Celebrating 4 Years of Marriage!

Today Josh and I celebrate 4 years of marriage! Even though 4 years seems like a very short amount of time considering we dated 15 years before we decided to tie the knot. I mean you can't just rush into these things right!! ;)

So here's our "love" story! Hope you enjoy!

Josh and I both grew up in the small town of Teague, TX. Even though we both lived there our whole life, Josh was two years older than me so I didn't really hang around him when we were little. But everyone knew Josh because he was the second half of "The Schneider Twins." Josh has an identical twin brother named Jon. Our families knew each other way before we were born but I still wasn't around him that much growing up. That was until I was in 8th grade and my good friend Lizzie started dating his brother Jon. So, one day Lizzie and I walked up to the local Jiffy-E Mart to get Icee's and Jon and Josh just happened to be there. I talked to Josh for a little while Lizzie chatted with Jon. From that moment, I was in love. So, I guess you can say for me it was love at first sight! He was extremely cute, charming, funny, very sweet and he had the most gorgeous blue eyes (which luckily Jonah inherited). After we left, Josh was all I could talk about and since Lizzie was dating Jon it was the perfect opportunity for me to see more of Josh and find out more about him. So, one day after school Lizzie was over at my house and my phone rang. Lizzie answered it and a look of shock came over her face. She put her hand over the phone and said it's Josh and he wants to talk to you. I was like "whatever" and grabbed the phone out of her hand. I said hello and to my surprise the person on the other end of the line said "Hey Monda, this is Josh" I don't remember much about the details of the conversation except there was something about the High School Sports Banquet on Wednesday and did I want to double date with him and his friend Clint. I said yes before even asking my parents. So, after I hung up the phone (and Lizzie and I stopped screaming) I ran into the living room and gave the most dramatic plea to my parents as to why I needed to go on this date with Josh Schneider! I said something to the effect of if they didn't let me go I would never speak to them again yada yada yada. Well, luckily my parents knew the Schneider family very well and they agreed to let me go since our teachers, some of my friends and their parents would be attending the sports banquet as well. I was so excited!! So, the day of the banquet arrived and I got ready for my first date with my future husband. I was one lucky 8th grader. Not only did I have a huge crush on Josh but I was an 8th grader in Jr. High going to the High School Sports Banquet! Now, let's talk about my outfit choice for that evening. I wish I had a picture of what I wore for the first date because it is priceless. I'm not even sure my description will paint the visual that this outfit deserves. Remember the one piece jumpers that were popular back in 1989 with puffy sleeves and puffy bottoms (they may have only been popular in Teague..I'm not sure)? Well, that's what I wore except let me give you a few of the design details. It was denim with a flowered collar! Cute huh? I accessorized with a pair of red flats and large red hoop earrings. I and my mother thought I looked great! Thirteen and 49 year old females and obviously not one ounce of fashion sense between the two of us! Okay - I retract my earlier statement now that I wish there was a picture because Jonah would be very embarrassed. However, I thought Josh looked really cute in his outfit! He had on white Girbaud jeans and a short sleeve striped shirt tucked in with a brown braided belt which at the time was very much in style (again..maybe just in Teague) The only picture I have of that night is the newspaper picture of Josh and Jon receiving their Tennis awards which is still in a scrapbook at my parents house so I can't share it with everyone today! I know you are disappointed! Anyway, since Josh didn't have his license yet we rode with Clint and his date Nikki to the banquet. After the banquet Josh brought me back home and walked me to the door and gave me a kiss on the cheek. A perfect gentleman. I was the happiest girl alive that night! After that date I for a lack of better terms "stalked" Josh throughout the rest of high school and we dated off and on until his senior year. I think everyone in our town knew that we liked each other and would eventually end up together! Even though I think I had the bigger crush! After Josh went to college we started talking more and more and I made frequent trips to see him in Austin and he came home often to hang out with me on the weekends. He was my date for both of my proms. He came to watch me perform at football games and hang out with me and my friends at parties, etc. My family loved him and I loved his family. We started spending more and more time together and by the time I graduated high school I had decided to go to SWT to be near Josh and he had decided to transfer from UT to SWT so we could go to college together. We made it through a fraternity and sorority pledge year and practically spent every minute together in college. After we both graduated we moved to Dallas and then bought a house together. Finally in 2003 Josh proposed and a year later we flew off to Venice, Italy to get married!

It's been a crazy roller coaster of a ride basically growing up together, going through high school and college together and then watching each other become the adults we are today! And through it all Josh has been my constant rock. He is the one person I can tell anything to and he knows how to make me laugh no matter what mood I'm in. I can't imagine having gone through this journey with anyone else!

So, that's our story, the condensed version. I could write a novel about all of our dating years. Let's just say we've been through it all - tears, laughter, good times and bad times and yet we still manage to show each other everyday how much we love each other and we're still best friends! What more could you ask for??

