Early to rise, early to nap!

Well its Saturday and I was up early with Kameron. No hes not sick, he was just going to work overtime (BLESS HIS HEART!). So I decided to stay up and enjoy the awesomely quiet house! My first task was to have a warm drink. You see I ALWAYS make myself a cappuccino in the morning. Then I pretend I am my own little Starbucks and add whipped cream, but because the drink is hot I just eat a lot of whipped cream before I start slurping... When I say a lot, what I really mean is A LOT. Its ridiculous I know, but its one of my quirks!

Anyhow I decided to stop wasting money on that little container of cappuccino mix and make my own. I can do this, I have a college degree....So I bought everything I needed to make a sugar free cappuccino mix! I mixed up everything, ground the coffee, heated the water, added a tub of whipped cream (rather just reapplied multiple times), btw, because I like to be fancy I use the spray can of whipped cream, not the big ol tub.

I have to say its not bad, however I added a bit too much cinnamon and will not be doing that again! But overall, I think its a good money saving option! I can sit here in my pj's drinking it and enjoy!

So back to the story, I got up about 5:30, visited with the husband, read some friends Christmas letters. Let me remind you that if you want to be part of my daily joy of Christmas letter reading/picture ooing (not a real word) you best be getting yours into us! Laughed out loud at a couple of them, got some tears thinking I need to visit some of my friends more often because their kids are getting so super big!

Anyhow, I finally made my way downstairs to get some work done. And I do mean work, I had the day off yesterday for multiple reasons so I needed to check emails and make sure the office didn't burn down. I am talking about the real office not mine in my house (lets hope I would know about that).

So I worked for about 90 minutes, then checked my personal email, did some facebook creeping (Yes, I admit it, I am a facebook creeper, I need a rehab group), checked the bank account as we did some major spending yesterday, read Grace Bittners latest caringbridge update, said a prayer for her and now am blogging.

However I am ready for a nap. THis is how I roll, I get up early, then I want to nap. I think thats pretty simple, however, my husband and daughter do not operate that way. They like to sleep in and not nap until later. The only one who is on my side is my dog and she naps all day, everyday! Well since Kameron is working today I know that I cannot get away with napping for much longer because Kynlee is going to decide that she is ready to conquer the day (9 month old style!).

So if I want her to wake up all I need to do is get comfy on the couch, get ready to watch a full house rerun, with my eyes closed and she will be yelling for me to come get her (luckily we are not at the point of crawling of the crib yet).

Well, i think I will go finish unloading the van (we only brought in fridge stuff....it was a long day and we got home pretty late) and soon enough I will have a baby who needs some lovin singing from her crib!

Not that I mind, we will have a good day together folding clothes (where is my mom and sister Emy when I need them!) and hopefully putting them away. If you know me, you know that i cannot stand putting laundry away. I should just have a dresser of laundry baskets.....

So here I am wishing you a WONDERFUL Saturday! I am sure many of you are out shopping for last minute gifts or just starting your shopping. Pretty sure I would like to stay 100 miles (actually 71) miles away from a walmart or mall today.....bunch of crazies out if you ask me! :)

I will stay home with Kynlee maybe venture out to Bronson's (our grocery store), Beulah Drug, Do-it Best Hardware, or Pamida (thats how we roll here in the big city) to get a few things, by doing this I am just putting of the laundry duty further! :) Then I will get supper ready for the overtime working husby and get ready to beat him in Yatzee! (our latest craze!) :)

Have a good day, I might sneak in one more serving of whipped cream with a side of cappuccino this am, just to make sure I mixed it alright and then begin my day! :)

Thank you for reading.......

9 months, WHAT?!?!

WOW. Thats all I have to say for myself....WOW. Who on Earth goes 9 months without blogging.....ALL FINGERS POINT TO ME!!! What is wrong with me? Oh yeah thats right, I HAD A BABY!!!!

Okay enough yelling, I am giving myself a headache! First of all apologies for not blogging sooner. I really have no excuse. I know people who have 2, 3, 4, 5...a million kids and they still find time to blog. I guess even Mrs. Dugger blogs.....

One of my favorite blogs is from my friend Mandy whose husband is in med school, she has 4 kids (not to mention a set of tween girls!) and she blogs all the time. Then my friend Kimberly has 3 kids; one boy in preschool, another at home and a newborn girl and she manages 2 blogs!!! Would this be a good time to mention that she also knits, helps with MOPS, makes cards...oh my the list goes on. (I look boring compared to her!) Anyhow, I honestly have absolutely NO EXCUSES!!! (Sorry I was yelling at myself there!)

