Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House

Valentines Day Fun!

2012-02-13T16:00:00.001-08:00

Darn Pinterest for making me think I'm crafty. And for not helping me limit what I wanted to make. I think the kids had fun. I'm not entirely sure I did. And the clean up about has me crazy!
So we made handprint crafts for the two grandmas complete with all their grand kids' handprints! :) and also one for Tiffany since she loaned me all three of the kids today. Lana and Graham made footprint valentines and "puffy heart" valentines.
I also made my hubby some special blueberry/cranberry muffins because food is the surest way to win a mans heart. (at least mine!)
and G got a pink bubble bath! Lol

Two sick babies

2012-02-06T12:14:00.001-08:00

How do mothers of multiples do it? Two sick needy babies and a weekend of no sleep and I'm exhausted, can't think straight, and want to cry!
Graham has bronchitis for 4th time since this fall! despite getting tubes in BR has an ear infection and the same cough g has just about two days behind him...
Pray for my babies and my patience.

She does love to eat.

2012-02-04T16:24:00.001-08:00

Mexican? No problem. She loved the salsa, cheese dip, chips, beans and rice!

Blueberry pancakes!!!

Shhh don't tell the kids I'm sitting. :)

2012-02-03T13:16:00.001-08:00

Kids are a much better excuse for a dirty house than pure laziness.

Uhh Houston we have a problem.

2012-02-03T08:24:00.001-08:00

My baby girl cannot soothe herself. At all. She screams so hard sometimes she sounds like she is hyperventilating. She screams in the car seat. She screams if I lay her in her bed. But the second I walk in and pick her up she turns it off like a switch. I'm at a loss for what to do. When she's out she's so peaceful.

Quotes I love

2012-02-03T08:15:00.001-08:00

Mom, i always love you.

To his Gma nana about me- Mom had an appt to get her head checked. (I was going to get a massage)

Mom, you are the best trash man ever.

Why do girls have to wipe when they pee but boys don't? ( to which I answered- go ask dad)

Lana- I haven't seen these for 5 years (she is 3). Graham- I haven't seem them in 4 EARS!

Another conversation between L and G- L: my teeth will start to fall out when I am 5 years. G: I am 5 ears and my teeth already all falled out.

A fight between G and L:
Gimme my Kleenex (ridiculous sobbing) No its my kleenex! (ridiculous sobbing) NOOoOooooOo! It's MiNE!! No it's minE!!! (outrageous sobbing) I want my kleenex back! Brenda tell him to give me my kleenex! But MoOOmMMm it's mine! It has my snot on it!! No it doesn't it has my marker on it!!!
...........
{I caught some I this on video to show them later.}

Ooops sorry I farted. (while coughing)

One time I farted and I peed my pants.
( I had told him one time I coughed and peed my pants)

Martin says today in the grocery store/ So do u have anything planned for Super Bowl tomorrow? Me: Super Bowl is tomorrow?

Martin to me: you were the geek of the cool kids, I was the cool kid of the geeks.

Dad smells, let's put him in the trash can.

Pictures of pictures

2012-02-01T16:16:00.001-08:00

My grandpa passed away 10 years ago. His mom just passed away Jan 6th. His sister has been going through things and found this album she gave to my grandma. I was so drawn in and intrigued by these pictures I took pictures of a few of them.

Ways to spend winter days

2012-02-01T10:37:00.001-08:00

Gates & NO!

2012-01-31T11:03:00.001-08:00

Oh this darling girl. This darling on the go, make my Momma crazy cause I don't stop all day girl! God has something special in store for her, I just know it!
We have had to gate the stairs for good now... Luckily G can climb over it to go potty. We also have a gate in front of the TV set up as she likes to push buttons, open things and cruise around it falling down bumping her head. We will also be gating off the kitchen soon as she can get into EvERything out there and we can't baby proof it all!
I've been trying to start teaching her No and she is trying to teach me more patience and perseverance... For when I say NO she smiles, giggles and goes after it again. :)

Pray for me folks! She's a wild one with an Angels face.

Cutting back on spending and social media

2012-01-31T10:46:00.001-08:00

After the sermon on Sunday, Martin and I decided to make a few changes in our lives.
1. I want to give up Facebook for a whole month to enable myself to be a better mother and wife. I will continue to share on here when I see fit and will be reachable via home phone 309-564-1045 or text 309-433-6101 or email brrr1984@yahoo.com
Keep in touch with me guys! I wanna make this work!

2. We want to go a whole week with no buying ANYTHING! No gas, no groceries, no cigarettes (Martin), no Starbucks (Brenda).

3. No trips to local grocery store where prices are sometimes double what they are in Bloomington. We will pick up necessities on Sundays after church.

4. No fast food for a month. We will eat out once a week following church.

5. We will GIVE like Jesus gave. I plan to go through the house and rid ourselves of "things".

This will allow us to live more like Jesus lived. To give more. To BE more!

I challenge you all to pick one of these numbers and give it a try in your lives! :)

Stay tuned for a kiddo update!

Long time no see.

2012-01-27T11:36:00.001-08:00

Haven't done much writing since princess made her debut. I'm going to try to change that. I need an outlet and I'm hoping blogging will provide that. I will warn you, it won't be all candy bars and milkshakes however. My life as a Mom is pretty crazy some days! Crazy enough to make me question if it's the job I am cut out for at least once a week!

Princess is on the move:

As most of you know by keeping up with us on FB. She has never been the "baby" I wanted. We knew going into this pregnancy it would be our last, and with all the ups and downs we faced in those 10 months, it solidified that. So I had envisioned this sweet baby girl who would be cuddly and I would be able to dress up and tote around like a baby doll. Well I guess somewhere in the shuffle my memo to her got lost. She has been feisty, on the go and very determined since day 1! At 8 weeks she rolled, 4 months- sat up, 6 months and some change started pulling herself around and pulling up on everything. And now after getting tubes put in yesterday- she has been on her knees crawling, trying to climb the couches and stairs, and is into everything! She is quite the eater and has never been a fan of baby food! What more can I say? She was born thinking she was at least two or something! She is something else and I adore and love her so much!

Strange boy has a cleaning obsession:
He asked for nothing but a mop and spray bottle for Christmas. He talks about cleaning non stop. He often carries around some sort of cleaning supply whether it be a spray bottle, mop, vacuum, duster or what have you and cleans the house. His cleaning isn't quite up to my standards so I get to clean everywhere he cleaned after him. Cleaning aside, he is the sweetest, smartest most polite and empathetic, quirky and hard headed three year old I have ever met! He compliments adults, often only to get a compliment for himself. He is so very observant even when u don't think e is its scary! And he remembers absolutely everything!!! I love him dearly and wouldn't change him for any reason! Even if he does make me shake my head in exasperation more than once an hour!

I feel like God knows me and gives me what He knows I need on a daily basis:
I have struggled with post partum depression/ anxiety and exhaustion! I have not been my happy go lucky self and on many occasions I have been out right someone I hardly recognize. But though it all I find so many instances where I am overwhelmed and ready to go hide under the cover and cry and it seems like I get a message. Whether it be in the form of my kids doing something to make me laugh, a text or phone call from a friend, nursing my daughter, or just a sense I get that tells me everything will be ok. I am on medication to help my moods as well and finding the right dose is becoming a struggle. I can't be comatose with no feelings, energy or initiative. But I also can't be flying off the handle, and ruining relationships. I know prayers will help.

Turning 28:

Yikes, 28. That's a big number and for some reason to me sounds way more. Than a year older than 27! I think it has more to go with me knowing our family is complete, our marriage is secure, owning a home, etc. all the grown up things make me feel like I know what direction my life is heading in and now what? Do I go back to school? Do I keep kids again? Find a job? Get baptized and volunteer at church? In some ways I feel like I have it all figured out and then on the other hand I have so much more figuring to do... Oh 28, I know you will be good to me no matter what. I'm ready for whatever you have in store for me this year God!

Parenting in general:
I feel like parenting was something I was born to do. It's always been my dream to be a mommy. I babysat, mothered my brothers, worked in day cares and took all the child development classes I could and yet I'm clueless! Parenting has been full of "I wasn't gonna's" for me. I wasn't gonna's and self disappointment.

I wasn't gonna yell. And yet I do daily. Even though before I dreamed of mothering my own children, I was trained in positive discipline, read all he parenting books and was sure I had it together. Well guess what? Sometimes I don't. Sometimes I lose my patience and yell. And then I feel bad and apologize and pray about it. I wasn't gonna spank goes along with this one. And yet sometimes there are times I don't know what else to do. I plan to improve myself greatly in this area as my sons behavior in particular isn't responding well to my tactics. Please feel free to give me advice on this one!

I wasn't gonna be the parent who "gave in". There are times I just have to pick and choose my battles though. You don't wanna wear pants while we're at home? Ok fine! You don't really NEED to. We sure don't NEED to spend a half hour fighting about it. You want a sandwich for breakfast? Why not? It's a perfectly healthy lunch, why not breakfast? You want to play outside in the mud? Why not? What's being a kid about anyway? Does it make more mess for me to clean up in the long run? Yes! But would I rather clean it up then spend a life time telling him NO!? Yes I would. I lived to play in the mud as a child. Go for it baby boy!

I wasn't gonna let my kids sleep in our bed. This was a big no no for me and I'm not even sure where or how we went so wrong but of princess isn't in our bed, she's in one of our arms on the couch. Hopefully tubes will make her a better sleeper and we can work on this one!!!

I wasn't gonna be a Mom who needed a break from her kids. I never understood this. Are there days I thrust my kids at my husband when he walks through the door and promptly retreat into a FB coma? Yep there sure are. Has there been an instance or two en I couldn't handle it anymore and went to dinner or grocery shopping alone? Yep there has been! I have learned though that time away is a healthy need. I also need work in this area as my trust with others in leaving my kids and the guilt I feel has been overwhelming and led to anxiety attacks.

I wasn't gonna give my kids pop, candy, sugary cereals etc. I have learned the more you with hold it the more they crave it. So we give it to them in moderation. Ok, so the moderation has been a little over the top lately. Need work here!

I wasn't gonna get behind on scrap books, baby calendars and keeping memories for my kiddos in general. I suck at this and my return to blogging will hopefully help somewhat in this area.

That ran long. Will be catching up again soon!

Day of Disappointment

2011-09-28T12:52:00.000-07:00

I hesitate to even write this post after our lecturer's speech on Jonah today but as you know I use this blog as a journal so I am going to go with it anyway.

I HATE HATE HATE to prepare and prepare for the day ahead and then have it all go to crap. (excuse my language- Yes Graham CRAP is a bad word.)

We implemented a little system where we prepare Graham for the day ahead the night before. It helps with getting his "engine running" in the morning when he knows what to expect for the day. Before this little trick we had many meltdowns (both kid and Mommy) and it was hard to ever get him out the door for anything. And this has worked for us for almost a year now.

Knowing we need to give this heads up, I try to plan ahead (at least a day) to minimize stress on the both of us (and now Bella and daddy too).

So when I prepare bags, clothes, the car, etc all in advance only to have it snowball into a dreadful day- I get a little upset. Ok, more than a little upset. I am starting to take it personally. Now I know sickness can't be helped. But a lack of caring that it takes a lot of planning to get two kiddos out for the day irritates me. And not to mention the DISAPPOINTMENT when I tell him the day isn't going to go as planned.

I know kids need to have disappointment to learn and grow. But if I could shield them from it I would because I can't stand the look in his eye and the sadness on his face or the real tears sliding down his cheeks. It breaks this momma's heart. And he doesn't forget. And it's my fault. And then I end up offering ice cream and playing at the park and extra cartoons to make him happy. And sometimes I am so agitated I lose my patience with him and it's not his fault. I just wish there were a way to prevent this from happening and still be able to prepare him the way he needs us to.

I'm over reacting in a way today. But I know that it's because it's not the first time he has been disappointed lately.

And that's my rant for the day folks.

go with the flow...

2011-09-22T18:02:00.000-07:00

We've been wanting to potty train G since, well.. since he was born. LOL! But recently he has seemed more "ready" than ever! And although if I had it MY WAY I would wait until after our week long vacation to start trying, he seems to think NOW is the time. SOOO I'm happy to report that he has made all pee pees in the potty today! {insert HAPPY DANCE here}
We are really proud and his teeth will probably rot out from the candy and ice cream rewards.

Simply simple

2011-09-20T12:46:00.001-07:00

I've been trying to eliminate some stress and anxiety in my life by slowing down to take in the simple things...

Simple things make me happy. Simple things like

Baby sighs
and baby thighs

Story times with G and being silly to see how hard I can make him giggle

Letting the kids be kids by playing in mud puddles and getting filthy in the sand box filled with rain water

Spontaneous Picnics in the park

Watching my husband be the best daddy ever

rocking baby
singing lullabys to baby

playing cards with Wy-diggity

chatting on the phone without looking at the time

walks with family or friends

drives in the country to see the corn being harvested and the trees starting to change

sitting in the sunshine

pumpkin spice lattes

It's amazing what can put a smile on your face when you turn off the tv, put down the cell phones and take it all in. I'm sure there's so many more I can come up with. But for now I'm going to sign off and take in more of life's simple things. And thank God I can slow down to appreciate them today.

Random Ramblings on this Drizzly Dreary Day

2011-09-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

I'm impressed and not impressed, all at the same time, at Graham's new ability to open the fridge and retrieve anything he likes at any time.

We're working on removing clothing and putting on clothing for potty training... It may be awhile.

BellaRose is 3 months old! Where did the time go? She thinks she can sit up. She does these little crunches in her swing that make me giggle. She HAS to be held and patted and bounced and rocked just right to be put to sleep. She likes blowdryer and vacuum noise to calm her. She is truly a little princess. And I wouldn't have it any other way!

Fall seems to be here! Highs in the low 70's, drizzly dreary days, dark mornings- windows down, blankie,hoodie and jean weather, I LOVE IT!

I'm LOVE LOVE LOVING this new all natural online store- Meleleuca! My house, body, laundry etc all looks and smells amazing and is soft and clean all without having toxic chemicals in the house!

Balancing bills on a now weekly paycheck instead of the the twice a month one is a CHALLENGE! I'm about to turn this chore over to the hubs. I know I need to crack the whip on the spending but man it's tough!

Graham has a MOUTH on him. I don't know why I expected him to be a sweet, quiet, polite, kind, and innocent little guy for all his life----Look at his uncles!!!

We leave on vacation in Gulf Shores and the count down is 11 days and I'm crapping my pants with stress over packing, and driving and living in a house with family all week! Let's hope the sand, sun and waves can calm this anxious momma.

Did I mention we have another trip planned for January to Florida for a wedding on Graham's birthday??

We started Kindermusik last week and MOM2MOM this week. Super excited for time out with other mom's but a tad nervous about leaving princess with strangers in the nursery for 2 hrs a week (at MOM2MOM)! yikes!

I get my ring back this week!!! Remember that horrible saga where I thought (like a BIG DUMMY) it fit again and had to have it sawed into pieces so I didn't lose my finger when it didn't? Yea, its going to set us back $335 bucks... Oh well. I think I learned my lesson.

Lana told me today she has friends who live at school. :) She seems to be loving preschool and it still makes me sad to see her come home with her little bag.

I've started seeing a new chiropractor and a therapist. A chiro for back and neck pain (alot of which is caused by stress and being a mommy) and a therpist for anxiety and OCD behaviors (though those have been less and less lately). The multiple appointments and arranging child care and running (& affording gas) back and forth to Bloomington has me more stressed out and anxious and in pain (back and bank account) than I was before I decided this all was a good idea.

