Wednesday, October 26, 2011

it snowed ...

maybe not as much as they were predicting, but still a decent enough amount.  especially for october.  
and the best thing is that it didn't really stick to the roads, which made me very happy.Didn't even get a chance to fall.

the dogs were especially happy to see the snow.  henry most of all.  this morning i told him that 'it snowed' and he ran to the window and spent the rest of the morning whining until i took him outside.  

he was very impressed with this stick that he found.
Stick.

but was happy enough to run around with dunkin before the 'stick' fell off the tree.
Tag.

and once he was inside he spent the rest of the day staring at his beloved snow
Snowflake watching.

i never mind the first snow of the year.  it's always sort of charming.  between the snow, hot apple cider, and a grilled cheese sandwich with avocado and tomato it was a pretty good day.  
the only thing that was missing was charlie who is playing golf in 90 degree arizona right now.  
he was pretty jealous that we were getting snow and he wasn't.  i think he's one of the few people who would pick snow over golf and sun.  

Friday, October 21, 2011

Monday, October 17, 2011

it's the little things ...


... chili in the crock pot on a cold, rainy day
... leaves changing colors
... tea in bed with a book
... dogs chewing on bones
... cuddling with a cat at night
... no more cable (bye comcast)
... warm fall weather
... charlie reading baby books
... seeing pumpkins everywhere
... my new phone.
... getting our chair for the nursery
... christmas music. i waited until october this year.
... fall magazines.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

weekend.

we had such a relaxing weekend.
which was much needed after a week that seemed never ending.

on friday night charlie and i ran some errands, split an appetizer that was our dinner, and then came home to relax with the animals.
Friday night bone
henry was enjoying his bone.

saturday and sunday were a mix of running more errands, cleaning, grocery shopping, and attending our last baby class at the hospital.  our biggest event for the weekend was getting rid of our cable.  i think i'll miss hgtv and charlie will definitely miss having his pick of football to watch on the weekends, but hopefully we'll read some more books, spend more time eating together, and watch less completely unnecessary tv.

we also took some time this weekend to play with the dogs a bit.  it's starting to look like fall around here even if it doesn't feel like it.

Dublin
taking a break from playing ball.

Henry and me
oh, and the baby is definitely growing like crazy these days.
less than 2 months! and still so much to do ...

Thursday, October 6, 2011

the long dirt road

"peace.  it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hardwork.  it means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart."

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

it's the little things ...

happy dog

...  bedtime tea.  in bed.
...  leaves changing colors.
...  hotels that are pet friendly.
...  charlie fixing the garage door openers.
...  the dogs chewing on bones.  
...  a random day off of work.
...  hot chocolate.
...  eating ice cream for dinner.
...  a sandwich after a hike.
...  hiking through yellow aspen trees.
...  avocados. 
...  snuggling with the dogs.
...  cooler weather.
...  free shipping.
...  barnes and noble gift cards.
...  a very relaxing weekend.
...  fall in the mountains.
...  cleaning the garage.  again.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

roadtrip

i'm pretty sure that half the fun of going somewhere is getting there.
not the driving.  i let charlie do that.  but some of the prettiest scenery is from our house to our destination.  and some of the most fun we have is in the car.


idaho sprigns

green mountain res


aspens

colorado

Monday, October 3, 2011

cloth diapers: the beginning

this might be really boring for anyone except abby but i told her i'd keep her posted on this stuff and here's what we've got before the baby comes.  

we're planning on cloth diapering.  i have no idea exactly how this is going to work out for us yet.  obviously i'd love to do this exclusively but between daycare and traveling i'm sure we'll be mixing some disposables in.  our daycare will use cloth diapers, which is great, i'm just not sure if i'll be able to keep up with all of the laundry while working full time.  the plan right now is to try it and go from there.  although we'll definitely be cloth diapering when at home.  

honestly, i already knew that this was something i wanted to do before we really even talked about it but the current options for cloth diapering were more than a little overwhelming.  the amount of time i spent researching options is actually a little disgusting.  i think of all the meals i could have cooked during this time.  

in the end i decided to try prefolds and covers as opposed to all in ones.  this was a combination of factors but i think it all is a matter of personal preference.  i ordered the small size organic, indian cotton prefolds from green mountain diapers (i figured for $0.33 i can support organic farming).  sizing was another decision, but i decided to skip the newborn size prefolds mostly to save money.  i figured the smalls would last us longer, although watch us have a super small baby.  i'm hoping i don't regret this.  

i ordered 2 dozen prefolds to start.  here they are before 'prepping'.

brand new diapers - before washing

and here they are after.  fat, fluffy, and much smaller.
and post-washing

as far as covers go we're starting with 6 of the thirsties duos.  
i'm sure that i'll end up ordering both more prefolds and covers but i wanted to start with smaller amounts so we can make sure each of these work for us before ordering a whole bunch.  i picked the thirsties duo because they're adjustable which means we'll only need 2 sizes throughout the whole diapering journey.  
i also liked that with these covers you don't have to use diaper pins or snappis, you can just fold the prefold into the cover and then put the whole thing on like an all in one or a disposable.  i'm hoping that this method works well with leaks, otherwise we'll use diaper pins and and then put the cover on top.  

here are the covers we're starting with.
thirsties duo

we'll see how these all work out.  i'm actually pretty excited about using cloth diapers.  it helps that i like doing laundry and don't really have to fold anything.  charlie's pretty skeptical that this is going to save us money in the long run although we've spent a little over $100 at this point and theoretically these supplies could last us about 6 months.  i'm sure we'll end up ordering more and obviously there's the cost of laundry, which is a little tricker to calculate, but i'm being optimistic.  

Sunday, October 2, 2011

weekend in steamboat springs.

charlie and i spent the weekend hanging out in steamboat springs.
it was a really short trip but i swear we have to do more of these.
it's so easy to get away for the weekend and we're surrounded by so many beautiful places that are a pretty quick drive away.
we left friday after work and were home in time for the broncos game on sunday but there's just something about being away from home that's so relaxing.  

the aspens were beautiful which meant that the mountains were full of yellow.
DSC_0144

the only thing i wanted to do was to go for a hike.
we ended up doing a really pretty one about an hour or so out of steamboat.
it was down a long, dirt road which probably didn't work out so well for my car.  but it was pretty.

DSC_0055
henry had fun running around like a crazy man.  charlie was worried we all were going to get eaten by bears.

go right
we went right.

gold creek waterfall
we turned around at the waterfall even though the trail continues up to the lake in another 2 miles.

saturday morning we got coffee and then walked around a park in steamboat before we left.
while we sat on a bench and drank coffee, henry ran around like a crazy dog.

crazy pup


crazy pup

and then we walked along the creek for a bit before we left. 
we came thisclose to seeing a bear.  there were some flyfishermen in the creek who told us that there was a bear in the creek up ahead but it crossed the creek before we got there. 
charlie was happy and i was disappointed.

steamboat park

DSC_0182
it was so nice to get away.
i'm thinking we're going to have to do a weekend trip once a season.
or just winter, summer, and fall since spring is just cold and muddy.
charlie's vote is for telluride this winter although i'm thinking something closer and cheaper might be nice since it'll be three of us instead of just two.