Beauty Hurts

Pain = Beauty

Isnt that the saying?

Tonight Kaylee proved the "saying" completely WRONG!!! I was in lots of pain, and didnt resemble anything remotely close to beautiful.

I am going to be as bald as a bat after getting my hair done by her. The videos I did manage to get doesnt do my "experience" justice. There was MUCH more pain and laughter involved (pain for me, laughter for "you know who").

I found a pile of my hair on the couch after the filming of this video

In her defense (doesnt a momma always defend her babies?) she didnt have much to work with. All this rain has made my hair a complete frizz ball, and anyone who thinks they can tame it can give it a try. It is definitely beyond my control at the moment.

While I have the master of pain in one child I have the sweetest snuggliest little thing in my other child. I love her beyond what words can describe. She is so sweet and innocent, loving and forgiving, I just cant get enough of her. She is so mobile now and crawls from room to room like she owns the place. Exploring everything that she comes in contact with. Her expressions and determination make my eyes teary. My baby is growing up and there is nothing I can do about it. I love this little girl so much.

And to think I never wanted to have girls, I swore I would never have girls. I wouldnt trade them for the WORLD!!!

Thursday Thirty

1. Ainslee is pulling up on everything!

2. Unlike Kaylee when she was little Ainslee is not scared of falling down (dropping to the ground) when she is standing.

3. Kaylee is getting sweeter by the day. She wants "BIG" hugs and kisses all the time.

4. Marcus has been working crazy long hours and we all cant wait to get back to our normal schedule.

5. My mom just informed me today that she is switching Kaylee's room at her house, and because she only has 1 crib, Kaylee will be sleeping in a big bed. I need to get on the ball and get her switched permanently, anyone have good tips or advice?

6. I finally started working (AGAIN) on finishing Kaylee's room.

7. I heart the Amazing Race.

8. Being the room mom for Kaylee's class just "fell" into my lap. I thought I signed up to be a helper, but apparently the teacher had different plans for me so I got bumped up to the "main mom in charge."

9. Costco has started carrying a wonderfully tasty GF cracker, and it is even multi-grain. These are the things that make me so happy.

10. I have been obsessed with broccoli, chicken (or turkey), and pepper jack omelets lately. YUM!

11. Ainslee says ma-ma-ma.

12. Even though Kaylee gets upset and sometimes even cries when I drop her off at school, she LOVES it and is learning lots of new things, some good and a few not-so-good. But today she didnt cry at all and walked in there like a big girl, it made me happy and proud.

13. Ive heard it nearly 1 thousand times, but I still get tickled when Kaylee says "I can do it by myfulf." She can say "I want to go back to the Adirondacks" as plain as day, but she cant say "by myself".

14. Rain, rain go away we need to do the yard work today (actually it needed to be done LAST WEEK, but that didnt rhyme).

15. I am obsessed with ALL the shows we watch and couldnt live without Tivo. Oh the thing I could get done if I didnt watch TV.

16. I really need to get rid of this inner tube that is holding strong around my belly, but i am just not motivated to get off my butt and do anything about it.

17. Sometimes I want to go into one of the girls' rooms at night and scoop them up out of their bed and snuggle with them all night long.

18. We only have 3 weeks and 2 days until we go to Boston again.

19. Ainslee will be walking in NO time. She has already been pulling up on the couch (and everything else), but today she began experimenting with letting go and standing alone.

20.Kaylee sings/ talks for about 30-45 minutes every night in her crib after I put her to bed. It makes me laugh!

21. Ainslee has been sorta cranky and not sleeping normal, those teeth have GOT to be the culprit. I wish they would just hurry up and come in.

22. Have I mentioned I miss my husband?

23. I am about to start a new "side job." I really hope I can make some good money at it.

24. Am I the only one who watches the Biggest Loser while eating a bowl of ice cream and wishing I was skinnier?

25. Man it is hard coming up with 30 things.

26. I have kept my Facebook addiction to a minimum, I am proud to say that my children havent missed a meal and even get bathed regularly.

27. Kaylee is spending the night out tonight, I hope I can make the most of my time while I have the break.

28. Sometimes I really wish we moved to Hawaii, and other times I dont think I would have survived the move if we had made it! Everything happens for a reason!

