Sweet Yet Sassy

Arrival 04/27/2011

2011-06-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

Who knew that I would go into labor the last day I posted. I went to the hospital that night at 11:30 and they kept me. I was dialated to a 5. Miss A came into this world at 10:17 Wednesday morning. She was 6 pounds 15 ounces and was almost 21" long. It was a smooth easy labor/delivery. We are so glad she is finally here.

As much as she was in my ribs at 21" and the fact that she is constantly kicking her left leg I know why I was so uncomfortable the last couple of months.

It is hard to believe she will be 8 weeks old in 2 days. I know my sister has been bored without my posts but I have enjoyed not being on the computer and just hangin' out with my new little one.

Down for the Count

2011-04-26T12:04:00.001-07:00

My doctor gave me one more time to consider being induced before he left this week for Pennsylvania. I declined knowing full well that the odds were against me being able to wait until he got back to have this baby. Not a betting person, but I am fairly certain she will be here before the weekend since he won't be back until Sunday evening.

I have had to miss 2 out of town field trips with L'il C not knowing when she will be here. Sad about that. I don't like being in control of my life/schedule. My friends make fun of me because I carry my planner around. They call it my Bible. I just plan ahead and truly am lost without it. This week I have had to say "pending on this baby" about EVERYTHING!!!

Any takers on betting when she will be here? :D

What do you keep from your past?!

2011-04-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

As I was heading back from lunch, I was listening to "On Air with Ryan Seacrest". I only caught the last bit of the segment but they were talking about the box or boxes of stuff we keep of things from our ex(s). The woman was making a point about how you should throw it out...including pics. And Ryan was making a point that that was part of your past and who you were. If you aren't with them anymore and were committed to the new person, what would it hurt. She asked if he would like finding old pics of a girlfriends exes. He said prolly not.

It made me laugh because I have a couple of these boxes. One is just about everything sentimental thing I had from my ex husband. I kept it for my daughter's sake. The other is a couple of things here and there from elementary boyfriends to all the way to Brad, including pics. The box isn't nearly as extensive and is only the highlights.

I don't go through it but I think things like that help your kids get a bigger glimpse of your life before them. I know I like seeing pics of my mom's old college boyfriends and reading some of the letters she kept.

Brad doesn't mind at all and I don't have a problem coming across pics of him and his ex girlfriends. I liked most of the girls he went out with and he didn't marry them. He married me! :D And yes I do have a box with OUR stuff which outranks the other two, but I was talking primarily of boxes for exes.

What are your thoughts? Do you have stuff you have kept? If so, what?

Naked

2011-04-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

Laundry is a never ending job. Luckily for me I enjoy it more than dishes. :)

Last night L'il C gets out of the shower and puts her pajamas on, comes into the living room and informs me she has no clean panties. Well stinkity stink stink! I let her know that they are almost dry in the dryer. I tell her to go blow dry her hair and that they should be finished when she was.

You would have thought I told her to run into the street naked. And to her I am sure she thought I did. If someone doesn't have a shirt, underwear, and shorts they are naked. Brad is naked if he doesn't have a shirt on.

She panicked. Luckily she had overlooked a clean dry pair in the laundry room and the fears subsided. The night was able to go on as scheduled. :)

To be needed by the needy....

2011-04-11T12:15:00.000-07:00

Everyone has a desire to be needed. It feels good when you are needed. But to what degree?

I noticed this a lot between my mom and I. She wants so much to be needed but sometimes when I ask her for help, and this mainly applies to sewing something for me or decorating a cake, she acts like I have asked her to move the moon. :) I never learned to sew. Had no desire to sew and quite frankly if someone else can do it why should I have to? My mom is the best at both of these things. She can alter or repair an outfit like nobody's business. And her cakes?... They are much better than most professionals. The thing that bothers me is that when she acts put out and I offer to have someone else do it she immediately puts up a defense and is all "No I will do it."

Uhm...Okay?? I wasn't trying to put you out and I don't mind paying someone else to do it, you are just the best. I understand how she feels though. We want so badly to be needed but we want it to be on our own terms and with only things we want to help with. :) My mom would do ANYTHING for me, just some things she would rather not do. I would do ANYTHING for my daughter or Brad, but some things I would rather not do....especially if they are quite capable.

Mornings are the worst time ever to want a favor from me. I will be more than happy to help you AFTER I am ready for the day. I know it takes me a ridiculous amount of time to get ready....an hour and a half to be exact. This includes showering, drying and styling my hair, makeup, eating breakfast, brushing my teeth, finally deciding what to wear, letting the dogs out, doing a load of laundry, and not rushing around. So at night before I go to sleep, I set my alarm with enough time to have 1.5 hours to get ready. No wiggle room allowed.

When daughter and husband get up and are all "Will you fix my hair?" "Will you pour my cereal?" "Will you iron my clothes?" "Where is this?"....I don't have time for that. Get yourself ready. :)

Then when it is all said and done and I have helped them they look at me when it is time to leave and wonder why I am not ready and get mad because we will be late to where ever we were supposed to be.

Sigh....It is so much fun to be needed. Pretty soon I won't have to worry about rushing around everyday. Three more weeks until I am a stay at home mom.....and will be needed ALL the time...but she can't make her own toast, won't have any hair, doesn't need her clothes ironed and doesn't care where anything is. LOL :) Woo hoo.

We Are Wanted for Robberies in Arkansas!!

2011-04-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

I recently noticed that my driver's side headlight was out. Brad made sure to purchase a replacement yesterday. However, he didn't get home from work until 6:00 and he had to shower and get ready for church by 7:00 and didn't have time to change it. I have been driving for a week with it out so what is one more day....

Except this time one more day equalled being pulled over by a police officer on our way home from church.

We were about 2 miles from home and Brad said, "Well that police officer just pulled out of that parking lot. I bet they are coming after me." I replied with, "Yeah right. You are going 35 in a 40." He said, "True but our headlight is out."

Shoot!! Sure enough she pulled us over. Came up to our window and asked both of us for our driver's licenses. She asked if we knew our headlight was out. We told her we did and that he had purchased it that day. I tried to offer her the receipt for proof but she didn't care to see it.

She said, "Well I am all out of warnings. What do you suggest I do?"

Hmmmmm. "What are our options??"

"Well how about this," she said "how about I go run your driver's licenses to make sure they are valid and when I come back, we will just say I never stopped you."

LOVE THAT!!!!

So Brad starts teasing L'il C in the backseat and asked her why she didn't give the police officer her DL. She said that she had left hers at home. It was pretty funny.

Relieved we weren't getting a ticket we began bantering back and forth cracking up laughing.

When the officer came back she leaned in and said, "So...I see you 2 are wanted for a couple of robberies over in Arkansas!" I laughed at her. She too started laughing and said she wasn't very good at acting and for us to have a good night.

Love not getting a ticket. Love even more that she was nice and tried to be funny.

Angelina's New Tattoo

2011-04-07T08:16:00.000-07:00

Hollywood cracks me up.

I read last night that Angelina Jolie's 7th line that she added to the coordinates on her left arm is causing quite the stir and is overshadowing her goodwill trip to the Tunisia-Libya border.

Really??

I am a fan of Angelina. I always have been. I think she is beautiful and enjoy her movies. As much of a fan as I am I could care less about her tattoos and what they mean. Why in the world would an insuation of a new adoption overshadow her goodwill trip?!

Are the paparazzi that bored? That is hilarious.

P.S. I am also a HUGE fan of Johnny Depp, not just because he is hot (but mostly) but because of his amazing talent to transition into so many roles as an actor. Brad and I recently watched the Tourist with both he and Angelina and we really liked it.

Gone Crazy @ 9 months pregnant? Maybe....

2011-04-06T17:29:00.000-07:00

Why when you are pregnant does it give everyone else a license to comment freely on what they think about your pregnancy and how you look?

At anyone point you never know when that 9 month pregnant lady may laugh at what you say, cry at what you say, or just straight bite your head off and spit it out. I would advise you to keep quite. :D Just sayin'.

So here is my short list of things acquaintances have said to me and the thoughts that went through my head when they were said.

"Said = my thoughts"

1) Eventually you will show. = I have worked hard to grow this child whether you can see her or not. She is there.

2) Dang girl! You sure aren't very big. = I am sorry pregnancy was your license to eat everything on God's green earth and you were the big fatty in the room.

3) You look miserable. = How would you feel if you gained 20 pounds in your tummy and boobs?!

4) Your baby only weighs 6 pounds right now? I gave birth to a 10 pound baby. = Awww how sad. You are all stretched out and worthless even with the extra stitches. :)

5) Man I can't believe you are that far along! It has flown by! = Yeah to you. You aren't carrying a baby in your tummy with constant heartburn and indigestion.

6) Your feet and ankles look swolen. = Why don't you come rub them for me? You aren't doing anything. (Which by the way...no they aren't. Thanks for the insult.)

7)You should wait an extra amount of days and have her on my birthday. = You should shut your mouth and wish a late delivery on yourself not me. :D I don't want to carry this baby any longer than I have to and I am sure not waiting any extra days for your birthday.

Anywho.....my husband thinks I am hot even 9 months pregnant and that is what matters. He gives me back rubs, sent me to a massage therapist for a prenatal massage, kisses me sweetly, offered to help paint my toenails and shave my legs, and takes care of me. (I didn't have him do the feet or legs. I am going to get a pedicure and I managed shaving by myself.)

Oh yes and my obgyn calls me foxy...primarily because he can't remember how to say my name. But he did tell me he wished all of his pregnant patients were my size after I freaked out a little about my weight.

So the count is at 25 more days or less but not later to accomodate your birthday. :) Then maybe my moods will be a little more even and happy like they used to be.

Test Post

2011-04-06T08:47:00.000-07:00

This is a test post to write about how awesome my sister is!

She is the best sister I could ever ask for!

Let's talk about how great she is because she is willing to help me fix my paragraph breaks.

She is such a great sister!

The Birthing Videos Part 2

2011-04-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Brad has yet to get a free moment to watch the birthing videos. I watched both from start to finish. However, L'il C was more than excited to watch them. So she did. The first one cracked me up because it was straight old school right out of the late 80's early 90's. It kinda freaked me out with Lamar Burton narrating (dude from PBS Reading Rainbow). That video was the more kid friendly video with as few details as possible and the side shot of the birth.

The second video was super long with details about every part of labor, more for informational purposes for new moms and dads. So I hit scene selection to watch the 5 minute portion of the birthing process. This video was definitely more graphic with a full frontal shot of the baby coming out. Woo hoo.

I asked L'il C what she thought and if she had any questions. She had one question but I can't remember now what it was...something about the umbilical cord being cut. That was pretty much it. However, later when one of our friends came over and asked her about it she replied with, "It was DISGUSTING!" lol

Yesterday I asked her why she didn't share that with me and waited to tell Amber she said she had thought she had said so to me. I was laughing and told her that she didn't have to stand at the foot of the bed to watch if she didn't want to. She informed me that she was bringing her blindfold in case she didn't want to see and that she wasn't standing at the end because she "didn't want acid shooting out" on her. :D Cracking up laughing!

"Uhm...L'il C, that is not acid. That is blood, water, and amniotic fluid. Acid would eat through everyone's skin."

"Oh. Well then I don't want that other stuff shooting out on me then."

Love it.

Technology

2011-04-06T07:59:00.000-07:00

If someone knows how to fix my paragraphs that suddenly stopped working, please help!

Happy 25th Birthday Hot Husband

2011-04-05T08:06:00.000-07:00

We all had a good weekend. Took L'il C to see the movie HOP. We really enjoyed it. It is hard to find good clean kid's movies. Most of the time PG movies push their limits with the crude humor.

Saturday L'il C had a dance competition. We got there at 9:30 and didn't leave until 1:30. All that time to be there and wait for a 2.5 minute dance. She did very well though. I enjoy watching her talent. She is somewhat inhibited perfoming in public (except on her terms) so she always gets very nervous when she has to sing, dance, or be the star of a play. But she always rocks the house.

Sunday after church I cooked lunch for Brad for his 25th birthday, which was yesterday. He LOVES Mexican food and that is my least favorite. I told him I wouldn't cook anymore until after I was pregnant because I just can't deal with the smell or the taste. But...since it was his birthday I pushed through. Truthfully, what I made wasn't bad at all and I actually enjoyed it. We had a few friends over and spent a great deal of time outside enjoying the beautiful weather.

After most everyone left, one of the families that was there invited us to go down to the riverwalk so the kids could play in the arcade and then everyone could eat Marble Slab ice cream outside. I loved the cheesecake icecream with fresh strawberries blended in. It was a most relaxing day.

All Brad wanted to do for his actual birthday yesterday was watch the championship basketball game between Butler and UConn. He generally routes for the underdog so it was all for Butler. Both teams played pretty sorry but UConn ended up winning.

27 more days until Baby A is supposed to arrive. I am more than beyond ready for her to be here. Her nursery is adorable and completely finished. I don't have anything else to do. Now I am bored waiting for her. Plus my stomach is maxed out with baby and I am way passed the point of any position being comfortable for any length of time.

I am looking forward to this Saturday. It was the only day in the last month that was available for maternity pics between mine and my busy photographer's schedules. I don't have anything spectacularly stunning to wear so I hope they turn out okay. ;) If she uploads them I will try to post them to the blog.

Until next time......

Birthing and Labor DVD's

2011-03-31T12:46:00.000-07:00

The count is on! 32 days until the estimated due date of my 2nd daughter and I am so ready!!

I have evidently forgotten so much in 10 years about the craziness a body goes through to house a child for 40 weeks and I am NOT one of those "it's so nice to be pregnant" kind of people. I LOVE being a mommy once the child is born.