We got rid of the smart phones and I can see the need for them now. This one I have now is really really DUMB but I have to say my anxiety level is a little lower and I'm more laid back not having all the gizmo's and gadgets and whatnots on my phone. I've lost it a few times and not even freaked out. and I'm always leaving it in the car now to run inside somewhere. IT's actually kind of nice.

Graham says we live in a castle on 6th street. His mommy is the queen, his daddy the king, his sister the princess and he's the prince (sometimes he's a princess too depending on the day) last night, he told his aunt MaryBeth she was the BEAST! bahahahaha!!!

OK OK OK! I need to go do something productive like clean up lunch before the 3 sleeping beauty's wake up!

playing catch up

2011-09-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

As I rocked my sick little baby girl in my arms and held one hand over her face to the noise of the blow dryer today, it hit me how incredibly blessed I am. I love little moments when God taps on my shoulder and says "isn't this the best?".

We've been working on bed, and meal time prayers with Graham. It is my absolute favorite time of day with him right now. At bed time we read a few books while laying in bed and then say our prayers. I've always told him at night that I thank God for him every day so now we thank God together for the important things in our life. He comes up with some two year old things like "tractor shows and parks and corn festival" to thank Him for and I love that sweet sweet innocence. :)

BellaRose is growing growing growing! They BOTH are. Graham is in 4 and 5T clothes and BellaRose in 6 months! ARGH! Make them stop!I am so grateful for my healthy little (big) boogers.

We got rid of our "smart" phones this week and the internet with it, we replaced it with really really dumb ones. LOL!! BUT----- It's going to save us 75 bucks a month. I am more relaxed already with it gone. How weird is that? I was entirely too tied to my phone and several times now I have not known where it was for hours and not even freaked out!

This week starts our full fall schedule. Monday- home or errands and appts Tues- Kindermusik, Wednesday- Mom's group at church, Thursday- 1st and 3rd playdate at Methodist church and Friday- chillax day! I tend to do better with a schedule so I am excited about this. The mom's group on Wednesday's is new to me and I'm a tad nervous/anxious about leaving my BR in "daycare (lamb2lamb)but mom time will be ok.

This fall weather is amazing! always makes me feel so refreshed and alive! CAn't wait for pumpkin patches and leaves turning and bonfires and halloween!

Love to all! I am going to try to update this more often for sure!

A Mother's work is never done

2011-08-09T05:17:00.001-07:00

For those of you who have been waiting your whole lives to hear me complain about my "perfect" husband- here's your post!

I've been angry, anxious and overbearing since having BR. I've considered therapy or meds for it on some days. Overall things have been smooth sailing but I don't think I'm alone when I say I'd like to scream obscenities at my husband some days.

Overall he tries to be helpful, in a man way. I'll clean up, don't you worry about- walk in to the supposed "clean" room and yea, its just never my idea of clean. But so what, I've dealt with that for the 4 years now that we've been together.

A whole nother level of anger comes when it involves sleep. He offers what seems like genuine help in the middle of the night. I'll get her up and feed her or put her back to sleep. Somehow this always comes back to bite me in the ass in the form of asshole-ish-ness in the morning. Like its somehow 10 times worse when he is up at night than if I were to be. So I've decided I will quit allowing it. I'm sure he will still put up a (half ass) fight. But its always only seconds from sitting downstairs with her that I hear his snoring upstairs. So much for really being concerned. I however am awake 90 percent of the time he is up with her, so why not just get up myself and avoid A-hole-ish-ness in the morning?

I've finally come out and told him a few times, after stewing in the reclined with her in my arms all night, that is also a full time job for me to feed her, not to mention the other full time job of cleaning house and taking care of the other kid. I feel like I should be paid (or at least thanked!!) most days, its that hard and exhausting at moments to keep up with it all.

Now I'm off to cook, ,clean and feed the baby with my body. Have a nice day all!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

THE END

2011-06-11T08:25:00.001-07:00

Now that we have reached and surpassed the "safe zone" I am so ready to meet this baby girl. But I think she has been sent to me to teach me patience. NO ONE thought we'd see the pregnancy through the 37th week and here we are two days from 38 weeks. She's gonna be a stubborn one from birth. I'm sure of it. :) I don't mind carrying her around awhile longer (though people might get tired of seeing my belly since NOTHING fits anymore) but it's the swelling, mood swings, back pain, etc. that I am SO DONE WITH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As I sit here contracting now (it happens every weekend when my shot wears off) I am wondering will we EVER see THE END?

You know your pregnant when... (reader discretion advised)

2011-06-09T11:35:00.001-07:00

You get excited for extra mucousy discharge because it might be ur plug and it might signal labor is nearing!

You change ur undies 4 times a day without thinking twice because u peed urself and the liner didn't catch it all.

You get a little depressed when u think about not being able to eat 4 blueberry muffins and just blame it on eating for two.

Or 6 tacos...

U have chocolate chip cookies and candy for lunch because ur too tired to make anything else.

Ur feet are swollen to the size of small babies!

U cry at commercials for food that sounds good.

U cry at the drop of a dime and at other times find things so ridiculously hilarious people think u may fallen off ur rocker.

...........................

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.1

37 week update

2011-06-07T12:46:00.001-07:00

Well we went in hoping I'd dilated more so he'd take the stitches out and let me go but no such luck. Still just 1 cm. They talked me into the last shot because my doctor is gone most of this weekend and is scared I'd go into labor while he's gone. Needless to say I was disappointed, upset, frustrated and overwhelmed. I cried. A lot. I cried to my husband and my favorite nurse Kelly who always cheers me up. I measured 39 weeks. I've come to expect to be large.. Her Heart rate was 156. And Kelly promised I would not be pregnant in July... In fact she said she would be happy to tell him to induce me if I'm still pregnant on the 21st. OH LORDY I hope not! :) My poor husband was sooo apologetic. He apparently thinks I might lose it soon if I don't have her. I should use this to my advantage but really I feel bad for him.

By the time I left I had dried most of it up and even made some jokes in the lobby with some volunteers I've gotten to know while I waited on my car from Valet. While down there some random (white trash) woman asked if I was just having one. I replied "yep just one" and she didn't even respond to me just walks away and says very loudly to her friend "OH MY GOD! DID U SEE HER??? SHE LOOKS LIKE SHE IS AT LEAST HAVING TWOOOO BABIES! SHE"S HUGE!" So I sat down and calmly said to whoever was listening "well at least when I have my baby I won't be fat anymore. she still will be. So what's her excuse..." To which one of the very friendly volunteers says "you should have asked her when she was due with her twins".. hahahahahaha! I immediately was cheered up of any left over frustration.

I left and was still bummed- every time I have to tell another person it won't be soon I wanna cry again. But I got to my mom's and the sweet kids got out of the pool to give me a kiss. Well not my kid but Kyrsten and Wylie did. So I asked Wy If I could take him to lunch for his bday which was weeks ago and we'd do some shopping in this 95 degree heat.. Of course he wanted to! And of course he picked the worst place possible... Fiesta. But it was delish and I honestly don't think it alone could do much more damage to my ankles... LOL!

By the time we were done I was completely at peace with all of it. BR will be here when she gets here. Even if that's when Dr is out of town, on Dax's birthday party day, On Dax's actual 1st birthday, Uncle T dogs birthday or our anniversary. Either way it won't be longer than two weeks and that's a short time to wait for one of God's most amazing gifts! the gift of LIFE! :) Besides, I needed taught a little extra patience before I have two little boogers to deal with.

A side note: My conversation with my darling baby boy this morning

G: Uh OH MOmmy I pooping my pants
B: let's go to the potty quick
G: no my gma puts my underwears on me and I sit on her potty
B: we can put ur underwears on here and sit on ur potty here
G: No, my gma do it. I already pooped in my dipey.
B: Well let's change it quick before gma gets here to pick u up.
G: No I hiding from u. I messing with this light (rubbing a lamp and pretending it's super important)
B: Ok fine If u don't come over here by the time I count to 3- U can go to ur room for a time out.
G: No mommy u not count to 2. U not put me in time out. U not spank my booty.
B: then get over here and lay down. Oh look there's gma in the driveway now
G: (runs over and plops down legs in the air for a diaper change) Ok mommy U change my dipey now and I not get in time out or get spanking...
B: Oh Grahammy! I am NEVER teaching ur sister to talk. EVER!

I love that little boy and I am constantly amazed by how his little mind works. Faster than MOmmy and Daddy's most days that's for sure. :)

And one more thing: how my husband has amused me today...
He had gotten dressed, had shoes on and was about to walk out the door when I noticed his shirt was inside out. And then he calls when I'm at the dr office waiting on him and he says "I'm on Veterans instead of Main... I don't know where I was going so Umm I"m gonna be late"... and he has been sooooo apologetic because I didn't get the news I wanted at the dr. he's too cute.

not the way i wanted to spend my Sunday...

2011-06-05T15:20:00.001-07:00

Went in to hospital after contracting all night. Sure enough contracting every 2-5 minutes when I get there. Found out I have dialated to 1 cm. Stayed all day just to find out
1. The painful contractions every 4 or so minutes aren't doing anything more to my cervix.
2. They aren't taking my stitches out just yet. Worse case is I rip my cervix trying to dialate further. ( no biggie right?)
3. My blood pressure is borderline high. (Ya think?)
4. Apparently most people get told to come in when contractions are 5 minutes or closer... I should wait apparently until my water breaks or I feel the babies head poking out! Lol!
5. I was given the option to stay all night or go home... umm... I am starving and if u say this baby ain't coming I'm sorry but ur bed is not the place I wanna stay!

So we left and promptly went to schooners and ordered onion rings, hot wings, and chicken planks with the spicy dipping sauce. Ate all that then went to Schucks and got some pineapple and some jalapeno poppers. Gonna go for a bumpy ride later and see if we can't make this happen. Then again maybe I will just get them up to 3 minutes apart and never sleep again until she comes. Lol!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.0

Leakage (another one of those Read at your own risk)

2011-06-01T07:59:00.001-07:00

I am leaking from:
My breasts so much so that I think I could pump today.
Elsewhere be it pee or amniotic fluid. I do not know.
My eyes every time anything even remotely upsetting happens or is mentioned.

Do they make plugs for any of these?

Baby Bella Update

2011-05-31T11:25:00.000-07:00

Little girl isn't going to be so little it seems. She is measuring in at approx. 7lbs 5 oz! And her head looked to be most of the weight (its measurement corresponds with a 40 week baby's average size) YIKES! Epidural now please? He also said her head is locked in down there and that I was all baby and a lot of it. That made me feel better for all those people's comments these past few months! He wants me to stay on meds until 38 weeks still but even the nurse said we could deny the progesterone next week and I think I will quit my pills soon. Doctor said the placenta is starting to calcify and every thing looks great really so I am thinking anytime (sooner is better than later) would be GREAT!

I really can't believe it's all about to happen though. I don't know how prepared I am. More so I don't know how prepared my baby boy is. I live for that child and I can't stand to see him upset so I really hope the whole bringing another child into this world doesn't upset him to much.

having a voice

2011-05-19T17:18:00.001-07:00

I love my doctor's office. I do. But... since implementing the chartless or electronic charts in their office I feel like there have been so many instances the quality of care is lower because of it. There have been times I think they have missed things because they don't have a paper chart in front of them. I as the patient am expected to give my full medical history at almost every visit when that should be something they have at their fingertips. I have to stay on top of things like never before, as if I don't have enough stress with this being a high risk pregnancy. Several of the nurses are great and even remember details from my first pregnancy. But doctor's nurse (who also saw me my whole first pregnancy, and has seen me weekly since week 28) acts as if I am a completely new patient each week. And I know she doesn't see as many patients as the other nurses in there. I hate pointing fingers but something is wrong with that picture that she can't remember the big things even- like me having a cerclage or getting weekly shots... or even a general- I'm a high risk pregnancy... I also feel like the communication has gone way down hill. Someone always going out to ask someone else what is supposed to be happening because its not written down anywhere. Its all very frustrating and stressful and overwhelming for an already stressed to the max mama. I have heard but not witnessed for myself that other dr offices in town have computers in each room and the nurse pulls up your chart before the doctor comes in and has it all there in front of him. At my office sometimes his nurse comes in, measures me, takes the heartbeat- sometimes tells me, most of the time I ask, then goes and writes something different in the computer. Then another nurse comes in to give me my injection. These are the AWESOME nurses who answer my questions, spend time with me calming me down after dr's nurse tells me I measured 4 weeks bigger. Or talks to me about one of the many extra medical issues I seem to have this time. Or how about how it was actually one of those AWESOME nurses who actually caught the hypothyroidism? And elevated heart rate? All things that can be (but luckily aren't in mine) a big deal in pregnancy. Well at least I pray they aren't or don't prove to be. Then dr comes in takes two looks at me and basically says every week: "keep doing what we've been doing what we've been doing and oh what is that by the way"... the dates of when things are going to be happening keep changing for instance for the longest time it was going to be 36 weeks for weaning off meds... now he says 38. It was going to be 36 weeks for taking the cerclage out... now its 38 as well. or this sono deal where they specifically told me it was to look at baby and get measurements and posistion etc... why else would I invite my mom along? It turns out its just to measure the cervix which once again is fine- duh u have been checking it weekly.

Don't get me wrong my doctor is amazing in many ways. Without him I truly believe my Grahammy would have been severely premature. Without him I believe this pregnancy could have gone way differently. I trust him fully. I just wish I could get some straight answers somedays. Is it too much to ask?

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.9

a hairy situation (reader discretion advised-graphic mental pictures may be created)

2011-04-28T09:05:00.001-07:00

I'm vain. I want things to be orderly and neat when I go into have BR. I dont want nurses and doctors thinking to themselves "wow this girl needs to take better care of things" as I'm pushing out my beautiful baby girl. And Needless to say my legs aren't the only area that have been neglected with this big ol belly out front. I tried getting some stuff tidied up today and got out of shower to find the hair growing behind my knees is as long as my husbands! Ewwwwww!!! So I guess I will be back at it tomorrow. Lol! I just hope I dont have to do a marathon shaving job like today again until after she is out!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

can i just say...

