Leitner Family

Our garden

2010-05-06T20:41:00.000-07:00

the pic above is tomatoes and to the right is our sweet corn just coming up
Below is more sweet corn coming up. Then Sara and I's broccoli. Then my blueberry bush that was eaten by the dog two years ago and it finally is doing something again. Then our blackberry bush it has lots of white blooms but you cant see them very well due to the amount of sunshine. So excited to see our garden coming up.

It has been a while

2010-04-30T06:55:00.000-07:00

Well life has been going well lately but extremely busy so I have taken the time to write a new blog. So we have done much this year. We bought a home in Gardner, KS last August and have been working on it. We still have a lot to do to make it exactly what we want but that is the fun of owning a home. We recently put in a huge garden with tomatoes, peppers, corn, broccoli and we are going to plant some cucumbers, cantaloupe and watermelon. We also have 2 grape vines, a blackberry and blueberry bush, and 3 fruit trees (plum, pluot(plum and apricot mix), and a peach).
Sara will be 3 in June and we have been redecorating her room to make it a big girl room. She loves horses so she wanted purple and brown with horses. Josh is making her a daybed and I have been working on a quilt and curtains for her room. Now with her bday coming up I am making her invitations for her party...I couldn't find any cute horse invites. She also has decided she wants a horse cake so to save some money I will be working on learning to make one myself. Oh and she wanted to be a brown and white paint horse for Halloween so I had to make a costume since we couldn't find one in a store...although I think most people thought she was a cow:)
My daycare is going well I watch the kids of two great families. One family has a 3 yr. old girl and twin one yr old boys; the other has a 3 yr old boy and a one yr old girl. They are tons of fun and it is great that the older kids are the same age as Sara.
Josh has been working 11pm-7am the last few months and will continue to through the middle of July. I was very nervous about him working the midnight shift but it has actually been great for family time..especially working on our garden.
So that is about all that is going on with our family lately. The end of summer will hopefully be busy with canning and freezing stuff from our garden and making salsa. Then once the fall/winter comes it will be back to busy with butchering deer and remodeling our master bath and hopefully repainting the interior of our house.
Busy busy but better than bored:)

The ZOO

2009-05-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

So I took a mini vaca (2 days) for my birthday and Josh and I took Sara to the KC Zoo. This was Sara's very first time to go to the Zoo. I know she is almost 2 but we didn't see the point taking her before she could actually enjoy it. She really liked it for the most part. She actually got head butted by a sheep in the petting zoo area...which freaked her out and thankfully Josh was right next to her so she didn't actually get knocked down. She is use to the sheep at the petting zoo near our house so she didn't think they would try to knock her down. She did yell, "NO SHEEP" while shaking her finger at the sheep. So once that was over she was fine again and loving the zoo. AND THEN....while she was eating her goldfish off her stroller tray a goose came up and decided that it wanted a goldfish. So the goose preceeded to snatch the goldfish out of Sara's fingers and in the process bite Sara. It did make her bleed but it certainly scared her enough that she couldn't crawl up the seat of the stroller into my arms fast enough. SO I was pretty certain that are child would hate animals forever, BUT after a few minutes she was better and wanted to see more animals. She did really well and the weather was beautiful. I was amazed that she only got upset those two times and it was well past her nap by the time we left the zoo. So I think that her first trip to the zoo was a success and we are planning to go again soon.

HELP...My Child Won't Sleep

2009-04-09T11:54:00.000-07:00

Okay for all you moms out there...what do I do. My child use to be a great sleeper. We did our short nap time routine and then she would lay down, close her eyes and be asleep for 2 hours...and then at night we would do our similar but longer routine and then she would again close her eyes and go right to sleep and sleep for 9-10 hours...WELL NOW MY WORLD HAS CHANGED :( Sara throws and hour and a half long fit each day at nap time. I've tried every thing I can think of with out giving in and letting her go without a nap. I remind her of the routine: we get the diaper changed, we sit in the rocking chair, mommy sings "I'm a child of God" while Sara drinks her cup of milk, when the song is over we turn on the fan and her music (soft classical cd), then I put her in her bed give her a kiss and cover her up. I leave the room and the minute I shut the door she starts wailing. I let her cry for 10 minutes and then go in and check on her....STILL AWAKE. I tell her it is time to go to sleep..she begs to be held or rocked..."mommy no...mommy rock...mommy hold me...peez(please)" This breaks my heart. And so this goes on for an hour and a half until I'm not sure what happens she just decides she isn't going to get what she wants so she goes to bed. I have tried putting her down earlier and later than the scheduled 12 noon nap. It doesn't matter what time I put her in bed she wont fall asleep for an hour and a half.

