Some new pics of the Rubes

Since I am boring and uninteresting these days I thought I would post some very cute pics of our little girl Ruby! Yes I call her the Rubes, Ruber doozers, and B calls her scoober, I dislike like that name, but whatever blows his dress up! Anyway she is almost 9 months old and I am back to my pre-doggie figure.... Anyway she is now around 35lbs. and growing like a champ!


She is still my cuddlebug and sleeps with us every night, loves her Mr. Pheasant and her new tire toy...We found it at PetCo and it says that it's hard to destruct which = perfect for Rubes! It says it's non-toxic and made of real tire material so we will see! Anyway, here are a few recent pics and some older ones just to show you how much she's grown! Have a great Tuesday!

Her perch

Just hanging out at the old apartment

Chewed this bed to shreds!

Just a puppy....right after her hospital stay

Ready to go to bed!
Hanging out with her daddy

What do you want mommy??

And some newer ones....

Sleeping on the living room floor

Beans, Beans, the magical fruit....

This Thanksgiving I am making my favorite dish of all....GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE!! Every year someone in the fam makes it and unless it's my mom, sisters or myself, I don't like it! There isn't anything special to our recipe, but it just turns out that my palette likes my own flesh and blood cooking the sacred dish!

This year I will be making it and my little sis Karin will be coming to help me Thanksgiving morning. Not that there's much you can screw up, but she's like me and needs the casserole to be perfect! Every year it's no fail that there are leftovers of GBC but not enough!! My entire fam loves GBC and all eat it in a variety of ways.....My Stepdad loves leftovers and puts everything including GBC on his turley sandwich, my brother eats it combined with his mashed potatos, I eat it warm with my leftovers and my sisters will eat it cold out of the dish....yep, that's us!! We could eat the stuff till the 4th of July, no joke!! I thought I would share with you my recipe and some tricks I've learned over the past years!

The ingredients:

1 block Velveeta cheese

6 cans french cut green beans

2 cans crispy onions

3 can cream of mushroom soup

Worcestershire suace 3 Tbsp



First in medium sauce pan combine velveeta, soup and worcestershire on medium heat. Let simmer until cheese is melted, and everything is the same consistency. Put half the mixture in crock pot. Add 3 cans of bean, mix together in crock pot. On the first layer put about hald a can of the crispy onions. Repeat with the rest of the mixture and beans. Top with half can crispy onion. Bak at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. I bake mine in my crock pot. This way I can transfer it to the base of the crock pot and keep it warm. About 15 minutes before your casserole is ready to come out of the oven, top it with 1 can of the crispy onions. After it's done.....ENJOY!!!


p.s. if you make this recipe, yours will look better than the picture up top!

Happy Birthday B!!

Today is B's 29th birthday! I have now known B for 6 years and each time we celebrate a birthday I start thinking about when we first started dating. We met when B stole my parking spot at work. To make a long story short I thought he was a jerk, and he turned out completely opposite of that.

3 years ago while celebrating B's 26th birthday he caught me by surprise and proposed to me after he was done opening his gifts....Needless to say we had two things to celebrate that evening!

I know that every married woman says that their husband is the best hubbs in the world, but I truly believe that God made B for me. He compliements me in so many ways, while loving me unconditionally, supporting me and all my little quirks and taking care of our little family. B is the most loving and caring person you will ever meet. He would take the shirt off his back and give it to a perfect stranger. He is a truly amazing person, my soul mate and my best friend. I thank the lord every single day that he chose B for me.
We have had so many wonderful birthdays to celebrate, tonight we will be celebrating with family out at dinner! Next year will be an even bigger celebration....shhh..he'll be the big 3-0!!!



Happy Birthday my love! Here's to a wonderful 29 years and to many more birthdays that
I have the honor of sharing with you! I love you more than you can ever know!!! All my love!

This pic circa 2004


p.s. Ruby loves you too!

Merry Christmas love A, B & Ruby

After a quick email to Kari at Better Together, I found the site where she designed her beautiful Christmas card. I've never used this site before but was pleasantly surprised! Photo Affections does have one downfall, you have to pay before you see your proof. They email you the proof and you can make as many changes as your little heart desires before they process your order.

This past weekend I had my mom take a few pictures of B, Ruby and myself in their backyard. After 5 minutes and about 15 pics we found the ONE!!! So here is our Christmas card that will be sent out to our friends and family this season!

Happy Holidays!

Christmas confusion...

This year B's siblings decided it would be a great idea to exchange names....thank goodness, we have only suggested this for the past 2 years! Anyway, I have my future sister in law that is 28, and hasn't given me many ideas!!! So anyway I am being proactive this Christmas season and trying to get all the shopping done before Thanksgiving. I know it's only a week away and I probably won't achieve my goal, but a girl can always dream!

Anyway, we have to spend around $75...that's a while other story, I would have though $25, but others did not like that figure....glad they have tons of money to burn, we do not! So anyway back to my person I am supposed to buy for, well I am at a crossroads as to what to buy. She has said she would like an ipod cover, ok great idea, I think it's costs about $25. Then I came across this little number at Pottery Barn and purchased it in apple green with her new initials. She is marrying my brother in law in 2009. So here they are...let me know what you think!!