2011-04-26T19:53:00.001-07:00

That now that things are "moving" again (if u know what i mean) that i am a much happier momma! Lol! It doesnt take much. And ps- im eating like a horse again now too which doesnt help the weight issue of not wanting to get up to where i was when i went in to have G. I think its inevitable!!! Im only 8 lbs away and im not retaining water or near as far along in the pregnancy. Oh goodness! But dr assures me that i shouldnt listen to all u naysayers! He's the only that can tell me how large this baby girl will be! Hee hee! Sono in 3 weeks to find out just that!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

prayers requested

2011-04-22T07:05:00.001-07:00

As many of you know my mom had carpal tunnel surgery a week ago today and since I'm now on bedrest she is taking care of Graham along with other kids. She isnt supposed to be doing this much this soon but she's crazy! So pray that she heals ok!
My Mother in Law had surgery Tuesday to replace her knee. She is recovering ok. A lot of pain but everyday is better. Pray she continues on her path to recovery!
Tuesday is also the day BellaRose decided to start acting up! So we've been to hospital twice this week and we need prayers that I can keep baking her a while longer! 6 weeks would be perfect! 4 is our short term goal! I've also began a new med and had to up my thyroid med and I've started swelling.
Today we got news that Martin's grandma fell and broke her hip and is having surgery today. Pray she recovers from this. She is 90.
Im so thankful for my amazing family and in laws! Please God keep them safe.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

THIS IS THE STUFF

2011-04-20T05:50:00.001-07:00

I had a feeling when I awoke to a heavy footed husband upstairs trying to creep around to get ready for work at 5 am that my day might not go so well. Between loading the 30 lb two year old up in the pouring down rain and soaking my whole backside. Unloading him 20 minutes later at a friends house and soaking myself more. A doctors appointment where I kind of got told (or yelled at) I should be on bedrest but never saying those words. Then coming home with a sleeping baby I lugged upstairs to his room for his nap. I tried laying down myself but after 45 minutes of struggling to get a full breath and feeling my heart racing and having a heavy chest- I called the doctor. I left a message. I took my pulse- it was 120- about two times what a resting pulse should be. I called my husband to get our bp cuff which also takes a pulse from a friends house we loaned it out to. Dr's nurse called back and said if my symptoms hadn't calmed down and my pulse hadn't lowered I should make my first trip to the hospital for this pregnancy. During this phone call in walks my sister in law, niece, nephew and my husband's aunt. I don't think they picked up on it being an important phone call nor my current state of health. They were loud and disrruptive, only upsetting me more. I called my mom to tell her what was up and arrange for her to take Graham. As soon as Martin got home with the bp cuff and I took my pulse which was still 118, we packed up and Tiffany picked up my other nephew who was here and we headed out. My mom met us at the ER where we check in before going up to labor and delivery. By then I had had 3 contractions in about 20 minutes time only adding to my anxiety! They promplty wheel me up, take a urine sample, give my a gorgeous gown to put on and hook me up to all the monitors. We quickly saw I was contracting every 3-4 minutes and that became their priority. I also had a slight fever only making all of my symptoms a little more confusing. I got an IV for fluids, a terbutaline shot and a blood draw for labs all within a matter of minutes. Man they didn't waste time! Lol! The terbutaline stopped contractions almost immediately but made me feel sooo icky! I hate that stuff tho it is a great drug and works wonders! My blood work came back with elevated white blood cells tho my urine came back completely clean. With Graham an UTI was almost always the culprit so I was surprised tho I'd been to the dr earlier and had clean urine there too! So dr ordered iv antibiotics and wanted me monitored for another hr for contractions and then I could go home! And they were prompt with getting me out too! We both had predicted we'd be there until at least 9 and we weren't!
So on the way home my latest favorite song came on our Christian station and I was reminded
"this is the stuff that drives me crazy, this is the stuff that's been getting to me lately,in the middle of my little mess, i forget how big I'm Blessed. This is the stuff that gets under my skin, and I've got to trust U know exactly what UR doing. might not be what i would choose but this is the stuff U use" "so break me of impatience, conquer my frustrations, I've got a new appreciation, its not the end of the world"
Could this apply more to my day? :)
Praise God for protecting us yesterday! And may HE keep reminding me that this is the stuff HE uses.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

BR update and more

2011-04-19T13:19:00.001-07:00

I've made it to 30 weeks with no hospital visits! However there has been a few times lately I should have gone. I admit that and my Doctor agreed and wasnt too happy with me today. We did get it decided to up my progesterone to twice a week and dr visits to once a week so those lucky ladies get to see me every Tuesday and Friday now and dr on every tuesday. And my hips wont catch a break in between injections. But if keeps my baby girl a cooking til she's done then so be it. She is only measuring two (and a little bit) weeks ahead My iron was up so the diet is working-hooray! Im thankful because that means no supplement for me which would have caused a whole host of other problems. They rechecked my thyroid levels but i dont have them back yet. So I'm hanging tight (not in a very good mood today...) for now. Right now im waiting on a call back concerning my racing heart, short of breath and heavy chest... will keep ya posted on that one.

In other news, my mom's surgery on Friday went great, she is already back to her superwoman self trying to do too much. Gotta admire that in her. I got the opposite personality. My MIL is out of surgery today and in recovery as we speak. She should be going up to her room soon and beginning her recovery process.
Im looking forward to Easter this weekend. And my baby brother visiting for a week!!! I sure do miss his smart mouth and bad attitude. ;) we were able to use the pregnancy and kid as a darn good excuse to cut back our places to go to only 2 on sunday. It should be a great weekend.

For now thats all ive got! Please keep our family in your prayers as well as the mom's as they recover!

Love to all! B

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

BellaRose Belly Pictures

2011-04-18T16:49:00.001-07:00

I got my pictures back today. I love them all so much. Here are a few of my favorites!

Did they really just say that???

2011-04-13T17:29:00.000-07:00

DO I really look that big???

Ok, I realize I am 7+ months pregnant and measuring big and only 4'10" so my baby has no where to go out but the comments I have been getting this past month are beyond me.

Cashier: So when ya due? Any day now? Me: nope, not til end of june... Cashier: oh boy thats gonna be a big mamajama huh?

Brother in Law: U look ummm well uncomfortable... ( to his defense he was trying to be nice... I think...)

Some random dude at hospital: "girl u bout to explode aint cha?"

some lady at a garage sale: when are u due? Me: end of june Her: is it twins?

multiple people including lots of family: she has no where to go but out... maybe she will be more her daddy's size (just what I was afraid of)...

yea folks... it's all true. And there's some I am not remembering I'm sure.

Have I told you lately

2011-04-04T18:56:00.001-07:00

That I love them? Today has been a rough one with little to no energy, contractions on and off and the desire to do absolutely nothing. I am so thankful for my husband who takes care of me and insists I rest while he takes care of me, the little guy and the house. I am so blessed to have Graham to make me laugh and almost burst with love at the seams. I even got a visit from my niece and nephews and my mom today and they sure brightened my day as well!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

crumbs!!!

2011-03-31T10:49:00.001-07:00

So it's seeming to be the point in my pregnancy where my uterus doesnt want to behave. Ive started having contractions more regularly than is comfortable for myself, my doctor and my family. Guess it means time to lay low and quit cleaning! But there lies the biggest problem- something that can only be describes as a CRAZY feeling- I get it quite often now... to clean! I have never been the cleaningest person ever before in my life but something about this pregnancy makes me feel ocd or obsessed or something. I dont like it, my husband feels like I undermine him I'm sure because I'm always going over what he has just done with a fine toothed comb and then making my adjustments. Crumbs! I hate crumbs on the counter or stuck on food in the sink or grime on the stove top or little food droppings on the floor around Graham's chair. All of it makes me spin out of control and into a frenzy of cleaning! And one thing leads to another and next thing i know ive organized a closet, swept, mopped, vaccuumed, dusted, wiped down couters and table tops etc. Which reminds me i had better tell my husband about cleaning the fridge because its probably going to be my next victim if i go nuts again... for now its "rest time" just what the doctor ordered- like really he insisted... or else!!!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

this did not end well...

2011-03-28T10:40:00.001-07:00

He was just trying to be cute and get a laugh outta me. Which he did, i snapped the pictured then in an instant the toliet seat slid down around his neck. It was loose enough it didnt choke him but tight enough there was no getting it off... I have to admit I was panicking, thinking of the 911 call... uhhh yes my 2 yr old son just got his toliet seat stuck on his head... daddy walked in for lunch to us both crying. He looked for big scissors to cut it off with no luck in finding any... the idea freaked me out anyway with as much as he was flailing around! It was then that i had a flash back to my dear little brother Travis, who always had his head stuck in something... BUTTER! Let's butter his head up and pull it out... yes pertroleum jelly or even vegetable oil might have been a better choice but we were desperate and in the moment and out came the stick of butter. He held really still and let us butter up his head and ears and forhead... he loves butter... and daddy was able to pull hard and get it off but not without bruising the tops of his poor ears!!! Graham quickly settled down and licked the butter off my shirt that he had rubbed on there in the struggle and holding and calming afterwards. He also gets his second bubble bath of the day to wash the butter out of his hair. Now we have a funny story to tell... ???

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

going all techy on myself

2011-03-28T09:08:00.003-07:00

Im posting this from my phone. Aren't i a smart one? This could get addictive!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

going all techy on myself

2011-03-28T09:08:00.001-07:00

Im posting this from my phone. Aren't i a smart one? This could get addictive!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

Power of Prayer

2011-03-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

Power of Prayer
During today’s sermon on Acts 3:1-10, “First Healing”, I was overcome with such joyous tears in remembering a time I felt “healing” by prayer.
When I went into premature labor around 24 weeks in my first pregnancy and I was in the hospital being told there was a good chance I would be going to a bigger hospital to have a VERY premature baby I broke down. I was terrified and lost. I remember my doctor coming in and asking if he could say a prayer for us at one point and I began to think back to other experiences when someone prayed for us in a hospital. It usually meant a bad outcome was expected… So as you can imagine I was hesitant to allow him. It was the last thing I should have felt at that time. But we did let him pray for us, he stood around my hospital bed and held hands with all in the room and he asked for God for healing. That He might keep me and my baby safe and let this pregnancy come to term so that we would have a healthy little boy. In that instant I felt a strange calm. I might not have looked it on the outside but I felt it in my heart. No matter what, we were going to be ok. And we were. We made it to 37 weeks and I gave birth to the most amazing gift, a healthy, beautiful baby boy we named Charles Graham. I thank HIM every day for that healing.
Now that I am in the midst of my second pregnancy and had surgery as a precaution around 13 weeks when my Doctor asked again if he could pray for me I did not hesitate, in fact I wanted to yell “PLEASE DO!!!” He again asked for healing and that God would allow this surgery to enable me to have a healthy pregnancy and a full term baby again. I am doing great and I have all the Faith in God that in 3 short months I will have yet another beautiful, healthy blessing to hold in my arms.
Dr. Nord offered what he had. Even he as a doctor could not promise me healing, but he could pray that God would grant me that. Dr. Nord’s Mission Statement is “ Ministering the love of Christ through healthcare”, I’ve seen this hanging in his office many times over the past 8-10 years I’ve been a patient there and the reality of those words finally hit me today. And wouldn’t you know that’s exactly what I needed at that moment. Thank God for a Dr. Nord who has been such a blessing to our family just by being a good Christian and offering us the power of prayer.

Brenda Rebbec

Day 15: Blog Challenge

2011-03-15T05:43:00.000-07:00

Day 15: A Picture of something you want to do before you die

It'd take me a while to find a picture of me in my thinner days, so there isn't one here. Possibly when I have time to dig later I will post one. But that's what I would like for myself and my family is to be "healthy" again. Not asking for the size 0 I was in high school not even the 6 I wore in college. Just to be a healthier weight so that I can enjoy everyday with my amazing family.

Day 14: Blog Challenge

2011-03-15T05:40:00.000-07:00

Day 14: Someone you could not picture ur life without.

I choose Graham. He lights up my life everyday and my life has drastically changed since the day I gave birth to him, all for the better. I love my little man.

Day 13: Blog Challenge

2011-03-13T17:58:00.000-07:00

Day 13: A picture of your favorite band or artist

I am "stuck like glue" on this duo!!

Day 12: blog challenge

2011-03-12T12:33:00.000-08:00

Day 12: a picture of something u love

I cannot imagine my life without music. And a whole lot of other things... But I had to pick one and didn't go all sappy with Family! :)

Day 11: Blog Challenge

2011-03-11T05:37:00.000-08:00

Day 11: A picture of something you hate.

Truly it's a love/hate relationship. I'd love it if I had enough to share with everyone. I love it when there's enough to pay bills, But let's face it that rarely happens... SO I hate that it rules over our lives and that it's gone before it's here most months, and that it's soooooooo disgustingly dirty!

Day 10 of the blog challenge

2011-03-10T11:58:00.000-08:00

Day 10: A picture of the person you do the most crazy things with.

My Family, but particularly my smelly, balding 3 little (but bigger than me) brothers. :)

Blog Challenge: Days 7, 8, 9

2011-03-08T16:10:00.000-08:00

Day 7: A picture of my most treasured item. The worry rock was my grandpa's. It was in his pocket the night he passed away. My gma gave it to me before the funeral and said he would have wanted me to have it.

Day 8: A picture that makes me laugh. Can u really not guess which one?? LOL! Martin's grandma was being given a lot of crap for not keeping her eyes open in pictures at her 90th birthday party... So this is what she did next. Gosh I love her. :)

Day 9: A picture of someone who has gotten me through a lot. My granny. She has been my "worry rock". I don't know many people who can say their gma is their best friend.

Blog Challenge: Catch up days 4, 5, & 6

2011-03-06T12:04:00.000-08:00

Day 4: A picture of your night

Mommy watches on as Daddy plays with Grahammy. This is how most nights go around here. Mommy plays with Graham all day and Daddy gets nights. Ok so maybe we fight over him IF he's being a cute boy.. LOL!

Day 5: A picture of your favorite memory

I considered Graham's birth for here but without the man of my dreams I would not have him either...

Day 6: A picture of a person you would like to trade places with for a day.

I would give anything to get inside my Baby Boy's head for a day. It looks like such a fun job to be him. :)

Day 3: Blog Challenge

2011-03-03T07:44:00.000-08:00

Day 3: A picture of the cast from your favorite show.

MIKE & MOLLY

Here ya go. After watching it on DVR last night and laughing out loud hysterically at it, we agreed this is one of our new favorites. If you haven't seen it yet, you should!

Blog Challenge: Day 2

2011-03-02T16:27:00.000-08:00

Day 2: Post a picture of you and the person you have been the closest with the longest.My Momma. She carried me in her womb from May 1983 until Jan 30th of 84. And has been there for me all of my 27 years. :)

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 1

2011-03-01T16:53:00.001-08:00

Day 1: A picture of yourself with 10 facts

1. I'm a procrastinator. Always have been, most likely always will be. I married one too.

2. I'm getting to the uncomfortable stage in pregnancy. I told my husband the other night "If U do this to me again, I will divorce you". Up until then I was unsure or whether or not I wanted another. I can honestly say now I am probably done after Ms. BellaRose makes her appearance.

3. I can say with 99.9% certainty that my Baby Girl's name will be BellaRose. Spelled like that, with no space.

4. I am TERRIFIED to have a girl. My mom thinks it is the universes way of paying me back... I believe her, hence being TERRIFIED!

5. I feel like my heart could burst with love for my husband, baby boy, baby girl, and nieces and nephews! It's ridiculous how much one can LOVE!

6. I wish money didn't exist. It just makes life so difficult and depressing somedays. And if we must exist in a world that relies on it, why can't I be rich?

7. I wish I could give my Grandma the moon and the stars. But mostly a nice house and a cushy bank account for the rest of her years.

8. I wish I were better at Forgiving and Forgetting. And telling others how I feel good and bad. Sometimes the bad is easier for me. Why is that?

9. I want to be closer to Christ this year. It has been a goal of mine for quite sometime and I'm working towards it.

10. I really want to go on a vacation with my boys before we add a member of the family. Even if it's just a weekend in the Dells at a water park. It would be oh so nice.

IT'S a GIRL!!!!!

2011-02-09T10:58:00.000-08:00

Bella Rose Rebbec. possibly BellaRose Rebbec (we are playing with the idea of it). BRR just like her momma no matter how ya look at it.

I feel like I am still in shock. Growing up with all brothers I always pictured myself as the mom of boys. :) I am afraid a girl might turn out like me. hee hee. Which is fine now that I have finally grown up and learned some valuable life lessons but boy did I have some rough times in there. Not that my brothers haven't all had some too...

So I am most EXCITED to be welcoming a sweet little girl to what will most likely be our complete family. We have talked and pregnancy is just too hard on my body and therefor my family.

Most recently I have entered into the HOT FLASH stage of my pregnancy. Fun stuff when I feel like stripping down to my birthday suit in public. Especially when our high was 10 degrees yesterday. haha. I literally feel like someone takes a blow torch to my back!! It's awful. Happens at night in bed too. I also have been having episodes with low BP that cause me to "black out" or come close to fainting. Thankfully I haven't full out fainted yet!!! How scary when it's just me and the little man all day by ourselves...

