3 Girls & Our Guy

A Birthday Letter

2011-04-28T03:36:00.001-05:00

Dear Alexis,

It was 4 years ago today that I held you in my arms for the very first time. You can read all about that day here. From that first moment I was completely head over heels in love with you. I was amazed at how much love and joy my heart could hold just looking at you.

1 day old

1 week old

My life has changed so much as I've watched you grow over the past 4 years. I marvel every day at how smart you are, at all the wonderful things you think and feel, and how much love you have for your family. You make me want to be the best mother and person I can possibly be so that I can give you all the things you deserve.

1st Birthday

You are such a pleasure to be around. Your smile and laughter can light up a whole room. You make my heart smile. :)

2 years old

3rd Birthday

5 days before your 4th Birthday

I can't wait to spend many, many, many more birthday's with you my beautiful daughter.

All my love,

Mommy

Easter Weekend

2011-04-25T13:44:00.000-05:00

I know it's been forever since I've posted, but my life is absolutely crazy in every way! I am busy with work, the girls and Ross, trying to keep up with the housework (not doing a very good job with that one) and selling Thirty-One.

I wanted to share a few pictures from the weekend and maybe someday I'll have to time to actually blog again, although, I'm thinking it won't be until we decide to have another baby and I get to be home on maternity leave that I'll actually have the time, hehe!

The girls with the chairs Papa Alan & Grandma Cindy gave them

Alexis being silly before church

Me and my almost 4 year old, isn't she beautiful?!

The best family picture we've taken in a long time, I'll probably frame it. I just wish I would have thought about the clothes Ross had and gotten him a shirt that matched the girls and I a little better. Oh well, maybe next year!

Pretty girls!

Isabel, Sadie, Hannah & Alexis

The 7 grandchildren

Riley, Sadie, Tyler, Isabel, Hannah, Alexis & Jackson

Hunting for Easter eggs in the rain, those rubber boots we got them for Easter sure did come in handy!

Thirty-One

2011-02-20T17:12:00.000-06:00

I am now a consultant for Thirty-One! Here is my website: www.mythirtyone.com/jessicalea

Check out my website and please let me know if you would like to host a party or order any products, I would love to assist you!

"Who can find a virtuous wife?

For her worth is far above rubies.

Strength and honor are her clothing;

She shall rejoice in time to come.

She opens her mouth with wisdom,

And on her tongue is the law of kindness.

She watches over the ways of her household,

And does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children rise up and call her blessed;

Her husband also, and he praises her:

"Many daughters have done will,

But you excel them all."

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,

But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised."

Proverbs 31: 10 & 25-30

White As Snow

2011-02-06T11:51:00.000-06:00

Blogging From Bed...

2011-01-29T23:33:00.000-06:00

....at least an air mattress and my Mom's laptop. We came up to St. Louis today for my Dad's 55th birthday party. We are spending the night and Alexis and I have the air mattress in the living room. Ross and Isabel have the bed in the guest room.

The birthday party was good, the kids had a lot of fun playing. After supper, Dad, Ross, Tim and Tyler went to Bass Pro and Jaimee, Sarah, Mom and I all stayed here with the kids.

Alexis started getting a really bad runny nose today, and now it has turned into one nasty cold for her. She's pretty miserable right now. Poor thing, I hope this passes quickly for her. Ross stopped at Walgreen's and got her some medicine, I hope it helps dry up all the snot and watery eyes.

On another side note, she is grinding her teeth in her sleep. Any suggestions on her to get her to stop? It's like nails on a chalkboard for me every time she does it.

Another totally random piece of info, I'm going to become a consultant for My Thirty-One Gifts. I'm pretty stoked about it! I saw the new Spring line catalog for the first time tonight and I'm even more in love with the product than I was before. So cute, and functional! I would love to send you a catalog and have a party with you if you are interested. After I get started up and get my web page, I'll post the link for you to view my page with the catalog and all. I'm having a party on February 5th with my sister-in-law and that's when I'm signing up.

My next post will be my 400th! I'm going to do something fun I think. And maybe soon, after I get started up with My Thirty-One, I'll have some kind of giveaway! How cool would that be??

I was just telling my Mom tonight how much I miss blogging, if only there were more hours in the day....

I'm really going to make an effort to get my life more together than it has been recently. I've had a really hard time with Ross having a second job at Lowe's on the weekends and I'm only making myself and everyone around me miserable, so I'm just going to quit working myself up over it. It's not worth the stress and strain on my marriage and household anymore.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I've done enough rambling for one night. I need to get some rest tonight if possible, I'm getting a massage in the morning! YAY!

Baby Talk

2011-01-26T13:41:00.000-06:00

This morning I was awakened to the delightful sounds of Isabel. Our room is at the top of the stairs right off of the kitchen. We have a gate up between the kitchen and living room doorway to keep our little climber out of the kitchen. This morning she stood at that gate and yelled at the top of her little lungs, "Ma, ma, MOMMA, MA, MAAA, MOMMMMAAA, Ma, Ma!" The yelling continued until I made an appearance. Not a bad way to be woke up if you ask me!

Snow Day

2011-01-12T13:20:00.000-06:00

We decided to brave the cold temperatures yesterday to play in the snow for a bit. Alexis had a blast sledding and playing and did not want to come in!

Daddy can make the sled go really fast!

Weeeeeeee!

Now it's Isabel's turn to try out the sled with Alexis.

Daddy getting ready to give them a big pull

Going.....

Gone! Isabel takes a face plant into the snow..

And she did not like it one single bit...

Poor baby!

Christmas On New Years Day

2011-01-04T06:24:00.000-06:00

I never get to celebrate Christmas with my parents and siblings on Christmas because we are such a blended family, but we always get together at some point around the holidays. This year it was on New Years Day. All but one of my brothers was able to make it and we had a wonderful time! Here are just a few of the pictures:

The piggy banks that Matt and Sera Kate gave to all the kids. Sera Kate painted all their names on them herself. She is so crafty and thoughtful. She's such a great Aunt! My brothers couldn't have picked anyone better to marry.

My sweet sister Jaimee (who is pregnant with my next niece or nephew!) and my niece Hannah being silly with Alexis and Isabel's tutu's!

Hannah, my brother Brent and Alexis

One of the beautiful ornaments on Mom's tree.

My beautiful Alexis

Jackson & Hannah

Isabel wasn't feeling so photogenic, but here she is anyway!

Tyler, Riley & Sadie

All 7 of the kids

Mom & Dad with all their grandchildren! Isabel wasn't so happy about the picture taking process this year.

My brother Matt with Alexis & Sadie

Hannah, my sister-in-law Sera Kate and Riley

Aunt Sera Kate and Uncle Matt with all their nieces and nephews!

Angel Alexis

The kids dressed up and did a skit of the Christmas story, it was sooooo adorable. Check out this post and you can see a video of the skit.

Alexis trying on her new sweater from Grandma Cindy

My nephew Tyler being a goof ball

Papa letting Alexis put some shiny, pink lip gloss on him

Mom with the most talked about gift this year. She is now the State Chairman of the Constitution Party of Missouri, so it's rather ironic that my brother gave her the biography of George W. Bush!

Isabel playing with one of Sadie's new toys!

What Is Your Work Ethic?

2011-01-03T20:30:00.000-06:00

I've had this post floating around in my head for quite some time now and even had a draft started with the title, just haven't sat down to put my thoughts on paper, or rather computer. I'm going to tonight.

I learned all about work ethic and developed the work ethic I have from my parents. I was taught at a very young age that nothing in life is free and don't go looking for any hand outs, because you aren't going to get them. From the time I was 13/14 years old and was starting to earn money, I had a savings plan and was already putting back for my future. My future then being the desire to purchase a car when I was old enough.

For years I've watched my Dad work at 110% no matter what the job was and no matter how little he may have liked it. If any of you know my Dad, you know he is one hard working man and will do anything with a smile and has one of the best attitudes towards life that you will ever see in a man. And my Mom has drilled into me from the time I was little on, "Anything worth doing is worth doing well." And she leads by example, anything my Mom does is never shoddy, or half way, it's the very best that she has to offer. So, I was fortunate enough to be brought up by parents with good work ethic.

When I joined the workforce part time at 14 and then full time at 16, I learned that not everyone has the same work ethic. My first job was in the retail business and it's very fast paced and you need to have a sense of urgency when you are in a customer service related job. I learned my job and took a lot of pride in what I did. I loved to make my customers smile and was always thrilled when I could help someone with a problem. I worked at 3 different grocery stores in the same chain over a 4-5 year period. I started working in the produce department, did a little in the grocery, meat and deli departments as well. I eventually was a cashier and then worked the customer service desk/video department and was involved with doing the daily balancing of monies and so forth. That was were I shined, I loved working the desk and helping whoever walked up. Whether it was cashing a payroll check, sending a Western Union transaction, paying a utility bill, etc., etc. I loved that job! I tried to be the best that I could be at it and worked as quickly as I could so no one would wait for very long for a service they needed.

It doesn't seem like many people in these type of work situations take a lot of pride in what they do or seem to even like it. Granted, I didn't make a lot of money, but I loved what I did and would go back to that type of job in a heart beat. I left the grocery store and started working as a teller at a bank and loved that even more. People are very nice to tellers because they see them so frequently and they are after all handling your money! I worked the drive-thru at the one bank I worked for and continued to develop my people skills. I don't want this to sound too braggy, but I'm going to pat myself on the back just a little bit. We had 3 drive up lanes and I worked the main window and another girls worked the tubes that come in from the farther lanes. I also helped on the tubes as well. There would be a line of 3 or 4 cars deep at my window and no one in the tubes because I had specific customers that would come to me and me only. That made me feel so awesome and proud of the work I did.

I left the bank and started working at Sam's Club, that has been by far my most favorite job ever!! It was fast paced, never boring and I learned a ton while I was working there. I continued to give 110% of myself and excelled at my job. I met a variety of people while I worked there and never understood why someone could hate a job so much and complain so much and still continue to work there. I told multiple people, "If you don't like it, and it's so horrible, just quit." I always tried to stay positive and upbeat and tried to bring other people up with me. There was no sense in making yourself miserable over your job, you might as well enjoy it if it's a necessity.

When Ross and I married, I transferred to the Walmart Distribution Center which is where I still am. I wouldn't say my work ethic has changed, but my attitude has. I struggle constantly to stay positive and not be drug down by all the complainers. It was such a culture shock to go from a very fast paced, customer service type job, to driving a forklift and moving pallets. Not a lot of interaction between me and the pallets if you catch my drift! I really like people and I like working in customer service, so it's been a challenge for me to stay happy with my job, because I know there is something else out there that I could do better. Unfortunately, that type of job in the area I live in doesn't pay nearly as well as what I'm doing now. So, I'm going to make the best of my situation until the day a Sam's Club opens in this area. You can guarantee my name will be the first on the list requesting a transfer!

This post didn't exactly come out like I had pictured in my brain, but I'm going to leave it as it is, a little bit of my work history. I would love to hear your opinion on peoples work ethics and what makes a good work ethic.

Christmas Play

2011-01-02T13:15:00.002-06:00

I tinkered with the settings on this video some more. If you have trouble viewing it let my know and I'll send you a new link.

More Christmas Fun

2010-12-28T11:57:00.000-06:00

After we finished our Christmas morning here at home, we spent the rest of the day at Bill & Carol's. Here are some of the pictures from down there.

Alexis with her new skirt, tights and vest

New necklace

Isabel with her new Cabbage Patch baby

Isabel in her new rocking chair

Doctor Alexis is on call!

Memory Game and isn't that just such a lady like pose?!

Isabel laying and climbing all over one of their new toys

Grandma Carol and Isabel

Carol with her thermal lunch tote

And Meredith with her's

Ross with his very well wrapped present!

Isabel, Aunt Merfy, and Alexis

Isabel walked around the house all day long tooting on this little recorder that had been Ross' when he was a boy!

Christmas Time

2010-12-26T17:28:00.000-06:00

Isabel with her Little People Home

It's not Christmas without a bow on the babies head!

Alexis opening her guitar, she loved it!

Look out Nashville, here she comes!

Hello!

Quick Update

2010-12-26T08:25:00.000-06:00

Good Morning!

I hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends. I worked Christmas Eve until 5:30pm and then we were at home the rest of the evening. Ross and I stayed up until 2am on Christmas Eve, we had a few more presents to wrap and were watching a movie. Isabel woke up at 5:30am on Christmas morning and came to bed with us. I was too excited to go back to sleep, so I came downstairs and took my shower and got ready for the day at 6:20am. I had Ross bring Isabel down and fed her her oatmeal and then I was going to wake Alexis when I heard her coming down the stairs. We had a great Christmas morning here at our house. The girls loved all the things we got for them! We spent the rest of the day at Ross' parents house and had a wonderful Christmas there as well. I'm going to try and get on here later today and post more updates since it's been so long since I blogged. And I plan on posting lots of pictures as well! For now, here's one of our tree Christmas Eve and the girls.

On Christmas Eve, I just couldn't wait any longer, I gave the girls a present! Alexis got a bathrobe and some slippers

Isabel got a new sleeper, but she wouldn't hold it up for the picture

All ready for Christmas morning!