Needless to say, I do remember what it was like giving birth and it really wasn't bad the first time. (realizing that all births are different and the 2nd may be harder) I went in at 7 a.m. By this I mean my husband took the time to park the car in the parking garage and we walked down the airway to the hospital, up to the labor and delivery floor and checked in. They didn't believe I was in labor or that I walked up and was not rushed up in a wheelchair. I let them know that my contractions were 3-4 minutes apart and that if this was Braxton Hicks I would just as soon they lie to me and let me stay. I was dialated to a 4 and they kept me. Not long after I had my epidural and played the waiting game. The epidural slowed my labor and they gave me a shot of pitocin to speed it back up. At 4:45 the doctor walked in. I pushed twice and she was here at 4:47 p.m. No lie. Everyone joked that I had no idea what it was like to give birth.

Now albeit I have had one child, this is Brad's first. He and L'il C are my 2 chosen people that I want with me in the delivery room. I told L'il C months ago this and that I was going to have her watch a birthing video before we go so she has an idea of what to expect. Brad found out about the video and was adamant about watching it as well. I thought he was kidding. He was not. He is really nervous and does not want to pass out from what he may or may not see. This did make me laugh a little. Men! We women are truly the stronger beings. :)

I just received a call and the videos are in. I WILL be watching them first to make sure they aren't the goriest of videos. We sure don't want him freaking out for the next 4 weeks. :D

Goulash and Brownies

2011-03-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

I must say I made the most scrumptious goulash ever last night. I have never been a huge fan of the stuff but I found a recipe the other day and was truly looking forward to trying it. I am so glad that it did not disappoint! It was very simple and we all had seconds!....Yes, I did pay for it later with my exteremely tight tummy. Then Brad wanted me to bake brownies...and who can resist hot homemade brownies. I ate a couple of those as well. :D

Goulash recipe thanks to C. Beasley:

1 lb hamburger meat
1 large onion
1 1/2 c uncooked macaroni noodles
1 T flour
1 T vinegar
1qt/4 c tomato juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 c shredded cheese(I used mozzerella)

Combine hamburger meat and chopped onion in 12" skillet and brown. Stir in uncooked macaroni noodles while meat finishes cooking until the begin to brown.

Add flour, vinegar, tomato juice, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer until half of the juices cook out and the macaroni is tender. Stir in cheese. Serve!

Playing Catch Up

2011-03-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday the church I grew up in threw a baby shower for us. There was over 50 people there. We received a wide variety of things. I don't have digital copies of the pictures yet so I don't have any to post. I was very surprised that the amount of duplicated items were slim and there was only one bath set. (Which is okay by me because I like certain brands...primarily because most scents give me headaches.)

We now have everything we need. I was so excited. We have the beautiful crib and bedding that we wanted, the 2 carseats we needed/wanted, the high chair we wanted and a variety of smaller things that we wanted and needed as well. We ended up with 1,012 diapers from Newborn-Size 2. That should last a month or two! :D

L'il C and I have been going through the clothes: taking the tags off of everything and washing them before she gets here. Baby A's nursery is almost finished. I just have to buy curtain rods for the windows.

We went to the doctor last week. L'il C had asked me previously, "What happens if it ends up being a boy?!" I won't lie, I hadn't even considered it after the ultrasound showed it was a girl until she said something. Then I started to panic since we had found out at 13 weeks.....what if it did end up being a boy?! So I used her as the reason I asked the doctor to check again. :D

He did and reassured us that it was 3 billion percent girl! Thank Goodness...I already washed the clothes!

He said if it ended up being a boy he would paint our entire house, make us dinner, and carpool us around where ever we needed to go. I should have told him even if it wasn't he still could do those things. It would be nice. :D

Favorite Holiday

2011-03-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Age Appropriate Bedtimes

2011-03-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

So here is something I have been pondering lately.

L'il C is 10 years old. At my house she goes to bed between 8:45-9:30 every night and wakes up at 7:00 every morning. So even at the very least she is still getting 9.5 hours of sleep. On weekends and holidays I make exceptions. If we don't have anything going on early the next morning I let her stay up til 10-10:30 and til midnight when she has a friend over. The only time I ever have her take a nap is if she is up til midnight and wakes up before 7. Then I have her lie down for 1-2 hours to accomodate for the lack of the 9 hour frame and to keep her attitude in check. :D

According to webmd this is what it states:

7-12 Years Old: 10 - 11 hours per day
At these ages, with social, school, and family activities, bedtimes gradually become later and later, with most 12-years-olds going to bed at about 9 p.m. There is still a wide range of bedtimes, from 7:30 to 10 p.m., as well as total sleep times, from 9 to 12 hours, although the average is only about 9 hours.

However when she goes to her dad's he has her showered and in bed by 8:00 p.m. every night she is there with the occasional promise of staying up late.....which is 9 p.m.! Really?? Then after her staying up to the ridiculously late 9 p.m. he has her take a 2 hour nap the next day. Now I am not talking school days people, I am talking weekends, holidays, summer, and spring break.

They have a son that just turned 6 years old.

According to webmd he should get:
3-6 Years Old: 10 - 12 hours per day Children at this age typically go to bed between 7 and 9 p.m. and wake up around 6 and 8 a.m., just as they did when they were younger. At 3, most children are still napping while at 5, most are not. Naps gradually become shorter as well. New sleep problems do not usually develop after 3 years of age.

You do see that at part where it says "At 3, most children are still napping while at 5, most are not"....

Even the 6 year old is too old for naps. Yet for the lack of any better reason to guess, I am assuming her step mom wants the 2 hour break and has them both take a nap regardless. L'il C is getting fed up and feels "babyish" but what can I say without dissing her dad's rules?!

I can't very well complain because it isn't like they are being bad parents. This just seems like a ridiculous expectation. At what point are they going to realize that L'il C is 4 years older than their son and stop treating her the same?

Would this bother you or am I being ridiculous? :D

Friendly reminder

2011-03-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

In response to the previous blog:

"Sometimes we just have to put stuff in a bubble and blow it away. No need to have negative stuff around." ~Thanks Lori!

People and Their Rude Uncensored Comments

2011-03-15T10:22:00.000-07:00

To post this or not to post this...that is the question..... A few years ago my faithful readers were random internet friends that had never met me. In the past couple of years, I have added a few people here and there that actually do know me. I don't mind sharing things with friends but sometimes you just need a secret place to vent with out being judged or having the people you are talking about judged.

Having said that if you know me and are reading this I will beat you up if you judge the people I am referring to, as that is my job only. :D But today I need to vent....although it is not limited to just these people or just these converations. It is crazy how many people want to give their opinions or advice on personal subject matters when they should just keep quiet. These are just the ones that have affected me the most and are the most recent.

************************************************************

I would consider the age of 32 to be a grown adult. I am just sayin'. I feel that even with the flaws and imperfections that every person has as a parent that my parents raised me the best they could and that I turned out to be a decent person with high morals, good ethics, and a great life.

It makes it really hard when you realize someone loves you more than any human being could (after all she did give birth to you) and they have no confidence in you or the decisions you make. This has been something I have had to deal with my entire life. I have always been told to seek wise council. I have also been told that I am unteachable. The truth of the matter is, this is all said and only said when I make a decision that is not the decision she would make for me. There is not much I could do when I lived at home. But I have now lived on my own for 13 years. I am married to an amazing man. I have a 10 year old daughter and one on the way. Things still have not changed.

It is very frustrating. What could have been something great, advice from a person that loves me beyond compare, is now something I despise. The endless newspaper clippings that are brought to me telling me about anything from "eating dinner as a family" to "how much sleep a child should have" to "being a stay at home mom" are great, and I am sure are given to me because she means well. But when they are doused with condescending attitudes and words of "you should really do this instead" or "why in the world would you do it that way"?!? it is really hard to swallow the advice.

When my now exhusband and I were talking about having L'il C we were indecisive on whether or not we wanted to bring a child into this crazy world. Mom offered her two cents of "good people need to have kids so that there can be some good in this world to offset all of the bad."

Now when my husband and I discussed with each other about having another child, Baby A, she caught wind of the discussion and gave her unsolicited advice of "there is so much bad in the world you shouldn't bring another child into the world and have to worry about her so much." Hello?? I have turned one child over to God and if he can take care of her, he will take care of any and all children I choose to have.

After a conversation recently, my mom picked up on something I had said by accident and abruptly looked at me and asked, "You mean you are planning to have more kids?!?!" ---How stinkin' rude can you be?! I know she was in shock and her main duty in life now seems to worry excessively but why can't her first response be that she is happy for me? This is not her decision to make why does she make me feel like I needed her permission?!

When I called to tell my Grandmother that we were having another baby (Baby A) she was in shock and the only thing she said was "Why?!!" Eventually, I received a card in the mail congratulating me. But seriously?!?!

My mom just got back from visiting this same Grandmother who had asked if my sister was planning to have kids. Mom told her she wasn't sure. She told my mom that she would be okay if they never did. Why on earth she would say that is beyond me.

Again, at 32 years old, I do not need to fill out a requisition form to ask permission to make a decision concerning my life and it hurts my feelings that the confidence isn't there to appreciate the fact that I am capable. I believe I was raised right and I am quite capable and 100% confident that I have the God given ability to make wise decisions and the answers I don't know I will seek wise council...from the source of my choice.

Sincerely Frustrated

1st Shower for Baby A

2011-03-08T08:26:00.000-08:00

My sister and mother did an incredible job hosting a shower for me with my close friends. Great food and fun decorations....and Amy only added just one cheesey game (her words). :D

My mom took these pictures so she didn't make it in any of them and I don't have the copies from the other cameras yet. I told her candid shots so most of the time people are making funny faces from talking.

Love, love, love my friends that took the time out of their busy schedules to spend time with me. It meant so much to me for them all to be there.

Amber, s-i-l Carolyn, & Cindy

Two of my sister-in-laws, Jaime & April is hiding her face. My m-i-l, Terri, is cracking up because everytime my mom tried to take a picture of her she was taking a picture of my mom.

Candace is cracking me up in this one.

Not sure if she is looking at the dog or stretching her baby bump.

Jaela, her 2 girls, Mickey, & Candace

Annette, Katie, & Starr

My awesome hostess and sister, Amy, playing the one cheesey game. :)

Love fun handmade gifts..thanks Katie!

(L'il C is patiently waiting for me to open her gift.)

Another fun gift my friend, Annette, made.

My sister-in-law appreciates my love for St. Patrick's Day!

The crib my wonderful family bought for us!!!! Love it!
I didn't want to load and reload it so they had it delivered to my house. :D

My most precious gift was from my daughter. She, with my mom's help, made this blanket for her sister. She picked everything out and hand darted all of the squares together. She was very excited for me to open this. It was perfect!!! Thanks L'il C.

Look how proud she is...as she should be.

All the fun goodies, minus the crib, on my couch for Brad to see. :)

Most importantly, thanks to everyone that showed up. It wouldn't have been a fun party without you. Thank you as well for the fun gifts. I love them all.

Please Help!!! Eviction Notice Given

2011-03-03T09:47:00.000-08:00

Eviction notice given. Needed: 1 single dwelling, expanded living space for next 2 months for tiny growing person to continue developing. Has outgrown current living conditions and walls can not be expanded any further without damaging the facility. Contact immediately if you have such space available. :D

Just one?!

2011-03-01T07:59:00.000-08:00

** Preface:
I haven't made many posts of the funny things L'il C says anymore because I didn't realize how much it embarrassed her and made her start being on the introverted side. I never ever wanted to do this to my child. I have tried to explain to her so many times that she is my joy and that when I laugh at the funny things she does, it is a good thing. And even more when I tell people the funny things she does it is because she makes my heart smile.
Having said that...it has been a while and she made me smile yesterday and I truly think that one day she will appreciate me documenting the funny things she said.

So.....

Yesterday after I picked her up from school I stopped by the house to get something. L'il C asked if that was all I was getting because she would stay in the car if it was. I told her no that I intended to let the dogs outside as well. She said in that case she was going to get out for a breath of fresh air.

I told her to only take one. She said, "Huh?!" I told her that she had said she was going to take A BREATH of fresh air and for her to only take one. She laughed and said, "In that case, I am going to get out and take a multitude of breaths!" :D

What kid says multitude? What grown up for that matter?? L'il C, I love you. You are so funny.

Single Digit Countdown!

2011-02-28T11:47:00.001-08:00

9 more weeks til my estimated due date (EDD)!!
Tummy extremely tight: Check
Back pain: Check
Lack of sleep: Check
Constant state of tiredness: Check
Heartburn & indegestion: Check

Seems everything is running smoothly! :D

Can't wait to meet my new bundle of joy!

Welcome to Bipolar Weather & Baby Update

2011-02-03T12:27:00.000-08:00

This past weekend it was a beautiful 70 degrees and sunny. We had two fabulous days of playing at the park and walking the dogs!

Then we wake up Sunday to freezing cold temperatures. By Tuesday we have a record 14" of snow and we are stuck at home. This morning it was a warm -7 degrees with a chill factor of -20. Absolutely fabulous. That is even too cold to be excited to play in the snow.

Today I am watching all of the idiots, who think they have big bad vehicles, (geo metros and like vehicles) trying to drive in the snow. Within the past 10 minutes, what started as one stuck dodge caravan is now 5 cars stuck waiting for the caravan to move. One vehicle had his buddy come pull him out. But....with no such luck to the other 4, the buddy left them to fend for themselves. :D

On another note, being stuck home in this blizzard, L'il C was able to feel L'il A moving in my tummy Tuesday. She was so excited to finally feel her. Also, my beautiful baby girl opens her eyes this week as her retinas begin to form. Not sure what fun stuff she will see...if it looks anything like the 4D pictures I received, she should probably just keep her eyes closed and wait for a more interesting view! :) Monday will be the start of my 3rd trimester!! 12.5 more weeks until the estimated due date!!! Woo Hoo!

Welcome to 6 months/24 weeks!