THEN at 8PM we do it all over again. At least at night it is pitch dark so she normally only lasts about 30 minutes before she falls alseep because she cant see anything.

On top of all of this I cant do anything with out her wanting to be held. I love to hold my baby but I watch 5 other kids during the day and I have to cook and clean and go to the bathroom. Any task I have to do that I cant hold her or when I choose not to hold her she falls to the ground screaming "mommy hold me" or even better she grabs my leg and wont let go so I have to drag her around with me all the while she is screaming to be held.

Someone please tell me this is a phase that will only last a couple of months and not until she is three. The girls hasn't even had her second birthday yet.

Terrible two's just got worse and it might be the death of me or enough to drive me insane. I love me child but I hope my sweet toddler returns soon.

Oh...and the picture is of her putting her bowl on her head after she finished her snack.

Awesome Weekend

2009-03-14T19:30:00.000-07:00

So this weekend was really great. Josh had Friday and Saturday off which doesn't happen often...I mean like it has happened maybe 5 times in the year that he has been out of the police academy. So Friday night we had dinner as a family at Old Chicago...really good pizza. And then I was able to go out for dessert with a really good friend of mine and just have some much needed adult girl time. Then this morning I got up and had my hair cut by a friend from church. She did an awesome job...so the reason that getting my hair cut is a big deal? I haven't had it cut in over 20 months...that's right, the last time I had my hair cut was in May of 2007 before my daughter was born. And I had enough hair that I could donate it to the Lock of Love...which makes me feel good since Josh's mom passed away of cancer. I feel like I get to give back something and help someone out. When I got home from my 2 hour hair cut and eyebrow wax...and visiting...Josh had vacuumed, started the dishwasher, the laundry was started, the baby was fed and dressed. This is an amazing thing because Josh does not normally do that much in the way of chores. Then we were able to spend the day as a family. And to top it all off we get to go to church together tomorrow which doesn't happen every Sunday...and we get to get new temple recommends.
So I hope everyone else had a good weekend too.

Crazy Eights

2009-02-23T18:05:00.000-08:00

Here are the rules:

1. Post the rules on your blog.

2. Answer the six "8" items.

3. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website. (or you can be lazy like me and if people decide to read your blog, you can let them find out on their own....)

8 Favorite TV Shows:

1. CSI: Miami
2. CSI: New York
3. CSI: Las Vegas (this was my number 1 until Grishom left the show:()
4. Eleventh Hour
5. Grey's Anatomy
6. The Unit
7. CSI: Criminal Intent
8. The Cosby Show

8 Things I did Yesterday:
1. Went to church
2. Took a 2 hour nap
3. Watch Snow Buddies with Sara
4. Tried to let my friends dogs out but all the doors were locked:(
5. Made chicken nuggets for dinner
6. Watched Cold Case
7. Went to bed at 9pm
8. woke up at 1 when Josh got home from work...not happy to be woken up

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Figuring out what we are going to do about a house...buy...build...and where...and when...
2. Being in shape. ( I agree with Shelly)
3. Sara being potty trained...somedays she does great, other days she wants nothing to do with it
4. Knowing what to do to stay within my daycare numbers
5. Josh working day shift...even if for just 3 months...change is nice
6. Attending the temple
7. Living in a small town again
8. Warm weather

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. Jose Peppers
2. Mi Ranchito
3. La Fiesta (Mcpherson, Ks)
4. Red Lobster...Josh hates it so I have to go with my mom:)
5. Garfield's (The Joplin, Mo Mall)
6. Chinese Food...Josh hates it so I don't go often..so no particular favorite
7. Fazoli's
8. Cold Stone Creamery...I know it isn't a restaurant but it is SOOOO Good