Our Dancer

2010-12-23T03:04:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago, we were able to go into the dance studio with Alexis and watch her class. It was the cutest thing ever! Here are a few pictures I took:

12 Days of Christmas

2010-12-23T02:39:00.002-06:00

JCPenney Pictures

2010-11-22T11:54:00.000-06:00

I took the girls to JCPenney's last weekend to get their pictures done. Isabel was TERRIBLE! She would not co-operate at all. Alexis did fabulous like always. I did end of getting a few cute ones of Isabel too, but she isn't really smiling at all. I will try for some more in a few months, maybe a Valentine's themed photo shoot??

Alexis looks like such a big girl in all of these pictures. It makes me a little sad to see sometimes. She's not my little baby anymore.

The only thing that made Isabel happy was playing with my cell phone, so it's in all the pictures!

This is Isabel's pouty face

I think this last one of Alexis is my favorite, I got it in a 10x13!

5QF - Weekend Edition

2010-11-14T01:37:00.001-06:00

So I know that it's now Sunday, but I was catching up on reading some blogs and Jenna had done 5QF and I like the questions, so here goes. Don't forget to check out Mama M., our hostess for Five Question Friday.

1. What is the most physically painful thing that has ever happened to you?

Child birth, hands down. Although, my husband will tell you I'm a weenie when it comes to pain. He "play" punched me the other day and I was whining about how much it hurt. And this is what he had to say, "How is it possible that you could push a baby out of your vagina so easily, but you can't handle any other kind of pain?" I have no clue. But, for some reason, I'm a rock when it comes to childbirth, but any other kind of pain, I don't like so much. Here are the links to my girls birth stories, Alexis and Isabel

2. How much sleep do you get at night?

Not nearly enough. I've somehow managed to learn how to function in a zombie state with little sleep. Working night shift STINKS! On work nights I average about 5 hours per night, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. Now if these were 5 solid hours of sleep, I'd feel great in the morning. But, it's usually interrupted a time or two. Shortly after I go to bed, one of both of the girls will wake up and then when it's time for them to get up for the day, I'm usually awake for that for a bit too. On the weekends I try to catch up, but it's so hard for me to go to bed early since my body is used to night shift. For instance, right now I should be snoring it up, instead I'm blogging because my body thinks I should still be at work. I sure hope to get to day shift soon so that I can sleep like a normal person again. All these short nights are taking a toll on my body and I look awful all the time. You know how when someone says, "You look tired." Well, that's really the polite way of saying, "You look like crap!" I get told I looked "tired" at least once a day at work. Gee, thanks.

3. How long did you believe in Santa Claus? How did you find out that he does not exist?

I don't remember ever believing in Santa Claus at all, so I don't remember how I found out he didn't exist. Alexis is getting to the age where she is starting to say things about Santa, still not sure how we are going to handle it. Here is my post from last year about it, the comments are almost better than the post.

4. What was the last movie you saw in a theater?

Ummmmm...I think it was Eclipse, I'm pretty sure we haven't been to the movies since then.

5. What do you wear to bed?

Pj pants and old ratty t-shirts that have a million holes in them and some of them are 10+ years old.

A Birthday Party

2010-11-13T15:41:00.001-06:00

Last weekend we went to Ross' Aunt Mary Ellen's house in Columbia to celebrate her birthday. I thought I'd share a few pictures from that day. The weather was gorgeous and we had a really nice time there!

"You might be a Redneck if your Chimenea has a stove pipe attached to it!"

The birthday girl - Aunt Mary Ellen

Alexis & Aunt Mary Ellen

Isabel, Aunt Merfy & Alexis

Ross

Grandpa & Grandma Lea

Cake & Candles time!

Ross' parents, Bill & Carol, his sister Meredith and Us

The 6 Lea siblings with Grandma & Grandma.

From L to R: Bill, Karen, Joe, Grandma, Grandpa, Susan, Mary Ellen and John

Isabel & Uncle Jimmy

New Camera=New Pictures For You

2010-11-10T11:36:00.001-06:00

I just love this one! Isabel & Alexis were watching Sesame Street yesterday and Isabel leaned over on Alexis' shoulder and eventually fell asleep on her. It was the sweetest thing! So precious!

On The Road

2010-11-06T15:58:00.001-05:00

Hello all. I'm blogging from the road again.

We are on our way from Columbia to St. Louis. Today a bunch of the Lea family went to Columbia to Aunt Mary Ellen's house to celebrate her birthday with her. We had a fantastic time. We had a big fish fry for lunch and had a wonderful time! The girls had a great time playing and providing entertainment!

Now we are heading to Mom & Dad's to spend the night. My brother Brent is in town for his 10 day leave from Teen Challenge. He graduates from their 14 month program on December 23rd, just in time for Christmas.

We are going to church in the morning and then having a big turkey dinner for lunch. We are pretty much calling it Thanksgiving since Brent won't be here then and it's the year that Jaimee and I are with our husband's families. It's going to be a great day!

I've been having a great time taking pictures with my new camera, hopefully I'll have some time to get some posted soon.

I don't have the time to blog like I used to, and I barely have time to read any either. Jaimee, Nel, Ashley, & Chrissy, I check your blogs regularly, just don't always have time to comment. Some of my other favorite bloggers, I don't have a chance to get to, but I really miss not being able to keep up with you. I was hoping that some of you that still check in on my blog would also Facebook friend me and I can keep up with you that way. My Facebook page link is under the Contacts tab.

I'm going to wrap it up for today and spend a few quiet moments with my husband while the girls are napping in the backseat. Those are few and far in between for us these days.

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Baby Ella

2010-11-01T22:13:00.000-05:00

My friend Courtney had her little baby girl, Ella this morning. She only lived for about a minute, but they got to spend a lot of time loving on her before they said their final goodbyes. Please keep Courtney, Jacob and their 3 children in your prayers, I'm sure they have a long road of healing ahead.

Elephant Rocks

2010-10-29T02:49:00.000-05:00

Back on October 16th, we took a trip to Elephant Rocks State Park. We met our friends Amy and Chris and their daughters Katelyn and Callie over there. Here are some pictures from our day.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-20T03:30:00.000-05:00

5QF 10/15/2010

2010-10-15T01:44:00.000-05:00

Hello, hello! I've been missing 5QF with Mama M. so I had to squeeze one in this week.

1. What is your favorite Halloween candy?

Candy corn! I love it, it is so sickening sweet, I just can't stay out of it! And so decorative as well!

2. Do you fold your socks?

Yes, we lay them together and them fold them in half and tuck them together to make a nice little sock ball. That way you are never searching for that missing sock. I never put singles away in my drawer, if they got separated in the wash, I throw the clean back in with the dirty laundry so it can find it's mate. Ridiculous I know, but I can't stand having a single sock just laying on my dresser, waiting to be paired up.

3. What is something that you wish you had been warned about?

How addicting Facebook and blogging is. Unfortunately, since I've gone back to work, I haven't had a lot of time to blog, but thanks to modern technology, Facebook goes with me everywhere on my phone!

4. What is the most significant difference between you and your significant other?

Not sure exactly what we're looking for here, so I'll list a few little things. Ross and I are exactly 1 foot apart in height. He is 6'5" and I'm 5'5". I wore 3" heels when we got married and he still had to stoop down a little when we were dancing so I could put my arms around his neck.

The other thing I thought of was how polar opposite we are on some of our food choices. We could both orders burgers and just get one serving of the toppers for them. I'm the lettuce, tomato girl and he only does pickle and onion.

5. What are three words you would use to describe yourself?
One word that keeps popping out at me when I look in the mirror is: obese. I have got to get a hold of myself and get some pounds off. It's getting ridiculous and I think Ross and I both have reached that point where we can't allow ourselves to gain another pound. We're the heaviest we've ever been and it's disturbing.

I like to think of myself as friendly and I think I could say compassionate as well. And the third (since obese probably isn't what we're looking for) would have to be stubborn as the day is long!

My Test

2010-10-09T11:11:00.001-05:00

This has been one of my longest absences from my blog. Life has of course been busier than ever, but I also accepted a challenge from my husband.

We have been spatting with each other a bit here lately, nothing major, just every day life stuff. He made a comment at the beginning of the week that went something like this, "If you'd stay off that d@#$ computer you might actually be able to get this house clean." Although a challenge wasn't really given, I made one for myself.

Monday morning was my last time on the computer until Friday night. I had to sit down and balance the checkbook and pay a few bills. So I decided to give Ross a challenge of his own. I asked him to only watch the shows that we record and no other TV. Now that mowing season is winding down, he will sit in front of the TV from the time he gets up around 8ish until he leaves for work at 3. I'm concerned about how much Alexis and Isabel are exposed to right now, not sure Walker, Texas Ranger is the best show for a 3 year old!

He said he will try, but isn't going to make any promises. I'm going to try and stay off the computer unless it's the weekend and I already only watch our pre-recorded shows, and I'm way behind on those too. I'm hoping that if I keep up with my part of cutting back on computer/TV time it will influence Ross and Alexis as well. If we let her, she would watch TV and movies all day.

As I type, we are sitting in traffic on the way to the zoo. I uploaded a blogger app to my phone and I'm blogging from the car, I might actually be able to get more posts out this way. Can't promise that they'll be great posts with proper spelling, I haven't figured out how to do spell check on my phone!

I really miss reading all my friends blogs, that's the only downside to staying off the computer. When I'm in a 3G zone or have Wifi available I can read them from my phone and I'll try and comment occasionally, I really miss you girls and guys too!

I'm going to hop off here for now, have a great weekend!

PS. My house isn't any cleaner yet, but I'm getting there!

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Hello Again

2010-09-30T12:29:00.000-05:00

Still crazy, busy living life. Not much time today either, but I wanted to say a quick hello.

Last weekend we had a wedding reception on Saturday night and then we went to Rocky Ridge over by Ste. Genevieve, MO to my brother and sister-in-laws new lake house on Sunday. We were going to have a nice picnic and let the kids play on the playground, but it started raining around the time we headed down there to eat and it was pretty chilly. So we ate under the pavilion all huddled up under coats and blankets and then went back to the house. It was nice to see some family though, even if the weather was yucky.

Monday was our weekly Rolla trip. Dance class, which Alexis is loving by the way. And then Walmart. I found Alexis' Halloween costume! It's too small though so I'm going to exchange it today. She is going as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. I'd like to find a Toto costume for Isabel, but I think I'll have to go to a Halloween shop for that.

This coming weekend is the Lea Family Reunion Saturday day and then the Life is Great on Hwy 8 bonfire party that night. Should be a great day! Really looking forward to it. I'll have pictures from both to share!

On a totally unrelated note, Isabel is now weaned and hasn't nursed now for over a week and a half. I was going to do a whole post on it and I still might. Funny thing is, I'm leaking milk today...I haven't had that happen in about 2 months. Kind of strange....good thing I still have some boob pads or that could get embarrassing.

Have a great week/weekend. Hopefully I'll have time to post some more this week.

I Survived

2010-09-22T13:38:00.000-05:00

Monday was my crazy day, so I thought I would give you all a recap.

Alexis, Isabel and I left the house at 1pm. First stop was Alexis' first dentist appointment. She did great! I was so proud of her. We have been pumping her up for a few weeks, hoping that we would have a good experience her first time. Dr. Ausmus was wonderful with her as well. She has 20 teeth right now and he said they looked good. He said with the spacing it looks like she'll get my teeth, so no braces! The only trouble spot were her incisors, he had to scrape a little gunk off of them, but now we know and will be more careful to make sure she gets them brushed as well as the ones in the front and back.

Next stop, Isabel's 1 year well baby visit. We were early, so we had a long waiting room time, but thankfully, they have a big open area there and the girls got to play for quite awhile. Isabel weighs 21lbs and is 29¼ inches tall. She did get 2 shots, but she did pretty well with them.

From there, we headed across town to my eye doctors. I've been having problems with really blood shot eyes and they hurt sometimes as well. Dr. Falkenhein discovered that I have a virus and I can't wear contacts for the next 2 weeks and I have to use drops 3 times a day during that time as well.

I don't have any glasses, but I don't legally need to wear anything at all. I have been wanting to get a pair of glasses for work, so I don't have to mess with the safety glasses they want us to wear. Walmart Vision has $9 frames with $29 lenses, plus I get a 20% discount for being an associate. So I am getting a pair of glasses for $32 and some change! Pretty excited about that, I was expecting to have to spend a lot more.

After we left the eye doctor's, we went to Arby's to have a bite to eat. Isabel fell asleep in the car and slept the whole time we were in Arby's. When we left there, we ran over to Walmart and I took care of ordering the glasses and picked up a couple of things.

Next, it was time to head to dance class. My sweet cousin Ashley had a sweet tea from McDonald's waiting for me. She knew how crazy my afternoon had been! Alexis loved dance class again! I'm so happy she is liking it so much. I got to watch her on the monitor this week and she did really well. She tried following along with everything the teacher was showing them. Some of it was a little off, but she tried! She was so cute!