Here are some pictures of us from high school, college, and more recent years. I wish I had more of our high school pictures to share but they are still in photo albums at my parents house.

My Junior Prom

Trip to Mexico in college

Chi Omega Cotillion

Engagement Picture

Wedding in Venice

Honeymoon in Greece

Friend's Wedding

Vacation to Mexico

Our Baby Shower (right before a new chapter in our life began!!)

Daisy Kid

I took Jonah up to visit Josh at his office and he had so much fun printing out Daisy labels, drawing on the white board and sitting in Josh's chair listening to music. He also had fun running through all the cubicle's.

However, I think it's time I go help Josh with an office makeover!!

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter! Jonah had a Bonnet Parade and Easter Egg hunt at school and then on Saturday we went to Jonah's Great Grandmother's house to spend Easter with her. We went to church on Sunday and then came back and had an Easter Egg Hunt. It was a lot fun!

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

Happy 2nd Birthday Jonah!!

My sweet little boy turned 2 years old today! I think I'm still in denial that he is not really a baby anymore but a true toddler! He continues to amaze me everyday with his sweet disposition, ability to remember the tiniest details, and his caring heart! Those big blue eyes and that beautiful smile melt my heart each time I see him and I am so lucky and so happy to be his Mommy! I think Josh and I have been truly blessed with Jonah's arrival into this world! I know God has big plans for him!!

Happy Birthday Snugglebug! We LOVE YOU and we're looking forward to all your birthday's to come!

Celebrating Jonah's Birthday

Jonah had his 2nd Birthday Party at the Wiggly Play Center in Frisco! He had several of his good friends from school there, other good friends outside of school and lots of family that came to help him celebrate his big day! My good friend Sarah made his cute #2 shirt! Isn't it adorable??? Also, my good friend Shannon was sweet enough to be my photograher since I was so busy with all the chaos! I'm so glad she was there to capture all the fun! Jonah had a blast eating and playing with everyone! I had some minor issues prior to the party with picking up the cake (a little incident that occurred when I had to slam on my brakes due to the horrible traffic on Preston - see cake pictures below), the Wiggly Staff telling everyone our party didn't start until later than the time on the invitation, and arriving late - again due to the traffic on Preston!! Thank goodness Josh got there early with Jonah! But in the end it all worked out and we had a great time!

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Kayla and Jonah

Sorry it's taken me so long to post! It's been a crazy last couple of weeks with Jonah's birthday, Easter and showing our house!

Amy and Kayla came down the Thursday before Jonah's party so that Jonah and Kayla could have some quality play time together! They had so much fun! We went to the mall, had lunch, rode the carousel, played in Jonah's new bounce house and on his roller coaster! It was a great time! Jonah was really sad to see Kayla leave on Sunday! It's so great that they are close in age and have so much fun together!

Make a postcard - it's easy!

Thankful....

Josh and I are both very thankful for locks on the bathroom door!!

Behind the Name

I had been searching online for awhile for someone that could create for me one of those cute blog banners that I have been seeing on everyone's blogs. I'm not very creative or savvy enough with Adobe Photoshop to create one on my own and am more than willing to pay someone else to do it! My friend Amy found such a person to create her very very cute blog banner (check out Amy's Brat Pack). She has also done other very cute blogs such as Classy Chaos and Jogging in Circles. So, I contacted them and now I'm on the schedule for April to have my very own custom blog banner and blog created! I'm so excited!!! During all this excitement I decided that while there are so many other changes occurring in my life maybe it was also time for a new blog Title and tag line. I have a couple in mind but thought I might get your ideas or thoughts also. Some people have come up with the cutest blog names and I want to find something that reflects our family and lifestyle. So, get your creative juices flowing and let me know what ideas you have for the Schneider Family. You can comment on blogger or email me at monda_r@hotmail.com. And if I choose your blog title and tag line I'll be sending you a Target giftcard. And who doesn't love Target??? ;)

The Bachelorette

Even though I was sick and was having a horrible week I was not about to miss my very good friend Jenn's (in the pink boa)Bachelorette party on Saturday night! We had dinner and some margaritas at Javier's and then headed over to Trece and Suite for a little while. Sarah and I rode together so we left pretty early since we are not used to staying up past midnight these days! Plus babies and hangovers do not mix!! But it was fun to get dressed up and hang out with friends. I think the best part was watching Jenn open up lingerie at our table at Javier's with a group of much older couples sitting right across from us! The looks on their faces was priceless, especially the men! LOL

Summing up Silliness Week

The only good thing that happened last week was that Jonah had his first experience playing in the snow and he finished up Silly Week at school. Here are the other pictures from Silly Week.

PJ Day


Silly Hat Day (where's Jonah??)

