Thing(s) of the Past

Are blogs a thing of the past? I think it is past time to resurrect my family blog. We have so many great adventures together, and I miss looking back and reading about how we spend our time. I would kind of like to take a personal twist on my blog, though, and make it a bit more personal for myself. I'm feeling a need for a creative outlet - and writing just might be what I need.

Scrapbooking - there's another thing of the past. I have beautiful books for our wedding, our honeymoon, and Isaiah's first year. Poor Mallory. She's 8 years old now, and I have no book for her. Digital scrapbooking has some appeal, but it just doesn't seem the same. Perhaps I will take that leap after finishing a book for Mallory's first year.

~ Becky

Reads of 2013

Goodreads does a spectacular job of tracking my books; however it's fun to list them on my blog, too.  I'm pretty confident this is the most of I have read so far.  It is for sure the most/best that I have kept track.  I set a goal to read 35 books, and I exceeded my goal by 29% by reading 45 books, which should actually be 46.  (I didn't add a reread of a book on the site.)  I should mention that some books were audiobooks, but reading is reading.  I have indicated audiobooks with an asterisk* after the title.

Here are my Reads of 2013, listed in the order I finished them this year:

1. The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns, book 1) by Rae Carson 

2. Of Poseidon (The Syrena Legacy, book 1) by Anna Banks

3. All She Ever Wanted by Barbara Freethy

4. More Like Her by Liz Palmer

5. The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold

6. Coming Home: A Story of Undying Hope by Karen Kingsbury

7. The Casual Vacancy* by J.K. Rowling

8. Eve (Eve, book 1) by Anna Carey

9. Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

10. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

11. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

12. The Shadow Cats (Fire and Thorns, book 0.5) by Rae Carson

13. Shatter Me (Shatter Me, book 1) by Tahereh Mafi

14. Walking Disaster (Beautiful, book 2) by Jamie McGuire

15. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

16. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

17. Destroy Me (Shatter Me, book 1.5) by Tahereh Mafi

18. The Shattered Mountain (Fire and Thorns, book 0.6) by Rae Carson

19. 10th Anniversary* (Women's Murder Club, book 10) by James Patterson

20. 11th Hour* (Women's Murder Club, book 11) by James Patterson

21. The Crown of Embers (Fire and Thorns, book 2) by Rae Carson

22. Guilty Wives* by James Patterson

23. Speak* by Laurie Halse Anderson

24. Once (Eve, book 2) by Anna Carey

25. Of Triton (The Syrena Legacy, book 2) by Anna Banks

26. The Prince (The Selection, book 0.5) by Kiera Cass

27. The Elite (The Selection, book 2) by Kiera Cass

28. Dangerous Voices by Rae Carson

29. Don't Turn Around (Persefone, book 1) by Michelle Gagnon

30. Shadow and Bone (The Grisha, book 1) by Leigh Bardugo (reread)

31. No Escape (Persefone, book 0.5) by Michelle Gagnon

32. Siege and Storm (The Grisha, book 2) by Leigh Bardugo

33. Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, book 1) by Cassandra Clare

34. Defending Jacob* by William Landay

35. Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices, book 2) by Cassandra Clare

36. The Language of Flowers* by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

37. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

38. Allegiant (Divergent, book 3) by Veronica Roth

39. The King's Guard (Fire and Thorns, book 0.7) by Rae Carson

40. Along Came a Spider* (Alex Cross, book 1) by James Patterson 

41. Now You See Her* by James Patterson

42. The Bitter Kingdom (Fire and Thorns, book 3) by Rae Carson

43. Sail* by James Patterson

44. Mercy by Jodi Picoult

45. Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury

46. (unsure of finish date) Catching Fire* (Hunger Games, book 2) by Suzanne Collins

My absolute favorite books this year were Rae Carson's Fire and Thorns.  These books are ABSOLUTE MUST READS.  They're not what I would have thought I would enjoy, but I loved them!!!

Do NOT waste your time on Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury.

Add me as a friend on Goodreads if you would like to read my book reviews.  According to this site, I read 14,886 pages, but this does not include my reread of Catching Fire.