We left dance and headed back to Steelville. We got into town just as it was Ross' supper break so we stopped to visit him. Then we finally went home and I was exhausted!

After all the stops that day, I got the girls in and out of their car seats 7 times! Alexis makes it a little easier now because she can climb in and out and can strap herself in as well. Needless to say, I'm not scheduling a day like that anytime soon.

What Was I Thinking

2010-09-20T10:52:00.000-05:00

This afternoon Alexis has her first dentist appointment.

Then Isabel has her 1 year well baby visit (She'll probably get some shots).

After that I need to pop into the eye doctors so they can maybe figure out why my eyes are blood shot all the time.

Then, Alexis has dance class tonight.

Why, oh why did I make so many things for the same day?? I know, I was trying to get them all done, so it would only be one trip to Rolla instead of multiple, but I'm not looking forward to this afternoon at all.

Overheard At My House

2010-09-19T22:23:00.001-05:00

Alexis has been quite amusing here lately. I thought I would share a few of our funny stories.

One night last week, Alexis and I were laying in my bed and I was reading her bedtime stories to her. Ever since she was a baby, she has always held her own, or held onto our ears when she was tired. She doesn't do it all the time anymore, but the other night she was. She was laying on my right side and she would get my right ear first and then reach under my neck and get my left ear. She did this several times. This is how the conversation went:

Alexis: Mom, will you switch sides with me please?

Me: Sure honey, how come?

Alexis: I like the ear on the other side better!

After I collected myself from laughing so hard, I switched sides with her and she snuggled up with her baby in the crook of her arm, holding my ear with her other hand and was soon fast asleep.

Last night we were in St. Louis staying at Ross' sister Meredith's house. The 4 of us (Me, Ross, Alexis & Isabel) were in our car and Ross' parents and Meredith were in Meredith's car. We were headed back to Meredith's apartment to have some cake and ice cream. Alexis had been counting us and she kept saying there were only 3 in our car. Finally we convinced her there were 4 in our car and 3 in the other car.

Ross: How many people are in our car?

Alexis: 4

Ross: And how many are in Aunt Merfy's car?

Alexis: 3

Ross: So how many does 4 + 3 add up to?

Alexis: ICE CREAM!!

Once again, we died laughing! I'm amazed at some of the things she can come up with.

5QF September 17th, 2010

2010-09-18T01:26:00.000-05:00

I'm linking up with Mama M. for this week's Five Question Friday. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

1. What is the first nightmare you remember?

It was this awful recurring dream about mice being all over our house, I've been terrified of them ever since. I will scream like a little school girl if I see one, it's kind of ridiculous because they are harmless. I just get the hee bee jeebies every time I see them.

2. Even if you're not a sports fan, what's your favorite sport to play/watch?

Favorite sport to play would probably be Tennis, although I'm not very good at it. Ross and I always have fun when we play. Watching - Baseball all the way. We are actually going to a Cardinal's game this weekend!

3. If you could pull off one piece of trendy fashion, what would you want it to be (jeggings, hats, thigh high boots, etc.)?

I have never been able to pull off a skirt or dress that was knee or just below the knee length. I have my Dad's short, bow legs and they aren't very attractive in a skirt.

4. Did you make good grades in school?

Pretty average, I wasn't super, duper smart, but I was no dumbo either.

5. What magazines do you subscribe to?

Parenting

Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder

2010-09-16T23:42:00.000-05:00

Hi all! I'm really hoping that my readers don't think I've abandoned them, because I haven't. I've just been super busy and haven't had a lot of time to blog. I will try my hardest to squeeze in at least one post a week until things slow down and I have more time again.

I'm so thankful that mowing season is about to come to an end. That means I get my husband back....at least until April when it starts again.

The girls are doing great! Isabel did bust her lip for the first time tonight, a lot of blood, but the tears stopped before the bleeding did, so it was all good and soon forgotten. Although Alexis will probably tell the story to anyone she comes into contact with for the next 3 weeks. That girl is so dramatic and loves telling her version of a story. She is such a chatterbox, there is not one silent moment in our house while she is awake.

Isabel is enjoying all the new toys she got for her birthday, she is such a big girl. She pretty much runs everywhere she goes now and loves getting into EVERYTHING! I cannot keep the house straightened to save my life. I clean one room and they are destroying another. I couldn't tell you the last time I actually got all of my cleaning done in the same day. It just doesn't happen anymore, and I'm okay with that...

Ross has been super busy and kind of stressed at his work. I obviously didn't get that day shift job I wanted, or trust me, you would have heard me shouting for joy by now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there will be other positions opening up soon. I really need to get to days. This evening shift bologna is for the birds if you ask me. At least when you have kids it is. Before the girls came along, I had no problem with it. Now, it's a big problemo! It complicates all kinds of things in so many ways.

We have a very busy month and a half coming up. This weekend, it's the Turner family reunion Saturday morning, then leave from there to go get Ross' sister Meredith and take her to a Cardinal's game for her birthday. Then we are staying the night with her in St. Louis and coming home sometime Sunday. Monday, Isabel has a well baby visit, Alexis has her first dentist appointment and then dance class. Whew, I'm going to be slightly crazed Monday afternoon/evening. I'm pretty sure I'll be needing an extra large sweet tea from McDonald's!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend ahead of you as well. I'm off here to go visit with my hubs for a bit. I will make a grand effort to get a 5QF out tomorrow!

1st Birthday Party

2010-09-13T00:17:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful time at Isabel's 1st Birthday Party. We rented a pavilion out at Maramec Spring Park and had our family join us for the celebration. Here are a few pictures from our day!

Happy Birthday Isabel

2010-09-10T11:11:00.000-05:00

It doesn't seem possible that this was just one year ago:

And here we are today!

I love you so much my sweet Isabel! I can't wait to watch you grow for many years to come! You have brought so much joy to our lives!

Love, Mommy

Happy Birthday Mom

2010-09-06T05:20:00.000-05:00

Happy Labor Day! Today is also my Mom's birthday. I want to wish her a very Happy Birthday! Wish I had time to do an elaborate post about what a great mother and friend she is, and all of her other wonderful qualities. But, I'll be too busy spending the day with her and going to Grant's Farm.

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!

I'm Ready

2010-09-05T13:15:00.000-05:00

I think it's time to wean Isabel. She will be 1 on Friday and she only nurses at night now. She's always had trouble focusing on nursing during the day because she's too worried about what is going on around her.

To be quite honest with you, I'm ready to have my boobs back. I'm ready for some new pretty bras that aren't nursing bras. I'm ready to be able to have a margarita with dinner if I want to. I'm ready to be able to eat hot wings again. I'm ready to sleep for more than 3-4 hours at one time.

I had thought I would nurse Isabel longer than I did Alexis (13 months) but I think Isabel is more independent than Alexis was. Last night she slept from 10pm to 6:30am and I didn't nurse her when she got up. It was a little rough, but I think after a few days she'll be fine. I've tried introducing cow's milk to her, but she doesn't like it yet. I'll keep trying. Alexis never liked milk either. She drinks chocolate milk now, and sometimes regular.

She eats everything in sight, oatmeal for breakfast. a whole banana and cheerios for snack, a big jar of baby food for lunch, a pretzel stick for a snack, and 2 jars of baby food for supper. She's really starting to try a lot more table food as well. She's eating peas really well and yesterday she ate a ton of rice-a-roni. She loves Mac-N-Cheese, biscuits and gravy, and mashed potatoes. Oh, and she tried pancake this morning for the first time (without syrup).

If any of you breastfeeding mommies have any tips to make our weaning process easy and simple, I would appreciate any advice you have.

Wants & Needs

2010-09-04T10:59:00.001-05:00

I want to go shopping and spend a ridiculous amount of money on cute fall/winter clothes for my girls...

I need to buy just a few things to get by and save money...after all Isabel does have a birthday coming up this week, so she'll probably get some new clothes anyway.

I want to take the day off and do absolutely nothing...

I need to clean the kitchen, do laundry, dust and vacuum, scrub the bathroom...the list goes on and on.

I want to blog and play on the computer...

I need to answer a few emails and then get off the computer for the rest of the day.

I want to wave a magic wand and make all my excess weight just disappear...

I need to get off my fat, lazy butt and quit wishing and just do something about it.

I want to get a pedicure...

I need to wait another week of two though.

This would be the most pressing want/need on my mind for the next few days.

I want to get one of those positions on day shift...

I need to get one of those positions on day shift before Alexis goes to school.

Dirt Under The Nails

2010-09-03T01:56:00.001-05:00

I'm so happy it's Friday! After working tonight, I will be off for 4 days! Yippee for me! It's going to take forever for the weekend to go by though. I'll be anticipating Tuesday or Wednesday so that I can find out if I get one of the daytime positions that are posted at work right now. *Prayers prayed, fingers crossed*

It's time for some questions with Mama M. I was very excited to see that two of my bloggy friends had their questions chosen this week. Make sure you check out Nel and Chrissy's blogs to see their questions and answers this week.

1. What do you do when you have time to yourself?

Blog. Play my silly game on Facebook. (Bejeweled Blitz 2) Watch TV that isn't animated. Basically whatever I feel like doing at the time.

2. When you look out your kitchen window, what do you see?

The garage and the pump house, not much of a view.

3. Who/What would you want to be reincarnated as?

Hmmmm, I thinking a dog or a cat wouldn't be so bad these days as long as I was reincarnated with one of those pet owner's that thinks their pet in human and treats them that way. Now don't get me wrong, I love me some cats and dogs, but they have their place.

4. What is your biggest pet peeve about other people's kids?

Okay, please don't hate me when I say this, and if this applies to your kids I'm so sorry for what I'm about to say. My #1 pet peeve is kids that still have dirt under their fingernails even after a bath. Keep those dog gone fingernails trimmed nice and short and there is no where for that dirt to go. It's one thing if they are dirty right after making mud pies, but please clean them up. So gross...*gag*

5. Regular or Diet soda?

Regular, ever since I got pregnant the first time, I've sworn off diet since you aren't supposed to have it when pregnant. I should have sworn off soda altogether, but I still indulge occasionally. That is going to stop here real soon though, got to get some poundage off this waistline.

Thursday Thoughts

2010-09-02T11:01:00.000-05:00

Outside my window......sunny! Not sure what the temperature is like, haven't been outside yet.

The time is.....10:49am

Today I feel.....a little tired, but pretty good. Confused...

I am thinking.....I'm really proud of myself for blogging so much this week! I'm really glad the week is almost over, I have several things I'm looking forward to this weekend. And, I hope I have enough hours today to get all the things done that I'd like to do.

At the moment, I am thankful.....that I have 2 healthy, beautiful children, even though they are both trying to crawl into my lap right now, lol!

I am going......to shower and then go to the grocery store.

I am wearing.....navy blue knit shorts and a grey T3 trainer shirt from work, it's what I slept in.

I wish.....someone could give me the answers I need right now.....

I am reading.....nothing, I have half a dozen good books waiting to be started though.

I am working on.....trying to keep my home in better shape during the week while I'm working so the weekends aren't all about housework.

I am hoping.....that I get one of those day shift jobs that is posted this week at work!! (Please pray that I do, it would be so much better for our family.)

I am hearing.....Colbie Caillat on my iTunes and the girls playing under the desk. Alexis is "teaching" Isabel "stuff"!

I bet you didn't know.....I have a 4 day weekend starting Saturday!

One of my favorite.....things is watching my daughters, they are so entertaining!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-01T01:03:00.000-05:00

Warning: Picture overload!

It's okay that she doesn't have a shirt on since she's still under 1 right?!

Friendship

2010-08-31T05:45:00.001-05:00

I've been really struggling with friendship lately, in several ways.

I've never had a really super close best friend that has actually stayed my friend through all my life changes. My mom and my husband are my best friends and I know they will never leave me, but I want more.

As a pre-teen and teenager my two best friends were Mandy and Lettie. Mandy got married and started having babies, there is a long story as to why we didn't stay close that I am not going to share other than to say, we grew apart. Lettie and I stayed close until we were about 18 or 19 and then we drifted our separate ways as well. She got married, got busy with her new life as a wife, and then had a baby. I was still single.

When I was 16 and working at Country Mart in Bonne Terre I had a few close friends, but circumstances in each persons life caused us to drift our own ways as well. Lori got involved in drugs and that wasn't something I was interested in. Michelle and I were close for quite awhile and I even lived with her when I was 19, but after I moved to St. Louis it was harder to see each other and we drifted....are you getting the picture?

When I transferred to Country Mart in Farmington I met Amy Reed, we were tight. I love my Amy! We had so much fun together. We laughed, we cried, we were just best buds. We even dated best friends briefly. My date didn't turn into anything, her's turned into her husband. I was a bridesmaid in her wedding. Every night after work, we would meet at the Civic Center and work out and then go tan together. Thursday night was dinner at her house and then watching Friends. Unfortunately, she wasn't real fond of Ross and I wasn't real thrilled with her husband either. So when I moved to St. Louis in December of 2001 we started drifting as well. We would talk occasionally, I'd go down and hang out every once in a while, but the distance made it a challenge. We eventually stopped putting any effort into keeping our friendship. I invited her to our wedding in 2005, but they weren't able to come.