8 Things on My Wish List:
1. A new, bigger house
2. more self motivation...to do my work out
3. a good workout program/diet plan that is not so time consuming...30 minutes max a day...suggestions welcome
4. Nice bedroom furniture
5. A tropical vacation (again agreeing with Shelly)
6. A debt-free life. (again agreeing with Shelly)
7. A masters in Social Work
8. a nice massage...once a month

Shelly Claybrook...I mean Schloegel...I'm sure I butchered her last name. She added this list so I'm continuing with it

8 Things I'd have a hard time living without.

1. Clorox Wipes. I couldn't do daycare with out them.
2. Lysol

3. A microwave

4. my phone...helps me stay in touch with my hubby when he works nights

5. Strawberry and Chocolate milk mix...I wont drink milk without it

7. My sleep number bed

8. My new 300 count Egyptian cotten sheets

8 people I tag to do this too.

1. Natalie Kehr
2. Analla Compton
3.Adah Shumway
4. Emilie Peterson
5. Tanya Murray
6. Emily Allphin
7. Quinci Menssen

Finally She has Hair

2009-02-03T19:25:00.000-08:00

So Sara finally has a decent amount of hair and I was able to put it in a tiny little pony tail. Unfortunately at 19 months Sara wants nothing to do with girly hair stuff. Well maybe some day. But at least I got a picture before it was taken out after only 10 seconds.

Wonderful Night

2009-01-17T19:21:00.001-08:00

So Josh and I just got back from our first night alone since Sara was born 18 months ago. I am such a baby about leaving Sara overnight with someone but for our 5 year anniversary we decided to spend an evening at a hotel and enjoy so one on one adult company. It was a great night and I was really proud of myself that I only called my sister in law once:) Yea for me. Sara stayed overnight with Josh's sister and her cousin Emily who is just 5 months older than her. Sara had a great time and did really well. She slept all night and didn't even cry. It made me a little sad that she wasn't sad but that is just me being a silly mom and not wanting my baby to grow up.
Okay but this blog it to tell all of the moms that I know that you and your husbands need to take an overnight trip to the Chateau Avalon in Kansas City. It is not a cheap hotel but the themed rooms and two person jacuzzi tubs are awesome. Not to mention the Egyptian Cotton sheets that have to be like 500 thread count...totally soft...almost silky. The hotel give you a complimentary bottle of sparkling cider and breakfast in bed or where ever in your room you want to eat it. The hotel has 23 different themed rooms to choose from. It is also across the street from The Legends which is were the Cabelas and lots of great places to eat and shopping are. The rooms start at $100 a night and go up from there but trust me it is well worth the money and your sanity as a mom. We all need the chance to get away from our kids and just be a woman and enjoy adult time with our spouse without interruptions. Check it out at www.chateauavalonhotel.com
Josh and I have gone one other time on our 3rd wedding anniversary. We stayed in both the Colorado Frontier Suite and the Serengeti Suite. Both were beautiful rooms and the service was great.
Trust me you and your spouse will not regret it.

Time Flies

2008-12-12T12:01:00.000-08:00

Well this time of year always brings sweet memories to my mind. In a couple of days I will be a member of the church for 8 years. What a wonderful blessing it is to have the gospel in my life. I am so grateful for all of my friends from high school and their families for introducing me to the church and taking me under their wing and treating me as if I was truly apart of their family. A special thanks goes to the Allphin, Compton, and Claybrook family. I have so many special and wonderful memories of these families. They were always so great to me and were such wonderful examples of fabulous church members. I am so grateful for the testimonies of these families and the influence they were to me. I miss them and hope that they are all well and wanted to take time to express my love and appreciation for them, even if they don't ever see this.

Also, at this time my husband and I approach our 5 year wedding anniversary. I can't believe it has been 5 years. We have had a great 5 years filled with lots of joys and struggles but we are happy and still in love and enjoying our life together. I'm grateful for Josh and the life we have built together. I am so blessed to have been sealed in the Temple and to have the knowledge that our family can be together for time and all eternity.

