the hulsebus family

word verification

2011-07-07T05:53:00.000-07:00

pardon my ignorance, but what is this? i get that it is supposed to be some kind of security, but how does typing in a word that looks crazy and does not spell anything keep things secure?

happy birthday daddy

2011-05-16T19:25:00.000-07:00

This has been a busy, but fun and exciting weekend. We celebrated Sumter Elizabeth Folley (Todd and Lindsey's little girl)! Friday night the family went to the new restaurant in town: 5'o clock bistro and it was delicious. Saturday morning I helped a bunch of lovely ladies host a brunch to celebrate, then we went to a home show where we all got some really cute clothes, for a lot less! That night we had another shower, this time a couples shower and it was such a good time. Sunday it was church and then lunch with the twins, all in all it was a great weekend and we are so excited and anxiously awaiting the June/July arrival of this new little addition.

On a different note, our little one is 9 months old, I've waited until today to post, simply because today is daddy's birthday and thought it might be nice to post Ella's 9 month pictures in honor of his birthday. She is still just so much fun, she is definitely growing rapidly, I do not have stats yet (will post those when I get them), but she must be pushing 20lbs. She is all over the place, she stands and then claps for herself...she is so proud, and she desperately wants to walk, but don't try to help her, she is a bit head strong, can't imagine where she gets that from. I think I would describe her as spunky, maybe even a little feisty, but definitely all about a good time. She loves to laugh and works hard to get you to join in, she loves to dance and sing, stick a mirror in front of the girl and she is happy to stand there ALL day grinning and singing and clapping. she is still lacking hair, but she does have two beautiful, slightly crooked, but beautiful teeth on the bottom. Next month we will be at the beach when Ella hits the double digits, so those pics should be really exciting, until then, these will have to do...at least it is a really cute subject!!

happy birthday daddy, we miss you loads!

Easter

2011-04-26T17:43:00.000-07:00

HE IS RISEN! One of my favorite things this Easter was the text message I received from my mama; which simply stated: "He is risen". What an excellent reminder that our Lord and Savior has fought the fight and has accomplished what He set out to do. The battle is won! Our price has been paid, we are now able to abide in His holy presence. I look forward to the day we will celebrate Easter with our Savior, in our true home, abiding with Him in worshipful praise. HE IS RISEN INDEED. Thanks be to thee oh God!

We had a fun Easter Sunday, we went to First Presbyterian in the morning and had to sit in the spill over section in Saint Andrews...not a bad thing, I am glad there were that many people to hear Dr. Robertson's sermon, it was excellent. Then we headed back to our house where I hosted my very first Easter lunch. we did not have a huge crowd, but it was a great one! Mama brought a "pig lickin' cake" which was to die for and Corey and Elise came with a green bean casserole, which was also scrumptious! I provided the ham, deviled eggs, potato salad and resurrection rolls. After lunch we took Easter pictures, hence the new photo in place of our blog "title" because I can't seem to figure out how to have both a picture and a title -- oh well. Later that night, Tyson watched Ella so that mama and I could go to Christ Church for evening worship, where the choir sang from Handel's Messiah, and Dr. Oliver spoke. It was wonderful getting to hear him again. All in all it was a full and wonderful Easter Sunday. However, I am sure it was not nearly as good as the one my dad had!

a little technical glitch

2011-04-08T12:05:00.000-07:00

it drives me a little bonkers that i can't seem to remember to put the pictures into the blog in the reverse order, so just scroll up the screen to get the idea rather than down the screen.

ella is 8 months!

2011-04-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

...or she will be tomorrow, but really who's counting? i am going to be at work tomorrow, so i wasn't going to be around to take the 8month pictures, which means i decided do them a day early.

