TeAm StAhL

2009-04-28T11:18:00.004-04:00

Phase II of the renovation - DEMOLITION!

Good Bye Ugly Kitchen!

2009-04-12T12:09:00.005-04:00

These are pictures of our kitchen

before the remodel

U-G-L-Y!

Stay tuned . . . . .

She Shopped 'Til She Dropped

2009-04-05T18:18:00.001-04:00

I'm 6 months old!

2009-03-20T21:27:00.004-04:00

It doesn't get more beautiful . . . .

2009-03-14T23:25:00.004-04:00

How much fun can you have in a box filled with shipping peanuts???

Not as much fun

as Mommy had cleaning them up!

2009-03-05T07:25:00.002-05:00

Since I got such positive review of my last piece, I've decided to give you all a little me. You're welcome! :)

2009-02-25T21:47:00.003-05:00

So, this is my first crack @ iMovie. There is definitely some tweaking that needs to be done. I'm pretty impressed considering it took me over 3 months to figure out how to even get the video onto the computer. Hopefully more to come . . . .

Mom of the Octuplets

2009-02-11T11:05:00.004-05:00

I just finished watching the Dateline special with the mom of the Octuplets. Lets just say that I am MORE than disturbed by this woman. She is single, unemployed and grossly out of touch with reality. She's been barely getting by raising her other 6 children. How the hell is she going to provide for another 8?? Now, I can somewhat understand that she didn't want to "dispose" of her embryos, using the word dispose sounds horrific; however, I don't understand how she thinks having 8 babies (that have 80 times more of a chance for developmental issues and cerebropalsy due to their size at birth), is a better option???? I realize that I might see things differently because I do not believe in the Christian idea of God, but I would certainly hope that even the most devote Christians would see the irresponsibility of this situation. These 14 children are obviously going to suffer one way or another. My heart really breaks for them. I thought about donating money to the family, but to be honest, I'd be afraid that she'd spend it on more plastic surgery (she's clearly had her nose and lips done). What is wrong with this woman?!?!

My Day

2009-01-28T09:33:00.005-05:00

This picture basically sums up the past 7 days in the Stahl household. After a germ infested trip to Chuck E Cheese (for Brayden's birthday), one by one we've gotten sick (except Josh of course; he's infinitely immune).

This is what we see from our window today. A perfect day to stay in bed (unfortunately, Brayden and Leighton did not get that memo).

Soon-To-Be Homeowners

2009-01-19T18:53:00.002-05:00

So, we had our home inspection on Sunday and everything went Fantastic!!! We're moving in on February 14th. That will be our 5th wedding anniversary. I couldn't ask for a better way to celebrate.

Home Sweet Home

2009-01-15T09:05:00.007-05:00

Here are new pictures of my babies. You truly don't know unconditional love until you have kids. They are the best!

In other news . . . . . After almost 10 years of renting (and 28 years of my life moving around), we're READY to buy a house and finally be settled!!! We found a really nice high-ranch in Smithtown, NY (<--- click here to see it). We may move as early as February 15th. Keep your fingers crossed! This may be the last time you need to update your address books!

2009-01-01T08:49:00.002-05:00

For the Stahls, 2008 was a year of ups and downs. It started out full of surprises.

In January, during my first hospitalization, we found out that we were expecting our 2nd bundle of joy.

By February, I was hospitalized again, only to be told that the pregnancy was in jeopardy of being lost due to my UC. Luckily, my 9 day hospital stay proved successful and things progressed positively. February was also the month that Josh graduated from the NY State Police academy. The 6 months leading up to the graduation had been rough, but seeing him accomplish so much was well worth it.

March 17 was my last day in the Air Force. After being so sick for 2 months, I was relieved to be out. It was so hard to concentrate on my health while being a military recruiter.

April, we found out that Josh was going to be stationed in Westchester Co. (NY). We decided that with a new baby on the way and me without a job, it would be best if we moved upstate.

In May, we started our house hunt in Poughkeepsie. After looking at many, MANY houses, we really didn't find anything that we liked. In the end, we decided just to rent. Later on, this would turn out to be the best decision we ever made.

On June 6th, we packed up all of our possessions, loaded up the Uhaul, and made the 2 hour drive to our new house. June 7th was the hottest day on record. Of course, our new house did not have a/c. This made moving in very difficult. Especially since I was 6 months pregnant.

By July, I was really thankful that we had rented. Being away from Long Island was depressing. By my 28th birthday, we decided that we would be moving back to LI as soon as we could.

August 1st, I applied to Old Westbury and Stony Brook University. They both have excellent Education programs.

