Ramblings

I finally got the time, desire, and REMEMBERED to write a little post. Im sure this will end up being a mish mosh post about a lot of different stuff, but here goes.....

First of all our cruise went fantastic! If you ever have the opportunity to go on a cruise, I highly recommend it! Such an awesome way to vacation! I wont go into details as that should be a post of its own, but I will say if I ever get around to that post the pictures will be quite limited as my phone went for a swim in the ocean and didn't survive. I lost nearly the entire vacation worth of pics. I was devastated and actually still recovering from the trauma!

Baby is doing GREAT! I had my most recent appt with my midwife today. Im only measuring 1 week ahead, which is a step up from last month when I was measuring 4 weeks ahead! Buuuuuuut I have gained more this pregnancy at the 25 week mark than I have with any of the others the ENTIRE pregnancy! So things might get a little crazy up in here the next 14 or so weeks. After the new year I plan to start getting my birth supplies ready for the big day. There are is a list of things I am responsible for collecting as well as the birth kit which will be sent directly to the house containing more of the "medical" stuff. As each day passes I cant believe the day is coming, I get more and more excited as the time passes.

Bethany did it again..............

 

 



 those, along with the new pictures on the right side of the blog, are from the most recent photo shoot with my amazing personal photographer (chuckle chuckle)!

 

School - we are still trucking along with 1st grade for Kaylee. She is set to be finished before the baby arrives, and she is working ever so diligently, because I have told her if she is not finished; when I need "help" with the baby she will be busy doing her schoolwork instead of rocking the baby, or changing diapers, or whatever else baby related that she is DYING to do! She has become quite the little reader, still does not have a love of reading like I was hoping, but I guess I can't blame her, she gets that from me I suppose.

Ainslee has been begging to do more school work. I cant decide if it is because she truly wants/needs more stimulation in that area, or if she is trying to get out of the chores she is required to do during school time. little does she know once she does start school the chores do NOT stop. But right now the plan is to purchase her Kindergarten curriculum (using the same one as Kaylee) after the new year and just taking it slow.

Brynlee amazes me daily at the tasks she can complete. She can do more than I remember the big girls doing at her age, guess that's what happens when you have 2 big sisters to watch. She loves to do whatever the big girls are doing and does not want any modifications made for her, or "baby" things substituted. She wont stand for the crayons because the big girls use markers or colored pencils, she wants whatever they have.  She is such a good listener (most of the time), but man is she a feisty little booger. And such a socialite. She doesn't know a stranger, loves any man, and wouldn't mind going to them or even kissing them (NO I don't have her kiss random strangers, Im referring to men shes never met but I know).

 

with Christmas just around the corner that means that Brynlee just celebrated her 2nd birthday! We did it small again, just the family out to an awesome "best in Memphis" Mexican restaurant. I still cant believe she is 2!

 

Speaking of Brynlee she is totally gluten free now (I told you this post would be random). I began having problems with her last Spring. mostly diaper issues, but also irritability, sleep issues, potty issues, and those are just the things I remember. Ive tried to block those few months out of my memory, because after I got things fixed with her I realize just how bad it had gotten. I decided to put her on GF diet even though her blood test came back negative (ive since learned the type I had done is next to pointless). And it has made a world of a difference! She began using the potty again, she quickly fixed bed time issues, and her irritability/clinginess stopped. She became much more independent and over all just happier! She began eating, she was down to only eating dinner 2-3 times a week. Sometimes skipping lunch and dinner in the same day.  She has put on weight, before going GF she didn't gain any weight for 9 months. I has been so amazing to see the transformation. Now she is completely potty trained, well except nap and bedtime, and even wears panties when we leave the house. I am so proud of that baby, she puts a smile on my face all day long!

 

I know its way early, but the plans are in the making for our BIG Disney trip next fall. Ive been trying to nail down most of the itinerary before having to make our dinner reservations right before the baby is born. I really hope that everything works out as planned. Much of our trip is dependent on Disney offering the free dining like they have historically. So lets all pray that happens, because if all the stars align we will have an EPIC trip next year. All SIX of us, and my mom is joining for the fun, and help with the babies!

 

And well since Ive talked about everyone else in the family I guess Marcus deserves an update too. He still works for FedEx......shocker!  Still at night.........big shocker! He started running a few months ago, but that has taken a back seat with it being peak season and all.  I look forward to the day when we can work out together, I really miss the crossfit training. That's about all that's new in his world.  If any of you would like to see him in action tune in to 20/20 this Friday (I think).

 

If I don't get around to posting again before Christmas I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  Spend your time with those you love and cherish most, you will never get these moments back! I need to work on telling the ones I love how I feel more often. Maybe that will be my new year's resolution!

 

A Little of this and a LOT of that

This post is ALL OVER THE PLACE! I had some pictures and videos I wanted to share so I just threw them all into this post! But I have to admit the reason why I've been able to get all these blog posts together is because of these first few pics.

