allie bleeping carroll

Our photographer Allie did such a wonderful job on our photos! We're deliriously happy with them and it was such a fun day. She made it so easy!!

Take a look at the pictures on her gallery website:
www.alliecarrollphotography.com

- Scroll just a bit and you will see our name "The Schleifer Family"
- Click there and you will be prompted for a password
- The password is TaraandIssac12
(Please note that the password is case sensitive
so be sure to cap the "T" in Tara and the "I" in Issac)

So much fun! We hope to have annual sessions with Allie because she's so darn talented!!!

:)

the winery at la grange

Peeps, this is just a gorgeous place with delicious wine. As, are many many places where we live. What, you ask, are the three of us doing there on a Sunday morning at 10:00 am? Getting Isaac tipsy on the fumes from the fermenting casks? Naw, silly! (Though, I should say, those fumes were pretty strong, and for days I did smell like and feel like I had just drank 16 margaritas. Why margaritas, and not wine?! Dunno. Don't ask me.)

No! We were having HOLIDAY PICTURE DAY!!! We dressed up in festive colors and looked like TEAM SCHLEIFER! I don't have all the photos yet, but here's a sneek peek!! :)






More soon! In the meantime, check out the AWESOME photographer's website! She rules!
http://alliecarrollphotography.wordpress.com/2009/09/15/normi-parker-ferris-a-family-session/

employee of the month

Hi, it's been awhile since I posted, so today, I'm catching up. With three posts in as many minutes.

Anyway, my husband, whom I love dearly, for many many many reasons, keeps winning the bleeping Employee of the Month award.

It appears everytime he changes his underwear, his company awards him Employee of the Month. But, actually, he changes it everyday, it just SEEMS like he wins an award all the bleeping time.

So, that's great, yeah? Job security, high self esteem and what not. Yes? Yes.

Except, I'm starting to get really, really jealous. Surprise!

Because, just as his career is beginning anew, with finishing law school on the horizon, he gets to leave his old career on a high note, with his employer thinking he's a veritable rock star and all. It's all peaches and cream. For him.

Then, there's me. Dressed in grown up clothes sometimes. Showered, sometimes. Makeup, sometimes. Nails, sometimes. Hair, sometimes. Everything all together at the same time? Never. And, if so, with stains. Green beans, milk, mococos (spanish euphemism), all kinds of delightfulness.

Gaby on the fifth season of Desperate Housewives sums it up quite well when she tries to explain the changes motherhood brings to her dear husband.

I have A LOT to say about all of this. And I'm reading a really really really good book about it called The Truth Behind the Mommy Wars, which explores women's identities and possibilities once they become mothers. Fascinating.

For the time being, I will just say this (because Isaac is awake and wanting to play), I decided I was Employee of the Month! I cleaned my garage so much that you can park TWO cars in it (photos and proof forthcoming). And, my neighbors and father-in-law noticed too!

So, for my EotM award, Dave gave me this:
, the fuzziest pillow in the world!

'aunt' debbie's (and mineo's mmmmm)

A couple weeks back, Isaac and I travelled to Pittsburgh, to visit "Aunt" Debbie and "Uncle" Doug. Debbie and Doug are really my mom's cousins, so does that make them second cousins to me? Dunno.

But, to Isaac, they are Aunt Debbie and Uncle Doug. And, as usual, I'm terrible with pictures!!

Aunt Debbie and Uncle Doug are awesome and they have a gorgeous home with land in Pittsburgh. They were graciously storing things from my grama's house for me while my family and I made the move to Virginia. They wouldn't let me pay rent either. :(

They have always gone out of their way to help me and my family in times of need, like when my mom needed to move or my grama needed help with home maintenance after grampa died. They are very enthusiastic and available. So kind and generous. I have really appreciated everything they have done for us over the years.

We had a very nice time visiting and I got to meet Aunt Debbie's sister's and their family's too because it was Aunt Debbie's birthday and we had a party. The 20th anniversary of her 30th birthday...no...that's not quite right :) Delicious food, wonderful conversation, and the cutest doggie! Isaac got to play with Nathan, Debbie's grandnephew and we all had a great time.

I was enjoying the family visit so much, I didn't visit with any friends and neighbors from my time in Pittsburgh. It's so easy to get to Pittsburgh from here, that will just have to be for next time!

And, just for Dave, I brought home award-winning, super, ultra amazing and delicious (and FEDEX-able) Mineo's pizza: http://mineospizza.com/index.html. Those of you who have had this, understand. And, those of you who haven't, I might suggest giving it a try!

halloween at aunt Stephanie's!

Isaac and I are super lucky! We have lots of family closeby, including, Aunt Stephanie and her sweet family. Isaac and I left daddy at home, because he had to study, and we went Trick or Treating with Aunt Stephanie, Cousin Ethan, and Cousin Evan at Stephanie's house. It was very exciting. Isaac had never been trick or treating before, but he quickly became accustomed to reaching his hand out for yummy candies!

And, it was also marked with sadness. Cousin Elise, sadly, could not come trick or treating with us! She was sick with the Swine Flu, and very, very sad to miss out on all the fun.

Stephanie is Dave's sister! And she lives about 3 hours South of us. So, we had a lovely weekend with Steph and Uncle Joe, and grama and grampa and Aunt Jan! It's nice to be able to visit family, although, it would have been even more fun if Dave could've come too!

We'll be back for Thanksgiving, and then again at Christmas! And, Dave (aka, Mr. 5 times winning employee of the month) gets like 3 weeks off of work AND school in December, so we're very much looking forward to the break!

Isaac is very very sad right now, because mommy isn't playing with him, so more later!! xoxoxo.