New Hampshire, Ash, and Rotting Pumpkins

Okay, this is my long-awaited New Hampshire blog!!! Yay! It's going to be very long, sorry. So, while the many (26) pictures are loading, I'll talk a little about what's been going on lately. Southern California experienced super high winds, then burned to the ground. Well, a lot of it anyway. It's ashy everywhere and my lungs and head hurt from breathing it in so much. I woke up with a 101 degree fever on Thursday so I didn't go into work which sucked because I need the money after being royally screwed over in Hemet. I am never working there again! I worked Monday at Murrieta and made a lot of money and could have made equal money Tuesday and Wednesday had I not agreed to work in Hemet because they needed someone. They did NOT need anyone. I made half of what I would have made in one day working in Murrieta, in TWO days working in Hemet! Anyway, so I was looking forward to working at my home store again, but I fell ill. Oh well. I am better now, after resting a whole bunch. And, the pumpkins we had so proudly carved rotted and sank in within a couple days of being outside. I did not know they rotted so fast. Guess I'll take a lesson from that! Anyway, looks like my pictures are starting to post, so I will start narrating them. Before I get started (and you get started reading them), come look at the Dogster site I set up for Mai! http://www.dogster.com/dogs/652184
Ok, here we go!


Here is Matthew playing near my grandma's old wood stove. I can't count the number of times he hurt himself on it, but that surely didn't act as a deterrent. Maybe he likes bruises?

There's his cousin, Andrew, wondering how he can get some more baby tattoos (bruises).

Here they are, destructing and deconstructing the breezeway together.

Here's Matt taking the mysterious phone that only works for babies away from Andrew

"No, it's MINE, see?"

"But you can play with it, I guess"
And here's him sharing! He is so good at sharing. He was a huge fussy monster 95% of the time he was there but at least he played nice with Andrew. Andrew, on the other hand, did NOT play nice, but he is such a sweet kid I just think it's because it's the first time he's really played with another baby.

Here's my Uncle Den with his grandson (Andrew), who is ringing the bell!

This is 4 generations: Matthew's great-grandma, Joan Schafer, his grandma, Lynn Renard, his mom, Allyson Holloway, and him!

And this is my mom, Matt, Andrew, my Uncle Den and I. Andrew is VERY excited about something but I can't remember what. Oh yeah, life in general :-p

Here's Matt begging his great-grandma for something.

Here's Andrew: "Mr. Pose-Perfect"

And the two of them, IN THE EXACT SAME POSITION!

Hey Andrew, mind if I have a look around? Let me dive head-first into your toybox.

Here's Andrew and his Dad, my cousin Devin.

And Uncle Den and cutie-pie Andrew again!

Here they are, playing together again. Couldn't get enough pictures of that. Get two super-adorable babies together and you just get tons of camera-happy cuteness.

Noo Matthew!!!!

Here's the Maine coastline in some town I don't know the name of. Very beautiful.

More coast...

Here is Matt's footprint in the sand. He liked digging his feet in, once he got used to it.

Beautiful breaking waves. So glad I got a picture.

Here's Matt tasting the rare delicacy of Atlantic coast sand. "Has a rougher texture than Pacific sand, but worth the wait!"

Here's him, crawling VERY fast toward the water.

Hey look mom, I'm here! See me? See me?

Here's Andrew again, being generally cute :-)

And last but not least, here's Andrew attempting to look like he's not attempting to grab his grandpa's coffee.

And now, sadly, I have to go. Matt just woke up (good timing, buddy!), and I have to run around and get things like baby food and a present for a baby's first birthday tomorrow. Hope this was fun to read! I'll post again soon!

Big One!

This (or these) will be very big! I have a lot of pictures and stories about New Hampshire, and some exciting pictures and things to tell you guys about aside from all that. I will start with a posting of post-New Hampshire stuff.
It was hectic for a couple of days, and still kind of is because I'm working nine days in a row (yuck!), but have found some time to have fun! Last night, after Matthew went to bed, we ate pumpkin pie and carved pumpkins. Here are the finished results:

Here they are!!

Can you guess which one is Matt?

I like this picture best. They are now on display outside...let's hope they don't get smashed!

And...I DYED EBONY'S HAIR FOR HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!

