Our Teen to Toddler Town

~ Words to the Wise, Wednesdays~

2012-01-25T13:18:00.000-06:00

~ Words to the Wise, Wednesdays~

2012-01-18T12:27:00.002-06:00

To win the lottery, one must first purchase a ticket. ~ Mandy

Merry CHRISTmas and a Happy New Year!!!

2011-12-25T11:21:00.003-06:00

~ Words to the Wise, Wednesdays~

2011-12-21T18:42:00.004-06:00

~ Words to the Wise, Wednesdays~

2011-12-14T15:58:00.002-06:00

~ Words to the Wise, Wednesdays~

2011-12-07T09:09:00.000-06:00

~ Words to the Wise, Wednesdays~

2011-11-30T10:11:00.000-06:00

~ Words to the Wise, Wednesdays~

2011-11-16T08:24:00.000-06:00

Yes, We are THOSE kind...

2011-11-15T10:43:00.000-06:00

We are THOSE kind of people that do NOT allow commercialism to dictate when we are going to start celebrating the holidays. We are THOSE people who choose to take each holiday and celebrate them one by one. We decorate for every major holiday. We are the Griswalds of Halloween. We go to the max with Halloween...flashing bats and Halloween lights on the house. Stakes with different sayings lining the sidewalk. Bones lying on fabric on the front porch. A huge Frankenstein hanging from the ceiling of the porch. This year our friends let us borrow a projector and we had Halloween images projected on the house. We don't do gory or scary...we do fun and kid like decorations. We decorate for Fall and then decorate for Thanksgiving. We refuse to listen to Christmas music until Thanksgiving has come and gone.

It will be once we have gone to the last family's house to celebrate Thanksgiving that we will then come home and get our Christmas decorations out and appreciate putting up each and every ornament. We get new family ornaments each year and they are meaningful. We also have some from when Ryan was a child and our oldest daughter, Sadie Bug was younger and has made and some that Lulee has made. Looking forward to making some with Brynlea, our baby, this year. One special ornament is the one where we tricked Sadie Bug into thinking we didn't get her a cellphone by getting her a cellphone ornament that was hung on the tree. It was called her 1st cell phone, soon followed by her real 1st cell phone that she unwrapped shortly after.

We have ornaments from all our first's....1st Christmas as a married couple, Baby's 1st Christmas, our Family ornament that we have added each child throughout the years. Very sentimental. Our ornaments aren't just your typical red and green or blue and white shiny balls...ours have heartfelt meaning...most every single one.

We are THOSE kind of people who also enjoy each season as they come. It is amazing to see God's beautiful work in each season. The new buds and blossoms in the Spring filling the colorless winter trees and plants with beautiful lively colors, the full blooms and hot swimming pool weather in the Summer, the beautiful colors of the changing of the leaves from green to the golden, red, autumn colors in the Fall and having the leaves fall into piles that the kids can play and have fun in, create childhood memories... to the wonderful Winter. Winter is awesome in itself...when we are lucky enough to get snowfall it is so beautiful. There is nothing like having everything gleaming an awesome white color and going out to play with our children, bringing out our inner child building snowmen, making snow angels and snow cream. It's great and simply Gorgeous.

We are THOSE kind....who appreciate it all, but take the time to appreciate each season and each holiday in it's own. With it's own special magical feel and beauty in each.

~Words to the Wise, Wednesdays~

2011-06-08T13:18:00.000-05:00

A good deed is rewarded with a good deed...

~Words to the Wise, Wednesdays~

2011-06-01T18:56:00.000-05:00

In the rules of fighting fair:

The one who talks the most is probably the one making the least sense.

~Words to the Wise, Wednesdays~

2011-05-18T08:39:00.000-05:00

Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.

~Words to the Wise, Wednesdays~

2011-05-11T15:08:00.000-05:00

Faith must be enforced by reason. When faith becomes blind it dies.

~Words to the Wise, Wednesdays~

2011-05-04T21:12:00.002-05:00

Never miss an opportunity to tell someone you love them.

Hubby's 33rd Birthday and Easter Celebration at Grandma & Grandpa's

2011-04-23T07:29:00.184-05:00

Happy 33rd to the SWEETEST Hubby and the BEST Dad, Ryan!!!!

Brynlea with the pink bunny in Grandma & Grandpa's sunroom.

Sadie with the pink bunny.

Lulee posing with the pink bunny and for good measure she threw in a yellow duckie. ;)

Sadie and Daddy Ryan playing air hockey....Ryan was playing more like battle air hockey...he's a little rough. He's one of those kids that probably got kicked out of games as a kid for pushing and hitting...Ha-ha!!!

My Wolverine Hubby!!!

I love my Hubby and Family!!!!

Lulee reminding us what Easter is all about :)

Sadie posing as a British girl drinking out of
"The Queen Mother" Mug. :)

I was a little late on getting a pic of the Birthday cake, don't you think??? It was really yummy though, It was a white cake with white icing (of course after food coloring it wasn't too white ;) )with almond flavoring added to it. It was delicioso if I do say so myself.

Here she is, the lady herself, the one responsible for the partaaaaay!!!! She and her Hubby that is. ;)

Ryan's Mom.

Sadie Bug testing out the jello before the feasting began. She takes after her Mama showing her food like that.

Here's Lulee following her Mommy and Big Sister's lead showing her food, hers was ice cream. :)

Grandpa with the two younger sweeties, Brynlea and Lulee.

....and the videographer was none other than Sadie The Great Cornholio :)

Here's the Birthday Boy sporting his present sent by his sister Em and Hubby Matt.

Ryan reading his sweet sentimental Birthday card from his Parents.

Daddy hugging his Little Lulee as she gives him the homemade playdoh presents she made for him.

Brynlea Boo with Grandma's glasses on.....I seeeeee you!!!!!!

Here Grandma......you want a tulip????...it sure is pretty.

Daddy helping Little Brynlea find Easter eggs.

Lulee is a pro at this....age 4 and you can spot an Easter egg a mile away. :)

Yeah Brynlea!!!! You found one!!!

Mommy's turn to help the Brynster...where are they Brynlea???

I found one, found one...

...in the basket it goes....getting really good at this. :)

Grandma with Grandpa in the back helping Lulee and Brynlea see where some more eggs were...Sadie could handle it herself. At age 15 she's a pro x's 3 plus 3 years. ;)

Oh look what beautiful baskets the girls got from Grandma and Grandpa Chambers' Easter Bunny :)

The Birthday Boy and our little Brynster were worn out and fell fast asleep.

A Hippity Hoppity Easter Party

2011-04-22T21:53:00.003-05:00

We went to Lulee's preschool Easter program/art exhibit/Easter egg hunt/party the other day and had a really good time. Each child was to bring 13 eggs filled with goodies, ours was filled with jelly beans. We had also signed up to bring cupcakes. I made yummy funfetti cupcakes with vanilla frosting and 3 jellybeans on each. We saved some for Lulee's friends that she has playdates with and brought them over to their houses along with jellybean filled eggs. We also gave some to our neighbors to wish everyone a very Happy Easter.

I made these matching Easter shirts the morning of the party. They are of their hand prints that we dipped their little hands in pink paint and shaped them into bunnies. Brynlea had just gotten out of bed to have her hand put right into paint and onto a shirt...her eyes still trying to open from being asleep. She was a real trooper though. Didn't cry or anything. She actually thought it was rather amusing. Lulee was wide awake, however, and absolutely LOVED it.

Press play to watch and listen to Lulee play with the drumsticks in this portion of the musical program.

Here is the group doing their musical program...Lulee is on the end with her head down. She enjoyed talking a lot with the girl next to her, but they all did such a great job and it was so much fun watching them.

Daddy took a picture of Mommy and Brynlea playing while waiting on Lulee's next performance. :)

Here's Lulee and her friend that she calls her boyfriend/husband, showing off their artwork from their class at the school's art exhibit. Look how good they did and how proud they are. Ryan and I went around the whole room and took pictures of everything...this summer we will have lots of fun crafts and artsy things to do with the kiddos. :)

Here is the yummy food we had for the Easter party.....we are all about the food. ;)

Lulee is so excited about all the eggs she has in her basket. The hunt was originally supposed to take place outside, but the weather didn't allow it. The eggs were hidden throughout different classrooms instead and the children were able to hunt 13 eggs each. They were so excited and it was so much fun watching them. Lulee and I counted hers over and over to make sure she had hers, because she still wanted to hunt. ;)

Big Sister Lulee loving on her little sister in their matching Easter shirts and hairbows.

Sadie the Mime

2011-04-22T07:00:00.006-05:00

Sadie Bug in her High School play called "Check, Please." It was a play about several different people going on dates with all kinds of people and it not really working out so well. We really enjoyed seeing her in her acting mode. I think she has found her calling. Now to see one were she speaks and really works that diaphragm. She did one in class that I helped her rehearse, but I wasn't able to come to it to see how she performed. When we rehearsed at home she did awesome!!!! She was a Ghetto Granny, kind of like Madea. She did really good. She definitely needs to pursue this acting venture, even if it's for fun. We all loved watching her!!!

Papa Beau, Nana, Brynlea and Lulee enjoying the play.

Sadie bug walking her little sister Lulee down the halls of the high school after the play.

Touring the Kindergarten

2011-04-21T08:28:00.003-05:00

The other day we went on Lulee's preschool field trip to visit and tour the Kindergarten that is located next to her preschool. This will be the elementary school that she will actually attend as well. It is very sentimental to our family and is a very old school. My Nanny went there when it was a high school and had her picture made on the front steps. Years later they turned it into an elementary school. Our oldest Sadie Bug attended there and got her picture made in the very spot on the steps that her great-grandmother had years ago.

Since getting to know my Hubby's history, come to find out his younger brother went to this same school. So it is sentimental on both sides of our family. And if that doesn't make it special enough already, a teacher that teaches there was my Brownie leader when I was close to Lulee's age at my Christian elementary school. Walt Disney had it right....It's a small, small, world. :)

We toured the library, which was absolutely awesome!!! They made reading look so fun, which we all know it is, but I remember as a kid not wanting to touch a book. They even get to read so many books, collect points for reading the books and at the end of the year whoever wins gets to throw a pie in the Principal's face....now if that's not incentive to read, I don't know what is. ;) We toured the computer room, which she will get to use during Kindergarten, yeah!!!! We toured the gym and floods of memories from Sadie Bug's Kindergarten graduation came rushing back to me...I thought I was going to cry right there. Such a happy, proud, bittersweet day.

The best part was when we went into the cafeteria and got to get a school lunch and eat with all the soon-to-be Kindergartners, especially ours. Lulee was so overwhelmed, she had no clue where to begin. They actually had a choice of 3 milks...white, chocolate and then OMGoodness the clouds opened up and the sunshine poured down on her favorite of all favorites....STRAWBERRY!!! The girl's eyes got soooo big, it was like it was Christmas morning.

We had a great time touring the school with our preschooler and asking all kinds of questions....I don't think we missed one from A-Z. This is going to be such an exciting time for all involved. Little Lulee will experience the big school, Mommy and Daddy will experience a semi mini empty nest syndrome again. Brynlea will not know what to think...she will get us to herself...with Sadie at school and Lulee at school. She will have one on one time. She will look forward to the two of them coming home....just like Lulee and her do now waiting for Sadie Bug. Sadie walks in the door and they both yell to her, in excitement. Lulee yells Sadie.....and Brynlea yells "Dadie." So sweet!!!

~Words to the Wise, Wednesdays~

2011-04-20T21:57:00.000-05:00

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Birthday Playdate

2011-04-14T21:57:00.003-05:00

Today started out with Lulee waking up excited about her playdate. Her little friend Brayden was coming over and it was his 4th birthday. She got herself dressed in a skirt and a cute shirt (which happened to have been worn the day before). She looked in the mirror in her sisters and her bathroom and made sure her hair looked just right. She took a comb and wet it and combed her hair over and over.

She is infatuated with Rapunzel, ever since the movie Tangle came out. Then when she looked her best, she found her older sister's peppermint lipgloss, came in and asked me if she could keep it in her pocket and put it on everytime her lips get chapped. How cute is she?!?!

My friend had a hair appointment and she had planned on taking her little boy, Brayden, with her, but I offered to have a Birthday playdate at my house. They both were so excited. Even though what Lulee had on was super cute, I decided to change her clothes into something not so "yesterday," literally. We then proceeded to get ready for her playdate.

We decorated aprons for both Brayden and Lulee (Alexa)....putting their names on them and accenting Lulee's with hearts and Brayden's with stars...to bake and decorate cookies in.

We pulled out the Superman birthday decorations that I had from Ryan's 30th Birthday party and strung up the banner and put the table cloth on the table.

Then the time they were both waiting for finally got here. The doorbell rang and it was time for the playdate to begin. They immediately ran into Lulee's room and started playing with the doggies that Lulee collects...she likes to pretend she is selling them to people.

Then they played basketball while the oven was heating up.

We baked cookies and the kiddos decorated them and made them so pretty and yummy. Both of them kept saying "Mine is so awesome, mine is so awesome!!!" They were so proud of their creations...they did a really good job too.

They tried their creations and according to the "little cookie critics" the cookies were deemed to be yummy. They then decided it was time to bowl on the Wii. They had a blast. They got along really well. Then I served them lasagna and they ate together at Lulee's little table...each had their little bears sitting at the table with them and they were eating and then pretending to feed their bears.

They still weren't through playing even after Brayden's Mommy got here. They ran back into Lulee's room and she was acting out the movie Tangled, which she calls Retangled. We kept hearing her say to Brayden "You have to save me....now you have to cut my hair".

This playdate was definitely a HUGE success...they both had lots and lots of fun.

~Words to the Wise, Wednesdays~

2011-04-13T12:43:00.001-05:00

When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant. ;)

From GI Joe to Hairbows

2011-04-12T18:31:00.007-05:00

I remember clearly as a child choosing boy toys over "girlie" toys any day of the week. All my friends would want to come over to play Barbie, I hated dressing Barbie....I still hate dressing Barbie. I was so excited when they finally came out with a pair of jeans for Barbie, that I agreed to play "Barbie" for a little while with my friends. That excitement quickly faded.

Give me a G.I. Joe doll, walkie talkies or a stomper truck over some dumb doll any day. I was a huge tomboy and loved to roughhouse with the boys. I would make mud pies, catch frogs, play with bugs, go fishing and bait my own hook and LOVED it, still do. I used to get teased a lot when I was younger. I was definitely just one of the guys, all throughout childhood, and even as I grew up. My husband and I were best friends before we started dated. We are happily married and he is still my best friend.

