Christmas Break Roadtrips

While in SLC we started out the new year on a road trip two Arizona and California where Jake had two interviews. We were able to stay with Jake's sister in Phoenix and Jake's brother in Temecula (Orange County CA). It was lots of fun to escape the cold weather and visit some of Jake's family that we don't get to see very often. On the way out to Arizona we made a stop at Hoover dam. They are building a pretty amazing bridge that will cross over the canyon and make the trip a lot faster. Madison loved playing with Jesse and had lots of fun with the Pena's dog. Thanks for letting us come visit. Jake was also able to make a stop at his birthplace (the picture of Jake standing in front of the house). A few of the old neighbors came out to say hello and take a look at the little curly haired blonde boy who was now very very big. It was amazing they recognized him! They were even prepared with cookies for Jake since going over to get one was one of his favorite things to do.

A few more Christmas memories

I need to record my memorable experience flying out to SLC. Jake had left for some interviews on the way to SLC a few days before my flight. I left on a Sunday afternoon after playing my violin in our first church meeting. It was a crazy day. Thanks Julie for the ride to the airport:) I have flown by myself with Madison two or three times and it's been just fine. Being pregnant and flying with Madison was something new. The first bump in the road was when American airlines told me they do not provide bags for car seats. I had talked to lots of friends that said not to worry about covering the car sear because the airlines have bags. I was pretty concerned because I knew the car seat would come back very dirty or maybe even torn after taking a ride on those luggage carriers. It was a very snowy and rainy day so I am sure we would have had a very wet and cold car seat in SLC if it wasn't covered. I asked if they had any garbage bags or could find a janitor that might have something, anything, I was determined. Most of the workers were kind of rude in their responses to my crazy mom inquires. Luckily one lady took pity on my and grabbed a giant roll of plastic wrap from the luggage department. She helped me wrap up the car seat and then we were off to our gate. Madison was great and stayed pretty entertained on the plane by ripping up the sky mall magazines and saying hi to everyone around her. I however got really sick on both landings of our flight. Luckily we had the whole row to ourselves because both incidents of puking were long, hard, loud and gross. It was a challenge I had never before experienced, throwing up and holding a busy one year old at the same time. The first few times I reached for the bag Madison grabbed it from me and threw it on the floor. One of the worst parts is that after we landed, I had to hold the bag until a flight attendant could assist me and throw it away. Poor Madison must have been so confused at what I was doing. On the second flight I was smart and warned the flight attendant before we landed that I would be filling up the bag and would need him to take it from me after we landed. Lets just say that I was a mess after landing in SLC after midnight. I couldn't even make it up the ramp into the baggage claim before having to find a garbage can to throw up again. Luckily there weren't a lot of people around because I am sure I was quite the site. Jake in the meantime was relaxing in his spa retreat hotel that the Memphis residency program had put him up in. Luckily he was able to fly with me back to Toledo and everything went great on the flight home.
Back in Toledo Madison was able to enjoy the present that Santa got her for Chirtmas. A cute little rocking horse that swishes his tail and makes horsie sounds. We miss our family so much but it is always nice to be at home after a long vacation.

Christmas with the Tanners

Here are some pictures from Christmas time with the Tanners and Grandma and Grandpa Cummings. Madison had tons of fun playing with all the pets, especially the kitty's. Luckily her cousin Kensie has baby proofed the cats by squeezing them, loving them, and chasing them around the house so they were very baby friendly. Madison thought her cousin Tanner made a great horse and tried to sit on him as he crawled while making horse sounds. My sisters and I had our yearly sister breakfast get together and we had a tutu party with the cousins. We had so much fun playing and hanging out. Thanks for all the fun times!

Christmas with the Snows

Here are some pictures from our Christmas time with the Snows. We had a lot of fun singing playing and spending time together. Madison had her first sledding experience with her dad in their backyard. You can barely see her face peering out of her coat. She giggled going down the little hill and cried when she had to come inside.

Christmas in Toledo

I am so very behind in my blogging and will attempt to do some catching up. There will be some very old posts and pictures out of order in the next few posts:)
This is a collage of pictures of Christmas in Toledo before we left to SLC for the holidays. Madison had her first experience sitting on Santa's lap at Bass Pro Shop (Jake's favorite place to take Madison). Amazingly enough, Madison didn't cry, she was just in shock. Afterward, we gave her a taste of her first candy cane. She loved and you could tell by the drool and stickiness that covered her face and hands. I am sure she would sit on Santa's lap any day knowing she could have a candy cane afterwards.
We also went to the Lights at the Zoo. It was pretty chilly so I made sure we were all bundled up. Madison looked like a little snowman. She had a lot of fun seeing all the lights despite her inability move very well under all those layers. We love our Zoo!

