Momma and her little bob family

Just not my thing

2011-11-23T07:21:00.000-08:00

I have realized that as much as i love to read other people's blogs i am not a writer. My life is so chaotic i barely have time to focus my energy enough for the basics and this just hasn't been a priority. While am here i will update you on all the happenings and maybe it won't be 6 mths before i write again...or maybe it will be longer!

Our little man is now 6 1/2 months old and is absolutely heaven. He is a great baby and a wonderful addition to our family! He has just started to learn how to crawl and is getting his 3rd and 4th tooth in as we speak. He is over 18 lbs and has the cutest little leg chunks you would ever see. He still doesn't sleep through the night but i think that is my fault as he takes his bottle and falls right back asleep. He loves crackers and baby food of all kinds(except squash). He is wearing a size 4 diaper and mainly 12-18 mth clothes but can still wear some 6-12 mth outfits and some 24 mth outfits....funny thing is his brother just outgrew most of the clothes/diapers over the summer. Crazy how each of them are so silly. He isn't says true words yet but he likes to wave and it sounds like he says hi. He loves to yell and is practicing his voice frequently now.

Grant is almost done with his first semester of preschool, at 3 years old he is my smarty pants. His teachers say he will be a lawyer because he is so good at arguing his point and always believes he is right! He is still in speech therapy but between his fabulous therapist and preschool he is learning very quickly. He loves sports especially soccer and football. he hopes to play soccer/baseball in the spring if he is old enough. He is addicted to watching netflix shows and loves monster trucks. he was wearing all size 24 mth clothes this summer and he now is in all 4-5s...major growth spurt!

Hailey is in 3rd grade and an honor roll student. Third grade has been more challenging for her as she is having to be more independent and i have released some of my control over her actions. I think it has been just as hard for me to let her grow and blossom. I like control and she likes me telling her how and when to do everything. She was a very organized toddler but not she is pushing all those preteen envelopes and it can be very challenging. She is a fabulous artist and impresses me continually with her imagination. She is wearing size 12 in girls and in some things wears up to an adult small. Sometimes i just can't believe my baby girl is growing up this fast and is so amazing. She loves to talk on the phone with her friends and is good about doing her chores, except her room which is a constant challenge. She is starting to care about how she looks and about what the boys at school think of her. I have been trying to let her know that she is perfect just the way she is and not to worry about those boys but i am not sure she believes me.

My husband has been super busy at work and i have been just as busy with my photography, volunteer work, and the kiddos activities. It seems we are constantly running. In October i had gallbladder surgery and Jason has a health scare and ended up in the ER. We have started focusing more on our family and getting healthier. I think it has been a major blessing in disguise. Other than that i am on the job hunt again and hope to have a position by the first of the year. I am sad to leave my babies after almost 9 years at home but i am very excited to start working outside the home again! Finding a daycare is going to be a challenge as no one seems good enough for our babies. Luckily we have a few friends who stay at home and might be able to watch the kids for us.

I can't think of much else to talk about at the moment as i have a million things to get done around the house before Thanksgiving tomorrow! I'll leave you with a few pictures form the past couple of mths!

Evan Andrew has arrived

2011-05-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

Full Term

2011-04-27T08:12:00.000-07:00

Well we have finally mad eit to the 37 week mark! I am allowed to go off the turbutaline as i had my last pill last night around 11 pm. I have had some sporatic but strong copntractions this morning but have no idea if they will end up being productive or not. I am nervous about having a baby now even though i know we are ready and if he is ready all is a GO! Our father-in-law starts his vacation on Friday so i am hoping little Evan will stay put until then but i am thinking he might have other ideas. We will see....no matter what we will be induced on Monday may 9th yay! So we have less than 1 1/2 weeks until his arrival.

I am thinking we have everything in order except a spotless house...i planned on cleaning today and then with the contractions i was told by my hubby to relax instead...so i will just have to deal with a dirty house! :) The bags are packed and the nursery is ready to roll....the carseat has been in the van for two weeks now. I am still waiting on the blanket i ordered that matches his carseat to arrive...and i hope we get it this week. It is coming from Canada so i am unsure how long it will take to arrive....maybe he will hold out until it gets here, lol!

I had my SIL take some maternity photos last weekend at 36 weeks and i think she did a great job. I have never been one to document my pregnancies and i felt that urge with this baby especially knowing he is going to be our last, i think! So here it is...hopefully the next time we post i will have some breandnew little baby pics to show everyone! Keep us in your prayers!

32 Weeks, Preterm Contractions, and Bedrest

2011-03-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

Well tomorrow i will be 32 weeks pregnant and i am so grateful to feel so great still. Unfortunately we have had some complications but according to the doctor we are okay and most likely will still have a full term baby boy. I had some preterm contractions in early February and ended up in triage and after a few hours they gave me a shot of turbutaline and the contractions went away. We noted my file and doctor said most likely that was a fluke and no big deal. Then on Tuesday afternoon i started getting a few braxton-hicks copntractions and they started getting more frequent as the night went on, finally by 8 pm i realized they were getting conssitently closer together and not going away. So the doctor sent me back to triage and we went through the process again. This time they gave me another shot of turbutaline and a pill of something that is a smooth muscle relaxer. The contractions did not completely go away but did lessen greatly afterwards so i got sent home in the middle of the night. My doctor wanted to see me the next morning since i was still having contractions very close to menstrual cramps and wasn't comfortable. We checked for signs of cervical change(preterm labor) and luckily everything looked very good so he gave me a prescription for the turbutaline pills to keep the contractions at a minimum and hopefully go away completely. It took a few days on bedrest but finally late friday night they went away and for the past three days i have stayed on bedrest without any contractions. The doctor said once they went away i could start back to normal activity but according to my family normal activity for me is go, go, go which is a no, no, no!

I am grateful that it is only preterm contractions and not preterm labor as it seems to be controlable at the moment with medicine and rest. Also since we are this far along our baby is most likely around the 4 lb mark or bigger which means if the contractions sent me into preterm labor at least the baby would have less complications than if born much earlier. The doctor says we are just working towards 35-36 weeks and that is a huge milestone where if born baby Evan would most likley have a short hopsital stay or maybe even get to take him home right away. Hard to believe that we could possibly have a baby coming home in as little as 3 weeks...yikes!

I have almost all the necessities to bring a new baby home but i am no where mentaly ready for this little one. I keep asking myself what i was thinking wanting a third child why did i feel such a life shattering need to have another child....the past few restaurant and shopping experiences have been pure disasters with them acting like total maniacs but then my son brings me a flower from the yard and a huge kiss and it reminds me exaclty why. I am excited to see how our family dynamics change and what this little boy will do to mix things up. I am wondering if he will look like Grant or completely different. Will he breastfeed for a year like Hailey or will he be a formula baby like Grant? Will he be a content baby or end up with colic? I am looking forward to seeing how we function and cope with being a new family of 5!.

I am having a hard time coping with the fact that our family is now complete. Not sure i totally believe it, even though i know three kids is more than enough for me to handle. I still don't feel in my heart that we are done or our family is complete. I will leave that final decision up to my husband. He was content with two children and i never thought i would convince him we needed a third but somehow he decided it would be so. Now the decision will be up to him again. If he decided this is it-I will be happy with my princess and my two princes, more than happy, overly elated but i have always wanted a house full of girls. I feel a pull for a daughter. Not sure what route i want to try and go to make that possible. Not sure i want to try another pregnancy, change it up and try foster parenting or adoption but i want to leave our options opened for the future, just in case my husband opens his heart to the idea of another child, hopefully a duaghter! ;)

Short Word Friday

2011-03-11T21:10:00.000-08:00

Grrrrrr!

Poor Woody!

This little piggy went to the market, this little piggy....

Don't you wish your eyelashes were this long, i do!

Bubble, Bubble, Bubble....Bubble, bubble, POP!

Fingers and toes

See my car can fly!

Instead of coloring i prefer making hundreds of tiny holes in the paper instead!

If i give you the evil face long enough you will do everything i ask!

Cards from my great granny make me smile!

The wonder of an eight year old on her birthday!

I didn't do it, i swear!

29 weeks and counting

2011-03-02T15:04:00.000-08:00

Well, alot has happened in the past 2-3 months! I am already coming up on 30 weeks next Tuesday...hard to believe the time has passed so fast. It has been a busy couple of months and i have been ordered to relax and rest often. Back arouns 24-25 weeks we had a scary close call with contractions coming every 4-5 minutes and lasted over 8 hours before the hospital gave me some meds to stop them. Luckily the Dr. didn't put me on bedrest but he has advised me to use light duty as it seems my uterus contracts when i get up and walk for more than an hour at a time. Luckily i am not having any signs of an impeding labor and my cervix is closed and very thick at 5 cm. He thinks i am in good shape and should hold little Evan in to term...or later with my track resord previously, lol. If your wondering we have finally cam eup with a name, we picked it out on New Years Eve...seems so long agao now! Evan Andrew Steele. Evan after Jason's grandpa and Andrew after my dad. So our final child, our son will have a strong family name to pas on forever!

Our house had a healthy winter until about 2 weeks ago and then the nice weather started us on the yucky allergies and head colds. I ended up at the Dr. on Monday of this week with a sinus infection and allergy problems. I basically slept from Monday until this morning when Hailey ended up at the mec and she has strep throat. I am just hoping our house is on the mend and we get healthy soon.

The weather is gorgeous and i have shorts on, it feels so good and makes me wish we all were healthy and could play outside. I am ready to have the windows opened and fresh air coming in to blow the germs out of the house!

We have had birthday party after birthday party over the past month...and Haileys is coming up this weekend. Lots of GirlScout activities and me trying to get our scouts their cookie sale!It has been a challenege keeping up with all my volunteer activities. Everyone always tell me that i am a busybody but this pregnancy has made me slow down and it is super hard to do! I guess i like keeping busy and having to rest frequently and not walk much has made life super complicated. I know it is what i have to do to keep myself and m=out litle Evan safe though.

Our main computer crashed a couple of weeks ago and we are waiting for tax money to order a new bigger one so i don't have my normal photoediting software for my pictures. I have lightroom on my laptop but have never really tried to use it and understand it the way i should. I ended up taking some sexy maternity pics last week and used lightroom and i was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to use for basic lighting issues and fun changes. I have told everyone it might just be my new best friend, lol! I will post a couple of pics here for you all to see. I really like them! Hopefully i will write again soon, but more than likely i will get busy and forget until after Evans born....guess we will have to wait and see!

They are a little racy, actually alot racier than i originally wanted. Then i found the beauty in them....it is a growing baby in there and it is beautiful!

2010 Christmas Cards

2010-12-06T09:46:00.000-08:00

Family Story Christmas Card

Make a statement with Shutterfly Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

16 weeks and counting

2010-12-03T08:20:00.000-08:00

Well we are 16 weeks pregnant and know we are having a little boy in May. According to my plan with my doctor, if everything goes on schedule and without complications, we will have an induction on May 9, 2011. I hate to say it but i like having it all planned out and hope we can keep on that track unless baby comes early which i doubt considering my other two children both had to be induced. It works out perfect cause my father-in-law has to take his 2011 vacation by the end of this year, so he can plan to be off around baby time to help with our other two children and possibly my out of town family can make plans to be in town on the baby's arrival which has never been possible before. Some people have been looking at me like crazy and think planning it out is crazy but hey i like my life organized and everything on the calendar..it keeps me focused.

So far this pregnancy i have had many ups and downs. I was miserable first trimester and lost about 5-6 pounds from nausea and exhaustion. Then i had a week or so of feeling okay then the heartburn and vomiting started while the other symptoms calmed down. Currently this week i have been doing well and have had none of the above symptoms, knock on wood, but i am not holding my breathe that i am symptom free yet. This child knows he is the last and wants me to remember it well.

According to my Dr. apt yesterday i gained 3 lbs this month but i had just left the Chinese restaurant and ate 2 plates so full i could barely walk afterwards...i assume it was at least 2 lbs of extra stuff so i am thinking i am up a pound or so which is great...lol. We will see what they say at my next apt. in January after eating well for the holidays! I would love to keep this pregnancy around 15-20 lbs total so i have been eating much healthier and being so sick has drastically changes the amounts of food i eat and frequency of my meals. I still crave sushi 24-7 and anything super spicy but i am trying not to eat the spicy things later at night to limit the heartburn.

I finally feel like i look pregnant but lots of people say i barely look pregnant, i assume they are just being nice cause i am overweight and it is hard to tell, lol. Family on the other hand have noticed i have lost in some places and gained in the belly so i feel confident they aren't gonna lie, right?

I love that the kids kiss my belly and talk to my belly, i think it is adorable to see them kiss me and tell him good night when they go to sleep at night. I think Hailey is starting to get excited even though she didn't get the sister she wanted so desperately. She seems to understand when i tell her that just means i can spoil her more and we can have more time together just the two of us while daddy keeps the boys busy! After i told her that she sounded a little bit more reassured.

I have been organizing all my stuff and getting rid of the girl things and taking inventory of everything i have but won't really start shopping until after the holidays and Christmas since i have no clue what i will be getting and if any of it included baby stuff which i assume it will! We don't need many big things except the car seat. I need bottles, new sheets, a baby bath, and lots of clothes and a cool diaper bag but we have basically everything else already.

I am excited for this holiday season and even more excited for the upcoming year. The first week of January we get our 20 week ultrasound and will get confirmation on how our baby boy is doing and that he is for sure a baby boy...but we think the pictures are very convincing. I have added a couple of pictures for your enjoyment taken by either my 7 year old daughter or my 2 year old son, so don't except perfection but they are still cute!

Drumroll please..........

2010-11-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like our family is going to have one sex outnumber the other and i got the short end of the stick in that respect. My dreams of ribbons, bows, tutus, and monogrammed little dresses are no longer an option. Thats right folks we are having a little BOY!!!!! I am very stoked to find out it is another boy though. Grant is such a great little boy at 2 years old and i can't imagine another one even 1/2 as cute as him. It will be his buddy and they will be around three years apart. I am excited the bunk beds we just bought will come in handy more now than ever and that they have the option of sharing a room. In addition it will save me a little money on clothes with all Grants clothes being saved. I am very happy even more so than i ever expected. We took our boy list from 35 names down to 5 names last night but we are having a hard time getting it narrowed down further....well the hubbys having a hard time. Three of the names which are my favorites are not common at all and he isn't sure he can handle an untraditional name even though he helped pick them out...i told him he could sleep on it, lol.

I am impatient...i have already been on etsy and all the clothing websites checking out matching outfits for the boys and all the adorable little baby hats i can get made for him. Luckily he has a super talented grandma who will be making some for him and has already mentioned making a special outift/hat for coming home from the hospital...i am very excited to see what she has planned! Her work is amazing! My first main purchase after picking a name are monogrammed diaper covers so i can get his picture taken after he is born...i can't wait for all our photoshoots we can do! My best little prop! lol. Well i better go and get editing some of the pics of my latest 2 week old session Gavin, but in the meantime i will post my ultrasound pics. You will see that it can't be denied that he is a boy!!!

I told you!

15 weeks and random things

2010-11-23T07:55:00.000-08:00

Well this pregnancy is moving along very fast...and the end of the year is almost here! So much has been happening in the Steele household over the past couple of months and it just keeps getting crazier. I am finally sailing into the 2nd trimester and i thought the 1st trimester bumps were over with and then the vomiting has struck me all over again....and worse than ever before. I am miserable and wore out.

We are in the process of rearranging the whole house to get ready for the new baby and it is a lot of work. We are getting bunk beds this week for Grant's room and so the baby bed will be moving back into our room until the baby arrives. I am a little apprehensive about him having a big boy bed where he can move around at night but he is such a good sleeper i am really hoping this works out to our advantage.

We should find out Monday the sex of the baby and i can't be more happy about it. So many people say why don't you surprise yourself but i just can't do it...i am a planner and love to shop. I want everything ready when the baby gets here, no surprises! So we have all the baby gear taking up a huge area of our room which also had to be rearranged to make room for the nursery in the front area of our room.

In addition, with Christmas right around the corner we just got all 5 boxes of Christmas gear out and set up in the living room. In doing that i had to move a HUGE amount of the kids toys out of the living room/playroom to make room for our massive tree and i still am not sure i have taken enough stuff out...but i have no room for anything else anywhere else. With the new bunk beds going in Grants room i barely shoved and rearranged to fit all the extra toys in his room. This should be very interesting with Christmas toys on the horizon.

I am freaking out just a little bit. I feel like the house is in a frenzy and all 1/2 completed and i feel so tired and sick that i just want to lay on the couch and do nothing for awhile. Unfortunately that isn't possible....but i am very happy and thankful for the chance to have all this chaos....yeah i know i don't sound like it...but you are where i can vent and release all this pent up blahhhhhhhhhhh!

I am excited for the Holidays and the big changes coming into our household. I am so Thankful for a God who takes care of my family and friends and provides so much for us. I am thankful for being sick and God trying to show me that life is not a box of chocolates 24-7 but we still need to be gracious and thankful even when it is the hardest thing. I plan on celebrating this Thanksgiving giving thanks for all my blessings and i hope you do the same.

I'll finish the post of with some recent pictures of some of the adorable kids i've had a pleasure of photographing this month!

I'll try to add some pics of my own kiddos soon and my photoshoot for my friend Missy's 2 week old little baby boy Gavin i'm taking this week. Happy Holidays!!!

Shutterfly 50 Free Holiday cards

2010-11-23T07:33:00.000-08:00

Well it seems that Shutterfly has saved the day again this year. All bloggers get 50 free Holiday cards http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards just for being bloggers, what could be better than that!!We got cards from them last year and i was truly amazed at how stunning they looked. This year i planned on ordering them again and i saw this promotion just in time.

All you have to do is go to http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/ for your submission form. It is super simple and in a couple of days you can order your free cards.

I just got the kids outfits completely bought and planned on doing a photo shoot with them this weekend for the "perfect" picture for the cards....soon enough they will be ready for you to see! I am excited and so should you, get on over to Shutterfly and order your Christmas http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards or Holiday cards today!!

Some of my favorites include:

Then again if you are not that interested in sending out massive amounts of cards for Christmas or the Holidays you can also get cards for other occasions like the birth of a new baby, birth announcements http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/birth-announcements are always a big hit and Shutterfly makes the process even easier for all of soon to be new moms. Good luck and go order your announcements or cards today!

I know we are in the process of deciding if we need one for a boy:

OR

A BABY GIRL.....hopefully we will know in three more days!

10 weeks

2010-10-20T11:44:00.000-07:00

Today i ran by my doctors office to grab an OB consent form to take to the university in a week or two for my ultrasound the students will give me and ended up having an appointment in addition to it. I have been feeling really puny this pregnancy and overly exausted and neaseated more so than with my previous two pregnancies. So when i told my nurse that she said she had a cancelation and asked if i wanted to see the Dr. today and get my labs out of the way, i was like HELL yeah!

So i had my labs, got to hear my baby's precious heartbeat(a galloping horse), and got a home remedy from him to hopefully help my symptoms until we get an answer if there is anything to see. He is testing my vitamin levels and my thyroid on top of all the other first OB apt. labs.

Before my appointment i took Grant to the Ear, nose, and throat Dr. and got his 18 mth check-up since he has had tubes...and they both fell out since the last appointment. It is a double edged sword. If he has outgrown this we are in good shape and then no more ear infections= no more specialist! If he hasn't outgrown it then most likely with winter afoot then Grant will end up very sick again with a never ending ear infection and will be stuck with a repeat surgery for tubes again...which i am praying won't happen...but Hailey was five when she had her tubes placed so i am not optimistic :(

In other news, we just got back from a gorgeous wedding in Iowa of a dear family friend and it was absolutely perfect. The drive down and back was long and tiring but very much worth it! I will try to post pics soon but i haven't even turned my camera on in the four days we have been home. Exaustion set in and today is the first day i feel like i might be back to the world of the living...but a nap is coming on soon!