My parents took Kaylee OUT OF TOWN with them! They are a bunch of travelling fools now that my dad is retired, they are always on the go! I mentioned on FB to my mom something about Kaylee wanting to join them on this trip and sure enough mom called later that day and told me they wanted to take her. What was even better was that the trip was A WEEK LONG! Dont get me wrong, I love my little girl, but in most cases (especially this one) absence makes the heart grow fonder. Here is what my big girl has been doing with Amma and Abba. Im sure there are WAY more things that have happened that I havent been told about ;)

on the steps of the castle at Ha Ha Tonka State park where they went hiking

riding a ride......because thats what Amma and Abba let her do

outside the Mexican restaurant where they ate

in the condo before bed, she has gotten to stay up WAY past her bedtime every night, I hope she doesnt think she can do that when she gets home

Amma did put her to work......she has to earn her keep 

playing a photo scavenger hunt inside on a rainy day, mom has even been squeezing in some of the school work i sent

there is a playground on the property, Kaylee has been a regular visitor

out to eat AGAIN

Then she got to drive the boat, and everyone survived

AND drink a ROOT BEER!!! This is a big deal since she never gets drinks like that!

Needless to say she isnt missing us too much. And we have had a productive week at home. It is amazing how much of a difference one child makes when taken out of the mix. I am ever so thankful and grateful to my parents for this opportunity not only for me but more importantly for her! She is making memories that will last a lifetime and that is just plain awesome!

 Ainslee's 1st swim of the year, the water was FREEZING cold! But she still tried to talk me into getting in with her.

The girls saying the "Our Father"

I converted Ainslee's crib into a day bed. She wasnt too thrilled with it at first. She demanded her crib back, but overall it was a pretty smooth transition. And she now sleeps in the big girl bed at Amma's house. We are still waiting on her's to arrive so I can move her into her new room.

Kaylee came down from playing in the playroom one day with this get-up on. She claimed she was "wearing" her baby, and she made this wrap. I did not approve of the strap tied around the baby's neck, I have no idea where she got that idea.

Brynlee chillaxin' in the wagon on a walk

We've been clothing diapering around here! And LOVING it! It started when I borrowed a few diapers from a friend and I fell in love, so we bought some. So we are officially cloth diapering. Im so thrilled that Marcus is totally on board with the whole diapering thing too. I am just regretting not going through with it when Ainslee was little like I wanted to.

Could she be any cuter/fatter? 

I always knew about sunning diapers, but Ive obviously never tried it until now! Do you know the power of the sun? Holy Crap it is amazing how it just zaps those stains right out of the diapers!

While on the diapering subject, I might as well update you on the potty front. She goes on the potty EVERYDAY! Some days she doesnt poop in her diapers at all. I would like to think that she doesnt like to poo in her diaper, I mean who does? But she will tell me when she needs to go, and if I happen to miss her cue she will only go a little in her diaper and then finish in the potty. She gets so proud of herself when she goes. Here she is on the throne in all her glory

This is evidence of our first attempt at a new hairdo. Ainslee took it upon herself to cut this chunk of hair off her sister's head. This wasnt even all the hair

And this happened 10 minutes after the hair cutting incident

can you see the huge dent in the wall? That was from Kaylee's head hitting it! 

I went to the homeschool conference a few weeks ago. This is the stack of paperwork I came home with on the 1st day. It was so fun and informative, and I was SO happy I went. A lot has happened in my head over the past few weeks. I have made up my mind to change a lot of things in my life and approach things differently. And I have to say that the changes have made a huge impact on our family. It has been nice! 

oh and Kaylee's curriculum arrived in the mail yesterday! I am so excited about the coming year. While at the conference I also decided to not be so consumed by all the hype that can come with homeschooling. I am not going to try and cram 5 subjects and a foreign language down her throat when she is 5 years old. We are taking it slow and easy and just taking time to be a kid and grow as a family. I dont think that this approach will put her behind in any way should we eventually put her in school. But the more I delve into this whole lifestyle Im beginning to become more open to the idea of continuing on the homeschool path longer than originally planned. Im not saying for sure what will happen in the future but i know that for now i have an open mind.

Changes in Attitudes - Kindness Day

In many ways I know that i am doing this whole "mommy thing" great!  But there is one way that I have been failing them, Failing with a CAPITAL F! We dont speak kindly in our house. We talk too loud, on most occasions we dont ask we take, we lie, we talk back to adults, we take advantage of situations (in the wrong way), we dont respect each other, and most of all we just speak ugly. And I have had enough! I have wanted to do something about this for a LoooooONG time now, but until now it was all talk, no action. Today was that turning point. I have decided  that today is the start of our new attitudes, a new beginning for our family. One that involves a whole lotta KINDNESS!!! And I think respect will soon follow, if we all just start being more kind to one another.

Today we started the morning off slowly, I wasnt expecting much today because I knew Ainslee was starting to get sick. So we took the morning slowly very slow! The girls played nicely while I took longer than normal to get Brynlee down for her nap, they listened to my directions and completed a school game together AND correctly with NO supervision and NO fighting.