Thank goodness for MySpace and Facebook. When I started up MySpace I searched for who I could think of and she was one of them. At first I just perused her page and didn't ask to be her friend because I wasn't really sure where we stood after all that time. Finally I friended her and we got a second chance at our friendship. About the time that we started connecting through MySpace was about the time that her and Aron were finalizing their divorce, that was also the time that I had just given birth to Alexis in 2007. The first time I saw her was that summer when Alexis was about 3 or 4 months old. Ever since then it's been so nice to have a friend again who knows my history and my present and who will always understand me when I'm having a bad day and need someone to vent to.

There is still distance between us (about an hour) but we try really hard to fit some Amy and Jess time into our busy lives. Amy took me to my first winery, where I fell in love with Blackberry Wine! She called me on a Monday after I had found out I was pregnant with Isabel the previous Friday. She had some news of her own as well! We got to be pregnant buddies! She was due on September 16th, me on the 17th. Her Callie was born on August 27th, 2009 and Isabel on September 10th.

I had a really great friend when I worked at Sam's Club too, my Monica! We've been through some challenges in our friendship, but we are still close today even though we don't talk much and rarely get to see one another.

I guess the point I'm trying to get around to is that you really have to work at a friendship to keep it alive through all of life's changes. I have another friend, Krista, who I have known since we were in diapers. Our mothers were best friends for many years, but circumstances led them in different paths, therefore we went with them obviously. As teenagers we reconnected when we worked together and since then we've kept in contact on an irregular basis. She was a bridesmaid in my wedding and I in her's. But, if it wasn't for Facebook we probably wouldn't have any contact at all. I did get to see her this summer, and that was nice.

It takes a real effort to keep a friendship alive when there are obstacles, and it takes both parties making an effort. I've had friends that were very one sided, they were only my friends if I called them or I went to see them or I initiated the contact. If I waited for them to call or visit, I would still be waiting.....those aren't the kind of friends I want to have, maybe that is selfish of me. But, I would really like a friend who will reach out to me as much as I will reach out to them.

I think a lot of my frustration is coming from the fact that I so badly want to have a circle of friends right near me. All of my friends that I consider close friends are at least an hour away from me. I can't just call them up and say, "Hey, what are you doing? Can I come over?" I do have family that I consider friends, but even families go through seasons where things change too.

I think that it is really difficult to break into an already established circle of friends even if you have things in common with them, or maybe I'm just not outgoing enough to make myself a part of those circles.....

I have found lots of people that I have things in common with in the bloggy world, but that's not the same as a real life, in the flesh, best friend. There is a bloggy meet up in my area soon, but I'm so bummed that I can't go, I have a prior commitment. I would love actually putting a voice with the faces I see every day on my computer screen.

Since I'm on a roll here, my other friendship issue is the fact that Ross and I have a very hard time finding couples to hang out with. I either don't like the wife and he likes the hubby or the other way around. It's so frustrating. We have no one our age to hang out with and do things with. It would be really nice to find a couple that has a few small children that we could go out to dinner with, or have over for a BBQ, but we can't seem to find them....Now I'm not saying that we have no one, because we do have a lot of family, but it's not always the same.

This is me.....stepping off my pity party stool. I haven't resolved any of my issues by writing about them, but I feel a little better getting it out of my system. One of these days I'm going to pull an all nighter on the computer and write all the blog posts that are floating around in my head. It's hard for me to find the time to really write these days. I'm so ready for winter and the slowness that comes with it!

Fishing

2010-08-30T17:30:00.002-05:00

We went fishing yesterday and had a wonderful time! Here are some pictures from our day.

Her very first fish!

Daddy removing the hook for her. She was so proud!

Isabel was just hanging out while the rest of us were fishing, and then she caught a little snooze on Great Grandma Lea's lap.

Daddy & Alexis

Isabel

The nice bass that Ross caught with the pink and purple princess fishing pole! Haha!

Uncle Jimmy claims the catch of the day with this monster channel catfish.

We headed over to Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Susie's house afterwards and fried up some fish. It was delicious! We had such a nice time. We plan on doing it again soon!

Ross golfed in a tournament on Saturday and the girls and I stayed home all day. It was fantastic to just be at home and do whatever I wanted. I didn't even shower until 11pm Saturday night! ;) I love at home weekends with no where to go. September and October's calendars are fast filling so this weekend was needed before we begin the next round of craziness. I have more pictures to share this week, so I'm going to try and schedule a few posts.

Hope you all have a great week. Happy Monday!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-25T11:02:00.000-05:00

What's not to love about an "almost" naked baby?

It's Late & Quiet...A Weekend Review

2010-08-23T23:44:00.003-05:00

Hi all. The girls are asleep for the night...at least for now anyway. We are still working on that issue. I'm waiting up for Ross to get home from work and I've got about and hour of time to kill. And yes, I should be cleaning, but I felt like cranking out a quick post since I'm sure I'll get wrapped up in my work week and probably not get one out until Friday.

We had a very busy, but very good weekend. Saturday we left around 12:30 and headed over to Farmington for Callie's 1st birthday! I can't believe her and Isabel are both almost a year old already. Callie won't actually be one until the 27th and Isabel is soon after on September 10th.

Here are Callie & Isabel still in our bellies!

Here they are at about 6 weeks

Here they are at 5 months

And here is birthday girl Callie! And Isabel at her party!

We had a really good time at the party even though we were drenched in sweat by the time we left!

We headed for St. Louis when we left the party. Ross and I decided we were going to ask my parents to babysit and we were going on a date! We got to Mom and Dad's and hung out for a few minutes and then took off again.

Our first stop was dinner at Olive Garden, our entrees were nothing to write home about, but with the salad, bread sticks and appetizers, you can never have a bad meal at that place. Next we headed to the nail shop for some much needed pampering for our feet. Ross is a huge fan of pedicures ever since my Dad talked him into getting one sometime last year. I love it, because it means I get my toes done more regularly now. It's only been 3 weeks since our last pedi, but he was ready for another one!

After that we headed to Cabela's for some shopping. Ross was on a mission to get a new scope for his deer rifle and he was also picking up something for his dad as well. I did a lot of browsing and enjoyed thinking about all the stuff I'd buy from there if I had the money. We left there and got some ice cream on the way back to my parents. We had a really great evening and we really needed it. Ever since I've gone back to work, it's been really hard for us to find quality couple time.

We spent the night at Mom and Dad's and then Sunday morning was my nephew Riley's 3rd birthday party. It was nice seeing my siblings and nieces and nephews and Riley had a great birthday. His step-grandma got him a battery operated jeep just like the one Alexis got on her birthday (well, his wasn't the pink barbie edition!). It was a big hit and he was giving all the kids rides around the yard. Ross and I noticed that his seemed to go a lot faster that Alexis' does. Her's was supposed to have 2 speeds, but it's only gone one speed since we got it. He was looking at the manual and figured out how to change it. This afternoon he adjusted it and I must say, it's like having a brand new toy now. She loves that it goes faster now! Here's a video of her and Isabel tooling around the yard in it this evening.

We got home Sunday afternoon and instead of getting busy, we decided to enjoy the rest of the afternoon/evening. The girls played for a bit and then it was bath and bedtime for them and Ross and I finished out our weekend with some more husband/wife time together and it was just what we needed.

Today was another good day, even though I didn't get as much housework done as I should have, I did spend about 2 hours outside with the girls just playing. That was so nice for me. With it being as hot as it's been the last few months, I don't really enjoy spending that much time outside since I have to deal with the heat 10 hours a day at work. So, the break from the heat is so nice because I really do like spending time outside with the kids. I'm so ready for fall!

Quick update on the kids. Alexis is now wearing her underwear to bed instead of a diaper! *Knock on wood* No accidents yet! It's been a week now and she's doing great with it. We are so relieved to finally be free from buying diapers for 2, it was quite a strain on the checkbook there for a bit when we made Sam's or Walmart trips. Isabel is walking like a champ and getting stronger and braver every day! Today while we were outside, she climbed up the slide on our swingset. That girl is such monkey, she keeps me on my toes all day long!

Here's a few pictures just for the heck of it! Isabel is quiet the Daddy's girl even though she loves her Momma a lot too.

I just love this picture of them:

And here's a cute one of Alexis being silly with her cupcake:

5QF - Jessapooh!

2010-08-20T02:09:00.002-05:00

Hi all! I'm so very, very glad it's Friday. It's been a tough week all around. I'm beyond ready for the cooler fall temperatures to arrive NOW!

Alright, let's get on with the questions. Check out Mama M. and see what she has to say this week too.

Hope you all have a great weekend! We have 2 birthday parties this weekend, a 1 year old and a 3 year old. Should be lots of fun!

1. Do you have any nicknames and if so how did it come about?

I do, when I was a little girl, it was Sis, or Jessapooh. When I got a bit older it was Jay Bird and later shortened to Jay. My parents and brothers still call me Jay sometimes. My Grandma was the only one that ever called me Jessie and I worked very hard to keep it that way. Not my favorite of the nicknames. After Ross and I got together, a lot of people that know me through him just call me Jess. He very rarely ever calls me Jessica and if he does, I think he's mad at me or something!

2. What is your birth order amongst your siblings?

I'm the baby!!!! And I like it too!

3. In a movie of your life, who would play your significant other?

You know, I don't ever have good answers for these kinds of questions, so I'm skipping it. Sorry ya'll, I've got nothing.

4. What is currently your favorite song?

5. Are you saving your money for anything right now? Big or small purchase?

Not really. Ross and I would both like to be able to get a Digital SLR camera for Christmas this year, but that may be a stretch. We'll see how the next few months go.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-18T03:12:00.002-05:00

My 3 favorite people!

Not Me! Monday

2010-08-16T16:24:00.000-05:00

It's been a really long time since I've done a Not Me! Monday with MckMama, so I thought I would join in today.

We had a rather busy weekend. Saturday was a fun day, but none the less, it was still a day on the go, instead of just being home. We decided we wanted to do some swimming since it has been so ridiculously hot lately. Well of course, we woke up Saturday morning to rain and overcast skies. But, it started looking like the sun would come out around noon. So we headed for Dry Creek.

It was Not Me! who's only concern was working on my tan. I've gotten terribly pasty, white looking lately. When it's this hot outside and I have to go to work, the last thing I want to do is be out in the heat when I'm not at work. So, my tan suffers. The sun was nice enough to shine strong and hot for about 30-40 minutes and I oiled down and soaked it up.

We started off by watching Alexis have a blast on the trampoline. I did not laugh at how much fun she was having jumping around.

It was Not Me! who had even more fun after Isabel joined in on the jumping!

Then we headed for the water and splashed around for a bit before we headed back home. It was a perfect way to spend an afternoon!

Oh yeah, it was Not Me! who let my 3 year old have Oreo's for lunch today....oops!

Isabel @ 11 months

2010-08-14T01:14:00.000-05:00

Isabel was 11 months old on the 10th. She has taken a step or two alone, but on the 10th, she took about 5 steps all by herself! Yay for Isabel! I was kind of surprised at myself too. I didn't cry! When Alexis took her first steps I cried because it meant she wasn't "a baby" anymore. Isabel has been a lot more independent that Alexis ever was, so I guess that's why it didn't affect me the same way.

Here is a video I took on Thursday of our new walker!

And yes, I have a very high pitched Mommy voice....sorry!

5QF for Friday the 13th

2010-08-13T11:43:00.002-05:00

1. Have you ever visited another country?

Yes, Canada in 2003 and Mexico in 2005.

2. Where is the strangest place you have ever been?

I'm not really sure what to say here, not sure what qualifies as strange. I'll have to get back to you on this one....

3. What is your favorite season?

NOT SUMMER, this blistering heat needs to go away. My very favorite season is Fall and it's coming soon! I love the changing colors of the trees, the cooler days, the pumpkin patch, bonfires, hayrides, hoodies, raking leaf piles for Alexis to play in, I could go on and on and on and on!

4. What one song will always cheer you up?

These days, it's anything that Alexis will sing. It's so hard not to smile when a little child is singing!

5. What Disney character do you resemble most?
I don't have a clue, but my favorite character is Belle, from Beauty and the Beast.

Hot Momma!

2010-08-12T01:49:00.000-05:00

It was dreadfully hot at work tonight, but I survived it.

At one point in the night I was chatting with a couple of the guys and when I walked up and they asked, "How are ya?" I said, "Hot." They laughed and said, "Well we know who has a big ego!" Hardy har har right? Anyway, it reminded me of a funny story that happened last year.

It was the end of July 2009. I was 7 months pregnant with Isabel. Alexis and I had gone over to Desloge and I got my hair cut and colored. I was pretty pleased with the results. You ladies know how it is when you just get yourself all prettied up. Well, I thought I was looking pretty darn good!