I think I'll set a goal of 40 books for next year.  I would also like to read more by Cassandra Clare - recommended by my niece Shelby.  In addition, I have a few trilogies to complete with upcoming release dates.  Happy Reading!  :)

becky

Good Riddance 2013

While I try to remain a positive person, 2013 has not been the greatest year for us.  At the risk of sounding whiny, I'm going to use this post to document all of the ridiculous happenings.

• Technically in 2012, but the event that seemed to start it all - some punks threw a rock thru the back window of Tim's car while we were down in Cape Girardeau to visit Tim's grandmother. (police report #1)
• Also in 2012, we lost two of Tim's grandparents within 6 weeks of each other.  Great-Grandpa Werder and Great-Grandma Seabaugh will forever be in our hearts.  We miss them both dearly...
• Tim's red Pathfinder was renamed to "Titanic" after it backed into an iceberg at the end of the driveway.
• My Rogue was hit - unknown to me - in the rear bumper.  Gotta love it when people don't stick around in a parking lot to tell you they hit your new car.
• The sump pump in our new basement failed and we had water coming in.  Buh-bye carpet.  Hello insurance claim and an entire summer of chaos and restoration appointments.
• Ordering new doors to our garage and backyard turned into a fiasco that lasted nearly 6 months long.
• Some punk used a pellet gun to shoot a hole through a window pane in our kitchen. (police report #2)
• Yet another punk stole Tim's wallet right out of his back pocket at Six Flags Great America. (police report #3)
• The spring on our garage door broke.

I get that it can always be worse.  We are very blessed that we have all been kept safe and healthy during this past year, and I certainly pray that continues into 2014.  As I said before I don't want to sound whiny, but my blog is a good place to document all of the things that happen in our lives.

My prayers are for a HEALTHY and SAFE 2014.  Life is full of frustrations, but in the end everything works out the way God intends.  We're good with that.  :)

So as I look back at 2013, I smile.  I smile because Isaiah - Autism and all - is doing great at his new school for 1st grade.  Mallory is thriving in 4K.  Tim and I enjoy watching our kids learn and grow so much.  (Love him!) AND we added to our family with the cutest, best behaved cat in the world that we adopted for the Fox Valley Humane Association.  Savannah is the sweetest kitty ever.

- becky

Snapshots of Summer

At the rate I have been blogging (or not blogging), I will never get done sharing the rest of our summer with you if I don't do it this way. It's all of August in one post!

Aaron and Isaiah

Julie (Mallory's BFF), me, and the kiddos

Adorable dress, don't you think? Made with love especially for Mallory from Neena.

Tim's dad retired from P&G, so the above two pics of Mallory were taken at his retirement party. I wish I had taken more pictures of the cousins playing, but it was like herding cats to make sure nothing got broken at the church we were at. Not an easy situation to take pictures in...

Isaiah's favorite place to eat after spending some time in Missouri - White Castle!

Climbed in all by himself...oh goodness...

Mallory's first week at day care was short. She stayed home Thursday with a yucky, high fever. :(

LOVE this picture - We have it framed and on our work desks.

Tunnel!

Such intense facial expressions!

Another dress made by Neena - this one was handed down from Holly!

We attended several baseball games in August and September.

Hey - this would be a great Facebook profile pic!

"The Look"

Sitting still and behaving nicely...for 5 seconds - No, really, they behave great and sit through the entire game!

Busy summer!

Naturally, I forgot my camera at home the last game of the season that we went to. It was on my birthday, and check this out - we were selected to be the Kohl's Family of the Game! We were on the Jumbo-Tron jumping around, and the announcer congratulated, "The Seabaugh family from Appleton" on winning a $250 Kohl's gift card. Excellent!

You should hear him make the siren noise! When done while in the car, it's loud enough to make you want to pull to the side of the road to let the fire engine pass.

I don't know what this face is all about, but it's pretty funny.

Sigh...I love summer vacation...

Simply adorable! Mallory loves to have "pretties" put in her hair.

