Cozying up with your loved ones and feasting for 6 months straight, haha.

So, this is a little random- but I love to reminisce.... I've known about this Chicken Tetrazzini for some time...Ok, really only about 4.5 years. It was New Years Eve 2009- the first one Rob and I celebrated together and it was one for the books. We went all out- got a fab room at the Renaissance downtown, put together a super fun group of friends, got all jazzed up, had an amazing meal, then got tickets to Windows on the River where we drank and danced until the ball dropped--and then some. Earlier that night, we decided it was too boring to get ready just the two of us, so we trotted down to Jon and Erin's room so us girls could giggle & gossip while the boys....well... ya know, I never know what it is that they do. Anyway, we ended up finding a great episode of Maury on TV and were doubled over with laughter over the title 'Seduced by Chicken Tetrazzini'. I'm not even joking when I say- this young woman believed her boyfriend cheated on her because this other woman 'seduced him with Chicken Tetrazzini'. (Don't believe me? http://maurypovich.wikia.com/wiki/Chicken_tetrazzini) This episode, this moment in time, has been burned into my memory; I actually think my photo album from that night was titled 'seduced by chicken tetrazzini'. So I am MIGHTY proud to finally be able to say that I, Ashley K. Ihasz I, am a seducer by way of Chicken Tetrazzini! (Erin, do you remember how hilarious it was trying to get Jon back to the room that night? Dying inside right now)

I should be embarrassed by the entire paragraph above.... but I'm not.

In other news today- I was able to nail down a wonderful new Pediatrician for Audrey, and we even broke her in with a visit which lead to a confirmed ear infection for Audrey- super boo. As heartbreaking as it was to hear this, at least it gives us an understanding as to why she's been slightly funky the last 2-3 days. I've really just become immune to her new 'tude after my month alone with her in Cleveland- so happy I can give her an antibiotic to help turn that frown upside down. Our new Doctor is fabulous and I'm obsessed with our new office, it has a ton of great toys- even toys IN the private office to keep A distracted! All the rooms are painted really fun- today we had a jungle theme, and the nurse opened our blinds for us so we could watch the golfers on the green behind us. I still cannot get over how nice and easy this transition in St Louis has been. I was telling Robert tonight, I thought getting a job and new Doctors/dentists/daycares was going to be a nightmare; when actually leaving Cleveland was the nightmare and everything since we stepped off the plane actually got to the apartment has been quite a breeze ;-) But for real, it's been a lot easier than expected. Now if we just didn't miss our friends and family so damn much!!

Wish me luck for dinner # 3 tomorrow- I promise, no absurd throwback stories tomorrow.

XOXO

 

 

Starting the feast

 

yummmmmmm

 

Yea, someone was stoked

 

Now, for a little throwback to

NYE 2009......

 

 

 

Oh.My.Yum

It happened! Robert' allowed me to reign over the Kitchen this week!! We went through our normal routine this morning of desperately trying to come up with a menu for the next week- this is such a difficult process for us because we are both picky- and each picky over entirely different things. We have about 10 things we eat on rotation-- and the Winter Season is great because we get to add 3 more meals that are too heavy for the Summer.

Anyhow, once we finally figured which pairings we would settle for this week; I had a great idea. With it being my last week to be at home and be allowed to take my time prepping anything, I wanted to make dinner every night. For some of you, you're probably thinking 'Big deal- you're a stay at home mom and wife; you should be cooking'. Well, 1) I tend to agree; but my darling Husband (bless him) actually prefers to cook. It's his way of 'winding down' from the day. And quite frankly, he cooks delicious meals so I could care less. And 2) I didn't have a whole lot of 'teach me to cook' time growing up. I'm sure if I asked, I easily could have had a hand full of people devote their time to me- but I was young... I just didn't care.

So, tonight's meal was an absolute success!! I prepared a lovely Garlic Parmesan Salmon over baked asparagus with Garlic noodles. Boy-oh-boy do I love Garlic. It was such an easy prep, quick cook and even faster devour. Rob kept telling me it was good during dinner, but due to our Fall table décor, I could see that he had eaten just about every bite (I know he's not a fan of asparagus, so it wasn't surprising that he didn't really touch it). What I loved most about this recipe is that it is actually a 'make for one' recipe. I had to double all of the ingredients to make dinner for us both. I can't stand having such an enormous amount of leftovers. I followed this recipe: http://www.caloriewarrior.com/garlic-parmesan-salmon-asparagus-foil-pack/    Truly, fabulous!!

What an amazing feeling to know I came up with a meal that satisfied my man! My top meals are usually my roasts and, of course, my Paprikash. Roasts are easy and my Paprikash-...... well, I'm elated to say that is an Ihasz family recipe that has been passed down to me. If there is one 'chef' out there that I aspire to be, it's my Mother-in-law, without question. Since meeting Rob, my mom has blown my mind with some of her meals- and I am SO lucky that for my birthday 2 years ago, she made me an amazing recipe book so I can learn from the Master herself. In fact, tomorrow's meal will be form that box- and is one of my Husbands favorite. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little intimidated, but I'm excited to give it a shot!

Today was also an exciting day for little A- she is officially all signed up for Daycare. The minute we walked in, I felt at ease. Even in her room, she immediately start playing and laughing at the other babies, it was the most adorable thing. She's probably not even going to realize I'm gone on Monday. I love that our daycare has an open door policy, and is only 3 miles away from my office-- my hour long lunch will allow me to pop in while I'm going through this transition....or just want a hug.