I have been trying to plan out how we will set up the baby once he/she is born and i just can't decide what to do. Do we put the nursery in our room where there is plenty of space(our room used to be two bedrooms previously) and get rid of all our privacy again but it will allow me to be close for breastfeeding! OR do we have the baby share a room with Grant and try to squeeze in a crib and twin size bed into a room already extremely full of a billion toys but technically plenty room for two kiddos. If it is a girl is that fair to him and/or the baby to share a room and how will i decorate with two opposite sexes in one room? It has been making me crazy and i just can't decide what the best answer is as of yet, but i need to decide soon because i would like to have the bedding picked out and bought by Christmas and Grant switched over tho the big boy bed so we don't have any problems with the baby having his bed...what do you think?

8 weeks

2010-10-07T06:11:00.000-07:00

Well i have been useless for the past month. I can't believe how drained this pregnancy has made me. Normally i am a little more tired and nauseated but this time i am just puny! I feel bad because i have all these responsibiliities and i have barely been staying on top of them. Then again i have been doing them just not always the best of my ability. I keep hoping in a few weeks this will all start to lift and i can get my old crazy Erin energy back...some of my ADHD would be great right now! We are right at the 8 week mark and next Tuesday we have our second ultrasound. I am so excited for it and can't wait to see our little peanut. We are still concerned about the possibility of twins but i have been trying to put it on the back of my mind until the ultrasound, no point in getting worked up over it if it isn't true. I know we can handle two but we just didn't have it in the plans...lol...then again God works in mysterious ways, right?

Other than my utter exaustion we have been super busy. I am now a Girl Scout Brownie Troop Leader for my daughter's troop and it has been alot of work to get started but it is reallly fun. I know every week our meetings will be a new experience where the girls can learn how to be better little citizens. It is exciting! This week we are letting the girls learn more about what it means to be a girl scout, set goals for what they want to do this year, and hailey is going to show them how to make origami. My goal is to have one girl show of something they can do or a special gift they have every week! I think it will be a great way to help with public speaking and to build confidence in each girl!

Other than that we are just getting ready for the holidays and all the weddings we have in October. I am super excited about my best friend kim's wedding this Sunday, 10-10-10. I am thrilled for her happiness and can't wait for them to start making babies..lol. I am her maid of honor and i am over the moon to spend this day with her and her soon to be husband! Also this month i am honored to make another trip to Iowa for a wedding with my mom and the kiddos for an old family friends wedding. I get to spend a short amount of time visiting my family and see a gorgeous wedding. I can't wait!

I am sure i will write again next week after our ultrasound but for now i need to get working on my lessons for girl scouts then get ready for Fall Festival time...the best time of the year, lots of fried foods and carni rides. Yum-yum!

Race For A Cure

2010-09-27T06:55:00.000-07:00

Hailey and me walked in the Susan G. Comen Race for a Cure on Saturday and it was a great morning. The weather was absolutely perfect, cool and sunny! Everyone could feel the power and happiness...pushing for the greater good. It was a mazing seeing all the survivors with their flowers and lives....

I had to stop myself numerous times from crying because the emotional toll of the morning was hard to take. I listened closely to the stories of survival and death...i tried to take it all in and remember. I thought about my family that were taken too soon. I thought about how my kids didn't get to spend time with them and how i didn't spend enough time with them. I thought about how their kids didn't get enough time with them. I thought about the good times and thougth about the time when we will all see each other again soon. It was a breezy day and i remembered that we always say the wind are a way for the sdeceased to give us kisses! I pray for a cure! We miss you so much!!

In memory of:

Renee Lasse -my grandmother

Diane Domeyer -my grandmother

Debbie Domeyer -my aunt

Chrissy Wegmann - my aunt

God has a plan

2010-09-14T06:20:00.000-07:00

It is the plan i have wanted but worried about. I don't know what the future holds but it looks so much brighter now. I have decided to leave my future in Gods hands...if i am supposed to be at home or working, God will plan for me. I am still looking and sending out applications daily. I still want to work more than anything. At the same time i am happy with our life as it is...do we really need a bigger house, more stuff....can we just be happy in a small house with three kids and with me at home raising them. I don't know? What i do know is that it is all in Gods hands and he has a plan for us.

This little baby shows me what God can do, this baby is so tiny he/she doesn't even have a heartbeat yet. Somehow my body is already in protection mode and trying to figure out how to make this baby work with our schedule...our constraints...our life. I am in awe of the power of God. This has made my day, made my week, made my year, i am happy!

In May, we will be having our third and final child and i am so grateful and blessed for this opportunity! My family is grateful and thrilled. My daughter is keeping track of the baby's size and comparing it to blades of grass and pieces of food and our son is pointing at his belly and saying baby! My husband is praying for just one but i am saying whatever is thrown our way we are happy with. I am in awe and so happy, thank-you God, THANK YOU!

My life

2010-09-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

I guess i was a little down yesterday when i posted about my job blues. Job hunting has times where you feel overwhelmed. With our economy in the tank it is even harder than ever to get a job at a decent salary and keep it. Human Resources, my degree, is a hard degree to enter into and being an older woman(30) with children and a short job list i am not always the first pick. I am trying hard to listen when i am told God has a plan.

Right now i am trying to focus on getting caught up at home and getting through my days without disaster. We have been very busy with the start of soccer season and Girl scouts. When coupled with a calendar full of doctor appointments, photo shoots, and homework for Hailey is has been slightly hectic. As much as i complain about it i know that is the life of a parent and i do love it!

I have been looking at the kids and staring in awe at how much they have grown lately. Grant is 2 1/2 and full of life and laughter. He is ALL boy and full of spunk. He is extremely independent and mechanically inclined. Instead of watching cartoons he watches the speed channel. He loves drag racing, nascar, and all the shows on test driving and fixing cars. He gets mad if i turn it off. He won't drink plain soy milk anymore only chocolate soy and loves Capri Sun juice packs. His favorite food is chinese and eats edamame almost daily as a snack. He is in size 2 shorts, 2-3T shirts, and size 7-8 shoes depending on the brand. He is doing well in speech and almost didn't qualify for services. He is speaking many words and some two-three word phrase but many only family understands. We know he understands every thing it is just getting him to clearly enounciate the words.

Hailey is 7 1/2 and so grown up now. She is at that stage where she wants to be an adult but still throws the tempers like a baby. It can be difficult but i have been trying hard to discipline accordingly. She lost another tooth last night and was so excited, i was excited mainly because she still believes in the tooth fairy!!! FYI-our tooth fairy leaves two dollars just in case you wondered. She had her first orthodontist appointment this month and we decided she has four baby teeth that we need to pull to make room for her permanent teeth. Then at the end of the year we have another appointment to see if she is ready for early braces..they said by the time she is 9 we will probably need some help because of her massive crowding. I had extensive work as a kid so i am sure she is in for a treat, yikes! She just learned how to ride her bike without training wheels, don't laugh. I know it is a little later than most kids but Hailey is very sensitive and doesn't think she can do many things. We wanted to wait until she was ready and it was a huge sucess. She learned in about 5 minutes. Literaly within an hour she was doing circles and breaking perfectly. Amazed to say the least...

Then she is in Girl Scouts year three and we are just getting started but i am so proud of all she has learned throughout the past couple of years. I believe they have helped her be more confident and a better person. Soccer is still iffy, she isn't the most focused girl on the team and we are hard on her for it. At the same time we understand that she is a kid an dwill have days where she could care less to be there. She is very good at kicking when she does pay attentiona dn i am hoping in a few weeks when the games start she will really pick up the pace and do awesome. She is wearing mainly size 8/10 pants and the same in shirts and a size 1-2 shoe. She is sweet and loves art. She makes beautiful portraits of people and 3-D creations. I can't wait to be able to get her art lessons and see how she grows and all the can learn from them.

This weekend we are going on our first family trip of the summer...maybe a little late but a trip at that. Since i was on vacation with the kiddos all of June visiting family we just didn't make time once we were back to go on trips all four of us. So this weekend we got some free tickets to a St. Louis Cardinals game on Friday night. Afterwards we are going to stay at the the Hyatt Regency at the Arch which is a bit out of our normal price range but we thought it would be a special treat for us all. We got a suite and hope to have a little time to swim before or after our festivities. Then when we wake up Saturday we are hitting the St. Louis Zoo. Grant has never been and Hailey hasn't been since she was 4 or 5 and it is our favorite zoo within 5-6 hours. Then we will head home. Jason has some tatoo work getting done Saturday night, yeah i know Uber important right, so we need to get home for that. I think it will be a perfect way to start our Labor Day weekend. We are hoping to finish the weekend off with a small family gathering with my mom, and brother's family but nothing is set in stone. We also have Holiday world tickets burning a hole in my pocket but i am unsure if we will go this weekend or not...it is all a waiting game. I will try to post more pics soon...maybe even some of my own kids. I have been a bad blogger lately, i forgot how nice it feels to write all of your frustrations, hopes, and dreams down. I like sharing with you ...not that anyone but myself read my blog but maybe that is why i feel so happy. I can write anything i want and not worry about what anyone thinks!

Give Me Strength

2010-08-31T06:38:00.000-07:00

I always thought when i got done with my bachelor's degree that finding a job would be easy...well for some that might be so. For me it isn't! No one wants an older mother who has been a stay at home mom. They have overlooked my extensive volunteer experience, my ability to run a home based business, my ability to juggle a home, family, school...all at one time. I just don't understand! I want to work, i am ready to work, i am responsible...why don't people want that!

I am discouraged and saddened. I love being a stay at home mom and i love taking care of my family but my time to go back to work is NOW. I need it for my own sanity. I need adult interactions and meaningful work. I want to prove what i can do. I have always felt a step lower than my working friends, i am smart and i am good at what i do. I just wish i could express that to others. They look at my resume and go straight to my work history which was sparse before starting my daycare. In high school and college i worked two or three jobs sometimes 60 hours a week...but they don't see that. All they see is a person who has only worked restaurants and daycares and has no TRUE experience. I am beat. I am tired of explaining how smart i am, how well i multi-task, how great i am at the computer. How even though i have kids and a family that i am dependable and will come to work on time and consistently!

I am nauseated at the thought that we want a third baby and it might happen before i find a job and because of that i might never find a job. If it is hard to find work now i can't imagine anyone in their right mind hiring someone who will need a maternity leave or all the appointments that go along with a newborn. I am confused and unsure of what i am doing...i am conflicted. I am wondering if i should put my desires for another baby on hold for awhile to pursue my dreams for a career. When i know that now is the best time for another child. The fact that we don't want to wait any longer, we don't want to be older parents, we want our children close in age.

Is it really that important to find a job? Do i need a career to feel complete? Will my husband be happy if i don't find work right away? I am just not sure...i am scared, i am tired, i am beat....i want this to be easy even when i know this is my biggest challenge yet! I am ready to push through this and reach my goals but i am not going to give up myself and y beliefs to get there.

I need a company who is family friendly and willing to let me prove myself. I want to find a company who will encourage me and push me to do bigger and better things. I know i will find it but please God let me have the strength and patience to wait for the perfect time to come! I really need it right now!

It's been a long time

2010-08-21T07:09:00.000-07:00

To say that i have fell out of blogging would be an understatement....i have fell off the planet, well except Facebook! It seems that i have made myself overplanned and overworked all summer. I feel like the job of a stay at home mom is even crazier now that usual.We took a month long vacation to visit family in Iowa. Luckily the trip was very relaxing and i was able to meet my sister Katrina with whom i feel like i was able to have a great connection with. Just recently i found out Katrina is expecting so i will become an aunt again, an unexpected but wonderful surprise. The kids got to ride four wheelers and go carts all day and even fish a couple of times but mainly we just laid low and spent time together which was much needed.

Currently, I have been looking for jobs a couple of hours a day. I have had a few interviews here and threr but most of them don't pay well so we have declined the positions. I am going back on Monday for my second interview for a job that seems perfect for me but again the pay is borderline...but we might have to compromise as a family and take something below what we want so i can get started.

I have been doing photoshoots at the rate of almost 1 a week (which is alot for this beginner). I am loving it. I have been getting more and more props and getting better at rearranging my house to accommodate shoots i have indoors. I am really really hoping that for Christmas i can get some good lighting because that is my main issue right now! We are also looking into a better camera but we will see what happens!

I have been volunteering at Hailey's school weekly or more...and the doctor appoinments have been weekly for the past month. Combine all that together with our normal everyday life and the beginning of school and school activities i think i might go crazy! Hailey is playing Fall soccer again this year so we have two practices and a game each week. On top of that she is a Girl Scout and has usually two meetings a month. Then i am a PTA mom and have one monthly meeting and about 4 activities every month....so it can get a little hectic on the schedule.

BUT i am very thankful for my hectic life. I figure it means we are living life to the fullest. We are not sitting home being couch potatoes or lazy bums but spending time doing the things we love most. Sometimes i just want to relax and have a break so i am trying t oschedule more alone/relax time into our schedule but i know as the kids get older they will start doing more on their own and will need us less freeing up some time. I don't want to miss a second of their activities. School has taken up so much of my time i have had to miss many of these activities and i won't miss any voluntarily again soon! Those moments are so very precious!!!

I wanted to add some of my photos from this summer and the photoshoots i have been doing! Hopefully it won't be this long again before i write but i can't promise that. O yeah and we are trying for our third and last child currently so my hectic life will be blessed with a little more chaos and we couldn't be happier with our decision! I will make sure to update you when it actually happens.

2010-05-12T10:26:00.001-07:00

I didn't mean to send that last message so soon. I have found my little sister. She is almost 18 and very beautiful! She wants to meet soon! Very cool.

2010-05-12T10:23:00.001-07:00

We have found my little sister. Don

2010-05-08T09:21:00.001-07:00

Photoshoot in less than 40 minutes. I am thrilled to do this for Star! Gorgeous day!!!

2010-05-07T21:34:00.001-07:00

Okay I am trying to add an update from my phone. If this works I am going to be thrilled!

Another Cutie!

2010-05-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

Graduaton-FINALLY HERE!

2010-05-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

Well i am officially a college graduate, not just another associate degree and yes i have two of those but finally my bachelor's! I am a 30 year old who has finally accomplished the greatest achievement for myself EVER! I have been walking on the moon ever since i took my "final" final yesterday. i am sure Sunday when i walk and shake that hand i will be even more elated. I have never in my life felt so good about something i have done, my mom is so proud, my kids are excited and my husband has been praising me all week. I am sitting here crying thinking of what a hard time i have had getting here. It has been a true struggle both financially and emotionally. It has taken precious time from my kids and my husband that i can never get back, it has left me exhausted and wore down.....BUT it is the best thing i have ever done.

I have learned a lot about myself and the strength i have. I have learned that i can do anything i set my mind too. I have gained self-esteem and the will to keep trying for something bigger and better. I have learned that busy is good. I have learned that the world is so much bigger than where i live and i have it GREAT compared to a vast majority of the world. I am BLESSED beyond what i can express. School has given me the courage to look beyond my dreams and shoot for the stars. I can do anything....and i will!

I have decided that i will go back for my master's at some point. It is a goal i have set for myself for the very distant future. I have faith and it is a goal i will complete, i will succeed. BUT for now i am going to enjoy my family. Enjoy my photography. Enjoy looking for a position in a career i am passionate about. Enjoy the summer. Enjoy watching my kids grow up with a mom who will make all the soccer games, PTA meetings, and girl scouts. I mom who has the time to spend quality time on her family and just enjoy everyone and everything!

I am getting ready to start a new chapter in my life and i feel it truly is the best time i have ever had. I am BLESSED! I am blessed!

2nd Infant Shoot!!

2010-04-13T10:12:00.000-07:00

I am really getting into this Photoshop thing...it is highly addictive! I have done two infant shoots and a maternity shoot. Then Monday i have another shoot that is an engagement/wedding shoot for a good friend of mine who just got married a couple of weeks ago...they wanted it simple at the courthouse and haven't gotten any pics yet of just the two of them! I am still learning and see so many flaws in what i am doing but i know it is a learning progress and i am learning new techniques every day! Here are a couple of pics of my most recent infant shoot. Hope you like them!

Newborn Photography

2010-03-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

I did some FREE photoshoots this week with two adorable newborns, 14 day old Sophia and 21 day old Aiden. I wanted to help build up my portfolio for opening up Erin Steele Photography! We had a great time and got some amazing pictures, above what i ever could have dreamed. I am excited at all these great opportunities coming my way and hope it means a bright future!

My First Wedding Gig

2010-03-15T17:09:00.000-07:00

I am hoping that this will be a vision of things to come but only time will tell...

I am really excited that my hobby could actually help support my family, being FUN in the process. They say you should go to work happy everyday and a photography job could do just that. My photoshop skills have drasticly improved over the past two weeks and i know that everytime i use it i will only get better and better. The chance to make memories last forever is priceless! My first main photoshoots over the next two months is actually going to have all proceeds donated to a family friend who is 31 with cancer. It will hopefully draw in some people and spread my name around while still doing a great thing to help a friend. I am stoked!

I am sorry my posts have been so far apart and haven't had much detail but i have been crazy busy finishing up my last semester of school. I am done in 8 weeks and have a very ful schedule until then. I just can't wait!!

Bouncing off the Walls

2010-02-05T22:43:00.000-08:00

My son needs one of these...he was in love with it!

He wasn't so sure about the bouncy houses!

Cheese..he is ready to Bounce off the wall in this pic after sprite and some cheetos!

This is Colton.ADORABLE.

He is my friend from high school's little boy and i could just pinch his cheeks all day.

I didn't get manypics of our other friends or a group pic but we had a blast at a new warehouse with inflatables that just came to town. Today they filmed for their commercial and today we went. So my baby will be in a commercial..unpaid but that is okay we got in 1/2 price and he got free cheetos and sprite! That is a winner in my book! But he really was bouncing off the walls...until after lunch and then he was OUT!

Who's life isn't crazy busy??

2010-02-05T21:54:00.000-08:00

I always think that we are just soooo busy compared to everyone else but i just had an epiphany...EVERYONE is busy. We all have things going on 24-7 and a million things to accomplish. It is just trying to align those things that makes life so crazy. I got a new Blackberrry recently and it has kept me updated and actually off the computer alot. Amazing what a lifesaver it has become. Also it has a planner/calendar...and i am in love. It hasn't came in handy all that much yet...but it has been loaded with all my activities until summer and i know that i have all my info in the palm of my hand. Now i just need to stop writing down everything i need to do on all 3 calendars i have at home and just use my one all important phone....

This weekend has been no exception to the rule. One of my friedns alwasy tells me i do this to myself and you know what you are right, i do. I actually love being busy...not tired but busy. I feel productive that way. Like yesterday my schedule went something like this: 6:30 alarm, 6:32 alarm, 6:34 alarm...me hitting alarm...finally i rise hearing the dogs whimpering and go to the restroom. Next 6:35-i go to Hailey's room and beg her to wake up quickly and not fight me cause she needs a bath since it has been at least two days if not more since her last one...i have no clue actually. So i run the bath and she jumps in and i tell her to hurry and she lays there sleeping in the tub. I leave her and while yelling on my way out BEG her to please hurry and wash her hair and body. 6:40-6:50 i get both dogs outside to pee in our swimming pool of a backyard but neither of them are really having it..so i get soaked and then less than an hour later have to clean up pee off the floor. 6:50 go back to check on hailey and she hasn't moved..half asleep laying under the water..so i get a tiny bit angry and get her moving up to a crawl. 6:52 i find her an outfit since i forgot to lay them out the night before and scrounge up some hairbows. 6:54 i get the toaster down and brown 4 pieces of toast for hailey. 6:57 go back and help hailey finish up her bath and beg her to get finished quickly since the bus will be here in less than 20 minutes and we are no where near ready to go. 7:00 Grant wakes up and he is horribly crabby, i hold him for a minute and change his diaper while trying to get hailey motivated to dress quickly. 7:05 i get the cold toast out butter and jelly it, give the dogs food and water all the while Grant is throwing his morning tantrum, 7:10 get hailey in the bathroom with her toast and put her hair in a ponytail and blowdry it all the best i can, 7:15 hailey is looking presentable and has eaten most of her toast while Grant has calmed down enough top realize the toast has jelly on it and he crams 2 pieces in his mouth in like a minute. 7:17 hailey starts brushing her teeth and by 7:17..and one millionth of a second she is done so i tell her to go back and get them again! About 7:19 i rush her to the door and get her jacket and gloves on as fast as i can, then quickly locate the umbrella for her while pushing her out the door. grant begs for a kiss and is happy to see sissy go! You realize if i write at this pace we won't get to the end of this day until next February!