Alexis was carrying on pretty good conversations at this point. She was over 2, but she still didn't always speak in complete sentences yet. So, we're driving down the highway and I keep checking myself out in my rear view. (Girls, you know what I'm talking about here!) I asked Alexis, "Does Mommy look hot?" She just looked at me funny and said, "Air up." I about lost it, I was laughing so hard, and then she started giggling. She had heard me complain all summer about being hot, so she said exactly what she thought was appropriate. Come on Mom, stop being silly and just turn the air up if you are hot!! Needless to say, I still chuckle about it. Here's a picture of me and Alexis with my Hot Mom hair-do!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-11T00:15:00.001-05:00

Hi!

Heat Wave

2010-08-10T12:13:00.000-05:00

Happy Tears

2010-08-09T23:00:00.000-05:00

One of my Facebook friends shared this tonight and I couldn't help but pass it on. I cried the whole 10 minutes, you will too!

God Bless our service men and women and their families.

How Much Is Too Much?

2010-08-08T01:18:00.000-05:00

TV

It's always been a hot topic in my life.

It started back when I lived at home. I was probably about 9 or 10 when Mom and Dad threw out the TV. I mean they didn't literally throw it out, but they got rid of our cable and the only thing we watched were VCR tapes. That's how I spent the rest of my years at home. No TV, just movies and even those were very few.

When I got older and was away from home, I was of course fascinated with TV because I had no memories of watching it while I was a kid. I don't have any favorite cartoons or shows that I remember watching as a child. I didn't watch any of the popular sitcoms for that time, or any of the teen drama shows that were all the rage. I wouldn't say that I became addicted to TV, but I certainly enjoyed watching my share of it once I was out on my own and had my own control over the issue. (Mom and Dad have had regular TV back for quite some time now by the way.)

TV has been an issue in my marriage as well. TV and computer for that matter. Ross will completely zone out in front of the TV and I can lose track of time and hours will go by with me sitting in front of the computer. It makes it a challenge to communicate when all you do is stare and the bright, screen and fill your mind with mostly useless entertainment. Occasionally you may find some educational things on TV, but for a lot of folks, it's mindless entertainment, or a noise maker, something constantly going in the background because heaven forbid, you actually are quiet enough to hear your own thoughts.

Now that we have children, the issue is raring it's ugly head again. When Alexis was a baby, we never turned on cartoons for her or anything like that. We may have tried once or twice and she showed no interest in it whatsoever. Somewhere around 18 months - 2 years, we tried Elmo movies and she fell in love! We have about 5 or 6 different ones and she watches them over and over and over again. Next it was Sesame Street, then we added, My Friends Tigger and Pooh. Now we're onto Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I don't mind that she watches any of those shows, but if we let her, she would watch TV all day long. I don't like that one single bit.....

Isabel shows a lot of interest in the TV as well, unlike Alexis at that age, but we never played any children's programs for Alexis at this age either. So, my question to you is this: How much TV is too much? Do you limit the amount of hours you children watch television and do you have a few selected shows that are acceptable and others that are not?

The shows I listed are pretty much the only ones that Alexis and Isabel watch. I know there are probably other good shows out there besides those, but I'm content with what she watches for now. There will be absolutely no Sponge Bob allowed in our house. I saw that playing one day and was appalled at some of the things they were saying. I felt that it was humor targeted at much older kids and is not appropriate at all for young ones. Alexis already has learned how to back talk and sass us. I don't need her picking up anymore sarcasm or attitude from a TV show. Another show that we never watch is Dora. Ross has a huge problem with the bi-lingual shows. Not that there are anything wrong with them, but he is a strong believer that if you come to America, you learn English. Period. End of Story. Having said that, he does want Alexis to learn a foreign language, but not from a TV show.

Dancing

2010-08-07T21:56:00.000-05:00

We are very excited here at our house about the fact that we got Alexis registered for dance class today! She'll be going to The Dance Studio in Rolla.

I can't wait to see how cute she's going to look in one of these:

And these:

And these too:

And she'll have a cute little backpack with her name on it to carry all her dance gear in:

I took dance class for one year and for some reason, something happened and I told my mom I didn't want to go back anymore and I never did. Now that I'm older I wish I would have, but being a little kid, I don't remember what made me not want to do it. I really hope it will be something Alexis will enjoy. She already loves to dance at home, so I think this will be really fun for her. Her first class isn't until September 13th, but I'll be sure and post some pictures if they let me stick around for a few minutes once they get started.

We already know how darling she looks in a tutu!

5QF August 6th, 2010

2010-08-06T03:51:00.000-05:00

I feel that I MUST do a Five Question Friday, it's been too long! Make sure you check back with Mama M. to see all the other linker uppers.

Here are the questions for this week:

1. Are you a neat sleeper or a messy sleeper?

Depends on the night, but most of the time I'm pretty neat. If I'm having trouble sleeping, then I get messy and it looks like someone had a wrestling match in my bed all night long.

2. Fill in the blank. I wish I was more ________________.

Patient. That has been my biggest challenge since becoming a parent. I lose my temper too quickly and I don't like it.

3. What is something that you wish you had been warned about?

How addicting blogging is! No really...it is, I miss it terribly now that I'm back to work. Kudos to the women who work full-time outside the home, come home and take care of their home and family and still have time to get a blog post up. I can't seem to make it all fit, so I play catch up on the weekends and attempt to schedule a post or two during the week.

4. What was the best thing you ever found at a garage sale/flea market?

?? I don't really go to either to be real honest. I know I should, but it's not something I've found the time or energy to do. You have to get up early to go to garage sales and that is not my forte.

5. If you could have any meal brought to you right now, what would it be?

A fillet off my Dad's grill, cooked medium rare, baked potato with lots of butter and salt and asparagus fried in butter. Yummmmm, I'm so hungry now!

A Week of Sick

2010-08-01T06:39:00.000-05:00

Please be adivised: This post is not for the weak stomach or if you plan on eating while reading or very soon after reading. You have been warned, proceed with caution!

My goodness, I'm not really even sure what to think about the past week. First off, let's hope we never have another one like it anytime soon.

Monday morning, Isabel was laying in bed with me and Alexis and she was really fussy and squirmy, then she sat up in the bed and threw up every where. She only threw up that one time, but she didn't have an appetite at all that day and wanted to sleep a lot. I thought maybe she had just eaten something that didn't set with her well. We've been giving her quite a bit of table food lately, so I thought maybe that was what happened.

Monday evening we went into town to feed the ducks at the old park and meet Ross while he was on his supper break from work. I started feeling kind of yucky, but didn't think too much of it. I was planning on starting hard core on a diet Tuesday morning, so I had ordered a cheese burger, fries and ice cream for my one last, bad meal. I picked it up from Bouse's, but even the smell of it kind of made my stomach turn. We got back home and I felt horrible. Just the thought of eating was making my stomach turn. I laid down on the couch, but didn't stay there long. I was in and out of the bathroom several times with diarrhea.

It wasn't fun at all, I had to call Ross to come home because I knew I wouldn't be able to take care of the girls. This all started a little after 8. Ross got home around 9:30 and I went straight upstairs to my bed. Alexis came and laid with me after her bath and Ross took care of getting Isabel down.

About 12:30 or so, Ross came upstairs to come to bed. The sheets had to be put on the bed still so he asked me to get up. I was sitting in the glider in our room and was very hot, sweaty and nauseous. I laid down after Ross got the bed made and then got right back up and ran to the bathroom. This time I was vomiting. I got myself cleaned up and brushed my teeth, drank some water and went back to bed. I thought maybe the worst of it would be over. I woke up again around 3:45 with the same feeling as before. I had another round of diarrhea and was barely finished with that when I started vomiting again. I've heard of people having both things happen at the same time, but it's never been like that for me until then. Oh....my....goodness, not fun. After I got all that mess cleaned up, I came downstairs and slept in the guest bed in the playroom.

I woke up Tuesday morning feeling terrible still, I had a dull headache and was dizzy every time I tried to stand up. Isabel woke up and and wanted to nurse, so she was laying with me for a bit, and then she threw up again. Got that mess cleaned up then her and I slept for a few more hours. I finally got up after 10 sometime and started moving around a little bit. Well, I say moving around, I moved from the bed to the couch. Around 1 I got up and showered and started getting ready for work.

Isabel slept pretty much off and on the rest of the day and evening. I got a message from Jennifer around 5:30 saying that Alexis was now puking. Great, it's going to make it's way around the whole house before it finishes. Instead of asking Jennifer to deal with a sick kid, Ross came home from work to take care of the girls. Alexis threw up several more times that evening before she was finished. I had started feeling better and better the later the night went on at work. Thankfully, I was working in the AC office, otherwise I would not have been able to be out working in that heat after being sick like that.

When I got home from work Tuesday night at 2:30am Wednesday morning, the first thing I hear is Alexis holler, "Mommy, I'm poopy." She was awake beside my bed and had just finished pooping, so I got her changed and back to bed. Ross was laying in our bed with a bowl on the floor beside the bed. He was sick too. He only got the diarrhea part of it though, not the vomiting, but he felt horrible for the better part of a day and a half too.

Wednesday for Ross was like my Tuesday had been. Sleeping until it was time to go to work. Isabel started with some diarrhea on Wednesday as well. But, she was eating dry toast and banana. I got a message from Jennifer saying that Isabel hadn't peep or pooped in a long time and she had stopped taking drinks of anything from her. When Ross got home after Midnight, I had him call the Dr.'s offce. Dr. Rao called him back and said not to worry yet, it was probably just her resisting the babysitter since she was sick, she just wanted Mommy or Daddy. She started drinking for Ross as soon as he got home. She finally started peeing and pooping again by Thursday morning.

It seems like we are finally all getting better now, but man that was quite a week. And go figure, it was a busy week at work, so I put in a full 40 hours which means I didn't get a lot of sleep, so yesterday I did pretty much nothing at all. Hoping next week is going to be so much better than this one was.

Photo Shoot with Life by Light

2010-07-26T07:07:00.000-05:00

Here are a few of my favorite shots from the other day! I know I've been complaining (on Facebook) about how Alexis acted, but it's only because she normally does fantastic with pictures. And there are some really great ones here too, I was just disappointed with her behavior that day. Thanks again Kelley! I'm working on deciding what to order. Here is Kelley's photography website.

I think this is my favorite of Alexis! I loved this tutu that Kelley had for her to wear!

This one is Ross' and might me my favorite as well of Isabel.

Alexis looks a little serious in this one but it's still cute.

Love this one!

Ross thought this one was goofy, but I LOVE it!

So curious....

The sun was soooo bright that morning, so she was kind of squinty in some of them.

This is just a classic Isabel look right there!

Ross laughed hysterically when he saw this one! And the way Isabel has her hand under her chin is just priceless! We love it!

That's my beautiful girl!!

A Good Weekend

2010-07-25T20:09:00.001-05:00

This weekend was so nice and relaxing. I needed it.

Friday night I got off work at 12:30 and headed up to Rolla to get the shopping out of the way for the week. It was so nice not fighting a crowd while I was shopping. I think that's when I'm going to do the majority of my shopping from now on. I got home around 2:30am and was unloading the car when Isabel woke up and wanted to nurse. I brought her downstairs and fed her. She didn't want to go back in her crib so her fussing woke Alexis up. They both ended up coming downstairs with me around 3am and didn't go back to bed until 3:45am. It was after 4am before I got to sleep and the girls were ready to get up for the day by 7am. Needless to say I was a little tired yesterday.

I spent most of the morning holding Isabel. After a week at work, she is ready for some serious Mommy time by the weekend and it's pretty pointless for me to try and get anything done. In the afternoon I did some straightening and cleaning.

My best friend Amy and her man Chris came over with their 2 girls, Katelyn and Callie for supper. Ross grilled some burgers, brats and hot dogs and we just had a salad and some baked beans. Simple, but great summer time food. We had a nice visit and the kids had a great time playing. We made plans to go to Elephant Rocks with them this fall when the leaves start changing. There are some awesome views there in the fall.

Ross and I crashed hard last night around 11:30, we were both tired. Isabel does the bulk of her nursing at night and last night she was up at 12:30, 3:00 and then again at 6:00. I was exhausted when I got up at 7 this morning. Ross and I fixed biscuits and gravy for breakfast and then I headed to the couch. I didn't intend to sleep for very long, but I didn't get up until almost noon.

We loaded up and headed to the creek. They were having a birthday party for 5 different birthdays. We had lunch, presents, cake, ice cream and then creek time. We got home around 6. It was a great day! We are all showered, bathed and fed. Now I'm going to play a game with Alexis and get some serious snuggle time in with the girls and then Ross after they go to bed. I love these kinds of weekends!!! Hope yours was great too!

I'm Honored

2010-07-21T06:49:00.000-05:00

A few weeks back Susie B. Homemaker gave me a blog award! I was very honored to receive this award, so thank you very much Susie!

Here are the rules:

Thank the blogger who awarded it to you.
Sum up blogging philosophy, motivation and experience using 5 words.
Pass it on to 10 other blogs which you feel have real substance.

Okay, so I thanked Susie.

My 5 words are:

Fun * Inspiring * Connected * Encouraged * Challenged

And I'm passing the award on to these lovely ladies: (I'm not doing 10 and I don't think you have to follow the rules. I just thought it was a pretty cool award so I wanted to pass it on!)