And then I broke it to them, I announced that today was kindness day. I told them we were going to start speaking kindly to each other, that we were going to make kindness crowns, and we started reading a book about respect, Im still on the hunt for a good curriculum that helps teach values to preschoolers. I need something on their level, I want something with activities and games and even ideas to help give back to the community. I need it laid out for me, I dont have time to put these lessons together myself, I need the easy way out. So if you know of any good books/curriculum that help teach things like respect, honesty, dedication, fairness, trust, helping, etc please let me know. I did borrow a few books from my parents that we had when we were younger, but I fear they are a bit too advanced for them at this age.

Our day started by me reading a few pages from the RESPECT book I got from my parents, the girls listened, asked questions, and seemed interested. Then Brynlee interrupted us, and I took that opportunity for a stopping point, we will read more tomorrow. Then we proceeded with our school day as usual. I took each an every opportunity to praise them for speaking kindly, and point out to them how they could change what they said to be more kind. I didnt raise my voice one single time today, I didnt get upset or angry by their actions at all, we were able to get a lot accomplished and we worked together. There was a tangible peace surrounding us today and it was nice! I was AMAZED by the results I received! Our morning went so fantastic. There was no complaining, there was no talking back, there was a WHOLE lot of listening, and it was magical!

We made kindness crowns! We cut them out and decorated them with stickers, colors, do a dots, and glitter pens. After they dry we are going to wear them, and wear them proudly! Because we all deserve it.

The part that made me realize I needed to document this whole kindness day came when it was nap time. I got Ainslee down for her nap. Kaylee and I finished up a few things together (I usually let her stay up a little later than Ainslee) we finished her kindness crown, ate cookies we baked this morning, she sorted the laundry and put hers away while I tended to Brynlee. It was magical! Then when it was time for bed, she didnt throw a fit, she didnt jump up and down, she didnt protest, she listened and spoke in a normal tone. When she had something to say she spoke kindly, she asked if she wanted something other than what was being offered. When I laid Brynlee down on her bed so I could go and take Ainslee to the potty, I came back to Kaylee talking to her while she put away her clothes. She was saying things like "Look B I'm putting my pajamas in my pajama drawer." and "now I am putting away my purple shirt." She is so eager to teach Brynlee. It was so sweet. After I put Ainslee back into bed, I came back and found this scene

I can not get over how much love Kaylee has for her little sister. I know that she loves Ainslee too, but the bond I see forming between Kaylee and Brynlee is nothing short of amazing and so incredibly special to watch. I wish I could capture more of the special moments I witness on camera.

check out the admiration in her face



ok so back to my story, I come in and witness that and then inform Kaylee it is bed time. We give kisses, hugs, say goodnight, and that was that. No crying, no arguing, NO FITS! And she went to sleep immediately, which is almost unheard of these days. I was so happy I nearly cried! I realized in that moment I have truly been failing my kids. I thought about all the fights that have ensued, all the tears that have been shed, and all the negativity shared amongst our family and I realized that if we all just make a point to change we can ALL be so much happier!

I couldnt believe how quickly I was able to see changes, and how drastically these changes affected our lives. We are calm, we are nice, we know that our voice will be heard without screaming and without fit throwing, and above all I think we are on the road to RESPECT! I learned that if I speak quieter it is more effective than when I yell. In the past I would say something, it would inevitably be ignored, so I in turn would say it louder and louder until I was angry and annoyed. And it didnt work, my new solution is to lower my voice, get the child's full attention, and speak kindly.  I want to raise our children a certain way and one of the most important things to me is respect, respect for yourself AND respect for others.  Here's to the beginning of the new Martinez family!

The time has come, the time is now....

Marvin K Mooney will you please go now! The time HAS come (well almost), but not quite NOW. This baby keeps teasing me with its plan to exit my body. And to be completely honest I am sort of kind of fine with it cause frankly I'm still not "ready" yet. There are boxes of gifts that haven't arrived yet, presents that need to be wrapped, and our tree is sitting ever so patiently down in our shop because the weather lately has not cooperated. Today we are in the process of getting what looks like about 3 inches of snow. And the past couple of days we have gotten somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 inches of rain. UGH it's been ugly people! Anyways back to baby news......I had another doctors appt yesterday and I've made a bit more progress. I am now walking around 4cm dialated, and measuring 2 weeks BIG again!!! It is amazing to me that I can walk around almost 1/2 way dialated and still not be in active labor! Last night I thought was the beginning of "something" but it turned out to be nothing. I was having lots and LOTS of contractions but none ever got strong. So Marcus went to work and I went to bed and nothing ever came of them, I have a feeling they were a result from being checked yesterday, we will see what today brings. I really thought yesterday would be the day, I woke up and felt different all day. Among the signs/symptoms was the need to frequent the bathroom......like ALL day! The ever mounting pressure down there and the fact that I'm dialated even more just seemed to validate all I was feeling. But it must have been a "practice round". So today, on this snowy day we are all camped out in front of the TV waiting to see if anything is going to happen. I feel bad my kids have been babysat by the TV for 2 straight days, I know they are itching to get some energy out, but I'm just plum pooped out. I will keep you all posted on the happenings around here, you know the Saturday is supposed to be a full moon. Some people have guessed baby will come that day/night. I have to say that as the day draws near the "boy" votes are outnumbering the girl votes. Oh and the names are not completely decided yet either, so it's safe to say this baby could stay inside a few more days and it will be just fine with me! Although I am very eager to meet this little one, I don't feel the need to speed things up like I have with the other two. I am so at peace with this baby arriving in his/her own time!

