Don't Grow Mint in Your Garden

This really is just going to be one big venting process for me. Soooo if you don't want to hear about my frustrations then don't read this.

Grower's tip: Don't grow Mint in your Garden
Seriously. I have a big garden in my back yard about 8 ft by 4 ft and I grew all sorts of stuff like sage, rosemary, garlic, basil, thyme and the dreaded MINT. Oh and climbing spinach. (don't grown that either) The climbing spinach was literally like that plant on Little Shop of Horrors.
Mint grows like a freakin weed. I dug it all out this year (or so I thought) and it keeps popping up everywhere. If you are gonna grow it do it in a pot. Seriously...I find the tiniest leaves poping up through the soil and its MINT with a root system about a foot long. AGH UGH WHATEVER. Ok not really that big of a deal, but I'm trying to grow some watermelon and i picked those leaves by accident. Kinda frustrating.

Cleaning tip number 1:
Ok I know....... WHAT?!?..... Meredith you don't clean. Well folks for those of you who are aware. Cooper our dumbass dog has seizures. (really not that big of a deal) except that his dumb medicine makes him have an unbelievably HUGE, ENORMOUS, MONSTROUS, GIGANTIC (he could eat 5 big as your face burritos from Chuy's) appetite. In the last week he has eaten one of my socks (freaking whole) he at an entire not partial but and ENTIRE loaf of bread, a whole bag of peanuts, a little roll of foil and other various items. Needless to say I came home today and he took a big ole' dump in my room. MY ROOM!!! for pete's sake. And yes ladies and gentlemen the peanuts were there. (Robinson: I know you are laughing your ass off right now at my expense) He left one pile in my closet and one on his dog bed on the floor. The one in the closet was worse. Not only were there peanuts but and this is a HUGE BUT.......there was a tube of Neosporin, a wine cork (still whole I might add) and something that resembled a baby wipe, but I'm not sure. So cleaning tip: when they pee on the the floor (and this really is good for anything ie: juice, wine, whatever liquid) spray that Woolite carpet cleaner on it and then sprinkle some cornstarch and just let it sit. You can sprinkle some baby powder too if you like. Then just vacuum it up. It really does work.

Oh and the REALLY BIG NEWS!!!! Addy took her first steps March 27th last week. We were so excited. I can't say it enough, but she really does make everything and I mean EVERYTHING better. Thanks for reading. I will try to put the video on later.

All Quiet on the Spychaj Front except Addy

Hi Folks- My my my...little Addy. What can I say. She's going to be 1 next month! I can't hardly believe it. I know everyone says and said that the time would go quickly, but my goodness I can't believe it went as quickly as it did. I try to go back and reflect on the last year or 11 months of my daughters life and it's hard to remember all the little things. I am so thankful for our camera because we truly have been able to capture all those moments that one never gets back. Who would have ever thought that just seeing someone else smile just because you made a funny noise would absolutely make you the happiest person on earth. I can't express and I am sure the majority out there agrees that having a child is one of the most joyous occasions in a person's lifetime. I hope you all have a nice weekend and God Bless!!!

Update

Thank you to all of you for keeping our faily in your prayers. John's dad is home. His kidneys are processing the fluids in his body slowly bu surely. Th ekidney doc wants him to lose 30lbs of fluid in 15 days. (Put me on that diet plan) If the kidneys do not process the fulid in an efficient manner they may have to consider dialysis. Just continue to kepp our family in you prayers. We can't have enough.

On a brighter note. Wasn't yesterday absolutely beautiful?!? John and I are doing great. Nothing out of the ordinary is going on with us. Oh...we have been asked to be on the youth ministry at our church. I think it's going to be a lot of fun.

Addy is getting so big. We went for her 9 month checkup on Thursday even though she is 10 months. She is in the 95th% for height and 50% for her weight and 97th% for her head. I personally think the nurse measured incorrectly. Her head looks perfectly proportioned to her body. She is crawling everywhere and she is pulling up every chance she gets. She is a total mommy's girl. She sees me now and say Mama. She says 4 words now and identifies those words appropriately with the object she is pointing to. She says cat when she sees Maxim and Dada when she wants John and mama when she wants me and nightnight (without the "t") when she wants to go to bed. It's pretty freakin cute. We are so proud.

K...that's it for now. Hope everyone enjoys the week.

2008

Gosh where did last year go?!?
Time really does seem to fly by a whole heck of a lot faster these days. I think it's because we all try to do too many things at once. This decision has led me to my New Year's resolutions:
1. Enjoy each day as it comes and savor every moment with my husband and daughter
2. Talk less, laugh more
3. I don't really have a third.

K....family update....

John is doing well. He got his Playstation 3 for Christmas and is as happy as a clam. He is joining in a "biggest loser" competition this week. It's 7 weeks long so we look for some great results.

Well as it turns out we can't find a workout schedule to coinside with John's schedule so John won't be doing the "Biggest Loser" competition this go-a-round, however we do plan to stay with the workout regimen already in place.

Nothing big going on with me. I start my count down with the store, meaning that I start my count down for payments. I only have 5 more payments on my loan and the store is officially paid off. Yes I will be celebrating and buying drinks. I will let you know where and when.