the baby girl is growing entirely too fast, i think she doesn't realize she is supposed to be a baby. she is no longer interested in napping she would rather stand and jump in her crib or chew on her side rails. she is pulling up on things and transferring from one object to another and she does not want any help doing so. she hates to be held, but she LOVES to play hide and go seek, i hide and ella finds me, it's a pretty fun game. i am also starting to wonder if she might grow up to be a lounge singer. i got her a piano from a church consignment sale and she thinks it is the greatest. she laughs and sings and dances while she plays all sorts of fun songs on the piano. she is also forming an opinion about what she likes to eat and makes it very clear when she does not like something, she scrunches up her nose, closes her eyes and sticks her tongue out all while shaking her head back and forth(i'll have to try and get a picture of it). Not only is this week, ella's 8month birthday week, it is also spring break and we spent the beginning of the week at the lake. Ella had a ball, she had more attention than she has ever had and she soaked up every minute of it. she is quite the entertainer! when we were driving back from the lake ella picked out a birthday present, so we sent the picture to her daddy :)

oh and her tooth (the one i've been waiting on for months) is here, it's on the bottom, you can see it if you squint really hard, and it's partner is coming in right next to it...HOORAY for teeth, maybe she won't take after her momer

7 months

2011-03-17T06:48:00.000-07:00

ella turned seven months old on the 9th of this month, i took pictures on that very day, but of course i am late getting them out on the blog. anywho, she is such a fun baby, she grins her face off and then scrunches up her nose if she isn't making you smile with just her huge grin. she started to try and crawl at the end of 5months and started crawling like a champ at the end of 6months, now she wants to stand. so she pulls up on her crib, chews on the side rail and waits for me to get in there and get her out. she is still sleeping through the night which is AWESOME (definitely her coolest trick ever) and takes two naps a day. we are still trying to figure out the whole eating/bottle thing. she gets 4 bottles (7,11,3,7) and three meals (7,11,5) per day, but she doesn't take all of her bottles anymore, so i am thinking about dropping one. problem is i have NO idea which one to drop. any suggestions?

she is definitely cutting teeth now, i can see them, two of them on the bottom, the front ones. i have been waiting on these teeth for what seems like forever, not because i was worried, but because she has had all the signs for months and nothing...until now! hooray. she talks all the time and of course her first word is "dada" although i think it is more of a sound than an association; but, none the less, it is a word and we will take it...especially tyson :) okay so i think that is all the new stuff, it is now recorded and i am so grateful because ella does not have a baby book :) purchased one, still looks the very same as the day i bought it.

christmas...a little late

2011-02-18T06:22:00.000-08:00

i realized that i never recorded anything about Christmas, so here we go. we enjoyed Christmas eve with tyson's family and then spent the night at my mama's. then after opening presents, eating breakfast and taking a morning nap we headed to reidsville for the annual family Christmas cookout, then we were off to our favorite place: the lake on the 26th. I think ella fully enjoyed her first christmas experience, here a few pictures to remember it by. (p.s. mama has not put up stockings since daddy died, so santa had to get a little creative)

getting geared up for christmas

she loves her daddy

ella was so helpful when we were putting up the lights

ella was getting ready for uncle eddie's good cookin'

she loved warming her feet by the fire

and cuddling with mimi

we always do a family pic in front of the tree in reidsville, normally we also get a group shot, but with so many people missing this year and having to head home early, we just did the individual family photos. tyson, unfortunately, was not able to make it to any of the out of town christmas festivities because he was studying for boards. booo! but not next year, because he passed and is a working man now :)

ella and her cousin emmy

ella and emmy, just chillin'

lilly's christmas present

haha, i just realized ella was still in her hugga bebe...oops! it was early

we had a great christmas 2010

ella's photo shoot

2011-02-17T16:19:00.000-08:00

thank you katherine for taking such beautiful pictures of my precious baby girl, i love the simplicity. you did such a good job of capturing her sweet innocence.

6 month check up

2011-02-17T07:18:00.000-08:00

we went yesterday to see our favorite pediatrician and ella decided to show him ALL of her new moves, dr. hanna said, 'wow, that is impressive, look at how strong she is, i wouldn't be surprised if she is walking soon"....excuse me...doooohh what? i'm glad he was impressed, because i just kept thinking, no, stop, slow down, you are growing too fast!! but apparently she does not care, because last night she decided to go from "downward facing dog" to sitting...all by herself. the nerve! i think tyson and i might have our hands full with this one. so without further ado,

ellanora's stats:

she smiles all the time, she babbles (dadadadada) and squeals, she rolls, she sits up (apparently on her own now), she does downward facing dog with the best of them, she sleeps on her stomach, she wants desperately to crawl, but really is happiest when standing-still with mama's help...thank goodness she still needs me:).