Georgia on my mind...

A couple of months ago while coveting... I mean window shopping at Bass Pro Shops in nearby Rossford, Ohio I got to talking with a nice chap about the incredible happiness and opportunity that comes with owning a timeshare. He wanted me to pay him just $59 for a three day, two night stay at one of their facilities in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and all I had to do was agree to hear a 90 minute sales pitch. Although intrigued, I resisted hoping he would throw in some additional perks. He responded nicely to my resistance and offered to throw in $50 worth of Bass Pro gift cards if I signed up, the cost to me would be just $9 plus 90 minutes of our time. For two nights in the Smokies that was a deal I couldn't pass up. With Jenny's blessing I signed up and we made plans to spend her birthday (29 years young last Friday) in Tennessee!

It was a fantastic trip! The lodging was really nice, full kitchen, fireplace, elegant 15 inch TV (that was the only downer) and a large jacuzzi tub in the bathroom. The Smokies are beautiful even this time of year and the weather was great. It was a fantastic break from the rigors of this year. We weren't quite sure what to expect from the 90 minute sales pitch but Mike D. (unfortunately not THE Mike D. from the Beastie Boys) was pleasant and accepted our refusal graciously. It was great to spend some time in the mountains, and for those of you who haven't seen them, these are real mountains. One of the coolest parts of the park was being able to hike for a short while on the Appalachian trail. I am sure that spring, summer and fall are all better times of year to visit than February... but we were still impressed with the beauty.

Aside from the natural beauty, Appalachia offered some fantastic cultural insights. Our favorite quote was the mother who said to her two girls, "Dang, it sure has been a long time since you've been able to take off yer shoes and socks and play in the mud." They promptly did exactly that, and they loved it. We were also quite entertained watching Georgia's finest youth from the New Haven Bible Church experience snow for the first time (see pics below).


This guy had a great trip


What do you mean I can't take it home with me?


Hiking the Appalachian Trail


Snow Family Vacation


Madison loved it!




Flyin' through the Smokies




Jenny Preachin' at the Ol' Church


Our home for three days and two nights



It was a great weekend!

Funny Little Girl

Today I took Madison to the mall so she could get out of the house and play at the indoor playground. After having some fun in the confines of the kid area she decided to venture out to the surrounding shops. She first went into H&M and danced around to some of the music playing. When she was done with that shop she headed over to a shop called Spencer's that has a sign on the outside warning parents of the adult content inside. After many attempts to distract and redirect Madison to another area to play she was determined. There was a disco ball inside this shop with colored lights and some really groovy music that kept inviting her in. Not wanting to induce another tantrum I let Madison stand inside the store and watch the lights while she danced to the catchy music. Luckily Madison can't read yet and there weren't any creepy customers inside. I am sure it was quite the site for passersby to see a very pregnant woman with her daughter inside such a store. As Madison gets older I'll have to teach her that you can't always go into places that attract you with their pretty lights and music:)

One Year Pictures!

We have a lot of catching up to do on our blog from this last month! I'll start with Madison's one year old pictures. These adorable pictures were taken by our very talented neighbor Jenni Toller. The greatest part about having your neighbor be a professional photographer is that the studio was downstairs (since we are in a duplex)! So when Madison declared herself done with the first session of pictures (thus the cute crying pictures in the slide show above), I could put her down for a nap before the next go-round. Thanks Jenni for all you hard work in getting our little cutie to sit still for some fun pictures. Also, Madison is wearing the tutus I made for her birthday party. They are so fun to make and super easy! I found the instructions online. Let me know if anyone would like me to pass the information on:)

One Year Old

November 21st, 2008 Madison Ann Snow turned one! It's true what they say...they grow up so fast! She is so much fun and has quite the personality. Madison loved having her friends over to play at the party. She is very social and is learning how to share her toys:) She was a little dainty with the cake but still put on a good show. I made a cute pink tutu for her to wear at the party. Jake forgot to take some good pictures of it:) We are having a one year old photo shoot tomorrow and you'll be able to see Madison in all the fun fru fru! Happy birthday sweetie! We love you so much!

