I'm Coming Home!!

I am so excited to be heading back to Illinois I can hardly stand it. Work is going to be terrible tomorrow, I can just tell. I'm hoping I can finally get some Gem City nachos this trip as I have only had them once since I've moved & my body craves them! We will see!!

The Shaver family has definitely been busy this week. Hailey's midterm report says that she is reading right at grade level, and her teacher told us to keep up the good work at home. We are absolutely ecstatic about the progress that she has made. Danny & I are also getting excited because in March she will start spring soccer which is so much fun. Unfortunately March also brings her birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese that we promised her which I'm sure will guarantee a headache! I'm also sure it will be a lot of fun.

Danny was a wonderful Valentine this year. On Friday at work, right before we were supposed to go to lunch, he walks in carrying a vase with 2 dozen roses & a burrito bowl from Chipotle which is my favorite food. Awesome considering we weren't supposed to do presents this year! Saturday morning we baby sat for a woman whom we work with's grandaughter, Isabelle. She is the sweetest little girl & the easiest child ever. Miss Isabelle is a year old and we adore her. Saturday night I made homemade fried chicken for us for the first time, and it actually turned out well. Sunday morning we woke up to really bad head colds and we basically didn't move from the couch or bed all day. Good thing we feel better now.

We have cabin fever really bad. All we want is warm weather so we can be outside. I think Hailey said it best when she said, "I wish that groundhog hadn't seen his shadow." So cute. I've attached a few pictures too. I can't figure out how to put text below the pictures yet, so the pictures are of my roses, Hailey & Isabelle, and then a picture of myself with Jeff Ross the comedian we saw a few weeks ago. Oh & by the way, when you see me tomorrow, you will see me as 12 pounds slimmer! Oh yeah!

******This Just in****** IT'S 14 POUNDS NOW!!!!

Another day, another dollar.

I'm not very good at keeping up with this blog I don't think. This is going to take some practice I guess! To be fair, we've also been kind of busy with some things and there hasn't been a ton of time in which to blog. Last weekend was so nice that Danny, Hailey, Journey, and I just played outside for the majority of the time. I wanted to enjoy the nice weather while we could. That meant walking between 5-6 miles which kind of wore me out! We enjoyed the Super Bowl with Danny's parents, or I should say Danny & Hailey did. I kept up my tradition of sleeping through it for the 2nd year in a row.

On Tuesday, Danny & I both went to the doctor. We've both been putting off check ups for way too long. I just want Aunt Jane in Kansas City, and he hates doctors. I apparently have 3 moles that look highly suspicious and need to be biopsied. I feel fairly confident that they will turn out fine, but it is better to be safe than sorry. The really rotten news came from Danny's doctor. Danny has a really hard time sleeping, so back in September, the doctor whom he and his family had gone to for years prescribed him a pill to help with anxiety. We find out on Tuesday from the new doctor that this pill is the WORST thing that a recovering alcoholic can take as it is habit forming and actually incites cravings. GREAT! So now we have to work on weaning Danny off of this pill following a guide from his doctor. I know that mistakes happen easily, but this kind of stresses me out!

On a positive note, Hailey's reading continues to improve which is wonderful. These classes seem to really be helping her which is great. I am down 8 pounds so far and seem to be continuing to lose so I am thrilled about that! Danny & I have also found a church close to where we live that we are going to start getting involved with. We really enjoy going and feel that this will be a great place for us to get plugged in to.

Awesome Weekend

Yesterday was our 2 year dating anniversary. Since Hailey was with her Mom for the weekend, we decided to have some fun together and do some things that we typically don't do. Shop. However, it was ridiculously cold out so we didn't do that so much. Friday night we did grab a bite to eat because it is my rule to never cook on Fridays. We went up to Chipotle which is my favorite restaraunt on earth! If you haven't been there, when you come over for Suzie's wedding, you should. Then Saturday I went on my normal grocery store followed by Sam's Club run. When I got home, I had a whole bunch of fresh fruits and veggies, so I asked Danny to clean things out of the fridge while I took a shower. When I got out, he had the whole fridge cleaned out and was scrubbing down the shelves and drawer. I didn't expect him to go that far, but who was I to stop him??

Once we got ready, we did one of my favorite things to do over here....we went to the pet store and played with some puppies. Now I know that those puppies come from puppy mills, but knowing that doesn't make me not want to play with them! We played with a Boxer puppy that was ok, but then a 9 week Golden Retriever puppy that won my heart. Oh she was so sweet! Danny even really liked her, but he had to bring me back down to Earth and remind me that we live in 1005 square feet and already have a dog, a cat, and a Hailey. We don't have room for a Golden Retriever. I do know what kind of dog we're getting when we move to a bigger house though!