- becky

Noah's Ark

We had our annual Youth Noah's Ark trip at the end of June. It is always such a fun day! The kids enjoyed themselves so, so, so much. Slidewinders is by far my favorite slide. It's pretty basic, but you don't have to carry any kind of tube or mat up the stairs, there is never a line, and Mallory could even ride with me! Isaiah was turning blue he was so cold, but he kept saying, "Want some more waterpark!"

When we got there, I saw another pastor and his family. I thought I recognized them, and I was right! It turns out it was another pastor's wife/mommy whose blog I follow! I had never met her in person, so I introduced myself to her in a way that I hope was more your-blogging-inspires-me than I'm-a-crazy-person. :)

Look how tired the kids were! yaaawwwnnn....

Always a fun time, especially when we all escape without sunburns. Can't wait until next year!

- becky

For the Record

I am not cheating. I have not logged into Facebook since Fat Tuesday.

My Networked Blogs settings automatically post my blog to my Facebook wall, so I don't have to manually do it.

:)

- becky

Becky Salyer Seabaugh is...

This afternoon, we made it safely home from our annual post-Christmas Chicago vacation. Good times, good times. While we were gone, I didn't want to advertise that on the Internet (hello, robbers), so I kept track of all of the witty status updates that I would have posted on Facebook. If you don't use Facebook, all you do is put the words Becky Salyer Seabaugh in front of each of the following statements.

Sunday

...is in Menasha and already forgot something. (Isaiah's milk)

...thinks the Windy City is really windy tonight.

...came all the way to the Weber Grill restaurant in Chicago only to order a Wisconsin Burger.

...is blogging on paper because we can't connect to the Internet for free at our hotel. :(

...also forgot the Elmo Potty Seat and formula scoop at home. Sorry, kids! At least I remembered to pack you.

Monday

...forgot to stop the mail. (Thanks, Barb!)

...was followed to Chicago by Brett Favre. That guy just won't go away. (Bears and Vikes played at Soldier Field, if you don't follow football.)

...lOvEs that teachers get in free at the Shedd Aquarium.

...is enjoying the new Fantasea show featuring whales, dolphins, sea lions, penguins, and a red tailed hawk that didn't feel like flying to impress us today.

...'s husband is eating fish for lunch at the aquarium. Wonder where they picked up those filets to fry up...???

...is eating an Italian beef sandwich. YUM.

...is admiring the 2009 Christmas Tree at Macy's.

...shared the world's best mac-and-cheese from a place called Rock Bottom with Mallory. They also have the world's best customer service.

Tuesday

...is glad that we waited until today to visit the Hancock Observatory. Very clear sky today!

...is a little nervous about an elevator that goes up 94 floors in 40 seconds.

...is getting hungry. Time for another Italian beef sandwich.

...is too tired. We're skipping the Childrens' Museum. Maybe next year...

...is amazed how fast time flies. Time for another Italian beef sandwich? Why, yes, I do believe so.

...is glad to be back to the hotel early to hang out with the kiddos.

...finds it hilarious when Isaiah sits and looks out the 9th floor window saying, "Hi, Chicago! I love Chicago!" Me, too, little buddy.

Wednesday

...has that very sad, vacation is over today feeling. :(

...finds it interesting how things change with kids. It's only 9:40 and we're already on the road. Back in the day, we would have been just waking up.

...made it safely home to Appleton...after stopping at the Pizza Ranch in Fond Du Lac for lunch, of course. No Italian beef sandwich. :(

...is unpacked. :(

...was meant to live right smack in the middle of a big city. I miss you, Chicago...

- becky

Playin' Outside

It's official. Isaiah is in his terrible two's. Mallory, while we love her dearly, is quite a demanding baby, so I suspect that is what has brought this on. He's been just plain sassy - at mealtimes, at naptime, walking to and from places - you name it. Despite all of that, we still have tons of fun. Here are some pictures of him playing on the deck.

Our annual family vacation begins Sunday afternoon. I've been trying to get things organized early, but it will still be traumatic to pack everyone up to be gone for 14 days. (Even though we are VERY excited to see family.) 14 days and 9 different sleeping stops. That has got to be a record in the Stupid Hall of Fame. I'm bringing my computer, so I'll blog a travel journal at our stops with Internet access.