I don't even know what to write about.....I guess what have I been doing for 9 months....changing diapers, moving, nursing, packing, sitting in the hospital with my husband, traveling, and anything and everything! I have decided the best way to fill you in on my events is to attach our latest Christmas letter! :) Great idea huh?! AND it gets me out of typing it twice :)

For those of you who know me well, you know I LOVE GETTING CHRISTMAS CARDS! (Yelling at you this time!) So I didn't include our address at the bottom of this letter for my health, I did it so we get more cards. Subtle, I know! Its really sad because Kameron knows I am the first one to get to open the cards (trust me on this one!) and then he can read them after I have examined them. Its my OCD peeking out to tell him just to smile and nod at whatever I say.... I like to remind him that "A Happy Wife is A Happy Life", I will probably get that embroidered on a pillow for the davenport (thats a couch...I honestly didn't know that for years....and my grandma called it that all the time!). Okay that was my ADD kicking in! :)

Alright, drum roll please....here is our letter.....yes I know some of you got it in the mail so just skip past that part, oh and be easy on the author, Kynlee wrote it and its her first one....don't say anything that might offend her, shes just a babe! :)

Thanks for reading, I never know if anyone does.....so sometimes I figure why do it....but Tiffany reminded me (a few times) to get busy blogging and she does wonderful blogs, along with pictures of her REAL tree!!! No excuses here, ours is fake! :)

But honestly more blogging is a New Years resolution for me.....along with losing the baby weight, getting out of debt....blah, blah blah...believe it when you see it!.

OKAY HERE IS THE LETTER!!! (Yes yelling at myself again!) :)

2010 CHRISTMAS GREETINGS FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS! 

My mom recently began writing our annual letter & I started eating the paper, she gave up and told me to get busy! (I hear she likes to get this in the mail early!) Let me take a minute to introduce myself, my name is Kynlee Jacalyn Plienis, I arrived March 3, 2010 at 7:39 am. And I am delighted to take over this task! Mom did give me some “rules” to follow, as apparently she has been doing this for a while, she also let me know this is her FAVORITE season of the year. Dad & I were clueless that there is a time named “Christmas Card Season” so we just smile and nod! 

Her first rule was that we recap what happened to us each month of the last year, so I started with March. She told me we had to start with January, however I still believe their lives really began in March! Anyhow, go ahead sit back, grab a cup of joe and enjoy the show…

Mom and dad ended 2009 by celebrating Christmas with all sides of our family, they even got stuck in Tioga during a big snow storm. Mom said January was pretty boring; snow, wind & cold…just a typical ND winter. Towards the end of the month mom was told she needed to slow down and relax a little before I came. If you know her, this was easier said than done! J

February was when they announced to close family that I was a GIRL! We also celebrated my mom & aunt Emy’s baptism over Valentine’s Day! Then they did something NO ONE ever saw coming…my parents bought a mini-van! My mom still shakes her head, but dad and I know she couldn’t live without it. Also dad sold ALL his demolition derby supplies, mom was shocked, but he said it was the best decision for our family! These were just some of the MANY changes that were made because of little ol’ me!

Finally…the GOOD STUFF! Mom checked into the hospital a day early just to calm everyone’s nerves as I was scheduled to come out via c-section on the 3^rd. We were so lucky to get dad & grandma Karin to be in the room for my grand entrance! Everyone cried when they found out I was absolutely perfect! The rest of March was spent figuring out our new life as a family. Dad took a week off so he could be home & then grandma Karin & aunt Emy came to stay for a week. Mom wants to add a huge THANK YOU for all the visits, cards, meals, presents, calls, texts, emails & prayers that were sent our way! J

We began April with a baby shower & my baptism on Easter Sunday! What a glorious day as MANY people joined us for the big weekend. Soon after, G & G Plienis took care of me so mom & dad could have their first date since I came along. Then we got the sad news that mom’s uncle Greg had passed away & we headed west to Watford City to celebrate his life. While mom was busy with arrangements aunt Angela & cousin Sawyer took care of me. We spent mom’s birthday in Tioga and enjoyed our last few days at home together before she went back to work.

Following another baby shower we celebrated dad’s birthday and grandma Karin & aunt Emy came to stay with me for mom’s first week back. Although I loved daycare at Diane’s house, mom said it was really hard to work full time with dad out of town all week so she started working part time. Also, in May, we traveled to Williston to help my great grandma Janice turn 85 years young! We spent Memorial Day weekend in Rapid City sightseeing, shopping and visiting with friends.

