Behind the times

Wow, I'm a little behind with this ol' blog!  The last 6 weeks have been a little bit nutty.   After a long year of struggle, my grandmother (Grammy H) is finally at peace.  She was the strong, stubborn, matriarch of our family.  I am so thankful for the time we had with her.  I'm most thankful that she got to know my husband and my daughter since none of my other grandparents were given that chance.  I find myself missing her and thinking of her often.  The smallest little things will bring her to my mind.  She was a shining example of what being a strong woman is all about.  She didn't have a "easy" life, but she handled it all with grace and tenacity.  She was a straight-shooter, and you never had to guess what she thought about you (or anyone else for that matter!).  She was our whiskey-drinking, card playing, cussing, praying, crocheting, brownie-baking Grammy H., and none of us would have traded her for the world.  I find great peace in knowing that she is finally reunited with Grandpa Joe & Uncle Neil (and the other two babies she lost Michael & Mary Beth that none of us got to meet) after all these years.

This isn't a great picture, but it's the last picture of Grammy H with two of her three Great Grandbabies!  (Mom has a better copy!)

One of the highlights of the last few weeks was my little BFF retreat to Kansas City with my lifelong best friend Amanda!  We hardly ever see each other any more, and we were both in dire need of a little getaway.  We hit a great weekend for weather between snow storms, and spend a couple day shopping, eating, catching a movie, and lots of catching up!  I think we need to make this a regular occurrence at least on a semi-annual basis!  Craig and Delaney had a great weekend of bonding at home, and don't worry he's already working on a little "boy's getaway" coming up here really soon!

I don't have a picture of the two of us handy, but here's a picture of our little ones last summer.  Aren't they cute?!?

Let's see, what else have we been up too?!?  Did I tell you about my DIY husband of the year.  He caught the "Home Improvement" bug and has successfully completed two wonderful projects.  The first was some serious storage shelves in our storage room.  These shelves have changed my life I tell you!  A weekend of complete clutter insanity and mess, left me with these beauties....

Amazing, right?!?

After that project was all wrapped up, he decided to build the closet in the guest room we've been talking about since we moved in.  The room is a HUGE bedroom with the required windows, so now that we have officially added a closet it's a bedroom instead of a +1.  This project took about a week start to finish, but it is sooo nice.  It will be especially helpful if we ever decide to move Delaney downstairs! 

A closet is a hard thing to photograph, but if you've even been in this room it's a big change.  He built an entire wall from the studs up, and even built a few shelves in the closet it self.  We are all about the added storage! 

At the end of February, Delaney had another "first".  She finally got her first haircut!  After months of dragging my feet, I finally decided she needed a little trim.  Most people wouldn't even realize we had it cut, but it looks and behaves so much better.  She was very excited about it before & after wards, but during she was pretty timid and stonefaced.  She somehow equated haircuts to candy, and swindled Holly out of candy before we headed to the salon and Allison out of a sucker before she even sat in the chair.  Allison has been doing my hair for the last couple years, and she does a great job so I knew Delaney was in great hands!

She would NOT smile during the cut!

We have had a couple bigger snow storms this winter, which have actually been pretty fun since Delaney has really enjoyed playing in the snow.  Even Izzy got into it a few times!  Thankfully, Craig is a good sport and will play in the snow with her.  I like the supervisor, photographer role much better! 

Have a ball, while I was freezing!

Craig has been busy at work these last few weeks.  They seem to have jobs all over the midwest, so he's had a lot of windshield time lately.  He's been coming home a little banged up too.  One week a couple weeks ago, he managed to chip the end of his elbow off while tearing down a ceiling, and then slice his calf open while tearing out some carpet.  After our favorite nurse practitioner neighbor, Dr. Katie, took a quick peak she sent us to Urgent Care for what she thought would be stitches.  If you know Craig at all, he HATES needles, so this was not a good outcome.  Luckily for him, it had been too long since he did it, so it was too late for stitches.  He got some pretty sweet steri-strips instead and a tetanus shot instead!

He knew he was off the hook for major needle usage at this time, so he was feeling pretty good!

So that's the major highlights of the last few weeks.  We are gearing up for Delaney's big 3rd birthday next week, and her party this weekend so you can expect to hear back from me much sooner this time.  Can you believe she's going to be 3!?! 

