Cruff Family Chronicles

Hey, everyone! The 18th marked 5 official months since we moved to Michigan. I get people asking me all the time how it's going and how I'm handling it. It really hasn't been as bad as I thought but it also hasn't fully winterized here yet either. Maybe I should re-write this post in the spring. So here's how I'm surviving and I'll write in "tips for you" style: Join a Church- If religion isn't your thing, pick something you're into like hiking, geo-caching, etc. and join Meetup.com. If religion is your thing, this is one of the most important things you can do. Now, I wasn't sold on our current church because: It was too big It wasn't my last church, TMCC Sierra Vista The music wasn't as awesome as TMCC We only knew a couple people. It wasn't TMCC So in conclusion, I just had to get over the fact it wasn't my first church, my home church, the church I was baptized in, the church where we had dinner with th...

Have you ever met a mom and thought "I want to be her?". Sophia's mom Erica is super patient and encouraging and I explictly told her "I want to be you when I grow up". Don't get me wrong, I LOVE MY GIRLS MORE THAN LIFE ITSELF. I could show it better, though. I will be the first to admit I can be hard on them, critical and I'm a yeller. I want my kids to be well behaved. No matter what you say about me, you'll never say my kids don't have manners. I am a work in progress and it's refreshing to see someone who can put those things I want to be, in the flesh. Obviously, we all have different parenting styles but I think we are kidding ourselves if we say there isn't room for improvement. So for every thing I need to correct, I can say 3 things that were positive. I can look them in the eye when I want something so I don't have to yell it and repeat over and over and over again. Anyway, this last weekend, Erica had us over for a playda...

Hey all! I went to MOPS and JUMP this week (moms groups) and we talked about Christmas traditions. We didn't really have any growing up and I would explain why but it doesn't matter. Now that I have kids of my own and Bri is getting to the age where she will understand traditions, it was fun to hear ones I would like to incorporate! I will go through some that I heard and ones that I would like to do. My friend Tiffany said her family recreated the Christmas Story with costumes while they read Luke 2. I thought that would be soooo much fun but I'm pretty sure no one in my family besides me would go for it. My friend Chellie remembers her and her siblings had their own wrapping paper and I'm going to be doing that too. I won't tell Bri until the day of which one is hers. A couple of people said they baked a cake for Jesus's birthday and that sounds like it might be fun but we will see how it goes. I'm not ready to commit to baking. Some people said ...

Hey guys! I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving! We sure did, had lots of great food and the company of friends. There are 5 Samborn brothers and we got invited to Scott and Amber's for Thanksgiving. Adam and Andy have been friends for over 20 years and his family is like a second family, even to me and the girls. Adam and Andy Forever fighting for Adam's love lol Adam and Andy's parents Irene and Sam So when my friend Emily asked what we were doing for Thanksgiving and I said nothing because Adam had to work Friday, we planned on going to Cracker Barrel but when Irene heard, she invited us to Scott and Amber's and even invited Emily, who they've never met before. That was sweet :). Me and Emily We had a great time. The girls have been there hanging out with Grandma Irene before so they also enjoyed themselves. Playdoh Weeee! Some of us took the stereotypical Thanksgiving nap. Including Rick. My little family My hands...

**PLEASE PLEASE don't take this post as a "Look at me and give me attention!" post. You should know by now that I am honest about all things, good or bad. Writing is my therapy, whether people read it, it is still cathartic for me. With that said, I would never ever want anyone to be offended by what I write so know that if I do, it is not my intention.** Today I experienced what some might describe as a "late" period but what is technically classified as an early miscarriage. Most of the time, women don't even realize that it's happened. What it means is you have a positive pregnancy test (which was last Friday for me) and for whatever reason, a week or how ever long later (Tuesday, today), you get a negative test accompanied by spotting/bleeding. Sorry for the TMI. Now while I would never say that losing "cells" after knowing for 5 days is any harder than losing an actual fetus you have to take to the doctor for testing, I don't think...