I remember one year for Christmas, after so many years of getting boy toys, my Dad decided that he was going to get me some "girlie" stuff. I was NOT happy to say the least. He got me a Baby Alive doll, which I learned to love, I guess I HAVE always had the nurturing instinct. He didn't keep it strictly "girlie" though. He got me a stomper truck and I was so excited. I played with it right away....I turned it on and you could go forward and backward with it. I put it on top of my step-sister's head and those tires wound her hair up so tight....I tried putting it in reverse to get it out and it only made it worse. They had to cut part of her hair to get that truck out and she was not happy. That was one of my most memorable Christmases.

So how does one go from G.I. Joes to Hairbows??? After having three beautiful girls and doing multiple at home fun craft things, that tends to soften your heart and turn you a little more girlie and even releases your inner craft beast. ;) It started with my 15 year old Sadie Bug....she actually didn't get the hairbows because we didn't have access to the internet showing the instructional D.I.Y. and even better, step by step, for that matter. She was my pretty hat girl. I always had her in a hat, every where we went....ones with flowers on them and other pretty things.

Then eleven years later along comes her sister Lulee. I decided I wanted to put her in hairbows. I went to different stores and did not like what I saw and thought....I really need to learn how to do this myself. That way I can by ribbon for each outfit and match it perfectly. So I googled "free instructions to make hairbows,"
and low and behold I found tons of instructions. This tomboy turning girlie was on to something amazing. Oh my goodness....you should have seen the first hairbow I made....and I just thought I did good. Ha-ha!!!

Since then, I have made tons and tons of hairbows and not only for my little girls, but I sell them as well. I have made other little girls and their Mommies happy. I have never been so happy to have found my "crafty" side. I have made pretty bow holders, no sew blankets, pretty dance bags....I think girlie is not so bad. You still may see me making a mud pie every now and again and I sure can't turn down riding a dirt bike or a four wheeler, but as for the "girlie" thing....I'm really liking it...I am really happy doing my hairbows. I have found my niche, my therapy. :) Since having our little Brynlea I'm even more hairbow crazy.

Here are just a few I made the other night:

~Words to the Wise, Wednesdays~

2011-04-06T08:11:00.000-05:00

A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man perfected without trials.

~ April Fools Day ~

2011-04-01T10:49:00.001-05:00

Happy April 1st to ALL!!! Today is one that I enjoy immensely. I look forward to this day all year long. I've even got my children into it and loving it!!!

Last night Lulee and I were so excited that this morning was going to be April Fools Day we could hardly stand it. We sat on the couch together snickering as we devised our plan of attack on Daddy. We had several ideas, but she didn't understand what it meant to prank at first. Then all the sudden the plan evolved and yes, it was a good one and we were positive it was going to work. I told her that we MUST do it early enough that he is still half asleep so he would fall for it for sure, because he is just as big of a prankster on this beloved day as I am. :)

This morning, I woke little Lulee up, I whispered in her ear "It's April Fools Day, it's time to get Daddy." Her little eyes still trying to adjust to the light, looked up at me and there it was "the look". She has it, the love for pranks and tricks!!!! This passion for tricks and fun was passed down from my Grandaddy, who loved to pull pranks and joke around all the time. I inherited the fun provoking nature as well. Thank you Grandaddy, you provided many fun times!!!

Ryan reminds me of you with the joking nature a lot. We are two peas in a pod when it comes to that stuff. We love it and we always try to top one another. You would have loved him. And you would have definitely loved the great grandkids and what little Lulee, in particular, had up her sleeve for this a.m.

Lulee, in her excitement, rolled out of bed, and the plan starts......she goes to her room and starts screaming bloody murder "DADDY......DADDY......AHHHHHHHH.........COME HERE DADDY......!!!!!!"
Dang, Daddy is a deeper sleeper than I thought!!! So on to "plan B".....I come in our bedroom all frantic and freaking out....."RYAN......GET UP, HURRY, GET UP......THERE'S A MOUSE....GET UP NOW...IT'S IN LULEE'S ROOM!!!!" That got him up....he was stumbling all over the place unsure if he should put in his contacts or glasses to take care of this mouse.

He went in to Lulee's room and told us to stay back and asked me where it was. I told him "IT'S UNDER THE CRIB.....HURRY!!!!", as he bends over to look, I say "APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!" He smiled, Lulee smiled and we high fived each other and she was so proud of herself. Our plan worked....then we proceeded to make our phone calls to trick other family members that we knew would be up early.

She did get a little confused and concerned this morning, however, she asked me "Mommy, isn't that lying?" I told her not on April Fools day....that is the day for pranks. So sweet and innocent. So I then took her to preschool and she pulled the prank on her teacher. I have a feeling it's not over yet and won't be until we go to bed.

Oh April Fools Day, how I love thee!!! Let me count the ways!!!! :)

~Words to the Wise, Wednesdays~

2011-03-30T09:25:00.003-05:00

God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it's me. ~Author unknown, variation of an excerpt from "The Serenity Prayer" by Reinhold Neibuhr

Hallelujer Hallelujer!!!....Picture day is over!!!

2011-03-29T21:09:00.001-05:00

Every year, for the past eleven years, around this time of year it gets really tense around our house. We are making mental checklists making sure we have everything that we need for every dance that Sadie Bug's been in for this particular day....PICTURE DAY. Except this year it was a little different, we added a new dancer to the mix. Little Lulee started dance this year in the preschool tap and ballet class. She is following in the footsteps of her big sister. She looks up to Sadie, as Brynlea looks up to both Lulee and Sadie. Pretty soon Brynlea will be dancing right along with her sisters keeping the family tradition going. :)

Tonight and the preparation for tonight was hectic to say the least. I don't know if it was the excitement of it all, costume changes and hairstyle changes for Lulee or what, but she really was ready to go home before the shooting of the first photo, and there were five that she had to get made....two individuals, two groups and one with her and Sadie.

Lulee showed out and did not want to smile for any of the pictures after the first one. We had just eaten before we got there and she started begging me for food. After a couple of shots were made I got her some food and then low and behold if she wasn't begging me for some more. I was about to send her to Sonic, get her loaded up on a Coney Dog and Tots and then maybe her tapeworm might be satisfied for a minute. ;)

It was tough for her to hang in there that long for all those pictures, through all the hairspray fog and starving like her stomach was gnawing on her backbone, but all the pictures turned out really pretty and the photographer got a smile out of her for each of them. Maybe not the first time he tried, but he's an awesome photographer and he managed a smile out of all the girls. Brynlea did pretty good as well, she was wheeled around in her stroller for the most part, a friend held her for a little while, she ate and then she fell asleep. She had a pretty good night, all in all. ;)

The picture that I'm the most proud of, is the picture that Lulee and Sadie had made together. I remember Sadie begging for a baby sister since she was the age of two and she finally got her sister when she was 11. She started dancing when she was four, Lulee's age now. It is really sentimental, for me, this year seeing them both in dance at the same place that Sadie started at Lulee's age. Not only that, but they are doing a duo together, a sister dance....something that I never thought I'd be able to enjoy watching Sadie do with her sister, having such a big age difference between the two. It is going to be a very special recital this year seeing the two of them do their dance together....one just starting and one nearing the end of her dancing.

I took some pictures of them getting ready in their costumes tonight, but unfortunately, I got a message that the memory card was locked and I had no idea how to fix it.....so no pics to go along with this post, but definitely soon...of their recital :)

T.G.I.F. can be underated.....

2011-03-26T10:24:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, our Friday was full of errands and to be honest, felt more like a Monday to me.

er·rand : a short and quick trip to accomplish a specific purpose, as to buy something, deliver a package, or convey a message, often for someone else.

Why don't you call it like it really is......mini road trips that may last half a day if not all day long, and may consist of major amounts of drama.

I started my morning out as I normally do, taking my Sadie Bug to her bus stop, spending that little morning time with her, that's just mine and her time. Then back to the house to get the kiddos, myself and the puppy ready for our first mini road trip.

We arrive at the vet's office for our newest furry baby Chloe's last round of shots and have to sit in the waiting area....where they have kindly placed a gorgeous feline that is up for adoption right there for every child, especially mine, to see. My sweet 4 year old wanted this cat so bad. She harassed me the entire vet visit...she also did not feel the need to sit still as I struggled to hold our youngest child Brynlea and Chloe. She also felt like it was her duty to scream as loud as she could to let everyone know just HOW BAD she NEEDED this cat....."Mama, you don't have to do anything, but give it water, it will be mine, all mine!!!!!" This sweet child had more energy and more lung capability than all the puppies combined in this clinic. ;) She begged me for at least an hour to take this kitty home. I was very consistent with my answers, "NO, NO and NO!!!"

So the visit was finally over, THANK GOD!!! and we are heading to the front to pay, as I am still struggling holding little Brynlea, Chloe in her carrier and Lulee's hand so she won't run off to pet everybody's dog, cat, and anything else that came in. We finally got checked out and as I instruct her every time, I told Lulee yet again, "Do not run in the parking lot, you could get hurt. There are other vehicles that will be coming in and going out. Stay with me." I hold her hand and everybody else all the way to the S.U.V. I put Chloe with her carrier in the front seat and I instruct Lulee to stay right by my leg as I put her sister in her car seat. As I have Brynlea half way buckled in Lulee starts to take off. I'm stuck in a predicament now. I can't grab Brynlea because she is partially buckled in, I can't leave her, she will fall out and end up on the pavement.

As I am screaming for Lulee to come back to me, this man across the parking lot sees what is happening and points to where she is. She is completely on the other side of the vehicle with a truck coming in ON HER SIDE!!!! I finally have Brynlea fastened in and run over to where Lulee is, who thinks it's a game. I am screaming at this point...."Don't ever run away, we talked about this, don't you know what could have happened to you???.....on and on and on.....yada, yada, yada and you are going to be punished!!!!" She finally sees that I'm serious now and she is crying. As we are driving down the road, she starts sobbing and says in between the sobs "Mom, please don't banish me!!!!" I have to calm her down and explain that I'm not going to banish her, ha-ha!!! I'm punishing her, no t.v. for the day.

Then we finally get home, it felt like the longest drive home EVER, and we dropped Chloe off and then we took off again. We went on another mini road trip to get some fish from Captain D's for our Fish for Friday's during Lent. Then for another trip on over to the bank.....moving right along on over to Lulee's preschool to pick up her spring pictures and her lunch box we forgot the other day.

Finally, the last trip we took was the trip going home and let me tell you, that was the best trip ever and I was so glad to be home!!!! We took a nap and relaxed and the bad part of the day faded away. Later on that night, we had the best time playing games together and just enjoying the rest of our night.

Yes this week, I think I would've rather have had two Mondays. ;)

It's the little things that count...

2011-03-24T14:53:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, or in our case, most of the time we are so busy taking the kids here and there, to and from the activities that they are involved in, along with trying to juggle their social schedules and even possibly squeezing in some adult socialization for us parental units, as well. ;) Sometimes it gets so hectic we forget whether we are coming or going, we forget to take the time to slow down and notice the small things in life that make us the happiest.

The kiddos have been sick for a little while. Both of the little ones have respiratory type viruses and the youngest one has an ear infection on top of it. So for a few days we've pretty much been housebound. I did, however, since she WAS fever-free for over 24 hours, let Lulee attend preschool yesterday. They both are still coughing, hacking and snotting everywhere.....but they have been so good about not really being able to go places. Lulee has asked to go to the park and she understands at this time, she is not able to. Once they are feeling better, it's on like Donkey Kong!!!.....We're talking parks, Barbie jeep rides, Greenway trails, the mall, you name it Baby!!!...Watch out.......we will be OUT and ABOUT!!!!

Today, I have enjoyed hearing the laughter from my children, seeing their sweet smiles, seeing the look of love in their eyes, the kind of look that says "thank you for taking care of me" without saying a word. I have shared special moments with each of them today and it's been one of those......"grab you by your heartstrings" kind of day.

I watch my oldest as she drives us to her school this morning. As she walks into the school's entrance these thoughts come across my mind...she is at the end of her sophomore year, with only two years left, knowing she is then out there in the world starting her journey into adulthood. I'm proud, yet I worry...I'm so happy to have the awesome time that we share together, yet I want more time with her being young. I am so amazed at the young lady she has become. Not only is she beautiful on the outside, she is beautiful on the inside. She has a wonderful since of humor and she makes great grades...she's got the complete package. I want to make sure to maintain a healthy awesome relationship with her throughout her teen years and on into adulthood.

As I watch our middle child, she is like a little sponge soaking up all the knowledge she possibly can and as fast as she can, learning from her older sister, from us, her family, preschool, church, t.v. She is so smart. I actually keep a word document full of conversations with her. She amazes me, but on top of her being so smart and how she impresses me and amazes me on a daily basis, she displays the best manners I have ever seen from a child her age. Such a tender and loving child she is.

I watch our youngest, full of excitement as she learns about this new world around her. Her face lights up with amazement and laughter over the simplest things. I love it. She is our last baby and I cling on to each sweet sentimental thing that she does. She is so loving as well, she will give you lots of hugs and kissies and will kiss her babies too. She's just so precious. And as I catch her watching me and Hubby out of the corner of my eye, it is such an amazing feeling knowing that she is watching us, learning from us, wants our approval and even at 14 months of age, she desires for us to show her how proud we are of her by just a little smile, wink of our eyes or clapping of our hands.

No matter how hectic and busy your life gets, you must stop and take time to smell the roses or in my case today pick some weeds.....those beautiful purple ones that look like flowers. I picked them for Lulee and she loved them so much. Just the look in her eyes made my heart smile. She said "Mom thank you so much for these lovely flowers" I said "I wanted to pick the beautiful flowers for my sweet and beautiful girl." I put them in a vase for her and she was so proud.....it's the little things. :)

~Words to the Wise, Wednesdays~

2011-03-23T19:11:00.000-05:00

“A child's life is like a piece of paper on which every passerby leaves a mark.”

Reorganizing ~ One of my favorite things to do~Really!!!!

2011-03-21T07:32:00.000-05:00

During the Lenten Season, it is a time to renew and cleanse our minds, body and souls. I have been trying to do that more and more. I've been reading the family our books that were given to us by the church and trying to pray more. I had set a plan of staying off Facebook for long periods of time and doing random acts of kindness throughout Lent. It was a little harder than I thought to get on Facebook and just get off. Once I was one there.....I was on there for a while and did not realize where the time had gone. Needless, to say it was time to reevaluate my plan, so I decided since the temptation was too great, I gave up FB altogether throughout the whole Lenten season and will not be back on it until Easter. I have even asked my smart, savvy, IT Hubby to disable the connection so I will not be able to get on it at all. That will be a long time, but it is definitely worth it. Now I will be able to get things done that I need to get done, spend time with my family and focus more on my "God time."