She loves the attention!!! In case you can't see, her body is purple with blue stripes, her tail and ears are bright blue, her legs are bright blue, her face is green and the top of her head is striped pink and blue! Yay! It's just food dye so it'll wash out in about three weeks and has no smell and is non-toxic. Still deciding what she should "be" for Halloween. The Purple People Eater? Hmmm...
AND I did 10 dogs today and made $233!!!!!!!! JUST for today!!!! Business is picking up, finally! I have to work at the Hemet Petsmart for the next couple days which is good (no commute, get to see Matt at lunch), and bad (they make no sales and their managers are anal about everything because they have nothing to do). So my good money day will be balanced out by me not making any for the next couple of days.
Anyway, not too much else is going on. A tree collapsed last night because of the horrendous Santa Ana winds (some were gusts up to 90 mph). It snapped. It was very big.

This is what I saw when I went to my car this morning. On the other side, the trunk is completely snapped in half.
Anyway, I will post the NH stuff after Matthew is in bed! Right now, I have to tend to my pumpkin seeds (which are roasting in the oven!)

Here In NH

Matt and I are having a lot of fun, and I took a ton of pictures. Unfortunately, I am at Uncle Den's house, I forgot my camera USB hookup, and he has dial-up anyway, so they'll be no pictures until I get home. Just a quick post to say hello and everything is going great! Details and pictures and maybe even a video to come later. My flight gets in at 10:55 pm west coast time so probably won't be able to post until wednesday night. Don't think I'll have the energy by the time I get home! Hope everyone is doing well!

Nervousness

Soo...I'm procrastinating packing. Yes, I know I should pack but, I just haven't had the motivation. I will. Got Matthew some sweats to wear on the plane and a brand new toy he'll love as a surprise that I'll give him when we get in the air. Just nervous about flying with Matt alone. I hope the stewardesses are helpful. Anyway, wish us a good trip! Going to pack now!

In Three Days...

I fly cross country with Matthew to New Hampshire!!! I am so excited to go but very nervous about how Matthew is going to behave. Last time he did well, because it was nighttime and he slept or was sleepy. Don't know now...hopefully a lot of cookies will do the trick.
Maybe I'll make him wear this:

Anyway not much going on, just haven't posted in a bit and wanted to. I'll post before I leave and hopefully while I'm there, but not likely because my grandma doesn't have a computer. But maybe, somehow!!!
Anyway, hope everyone's days go well!

Thanks, Everyone

Just wanted to post quickly and say a very big THANK YOU! to everyone who has helped us during our financial stress. We appreciate it more than any of you could know and has really made us realize how wonderful family is.


Here's Matt saying thank you!
And here's him dancing for joy!

(first time using Blogger Video, hope it works well!) Sorry it's blurry in some parts, the camera was waking up.
Here are some more recent cute pictures:

Count Chocula: Nooo!!! Vhat have I done to dezerve zis???????

A frog [edit by Sean: It's a toad not a frog.] Sean found outside our apartment.

They're all in the same position!!!

Mai weeps as she finds out her home planet, Endor, has been destroyed.

Matthew needs a nap! (So does Sean). [Edit by Sean: I don't need a nap you do!!!]

Anyway, that's all for now! Thank you all again!!! [Edit by Sean: Thank you everyone! It's really helped Ally out a lot and relieved some of her stress. She's been in a lot better mood now, thanks to you! Anyways, arigato gozaimasu! PS. I know I spelt that wrong... sorry Brenda ;)]

Still Sick

Lame! I am still sick! I called in today because I felt so weak and horrible. Not tired, because I had nine un-interrupted hours of sleep last night. I went to work yesterday because I felt sort of ok in the morning, just snotty (not stuck-up snotty!) and congested. As the day went on I felt worse and worse and I felt so awful by the time I got home it was all I could do to play with Matt. Feel really weak today. Hopefully with real rest, I'll be well enough to work tomorrow because I can't afford to not work! I am so scared Matt's going to get sick. At least there's no fever. Still would not be good. Anyway, if I feel up to it I may post a *real* blog later with pictures and videos and everything. We'll see. :-) Bye!

Sicko!

No, not the Micheal Moore film. Haven't even seen it. I'm a sicko! Because I am sick! And it sucks!!! I don't think it's the flu but it's a crappy cold. Feel dizzy, really congested, have a constant pressure headache and feel really sluggish and dizzy. Had to go home extremely early today and may not go in tomorrow depending on how I feel. Did two dogs this morning and I was shaking the whole time! Anyway, just a quick post because nothing new is going on with Matthew really. He is experimenting with standing unsupported more and more. He'll pull up on something, then let go and stand. Then chicken out and grab back on. Not long now...
Luckily we borrowed a power drill so we can finish baby-proofing. Anyway, going to go and rest. Will post later!!!

Having No Money Sucks!