Blah Blah Blah

That's kinda how I feel right now. I never thought I would be excited to say I'm glad last week is over and today is Monday and the start of a new week. Maybe it was something in the air or the way the sun and stars were lined up or it's the end of the winter blues but last week and the weekend just sucked for me and it sounds like it may have been that way for a lot of other folks too (after reading several friend's blogs) I was just down in the dumps all week and the weekend was even worse. My job ended, we haven't had one bite on our house since putting in on the market, our roof has to be replaced due to the hail storm last month, I spent Friday and most of the weekend sick and I'm just stressed to the max about a zillion other things! Really, there are just too many to list! So, I'm just hoping that there was a shift in the planet's axis with the time change or since spring is around the corner that things will start looking up and getting better because right now my nerves and my patience are just shot and I'm not sure I can handle much more!

Back on the Market!

Well, yesterday was my last day at working at Perot Systems. For those that remember I left 3M HIS back in June to become a SAHM and then I was offered a position in July back at Perot working from home. It was a position that I couldn't pass up so I took it. Unfortunately, Perot lost the contract that I was on with Triad Healthcare which meant my position was no longer needed.(I knew the position was just too good to be true!!) So, I am now back on the market! If I come across another Project Manager role where I can work from home with minimal travel, I'll snatch it up but until then I'm available for lunch dates, playdates and long conversations on the phone with my girlfriends! :) Jonah is still in school until the end of March so I am also going to take this opportunity to get my house more organized, clean out a couple of closets and drawers, organize my pictures, catch up on my shows on TiVo, use my giftcard for a massage that I received back in December, maybe even start back on my workout schedule at Lifetime (okay, maybe I'm being a little overzealous!!)

Silly Mismatch Day!

Okay - this is my last post for today I promise! Jonah's school was delayed this morning but that didn't change the fact that it was still Silly Mismatch Day!! So after our snow adventure we put together the most mismatched outfit we could find in his closet which consisted of a plaid button down shirt, grey sweatpants, one tall black sock, one short white sock and two mismatched shoes. We completed the look with a beach hat! I don't think GQ would approve of this look!

Snow Day!

Only in Texas is it 70 degrees one day and snowing the next! I wore short sleeve shirts this weekend and today I am wearing a coat, hooded sweatshirt, my Uggs, gloves, and a scarf! There's no point in trying to keep only one season of clothes in your closet when you live in Texas. Maybe that's why Master walk-in closets are the same size as the family room around here!

Last night it started snowing around 7pm and I was like a small child in a candy store. Unless you are Jonah then you really wouldn't care because Jonah doesn't like candy. Not even ice cream. I'm still trying to decide if there was a mix-up at the hospital!

We woke up this morning to lots of white fluffy stuff everywhere! At least 3 inches thick according to my ruler! When I woke Jonah up and we looked out his window he yelled "Snowman!!" to which I replied "Yes, after breakfast we will go build a snowman!" Then I realized after he kept saying it over and over that he thought the "snow" was called "Snowman!" LOL! Kids are so funny!

So, after breakfast we bundled up and made our way outside! At first Jonah thought the snow was great. Then, he realized that his shoes were covered in snow and getting wet and then we had a meltdown. After we came back in and cleaned off his shoes and warmed up a bit with some chocolate milk (I was too lazy to actually make hot chocolate) we went back outside to build our Snowman! And since Jonah was so over the snow at that point he stayed on the patio and gave me directions on how to build the snowman! I don't know why I was taking directions from an almost 2 year old! I have many more years experience in the area of Snowman construction! Check out my masterpiece below. He's the Toddler version of a Snowman!

Daddy and Jonah trying to catch a few Snowflakes before dinner!


"Snowman!!"


This snow is getting on my shoe!!!


Mommy, Help! Now both shoes are covered in snow!!


Riley is part American Eskimo so when it snows his inner Eskimo really comes out!


Meet "Frosted Mini Wheat" Don't ask! That just popped in my head because I was thinking of Frosty the Snowman and Mini Me!

Eight Silly Monkeys

This week is Silly Week at Jonah's school and Monday was Silly Sock Day so what better way to celebrate Silly Sock Day than wearing your Eight Silly Monkeys socks???

Mission Accomplished

After working on our ABC's this weekend Jonah finally got it down on Sunday morning! The video below capture's him practicing his facial expressions before breaking out into his ABC song!

Side note - I apologize for my sad attempt to sing the last part of the ABC song. Please feel free to cover your ears during this part of the video! :) Also, when I ask Jonah to say bye to the camera he replies "Bye Grandma!" Haha!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

WARNING: This video contains excessive cuteness and may induce giggling and lots of smiling.

Yo Yo Old MacDonald

Here is Jonah's version of Old MacDonald Had a Farm - The remix! Too cute!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com