That being said, along with it being a time to renew and cleanse the mind, body and soul, it is also time for Spring cleaning. A time to renew and cleanse my house!!! Reorganizing and getting everything in tip-top shape is very refreshing and it gives me the ultimate feeling of accomplishment. I love this time of year. I love to clean and I love to throw away!!! I also love to neatly organize the articles of clothing that the smallest child will be able to wear in a couple of years in a clearly labeled, tightly sealed bin that gets put in the attic. When the bin is opened each season....it's just like Christmas going through it all!!!

We started this Spring cleaning by washing all the "new to us" clothing that we purchased at the Kid's Market. I put them all on the chair and couch of the living room until I was able to make room for them in their closet by taking out all the fall/winter clothing out. I cannot describe to you how much pleasure this gives me!!! Anyway, after the clothes were washed, Hubby, the kiddos and I hit the half off ribbon sale at Hobby Lobby so I could make hairbows for all the new outfits. I make them for my girls and I also sell them. It is a passion of mine and very therapeutic as well.

After getting all the Spring items washed and ribbons matched up to make hairbows.....into the younger two girls' closet I went. I had to pull all the Fall/Winter stuff out to make room for the Spring/Summer. Thankfully, at the last Kid's Market sale, which they do seasonally, we had purchased several items for Lulee our soon to be 5 yr. old, that she will be able to wear next year's Fall/Winter. So we are set.....and I love the fact that these items will be worn yet again, by our youngest child, Brynlea, who just turned 14 months!!! The price for two children's wardrobes this Spring with one going to be able to be worn twice was a total of 40 something bucks!!!!! Not bad huh?!?!

Up above are the clothes pulled out of the closet that were too small, but Brynlea will be able to use in a couple of years.

These are clothes that Lulee will be able to use next Fall/Winter.

I organized all the drawers.....they have a trundle bed that has drawers for storage underneath and I put Lulee's pajamas in the first drawer, shorts in the middle and she and Brynlea's shoes in the last drawer. We also have the dresser put in the closet sideways to make more space in the room and I reorganized all those drawers as well.

This picture was not rotated on my camera or even when I went to select it, however it chose, own its own to rotate and I am unable to fix it. Don't you hate when that happens??? I do!!!

After putting everything on hangers and getting everything just right.....the cleansing and renewing had taken place.....at least in the younger girls' room.

Here is the newly organized closet. Lulee's clothing on top, Brynlea's on bottom. Lulee is growing like a weed, soon her's will be on the bottom and Brynlea's switched to the top.

Here are all the hairbows I have made them, minus a couple that have gone M.I.A. They are on the inside wall of the closet above the dresser. I'm trying to figure out where I'm going to put the other ones that I make. May have to start filling up the wall on the other side. ;)

Here are all the Lulee's dance outfits that are hung

up on the right side of the closet all together so they
are very easy to find.

Now I have to move on to Mine and Ryan's and help Sadie, our oldest daughter who is 15 if she wants help....probably not, but I do love doing it. :) Then last, but not least I will do all of our storage closets, game/linen closet, towel/toiletry closet. Fun, fun, fun!!!

Ash Wednesday

2011-03-09T21:51:00.000-06:00

A Prayer for Ash Wednesday

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, the all-holy one, who gives us life and all things. As we go about our lives, the press of our duties and activities often leads us to forget your presence and your love. We fall into sin and fail to live out the responsibilities that you have entrusted to those who were baptized into your Son.

In this holy season, help us to turn our minds and hearts back to you. Lead us into sincere repentance and renew our lives with your grace. Help us to remember that we are sinners, but even more, help us to remember your loving mercy.

As we live through this Ash Wednesday, may the crosses of ashes that mark our foreheads be a reminder to us and to those we meet that we belong to your Son. May our worship and prayer and penitence this day be sustained throughout these 40 days of Lent. Bring us refreshed and renewed to the celebration of Christ’s resurrection at Easter.

We ask this through your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

The Definition of Lent

Lent in the Catholic tradition, is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. Lent is a time of sacrifice for Jesus. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer — through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial — for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

According to the Canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus spent forty days fasting in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, where he endured temptation by Satan. Thus, Lent is described as being forty days long, though different denominations calculate the forty days differently.

This practice is common to much of Christendom, being celebrated by Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Anglicans.

I hate that my family and I were not able to go and receive the ashes today, but we will be following the prayer and the Lenten season.

I, myself, am planning on praying more to become closer to God and I also plan to do more pay it forward acts of kindness. I also intend on giving up being on Facebook for long periods of time to be able to accomplish these goals of prayer, acts of kindness and to spend more quality time with my family as well.

What are you planning on doing more of or giving up for Lent?

*everything written in this post was looked up online and taken word for word from reputable sources. I just wanted to spread the meaning of Ash Wednesday and Lent to those that do not know about it.

Last Day of My Facebook Sabbatical

2011-03-04T19:47:00.000-06:00

Day 4 and last Day!!! : Today was an awesome day; however I am glad that it is my last day of the sabbatical and I'm proud to say "I MADE IT!!!" I actually followed through with the challenge that I made for myself. My willpower stayed strong and won!!!! To those of you who didn't think I could do it, I was secretly on your side at first. I didn't think I'd make it either, but I did and that's all that matters.

Today was another one of THOSE kind of days that actually provided a great distraction for me. This week has been full of them....Some good, some bad, some not so bad and today, sooo awesome!!!

This morning I was given the opportunity to read to Lulee's preschool class in honor of Dr. Seuss week. I dressed up as the Cat in The Hat and dressed Lulee and her baby sister Brynlea up as Thing 1 and Thing 2. I got them both red shirts, painted a white circle on them and took a black sharpie and wrote Thing 1 on Lulee's and Thing 2 on Brynlea's. I even dyed their hair blue with Kool-Aid and put their hair up all over their heads. They were a big hit. ;) Hubby made Thing 1 and Thing 2 cookies and I ended up reading 4 books, instead of the intended one, which was even more fun.

We stayed a little extra to help out with craft time. They were making an edible craft.

The Hat~ from (Cat in the Hat):
1 Ritz cracker
3 red life savers
white frosting
(per child, per hat)
You put the Ritz cracker on the bottom, put a layer of frosting on top, add a life saver, put a layer of frosting and repeat until you have three red life savers.It was a fun craft and the kids loved it. We had such fun time.

Then our oldest daughter texts and needed something brought to her at school....Muwahahaha!!!.....the evil laughter started in my brain and got the ideas brewing on how to embarrass her with my cat outfit on. We walked into her school, Hubby went first....with the camera recording her and I walked in after that with Thing 2 on my hip. You will just have to see the look on her face for yourself. It was priceless!!! We are still laughing over it!!!

Day 3 of My Facebook Sabbatical

2011-03-03T23:00:00.000-06:00

Day 3: Started out really busy and had quite a bit of distractions. I didn't really miss FB earlier today. The day started out great. Woke up spent some time with my Sadie Bug and then took her to the bus stop. I came back started cleaning....cooked breakfast. Had fun with the younger girls. Lulee, the four year old and I were in her room and I saw a black mass by her bed. I asked her to go over there and pick it up, thinking it was a little sticker or a toy or something. It was a swarm of ants. She totally FREAKED!!! She started screaming and shaking ANTS, ANTS, ANTS!!!! They were everywhere!!!

I have asked her not to eat in her room, but somehow she sneaks off before I know if and crumbs galore will end up all on her carpet, barely able to be seen unless you are face down on the carpet. It's Berber carpet and it hides things pretty well. Needless to say, the invasion of ants scared us and got us all in a frenzy even the Hubby got involved. He called our pest control and they came out here within 15 minutes. They were on it!!! BTW did you know that if you kill an ant with your finger that it leaves a peppermint odor behind. It might sound psycho, but seriously, try it next time you kill one. It is the weirdest thing. So my child's room, as many as there were, smelled like I had put a peppermint candle in there. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating just a little, but you get the picture.

So once the excitement was over, the girls and I decided to take a nap. I woke up feeling like I had lost my best friend. I didn't have time to think about FB or anything earlier during the day and then once things started slowing down, I realized that other than FB I really don't have that much communication with the "outside" world other than by phone and church weekly and occasional preschool programs and parties and waiting with the other dance Moms at dance for our kids to get out of class. FB is my way of communicating, my way of pretending I'm still getting out of the house on a daily basis. I used to like going to work and having the fun part of seeing people that you considered family and catching up with them daily and joking with them daily. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE staying at home now, being a full time Mommy, but I miss the interaction . That is what I get from FB and today I realized I was missing it. Not so much as an addiction, but an outlet, a chance to reach out to the "outside" world, a chance to vent, listen to people venting, a chance to joke and listen to others jokes, listen to how peoples days are going, tell how mine has been. I truly care about these people and how there day has been.

I have gotten to know a lot of my Hubby's friends online that he used to go to school with years ago that I helped him get in contact with since we share an account. He never uses the account so I'm always on there and I have conversed with many of these people and find it very interesting and awesome to have gotten to know them. Facebook has let me reconnect with many, many people that I had been searching for, for years and now I'm able to pop on there and talk to them daily. I realize now that how often I was on FB was more than often and probably a little on the obsessive side. ;) But being off of it just lets me know that it is something that I do love, I will not stop, but I will do it in moderation and less often than before to give myself a chance to do the other things that I had been missing out on doing, i.e. my blog and having my house in tip-top shape and being able to jump and run to have fun and not have to worry about the mess I will have to come back home to.

Tomorrow is Friday and it is the last day of the Sabbatical. I had challenged myself to stay off for the rest of the week.....not the weekend.....who knows....I might pop in on Saturday to say hi or I might decide that Sunday or Monday might be just as good. In other words, I'm going to get on it when I want to because I want to....Not because I feel like I NEED too. I'm in control...not the other way around. So far the willpower is winning!!!

On a side note....took the girls out to dinner tonight and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. No distractions, just good conversation....good times....LOVE my kiddos!!!

Day 2 of My Facebook Sabbatical

2011-03-02T21:26:00.000-06:00

Yesterday's withdrawals from Facebook were actually not that bad. I only brought Facebook up in every conversation that I had. And I HAD to ask everyone that I talked to if they had been on Facebook, but there were no convulsions nor sickness to my tummy. I made a lot of progress in the house. I reorganized and cleaned the younger two girls' room. Made it sparkly and new as Lulee, our 4 year old called it. Stella, the laundry mountain, has packed up and moved on. I Mopped and got the kitchen clean, cleaned the girls' bathroom where you could practically eat off the floor. Changed out the bedding in two bedrooms. I even had time to relax, watch shows, and spend time with the family....it was very nice to say the least. :)

Day 2: Today was not near as bad as yesterday. I woke up and didn't go for the phone right away. Didn't feel the urge to go to the computer to get on Facebook. I did think about everybody and the one's that had prayer requests and that are expecting babies.....wondering about that, but other than that I did pretty good. My sister-in-law sent me a text message saying that I could get new glasses if I go to this page on FB....(I thought she was joking with me) and I sent her a text back and said "Nice try". I went to Swagbucks, earned bucks without accidentally entering Facebook for my destination.

The biggest distraction that I had today to keep me from falling victim to running to the PC and getting the latest status updates was the visit to the dentist office. I went in to remove an old filling and get it replaced and get a cavity filled. It took a little extra numbing meds to get me good and numb with a fat tongue and big lips.....it even made my ear go numb. When they told me to bite down to get the bite adjusted right, I somehow bit my tongue so bad that it is now punctured and bruised, and is bruised about the size of a quarter. I would provide pictures, but I decided to not show such a graphic site. I can't even stand looking in the mirror. ;) It hurts!!! I can hardly talk, I sound like I've had waaaaay too much to drink and it is hard to eat. I think I'm going to resort to drinking my meals....guess I'll have to call Montel and ask him how to start juicing. Now's a good a time as any, right?!? I guess then I'll start having problems with IBS ;) Regardless, this distraction has proven to be a great one to keep me from giving two squats about Facebook.

Has it been that long????

2011-03-01T07:43:00.000-06:00

Wow!!! After One house sold, one house purchased, several birthdays celebrated, one kitty given away, a whole pregnancy and new baby who is now 13 months old, two new years resolutions made and broken, new puppy gotten .......I'M BACK!!!!

It has been a long while and boy have I missed writing on my blog. I miss pouring out what is on my mind. I miss sharing the funny stories that go on during the days or weeks. It seems that My life has recently been consumed with another form of writing. One that is short sentences. That occur all throughout the day on a social network. A social network called, none other than, FACEBOOK. That's right people, I'm am fully addicted to facebook and I admit it. You know the first step to getting over your problem is the "admitting."

Ok, so now that that first part is done, what to do next?!?! I mean I am on there ALL the time. I can't help it. Just one more post, one more comment, just let me add a picture. Yesterday I challenged myself openly to my FB friends and family that starting this morning I will stay off FB for the rest of the week. I even took a poll to see if they thought I could do it. The general consensus was "Yeah, good luck with that", "You know you can't do it", "Why would you want to torture yourself". Well, I wanted to do this because It's a battle against the will. I have to prove to myself that my willpower is stronger than my want...or NEED to get on and "socialize".

Day 1 : Extremely hard....first thing I did was grab my phone and go straight to FB, like it was an involuntary response. Had to put it down and tell myself, "OK Self, you made yourself a challenge and you've involved people now, you can't let yourself do this." So, Whew.....(wiping the sweat off my forehead) I made it through that one. Next, I come into the kitchen passing by my PC on the way....I go to the computer go to Swagbucks.....type in Facebook, again involuntary, realized what I did, deleted it and decided DANG I'm worse off than I thought. ;) I took my Sadie Bug to the bus stop this morning and noticed how beautiful the grass is getting. It's turning so green a sign that Spring is right around the corner. The first thing I wanted to do was to log into FB and put this as my status. AHHHHH!!!! This is just day 1!!!!! I am going to make it. :) I am making progress already. I got back to my blog, something I've wanted to do for a couple of years now and have made excuses as to why I haven't. I don't have time, I just don't have time. Well, now that I'm not on FB this morning, I've been able to write this post. Two year accomplishment made already on day 1.

Now, I'm planning on sharing this with FB, but I will not be on FB. I am getting off my computer, making plans to finish up Stella (my laundry mountain) and planning a day of fun with the Fam. :)

Precious Moments

2009-03-03T08:16:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I woke up to the most beautiful sound. The sound of our little Lulee's voice. She was observing the sunshine that was shining through the window.

"Mommy, the sun's awake", "The moon and the stars are asleep", "the dark went away".

It was simple, yet very complex thinking for a 2 1/2 year old. It had to be one of the sweetest ways to wake up.

Then later on in the evening Sadie Bug decides to make her lunch for today without even being asked. That in itself was a sweet moment for me on the "Teen" side of our world.