1st Snow and other updates

We got our 1st snow of the season last night and this morning. They predicted 1-3" but I'm not exactly sure how much actually came down. I tried telling the girls it wasn't enough to play in, but they wanted to go outside and play in it anyways.  I spent a good 10 minutes bundling and layering them up, snapped a few pics and sent them outside while I started preparing lunch. They didn't last long out there, I would say less than 10 minutes, which means it took us longer to get ready than to actually "play." Oh well! They complained that their hands were wet and cold, and I couldn't blame them for wanting to come in. We need to buy better/waterproof gloves for them. I have a pair for Kaylee i bought last year, but they are too big. I put them straight into a warm bath when they came in. They thawed out quite nicely while playing.

In other news, I had another doctor's appointment yesterday and it seems I haven't made much, if any, progress since last week. She said i could be like 3 1/2 cm but definitely not 4. I had a rough night last night after being poked and prodded at the doc. I experienced lots of pressure down low and felt like something was "happening". Needless to say I was able to sleep it off and am back to normal today. Well normal as I can be, I think Ive been over doing it a bit trying to get all things ready for baby and Christmas, as well as meet the current needs of the girls.  Today I started feeling hot, dizzy and light headed and had to lay down to let it pass. This hasnt happened to me very freguently in this pregnancy so started to become a bit nervous.  I really need to find a way to take more regular breaks during the morning. but I feel like there is just SO much to do!


We completed like our 4th day of school for the entire month of November today! We have totally been slacking in the school department. There are SO many distractions that pull us away from doing school, when we have errands to run, or I was too lazy to prepare the night before, or like today playing in the snow seemed more interesting than doing school. I have to stop putting school on the back burner and make it more of a priority. I realize it is just 4-K but I don't want to sink into any bad habits when it comes to our school schedule. It seems like the days that we DON'T do school Kaylee says "Mommy I LOOOOVE school can we please do it today!?" and the days that we DO school she complains "Mommy I really don't feel like learning today, can we please not do school?!" Guess you always want what you don't have! Not only do I want to build good schedule habits I am trying to get in as many school days as possible before this baby arrives. I know that when that happens school days will be few and far between. So I'm trying to buckle down and get as much done in the days to come.  I am comforted by the fact that I KNOW she is getting more "education" at home with me than she would be if she was in the MDO program 2 days a week that she was scheduled to attend. So it makes me feel better that she is at least on track, if not ahead, of that.  Since I last posted about school we have started our new curriculum. We are only 2 days into it, and I can tell how much harder it is for Kaylee.  Still completely doable, but it is different, and she has to learn how to deal with different! There are life lessons all around!  I am still on the hunt for a Kindergarten curriculum that will be the perfect fit for us, and am hoping to be able to attend a HS conference in April in Memphis. I feel like I can reach out to other moms as well as find some curriculum ideas. Looking forward to that!


On the adgenda for the next couple of days is to finish up the Christmas shopping, put up more Christmas decorations (we started today), wrap all Christmas presents, get tree and put it up/decorate it, plan Christmas dinners, start working on the Christmas card/baby announcement (I've decided to do a combo card this year, when I considered the proximity of the 2 events, the cost of postage which will be approx $54 as well as the added work, doing one card seemed to make sense), I also have to do some grocery shopping to stock our fridge and freezer as to avoid going to the store, or sending Marcus, after the baby is born.  My lists are piling up and keeping track of them a daunting task, but Im up for it, and will be crossing many things off in the days to come............wish me luck!

Lists - how I love/hate thee

Are any of you list makers? I am!

I make lists for everything! I've always been a list maker and I've always loved scratching things off my list once it is complete! Sometimes I even divide up a "chore" into more than one thing so that I can cross more off my list.  But lately lists and I have NOT been the greatest of friends! They seem to be unending or even growing instead of shrinking and becoming completed. I never get to "finish" my list anymore. I cross things off and the list gets bigger, how does that happen!? And besides my frustration with my ever growing lists, it doesn't matter how much I accomplish in one day, I never have anything to show for it. Most of the time you can't even tell I've done anything all day long! When, in actuality, I haven't sat down the entire day (except to maybe eat lunch). I doesn't matter if I have done 30 things that day no one would notice, definitely not the girls and most certainly not my husband! It is very frustrating and depressing! And I hope that my beloved lists decide to add me back to their good side!

Now excuse me while I go add to my list of things to do, and hopefully check off a thing or two.......at least I was able to scratch "write a blog post" off my list!