20 weeks down. 20 or less to go until we get to meet our little lady! I cannot wait!!! In the mean time everyone is welcomed to start buying PINK (with the exception of pepto bismol pink) and PURPLE and lots and lots of hair bands/bows. Cuz if she is anything like her momma she won't have hair for years! :)

Terrible Two Tantrums

2011-02-03T08:32:00.000-08:00

Most of the time I love nothing more than to brag about all the wonderfully cute things my little boy does but today. well, today is different kind of day. We have officially entered the stage of Terrible Twos I'm afraid. And while he is still really sweet and cute most of the time, those little moments when he isn't can ruin my whole day.

I've tried time outs (for us both)...

Deep breathing.

snacks.

naps.

getting breaks throughout the week by finding him a sitter.

rewards and praise when he is behaving.

Nothing seems to make my life any better when he is having one of those tantrums. Even though I know it will likely be over in 20 minutes time. I can't help but feel completely out of control for that short time. I know it's most likely a stage and we will get through it but GOLLY there are some days I just wanna go in my room and hide.

Reporting for Dr. Charlie Grahammy

2011-01-24T10:37:00.000-08:00

this is what he refers to himself as sometimes. Other times when u ask (or tell) him if he is comfy, sweet, handsome, cute, smart etc He tells u "I Graham- Just Graham"...

He sings the clean up songs "Clean up clean up ERYBODY" "blankets away, blankets away, blankets away please"

He tells mommy "I do'd it" or "Graham do'd it" when he is asserting his independence and says "mom (or dad) do'd it hokay" when he wants to get out of doing something or is feeling lazy.

He makes towers out of everything and sees them everywhere... I was folding laundry today and he thought the "TOWEL TOWER!!!!" I made was pretty awesome.

today his grapes were "precious"

He leaves the room and tells everyone "Love u, see u soon"

He asks to go to bye bye in the "car in garage" and loves to go "SHOPPING" he yells "SHOPPING" everytime he sees the IGA!

He is curious. He asks "what do-nin mom?" "shhh listen, What's that noise/sound"...

He thinks he is clever (and he is) he insists u "frow it to me hokay" LOL! He will stand at the top of the stairs and "frow it to u mom"...

He has picked up a cute habit from his dad... If his dad whistles at me he tries "WHOO WHOOO" and he tells me I look "pretty" or "beautiful" in certain things.

He is my big boy and my SUNSHINE.

I love him.

He's Two...

2011-01-10T05:28:00.001-08:00

He's really two...

Perhaps it's the pregnancy hormones, but his Mommy is not dealing well with this.

He now speaks in full sentences, 4, 5, 6 words long. And asks for exactly what he wants when he wants it.

He tells us when he is going to the bathroom (a step in the right direction for potty training).

He repeats things like "Oh goodness", "Ok?" & "Right?" after he asks for something, "sure Mom", and sounds so grown up.

He now gets himself out of his own bed and comes downstairs when he is awake.

He is becoming a good helper and learning how to share more.

Somedays he likes to pick out his own clothes. That is when he wants to get dressed...

He loves bubble baths and going shopping! :) My kind of boy.

He sings songs sometimes only after hearing it once. My new personal favorite is "tinkle tinkle little star"

He really strives to get words out right. His latest "cute saying" was 'Charlie Bucket' and none of us could figure out if it was an imaginary friend or what. Turns out he was only trying to say his own name. Which he now says is "Charlie Grahammy Rabbit (Rebbec)" LOL! Sometimes I wish he would still say "hocks and hoos" and call himself Charlie Bucket instead...

He is learning to be empathetic and aware of other's feelings and emotions. He asks "You OK?" after someone sneezes or coughs. He frequently checks on other kids/babies crying and makes others aware that they are upset. He tells us when he is really "happy" and really "mad".

He has good manners (for the most part) saying please and thank you and your welcome. This is important to me as a Mom. I really work on having an appreciative kiddo.

Most of all this little boy is my SUNSHINE everyday. He makes me so very happy and proud to be his Mommy. He is such a sweet sweet boy and it's such a pleasure watching him grow up.

Weather Permitting...

2010-12-15T12:32:00.001-08:00

Weather Permitting the next week or so will go as follows:

Pa-Paw and Uncle Will get here tomorrow. Uncle Joe is driving up to get them, I'm riding along.

Christmas #1 on Saturday at Aunt Debbie's. It's typically A Christmas Eve ordeal when we all gather together for chili and oyster stew (EWWW) and the famous gift exchange. This year we have made changes to the date (only the date) so that I can follow Dr's orders after my minor surgery on Tuesday morning.

Sunday- WE GET TO SEE MARY BETH!!! FINALLY!!!! (she actually gets home late Saturday night) I don't know who has missed her more me or G. All I know is I probably won't be so supportive of her next time she wants to teach overseas for "a few months"... LOL!

We scheduled my cerclage (u can google it) for Tuesday morning at 7 am. It's an outpatient surgery and I will be placed on bedrest for a week while we see how my body (and the baby) responds to the surgery. I need some prayers. My nerves are getting to me...

Thursday is the 9 yr anniversary (that sounds like such a happy word and it's not a happy day) of when my grandpa passed away. I will never ever forget that day.

Friday evening we will spend with the Rebbec's. Everyone will be HOME (Mike, Alyssa and Mary Beth)!!! It should be a really good time.

Saturday- we are hoping for the first year in as long as I can remember to spend at home, enjoying our family and playing with all of Graham's new toys.

Sunday- We celebrate Christmas at my mom's house.

Whew!!! I'm tired just thinking of it but I can't wait for it either!

Prayers for all the travelers- going out to you all and asking to recieve on our end too.

May you have lots of PEACE, LOVE and JOY this CHRISTmas!

Big Boy Bed, Bronchitis and Blizzards

2010-12-13T09:08:00.000-08:00

My little boy is 23 months old! Where did the time go? In less than a month he will be a 2 yr old. ***Major sad face*** Why can't we just freeze them in time and keep them sweet and innocent and "lap size"??? My nephew Wylie would tell you I ask this only because I don't want to get old. Which reminds me that next month I will also be having a birthday. 27. UGGHH!

So we went back and forth for months on what to do about a "big boy bed" and finally decided to keep Graham's his own and buy new for the baby. So we took the side off the crib and now it's a toddler bed and wouldn't you know this little guy just loves it. The transition could not have been easier. I'm such a proud mommy that he is such a good boy. At first he wouldn't even get out when he was awake- he would still call for us. He does get down now when he is up but it has always been an appropriate time.

We have had colds in this house for a month now and last week Graham's started into some coughing so we took him into the doctor to find out he has Bronchitis. So fun fun antibiotics. He HATES medicine. I blame it on all that he had to take the first two years because of ear infections. But we finished it and he seems to be on the road to recovery.

Last weekend we got dumped on by a snow storm. This week all week we had warnings for a weekend blizzard. They weren't kidding. We didn't get as much snow as last weekend but we did get a lot of blowing snow! Schools even cancelled today. Did I mention the wind chill is -10 to -20 all day!!! YIKES! The Florida guys are gonna love it when they arrive Thursday. Although we are supposed to have a heat wave by then with highs of 30 degrees on Thursday. LOL!

Baby Update:
There really isn't much of one until tomorrow. We have an appt for a sonogram as well as to schedule my surgery. I can't wait to get a peek at the little thing again. I am starting to lean towards "its a girl". I have had way more "yucky" feelings than I ever did with Graham. I have almost daily headaches and crazy dizziness. I don't sleep well at all which is super frustrating because I'm always exhausted. I sitll have a few food aversions too. I am deinfitely "showing" now too.

Blog Update: So I really fail at putting pictures on here right. Maybe someday someone who is good at this can show me how to do it right. In the meantime- enjoy all the pictures at the top and u can imagine they are with their "captions" and turned the right way. HAHA!

Our Christmas Card

2010-12-08T17:27:00.001-08:00

Since we went the cheapo route this year and only ordered 60 cards to mail, I am taking advantage of the world wide web and posting it here for all to see! :)

We have had such a blessed year. I can only pray that 2011 is as good.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Ear Muffs

2010-12-02T12:58:00.000-08:00

Growing up, we didn't have the best manners, we were all cussers, and were around of a lot of negativity. I have quickly learned that when you have your own children, you begin to try to fix the things in yourself that you don't want to instill them. One of my biggest challenges has been my language. I'm not going to lie. The second is negative and prejudicial thoughts. And I don't mean racial. I am talking judging the book by it's cover type of thing. It has come out of my mouth more than once "Wow look at that WT (White Trash). And that's wrong of me, I don't know their story and I have NO BUSINESS judging them.
So I wonder if anyone else struggles like I do. I find myself praying in my head at night and then being like "ooops I hope HE didn't hear that thought"... Sometimes I actually wish I could tell God "EAR MUFFS" meaning cover your ears because believe me you don't want to hear this. How horrible is that of me?? So last night, as I am laying in bed praying and praying I decided my new prayer for myself is to ask HIM to please help me to be the kind of person HE doesn't need Ear Muffs for.
Will you all pray that prayer for me too? And if you have any prayer requests for yourself or someone else SHOOT! Cause I'm gonna get better at this, I just know it!

Pregnancy Nose

2010-11-22T07:51:00.000-08:00

Most women who have had children know that pregnancy is not as glamourous as people would like you to think.

I don't remember my "pregnancy nose" being this bad last time around. When I say pregnancy nose- I not only mean the overwhelmingly strong sense of smell that sets in the day I get knocked up but the constant drip and stuffy nose and the ever widening bridge of my nose! I wish I thought that this got better as the pregnancy progressed but somehow I don't think that was the case.
So I guess I will continue to be grossed out by smells that never bothered me before, toss and turn at night to try to get one side or the other of my nose unclogged, and try to find some concealer that will make my nose look smaller.

Random Randomness

2010-11-19T18:48:00.000-08:00

We found out last month that we are expecting our next little Rebbec in June! Hopefully this pregnancy goes a little smoother than G's did.So far so good. I have had a few food aversions (tuna, hotdogs to name a couple) and lots of the sinus issues I had with Graham but no big issues! so Yay! We are expecting to have the cerclage surgery the week of Christmas or the week after. They will watch me closely for a week after and it means a week of bedrest but hopefully if everything goes well- No bed rest after that! I already had to quit babysitting and have to often have help with lifting Graham and I'm only 8 1/2 weeks along. I really miss not seeing Lana, Dax and Wylie daily.

As some of you know, My dad had a stroke in October and has pretty much recovered fully since then. I am excited that he and my brother Will are going to be here for two weeks at Christmas. It's been too long since I've seen them and since they have seen the little ones.

Graham had a great follow up appt after his tubes and Dr. Russell thinks this should do the trick and hopefully no more ear infections. We did decide to get him evalutated for his sensory needs. We should hear something the beginning of next week to set it all up. IN the meantime the kid is talking us in circles, he becomes more and more opinionated each day, speaks in full sentences and has a cute sense of humor. HE has started whispering things and one of his favorite past times is to hide under the random blankets around the house and whisper to whomever will hide with him, apparently he also sees "stars" under there! He often tells us "Mom (or Dad) on Floor! Hide! Blankies!" He reads books to us and to himself and is picking up on some of the words to his favorite Kindermusik and non Kindermusik songs and asks mom to sing them lots at home. We also have a new game in the car- we talk about the different vehicles on the road as we are going places just this week he told he he sees "chocolate cars and trucks". I adore the little booger so much. And yes, he is still hooked on Boogers too!

As I shared on Facebook tonight we asked him "Graham did u poop?" "No I farted" "Are you lying" "No I not Lion RAWR!!!" He is such a hoot to listen to!

And today marks exactly ONE MONTH til Mary Bethy comes home! I cannot wait. I miss her like CRAZZZZZYYYY!

PTL!!!

2010-10-26T18:12:00.000-07:00

I always wondered what this abbreviation meant. It will now be a favorite of mine. PRAISE THE LORD!
I owe Him lots of praise this week (as well as every week). My dad, Mark suffered a stroke yesterday morning. My mom and aunt were still in Florida (leaving that morning), after a quick weekend visit with my brother Will, when Will called them at dad's request. They called the ambulance. The stroke was on his left side of his brain, so it affected the right side of his body. He had trouble walking and speaking by the time they reached the hospital. But has since recovered some of that strength back slowly. Today I was able to understand everything he said on the phone, something my brother had reported you couldn't do yesterday. The doctors will most likely release him tomorrow or the next day and expect him to make a full recovery. PTL!!! Continued prayers are needed for his quick recovery, that he may find a way to afford his medications and keep on them, and possibly get medical insurance so that he can continue to visit doctors when needed and stay healthy. I also pray that he can still come home for the holidays as we haven't seen him in over a year now and really miss him.

Skyping

2010-10-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

I think perhaps Skype is one of the greatest inventions ever. I did not know how I was going to survive my sister in laws stay in England- let alone how Graham was... Skype has allowed us to talk to her for FREE like she is in our living room on the couch next to us! I know it makes her less homesick and it sure helps me (and Graham) not miss her as much.

Update- Graham will be getting tubes in his ears on November 2nd. Prayers needed that this will be a solution to our problems.

Farms, Editing, England and Ears

2010-10-12T17:42:00.001-07:00

This weekend was a nice family weekend. We had Friday night date night and even had an overnight babysitter for the little man. Saturday we picked him up and hung out on the couch all day watching movies. Sunday we took grandma and went to Rader's Family Farm (pumpkin patch). It was so much fun, Graham and I went back on Monday with some cousins, Wylie, Mary Liz and Tommy. Mary Beth helped supervise. :) I sat down with the computer last night and tried my hand at editing some of the great pictures from the Farm Outing. (having an issue with uploading them however) This was mostly so I had some for Mary Beth before she leaves us to go student teach in England for TWO WHOLE MONTHS!!! We are going to miss her dearly but we know it will be a great learning experience for her! And we will see her December 19th!
On a side note today we had the two week checkup to make sure Graham's month long ear infection was finally gone. Over the past month I have also noticed a pretty extreme reaction/sensitivity to loud, high pitched noises which had also begun to concern me. Dr. Bandy gave us a referral to the ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) Specialist. We go Monday. Pray we get some answers and solutions finally!

We LOVE Kindermusik!!!

2010-09-21T11:16:00.000-07:00

It was never a question as to whether or not I would stay at home when we had children. My mom worked very little when we were younger and my husband's mother was a stay at home mom as well. But, as a stay at home mom who also babysits, I am always looking for ways for Graham and I to have Mommy and Me time. I sometimes feel guilty for always making him share his toys, his house, his food and his MOMMA! So when summer was over and I got the opportunity to cut back to 3 days a week of babysitting, leaving 2 whole days for just Graham and I- I was excited! What kinds of fun things could we do together to fill our days? After all the #1 reason I don't work outside of the home is for Grahammy! Graham came out loving music. His dad and I are music junkies. Martin played piano as a child and young adult and has self taught a little guitar. I was always involved in chorus in school and loved performing in musicals as well. It was a given that our child would know about music and be exposed from it from in utero on! Yes, I was one of those mom's who put headphones on my big pregnant belly and read books to the baby in there. I never got huge into the research about it but always had the attitude of "what could it hurt?". Graham now enjoys all sorts of music and has been dancing since he could stand and singing since before he could talk. I had heard about Kindermusik from parents at the schools I worked in before getting pregnant as I had heard from mom's in the neighborhood- it was a great way to let kids express themselves and have fun while learning through music! Intrigued from the beginning I knew when I had kids I would give it a try. I am an Occupational Therapist still at heart even though my license has lapsed and it's been 2 1/2 years since I have worked as one. I LOVE learning about our sensory systems and how they work, and I have a kiddo who is very sensory orientated. Kindermusik was definitely only going to further explore his sensory system and help him learn through it. I have to admit I was nervous and had no idea what to expect on the first day. But Katie Henderson (Mrs. Kindermusik) is absolutely amazing and the BEST! She intuitively knows how to involve each and every child in there and coaches the parents on how to involve their children as well. Graham was very well behaved on the first day and participated beyond my expectations. He instantly fell in love with Mrs. Henderson and wanted to be by her a lot and even gave her a kiss and hug on the way out. The first day was all about learning the routines, getting to know one another and trying out new things. Some of the kids had been there before and were experienced. I was beaming with pride after leaving that first day because had I not known Graham I would have thought he was an "experienced" kiddo himself. The second week didn't go as smoothly but he still did GREAT! We are starting to learn about high and low and I love having something to carry through with at home. The take home CD is AWESOME! Although I am getting a little tired of "the carpenter's hammer" (his and Lana's favorite). ;) I kind of feel like it tailored to Graham specifically because we talk about all things around the house. Anyone who knows my kid, knows this is HIS THING anyway. He is obsessed about talking about the smells, sights, sounds, textures and tastes around home and has always been "hypersensitive" to them. Once again definitely a sensory kiddo... We were already using much of the vocabulary we are learning about in class in our home. I am so thrilled to have it all reinforced at Kindermusik. I am PSYCHED to continue our semester in Kindermusik and I know it won't be our last class. It is something for both Grahammy and Mom to look forward to each week! I am in LOVE! There is a video of Graham demonstarting his singing skills as well as some pictures of him and his "beloved Kindermusik bag" when leaving for class today.