Thank you God for blessing us with two beautiful and loving girls!

Awwwweee How Sweet

2009-02-25T18:37:00.000-06:00

I was sitting in Lulee's room cleaning up the playdough that was on her floor when she ever so graciously brought me a cup of water. My initial thought was how sweet, I am thirsty. My second thought was, oh crap where did this water come from.

This past week has been the ultimate "I'll do it myself" week. She is a little over 2 1/2 now and she wants to dress herself, potty by herself, feed herself, and every other thing you can think of BY HERSELF.

She has been taking her stool everywhere with her. She has been turning the lights and fans on. She has been washing her hands by herself without our knowledge until the evidence presents itself.

She has been doing really well washing her own dishes in her little play kitchen. She even decided the pretend faucet wasn't doing enough for her. She needed to poor her whole sippy cup full of water in her sink and get the forbidden soap "HERSELF" and wash her dishes for real.

So back to the cup of water she ever so graciously brought me while I was in her room, it was retrieved from none other than the potty!!! And NO I DID NOT DRINK IT. I know not to ever drink or eat anything a child this age brings you. Act proud of them, but don't be stupid. The food might have been dipped in potty gravy......you never know!!!

Did I just do that... Did I just say that... yikes!!!

2009-02-21T20:53:00.000-06:00

To all of you who have had to prepare a house to be on the market and keep it perfectly spottless each time the house was shown:

We have had our house on the market for about a month now. We spent two weeks getting it prepared with decluttering and minor repairs. Since then we have really busted bootie keeping it tip top clean for the showings.

We have had three showings within this month. Today being the third. I knew of the appoinment since yesterday and started last night with the cleaning. I cleaned this morning before the showing time and it looked really good. I lit the blueberry candle so the aroma would fill the house before the realtor and buyers came. I wiped down any and every countertop making it spotless. I made sure the kitty litter was cleaned out and every bit of trash taken out of the house. Everything looked spottless and smelled great. I made sure to open all the blinds and turn on all the lights.

The showing was supposed to be at 11 but they were about 15 minutes early, which I was prepared for, so I thought.

We got a phone call from the realtor letting us know that she would be here in 5 minutes. No biggy, I had everything packed up and was ready to go. I figured they would be early anyway.

We left and went to spend time with my grandmother during the showing. We ate lunch, relaxed and visited with each other for a while. My Mom came over and we all had a really good time.

I had a hot date with hubby later on so I had to go home and get ready. My Mom took the kiddos home with her and I was on my way to having some relaxing "me" time.

I came inside our house and the lights were all still turned on, and it smelled really good, like a fresh baked blueberry cobbler. I was impressed with our house and thought Man, I would buy this house!!! :) It was spottless.

I decided I would go take a hot bath to relax and get ready for the date with hubby. I went into my daughter's bathroom to retrieve the shampoo and you would not believe what was there to greet me. None other than the wrapped up (thank GOD) pad that I had left on the counter. I had everything perfect except forgetting to throw away the pad. How embarrassing. Thank God it was wrapped up and not exposed.

Anyway, that was definitely one of MY most embarrassing moments.

And we are not through with this day. Hubby and I went to a nice restaurant tonight that he made reservations for. As soon as we walk in, he approached the nicely dressed lady in at the hostess stand. Hubby walked up to her and with a very self pleasing debonair charisma, states"our last name" she looks back at him and then he adds, "for two". She proceeded to look at Hubby and I, then very strangely states "excuse me". That is when Hubby finally realizes that she was not the hostess, but in fact a lady that may have felt halfway good about the way she looked until hubby let her know she simply looked like "the help". He turned 3 shades of red.

Then we were taken upstairs to eat at a table overlooking the balcony. I went to pull my chair out while hubby was talking with the server. I started to sit down and hubby, not realizing that I had already pulled my chair out, pulled it out even further before I sat in it and I almost fell on the floor.

So we have had a pretty embarrassing day and have survived!!!

What has been the most OMG or TMI day you've had???

Happy 2009!!!!

2009-01-01T07:44:00.001-06:00

Has another year gone by already!!! Wow time does fly. Just a year ago little Lulee was forming sentences, walking much better and didn't even have all her teeth in. Now she has all her teeth, requesting that she gets braces like her big sister and running and flipping everywhere.

A year ago Sadie Bug was just in the 7th grade still having one more year to tackle of middle school. She barely could do a back walk over and now she is doing round off back handsprings!!!Now we are looking at the fact that she will be in high school in a few short months!!! She has her braces and will be out of them in time for Senior portraits. Oh my Gosh!!! this is going by way too fast!!

Last year Hubby just started his job with his current company. He has really enjoyed working there and he is starting back to school for his master's next week. We have talked about it for a really long time and now it is finally about to happen.

My nephews Nick-Nick and Logie Lu have grown unbelievably in maturity. They are into every sport under the sun each season. They are such cute little men now.

This is really bittersweet!!! My babies are growing up. One is approaching high school and the other, pre-school. Slow down Father Time and let me catch up and be able to absorb all the changes, being prepared to move on to the next stages.

Happy New Year!!!! 2009 is going to be a great year!!! If I can stick with my New Year's resolutions it will be even better: Excersize, get more organized, stop gossipping. ;)

Bathroom Moments

2008-12-18T07:39:00.000-06:00

Ok our little Lulee who is only 2 1/2 is fascinated with the potty and all it's magical abilities. I try to go out of the bathroom when she is in there doing her "business" to give her privacy. She becomes very imaginative in the bathroom and loses herself in the moment. She was looking at a PC magazine, because you know she HAS to have a book while she potties, and decided that the front cover was a picture of me as Super Mommy, a Super Hero with Super Powers.

She will, most of the time, let me know when she is done (unless she gets into something that she doesn't want me to know she's into. Like the time that she decided to write on the wall with lipstick!!!

The other day I came back to check on her after her 10 minute session. She was turned around with her head down toward the potty saying something. I could barely hear her so I had to get really close and listen. She was saying "March, march, march". March of the Penguins......I think not!!!

This is me as Super Mommy according to Lulee.

She is going to be a great artist!!! She works well with any material... fabric, sheetrock, flooring.

Happy 3 Year Anniversary!!!

2008-12-10T09:49:00.000-06:00

Today is our 3 year anniversary!!! Let me start out by saying I am so in love with my Hubby and family. Last night our 13 year old, Sadie Bug and our 2 year old Lulee was working on our presents. I came in on them and caught them, or should I say Lulee told on themselves. :) As soon as I walked in Lulee said "We are making presents!!!". I said for who and she said for you and Daddy. She was so excited.

She ran in to the office last night while I was on the computer and was screaming "Happy....(still contemplating what she was supposed to say per her Big Sister's Cue) Present"!!!

Happy Present? I said. She said Mmmm Hmmm for you and Daddy. She handed me this cute little paper airplane that she colored and Big Sister made. Big Sister has also made us something else, but she is keeping us in suspense. She won't give it to us until after school today. :)

Are't they precious. Here is the pic of our paper airplane present:

Then I wake up this morning to find a dozen red roses, a picture of our wedding day (at our reception), and a card which reads "Sealed with a kiss...12.10.05". Hubby did so good!!!! It was a pleasant surprise. Then he admits to me that he has NEVER, EVER in his lifetime bought a dozen roses. I was shocked because I could've sworn that he got me some before. I'm the type of girl though that is just satisfied with getting any and have never really counted them. I asked him how did he escape ever getting a girl a dozen red roses. He had some smooth answer, but to be honest I think he could get away with just about anything with his gorgeous, mesmorizing, blue eyes!!!

I love you Hubby and am so glad to have met, fell in love with, got married to, and have children with!!! Happy 3 year Anniversary!!!! I am looking forward to many, many, more with you!!!

I've joined the bandwagon!!!

2008-12-01T07:24:00.000-06:00

I have heard so much about these Twilight books and the movie that I was sick of it before it was even playing in the theaters. I did not want to read anything about bloodsuckers much less watch the movie.

Well, after talking with my friend Jolie and hearing over and over about her love for the book and mainly "Edward" I have become really intrigued, to say the least.

Then low and behold my friend Stephanie, who I read her blog everyday, has switched over to the dark side too and now she is having a "Twilight Christmas Giveaway" on her blog. Ok, so now not only am I intrigued, I am now DETERMINED to win this giveaway. Go on over and check out her blog. You can enter to win too!!

The other day I was talking to my friend Jolie and I decided to take a picture and send it to her for my contribution to the "Twilight" cause:

Yes, we had been making our traditional Christmas cookies while I was talking to Jolie as she was reading excerpts from the 3rd Twilight book. I felt inspired and had to show her my support. It's hard to smile with big cookie bits shaped like fangs in your mouth. ;)

You know you've gone to the doctor way too much when....

2008-11-25T20:16:00.000-06:00

your 2 1/2 year old daughter comes to you and says:

Lulee: I need to call the doctor

Mommy: Why do you need to call the doctor?

Lulee: Because I stepped on a cracker.

Mommy: I'm sure you will be ok. Let me see.

Lulee: I NEEEED to call the doctor.

Mommy: (Making a call to her friend and having her pretend she's the doctor) Yes Dr. J Lulee must talk to you. She stepped on a cracker.

Lulee: (says absolutely nothing and runs away)

Problem solved. :)

Also, ever since Sadie Bug got braces Lulee has decided that she needs them too. She told me the other day that her teeth hurt. She said that the doctor would fix them and give her braces. I even caught her putting cheerios on the fronts of her teeth and telling me they were braces.

Lulee also had a bad rash a few months back and she has let me know over and over that the doctor fixed her booty. She thinks that this doctor has hung the moon. I'm not sure she hasn't. ;) Truth be known this is the kindest, caring, and thorough doctor I've ever met. We are lucky to have her and she's young so we may have her through the duration of childhood years on up into the teens maybe.

Fun Day Off for Veteran's Day

2008-11-12T07:34:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a fun, laid back day for the Fam. Sadie Bug was home from school. Hubby was able to be with us, Lulee was loving it all. We made the most of our day without going anywhere. Sometimes it is nice to do just that, when you are constantly running here and there.

We started out with a nice breakfast together, which we hardly ever get to do with Sadie Bug because she is out to meet the bus so early. We then spent time together watching our favorite shows. Then came the really fun stuff. We started painting Sadie Bug's room, upon her request. It was a really calming and pretty color of blue (kind of like the toothepaste color) and now it is a brighter, pretty shade of orange. I helped hubby paint a small amount. I did the trim work around the doors and the windows and then he did the rest. It still needs a second coat, but it is looking good. All teens should be this lucky. To be able to request a color even if it is one that you may not agree with. Let them express themselves in as many areas of life as you can.

I wanted to paint my room black when I was a teen (I know that is a little much) and my Mom wouldn't let me. The closest she would compromise on was a dark green. I painted my room myself that weekend and learned to enjoy it almost as much as I would the black. I swore that when I got out on my own I would have a black room. Yeah, I've been on my own for a while now and I have yet to have my black room. I do have dark chocolate in my bedroom however. That's getting close right???

Anyway, we all enjoyed our day yesterday. I felt like we were giving Sadie Bug something she truly wanted. Lulee was satisfied with getting to play and spend time with Sister. Hubby loves to paint. I actually had some time for myself as well to work on my hairbows. With all the Green and Red ribbon that I have been using I feel like I can't distinguish between the two anymore. :)

I had lots of pictures to put on this post, but I'm having trouble loading them for some reason. Anyway, I will work on getting the pics put on soon. :)

A rough bath time....literally

2008-11-11T11:13:00.000-06:00

Our two year old, Lulee, is so sweet trying to do for herself. Miss Independent tries to do everything by herself. She doesn't like when I try to give her bites of something. She wants to take it away from me and do it herself.

It was bath time the other night and she decided she was going to bathe herself. That's fine, I had a soft washcloth in there for her to use and she knows how to use the pump to get her body wash out. It looked like she had everything under control. She was all sudsied up, smiling and very proud of herself.

I was taking a bath with her and looked up and noticed that she had left the nice, soft little washcloth that I had gotten for her. She was definitely using something. It had suds all over it and I couldn't tell what it was. I grabbed it from her and rinsed it off. I can't believe I didn't even notice that she was washing with none other than a pumice stone. Why didn't she use her soft wash cloth that I had purposefully put in there for her?!?!?

She chose the hard pumice stone over the cloth!!! I told her "Lulee that is not for your body. It is for your feet!". Of course her reply was the same reply that I have heard a hundred times over lately. "WHY?"

Apparently her technique of exfoliating her body didn't seem to bother her any. I had to, of course, pick the stone up and rub in on my skin to see how bad it would feel. If you don't rub it over your skin too hard it doesn't feel too bad. :)

She might be on to something...

I'm aspiring to be more like my cats...

2008-11-09T13:38:00.000-06:00

Our Relaxing kitties Lylah and Lizzie

Everyone who knows me, knows that I max out my day with everything possible that I can fit in and then some. I don't even know if I know how to relax. I am constantly trying to rack my brain to come up with ideas on how to make extra money for the family, even when it is not really needed. I clean my friend's house for her twice a month, I make and sell hairbows, and I sell things on ebay. I even started a new stay at home job today, receiving calls from customers, after already feeling overwhelmed and overbooked with my time.

It did not go well to say the least. There were several things we had to do to get ready for this job. We had to cancel our existing internet and phone service because they cut out intermittently ALL the time since we first signed up with them about a year ago. We had to sign up with another provider and get just a basic line with no call waiting, caller id, or voice mail. We also had to put a bi-fold door on our office to eliminate kiddo and animal noises that would be heard when taking the calls.

First two calls I got today, the headset that we purchased specifically for this job had a super loud buzzing in the line where they couldn't hear me and I got hung up on. The system did not work right. I had a man that was in his 90's and could not hear well (poor thing). I had to shout the scripts that had to be read verbatim to him along with all the 6 or 7 up sells. The F Keys that were required to maneuver throughout the screens did not work. I got booted out of their system twice. The phone disconnected a couple of times as well. Every time I tried to type information in, there was a delay of about 10 seconds with each key stroke! The customers were getting upset as was I.

It was truly a MISERABLE experience today. So much that I have decided to resign EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY for that specific skill not the company itself. Now whether they will assign a different skill for me or not is left to be determined.

Until then, I will continue being a full time Mommy with all the Mommy duties that come along with it, clean my friend's house twice a month, sell items on ebay, and make and sell my hairbows.

In the future, however, I believe that I am going to take the unspoken lessons that I have learned from my cats and JUST RELAX!!!!!

I would love to be in their shoes, or paws rather, for just ONE day!!!

Thanks for letting me vent.