Anyways i think you get the picture...I checked emails, took the dogs out pee and poop again, took a shower with Grant to save time, did a homework assignment, did 3 loads of laundry, one load of dishes, cleaned up dog poo off the floor, and i am sure 40 other things in the two hours before my mother-in-law showed up at 9:30 so i could go to my first class of the day. then i drove to class, weight training class...worked out like crazy, stopped at McD's then came home all by 12:30. and immediately took the dogs out again. Grant was asleep so i checked Facebook, emails, and started more assignments before Grant woke up around 1:40 and i made some yogurt/fruit/granola mix and a flatbread sandwich while sitting him in front of the tv and by 2 pm we were done eating and he had pooped. then we played for about a half an hour until hailey came home then the real caos starts. 2:40 Hailey walks in and immediately whines about how starved she is and how she must have a cookie dough blizzard(i made it for her a couple of wks ago and now she wants it every day). I say no and tell her to eat cereal or crackers or somethign like that. She whines more and ends up eating cereal. She stars fighting with Grant and making him scream and i am about to go crazy five minutes after she gets home. I set her down to start on homework and she acts like it is all forgeign to her and i have to walk her through every single step even thoguh i know she has done it all before and it is review...she sits there a good hour begging for more food after the cereal is gone and i tell her no cause dinner is comign soon...she still whines and begs. The dogs are fighting again for the 500000 time today and then they pass out in the bed together...go figure! 4:00 i try to look over more homework but i can'teven think about it cause the kids are being so crazy. Grant keeps climbing everythign and trying to get in my purse and bags...hailey just wants attention and whines about anything she can. 4:45 i take the dogs out one last time before heading to class. Amen it is 5 pm and Jason comes home from work. I tell him wat still needs to be done for the night say hi and bye quickly and head out the door...i eat and get to class around 4:45 and slide into class and try to look ove rmy notes for a sec before class. I spend the next three hours watching Dante's Peak and analyzing the volcanoes in the movie for a class assignment. After class i get gas in the rain and was so worried about the scary side of town i was on at 9 pm i forgot to put the gas cap on the car when i left. (Luckily Jason caught it almost 24 hours later after it had been raining the whole time and almost ruined the cars engine....so far it is still running though). Then i get home around 9:30 and the kids are still awake(they should have been in bed over an hour ago) and Jason is exausted..as if i am not! So i send hailey to brush her teeth while i take the dogs out pee...in the rain---you never would have guessed??) then i check the dogs food and water while starting more laundry. 9:45 i cuddle Grant for a little while until he passes out around 10ish and then i put him in bed. By then everyone else is asleep and i start on my homework, my real homework. This is my only time to get peace so this is where i take my time to really get things done. I spend the next two or so hours studying and by midnight or so i can barely function...then sleep...then at 6:30 i am pushing the snooze button again and my day starts over! This is my life and it is crazy....but i wouldn't have it any other way :)

It will be a HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

2010-01-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

I am excited to be turning 30. Not because of the grey hairs or saggy boobs..but for my experiences. If i was 20 again i would be young and stupid...real stupid! and 40 just sounds OLD! But thirty seems just right!

My family is doing well. I graduate from college this year...maybe 8 years to late..but neverless i am almost finished. I am sooo much smarter than i was 10 years ago. I never knew what great things would happen to me. I have spent a HUGE portion of the past ten years at home with my kiddos. That makes me feel OLD. I picked and married my sweetheart and we have been together 10 years at the end of the month and married for 2 1/2.

We have two children who make my days very bright...except today since school was canceled. They are very crazy and full of energy making me want to pull out all my hair...maybe just all the greys.

I look forward to the next 10 years. I look forward to getting a job and helping my husband save for our family and future. I can't wait to see what awesome family vacations we can plan and how many of them our kids groan about. My son will be almost 12 and my daughter 17 when i turn gulp...40..and i can only hope we decide to have another and i can say he/she will be maybe 9-10 by then...or it will be just the four of us and i will be happy with that..i guess!

I am hoping to spend more time in church, volunteering, cooking, and spending time with my family. I hope to get really good at taking pics and learn Photoshop so i can make some extra money on the side and maybe one day make it a career!

I am hoping we can get a new(er) house in Newburgh sooner than later. Room for all of us and our extended family. I want to have all our social occassions at our house and have room to move around and enjoy it! I want to get my kids in a school district that will push them and know they are getting the best education possible. I hope in the next 10 years i will go back and complete my masters degree and take my PHR exam.

I also hope that soon i start paying closer attention to my weight and get down to a healthier size. I would love to be in a 12?-14? someday again. But my current goal is to lose 50 this year...we will see how that goes. I would like to get back down to what i weighed when i got married and then continue to lose after that. I want to be healthier in my thirties than i have been in my 20's!

I want to be a more attentive wife and mother...focus on how i can make them happy Not as much on what makes me happy...knowing i am pleasing them should make me happier (:

I want to be a better housewife. I think staying home all these years has made me slack off alot. I don't clean my house like i used to...i pick up all the time but don't get deep cleaning done very often and i really need to get back in the swing of things.

Overall i want to be a more productive person who lets people know just how much i care about them. I want to be there to support my family and friends and also to be more positive about myself. I am much more confident now than i have been in the past but i have a long way to go.

Here is to my fabulous 20's and looking forward to an even better 30's....

Happy 3 0 to me!!!

Eye Candy

2009-12-04T09:25:00.000-08:00

Since my last post was so long your eyes burned. Here is a little eye candy!

No time

2009-12-04T08:24:00.000-08:00

I think i say this every time i write but i have no time. I read blogs daily but when it comes to writing i just can't come up with the witty things to say that would make this interesting so i don't want to waste what precious little time i have to write a pointless paragraph. BUT here i am feeling guilty for not writing since October and having all these cool things we have done since then going unrecorded.

It has been super busy in our household with Jason working killer overtime at his semi-new job and me trying to get school work finished not just for me but for hailey also. It has been a balancing act. Hailey is still in girl scouts but we dropped her other activities until i finished school. One thing to worry about every two weeks is enough...more than that i would have been in total chaos!

I have no clue where i left off but the end of October went well. The kids dressed up like a cat and a firefighter and they were adorable. Grant started really getting into it this year. He stopped and begged for more and more candy from each person and wouldn't leave after the first peice. It was funny cause most people ended up giving him more candy just cause his begging was so adorable. Luckily, the kids wore out quickly this year and we didn't have to walk around all night. I know as hailey gets older we will be staying out later and later at night so this was a pleasant surprise.

Then November brought many new possibilities. I applied for a job and didn't get it. But the interview and experience was worth it and i know it gave me practice for when the perfect job comes around. I was sure that was the one but i wasn't ready to leave my baby boy in daycare so it worked out for the best. And since i am still finishing school, one more semester left, i like the idea of being home and having time with the kids every day!

The holidays went well and we got to see many family members the kids only see during this time of the year. It is sad cause jason's grandma is getting up there in age and we never know how long she will be around. We should really visit more often. The food was fabulous. WE or i should say Jason made our first turkey and stuffing this year and we stayed home the morning of Thanksgiving. It was delightful and soooo yummy. He did a great job and it was sweet and moist. Then i made up some green beans, homeade mashed potatoes, and orange cranberry relish(my favorite) and it was a very filling meal. We ended up celebrating Thanksgiving with my side of the family later in the week(end) and it was a MASSIVE meal that was to die for. My mom always cooks everything under the sun and like always she outdid herself. I swear she needs her own restaurant it would be booked 24-7! I won't even name all the food we had but i swear we had so much that we still have some of it in the fridge we are trying to finish up.

Then on to the holidays coming up...busy busy busy...but we are done with the kids. I don't even know what we all got them but it is a car full! That is where santa, wink, wink, has been hiding the toys from growing girls eyes who might find them and possibly not believe in santa anymore. And we can't have that happen at only 6 years old! But Santa got Hailey the coolest new Bedding..it is adorable.

It is Aqua and yellow huge flowers with black accents on a white background. Then the sheets are black, aqua, and yellow polka dots....so cute! Online it was sorta bold for me but once we got it here it is much more reasonable colors-i usually go more sweet pink girlie stuff but this is perfect for a growing girl and will last into her teens if she likes it that long! Also we got some different dolls for her, a guitar, and some artsy things.

Grant got a DRUM set and some other toys but for the life of me i can't remember anything else...but it was a ton of stuff. We still have some clothes and stocking stuffers to get them but overall they are done. I am going this friday to get the rest of the shopping done for everyone else in the family. We got our tree done last week and it turned out perfect with our new LED lights on it. They look great and are saving us a fortune in electricity.

In other news, Grant is having some amazing progress. His speech is coming along nicely and his volabulary is booming-he is repeating many things. He says mommy, daddy, ball, baby, elmo, puppy, dog, and some others. He can sing along and say part of "happy birthday to you" and "the ABC's" but mainly he is just getting the syllables without the proper words but he is trying. He is still doing some sign language and says please, drink, apple consistently but we haven't been using it as much since he is picking up on words more and more. He still yells and grunts when frustrated but overall he has been much more consistently using words or pointing instead.

We are getting ready to have his 6 month checkup and review this month. I have asked that they switch him from a developmental specialist to a speech therapist as soon as possible to push him more on speaking properly. I know how important it is to get this done in his early years but we will see if they will go for it. Originally we had said sometime after his second birthday or closer to summer when he has his one year review but i just don't know if the developmental therapy focuses enough on the speech to really be doing good. Personally i think most of his effort is what he is doing at home not his therapist.

Also Grant has been potty training. NOT by my choice but his own. He loves to sit on the potty and goes everytime he sits either #1 or #2 or both. For over two months now he has been starting to go consistently every day. Sometimes we only sit once a day and sometimes we go numerous times just depending on if i remember or he asks. He will touch his diaper like he has peed or try to take his pants off himself. So i ask him and he usually says yes! Over the past week or so he even wants toilet paper and wipes front and back. AWESOME. So we are just casually encouraging him now and plan on pushing it this spring after his birthday. How cool would it be to have my two year old potty trained..woohoo!!

Another big development that just happened in the past month is Jason's sister getting engaged. It was so sweet. They just bought a gorgeous house in Newburgh and he proposed the day of their housewarming party. It was so awesome seeing him so nervous and her so excited. They are having the wedding in May so it isn't much time to plan. Actually the date is May 30th. She asked me Wednesday if the kiddos would be in the wedding and i am so honored to say yes!! We went last night and tried on dresses for hailey and we found the perfect one. It is knee length and with a poofy skirt..very grown up and fun. Hailey felt like a princess. Her colors are tiffany blue but maybe a little lighter, diamond white(sorta creamy), and pale pale pink...so the girls dresses will be that blue with a cream ribbon on the waist. I am loving it. I still haven't seen Kristy's dress and i am dying to see it on her. She will be a beautiful bride.

It is outside at the Roofless church and then the reception is at the Grainery. What a cool place for a wedding. It will be so fun. Also it is right before Jason and my anniversary so that will be special.

Some last tidbits before getting off here and doing something productive. I finally got my photoshop cs3. I haven't even had time to open it really but it looks complicated. I am going to try and do tutorials and learn one thing at a time. I can't wait to put the pics into there and see what cool effects i can come up with. Also we are still undecided about the possible addition of another baby to the family. We are in limbo. I really really want one more baby. Like dying for another but Jason is unsure. I am hoping that over the holidays we can decide for definite our plans and either go ahead and start trying (: or get rid of our baby stuff and more on.

I am unsure i am comfortable moving on but i want Jason to want this and be comfortable with another baby...i don't want him just to go along with it cause i want one. he has to want another baby too! he did say last time we talked that he would love a Christmas baby...so you never know what can happen. I think he is going into this with an opened mind mainly for me. He knows how much i have always wanted a large family. I used to always say i wanted ten kids in high school then reality hit. We can't afford ten but i know we can afford three and our hearts have plenty of room for one more child. I would love for Grant to have a little brother to plan with and grow up with or another little girl for us to dote on...i have always dreamed of a house full of children and grandchildren(someday)!!

Smoking and children

2009-10-25T13:33:00.001-07:00

I am a past smoker. I understand the urges that smokers have. I understand how smokers feel like they need to smoke 24-7. I truly do understand....BUT i also feel like our children have the right to clean air--- as do people like myself who are non-smokers! So days like today make me very, very frustrated! Let me start at the begininng...
My biggest pet peeve is going to a public place and having someone blow smoke in my child's face. I try to aviod situations like this at all costs. Days like today make me wish i was a lawmaker and could make cigarette's illegal. During the Halloween season??if that is a word...we usually have lots of local events that are great experiences for our kids. Ways to get out and do some trick-or-treating in a very public place with hundreds of children present. Usually these activites last between 1-4 hours and have places away from the main events for smokers to go and enjoy a cigarette if them must, but many of them have signs that strictly say NO SMOKING!!!! Very clearly shown...
Today unfortunately there was not a sign but there was 1000000000000000 (i think you get the picure) children. It was our mainstrees trickor treating downtown. We have never been before and will never go again. EVERYONE was smoking all crowded down this narrow street in front of all these small children. There was no where else for us to go to get away from them.
The worst part was one lady behind us whom i did not realize was smoking was holding her cigarette down towards the ground.
Sure enough Grant was walking around(within two feet from me)..since we had to wait in lines an hour long..and the woman almost burnt his face with it cause she wasn't paying any attention. Luckily it was only ashes on his costume and on his hair but i was livid. I made a comment a little loud that it would be polite if people would not smoke at an event where lots of children were located so incidents like this did not occur. The women had the nerve to give me a lecture on her rights and how i should be watching my child better. Then her friend kept saying i better walk away..like she wanted to fight. I got very frustrated and almost left at that point...it was crazy, i am like this is a kids event-we are adults-fight-are you crazy-that is so high school!!! They didn't even apologize instead just acted rediculous abou the whole incident. Within about 10 minutes it seemed like every person we encountered smoked so we ended up leaving.
I guess i just don't understand why you can't go an hour without smoking. Even when i smoked i have a little consideration for others who didn't smoke. I think it is all about manners and thinking about others over yourself. I was so frustrated. Do you think i overreacted? What would you have done? Would it bother you to have your kids around all that smoke, why or why not?

Today is the day my son must grow up!

2009-10-25T13:21:00.000-07:00

I hear him scream and i hate it but i must let him go...i know it sounds mean BUT he bit off two nipples yesterday and i decided it was to dangerous to let him have another bottle ever again. He had been starting to bite little cracks in them but never before had he bit the top completely off, TWICE!

Hailey was never addicted to bottles like he is so at 1 year old we switched her to a sippy cup without much of a transition. But with Grant i have babied him...partially cause he was so little and sick around the year old mark and partially cause he is my baby and he begged for them, so i gave in.

Well today is a transition for us both. He still has a sippy cup full of milk in his bed but it is not a soothing bottle...i don't think that is enough. I am fighting hte urge to run to target and buy up more nipples and just chance him doing in again....he is still screaming after 35 minutes of laying in bed! I am praying for some peace for him and me.

I know my little boy is growing and he isn't so little anymore, he is a toddler. I know i must let go of my need to keep him little and let him grow and learn! I also know that it is just as much my need to make him happy as it is his need to take a bottle for comfort.

Holy moly.......the crying has just stopped.

Has God heard and answered my prayed...i think he did!

Woohoo...our first nap bottleless....

How many faces can you make??

2009-10-12T20:43:00.000-07:00

I think these speak for themselves.

BUT. BUT. BUT

2009-10-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

I have been starting the dreaded job hunt...well sorta...i am getting antsy to start my career. I have applied for a few select jobs that look perfect. Our goal is to wait until next Summer/Fall when i finish school, to then start back Full-time, but if an opportunity comes i will take it! I want to work so bad but i also want to be home with my kiddos. I wish life was that easy where i didn't have to go to school or work.

BUT. I wish i could just play with my kids all day and be there for every new milestone. I have been home for seven years and i feel the timer slowly ticking down and i am scared. I am scared that my future employers won't want a stay at home mom/student almost in her thirties...who is just starting to work outside of the home. I am worried i haven't networked or volunteered enough and that no one will want me. I worry that i don't have time for an internship and that the lack of experience will deter many new possible opportunities.

BUT i know i have done my best. I know that i have been working hard 24-7 trying to balance my home and school life. I have gotten good grade, volunteered my eyeballs out, and enjoyed keeping busy with my family. I am dedicated to finding a job that wants me as much as i want them and in return i will give them my soul. I am a hard worker. I am willing to do what it takes to get the work done right. I can do anything!!!

BUT.BUT.BUT. I am still nervous. I am still scared. Not as much about working, but about leaving my family. I like taking my kids to school. I like volunteering for PTA and seeing Hailey with her friends and teachers. I like helping Hailey with her homework and making her an afternoon snack. I like giving Grant a bottle and putting him down for a nap...so that when he wakes up i am the person who can see his happy little face. I like meeting Hailey at the bus stop and seeing Grant's excitement knowing she is home and hers knowing we are there to see her. I just like spending every minute possible with my kids. I don't want someone else raising them!!

BUT. I am having a major complex about what to do with Grant when i go back to work. Do i do a Daycare, Preschool, Grandparent...what are my options??? I don't trust others with my children. Especially the daycares...i worked there i know to much...i like preschools especially our churches but i would still need part-time care from someone. My mother-in-law is retiring in December but i have no clue if she would want to watch him for a year or two??? I don't want to shove the burden on a family member..unless she wants too do it!

BUT. Another completely different issue revolves around the idea of having another baby. I desperately want another.. Jason has said that he "MIGHT" be fair game but that he wants it done soon. That would mean that if we decided to try for another we would most likely be pregnant, very pregnant, during my job hunt. Yeah, that should go over great with a new employer! And then i need to find childcare for a new infant which is even harder for me to fathom....i raised my first two and swore i would never use daycare for any of my children under two years old...so what then??

BUT. I think i am off on a tangent. But the point is that i am freaking out a bit. I am torn. I am sad. I am happy. I want to work BADLY. I want to stay home even more badly!! I am just confused and optimistic. I know it will all work out in its own time. Right??

What has Grant been doing??

2009-10-06T10:38:00.000-07:00

Uh Oh! Mom caught me playing with the tackboard! I better get away and fast.
I didn't do it!

Awww mom another picture!

Do you care if i take the car for a spin real quick??

Grant has been a handful lately. He is contantly on the lookout for another gadget to play with or something more interesting than what he is supposed to have. He does not like any of the 10 billion toys we have here but loves tvs, remotes, playstation 3 controllers, x-box buttons, computers, laptops, cell phones, lasers, flashlights, microwaves...i think you get the picture!

In addition to embarass my son in the very distant future he is in love with lipstick. The child would wear my lipgross or lipstick every minute of every day. He knows where it is and if he can't get it he wil get in his sisters drawer and get hers. He also loves all my lotions and hair products. Unfortunately he doesn't know the difference so many times hair gel is covering his legs or lotion is in his hair. Hmmm...at least he likes to look and smell good, right?