2011-01-11T09:38:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe I am starting my 6th month of pregnancy. I read over my last post of having gained only 2 pounds and that soon people would be able to tell I was pregnant and laughed. I have now gained 6 pounds total.....and people are still telling me that I am not pregnant. Some of my closest friends said that there is no way I am pregant since I am still wearing a belt. Well hmmm....

I am pregnant, for real, and I am okay that I am not a 'big fatty'! (as L'il C would say) ;)

Time hasn't dragged too slowly as I have had weekly updates on the growth of my little one. However, I am ready to be at 40 weeks because I am ready to meet her. I can only imagine Brad shares this feeling as he has still not felt her move yet. But I promise she is....she takes a morning stroll, an afternoon swim, and an evening tour of my tummy everyday! I have a hard time breathin' every now and then but nothing serious.

This week she weighs nearly 1-1/2 pounds and is the length of a half-gallon of milk. (according to Parents.com)

L'il C's 10th Birthday

2011-01-08T16:47:00.000-08:00

All of the cliche' sayings you can say when someone turns 10 have been said. But as it was when she turned 9..halfway to an adult, this birthday was mixed emotions for me as well. It is all to present in my mind that I only have a few more precious years to spend with my sweet little girl at home.

L'il C, you are truly the most awesome gift. Ten years ago on this day your daddy and I welcomed you into this world and you have been an awesome joy for the last 10 years. From the moment I held you in my arms, to the first time you smiled, the first time I heard your tiny cry...and thought it was so funny/cute, the first time I heard your little voice, your first words and first steps I never realized that there would be so many firsts. Nothing has changed. There are still many firsts with you that I treasure. Your first bicycle, your first report card, your first childhood boyfriend, your first lead role in the school play have all been special memories to me. I love you each day as if it is your first.

Thank you for making it such a joy to raise you. I LOVE being your mommy!

Happy 10th Birthday, L'il C!!!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-31T10:04:00.000-08:00

Where has the time gone?! Christmas was nice. I only took time to put up the tree....all other decor stayed in the boxes. I had way too much going on. Every other year I have L'il C before Christmas and cram everything fun in that we can. I like making memories more than having a decorated home...thank goodness. :)

One morning she and a friend went to have brunch with Santa. That was fun.

The 3 of us also enjoyed the Christmas Train. My camera isn't that great so the pictures at night were mostly blurry. Here we are on the train.

L'il C had a major event....starring in the lead role of her school Christmas play. She was ecstatic. She played the role of Dr. Newheart in the play A New Heart for Christmas. She even had 4-5 solos that she did an amazing job singing. My heart smiled. She makes me so proud.

Cheesing at my mom's by the tree before Christmas

Christmas Eve was when we decided to celebrate Christmas since L'il C went to her dad's at 2 p.m. We wanted to give her time to play with her presents and have a nice Christmas dinner as a family.

(Spoiler Alert:)

This year we did have a discussion about Santa, The Toothfairy, and The Easter Bunny not being real. She says she figured it out last year but some of her questions were a little to sweet, sincere, and with hope. So I am saying it wasn't until this year. I must say I was very sad the fairy tales came to an end. She is most excited about pretending with her new little sister though.

19 Weeks

2010-12-07T10:21:00.001-08:00

One week away from half way. It is hard to believe! I went to the doctor yesterday. He made it a point to tell me that it is STILL a girl. :) Whew! No sex changes in the last month.

I finally have a small baby bump. I gained 2 pounds this month. People will actually start believing I am pregnant. Every time I told someone I was pregnant they would look at my belly and let me know that I didn't look it. Which at 2 months, DUH!-the baby is miniscule. But by 5 months I thought I would be HUGE since this is my second child. I am very happy with only gaining 2 pounds so far.

Dr. N showed me the ultrasound but didn't print any pics off for me. So I don't have an update. But she is growing and is healthy. Woo hoo! L'il C reminded me again last night that I was having a girl. She is really cracking me up.

In all honesty, I am thankful (not that I could change it! ha) that my girls will be 10 years apart. I have really cherished raising L'il C. The bond we have is worth more to me than gold. She truly is an incredible kid!

It's All About Me

2010-12-01T22:55:00.000-08:00

Being that today is my birthday I would just like to say, "Yes, today IS all about ME!" :) This has been the "law" since I was born. In my family, a person's birthday is a big ole deal!

Therefore, just in case you want to adapt this "law" you may need to know that we apply the same rule of thought to "half birthdays". :) There is always a good reason to have a party.

We did the family dinner Monday night so I have really been partying for a few days.

I was surprised this morning with breakfast, scrambled eggs and toast with peanut butter and honey, from L'il C and Brad when I got out of the shower. It was a most yummy idea that L'il C had. (Brad's thoughts don't start processing til later in the day.) :)

I didn't have a thing planned so I went to several different stores and did some shopping. I met Brad for lunch at Olive Garden. It too was yummy. I gorged myself on my fettuccine alfredo , breadsticks, and their famous salad.

Went and shopped some more. Found my delicious favorite Dublin Dr. Pepper at a specialty shop. Bought some.

Then after L'il C got home from school we went and watched Tangled together in 3D. This was a super cute princess movie. We really enjoyed it.

I received a lot of birthday wishes. I LOVE the feature on facebook that tells everyone it is your birthday. It just makes it that much more fun when other people can celebrate with you. Anytime I see a birthday on facebook I make sure I wish that person a Happy Birthday! Because those days are all about them....and without them I wouldn't have any friends. :)

But today......is all about me! :) Happy Birthday Me!!

Life As We Know It

2010-11-30T09:46:00.001-08:00

L'il C is more than excited we are having a girl....reminds me daily as if I had forgotten. She writes on all of her school notebooks, "(L'il C) loves (Baby A)". It melts my heart. We found a nursery set online that matches the ladybug design of L'il C's room and she wants nothing more for their rooms to be the same. (Wonder how long that will last!)

My mom took L'il C Christmas shopping to get some ideas. She told me later that all L'il C wanted to do was look at baby clothes and baby items. But Grandma mentioned again that it was not the baby's day but hers.

Brad and I found a really good deal on a flatscreen tv. We are now only 5-10 years behind the Joneses' instead of 20! LOL. Good thing they aren't our role models. We haven't bought something to put it on yet, so it is on top of our humongous entertainment center that housed our boxset tv! Mwah ha ha ha. Ghetto!

I told them I wanted to wrap it and save it til Christmas but I was trumped by Brad and L'il C. They wanted to immediately open it and watch a movie on it. L'il C has actually been completely ready for school EARLY and without me telling her the step by step process the last 2 days just so she can turn on Hoodwinked on the new flatscreen! It is quite humorous. Forget nagging and pressuring and the constant reminders.....just buy a new flatscreen tv. :)

Baby 'A' weighs a whopping 7 ounces this week and is 5 1/2" long-head to bottom. I am loving these weekly emails. I wish I had something like that 10 years ago when I was pregnant with L'il C. It makes you relish every moment of your pregnancy. I love watching each new thing that is happening to her tiny body. It is truly the most awesome miracle ever!

Tomorrow is my birthday but we celebrated with my parents last night. We had a fabulous dinner and played Farkle afterwards. It was a good evening. I can't believe I will be 32 tomorrow. Where does the time go?!

Friday we are taking L'il C to ride the Christmas Train, about an hour north of where we live. It takes you on a tour of the birth of Jesus. It is a recreated old timey town somewhat like Silver Dollar City. I have heard it is an excellent place to go. We are looking forward to it.

Then Saturday starts the first of many Christmas parties.

After looking at my calendar, I only have 4 days in the month of December with absolutely nothing scheduled on them. WOW! Happy Christmas already! :)

At 16 1/2 weeks

2010-11-19T11:35:00.001-08:00

Oh good. Baby 'A' is growing toe nails this week?! That is awesome. Good to know.

It's A..........

2010-11-09T08:26:00.000-08:00

Our appointment was at 2:30 yesterday. We stopped by L'il C's school and surprised her by letting her go with us. She was super excited. I wanted her to be there if there was any chance the doctor was able to tell us the gender of our new baby.

At lunch that day I ate a bite of a brownie to insure that the baby was awake at the appointment and had some energy. I didn't want all of this anticipation to end in disappointment because it was tucked in a ball sleeping and I wouldn't find out what we were having. My daughter had cookies when I picked her up so I ate a bite of that as well. :)

We arrived and the nurse asked if it was possible to tell if we wanted to know. We all gave a resounding YES!!

The doctor came in and introduced himself to L'il C and they bantered back and forth a bit. It was funny as usual.

He asked what we were thinking the baby might be and we all said a boy. I told him that I had eaten sugar to wake up the baby. As he is looking at the ultra sound he said that I should have eaten something with "penis... paused as he realized my 9 year old daughter was sitting there....and then repeated "penis elongation" because it was not a boy...but was actually a GIRL!!

Indeed all of my witchcraft practicing friends were wrong. We will be having a sweet baby girl in May. :) None of us are disappointed. We are actually very excited just to know what it is to start planning the nursery. Brad just said this will give us a reason to try again. :D

When telling this story later to my mom, L'il C said that when the doctor looked at her after saying "penis" she should have looked at him and asked, "What is that?!?!" We started cracking up.

It was a very good day. We were pretty much shocked though that it was a girl since we had convinced ourselves that it would be a boy. L'il C just kept saying it over and over again. "My Mom is having a GIRL!!"

Slightly Disappointed...

2010-11-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

...Not because my baby isn't the gender I was hoping for, but because I still don't know....not because my baby was shy, but because I missed my appointment and had to reschedule!!!!!

Of all things! I was so looking forward to my appointment this morning at TEN!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! My appointment was at 9:30. They make you reschedule if you are more than 15 minutes late. (sniff sniff)

Now I have to wait until next Monday at 2:30! A mere tragedy. (only slightly exaggerated)

At least now if it has boy parts they will be bigger by Monday and it won't be as much of a guess. They grow a lot in a week you know! Hee hee

My Friends Practice Witchcraft

2010-10-28T08:19:00.000-07:00

October was my month to host Bunco. One of the girls suggested that it be a costume party for Halloween. That particular friend didn't even dress up....party pooper. ;) Three of us actually did, okay 2 of them dressed up, I just bought a witch hat and painted my face. L'il C ended up playing with us to fill in for the absentees so she put on a dress, sunglasses, and some bling; grabbed her soccer trophy to represent her "Grammy" and was Miss Hollywood.

It was a fun night of laughs and catching up. But the most fun started after most of the crowd had went home. Three of my friends stayed a while longer just to chat. Then one gets the great idea that we should do the ring test and the pencil test to see if they would tell me what the sex of my baby will be. The more she kept talking we told her that she also practiced witchcraft, but that was just a joke....I think. :)

No kidding BOTH tests said I was having a boy. They also told me to go check out the Chinese Gender test: BOY!

I do go for my next ultrasound November 2nd and there is a possibility I could find out what it is if the baby isn't shy.

I guess only time will tell but I won't lie, I am secretly jumping up and down at the thought of it being a boy.

Denver, Colorado

2010-10-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

What no pictures?!!? Oh wait. I have just one!

This picture was taken at the Ridge at Castle Pines North at the Golf Tournament Amy's company was hosting. We handled registration in the shade outside with strong winds at a temperature of high 30s. It was COLD! It took us until 11:30 inside and a mug of hot chocolate to warm up. :) We finally went outside and enjoyed the course via the golf cart.

I had a fabulous vacation of shopping, a nice hotel, and hanging out with my sister seeing all of the details of her job. We had a great time.

Thanks Amy for the invite!!

Carrie Underwood & Denver CO

2010-10-10T22:10:00.000-07:00

Saw an excellent concert in Tulsa: the amazing Carrie Underwood. As usual, her show was fabulous. The girl can sing!

Went to McNellie's to eat before the concert with friends. Then we all walked down to the BOK Center (several more blocks than we realized!). It ended up being rainy and cold after the concert. Oops.

Sons of Sylvia was the opening act and Billy Carrington followed.

Then the main event!!

I would love to say we had excellent seats like last time (floor seating). But even with the presale we got horrible seats. Nose bleeds, no lie. So unlike my awesome pics from last year, I didn't even bring my camera this year. :D

Here is an excellent shot from the last concert we went to so you can just look at her awesomeness.

I had set my alarm for 10:10 p.m. as it made the date 10:10 on 10/10/10. At that very moment Carrie belted out a breath taking version of How Great Thou Art. Chills down my arms people!

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I am leaving in a couple of days for Denver. My sister has a work conference and I get to go chill and hang out with her for a week. Super excited about that. It will be a much needed rest. Taking a few good books to snuggle up in our very nice hotel while it may or may not snow. :D

She has a president's banquet one night that she said I needed a cocktail dress for.

Let's see...Pregnant and white in a cocktail dress. Prolly not. I told her I was staying in and eating milk and cookies. (She may win. So I am taking a dress just in case.) Because honestly, I am not even showing yet I am just white. hee hee

10 weeks

2010-10-05T12:02:00.000-07:00

(Preface-Please comment on this blog only and not my other sites. I haven't broadcasted this anywhere else. Thank you!)

Went to my 2nd doctor's visit today. The doctor walked in and asked if I wanted to know if it was boy or girl. It stunned me. I said, "You can already tell??!"

He said, "Sometimes we can tell. But I was really just wanting to know if you WANTED to know.... I had a couple in here and I was just telling them all about their baby boy and how big is parts were and I looked over and the mom was crying. I said, 'Did you want a girl that bad?!' and they said, 'No, we didn't want to know what it was.'"

Oops.

However, my baby was not photogenic today, hiding neatly in the back. Everything looked good and seems to be growing on schedule. He measured the heartbeat again today and said, "Well the heartbeat looks like it will be a girl."

Me- "Really?! Because 3 weeks ago you said the heartbeat looked like a boy."