4 Years

Four years ago today, we got all dressed up, said our vows, and had an awesome party with our amazing families and friends!  Here is one of my all-time favorite pictures of that day...it's still proudly displayed 4 years later!  It really was an amazing day, and I wouldn't change a moment of it! 

We have done and seen a lot of things happen in the last four years, and I couldn't have asked for a better partner at my side!  It hasn't all been unicorns and rainbows, but it has been one incredible ride!  Cheers to the next 4 (and many more!)!  Love you Craig!

 

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Birthday Dad!

I hope you enjoy your last birthday in your 20s!

Love, 

Your Sweet Pea

Merry Christmas from the Mencke Family!

Prologue

I thought I should provide a little background as to why I am writing the Christmas letter instead of Crystal this year.  We had been talking about miscellaneous holiday crafts and I told the wife how much more creative I am than she is.  Big mistake!  All I got out of that conversation was that I “created” my way into writing this letter as punishment for my statement.  I will try my best to make it a card you might actually like to read this season…

Chapter 1

So it is getting to be that time of year again when the “Jolly Fat Man” is going to be breaking and entering in millions of homes and more importantly when family, friends, and possibly even people you do not know will be sending you Christmas letters detailing all of the “exciting” things that have unfolded in their lives over the last year that you really don’t care about.  Trips, careers, and stories about how their kids are better than everyone else’s are likely to be primary topics this year just as they are every other year.  Being as how I cannot think of anything other than those topics to talk about, I thought the least I could do was to make it more interesting.  So, I went with television show titles as the framework for my masterpiece.  

The Parenthood – “Big D” is starting the terrible 2’s early.  Pray for us!

Last Man Standing – Male/female ratio, including the dog, is 3-to-1.  Maybe time to risk 4-to-1???  Hmm…

Big Brother – As of a few months ago, I now work for my brother.  Trust me; he’s keeping a close eye on me.

The Voice – Delaney has quite the growing vocabulary.  She still won’t say “please”, but she’s got “hot pink” down.

Law & Order – D spends a lot of time in “timeout” these days.  She keeps getting “acquitted”.

Kitchen Nightmares – With my new job, Crystal now does most of the cooking.  I’ll leave it at that…

Up All Night – These are very few and far between thankfully.  We are getting too old to be up that late.

Hawaii Five-0 – No, we didn’t go to Hawaii—I wish, but we did go to Okoboji!  That’s pretty tropical for us!  Ha!

Bones – Delaney now knows how to “Throw the Bones” for the Husker defense.  We couldn’t be more proud!

Monday Night Football – Forget the Huskers, my Chiefs are just plain bad.  At least the Packers are rolling!

Dirty Jobs – We go through a lot of diapers…”poop” is another favorite in D’s vocabulary!

The Dog Whisperer– As long as there’s a pillow and a blanket for her, you’d never know Izzy was here.

House – We tiled the kitchen last spring, now when we drop things they break.  Great improvement!

The Amazing Race – Crystal trained for and miraculously completed her first 5k in August.

Private Practice – 6 weeks later, she was in a walking boot due to a stress fracture because she runs funny.  Ha!

The Good Wife – Crystal puts up with all of my shenanigans and she still loves me.  But, why is she always tired?

Family Guy – I look forward to coming home everyday to see D! And the other two…I guess…sometimes…

Epilogue

I have to give the wife a little credit, she did contribute to this by being the ‘Editor in Chief’’.  If there is anything in here that you do not like, just blame her for not taking it out.  I think it turned out great.  After racking my brain over creative ways to write this letter and thinking “outside the box”, I am finally finished.  To sum it all up, I shall close with a statement made by Clark W. Griswold in the greatest Christmas movie ever made “…Hallelujah! Holy shit! Where's the Tylenol?” 

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!  (Play Ball!) 

Love, Craig, Crystal, Izzy, & Delaney Mencke

Time to Give Thanks!

Time seems to be flying by these days.  I thought I'd take a moment today to stop and be thankful for the many blessing in my life!  The rest of the week is full of family and fun, so I probably won't be back to post until after the holiday! 