He is doing well in his speech therapy. I think his therapist likes to talk to me more than work with him but overall he loves her and has a great time "playing" with her. She is actually a developmental specialist so she works on all areas with him not just speech. He loves all of her toys since they aren't ours. He has said a couple of words with her and seems to be making baby steps worth of progress. Lately i haven't noticed a huge difference in vocabulary but alot more humming along with things and trying to do the different changes in pitch sounds have.

He had his 6 month check-up with Dr. Logan-Ear, Nose, and Throat Dr., this morning and he said he is doing great and tubes are still in place. He said that is good with Winter approaching and in six months we will check to see if they are still in place. He said they might come out before that but you never know. I am hoping they stay in as long as possible so we don't have to worry about those darn ear infections for awhile if ever.

Other than that he is growing well. We have his 18 month check-up next week even though he is going on 20 months old. Long story but basically with the change of insurance it pushed us back a month then i totally missed his apt last month...never done that before but schedule was so full i just overlooked it, woops!!! I am excited to see where he is on the growth chart. He has ben running aroung the 20% for height and 50% for weight until now so we will see....i would like for him to be aoud the 50th for both weight and height but i doubt it.

I ended up having to go and buy him smaller clothes for this winter becuase everything i bought last year is enormous on him. He is just barely wearing 12-18 month pants...most are to big on him in the waist and around an 18-24 month shirt. Hailey was wearing all 2-3T clothes at his age...not that i want him to grow or anything. Also he doesn't look scrawny or anything. He looks healthy and normal and that is exactly how we want him.

He was but is no longer a very good eater. He has ben just picking at his meals for the most part.
I think he has realized that snacks come after meals and he likes snacks. So i have been starting to introduce less snacks and give him less milk and reoffer lunch to him if he doesn't eat it. I think it is working a little. Guess we will see what happens!

Rain + Headlights=Proper Driving Habits, Rain-Accident=Possible Death, You Decide

2009-10-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

Nothing makes me more upset than driving through rain, or sleet, or snow and seeing only a handful of drivers using their headlights....but it isn't night time you say....that does not matter. It is said at the DMV when you get your license at a ripe young age of 16 that you should use your headlights anytime the conditions are not perfect....that would mean at dusk, dawn, fog, rain, snow, sleet,.......ANYTIME it isn't perfectly sunny and gorgeous! Why does this irritate me so much you say...well mainly cause i have children in my car and when it is raining so hard you can barely see the front of your car it is IMPOSSIBLE to see a grey car without headlights on in front of you until 2 seconds before they turn in front of you and almost cause a head on collision. BUT if they had headlights on i would have had more of a warning that someone was heading my way and maybe could have saved a life of myself, my children or for Gosh sakes maybe even the driver or the children of the person who was driving...without their headlights on....USE YOUR HEADLIGHTS..it won't waste more gas or deplete your battery. It doesn't take more than 1 second to flip the switch. Why is it so hard to do?? What do all you people have against using your headlights?? Do you know that many cars have been designed to have headlight son 24-7 because it is so dangerous in certain cities not to have them on...that is even more of a reason to USE YOUR HEADLIGHTS. PLEASE.please. please.please. For gosh sakes, please!!!!!!!!!!!!

My beautiful daughter got her first sting!

2009-10-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

I was polite enough not to stick the camera in her face after her encounter with the lovely hornet or wasp that decided to attack her thumb. As to not be cruel i restrained myself and just helped her the best that i could.

If you would have heard her scream after the sting you would have thought the wasp bit her thumb off...it was a yucky looking HOLE right on her thumb close to the webbing. Since she has never been stung and others in my family are highly allergic i was a wee bit freaked out when it started swelling and was very red all over her hand. But i tried to stay calm since she was freaked out enough for the both of us.

Digressing a bit, she had received some fake flowers from the neighbors as they cleaned out their flowerpots and she was so excited about having them. She had wanted to bring them in the house but i declined (luckily) and told her we needed to keep them outside it our flowerpots. She was walking around the culd-e-sac when i assume the wasp who had been napping in the flowers woke up and became irate that she had disturbed him so he found her thumb to punish.

I carried her to the table and remembered from my childhood them making a past from baking something....so i searched the cabinets for this mysterious substance. Soon, finding i had baking powder but not soda and hoping this was correct i made a paste and rubbed it on her wounded thumb. I am still unsure this was right but it was a start i figure.

Next i got cold water, ice, Tylenol and diet coke(the first two go together as do the last two) and applied while i tried to go online and figure out what to do next. It was just as i assumed. Give Tylenol for pain, Benadryl for itching and swelling, and watch for an adverse reaction. Usually occurring immediately but can happen in the first couple of hours. Luckily within an hour or so she was basically back to normal will little pain. By the time i got out of school 5 hours later she was sleeping on it and in no pain at all.

One thing she kept saying in the beginning was that she was never going outside again or playing with flowers....then she compared it to her jellyfish sting over the summer and was not happy this was all happening in the same year....luckily she played outside all night or i might have been worried that i would need to come up with fun things to do with her everyday...i am just not that creative.

On a different note, she has been doing amazingly well at school. She started out doing well but was having some issues with focusing. She would get A's on everything she did if she answered the questions but then sometimes she just wouldn't answer anything even when the teacher told them the answers. We talked about the importance of school and last time i saw her teacher she said Hailey was fabulous and how proud she was.

She has had four spelling tests so far this year and she has gotten 100%'s every time. I am so happy for all her effort and not complaining every night when we sit her down to practice and finish up her homework. I am hoping we will instill a love of learning. Also since i am in school i hope she will see how much effort i put forth and she will want to do the same.

I feel like she is growing up fast and it is scary. She now wants me to just drop her off so she can walk in the room by herself. It was so hard for me to give up that little part but reluctantly i did and she is doing fine. She continues to ride the bus only three afternoons a week and no major problems. We have some new neighbor kids that are just darling and Hailey has become very close to them both. It makes me feel much better about her riding the bus knowing other nice kids are close by...does that sound silly??

I added these pics cause i haven't been shooting my camera much and it seems like Grant has been the focus of my pics lately. My daughter is so beautiful and on this day she just lit up the room. It was before school and when i told her i wanted pics cause she looked so darn cute she just giggled and gave me the cute little funny faces about. She is growing and not a baby anymore. No more doing everything mom says...starting to push the limits...starting to have her own ideas and thoughts...she is beautiful inside and out!! I love my baby girl!!

Where have you been??

2009-09-28T12:12:00.000-07:00

I have been right here watching the rest of the blog world update their status while taking on my own tasks. It has been busy, maybe not busy enough not to blog for a second since i haven't missed reading others blogs for more than two days at a time, but busy none the less.

I am in school full-time still and we have a new-er puppy biscuit who is 10 wks old...so we have actually had him for almosty 4 wks, and hailey is in school and girl scouts and i am still volunteering at church...and in a study group to get ready for my PHR exam for Human resources...and, and, and the list will go on.

Fall is always busy around the house but it seems this year it has been even more so. Grant is at that age of constant need...he is in to everything and loves to tear everything apart. Especially electronics....all of them in sucession. He is also vetoing nap times oor pushing them back and it is messing up my normal sit down and relax time.

Then the dog is still puppy training so he must go out every couple of hours...and eat..and walk...and puppy stuff! So it hasn't left me much me time to do much of anything. And then times like now i let him have freedom from the kitchen and he poops on the living room carpet twice...ewwwww....right as i get writing.

I have gotten most of my winter clothes shopping complete..my favorite thing to do! Hailey is good except for some dress shoes and her christmas outfit. Grant seems fine but he is so much smaller than i expected i have had to buy smaller sizes since most of my outfits were around a 2T that i bought last season...i just got him some 12-18 mth pants from gymboree and they about fall off. So i might even have to get even smaller ones....little bugger better start growing. He is doing well in speech therapy. Slow progress but it is happening. He is becoming more verbal every day and is starting to experiment with more sounds all the time. My goal is that by christmas he start saying real words other than mom, dad, puppy and papa...we will see!

Also if my life wasn't chaotic enough i might have talked my hubby into having a third and final baby. I have been very depressed over the past 6 months or so about being finished after having Grant...and i had this deep longing for a third child. I have always wanted a big family. Friday night my mom kept both kids for the first time ever and Jason and i had a perfect night out. We truly enjoyed our night and got to have some very good conversation.

He said that he would think about having another if it would make me happy...we decided that if we do try it will be ASAP. For many reasons but first is the fact that i want to go to work in the fall next year and looking for a job pregnant is a little difficult. Also Grant is still young so we have all the supplies and baby things already here so we wont have to buy much. In addition, we are not getting any younger. We want our kids grown and out of the house (we hope) in the next 20ish years so we can retire. If we wait much longer that is impossible to plan for.

So i am going to make an appointment in the next couple of weeks to get my IUD taken out then i will talk to Jason one more time and decide if we are going to definitely try again. I am hoping so....very much! How awesome would it be for Grant to have a little brother he can hang with...or a darling little sister i can dress up and dote on...a the dreams. I have been in heaven since he mentioned the possibility.

I have been doing alot more volunteer work through our church and have joined our local SHRM group and USI chapter at school. I have also talked to our church preschool about filing in for a maternity leave next spring two mornings a week for the full semester. It would be a little extra money and something else to add to the resume. Also i have taken on the job as coordinator for meals for moms for new moms in our church. I got a meal right after grant was born and it was such a blessing and i felt appreciated and loved to know they thought of my family. To pass on this to other new moms is a really cool thing. I am hoping to expand the program and maybe add some sort of gift basket or something for them...but i have to be ceative because we don't have a church fund or anythign for this it is strictly donations. Currently we have a group that gives up a mothers love book and a personally knitted baby hat. I am very excited about starting these new experiences.

Hailey is doing well also. Tonight is her first night of Daisy's(Girl scouts) for this year. I am hoping she enjoys it since it will be an all new leader. First grade has been good for her. She has started having weekly spelling test and she has gotten A+ on all of them. I am very proud of her. She doesn't fight me about doing her homework and seems to enjoy school. Her teacher said she is a great student but she needs to focus more sometimes. ....i wonder where she gets that....must take after her mother. She is always hungry and i haven't figured out where it all goes cause she is still skinny! She is a fasion diva and doesnt really like getting dirty. Just today she asked if she could take her lunch on pizza day. I asked her why cause i knew she liked their pizza. She told me that she always got it on her and she didn't want everyone to see her all messy for the day. haha....

Other than that just the same ole thing. Trying to get the house cleaned up and ready to sell. So much more to do before the spring and i just don't see it all getting done. We are just to busy. Then again isn't everyone busy!! I am having a hard time just keeping up with the laundry, dishes, and cleaning...nothing else has been getting done, especially my blog!

I will try to get back into a groove and start posting pics soon. My arm has been doing better. Still not 100% and hurts some still when lifting anything over a couple fo pounds but it isn't excruciating anymore and that is what is important. So hopefully i will pick up the camera more and start getting some pics of the kids. I also told some friends that i would take some pics of their kids to get my portfolio started. We will see....i also got photoshop CS2 but haven't even installed it yet. We just got our desktop computer back from devirusing it..is that a word??...so i am hoping to put it on soon and start getting to use it. I hear that the editing is the best way to make any picture great. I think my pics are ok but if i had that i bet they could be great...all in time.

So be patient. I will return. But i can't guarantee how long it will be. I keep telling myslef every week or every couple of weeks i will post but then i get side tracked. I will try to stay on task and post more frequently. Everyone have a good day. You never know next time i write...i could have News!!!

We have a new addition to our family

2009-09-01T07:46:00.000-07:00

Biscuit

He is a puggle and only seven weeks old. He is so sweet and a true lap dog. He is everything i wanted when i asked for a dog. We have been very blessed. He came to us potty trained(only rare accidents), sleeps alot, and loves to cuddle. His vet says he is healthy and he looks like it with his cute little round belly.

The kids love him and let him kiss all over them. He was named by Hailey after the first reader books about a puppy nasmed Biscuit! Her favorite series.

He currently sleeps in the kitchen but we hope after he grows up and learns some more manners he will sleep with us. He is a chewer like most puppies so we have lots of toys but must really keep an eye out for him when he is running the house. He still sleeps alot(sometimes 3-4 hrs at a time) but loves to get out and go for walks or runs!

It is helping me get active also which is always a good thing.

I really miss running.

He sometimes is a nibbler but has been getting better. We are going to attempt our first bath later today. We will see how that goes. I haven't been posting lately with so much going on. Having a new puppy is like having a newborn all over again. And Hailey and me have started back to school so it is early rising and late to bed. Lots of stuff to fill our day with. Hopefully i will have some new posts soon...especially with so many things coming up and the last couple of months of this year come along.

It is flying by sooo fast!

Twin's B-day party at Splash Park

2009-08-17T06:52:00.001-07:00

Grant in the splashpark

Kim and Jason "The Parents"

Hailey loving the party

Jason's son Cameron

Abby

Izzy

I love this pic

Jason and his birthday girls

Give me some sisterly love

On Saturday we went to a birthday party for Izzy and Abby and loved it! The girls are adorable and the party was so much fun for the kiddos. I got to take pictures all night and all was well in the world. Luckily i did since kim's camera decided to have dead batteries about 30 minutes into the party. It was at a splashpark and the kids went nuts playing in the water. They knew the perfect thing to make my little rugrats wear themselves out. The food was great: lots of pasta salad, crackers, vegies, dips and hotdogs, beans, mutton and another tasty bbq'd meat. It was fantastic. The shelter was huge with fans and screens, keeping the bees and bugs away from the food and us. I think we are going to plan our next family gathering there soon.
The twins got alot of cool clothes, pink bedspreads, some toys and giftcards! Lots of gooey butterfly cupcakes smeared all over the kids and adults ended the party on a sweet note

and soon after we sent ourselves packing.

The Dreaded Bus

2009-08-17T06:42:00.000-07:00

Today my baby girl starts her fourth day of first grade and her first day to ride a school bus (EVER)!!! I am freaking out a little but i know it is going to simplify my life and help with our daily routine...and maybe save me some gas money along the way. I am still planning on taking her to school in the mornings but we might take advantage of the bus in the mornings occassionally. My main concern is that i have to wake grant up from his nap to go get her and i hate messing with his sleep schedule. Also hailey has been begging me since last year to ride the bus.

I know she will be fine and have a good time but i remember horror stories about the bus. I don't want my daughter getting involved in any crazy shenanagins. We are testing new waters and momma is really freaked out. I am trying to release the reigns and let her grow up but it is very very hard...i didn't want to leave her classroom again this morning. I just want to be there the whole time checking on her.

Do you have any horror stories from your bus rides in school or good stories that might ease my fears?? I don't remember the little kids getting in trouble much but just seeing and hearing the big kids doing the things they do really freaks me out...have you heard the things that come out of the kids mouths nowadays??

My BIG handsome man

2009-08-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

Grant got his second haircut yesterday and he looks like such a big man. He sat very still without having to be distracted and let her cut his whole head of crazy curls off without even a budge. He looks so cute!!

I think someone REALLY likes his new haircut...do you like his winky smile??? I do.

The day before hailey started 1st grade!

2009-08-12T08:36:00.000-07:00

To prepare for school we went shopping yesterday and found the kids some cute shoes at JcPenny's. It was a great deal but 1 get 1 free. We got hailey some adorable brown leather mary janes and grant some lowtop brown leather boots(look like Doc martin's). And we also found hailey some cute little shoes for next spring.

We originally went looking for a new backpack something a bit smaller and cuter(more grown up, brown with pink and multi-colored polkadots)) but the one we wanted was already sold out. So she went to school with the same one she used last year. Not like she really needed a new backpack her's barely looks used. I don't think she is really old enough to notice yet but i wanted it. I will look later this week and see if target or khol's has any left that are cute.

I tried to get pictures off their website but they are not cooperating. And they didn't have the right sizes so i had them order them for me(with in store pick-up instead of catalog shopping i have no shipping costs). So they will be here in a couple of days. And over the weekend hailey got new nike tf -shoes to start school with, also from penny's. I love their shoe sales this time of the year. So now we need winter dress shoes and the kids will be done shoe shopping for awhile.

Then we went and got grant's and hailey's haircut. They both look so grown up now. My baby's aren't exactly babies anymore. Grant sat perfectly and barely moved. It helped that he was 2 hours past naptime...i thought he would scream and cry but instead he was an angel. I didnt even give hima toy or sucker. Maybe he was scared whatever it was it went great. Hailey just got a trim. She says she wants her hair to grow long now so i think we will try. BUT we will only let it grow long if she takes care of it and doesn't complain. If it gets to be problematic then it will go back to a bob...which i think looks great on her and is soooo easy to maintain!

Other than that we spent the rest of the day at the mall getting some gifts and looking at the winter clothes that are coming out. Some really cute stuff is out right now...i am ready to finish up winter shopping already(we are almost done)! Then let the kids play at the mall play placebefore heading home.

Once home hailey swam(then took a bath) while grant took a nap. Then we made brats for dinner..yum yum with kettle chips(my favorite)and yams! Then it was almost bedtime for the kiddos. It took hailey longer than normal to fall asleep since it was so early but since she got up very early this morning i am hoping tonight will be easier.

I'm a Big Girl Now

2009-08-12T07:57:00.000-07:00

Well she did it. I have a big girl now.

A. First. Grader.

I loved seeing her in school again.

She thrived last year and grew up so much.

I hope for a wonderful year making new friends and loving her teacher. I know how important this year is in terms of what she will learn and carry with her in future classes and i just hope she really learns everything she will need to succeed.

I want her to have the world and i know a quality education is the cornerstone of reaching the stars. A saying me and hailey have been saying lately is "Reach for the moon and if it is to far out grab a star and hold on tight"...she is a big girl now and she makes her own destiny!!! I want her to know how important school is and that it isn't for playing but for learning. I want her to have fun but know that is not the true purpose. She's a big girl now!!!

1st Grade Jitters

2009-08-11T06:17:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the big day. Hailey starts first grade. I am excited but sad, as is she. She misses her kindergarten teacher so much. She doesn't understand why she can't have her beloved Mrs. kassenbrock back (only the best kindergarten teacher ever)!!! But on to new things. Her new teacher is Mrs. Shoulders. I have been praying for a nice teacher. I still remember my first grade teacher. She was so mean with long fingernails. She would grab kids by their ears when they were bad....i didn't like her much. But i am regressing. We haven't met her yet but we are hoping for a good day.
Only one thing we can't decide on yet and that is her riding the bus. I am having a hard-time deciding what will work for us. I am not really wanting her to ride the bus all the time because i like to meet her teacher occassionally and i think pick-up for first graders are outside anyways. So we are going to take her this week and then next week we will see what happens. It is all new for us.

So today we are going shopping to look for a new more modern backpack and i think i willlsuprise her with a new haircut. I want her to be excited about this new year and understand how important shcool is. I want her to grow and learn and be excited about the process. Last year she thrived and really loved going to school and i hope this year will be no different. I am hoping her jitters go away the first moment she gets up and sees all her friends. I pray some of her girlfriends who came for a slumberparty will be in her class.

She doesn't want to leave us. She doesn't want to get up early or go to bed early but last night was better. She was asleep before 9 and up by 7:45. Hopefully tonight we can have her asleep by 8-8:30 and up by 6:45...we will see! If not then she will go to bed extra early tomorrow night. We will try to post pics from the first day. I haven't really been taking many with my wrist being sore and the camera being so heavy and big. But i want to start picking it up again asap...i really miss capturing all of their precious moments in life!

Try living with one arm-it sucks!