weight: 17lb 12oz (78%)

length:25 1/2 inches (30%),

head size: 16 3/4 inches (50%).

ella sleeps from 7pm to 7am and takes 2 naps/day. one at 9am and the other at 1pm. she takes 4 eight ounce bottles (7,11,3,7) and eats 2x/day (11&5). she has tried: squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, pears, apples, prunes, bananas, avocado (her favorite - just like her daddy), peas, green beans, rice, oatmeal, and parsnips.

we had a sleepover weekend with dear friends last weekend and sweet katherine took pictures of my baby girl for me. they turned out beautiful! as soon as i can figure out how to get those pics on the blog, i'll post them, until now just know they are fabulous!! thank you katherine.

happy 1/2 birthday ella

2011-02-09T08:24:00.000-08:00

how quickly time slips away! i have always heard people talking about how fast time goes by, but until i became a parent, that statement was never fully appreciated. my baby girl has gone from this:

to this:

in just 6 very short months!

last night tyson and i were playing with ella on our bed tickling her and listening to her laugh. we were both amazed at how much joy this little person has brought to our lives. she reminded me of the love our heavenly Father has for us. ella has nothing to offer, she can do nothing for herself, we do everything for her and yet her glowing smile and sweet laughter, which lights up her entire face, brings us so much joy. how much more He has done for us and all He wants from us is to love Him and reflect His glory to others. what is the chief end of man? man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

thank you ella for teaching me such a simple yet profound truth. happy 1/2 birthday, your daddy and i love you so very much and pray that you would love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and that you would never know a day without Him. you are His not ours, but we sure are glad that He is letting us enjoy you!

all my love,

mama

he passed!!!!

2011-01-19T08:25:00.000-08:00

Tyson passed his CRNA boards!! He starts work February 1st at Doctor's Hospital, the 2nd largest burn hospital in the world. He has many challenges ahead, but for now we are grateful! Grateful that the Lord has provided in so many ways for our family, grateful that He is true to His promises and He uses us even in our imperfections. Grateful for our friends and family that have been so willing to help and who, more importantly, have been faithful in praying for us. Grateful for our daughter, who is pure joy; but most importantly, we are grateful that we serve a God who loves us dearly.

I finally got my computer back, so yay pictures!!

2011-01-11T13:39:00.000-08:00

it has been way too long and there are quite a few things i want to post for me to remember.

first; however, i feel that it is important for me to mention that the reason i have been so behind is because of a terrible reality called postpartum depression. for those who are fortunate enough to have never experienced this please know that it is real and it's a beast!! thank the Lord i am a labor and delivery nurse, because if it were not for the drastic weight loss and my profession, i could have been lost in that terrible place for a lot longer than i was. i missed out on so many wonderful moments with my daughter (which is why you will notice there are no pictures from weeks 6-16) and that was the worst part of the whole deal. i will post something later about postpartum because i still would like to wrap my mind around it and i think that it is an important topic to discuss. but, for now, let me catch up on life with our precious little girl!

the pictures above are from pre and post delivery. the trip home. her first play date with millie johnson and mae turner (2 wks). first trip to the lake (3 - 4wks). first trip to the beach, where her umbilical cord finally fell off, which meant her first real bath and then we stopped by savannah to see the twins on our way home(5wks).

- the mushroom pic is one of mama's and i just loved it

- the cookies were given to us by friends during ella's first week home (delicious!)

our crazy, but functioning family

2011-01-05T06:57:00.000-08:00

Life has been a little interesting, Tyson has graduated from C.R.N.A. school with a 4.o (hoorah!!) , but he has been studying like a champ for his boards. So... Ella and I have been at mama's. Our goal is to stay out of his way. He has worked entirely too hard and we have invested too much time and money to get in the way of this last hurdle!! Plus, it has been fun over here :)

Ella is growing so quickly, she started sleeping for 12 hours at night when she was 13 weeks, she now (almost 5 months) takes two, two hour naps and sometimes a third. she started rolling over on thanksgiving day, she is trying so hard to sit/stand/move any way she can!! Her feet are always moving, she is NEVER still, even while eating her left foot is kicking constantly. I have started making her food ... super easy and really fun! She loves bananas and pears and cereal, next week we are going to try squash, not sure how that will go.

other fun news: TODD and LINDSEY are preggers!! Ella has another cousin on the way!