No Lylah eating Mommy

2008-11-04T21:52:00.000-06:00

Our little kitty has this habit of nursing. She loves to get on your lap while you are trying to watch tv., on the computer or whatever you are trying to do. She will start nursing your shirt or your pants. I had never had a cat do this before.

I was trying to google it to figure out if something was wrong with her. Maybe she had been taken from her Mom too early. Apparently after some research, it is quite commen for kitties to do this. This person online had a cat that did it's whole life (20 years). I had talked to a friend of mine the other day and he said that his cat had done it it's whole life too. It is a thing that they do for comfort and they are content with their home.

One day Lylah the kitty was on me nursing as usual and my two year old Lulee got really upset. She came over to us and tried to push the cat off of me. I told her it's ok. Lylah is just trying to nurse. She would not have it. She was really upset and yelled "NO LYLAH EATING MOMMY". I laughed so hard. Poor thing thought this little kitty meant business and was going to eat me. Needless to say kitty had to get off my lap at this point. I didn't want my child witnessing my early demise due to being eaten by a kitty. She would have been traumatized for life.

Please Vote

2008-11-04T00:00:00.000-06:00

Don't Forget to Vote

Happy Halloween

2008-11-03T07:52:00.000-06:00

Isn't my little pumpkin carrying a pumpkin cute!!!

My sister and my nephews went with us to trick-or-treat.

It started getting a little colder toward the end and Lulee decided it was time to ride in her wagon. She wanted to walk the entire time up until this point.

Here we are. I'm helping Lulee get up the steps for her first house to get candy from during our trick-or-treating spree.

Here is Logie (dead football player/car crash) , Sadie Bug (gothic rag doll), and Nick-Nick (live football player).

Hubby dressed up as a pirate and then forgot his eyepatch and earring. Check out his sleeve of tattoes on his left arm (when facing him). Our dog Piper had a sweater on that is orange and white (hubby claimed that she was a Freddy Crueger dog. Sadie Bug is a Gothic Ragdoll (yes she made this up). I actually did not dress up this year. I really don't have a ligit excuse. I just didn't. :)

Here is hubby trying to put our little Piper on his shoulder like a parrot. Ha-ha!!!

Early that day we took Lulee to the library dressed in her Halloween shirt. I forgot to take a picture earlier. She was not too happy with me when I took this picture. She had already messed up her little hairbow and absolutely refused to smile. She's still a cutie though. She did pretty good considering she had not had a nap.

Update on Lulee: Please pray for Lulee today

2008-10-15T07:36:00.000-05:00

Everything went really well today. She was so good. She let the doctor do an ultrasound on her heart without even flinching. I held her and she was so calm.

The doctor is concerned about the condition, but said that it is really too soon to tell right now. Typically it shows itself around teen years. We will need to have her checked every 5 years.

We will continue to monitor her throughout her life up until young adulthood.

Thanks for all your prayers and please continue to pray for her and hubby both. Hubby's appointment is Halloween day. Maybe we will get some good news. We found out that we were pregnant with Lulee on Halloween so we need some more good news then. :)

As most of you know Hubby's dad had to undergo open heart surgery a few weeks ago due to a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This disease is hereditary and therefore has the ability to affect Hubby and our daughter Lulee. It also can be a very serious health concern, especially in children.

Hubby is scheduled for testing on Halloween and Lulee is scheduled for testing today. Please say a prayer for both of them that the testing will end up having normal results and that neither one of them will inherit this disease. Also, that Lulee will be calm during her testing as she is scared of doctor's sometimes.

Thank you and I will keep you all posted.

FALSE ALARM!!!

2008-10-08T20:08:00.001-05:00

We have been really busy during this Fall break. On day one we had the cable guy come out to add something that he was supposed to have done the week before (waking us all up from a sound sleep at 8:00am ringing the doorbell and NOT CALLING FIRST). On day two we had an orthodontist appointment for Sadie Bug, and a doctor's appointment for Hubby followed by a midnight till 3:30am search for a neighbor child that had attempted to run away. On day three we had an unexpected doctor's appointment at 9:50am for Sadie Bug. We are also expecting a contractor from the same cable company to come out tomorrow to assess the damage to the ceiling that the first cable guy did during the first trip out. Apparently he missed a rafter up in the attic and his foot almost came through our ceiling in the dining room/playroom. Friday is a free day for us unless Murphey's Law deems it to be something different.

Needless to say our staycay has not been what we had planned for. Poor Sadie Bug really wanted to go to the beach for the break, but it was out of the question with hubby not being able to get the time off to go.

Getting back to the reason for this post, Sadie Bug's false alarm at the doctor's office today. Sadie showed me a spot on the back of her pallet close to her uvula (hangy thing). It was a dark red patch and dark red dots that appeared to be the beginning of strep throat, which we had been to a birthday party two days before that where a child had just gotten over strep.

I went through a series of questions with Sadie. Had she had sucked on a lolly pop or any candy that would create suction toward the back of her throat, did she eat a chip that may have hurt that area, does she feel nauseated, does her throat hurt, fever, etc... The answer to every question was a big NO!!!

So I proceeded to call and make an appointment thinking it could possibly be strep without a fever and other symptoms other than the red patch. We go in today and Sadie Bug is so nervous about having to have her throat swabbed. The doctor asked her pretty much the same series of questions that I had asked her before acquiring this appointment.

There must be an airborne truth serum floating around as soon as you walk into the exam room because as soon as the doctor got the questions out of her mouth, Sadie Bug remembered that she DID IN FACT have a dum dum sucker, pre-red patch, earlier the day before. Did I not ask that?!?!? I asked her. She said you said a sucker, it was a dum dum.

Earth to Sadie Bug?!?!? Ha-ha!! She swabbed her throat for strep anyway for a better safe than sorry measure. It came back negative for strep and positive for dum dum. Ha-ha!

If I had it to do over again I would do it the same way. I believe in the better safe than sorry approach. Plus I really have zero room to talk when it comes to emergency situations. When I was in second grade I was trying to pull my tooth with a kleenex and ended up swallowing some of the tissue. It felt like it was stuck in my throat regardless of how much I drank and how many times I swallowed.

I came home and told my parents and they told me that I would be ok. I had anxiety all ready in second grade and didn't trust that answer. I decided since that didn't work I needed to make up something that would make them rush me to the hospital to get an x-ray on my throat. Yes, I was a little neurotic even in the second grade. Ha-ha!! I told my parents that I swallowed a tack. My neurosis was pacified for a little while as I was on my way to the E.R. Of course they did not find a tack during my x-ray, but my mind was put to ease. Can't say the same for my parents. :)

Sadie Bug's incident was a little different than mine in the way of not making up some crazy story to go to the doctor's office and the fact that she just forgot that she ate the lolly pop, I mean dum dum.

I told her that I would pay the copay and be happy either way knowing that I took her in just in case she had it. I got lucky I had a 10 dollar credit and only had to pay 5 dollars for the false alarm appointment.

I think she felt a little embarrassed by the diagnosis and was not too amused when I joked on her by calling her dum dum for the rest of the day. She's got to know me by now that I won't let her live this down. I only joke on people I really care about. :)

Courtesy Flushing and the Need to Read

2008-10-04T21:19:00.000-05:00

Ok, most everyone knows what a courtesy flush is. For those of you who don't know. I googled "what is a courtesy flush" and this was the best description that I could find that was kid-friendly, short and sweet. :

A pre-wipe flush that's intended to remove the odorous matter before it stinks up the whole bathroom.

Courtesy flushing and the need to read tend to go hand-in-hand with each other. It makes sense though, If you are sitting there long enough to read books, catalogs and or magazines, you would probably need to flush more than once, right?!?!?

It also makes you wonder, is courtesy flushing and the need to read hereditary?

I googled it, but I haven't gone any further as to research the above subject matter. I guess I will just base it on the household knowledge that I have.

My hubby has retreated to the bathroom many, many times staying in there forever and flushing many, many times. In his area of retreat, he has his on little drawer full of reading material. It is just a ritual that he feels he must perform before he is successful in his mission.

As for Lulee, we took her to the doctor's office about a month and a half ago with a MAJOR diaper rash. It was so bad that desitin would not clear it up. We had to get the prescription diaper ointment (Vusion) which worked really well, but not immediately. In conjunction with the diaper ointment, we had to give her baths with baking soda and keep her without a diaper as much as possible.

She had previously been potty training, but had grown really tired of it and had refused to try anymore until this diaper rash. THANK GOD FOR DIAPER RASHES. Ha-ha!!!

She is doing really well now and is wearing panties during the day and pull-ups at night. She is telling me every time she has to go. For a few weeks now, every time she has gone at home she needs a book. I will give her privacy and come back to check on her. I noticed that she was flushing the potty, but still sitting there not ready to get up. She says she was not done. I finally realized after the first week of this happening, that she was courtesy flushing......hereditary or learned?!?!

Now that is pretty funny when your two year old is doing it!!!

We went to Lowe's today and she had to go three times. We made it without any accidents. On the last trip to the potty, it was a longer visit than the other two. She looked up at me and requested that I get her a book. This was the first time the request had been made in a public restroom. Ha-ha!!! Just like Daddy.

Does anyone else have little ones that do this????

Ya hear dat Mommy!!!

2008-09-27T21:20:00.002-05:00

My two year old is so precious. She is trying hard to learn all there is to learn in this BIG world. She is learning how to put all the right words into sentences. She tells me that she needs a piece of milk, or a piece of Daddy, ha-ha!!!

She is also learning to relay messages. A few weeks back she and I were in the bedroom waiting on Daddy who was getting ready for work. He called her into the bathroom with him (not knowing that I was in the bedroom with her). I heard everything he was telling her along with his request that she relay the message to me.

The message from Daddy was "Tell Mommy that I love her so much, forever".

She came out all excited and came straight to me and said Mommy........(thinking really hard how to relay this very important message to me)......... "ya hear dat Mommy, ya hear dat".

That was the cutest, most precious message I think I have gotten relayed to me, EVER.

Daddy came out of the bathroom and we were laughing so hard. It is true, kids say the darnedest things.

God Love them!!!

Go Sadie Bug, It's your Birthday!!!

2008-08-01T09:10:00.000-05:00

Happy 13th Birthday Sadie Bug. Click on her name and see a cute video to hold you over until we get pics from today's partying!!!

We have a lot of fun activities planned today for her venture into being a teenager.

How much can they remember???

2008-07-30T00:26:00.000-05:00

My hubby and I were out in our pool with Little Lulee the other day. She loves to "chwim" as she calls it.

I was asking her all kinds of things just enjoying the moment with her when I came up on this one question she got very excited about. I asked her "Do you remember being born ?". She looked at me and said "Uh huh, arm". I said "what about your arm?" She took her hand and punched her fist up toward the sky.

Some of you know that when I had her I had to have an emergency C-Section because she was trying to come out arm first. Which by the way, the day before we went to see the new Superman Returns movie. Coincidence??? Maybe. Ha-ha!! So there she was with her hand down and the doc did an exam and she grabbed his hand. The doc was surprised to say the least. He even let hubby check the hand out before birth. Lulee was waiving at him.

I don't recall her ever hearing her whole birth story, I mean it's possible. It is just so cute and shocking to ask her the question and she will look at you and shoot her arm fist first up into the air every time.

We took her to the doc for a routine check up, which by the way she did beautifully at this visit which is really saying alot for this doctor. We switched doctors recently from one that had been my oldest's doctor for thirteen years. I was really anxious about meeting the new doctor because Lulee is always so scared of any medical facilities.

This doctor was amazing. She came in and decided to stay far away from Lulee and said she wanted to talk to Mom and Dad to get to know about her. She grew really comfortable with the doctor and then the doctor saw birdies in her ear and Lulee fell in love with her at that moment.

Almost everyday since the visit she has said over and over how she did good at the doctor and she will also say "Mommy, I like it Doctor". This is really nothing short of a miracle.

Anyway, while we were there we told her of the birth story and what happens when we ask her "the question". She asked the most obvious question of whether she has heard the birth story or not, but she said that there have been stories that babies have remembered stuff from birth, so maybe Lulee does remember.

Maybe we all remember stuff like that, but the older we get we lose those memories when replaced with more current memories.

It definitely makes you think.

Updates-revised

2008-07-28T08:17:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update.

Olivia is scheduled to have her surgery this morning. Please say lots of prayers. Her Mom and Dad are really nervous about the surgery. Please pray that she makes it through the surgery and recovery without any problems.

Olivia made it through surgery and anesthesia beautifully. She is now recovering with her Mom and Dad at home. They have determined that they believe it is a typical dermoid cyst. They are sening it off for testing and they will have the results in a couple of days.

Ian is recovering really well and can't wait to start farming with his Daddy, according to his Aunt Jolie.

Also Mandy is doing really well handling her treatments with chemo and radiation.

Thanks for everyone's prayers.

My Baby Got Braces

2008-07-23T07:04:00.000-05:00

Here's Sadie Bug awaiting her "grill", ha-ha!! She was so excited and nervous at the same time. She has been waiting for this day for a long time. She knew what color she wanted to get and made sure to dress accordingly. She got the color perfect pink and she had her pink shirt, pink mani and pedi and probably pink undies too. She takes the matching thing seriously!!! She got that from her great grandmother Nanny.

Here she is getting her "before" pic done. She looks like a cute little duck doesn't she.

Lying there with MUCH anticipation. Perfect Pink here we come!!!

This lady was so nice as she prepared her teeth for braces. She also finished up by putting the wires on and the color bands for the brackets. She must have known what color Sadie Bug was going to choose because she dressed accordingly as well. :)

Here he is, Mr. Orthodontist giving my baby a new smile.

Look how proud she is of her new braces.

We of course all came down here for this big event. Lulee came back a couple of times to check on Sadie Bug. She hung out with Daddy mostly in the waiting room doing what she does best. She loves to clean things. Daddy gave her a wipe and here she is cleaning under the table. She cleans all the time at home too. She's a sweetie!

Hubby's Ficticious Wife

2008-07-19T17:49:00.000-05:00

All of you who know my hubby knows that he is a talker, he is a regular Chatty Kathy!!! That's why we go so well together like rice crispies and marshmellows.

My hubby is such a handy manny. He fixes everything at home from cars to computers to even holding my hairbows, that I've made, delicately so the glue can dry. Believe it or not, he even cuts his on hair. 99.9% percent of the time it looks good too.

The other night he decides he is going to cut his hair and it gets a little on the late side once he's started. He then decides he is tired and will finish up his haircut the following morning. Needless to say he doesn't finish up the haircut until a week later therefore forcing him to sport a date-stamped mullet.

OH MY GOSH as if that wasn't bad enough to look like that. He is getting ragged at work and I find out that he has told all of them that his wife cut his hair and just has to finish the job. Whatever floats his boat right?!?!?