Dr - "Well good. I have covered all my bases!" :)

He keeps me laughing from the time he walks in the door. I don't go back for another month.

Second Anniversary

2010-10-04T23:45:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day. Today was our 2 year anniversary. I can't even believe how quickly the time has passed. I am married to the most wonderful man I have ever met. I am so thankful and blessed to spend a lifetime with Brad.

We slept until about 8 o'clock and only woke up then because the neighbor was mowing, we had turned off our phones to sleep in.

We had tried to finish Ironman 2 before bed and had fallen asleep so we went in the living room and snuggled to finish it.

We went to the state fair around 12:30 and ate delicious corndogs! (I only go to the fair for the food and occasionally if they have exotic animals I want to see those too.) We walked around till about 4:30 and decided to ride the skyride. We took our pictures with the sealions, who rested their heads on our shoulders and then kissed us goodbye.

After the fair we went and sat on a bench at a small lake in the area and watched the Swans. It was so peaceful.

Dinner was absolutely perfect. P.F. Changs!!!!! We had a nice large corner booth. I ordered my usual: orange peel beef! We received a complimentary appetizer and a fabulous dessert with pretty chopsticks that wished us a happy anniversary.

Then we concluded the evening out with a movie. Our original choice had a misprint in showtimes so we went with Inception with Leonardo DiCaprio. It was a good movie.

When we arrived home Brad had my favorite flower and my card on the table.

It was a perfect day!! Happy Anniversary, Love of my Life!!

(As I did not get on the computer after a long day I am writing this on the 5th to recap yesterday.)

Expecting

2010-10-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

(Preface-Please comment on this blog only and not my other sites. I haven't broadcasted this anywhere else. Thank you!)

L'il C finished 3rd grade with flying colors. I missed posting about our major Walt Disney World Vacation. Wow! I may have to go back and do that. 4th Grade has now started and the first 9 weeks are almost over.

Our most current news...... we are going to have baby #2. I know, right?! L'il C will be 10 years old when the baby arrives. She is finding that most hilarious. We are all very happy....and yes, it was planned. ha ha.

I sure never dreamed when she was born that the next time I would be pregnant would be 10 years later though. I am pretty sure being pregnant at 21 is a lot easier than being pregnant at 31. In fact, I would bet money on it. But....if L'il C is reading this, I do not endorse getting married at 19 just to have a baby at 21. :D

Aside from a constant state of nauseau and very consistant migraines, I am great. Ha ha!

It worked out perfectly for us to tell our parents on Grandparent's Day that we were going to have a baby. We asked them to dinner after church that night. We told them that L'il C had cards she wanted to give them.

Our parents sat across from the 3 of us. And opened the cards and read them aloud in unison. My mom leaning into my dad and his mom leaning into his dad.

"Happy Grandparents Day! We love you, "L'il C" and Baby (Last name)."

"Baby (Last name)??"

GASP!

They all responded identically at the same time. It was perfect.

We had told L'il C the week before and made her sit on the news. It literally made her sick to her stomach to not be able to tell anyone. (oops). We let her tell her dad that weekend when she went to his house so she could talk about it with someone for the 3 days she wouldn't be with us.

Mom has since started pulling everything out of her attic in excitement praying for a girl while the rest of us want a boy. It will be loved regardless but we want a shot at having one of each. And although the baby isn't due until May 2nd, she has already given us the crib to set up. :)

My first doctor appointment has come and gone. They due an ultrasound every visit so I already have the tiny peanut pictures. I was completely surprised since I only had one ultrasound total and that wasn't until 20 weeks with L'il C. L'il C made sure she told everyone at her school that I had a doctor's appointment. She is very excited.

My next appointment is next week. My doctor is hilarious. We love him. It will be exciting to see how much the baby has grown. According to the book I have, it already has fingers, toes, ears, the internal organs, the spine, and is growing eyes. :) Woo hoo.

Brad's brother said if people ask what are names are we should tell them ridiculous names. I thought that was funny. So....if we are having a girl, she will be called Bertha Rae. And if it is a boy, Bernie Ray. :)

Babies and Drills

2010-01-26T07:35:00.000-08:00

Last night we were pulling out of our driveway and noticed that our across the street neighbor, who is expecting a baby, had their curtains off of the window and that they had been painting the room.

The room was virtually empty, although it did have 2 plastic chairs and a drill sitting on the window sill. We were talking about the purple paint they had chosen for the room and that it must be the babies room.

I must have sounded inconclusive because L'il C very obviously pointed out, "Mom it has to be the babies room. There are chairs and a drill!"

Note to self: Times have changed. Babies now need plastic chairs and drills.

Three Random Funnies by L'il C

2010-01-19T08:48:00.000-08:00

The other day L'il C walks into my office, looks at the clock and announces, "It is happy hour!"
(gasp) I forgot to tell her that happy hour at Sonic is the only one she is allowed to go to. :)
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Yesterday afternoon L'il C let me know that she found out that Santa really doesn't deliver coal to kids that are bad. I asked her how she found that out and she said, "Because my brother was really bad and he got stacks of toys and no coal!" :p
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The day before yesterday, Brad sneezed really hard to which L'il C replied, "Good Grief! I think you just blew a CASKET!" :)
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2009-12-23T13:53:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF MY FRIENDS ON BLOGGER! YOU ARE THE BEST!!!

Welcome to My Town

2009-12-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

There is a shopping center in my town and at every place we have a stop sign in this parking lot this sign accompanies it!

Hustle & Bustle?

2009-12-15T08:48:00.000-08:00

Everyone always talks about how chaotic this time of year is. From time to time I have made this comment with justifiable reasons I am sure. But honestly, this is a fabulous time of year. Aside from my last minute stocking stuffer ideas, I have been finished with my shopping for about 2 weeks. I have what is called a Christmas Club account at my bank. Money is automatically taken from my checking account every week and deposited into this account. This makes for a great way to have a debt free Christmas every year. It also makes me get extremely excited about the first week of November since that is the day they give me all of my money back to go shopping with. I hit all of the Veterans Day sales and call it done! Do not even ask me to hit Black Friday sales.... I am out on that!

All though the cold chills me to the bone, it wouldn't be Christmas without the cold. I would have a hard time saying Merry Christmas in tropical weather.

I want the old fashion "movie magic Christmas". I want the snow and the sleigh rides. I want to snuggle by the fireplace and the countdown to Christmas movies with mommies and daddies kissin' under the mistletoe. I want the traditional family sleepovers with all of the cousins, giggling till really late, waiting on Santa and all of the kiddos in their footed jammies.

I also love my Christian traditions. I love the church Christmas plays, when inevitably the sheep will sneeze or the cow will hiccup and the choir will get tickled and the wise men fall up the stairs. I love making a birthday cake for Jesus and reading the real Christmas story from the Bible. I sing O Holy Night year round so it is especially fitting this time of year as well. :)

I love Christmas parties. I will have a different Christmas party with each group of people I know and still couldn't have too many parties. It is a time of year when people embrace each other and make time for those they love.

Hustle & Bustle? Maybe. But it doesn't have to be. You can make it stressful and all about the expensive gifts.

I recommend you take a look at what is truly important this year and enjoy Christmas!

3rd Grade Cutie!

2009-12-03T14:14:00.000-08:00

L'il C~ You light up my life! You are a great joy to me and all of those around you! Brad & I love you very much! We are so very proud of how you have grown up. You are intelligent, kind, caring, compassionate, sassy, and so much fun to be around. Be true to you!

Love,
Mommy

From Summer to Winter

2009-12-03T11:29:00.000-08:00

Time quickly passes when you are having fun!

I can not believe it has been so long since I have made a post. If there are any readers still out there, I am shocked!

I used to get so bored with people's blogs that only updated once in a 'blue moon'! I now qualify.

Brad and I have been married over a year now. L'il C is in 3rd grade and doing fabulous. She is also in dance again this year. Brad is busy with the youth group and I have been working diligently to become a director. I am polishing my business skills and finally applying the money management skills I was taught so long ago to actually start making a profit...instead of blowing it all on shoes. :)

Tito has lived to be 1 year old....although it will be another test if he makes it Jan 15th when I will have owned him 1 year. He pouts and goes to the bathroom in my floor. Or if we are out of town he will chew up our couch when we get back. (Even if my mom faithfully comes over to let him out and play with him 4 times a day while we are gone.) He now thinks that our Christmas tree is his personal pooping tree. UGH! If he wasn't so darn cute I would string him up by his toenails! :) I threaten everyday to sell him. Unfortunately Brad and L'il C will not let me....because again, he is too cute to sell. :)

This past weekend L'il C and I went with my parents on a 14 hour round trip weekend visit to friends we haven't seen in 25 years. It was a great trip and good to see them but that is more time than I can spend with parents. :)

I had a great birthday this week. It was very pleasant and an absolute perfect day. The weather was awesome, I got great presents, and I got to eat at P.F. Changs, which is my favorite place to go. My mom eats dry chicken and hamburgers with meat and bread only and I have never gone there to accomodate her but I decided we should go since she made me eat Furr's Cafeteria at some of her birthday dinners. :) She didn't even complain. We had a lovely time.

Christmas will be here faster than I can imagine and I am looking forward to it. I won't have a moment to breathe but it will be much fun.

People make fun of me because I live by my day planner. They call it my Bible. I don't go anywhere without it. But if they want to plan something they tell me to go get my Bible so we can plan. I am busy and that is the best way for me to function.

My camera went zoink and my cell phone won't transfer my pics so I am sad.

I hope you are all doing wonderful and it would be great to hear from you!

Love ya,

Sweet Yet Sassy

Claire....Yes, my avatar has a name.

2009-11-30T14:18:00.000-08:00

My sister and I were just contemplating the fact that are avatar is freakin' hot and we want our bodies to look that fake. :)

From My World to Yours

2009-08-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

Hi!

Kid's Kamp

2009-07-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

How brave were we?!?! My sister-in-law and I took 12 kids to Kid's Kamp for the week. We learned the what to do's and what not to do's of taking that many kids 3 hours from home for the week!

Rule #1: Do NOT let them start snacking one mile from home on a hot day. (Upset tummy's occur.)

Rule #23: Do NOT take an adventure hike up the mountain with 7 girls in the heat of the day with temperatures in the hundreds.

L'il C sportin' the do rag!

Masterin' Dodgeball

Just bein' cute!

Overall, we had a great time. We will be ready for next year but was glad to be home at the end of the week.

Branson & Nashville

2009-07-09T11:50:00.000-07:00

Well we survived our first family road trip vacation! L'il C asked us to take her to Branson since she had never been. I am still not sure why she picked there but we thought it would be fun so we planned it. Brad also wanted to drive on up to Nashville to see his college roommate.

We had a fabulous time. L'il C didn't fuss one time about such a long drive. She thanked me for the vacation and told me it was the best time she ever had. She also said, "If I would have known Branson and Nashville was this cool I would have wanted to come sooner." :)

Brad singing in the car on the way there.

We spent 2 full days at Silver Dollar City.

She enjoyed the water rides!!

We rode the train and saw several shows: Gossamer's magic show, the Saloon Show, Veggie Tales, and Jeerk, a rythym artist group. L'il C's favorite was the magic show. My favorite was Jeerk.

Veggie Tales

Jeerk

This was the coolest kiddie ride ever! I went and got on to embarrass L'il C and instead of embarrassing her she was glad and I had the most fun! Ha!

L'il C absolutely LOVED the roller coasters........ after a little bribing, coaxing, and pleading to ride them. :)

The Wildfire goes upside down several times. Brad had ridden this before and wanted me to ride it. I wasn't going to leave L'il C unattended while we rode it so I casually asked her if she would ride with us. "No way!", she adamently replied.

I asked her if there was anything I could do or say to make her ride it. Again, she said no. I waited a few minutes and added, "Is there anything I could bribe you with that you were really wanting?"

A moment of thought...."Well there is that tiger puppet that I was wanting up by the front door!"

Ah ha! There was my in. I told her that we could wait until tomorrow in case she wanted to back out. The puppet held to much of a hold on her and she decided to go ahead and do it the first day.

With her tennis shoes....she was tall enough.

She LOVED it. The next day she wanted to ride it....oops she had her flip flops on and missed the height requirement by an inch. We came back later to try again and she stood on her toes a bit. She barely made it. As the guy was checking belts in the row in front of us she says, "Man! It really helps to stand on your toes." ....Thank goodness he didn't hear her!

The above picture was taken in the Fire In The Hole. This was also a funny story. After riding the Wildfire I knew she could definitely handle this little coaster. I asked her if she wanted me to tell her when the hills were. She said, "Nah, I can figure it out." Okay sister....I didn't tell her it was an inside roller coaster in the dark. Ha ha!

After the first time she told me she was NEVER riding that ride again! I said, "Oh come on. One more time and if you want I will tell you where the hills are this time." She said, "Yes, please!"

She ended up riding it 10 more times over the next 2 days!

This picture was taken down on the new river walk in Branson. It was a really beautiful evening. We had a lovely time walking down the river walk. It was Sunday and all of the shops had closed but the restaurants were still open.

We dedided to eat by the dancing fountains on the deck at Texas Land and Cattle Steakhouse. It was yummy!

On the way from Branson to Nashville our stupid Yahoo Maps gave us the wrong directions and we ended up on curvy roads an hour out of our way. Our GPS couldn't even locate us. L'il C had her first dose of motion sickness so we stopped for dramamine and a map once we came to a tiny town called Ava, MO.

Her IPOD and movies kept her entertained on the trip. She had some other things but they weren't quite as entertaining.

Here she is singing Taylor Swift.

And here she is out for the count!

Welcome to Nashville!

Opryland Hotel

The first full day we were in Nashville Brad went and played golf with Tracy, his roommate and I took L'il C to the Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's Home. She absolutely loved it. I forgot however to take any pictures. We were there almost 3 hours and still didn't see everything but we were getting hungry and left.