2009-07-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

I am still in a hard cast for another couple of weeks and i am starting to go stir crazy. I hate it. I feel helpless. I can't iron, can't do dishes, can't give kids a bath, can't pick kids up, can't push stroller, can't fix my hair, can't braid hailey's hair or put a ponytail in, can't shave my legs, can't paint my toes, can't use a can opener, can't lift anything over 5 pounds, can't write well, and many many more than that. All of those daily tasks we take for granted are borderline impossible for me.

I have been using my left arm more and more but it hurts 24-7 from using so much when it isn't used to it. Then they have me doing exercises 2 times a day on my right hand. Some of the exercises are ok but the others hurt like hell. They had me stop one of them cause of pain and left me in this cast longer to make sure my arm is healed. I have a feelign they didnt fix it. I am a little freaked out that it is worse than ever.

I go back on the 10th and get my semi-soft brace and i guess we will see how i am doing then. She said she is hoping only one more appointment after that but i am thinking it will be more since i am still having so many problems.

What sucks even more is the fact that my hubby is out of town and i am doing all of this myself. Try to do all of your daily taks with just one arm..it is exausting. I am trying to look at the bright side but it is hard to see right now...i am not happy how long it has taken and still is taking to recover. I was never told about this. I am frustrated with my surgeon for not giving me the rundown on the fact i woud even be in therapy and the recovery time...very frustrated. I am praying it is going to get better and i can forget all this pain and enjoy the daily life tasks without having to think about if tey will hurt or not.

Allergy Testing and speech therapy

2009-07-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the dreaded alergist but Grant didn't know what he was about to dread. We discussed his file and problems and decided he needed to have all environmental allergies tested, all main foods and a small amount of other foods that might be problematic. It was slightly traumatic seing him get so many sticks. It was around 24 total pricks..give or take a couple! Covering his whole back and both arms. Hailey wanted to stay in the room and once they got to the individual pricks on one arm she was very upset. Probably worse that Grant was taking it.

The doctor said he might be lactose intolerant but he isn't old enough for the test yet. It is normally done on older people who can drink the fluid/meds then after 4 hours they blow and it can tell results. They said to keep him on soy because he has a strong likelyhood of having an intolerance and to give him lactaid pills ground up. If he takes the pills everytime he has lactose it will help him digest the lactose properly and keep him more comfortable.

In the end he didn't have any food allergies, thank God!! BUT he does have environmental allergies. The big one DUST. We are supposed to change his sheets often and wash stuffed animals and blankets very frequently. Also he have to get a HEPA air filter thingy for his room and keep his door shut. The obviously clean/vacuum/dust the house and try to keep dust to a minimum. He said all houses have dust so it has nothing to do with if our house is dirty or not. Cats are also a big problem. Luckily his dad is allergic also so we aren't arround cats often but we have some family with cats that we need to try to avoid if possible. But if we go visit we got a prescription that will help him tolerate the environment better. In addition he is allergic to cockroaches(gross) and mice. SO they said to keep our shoes off in the house because when you walk around outside you can get these allergens on your shoes. Ewww even grosser yet!

So that was interesting and told me what i wanted. I am happy he doesn't have food allergies and i can keep feeding him whatever he wants(within a healthy guideline). Also i am happy to know he can take the lactose pills and drink milk without any problems. I am going to look in to the lactose problem more and do some research but i think i am happy with the results overall.

Yesterday we had our appointment with first steps and set up his IFSAP and found some developmental specialists that specialize in speech delays. We are waiting for them to call us back with the one that is picked but they all seemed well qualified to help push him along. We had him tested earlier this month because he was lagging behind is his speech skills compared to what most kids his age are doing. Sure enough when they came to do the assessment he was actually behind in two areas both speech and social skills. The social skills are behind mainly because a component of it is speech. We set up his long term and short term goals and i am really excited to get started. They said his cognitive ability and ability to understand what is going on is above average. I am hoping that will work to his advantage and push him along.

They gave us a list of things kids to at certain ages and he has a few in the 7-12 mth category he hasnt met like his lack of jabbering and running vowels/consonants together. But most of his shortcomings are in the 12-24 month area. Some goals include getting him to imitate sounds, animals noises, etc. and get a vocabuary of 10-25 words for now. If he reaches these goals quickly we will advance him and try to get him caught up to his age range. If he hasnt caught up then in one year he will be reevaluated for eligibility and seee if he still needs therapy. I am very excited for him to get help and start talking up a storm. He is such a bright child i want him to be ready for preschool and talking like his sister did....well he doesn't have to talk quite that much..he-he! I will kee you updated on his progress.

Daddy's gone

2009-07-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

Jason just started a new job at Abengoa Bioenergy at the beginning of the month. They have plants in the US and internationally. Well the first couple of weeks he trained locally and then on the 25th he got to fly to Nebraska...what is in nebraska you say??? I have no clue...anyone know what is in Nebraska?? Well if u are there, say hi to my hubby. He has been gone for 6 days and it feels like 36. Only 7 more to go. I kinda thought it would be nice getting a break and watching MY shows on tv, and doing whatever i wanted. BUT i was very wrong. I just miss him! I miss him waking me up every morning as he got ready for work(he is so loud), i miss the kids missing him all day, i REALLY, REALLY miss his cookin, i miss him cuddlin me, i JUST MISS HIM!!

Hailey misses her daddy also. She didn't think she would miss him. She said it would be nice to have him gone so he wouldn't worry about he and wouldn't be here to yell at her. Then he told her right before he left that he always worries about her and when he is gone he will worry even more. So right after he left she tells me that she is missing him alot and is really worried about how he is doing since he worries so much about her. It was very sweet!!

DeQuervein Release Surgery

2009-07-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

When i was in the hospital giving birth to Grant they had a hard time getting my IV in. In my left arm they messed up twice and blew two veins. Then a nurse tried my right wrist and blew it very badly. It swelled up instantly and had me in tears. I told her something was wrong but it took forever before she finally agreed and apologized. Someone else put an IV by my elbow and it worked, barely. Afterwards my arm turned black n blue forever and i couldnt use it very well. I assumed after a couple of weeks that it would get better but unfortunately it didn't and at my 6 week check-up i was sent to physical therapy.

My arm was so painful that i could barely change diapers or rock Grant Using the arm for anything weight bearing was almost unbearable. It was horrible and after phyical therapy they gave me a huge brace but i couldn't feed Grant or barely move my arm for months making it impossible with an infant. It only got worse as time went on. At physical therapy they said it was from using my thumb too much for cutting and things...what???? I tried telling them what happened and still try to explain it but mainly i get looks of disbelief like i am lying!! Luckily my doctor has always been very supportive and finally sent me to a surgeon this spring after we met our full deductible. The surgeon said the surgery was imperitive because of some of the nerve problems, damage, and pain i have been experiencing. Over the month or so before the surgery it seemed to be getting better and little pain was happening unless i used it frequently.

I am in so much pain now after the surgery i sometimes think maybe i should have lived with it the way it was. I was thinking thesurgery would be horrible and it was nothing of the sort..it was very easy and less painful than expected. BUT the recovery time, the brace, the physical therapy is more than i ever expected. I have little movement of my thumb. I am not supposed to move it for at least three weeks. The brace makes it hard if not imposible to do even the easiest of tasks. Ponytails for hailey, diapers for grant, folding towels. I can't even take my kids swimming for probably the rest of the summer cause my arm can not get wet. I feel misinformed and very upset. No one told me of the recovery time...i guess i should have asked.

In my head i thought i would be sore until the day or two after and then back to normal...this is so unexpected. Will i even get all of my movement back??? I am freaking out about starting school in August. I can't write at the moment. I have to be able to take notes in the fall...i can't go to school without full mobility of my arm and hand....i am tired....i am so tired...i just wantto be able to do all the things i could do 2 weeks ago..i have to much to do to take all this time away...who is going to clean my house, wash my dishes, laundry, iron, weed the garden....and the list goes on..for gosh sakes i can barely get the kids buckled in the car or take a shower.

I hate to be a downer but i am truly exausted and just don't know how much more of t his i can handle. I hate when i can't be independent..especailly when i have two kids who depend on me for their every need!

What can i do??

2009-07-02T14:33:00.000-07:00

Why am i so angry today..grrrr...my daughter is making me so upset that i am very, very close to spanking her and i HATE to spank. She is turning into THAT child. She is constantly, continuously, everlastingly bothering her brother just to make him scream at an annoying, earpiercing, blow your ears out level. She doesn't listen ever. I am up to my knee with her crap. She is ungrateful and spoiled and it is all my fault. I can't figure out what to do to make her listen and understand that what she is doing is wrong. I am at my witts end. I don'tknow any more techniques to teach her to do what is right to listen. She is starting to become sassy and talk back more frequently.

I am over the moon that my mom is coming to get her at any moment so i don't stick my foot up her rear.

I. am. exausted. and. stressed. beyond. what. i. can. handle.

I had wrote this the other day and just couldn't bring myself to finish it. Luckily she spent the weekend at my mom's and came back refreshed. She has been at Vacation Bible School the past two days and it has completely changed her (for the moment). She is a doll today. She has been learning about Rome and all the riches they had back then and all the things they didn't have. She has been learning about being helpful and doing things that are nice just to do it. She has been great. It has kept a smile on my face all day.

Sometimes when we are going through a bad day you think it has been like that forever but then things get good again and we realize it just feels like it. I have just been so busy that i have been letting her run the roost and she has gotten to think she can take charge. BUT i am trying to be more assertive with discipline and also spend more quality time with her. I think i am part of the problem..my busy schedule...but i am going to try and do better to teach her how a six year old or anyone for that matter should behave!

I love my daughter during the good times and the bad. Sometimes we just have to wait for the rough patch to clear and pass before seeing just how great things can be. This is the part of my daughter i want to see more often. The one who is good, helpful, and kind.....she is such a blessing! I am happy i got a chance to post this with both sides of the story..not just me being angry but also showing her true side, her good side!

Don't we all have good and bad days??

Sleepy time

2009-06-28T21:53:00.000-07:00

It was a fabulous 9 days but also very exausting. I will try to get a post up tomorrow with pics from each day. We did so much cool stuff and really enjoyed the time with the kids. BUT it was very stressful with two kiddos in the car for 12 hours...both ways and trying to deal with different food, nap times, heat...EXAUSTING!!

I am happy to be home but also sad to be away from the beach. It was so much better than i remember. We will be going beck very soon. I refuse to wait another 5 long years. The beach was amazing until the jellyfish came to visit and our condo was perfect until the last day when the neighbors from hell moved in....that will be a post all of its own.

For now everything is unpacked, i have caught up on blogs and emails, and my hubby is sleeping and i am ready to lay my head down for sleep..if only i had my pillow....rats we forgot it at the condo!

Regressing again...good night everyone...hope you had as wonderful of a week as i have!

Guess i will be using an old standby memoryfoam...i will be getting a new pillow later this week. I have to have a soft cuddly pillow!

Never Enough Time

2009-06-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

I read blogs daily but still never seem to make the time to post myself. Summer is flying by so fast. It is sad, i just want to S-L-O-W it down some. Many things have happened since i last wrote over 2 weeks ago. Two big things are that i finished school (for the summer) and my hubby has been offered a kick ass job. Both very, very important. I am thrilled for the prospects this job might have for our family. My husband can work in a bigger company with growth opportunities, good pay, bonus possibilities, yearly raises, OVERTIME...and better benefits. All things our family desperately needed.

This job is going to allow me to finally be a real stay at home momma again. I am so excited about this prospect i could cry. With school, the daycare, and everything else i have been so overwhelmed. I feel like all sided are constantly needing something. This might give me the opportunity to catch up and enjoy my family and concentrate on them and finishing my last year of school. Then once i find a "career" next year then we will be set...so much more comfortable. I can't even imagine!

We are going to stay in this house until i find a job next year but we can start paying off all our bills and hopefully get debt free..except our house! I am over the moon, can you tell?? This is so important, he is waiting on the formal job proposal but they already told him he was their guy!

On to other things, i have been starting to pack for our trip to Florida. I can't believe how much STUFF you need for a toddler and a 6 year old to keep them happy, clothed, and fed for a week. I do have a van but we have 5 people going on this trip..i am trying hard to pack light without lots of clothes..i figure we can and will wash them at the condo. I am interested in seeing the kids face when we get to the ocean, the look when sand touches the soles of their feet. The grimace when they get salt water in their mouth for the first time...all the firsts a beach hold.

Also, i am thrilled to think about all the photo opportunities i will have with my family. One week of nonstop photo taking opportunities. Hope i remember the laptop so i can keep everyone updated. I better go put it on the list.

Above are some pictures of Grant and Hailey i took at the library today. They have gorgeous flowers and cool stonework perfect for a photo shoot. if it wasn't so hot today i think we would have had even more great pics but the kid's were troopers. I love these pics, i know i can take good pics but i have problems getting the lighting right. I am reading some books now trying to get it right. I have never messed with F-stops, apertures, etc...i am trying to figure it out and how to make it do what i want. I am hoping vacation will give me the opportunity to do just that. Hope everyone is having as great of a summer as i am!

Happy 2nd Anniversary baby(It's been a great 9 1/2 years)

2009-06-02T13:17:00.001-07:00

Today, June 2, is our 2nd wedding anniversary. Our wedding was perfect everything i had always dreamed about. It was 150 degrees outside, our flowers kept breaking, or DJ wore blue jeans(formal attire only), and our cake was lopsided but we could have cared less. I still remember how nervous i was and excited to finally be his wife. I had waited over 7 years for that day and i was ready for it. I remember a relief flood ove rme once we said our vows and walked out of the church...it seemed like i walked on clouds for weeks and weeks afterwards.

Jason was and still is the most wonderful daddy. After hailey was born he was so supportive and doting and i was ready for more of his children. Everytime i look at our son i think i made the right choice. Our honeymoon baby has made me respect his daddy even more. Jason is even a better daddy now with two kids. He is more patient, kind, and loves roughhousing with them. He is rough and tough and expects perfection but has this sweet, kind side.

Being married is like being a parent, it takes lots of hard work! Jason is a hard worker and "allows" me the opportunity to stay home and raise our children. He also has tolerated all my years of night school so we can provide abundantly and support our family.

Saturday we went out together to a bar for only the second time since being together and it was fabulous. I felt like we were dating again. I loved being with him and being by his side reconnecting. We are trying to schedule more mommy and daddy time and bring our marriage front and center and keep it there.

I am hoping that over the years through the good and the bad we will always come back and work on making each other happy. Sometimes it is easy to go about our daily lives and focus on things that are not important or to focus only on our children. But to keep your children happy you first must have a solid relationship. We are constantly working on this and trying to create a perfect balance. Thank you baby for two great years of marriage and almost ten years of happiness. You are my soulmate and i am so happy you chose me!!

girl cheese NOT grilled cheese

2009-05-24T17:05:00.000-07:00

We had a lazy dinner tonight of soup, grilled cheese, fruit, and green beans. While Hailey and I were eating i started feeding Grant bites of the grilled cheese because it had been to hot to eat earlier. Hailey started giving me these mean looks.

I ignored them for a minute until finally i asked her what her problem was. She angerly says "mom, it is girl cheese and it is NOT for boys". She told me!!

My son is 15 months old (only 1 week late)!!

2009-05-22T08:01:00.000-07:00

He loves to talk on the phone just like his momma!

My messy boy playing outside and eating a snack!

We have been remodeling our room and grant loves all the boxes.

He really is the big man on our campus!

I can't believe how big our baby boy is!

He is growing fast. We had our appointment on Tuesday and it went very well. Grant is finally back on track with his growth curve. His weight is 23 pounds...up almost 4 lbs. since his 12 month appointment! Woo-hoo!! He is around 35-40ish percent on his growth curve. His height is around 25% of kids his age at 30.75". His head was 48 cm which is around the 50%. All good news. The doctor was very happy with his growth. It seems that the tubes and lack of ear infections has made him all better.

His speech is still a little behind where we would like but he is progressing. He should be saying around 5-8 words at 15 months and he isn't quite there yet. We decided that we would recheck his speech at his 18 month check-up and see if he has caught up by then. If he doesn't catch up then our doc said he would refer us to the local first steps for assessment and possibly therapy. We are hoping he catches back up on his own. He is very bright and understands everything, he just isn't very verbal. I have tried to keep myself from comparing him to hailey knowing that gender, birth order, and his sicknesses all play a part in why they are different but it is hard. Hailey was doing so much already and ahead of most kids her age...i have to stop myself from beating myself and being frustrated with it all.

Also, we have decided that grant has a milk intolerance, not a huge problem or a full blown allergy, but still something to be monitered. With some research i found out that ear infections, diarrhea, belly aches, ezcema all are signs of milk problems. He has had them all. So we have switched his formula to soy but we have the okay to start weaning him off it now that his weight is better. He gets soy milk and loves it!!! He still can have milk products but we limit them and try not to give him large amounts at a time. Also when he does get milk products i have been monitoring how he acts afterwards-how his excema looks and if he is crabby, gassy, loose stools, etc. The doctor says if it gets worse then we can give him a pill that helps him digest lactose better.

Our doctor says that normally he doesn't do an 18 month appointment but so that we can monitor his weight, speech, and milk intolerance we will have an appointment then. Tuesday we got shots done and grant did very well. He only wimpered and stopped crying quickly. I think he was a trooper.

Grant has been starting to become a big screamer. He has lungs that can rival any girl i have ever heard. I haven't figured out a way to get him to stop but my eardrums are really suffering. He loves to be outside(what kid doesn't)and push his lawn mower or play with sidewalk chalk(while eating it). I can't wait to get a slippy slide/pool and see his face. He loves to play his piano or any intrument.

He is like a tornado and runs through the house tearing up anything he can as quickly as he can. He never plays with one thing for very long. He prefers anything techie over toys. He loves the remote, computer, and especially the cell phone. He loves toys that are soft especially his blankie and stuffed monkeys. He throws a ball well and climbs as often as possible. He is starting to learn body parts and animals. At least how to point to them when i say what they are. He is my cuddle bug and loves his daddy so much screaming daddy as soon as he is home.

I. never. wanted. a. son. BUT HE. IS. THE. BEST. THING. IN. THE. WORLD!! On the day i found out he was in fact a boy i was disappointed for about 4 seconds then i realized he was still mine, all mine. Every day when i wake up i can't imagine anything else so perfect. My daughter tried to trade him in for a girl baby in the hospital nursery but i am so happy they wouldn't let her (; He makes everyday an adventure and has given me the daily exercise i need. He makes me laugh and smile everyday and shopping for him isn't that bad either.

Nutrition 376- Hi everyone

2009-05-12T13:59:00.000-07:00

Hi, nutrition class...this is my website that has me blabbing in a blabbery kind of way about all my daily nonsense. It barely makes sense at times and shows all my ways that can be a little crazy at times.

I have a bio on the right hand side of the page and other websites i run if you want to poke into my history a bit further...nothing interesting here except a web of family members that even i can't keep straight. I am hoping for you to stop by anytime and leave a comment. I only have 2 readers outside my close family so any advice would be much appreciated. I love adding pictures of my children and talking about my busy life that has me running around like a chicken.

I am only 26 hours from graduation and 6 of them i am taking this first summer session. One is our nutrition class, i am very excited about, and the other is a CIS class...not sure which one but it is advanced Excel and Access, not so excited about that one. I graduate in the spring with a degree in Management-emphasis on Human Resources. I previously have associate degrees in Accounting and Early Childhood Education...yes interesting combination.

I love to learn and have used all my schooling for various things just not much in the working world. I am a wife and mother first then a full-time student. I am quickly approaching 30..ouch...but really don't mind getting older. I feel much wiser now and not worried as much about what everyone else thinks of me. This is me and i lay it all on the line.