That last post was supposed to have pictures, but I messed up the uploading pictures browser window so it "loaded" for like an hour. Matt woke up, and I decided I was done with the post. Hopefully this one goes as planned. Matthew hasn't walked since, but he's still super cute! Grooming has been really slow and we're really screwed on money. This will be the second month in a row we're having to pull a significant amount from savings just to make rent. Unfortunately I work in a seasonal business which usually isn't a problem when the economy is good. But the economy sucks--a lot more than the news says! A lot of businesses around my work are shutting down, as are a lot around where I live. They're opening new Petsmarts in what are supposed to be profitable areas and they're losing money fast. No one is getting their dog groomed unless they absolutely have to, and most of the customers who come in are extremely concerned about the cost and are on a tight budget. Really sucks. I don't know how much longer I can pull out of savings. In a few months it'll be gone, then what? Really. We've canceled all the optional bills, we're eating pasta every night and not eating out, but it doesn't matter. My phone got shut off. I have no idea when I can afford to pay the bill (which isn't that high). I had to borrow money for baby food! I feel so horrible right now. Sometimes it's really hard being the sole breadwinner of the family. Sean's GI bill helps, but not enough. Oh well. We'll work it out somehow.
Anyway, it looks like it's going to be overcast and drizzly today, so maybe I can bundle Matthew up and go for a nice walk. At least I have my family! Nothing can be that bad with a perfect son and wonderful husband. Here are some cute pics!

Here's Matthew, "reading". He loves his books!

WOW! Reading is SO FUN!

Here he is, "eating".

Look! I finished! By banging it repeatedly against the table and smearing the contents all over my face!

And here he is, taking a bath all by himself and playing with the washcloth my mom made him.
Anyway, I have to go. Working on a revised budget. Yuck. Could be playing with Matt but NOO...have to work on a budget :-( Anyway, hope everyone is having a good day!

Step To It, Boy!

Sooooo...all pretense aside....MATTHEW TOOK HIS FIRST STEPS!!!! YAY!!! While I was at work, but oh well. According to Sean, Matthew was really mad for some reason, and while he was crying, he stood up unsupported and took three steps forward!!! That is so cool!!! I am sure it will be a long time before he is walking like a pro, but maybe not. He stands unsupported now when he is not mad, so maybe within a month he will be comfortable walking. Who knows? He is so physically advanced!! He is such a strong active boy. I will be sad if he decides to live a sedentary lifestyle, because this kid was meant to move! Also, he took his first solo bath last night! I am sure he could have done it earlier, but just really thought to do it now. He had so much fun!

Snip, Snip!

Okay, I know it's been a LONG time since I've posted, but I've been pretty busy. Waiting for my two days off, mainly. Did a lot of stuff on my days off. Shopped, cleaned, had fun with Matthew and Sean, did a LITTLE relaxing.

Here's Matt eating breakfast. Cute!!!
I had to get Matthew a new car seat because he outgrew his old one. I didn't know they had a height requirement on those things!!! Of course, we all know super tall Matthew, and he was above the height limit of course. So I got a convertible one, that can still be rear-facing until he is a year then he can use forward-facing until he is 50 lbs or 50 inches. But most importantly, HE GOT HIS FIRST HAIR CUT!!!
As you can see, he did need one:

He had a lot of hair! Brenda asked me if he even had enough hair to cut. And the answer was a definite yes. It always had food in it, and was beginning to tangle. I feel bad, my friend's baby girl hardly has any hair! And here's my boy, already needing a haircut at nine months!!! Which, by the way, he is as of today :-) So here is what is hair looks like now:

I love it! Much tidier and neater, but still looks like he has hair! Plus he looks older now.

RAWRR!! And scarier!!!! He was so scary I had to reassign rooms.



Now Mai sleeps in his crib. Speaking of Mai, that's the name of Matthew's hair dresser. Except she pronounces it like "my". Oh, and he was excellent for his haircut! Not!!!!! He was okay with the scissors, but freaked out when she used the clippers. I had to pin him so he couldn't move. Sad, but oh well. Didn't hurt him. Later that day when I cut Joey's hair he just watched and screamed the whole time. Don't know if it was the hair falling off Joey's head or the sound of the clippers, but it wasn't fun!
Besides all that, everything else has been normal. Work has been really slow and we're really tight on money this month (looks like we'll have to dip into savings again to make rent), so we've had to entertain ourselves by doing things like putting Matthew into the kennel. I sure hope it picks up at work soon or we'll all be living in kennels!
Anyway, going to go now and eat before the monster..er..baby wakes up. I will try to post sooner! I am always taking pictures and video and have a good supply built up, so no worries! Happy 9 month birthday for Matthew! Tomorrow he will have officially spent more time out of the womb than in! Big milestone (for me at least, he could care less). Be sure to take my new poll!!!