Me, L'il C, and Amanda (Tracy's wife)

Where the Tennessee Titans play

Dinner at Ted's Montana Grill

(yummy yummy yummy food!!)

The Parthenon

The last day we spent the morning swimming at the apartment....which by the way is the same apartment that Jason Michael Carroll has been seen at the pool and his tour bus parks often. Ha ha!

That afternoon we went sightseeing downtown and went to the Parthenon.

It was a very relaxing trip. We can't wait till our next family vacation. Brad and I have already started planning it but L'il C doesn't know! It will be Spring of next year and it is gonna be a good one!

Greek Parthenon

2009-07-09T09:46:00.000-07:00

So it might be the replica but hey....until we make it to Athens.

Holy Rusted Metal Batman!

2009-06-02T11:56:00.001-07:00

Two posts in May? Wow. And to think I will be even more busy for June. Amy and I were just visiting about the fact that this is one of the only full weeks I will be at work for June.

Next Monday, Brad and I are taking the Youth to Youth Camp. We are excited about it. I enjoy the bonding time with the teens. We will be their "counselors" or "coaches", whatever you want to call them.

When we get back Friday we have to set up for our Kid's Day which is the next day. Therefore, that means Saturday we will be working the Kid's Day. That is a fun filled day outside with Jupiter Jumps, cotton candy, sno cones, popcorn, puppets, and other fun stuff to promote our Vacation Bible School.

That next Monday is our Vacation Bible School....every evening from 6:30-9:00. WOW! We are doing the Crocodile Dock theme. It is super cool. We always go way out for our VBS. The entire town loves sending their kids to our VBS. Our leaders and decorators do a great job.

Nothing is going on the next week as of yet, but we will leave that Friday for vacation. We are really looking forward to this! L'il C asked us if we would take her to Branson. She has never been. We are going to go spend a few days at Silver Dollar City. Brad also wanted to go visit some of our friends in Nashville. So we will go spend a few days there as well.

I told L'il C we were going to Nashville and she got very excited about being in Miley Cyrus's town. She immediately called her friend to tell her.

The conversation went like this:

L'il C - Guess what?!?! I am going to Nashville where Hannah Montana lives!!!!

Miss G - No way! You might see her at the store! If you do see her, have a piece of paper and bring me her autograph.

L'il C - What if I want to keep it?

Miss G - Okay, bring two pieces of paper so you can get one for me! That.is.so.cool!

Poor Song

2009-05-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

Randomly I break out in song....generally in an obnoxiously ridiculous voice just to annoy/humor L'il C.

When I drive I always have my rearview mirror on her so I can see her. (I don't need a lecture of safety.) We had been chatting and had stopped and the silence was getting to be too much for me.

So, I started singing humorously.

She looked up at me and said, "Come on Mom! What did that poor song do to you?"

And that was that! I died laughing yet again!

Teacher's Appreciation Week

2009-05-07T08:16:00.000-07:00

Our secretary at L'il C's school sends out a list that the kids can participate in for the teachers.

Monday the kids were to bring a piece of fruit.
Tuesday they were to write the teacher a nice note.
Wednesday they could make or bring a flower.

L'il C has enjoyed doing these so far....until today. We were on our way to school and she asked me what today's idea was. I told her that Thursday said: "Bring your best manners and be on your best behavior for your teacher."

Then I hear the biggest sigh and she whined, "But Mom! I did that yesterday!"

Me - "Great! Now do it again today! That is what she is wanting. I mean it! That means yes ma'am, no ma'am, please, and thank you and for goodness sake keep your mouth closed today and don't get your name on the board!"

L'il C - "No burping contests either?"

Me - "Please no!"

L'il C - sighs exaggeratingly "But that's SO HARD!"

A New Rich Husband

2009-04-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

Brad had all four of his wisdom teeth pulled yesterday. He is miserable.

Yesterday he told me that I needed to find a rich husband that will take care of me and love me as much as he does because he was dying! LOL!

The nurse and dentist called to check on him yesterday and I told them what he had said. They too thought it was hilarious and told me not to cash in the life insurance just yet.

Then this morning I was getting ready in our room while he was lying on the couch and I heard him tell Tito that he was glad that Tito was his friend. When we were getting ready to leave he told me that he was glad I was his wife and L'il C was his step daughter. I giggled at him. He realized what he was doing and said, "What? Being on your death bed makes you sweet and realize how important those in your life are to you."

I asked him to stay on his deathbed for a few more weeks! Ha!
He is a cute nerd!

3rd Day Concert ...to offset my sins for seeing Brit

2009-04-14T23:30:00.000-07:00

For Brad's birthday which was April 4th, (happy birthday honey!) I bought him 3rd Day tickets for the Revelation Tour Concert. He really admires Mac Powell, the lead singer, and hopes to one day sing just like him. :) I bought him the VIP tickets which allowed us to go to the 'Meet and Greet' before the concert, gave him a free CD, and let us sit on the 4th Row!

He was very excited about this and was telling EVERYONE!

An Australian band 'Revive' opened for Third Day. They were pretty good.

This is Revive with a relative of my sister's mother-in-law. Ha ha! She saw us and she didn't have her camera so she asked us to take her picture.

Then Brandon Heath was 2nd. We really enjoyed Brandon. We bought his cd.

When they led us up to the Mezzanine level we were in the middle of the line which just happened to stop at the elevators....the same elevators the band was going to enter from. Woot woot! Since Brad is 6'5" I joke that he needed to sit down so the lady behind us could get a picture. He did. But after he changed the batteries in the camera and had switched it off to wait, the elevator doors opened and he missed the picture opportunity. Figures. However, the nice lady behind us emailed it to me since Brad had been so gracious to get the heck out of her way! ha ha!

They signed our FREE cd and shook our hands! Brad was in heaven.

Brad with Mac!

Third Day really put on a great concert. I had never been a fan of theirs and couldn't really stand Mac's voice (sorrry Mac) before the concert. But I am a new fan. I really enjoyed being there. We had a great time and Brad LOVED the birthday present!

Road trip to the Britney Concert

2009-04-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

Generally when are family goes on trips, inevitably we are late getting out of town. This time it was neither mine nor my sister's fault but we were trying to leave at noon thirty and didn't leave until 1:30.

Although it wasn't what made us late, it was actually kind of sad because I did a little shopping that morning and out of nowhere this monsterous migraine attacked me. I thought I was going to die!!!

My mom called to check on me while I was lying down, once I finally made it home. I told her that I had taken some medicine but I needed to rest so I could be ready to leave at 12:30. She said, "What?! You are still going to go??"

"Uhm....yeah!" I was not going to let a migraine that was threatening my life keep me from this long awaited trip with my sister. ha ha.

The migraine subsided to a dull headache as we got on the road and my neck was still sore the entire day and part of Friday but that was much better than a migraine.

But enough about that nonsense. The trip was extremely pleasant. My sister and I had enjoyable conversations and really enjoyed each other's company. I honestly think this was the longest we have ever gone without at least getting on each other's nerves about something. It was SO NICE!!

The Hotel:

LORD help us! The hotel gave me the creeps. We were both cracking up at the heap of junk I had picked. Oops. The entire lobby/hallway was so intoxicatingly filled with cigarette smell I thought I was going to die of cancer from breathing on the way to my room. The doors refreshingly said "No Smoking." What a joke! Although the room was clean, it felt dirty. The carpet looked disgusting. The bedspread was a creepy green flower design that screamed, "Don't touch me. I am infested!" The sheets, as we later found out at bedtime, had holes. The room walls were a mint green while the bathroom walls were a baby pink. The beds were hard as sleeping on the floor. Neither of us slept much. We were right by the street and sirens were streaming by through out the night. A group of guys were playing basketball in the hall at 3 a.m. and the maid seemed to clean the room across from us ALL night!!!

Anywho, we won't EVER stay at that hotel again.

We made it to the concert with plenty of time to spare since our hotel was only a couple of miles from the Sprint Center. We quickly figured out we weren't the dominate fan base. We were neither slutty enough nor energetic enough. (We both had headaches and were just in chill mode.) :( There were girls and guys in the their late teens although way up to the ladies next to us that had to be in their 40's.

There were people across the street picketing those of us supposedly going to hell for supporting Britney. I was definitely amused and said a little prayer for their salvation as well. ha! Thanks for showing the love of Jesus, Mr. and Mrs. Picketers.

Amy and I shoved our way up to the front. Being that it was only the 2 of us, no one noticed us moving closer to the door. Hee hee.

We finally got in and decided to get some grub. I got a scrumptious bbq sandwhich, she got nachos, and we shared a delicious $4 pepsi.......one that I spilled all under our chairs because it was in my way in the dark. :(

The Pussy Cat Dolls opened. We knew more of their songs than we had realized.

Then....the lights dimmed. The intensity grew. And all of a sudden........

...circus performers. We were hoping for Britney but sure a circus could be entertaining. ;)

They were good. They had acrobats and other fun dudes to watch.

When Britney finally came out, we were very ready. The people all around us were screaming and hollaring as the loud music blared the speakers....and we of course held our ears! ...because were old! ha!

She really put on an outstanding show. Amy and I really enjoyed it. She had me drive back to the hotel so she wouldn't panic in the traffic. We decided to go by QuikTrip and get a donut for the next morning in case we missed the hotels lovely continental breakfast. Once we got back to the hotel we got ready for bed and watched Crossroads on Amy's laptop! ...Cause we are cool nerds and that is how we roll. ha ha!

The next morning we checked out and went on down the road to the Country Club Plaza. We went in the shops and had a nice time. It was close to lunch and we wanted to find a nonchain restaurant.

We found a perfectly lovely place called Tomfooleries! We loved their door handles! That is what made me want to go in and try it.

It was scrumptious!!! Amy had the Strawberry Spinach Salad and traded the grilled chicken out for the Coconut Chicken on the side. I had the Tom's Club and it was heavenly! I do not eat honey mustard....EVER! But this sandwhich had Raspberry honey mustard and it was YUMMY! The waffle fries had seasoning on it that wasn't any I had ever tasted before. I really liked them as well.

If you ever get a chance to try this restaurant you definitely should. I highly recommend it for the great food and the fun atmosphere!

Once we were finished eating, I wasn't really sure how to get back to the highway. So I went it to the store by where our car was parked to ask for directions. I should have turned around and walked right back out when I saw 2 young girls. That was my first clue. Neither of them knew how to give directions. So they called their manager over, who looked a lot like Cameron Diaz. She knew, but it was too far for me to remember. So....Amy and I decided to back track just a bit and go back the way we came. :)

The drive back was smooth. We only passed our exit once and were 30 miles down the road before we realized it so we had to take another highway home. :) Luckily, both of them came straight into our town and we didn't get lost. So much for our GPS system that showed we were still in our hometown...piece of junk. :)

It was a good trip for both of us. We had tons of laughs and that makes any trip worth it!

Brad had a sweet card and flowers waiting for me when I got home. What a perfect ending to a lovely trip!

Amazon Toy

2009-04-01T08:12:00.000-07:00

My sister sent me this link and I can't stop laughing.

This review followed which made me laugh even harder:

3,480 of 3,536 people found the following review helpful:
Great lesson for the kids!, September 9, 2005
By loosenut: I was a little disappointed when I first bought this item, because the functionality is limited. My 5 year old son pointed out that the passenger's shoes cannot be removed. Then, we placed a deadly fingernail file underneath the passenger's scarf, and neither the detector doorway nor the security wand picked it up. My son said "that's the worst security ever!". But it turned out to be okay, because when the passenger got on the Playmobil B757 and tried to hijack it, she was mobbed by a couple of other heroic passengers, who only sustained minor injuries in the scuffle, which were treated at the Playmobil Hospital. The best thing about this product is that it teaches kids about the realities of living in a high-surveillence society. My son said he wants the Playmobil Neighborhood Surveillence System set for Christmas. I've heard that the CC TV cameras on that thing are pretty worthless in terms of quality and motion detection, so I think I'll get him the Playmobil Abu-Gharib Interogation Set instead (it comes with a cute little memo from George Bush).

This Week for Me

2009-03-31T08:10:00.001-07:00

Well, my Husband left me.

Ha ha! Not even close to permanently, just for the week. He had a National Youth Leaders Conference in Dallas this week. He is pretty pumped. It is the first time we have been a part though since we got married and he will miss me terribly.....I will miss him too! (of course)

And can you believe our 6th month anniversary is this Saturday?! Holy smokes! The time has flown by.

Also, this Saturday is Brad's birthday. He will be the very OLD age of 23 years! ha ha! (Shut up Aaron! I know you would take this time to tell me how much more ancient I am!)

He will be back from Dallas Thursday evening but I will not see him until Friday night.

Why you ask?? Because although Brad is doing good Christian things, my sister has invited me/begged me to go with her to see someone a little on the risque, slightly more provocative side! :)

Amy and her friend from work made an agreement/promise to each other that if Britney Spears ever came remotely close to our area, they would go to the concert together. Except when it came down to it and Britney did come to the area, her friend is unable to go.

So.....you guessed it. I am the fill in friend. Ha! Not exactly, Amy just knew that I wasn't ever a Britney fan.

I have been trying to catch up on Britney's music so I won't be completely lost when we go see her this Thurday in Kansas City for her Circus Tour. All in all I am looking forward to the trip with my sister. It is going to be fun girl time. We are gonna stay the night there and hang out Friday.

I know you are all envious!

ZUMBA!

2009-03-26T13:45:00.000-07:00

Oxygen shortage to the brain! -That is what I had!

My sister told me about this cool class called ZUMBA that had started at our gym and thought we should try it! She said that it was like aerobics but with Latin dance moves.