Hey guys! We had Bri's 5th birthday party at the children's museum yesterday. My brother and his family came down and we were joined by friends and for that I am truly grateful. The weather was icky but the museum was great. They have a really nice set up there and am glad we went with them. Bri and her friends enjoyed themselves and that's what's important. Here are some snaps: Food table: Frozen themed food Cupcakes and goodie bags We also ventured to Chuck E Cheese with the family today. I also survived that ;). Olivia and Bryson Her actual birthday is tomorrow so I will probably bake some cupcakes for her to take to school tomorrow. Other than that, I'm partied out and am glad this weekend is wrapping up. Have a good week. Thanks for reading!

Today was the first official snow of the season where I live in Michigan. We drove to church this morning with Adam locking up the brakes and skidding to show me what not to do. I really did cry for a minute. I know I'll just have to get over it and slow down. It'll take me forever to get places so I have to plan accordingly.  When we got to church, Bri was so excited. She kept saying "Snow is on my face! It's snowing!" Lol. Her joy was contagious.  Bri and I played in it for a little bit after we got home from church.  Yes, she is playing with a lollipop in her mouth. Don't blame me, her father said it was ok.  After lunch, we got Avi in on the action. Adam and I were sweaty from getting both their stuff on. Avi was slow to warm up as per Avi-usual.  It took forever to get her boots on too lol.  She hadn't used them and refused so we left the tag on in case but she wore them in the snow so we can probably cut it off now.  The fun part was getting take...

Hi everyone! I've been a busy bee crocheting, trying to do my nails,blogging once in a blue moon and keeping the house in order. I've been having a lot of fun making stuff but it's also made me feel a little guilty about not spending enough time with Avi so today I took her to the library for a while. She had a good time and did not want to leave. It's so much easier now that she walks. We got her some shoes yesterday because she is just getting too heavy to carry lol. She loves books! Making silly faces She even did this craft! In other Avi news, she has been discharged from physical therapy! She's doing great and the therapists are pleased with her progress, as are we. She's definitely benefited from it and would recommend it to anyone who might be considering it for their child to go for it! You won't regret it.  Big walker :) Bri is still really enjoying her swim lessons. She asks about it every other day "Is it almost tim...

I got to go on a day date with my awesome husband today! My friend Emily watched the kids for about 4 hours which gave us time to eat without hurrying, Christmas browse without worrying about kids touching things and just really reconnecting. It was much needed! It was a week where he was gone 4 out of 5 nights and I'm not complaining (because I know lots of women who do it a lot longer than that) but it was out of the norm for us. 3 were for work and 1 was for bowling.  I wish we could go on dates more often. Nothing makes me feel more secure in our relationship than hanging out together as Adam and Aidalys, not just mom and dad. We don't lose that title when we go on a date but it's nice to focus on one another.  I'm a firm believer in always dating your husband. Your kids will move out and start their own families one day. You want to make sure you like the other person once they leave. I'd say we make pretty good use of our alone time together.  This article hit...

Hi guys! I've been neglecting my blog a little bit. I know I'm not the only one who feels like there are not enough hours in the day right?? There's so many things I want to do, need to do and have to do. I need to get better about prioritizing them. I've been on a crocheting kick which means my nails take a back seat (for those who know me and know I do my nails every other day lol). I've been having fun with a particular pattern that my crocheting sensei AKA my MIL Andrea told me about. It's so simple and can be pretty inexpensive. I'm making some for friends,  Avi's physical therapist and Bri's teachers. Here's what I got so far! Seriously, the part that takes the longest is the embellishment!! I am not a good sew-er (I know that is not a real word) so I can't guarantee the quality of them but the scarf is cute and will hold up! Which one do you like?? Teal and Brown with brown buttons, I made for a friend.  White and green with crochet fl...

Hi everyone! We went to a couple of Halloween events this past weekend and I have some pictures to share. I'm not the biggest fan of Halloween. We usually wait until the last minute to get costumes and then rush like chickens with our head cut off the night of. When we both worked, it was a race to get home, make dinner, eat, get dressed all before the trick or treaters started coming (we always had some during our meal). So the holiday just stresses me out. We were ahead of the curve a little this year. Avi is wearing Bri's first costume, a ladybug. Bri mentioned wanting to be Elsa but once I told her there would be thousands of those (and that's perfectly ok! One of our good friends made a dress for her daughter and even came up with the pattern!), she wanted to be a vampire. We already had bat wings from the Chippewa Nature Center so we went with that. I told her she's a vampire bat. Surprisingly, she's one of the only few bats I've seen and even at the Nat...