Hopefully we have a good time in this class and can make it fun and not so serious. I want to do well and learn a lot but not in a stuffy way like many online classes end up being. I look forward to reading all of your websites also. See you soon...

life is full of our everyday things

2009-05-12T13:42:00.000-07:00

My day has been very full but productive. I got my van cleaned..at least on the inside. I vacuumed, washed the windows and shined up the leather. It looks pretty good. Didn't make it to the outside yet but hope i will have time tomorrow before the rain to at least get the bugs and dirt off it from soccer this week.

Grant seems to be doing better. His fever broke and his poopie seems back to normal. He is still drooling and chewing everything but his teeth have all broke through the skin so i assume he is better now. Grant has his appointment on Tuesday and i will be able to see if we can take him off the formula.

I am nervous about it because he is attached to the bottle but i know it is time to get rid of it and the formula...i don't want him to be one of THOSE kids and i worry about rotting out his teeth falling asleep with a bottle every night. Hailey was breatfed and she weaned easily at 10 months and i didn't have to worry about bottles she easily went to a cup...hmmm... He drinks out of a cup with his juice and soy milk so i just need to up those things while decreasing the formula...and more solid foods which he isn't liking very much but then again he has been sick. How are you supposed to get a routine when things are constantly changing???

Hailey has been having some problems as well at home and at school. She is doing very well on learning and reading and all that. BUT she has been starting to lie to her teachers and to us...it isn't about anything important not that lying is ever good but it is about things she wouldn't even get in trouble about....I don't know what to do about it. We have tried being nice, we have tried punishments...nothing is working.

At least once a week she is getting in trouble at school for lying!! Today she lost tv, coloring, must finish cleaning her room, and has to write "i will not lie" 75 times. Last time we made her write it 50 times....Do you have any suggestions for me...i don't want to punish her i just want her to learn to do the right thing...lying is wrong! I have even tried showing her in the bible what Jesus says about lies...nothing is working. I am getting frustrated. What have you done to stop your kiddos from lying?? Should i spank her?? I don't feel like that is the answer..i don't like to spank but i am to my wits end...H-E-L-P!!

Maniac Monday

2009-05-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

Well today has been quite busy around here. Grant has been under the weather with a slight temperature, little bit of the poopies, and some major drool.

He has all of his teeth until he is about 6....but his eye teeth are only 1/2 way in. I am assuming it is those teeth that are causing most of the problems but i am not sure about the fever?? Hailey just got over a yucky little stomach bug that only lasted a couple of days so maybe that is it. Don't you wish we could just fix them up quickly. He is snoring on the couch next to me..it is so sweet! Hopefully he will get over whatever it is very quickly.

I got signed up for my other class, so i am in two classes now!! I havent looked online but i assume the one started today! The other starts tomorrow night...i should be very busy again for the next five weeks.... I took the kids this morning with me to get my books..bad idea! Grant crabby and into everything! He is not as easy of a toddler as hailey. He is into everything!!! ALL BOY!!!

My loans hadn't went through for summer yet so i had to get a book loan and that took soooo long. It was like they have never done this before. I have never seen a college so unorganized. I miss the efficiency of Ivy Tech...yes i know they were smaller but everythign always went smoothly there.

Anyways..got all that doen then went to eat and no changing table in the bathroom at Subway. I hate that. It is very hard to change a child standing up...i hope it was on all the way and not crooked or i might end up with poo leaking down his leg tonight.

Then we had to get food for the dinner with hailey's girl scouts troop tonight. I have less than an hour and haven't even started on it...and i haven't ironed on the last 50ish patched she has gotten....i better get off here and get moving!

P.S. mother's day was great for me..but my sister-in-law had a rough day. I don't want to go into details but my brother is a jerk and is treating her very badly. Pray for her safety and happiness and for her 4 kiddos to not see all of it.

Schools over ....until tuesday (:

2009-05-08T09:17:00.000-07:00

One more semester has bitten the dust. Unfortunately i don't have three months of blissful vacation time ahead like most other students...i have as of today 4 days...but the good news is i only have two summer classes for a five week span then i am done. I am taking an advanced Excel and Access class and a nutrition class(that i am really excited about). Then i have two months of summer with my family and kiddos.

I figure if i get these two classes finished now i won't have so much of a workload over the next year which is my last year of college..at least for this degree..LOL!! It will give me the chance to only take a max of 10 credits for the next two semesters to graduate instead of having to go 12 or more....i am thankful for that. I am looking forward to days of sleeping in with my kiddos, playing noutside till dusk, and visiting all our local kid friendly summer fun places.

BUT most of all i am looking forward to FLORIDA!!! We haven't been in five long long years....hailey was the same age as grant will be this summer. We are interested in seeing how he reacts differently from her. I am so thankful we have the camcorder to capture all these moments. We had one when hailey went to florida with us last time but after that it broke..and we just got another one last summer...i am thrilled can't you tell!! I need a week of relaxing and beach..swimming...sun...fish...sushi...shrimp...oysters...food in general (: and most of all 100% family time...just us!! I am tolerating the next five weeks of school because i know that vacation is immediately afterwards...it can't come soon enough!

Hailey...we don't even need words to describe her...

2009-05-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

My son- almost 15 months old..so we needed new pics!

2009-05-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

He is such a handsome man and has grown so fast over the past three months.

I can't wait until his apt. to see exactly how much.

He has went from 9-12 month clothes to not fitting in most 18 month clothes

in less than 3 months...i am in awe and so is my wallet (; I love his very high pitched girlie scream, i love his eagerness to please and help with laundry, i love his curiosity and abillity to climb or find a way to get into trouble everywhere he goes. I love how he carries a baby around the house and loves on it. I love how he signs more when he wants something. I love how he says mama, dada, baby, dog.....i just love everything about him!

Soccer and Easter pics

2009-05-01T07:59:00.000-07:00

Kicking the ball...G -O Hailey
She is really starting to get into this.

Our family pic 2009

Daddy and hailey

Daddy and grant

I am loving all these pictures. Hailey is loving soccer and i love the fact that she is getting so much exercise and enjoyment from it.

Easter was so amazing. I looked back at pictures from last Easter, right after Grant was born, and i am so happy to know how much our family is growing. I am so happy to have my husband, son, and daughter. They are all very important to me and brighten my day.

A nice Easter surprise

2009-05-01T07:47:00.000-07:00

On Easter we noticed that some birds had finally laid their first egg in a tree close to our backdoor...on a very low branch. I explained the miracle of life to my six year old...and finally this week the babies were born...four little bundles of fuzz...we get to watch the mommy feed them worms and bugs every day from our kitchen...it is really awesome!! Just wanted to give you a quick peek into the little miracles going on at our house!

Pictures

2009-04-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

Our computer is still down. no pictures...no videos...i have so many i want to show you but for now we are out of luck. I don't like putting them on the laptop. So you will have to wait. Hopefully by next week when i am done with school i can upload a bunch of them, if we get the desktop fixed by then. Yesterday we went to sunshine park and all along the river walkway and took some pictures of the kiddos. Instead of forking out hundreds of $$ for Grant's 15 month pics i figured i coul take them and print them out for everyone. I haven't seen them yet except on the camera but i have over 250 pics so i am sure there has to be some cute ones. Hailey took amazing pics..i love it!! You'll see them soon enough, i promise!!

Sun shiny day

2009-04-27T07:15:00.000-07:00

It's a bright, bright, bright sun shiny day!! I have been out enjoying my family for the weekend. Lots of special time just talking to my kiddos, taking pictures(soon to come), playing at the park, and getting some sun(burn). The sun is shining and my spirit is high! I am very excited for my last week of class to hurry and get over and finals to quickly pass next week. Meaning that my kids will have more undivided attention and more time for what makes us happy as a family.

I have decided to make my family happy i need to cut out the computer some. I spent so much time being wrapped up in my "virtual world" and my bloggers lives that i was letting mine go just a little. I am busy enough without all my blogs and social websites. Spending hours looking at them only takes away from my family and what little precious time i have every day. I have learned so much from my bloggers stories and the balancing act their parents have to do.. and i will never stop reading, but i have to live my own life.

I am so thankful for my health, my husband's health, my children's health, and all the the joy they bring to me. Over the past couple of weeks i have been working on strenghtening my marriage and relationship with my husband and children. It seems like sometimes we are so used to doing things seperately that it becomes the norm and it can be difficult to get back to the four of us for family time. Turning off the TV and getting out and spending time together. It doesn't have to cost money it just needs to be us together...and only us!! I miss my husband vey much...before kids we spend 24-7 together and now it seems like a struggle just to get a minute together. We are both consiously trying to make time for togetherness both with and without the kids.

School has taken up so much of our time that i feel like every second i am either studying or doing housework that i couldn't do because of school. Relax time is rare...but i have decided i can skim some time away from the internet and use it for my family time. I was using the computer to wind down or relax instead of spending it with my family. For the past two weeks i have been checking emails only once a day or less and it is amazing how much more i am getting accomplished and how much more connected i feel with my husband and children. I am a stay-at-home mom but rarely do i have/make time to just spend enjoying my children. I miss that one=on-one time and know that my children crave it.

I now have more time for my husband and children..time to play games, cuddle up and have family movie night, or go to the park and play. It is fabulous and seems to be really helping. I am trying to put them first and myself second. I think it is very important to make them a priority. I still want to take time for myself but just smaller pieces of my day. I want my kids to remember their childhood and all the times we did things together...i want them to remeber all the family gathering, games, jokes...togetherness!

Hailey and i volunteered on Saturday at the Rescue mission and served dinner. It was truly a humbling experience. After hearing their stories you want to do more. So many think of the homeless as crack heads and worthless people and that is not the norm..not at all! I was worried at first if it would be okay taking a 6 year old girl to a men's homeless shelter at night..in downtown...with all men...but it was so great to see how she did and the friendliness of all the men. When we first showed up the men were listening to church and worshiping...the music was wonderful to hear. It made hailey's eyes light up!

Then once we started serving dinner the men were very excited to see a child there helping They truly appreciated it and seemed like for a second they forgot where they were. They said "thank-you" and hailey said "your welcome" ..and some small talk also. It was hard for me seeing that when the food ran out the people were still hungry and we had nothing to give them. One of the servers didnt clean the potatoes out of the spoon and one man was so upset about it..that could have been enough to fill his belly. We have decided that when ever we can we are going to take them dessert. We can't afford to feed them all but i don't see why we can't give them some brownies or cupcakes on occassions to make their day a little sweeter. It's gonna be a sun shiny day..i can feel it!

Grant

2009-04-15T08:25:00.000-07:00

My baby grew over 4 pounds since his 12 month ckeckup!! Grant is now at 23.4 lbs. yeah! I was very excited to say the least. He hadnt gained weight since basically October....and with his new ear tubes he is growing amazingly! He is sleeping and feeling better!!

His appetite has been ravinous...sometimes taking up to 10-12 oz. per feeding!! Before i was lucky to get him to take 4-6 oz at a time! I am still having a hard time getting him to eat many table foods but i have been trying to get off the formula as much as possible. We are giving him 1/2 whole milk and 1/2 formula during the day and then formula at bedtime...as he starts getting used to table food we will wean him down and finally start getting rid of the bottle.

I have been working hard on getting him to use a sippy cup during the day and only give him bottles when he lays down. BUT i know i need to get rid of the bottle 100%...hailey was cut off at 1 year but i know his situation is a little different...she was healthy and loved table food and had no problem transitioning. She was a booby baby not a bottle bay so it was easier for her. Also it is my was of keeping him a baby longer!! (:

If you have any suggestions on how to get him to not be so picky with table food please give me some tips?? He loves fruit, cheese, peanut butter and crackers/breaqds/cereal. Also he loves chinese..noodles, crab, shrimp.... BUT many vegetables or meats i make everyday he will just spit out. It is hard to find quick foods i can feed him without having to give him the same things over andf over again. I want him to eat healthy without lots of processed foods. I hate toddler meals and stuff like that with lots of sodium or fat...i really need some ideas if i want to get him eating table food at every meal. What do i do??

surgery and other random tidbits

2009-04-15T07:56:00.000-07:00

It has been nonstop action around our house or weeks and i don't see any sign of a slowdown.

Hailey has started soccer and is still in girl scouts (Daisy's) so we have three meetings a week between the two. Keeps us very busy. But luckily all of her sports and activities end around the same time school ends...giving us lots of family time to spend together! I have her signed up for a couple of summer activities and camps but overall we are going to make it a summer of family activities. I will probably go back to work before next summer and i won't get much time with her...i want to take advantage of it all! We are also getting so close to our florida trip...middle of june...i just can't wait. The Easter bunny brought the kids sand castle buckets ans sand/water toys...such a smart bunny!

We are halfway done with the remodeling. Our room is basically empty now and we are going to get the caulking done later this week and then work on the painting over the weekend. IF we get it all done i can call the carpet place and hopefully get the carpet in early next week...how awesome it will feel to have all that done and pretty. Seven years we have been here and it has ben so ugly..now it will be fresh and new! WE ARE GETTING THERE....we have besically remodeled or repainted the whole house now and got it how we like it...then we want to move...it makes no sense does it?? But i will post pictures as soon as i get the project done(as long as we have the virus of the computer).

My mom went to the doctor this week and long story short she has gallstones and needs surgery. The bad part is she is in pain and they, the typical doctors are taking their precious time. She doesn't even have a surgical consult until Monday..then i assume surgery should be within a week but it is hard to say! I hate to see her in pain and know she isn't one to ask for help. I don't want to bother her constanly but i want her to know that i am truly her for her...i hope she will take the help if needed!

Also school has been keeping me busy. We are getting down to the end...two more weeks and we are done...wow what a relief. I am taking summer school for 5 weeks after that but it is only one class so it will be much easier to concentrate and get everything accomplished.

Our computer has a virus so we can't get on it until we get it fixed..i am using the laptop now. BUT all my photos go on our desktop and i am feeling really out of place using this! We do have photoshop now but it also is for the desktop computer and i havent installed it or been able to check it out...i am really excited to see what i can do with it...pics to come...someday!!

My son got his first shiner last night. Dady said he was playing in one of his little chairs and fell backwards busting the corner of his eye. Today it is starting to turn colors a little and is swollen but it won't be the last time he gets one i'm sure! But again i can't post a pic which really sucks!

The weather sucks also. It is cold again. I am ready for sunny nice days where the kids can play outside without being bundled up....or AT LEAST GET RID OF THE RAIN SO OUR BACKYARD ISN'T A RIVER. But blessings do come from all this. Our kids have had the chance to see the miracles of life over this Easter season. We have always had lots of birds in our backyard because of the trees and honeysuckle but this year we had some beautiful birds make a nest in a tree very close to our back door(it is a large sliding glass..so we can see the tree and nest very well at all times). They just laid their first egg on Easter sunday and we got picks of it. Very gorgeous blue egg. I assume they will lay more but we have been trying to aviod looking as much aqs possible. We know that if we touch anything we will scare the mommy and she wont come back to take care of the baby.

Hailey is fasinated and we have been trying to teach her a lesson about it. I have been teaching her about how we are born both the scientific way and God's way. She is very interested in it and loves watching the bird looking for food in our rain soaked backyard that is perfect for finding worms!! Good for them bad for us...then again if it wasnt for God we never could of had this miracle in the first place....such amazing things happen everyday.

No time

2009-04-06T08:55:00.001-07:00

I have been a very busy lady lately and haven't been posting...but i have been reading alot of blogs lately! So much heartache and places to pray! I have been trying to spend more time with my children and thank God for how healthy we all are. We have finished Grant's room but i haven't had time to post pics..they will come soon.

Also we have pics from the Easter egg hunt over the weekend but again no time to edit so they will probably not be posted until after Easter.

I have signed up for spring and i am taking 5 classes but only 13 credits...then only one more semester and i am finished! I am soooo ready!!!! It can't come soon enough..but then i realize as ready as i am for school to be finished that means i must find a job...i am actually excited about this opportunity i love to work but then i musty leave my kiddos!! Daycare/preschool and no mommy all day long!!! I am sure they will do fine but the thought of a stranger watch ing them is heartbreaking...i have never wanted it that way but for us to be able to move and give the kids more opportunities that is what must happen. I know it is best in the long run but for now it is breaking my heart to even think about it...

I will post again soon...hopefully with some info a little more intersting than this!

O yeah and grant learned how to say baby yesterday! So sweet!

Semi-completed remodel

2009-03-17T07:20:00.000-07:00

Grant's play area

His bed and changing table

Dresser

The before shots...uggg!

Super uggg!

It isn't finished yet but we are getting sooo close! These are grant's room sans carpet and wall hangings! Before and after shots...it is crazy how bad it looked before! I am so happy to have it almost complete. I dont know when we will get the rest of it finished but we hope by the end of the week to at least have carpet down.

Then it is on to tackling our bedroom. We will only have a couple of weeks to complete it before they will come and lay carpet. That is our motivation for getting the wall spatched and painted. I am so excited. Now the whole house will of had new carpet in the past 5 years. Then we need to replace the bathroom and kitchen flooring...then maybe we can move once we have it all exactly how we want it...that makes alot of sense doesn't it!!

Grant's room almost complete!!

2009-03-11T21:14:00.000-07:00

I won't post pics until it is all complete and furnished...but the room is painted. We are getting ready to take the tape off in about 30 minutes! Woo-hoo! I am so proud of all we did. This house is so old and with a little accessories this bedroom is going to be a room fit for a prince, my little prince! We still have to get carpet but i have a feeling it will have to wait until after the big princess party miss Hailey is having saturday. I am going to call and see if they can get to it...but i doubt it! Yeahhh....finally my hubby and i can have our bedroom back for ourselves and we are one step closer to getting the house on the market to sell!

WooHoo!! I made my own header!

2009-03-10T13:56:00.000-07:00

I was worried it wouldn't work but it was actually pretty easy! Soon, I hope i to figure out how to arrange other parts of my blog without having to pay someone else to do it! I love it! I am so excited to figure it out! Okay maybe everyone else knows how to do this but for me this was a real cool thing to learn!

Crazyness

2009-03-09T14:36:00.000-07:00

Not much time to post. It has been a crazy week. I am on spring break but even busier than normal...if that is even possible. Hailey turns 6 tomorrow!!! Wow, i just can't believe it. She is so grown up. Her teacher said she has passed all her requirements to move into the 1st grade...yea-yyyyahhhhh. She has been reading like crazy. Her favorite books are buscuit the puppy books. They are so sweet. She has lots of them. My mom has made that her special gift and she even found a little stuffed dog that looks just like buscuit. I love it. She has her school party tomorrow, with pink frosted cookies(since we can no longer make food ourself) it cost me $16 for all her stuff for school!! But the real fun will be on Saturday. She is having her birthday party at 12 then a slumber party at night. She invited her whole class to her party...we will see how many people actually come...then all of the girls from her class to the slumber party. All the kids are dressing up as characters/fairy people...or whatever floats their boat! I can't wait to post the pics. I am also going to try and get a photo shoot of her this week.

I just haven't had time...we are trying to get Grant's bedroom remodeled before the party Saturday. Jason is finishing up the caulking and taping tonight so we can start painting tomorrow or wednesday. If we get it all done quickly i am going to try and see if they can get carpet in there before saturday but it is cutting it really, really close but usually they are very fast. If not, i will set the room up without carpet and let the girls sleep in there. I am desperate to get him out of our room and give us a break. Our room looks like world war III with all the stuff from both rooms and boxes for moving(someday)!!

We went to see the specialist today and his ears are still infected. The left is the worst today(go figure)...lots of fluid but as far as they said it doesnt look like any permanent damage yet! We got Grant's surgery scheduled for next friday, March 20th. We go in at 6 am and i assume we will be back home before lunch. They are going to do tubes only. So it should be an easy procedure but it still freaks me out. Hailey had problems with vomiting afterwards but by the end of the day she was up and back to normal. I am hoping he bounces back just as quickly as she did. He is just a baby and i want him to feel better as soon as possible.