Krista @ Krista's Korner

Ashley @ My Redburn Journal

Chrissy @ Traveling Light

Mrs. Haid @ The Fabulous Adventures of Mrs. Haid

Ladies, I love reading all of your posts and you all inspire and encourage me in different ways. Keep up the good work!

Like Mother Like Daughter?

2010-07-20T06:47:00.000-05:00

I'm Such A Slacker

2010-07-19T18:33:00.000-05:00

Really I am. I've been terrible about trying to keep up with my blog. I have things circulating in my brain to blog about, just don't have the time to get them out.

This morning the girls and I went over to St. James and Kelley took their pictures!

Here's a couple sneak peeks she emailed me:

I just love the tutu she had for Alexis to wear! Alexis did good for the first part of the session and then proceed to completely embarrass me with her behavior. She wouldn't cooperate at all. Thankfully, I think we got some good ones before she decided to be Crankzilla.

I love this one of Isabel!! I can't wait to see how the rest of them turned out!

I've also been a slacker with getting their pictures taken. By the time Alexis was 1 I had taken her 4 times for pictures.

This is just Isabel's 2nd and she's 10 months. =( I'm planning on getting more pictures done sometime in September after Isabel turns 1. That will be the ones for the Christmas cards! (I love Christmas, just over 5 months away!)

Isabel is doing this completely adorable thing right now that I love. She shakes her head side to side when we say, no no no no. And she'll bob it up and down when we say yes yes yes yes!!! It's so funny. She's at that really fun stage right now. She took a single step yesterday without holding onto anything, so I don't think it will be much longer before she is walking!

Alexis is still going strong on the potty. Still doing diapers at bedtime, sometimes she wakes up dry, but not real regularly yet. She had an accident or two that first week after she started going. Today was a really strange day. She peed in her pants 3 times today! But then she finally decided to start going on the potty again. Very bizarre.... She's had no trouble with the poopy part of it either. It's all in the potty! Such a financial relief to not be buying diapers for two anymore, and an even BIGGER relief to not have to changer her poopies anymore! YAY!

It's been super hot lately and that makes work super nasty. Last week was just miserable in there. I was fortunate enough to get to work in the AC Tuesday night, but unloaded trailers on Wednesday and Thursday night. I stayed home Friday night because I wasn't feeling well. This week looks like it's going to be pretty much the same as last...ugh.

Our garden is thriving still and Ross is working hard to keep up with it. He's been busy making pickles every few days. I made some salsa this weekend and I'll be making more next weekend also. It was so yummy!

I think I've finally managed to get a handle on the house work, as long as I can keep up with it now. Ross usually helps out with the laundry when I'm working, but we've agreed that I've pretty much got the housework to myself and he's got the garden. It's been a lot since I went back to work, I'm having to let go of trying to keep everything perfect during the week. It's just too hard and I don't get to spend anytime with the girls in the morning if all I'm doing is running around picking up this and that. It can wait until the weekend now.

I've got to run for now, I have housework to do this evening before I start my work week. I'm going to try and schedule a few blog posts for this week. I really have missed it and all of you.

A Link

2010-07-14T03:14:00.002-05:00

I asked for prayer the other day for my friend and her family. This is her blog: Carrying Ella

5QF July 9th, 2010

2010-07-09T02:15:00.001-05:00

Yay! I finally managed to get a 5QF in, I'm proud of me!

Join in with Mama M. for Friday fun!

1. What is one food you could eat everyday?

Hands down, peanut butter. I could live off the stuff if I had to. Love it!

2. Are you working in the career you thought you would be when you were 18?

Yes and no. When I was 18 I wanted to be getting married and have a kid or two by the time I was 21 or so. God obviously had other plans for me because Ross and I met when I was 19, but didn't get married until I was 24. I had my first baby when I was 26. So, in one way yes, because I have 2 beautiful daughters I can claim as my own and a wonderful husband to spend all my years with. No, because I'm not a full time stay at home mom just yet....maybe someday.

3. What is something that you wish you would have done when you were younger and you didn't?

I wish I would have been more athletic than I was. Because I was home schooled, I didn't make an effort to get involved with town sports teams or being really physically active.

4. What color are your kitchen walls?

Some wallpaper with chickens on it. Unfortunately, the kitchen will be the last remodel project for our house since they are the most expensive to redo. Still a few years away from any changes in there.

5. Do you remember what your very first favorite song was?

Tall, Tall Trees by Alan Jackson.

Please Pray

2010-07-08T14:13:00.000-05:00

One of my Facebook friends posted this today:

"We learned yesterday that our baby girl has a birth defect called Anencephaly. Anencephaly is a neural tube defect where the top of the baby's head is open. The life expectancy for a baby with anencephaly is only a few hours, a few days at most. We will carry our sweet girl to term and cherish whatever time God gives us with her. Thank you all for your prayers and keep them coming!"

Please pray for them. She is currently 5 months pregnant. Thank you Ashley for agreeing to be there if she needs someone to talk to that completely understands her situation.

4th Pictures

2010-07-07T00:29:00.000-05:00

The girls are growing so incredibly fast, I just can't seem to get enough of them these days since I went back to work. Here are some more pictures that I took on the 4th.

Isabel Vs. Alexis @ 10 Months

2010-07-06T00:22:00.000-05:00

People are constantly saying how much Isabel looks like Alexis these days, so I decided to do some picture comparisons and see just how much they do or don't resemble each other.

Alexis at 10 months. (She has more teeth at this point than Isabel does.)

Isabel, about a week and a half shy of 10 months.

What do you think?

Happy 4th

2010-07-05T00:07:00.000-05:00

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! We certainly did!

She Did It!

2010-07-04T23:42:00.000-05:00

For the first time today, Alexis finally went pee on the toilet!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are so excited for her, and us too!

In all the times we've tried to get her potty trained, she's never once gone on her potty seat or in the toilet. And finally today, I guess it just clicked for her. She wore underwear all day and didn't have an accident at all. And she peed twice, actually in the toilet! We are sooooooo proud of her!

Now, pooping, that may take longer, but I'm so thankful she finally decided she was going to go on the toilet. She's known for quite some time when she is going and what it feels like to need to go, but she's been too stubborn to do it on the toilet.

Fingers crossed that we have continued success and can say goodbye to buying diapers for two!

Introductions

2010-07-03T03:42:00.002-05:00

I was very excited to see two of my long time friends recently start blogging. They are both delightful ladies and I'm very excited to see what interesting things they'll have to say. With just a few posts each, I'm already liking what I read, so I thought I'd let you check them out too.

Krista, over @ Krista's Korner.

Krista and I have known one another since diaper days. We have one of those friendships that can be picked up anytime, anywhere. We go for long periods without seeing one another, but it's always good when we do. Thanks to Facebook, we are staying more connected with each other nowadays.

Krista was a bridesmaid in my wedding and I in her's. She and Jake have been married for almost 3 years and they have a beautiful daughter, Halle. Krista is a 2nd grade teacher and I'm looking forward to seeing what all she decides to blog about!

Make sure you check her out and become a follower if you like what you read.

My other friend is Denise over @ Nana's Thoughts!

Denise is Krista's mom, so I've also known her forever and a day long! She is a middle school teacher and a great lady. Hope you enjoy getting to know 2 of my friends.

Happy blogging!

Home Grown Goodness

2010-07-02T03:41:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since I've let you all know about how our garden is doing. So, I went outside yesterday and snapped a few picture so you can see how it's doing.

Here are the 27 tomato plants.

Yep, 27!

And they are all loaded down with green tomatoes too.

A few of them have started ripening and they are so yummy to eat!

Here is one of the cherry tomato plants. Alexis loves eating these and most of the time the ones we pick don't even make it into the house. She eats them all up while she's outside playing.

Cucumber vines, have been getting a ton of cucumbers the past 2 weeks. Going to be making some dill pickles this weekend.

Green Beans.

And Banana Peppers.

Ross has put so much time and effort into our garden this year and it is doing great. I wish I had more time to help him, but Isabel makes gardening a challenge, and our schedule doesn't help either. I'm sure I'll be more helpful next year! In the mean time, I'm enjoying getting to eat all these yummy things and I'm looking forward to canning a bunch this summer too.

Alexis & Isabel

2010-06-30T03:04:00.000-05:00

The girls both had check ups today with Dr. Rao. Here are the stats:

Alexis
38¼ inches
33 lbs. 8 oz.

Isabel
28¼ inches
19 lbs. 4.6 oz.

They grow and change so fast on me, I don't know where the time goes. It's going even quicker now that I'm back to work and I miss a part of their day. =(

I've been totally slacking on taking pictures here lately, otherwise I would have had some with this post. I'll make sure I get some new ones posted soon. They have cute outfits for the 4th, so I'll have some then for sure.

I know I haven't had much to say lately, but I'm pretty tired from being back to work, so I'm hopping off to hit the sack for now.

Happy Blogiversary To Me/Happy Birthday To Ross

2010-06-28T12:21:00.000-05:00

In all the busyness that is my life lately, I completely missed my first blogiversary. So here's a belated blogiversary wish to myself!

It was a year ago yesterday that I started blogging. It's been such a great experience and something I don't think I'll ever stop doing. I just wish I could figure out how to fit it into my daily schedule now that I'm back to work. (Still trying to work out all the kinks and adjust to being back to my 40 hour a week job, plus keep up at home too.)

Today is Ross' birthday! Happy Birthday honey!!! I love you!

We're not really doing anything for our birthdays this year. =( Maybe next year we'll get to do something special.

I am going to bake his favorite cake, german chocolate, and take it to him tonight while he is working.

I would like to post more, but I'm out of time for today, I still haven't unpacked from our weekend trip yet and it's almost time to go have lunch with Ross' parents for his birthday.

Oops

2010-06-25T23:07:00.001-05:00

Not going to have time for 5QF...bummer.

We're packing up and heading out for the weekend. See you on Sunday or Monday!

The Juggling Act

2010-06-25T11:06:00.000-05:00

Whew....where to begin???

I know that I've been MIA from the blog front, so I'm not sure where to start to get caught back up again.

First off, I am still reading blogs, just don't always have time to comment and haven't had time at all to sit down and post.

Second, kudos to the moms who work outside the home, take care of the house and family, and then still have time to blog about it! I haven't figured out how to juggle all this just yet now that I'm back to work.

I haven't had a moment to breathe since we got back from vacation, it's been non-stop ever since then.

My first day back was okay, the next three, not so much. Alexis cried, screamed and chased me to the car the rest of my first week back. It made it really tough to leave. I was glad to hear that as soon as I was gone she calmed down. She had a few meltdowns that first week and cried for me, but for the most part, her and Isabel did really great.

After that first day back, Alexis would constantly tell me, "Mommy, I want you to stay home with me, I don't want you to go to work." I would tell her, "Baby, Mommy has to go to work, but I'll be home again soon." So, she started switching it up, "Mommy, take me to work with you, I want to go with you." It's nice to be missed, but I feel really bad for her in this adjustment period. Isabel seems to be doing just fine with it all. She isn't taking breast milk really well while I'm gone, but I'm not too worried since she's almost 10 months old and she's eating tons of baby food.

I'm doing really well with the whole work thing. I've known that I was going to have to go back, so I've been prepared for it and I know that there isn't any other option for now. So, I try and make the most of it so I'm not miserable all day long. I miss them every day, but I'm confident they are being taken care of and it's a huge relief to know that they are here in our own home and not some place unfamiliar to them. I'm still hoping that Ross and I can get on opposite shifts and one of us will be able to be with them for the most part.

This is all I'm going to post for now, I've got to get busy and get things going for the day and start packing for Chicago this weekend! Not really Chicago itself, but near Chicago. We have a lot of family there and my Great Uncle Rich and Great Aunt Jan are celebrating 60 years of marriage and they are having a big bash at Mom's cousin Sheila's house this weekend. So excited to see all of them, I haven't seen them in 2 years.

Here's a picture of them dancing at our wedding 5 years ago:

I'm not going to make any promises about when my next post will be because I did that last week and didn't manage to get anything posted. I am going to do 5QF at some point today.

5QF...Late

2010-06-19T10:24:00.000-05:00

We all managed to survive my first week back to work. It was a little rough at times, trying to adapt to our new schedule and getting all the things accomplished that have to be done on a daily basis. I'll have a post about it sometime this weekend, but for now, I have to do Five Question Friday with Mama M.

1. What is your favorite thing about summertime?

Swimming, and BBQing, and picnics, and parties, and fireworks on the 4th! I love a lot about summertime, but I guess my favorite thing is getting to spend lots of time outside playing with my kids!

2. What is your ideal retirement location (if money didn't matter)?

A beautiful white sand beach, with crystal clear water on a remote island somewhere with a beautiful beach home and someone to clean and cook for me!

3. Do you live in the same town you grew up in?

No, but I do miss that area a lot and wouldn't mind living there again someday.

4. What nervous habit did you have as a child that you kicked to the curb before becoming an adult?

I was never a nail biter, but I did pick at them a lot. Ever since getting pregnant and having the awesome nail strength and growth that comes from taking prenatal vitamins, I've pretty much left them alone. They look so much prettier than they used to!