I live in the South and will not reveal exactly where, but I know very little about hunting. I have done my fair share of fishing and have only gone hunting a few times. I didn't go to hunt, but to hang out with my Grandad and my Dad also on a few occasions. Those hunting ventures were to hunt squirrel and also dove, but never ever have I gone coon hunting, nor do I know of anyone who has. However, my hubby was talking about me at work one day and he and this guy apparently were discussing hunting and it came up that I had gone coon hunting. WHAAAAAT???

Does this man even know me at ALL?? Were we even BEST FRIENDS (for three years) ???
Ok, so either my hubby is super confused and has a fantasy of being married to Daniel Boone's sister, or he just loves to see what people will think about me once they've met me in person.

Either way I have to make a really good first impression, huh!!!

Prayer requests

2008-07-18T11:00:00.000-05:00

I have prayer requests that I would like to share with you all today. Please pray for a friend of mine, Mandy James she has had surgery removing a brain tumor learning that it was cancerous. She is now undergoing radiation and chemo. Here is her website to read her whole story. www.caringbridge.org/visit/mandyjames.

Please pray for my friend Jolie's little nephew, Ian. He is 11 years old and just had surgery last night for appendicitis. He will be in the hospital for a week for recovery and monitoring.

Jolie and her nephew Ian

On to a happier prayer request, my friend Stephanie and her hubby had their baby yesterday and I would love for them and their new baby girl to be added to your prayer list as well. I spoke to them this morning and they are "cruisin' " as Steph said, which translates to doing well.
Ha-ha!!

I stole a copy of their family pic (before new baby girl). Aren't they a cute fam.

Thanks for your prayers.

Happy 2 year birthday revised with pics/videos

2008-06-29T21:42:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Lulee, Happy Birthday to you!!!

You are now 2 years old. It is so sweet seeing you develop and mature from a sweet little baby into an even sweeter little girl .

We love you so much!!!

Click on the arrow to play this video
2 year old birthday dinner at Red Robin

We had a finger painting birthday party at our house.
Here she is with little Alex and Ariel painting their masterpiece.

We set her play room up as an art studio. Daddy painted Tigger on one wall and I painted "Lulee's Art Studio" with a butterfly and a flower on the other wall.

SadieBug is not too old to fingerpaint. She got in and had some fun too!!!

Here we are opening presents, which by the way she would not open one single present. I had to open all of them.

Postal Madness

2008-06-27T07:18:00.000-05:00

I have been doing really well selling items from my home on ebay. I haven't had hardly any problems worth mentioning at all. I have had really good experiences with purchasing through ebay as well. Most of Lulee's clothes are from ebay. After working retail for years and knowing the mark ups I just can't bring myself to pay full price for anything anymore.

Anyway, to get to the main reason for this post. We proudly sold an item to a gentleman in North Carolina for a whopping $11.00 plus $8.99 shipping. I had sold 6 other items as well and took them all to the post office to be mailed out. Unfortunately, the post office didn't have a box big enough for this particular item. They however were nice enough to point me in the direction of a UPS store located only a little over 12 miles from my home. Happy as a lark, I went to the UPS store thinking that I am about to complete a transaction smoothly and travel back to my humble abode. I walked in and it apparently wasn't for customers with small (big to me) items. More for commercial type stuff. They did not have a box that my item would fit in. I had even called the 1-800 number to check before going to this UPS. I went there and not only did they have a box, but they offered to pack it up for me (not mentioning that it would be a $17 and some odd change charge). After she boxed it and rang it up she said that it did not include shipping (shipping would be around $30 dollars). I was like "You've got to be kidding me!!!" (or did I say that right after she told me the charge for her simply putting it in the box and taping it with no packing materials inside???

So I couldn't very well make her take it out of the box at this point (although Hubby said he would have). I asked her if it would be cheaper to take my now big enough box back to the post office and send it. She said yes, but most of them are closing. I found one, with the help of Hubby, that stayed open later in yet a different city a few miles away. I took it there and it costs $19 and some change to ship (that was the cheapest way possible).

Also, while I was going to all these places with this awkward shaped box, my little Lulee, age 2, was trying to sleep. Somehow I managed to carry her, trying not to wake her, and carry the box around to and from these places to get it mailed. Believe it or not she stayed asleep and I was even able to take her in and out of her car seat without really disturbing her nap!!!

So, lesson learned. I will definitely be prepared next time and search for a box at grocery stores before paying to have someone lift my item and tape it up in a box.

I hope you all find the humor in this post. After feeling like one of my ovaries were going to fall out carrying both the box and sleeping child, I am now able to laugh as well. :)

Update #3 on Olivia

2008-06-10T11:29:00.000-05:00

Another update email from Olivia's Mom:

Well, I’m officially frustrated. Yesterday we took Olivia to the pediatrician office with her allergies. While there I turned in a copy of the preliminary report from Dr. C…the doctor that said the knot “is nothing” to have in her file. The pediatrician said “oh, I know him. Let me see her eye.” He felt of her eye and then went to call and speak to Dr. C at the hospital. Dr. C wasn’t in so he spoke to another doctor who said “there’s definitely some sort of lesion there according to the scan, but I don’t know what it is.” He told the pediatrician that it didn’t look attached to the bone. Flash forward to 8:00 when we got home last night. We had a voice message from the plastic surgeon saying that she agreed with Dr. C and didn’t see anything.

This morning, I called the plastic surgeon who told me that she had received a note to call the pediatrician’s office on this finding. The pediatricians office wasn’t open yet so she called and talked to the radiologist on staff at the hospital who looked at the scans AGAIN. The plastic surgeon called me back and said this radiologist person confirmed that there was a lesion there and that there was an amendment being done to the original preliminary report stating this. They spoke and she says they are “99.9 % sure” that it’s what they call a dermoid cyst. She says that dermoid cysts attach to the bone. ??? Remember now that the doctor yesterday said it wasn’t attached to the bone. ??? Dermoid cysts are fairly common but most of them are on the outside of the eye. The surgeon said that most of the time the only reason they are removed is for cosmetic purposes. The surgeon told me “I missed it on the scans.” Tell me that’s supposed to make us feel good. On the day that she originally saw Olivia she also said “it’s too hard to be a dermoid cyst.” She did say that she didn’t feel surgery was necessary to remove the cyst (if this is what it really is) unless it’s starts to grow. I’m hoping she’s right, however with all the changing of the minds going on it leaves our confidence in these doctors in limbo.

So as you can see we are still uncertain of what this REALLY is. Mother’s intuition tells me to get a second opinion. I have a call in to the eye doctor for a referral to Birmingham. I’ve requested that the plastic surgeon here mark on the scans where she sees the dermoid cyst so that I can be sure a new doctor will see what she sees. Keith and I saw something on the scans and we’re not trained in reading CT scans…tell me how two doctors missed it. Tell me too how 3 different radiologist can make three totally different calls. One says it’s nothing, one says it’s a lesion that’s not attached to the bone, and the third says it’s a dermoid cyst.

Please continue to be in prayer for us. Olivia’s eye doesn’t seem to be bothering her and I pray it doesn’t start. According to the eye doctor, her vision tests were great. Pray that God will lead us to someone in Birmingham who can definitely confirm what the lesion is and whether or not it needs to be removed immediately for biopsy. I pray that it is in fact a dermoid cyst and nothing more. I’ll update again when we know more.

Update #2 on Olivia

2008-06-07T06:48:00.000-05:00

Second update from Olivia's Mommy on her condition:

First of all let me thank each of you for your kind words in your messages and most importantly your prayers. I was overwhelmed when I opened my inbox. We appreciate it so much!

Olivia did well today. She was a strong little girl even though the I.V. hurt! She tolerated her anesthesia well and had no problems. The nurse that we had was awesome and I know that God was working through her. Olivia loved her and she made such a sense of calm come to the room. I know it was HIM showing us that he was there with us. They were so nice at the hospital. They could sense my concern, had compassion and allowed us to be in the imaging room looking in on Olivia during her cat scan. We never were asked to leave her side. I was so grateful for that. It's scary when your child is put under anesthesia since there are so many risks involved. When you have a family history with anesthesia problems, it's that much worse. But as I said, all went well and we were able to be at home and relax this afternoon.

Now on to the important stuff. I asked everyone to pray that this is nothing. The preliminary report from the radiologist says that it's NOTHING!!!! What an answered prayer!! We still have to take the scan pictures to the eye plastic surgeon and let her review them on Monday. This still leaves the human nature in us doubting the results just a bit. It still leaves the question of what the knot is and why when it's felt by doctors does her eye get blue and swell a little. There is a knot there and why the radiologist didn't mention it in simple terms to us, I don't know. In other words, we don't know just yet if it's bone or sinus cavities etc. I guess that's why the surgeon wants to see it. She's definitely of aware of where the knot is and has felt and seen it. I'm not a radiologist by any means but in one picture, you can definitely see it on the scans. God makes each of us unique and it could be her bone structure for some reason. The main thing is that he didn't spot any type of growth that was mentionable.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we go through next week and let the surgeon look at things to be sure the radiologist didn't miss something. We're happy that the preliminary report states that it's nothing but will be alot better after confirming it with the surgeon since she actually did the exam. With things like this you can never be too careful.

Thank you all again for your prayers. I'll email again on this next week. I love you all and am thankful to have each of you in my life. God bless you!

Update on Olivia Please continue to pray

2008-06-04T12:00:00.000-05:00

An update email from my friend regarding her child Olivia:

Thank you all for your emails and for your prayers.

We took Olivia to the eye surgeon yesterday. Unfortunately an ultrasound could not be done. She said it would only show what she could feel from examining her which is a boney type of mass. The eye surgeon said she really doesn’t know what it is. She said that she’s hoping it’s a benign boney mass but the only real way to know for sure what it is would be to do a cat scan. She did say that normally malignancies grow very fast. Since this “mass” hasn’t changed much since I noticed it in late April, she said that hopefully was a good sign. It still doesn’t make it any less scary for us especially when they stop calling it a cyst and start calling it a mass. Olivia is scheduled for a cat scan tomorrow at 11:00. Keith and I are very worried. Please continue to lift Olivia up in prayer. Pray that she’ll be o.k. during the sedation tomorrow for the cat scan. Pray that the cat scan will show exactly what type of “mass” it is. Pray that it’s nothing serious. Pray that God will lay His healing hands on her and that this will go away on its own without major surgery. Thanks.

Prayer Request for a friend

2008-06-03T16:33:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine sent an email to me and others today asking for prayers. Please read this copied email from her and please take time to pray for their daughter. :

I’m asking you all to lift Olivia up in prayer. She has some sort of “cyst” under her right eye lid that has been there since at least the end of April and doesn’t appear to be getting better. After going to an eye doctor this morning, we’ve been referred to an eye plastic surgeon (for tomorrow) to see if an ultrasound can be done to determine the density of this knot. The eye doctor sounded very unsure of what it could be and said it did not feel as if it was a fluid filled cyst. This is very alarming for us. Please lift her up and ask God to lay his healing hands on her. Pray that this is nothing serious and that the doctors can determine what it is and take the appropriate course of action. Thanks.

Our newest baby

2008-06-02T14:30:00.000-05:00

Well despite all the "don't do its" we received from several friends and family members, we got a new baby. Her name is Piper and she is a sweet little Yorkie puppy! We have had her for three days and absolutely love her already. She had her first vet visit today. She's nine weeks old and weighs 2 lbs. I think 1/2 lb. was poop, full bladder and full belly, Ha-ha!!! The vet said everything looks A-ok!!! and gave her a clean bill of health.

Here are some cute puppy pics for you all to be in awe over:

Lulee is anxiously awaiting her new puppy.

Here we are choosing which puppy we wanted. There were only two females, one male and then a female yorkie-poo.

We've got a winner!!! Lulee wouldn't let this one go. Sadie wasn't with us, she was having a Nanny night.

Lulee is checking on her baby on our ride home.

We stopped by and let Auntie Lori and Jose,Uncle by association, Ha-ha!! see their newest niece.

Sadie is holding her new furry baby sister.

Daddy is so attached to his little Piper already.

Daddy still holding his baby.

Stop the Madness....

2008-05-29T22:00:00.000-05:00

My gosh, this day has been INSANE!!!!

So I wake up this morning and first thing Hubby asks me is to please go get twenty 40lbs. bags of topsoil in my minivan. Ok........ so I went to get the 800 lbs. of wet dirt and come back to the house, proud, but my suspension on my van almost dragging. Ha-ha!!!

My Mother and my youngest went with me and we had to listen to my little one scream and cry the whole way back. We are potty training and she thinks she has to pee-pee all the time. I pulled over for her once at a gas station and yes she did go. She asked me at least five more times after that. Three times at which I tried to appease her and get her into a bathroom. When guess what, once we made it there she refused to go and got really upset if I tried to take her pants down.

OK!!!!!!! No more trips to the potty we are homeward bound!!! I am NOT pulling over one more time.

So we get home and she has not had a regular nap in three days. Yesterday took a nap at 6 and did not go to sleep for the night until midnight. Today we have had four roofing companies come over to give us estimates on our roof and to assess any hail damage. So, I'm thinking ok the first appt. is at 8:30am, the second at 10:00am, third 3:30 and the fourth at 5:00.

We were late getting to Home Depot so therefore we were on the late side getting home (around 12:45). I am wondering how in the world am I going to get my child to take a nap. She was not wanting to take one at this time because my nephews were over and she wanted to play. Around 3:00 I thought would be the perfect time to try to get her down for her nap before the guy comes around 3:30. Low and behold if the neighbor child does not start up his extremely loud dirt bike right beside the bedroom window. Ok, well now I have another shot at getting her to sleep before the 4:20 before the 5:00 guy shows up. Can you believe it, here goes the dirt bike starting back up AGAIN and Oh, no!!! The 5:00 guy is ringing the doorbell and he is 40 minutes early. Lets try again once he leaves around 5:30.

So I take her to pee-pee before her nap and see she has something in her mouth. As I am trying to pry her mouth open to see what it is, she is saying "chew chew, chew chew" (her lingo for gum). At this point I have no idea where she got it from, hoping it was new and not from someone's shoe!!! Ok, I see, Daddy put his pack of gum on the night stand. Thank God!!!

Ok so she is really getting sleepy now and she has already pee-peed, but apparently not enough because she has now tinkled all over me and the couch. I only knew this because I caught her rubbing it all over with her hand.

So, I decided I need to put a diaper on her during nap time and went in to her bedroom to get a diaper. I stepped in something cold and mushy and looked up to see one of my kitties slinking away out of sight. The kitty had barfed up a hairball and when I thought the quarter sized area that I had to clean was gross enough, I found yet another one 5 times as big!!!!