The World's Fair comes to town. AKA- 63 rd annual CORN FEST!!!

2010-09-11T19:05:00.000-07:00

Growing up in NC I never knew the true meaning of this Carnival my cousins spoke of. Sure, they had lots of corn and beans up yonder in Illinois, but what in the world did they need a 3 day long Festival to celebrate the Corn for? I had never heard of a Tobacco Festival after all...

I don't remember attending my first Corn Festival until I moved here my sophomore year of high school. It came round a few weeks after school started and right about the time the farmers started harvesting. I remember being so excited to walk around holding hands with my boyfriend of the week and sneaking smokes in the alley behind Topsey's (the local bar). We walked the drag (two blocks of Front Street), round the side street thru the park and back again, millions of times in those 3 days. We rode rides and tried to see who would barf on whose shoes first. We ate and drank "Carney" food: corndogs, funnel cakes, and lemon shake ups. We snuck into the bar to beg our friend's dad for more money to play games and win more cheap stuffed animals. We talked to everyone we knew. We lived for those 3 fun packed days.

In college, I always came back for at least one night, but then I would rarely ride rides. I would avoid people I hadn't seen since graduation day. I sang in the community choir a couple of years in a row and participated in their Thursday night show. I really didn't "dig" it so much anymore.

Five years after high school, I started dating my now husband and we decided to make it "official" to our classmates the week of corn fest. That had been one of my favorite memories until this year. The next year we had been married a few months and were expecting our first child. I was pretty sick that week. Last year, G was 8 months old and we didn't stay out long when we went up because he was still napping the day away and couldn't enjoy the food.
This year our precious little boy is 20 months old and the life of the party! I would say that this year is definitely the first year he could appreciate it.

THE FOOD
We were so excited to take him up Thursday night (1st night) to our favorite food truck the Smiley Cuban Food truck. We have talked about those sandwiches all year! We are proud to report that G loves it as much as mommy and daddy! We ate there once every day of the Corn Fest! We also had to make daily stops at the Bob's ice cream truck and we shared several different kinds of ice cream. While enjoying our ice cream today- Graham spotted a mother and daughter eating "walking tacos" and he had to have one!!! So of course- what Grahammy wants- Grahammy gets! He loved it of course! He also helped his Grandma Kate eat her nachos as well. We also had a new favorite this year- flavored lemon shake ups- they had cherry and strawberry- both delicious!

THE RIDES
Graham wasn't too sure about the rides this year. But momma was excited and got him an arm band which could be used on Thursday or Friday night. We opted for Friday night, only to find out that most of the Carnies required the parents to also have an arm band to ride with the kids... BULL HONKEY if u ask me! But we got one and shared it between the two of us. First we rode the carousel.. BLAH, BLAH.. HE didn't care. Next we rode the choo choo- which is not designed for even someone of my short stature to ride. Oh and did I mention I couldn't get him off after the first go round so we rode a second time. Then mommy had had enough. It was daddy's turn! So Daddy took him down the really big slide twice. Those stairs are steep and there was no way momma trusted herself with that precious cargo going up them with little ones pushing me! He was happy with that and it was getting dark so we got away with only 5 rides total- and yes, it paid for the arm band!

THE MUSIC
In the park, there is something going on each evening. It's always a nice break away from the loud music, crowded street, and puked covered kids and sidewalks uptown. They have a little mini king and queen contest that always proves to be adorable! Graham will be old enough in two more years to enter him. OH AND I WILL! Thursday night is always the kids show choir camps and then the community choir following that. I had two cousins performing this year and we only stayed for that short part but in that amount of time Graham managed to entertain many people. One older gentleman behind us said to me " I can't even watch my grand kid on stage because your son is stealing the show". We laughed and nodded and continued to watch Graham go round and round and round in circles dancing like a WILD MAN! At one point he headed towards the stage like he was going to join them up there and show them how little guys do it! Friday night was a country band and he had a bigger space to dance and once again all eyes on MY KID instead of the poor "Cattle Bandits" who were on stage. Saturday night, we didn't think he would make it until the show started at 8 but boy oh boy did he! It was a band doing Classic Rock- it was loud, obnoxious, screechy type of head banging music that we would normally not listen to ourselves, let alone play for our little boy. But he loved it and his MOMMA taught him to head bang and he poked his little lips out and made the most hilarious face while doing it. There were people literally standing up out of their chairs and pointing and showing people around them- the cute little Blondie, I call my own little Graham Cracker.
ONE PROUD, ADORING MOMMA this weekend!

THE PEOPLE

Being that both of my parents grew up here and their parents grew up here- I am related to half the town. Being that I graduated from this small town HS- I see tons of people I went to school with. So of course we can't walk ten steps without having to stop to say hello to someone. I see distant cousins I don't' see all year long otherwise. I see classmates from school I don't see all year long otherwise. It's especially nice now that a lot of us are married and having kids. We get to compare ages, etc. I absolutely LOVE every minute of showing off my two favorite boys!
Here is where I will tell you one of the best reasons for living in a small town. The honest, good, kind hearted people. We are forgetful people apart, my husband and I, put us together and we lose all sense of everything. We lost two lawn chairs to the Corn Fest last year and were sure we did again this year. I realized last night as we were falling asleep we had forgotten to take them out of the park on Thursday night and wouldn't you know it, they were still there when we went to check before the parade today! I was AMAZED!

THE PARADE
I have already mentioned how many people I am related to but have I mentioned how cute my kid is? People get out of their vehicles and go completely out of their way to make sure he gets buttloads of candy! Yes, it is a good ol fashioned AWESOME parade and everyone throws candy still. And it's a nice small town where every one looks out for one anothers kids when they rush out to the street to get the candy that didn't quite make it that far. We sit in my brother's yard which is in the first two blocks on the parade route and we made out this year with two giant ziploc bags full of candy. And that was just us. My brother and his kids, my mom and her husband, my brother Joe and his friend, my aunt and uncle, a friend and his son ALL MADE OUT LIKE BANDITS too! We will have candy for a few days at least! ;)

Now that we have "set our roots" and bought a house in El Paso, I think our little guy will grow up one of those kids that exclaims in his 40's "I have never missed a single Corn Fest". And I'm darn proud to be the Momma of that boy, cuz tonight, I think El Paso is a pretty special place to live!

Boo Tooseday

2010-09-07T16:31:00.000-07:00

Knew today was gonna be a bummer but MAN! it was really a doozie!

Started out at the dentist, getting a filling for the first time in 18 years. In fact only my second filling in my entire life! I cannot stand needles, have a horrible gag reflex, and despise foreign objects in my mouth. I was close to a heart attack sitting there anticipating the numbing... I could feel my poor little heart beating in my eyeballs for goodness sakes.

The next doctor's appointment is the one I was really dreading, the one all women put off until it's ridiculous. THE OH SO FABULOUS ANNUAL PAP SMEAR APPT! To top it all off- I was seeing a new Nurse Practioner for it. She was great just in case u were wondering. But I did find out someone lied or refrained from explaining I had to have a repeat mammo for a lump I've had for awhile (which is scheduled for next week). And the joyous news is the lump is (feels) bigger. I really pray it doesn't mean a biopsy this time... I am also getting a ultrasound for my gall bladder which I am glad to be getting done finally. I however, don't have time to do surgery if needed at this point. So let's pray I'm a big baby and it's not as bad as it seems...

A day in the life of ME

2010-09-01T15:37:00.000-07:00

Wednesday September 1st

2:35 ish AM- wake up frantically swatting at my leg and blankets, screaming "SPIDER"
(bad dream... Or was it???)
3:00 ish AM- still awake wondering was it really a dream or was there a freaky spider coming to get me???
3:30 ish AM or somewhere thereabouts- drifts back into a fitful sleep, slapping husband every few minutes or so, counting down the days until he gets his mouth guard in my head
6:30 ish- Martin gets up, therein waking me up, then hears Graham starting to wake up
7:05- G is really up now.. Guess I will go get him since Martin isn't out of bathroom yet, even though I have to pee big time. Meets Martin in hallway- he takes G and lets me take a 4 minute shower before he has to leave
7:50- Travis arrives with Dax and Lana NOW THE FUN BEGINS!!! I had prepared eggs a little earlier and G has eaten so I sit Lana down to eat her eggs. Of course G wants more...
8:30 we head downstairs to play and I am waiting to hear from Tiffany what time Dax ate and will be hungry again (Travis never seems to know when I ask him)
8:30-9:30- Break up multiple fights, fold and sort laundry, make Dax a bottle and feed him
9:30-10:30- getting a little desperate, take kids outside to play in a very wet sandbox, Dax in stroller, he wants to go to sleep but can't. I pick him up get him to sleep, put him in DARK QUIET room downstairs where (******fingers crossed*****) he will sleep a little while without the "toddlers" waking him up... He goes down easily, I put a VERY FILTHY Lana and Graham in the bathtub and rinse their clothes out and put them in washer...
10:30-11:00- kids in highchairs, markers and paper on trays, (Please, please, please color while I clean up, make lunch and go pee!)
11:00- Feed kids what looks to be the grossest lunch ever: Mac n cheese with hotdogs cut up in it, applesauce and strawberry yogurt (forgot veggies today). THEY CHOWED!!!! Graham looked like and Ethiopian with his little pot belly poking out. They then sat dow to watch Calliou and let their lunches digest. I also talked to Tiffany in there somewhere- she called to make sure I was doing ok after my little freak out over what turned out to be a birth mark on Monday. LOL!
11:30- toddlers down for a nap!!! SHHHHHHH!!! What's that u hear??? NOTHING!!! Hurray! Silence! I put on a DVR'd show while I clean up lunch and sit down to take a deep breath
NOON- my hubs comes home for lunch (forgot my caffinated drink I politely requested)
12:30-1- more silence!!!
1:15-2:00 make Dax a bottle in anticipation of him waking up- 2 seconds into I hear him on the monitor, feed Dax, change Dax's poopies, talk to Dax, play with Dax Graham wakes up
2:15- Wylie arrives and is pleasantly surprised that I remembered to set up Wii AND I brought in the books and games from garage. I ask him if he wants to help dust shelves and put away books and games or play Wii. He cleans.. Love that kid... Make all kids snack of popcorn, trail mix (I mixed at lunch), and juice then later chips.. THEY WERE STILL HUNGRY???!!!!
3:30-4:30- broke up tons of fights again and tried my hardest to keep bigger kids quiet and Dax sleeping. Tiff arrives and a HUGE SIGH OF RELIEF is heard all throughout the house! :)
4:30-5:00- make dinner
5:00- on- eat dinner, veg on couch, blogging, fbooking, talking to Besties (Billie Joe and Riki) via house phone and text... wondering if Riki will EVER let me know if I am buying her a plane ticket to come on Friday... Yes this Friday.. Yes we are crazy!

2 2morrow

2010-08-25T07:34:00.000-07:00

Lana Mae- My dear little niece who will be 2!!! tomorrow.

Where did time go?

A few of her cute little saying this morning:
I not reach that. U help me? (what 2 yr old knows the word reach??)
Grahammy that is my cup!
I go downstairs play.
I watch Elmo.
That my baby Dax.
I want sucka too.
I have tea party.
spin around.
my smoothie not come out.
I tired. I get pillow, blank.

As I sit on the couch writing this they are jumping up and down making war cries! and spinning in circles... It couldn't be the suckas they are eating at 9:30 in the morning.

What happened to the days they laid on the floor not moving? Or slept in the swing?
Or drank ba-ba's and had to be spoon fed? She is all grown up!!! I can't wait to give her all her new purple clothes!

sometimes the truth hurts...

2010-08-25T07:08:00.001-07:00

but you can be sure I will always tell it to you anyway.

sometimes it is too little too late.

some think it is my greatest attribute.

I consider it my biggest weakness.

I don't do it to hurt you but rather to give it to you through my eyes.

I appreciate when people do the same for me.

sometimes I need to hear it like it is.

sometimes you do too.

it's my way of being a good friend.

it's why so many of you call me with your problems.

so don't get mad when I tell it like I see it.

I will be the first to admit I'm not perfect.

but none of us are.

that's why being reminded of our wrong doings make sense.

telling the truth does not always make me feel good.

most of the time it is hard and leaves me sad.

because I would love to sugar coat everything.

and tell you everything you do is great.

but it is simply not the truth.

it doesn't mean I love you less.

it is not so that I feel better.

It is because I know that sometimes you need to hear the truth.

even when it hurts.

Grahammy-I love you through and through...

2010-08-17T18:56:00.001-07:00

For one of Graham's baby showers- instead of a card, attendees were asked to bring a book and inscibe a little note to Graham. He recieved everything from Little Golden Books, to my childhood favorites and firsts (The Big Hungry Bear and The Gingerbread Man) to books that are so precious to read over and over to little ones like "I Love You Though and Through". I had never read this book by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak. It was a gift from my husband's great Aunt Dorothy. I love reading it because it is so true to life. I love every little quirk about this kid.

Tonight he had to sit on his potty and promptly requested a book. I think he is going to be a reader like his mommy. He proceeded to then lead me in his room and picked out several books, climbs up in his rocker and starts singing "rock bye baby". He is also going to be a singer like his mommy. This afternoon he comes carrying in a frying pan, two measuring cups and a hairbrush. He cooked and cooked and cooked those poor goldfish. Yep, he's going to be a cook like his mommy. He takes the camera often and says cheese. He's gonna be a ham like his mom. But he's like his daddy too... Five minutes after dinner he asks for a "snack"- a kid after his daddy's own heart. In fact, after all the "ideas" given to us on how to administer medicine to him, his daddy comes up with the idea to put a little in a spoon and cover it with M&M's... Oh how I love my boys. Through and Though.

Update on Grahammy Sickypoo

2010-08-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

We saw a "real" doctor today for Graham. He was in disbelief that the doctor at Prompt Care did not even look at his ears or throat. He says he has double ear infections and possible strep. The blisters are all over his throat and clear to the tip of his tounge. He prescribed an antibiotic, gave more advice on tylenol and Motrin administration. My frustration is that with a decent doctor yesterday, we could have started him on the antibiotics 24 hrs sooner. I am grateful that we got some answers today and have a way to take care of him better.
Thanks to you all for your continued prayers.