5. What is the most embarrassing thing that happened to you while on the job?

I fell asleep.....Yep, I sure did. Right at the drive thru window at the bank. I was a teller and my station was the main drive up window. It was a nice, warm, sunny afternoon and at that time of the day the sun shone in through our window nice and bright. I was all warm and toasty with my chin in my hands and my elbows propped up on the desk. Next thing I know, my boss is hollering my name. I look up and there is a customer at my window just staring at me. Yes, I had dozed off! When the incident happened, Ross and I had just started dating and were having those marathon 3, 4 or 5 hour conversations every night on the phone and I wasn't getting much sleep. My boss gave me a phone curfew after that and told me I better not let it happen again.

Or.....the time when we were oooooing and gooooing over this really cute guy that had just come into the store and we look up and he's standing right there!

Or......there was this one time we had a little fire at the drive thru too! But, I'll save that story for another day!

Hope you all are enjoying your weekend. I've got tons to do today and we are celebrating Father's Day tomorrow. Enjoy your Dad's this weekend and I'm going to try and get some updates posted and maybe try and get some stuff together for next week since I don't have a lot of time during the week to blog anymore. I am still reading your blogs, just takes me awhile to get all caught up and comment. Take care!

First Day Back

2010-06-16T11:34:00.001-05:00

I survived my first night back to work. Of course we were scheduled the full 10 hour shift, so no easing back into it, just thrown right on in. We did get out about 30 minutes early, so I was home at 2:30am.

The girls seemed to do just fine with the babysitter. Isabel was asleep by 9:30, she didn't take any breast milk while I was gone, but she did eat her baby food well. Alexis was asleep by 10 and from the report I got she only had 2 crying meltdowns for me.

Alexis has been very clingy this morning and keeps asking me if she can go to work with me. I keep telling her no, that she needs to stay home and play with Isabel. She said, "Mommy, I need to go to work and make money because I don't have very much." It's about to break my heart, but I know she'll adjust.

Isabel seems to be doing okay. She's definitely more interested in nursing this morning than she has been before. I think she realizes she need to stock up for later in the day.

They were both happy to see me and that made me feel good. We're still trying to figure out what the best schedule is going to be. It would be nice if I could sleep until 10 every morning, but I don't think that's going to give Ross enough time to get his mowing done on some of his bigger jobs. I'll have to get up a bit earlier on a few days and maybe make up for it by sleeping later on other days.

Here are a few more pictures from vacation. There was a church with a really cool playground that was right now the street from the house we stayed in. We took the kids there a couple times and they had a blast! The big kids too!

Papa, Grandma & the Kids

2010-06-15T01:05:00.000-05:00

We had so much fun doing pictures on the beach our last night in Florida. I just have to share all of the ones of the kids with Mom and Dad. Their expressions are so funny!

Home Again

2010-06-14T01:03:00.000-05:00

After 14½ hours in my Dad's suburban Saturday, we made it back to their house at 12:25am Sunday morning. We were too tired to unpack and then repack and drive home, so we spent the night at their house. The girls did remarkably well for being cooped up in a vehicle that long.

Ross has already started talking about booking a condo for a week for the 4 of us next year on the same beach! That's how much we loved it!

It feels good to be home, but I miss the beach. I'm glad to have my own bed back, but I miss the sound of the waves on the shore. I love my family, but I'm glad I don't have to share a house with them for anymore time than I did.

I'm dreading going to bed tonight, because when I get up in the morning, it will be my last day at home with the girls before I go back to work. Tuesday is going to be rough.

We had struggled to find babysitters and thought we had it all worked out with 2 different girls, but both ended up not working out. Thankfully, we found a girl that is available and looking forward to babysitting full time now, and after she goes back to school too. Unfortunately, in the morning will be the first time we've ever actually met her. We know her mother well, but haven't ever met her. Really praying she works out and the girls like her. I'm entrusting my whole world to her, so I'm kind of starting to freak out a little on the inside.

I feel calm on the exterior about everything, but inside, I'm screaming and crying. I'm going to miss my girls so much, every day. I'm really worried about them too. I'm worried about how hard it's going to be on them to adjust to me not being here every night with them. Will they feel like I've abandoned them when they realize I'm not here to tuck them in Tuesday night? Will they be confused as to why Mommy isn't the one making them supper and giving them a bath and reading bedtime stories?

Why? Why, when I want so badly to be at home with them, do I have to leave them? I know the answer to the question, but it's hard to handle at the same point. Obviously this is what God has in store for us for this portion of our lives. I know that He will make a way for my prayers to be answered in one form or another. I know that Ross and I have to pay for not being more financially aware in the early years of our marriage. I'm hoping that someday soon, we'll have enough debt paid off that it will be possible for me to stop working.

That's enough of my depressing drama in my head for now. Here are some pictures from our last night on the beach. It was a gorgeous sunset that night!

5QF - 6/11/10

2010-06-11T06:19:00.000-05:00

It's Friday again, which means I have to leave the beautiful beach tomorrow......=(. But we aren't talking about it.

I hope you have enjoyed all my guest bloggers this week, I know I did! Thanks again ladies!

Five Question Friday time! Click up there on that cute picture to get back to Mama M. and see all the other participants in 5QF!

1. What do you think makes a good friend, or friendship?

Someone who will be there for you no matter what, and will be honest enough to tell you something that a stranger wouldn't. Especially if it involves character flaws, or ways you could do things better. I also think a good friend is someone that you can go for a long time without seeing and pick up right where you left off, like not time had passed at all.

2. What is the last thing you bought & later regretted?

I just bought this fabulous Coach purse today:

And I don't regret it one bit!

3. Have you ever had a prank played on you?

Yes, and I don't want to talk about it either...

4. What is your favorite theme park?

The only one I've been to is Six Flags.

5. Have you ever seen someone else give birth?

No, I haven't, but I would love to some day. I love all things labor and delivery related. I totally don't mind the pain at all and I'd love to watch another woman give birth naturally like I have done with my 2 daughters.

That's it for this week. I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep up my blog when I go back to work, but I won't have a whole lot of free time anymore. Tuesday is the big day, please pray for me, I really don't want to have a nervous break down, but I can feel the stress and worry building inside me the closer I get to that day...

Guest Post - Moms Who Are Less Trashy

2010-06-10T01:07:00.004-05:00

Today's blogger in Mrs. Haid from The Fabulous Adventures Of Mrs. Haid. She's got some great stuff over on her site, make sure you check it out!

Hello to those who are also NOT at the beach right now! Isn't Jessica fortunate to have such a great time with her family? I feel (understandably) jealous because I love Destin. And even though some of the beach go-ers are spotting oil in the water, I would totally be out there exploring and looking for tar balls. I told husband about this and he thought it was really weird of me to want to see what some of our favorite beaches look like now. I think I am just really curious about it though. We've spent our best vacations on the Gulf since our honeymoon on the peninsula of Fort Morgan and the Emerald Coast of Florida. I think it would be painful to see the gunk there, but I'd like to shovel the beaches or do water tests or something while I am down there gawking at the big mess.

Oh, at this point, I should probably mention that I am a science teacher. Maybe that factoid will make my desire to observe and test in the Gulf make more sense! It also might give me some street cred when you read the topic of this post: Moms Who Are Less Trashy!

I have been writing The Fabulous Adventures of Mrs. Haid since 2008 and am in my third summer of journaling my thoughts and adventures on the site. Since that time I've written about my experiences as a teacher, a wife, a mother who has experienced miscarriage, a survivor and fighter of an eating disorder, and cheerleader to my 10 month old son.

I write about a few things that haven't been on Jessica's blog much - because they are my passion, not necessarily hers - and I'd like to share some of these things with you, a new audience.

I'd like this post to come off as a list of suggestions of things any mom could do to waste less and be more mindful of the impact her family is having on the environment.

I am pretty passionate about reducing my impact on the Earth. I think it has to do with being a good steward of the resources I've been given. Here are some of the things I do because I care about the sort of environment my son will live in one day.

I don't use plastic water bottles, throw away paper products, or plastic grocery bags.

It means that I DO recycle all paper products - JUNK MAIL! - and try to buy only the plastics (#1 and #2) that my city recycles.

It means that I feel sort of proud when our trash pick up is insignificant as compared to the recycle pick up items.

It means that I think to keep a To Go cup in the car so I can have my not-so-guilty pleasure of Quik Trip fountain soda without wasting a new cup.

It means that I have to tote around a little larger diaper stash since my son wears cloth. I need to carry around a wet bag for the used diapers rather than tossing them in a bin (or out the window like the driver of a minivan did yesterday in our neighborhood... gross!)

It means we use a rain barrel to irrigate the gardens and that we grow some vegetables in our garden instead of buying ones shipped in from Central America.

Here are some guidelines or ways to think about living in a more sustainable manner.

Reduce the amount of trash you make. By recycling it. Re-purposing it. Composting table scraps (non-meats and dairy). And... the real challenge... not buying so much of it in the first place. Oh, what a struggle for me to do this at Target when I feel compelled to just buy, buy, buy!

Reduce the amount of packaging and shipping associated with products you consume. By patronizing farmers' markets, Goodwill, and yard sales instead of a Big Box store, you are reducing the amount of cardboard, fuel, and production materials associated with buying that product new. Shopping locally means that you are reducing your dependence on goods that are made or grown else where and shipped to you. So browsing Craigslist is a good thing!

Consider reusable products. Instead of paper plates, napkins, and cups, perhaps you can wash one set of plastic "summer supper" type dishes, or use your everyday dishes. Reusing a plastic cup just once means you are using half as many plastic cups as if you threw them away! Also consider reusable products like dishtowels and wash rags for cleaning instead of paper towels. We used to do paper towel cleaning... which meant tossing half a roll with each clean up. Since we are doing laundry anyway, we use cloth towels and toss them in the washer with the rest of the clothes. Also, you might consider cloth diapers and cloth maxi pads. Whoa! Did she just type that? Yes, I SO did. I use both products (well, my lovely son uses the diapers, and I will use the pads once nursing has ended and I am fertile again). I LOVE using both products. I wouldn't switch back. Those tops are worthy of a WHOLE other post, so I won't discuss them now. But, dude, you can do it and its totally not gross.

Use less energy. Wash most loads on cold and line dry when possible. We wash almost all our clothes on cold, but the soiled dish rags, muddy softball clothes, and cloth diapers get washed on hot cycle. This saves so much energy (and $). I admit that line drying isn't my favorite house hold chore. I actually prefer the smell of dryer sheet to fresh air, too. However, I read that it saves $1.25 each load that is line dried and as much as $250 in energy costs a year. This is enough incentive for me to use the 10 minute Fluff feature for our towels, sheets, shirts, and prefold diapers to soften them up post-line dry. Also, try a timer for several lights or for Christmas lights to cut down on unnecessary illumination.

I see this list as a starting point, not a check list. Being eco-chic or green or whatever the buzz word a la mode is is great, but really, I think its about a mind set. Its about shifting one's actions from that of total convenience and disposibility to those that are more sustainable.

I know that I live a life that uses much more of the Earth's resources than many on this Earth do. Statistics like the ones below make it so that I don't feel too preachy harping on others to use less. I feel more like its okay to share with other moms because EEK. We make a lot of trash! That trash is going to be there for our kids! EEK!

Trash Facts In her book Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life Of Garbage, Heather Rogers includes the following facts:

The average American discards almost seven pounds of trash per day.
With only 5 percent of the global population, the U.S. consumes 30 percent of the planet's resources and churns out 30 percent of its wastes.
Garbage production in the United States has doubled in the last 30 years.
About 80 percent of U.S. products are used once, then thrown away.
95 percent of all plastic, two-thirds of all glass containers, and 50 percent of all aluminum beverage cans are never recycled; instead they just get burned or buried.

The EPA cites that in just one year, Americans generate 236 million tons of garbage. While about 30 percent of garbage gets recycled or composted, 164 million tons are tossed away, including:

26,800,000 tons of food
8,550,000 tons of furniture and furnishings
6,330,000 tons of clothing and footwear
5,190,000 tons of glass beer and soda bottles
4,200,000 tons of plastic wrap and bags
3,650,000 tons of junk mail
3,470,000 tons of diapers
3,160,000 tons of office paper
3,070,000 tons of tires
2,820,000 tons of carpets and rugs
2,230,000 tons of newspapers
2,060,000 tons of appliances
1,520,000 tons of magazines
1,170,000 tons of wine and liquor bottles
     970,000 tons of paper plates and cups
     840,000 tons of books
     830,000 tons of beer and soda cans
     780,000 tons of towels, sheets, pillowcases
     540,000 tons of telephone directories
     450,000 tons of milk cartons
     160,000 tons of lead-acid (car) batteries

So, dear readers of Jessica's blog, thank you for listening/reading this guest post while she is away in Destin. Perhaps you've considered a few of my ideas and might incorporate one or two - just one or two changes at a time would be awesome! - and we can all try a little harder to make less garbage and teach our children to do the same.