After that, we met up with Danny's parents for dinner at Olive Garden. I just love Ken & Joyce. They are so nice to me, and we have such a great time with them. It is so wonderful having in-laws that are great to be around! Danny & I then rented a movie that none of you should watch. I saw George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and John Malkovich and thought it was good. I was wrong. Burn After Reading was so incredibly dull. We should have watched Horton Hears a Who.

Sunday, we relaxed for awhile and then met up with some friends of ours at this Improv club by where we live. I don't know if anyone has heard of the comic Jeffrey Ross. He's been on Comedy Central a bunch and he is a celebrity roaster. He was recently voted the Meanest Man in Comedy, and he was also on last years Dancing with the Stars. He was absolutely hilarious!! We had such a great time. We sat in the front row of course, so he made fun of us for awhile which was amazing. I even got my picture taken with him, and he loved me because I said that his partner on Dancing with the Stars was the best, and she is! I love Edyta. I'll post the picture next time I update my camera.

Finally I need to issue a retraction. Just so you all know, I am happy with myself. I love myself very much, I just want to be healthy and not continue to go up in jeans sizes! So far, so good. I am down 4 1/2 pounds and have walked at least two miles a day since I started. I either walk all through my lunch break at work, which is an hour, or after work. One day I did both and walked a total of 5 miles. Yesterday started something tough though, I mixed up the walking and the jogging. I hurt a bit today, but it feels great. I can already see a difference in the way my body looks. Plus I have the best support system. Danny constantly tells me how proud he is that I'm getting healthy. I feel amazing!

Life Changes

I've reached the point where I am ridiculously unhappy with my appearance. There have been many times where I've known that others might not think that I'm attractive, but I've officially reached the point where I htink I am unattractive. Therefore it is time to act!! I am on a mission to get healthy. I am going to eat healthy foods and become fit and active. I finally bought an iPOD and it is amazing to me how much easier it is to exercise with one! I walked two miles yesterday & two today. I'm writing this here, because I need a reminder of this promise that I am making to myself. I am going to feel good about myself soon! Also, I think I'm going to set a goal to run in the Kansas City Marathon in October and do a half-marathon. I just need to be in shape enough to start running 1-2 miles 3 times a week in July. So here we go guys. Here's to the new Jessica Shaver!

Odds & Ends

There is nothing better than the love of a child that is for sure! Today, Hailey colored a picture for me that had Danny, me, and her in it, and a note that said "I love you Jessi." She is such a joy! Hailey has always been really affectionate, but lately she has been climbing into my lap and hugging me freely. It makes me feel so good! Also, there have been times when she chooses to cuddle with me instead of Danny. Awesome!!

Hailey has struggled with reading a bit which has been a bit of a worry for us. Her teacher says she is not struggling enough to qualify for extra help in the reading room at school, but she is not quite where she needs to be. We work with her a lot at home, but Danny & I decided to enroll her in a special reading program through the school district. She will go on Tuesdays & Thursdays for one hour for 6 weeks. I think it will be very good for her, and hopefully will help make reading more fun for her. We all know how very much I enjoy reading, and as much as I love reading books to her, I want her to know the feeling of being swept away in a book the way that I can be.

Have I mentioned that I have the best husband in the world? Danny had a really crummy day today at work so when we got home, I told him to just chill while I made dinner. After supper, I was getting ready to clean up everything, but needed to take the dog out first. By the time I got back inside, Danny had cleaned up everything and had heated up the heating pad since my back has been bothering me. He is such a rock star! And he's going to watch the Bachelor with me tonight too!

I am so glad tomorrow is Friday! We are just having a low key family weekend - I think that's the best kind. I do plan on getting an Ipod this weekend though, so that will be pretty exciting!
I wanted to post some of my favorite pics from our weekend home too....I know there are a lot, but I love them all.

The Toothfairy is broke.........

Well here we are! The Shavers have joined the blogworld. I thought this might be a good way for us to keep in touch a bit better. Nothing much to update on since we left Quincy except that Hailey has lost her two front teeth. She lost one on Sunday night when we returned home, and one on Thursday. She pulled the one on Thursday by herself which was of course a very big deal. I think the toothfairy is probably sick of visiting us though!!

Danny and I managed to catch headcolds, so we've been laying low all week and recovering. This weekend we stuck with that and did some shopping and visiting with friends, but that's been about it! I'll post more later, and I plan on putting some of my favorite pics from the Quincy trip on there.