Grant is starting to walk everywhere. He can take at least 6-10 steps then he falls. He prefers to crawl if he wants to get somewhere fast but he is trying more and more to get his balance. I am thinking that after his surgery he should have better equilibrium and will really pick up the pace. Hopefully he will start talking more also. When your ears are clogged i am sure it is difficult to hear anything! He is such a happy baby once you get rid of this pain i can't imagine how easy life will be...maybe he will start sleeping the 11 hours a night again...maybe??

Hailey is done with cheerleading. She had alot of fun even though the upward program was very unorganized. I am hoping next year we can get her cheering where she can really learn the ropes. She just signed up for soccer and i think she will be really good. She loves to play at home and begged me to let her join. We will see. Also Daisys(Girl Scouts) is going well, she loves all the activities and they are teaching her all the activities to make her a strong self-reliant child. I love that they want her to take responsibility for her actions and that they teach her respect and caring for others. I think so much emphasis is placed on spoiling kids and they don't know how to be empathetic or help others enough. We have so much to give and i want her to know that she should give all she can. We are serving dinner at the rescue mission next month...i have never done it and i think it will be a great experience for the both of us. I have been trying to get her more involved in the community and help me with some of my volunteering!

I am on spring break but havent had much time to relax...i guess it could be worse... if i was in school this week...one more year and i am done for good!!! I can't wait...i am missing so much being gone 4 nights a week. I wish we would win the lottery so i could be a stay at home mom exclusively!! Boy life would be so much less work that way!

The Dreaded Sickies

2009-02-23T08:12:00.000-08:00

NOW

Then

Our house has seen the plague all winter long...i am in need of some Spring weather to get the windows open and some voodoo to release the sick bug who just wont leave. I am not going to make you suffer through all of my boring tales of our nasty brush with the cold this weekend but lets just say my washing machine did triple duty!!Yuk!! All during a weekend that was jammed packed with events including two baby showers, one that i hosted! But back to my kiddos. Hailey is back up and running at full speed like nothing ever happened. Grant looks better also. He is starting to eat more than just the BRAT diet(for those of you who don't know that is-bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast) he even got formula today for the first time in almost three days. He is a happy baby to see it and i am a happy mommy for it to stay down! No poopies either..two semisolid stools...wooppppppiiiiiii!!!

He isn't out of the woods yet. He has basically been sick since November. We went back and started looking at old pics after his doctor apt. last Thursday and you could slowly see a decline in his size just from the pics. He was a chunky 9 mth old and now he is a scrawny 1 yr. old. In October he was 19.4 and now he is only 1oz bigger. But he has gained head circumference and an inch in height which shows he is doing okay and getting some nutrients. He has had one BIG ear infection since November and they are finally sending us to the specialist. We are hoping to hear from him today and get an appointment. Then we are assuming after he sees him the dreaded surgery...tubes...will be right behind that. So probably by the end of March my baby will have tubes and hopefully we can put this dreaded thing behind us!

He is developmentally on target and doing fine, just small. He is waving by, giving high fives, standing for longer times and occasionally taking one step..not brave enough to try more. He says dada, moma, doH(dog), and sometimes i think he says doe(done)...and maybe hi when he talks on the phone...it is hard to say with the last two because they are relatively new things he does..they sound different but cant tell if it is gibberish or actual words. The doctor says that because of his ears and all the the sicknesses he has had this winter it is to be expected that his weight is low. He says if after he gets the tubes if he doesn't start to gain weight then we will figure something else out but that is not something to worry about now.

Feb 2009-He was 29.25 for length, and 19 lbs. 5 oz. for his weight, then his head was 47.

Nov 2008-He was 28.25 for length, and 18lbs. 12oz. for his weight, then his head was 46.

**but his weight in October was 19lbs. 4 oz.**Please pray my baby becomes healthy and makes it through all of this okay. Surgery is scary even if it is something as routine as tubes...he will have to be put under. I am nervous!!

My hungry little caterpillar on his birthday!!

2009-02-17T07:41:00.000-08:00

My kids have never been very messy eaters...he was a little green but not bad!

He seemed to enjoy the cake as much as we did!

He really wanted that candle...dangerous stuff!

Mom decided to take some pics of him here at home. To capture his special day. Look at this perfect little foot!

This summarizes exactly how he makes me feel everyday

He leaves me in awe of his cuteness and curiousity!

Little fingers exploring and learning about the world....i created him with God's help!!

What a little miracle my precious boy is!

Nope, not me, Monday!

2009-02-16T11:19:00.001-08:00

I definitely did not let my son's #1 extra-large birthday balloon that cost $10.00 fly out of my car. I did not leave the car door wide open on a windy day and totally forget that it was ever even in the car when i was done. Then i did not also look all around the church for at least twenty minutes swearing i must have already brought the balloon in.

I did not forget to read our two new valentine's books to my daughter and finally read them to her a day later and tell her we would pretend today was valentines day..so it was all okay nope not me.

I did not let my daughter watch tv for the entire evening after i told her that from now on weekends would be family time and no tv was allowed for any of us...and i did not sit in front of the tv and do homework...or act like i was doing homework while really watching tv...not me!

I did not let my one year old eat his snack straight off the kitchen floor, that had not been swept, because it was so much easier than letting him continually dump them out of a bowl.

I did not take hundreds of pics of my son yesterday on his birthday with his nose dripping all the way to his mouth and never notice it until i was editing the pictures..nope not me!

I absolutely did not wear a nursing bra today even though my son hasnt nursed since five weeks old and turned one years old yesterday...not me...i would never do that instead of grabbing one of the other hundred normal bras in the drawer.

I definitely did not tell everyone i know that i want another baby badly and have them torture my husband all weekend begging so i could have my third baby. Then i did not feel so overwhelmed last night when my son slept on my chest for the whole night...that i felt like giving him away no not me and i didn't wonder why i wanted two kids...or more for that matter..that would never have happened to me!!

I did not, in no way, go to Mcdonalds today instead of making lunch so that i wouldnt have to lift a finger to cook and in no way wanted to rush the children to nap as soon as i was home so that i could blog about all the things i didnt do, no way, not me!

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Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

My baby hits the BIG "1" in 9 days!!

2009-02-06T10:57:00.001-08:00

He is so close to taking those first unassisted steps!

He stood so nicely for the pictures. I was proud!!

I almost see a smile slipping out!

There is my big boy smile!

I love this face. I can't believe how blessed our life has become since Grant was born. He is such a great baby and makes me smile continuously. He is very sweet with a great disposition. He rarely ever cries but is full of mischief. He is always trying to figure out how things work. I have a feeling he will be like his father and will love to take everything apart and change it somehow. Always a new adventure. He lights up my life and has made me realize just how different every single child is. They are all different and special in their own way!

STORM OF THE CENTURY

2009-01-31T07:35:00.000-08:00

They say we are in the middle of the storm of the century. We have been without power since wednesday and they say it could be WEEKS before it might be restored. They still have almost 50,000 people here without power and they expect it to get worse today since the trees will start to thaw and snap back. I am worried. I have so much going on and i am lost without my calendar and normal schedule. I can't run the daycare without a house...i dont have a car...i am at my mother-in-laws,,enough said there...and my kids are in a house of glass with little toys and they are getting stir crazy with nothing to do. I can't concentrate enough to do homework and i have twice as much work to do for this week. I am trying to get all of our birthday parties and tajee's abby shower planned but feel lost here. How do i make and print invitations when i am not home to do it! What a mess... This sucks really bad! I am just praying that before the end of the weekend a miracle happens and we have our power restored. Also think about all the people in shelters or trying to brave it at home in the cold. Pray that they are safe and warm in this disaster of a mess! I will write and post pics again as soon as i can. I dont have our good camera so don't expect much!

Brady Samuel Wathen

2009-01-27T11:31:00.001-08:00

Brady Samuel Wathen

8 lbs. 5 oz.

21 inches long

January 26, 2009

6:36 p.m.

Congrats B.J. and Tajee! He is an absolute Doll baby!! I love him so much and i am so happy to have this new addition to the family. Their fourth and last baby and my third nephew! Tajee and baby are doing well. Luckily Tajee will get some reast since we are in the middle of a horrible ice/snow storm...but i am sad i won't see him for a couple of more days! I will just have to stare at the beautiful pics and dream of his sweet face!

Hailey says she knows all about SEX!!

2009-01-27T11:16:00.000-08:00

We are in so much trouble....I was on myspace this morning updating pics on my new nephew Brady(pics to come) and my profile song came on. She immediately says is that your boyfriend singing this song. I won't try to explain but basically her daddy and me had a conversation and no i don't have a boyfriend!!!!I told her i dont have a boyfriend only daddy is my boyfriend.

I have already forgot exactly how she went from having a boyfreind to sex but she did...She says did you have sex.....i am like what?????????? I about had a cow...my first reaction was how do you know what sex is????? Then again daddy lets her watch family guy....enough said about that!!! She proceeds to tell me that she really does know what it means. As i tell her sex is something kids shouldn't know about and only mommy and daddy's should know about. But then i am curious because obviously we have sex and what if she walked in and we didn't know or maybe she saw something on tv...i wanted to see just what she knew.

She giggles her evil little giggle and gives me the look like really mom i know!! Then she says they bite each other..well not really she says!! Okay that is interesting...tell me more...then she shows me this face immitating a french kiss and says maybe they aren't exactly biting each other...but she is using her whole body to show me....O'boy!!! I figure no more Soap Opera's while she is home and i will be very select on the tv shows/movies she watches....we are in soooo much trouble!!For now we are safe..sex just means a french kiss...i just hope it stays that way for a long, long time!!!

2009-01-22T08:45:00.000-08:00

My great grandpa Bill and my great grandma Laura Allen (i see my mom and me looking soooo much like her). I think she is gorgeous...so we must be also. (;
My Grandma Renee Lasse

My great grandma Laura allen and her sister. My very favorite picture of her. She looks absolutely like an angel or something...wow!!

My great grandma Hazel Lasse and my grandma Renee when she was very young.

Me and my great grandma Laura Allen.

Just a bit of my past i found on my families geneology website. It is amazing the things you can find and treasure forever. I am so happy to find some of these tidbits of my past to pass on to my present!! My children will love and treasure them also. I am going to go and get them printed off along with about 50 others...amazing!

Great-grandma Hazel and me..i think!

2009-01-20T14:43:00.000-08:00

I saw this picture on my families website and they couldn't think of who the children could be. As soon as i saw it i knew it had to be me, so i had them email it to me. I (think i) was the little girl at the very bottom of the picture with the blonde pigtails and white/blue plaid shirt. It looks identical to other baby pics of me. If anyone has any more info on this picture or knows who the other children are please email me. I was so happy to have this. I have been researching my geneology and every little bit of our past is so precious. I am so grateful to have this picture. I hope you enjoy a bit of my past as much a i do. I will try and get some of my old family pics and post them. I haven't made any of them digital but i would love to so i could post them. Maybe that will be my next project...

Baby, it's cold outside!

2009-01-20T14:27:00.000-08:00

Grant's first time playing in the snow!
I guess this isn't so bad!

Hailey and Grant

Ugg...Dogs do what in the snow??

I love this picture

She has been begging to make snow angels all winter..finally the right kind of snow!

They had a blast in the snow. It wasn't record amounts but just right for them to get their fingers in it and really enjoy playing in it. We took a short walk, made snow angels, slid down the slide, threw snowballs, and hailey tried to eat it all...not my favorite choice but it looked clean!

Holiday pics

2009-01-07T11:21:00.001-08:00

Isn' t that just the cutest thing ever! Santa took the letter after drinking his milk and cookies and after letting each reindeer eat the carrots!

She is such a perfectionist she had to get every little piece of tape off the boxes.

I love Santa too!

Santa came to our house this year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

A couple of pictures from my new camera!

2009-01-07T10:32:00.000-08:00

Grant was in love with this dog! Doh is his third word, after mama and dada!
Hailey ice fishing for the first time. She wasn't so happy about the sounds of the ice cracking.

Momma and her baby boy Christmas morning. I love this pic of me i don't look huge! he-he!

Grant at Grandma Cindy's Christmas eve!

Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009!

2009-01-07T09:08:00.000-08:00

It is going to be a great year! We are following Jesus and trying to be "good people" and i feel like i am slowly figuring out how to make our family better Christians. Hailey is picking up on it and really starting to understand that we should be good people and do good things, not for ourselves, but for Jesus and to please him. We are supposed to be kind, generous, caring people in every aspect of our lives. Someone asked me what my New Year's resolution was and i said i didn't have one(because i never stick to them!)...but then i got thinking and this will be my resolution. Try to bring my family closer to our Lord and be better people! That is what this year is all about. I think this is one resolution i can stick with!!

Lets rewind and see what great things have happened this past year. Well i was pregnant in January, we had my baby shower and it was fabulous. Then Grant Lee Steele was born on February 15, 2008 at 5:05 pm weighing 6 pounds 11oz. March, was Hailey's birthday..."5" years old and sassy as ever. April, i got settled into a routine and back to work. May, i completed another semester of school, it was interesting trying to do it around pregnancy and baby but it all worked out!

June and July we enjoyed our normal summer activities and days of swimming fun. Much different with a newborn and a five year old. August was the beginning of Hailey's school days and Kindergarten with a wonderful teacher who has taught her so much. Also in August both of the kids became baptized at our church and my dad came to visit with Chris and the kids. I love those visits sooo much(and so does Hailey-she loves her papa). Then September i started back to school with five classes(a huge undertaking that i will never try again). In addition, Hailey started Daisy's(Girl Scouts)and seems to be opening up a little but more and starting to enjoy herself.

October, we had wonderful Halloween celebrations and the kids dressed up as a monkey(Grant) and a Christmas bride(Hailey). We always love the end of the year and all the fun activities we attend. Then November, brought Thanksgiving, and all the yummy food and praise we could have. It was delightful to see all of our family and friends. Also Jason and I got to sneak away for a day and go to Indianapolis for a Colt's game-GO COLT'S!! Then December was action packed with lots of birthdays(moms, jasmines, Jason's, Liam's, eds), Hailey's first school Christmas program(she finally sang this year), lots of illnesses, a vacation to Iowa to visit relatives, and an absolutely awesome Christmas.

We also got many new fun gadgets around the house this year. We have our new camcorder, thanks Lee, that has given us so many memories and the chance to relive our babies precious moments over and over again! We have our new TV, while smaller(a 40inch) it is according to the man of the house more superior than the other. I don't see the difference but i am grateful none the less. And last but not least thank you Lord for my laptop. I am so excited to have it even though currently Jason uses it more than i do. Once school starts it will become an invaluable tool to help me succeed in studying and getting things done in the comfort of my own couch, bed, bathtub(kidding)...wherever i want! Oyyyyeahhhh thanks to my mom we also got the all important DVD player for the car. It rocks and kept my daughter silent over the 20ish hours of car time she endured while we traveled over the holidays. Mom you really know what kind of present every family needs! It is perfect!

Then on to Christmas which every year amazes me more and more! Everyone is so generous and we get so many wonderful gifts. I got my own personal camera, nothing crazy but it does its job and it fits in my purse. I love our big fancy Nikon D80 but it is HUGE and expensive and i don't like the idea of taking it with me everywhere when a smaller cheaper version is more suitable. You will just have to be happy with my grainy pics! Also i got perfume, a nice necklace(one each from Hailey and Jason), my colt's sweatshirt, 2 Nike sweatshirts(1 really wanted some cozy clothes), chocolate and more chocolate. Hailey got so much stuff i won't even try to remember it all but she got an MP3 player, a digital camera, an electric guitar, air hockey, laptop, my meebas, a tini puppini, trouble(the game), lots of Polly pockets(and the cruise ship), littlest pet shop, clothes, clothes, and more clothes(including a COLT'S cheerleader outfit), money, so much craft stuff i had to buy a new organizer to hold it all and lots of books now that she is starting to read. Grant was rotten also and got two ride on toys(Santa brought him a big digger), some trucks and tractors, books(lots of books),lots and lots of clothes and some bath toys. Daddy got some movies, Colt's gear, and i was nice enough to get his a beer making kit, mr.beer with lots of refills...so he will never have to leave home again(j/k)!! I am sure i am leaving stuff out but that sums up most of our Christmas. But my best gift of all was when Hailey told me that Christmas was not about the presents but it was about Jesus birthday and continued to tell me and everyone else the story of Christmas. I had been telling it to her for months but i didn't think it really made it through all the gimme gimme gimmes...she was spoiled this year but i think she truly understands the importance of Christmas and i hope we all do also!

It has been a rough holiday with a sick baby!

2009-01-07T08:29:00.001-08:00

I am back finally, it seems things have calmed down around the Steele household. December was a really busy and rough month. Grant had two colds, over 1 week of vomiting(starting while 5 hours from home and 4 hours from our destination), and an ear infection that included three rounds of meds(he was allergic to one, found out while on vacation) none that worked and an antibiotic shot. He still has the ear infections but we are hoping the shot works. I am unsure of the next step if they aren't cleared up by the end of the week! Then Jason had a small stomach bug in the middle of the month, i had it on Christmas eve and we all have had some variation of coughs, colds, or runny noses! Also i completed finals, and passed with a 3.0(while taking five classes with two kids), finally something good to end 2008!

We got to go to Iowa to visit my dad's side of the family. It was very nice to have a gathering with all my aunts and uncles and show off the kiddos. I love seeing them. And my brothers and sisters are growing so fast and and soon they will be off and dealing with their own families and i will see them even less than i do now. I wish we lived closer. Also, grant said his third word, Doh(Dog) while up there. He was in love with their pit bull..even though i was a tad scared with it around. Not just because it was a pit bull but because dogs and little kids worry me in general. I am a worry wart!! On the down side, grant vomited most of the trip. First from a high fever from ear infections then from a reaction from one of the meds for the ear infections...and maybe a hint of a stomach bug somewhere in between. It was miserable. He lived on apple juice, pedialite, and fruit loops for three+ days. I was so worried about him. He was very close to dehydration and i was exhausted. It made for a very stressful trip to say the least.

Hailey and Jason got to go Ice fishing and play on the four wheeler which tickled her to death! But the rest of the trip was spent just talking to everyone and relaxing(with a puking baby stuck to my hip). I was happy we went but wish it had been better conditions.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2008-12-23T12:54:00.000-08:00

This will probably be my last post for a couple of weeks. We are heading out of town and going North......i am unsure why we picked somewhere colder, it was -17 where we are going with lots of snow, what happened to Christmas in Florida!! Uggg...but family is important and we don't have enough time to enjoy being with them so this is a much needed trip. It will be nice to have a family trip to relax and enjoy each other. We have a big christmas party planned with all my aunts, uncles and cousins! I am very excited.only once every 4 years or so do i get to come up for the winter festivities. My husband hasn't been up there with my for over 6 years..maybe longer! Unfortunately it seems like my latest visits have all been somber and deaths in the family. We all hate to visit for those reasons. My kids are ready for some sledding and ice fishing as am I. My hubby is wanting to go hunting but it seems liek a hunting license is about $160...so he might have to skip that!

We are rounding up the gear and starting to pack today and it is amazing how much stuff we actually need for four people for up to 10 days is sub-arctic weather!! Especially with a baby..pack-n-play, highchair, formula, diapers, wipes, gear, toys...then again a six year old diva isn't much better! Luckily we are taking the 300 with heated seats...ahhhhh!!! And one of our christmas gifts included a portable DVD player that we have been begging for, that should make the 10 hour(in good weather) trip go a little smoother! We had lots of freezing rain, snow/rain mix today but it is supposed to be in the 40's the next couple of days so hopefully we have a safe trip and it doesn't take forever to get there.