September turned into a waiting game. By the 20th, the wait was over. Leighton Ever Stahl arrived ever so gracefully and has been a joy ever since.

October was a little crazy. I wouldn't exactly say I had PPD, but I was definitely suffering from the "baby blues." Luckily, it didn't last long.

November was so cold. I found out that I was accepted to both schools. We also found out that Josh did not get the transfer back to LI. We kind of knew that it was a long shot, but we were still disappointed by the news. Since we weren't moving back right away, I deferred my college acceptance until Fall '09.

December went so fast. We were still buying Christmas presents until the 24th! We also got serious about house hunting on LI. Josh figured out that commuting to the Island would only add 15 minutes to the commute he was already making up to Poughkeepsie. We couldn't be more excited.

So, all in all, 2009 looks like it's going to be another year of change. We has so many things to look forward to. I think this is going to be OUR year. I wish nothing but happiness and heath to you all. XoXo

The Stahls

2008-12-23T12:19:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Brayden's First Skate

2008-12-15T07:49:00.002-05:00

Josh took Brayden ice skating for the first time. Although he could barely stand, Brayden did fantastic. He absolutely loved it. I think I see ice hockey in his future (just like his daddy).

What is wrong with people?!

2008-12-12T18:29:00.002-05:00

So I got a call yesterday morning that a recruiter in my old squadron had been stabbed. Her name is Sara and I've known here for almost 3 years. I've posted the news article below. It's a terrible tragedy and could have happened to anyone. It makes me grateful that I'm not recruiting in Brooklyn anymore . . . .

Air Force Recruiter Stabbed in Harlem

A 27-year-old Air Force recruiter was stabbed outside her office on 125th Street and Lenox Avenue in Manhattan yesterday around 12:30 p.m. The Post reports that Staff Sgt. Sara Charles (pictured) was "walking from the recruiting center on 125th Street...when she was approached by Lashawn Linton, 28." Apparently Linton—who had "just lefther therapist's office"—"didn't like the way Charles looked at her and the two began to exchange words," culminating in Linton allegedly "whipp[ing] out a knife and plung[ing] it into the eight-year veteran's chest, stomach and leg." A vendor, Aboubacar Lah, who saw Charles running and then tried to shield her from Linton was also slashed when he grabbed the knife. Lah then chased Linton until "uniformed cops...grabbed them both," according to the Daily News. Charles is currently in critical but stable condition while Linton was charged with attempted murder.

Boooooooo to Prop 8

2008-11-15T14:25:00.001-05:00

"The government has no business in the bedrooms of the nation"

-Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau

GoBama!

2008-11-06T08:56:00.004-05:00

The kids have been pretty adamant about their chose for president. They've been parading around the house wearing these buttons for the last 2 months. I'm so glad that he was elected because who knows what they would have done if the outcome had been different. Thank you, ObAMA, for keeping the peace in my house. :)

A Smile Can Melt Your Heart

2008-11-02T20:15:00.004-05:00

Leighton has begun smiling! Here is what I was able to catch with my camera.

In other news, we found out that she has hip dysplasia and now has to wear a not-so-fun harness for up to 12 weeks!! She really hated it the first couple days, but I think she might be starting to get use to it. The poor thing has to wear it 23 hours a day. We are both so excited when she gets to take it off for an hour. I compare it to a prisoner getting their one hour in the exercise yard. It definitely makes for some interesting diaper changes, but I'm starting to get the hang of it.

2008-09-29T17:31:00.002-04:00

Our Little Angel

This is pretty much what Leighton does 19 hours out of the day. The other 5 hours (during the night, of course) are spent eating and looking around. She is just so perfect . . . . . .

Baby Stahl

2008-09-10T08:33:00.005-04:00

Well, we've reached the 38 week mark. This has been an extremely difficult pregnancy so reaching this milestone is particularly sweet! I had my weekly appointment yesterday and we are still on schedule to be induced on Wednesday, Sept 17. The doctor did warn that there is always a chance that I could be "bumped" from that date. This could happen if another woman needs to be induced more than me. If that happens, then I'll be on standby until they can take me. Josh's mom is kind enough to take Brayden this Saturday through next Thursday. This will give me a chance to catch up on some much needed rest as well as get my house together. Right now, it looks like Hurricane Brayden blew through. It's really hard to keep up on cleaning when you can hardly move . . . . . .

Incase anyone is wondering what a baby looks like @ 38 weeks gestation . . . . .

D-Day

2008-08-27T16:31:00.001-04:00

We went to the doc yesterday and got our date to deliver (being induced)! September 17th. 21 days and counting . . . . .