Yay or nay???

Introducing.....my new ornaments!

On Friday I came home to a package from a great gal soontobemrsameran, it was my ornaments from the ornament exchange I organized for the gals over on the D&R board on the nest. In the box, some super cute ornaments!!! She even sent me a beautiful candle and an ornament for Ruby!! Thanks so much K!!! You're the best! Now introducing....my new ornaments....

They will be a beautiful addition to our tree!! I will post pics of the candle in my Christmas decor post....Yes I already have my Christmas decor out! Not the tree, that will be after Thanksgiving! Thanks again k!!!

Happy Monday!!!!

I've been deemed Kreativ.....

By Chelsea over at Life is Beautiful!! She gave me a Kreativ blog award and it was so unexpected and I am so honored!! Thanks Chelsea!! Chelsea and I have become "nestie friends" after we got aquinted on the nest earlier this past year. We share quite a few similarities. We both come from the great state of IOWA, both are both are enojoying married life, love fashion and tasty glass of wine! If you haven't checked out her blog....you must! It's fabulous and she is a very talented photog! Click HERE to check out for her blog.

Here's what she had to say about Life with B & A! "Life with B & A- Abby is such an awesome chick and her blog shows that! She is full of great ideas- whether it's for decorating, weddings, or styling outfits! She is so inspiring and I love seeing her latest ideas".

Thanks Chelsea, you're awesome!!! I can't thank you enough!!

So now I need to state 6 things I am thankful for and 6 blogs I think are worthy of this award.. So here goes nothing!

6 things I am thankful for:

1. My husband and best friend, I can't imagine my life without him. He makes ever experience that much better and truly is my rock, my support system and my best friend. I fall in love more each day with Brendan and I feel truly blessed by God that he deemed Brendan my partner for life.

2. Our little girl Ruby...She is the light of our lives and I am so thankful that she made it through her first couple of weeks with us, she was very, very sick. She is a cuddle bug and it's a priceless gift to see how happy she is everytime we come home.

3. My family... where do I even begin, they are simply amazing! They understand me, ground me, put up with me and love me unconditionally. They have been there through so much and I wouldn't be who I am without them.

4. My former nanny Jeanne....She started watching my sister and I when I was 6 weeks old until I went to school full time. She was like a second mom to us, and really helped us get through our parents divorce. Although she was taken away from us far too soon, I am thankful for the blessing of her in my life and the time I was able to spend with her.

5. Our health...Although we may have a sickness here or there, we are overall very healthy, happy people. We have been fortunate enough to not have to fight a major disease and I am grateful for that.

6. Lastly, I am thankful the Christmas holiday! I love this time of year and it beings utter joy to our household and to moi! I love decorating and getting together with our families!

Now 6 blogs I am passing this award along to!

Click each blog name to go directly to their blog.

1. Sarah at jeune Marie

2.Marialena at Old Fashion Gal

3. Kari at Better Together

4. Dunc at Simply Living

5. Katie at Hyper Homemaker

6. Not Martha at The Working Woman's Guide to Domestic Success

Post the award on your blog, tell us 6 things you are thankful for, and deem 6 bloggers worthy of the kreativ blogger award!

Have a great weekend everyone!!! Cheers! Abby

Why I do what I do...

I get asked this question quite a lot lately. I work in the social services field and each day is full of rewards, challenges and break-downs. I will be very honest that in this field you don't make a ton of money, but to me it's well worth it! Here's why I do what I do...

First, it is my true belief that God has called me to help shape the next generation. I have never had a job where I felt this passion and love for a job or the people I work with. I love each day I see these little children's faces come into my room and know that for 2 hours they are safe and will be taken care of. These kids I work with are ages 5-10, and most come from broken homes, may be in foster care or living with a relative. These kids have had people leave them, abuse them, neglect them, and if I can be that one person that makes their life a little easier, then my job is done. If I can show them what real relationships are, then I feel accomplished. If I can put that trust in them that not all adults will abandon them, then I feel complete.

These children come from nothing, may have no home, no clothes, no love and affection and to see them run into my room, give me a big hug and say they are happy to see me, is worth so much more to me than any paycheck will ever be. I do what I do because these children need someone to be the stability in their life, and I can provide that. I provide a safe place for them to express their anger with their parents, or family....a safe place for them to be kids, and a safe to be who they are. To them my group room may be the only place in their life that they can do that.

Lastly, I do what I do because seeing these children succeed is priceless, to see them become something they never thought would even be possible is a truly a gift that God has given me. That is why I do what I do.

We're going green

that is in our guest bedroom!! This past weekend we picked up this antique desk that was my great-grandparents desk. It's green and so we thought a great place for it would be our guest room. So far the room is a pretty blank slate with white bedding and light walls. We thought a pop of color, and some green accents in the room would look fab!! My grandparents are downsizing, so they were generous enough to give it to B and I, all we had to do was move it!!

Here's the room...

Now here is the desk...