29. I am OBSESSED with sweet potatoes at the moment......cant eat enough of them. I bought 7 today, they will probably be gone before the weekend is over. The girls are sharing my obsession with me too.

30. Kaylee has finally started going upstairs to play by herself again. After she broke her foot going up the stairs she wouldnt go up there without me, Im not sure if the break caused her fear or not, but either way she is back to being a little bit more independent, which really makes my life easier.

"almost" Wordless Wednesday

Kaylee sings "Poor Little Jesus"

Translation, well this is how the song is SUPPOSED to go:

Poor little Jesus, where he was born. Had nobody, to keep him warm. Then Holy Mary wrapped her cloak around him, and Poor Little Jesus fell fast asleep. The Ox and the Ass drew their breath upon upon him and poor little Jesus fell fast asleep.

This is a song that Grandma Rita has sung to both my children from birth on. It seems to mesmerize them, if they are ever beyond consolable, you just whisper this song into their ear and it calms them instantly......its amazing!

Future soccer star, she is already dribbling!

Cant feed her fast enough. She is eating chicken marsala and carrots for dinner.

She is standing ALL the time now!

I nearly called the police

Last night it was a typical Monday night, I went to bed by myself as usual. For those of you that dont know, Marcus works nights so this is our "norm". At 1:45am or so (as in....the MIDDLE of the night). I was awakened by a man with his face buried in my neck. This is one of my worst fears ever...... Something bad happening while I am home alone with the girls. No one would hear my screams. No one would know to come get the girls (that is if the scary man didn't hurt them too). I am always going over my "plan" in my head. Who would I grab first? What my exit strategy would be? What clothes they would need according to the weather? Would I grab food (you know me, I'm always thinking about food!)? Where would we go? Would we run or be able to take the car? Oh and most importantly DON'T FORGET MY PHONE! These are things I think about nearly every night before I go to bed. So it is no wonder I haven't slept good for the past, well like 3 years. I have really struggled with getting good solid sleep. I have trouble falling asleep and if I am lucky enough to get to sleep then the struggle is to stay asleep. I hear the slightest noise and it wakes me, then I cant get back to sleep. I take simply sleep on occasion if I know that I really need to get my sleep, but I am really afraid that it will become a habit for me, so i try to only take it as a last resort. Even the nights that I enjoy a glass of wine or 2 I still have trouble sleeping. And what is even more frustrating than being completely exhausted and not being able to sleep is when Marcus gets in the bed he can fall asleep in less than 6 seconds. And I am NOT exaggerating!

why do I always get off on tangents when I try and tell a story? maybe thats why i never got around to calling the police this morning.

Like I said I was awakened this morning by a man in my face, I did not hear the garage door open (our bedroom is right by the garage), I did not hear the door open, I must have slept through the alarm being disabled, my guard dog (AKA Tahoe) did not alert me to any danger well at least I didnt hear him if he did. In my sleepy stuper I open my eyes to realize that the man standing over me was Marcus! I couldnt believe it. Since he left for work Thursday morning he has only been home for 13.5 hours. And of those 13.5 hours he has slept 11.5 hours, showered and gotten ready for about 1 hour, worked from home for about 30 minutes, so that leaves time with family a whooping 30 minutes. He has been at work basically NON STOP since Thursday morning. And I have had enough! The worse part about him working so much is that he can NEVER talk on the phone (our longest conversation has been 2 minutes 24 seconds), he cant return emails or texts, and he cant tell me when he will be home or IF he will be coming home. I am beginning to think "mercury spill" is code for something else. I know there are many many MANY other moms and wives who have it WAY WAY worse than I, so I shouldnt be complaining. But i cant stand to be in the dark, I want to know what is going on and what to expect next. Dont get me wrong I love a good surprise, but I dont want my whole life or week to be one big surprise.

Marcus' stay at home this morning was a brief one. He made a few work calls before coming to bed this morning, and then he was up and out the door by 9 am. As of right now his work hours total somewhere around 70 hours and that is just since Thursday people! And tonight isnt even over yet......I wonder what time he will grace us with his presence and how long the visit will last.