I am grateful for my testimony and am thankful for what the gospel has done in my life. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the Lord true Church and that we have a true and living prophet called of God to lead us in these latter-days.

Happy Holidays to all of you. Enjoy your family and remember what a wonderful life our Father in Heaven has blessed us with.

Police Officers

2008-10-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

So I love my husband more than anything but some times I wonder about his chosen career field. I'm not sure how other PDs are but Lawrence KS is really starting to "suck". So we have crappy insurance but according to all of the people my husband works with our insurance is great. BUT, for our previous insurance from my husbands old job we only had to pay $250 for our entire pregnancy (all prenatal visits and the entire labor and delivery). So now we have an $800 deductible before the company even pays 80%. Anyway, so the whole point is that I need to vent because Josh just had a training meeting and found out that the RETARDED city counsel thinks that the police force needs to have less benefits and no raises because the city can't afford it. All because they think other things are more important like the city counsels personal assistant. So I guess Josh will be looking into other police forces and possibly working somewhere other than Lawrence. Josh really likes the people he works with but what kind of DUMB city thinks that the PD is the place to do your budget cuts. PLEASE, Lets Just SEND our husband, wives, sons, and daughters into an active shooter situation with just a sling shot....no gun, no bullets, no bullet proof vest. So if you can't tell this really makes me ANGRY. You would think that people would have more respect for what the police do for us.

Funny story

2008-09-30T20:06:00.000-07:00

I just remembered a funny story...

Sara has a very strong fondness for the lovable, furry, monster named Elmo. It all started at her first birthday when we did an Elmo theme. Well the other day at Wal-Mart I was looking for a new book for Sara and I found a really cute Elmo one. It was a pop-up book that also had the buttons on one side that when you push them it makes the said that correlate with the pages. Anyway, she loved pushing the buttons and listening to the music while we were in the store. There was shrink wrap around the book so you couldn't open the pages. So when we got home I took the wrapping off and read her the book. Then I gave her the book to play with because she has never torn any of our books. Well on the last page of the book is a pop-up of Zoe another monster friend of Elmo. Elmo is also on the page but he isn't a pop-up. Sara literally had the book out of my sight for two seconds and the next then I know she is brining my Zoe from out of the book. Of course, I tell her that was not nice and that she should not have done this. Well anyway, I think that she must have not liked her friend Elmo having another "girl" friend:) Zoe was the only one that got ripped out of the book.

Terrible Twos

2008-09-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

So Sara is only a little over 15 months but I think those dreaded terrible twos have set in...:( She has now started to scream and throw herself on the floor if we don't give her what she wants. It is normally over not getting picked up or getting a bottle when she wants it. She has always been a very independent spirit and strong willed child, from day one. I love my baby but there are times that I would like to be able to throw myself on the floor and kick and scream...I'm hoping that all the other moms I know have felt this way at one point:) Also, it makes it so darn hard to discipline her when she sticks out her bottom lip right before she starts crying. Our children and like our husband in the fact that some times you can't live with them but you cant live without them.

On a side note Sara started doing the funniest thing...well I think it is funny I'm not sure what Josh thinks. Well as most everyone knows I do in-home daycare so my daycare kids call my husband by his first name. Well yesterday Sara started saying "Daa-sh" and then she would say "da-da" and then alternate between the two for several seconds. It was really cute that she learned her daddy's name but I'm not sure Josh likes her calling him by that name...I'm pretty sure he is really fond of the name "dada". I try to encourage Sara to say "dada" but she only thinks it is funny and keeps on saying "daa-sh".
Anyway...that is what is going on with us.

Sara is 14 months

2008-08-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

I saw this done on a friends blog and thought it would be cool to show Sara as a newborn and what she looks like know. She has definitely grown into her own little person.
The first picture was take only a few hours after Sara was born. The second picture is Sara on her first birthday.
Enjoy

Memory Tag

2008-08-24T20:48:00.000-07:00

I saw this "tag" game on my friend Quinci's blog and thought it sounded like fun.