My little peanut seems to be growing up so fast these days!  Every day means new words and more personality!  It's hard to keep up sometimes!  Obviously, she is the most wonderful blessing in my life!  She can have me at my wits end, pulling my hair out, and then give me one look and I melt!  (She gets that from her dad!)  She's one of a kind, and I wouldn't trade her for anything!  My world has not been the same since that little, tiny baby entered our world...and I wouldn't give it up for a second! 

After 10 years you'd think you'd get tired of one person, but I can't imagine my world with out my man.  We often drive each other nuts, but there is no one I'd rather fight the good fight with.  He's my best friend and my partner.  I couldn't have chosen a better father for my kids or a better companion for my journey!  I'm sure I take him for granted far more than I should.  I really should work on that more...love you honey!

Obviously, my puppy has taken a bit of back seat over the last 20 months, but I wouldn't give Izzy back for the world!  Aside from her crazy anxiety and shedding, she's pretty much the perfect dog!  She loves to play, but will snuggle like nobody's business!  She tolerates her little sister better than we could have hoped for, and for that I am truly grateful!  She was our first "fur"-baby, and I love that little dog like there's no tomorrow! 

Our home is something I'm grateful for every day!  It keeps everything I love safe and warm.  I can't wait to go home at the end of the day and be at peace!  (This is far easier no that the railroads, "Quiet Zone" has gone into effect!)  Of course we have a list a mile long of upgrades/changes we'd like to make to that house, but we love it!  I'll be very sad to leave it whenever the time comes down the road! 

We have two vehicles sitting in our garage right now that are completely functional and PAID OFF!  This is a huge blessing, and I am so thankful for!  They both get us safely from point A to point B without any trouble!  The miles are racking up on them, but I'm hopeful they'll last a little while longer! 

We are both gainfully employed in a horrible economy!  Although our bills aren't going anywhere, we are surviving!  This is far better than the alternative!  Craig even managed to find a new, better job this year, so that is truly a blessing! 

We have so many wonderful family and friends that love us and our kid like nobody's business!  We are so lucky to have so many amazing people in our lives!  We don't say it enough, but thanks for being you!  I hope everyone takes a little time this week to remind themselves of all the good things in their lives, we have so many blessings in ours! 

One Month Later...

One month ago today Craig started his new job.  I think that over the last month he has adjusted fairly well.  He has complained about the commute far less than I expected, and he seems genuinely excited about going to work.  His hours obviously changed with the job move;  it's a little longer, with a lot more driving thrown in.  We have since discovered that he was replaced with 3 new additions in his old department.  It's pretty crazy that they needed 3 new guys to fill his shoes.  Let's just say his head was a little bigger after that little update!  He/we/everyone is completely at peace with his decision to move on, and it appears that his picked a quite opportune time to get out!

The adjustment period for me is still on-going.  I knew he'd be gone more, but I never took into consideration all the little things that would be up to me now.  The biggest of these is making dinner.  I know this sounds completely trivial in the grand scheme of things, but for the previous 5ish years Craig made dinner almost every night.  It was almost always in progress if not done by the time I walked in the door.  Boy, did I take this for granted!  Now, it's on me, which if you know us at all you know this is a problem.  Craig HATES my cooking, and because of that I have no confidence in my cooking abilities.  I love to bake, and will attempt most baking tasks but sometimes cooking freaks me out!  I have since implemented a weekly meal plan/grocery trip to help keep me sane.  This has definitely helped, but I still have to execute it on a daily basis.  I have also started making an effort to take full advantage of my crock pot...it's the perfect time of year for that thankfully!

Another issue with this new task of mine is that the dinner prep hour-ish is Delaney's toughest time of day!  She is super clingy during this time, which isn't good when I'm working at a hot stove.  She's starving and demands snacks as soon as we walk in the door.  (I think I've mentioned that we have created a snacking monster...yep...still having that issue!  I have the cabinet latches, we just need to get them installed so she can't help herself so much!)  If she's not singing her "Up, Mama, UP, UP, UP!" song, she's tormenting the dog, who is also at my feet trying to catch any little morsel of food that drops.  Craig can't understand why I'm so crabby when he walks in the door...I'm working on patience!  This hour of the day makes me wish (as horrible as it sounds) that Delaney had some interest in TV.  She won't sit and color or read a book for more than a minute or to, but to be able to sit her down to watch a video while I got dinner ready sounds like heaven.  I may need to figure out a way to rig the laptop up with a Baby Einstein so she can see it but not touch it.  She shows little to no interest in TV any of the time, so I don't know if this would even be worth the trouble.  I digress...