I'm # 1...

2010-08-16T17:40:00.002-07:00

For years now, on the Roberts side of my family, I have referred to myself as #1. I don't do it to be conceited, you see, I am the first (#1) grandchild on that side. I also lived with my grandparents and developed a closer relationship with them than the typical grandchild/grandparent relationship. I consider my grandmother my best friend, #1confidant and like a mother to me. I considered my grandfather the same. Sadly, he passed away unexpectedly in 2001 and left my grandma and I to grow even closer. My grandmother was the Maid of Honor in my wedding. I had always planned on my grandpa and dad walking me down the aisle together. My son is first named for my grandpa. The two of them have changed my life in so many ways. To this day, I always turn to grandma for advice, to vent or just to go to lunch. I also quite often turn to my grandpa Charlie in Heaven for answers, wisdom and strength.

This summer has been a "doozy" of a summer as one friend put it. Bob (my mom's husband) was arrested and I have very strong opinions about it all, putting more than a small strain on my relationship with my mom. This leaving us to not start a day care together which was a HUGE relief on my part because I doubted whether I could handle it anyway. My brother has also felt neglected and had turned to us for a temporary place to live before moving to FL with my dad. More than one friend has had marital or relationship issues and turned to me for advice, help, etc. All of you know, we moved into our first home earlier this summer and there is much left to do before it is done. I guess what I am saying is there has been no shortage of STRESS!!!

Granny keeps reminding me no matter how bad it gets, don't forget all the GOOD in my life. She tells me over and over that I have been blessed with the most amazing husband, the sweetest baby boy, and the most supportive in laws I could ask for. My brothers are pretty great too. But I often wonder when she will realize she is one of God's greatest BLESSINGS to me?
Praise the LORD for me being her #1 and for her being mine.

sickypoo :<(

2010-08-15T17:39:00.000-07:00

Grahammy has caught something. I babysat Wednesday for a little boy who found out Saturday he has strep. Graham started running a fever yesterday. He won't let us actually let us fully take it though. He takes the thermometer and whips it across the room. and proceeds to throw a full on fit for 20+ minutes (which can't help the fever). This last time it was 102.5!!!!

We made the decision to take him to Prompt Care this morning. Our thought being, get him a strep test, and hopefully start him on some meds a day sooner than if we wait to go to his primary pediatrician tomorrow. Tiffany goes back to work tomorrow from maternity leave and I was supposed to have Dax and Lana. So much for that. Back to Prompt Care visit...

BIG MISTAKE!!!

One- they are not equipped (nor did they seemed trained) to handle kids.
Two- by the time we were seen G's fever had started to creep back up sending him into a tither again...
Three- The female doctor was RUDE, SHORT, AND INCONSIDERATE, and UNPROFESSIONAL!

They called it an Upper Respiratory INFECTION. INFECTION to me usually means antibiotics. NO I am not one of those moms who demands one when not needed and I do believe it they are over-prescribed but if you are going to say it's an INFECTION then at least tell me on what basis u found that. Because I find it really hard to believe when she didn't even examine my child. The extent of "seeing" the doctor was her coming in to help the nurse who was afraid to do the strep test alone on my child.

We came out knowing what we did going in. HE has something (UH DUH REALLY??) Give him Tylenol for fever. (one better than that...alternate with Motrin...) keep him hydrated (yea? ya think?)

And all that delivered by a nurse who we hadn't seen yet... YEA, neither person came back in to tell us that that had previously been in there. (it took all of 20 seconds and the doctor was sitting at her computer when we walked out)

I have to say, in their defense, Graham was absolutely uncooperative, inconsolable and screaming his head off. But to his defense- that has now become another symptom... AS even on his worst days I have never seen him like this and he has done it with no reason every 2.5-3 hrs at home all day...

We bought a temple thermometer on the way home as well as stocked up on Tylenol and Motrin. Our day has consisted of hand feeding him ice, tiny bites of soup, and Popsicles and pushing fluids. He has also had two cool baths. HE has hung out on mommy or daddy's lap all day. Not my typical kid...

Tonight we called our on call doctor with the pediatrician's office to ensure we were doing all we could for him... We are.. But somehow that still doesn't put me at ease. It's not easy at all to see our child obviously hurting, and sick like this.

We could use some prayers that this passes quickly and that mom and dad have somewhat of their sanity left when it's over.

Out of the mouths of babes...

2010-08-11T13:11:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I love my job so much is because I don't miss a second in the little ones lives... Something new pops out of their mouths everyday. Graham has really been having a language explosion lately, as has Lana for a while now. Here are just some things I have heard the past two days that made me giggle!

Graham(19mo)-"bess u mama" (after me sneezing last night)
"bye bye Mare-ee-sis-ee-tom-ee" (when aunt Mary Beth, Cousins Sissy and Tommy left)
"hack, hack, hack"- me- "snack?" G- "nack nack nack" almost there haha!

Lana(not quite 2)- "u not play wit it eadder Dammy" (either is her new favorite word)

Parker(4)- "Hayden- I think playing your DS will make me feel better" ( I should have given him the DS- he threw up all over the place an hour later...)

Hayden(8)- "she sleeps all day until we sit down to eat and then she is like can u spare me some of that?"- talking about his 4 month old sister...
"I've got Miller Lite, Bud Lite, Miller Genuine Draft, Bud Lite Lime"- taking orders for BEER (????) from his 4 yr old brother...

And the most famous one (Wylie) is in FLORIDA this week...

Grahammy le gusta

2010-08-10T18:35:00.000-07:00

(Grahammy Likes)

ice cubes for a snack.
vacuums.
bottles of any kind.
spinning in circles.
dog piling on mom, dad or anyone else who lays on the floor.
meows (cats).
anything that sprays or spritzes.
cheese, milk, juice, broccoli, bluberries,fruit snacks, popcorn and chips.
trains, cars, trucks, bikes.
rides on the lawnmower.
watching Elmo, Thomas the train, or Bob the Builder.
dancing like a crazy man.
playing with Nana Rebbec's glasses.

Grahammy ama (loves)

his best friend Lana, except when she bullies him.
his aunts and uncles and gma's and gpa's.
his mommy and daddy.
learning new words.
baths or swimming.
being outside.
animals of all sorts.
sharing pop with Nana Rebbec.
CANDY!

cookout excitement over, concert excitement to look forward to!

2010-08-09T11:59:00.001-07:00

The cookout is over. The brother is gone... Now what to do?

The cookout was fantastic. We could not have asked for better weather, better food and better company. We had a fabulous time hanging out outside, showing off our new place, and stuffing our faces with delicious cookout food! A run down of some of the things we had to eat:
Grandma's Tater Salad- one bowl with onions and one without (special for me, her # 1 granddaughter)
Patti's (MIL) "Chinese salad" with cabbage and uncooked ramen- requested by Martin
Aunt Cheryl's deviled eggs
My friend Erica's delicious Rhubarb cake (FAVE amongst adults) and mostacoli (sp)
Another friend Billie's Fruit Pizza, complete with strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries on a sugarcookie with homemade icing- SO FESTIVE!
Kelley's chocolate chip cookies- a FAVORITE amongst the children
Aunt Debbies baked beans
And we can't forget Mary Beth's- cupcakes, butterscotch brownies and sweet tea!
Martin and Marty grilled burgers and hotdogs but with all the sides we didn't hardly need them!

The kids enjoyed riding trikes, being pulled in the wagon, and playing with the Bott's adorable puppy Baxter! We wound down the night by packing up the truck and saying our goodbyes to Will, Travis and Wylie who left for Florida at 5 AM on Sunday.

The troops made it safe and sound to Pa-Paws house! I know Wylie is thrilled to be down there. Travis too, as this is his first time visiting dad down there. Will is staying and I couldn't miss him more already. I was really getting used to haing him around.

The next few weeks hold lots of excitement for me! I am resting lots this week and next because on the 13th- 7 girls and I are going to the state fair in Springfield to see the band Lady Antebellum. And then on the 20th- 6 of us are going on a "sister in law" trip to see Sugarland at the Indiana State Fair and staying the night for shopping on Saturday! I am in GREAT NEED of these girls trips! I can hardly wait.
Over the next few days I should also be recieving the Tupperware, Partylite and books I just ordered. Something more short term to look forward to!

In the meantime, I will be looking forward to hosting many more dinners/cookouts for family and friends here! And they are all very excited that visting us no longer means a hike up 26 stairs!

I should more than mention the talent my 13 yr old cousin Nick has for photography... All of these pictures were taken by him.
Smiles,

A Mother's Sacrifice

2010-08-06T11:37:00.000-07:00

You know all those cute little poems and chain emails about A Mother's sacrifices for her child? Let me tell you about a few of my own.

I should first start by informing you all- I have a 16 yr old "new born". My brother will has been living with us for a couple of weeks. Boy has it been an experience. Not only is he all the usual:smelly, loud at inappropriate times, cranky, lazy, and goofy, but he has also opened my eyes to what is to come with Graham. Let's just say I have been researching boarding schools... J/K. I love the kid and it has been fun to have him here and I will sure miss him when he leaves to go live with our Dad. He has been helpful (with many, many, many pleads and reminders), and goofy (sometimes waaay to late at night, when he is at his best, when all I wanna do is go to bed), and Graham loves having a "big brother" around.

During this tumultuous (but very rewarding) time in our lives I have sacrificed (gladly) many things.

a relationship with my mom (we have yet to agree to disagree)
a giant load of savings to get him down to dad's
a spare bedroom has been turned into what looks like a sight of a natural disaster and quite frankly smells like one too...

Not all sacrifices I make are for him though, more silly ones like realizing today that it was the firs time I had blow dried my hair in weeks... or last night finally getting Graham's room "done"... as well as getting cabinet doors put on, shelves hung, and a few more steps in decorating..

These things all seem so silly and insignificant in the grand scheme of life, because at the end of the day I know that my husband, my child and my baby brother are happy. And I know life will go on without me or my house looking "put together"... without a little more savings in the bank, without that spare bedroom looking neat when people visit...

Changes

2010-07-07T17:15:00.001-07:00

As I sit back and upload pictures from the past couple of months and reflect on what has occurred over those couple of months, I am in awe of how many changes we have endured. Some happy, wonderful amazing changes. Some on the not so great side. Here are a few updates on stuff going on round here.

Update on House:
We have moved in. Father's Day we had amazing family help us out and in we go, no cabinet doors in our kitchen and the basement only about 25% done. But hey- no more complaining because I no longer feel like a single parent raising my handful of a child alone. My biggest problem now is getting off our comfy couch and away from our 50 inch TV to get the things done that we have left. Little things like outlets, covers and trim to bigger things like painting the LAST two rooms in our home and putting down a new floor in the downstairs bathroom... It will get there. I just know it.

Update on getting pregnant:
Still not there. Getting frustrated and discouraged. Especially when I hear about another "unexpected" pregnancy of a friend. But it's in God's hands and I know it will happen when it is supposed to.

Update on Graham:
The kid has a mouth FULL of teeth, talks non stop- sometimes in a language I understand and sometimes not. He is getting good at "please" and "thank you" as well as "yes" and "no". Some of his new sayings "I want snack snacks" (fruit snacks) and "Where's Yana" (Lana) or "see my Boom Boom" (vacuum) are pretty cute too. He also frequently asks to go "owww siii" (outside) and loves to tell everyone about his "Nu hooos" (new shoes). The kid is getting a personality and an attitude to go with it. You can't tell at all that he mostly always gets his way. We have had some issues lately with hitting and screaming for no reason and it's been challenging trying to figure out a succesful way of disciplining him when he does it. He eats most everything in sight and friends and family have been amused to find that he likes spicy foods like peppers and salsa but hasn't forgotten his staples of chips, cheese and sour cream. (wonder where he gets that from???)

Update on Family:
Will continues to improve. He has had some on and off anger issues and recently broke his hand hitting a wall but I feel like overall he is in a much better place than he was 6 months ago. He just took a trip with us down to see Martin's family in Effingham and was such a great big "brother" to all the kiddos there. It warms my heart to see the sweet sweet baby boy pop out that I always knew was in there.

My brother Travis and his wife Tiffany welcomed a beautiful baby boy named Dax into their family a couple of weeks ago and man is he a cutie. All his big sister can say over and over and over again is "AWWW BABY DAX"!

Update on ME:
I am just trying to be a mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt and friend . Good thing I don't have a full time job on top of it because Man am I pooped! I am happy to be going to a concert in a couple of weeks in St. Louis with one of my best friends. Our husbands agree that we deserve (and need) and weekend away so they are having us go down on Saturday and stay all night in a hotel and then attend the SUGARLAND concert on Sunday night before driving back home that night. I am super excited to spend some girl time away and get to see one of MY ALL TIME FAVORITE BANDS!!!! YAY!

Tomorrow we are attempting pictures again. This time outside and this time with a more experienced photographer. I am optimistic we will get some good ones! Check back soon to see if I'm right.

Until then, Good Night and God Bless.

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum

2010-07-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

Now that summer is finally here and so is my newest nephew DAX, Graham and Lana don't see each other on the daily basis they were used to. So every now and then I get a call or make a call so that the poor kids can see each other. Yesterday really woke me up to how truly close they are...
I was reading Lana one of her all time favorite books: "Who Do You Love" and we go through momma, dadda, grandma and then it's the BROTHER page. We started talking about her brothers: Wylie and Dax. And she looks up at me with those big brown eyes and says: "and Dammy too?" Me with tears in my eyes "Yep honey, Dammy too".

I didn't grow up around my cousins. We lived almost 1000 miles away from all family. We saw them a few times a year but the only "family" we had close was the Jeffrey's family that kinda sorta "adopted" us. Funny because they are my husband's family.

So you can imagine what JOY it brings to my heart to see Graham get to grow up with all of his cousins! Instead of seeing them twice a year it's more like twice a week at least!!!

today I am thankful for

2010-06-15T19:46:00.000-07:00

1. The little things in life like my niece yelling my name a million times a day just to hear me answer her. Or playing in the rain. Or the fact my son learns a new word everyday!
2. The miracle of birth. I am so proud to be an auntie again in just a few days! I cannot wait to meet the next precious "roberts" kid!
3. The miracle of conception- we are trying hard and we know God will allow it when its time! But how cool that something sooo tiny and minute can grow into a baby?
4. Cell phones! To keep us in touch with all the VIP's in life! Family and friends alike!
5. Family, mothers, in laws- all working to give us the most beautiful home in the shortest amount of time! And all helping us move into this weekend! ;)
6. Social networking sites- mostly FB for me. I have just recently come in contact with another childhood friend and it amazes me everytime this happens because I know it would be virtually impossible to stay a part of all their lives without it! :)
7. Kids! Kids and the crazy things they do- day and day out that make me giggle, and stare in amazement! They are little sponges!
8. My hard working, loving, caring, understanding, amazingly wonderful husband as of 2 years on Monday June 21st! I cannot begin to tell u how blessed I am to have him for my own. He and my son are two of lifes most amazing blessings! I love them so much!
9. Movies- to keep little ones distracted and hopefully lull them to sleep. ; (as I sit and write this next to a very overly tired 6 year old making me watch avatar again!!)
10. Life! How truly amazing it is to wake up to this beautiful life of mine every day!