Now I am not sure why, but my brain only heard 'Latin dance moves' and totally tuned out the 'aerobics' part. The class was from 5:30-6:15 and I had dinner plans at 6:30.

The sign had said, "Basic Class. Ditch the workout. Join the Party!!"

To me, basic means beginner. They just put the signs up last week so I knew that I had missed 2 classes.

The misunderstandings are definitely already stacked against me.

Let's review my thought process: fun.party.dancing.basic.no one else will know what they are doing since the class just started.ditching the workout.

Reality: class started 2 months ago.not basic.not a party.definite working out.must be able to 'groove'

I was worn out and Sweaty Betty when I left, no time to take a shower, and late for my dinner party. I made myself take a speedy shower and showed up in the nick of time.

And believe it or not..... It really was fun and I am going back again today.
But today, I.WILL! be prepared! (and be on the back row instead of the front this time!)

Vanity Plates -DISCOON?

2009-03-25T08:43:00.000-07:00

When it comes to vanity plates, I love trying to figure them out. I pride myself on being able to! It drives me crazy when I can't....especially if someone figures it out before I do. Some of them are quite funny, some of them I can't believe someone would have the audacity to put it on their tag. Although, I do like reading them, I wouldn't EVER get one...for one reason...Police! :) I drive way to fast and am not a very good driver and if someone turns me in I do not want to give them an easy tag to remember. I want the numbers and letters to be smudged in their head so that they won't be completely sure what they read.

Which brings me to the point:

I came upon a car yesterday as I was driving down the highway and it was driving me crazy to know what a DISCOON was on the tag of the car in front of me. I was certain that they had messed up something. I tried to make this be several things and it was starting to frustrate me.

As I approached the car it slapped me in the face. They hadn't messed up. My eyesight is just bad. It wasn't DISCOON it was DISCOQN. I was relieved because I could actually figure this out!

Tito.... Dog? Rat? or Texas Longhorn?

2009-03-19T10:17:00.001-07:00

Irish Proverb for the Day

2009-03-17T11:39:00.000-07:00

In wine there is wisdom. In beer there is strength. In water there is bacteria.
- Irish Proverb

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!!

2009-03-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

WHAT A FABULOUS DAY!!

As you are all about your day, doing the things you do, I am cooking my amazing St. Patrick's Day breakfast I wrote about here.

I am so super excited.

Brad and I are also going out for a fun Irish Dinner tonight as well.

HAPPY HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY from Sweet Yet Sassy!!

UPDATE:

Fried Canadian Bacon/Ham: Check

Over Easy Fried Eggs: Check

Sauteed tomatoes: Check

Sauteed potatoes: Check (although successful, I didn't like the flavor)

Toast: Check

Orange Juice: Check

Irish Tea: Check

Coffee: Check

Fried Mushrooms: Check (I hate the way these smell!!!!)

Scones: Check (almost burnt but in reality...cooked to perfection!)

Irish Pancakes: Supposed to refrigerate 'x' ingredients for 2 hours prior to cooking. ....oops. missed that part.

The end result...

...Success!!!

The Crack of Dawn

2009-03-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

Did anyone know that 4:30 came twice a day???? Apparently it does! One is mid-afternoon when my work day ends. The other happens to be the time right in between dozing off through a movie and my alarm going off in the morning. Who knew??

Well twice this week I found this time on my clock and I must say I wish it was by accident. But it wasn't. I actually meant to get up that early. And unless my husband is right and I got hit by the 'crazy train' I plan to continue doing this insane activity permanently.

What is that you ask?

Well, I have been waking up that early to go workout with my sister-in-law before work. We meet up there at 4:45 to work out on the Stride machines. At 5:30 we start on the ellipticals for 40 minutes and then off to tummy crunches. Believe it or not, I feel GREAT!

Her husband gets there at 4:00 since he has to be at work by 6:00. Holy freakin' cow. She is going to be out of town week after next and I actually slipped into greater insanity and told him in order to keep us on track, I would meet him there at 4:00 while she was gone.

Therefore, if I abruptly stop blogging, please know that I will look HOT but I died...
of insanity. Ha!

Sprit Week -Day Four & Five - Bad Mom

2009-03-13T07:23:00.000-07:00

Ugh..... I forgot to take pictures of my kid yesterday and today. Day 4 was Free Dress with a hat and silly socks. Day 5 was a sports jersey or sweats. Oops!

Spirit Week - Day Three - Camo

2009-03-11T09:51:00.000-07:00

I realized last night at 9:30 that L'il C didn't have any camo. The past couple of years she had a shirt she could wear.....she outgrew that. So I made a quick trip up to Wallie World to see what I could find. Apparently, camo is only popular in the fall/winter, even in the south! I found one pair of boys shorts and one pair of boys swim trunks. :( They swallowed her little legs but it was all they had.

It is freezing today so I made her wear tights under the shorts. She.was.not.happy. I listened to her whine and complain about it long enough. Finally, I told her if she complained one more time she was going to wear her uniform and the camo was going back to the store.

Although she was thrilled to wear the fun clothes the last two days, the tights were enough to 'ruin her day' today. Ha! Oh well. I am not sacrificing my kids health for cuteness. (I would only do that if it was for me.) :)

Spirit Week - Day Two - Twin Day

2009-03-10T08:24:00.000-07:00

Although today is 'Twin' Day, there were four of the girls that wanted to be a like. So they did Quardruplet Day. ha ha

Here the model is wearing the twin attire for the day: a black tee, denim capris, and a purple, black, and white scarf/belt/head band. ;)

Spirit Week - Day One - Clash/Bad Hair Day

2009-03-09T08:14:00.000-07:00

Every year, the week before Spring Break, L'il C's school has Spirit Week or Spiritual Emphasis Week. They memorize a new scripture every day. They also have certain extracurricular activities they can participate in for fun and their class gets extra points. In the evenings these consist of no electronics, reading a book, leading the family in devotion, play a game as a family, etc. During the day, they can dress up according to the theme. If they don't dress up they have to wear their uniforms and what kid wants to do that??

Today was clash and bad hair day. L'il C was very excited about this.

Here we have a pink head band, an orange, green, and white shirt, a red velvet skirt, one St. Patrick's Day sock, one Hannah Montana sock, and two different shoes. :)

Climbing Toys at Food Establishments

2009-03-08T12:50:00.000-07:00

Restaurants capitalize on their marketing strategies when they place jungle gyms and other various climbing toys in their food establishments. Every child loves jungle gyms and slides. I know with L'il C if given her choice over a restaurant with toys or without it will always be the one with. I was the same way.

However, as a parent now, those toys absolutely disgust me!!! With all of the food handlers classes that are given to keep people safe, how in the world can a restaurant have climbing toys inside? I know the two are not directly related but it still somewhat relates.

Generally, I insist that L'il C eats all of her food before she plays.

The rules on the toys states that the children must remove their shoes. I understand why this is a rule. They don't want fingers smashed, etc. Most of the time if a kid takes off their shoes, their socks come off as well.

Have you ever watched the kids playing? NONE of them stay in the designated play area. The kids are constantly running back and forth to their parents....on the dirty disgusting floor!! Then their dirty nasty feet go back in the play area. When kids climb they use their feet and hands. So everything their dirty feet have touched gets on their hands. (I think I am going to throw up!)

After playing for a bit, a parent will hollar, "Child, come finish your burger/fries/etc."

So here comes dirty little kid walking on the dirty floor with dirty hands and picks up their food and into their mouth goes all of the germs!!!

Ready for toys and food yet??

Fishing

2009-03-07T13:30:00.000-08:00

Today we took L'il C fishing. L'il C assured me that if I would let her set her alarm, she wanted to get up at 6:00 a.m. and go. We bought her a new fishing pole and she could not wait to go fishing. That was WAY to early for me to get up on a Saturday to go fishing so Brad and I decided to leave at 8:15.

We had to go to the bait shop and get some live minnows and planned to be at the pond by 9:00. Well, the bait shop wasn't opened by the time we got there at 8:30. We had to go back to the house to get L'il C a jacket so we decided we would take advantage of that time and go that. When we got back to the bait shop they told Brad they only took cash. So we left to go the closest convenient store which happened to have an ATM then back to the bait shop for the third time. L'il C's patience were running thin.

After we got the minnows, I told L'il C we had to go back home for something and the frustrated huff and look of disgust that she gave me made me lose it! It was hilarious. So I let her know that I was kidding and off to the pond we went! We were only 40 minutes late. :)

L'il C caught a good size bass and a crappie within the first 20 minutes. We were so excited. Then she didn't catch anything else the rest of the day. :( Brad hadn't caught anything with in L'il C's first two and then ended up catching 19!

First Bass of the Day

Good size Crappie

Brad's smallest fish

Brad's 2nd largest fish

Chillin'

Replacement Words

2009-03-07T11:45:00.000-08:00

Preface:

The other day L'il C comes in and says, "Mom, my friend at school told me that the 's word' means the same thing as poop. Is that true?"

Trying to smooth my frustrations from this child who keeps teaching mine cuss words, I calmly tell her that it does indeed mean the same thing but that the 's word' is not a word that should be used.

This isn't the first word she has asked me about. I always want her to feel comfortable talking to me about anything so I never make her feel bad for coming to me even if she says the word. I have learned the bigger deal you make out of something the more the child tries to get away with saying the magical forbidden word and uses it here and there to see how far they can push their limits.

This time she did not use the actual word but simply referred to it as 'the s word' so I knew she already knew it was an inappropriate word.

The story:

Last night Brad and I took L'il C to a hockey game with some friends of mine. My friend's cousin worked with American Airlines and had 20 free tickets so she invited us to go as well. One of the guys using one of the free tickets sitting near us was joking around with his son and called him a sh**head. I was shocked but L'il C nonchalantly turned around to him and said, "You should say poop. It means the same thing!"

I could.not. stop laughing.

Human Food - The Dog's Choice

2009-03-05T12:20:00.000-08:00

I truly wish dogs were repulsed by human food; the way it smells and tastes! It sure would make it a lot easier on me to resist those puppy dog eyes. It would also keep me from wrestling Tito away from my food when I am eating on the couch watching tv.

My Sweet Baby Dog

St. Patrick's Day Breakfast

2009-03-04T09:27:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know it isn't here yet. But it wouldn't be me if I this blog didn't talk about it before hand. I am really looking forward to St. Patrick's Day. I realize that Brad can not beat last year and I made him promise not to go overboard. This year we are just keepin' it simple. He just has to promise to wear green! :)

I was searching through my recipies the other day and came across the most scrumptious looking blueberry scone recipe ever! That is when it hit me! I am going to make the best Irish Breakfast for St. Patrick's Day an American can make! It will be more than myself but I am not inviting too many people. One....in case I royally screw it up. Two...this won't be cheap. :)

I realize I don't have access to some of their ingredients and that will limit me. However, I will not be sad in the slightest that Black Pudding will NOT be a part of my menu.

The proposed menu that I am planning to serve:

Irish Pancakes
Blueberry Scones
Fried Candian Bacon
Fried Mushrooms
Over Easy Fried Eggs
Sauteed Tomatoes
Sauteed Potatoes
Sausage Links
Toast
Irish Tea, which I purchased in Ireland while I was there!
Coffee
Cranberry Juice
Orange Juice
And Lucky Charms because Brad likes American breakfast better than Irish breakfast. ;)

Wish me LUCK!

Winter Jam and Movie Date

2009-03-02T08:39:00.000-08:00

Brad and I took the youth to Winter Jam Friday night. Neither of us had ever been. It is a concert with several great bands and a speaker or two. It is a $10 first come first served basis concert. Therefore, everyone in the city tries to be the first one there to get the best seats. We waited until our kids got out of school. We got there about 4:00 and the lines were already LONG. The doors didn't open until 6:00 and it was WAY cold.

The boys brought a football and were throwing it around the parking lot while the girls listened to their ipods and scoped out the cute boys.

We did end up getting in the doors which most of the kids were worried about. We ended up going straight for the second level to keep from fighting the crowds on the lower level. Our seats were still pretty good though.

Newsong generally hosts Winter Jam but tobyMac headlined. Hawk Nelson and several other great bands played. We had a great time! We finally got home around midnight thirty.

Saturday, for the first time in a LONG time we had absolutely nothing planned. It was so nice. We slept in til about 10:30. I made blueberry muffins for breakfast. We took showers and got ready for the day. Then we decided to lay around all day and watch movies. It was very relaxing and a great way to spend a cold Saturday. Snuggled up on the couch watchin' movies vegging out! It was a great weekend.

Raisin Pie

2009-02-25T13:45:00.000-08:00

I didn't even realize such a thing as raisin pie even existed so I had never tried one much less cooked one. However, if you were to ask me if I would like a nice hot slice of delicious raisin pie, I would decline. I have never been a fan of cooked raisins. I will eat raisins all day long out of a box but there is just something about the texture of a plump raisin that has been cooked that is less than appealing to me.

So, when I was asked to make a dessert for a lady in our church who just had surgery and her husband told me that she really liked raisin pie my face was a little less than excited. Then it became my mission. Not only was I going to make that raisin pie but I wanted it to be the best raisin pie ever!

I am an excellent cook and love even more to bake. I can make absolutely delicious pies, coconut cream pie for sure. But when it comes to the crust, it is so sad looking. I can never get my dough to roll out thin enough without tearing holes in it. With the coconut cream pies I just had volumes of meringue to cover up the ugly crust and no one knew any different.

Not only do I have to now make a raisin pie, I have to make a 2 crust pie in which the crust would be visible. I decided even more bravely to make a lattice crust on top.

The result:

Not only was it not bad to look at for a novice, it was the best pie they had ever eaten.....better even than her mom's!!!

I AM THE BOMB!!

Just for the record, here is the recipe I used.