I'm trying to adjust, but it's a lot harder than I expected.  I think I was so worried about what this change would do to Craig, and I didn't think about what it actually meant for me.  Nevertheless, he's taking it all in stride and I feel like I'm barely keeping my head above water some days.  Don't get me wrong, this job change is exactly what we needed to do right now.  Sure different circumstances would make it easier, but it is what it is and for now we have to learn to deal with it.  We still get reminders almost every day that this was the right move for us!  Now, it I could just get those "SuperMom" powers that I keep dreaming about...we'll be set!

On to bigger & better things...

After 5+ years, Craig has decided to move on to bigger & better things.  He turned in his two weeks notice last Friday, and a week from Monday he will begin a new venture working with his brother, Brent.  This is a big change for all of us, but it will be good for everyone.  Initially, Craig will have to commute to Omaha, but he long-term plan is to open a branch in Lincoln so it's not forever.  His daily commute to the office in Omaha will be about 50 minutes one-way, so it about doubles his current drive.  

This will give Craig a change of pace, opportunities for upward movement, full benefits, and hopefully more respect!  He was getting more and more frustrated with his current job, so this couldn't have come at a better time.  Brent & Craig have wanted to work together for years, so now it is finally happening.  It will be fun to see what these two can do together! 

Delaney & I are excited for him, and cautiously optimistic the commute won't take away too much of his time with us.  We keep telling ourselves that it won't be forever!  We have no immediate plans to move to Omaha.  If anything, maybe we'll move to the other side of Lincoln in a couple years, as right now we are in the complete opposite corner from Omaha and a move to East Lincoln could cut his commute in half.  We shall see...this housing market isn't conducive to us trying to sell our house anytime soon without losing some serious dough, so we'll (Craig will) have to tough it out for a while!

Updates

FYI...our home computer is still on the fritz, so we won't have any pictures today! Boo!

In other news, Delaney is a busy as ever these days. She is a full-on walker/runner! She jabbers all the time, and is learning new actual words on a daily basis. She is still on her hunger strike, and chooses only to eat what she wants when she wants it. Every day it's something different! She seems to be looking more and more like a little kid instead of my little baby. We have a 15 month check up in a few weeks, so we will see how much she has been growing with all of this new found mobility! Delaney had her first sleepover at Me-Ma & Papa Bryant's last weekend! She apparently was a very good girl, and they had a ball spoiling her! She has a big of a split personality some days...one minute she's throwing her food and screaming, and then the next she's giving us kisses! It's adorable and exhausting all at the same time. Just this past Tuesday, she blew me a kiss as I left her at Holly's! That was one of those moments that just makes a Mom's heart hurt!

Craig has been busy with household chores lately. He has been cultivating our garden with some serious TLC. We have attempted various vegetable in the previous 2 years we've been in the house without much success, so this year he took a different approach. We had to replant the entire garden already once this year since a late-freeze killed all our little veggies. We have no replanted everything, and so far it seems to be thriving! We have also started the process of transitioning our home over to satin nickel versus polished brass hardware & light fixtures. This will probably take us several months to complete it all in stages, but it has become and we have beautiful new door knobs to prove it! Craig has also nursed the lawn back to health after a miserable summer last year that killed quite a bit of our grass. It looks so nice right now, and many of our flowers are blooming!

I am about ready to do my last day of the 30 Day Shred. It obviously took me a lot longer than 30 days to complete it, but I stuck with it and have got it done! I am also on my 5th week of Weight Watchers. So far, it has gone great! I have lost over 6 pounds, and I feel better. It is totally doable because there is nothing that I can't have I just have to account for it! It's a slow, uphill battle, but so far it's going well! Next week, I will start a different video series to give myself some variety, so we will see what that's like! Other than all of that, I'm just living the dream as a working Mom!

Anniversary flowers!

Craig spoiled me today by sending these beautiful daisies to my office! Gerberas...my favorite!