Josh, the machine

2008-08-24T08:22:00.002-04:00

So my husband is working three 12 hour shifts this weekend (Fri, Sat and Sun night from 7pm to 7 am). This morning, on his 45 minute commute home, the NYSP called and asked if he could turn around and work until 1pm. Apparently, another Trooper had called in sick and they "offered" the overtime to Josh (low man on the totem poll). My husband, being the machine that he is, said, "No problem." So, he made a stop @ Dunkin' Donuts (because his 36 week pregnant wife wanted a bagel . . . . . before I knew he had to work extra . . . . I'm not that much of a witch), came home, gave us kisses and turned around to drive back. He'll get off @ 1 and then drive 45 minutes home again, go to sleep for 3 hours (at most), get up and drive back to work only to start another 12 hours shift @ 7pm. I think he's friggin' crazy, but that's my husband!! I really did win the man lottery!

2008-08-14T18:06:00.002-04:00

CLICK HERE to have a laugh!

The worst feeling EVER!

2008-07-17T07:10:00.002-04:00

Isn't the worst feeling in the world when you go to bed and no matter what you try you can't fall asleep?! You toss and turn and get up and down. You're too hot; you're too cold. You watch the minutes, then hours, pass on the clock. That happened to me last night. It makes it worse when you know that you need to sleep because you have to get up early no matter what. I think maybe I'm getting too big too be comfortable. That and I have a lot on my mind these days. Oh, I would give anything for a few more hours of sleep . . . . .

Brayden's Future Careers

2008-06-28T16:42:00.004-04:00

Brayden just got back from a long visit @ Maw-maw's (Josh's mom) house. While he was there, he looked into a few career options. Here are a few pictures of those options:

Train conductor

McDonalds Worker

Getting use to my new home . . . well, sorta

2008-06-16T15:13:00.002-04:00

The past week and a half has been an emotional roller coaster (to say the least). My hormones must have been in overdrive because there were 5 out of the 10 days that I cried all day. I was having a really hard time adjusting to our new area. For one, we moved in on the hottest day of the year (it broke records) and of course our new pad has no a/c. (Fortunately, we were able to install some window units and then helped tremendously!!) Second, it has been hard saying goodbye to the beach. I sometimes feel almost claustrophobic being totally landlocked.

I gave myself a good pep talk and hopefully that will help things to get better soon. In 3 months our little girl will be here and then a few months later I'll start school again. Once I get into a routine I'm sure I won't be as depressed.

Note: A BIG thanks to my fantastic husband for putting up with all of my recent personality "costume" changes. Love ya big guy!

Ah, the joys of moving

2008-06-03T19:32:00.002-04:00

We are officially in moving mode. We have about 3/4 of the apartment packed up. It didn't seem like we had much at first, but once we started trying to fit everything in boxes, it became clear that we have a lot of crap. I guess after living together for 5 years and having a kid, it adds up.

I'm starting to get a little more excited about the area that we are moving to. Despite not being 5 minutes from the beach (like we are now), living in Wappingers Falls (yes, that's the REAL name) won't be that much different than here. It would be great if we LOVE the house that we live in because then we can just buy it and never have to move again. . . . . . . .

Our New House

2008-05-16T09:19:00.003-04:00

Well, it's official! We found a house. At first, we were going to buy, but after 2 months of looking and nothing showing promise, we opted to rent. The house we found (pictured above) is AMAZING! It has everything that we had wanted and more! We move in the weekend of June 6th. The house has the option to buy, so if we like it, we can always cross that bridge. :)

Sleepless Nights

2008-05-13T20:33:00.002-04:00

During my first pregnancy I didn't really get a lot of unsolicited advice. I'm sure I heard some of the normal stuff, but nothing that sticks out in my mind. The one thing that I wish someone had told me is how INCREDIBLY important it is to establish good sleeping habits right from the beginning. You don't realize how fast time will go by and before you know it, you're little one is almost 2.5 years old and still doesn't sleep through the night!! Getting him to sleep is not usually an issue and there are some nights when he'll go to bed and not wake up until the morning, but a good majority of the time, he'll wake 2-3 times in one night. Sometimes he'll call for us to come and fix his blanket ("tuck him in" again) other times he'll wake screaming and nothing will console him. At those times, he's not fully awake and even picking him only infuriates him more. I've looked on parenting forums and googled "My toddler won't sleep through the night," but I have yet to find anything that is helpful. I'm hoping that once we are settled into our new house and he has his own room with his new big-boy bed that things will change. It's extremely difficult to do even the simplest tasks when you are thoroughly exhausted. This I have had to learn the hard way . . . . . . So, to all of my friends who read this blog or any new parent for that matter, nip the sleeping thing in the bud as early as possible. Trust me, you'll appreciate it in the long run.