Kaylee barely asks anymore where Marcus is, but when she does and I respond "at work." She says "oh, I'm sorry daddy's still at work." She is so sweet!

I know i need to stop complaining, he is doing this for US! to better our life! because he loves us! and wants the best for us! It is not like he is out gallivanting around the town with who knows who........or is he? jk I know he is at work and that he would much rather be home with us, but the federal government and FedEx have him on loan until all the mercury is cleaned up.

Oh and to the complete moron that caused this problem in the first place, I hope you get a hefty fine and sit in jail for what you have done!

FedEx 777F Delivery Day

Saturday was the delivery day for the newest addition to the FedEx fleet, the 777 freighter. This family day turned out to be a VERY fun day. They had so many things for kids to do.

Kaylee had to crawl on the purple carpet.

Here we are jumpseating on the 777. We imagined that we were going to someplace much warmer. It was a bit chilly that day, so it was nice to be able to thaw out, even if it was just in our dreams.

Kaylee is ON TOP OF THE WORLD!!!

Inside one of the feeder planes

You can hear Kaylee in the background say "OH MY". She loved every second of this special day. Unfortunately Marcus had to leave us early to go to work, but we stayed and fought the wind (and the drizzle) to experience it all.

This is one of the activities they had for the "little" children. Kaylee wanted to take this plane home with her.

After the 777 did its flyby it got "christened" by 3 fire trucks spraying water on it as it approached the hanger. It ended up stopping right in front of us outside the hanger. And I have to admit, it was a beauty. I couldnt believe how big it was!

As soon as we got in the car after the event Ainslee passed out. Kaylee wasnt far behind her, she just needed a little nudge to get her over the edge into dreamland. The only reason why I am telling you this is because she slept longer in the car than she has EVER slept in her entire life she slept for a WHOPPING 1 hour! and even then I had to wake her up because we were at the store. She slept through us dropping Rita and Ceire off and even through Rita squeezing by her to get out of the car. Let me tell you people this NEVER happens! First of all my kids dont sleep in the car, but if there is a blue moon out and they decide to drift off the definitely when the car stops moving my kids wake up, and the rare occassion that doesnt wake them, then opening a car door ALWAYS wakes them, but that day they slept through it all. I was so happy!

More Boston Pictures

By the time I am able to get all the pictures from our last trip to Boston, we will have the pictures from our next trip to post. I am so behind!

Kaylee outside the cholocate shop we stopped at. They make all their chocolate on site, as soon as she walked in she said "Momma, I smell CHOCOLATE! Can I eat some?" She hadnt even seen it yet, but she knew that was what she wanted to get there. It is at times like this that I know she is definitely MY daughter! Ha!

The summer I turned 16 I had the opportunity to "nanny" for a close family friend. The Hunt's had a tradition of driving countless hours through the night pulling their boat and a trailer all the way from Tennessee to Lake Placid, NY. I had so much fun the 4 summers I went with them. Many many memories that I will have with me for the rest of my life were made during those summers. The last summer I went was the summer Marcus and I started dating. I must have drove them crazy with the phone calls to him, the care packages he sent me and I sent him, and all the talk about how much I missed him. When we got home Mr. Hunt said "Michele, we love you like a daughter and are so thankful for all you do for us, but I think that is going to be the last year you come, I see how much you love that boy, and I cant be the reason why you are away from him for 3-4 weeks again." Mr. Hunt always had a way with words, and I knew what he meant. Looking back on it now, it is funny how he knew that Marcus was the one for me even before I knew it (actually before I was willing to admit it to myself). Since my summers at Lake Placid I was determined to one day take Marcus up there to see all the wonderful things I saw and experienced those summers. This year I finally got to do that. This trip wasnt exactly what I had in mind, but it was still great. The next 7 pictures were taken in the backyard of Uncle Harry's "camp" on a lake about 45 minutes away from Lake Placid. If you ever have the chance to visit the Adirondacks JUMP on it!

We had to take a ferry across Lake Champlain. Needless to say Kaylee LOVED it! She was so mad when it was time to get off.

While in Lake Placid we visited the sight of the 1932 and 1980 winter Olympics. We walked around the speed skating oval and above is a picture of 4 of the BEST Speed Skaters ever! And below is a picture of MY olympic speed skater doing his thing on the oval.