Today i had to drive and it wasn't fun. Hailey has her 6 year molars comign in and i was worried it had an absest but luckily it is fine. It is about to erupt to it is sore and she has numerous canker sores/legions around the area. She has been very sick lately so that could be the cause or she said many kids get these when they have teeth coming in. she told us for the next three days to keep her on Motrin, to reduce swelling and gave us a mouth rinse called peroxyl that is more kid friendly(tastier) so her mouth can heal faster. We were very concerned that this would be something yucky and then we would be out of town for the holidays and she would have to see some strange dentist...she just starting liking our new one i dont want he to be scared anymore. So we are lucky it isn't much. She seems to be doing well just has some pain when eating and things like that.

---Another note totally off the subject. I got my 3.0 this semester..woohoo!!! FIVE CLASSES and two kids and i still did it. I am so proud of myself..pat on the back!! I was really concerned because it was a very hard semester(fall seems to be harder with so many holidays) and with the kids doing so much and having all the sicknesses this year but it all worked out! Now i am on to a relaxing break with no worries until school starts back up in the middle of January.

Also update: my litle nephew Brady will be making his arrival known in January most likely within the first couple of weeks. His momma has had gestational diabetes and he is measuring big(she has a small frame but has delivered three already) so they will do an ultrasound and see how he is doign and see if they want to get the ball rolling! They better not even think about it while i am out of town. I have been outside the door for my other neice's and nephew's and i am not missing one now. I will be driving back from our trip early! So baby Brady just hold out for a couple of more weeks..around the 14th of January is great for me..he-he..and your momma would like a little bit longer to prepare!~Pray for their health and a safe delivery!

Merry Christmas everyone and have a joyful holiday season! Hope God blessed you all!

Love Always,

The Steele Family

School is over and vacation has finally begun!

2008-12-18T19:01:00.000-08:00

Ahhh...my life has just simplified, for at least three weeks. I am done with school for the semester. It is such a relief. I feel like this huge weight has lifted. I am so excited to have some time with my kiddos and hubby. We need it. I am home everyday but usually busy with housework or homework.

Now i can get Christmas completed and just sit with the kiddos and enjoy seeing them. I know hailey is excited. We already have projects planned for the next couple of days that have to be done for christmas presents. I am very excited to get to watch her read and play games all day in our jammies. No school for her and no school for me!!

I did well so far...three grades are in...an A in my CIS class, a B+ in my Management behavior class, and a C in environmental conservation. My finance and humanities class havent posted grades yet but i am hoping for passing grades. It was a rough semester with two kids, 5 classes, holidays, and trying to keep the house organized, sports/organizations organized, and everyone healthy(hasnt really worked but i have tried)!

I dont have to go back to school until January 12th and i am so grateful that we are going to travel to my daddy's house for the holidays. We are leaving shortly after christmas and coming back right before hailey starts back to school on the 5th. My dad said he was nervous about us coming up. I thought it was really sweet. I miss him so much ...living so far away(over 9 hrs , 11 with kids in car).

We are helping him with our huge family christmas party. All of my aunts and uncles(8-9 present this year) and their spouses and kids. It used to be at my grandpa's and grandma's before they passed away and now it rotates between all my aunts/uncles/dad...the family seems to be separated more since their deaths. It is very sad. I pray that everyone can get along and realize the happiness family brings and that everyone enjoys each others company. Two of my aunts have passed away in the past couple of years both cancer related deaths. Obviously it has hit the family very hard. Sometimes the holidays are spent being sad instead of celebrating life and knowing that all the deceased are in a better place-HEAVEN!! I miss them also but i am not as sad anymore. I know that they are happy and pain free now.

My aunt chrissie especially was so grateful for life. She was happy and put on a happy face until her death. I try to live my life with as much joy as she did. She was happy for every moment and every day that she had with her family. She understood how precious life is. She had the most wonderful outlook and tried to please everyone. She was a role model..just like my grandma....i miss her every day!!..alright enough of the sad stuff...back to talking about vacation.

Snow...Grant will see his first snow up there. But he will also have to deal with very very cold weather. It was 5-10 below zero last time i talked to my dad. UGGG...i complain about our 20-30 degree weather. Why can't he live in Florida again??

After vacation, we might have to come back a little early because hailey has a cheer clinic on Jan.3 and i would love for her to go. I dont know..she is just getting started i dont think she is ready yet! I am loving it, she is so cute practicing. Cheer is very exciting. I never tried it in school but always wanted to...hailey seems to love it and also loves learning the scriptures. I am just happy to have her active and out doing something.

First we must finish our christmas shopping and finish making some presents. We are running out of days for this..i am guessing we will have to do it on monday and tuesday next week. Tomorrow hailey has school then christmas shopping. Might have time tomorrow night for a couple of things. Saturday is christmas at my moms then we want to go to the fantasy of lights. We think the kids will really enjoy all the bright lights then maybe we can drive around and see some houses with lots of lights. We used to do it when i was little and it was so exciting! Sunday is Jason's b-day so the day is for him and whatever he wants to do..except it is also my neice Jasmine's b-day so we have her 8th b-day party sunday afternoon. Then we have monday and tuesday free to do whatever need to be done for christmas. Wednesday is Jason's side of the families christmas parties taking up the whole day and night.

Then christmas is alwasy spent at home. We made this rule when Hailey was born. We never go anywhere and we prefer not to have any visitors unless it is immediate close family members. We make a huge breakfast of pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream, sausages, bacon, and whatever else we decide is yummy. Then for lunch we usually have ham and dollar rolls with a couple of easy sides and pie. Simple, giving us time to spend the whole day with the kids watching never-ending episodes of Christmas Vacation or some other cute christmas movie.

I love playing with the kids and seeing their eyes glow as they open each present and see everything they have. One year it took hailey from 8 am to almost 6 pm before she opened her last present. SHe took her time and opened one at a time and played with them before wanting another. It was amazing to see how excited she was with every gift!

With our new camcorder i can't wait to capture all of these wondeful memories. We have went a couple of years without one and i have no record of so many pr4ecious moments that i dont want to miss again!

2008-12-15T09:59:00.000-08:00

Saturday night we got to see one of the best, if not the best concert ever. Jason suprised me..well tried to suprise me..with a special night out..possibly even part of christmas or whatever but he took me there none the less. It was fabulous! He was amazing! Jason and Kenny! Jason was sick with a stomach bug so i am unsure of how much he really got to enjoy it but i just took it all in and relaxed and enjoyed the night.

Anytime i get to go out with Jason and not the kids is such a blessing and very very rare. We love it and soak it up! We really miss our one-on-one time we used to get before the kiddos..we get along perfectly..haha...It was very romantic and mind blowing. The music just took you to another place. If you haven't heard kenny's newest CD it is great as well as his christmas CD which is amazing also.

He played all of his early hits and even added in some comedy! I got to meet him twice!!!! Yes, twice!! It was so awesome and he was a very freindly and a relaxed kind of guy. The band was amazing also. The guy kenny has on percussions was exceptional. I have never seen such talent. A couple of hte guys have books or their own CD's out. It was a very nice night on the town. I hope we can do it again soon. I love you honey and thanks for the great night out!

2008-12-12T07:56:00.000-08:00

This is absolutely hilarious. But vulgur and bad language is included. It is not my views. I believe in the bible and all of the teachings BUT for comedy this was hilarious. The whole show is even funnier! I loved it.

Coughs and sniffles

2008-12-11T07:04:00.000-08:00

Nights in our house over the past couple of weeks havebeen an endless rush of trying to figure out who to help sleep through the night the longest. Everyone has colds but at different stages. Some are starting the stages over again with a new cold. But last night was the last straw Grant is hitting hte doctor today at 4pm. I need over 3 hours of consistent sleep..sleep without a 20 lb. baby flopping around on my chest and/or wheezing and gagging coughs all around me. i was so desperate last night i even used a little vix mixed with vasoline(tomake it not burn so bad) all over his little chest and back...it made him cry but then he slept for about 3-4 more hours.

Two weeks i have been battling his and everyone else's sickness. He had a cough and runny nose last week and lack of appetite. Then over the weekend a low grade fever, very putrid diarrhea/poo newborn stuff(from lack of solid foods i assume), and the inevitable lack of sleep...along with a temper and screams of pain...i assumed he was dying a couple of nights. Then by Monday he seemed to be doing better no more painful cries and his appetite picked up a small bit but the stinky poo seemed to be escalating...uggg. But by sleepy time he was hacking this yucky cough that was so bad he was almost vomiting. I figured since during the day he seemed okay it would pass but now 4 sleepless nights later i have decided enough is enough. I am hoping it is just a cold and they will tell me is fine or even better/worse they will tell me he has something that they can give me some meds for and it will knock him into a beautiful slumber for about 10 hours tonight! I dont know if i can study for finals without sleep!! We will see!

2008-12-09T08:32:00.001-08:00

Go to Gymboree and go shopping!! Holy moley...pjs only $11.25!! They have a huge sale right now! It is awesome! Look at how cute the pair i got Grant and Hailey are?? ANd they are soooo soft and cozzy..i want some too.

2008-12-09T08:27:00.000-08:00

Hailey had her school Christmas program last night and she rocked the show. My shy child sang every song and was perfect! I was so excited she did it. She told me afterwards, " I was sooo scared but I just did it anyways!" I had threatened her(nicely)with us never coming to another program again..if she sat their looking at her toes like the past 4 years worth of programs we had been too. Obviously she has grown up alot this year! It was fabulous. She looked like a little princess all dressed up in her Christmas colors and singing away! I am overjoyed! My baby is a star! (;

2008-12-09T08:19:00.000-08:00

This is our Christmas present from my momma! A family gift that will be fabulous for the family over the holidays especially since we will be traveling to Iowa! A lovely 9+ hour trip with a five year old and a 10 month old. This DVD Player was much needed.It is a Sony DVP-FX820, Black with an 8" screen

Perfect! Thanks momma!!And yes she is still momma even though i am almost 30!

sniffles snuggles, and shopping

2008-12-06T19:57:00.001-08:00

Everyone has had the sniffles but everyone but Grant has gotten over it..he just seems to be getting worse. He is still peeing and pooping(sorry for the details) so i am not overly concerned. BUT he is barely eating solids anymore and 1/2 the time no bottles either and has been running a low grade temperature. I haven't slept in two nights as he has been up and down not able to sleep comfortably in any position, except on me for the most part. I have tried Oragel since tooth #9........yes 9, is coming in(Early Bloomer)! And i have tried tylenol but he still acts like he is in horrible pain. Mainly at night! He just arches his back and cries. I am worried it might be something else but during the day he seems like he is okay other than the lack of eating! I am thinking we might make a visit to the doctors on monday if this doesnt get better soon. I really need some sleep..consistent..4-6 hours would be nice!!

Also tonight i got a one-on-one with hailey..it was wonderful. We went out with her and my sister-in-law and her three kiddos to a friends birthday party at Pump it up(which was awesome may i say). It was a great time! I miss spending so much time with my baby girl. She is growing up so fast! She is so much fun and such a little smartie pants. She is getting ready to lose her second tooth and is getting her first permanent front tooth and her 6 year molars. She is starting to really catch on at school also. She is writing alot of sentences and can write alot of words by sounding them out. They arent all spelled properly but for her age she is doing great!! I am really really proud of her. I have been spending alot of time with her on christian teachings and songs and it is really paying off. She is really starting to get it. I think if i try harder it will sink in even more. I am an example for her...i need to do bettter and be better!!

We went shopping at gymboree my favorite place to splurge! They had Jingle deals on pajamas...so cute!! I got hailey a pj dress and grant some rockstar pjs for next year..under $12 a pair..woohoo! Also i got hailey a t-shirt and some bows to match some outfits she already has. Also it is gymbucks time! That alwasy makes it worthwild also. Another savings of around 25% when cashed in! Hailey is set for winter except for shoes..now i am ready for the summer shopping to begin. I think it is time for another girls trip to Nashville or Edinberg in January or February!! Who wants to join me???

Thanksgiving and a Reunion-update

2008-12-02T08:26:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was wonderful and special just like always. It is one day that i do nothing(no laundry, no dishes, no cleaning) but spend time with all my family and enjoy their company. It was wonderful seeing so many people that i haven't seen since the holidays last year. We need to spend more time with the extended family. My husband's grandma is getting up there in age and we don't visit often, even though she lives relatively close.

I feel sad about how busy life has been and how little time i have had for my family. School has been overwhelming this semester and has taken up so much of my precious time. I have missed so many firsts. Hailey starts her first cheerleading practice tonight and i will be in class instead. This si what i am supposed to be doing...time is just passing me by. I am thanksful for the chance to go to school and pray i am able to finish and help make life better for our family. BUT for now i need more time. I need to manage my time more closely and regulate what is important to me. I need to spend less time on the internet mindlessly browsing and spend more time reading to my kids! My goal for the new year is to turn off the computer and just do...do whatever is needed to give my kids some extra attention. They deserve to have their mom not just in the room but actually there for them. I want to be that mom.

Our class reunion was interesting. Not as good as expected in some ways but better than expected in others. It was alot like high school...no one openly talked to you unless they were friends with you in high school. It wasn't this big freindly gathering like i had prayed for. Most people expected a dinner and instead found some appetizers that were not so appetizing. Drinks were pricey. Also food and drinks were where everyone smoked. So for us non-smokers it sucked to go in there. An in there was where everyone basically stayed all night long.

I found so many people that i had lost touch with and was grateful for that. I missed all these people. I had wanted to reconnect and i did. I hope that i keep in touch with the friends that i saw. Many of them live in Evansville so it should be easy but we will see how it all works out. But then a couple of them live out of town and that might be more difficult but i am going to do my best to not let another ten years pass me by with regrets about what i should have done.

Class Reunion

2008-11-29T11:50:00.000-08:00

Well, what a day this has started off to be. I was up off and on all night with Grant who wasn't feeling well..turkey, gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole, corn casserole, fruit salad, cranberry salad, pies, pies, and more pies=too much of a good thing...BELLY ACHE!!! He cried himself to sleep on my chest. I gave him tylenol and gas drops because he was in so much pain. It was horrible!

Then Jason let me sleep uninterrupted from 6:30-10:30 this morning. It was so peaceful and wonderful..ahhh refreshed. Grant is feeling well and back to normal so we stuck with some baby food and more simple foods today to help get him back on track.

My mom was supposed to watch the kiddos tonight while Jason and I go to my... GULP... 10 year reunion....BUT she is deadly ill with a 104 temp and Bronchitis. We haven't done the babysitter thing yet so we were concerned about finding a replacement but luckily him mom said she could do it. But because of that i had to clean my house. If it was my mom i wouldn't care but for all of you with a mother-in-law it is different...my house needed cleaned! I have everything put away except dishes...i will get to that soon.

Jason took Hailey shopping so i only have Grant but i am starting to get nervous about tonight. I have put on so much weight since getting pregnant....over 50lbs....i am so ashamed..i feel like the goodyear blimp! I got some new clothes this fall but i just can't decide what looks the best. I narrowed it down to two dresses and a pair of pants and nice shirt but i am pretty sure i like the one dress the best. It is very Thanksgiving-Fall!! I like the shape and i can wear pantyhose to suck in all the belly fat since my spankys are at my moms....i am really upset about that!!

Also, I dyed my hair yesterday expecting meduim BROWN..and got redish black instead....it looks nice but very rockstar. Nothing like i would normally have. It doenst work well but i dont have time to redye it before tonight! Nothing like going with a bang!

I am very thrilled with seeing all my old girlfriends. I really miss them all. I try to remember why we all quit hanging out and nothing comes to me. It has just been to long and for the most part there wasnt any reason other than just drifting apart! I had an older boyfreind in high school and hung out with him and his freinds and we just seperated. It sucks. I dont have many friends that i get together with for dinner and drinks. No one calls me when they come back into town. I had a huge group of friends in high school..but i let them all get away!

I am hoping this can bring some of us back together and reunite. I have been emailing lots of them but i would like more. I would love to get together with them for parties and to take the kids out. I am truly excited to see where life has led everyone.

I will update everyone on how things go. My hubby is going with me. He doesn't want to go but doesn't want to stay home either. Hopefully he will get along with everyone and enjoy the night! It would be great if they have a keg...yeah right more like a cash bar.

It is at rolling hills...where we got married. I am excited to go back. Good memories! I will post picks when we get back. Wish me luck!!

My baby boy is growing up, 9 months and 1 week old!

2008-11-22T18:51:00.000-08:00

This sums it all up! I love those eyes and eyelashes. Someone said the other day how sad they were wasted on a boy. I think they are sooo wrong. How fantastic..he is gorgeous/handsome and all mine! I love his fantastic little pudgy fingers and toes and those cheeks everyone says they want to eat(as wierd as that sounds).

We have his 9 month pictures coming soon. We got them taken today and I am very excited to show everyone! They should be adorable. Baby's first Christmas...

This is what he does all day long. Eat everything in sight. Usually it is every little pice of hair or fuzz or string...my cleaning skills need an upgrade to spastic...he has eaten his weight in scraps of paper!! Along with whyo knows what else. I don;t know what else to do. He has gotten sneeky about it also. He is very good at holding his jaws closed so i can't pry whatever it is out of his mouth. It has become a war!! I am the evil mother. Also he has learned to throw a tantrum....loud, very loud tantrums..especially in the car!!

This is the look i get all day long. Durrrr.....But it really cracks me up. Also do you see the abundance of hair. I originally balked at the thought of a haircut.i am still nervous..he is just a baby. But he is getting horrible bed head/hat head. Jasons barber(he did Jason's first haircut) is still cutting hair(at the same place Jason went to) and we decided to get Grant's first haircut there. I think Jason is going to try and have it cut maybe this week soemtime. The guy is close to retirement and only works limited hours so it will be interesting. We are only going to trim the back. I want the front to grow out and it still lays very nicely(most of the time). I am really excited about this. What a big milestone....

His current: Weight 18.12, He went down to the 20th % but they say that is normal for his small birthweight and at the stage he is in. They will watch for a gain next time. His height was 28 1/4, he went up to the 48th %, and his head was 46.

He has mild eczema but it is controlled with mosturizing..the doctor says it will probably get worse as he grows but currently he doesnt have to have any additional medications/creams for it. He is starting to get the whiplashed cheeks from the cold and they said that is one of the other things he will be more prone to in the winter so we have been lathering him with vasoline or A&D ointment as often as possible so it doesn;t get painful. So far it doesn't seem to bother him.

He has been granted unlimited access to adult food(except honey, nuts, etc)..so we are weaning him off many of the baby foods. It was expensive and he didn't like us feeding him any more so we are cleaning out the cabinets of infant food and beefing up his finger food list. I still mash most of it up some but he does well with most foods so everything is fair game. I am watching him with eggs and milk(yogurt) because one of them gave him a rash yesterday..his back and face got little red dots. Luckily they went away and that was the only symptoms.

---------REWIND------

Our precious new baby yawning. He was so scrawny. Here he is only a little over 6 pounds! That is a preemie onesie and it was still a little big. I remember the size 1 diapers were enormous and we had to fold them twice to get them to somewhat fit. We should have gotten preemie diapers. He was 6 lbs. 11 oz at birth but he lost almost a pound in the first two weeks.

He wouldn't breastfeed which was disappointing to me..i wanted to breastfeed so badly. The doctor said he had a slight recessed jaw which could have been part of the problem with latch-on. We continued to try for about 5 weeks but he just wasn't getting it so we ended up switching to formula. It was a blessing!! He has basically slept through the night since birth, 6+ hours then,and now he is sleeping around 10. He became much happier after switching and keeping a schedlue was much easier..but we aren't very strict. I try and let my kids guide when they eat and sleep..to an extent. Grant has put himself on a schedule.

This picture was taken in the hospital when he was born. He was a fresh new baby!