My Gift To You . . . . .

2008-05-10T13:40:00.002-04:00

If you're having a bad day, I suggest you watch this video. Brayden and I watched it over and

over. IT WILL MAKE YOU SMILE (and maybe move your tush). He's singing, in German, about being a gummy bear.

Pretty in Pink

2008-05-08T13:27:00.002-04:00

Well, it looks like all of the throwing up will be worth it. We're having a GIRL! We had an ultrasound today and everything looks great . . . . she's growing just as she should be. Brayden was with us. He was interested for about 2 seconds, but was an absolute angel overall. We even took him to Red Lobster for lunch (taking him to a restaurant is something we NEVER do). We were able to eat our whole meal without a problem. Good boy Brayden.

Our First House

2008-04-27T14:06:00.002-04:00

Well, we got back from Poughkeepsie late yesterday afternoon. It was a great trip. Brayden was a very good boy while we drove around looking at houses. We looked for 4 hours and narrowed it down to 2 houses that we really liked. We are planning on making an offer this week. Keep your fingers crossed.

P.S. Still throwing up @ 19 weeks. :)

Adventure Land

2008-04-23T18:38:00.005-04:00

Yesterday we took Brayden to Adventure Land. It's a small amusement park on Long Island. I grew up going there and knew Brayden would love it. Of course he was the fearless creature that he always is. He rode ever kiddie ride all by himself. He even rode in the front car of the caterpillar rollercoaster . . . . Here are some pictures of the day:

Brayden and the MacBook

2008-04-20T19:06:00.004-04:00

Brayden and I have been playing around with our new MacBook & YouTube. Here's a little gem that we just made.

And another . . . . .

Love my baby boy

2008-04-14T16:30:00.000-04:00

Well, we finally bought another camera (since our old one was STOLEN from my house last summer . . . . at my birthday party . . . . GASP!) and we took some really cute pictures of Brayden. He is so cute! If his little sibling is half as cute as he is, that kid is going to be REALLY lucky!

I'm still really nauseous. I've gotten sick a few times . . . . I'm hoping that it will subside soon! I've read that it could mean that I'm having a girl. Who knows?!?!

Movin' On Up

2008-03-25T11:31:00.000-04:00

Well peeps, it looks as though I am going to carry on the "Knudsen" tradition of moving every few years. After a great run (4 years) in NYC and Long Island, the Stahls are moving upstate. The NYSP (that's New York State Police) has stationed Josh is Troop K. That covers Columbia, Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties (I've included a map to give you a visual. You're Welcome!). We're not sure which county he'll be working in, but we should be told within the next couple of weeks. We will most likely set up camp in or near the New Paltz/Poughkeepsie area.

I'm sad to leave LI. The beaches will surely be missed, but the Stahls are not one to stay home so, I'm sure we'll be doing lots of traveling (which will include plenty of sand and surf).

Night and Day

2008-03-24T11:03:00.000-04:00

The experts are definitely right when they say that no two pregnancies are the same. With my son, Brayden, I had a little morning sickness until I was about 12 weeks. After that, it was all rainbows and sunshine. I had lots of energy, felt great, etc., etc., etc. This time around, not so much. I am currently 14 weeks and I see no light at the end of the tunnel. Yesterday, I actually got "sick." It was the first time that the nausea went to the next level. I will spare you the details, but will say that it wasn't pretty. . . . . . I just hope that things will change in the coming weeks.
On a lighter note, Brayden has apparently mastered the art of manipulation. Yesterday he came up to me, wrapped his little arms around my neck and exclaimed, "Mommy, I love you so much." I can't think of any other words that a mother would want to hear. Then, these beautiful words were followed by, "Can I have some chocolate." Well, since it was so close to dinner, I had to be the responsible parent and deny him the candy. I braced myself for the tantrum that I was sure would follow, but to my surprise, it never came. Instead, Brayden, not one to be defeated easily, simply wiggled out of my arms and headed for his second chance, my husband. Once again, he wrapped his little hands around Josh's neck and said, "Daddy, I love you so much". I'm sure by now, you can guess what followed, "Can I have some chocolate." Just as I was sure Josh was going to give in, I shot him a "don't even think of it" glance. Poor Brayden, he'd obviously put a lot of thought into his little chocolate nabbing scheme; however, on this day, it didn't work. Nice try Brayden, you definitely get an A for effort.

Meet TEAM STAHL

2008-03-18T12:00:00.000-04:00

Ok, first things first. I'd like to introduce the Fam:

Nicole (the mom)

Josh (the dad)

Brayden (first born)

Baby #2 (Coming Early Fall 2008)