Beach Bums

2010-06-10T00:02:00.000-05:00

Guest Post - Body After Baby

2010-06-09T06:16:00.001-05:00

Today's guest blogger is my cousin-in-law Ashley over at The Redburn Journal. Her blog is a wonderful read! I know you'll enjoy it. Make sure you go visit her and leave us a comment if you like it!

Lots of moms talk about how they wish they could have their pre-baby body back. I can't say I would agree. My pre-baby body wasn't all it was cracked up to be! Now...I might want my high school body back, but let's get real right?! I listen to moms all around me who complain about their stretch marks. Talk about how they tried their entire pregnancy to avoid them, and are just devastated when they appear.

I wouldn't want to change my post-baby body. The stretch marks on my belly, breasts, hips, thighs, and calves are permanent reminders of carrying my babies, the most important thing I've ever done.

Why are women ashamed to have visible proof of their motherhood? Isn't that part of what God created us to do? Become mothers (whether through pregnancy or adoption)? Why would we be embarrassed of that? Now, while you won't find me running around town flashing my stretch mark tattooed stomach, I am proud of it.

I know that my body did an awesome thing...I don't ever want to change that.

Guest Post - God's Perfect Timing

2010-06-08T06:05:00.003-05:00

I hope you all are enjoying the guest bloggers so far this week. Today's blogger is my friend Chrissy from Traveling Light. Her blog in an inspiration and always a great read! Make sure you check her out, and leave us some comment love!

God's Perfect Timing

One afternoon, after my husband arrived home from work, I decided to head out and take back a Red Box DVD we rented the day before and grab a Coke from Sonic. While I was out and about, I got a strange whim to get my hair cut. I did not have an appointment; I just walked in and my girl was able to squeeze me in! I arrived back home, hopped in the shower, and then helped my husband get the kids ready for Wednesday night church. He left with our two oldest kiddos, and then it was just me an our baby at home. I put on some make-up and straightened my hair.

I was to arrive early for choir that night, so instead of being at church around 7:30, I moseyed on over there at about 6:45 - still earlier than than the music minister asked, but I figured I'd visit with some of the people who were there for Bible study.

Then, for some weird reason, I realized I forgot to put on deodorant.

Are you wondering what this has to do with God's timing?

I debated with myself if I should go home. I sort of felt self-conscious, but tried to rationalize that I just showered, and it's not like I was going to work out or anything! I could just stay there and not worry about it. But for some reason I felt like I should go home. So I strapped my youngest boy in his car seat, hopped in the van, and went back home.

As I was driving down the street that connects to ours, I looked up ahead. In front of a green duplex, I saw a small, 2-year-old boy wearing just a diaper. He was playing joyfully in a mud puddle right on the road. I slowed down. I stopped. I looked to see if his parents were out watching him play in the puddle, but I thought to myself, "Who would let their 2-year-old child play in the road?"

There were no parents.

My heart started beating fast (like it is now as I recall this story). "I need to take this child to his mom!" I thought to myself. I slowly pulled into the driveway, got out of my van, and gently took the boy up to the door. I guess the mom heard my door shut and noticed a vehicle in her driveway, because she met me at the door.

"He was just playing out here and I was worried," I said to her.

Her eyes got big. Her mouth dropped open as she realized what had happened.

"I was just cooking dinner and I didn't even notice! Thank you so much. Oh, my gosh. I just didn't know..."

I didn't even know what to say. This could happen to anyone.

"My two-year-old could sneak out, too. I'm just glad I was here."

I went back to my van, backed out of the drive, and continued home. I was in so much shock that I barely even remembered why I was heading home in the first place.

Oh yeah. Deodorant.

The cliche that "God works in mysterious ways" is an understatement here. That boy could have wondered off, and to be quite honest, people don't exactly drive slowly down that particular street. I know He put me there at that exact time to take that boy to his front door.

I gave all that detail at the beginning for a few reasons: 1. I have no idea why I decided to get my hair cut that day. If I hadn't gotten it cut, I would not have showered when I got home (because I like to wash it myself when I get it cut); 2. Since I showered, I needed new deodorant! I'm serious when I say I NEVER forget this...it's a part of my routine, and I don't know why I forgot.

But really. I know why I forgot. God used such an odd thing. But He used it. And it was perfect.

Lord, I pray that I will always hear Your voice, even if it's just telling me to go home for deodorant...

Can't Sleep

2010-06-07T23:24:00.000-05:00

It's Monday night, our 3rd night in Florida and I am having problems sleeping. I'm exhausted, but have a terrible time falling asleep. The bed is a bit firmer than I'm used to at home, but not that bad.

I do have a lot on my mind and that isn't helping....

Vacation is wonderful. The beach is so beautiful! The house we are staying in is great!

There are 10 adults and 7 kids here together. For the most part we are all playing nice, but you can sense underlying frustrations from time to time. There are 10 different opinions about one thing and sometimes it gets interesting! We are all trying our best to make it pleasant, but..............you can understand how it is. And we have a lot of small children, who are playing hard and get very tired and cranky as well. There are 3 different sets of parents and 3 different styles of child rearing and that makes things interesting to say the least.

When you get right down to it, I think we are all having a wonderful time, but a lot of us are very tired still from the trip down, adjusting to different beds, playing hard, and dealing with tired kids every day too.

It's been busy the first few days here, so tomorrow, I plan on doing nothing but going to the beach, swimming in our pool here at the house, taking naps with my kids and being a complete, lazy bum.

I'm really trying not to spoil my vacation with any negative thoughts, but I have this one lingering thought that keeps pushing it's way front and center.....

I have to go back to work a week from tomorrow....

We do have babysitting lined out, but it's going to be such an adjustment for all of us since I've been off for so long. Technically speaking, I haven't worked in 9 months, minus 3 weeks in December. I have been so blessed to be able to share this time at home with my girls. It's not always been easy and there have been days when I wished that I could have escaped to a job outside the home. However, I still have the desire to be a stay at home mom. Please continue to pray that I will get a day shift position and then we'll barely need anyone else to keep the kids for us. I know it's not feasible for me to stay home and not work, so the most ideal situation would be for Ross and I to work opposite shifts so one of us will always get to be home.

Well, that's enough of that work talk, I just needed to get it out of my system. I'm not dwelling on it, but I do have to be preparing myself for it. I'm not really looking forward to it, not necessarily because of how hard it will be for me, but I'm really concerned about it being difficult for the girls adjusting to me not being at home with them every night.

I really hope you all are enjoying my guest bloggers this week (I know, I know, I've posted every day too!) I certainly have enjoyed reading all their posts.

Here are a few more pictures for you!

Pool Fun

2010-06-07T12:07:00.000-05:00

Guest Post - Wife and Mommy

2010-06-07T06:56:00.001-05:00

Today's guest blogger is my friend Nel from Wife and Mommy. She's going to tell you a little about herself and her family. Make sure you check out her blog! Her little girls are the cutest ever! Don't forget to leave your comment love!

Hey! I am Nel from Wife and Mommy.

When I was asked to do a guest post I of course felt super special - really?!?!?! Me?!?!?!?!
But then I was like oh man... what on earth could I write that people would actually want to read?!?!?

So I have decided to just write about me and my life :o)

First of all I am married to the man of my dreams! We will be celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary in August. I still can't believe that 6 years have gone by so far! My husband, Corey, and I get along very well! We just have the perfect personalities to make things work great! There was and never has been a doubt in my mind that Corey is the guy for me. We dated for only 4 months before we got engaged and 4 months after that... we were married! We immediately started trying to have a baby - as we both wanted a family so very badly! It took us a year to get pregnant with 1 miscarriage. But after 9 months of carrying Miss Libby, I became a very proud mommy and wife! Libby was the picture perfect pregnancy as well as baby :o) We had 3 miscarriages before I finally carried Miss Abby. The girls are just 2 months shy of being 3 years apart. I was on bedrest for 5 weeks with Miss Abby, as she tried to make her arrival early... but I carried her to term and she has been a super healthy baby ever since!

So after I had Abby, Corey made it work so that I could stay home with the girls!

I absolutely LOVE staying home with our girls!!!
I also love having dinner on the table when Corey gets home from work.
I love being with the girls with every happy and sad moment.
I love being there for every first.
I love being the one to make their ouch's all better!
I love to know what each fight is about.
I love being the one in control of their every meal.
I love being a mini van mommy :o)
I love the one on one time with each girl (with Libby while Abby naps and with Abby while Libby is still sleeping in the mornings).
I love our garden that we are growing!
I will love our pool that Libby is getting for her birthday from her Mama and Papa :o)

I just love being a wife and mommy! I surely can't wait to continue growing our family!

So if you want to know more about me... hop on over to my blog. I try and be as honest and down to earth about my life there.

~Nel Fuhring

Here's What I've Been Doing

2010-06-06T23:01:00.000-05:00

Guest Post - The Dance

2010-06-06T06:02:00.001-05:00

My guest blogger today is Jenna from Jenna's Jargon. She always has great things to write about and has a great blog. Make sure you check her out and leave us both some comment love!

When Jessica asked me to do a guest post I felt honored that someone actually wanted me to guest post! I wanted to write something exciting that made you guys think I was a literary genus but that would take too much brain thought and to be honest…My brain is pretty fried from the long rodeocation I took this week. I thought I might write about Sean’s obsession with rodeo, or maybe about my Chocolate Children and my chickens but I thought “nah… I’ll just write about a story that happened to me four years ago this week……”

Four years ago this week I was sitting at work when my older co-worker’s son, who I attended college with, walked into the office to talk to his mom. He came into my office before he left and invited me to go with him and some friends to attend a Randy Rogers concert at a bar in downtown LittleRock on the RiverMarket. I immediately jumped at the chance for a free ride and I’d also been 21 for three months and had yet to visit a real bar. I had just broken up with my long term boyfriend a few months earlier and really wanted to get out and meet some people other than the same old boys I saw at school every day.

Later that night I jumped into an SUV with five other friends and took off on an hour drive to Little Rock. Another boy in the car with me was a really great friend of mine. He waited on me to get my ID and money out of my purse and into my pockets when we got to the bar and we walked to the door together trailing all of our other friends. I was really nervous about going to a bar so he was nice enough to buy my ticket and make sure I made it inside with no problems. I walked into the bar area… the stage to my left, the restaurant to my right. I scanned the room to look for any familiar faces since we were supposed to meet my roommates that had left earlier in the day for some shopping before the concert.

It was a small bar in a old building and was colorfully named Sticky Fingerz. About 300 people could comfortably fit in this restaurant/bar so it was rather small for a big concert. Its décor was very vibrant and the walls were littered with bright colored paintings, which contrasted to the low, dark lighting. An upside down Christmas tree hung from the ceiling decorated with ornaments that had nothing to do with Christmas. There were window panes that hung from random places on the ceiling, all painted a different loud color. The stage was lit up, occupied only by band equipment. The air was smoky and smelled faintly of pot. Loud Country Rock music was blaring from speakers above the stage and a few people were already dancing.

While scanning the room I recognized a few familiar faces and then started to turn toward the restaurant when I caught the hottest guy I’d seen in a long time staring at me… It made my heart beat really fast to realize I’d caught the eye of someone that good looking. He was wearing a red t-shirt and jeans and his hair was messily fixed and was a shiny black that complemented his chiseled face and light eyes. He was thin, but not skinny and buff but not fat. I could tell he worked out by the way his shirt hung on his shoulders. My heart fluttered in my chest… Man he was sexy.

Normally when I’m caught staring at someone I quickly look away but something told me to keep staring at this one. We kept our gaze locked for what felt like hours but was really only a few seconds. My friend walked up behind me. He was finished getting his change from the bouncer and asked me if I wanted to get a drink, which made me unlock eyes with the dark haired hotty.

I quickly wanted to get away from that area, slightly embarrassed and afraid I was starting to blush. I turned and walked into the restaurant, the opposite way from the hotty and made a b-line for the ladies room to make sure I still looked good. After Confirming I still looked as good as I thought I did when I left the house, I confidently left the bathroom and joined my friend at the bar to order my first drink. Hotty McHotterson was no longer standing near the bar…. Thank goodness, because I wasn’t ready to be embarrassed and for my heart to flutter and my blood pressure to rise again.

After buying the first drink I’d ever bought at a bar I spotted my roommates sitting near the front of the stage at a table with about five of our other friends. I started to walk their way through the dense crowd that had tripled in size since I’d walked in. While pushing though the crowd brushing past shoulders and zigzagging around feet, someone from behind me grabbed the orange designer top I was wearing, which I had borrowed from my roommate. I was pissed that her expensive top was being grabbed and I turned to start yelling at the grabber and realized that it was the Hot guy from earlier. I couldn’t make words with my mouth because I was so stunned… His shirt read “free kissing lessons” and I cracked a smile at how silly that was. He smiled back with his beautiful lips and teeth and laughed. His eyes laughed too through thick, long black lashes and I melted into a puddle of awe. .. “When are you going to dance with me” he said…..

…..Two years to the day later I stood at the front of my childhood church before all my friends and family members in a big white dress and stared into those same laughing eyes and beautiful smile, and was really glad I decided to take him up on his offer to dance. We’ve now been married for two years and my heart still flutters when I catch him staring at me from across the room. I’m glad things haven’t changed.