Freaky Coincidence

My dad has 3 brothers, all of which look similar, which isnt really THAT important to my story, or surprising considering they are brothers. But anyways my dad lives here, one uncle lives in the St Louis area with most of the rest of the family, one lives in Chicago, and the other lives in Jackson Hole Wyoming. They all look like mountain men if you ask me, check out there picture here from the family reunion a couple years ago. Anyways, the point of my story is that my uncle that lives the farthest away just had a "freaky" coincidental experience! He has lived out there for at least 30+ years. He knows EVERYONE in Jackson Hole! He was in the liquor store the other day, and saw an unfamiliar face with a accent that he sort of recognized, and he knew wasnt local. (just for clarification i have NO idea what a Wyoming accent sounds like)  So he asked the lady where she was from. She told him she was from Tennessee. My uncle asked "Oh yeah? where abouts in Tennessee?" She looked at him a bit confused and said "Well this small town in west Tennessee named Collierville." To which my uncle replied "then you just might know my brother, his name is John Meehan." The lady looked at him, with what Im sure was a WTF look and said "I SURE DO! My name is Lori Averill! Ive known him for a very long time!"

What are the chances? Seriously Jackson Hole is like 1600 miles away (i dont know that off the top of my head, i looked it up), and the fact that they were in the SAME liquor store at the SAME time?!? Really?

I grew up with Mrs. Averill's girls, we played sports together and went to the same school. Her oldest daughter is the one I told you about who owns the organic juice bar Cosmic Coconut. When my dad told me the story I couldnt believe it, but it just goes to show what a SMALL world we live in, which I think is kind of comforting at times.

Washington Trip - the planning phase

As I mentioned in last week's wordless Wednesday post, we are planning a trip to Washington State to visit friends and be there for our godson's christening. I have been busy trying to get the trip planned, hoping that the planning will lead us to a successful, educational, problem-free, worry-free trip. Is that too much to ask for?


I have booked a condo about 14 miles from our friends house, in the cute little town of Port Townsend. We will stay with them the 1st night, then check into our condo for the next 6 nights. We are on the wait list for the condo for the 7th night, but if we dont get it, then we will be staying with them another night. Then we drive back to Seattle for 2 nights. While there I am planning our visits to the Space Needle, Science Museum, Fish Market, and maybe a harbor boat tour. While we will be staying there 2 nights, we really only have a day and a half so see Seattle. I was able to book another one of our resorts for Seattle as well, so we will be staying right downtown less than a mile from everything for a fraction of the price. I was STOKED about this incredible find, and the fact that it was available!

While in Port Townsend and Sequim (thats where they live) we are planning on visiting Olympic State Park and driving up to Hurricane Ridge, there are supposed to be some fantastic views from up there, and considering my 7 month pregnant state and the time of year we are going to have to forgo the hiking part of the trip and opt for driving instead. We might pay a visit to a local winery, where I plan on buying some bottles to bring home with us and enjoy after this little one is born. We are going to take a driving tour of the Olympic Game Farm. And maybe hang out at the Dungeness Recreation Area a couple of times. I cant express how excited I am to finally get to make it up to the Northwest part of our beautiful country. I know that this trip will NOT disappoint!

We are also trying to arrange to visit some long time family friends who have lived out there for YEARS. They used to live up the street from us growing up, and since moving to Washington they travelled back here for our wedding and to Mexico for Crista's wedding. I am hoping that while in the Seattle area we are able to hook up with them.

As usual we will be flying standby, and with only one non-stop flight per day, and considering our circumatances and the distance of the trip I REALLY hope that we are lucky enough to make it on each of the non-stop flights! And maybe, just maybe, my husband might give me an early "birthing gift" and let me sit in 1st class while he takes care of the girls in coach. That is IF a 1st class seat is open, but here's to hoping!

Craigslist is ANNOYING!!!

Lately we have had a few open listings on craigslist to try and get rid of some of the things in our house that we dont use/need. Among the things listed are the rug from our "dining room," which is now the school room. We never actually used it as a dining room so it wasnt much of a conversion. The coffee table from the living room, which we bought 4 years ago and has been sitting in the corner of the room for about the last 3 3/4 years. We barely ever used it, only pulling it out on rare occasions when we had people over. It was big, bulky, and just in the way, so it had to go. And the 3rd thing is an OLD TV. It is so old, it has been up in the playroom, for the past couple of years, but hasnt been used for probably 4 years.

We have finally sold 2 out of the 3 items! After days, maybe even weeks of frustration, broken appointments, and LOTS of emails! I had 2 people try to scam me out of the coffee table, about 16 people interested in the rug and 6 of those actually made appointments but never showed up (or had the decency to cancel the appointment). So i would sit around the house waiting for someone, when I couldve been doing something else, it was just plain annoying. Then I had about 7 people interested in the TV of which ALL of them either broke appointments, would give me their phone number to call them and meet them but then never answer to set up a time.....UGH! And the coffee table didnt have many lookers, but finally it ended up being the easiest sale. The couple literally walked in looked for about 45 seconds, asked us if we had $10 in change, handed us the money and began loading it in the car. They were here and gone in less than 8 minutes!

Even though craigslist is so annoying and loaded with frustration we are about to attempt to sell our pool table on there too. We have had this pool table for probably 7 years now. It sat in the garage for the first year or so, then made its way to the attic for the next 4 years, and when we finished the upstairs it had to be relocated to the garage again. It is an OLD Dixie table from the 1950's. We would love to keep it, and possibly set it up and actually USE it, but we have NO room for it, and it is just taking up space in the garage, so it has to go. If you know anyone who might be interested in a slate pool table (that needs new felt), please pretty pretty please let me know, so i can avoid the dreaded craigslist! I can send pictures of it if you are really interested, however I only have ones of it in pieces, not put together

Out of Commission --edited

Not much to say today, well actually I have a LOT to say, but Im not doing it tonight!