Addison is crawling now. Maxim has been great motivation for her. She love cats and can't get to him fast enough. She has started to pull up on the crib and our legs. It is so much fun to see her develop from week to week.

For those of you who don't know...John's dad was takento the hospital Monday night Jan 14 becuase he had bleeding in his brain and had a seizure. He is stable, but his kidneys are shutting down and if he does not get better tomorrow, they are putting him on dialysis. John isn't really doing well with this and doesn't want to talk about it, so if you could just keep us and our family in your prayers we would appreciate it. On the flip side....his dad's heart and blood presure are stable.

Thank you everyone for your support...I promise to keep you updated.

Christmas is coming...HOORAY!!!

John wants a Playstation 3 and everytime I call him he answeres the phone by saying, "Hello and thank you for calling Best Buy where we have lots of PS3's in stock so come on in and buy one for your loving husband." Seriously....it's every time I call him. Pretty funny huh? John has been working pretty hard this entire year helping me out at the store. He has been great at letting me have time to spend with Addy.

Speaking of Addy. She can wave Bye Bye now and she knows what it means. She says Hi and waves aas well. We are sooooo proud. She still won't crawl though. She has too much going on for that crawling business. She just tries to poull up on everything. We are looking forward to her opening presents on Christmas. It's so much fun shopping for the family.

Things have finally slowed down at the store. I am so tired of all the last minute shippers wanting their packages to their destination before Christmas. Only because they all say...How Much?!? It's gonna cost me that much!!! To whick I reply with a smile..." you shouldn't have waited so long." They smirk at me and still pay the $80 it costs to ship. Tell me...please...someone...what's the point in complaining if you are going to ship it any way. Sorry...I'm better now that I got to vent.

Anyway...hope you all have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Lots of Love, Mer

Update for Jody's sake (he he)

Sooooooooo. Addison is trying to firgure out how to crawl. She rocked back and forth on the knees and arms this morning (10/26) for the first time. It was pretty cool to see. For those of you who are not aware....Addison had problems pooping in the begining and we finally think she figured it out. (hooray) We have been wondering why everyone says diapers are so expensive considering our little bundle of love never shits. :) Addy started waking up in the middle of the night again and I came to find out that this has been going on and her daddy (sucker) has been getting up and feeding her. Needless to say...he is in BIG trouble. I try to listen to what the doctor says. I turned the monitor off and let her cry, but ohhhhh nooooo not her daddy. She has him wrapped around her little finger.

As for young Spychaj. Well....he is pretty much the same. He still likes pizza and drinking beer. He does have a new hobby though. (please see picture) He likes to watch football whilst taking long, hot, relaxing bubble baths. We have this battery powered ghetto TV that he puts on the bathroom counter and he sits in the tub with his cucumber melon scented bubble bath and soaks. Yes ladies and getntlemen I think he might be gay.

And finally as far as I go. I was suffering from bad headaches for about 5 weeks strait. The doc said they were "muscle contraction" headaches. I got paranoid because nothing was working (medicine). So I had an MRI scheduled, but the doc insisted it wasn't "medically neccesary." I didn't feel like paying the $1200.00 it was going to cost me so I decided to just deal with it. I didn't really think I was that stressed out. So to cope with the stress I created a personality. I decided I am Meredith when I am at work and MOM at home. Meredith can deal with the bills and work and MOM can sit back and appreciate everything she has. (a house, a car, a daughter, a business.....the American Dream) It's working, because when I wake up at 3 am and start thinking about work as I am sure a bunch of us do.....I stop myself and picture Addison and my husband and how truly happy they both make me. I haven't pattented the whole multiple personality idea (yet) so feel free to create your own. (ha ha ha) I know NUTCASE right???

Seriously though. The Spychaj family is doing great. We are having everyone over this weekend for a pre Thanksgiving dinner. I am making the turkey and dressing. You guys bring what you want.

Ok Jody.....was that a good enough update?

Where r they now???

I know I'll turn her picture later



Well John and I decided to move outside the "bubble" and now live in..( I am sad to say) Good ole' Tomball, TX. (side note:...when reading Tomball, TX you must say it in a thick back woods texas accent) :) Okay so we are ready for Christmas to approach not only for the business, but for Addy too. I can't wait to spend all that money on gifts just to watch her play with the boxes the gifts came in.

On a lighter note and to show a little less of my cynical side. Things really are going well for John and I. He asked me the other day if we were living the "American Dream." Hmmmmm let's see John works all of about 20 hours a week and I work about 30 hours. We have a house and our 1 out 2.5 kids. I'd say we are doing all right.




John and I have started a new business venture. We now do marketing and promotional items for small to large businesses. So if anyone needs their logo on absolutely anything...let me know.

Addison has found her feet. She tries to suck on her toes and rolls from her back to her stomach. The doctor said she has never heard a baby talk as much as Addison does. Do you think she gets that from me??? So this is Addy at the store...she doesn't know I am recording her with my phone at first...but then she sees me and stops.
Ok this is enough for now.