I love the look of it and the character it has! I have decided to not touch a thing on the desk!!

We have placed it directly under the window, moved the bed over and put our tree on the left side of the desk... Now I am planning on painting a large mirror with gold trim, white, and then painting the frame above the bed white. We'll see how it turns out.....Happy Monday!

Buddy the elf...what's your favorite color???

Some of you may not know that I am addicted to the nest. What is the nest you ask, well it's the sister of the knot, but for newlywed's. I have been chatting with some lovely ladies for a while now and have gotten to know some of them quite well actually. With the gals that I chat with we decided it would be fun to have an ornament exchange for the upcoming holidays. So being the organizer and planner that I am, I took the wheel and organized it through elfster.

For the ornament exchange I had over 100 nesties email me to be part of the exchange! I couldn't have been more thrilled!! Nesties are now sending and recieving their ornaments and loving them!!

On Friday I came to home to a pleasant surprise and it was from a fellow nestie and blogger Bryn over at Newlywedisms by Bryn. She sent this adorable tray to me as a thank you gift for organizing the ornament exchange! If you haven't checked out her blog, you should! She's amazing with interiors and her home is simply beautiful! Not to mention she has a knack for planning events and finding deals! Click here to check out her blog! Thank you Bryn from the bottom of my heart! I love the tray!! Here are a few pics of the cute, cute, cute tray.....Did I mention the tray's cute???

Oh so cute! Bryn, you rock!! Thank you so, so much! You are so sweet!

She just keeps growing!!

Ruby is getting close to being 8 months.....Oh my goodness, I can't believe she's been with us for almost 5 months. Time flies when you're having fun!! Although she keeps getting bigger, I miss how small she was, I dont miss getting up at 2am every night to let her out to go potty!! She's now 35 pounds...yes you read that right and as of today loves to chase snow!


She's still a big love bug and loves to curl up in our laps and is still the softest puppy I have ever pet. This past weekend she spent a night at a doggie hotel and although I was reserved due to how shy she is, she did wonderfully!! The gal at the soddie hotel called and said she played outside, did her business, and she was now taking a nap after she had read Ruby a story! Calmed my nerves!! Here are a few pics of our baby....

I know you may not like this...

But after last nights election I have come to a couple of conclusions.....so bare with me. First, I was am still am a McCain supporter, however I feel it is time that we unite as a nation and support our president elect Barack Obama. I may not agree with his policies or his values, however that is the beauty of our great nation. We have spoken and the majority has said they want Barack Obama in the white house.

Secondly, Obama represents hope.....Hope that you can be anything you want to if you work hard, educate yourself and believe that this great nation will allow your dreams to come true.

Instead of focusing on the the loss of a great man John McCain, let's unite and show the world why we are the greatest nation in the world!! We can overcome adversity, achieve our dreams and become what we once only dreamed we could be. Here's to being a proud American, on a great day to be alive in history! Let's hope and pray that our new president can keep his promises and bring us back into a thriving economy we once were in!

I've been tagged!!!

Mrs. McB over at Living my Happily ever after tagged me to tell you all 7 random things about myself.... I will preface this with I am not that interesting or random but I will do my best! So here goes nothing....

1. I have a deep passion for working with kids. I work with at-risk childrend and absolutely love my job and field I am in. I feel like it is my calling and my duty to help shape the next generation to better our society.

2. I am currently wanting to run the Chicago marathon next year...wish me luck!

3. I am addicted to sweets...no seriously, anything sweet and I'm in love!!

4. I am starting to want to consider having a baby....never thought I would say that so soon, but it's seeming more appealing to me to be a mom.

5. I love looking at pictures....no matter what it is, old, new, anything. I once spent many hours over my summer break putting all of my families pics into albums..according to date and the person at hand...can we say time consuming!

6. My dream is to start my own non-profit organization for at-risk kids. There are too many children in need and not enough resources. I want to be that outlet for those kiddos.

7. I am addicted to Christmas!!! I love celebrating, buying gifts, eating the yummy goodies and decorating! If I wouldn't be considered abnormal I would leave my Christmas decor up till July!

Ok now I am going to tag.....

Erin

Leah

Sea-squared

Old Fashioned gal

Leslie G

Holly

Kari

Have a great day!

Here come the holidays

With the holidays comes family get togethers and festive gatherings. On one side of my fam we love gatting together and over the years we have multiplied from 2 rents and 4 kids to 2 parents, 4 kids, 2 spouses and 2 grandkids with a 3rd on the way...my older sister, not me!!! Anyway, around Christmas we have our family Christmas, not usually on Christmas. This year we are getting together at the rents lake house on New Years Eve to celebrate Christmas and New Years all in one. Here are some of our favorite things to do when we gather!

We love playing this game! It's a blast! Here are the rules.

We watch this movie every year and still I laugh so hard I cry every single time!

This year we will be having bowling tournaments and each of us will have our very own little person on the Wii!! What can I say, my mom rocks and bought my stepdad a Wii for his b-day!

There will be no shortage of goodies! My mom makes everyone's favorite Christmas treat and cookies that my great-grandma used to make...yuuummyyy!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!