Good Night and God Bless!

counting my blessings

2010-06-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

Our New Home
1. We can finally expand our family without worry!
2. Our very own HUGE YARD!
3. A garage to park in during our hideous winters!
4. A separate space for day care!
5. More stairs for Grahammy that he can do alone- less stairs for mommy to carry up groceries and babies!
6. Neighbors!
7. Two bathrooms!
8. More room for family gatherings!
9. Room for sleepovers!
10.Gardening (when I get around to it)

Babies
1. The little goofs can't stand being apart for 2 days but when they're together they fight like brother and sisters!
2. A BRAND NEW BABY ROBERTS on June 23rd! This Auntie can hardly contain herself!
3. Lana is speaking in full sentences a lot of the time.
4. Graham has spoke in quite a few two and three word sentences. They are both able to better express themselves, making life a whole lot easier!
5. Graham and I have bonded even closer with daddy being gone all evening to work on house. He has a new routine- play "mine" with mommy's blankie by taking it away and exclaiming "mine". Then decides to share it and cuddle for awhile while asking me to tickle his feet.
6. Wylie is out of school for the summer and has already been a huge help to me- he has allowed me to take a shower before noon everyday he's been here!
7. The babies are taking well to their new nap schedule- only one nap a day after lunch.
8. Goes for new house and babies- new sand box- they played nicely in it for an hour the other day! Oooohhhhwwwwiiiieee I can't wait to move and put them in it everyday.
9.The kids all are very confident in their swimming skills already this summer. G wants to be left to swim on his own in mom's new 4 1/2 foot pool. He paddles and kicks all on his own. We start swim lessons again soon!
10. My mom has officially resigned and we are going to take on home day care in my new home- she and I will be there everyday raising the ones closest to us. This is perhaps the most amazing blessing of all that I get to be with the precious little ones day in and day out!

Now watch me complain in my next post... ;) hope you all can find time to count your blessings everyday. These are just a few of the many many I have!

O-V-E-R-W-H-E-L-M-E-D!

2010-05-25T17:42:00.000-07:00

This might be an understatement. The house is coming along. But little thanks goes to me. My mom, Martin, Jeff, and Marty have been busting their butts and we may get to move in some day... Possibly before school starts back up. No really, our unofficial move in date is the weekend of our anniversary/Father's Day. Happy Father's Day Hun- now carry some more crap to the new house...

Why haven't I been much help u ask? Well, DIARRHEA is her name-o. We have had the ever so lovely stomach flu here at our residence (still on Front Street)... Called the nurse's line on Monday only to be told- the diarrhea is lasting up to two weeks! OMG I can't take it any longer. And then just as I think Graham is over it, Lana gets it.

Did I mention the pile up of housework, that I would really rather not do, because we will soon be moving. Who needs to dust, clean sinks, floors, counter tops, bath tubs, and showers when u know u will just have to come back once everything is out and DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN. OH YEA and there is the cleaning to be done before we move in the new house. SOMEONE SHOOT ME PLEASE!

My momma has her knee surgery tomorrow, so there goes that free labor. :) She has been a Godsend and I will be lost trying to get crap done without her. But life will go on and the house will get done.

Look for your invitations to an Open House/Cookout when we get all settled, probably not until later in July.

oh where oh where has that sippy cup gone?

2010-05-13T10:43:00.000-07:00

I can say with quite a bit of confidence that I am not the first parent to have a sippy cup go MIA. Graham has a favorite one by Gerber with ABC's on it and I was sure for weeks that it was at my moms. (Although I tease her regularly, she really is pretty good at returning them) It wasn't until I cleaned out my atrociously dirty, disgusting, trash can, catch all of a car that I discovered his favorite sippy cup under the drivers seat and opened it with great care only to be horrified to find the last drink it contained was... Drum roll... Yep, you guessed it- milk! Gross, nasty, yucky, smelly- in the trash it went.

Several times in the past few months since both Graham and Lana have been on a sippy cup regularly- I have found them to go missing in the middle of the day, when we haven't left home and I only have 4 rooms in this apartment and two stayed closed all day! Hmmmmm... Check the fisher price dryer: nope, check the play kitchen cabinets: nope, check the real kitchen cupboards and drawers, only a limited amount of them don't have locks: nope, check under couches and chairs: nope, check in the closet and under the beds in Graham's room: nope! Where in the world can the darn sippy cup be? Fast forward to the kids getting up from their naps, have one getting changed the other wandering around in the living room, next thing I know they have the sippy cup again! Amazing! They should put these guys on CSI to find criminals! Its ridiculous! And exhausting. Most days I would rather just find the nasty, dirty, stinky cup days later and throw it out and buy new because the hunt is so frustrating!

If its not sippy cups; its socks in the laundry! Or a missing shoe, or coat, or "stinkie"...

Ms. Lana Mae Roberts' lesson on Animal Noises

2010-05-07T06:18:00.000-07:00

Lana: "BOOK" "RAWWWWWWWWWRRRRRR"
Me: "Bear Book"
Lana: "yea" "mmmeeeeeeeooowww"
Me: "cat"
Lana: "mnnneeeiooohhh"
Me: (a little confused between cow and horse) "Horse..."
Lana: "NO COW"
Me: "sorry!"
Lana:"doodle doo"
Me: "rooster"
Lana: "woof woof" (pants after that)
Me: "dog"

Other Lana tidbits over the week

"tttteeeeeveeeeeee"
"Read book now"
"Yoook at this"
"I want..."
"Open this"
"milk juice"
"bye-bye eat eat" (waving and blowing kisses to her highchair)

Wow this child is so genius!

Today in Pictures...

2010-05-06T18:16:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am aware I have posted 3 times today! It was a GRRRREAT DAY what can I say??

I had some kids over to play today and here is what happened.

It started out a nice day, we had "octopus" hot dogs and mac n cheese for lunch. ***Side note**** Graham said "HOT DOG" (more like "dot dog") for the first time today!

We decided the plan was:

park,

painting,

play dough (big kids only)...

in that order.

You tell me what you think was the most fun part of the day...

Thank you Mom/Grandma Kate for the idea and the help cleaning up! It was a FUN FUN FUN DAY!

"Stinkies"

2010-05-06T06:58:00.000-07:00

Graham has many "security animals" now dubbed "stinkies" by his mama.

I thought I was so clever getting rid of the paci only 3 months after he got it. I was not going to be one of those mama's dragging around a 3 year old with a paci. His auntie Mary B had given him a "deflated dog" before he was born. Think Beanie Baby with no beans. He latched onto it at some point, I can't remember when...

His Gma's then "needed" animals at their houses.

His Gma Rebbec found deflated frogs (his nursery is in frogs) and his Gma Mueninghoff had a cat or bear.

We also bought a newer blue bear mini blankie with just the bear head.

Somewhere along the way his Gma Rebbec found another frog blankie with just frog head and arms.

I was in Bergners with him one day and he was getting antsy in his stroller when we strolled by some dogs blankies. Of course I had forgotten his "animal of the day" in the car and he "HAD" to have this one. The dang thing was 25 bucks! Good thing Mommy remembered her coupon for 10 bucks off or he woulda been disappointed that day.

Why "stinkies" you ask? All of these random animals have replaced the paci momma insisted on taking away. So now instead of a paci at 3 years old he will be more like a hobo with animals clipped all over him for him to suck/chew on. I sometimes call them chewies when they are clean. Which is rarely because 5 minutes out of the wash and he has smelled them all up again. And yes, the child brushes his teeth, dont ask me how they get so smelly but they do and it's gross!

He has also latched onto one of his blankies he got from Aunt Tiff. Apparently the texture was always her kids' favorites and now it is Grahammy's too! He buries his head in it and giggles and sighs. Too cute!

Which reminds me- NOTE TO SELF- DO NOT ever again attempt to wash all "stinkies" at one time! This results in a very cranky mad at mommy little boy who screams until the wash is done and u have to give him a wet frog, dog or bear to chew on while the rest go in the dryer...

Today he has around 8 or so "stinkies" in his crib and scattered throughout the house. I almost always keep one in the diaper bag or my purse. Both gma's are in possesion of at least one to keep at their house. Did I mention that these "stinkies" have to come out of his crib with him when he gets up and all go back in when he goes to nap. It's a job I tell ya!

And now of course Lana has decided she needs security animals too. So she HAS TO HAVE a baby, bunny, and CAT in her bed and it also comes out with her and back in.

Whew! Just thinking about it makes me tired! But I have to admit, I still have the blankie I stole from my granny when I was 4! :) <3<3<3<3<3

Random Thoughts of the Day

2010-05-06T06:22:00.000-07:00

I wonder sometimes if the person who invented Crocs did so because he didn't have any clean socks... I know that's when we use ours in this household.

Graham and Lana really do love each other. I took a picture of it the other day. It's on my blackberry so I will have to figure out how to transfer to here. (DONE!!!) But anywho, I saw it! They hugged and kissed. Then the shoved each other to the floor! Haha. That's what cousins are for right?

I host play dates here. I am not sure why some times. I hate cleaning before and after but it gives me time with other mamas and that makes me happy so I guess a living room that looks like a tornado went through it is worth it!

That reminds me, in about a month when I host play dates, I will be doing so in OUR NEW HOUSE! And we will have a separate room just for those tornadoes! So I can leave the mess til daddy gets home if I want!

I am still taking donations for the NEW HOUSE FUND! Haven't recieved any so far! One guy (Brian- Heather's husband) even called us rich because we are buying a new house. He was kidding of course but How could any one who has bought a house think that that means you are rich! Just the opposite my friend. We are emptying out too many accounts to even speak about it! Let's just say Graham better get good grades in school so he gets a scholarship to college. He owes us that much doesn't he after buying him a house???

I made dinner for the whole family again last night. It was Cinco De Mayo and our last night of Can Do Kids til fall- so we had a celebration dinner! I made tacos and enchiladas and Nachos! The kids and adults were delighted. I am always amazed how many I can feed on a buck at home as opposed to going out. Our whole dinner was made for around 75 bucks. That sounds steep but I froze some, we have leftovers, all after feeding 10 people! Not bad if I do say so myself!

Mom's pool new bigger and better pool is up and will be warm by this weekend. I am overly excited because this body is not swim suit worthy but the babies love to swim and I hate to deprive them of that just because I haven't been watching what I eat! So here I feel comfortable in a swim suit and it's big enough for us all!

Speaking of my voluptuous body- I have found myself wishing to be pregnant this month just so I can justify the 6 extra pounds I have put one. And yes, we are trying. Quietly and confidently! :)

As I am blogging, the kids are within sight down the hall in the living room, the stinkers just decided to knock the fence down that is in front of my shelves with "pretties" on it and the TV. They just wanted to turn Elmo on and DID! The little smart things!

Better go keep a closer eye on them. Meaning, I will be laying on the floor as the clobber me.

CLOSING TIME!

2010-05-05T08:23:00.000-07:00

Nope not talking about the "one last call for alcohol", I am talking about our NEW HOUSE!!!!

We close on May 14th! Two weeks early at the request of the sellers. No reason not to, so we agreed!

Last night we made a list of the "stuff" we have to get done before we move in and the "stuff" that can or will have to wait until we are in and have more cash flow! ;)

I am excited to paint and decorate and make it our own. Right now the living room has quite possibly the most horrendous wall paper I have ever seen and there is a painted on rose vine throughout the house in random places. It is UGLY!!! So I have chosen some nice new paint colors with the help of Tiff, Mom and Patti and we will be painting every room in the house before we move in! YAY! Also getting painted are the dark cabinets in our tiny kitchen. Because everyone knows painting them a lighter color will open it up!
Graham's room will be a light blue with a green stripe all the way around it
Our bedroom is going to be a tanish/brown color I think.
The kitchen and living room will be two shades of "celery" green.
The downstairs family/day care room- is getting a coat of a very happy yellow and eventually some Dr. Suess character stencils on the walls.
The bathrooms I haven't thought about yet!
Also have two more bedrooms to think about as well!
Any suggestions anyone????

There will be a big 'ol cookout house warming party when we are all settled. I am thinking July at least. :) Keep ya posted on all the "work" going on as it happens! Thanks for all the well wishes!

Fall Down and Go Boom!

2010-05-03T14:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we were all gathered at my mom's house. My step-dad's family was here from all over for the funeral today. The kids were behaving and having a good time. Graham decided to sweep, one of his favorite past times... He had his broom, and was sweeping away on grandma's front porch, with at least a dozen adults all around. He got a little too close to the stairs, tripped and rolled down the stairs hitting his head on each one. That sound of his head coming into contact with the concrete made me almost puke! I was screaming and crying right along with him. We scooped him up and he calmed down within 10 minutes but I am still shaken by it. His head just has some bad scrapes and a little bruising but he is fine. But Man, does a fall like that scare mommy half to death!!!!

My baby brother is 16

2010-04-29T06:20:00.000-07:00

Today my baby brother is 16 today. I remember the day he was born. My parents did not find out the sex beforehand and with two brothers already at home I was dead set on a girl. Obviously, God had other plans. Will was born somewhere around noon on April 29th, 1994 when I was a 4th grader, and I will never forget the phone call at school from my dad telling me it was a boy. I said don't bother coming to get me, I don't want to meet another BOY! I sat on the playground and cried and cried! Another BOY would ruin my life! But when we arrived at the hospital I immediately fell in love. He became "my baby" in many ways. I became a little "mother" to him. I spoiled him rotten and he adored me. I would sometimes pinch his nose when he was sleeping just to wake him so I could play with him. He was an alien looking thing at first but quickly turned into a handsome little thing with blonde hair and blue eyes. He could melt my heart and do no wrong in my eyes.

Fast forward to today. He is sitting in a hospital, trying to figure out life. He will not be getting his license and most likely will still be a sophmore again next year. He has had a really tough time lately but I still remember him as 4 years old asking me to make his favorite breakfast "tream of wheat" (cream of wheat), I still remember his imaginary friends Billy and Jason and how "real" they were! I still remember him parading around the neighborhood with his poop on a stick...

And he still melts my heart. He still can do no wrong in my eyes. He is still my little baby blonde haired blue eyed boy! And I MISS HIM!

I love you William Henry Roberts! Happy Birthday!

I am too tired for a creative title tonight. A run down of our week.

2010-04-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

1. Lana is speaking in full sentences. Not like two words either. Like fulllllll sentences... "I want to hold the baby", " I feed baby ba-ba", "Baby, Where are you?", "I want a snack", "Go Away Graham (she pronounces it Damn)", "Give it back Graham".... She is only 20 months old! Lord help us all!

2. Graham is talking too. Some of his new favorite phrases include: " snack, bye bye, hi, no (and he only shakes his head once, to one side, resembling someone trying to bite their own ear), yea, LANA!!!!, MAMA!!!!, cheese (whenever and wherever he sees a camera, please...

3. He is becoming his own little man too. Getting a personality... He is clingy towards me, and his dad, he loves to dance and be silly, and loves loves loves to climb EVERYTHING this week and proceed to jump on it.

4. Lana climbs everything too and mastered jumping long before I have ever known a child to jump... Guess where Graham gets his skills from???

5. This week has been rough on me otherwise. My baby brother, Will is in the hospital for hallucinations and paranoia and drug use. He is really having a rough time and it has been tough on our family as a whole. Please, we can use your prayers. He turns 16 tomorrow, in the hospital and we are not sure we can even take him cake...

6. He has expressed in the hospital that he would like to come live with us when he gets out. This scares me. I love him to death and have always played the role as a second mom to him but I don't know if I am ready to raise a teenager. Not to mention how hard it would be for my mom to give him up. But I pray God will let us know what HIS plan is for our family. I will take him, gladly, with open arms if it is what will help to make him happy and healthy again.

7. I got to babysit a 1 month old all day today. And even though Graham is ONLY almost 16 months old, I cannot believe he was once that little. Lana and Graham were adorable with her and it makes me feel like right now would be a good time to start trying for Baby Rebbec #2!!! I am off BC and we are not preventing it from happening but not to the point of going crazy trying. Pray that God will bless us again when it is our time...