Now it was June & I was 3 months old! We took a mini-vacation to Minneapolis for a family wedding. Every week it was harder for dad to leave & for mom to be a “single mom” M-F. We had WONDERFUL support in Linton with family and friends but something was missing… Mom & dad knew we needed to be a family ALL week long, not just the weekends. Just to see what would happen, we put our house up for sale & started looking for one to buy in the Beulah/Hazen area. We looked at many houses and finally decided on one with a great neighborhood for me to grow up in!

Little did we know that we would accept an offer on our house by July 5^th, and so the circus began! We worked hard to get most of our packing done so we could head to Michigan to be part of grandpa Dean & grandma Frannie’s wedding! Our first stop was in Grand Rapids, MN to see the Arntson relatives. Our destination was Bessemer, MI, and we enjoyed every minute of the wedding celebration weekend as even I got to be one of the flower girls!

On our way home we stayed with my uncle Jamie, aunt Miranda and cousin Olivia in Northwood. The remainder of August involved boxes, totes, paper & tape. We packed until we couldn’t pack anymore! We took a break to go to Medora & then Montana to meet my great G & G Gallwas & other relatives. We were able to stay over with some of our friends in Billings on the way out & back.

We found out early in September that we needed to be out of our house by the end of the month. This began the MAD rush of getting everything out & into storage or other people’s garages! I had just turned 6 months old & made sure I got into everything while they packed. They decided grandma Rusty should take me on the weekends so some work could get done!

After living with some friends and G & G Plienis for two weeks, on October 15 we became residents of Beulah and finally a full time family! J All of our belongings came a week later and so the unpacking started! Mom was thankful that I didn’t start crawling until we got here, but she hasn’t been very fond of my willingness to help her unpack! I dressed up as a pig for Halloween, but got tired after trick-or-treating at 4 houses! I liked watching people come to our house for candy!

Well it is November and we still have quite a few boxes sitting around, lets hope that changes soon! Mom started back to work, I am at a new daycare that I love & I get to see my dad EVERYDAY! Recently, we enjoyed going to Stanley to see my great-great grandma Elsie. My dad gave us quite the scare this month as he had to have emergency stomach surgery & stay in the hospital for 5 days! I didn’t mind though as I got to stay with G & G Plienis the whole time! Then G & G Christianson came to stay with us for the weekend! We are happy he is on the mend, as life is really a precious gift! In December it will be busy as I turn 9 months old and we celebrate my first Christmas!

That is what happened this year, I am sure 2011 will be more active as I am starting to move alot. I now crawl all over, get into cupboards, pull books off the shelves and even reach for the garbage can! There isn’t a lot of things, besides toys, that can be within my reach. Everyone says I look like dad and act like mom, I am not sure what that means, but I do know I tend to be a little nosey and dramatic! Being outside, looking in the mirror, giggling, eating crackers, seeing babies, listening to music, giving hugs, taking a bath, and making noise are my favorite things. I am starting to give more kisses, pull myself up, wave bye-bye and make more noise! I cut my first tooth and am working on my second. I will soon begin walking, and talking (dad is pretty sure when I start, between mom and I, he won’t get a word in edgewise!).

As far as everyone else, my dad still works at Coteau as a mechanic and enjoys being the “boss of the yard and vehicles”! He loves to cook and enjoys seeing how much I change everyday! My mom continues to work for RightStart Math and now works from home while I go to daycare & she still sells Scentsy and Avon. Although she hasn’t had much time recently, she loves to scrapbook, sew & bake. Mom & dad enjoy playing games, watching movies, going for drives and playing cards if I ever give them any spare time. Our dog Sadie turned 3 in September, she isn’t really sure what to think of all the changes and she is pretty skittish of me, but she is adjusting just fine.

Although we are farther away from some family, we are closer to others! Now, we value all of our family time & look forward to many memories in our new home. Everyone who has crossed our paths here have been very friendly & we know we will fit in well!J If you are ever near Beulah or just want to visit, stop on by…WE LOVE COMPANY!

I know I am an amateur, but hopefully you enjoyed my letter, it gave mom a chance to clean up my messes! Please note our new address as we look forward to seeing your letters/pictures/cards during this “season”! Keep in touch and know that we consider each of you a blessing to our family. J

~Wishing you joy in abundance today and always~

The Plienis Family

Kameron, Cassie & Kynlee (Sadie Mae, too!)

236 Riviera Drive

Beulah, ND 58523