Now she is a little more awake so now it is time for another snack and I wanted some cheerios. I filled up the bowl because I was planning on sharing it with Lulee. I walked across the living room and spilled some, ran to get a towel to clean it up and darn if I didn't do it AGAIN!!!

After that, we ate, I went to check my email really quick and she tried to climb up the barstool. She fell backwards and hit the back of her head on the ground. Poor thing. I felt really bad for her. I had to kiss her all over and make sure she was ok and to let her know that I understood that she is just over tired and very accident prone at this time.

She finally ended up going to sleep around 6:15 and I tried to wake her up around 45 minutes later. She was so out of it I couldn't force her to stay up. She woke up again around 7:30. It will be interesting to see what time she goes down for the night. :(

Man, this household is OVERDUE some sleep!!! I need to stop all the madness and put a ban on all bodily functions from the kitties on up!!!

A visit with their Great-Auntie

2008-05-29T21:59:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my Harley-riding aunt came over to visit with the kiddos. My children love to visit with her because she is always interesting to talk to and plus most of the time she will bring over goodies for them (coloring books, crayons and stuffed animals). She loves to color with Lulee which is one of her most favorite things to do at this time. My Aunt most always wears something interesting too, whether it is a Harley do-rag, jacket or other kind of Harley apparel. The kids love it.

I remember when I was little, I used to hang out over at her house all the time. I would ask her for a honey sandwich and she would make it for me. I wouldn't even have to ask twice. :)

While she was over yesterday, I was trying to be the hostess with the mostest. I made coffee for us and even offered her my MOST favorite mug to drink out of. I also asked her if she would like a honey sandwich, we just cracked up reminiscing over my honey-sandwich-eating days.

We really enjoyed her visit yesterday. She was playing with Lulee in her playroom and they put on a concert for us.

Memorial Day Family Hoedown

2008-05-28T20:43:00.000-05:00

We had a great time for Memorial Day. We went over to my Mom and Dad's and ate yummy barbeque and played games and enjoyed each others company.

Bo, my step dad, had a new game for the kids, called half-rubber ball. I had never heard of it. The kiddos seemed to be really excited about it and got into it big time. It is pretty much like playing softball or baseball, but the ball is actually split in half and is harder to hit. Daddy/Uncle Ryan along with Papa Bo, Nana and Aunt Lori got out there to play with them as I looked on and took pictures and hung out with my Nanny on the porch trying to make a cute little Memorial Day hairbow for Lulee.

Here they are playing half rubber ball.

Nana and Lulee are watching them play.

The kiddos also had fun swinging on the tire swing, climbing trees, jumping on the bouncer and all sorts of things.

Look at Logie " just a swingin' "

Here's Sadie Bug and Nick-Nick nestled up high in a tree.

Daddy and Nana are watching Lulee bounce-bounce as Daddy is pushing Logie on the tire swing.

Here is Lulee sporting her new Memorial Day hairbow.

A day at the park

2008-05-25T15:00:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine and our youngest children went to the park a few weeks back. It was gorgeous!!! The weather was just right. It was warm with a nice warm breeze.

I had not seen my friend in years (she lived in Louisiana for a while). We decided to get together and go to the park. They have redone this park in our area and it is really nice now. It has paved areas that you can walk, stroll or ride bikes on along the whole park. It has a great bridge, a lot of fish and ducks and a whole lot of great shade trees as well.

We all really enjoyed this outing. It was very nice and relaxing for both Mama's and kiddos.

Had to get a head shot with the big city buildings in the background.

We went across the bridge to feed the fish and apparently all the fish decided to migrate to this one area. It was so strange to see a cluster of fish like this. The ducks were actually floating on top of them.

Mama duck and her babies.

The baby ducks were too iresistable not to love on, so I had to catch one and let the girls experience petting a baby duck.

Afterwards we had to take a little break to let Lulee sit in a tree. She loved it.

Here's Lulee posing in front of a memorial.

They are tired from a fun-filled day and are ready to head home for a nap.

Just say no...

2008-05-25T14:33:00.000-05:00

and if you can't, GET IT OUT OF YOUR HOUSE!!!!!!

A couple of weeks ago I started thinking that I desperately need to lose about ten pounds (at least). It occured to me during a visit at my Mom's house when my sister, who has lost a booty load (pardon the pun) of weight, started making fun of my big booty. She was even taking pictures of it!!!!

Anyway, I never ever buy sweets and junk food, but somehow it makes it into our house anyway. It is only in our house because hubby brings it in or maybe Easter or Halloween leftovers, ya know.

I really have a problem with eating sugar first of all because I am not supposed to have it (hypoglycemic) and second because if I do nibble on the slightest bit then I turn into the biggest binge eater that you've ever seen and end up getting really sick (and gaining that extra 10 pounds give or take as well).

Also, I feel that I haven't had the excersize that my body has been craving since I was prego with Lulee. I used to workout at the gym five days a week doing cardio, lifting and classes like kickboxing, step, and abs. I had a six pack (hard to aquire for females, but I did have it). I probably will never get my abs back like they were, due to my c-section, but I know my belly could look a darn site better than it does right now.

So to help motivate myself and hubby, I decided to rid the house of all the fat-causing, lethargic, coma producing candy and other nasty junk food. I did not tell hubby that I was doing this because I made the mistake of telling him before and he COULD NOT part with his goodies.

While he was at work one day I thought this is it. Now is the time. I got everything out of the cabinets and took a picture of all the nastiness (which tastes too good).

I took these pictures because:

(1) so that I could show hubby what really happened to all his goodies (which he actually took it really well, he didn't seize up and go through major withdrawals or anything) :)

(2) so that I could post it on my blog in order to show all my friends in family that yes, we do have a problem and need help. ;)

Please everyone I would like your support in keeping my diet in check so that my booty will not grow beyond control and allow my sister to make fun of me that much more. I don't want any pictures of my growth to show up on her myspace page.

Here are the pics and thanks for your help :)-

Don't let this picture make you want to run out to the store and get your own. Ha-ha!!

It was a hard job, but somebody had to do it!!!!

This could be your cabinet if you just try. If anyone would like to be my weightloss accountability partner just let me know. Ha-ha!!!

Kiddos and Baseball Games

2008-05-25T10:24:00.000-05:00

Since Spring has been here, we have gotten the pleasure of watching a few of my nephews baseball games. They are really good players. I have to admit, I didn't even imagine how good they were until I came to these recent games. My sister and the boys lived in Florida for a few years and they were in sports there, but I was unable to see them play. Now that they live one road over from us, we are able to spend more time with them. It's really nice. Anyway, here are some pics from both Nick-nick's and Logie's games.

Here's Nick-nick coming up to bat.

Lulee is practicing her swing with her borrowed bat.

Here is the cheerleaders of the baseball game taking quick break for a "photo shoot."

Back to business now. Lulee is learning the rules of the game as she cleans the plate like the ump.
Click on the play button and watch her at work.

Here's Logie, Sadie Bug and Lulee at one of Logie's game. Nick-nick was here earlier, but he had to leave early to catch a practice session for his team.

Here is Logie going up to bat.

Here are the girls again taking another break for a "photo shoot".

Baby Driver On Board

2008-05-23T21:52:00.000-05:00

Sadie Bug goes to dance twice a week during the school year and has a recital at the end of the year. Every week I try to do something to preoccupy Lulee during the hour long class. Sometimes we go to the bookstore and pick out a new book that is on clearance. Or sometimes we go to play at a fast food place to take up the time.

Well on this day I was so tired and didn't feel like driving anywhere. I thought can't we just sit here for an hour. Surely she will be ok for one hour just one day. I think I will never choose that option again. I chased her all over the van. She went to the very back, crawled under the seats and then tried to hop over the back seat where we stash her stroller.

Have you ever noticed that the more tired you are somehow they find that extra hyperactive type energy and just run you that much more ragged!!!

Anyway, after we played musical seats and hide and go seek for a while in the van, I decided to teach her to drive. Yes you read it right. I am going to teach my soon to be 2 year old how to work the steering wheel.

I put on a "learning Italian while you drive" cd and put her to the wheel for her training. She did very well I must say. She Even learned how to work the blinkers, work the windshield wipers and the volume on the radio at the same time.

Here are pictures of the sweet baby driver on board:

She takes her training very seriously!!!

She's got it down pat now!!! She's even got her eyes off the road.

Warning: Sounds like a Christmas brag letter

2008-05-22T18:27:00.000-05:00

School is finally out for summer!!!! This is the second year that I have been able to stay home with kiddos. Thank you God and thanks hubby ;) I have been waiting a whole year to have this time again with my children. We have had a lot going on this year. It has been one milestone after another between both children and also for hubby reaching thirty. Ha-ha!!!

Sadie Bug has impressed me so much with her growth in maturity this year. She has gone through really tough times with peers and I'm sure it will only get worse before it gets better. She made cheerleading at the end of 6th grade to cheer for her 7th grade year. There was a situation that occured that ultimately cut her cheerleading venture short, due to lack of honesty and integrity in some of the sponsors. I won't go into details and rehash, but those of you who are close have heard this story over and over. Anyway, Sadie Bug, as hurt as she was, held her head up high and made the best of her 7th grade year anyway. She strove hard to be the girl with the most school spirit in spite of not being able to show it off in the form of cheerleading. She wore her school shirts, ran for SGA Secretary and made it, worked really hard to make great grades and spent her weekends working on projects and getting help with math. She worked really hard for all of this and it really paid off.

This past week was awards day at Sadie Bug's school. She told me "Mom, you don't have to come if you don't want to. Because I probably won't get an award anyway". I told her I wouldn't care if she got one or not, I'll still be there. She has worked hard and she gets one in my eyes anyway and I wouldn't miss it.

We sat there throughout the whole thing and I didn't see her and found out later that she had not seen me until the end. One award after another was being handed out and then all the sudden there were just two awards left. These awards were not just the "names put on paper" awards. These were actual trophy awards that had the children's names engraved in them. Yes, you guessed it Sadie Bug's name was called and she walked up to receive her award with such surprise and such a proud look on her face.

I was sitting right there at the table where they had the awards and she was so glad that I came. She said she was about to cry thinking that I might not be there because she didn't see me. I better take advantage of this while it lasts. Teenage years are approaching really quick!!!!

This award is called the Citizenship award. Teachers nominate their students for this particular award. I am so proud that Sadie Bug received this award and that with all the effort she has put into this year, her teachers saw this and felt like she deserved it as much as I did.

You go Sadie!!!

Sadie Bug plays the clarinet, but decided to show us her hidden talent after attending her band banquet.

Lulee has made quite a few accomplishments this year as well. She has cut all her teeth with the exception of the top two year molars, she has learned to walk and talk, she has learned to count and spell her name (not the nickname either). She has learned to sing songs as well as her ABC's...

Right now we are working on potty training. We started out giving jellybeans every time she went. She figured that one out real quick. She kept going to the potty even when she didn't have to go because she got half of one for trying. We decided to get her a toy every once in a while instead for her progress. Nana got her a bright yellow ball with soft spikes all over (her favorite), Nanny gave her a card with lots of encouraging words and her very first 2 dollar bill. This has worked very well. Oh yeah, we broke down and bought her her very own pink potty. She is soooo excited about her pink potty. She carried it to the bathroom herself.

Yesterday we went all day without any accidents. All day and all night to be exact. Thank you God!!! I hope this is it!!!

She had to be directed where to go since it was a little bigger than her. Ha-ha!!!

Here she is proud of the new potty!!! She had to try it as soon as it was out of the box.

I also want to thank all our family members and friends that have been so supportive and caring with our kiddos. Anytime they do something exciting or special they want to call you first and let you know. Even Lulee has to get on the phone and tell you "I pee pee in the potty".
You all are what family and friends are all about!!!

Things that children say...aren't they cute

2008-05-22T10:15:00.000-05:00

The other day we went to church and Lulee wanted to go to the bathroom. I think she wants to check out any bathroom a store or any other building has to offer. She takes that after big sister. Sadie bug would always do that too. No matter how soon before she had gone to the potty, she had to check out the new one.

So anyway, I took her into the church bathroom, which BTW did not have an empty stall. Once we got in the stall and it was my turn, she looks up at me and says "I pooted Mommy, I pooted". Believe me, this had to have been the loudest she had ever said this to me. I was cracking up on the inside, but five times the shade of red on the outside, even if we were in our own stall. :)

I quickly tried to resolve the situation by pulling on the toilet paper roll and said "Yes Lulee you did pull it" , hoping that it might have sounded like what she had said. She looked at me with a very confused look like I did not understand what she had said to me. I just hugged her tight and we shared a very quiet giggle between ourselves and proceeded to head out of the Ladie's room.

What is so funny though, my Nanny came over a couple of days before this and Lulee had told her the same thing that she said in the bathroom. Nanny told her that's good, but you may not want to say that kind of stuff in church.

When we got to church I think maybe she thought about what Nanny had said, but forgot the part where she said NOT to.

I am still laughing over this one and it happened about two weeks ago!!!

I just love my kiddos

2008-05-14T09:40:00.000-05:00

Last night as we were getting ready for bed I noticed my little shadow (Lulee) following me around as I am doing all our nightly routines, putting kitties to bed, locking doors, etc...

I stop and look at her standing in the middle of the living room before I was going to turn the last light off. She looked at the back door and said "that one locked" and looked at the front door and said "that one locked" then I turned the cable box off along with the t.v. and she said "t.v. off.......much better".

She is a little mini-me. That was one of the cutest things she has done yet.

Then I told her to tell Daddy that she had a date with the sandman (she was going night night) and she translated it to him as "Daddy, I'm a man".

That cracked us up. We both laughed like crazy.

Then on the teen side of the house. Sadie Bug is brushing her teeth getting ready for bed, making sure all of her stuff is extremely organized and ready for the next day (she did not get her exceptional organizational skills from me, unfortunately). We were talking about her day at school and the excitement of her upcoming band concert and dance recital and she looked at me very innocently and asked "Mama, is ticked-off a bad word?" You just don't know how proud that made me to know at age 12 almost 13 that my child is still a CHILD.

It is so refreshing to know that in this fast paced world that one of my child's most pressing questions was is ticked-off a bad word.

Thank you GOD!!! I pray that we maintain this slower pace in our lives and that our children can grow up slowly and not be forced into adulthood in their teen years.

Playdate

2008-05-13T12:30:00.000-05:00

About a month ago we had a play date with five kiddos and 4 Moms. It was really nice. It was relaxing (believe it or not, ha-ha). We had it at our house and got to drink coffee and tea, eat brownies and muffins and watch the kiddos play. It was really fun and I enjoyed being able to spend time relaxing with the other Moms as well.