Madison's Dresses

Grandma Snow (mana) made these beautiful dresses for Madison out of Grandpa Snow's old suits. She has finally grown into them and they are perfect for the winter season. Thanks Mana for making the dresses and thanks grandpa for donating your old suits. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Everybody's going green these days:)

Belated 11 Month Pictures

Here are Madison's 11 month old pictures. We had lots of fun taking pictures with her in the leaves. She loved the crunchy sound! Jake wants it to be known that Madison wearing an Ohio State jumpsuit is in no way an endorsement of the football program. He thinks that it is a joke that the Buckeyes will be in the Fiesta Bowl, it should be Boise State. Anyway, go Utes! Actually, go BYU yeah!!!! Jake says this post has nothing to do with BYU and that my random cheer for BYU was uncalled for. Sports are so silly:)

Jake's Recipe for Salad Dressing

I don't need a recipe.

No offense to those who do like recipes. I have enjoyed many a meal that was prepared using precise measurements of this and that. But recipes are just so restrictive. When I go to work in the kitchen, I like to let the ingredients volunteer their services. Somethymes it seems that they know what I'm cooking and they call out to me. It's kind of like Obama's vision for volunteerism in America...

Anyway, my assignment for this year's feast was simple. I was to make a green salad and prepare a relish tray. Simple and easy... a little too easy. With some encouragement from Jenny I decided to complicate things a little by making a copycat of the Olive Garden salad dressing that we all love so much. She showed me a recipe online and I got the basic idea. A little oil, some lemon juice, some vinegar, diced garlic, a touch of parsley, a sprinkling of romano cheese, some pectin! Mix it all up in our handy dressing bottle and voile! It was ready to taste.

hawcht-patewy!! Something was wrong with this recipe. Not only did this dressing taste nothing like the OG, but it tasted nothing like anything good that I have ever had! Even Chef Boyardee would take offense at this Italian creation.

With my ghastly result in hand I paused in the kitchen to listen for which condiment or spice would call to me and volunteer their essence to salvage the dressing.

The first to pipe in was the ever-trusty sugar, everything is better with a touch of granulated goodness.

Slurp. hmm still too acidy.

If sugar doesn't work, what else could I use to tone down the acid?

At this point I remembered my chemistry, if something is acidic, why not just add a base to tone it down? Brilliant! I knew I went to college for a reason. I paused again, anxiously listening for an alkaline volunteer to make their services known. From the deepest, darkest corner of the pantry I heard a whisper, "come, try me". It was my long-lost friend Arm and Hammer, the perfect base to neutralize any excess acid.

Deja vu?? As I poured the first tablespoon of baking soda my mind flashed back to the days of my youth. It seemed I had done this before. Memories of baking soda, vinegar and closed containers flooded my memory as my dressing flooded out from the bottle. Quickly I tried to limit the spillage by replacing the lid to the jar. This action angered the baking soda and CO2 hissed its way through the lid. I gave up and just opened the lid as ghastly dressing sprayed all over my sweater, the wall, the freshly washed dishes, the counter and of course the floor!

Fortunately nobody was physically hurt, that's the most important thing. As for my trust of condiments and spices... well, let's just say I'll be a little more careful next time the Arm and Hammer calls out to me. That jokester.

Happy Ending

Monday I had a terrible day. I don't know if I remember all the details of why it was so terrible but I know it involved Madison not napping all day and discovering that the stroller was not in the trunk when I arrived at my doctors appointment (I had asked Jake to put in in before he left for class. It was in his trunk). Luckily some of the nurses helped me out and held Madison during the parts of the ob appointment that holding Madison would have been awkward. (Every appointment involves peeing in a cup and I wasn't about to let Madison run around on the bathroom floor, yucky). I initially was frustrated with Jake for forgetting the stroller however he completely redeemed himself at the end of the day. I wasn't feeling like eating much of what we had for dinner and I had been craving Olive Garden Salad and bread sticks. Jake without hesitation decided to do a late night Olive Garden to go run. I didn't even ask him to do it:) What a sweetie! Thanks Jake for putting up with my pregnancy mood swings and helping my bad day to have a happy ending.

T.P. Mischief

A few weeks ago Jake and I went down to Columbus, Ohio for a residency interview. They put us up in a really nice hotel. We didn't get the most restful nights sleep however because Madison was a little excited about being in a new place. Her lack of sleep resulted in a clingy moody baby the next morning until she found... the toilet paper roll. Back at home Madison always wanted to play with the toilet paper roll however I never let her go crazy with it for fear of the mess. Jake had left early that morning for his interview and I was desperate to have a few minutes to get dressed and put on some makeup. I was happy to have anything entertain her for a few moments. 1Here is a video of her moment of fun.