(will post pics of the last few months when we get back home, looking forward to having some normalcy soon)

SHE'S here!!!

2010-08-13T13:17:00.000-07:00

I can not believe that Tyson and I gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl! I just knew she was a boy ... guess I was wrong! Ellanora Louise Hulsebus was born August 9, 2010 @ 3:57am. She weighed 6lbs 11ozs and was 19 1/2 inches long. We had our first visit to the pediatrician's office this morning and although still a little jaundice, she is already back to her birth weight plus an ounce. The pediatrician gave her a good bill of health and sent us on our way. Tyson and I are so grateful for this little gift and can not believe how wonderful everything has been, who knew that one could feel this much joy.

2010-07-08T17:37:00.001-07:00

on this day four years ago, i married my best friend! i love you tyson, thank you for a GREAT four years!!

edisto pics

2010-05-03T14:44:00.001-07:00

edisto

2010-05-03T13:59:00.000-07:00

somehow, tyson and i were able to get away! we both had several days off in a row and a sweet sweet friend from work picked up a day for me so that we could have even more than several days off and go on vacation! I have been saving a little every pay check to take tyson on a surprise vacation to someplace really cool for his graduation present, and well instead I will be giving him a child ... no trip. sooo, i thought that we could use some of that money for what i think is called a "babymoon", which is funny because when we tried to think of the last vacation we took completely by ourselves, well, it was our "honeymoon". therefore, i think this trip is well deserved and so far has been greatly appreciated by my overworked and overstudied husband. it has been such a good time, not to mention that we picked this place because it was beach front and dog friendly, so lilly is also having the time of her life, which is great because her 2nd birthday was yesterday!! She had pancakes and bacon for breakfast then played on the beach for hours basking in all it's beauty and smells! pictures to follow.

p.s. just wanted to give a shout out to becca and aaron, who had a BEAUTIFUL wedding here in Edisto ... what fun memories! Tyson and I are going to have a low country boil in honor of you two :)

maybe it's been awhile, but was this really necessary?!?!

2010-02-10T18:45:00.000-08:00

I was thinking, maybe i had flown under the radar, maybe nobody noticed that i had not blogged in quite sometime, but I should have known that my dear becca friend would not let me slide. no no no, she had to go and do this:

"Hi Victoria- It's me. Your blog. You might not remember me, as we only met briefly. But it meant a lot to me. You made me funny. People enjoyed checking in on me. But something's happened-- you've neglected me lately. Was it something I did? Something I said? I'd love to reconnect, so please, hit me up sometime. It would make me, AND your readers, very happy.
Let's work this out. I love you.
Yours truly,
Blog."

really !?! unbelievable, bec thanks for that:)

so on that note, i guess it is time to share our biggest news yet: tyson and i are expecting our very first bambino!!! it is true and soooo cute (there's our first pic ... look up), the little bambino already has a face ... not sure why that was so amazing to me, but it was - we truly serve a GREAT GOD!

p.s. the new blog colors are not indicative of the sex of our bambino (at least not that i know of at this time), you see we are not going to find out what we are having. I simply am ready for spring and thought that these colors were, well, cheerful!

lilly then and now

2009-11-03T12:24:00.001-08:00

the best chocolate chip pumpkin muffins ever

2009-11-03T11:49:00.000-08:00

i decided to share a university labor & delivery secret recipe, or maybe it really isn't a secret, but either we love them!! one of the girls at work makes these delicious muffins and they are TO DIE FOR GOOD, especially with our "crack" (aka coffee). so here it is, please enjoy!

the best chocolate chip pumpkin muffins ever

Blend dry and set aside:
2 cups flour
3 cups sugar
3 TBS pumpkin spice *
1 TBS baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

Blend wet:
6 eggs
3 cups solid 100% pumpkin (= 1 - 29 oz can minus 1/2 cup)
3 sticks butter, melted

measure out 3 cups chocolate chips

Directions:
Fold dry into wet until just blended.
Fold in Chococlate chips.
Spoon into muffins cups...will not rise a lot.
Bake at 350 degrees, 20-25 minutes or until springs back to touch. (Mini muffins bake in 18 minutes.)