- becky

Now Showing...

...on Facebook.

I've got a new application on Facebook that I'm trying out where you can follow and read my blog on Facebook.

Once my children allow me the time, I'll play around with it and get it up and running.

- becky

Are You Online?

Because I am! Finally! We finally replaced the computer. Now I can get caught up on a lot of things. I better get started.

I'll start the blogging catch-up tomorrow after I've had a chance to download pictures from the digital camera. For now, it's too close to bedtime.

Be sure to check back tomorrow. I've got lots to share with you - a (minor) car accident, Mallory's 1st MLB game, Isaiah swimming with Daddy, Isaiah and Mallory playing together, Isaiah reading The Potty Train... The list goes on and on.

- becky

Two Hundred!

Welcome to the 200th post on The Seabaugh Family Blog!

Even though yesterday was my 2nd snow day of the year, it was such a busy day that I did not have an opportunity to post. It was a much better snow day than the one before. This time, Isaiah was NOT sick. However, he didn't take a nap either. He was a little whiny when it got to be close to bedtime, but he wasn't as much a bear as I thought he would be.

I spent most of the day wrapping Christmas presents and preparing packages to mail to our family and friends. After breakfast this morning, I got back to wrapping and packaging. I finished just after 1:00 this afternoon, and we loaded the six packages and ourselves into the car. We arrived at PostNet to send everything off, and they closed about 30 minuted before we arrived. It figures. Tim and Isaiah will send everything off on Monday, so we're hoping everything will still arrive in time for Christmas. I am so bummed; I really tried this year. It seemed like every evening I had an opportunity to finish the Christmas shopping, it was snowing and the roads were not good for driving.

When we got home from our failed shipping expedition, we let Isaiah walk around in the snow for a bit. He was so excited!

Check out the adorable boots! They were given to Isaiah from my friend Maggie's son Drew.

"I can help Daddy clear the driveway! When do I get to use the snowblower???"

"Snow! Yea! But there's so much of it, and it's only December. Will it ever stop?!?!"

- becky

What's the Point?

Last night at Scrap-and-Craft we had a conversation about blogging.

Why blog?

1.) People are nosy and enjoy reading about other people's lives.
2.) I like to keep family and friends updated.
3.) It's a great way to vent, even though it is done publicly.
4.) No one can tell me what to say. I can speak my mind!
5.) Blogging pictures of my little guy is much appreciated by family and friends that don't see him very often.
6.) It almost reminds me of a digital scrapbook.
7.) I enjoy going back to read what was going on in our family life a few months ago. (If only I had been blogging when Isaiah was born!)
8.) It's FUN!

I'm sure there are many more good reasons to blog. If you haven't tried it, you should. If you do blog, you should blog more often. I care about you and want to know what's on your mind.

Like I said - it's fun. Where else can you talk about nothing and people actually listen to you?

- becky

Looking Ahead

I just wrote a really great blog entry, but I don't have the guts to post it. It was all about pet peeves, and what irks you the most. Would it be tacky to blog about that? I should be able to write about anything, right? After all, it is my blog? I suppose I'm just afraid someone's feelings will get hurt.

Anyway, Tim sent me flowers yesterday for no reason at all! They are really pretty! I left them at school, so that I can enjoy them while I am at work. I'll take a picture of them, so you can enjoy them through my blog.

Busy, busy, busy. I'm so tired of being busy. We have only 34 school days left! Yippee! I can't wait for summer vacation. Isaiah and I are going to have tons of fun. Here is a list of the things I am looking forward to -

1. Vacation - visit family and friends

2. sleeping late

3. staying up late

4. play dates for Isaiah

5. time to read

6. sitting outside in the sunshine to read

7. taking walks in the neighborhood

8. eating lunch with Tim every day

9. watching baseball games - on TV and from Busch Stadium and Miller Park

10. Noah's Ark in the Wisconsin Dells

Notice that while a waterpark is on the list, wearing my bathing suit did NOT make the list...

- becky