Last week we think our house might have been struck by lightning, if not that then some strange and strong power surge hit us. It completely fried our phone, like the ACTUAL phone wont even turn on, but the phone LINE is working fine. Since we had an "all in one cordless" set of 3 phones we have had NO house phone for over a week now (its been really peaceful around here in that regard). The lightning/surge also blew out our modem, so I got a new modem, and that apparently isnt the only problem, having man come out tomorrow to find out where/what the the rest of the damage is with the darn internet. Which BTW is why I havent posted any Florida pics, info, or videos. I am currently typing on Marcus' computer and dont want to load everything on here and then onto MY computer too. UGH! The lightning/surge also affect our DirecTV. We have 2 boxes and it only affected one......weird. And it only affected certain channels the others work perfectly......weirder! AND the channels that were left intact are Marcus' favorites.......weirdest! So the DirecTV man is coming out tomorrow as well.

In other news I have started my cleanse. I cant wait to tell you about it!

I am growing bigger and bigger, baby is kicking more and more and the girls are DYING to be able to feel the kicks. They are so sweet with my belly, showering it with kisses at random times during the day, and the baby is the first one to get a "good morning" every day. I can only imagine what it will be like once the baby arrives.

The girls have become MASTERS at playing by themselves (especially upstairs). It is so fabulous to have some minutes to myself during the day. However, there is a price to pay for such alone time, as in extraordinary messes, unwanted things being touched/played with, and water play on the hard wood.

I have been crazy busy the past couple of days. We have spent both of them at home, which has been quite nice considering all the time we have been away lately. I have done some serious cleaning, and feel like I havent even put a dent in what needs to be done!

Kaylee has become more and more independent, she is helpful most of the time when it comes to "chores", she will eat just about anything to get dessert oh how I LOVE a good eater, is FEARLESS when it comes to water/swimming, and there was one more thing I had in my brain I wanted to mention about her, but somehow my "pregnancy brain" got the best of me and I have forgotten. ***

Ainslee astonishes me daily with her speech (her sentences are growing into some serious conversations), her memory, her resourcefulness, like her sister is fearless when it comes to water/swimming (just wait til you see some of the videos), and her LOVE of smoothies even the disgusting ones! stay tuned for cleanse update for more info on that one


I said more than I wanted to......so good night to you all......have a HAPPY FRIDAY!


***I remembered......Kaylee slept in 7 different beds in during the 3 week times around our vacation, and her questions about the baby are becoming more and more interesting some of them are, "How did the baby get in your belly?" and my most favorite "How is the baby going to get out of your belly?" I have not answered either question honestly yet. Honestly I dont know how to answer those on a 4 year old level, especially the second one. I told her to ask Marcus and his response was "let's ask the doctor at mommys next appointment." I thought that was a pretty good answer, but that day is coming up really quickly and I know my elephant will never forget to ask the doctor her question.***

Our Day

My day is only 1/2 over at this point and I am about to pass out already. This morning I awoke at 3:30AM and luckily was able to get myself back to sleep after being up for 2 hours. I was woken up, for the 2nd time, by a certain 4 year old who thought it would be cool to give me a little tap tap tap on my forehead. Sweet! Thus my day had officially begun. Since then I have successfully gotten out of the house ON TIME, stopped on the way in to town to pick up eggs from our local "egg lady" (as Kaylee and Ainslee call her), then stop at my parents to drop off the eggs and other items to be put in the frig, then on to the bank, and finally to drop Kaylee off at school. After drop-off some of the moms went for another walk, this time 2 laps instead of 1, so it was probably about 3.5 miles. I feel so good after I get my heart rate up a bit, I dont know why I dont do it more often. After the nice brisk walk Ainslee and I headed to the chiropractor, then back to my parents for lunch and nap. Immediately after I put her down, I had to leave and pick up Kaylee from school, brought her back to moms to take her nap (since she doesnt nap at school). Today she HAS to take a nap because she has her first soccer practice tonight. And when I say toNIGHT I dont mean this afternoon! Her practice is from 6:30-7:30! Who in their right mind thinks that it is appropriate for 4 YEAR OLDS to have practice that late??? Can you tell how happy I am about this situation? But I feel like "how will she ever follow in her mother's footsteps, in the soccer playing department, if she doesnt go to practice?" HAHAHAHA! who am I kidding? But it sure does make me laugh to think about her playing tonight, I am quite eager to see her skinny little self out there attempting to play the sport i LOVE! I will remember my camera I will remember my camera I will remember my camera I WILL remember my camera, maybe if I type that enough I will actually bring the camera with me! Ok back to my day, so after she naps I have to take her to the chiropractor for her adjustment, then to the dry cleaners to pick up daddy's pants for work, he would be REALLY mad if we forgot that tiny detail of the day. Then home to eat dinner. After dinner we will head on over to the fields, get some exercise and have a little laugh at Kaylee's expense, before heading home for baths and bed. It is so nice to be busy, I love having activities to do, it makes me feel like I have an interesting and fun life. And you know whats funny, on days like today I always feel "normal", on regular old blah days I feel like I have lost my head, I forget everything EVERYTHING, I cant get myself together on those days, but it seems like the more stuff I have to do and think about the more focused I am. Crazy I know! Hope y'all had an interesting, fun, and productive day too!