The Baby Gate Disaster

I have a story to share that I hope gives you all a chuckle and brightens you day because this event created serious havoc in the Mencke household last night. It was just an ordinary evening. We had just given Delaney an emergency bath due to a poop explosion, and I was getting her all lotioned up and into her pj's. Craig decides that this would be the optimum time to install the baby gate we've had for the last 3 months. So, I continue about my routine, and then give Delaney a little more floor time before bed while I check my email. Delaney starts getting sleepy, so I make her a bedtime bottle and take her into her room to feed her. Just as I'm laying her in her crib asleep, Craig starts yelling for me--saying he needs my help.

I come out to help him, and he's cussing at the wall and missing the drill bit for his drill. I put on my coat and venture out into the cold garage to look for it. I squeeze myself in front of his truck towards his tool bag. As I'm out there, I can hear various obscenities coming from the house and see a scared little puppy sneaking up behind me in the garage. Somehow, I miraculously find the missing drill bit in the bottom of the dark tool bag. I reload all the tools into the bag, and head back inside to discover that things have taken a serious turn towards chaos.

Apparently, the screws (sent with the gate) had decided to start stripping and get stuck. This lit an already sparking fuse in Craig. He couldn't get the screws out with the "reverse" setting on the drill, so he decided prying them out with a hammer would be a logical solution. Of course, he was completely infuriated by this point so as he's prying the screws out of the wall, he leaves a nice dent/crack in the wall along with a big hole from the screw he just took out. Then, I stand back and watch as my 27-year-old 6'5" husband morphs into a screaming, three-year-old throwing a massive temper tantrum. Looking back now, I should have grabbed the video camera and recorded this scene as it was entertaining to say the least. I haven't seen him lose it like that in years.

Next thing I know, there is drywall and and dust flying everywhere and you'd think Craig was Rocky or something the way he was wailing away at our wall. I swear I heard a little "Eye of the Tiger" in my head. I finally got him to stop punching the wall after about five swings. He then turns around and kicks the box from the gate clear across our living room into the kitchen. He continues to kick it while I'm screaming at him to calm down and the dog disappears downstairs. Then, he goes back and takes a couple more whacks at the wall in case there was any doubt about how he felt at that moment.

He managed to break open one of his knuckles which started bleeding pretty good, so I had some pretty sweet blood smear on my wall. This was about when I discovered the dog was no where to be found. I checked all over the upstairs--under our bed, in Delaney's room, under the kitchen table, she's not there. For all I know, she got hit by some debris and is bleeding somewhere with a chunk of drywall in her eye! I call for her, and call her for her and nothing happens. I decide she must be downstairs, and head down to find her shaking like a leaf hiding behind one of our tables. She will not go back upstairs after several minutes of petting and coaxing from me. I physically have to carry her upstairs and sit with her on the couch for a long time before she'll even look at Craig. He terrified her--not hurt, poor thing!

So, Craig then cut a huge square whole around his damage to "even it out". He cleaned up his mess, and then cleaned up his hand. The only good thing was that Delaney remained sound asleep throughout this entire ordeal, but I was fuming. We have a guy Craig knows from work coming tomorrow to start the patch process. He was going to have his brother help him, but that might be a few weeks since they are moving into their house this weekend. I think the huge whole of embarrassment and failure is eating at Craig. He doesn't want to wait, so we're going to get it fixed by a professional. Then, I have to pick out paint colors...I'm pushing for repainting the entire room because in all honesty it needs it, but we'll see what's in the budget.

Happy 2nd Anniversary!

Two years ago I married my best friend in front of all our favorite people. It was such a great day. We chose 08.08.08 for our wedding day and planned for it to be 100 degrees, but we were blessed with an 85 degree day in August! Everyone we wanted to be there was there to celebrate with us, and it all went as planned! Aside from the day Delaney was born, it was the best day of my life!

I knew we had big things in store of us, but the last two years have just been a whirlwind! Right after our wedding, we took off for Mexico! What a trip that was! I loved it down there, and if we are even given the opportunity to go back we will! It's amazing! A week after we got back from Mexico, we moved out of our tiny apartment and into our house! A month later, we got our puppy Izzy! The day before our first anniversary, we found out we were expecting and last March we had our beautiful baby girl, Delaney! Obviously, I left out many things, but these are the highlights! I can only imagine what's ahead for us! I can't wait to find out! Happy Anniversary Craig!