8. I can't believe I got to # 8 and did mention OUR NEW HOUSE yet!!!!!! The inspections are on Friday and the closing date is set for May 28th. I am really excited under all the other emotions running rampant in my life right now! I think God chose this one for us for a reason! I can't wait to find out that reason!!!

9. Can Do Kids has been a blessing in my life but I can't continue on with the leadership it has now and it saddens me. I truly have come to adore those kids and I love seeing all the things they are learning about OUR SAVIOR, but it is becoming a burden on me, I am turning to a nasty mean person when I am done there because some people just irk me. The kids are fantastic and if I could take them out of the situation and away from the adults "leading" it I would be fine. I might look into the program they have at the Methodist Church instead.

Maybe this could be Nine at Night or something cool like that?! What do you guys think? My two followers. hee hee! :)

Good Night and God Bless!

My child's obsession.

2010-04-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

My child is OBSESSED with bottles and lids.

It started with his teething tablets...

Then moved on to his tylenol bottle.

It has now progressed to milk cartons (with a screw off cap), makeup containers, lotions, sunscreen, juice, shampoo, perfume, cleaning products, bubbles, and medications of all sorts just to name a few.

It makes going to Walgreens a JOB! He screams and throws fits and hits and bites and wails to try and get his grimy hands on every bottle in sight.

It makes opening the fridge a nightmare. He wants to closely examine every bottle in the door and take the lid off and put it back on.

It makes trying to get ready with the bathroom door open (which I HAVE to do because I get so hot otherwise) an interesting feat. I have to stand just right in front of the drawers so that he cannot open them and inspect all of my makeup, toothpaste, cortizone cream, etc... He is to the point he RUNS AT FULL SPEED when he hears the bathroom door open... He screams when I slam it in his face right before he reaches it!

I know what you are thinking- get some drawer locks... We have! I just need to have my husband install more of them. But we are moving in a couple of months so why bother now?

My mom insists that his OBSESSION means he will grow up to be an engineer... Me, well I think he is slightly weird.

:)

Wednesday's Worries

2010-04-21T11:27:00.000-07:00

Blah- I am still sick and have no time for the doctor. So I'm taking Sudafed every 4 hrs just so I can function.

Today is my ex's birthday and I would like to send him a flaming bag of dog poop!

My baby brother is back in the hospital. He is having a really rough year. Need prayers for him.

Everything with the house is right on track- almost going too fast- leaving me wondering: is it too good to be true, when are we gonna get to the bump in the road?

I would love to fill the new house with new furniture and decorations but we can't afford it right now.

Skipping Can Do Kids tonight. Just Can't Do It. Barely doing my day job!

Roller Coaster of Emotions

2010-04-20T07:29:00.000-07:00

This weekend we bought a house! WOW! I can't believe it finally happened. We are going to be moving to 6th St. in El Paso! The yard is huge and the house is perfect. We will be able to do home day care in the basement room easily! I cannot wait to decorate!

This weekend I have also been pretty sick! The allergies are still getting the best of me. Today I am losing my voice. I haven't been sleeping well, have a constant headache and no patience.

My brother may also be going back to the hospital. He is having some issues I am afraid we may never understand.

Keep Praying for us! Specific prayers for my baby brother who is facing some emotional issues, prayers that the "legal" mumbo jumbo of buying a house goes smoothly and quickly and prayers that these darn allergies will settle down soon so I can enjoy the outdoors again!

WHINE, BITCH, MOAN, AND COMPLAIN!!!

2010-04-15T18:44:00.000-07:00

That is all I wanna do.
Reasons why:

I just finished my dad's taxes online, only to find out, I not only couldn't pay them by debit card online, but also could not e file them in time. So my husband is out at this hour, when he has worked over time all week, trying to Fed Ex them in time. Did I mention it's only $29 measly bucks he owes. Man what a good daughter and son in law my dad has...

My allergies are worse than they have ever been since we moved back here 10 years ago. I am having asthma symptoms as well.

My back hurts like no tomorrow and the floor is scattered with toys that 1 year olds will not pick up on their own.

We have looked at many houses this week, are confused about which one if any are right for us. And we are running out of time very very quickly if we want the governments $8000 bucks.

I have to take G for his 15 month well baby checkup and that includes shots. And my mother in law was right (I don't admit that out loud very often)the shots only get harder as they get older.

I PROMISED I would take my nephew and a friend to the Discovery Museum tomorrow after school lets out at 11:30 but really all I want to do is lay in bed all weekend under the covers!

I also PROMISED my sister in law we would come help her with the "big party" they are throwing for my MIL's birthday on Saturday.

I also PROMISED a good friend I would come to game night Sunday night. Which still sounds like fun but at this point if I feel like this much longer it will probably not sound like fun come Sunday.

I had to take 7 pills. Yes 7! Just to try to keep my body functioning half way decently for me. I find something wrong with that! I need some natural ideas because this can't be good for me.

My hubby and I haven't been intimate in a few weeks because we have been stressed and overtired from all the house hunting, allergies, family crap, etc... I need some hubby time!!!!!!!!! STAT!

I adore my child and nieces and nephews but sometimes I wish I had a "real" job so that I didn't want to hide from them in the evening and on weekends when I have just had "too much"!

I want a house. I want it to be the right house, for the right price, in the right place, with all the right stuff! I know this is about crazy to ask for but that doesn't make me want it less!

I also just want to make an offer and get in some place and get this dang show on the road because I feel trapped here sometimes. 26 stairs and two bedrooms, and two toddlers are making me a little claustrophobic these days. And with the allergies, who can expect me to be outside all day?

Did I mention my back really hurts? Like bad?

Good night. Sweet Dreams. Pray for us!

CAN DO KIDS!

2010-04-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

My sister in law confronted me with a opportunity a few months back. She asked me to commit my Wednesday nights to serving the Community Bible Fellowship Church by being a "group leader" for their Bible study for kids! I, of course, gave in and said yes. I am in charge of somewhere between 10-16, 3 and 4 yr olds. There are days when I regret it, I will admit, it's not easy! But let me tell you what keeps me going back Wed after Wed.

The kids remembered and recited 8 out of 15 bible verses the other night!!!! They learn them to the tunes of nursery rhymes. And the verses are sometimes simplified for their age.
One of their favorites:
For God so Loved the World he gave his only Son, For God so loved the world he gave his one and only son. John 3:16- which just so happens to be my favorite of all times!

I can remember singing the song I learned in vacation bible school at their age. For God so Loved the world he gave his only son, that whosoever would believe in Him, shall not perish but would have everlasting life, everlasting life.

Another favorite of mine; This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine! This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine, This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine, everyday, everyday in every WAAAYYY!
And on a Monday- He gave us the gift of life, and on Tuesday he came down from above, on Wednesday taught us just what to say, on Thursday taught us just how to pray, on Friday he gave us a little more faith, on Saturday he gave us a lot more grace and on a Sunday he gave us the gift of light to let my little light shine!

These little kids remind me in the purest way to let my little light shine!

The singing, dancing and fellowship before we split off into groups absolutely makes my day every time! Seeing their little faces light up when I'm gonna stand on the rock comes on is priceless! I'm gonna stand on the rock, I'm gonna stand on the rock of God's word! I'm gonna try to obey, I'm gonna try to obey, I'm gonna try to obey, obey God's word!
They are teaching me so much about God's word! Most of all that it's never to young to tell everyone about IT!

The best of all is the little dear ones answer almost every question with: JESUS!

I have reflected back on this night and night again as I lay in bed and talk to my Savior. He really is THE answer to everything, isn't HE?

Perhaps the best thing about Wednesday nights is before we all come together as a family and share. Rebbec's and Roberts'! It has become the "tradition" And it is a great time! I sometimes wonder on Wednesday mornings: How am I going to get through this day? But I always end up laying in bed, exhausted, with a big grin on my face at the end of the day. And I always find my self looking forward to next Wednesday!

Spring time fun and photo shoot!

2010-04-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

Spring is my second favorite season. Second best only because I hate allergies and feeling like there is a dump truck parked on my face! I love to take the kids to the park int he wagon, I love watching them pick flowers out of strangers yards and hold up Dandelions like it's a prize winning rose! I love green grass and bare feet. I love the trees that bloom (even though they make me sneeze-ahhhhhchooo!)

Most of all I love taking pictures of the little ones outdoors! So here are just a few we have taken so far this spring!

What I would give to be a 6 Yr Old Boy!

2010-04-11T16:17:00.001-07:00

Today I took my 5 almost 6 yr old nephew and his 6 yr old friend on a date. We went to lunch then to a movie. On our 20 minute drive to town the boys found a piece of asphalt in my car that sparked the most hilarious conversation.

Wylie to me- " What's the stuff called that roads and pavement are made of"?
Me- Asphalt, Why?
Him- "Remember when I used to call Asphalt- Buttfault?"
Wylie to his friend - (laughing) "Get it? Butt-fault instead of Ass-fault... You know so I didn't have to say the "bad" word...
His friend- (laughing) "Yea like it's your butt's fault not my butt's fault. POOP COMES OUT OF YOUR BUTT FAULT. POOP COMES OUT OF YOUR BUTT CRACK." (farting noises)

Both boys laughing hysterically. Me trying not to crash the car laughing but trying to hold it in so they don't know how funny I think they are.

Wylie to his friend- "Hey wouldn't it be funny if the whole world was made of poop. We would ride in poop cars, and there would be poop roads and we would have to eat poop!" (still laughing hysterically)

The friend to Wylie- "That would be really smelly!" Hey what if the whole world farted at the same time?"

Me- (I now can't resist joining in their fun) "that would be really smelly!" (still Laughing my head off! but neither boy laughs)

As we are turning into the restaurant the voice of reason-Wylie- "Hey now! No talk of poop while we are eating"

Me to myself- (BUT YOU STARTED IT!)

They mixed all the different kinds of pop together and actually drank it!!!We ate and they watched an ESPN special as we did and they talked about all the teams. The lady in front of us stopped by our table on the way out to exclaim "your boys are the funniest! We loved their conversations!" me- "Thanks they're not mine!" under my breath (hooray for that) out loud to myself- "how in the world am I still gonna make it thru the movie with these two hams?"

I did make it! The movie was even cute! But I swear again (for the 4th time) I will never see another 3D movie! They always give me headaches. Or is it maybe just the company I keep when seeing 3D movies?????

NOTE TO HUSBAND: BBQ sauce and new Easter shirts do not mix!

2010-04-08T10:37:00.000-07:00

I will never claim to have the cleanest house, kids that don't have mashed potatoes behind their ears, or pop tart stuck in their hair. But I do give some consideration to what I feed them and what they are dressed in.

For example, I usually know what shirts are ok to give the chocolate milk in, or strawberries. They are the ones with strawberry and chocolate milk stains already on them. After each holiday when their wardrobes usually get bigger with new things from grandma's, I am extra cautious to at least hopefully let the clothes make it through one or two meals before they get stains on it.

So you can see why today when my extra special loving husband was trying to help his already frazzled wife feed the kids lunch and gave them BBQ sauce to dip in I was kind of peeved. Both kids were wearing new shirts they just recieved for Easter! AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!! So as we speak the shirts have been sprayed and washed! Let's pray they come clean!

Overdoing It- Easter Baskets!

2010-04-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

I am horrible at overdoing it at holidays. I am learning, to be more frugal because we are saving for a house, and it's the "reason for the season" and not how much crap can I buy for my Grahamster and nieces and nephews! Theses days I even feel guilty when I don't buy for my younger cousins and occasional babysitting kids! I am horrible! Horrible, I tell u!
We were tight on the cash flow at Christmas time but had a tax return right before Easter so I overcompensated. Graham got a "Cadillac" of wagons! Even the kids at church exclaimed "A WAGON!!! I didn't know the Easter Bunny brought stuff that big! hee hee... Bubbles galore, More candy than any one year old could ever eat! It was a good time!

Off Duty at 4:10 PM

2010-04-05T17:24:00.000-07:00

I am lucky enough to have a husband who works only a mile and half from home. And he works mostly 7:30 to 4. So this past week, after having a few rough weeks behind me, I exclaimed to him one evening: "I AM OFF DUTY AT 4:10 PM. I don't care what you do after that time but the kid is yours!" I was only half serious. I love being a stay at home mom more than anything in the world most days... But some days; poopy diapers, temper tantrums, cleaning stuck on food off the kitchen floor and highchairs multiple times a day and random middle of the day baths when the kids have decided to wear their food rather than eat it, can get to a woman! So when I said this to him I meant chip in whenever you want in the evenings because you may see me sitting here on the couch but really I am off somewhere on a deserted island sipping frozen raspberry margaritas! My husband is an amazing father and husband and does chip in more than your average Joe but sometimes his chipping in causes me so much more work in the end.
For example:
Daddy trying to feed the kid: Kid gets pissed, throws his food all over the floor, himself, etc... Because little does daddy know- kid likes to feed himself (as of yesterday) and he prefers to feed himself with a fork.
Daddy giving kid a bath: Kid splashes water all over the floor and gets lotion everywhere afterwards because little does daddy know- kid loves to grab the lotion and squirt it himself because he is a self described "BIG BOY".
Daddy trying to help change a poopy diaper. Daddy gets frustrated while kid is wiggly and flops diaper on coffee table which in turn flops poopy onto coffee table.
You get my drift? How many of you have wonderful hubby/daddy's at home who make your job a little harder sometimes?
But these things I would not know or be able to enjoy if I were a working mom. So thank goodness for my hubby who works his butt off so I can enjoy poopy diapers, slobbery kisses, and grimy hands all day long!

About Me

2010-03-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

I am a stay at home mother to one. Stay at home Auntie too. Wife to a wonderful loving husband Martin. Sister to three younger sometimes bratty but most of the time awesome brothers! Daughter to a super de duper awesome and "newly" skinny mom (Kate) and step dad (Bob). Daughter to Big Daddy in Florida! Granddaughter to the most amazing Granny in the universe (my BFF) I love my family dearly and hold it close to my heart. I cherish silly family traditions. I was born in Normal, IL and moved to maybe one of the furthest from "normal" places in the world, Grassy Creek, North Carolina, when I was 4. We lived there for 10 years before moving back to Illinois. I keep in touch with many of my friends from there thanks to Facebook! I love the south and may find myself back there someday. I now live in the town that my parents and grandparents all lived in, big 'ol El Paso, IL. It has that good 'ol small town feeling. All the things that I hated in high school about this town are now the reasons I want to raise a family here. Things such as, everybody knowing your name, your mom's name, your grandma and your grandma's grandpa's dogs' name. It's also crazy how many distant relatives I have in this town. But I love it! Nothing better than everyone knowing who "That little Rebbec kid" is and tattling to his mommy on him before he even gets home from school! Haha!

My son is 14 months old and is "ALL BOY"! His idea of a good time is making messes, eating things that don't belong in his mouth and throwing fits when mommy doesn't give him his way. He has blue eyes and blond hair and is truly a "pretty" boy!

My niece Lana is 18 months old and is one of the smartest kids I have ever met! She is also the biggest stinker ever! But her darling brown eyes and that little head tilt and she can get away with murder!

Wylie is my 5 year old nephew. He is in Kindergarten this year and boy do I miss him! He is THE smartest kid in Kindergarten but also the sweetest and cutest. Ok so I am bias but really everyone who meets him thinks the same.

Don't forget Tom and Sis! They are awesome kiddos! I am fortunate enough to see them at least once a week!

I have two step nephews, Owen (6) and Jakob (5) and they live in Texas. We usually see them for one week a year. This year we are planning a trip to Texas to stay with them in their new home! I can't wait!

These children are my life! They make and break my days! Only they can make me laugh and cry all within the same situation!

This blog will be mostly about them and the funny, annoying, crazy, silly, or wild things they do!