1. Add a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Visual DNA

2008-08-24T20:35:00.000-07:00

I found this on Emilie's blog and thought it would be neat to try. It is surprisingly accurate. I agree that I do have a very masculine taste when it comes to home furniture. Mostly because I like things that are outdoorsy and remind me of living in the country (were I grew up). Anyway, I thought it was pretty cool. You can try it too at http://mydeco.com/imagini/test/.

Visual DNA

2008-08-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

ACTION STATIONS

For a family home, your style is surprisingly masculine. Perhaps it's to do with the gadgets you own, though more likely about the choices you make when it comes to colour and functionality of design. Perhaps, however, your hectic lifestyle will add a softer edge to an otherwise quite orderly and disciplined aesthetic.

Living Room

Playboy, gent, aesthete - your living room is a shrine to bachelorism. The masculine look finds its apogee in the bachelor pad, and at the heart of every bachelor pad is the living space, with its sharp lines and a hedonistic approach to life that's all about having fun and very little to do with mundane chores. This is the lifestyle of a Gatsby or a 007, and the fact that both are fictional characters says it all: this look is about illusion and seduction and a dash of hustler chutzpah. This is a look that can't take clutter: rustic accessories can work surprisingly well, giving the room a rugged aesthetic -- it's the rough with the smooth, the grit to the mill. Earthy (but not sludgy) colours work well in both rural and urban settings, while modern floral prints add a smart, feminine touch. Curled up on the sofa with a good book, your living room's the perfect place for some "me-time".

Bedroom

Your bedroom has that classic look that never goes out of style. Sleep is fundamentally important to our well being. Clean, fresh air can truly aid sleep, but so, too, does a well-made bed and the best mattress you can afford. Touch is an important issue in the bedroom, from crisp, linen sheets to wool or even sheepskin underfoot. Elegance and relative simplicity are keynotes in your bedroom, using vibrant colours to make a bold statement.

Dining Room

You're a fuss-free entertainer, using good, honest ingredients. At home, natural, earthy colours and textures make dining a sensual occasion that connects the food on the plate back to nature. Eating is not just a basic need but a feast for the senses, and your sensitivity to light, colour, material and texture adds warmth to any environment. With a keen eye for the vernacular, you'll know that furniture and accessories need not have a designer label to give them real value. Indeed, English slipware, for example, has an intimate connection both with the past and with the simple pleasures of good, honest, no-nonsense food. When it comes to entertaining, you're pretty casual and relaxed.

Home Office

Only you could pull off the "utilitarian chic" look! Working from home is an increasingly popular solution to the challenge of bringing up a young family and making ends meet. A dedicated home office - even if it's just the corner of a room - will help keep you focused and separate work from hectic family life. By using materials such as slate and stone and keeping to a similar palette of colour, you will be able to easily integrate your office space with the rest of your home.

Kids' Room

Let a child's room reflect his or her personality -- not yours! If you have the space for a designated playroom, great. If not, then giving your kids the biggest bedroom can be a smart move, certainly once they're past the toddler stage: it gives them a designated space to play, enabling you to keep the rest of your home more, rather than less, how it used to be. Cheap and cheerful is ideal when it comes to most things in children's rooms: not only do kids grow fast, they also grow out of fads and phases at an amazing rate.

Conclusion

Keeping your home clutter-free can be difficult at times, but what's life without challenges? Creating boundaries and knowing when and when not to compromise will help you make the most of everything life has to offer

2008-08-22T20:43:00.001-07:00

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

New to Blogger

2008-08-22T19:53:00.000-07:00

Hi, everyone. I have so many friends that have blogspots and I have decided to follow the crowd. I hope that this will help me stay in touch with others better than I have been. Things are going well for our family. Josh is loving his job with the Lawrence PD. He has been on the force for one year now. Everyday he has plenty of stories to share. I am staying home with Sara and loving it. I do in-home daycare during the day so I enjoy my one on one time in the evening with Sara. She definitely looks forward to 5:30pm every day because she knows that it is her time with mommy. We really enjoy Saturday and Sunday mornings when the three of us get to spend time together with out anyone else's kids.