Last few weeks in Michigan

March was full of excitement. My trip to Utah, Mary and Noah arrived, and Celine turned two. Mary and James are two of our friends from Dominica. Their first child Noah was born on February 23rd. Mary was staying with her parents while James finished school in Dominica and even delivered the baby in California. Needless to say, she was very anxious to come to Michigan and finally live in the same state with James. Noah is such an adorable baby.

Ralna, Mary, Baby Noah, Me

Greg and Amy are also a "medical couple". Amy stayed in the US with the kids and worked while Greg was on the island, so we met her when we moved to Michigan. Amy is such a genuine person and we instantly became friends. Not to mention, Josh became an instant favorite with their two children, Celine and Lucas. Frequently, Josh and the other boys would go to Greg and Amy's house an hour before the kids' bedtime and play with Lucas until he collapsed from exhaustion. Unfortunately, their roughhousing caused Lucas to have a nightmare or two. (Both kids have actually called out Josh's name in the middle of the night!!! Some screams of terror, both Amy thinks mostly just voicing excitement!) In March, Celine turned 2 years old. Amy organized a Hello Kitty themed birthday party. I forgot how much fun kid's birthday parties are! Lucas, Celine, and Greg

Sam, Lucas, Josh, James, Greg, and Baby Noah

Amy flew back home to California today with the kids. Their absence is felt already.

A group picture is coming....

Utah and Marlee

Here are some pictures from my Utah trip. Meet the newest addition to the Taylor family.

And don't forget my cutie pie niece Rhaegan. She has instantly transformed into a big girl. Although she is still adjusting to sharing Mom and Dad, she is such a great helper, great big sister, and wants to be involved in everything Marlee does...even the feeding process!! I will admit that being around a rambunctious three year old and a newborn is effective birth control, or at least a reminder that kids are in our "not so near" future! Sorry Mom :)

BABY Marlee!!

Congratulation Kendall and Shae!!

Baby Marlee was born today weighing in at 6lbs 9oz. Kendall says she has a full head of hair and she is just precious. Kendall is equally happy to no longer be pregnant! Here is the exclusive picture from the hospital!

Marlee Peyton Taylor

What a week!

Last weekend, Josh and I decided to take a quick trip to visit my parents in Cincinnati. My mom hasn't been feeling well lately so we felt like we needed to visit them. It is only a 5 hour drive but with Josh's schedule, we had to leave at 4pm on Friday and return on Sunday night. We decided to make it a surprise for my mom. Luckily, my dad was able to keep it a secret. (Even though he randomly asked my mom questions like, "Where do we keep the sheets and towels?") At least he was trying to be helpful! We had a really nice weekend visiting with my parents and Nick and Denise.

On Monday morning, my dad had to fly to Norwich for work which left my mom at the house by herself. She was still very "under the weather". After I called her in the morning, I felt very impressed that I should drive back down and take care of her. A few minutes later, Josh send me a message asking me if I would be able to take our friend James to the airport in Detroit. (His wife Mary was in labor out in California). Since this airport trip would take me an hour and a half closer to Cincinnati, I took this as a sign that I should be with my mom. I quickly repacked everything I had just unpacked and headed back to Cinncy. I love when you listen to your instincts. I arrived to my mom alone on the couch watching tv. She hadn't eaten all day, expect for some chocolate that was next to the couch, because she was too sick to make anything and of course she is too stubborn to ask for help. I committed to being her personal chef for the next few days making her cuisines like blueberry pancakes, grilled cheese, and homemade chicken noodle soup! We had as much fun as we could have under the circumstances. And, of course I forgot to take any pictures.

But here is a picture of the beautiful tulips Josh bought me this morning. He is a sweet husband!!

Street Hockey, and My Birthday

My birthday was a blast. We had dinner with friends the night before (which is a common occurrence since my birthday is on Valentine's day). After dinner everyone came back to our place for cake and ice cream. Guess where we got the cake from? JOSH MADE IT!! It was so much fun watching him bake. I kind of wish I had taken a video now. And the cake was delicious, I am a proud wife. I forgot to take a picture of the cake before we dug in. Josh also had flowers delivered. They still smell fantastic. On my birthday morning, Josh made me wait in the bathroom for a few minutes. I could hear him scurrying around the apartment. It had planned a scavenger hunt for me, which I love!! (Every year my dad always does a scavenger hunt on Christmas morning and it is one of the highlights of the day). He told me to start looking and I quickly found a Toblerone on the DVD player. I was super excited about this gift! He told me to keep looking. Josh has hid about 6 different kinds of chocolates and a card. What a great way to start the morning... eating chocolate! The weirdest part is Josh and I bought each other almost identical Valentine's cards. Obviously his was for "my wife" and mine was for "my husband" but the characters, words, and theme were almost identical. We agree we need to hang out with other people :)

We have gotten into playing street hockey with our other friends in the complex. The boys were throwing the football around one warm afternoon and suddenly came up with this genius idea to buy hockey sticks. Of course, Katrina and I thought they were silly and that hockey sticks would be a waste of money. But street hockey has turned out to be a lot of fun and quite the workout!

Warm weather in Michigan

Snow One Day... Spring The Next Day


50 degree weather in Michigan in February? Mother Nature, are you mad at us? If I promise to be good, will you please bring me some snow for my birthday!?

P is for Paperless Bill Pay

Paperless Bill Pay and Paper Reduction

My recommendation:

1. Open online accounts with all your major service providers (credit card companies, energy company, cell phone, land line phone, bank account monthly statements, etc., etc, etc.). All of these services and bills can be managed online at your convenience. Your mind can be at ease when you are on vacation. No need to worry about “Did that Visa bill arrive yet and when is it due?” Connect to the web, log onto a secure account, and view your account activity daily, weekly, monthly, or as often as you want. Many companies even offer an email reminder option so you don’t forget to pay your bills. Or you can just sign up for automatic withdrawal.

2. Stop junk mail. So much of our junk mail goes directly from the mailbox into the trash or recycling bin. Stopping all junk mail still leaves you the option of signing up for the mail you enjoy i.e. catalogues, magazines, coupons, etc.

3. Recycle paper- it is easy to throw paper into the trash. Once the paper is free from any personal information to eliminate identify theft, recycle it!

4. Avoid printing unless a hard copy is absolutely necessary

5. Reuse paper. Instead of using an entire sheet of paper to write down your grocery list, use a used envelope or a smaller piece of paper.

Here is what a few of your everyday companies have to say on the issue:

Verizon Wireless: “Switching to Paperless Billing has a positive impact on you and your world. For you, it is an easier, faster, and more convenient way to pay. And by signing up today, you will join us and millions of our customers in an effort to save trees and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

American Express: “By signing up for paperless statements and electronic billing, you can contribute to making Earth a much healthier planet simply by saving paper. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the pulp and paper industry is the single largest consumer of water used in industrial activities and the third greatest industrial greenhouse gas emitter. If Americans saved all the paper and wood products we go through in a year, we could heat 50 million homes for 20 years. And just how much paper does the average American family discard annually? Approximately 2,460 pounds. By participating in something as simple as paperless billing, your impact can and will be felt.”

AT&T: “Save time and money; View and pay your bill in seconds, save on postage and supplies, no mail to open, no checks to write, and no stamps to buy. Reduce paper clutter, stacked mail and un-filed records. Help the environment and save some trees with paperless billing.”