Yield about 116 minis or about 38 minis and 24 regular size.

* Make your own pumpkin spice with 5 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 3/4 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp ground clove

pictures?

2009-10-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

why is it that i am so technologically challenged that i can not figure out how to post pictures on this thing? oh wait never mind i think i just figured it out!! yes!! i am so good, bill gates watch out. this is so exciting!

p.s. i did not take this picture...it was one of the sample pictures on mama's lap top, isn't it pretty? but still be excited that i have mastered the uploading of pictures to the ol blog skill bc there are now endless opportunities for blogging, ahhh. so proud.

2009-10-26T15:41:00.001-07:00

haha, so i just looked and two out of my whopping three posts have started with "so i am sitting here doing a whole lotta nothing" boy i amaze myself with my creativity. so let's deduce that the reason i have not posted anything is because i have not found myself doing a "whole lotta nothing" thus no time to update the ol' blog here. And now i need to go get dinner started for mama, todd, and lindsey, so ... i am going to have to find another time to really update the blog and catch up ALL of my faithful readers (who am i kidding...becca this is for you! love ya tutz) on my life.

pansie

2009-10-08T18:26:00.000-07:00

so, i am sitting here doing a whole lotta nothing, looking at everyone one else's blog, with the tv on mute...why do i even have it on? no one knows. anyway my vicious dog is growling, at what...i am not really sure; however, it must be really scary because she is growling from behind my legs! what a mess :)

eggplant parmesan

2009-09-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

who knew that was so easy and DELICIOUS!! thank you tea time. it's a shame tyson had to miss this one, he would have been most impressed. oh well, mama and lindsey helped me enjoy it along with a bottle of menage a trois, ahhh...what a great girls night and let's just say there was not a clean plate in the house. good times.

TEA TIME at the MASTERS: CHICKEN PARMESAN

1 medium to large eggplant
15 oz can of tomato sauce
1 egg
1/2 tsp of dried basil
1/4 cup of dry white wine
pepper to taste (my addition)
bread crumbs
2 cloves of garlic
olive oil
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese (sliced)
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese

peel and slice eggplant 3/8 - inch thick, beat egg and wine together. dip eggplant slices in egg mixture, then in bread crumbs and brown in oil. drain on paper towels. simmer tomato sauce, garlic (minced) and basil together in saucepan 10-15 minutes (this is where i took the liberty to add pepper). grease baking dish. layer half the eggplant, mozzarella, parmesan and sauce in baking dish, then repeat layers. bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, serves 6.

i took the plunge

2009-09-29T07:20:00.001-07:00

seeing as i have had several days here lately to sit around and do a whole lot of nothing...i decided to start a blog. i know many of you will be shocked to say the least, but it is true and here it is!

so let's start off with a disclaimer, i am really just doing this so i can keep up with you guys... so please don't have high expectations on me really "posting" too much of anything, but we'll see. and remember, i am a nurse, not an english major, i can't spell and the grammar ...well ... not so great (i am notorious for run-ons), but i think it will be readible.

so next, why the title: the hucklebucks?

well, hulsebus...not the easiest and it gets confusing trying to make it plural, hulsebus', hulsebuses, hulsebi (which would be my vote bc i think it is HI.larious...thanks stuart); however, tyson does not find that one as funny as i do. then it came to me, pretty much out of desperation, but it came none the less: hucklebuck! One of my favorite co-workers of all times decided to call me hucklebuck, a term of endearment (is there spell check anywhere on this thing?), or at least i took it that way! she was a little difficult for me to break (imagine dr. bailey, in the early episodes, on grey's anatomy), but i did and i would say i became her favorite "little white girl", success!! so as a tribute to all my hard work in getting on her good side, i have named this blog "the hucklebucks".