Again, not a ton of pics today- I feel awful, but I did manage to snap a photo of our tasty dinner! I promise to me more on top of it tomorrow :) Wish me luck!!

XOXO

Despite her face, she loved the Garlic noodles!!

Jumpin' back on the Saddle

Remember a couple days ago when I was stealth and mentioned Audrey will be starting to spend more time with kids? It's officially coming true- and starting next Monday! After a truly amazing year of staying home with my peanut, guilt has gotten the better of me (and loneliness, I won't lie) and I am officially employed once again!!! I'm actually REALLY excited about this opportunity, to some it may sound dull? But that's kind of what I'm looking for. I've accepted a position as a Sales agent for a company that sells Life Insurance. The kicker? It's a call center so I can drive into work, plop on down and just sit for the day. After the running around in a million directions that I do at home, this is basically a vacation I think ;-) The hours are great, Monday- Thursday, 8 to 5, and on Friday's we are out at 2! The pay is surprisingly great and there is a lot of potential for Bonuses.....and no nights- no weekends- no holidays. I have NEVER had a job of no nights, no weekends, no holidays. Again, for me? This is basically a vacation. It's business casual so I get to rock my plethora of cardigans and on Fridays it's super casual so I rock my plethora of yoga pants as well. Doot Doot!!

With our house still just sitting (empty) on the Market, I just couldn't handle the thought of not working and having to cover rent and a mortgage. Bless my husband for solely taking care of us as long as he has. As a girl who has worked since she was 15, I had no idea how difficult it was going to be to not work. Anytime I bought groceries, I felt guilt. Anytime I felt tired, I felt guilt. Anytime the house wasn't immaculate, or laundry wasn't completely finished, or Rob was making dinner.... I felt guilt. I'm sure that guilt isn't about to go away either. Now it's in going to be towards Audrey though. Guilt that I have to wake her up early so I can get to work on time. Guilt that she is probably going to start getting sick more because, well, that's just what happens when you go to Daycare. Guilt that I might miss a big moment because she's not with one of us. I know we were both- all three of us actually- were so lucky that the past year worked out the way it did. If you know me well, you know I'm constantly saying 'It all happens for a reason'. Now that we are out here, I'm seeing all the reason for everything in our last year. Every decision opened up our lives to allow this huge change- without even knowing it, we were setting ourselves up for St. Louis. I'm really excited to eventually discover the reason behind the difficulty of selling our quaint little South Euclid home, lol. It's bound to be something wonderful! I know this is really a great age to have Audrey start daycare. She's on solids, she can entertain herself- but is still incredibly entertained by other babies. She is more than ready to start developing her social skills--- yeah yeah, I know she's my kid; social skills will probably be the least of her problems ;-)

So, that's the big news in a nut shell. Oh, we also signed ourselves up at our O'Fallon Family YMCA tonight! So excited for that! It's about a gazillion times nicer and more convenient than our old YMCA in CLE (sorry!!). The have a general family swim time that will allow us to take Auds swimming throughout the Fall and Winter, which is obviously a big deal when you have 2 parents who competitively swam. They have great class schedules, which I love- I have been dying to try a spin class!! They have a fab weight room and even have a 'Masters Swim' for Rob before he heads off to work in the morning. Our YMCA is also only about a 5 minute WALK from our front door which is truly spectacular- and did I mention they have a daycare? I might just start working out for the free daycare ;-)

XOXO

 

Deeply apologize for my lack of pictures today- we spent our day checking out

another Outlet and Mall... not a ton of photo op moments :-/

A Family win

AT LAST! The Dolphins pulled out a win for us today :) You know what I think the common denominator was? The 3 of us watching the game as a family. At least that's what made my day feel like a winning one! We started a new tradition today of 'family breakfast AND family dinner'. Daddy treated us to a delicious breakfast of Biscuits and Gravy, while I prepped the crockpot for our first Paprikash of the Fall/Winter season. What a day of delicious food. Football Sundays are our favorite days to just lounge around in comfy clothes and snack, so we figured a big morning and big evening meal would work better with our stomach schedules. SO- if anyone has any mouth watering crockpot meals, we are super interested in expanding our Sunday dinner menu.

Yesterday, we had a great time at Oktoberfest. It wasn't as big as I thought it would be, nor did it have as many crafts that I could go crazy buying, but it was a blast to grab a beer, and wander around all the polka perfection taking place. I just could not get over the fact that it was 84 degrees (it may have actually gotten to 86 at one point). Just perplexing that I felt I needed to wear flannel and boots- but I physically couldn't. Next weekend, we are in luck and it's calling for the weather to drop to 66- now that's what I'm talking about! Now we can go pumpkin picking in true Fall style.

After we got home and let ourselves unwind a bit, we took a walk up to this lovely little Irish restaurant at the top of our street. It was actually really cute- I love that we have that and a BBQ place that is only a small walk away; and both have great patios! Anyway, we set aside our pickiness and tried a 'true St Louis treat'- Fried Ravioli. It's friend beef ravioli, covered in Parmesan Cheese and comes with a side of Marinara Sauce. Rob basically died and went to heaven, even Audrey seemed super on board. I missed the memo :-/ Fried Cheese? For sure- totally my thing....fried beef? No thanks. Everyone who plans to visit should brace themselves because you will be forced to try it as it is a local delicacy!

XOXO

Auds favorite game- pull every book she owns off the shelves

SUCH a Daddy's girl

 I just love this face

Learning the guitar from Daddy