Updates (a big long list)

Once again I have been neglecting this blog, I get on every now and then and get ready to post but I say to myself "let me just read everyone else's posts and then I will write mine". I have my ideas in my head then I finish reading and I dont feel like writing anymore. So today I am NOT reading everyone else's blog I am going to write on mine! Here are some updates:

• Our oven is FIXED!!! Finally! We practically have a new oven (on the inside) because of all the parts they ended up replacing, but hey Im not complaining. I WAS complaining......but now that it is working I am a happy camper cooker.


• We signed Kaylee up for soccer, if nothing else this experience will be entertaining. She has her first game this weekend, along with 2 more birthday partys. We have had 1 each weekend for the past 3 weekends. busy busy busy party party party


• Marcus got our computer fixed, I dont think I have even written about it but our iTunes wasnt working properly, which meant i couldnt sync my iPad and had trouble downloading apps. But in order to fix it, the ENTIRE hard drive had to be wiped clean. Apparently the last backup was done in August (before our Germany trip) so we have lost all pictures from that date. Marcus thinks that there still might be a chance that we have them, but I have yet to see them. I was really really upset at first, but I am sort of over it now.


• I have been hanging out more with the moms from Kaylee's class (which is so unlike me). I mean I am friendly and all, but I have never been quite the social butterfly, and tend to stay i my comfort zone when it comes to friends. But recently we have gone for coffee (I drank hot chocolate) and even on a walk after we drop the kiddos off at school. We decided we are going to walk everyday after drop off, whoever wants to join us can, its nice. It was quite fun actually. Today there were 4 of us, and it made me feel really good afterwards.


• We are gearing up for spring, we are experiencing an uncommon cold front right now, but besides that we have been outside A LOT, which leads me to my next update


• Ainslee has been experiencing some allergy symptoms. I figured I would wait until later to have her tested, but when she would not stop coughing for 12 hours I decided to make an appointment. She had the dreaded testing and found out she is allergic to trees and grass. PERFECT!!! After a long consult with the doc we both just decided to try and manage it with saline nose spray and Benedryl (I wont be using the Benedryl but he said I could try it if i was desperate). So far so good, she seems to be doing better with just rinsing out her little nose with some saline spray when we come in from outside.


• I am starting a GARDEN!!! I am so thrilled I finally decided to do this, just wish I wouldve made this choice a few years ago. I cant tell you how excited I am to start this new adventure. I hope it will be not only a learning experience for the girls but also a way to save money and eat healthier home-grown fresh veggies. One of the reasons why I had reservations in the past is because of our location. I would need to put up a fence to protect from all the wild animals roaming around, and then I would have lots of dirt work to do. I dont know what made me think about doing my garden upside down, OH yes I remember, I was checking out at WalMart the lady in front of me was buying 3 upside down garden planters. It was the last 3 they had and the manager said she could have them for 3 bucks. They were regularly 44 bucks so I asked where I could find them. She told me there were no more but I could have one of hers. I was very eager and thankful and thats what began all of this! I decided that if I was going to do this garden thing, I was to do it right. I am totally committed to this, and have so many ideas I am bursting at the seams. Right now the plan is to sink 3 4x4 posts in the ground and run another 1 (maybe 2) 4x4 posts across the top to make sort of a soccer goal, with 3 posts. then I am going to hang hooks from the crossbar and hang my baskets from the hooks. Right now the plan is to try and grow bell peppers, a few different varieties of tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, zucchini, jalapenos, strawberries, and some cold weather crops I might try are broccoli and sugar snap peas. I figured the upside down gardening thing solved all of my reasons why I havent gardened in the past. I figured I would install a drip irrigation system to the frame of my garden as well, that way I dont have to worry about watering everyday (which is a huge CON to gardening that way, the watering can be brutal). The cost of my irrigation system was only like $35 and I used a GC we received last year for Christmas, so really it was free. I have so much more I would write about this, but will spare you........for now. I will just say that I am not starting the "BIG" garden this year, I am going to grow a few things in the upside down planter I purchased this year and see how it goes. And in the meantime, I am busy reading and researching more about how to grow a garden (I have the blackest thumb known to man, everything I touch dies), I am slowly going to purchase all the supples needed, so that I dont have one huge start up cost, build my contraption, and installing the drip system. I figure by the time next spring rolls around I will be more than ready to start my garden, so stay tuned.