We had so many great pictures taken that day, but these are some of my most favorite!
This was right after the first time we saw each other that day! I'm still very proud of myself for holding it together in that moment!
This is my favorite "formal" picture of us! Notice I'm standing a step above Craig & he's still taller than me...good thing I had a long dress!
Our formal "first" kiss! We were official at that point!
Here's our wild & crazy wedding party! We were so grateful to have them all there! We picked the perfect people for the perfect "jobs" that day. Sometimes wedding parties can add stress to the day, but ours was great! They all went above & beyond for us! This picture cracks me up every time I see it! Priceless!
After the ceremony we took off with all our "peeps" in a trolley! This was one of my favorite times of the day...just cruising around with our closest friends and family enjoying the moment!
I just love this picture...my favorite of all of them!

We share our anniversary with my parents! They were married 08.08.80, so they are celebrating 30 years today! We are so lucky to have them as parents! I hope they had a great time last night...more details later! Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Happy late Birthday Craig!

Happy Late Birthday honey! I was too busy planning your surprise birthday dinner out with all your friends to get this posted yesterday! Izzy, Delaney, and I hope you had a great day! We love you so much! Thank you for all you do for us! You're a great daddy & husband, we are so lucky to have you!

Even though I'm a day late, I thought it might be fun to take a stroll down memory lane with some of my favorite pictures of Craig in honor of his 27th birthday! Considering I had over 9 years of material to pick from, it was really hard to narrow it down to these! Enjoy!

Here is Craig the night he "discovered" beer! He had just finished shot gunning a beer racing Kelley and had to make a trip to worship the porcelain gods before this picture. And, yes, that is a Menards vest!
Here is Craig and baby Sydney the summer after she was born. He was so smitten with his new niece. The night she was born, I literally had to pull him away from the nursery window and promise to return the next day.
This is Craig crammed into a tiny Dodge Neon on our first trip to Vegas. We had 7 people in this tiny little car, and I snapped this picture by holding my arm out of the window! All to save a few bucks and not get a cab.
Here is Craig & Jaiden a few summers ago. Those two have had a very special bond since she was born. Craig actually saw and held her before Brent did!
Here is Slash, aka Craig at an '80s party. He had a lot of fun as he absolutely is an '80s rock fan.
This is the two of us at Amanda & Scott's wedding. This is one of my favorite pictures of us! We had such a great time that night...it's hard to believe it's already been 3 years since then! We love you guys!
Craig thinking he's pretty cool on his birthday a few years ago! We had seen the Simpsons movie (as Craig requested, of course) and then decided to hang out at Woody's afterward. Craig enjoyed a few beers...
Here's Uncle Craig being a bad influence on his nephew Tyler. He introduced him to pop at a very young age. Auntie Buffye is already threatening to return the favor with Delaney!
Here us on our wedding day with all of our favorite people! I look at this picture all the time as all the facial expressions are priceless!
This was the night Craig decided to be Tom Cruise from Risky Business for Halloween! Yes, he actually left the house and went out in public without pants on...he did have to drink about 12 beers before doing so!
This was Craig last summer playing with Greyson, our favorite little neighbor dude! Craig and I love this little kid!
In an effort to top his Risky Business performance, last Halloween Craig teams up with his usual partner in crime and went as Ace & Gary the Ambiguously Gay Duo. Head to toe spandex...Craig decided to welcome Nick to the Bryant clan with a sloppy wet kiss! He also had a heart to heart with Nick later that night side-by-side at the urinals at a gas station on the way to the hotel!
This picture could be taken about 5 times a week. Here's Craig & Izzy cuddling. Izzy is a daddy's girl through and through!
Here's the last picture of Craig before he became a dad. As you can tell, he was just a little bit excited to meet his beautiful baby girl (or boy as we still didn't know at this point!)
Here's Craig & Delaney (clones) a couple months ago after a trip to the zoo. She looks so much like him, it's scary sometimes! She loves her daddy, and he adores her!
This was taken Father's Day weekend. I just love the way they are gazing into each other's eyes...which happen to be the same gorgeous blue eyes!

So, I hope you enjoyed these! Thanks for so many wonderful memories, Craig! I hope year 27 is the best yet! Love you!