Mimicking New Words

2009-02-23T08:56:00.000-08:00

L'il C ran up to me last night with her diary in her hand letting me know that her cousin was trying to take it. Not only was he trying to take it, he was copying everything she said. Since he just thought he was trying to take a book, he didn't know what it was called so it went like this:

L'il C - "Mom, he is trying to take my diary."

Cousin - "Mom, he is trying to take my diarrhea."

Stick People

2009-02-19T09:15:00.000-08:00

My sister-in-law forwarded me an email with these in it. I thought I would share them with you.

Signal Lights in Small Towns

2009-02-13T08:43:00.000-08:00

Just what we needed in the adjacent town....one more signal light!

As if I am not running late enough in the mornings to get L'il C to school, the town her school is in has added one more signal light for me to get stopped at.

Although it is important for large towns to keep the main traffic areas moving and all of the lights stay green, it is not true in small towns. They are set up so that every other one will be green therefore forcing you to stop at every light. When one turns green the next will surely turn red before you get to it.These small towns want to make sure you stop by every store front to insure you see their town.

I finally got down the drive time and the short cuts so that even if I am pushing it the very minute, L'il C still slides in without a tardy. I can't get around this new light because it is at the edge of town and there isn't a side road bypassing it.

Sorry L'il C, you may start getting tardies!

Random Update on Life

2009-02-10T08:45:00.001-08:00

My posts have been limited. My apologies. I have been extremely busy. L'il C has basketball practice 2 nights a week plus games on Saturdays. We have church on Wednesdays and Sundays. I have Mary Kay meetings on Tuesdays. Which leaves Fridays and Saturdays evenings....except they are generally crammed packed with events as well. I have plans all the way through April!

Holy stinkin' cow! (Although L'il C constantly reminds me that cows aren't holy!) :)

We have been non stop since Thanksgiving and it doesn't look to get any slower.

Amy had a birthday that we celebrated 2 or 3 days this last week. My dad had a birthday that we also celebrated. That was fun. Happy Birthday!!!

Here comes Valentine's Day this weekend. We have to work an event on Valentine's Day for our church so Brad and I will be celebrating Friday. That is okay with us. Maybe it won't be as crowded.

Speaking of Brad.... It is hard to believe we have already been married 4 months!!! Woot Woot! It has been an adventure. I still believe he is an amazing husband. :) He did however apologize to me this morning for being a bad husband because he is 6'5" and doesn't really fit into the full size bed we have. So he tosses and turns all night and therefore neither of us sleep!

We are currently looking into getting a King size bed! :) I had one before I bought my house 4 years ago but I sold it. What was I thinking?!?! ....Well it wasn't future thoughts of marrying a giant. ha!

We are STILL working on our bathroom! Keep in mind we only have one and it has been under construction since October. This is the same bathroom that was going to be finished before we got back from Ireland to surprise us. Still.not.finished!

Brad and I finally finished painting the walls yesterday. He is putting the new light fixture in this evening. We still have to paint the trim so he can nail that back in as well as the cabinets. Yee haw!

We have thoroughly enjoyed playing outside the last couple of days. I am so ready for Spring!

Brad on L'il C's bike! Ha ha!

I had this really thought provoking post that I was excited about writing today. Forgot it while I was sleeping. Better write it down next time!

I better get some stuff done in the mean time. Have a beautiful day!

Tito

2009-02-09T11:26:00.001-08:00

Isn't he just the cutest thing!!!

(Cute little girl in the background too!!) :)

If you don't like the weather, stay another day!

2009-02-08T11:13:00.000-08:00

That is the motto here in Oklahoma!

What I find to be funny is that everyone down plays the weatherman. They give him/her a hard time about never being right. If the weather man says there will be 20% snow that means 100%. Or if he says there will be 90% chance of rain it will be sunny and beautiful.

Yet........

We always watch the news or call the weather man to see the forecasted weather for the day!

Hmmmm.....

Winter Golf

2009-01-19T09:21:00.000-08:00

It was way too cold to be out golfing today.

But, that is exactly what we did.

Brad and I played 18 holes of golf today with chapped cheeks, frozen
fingers, and winds that would make a polar bear howl!

I thought it was going to be mid-high fifties and to me that was tolerable weather to play golf.

It wasn't. We had fun but we will wait for warmer weather next time.

Our Newest Addition

2009-01-16T07:55:00.000-08:00

No!!! I am not pregnant! Yesterday afternoon we bought our first puppy!

Meet Tito!

He is 1 pound 6 ounces and is 7 weeks old. He is paper trained...thank goodness and slept all night long. What a good rat he is....I mean dog! He is so tiny the lady bought a ferret collar for him!

L'il C is extatic and whether Brad admits it or not, he too is already in love with the sweet thing!

You see Brad was adamantly against a dog. But I asked him to come with me to look at the puppy. He didn't want to go because he knew he would like him. And so..... we now have a dog.

...I hope he makes it at our home since he is so tiny!

UPDATE 2/9/09:

He is only partially paper trained! ugh! I have threatened to sell him 3 times.

His survival: I have stepped on him once and kicked him in the eye once. I almost cried. I felt really bad. Brad has knocked him off of the couch once. And I am not sure what L'il C actually did because she won't tell me but she too made him yelp once. Poor guy. But other than that he has survived 3 1/2 weeks.

The Ladybug Room

2009-01-09T08:45:00.000-08:00

I wish I could say how ugly the Strawberry Shortcake room was in all of its splendor and pink paint. I would also like to say that I did not think that when we decorated it this way that we didn't like it. But I can't. Because we did. And we liked it a lot. But....after 3 years of pepto-bismol pink walls and clutter galore it was time for a change.

The week after Christmas L'il C was at her dad's. So Brad filled the random holes. Then Brad, my mom, and I worked dilligently to Kilz (2 coats) and paint (2 coats) her walls, the trim, the ceiling, and the doors white. This took forever because inbetween each coat we had to wait for drying time.

Then I washed and ironed her new sheets. Yes ironed--because they looked like a crumpled heap of wadded paper! I made her bed and then added the ladybug wall stickers. After that I had to buy new rods to hang her valance and curtains because the other ones weren't long enough.

I still have to buy her new white dresser and mirror and nightstand. I am also going to buy wooden letters painted red, white, and black that spell her name for her wall but it definitely looks so much better now! I am sorry I don't have 'before' pics.

She loved it all when she got home but I think her most favorite part is the lamp by her bed. She wants it on ALWAYS and won't let me turn the regular light on. ha ha.

Ta Da!

The Magic of Eight!

2009-01-08T11:53:00.000-08:00

L'il C is Eight years old!

L'il C~

I can't believe you are eight years old today. My parents always said that the time would fly so enjoy being young. You are really excited that you are turning 8 on the 8th. That is pretty cool.

This year you have learned so much. Just the other day you picked up one of your first grade readers and exlaimed to me how easy those words are! Last year they weren't so easy. Your favorite thing this year to read is "chapter books" as you call them. Currently you are reading Anne of Green Gables. You give me updates as to what page and chapter you are on....moment by moment. I love the excitement in your eyes as you progress through the book with each page being an accomplishment! ...and it truly is you know!

Math is easy for you....but instead of taking your time you guess before reading the entire problem. We are working on getting you to slow it down just a bit.

Although you enjoy going to your dad's and seeing your brother, you are at the age where anyone younger than you is "annoying". Your brother follows you around everywhere and you are tired of it. But even though you 'act' tired of him, you wouldn't know what to do without him and you love him deeply. You are such an amazing big sister.

This year you also got a 'step' dad. It has been an adjustment on you but it is a positive one. You like Brad to be your personal playmate. You love it when he has pillow fights with you or when you push him off the couch. I am so thankful you love him so much and that he loves you very much as well.

Your enthusiasm for starting new things is impressive to me. I am still waiting for the day when you actually still enjoy what you started by the time you finish. You have started basketball this season and by game two you were ready to stop playing. So far though you have only lost one game and won 3. Stick with it Sweetheart!! I am so proud of you!

For Christmas this year, we redecorated your room. It was pink Strawberry Shortcake for the last 3 years. I was very tired of the pink. So, we went with ladybugs. We painted the walls white and accented everything with black and red.

You absolutely love it. You told me it was a 'more mature' room. Whew! Thank goodness. :)

This year you have fought for your independence more than ever. I won't lie....it is a struggle for me. I have had to be the one to make all of your decisions for so long, it is hard for me to let go. Slowly, but surely for the sake of both of our sanities, I am letting you make more and more decisions on your own....small ones of course. We don't want to go too crazy! :) This does require more teaching of consequences. As you learn to make your own decisions you are also learning the positive and negative consequences that occur from your choice. And although you want to be big enough to make your own choices, when the consequences are not in your favor you make sure I hear about it! ha ha.

This past year you have made known quite often what you don't like and what you can't stand. So for 2009 you are making a resolution to like more things. :)

Between your semi-grown up attitude and your new haircut you are becoming more and more of a young lady instead of a little girl. This is bittersweet for me.

Before school this morning we watched the video that we took on the day you were born. You opened one of your presents but are saving the rest for dinner tonight.

As you went to school today, I sent (upon your request) strawberry cupcakes with strawberry icing for your birthday. You were very excited about the special treatment your teacher was going to give you today as well; particulary the pencil she was going to give you and a hug from her.

Tonight you have selected Texas Roadhouse for your birthday dinner...you aren't spoiled rotten or anything! ha! You have been asking for steak dinners since you were little bitty.

Tomorrow you are going to have your very first slumber party. You can hardly wait.

Baby Girl, I hope you have the best birthday ever! You are so very precious to me. You will never comprehend the impact you have had on my life. The overwhelming love I have for you can not be measured. I absolutely love being your mom! Thank you for making me the happiest person on earth 8 years ago today and every moment since!

Happy 8th Birthday!

Love,
Mommy
XOXOXO

"I Still Believe"

2008-12-26T08:05:00.000-08:00

Every child should have the chance to believe in fairytales and have dreams beyond reality. We have always played Santa at our house but I was fairly convinced that since L'il C will be eight in January that her friends or someone had spoiled it this year....and that was okay with me. Eventually I realize we all grow up.

Brad and I had discussed this year that L'il C either still believed or was an incredible actress for our sake.

But...... as Christmas Day unfolded we had our answer.

L'il C and I made cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. I let her decorate them. When we were finished with the cookies, L'il C looked up at me and said, "Mom, would you mind if we left some carrots for the reindeer? We don't want to leave them out."

"You bet Kiddo!", I replied. "Do you know how many reindeer there are? I want to make sure I leave enough?"

"Uhm...." (trying to name them in her head).

"I think there are 8 plus Rudolph makes 9."

"Leave some extra just in case, Mom."

I ended up only leaving nine carrots but I left them on Santa's plate of cookies.

We set them under the tree and we tucked her into bed. Before closing her eyes she asked, "What if I hear the sleigh bells again like I did last year?" I told her to stay tucked in bed because Santa won't come in if kids are out of bed. I also told her that she was not to come wake us up until she saw sunlight. :) She said, "Okay, but make sure you leave a pen and paper under the tree so Santa can write me a note back."

Brad and I watched a movie to make sure she was asleep before we put the rest of the presents under the tree, filled the stockings, and read her note to write her a note back from Santa. As we opened her note to read it I almost cried.

It said, "Dear Santa, I am sorry. I love you very much. Love, (L'il C)".

What in the world does this precious little girl need to apologize to Santa for???? I let it go for the moment and had Brad write her a sweet note back.

"Dear (L'il C), Thank you for being such a good girl this year. I am so proud of you for making good grades. Keep minding your parents. Thank you for the cookies and milk for myself and for the carrots for the reindeer. They loved them. I love you. Love, Santa Claus".

At 7:22 there she was standing at my side of the bed.

"Mom! Can we have Christmas now?"

She ran into the living room and she hollars back at me. "Mom!! He came! He came!!!"

After all of the presents were opened and we watched a movie, we ate barbecue ribs and baked potatoes for lunch. While we are eating I asked her what she had written to Santa Claus.

She looked down and immediately said, "I don't want to talk about it."

Great! This made me feel even worse.

After a tiny bit more prodding she finally told me what was bothering her.

"Some of the kids tried to tell me that Santa wasn't real. I believed them. But now I don't. I know Santa is real!"

Pushing Kids to Grow Up: iPod vs. Doll

2008-12-18T08:37:00.000-08:00

The question I have is:

"Just because the item is the latest electronic item does that mean it is too grown up for a child?"

Here is where I am coming from:

L'il C is an only child. Barbies have long since been played with because I have no imagination and I don't entertain children very well. I would rather play board games or other things that interact with her than to play house and have to be creative. We do play together but there are times when I need for her to entertain herself....which is VERY hard for her to do.

For Christmas this year L'il C really wants this in lime green.

I remember when I was young, Walkmans were the 'in thing'. Everyone had one but me. If a child has a walkman does that mean as a parent they are trying to make their kid grow up?

I understand PG-13 movies for children are inappropriate even according to media standards. I understand buying a car for a child is unrealistic. I understand that some things aren't necessarily designed for children or are not necessarily appropriate for children.

But where is the line?

Just because my child wants an iPod for Christmas and we have the means to get it for her, does that mean we are trying to make her grow up too fast? She has a Nintendo DS (a child's game system). Is that any different? She is very responsible and takes good care of the items. I just didn't realize that a child had to be OLD before they could get eletronics for gifts. What if your child is a Techie in the making? What if that is what interests them most? Should you continue making them play with dolls if they are uninterested?

Comics

2008-12-16T07:55:00.000-08:00

Someone emailed these to me and I wanted to share them with you.

Winter

2008-12-09T13:56:00.000-08:00

There is a 65% chance of snow.

Now in my town that means slim to nil.

....except!...there is actually ice on my windshield right now!!

Bring on the snow!

Last Night's Dream

2008-12-08T12:32:00.000-08:00

Holy Cow! I woke up 20 minutes before my alarm went off this morning and could.not go back to sleep. I suddenly realized I had had an intense dream.