On the same day, Sadie-Bug got to have a spend the night buddy over as well.

Here are some pics:

Here is Lulee, Jonathan, Chicken and Jack playing in the playroom.

Here is little Punky and Punky's Mom in the back trying to get her to want to play in the play room.

Look how cute little Jack is looking out the window. What does he see out there? :)

Here is Sadie-bug and her friend the next morning after her sleep over.

Dirty Thirties

2008-05-06T08:18:00.001-05:00

Yes, Ryan is my Superman so I had to decorate his birthday with the Superman Returns theme!!!

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Ryan, Happy Birthday to you!!!

Here we all are at the Dirty Thirties party, partying with the birthday boy.

For this Dirty Thirties party, Ryan got a lot of toilet paper and had several uses for it.

Here's some of us pigging out!!!

Sing it HOTTIE HUBBY!!!

We all had a great time doing singstar together!!! Baby got BACK!!! and lots more songs.

The kiddos enjoyed the party and the singstar too!!!

Thank you all for coming to this Dirty Thirties party!!!

Potty Animal

2008-04-19T16:02:00.000-05:00

Ok, so we are working very hard to potty train Lulee. She gets really excited now to sit on the potty, but we are not having any progress after that. Wednesday she finally went pee-pee. This has been the only time other than one time in November that she has done anything. We are trying to bribe our little "potty animal" with half of a jelly bean for trying and a whole one for finishing the job.

We have a little song that we sing and she sings a long. "We're gonna pee-pee in the potty, We're gonna pee-pee in the potty". She loves to sing along with it. She will now tell me "potty potty", but by the time we reach the potty it is either too late or nothing happens still. She will sit there for 10 minutes and nothing. She used to get scared of sitting on the potty, so we have made progress there.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what will work better than what I'm already trying to do?

Doodlebop's Concert

2008-04-15T14:09:00.000-05:00

Oh my Goodness!!! Let me tell you about our Doodlebops concert. We had a BLAST!!!! I had inquired about the price of tickets right when I heard about them coming to town and the prices were outrageous. At least the ones that were closer to the stage. I called hubby and I told him that the Doodlebops were coming that night. We decided at the last minute to purchase tickets. By waiting so long, plus being thrifty as I am and not wanting to spend too much we purchased the tickets that were located in the upper mezzanine. I figured Lulee would not really get much out of it since we would be up so high and that it probably wouldn't keep her interest. Hubby talked me into getting the tickets anyway and thought maybe we could meet them afterwards. After all, we did take Sadie Bug to see her special Hannah Montana concert (not live, the 3-D one). Sadie Bug enjoyed her special night so much that we wanted Lulee to have a special night as well. :)

When we got there all the vendors were set up with all these overpriced items that you try hard to avoid when going to a concert. We ended up getting her a Doodlebops coloring book ($5) which she was just as happy to get as well as anything else we could have gotten her.

We went to locate our seats and I forgot how bad my anxieties were about heights and closed in areas. I mean I can ride in a helicopter and be fine, but put me in an arena where I feel too high up and closed in and we have a problem. I told hubby that I don't know how I was going to get down after going up that high. I thought I was going to have to scoot on my bootie all the way down. Thank God after they turned the lights off, my anxieties diminished and I was able to come down the steps like a normal person.

So anyway, about the concert, Lulee was soooooo excited when the Doodlebop's music came on and they started coming out on stage. Get this , she is almost two and she held her hands up in the air and started screaming like a little adult!!! It was so cute and so sweet!!! She enjoyed the concert immensely and it held her attention the whole time. We were able to see a whole lot better than I thought we would be able to. She sang along with all the songs and she was clapping her hands throughout the whole thing.

We were so glad that we took her to the concert. She really had a great time, as much as we did knowing she enjoyed it so much. There was a part in the concert where the Doodlebops asked the kids to lean over and thank whoever brought them. Lulee leaned over and kissed me then she kissed her Daddy. I don't know if she really understood what they said or if it was just a time to give her kisses out. :)

Afterward we stopped and ate at Subway. She 's not really much of an eater. When we got her sandwhich we told her that it was Doodlebop food and they like to eat sandwhiches. She ate it all!!! I was soooo happy. Whatever works right???

Spring Break

2008-04-15T13:50:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to play catch up since I was finally able to dowload the pics I had on my camera.

During Spring Break my Mom and I took the kiddos to the skating rink. Lulee even got to play games at the arcade (ok, so she thought she was really playing them).

Anyway, here are some pics:

Here is Bug showing Lulee how to play this racing game.

Here is Bug showing us how awesome of a skater she is.

Logie Lu is taking a break from all his awesome skating.

Nick Nick is showing us just how cool he is. ;)

Lulee is back at the racing game showing us she can drive this bad boy on her own.

Lulee's 1st Snowman

2008-04-15T04:04:00.000-05:00

Lulee has been excited about snowmen for a long time. She calls them "no-man". Everywhere we go she can point out a snowman a mile away. She will start screaming no-man, no-man, no-man!!! Christmas time was the best for her because her favorite thing was everywhere!!!

My cousin Ali had sent the girls a card with money. With Lulee's money she bought a Frosty the Snowman book. She wants to look at that book all the time. She will sing Frosty the Snowman and will drag that book with her around the house for us to read it to her.

We always tell her if it ever snows that we will build her a snowman. We have had several promises of snow and it never really happened. Finally, we got some snow!!! Not a lot, but our deck had more than other places. We all woke up excited about the snow and decided to build Lulee's very own no-man!

Sadie Bug wasn't here. She was having a "Nanny night". She has been spending the night with my grandmother every Friday night since she was little. They very much enjoy their time together. I am glad that she is able to be close to her. I remember when me, my sister and my cousin would all play over there and stay over there. We loved hanging out at our grandparent's house. Nanny always wants to do everything for you. She won't hardly let you do anything to help. It's like having a vacation when you go and spend the night over there. I do wish she would let us help more. After all that she has done for us, that is the least we could do for her.

Anyway, here are a few pics from the other day's snow event. Daddy, Mommy and Lulee went out side to attempt to build her no-man and the snow was so fine it was like dust. We couldn't really get it to pack together into a ball. We played in the snow on the deck for a little while and then Lulee and I went back inside.

Daddy was determined to make her a no-man since we have talked about it so much. He stayed outside and believe it or not. He actually made one.

He asked me to get him some eyes, nose and arms (olives and grape twigs). This no-man made Lulee very happy. She stood at the door looking out at it forever. Every time she would walk by, she would make sure it was still there. We felt bad that Sadie Bug couldn't help us with the snowman, so we saved him in our freezer so she could see it when she got home. :)

Has your day ever been like this?!?!?!?

2008-04-14T18:18:00.001-05:00

Ok, so Lulee is cutting her 2 year molars has not been feeling well to begin with. She has had snot and boogies for over a week. It looks like that part may be diminishing as of today (Thank you God). Anyway, she has been very fussy needless to say and has not given me a moment to think for myself!!!! Poor little thing has been on me like white on rice. I try to be understanding, but at times my patience runs thin.

I remind myself that this little angel will return to her angel-like state after a little while and I will be o.k. soon, right??????

So, anyway, it started out with her not being pleased with anything that I tried to do for her. My gosh it's understandable if you have a tooth that is the size of two coming through your gums.
I decided that she might want to color. She really likes to color and it preoccupies her mind for a while. Well, she decided that she really likes the blue one. She likes it so much in fact that she wants to try that color out on her teeth!!! I found her munching on this crayon not once, but twice today. Does it really taste that good???

So, I'm thinking 1:00 needs to get here FAST (nap time). It didn't get here fast enough, but it did get here, however. Ok so 1:00 comes and goes. 2:00 comes and goes. 3,4,5 and yes now here it is 6:30pm and she is finally taking a nap on my lap as I am typing this post.

In between 4 and now was a fiasco as well. My nephews get off the bus and I am trying to get some business done on the computer that I've been trying to do for 3 days and have not been successful. I hear all the kiddo's minus Bug (she had not gotten off her bus yet) in the play room playing unusually loud. It was a familiar sound, just that it had way to much force to it. You have got to be kidding me!!!!! It was none other than my 8 year old nephew Logie Lu trying to ride little Lulee's Bounce and Spin Zebra, a toy designed for 18-36 months old. Yes he is well over the weight limit and needless to say had been told two times before to not ever get on the Zebra.

So I start back on the computer trying to finish up and what do I hear?!?!?!? Yes, now the 11 year old nephew Nick-Nick has joined in with Logie throwing huge plastic blocks across the room at each other as if they were playing dodge ball. So, I stop yet again and correct the situation.

So then Bug gets here and wants to play basketball. I thought that was a great idea. Everyone could get out of my hair for a little bit and let me be able to breathe. So the oldest nephew has decided to lay flat and lifeless, face first on the hard wood floor. I ask him over and over "are you tired, are you sick, are you ok, what's wrong?" His response is typical preteen "I don't know, nothing". I felt like I had Napoleon Dynamite at my house by this time. He didn't want to play basketball, he didn't want to do anything. It was work just breathing, ya know???

I just want the kids to be able to play and have fun!!! We have Play Station, Game Cube, Trampoline, Swing set, Basketball Goal and this poor little guy didn't want to do ANY of it. Two of them were out having a good time however. I thought maybe Nick-Nick was just not feeling good because he does have extreme allergies. Maybe he was just upset because I wanted him to feed Tina, the fat lard out back. Ha-ha!! Just kidding!!!

Anyway, it gets better. So, I have made this yummy dinner (meatloaf, veggies and brown rice) after cooking pizza for everyone''s snack. I pack up all these goodies with us so that we could have a dinner picnic with the hubby after taking Bug to dance. After making sure everything was packed up and iced up, diaper bag packed, dance bag together, have both kiddos in tow, I decided it was time to look for my keys. Well, I looked all over for them and could not find them anywhere. Hubby didn't have them, so where were they. I remembered that we road to church with my Mom yesterday and we rode in the back and I had my hands full of everything. I called her to see if she could look in the back of the car for me and there they were, pretty as you please in the back pocket of the front passenger's seat.

So about taking Bug to dance, having a wonderful picnic dinner with hubby, forget about it!!!! Now we will just think of something relaxing to do until the next crisis!!!!

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that we have a list of people to call correcting the bills that they have sent us. I feel like I have to do every one's jobs. This is from the cable company to the cell phone company to the doctor's office. Can't anyone stop and take the time to make sure things are correct before sending them out to you????

It did make me think though. I had gotten an email one time about we are where God wants us to be. It was about 9-11. This guy worked at the twin towers and walked to work. He was running late and he had gotten a blister on his feet from his shoes. He stopped somewhere to get a band-aid and ended up missing the planes crashing into his place of employment. (I may have remembered the email wrong, but it was something like that). Anyway, I just tried to think about God's plans and maybe there was a reason for us not to go out tonight. Maybe we would've been involved in a crash, flat tire, run out of gas, who knows!!!

Anyway, thanks for listening to me vent. Also, pray for me to have more tolerance when it comes to this crazy, eventful life of mine. :)

It's been a while...

2008-04-10T15:12:00.000-05:00

Well I can come up with a million excuses as to why I have not posted anything to the blog lately, but the major one is that my computer is having problems dowloading pics from my camera. Not only that, but now my camera is going out!!! I guess I could have still blogged without posting pictures, huh?!?!?

Oh well, I am making up for it now.

My sweet Hubby is having a birthday at the end of this month. Not just any birthday, but the BIG ONE!!!! Yes, it is his 30th birthday!!!!

I can't mention details of what I have planned for him, but I will assure you it will be fun and very much "blog worthy". :) (Provided I have everything working by then). I am so excited about this year's birthday plans that I have for him. Everyone who knows me, knows that Hubby and I were best friends for 3 years before we ever dated. I threw surprise parties for him every year, from restaurants to home parties. I have been working on these plans for about three months since this is the big one.

Two years ago on his birthday I was prego with Lulee. We went to the Jack Daniel's Distillery and had a blast. It was so hot that day and I was waddling throughout the whole tour.

We first went to a little cafe in Lynchburg, TN. It was fun in itself. They put a hat on him and sang happy birthday.

Then we went to the distillery and shared a very fun filled day together. We had to get our picture made with the Jack Daniels statue.

Here is Hubby pretending he is drinking the whiskey.

Here I am with the vat of the mash that they use. It was sooooo hot in there!!! It was even hotter being prego. I was about 8 months along.

After we returned home, to his surprise, I had invited several of his friends over for a surprise birthday party. Everyone was at the house by the time we got there. We had a blast!!! He had no idea that his day was going to be full of surprises.

We have three milestone birthdays this year (4 including my sis turning 30 as well). Little Lulee is turning 2, Bug is turning 13 and then hubby is turning 30.

This will be so exciting planning all these parties and such for their special days. :)

Lulee's playtime with playdough

2008-03-27T16:32:00.001-05:00

This is Lulee enjoying her first time playing with playdough. What an experience. She loved the way it felt in her hands. It was so soft and the colors were so bright. She thought they were balls that she could throw or bounce. She was amazed at what all you can do with it. We coaxed her into smelling the playdough. She thought it was neat and kept wanting to smell it, until she learned there were many other things she could do with it.

Wow, look!!! She is all ready trying to juggle!!!

She gets really excited when Mommy is showing her how to shape and mold the playdough into something amazing.

Daddy is helping Lulee make things too. He made an octopus a snail and some other things that she is playing with.

Last, but not least, she is holding up the little birdie that she and Mommy made together. She played and played with this bird until she got tired of it. She tore it's little birdie head off and put it in a plastic bowl to bring to Mommy. Just like a cat that is so proud of it's little mouse kill and wants to show it off by bringing it to you on the front porch. Ha-ha!!!

Homemade Playdough

2008-03-20T09:56:00.000-05:00

Staying at home with your little ones has lots of advantages, I have learned. I can do things that I never would have thought about before. I called a friend of mine the other day and told her that I was thinking about making playdough. Before I could even get the thought out of my mouth, she had mentioned that she had a link to this website that she is sending me that will tell you step by step instructions. Thanks Stephanie. :) The link is: www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Playdough-(Play-doh)/

I followed the instructions and presto, we had our very own playdough. I will have to admit that I did burn my first batch. After you read the instructions you will probably wonder how in the world I burned it because it is supposed to be on a low heat. Well, I'm not going to admit how I did it, just that I did. Ha-ha!!!

I used a lot of gel food coloring instead of liquid food coloring. I don't really know if it makes a difference, since this is my first time, but I wanted to get really bright vivid colors.

It turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. Now I think I am going to learn how to do other crafty projects. I will be the craftiest mom on the block. Ha-ha!!! I'm talking quilts, hair bows, you name it.