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Ben & Jerry's

After our tour of the Ben and Jerry's factory in Vermont we got to sample some ice cream. I couldnt keep it away from Ainslee. First I just tried letting her lick a little bit off my lips. But that was NOT good enough for her. She ended up with her face smashed into it, and lapping up as much as she possibly could!

Outside the factory is a nice playground.

We went see the ducks again at the Boston Public Garden

Family picture in the Boston Public Garden, this was the end of a LONG day, we were lucky that we were even able to get all 4 of us in 1 picture without any tears. I think this one is so cute cause Kaylee has her Chandler smile, as usual, and Ainslee thinks that Kaylee is absolutely hilarious.

and we rode the carousel
and bundled up when it got chilly out

One day we went to a play ground in a friend's neighborhood

Crista threw a birthday party for Harry while we were there, so I couldnt leave out the pictures from that night.

Cedar Hill Farm

We have been quite busy lately. I just have not had the "urge" to write about anything lately. So I am about to go on a blog posting marathon, I hope you are all ready. I was going to put it all in one big long ginormous post, but then decided it would be much better if I split them up. I started with the Cedar Hill Farm post because it was.....well I dont know exactly why I started with this one, I just did!
Cedar Hill Farm is just south of Memphis in Hernando, MS. We vowed last year at our first visit to the farm, to go every fall. I am proud to say that this was our 2nd Annual Cedar Hill Farm Visit. Since our 1st visit our family has grown, and Kaylee has obviously grown and matured (in her own little age-appropriate way) and it was very interesting to see what she was interested in and how our trip was different from last year. I cant wait to compare each year, as the girls grow.


I just had to get this family picture in front of the fence, we took one in the same spot last year too.
Ainslee about to break her neck to look at the horse. And NO she was not in the Mei Tai the entire time! She had just woke up from her nap about 5 minutes before this picture was taken.

Kaylee loves her personal chauffeur.

She was so parched, and loved that daddy let her drink out of his water bottle.

Kaylee scared away ALL the birds and everyone else for that matter.

Kaylee is wondering where all the other people are at the campfire.

I tried to get a picture of the 2 of them in a "fall" setting. Ainslee cant believe that I would let her sit on something that feels the way the straw feels, she cant figure out if she should cry or not. Kaylee is busy trying to tell my mom how to work the camera.....she's is such a little know-it-all.

Ainslee watches her sister's EVERY move! Kaylee was playing with the straw during my attempt at a photo shoot.....

So Ainslee thought she should EAT the straw during my attempt at a photo shoot.

Introducing Kaylee the pig and Ainslee the cow.

My little cutie pie, I just love that little girl.

I have a confession......I almost cry when i look at pictures of my babies. I try to blame it on my hormones, but is that still possible when your baby is 8 months old?

This is was at the end of our train ride, and it looks like Ainslee is trying to climb out of Marcus' arms. She was wanting to drive the train so she could ride longer.

SEE........this is the kind of beautiful smile that she has, instead 99% of the time she sports her Chandler smile. She had so much fun riding the ponies. She would ask the worker boys what the name of each horse is, and she would remember them. Too Cute!

I just cant resist popping pictures of Ainslee, she is so stinkin' cute!

Kaylee had SO much fun feeding the animals. She would put her fingers in their mouth, which scared the crap out of me! She would feed each of them and scream with delight after each one took the piece of food.

Overall, we had a FANTASTIC day! The weather was crazy hot, I think the girls even got a little too much sun. I felt like a horrible mom, I brought sunscreen put it on Kaylee's face and then got distracted and never put it on her arms, I felt so bad! Ainslee was able to get an ample amount of sunscreen on her entire body, and as you can imagine it was much easier to keep her in the shade than Kaylee.

If any of you who are reading this live in the Memphis area you really need to take a day and visit Cedar Hill Farm. Skipping naps seems to be the "norm" lately, and although it is not something that i necessarily like to do, but both girls have made it fairly easy and are very good at "going with the flow."

I feel like this post is so totally random and I apologize for how uncohesive it is. Stay tuned for updates on FedEx delivery day, random pictures, and other posts that I am busy preparing.