My dad was the President. I had just found out that my twin teenage brothers (I don't even have brothers) were in a drug bust. I was in a hurry and panicking trying to find my mom to tell her. At the same time I didn't know who I could trust because someone had said my dad was involved and I didn't want anyone to know what was going on. As soon as I found my mom I tried to pull her aside but kept getting interrupted. All of a sudden we were sitting on the back row in theater seating and someone asked for all of the lights to come on. (This was so they could find us.) I grabbed L'il C and told my mom to run that they had snipers ready to shoot us. I quickly learned that my dad had not been involved but he hadn't said anything to us about the drug bust to try and protect us. We were racing down stairs and into a tunnel to try and get away from the secret service who were now out to get us. I was carrying L'il C so she could keep up.

Then.... I woke up!

What did I eat before bed?!? WOW!

A New Way To Read A Book

2008-12-04T07:25:00.001-08:00

This morning as I was getting ready, L'il C got under the covers in my bed and started reading to me. She was supposed to be getting ready so I am sure this was partly a stall tactic but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I am so excited that she loves to read because at one point she did not.

She had read outloud to me for about 5 minutes and I guess she was getting tired of that because all of a sudden she asked me, "Can I read in my mind now??"

....I wanted so much to smile or laugh, but I held it in so that she would not forbid me not to tell anyone. :)

Bring on Christmas!

2008-12-03T08:48:00.000-08:00

Now that Thankgiving is over, I can officially start celebrating Christmas! It is a pet peeve of mine for celebrating one holiday before the holidays before it are gone.

Every year we put up our Christmas tree on my birthday. It is something I have always looked forward to and now L'il C does as well. We got a bigger tree this year and it is so beautiful. It took a while to seperate all of the branches and L'il C was getting bored. But we finally finished that and she started adding all of the ornaments while we listened to Christmas music.

Poor Brad snuggled on the couch under the blanket since he is still sick and wasn't feeling very good. But he wanted to be a part of the family affair.

I can't wait to finish all of the decorations this week and L'il C is more than ready to start making Christmas cookies!

Three cheers for Christmas! Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray!!

The Everlasting Birthday!

2008-12-01T21:55:00.000-08:00

Today is my 30th Birthday! Hard to believe!!

My friend, Jaycee, teases me about having the Everlasting Birthday. I told her that she should insist on one! :) Birthdays are huge in our family...well mainly to me and Amy. :) It isn't necessary to spend a lot of money on the birthday person just make a big deal of them. Quality/Quantity time spent with them.... oh yes and lots of "Happy Birthdays!"

I don't care if people call me with belated Happy Birthdays because I get to celebrate longer! hee hee

Brad is such an amazing husband! I already knew this but he always continues to surprise me! The day before Thanksgiving he got really sick with a deep chest cold and still continued on like a trooper!

Monday he took me to Sears to have family pictures taken. I have been wanting this for a long time! That really meant a lot to me.

Friday we snuggled on the couch and watched movies. This is one of my favorite things to do.

Sunday he took me to lunch at P.F. Changs!!! My absolute fave! Then we drove through the park and looked at Christmas decorations. I didn't know at the time this was done to stall because he had a surprise party planned at 2:00 and lunch finished an hour early. Some of my close friends and family had shown up with Brad's invitation.

He had his mom make me a cake with no icing and had it served right out of the oven. I LOVE hot cake!!! To some, this may seem minor. But to me this was HUGE. It was scrumptious. I thought it was pretty cool that he remembered this was my favorite way to eat cake. We don't have cake very often so bonus points for him.

Brad took L'il C shopping to get me a present. She also made me a HUGE card out of posterboard.

Brad and L'il C took a vote to let me sleep in this morning! He took her to school for me. I stayed in bed until 10:30!!!! Heavenly! Note...I did not say I slept until 10:30 because that would mean I was unloved. Why? Because there would have been no birthday calls waking me up every 15 minutes. But there were and I won't EVER complain about too many birthday calls! :)

Amy took me to lunch at noon since she couldn't make it to the family dinner. She was packing for New York so we stayed in town and ate at Rib Crib. We had a stuffed baked potato. It was very good. Then they gave me a brownie fudge sundae for birthday dessert! Thank you Amy!!!

Every year we go out as a family for dinner at the birthday person's choice restaurant. I try to pick a new restaurant every year. This year's choice was Fish Daddy's since I had not yet been. It was very good. I had a really good salad with their house dressing, Grilled Catfish and Shrimp, and hushpuppies. YUM!!! I ate entirely too much!

Brad, you are amazing!! Thank you for the best 30th birthday! It was very enjoyable.
P.S. I love you!

Thank you to everyone else that called, texted, left me messages on facebook and myspace, and emailed me!! You all are most awesome!

Revision to Honeymoon Story and Pics

2008-11-06T19:36:00.000-08:00

This took an eternity for me to upload and publish. I didn't want anyone to get the story out of order so I posted them one at a time. I am sure that not everyone has had a chance to see all of the amazing pictures so I am writing this post. I have changed the dates/times on all of the posts to read in consecutive order on one day. Therefore, rather than reading posts everyday for a month in backwards order they will show up in order.

Thanks! I hope you enjoyed them enough to make you want to go. :) For those of you that were bored and ready for me to get through all of these and post normally again... that begins now. :)

The Beginning of the Trip!

2008-11-05T21:00:00.000-08:00

Our Honeymoon trip to Ireland -Part 1

After staying up until 1:30 in the morning packing everything, 5:00 a.m. came way to early! We got up and made it to the airport in plenty of time. We flew into Chicago with enough time in our layover to grab something to eat.

A lady in our church made us Bride & Groom shirts to wear. She made them green since we were going to Ireland! At the airport in Chicago there were about 8-10 guys in athletic wear returning home to Ireland and they noticed us in our shirts. They were teasing us and asked us why in the world we would choose Ireland for our Honeymoon. ha ha! They said it rains all the time and we better have rain coats. They were pretty nice.

Our awesome Shamrock plane - Aer Lingus!

Waiting in chicago

Flying into Ireland

I loved the shadow of the airplane on the ground!

We had smooth flights. When leaving Chicago we flew into Dublin, stopped to let people on and off of the plane and then flew back over to Shannon. We landed at 9:30 the next morning! Holy Cow we were tired!

This is our cool compact car -Kia Picanto in Periwinkle Blue! Ha ha! We had just enough room for two carry ons in the trunk so everything else had to be visible in the back seat all week!

It was an adventure getting out of the rental car parking lot. It was really hard at first trying to figure out driving on the left side. I kept turning my windshield wipers on instead of my blinkers. (Now that I am back I still do that because I got used to the European car.) It took me several turnabouts to get used to driving through Shannon. Then!......there were only 2 lane anorexic roads everywhere!!! So not only am I trying to get used to driving on the left side, there are cars coming at me close enough for their mirrors to high five my mirrors and there are rock walls on either sides of the lanes, with no shoulders! AAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!

Some of the sights

After several hours of driving, we started nodding off-not good since I was driving. We decided to stop for a bathroom break and get a snack. We stopped at a fuel station in Inagh. The lady inside was super nice-first encounter with the Irish. (besides the rental car place) She was obsessed with my ring and how pretty she thought it was. I have a wrap around my solitaire and she had never seen anything like it. She said they were behind in Ireland. ha ha. We talked to her for a bit and told her where we were going (Cliffs of Moher). She said if we were feeling a 'bit adventerous' we could take a side road and drive along the coast down by Spanish Point. So...adventerous we did go!

Spanish Point was a beach area. There was a contemporary hotel with a parking lot. We parked there. Ruins of a building were at the top of the hill. We walked down to the shore from there.

Spanish Point

This entry way led up some stairs to someone's backyard. :)

Cliffs of Moher and Kinvara

2008-11-05T20:00:00.000-08:00

Part 2

After we left Spanish Point we passed many more fabulous views before we reached the Cliffs of Moher. Here are a few of the pictures of the passing scenery.

This was rather interesting. I have never heard of Pitch and Putt but apparently it is Huge in Ireland. There are courses all over. It is similar to golf except all that is required is a Pitching Wedge and a Putter....hence the name. The greens on this particular course are ridiculously hilly.

Not sure what this structure was but it looked cool

Here we have the breath taking Cliffs of Moher with the views from the hillside. And since you can't hear the waves splashing and see the majestic panoramic view, these pictures will have to suffice. I truly recommend this point of interest.

This was a viewing point fortress that was under renovation.

This was one of our favorite rocks. It looks like a face looking out onto the water.

This reminds me of the Teletubbies home. This was the shopping center and restaraunts built into the ground at the Cliffs of Moher.

The picture below is the Dunguaire Castle in Kinvara. We almost passed it before we even realized it was there. I was nodding off and needed to pee (ha) and was looking for a place to pull over when we saw it. Note I did say I had to pee so I was going to go in the deserted parking lot we parked in across the street from the castle. As soon as I was about to circle around a tree a HUGE tour bus pulled in. : So, I couldn't go in the lot.

This was a really pretty place. We couldn't go in because it only operates April to October not through October and this was October 8th. But the landscape was fun. There was a beaten pathway around the entire castle.

Tour bus left, I found quiet spot at the back of the castle, here to be exact, etc. :)

The next two pictures were taken through the iron gate at the inside of the courtyard.

This was a jammed packed day. Driving on no sleep for two days we ended up stopping by the back gate of someone's land and slept for an hour. :) (Little did I know I would end up stopping everyday and taking a nap for an hour or so.) That 6 hour time difference was an adjustment!!

Good times.

Galway and Aughnanure Castle

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We finally made it Galway! Yea! This was where our first day ended. We stayed at Hotel Meyrick in Eyre Square. I really liked this hotel. It had character.

The hallway to our room from the "lift"/elevator.

Our Room

Brad did not find this funny at all. We ended up having twin beds our first night in Ireland. My dad on the other hand thought it was hilarious and made sure everyone back home knew!

There wasn't an air conditioner in this room, which I found to be odd. But the weather was very pleasant inside. We opened the window for a breeze. What I also found to be odd was that the windows opened fully with no screen. I guess they don't have a problem with people falling/jumping out!

Unlike American hotel bathrooms, the only outlet in any of the bathrooms was for an electric men's shaver. There were also no 'face cloths' to wash your face with. We learned at a different hotel that you could request them. But if you called them wash cloths they would not know what you are talking about.

This picture was actually taken from the hotel website that I linked above. But we did get in this hot tub on the roof our second night here. It was nice. The view is a bit industrial but the open roof gave us a nice view of the full moon!

Eyre Square -view from our window at dusk

Eyre Square by day

The picture below was taken because in July my sister Amy came to Galway for a business meeting. She had a fun idea to find somewhere that I would be going to on my honeymoon and take a picture of her sitting there. This bench was the place. She is going to see if her husband can photo shop me into her picture so it will appear we are there together. Mine is blurrier than hers and it is rainy in mine, so we shall see how that goes....

This picture was taken of me at Ed's New York Pizza in Eyre Square. We ate lunch there twice. It was good pizza. We met Ed, the owner. He is actually from New York. Stop by his place if you go to Galway.

On our way out of the city we saw these strange garages. Most of them were small enough for only one car. After parking your car and walking out of the garage you would go into this side door next to it to walk up to the back door. The front door was on the reverse street with only room for a sidewalk that leads up to the front of your house. It was quite amusing to me.

This next castle was not planned. We were actually headed to see the Kylemore Abbey. But it was getting late and raining and I was tired. We were about to head back to Galway to try getting an earlier start out the next day when we saw a small sign for a castle built in the 1500's. So we decided to follow the sign.

The castle is called Aughnanure Castle. The walk up to it was very pretty. A parking lot was some distance out. From there you walked around a rock pathway that curved around. A small creek was flowing beside the walkway. On down we had to cross a bridge and came to the entrance of the castle.

It was rainy and our batteries ran out before we could take a picture of the pretty walk way. You can see the thick beautiful green grass. It was so pretty.

This is a drawing of what the castle supposedly looked like back when it was built.

I am glad we found this place. I really enjoyed touring it.

Kylemore Abbey and Connors Pass

2008-11-05T18:00:00.000-08:00

The next day we took off from Galway again in an attempt to view the Kylemore Abbey. We decided to take the scenic route. Little did we know that it rained so hard that 1/4 of a mile before the Abbey the road was closed due to flooding. We ended up having to take an even longer detour back around.

These pictures were just taken along the way.

There are sheep everywhere!

After we took the extended way around the countryside to the Kylemore Abbey this was as close as we could get. It was closed.......due to flooding there was no way to get there! That figures! It was absolutely beautiful from here though.

This was just some random church Brad liked.

I recommend taking Connors Pass. It is beautiful. However, if you need to go to the bathroom you should go before you get on the road. It is windy mountainside for miles and you may end up having to stop here and go behind the dirt. ha ha!

This rock wall reminded me of a scene from Robin Hood Prince of Theives!

Brad found an enormous slug!

As we came around the corner we found this really pretty waterfall and a place to park and decided to stop. There were other cars stopping and we noticed a boy climbing up the mountain. The lady that had parked next to us introduced herself and said that was her son climbing up. She said there was a hidden lake a little ways up and recommended that we go see it!

So we did.....

Can you see the sheep climbing on the side of the mountain?

Definitely worth going up to see. The girl said that they have not been able to find the bottom of the lake!

Dunbeg Fort and Lookout Point at Slea Head

2008-11-05T17:00:00.000-08:00

This was a random place on the road that we found. It was a fun place to stop.

The closest we got to the sheep. :)

A cool bridge with a stream that went across it and off the side of the mountain.

This rock was at least 5 stories up from the water. It drops off even though you can't tell.

I was too chicken to climb up on the rock. I was scared enough right here.

A different angle of the rock we were on.