• Marcus and I had a date night the other night, it was AMAZING! I dont know if I even told him how much I enjoyed it! We had an awesome talk over dinner, we both splurged majorly on dinner (me probably more than him), and then we enjoyed a movie. It was quite nice! We pledged to have a date night at least once a month, considering this was the first in like 4 months, we have some work to do. THANK YOU to my mom who drove so far to come pick them up and who kept them overnight for us, I really dont know how moms survive without the help of grandparents. I am SO THANKFUL!!! I am sure there is more that I wanted to write about but I cant think of it now, plus this post has rambled on long enough

Oven trouble

We have been dealing with yet another issue in our house, sometimes I wonder if/when it will ever stop, and then I realize how boring life would be without all the challenges it throws out at us. On a completely different note, like yesterday I was driving into town with my sick (fever and vomiting) baby and we drive by a house that was completely engulfed in flames. As in there were like 6 foot flames bursting out the windows. During the brief seconds it took me to pass the house and the rest of my 25 minute drive all I could think about were the owners of the house as well as being so thankful for all that I have. I thought i had it bad with a sick baby, who by the way was so weak she refused to even stand on her own. I quickly realized that no matter how difficult I think my life might be, someone else is ALWAYS going through something much worse.
Back to my oven.....a couple months ago after a self cleaning cycle the interior glass on the lower oven cracked. The glass stayed intact, but the crack spread to 3 of the 4 sides. I noticed the oven was losing heat while baking, but it still worked so I figured we could fix it later. Well about a week later I began getting an error message nearly everytime I used the oven (top or bottom), so I decided it was about time to call the home warranty company. They sent put a technician who basically evaluated the situation and told us he had to order parts and come back to install them once they arrived. I asked him what parts were being ordered and he said the interior glass and 2 sensors. He said that he wasn't for sure the sensors were bad because that particular error message could be for multiple things, three things to be exact. So he came back installed the sensors and replaced the glass and that was that. Perfect! My oven is back working properly, for just 60 bucks and it only took about 10 days from start to finished. PERFECT!
Well perfection only lasted 3 days! That's how long it took for me to start getting the error message again. But this time the, message would pop up when the oven wasn't in use, or when I was just using the cooktop. It was strange! I thought about what the technician said about the error message being related to multiple parts and immediately I knew that it would mean us replacing ALL those parts, because that's the sort of luck we have with this kind of thing. So I called the home warranty company back and told them the problem still wasn't fixed. They sent out a different technician (same company) and he was "not so pleasant" to deal with. He said the same thing as the 1st guy that the error message was for multiple parts, and that he thinks it is the control panel, but it is too expensive for him to order because he could not replicate the problem while he was here. I forgot to mention that the 1st technician said he thought it was the control panel as well but he wanted to try the other parts first. So the 2nd guy leaves, after ordering a sensor pad, his theory is that the buttons are sticking which is what is causing the error message. To make a LONG story a bit shorter I decided to stop dealing with the contracted company directly because of the poor customer service and lack of listening skills I called the home warranty service and told them what BOTH technicians said about it being a certain part but "not wanting to spend that much money". They confurmed that because the repairmen could not replicate the problem, they can only spend a certain ammount of money i told them that they need to send someone out to camp out in our kitchen because there is no rhyme or reason as to when the error message pops up The warranty service decided to go ahead and replace the control panel, and they ordered the part. Keep in mind we are in week 4 of the repair now. So the control panel arrived, and get this, IT IS THE WRONG PART! It is a control panel for a completely different oven, different manufacturer at that. The only thing that is the same is the color. So back on the phone with the warranty company, they conference called in the contracted company and posed the question regarding the discrepancy in parts. The company stated that parts on appliances are interchangeable and it is perfectly fine to use parts from different models, even different brands! I could understand that, but not changing the face of our entire oven! And once again the company wasn't listening to us! Finally we came to an agreement that the technician would come back out to asses the part and order the new part. They won't just order the correct part first and then come once to install it. NO!!! NO they have to come out at least 2 more times before the problem is fixed. It is crazy! So now I'm waiting for the next appointment and as I cook dinner tonight the error message completely interferes with my plans, but then there is a new error message! Seriously! I mean what is nex?. So I called the warranty company back to let them know that there was a new error message and they should inform the repair company. So now i am just waiting for the next "pointless" appointment, and am hoping that we can get this problem fixed soon.

As I said before it could be worse.......much worse! I am thankful that this has just caused setbacks, and most of the time the oven still works.

Heart Day

I'm not really a Valentine's Day type of girl! I could completely care less about spending money on flowers that will die in a couple of days (although the VERY occasional flower or 2 is quite nice). I eat enough chocolate as it is so I don't need more on Valentine's Day. And frankly I love the people I love EVERY day (and tell them) so why is Valentine's Day any different? Call me a scrooge, or whatever it is for not agreeing with "manufactured holiday" that card companies make millions over. Did I ever mention I don't like cards either? Man I'm a double scrooge today. I think homemade cards are perfect. Why go out and spend 3-5 bucks on a piece of paper that gets tossed in the trash? that is more money that could be spent on the gift! Anyways that's not really the point of this post......technically this post doesn't have a point, but that's not where I wanted it to end up.

Our heart day started like any other Monday, but quickly changed into a WILD and CRAZY day! I was on the phone most of the morning with the insurance company (more on this in a later post), the adjuster, Dr's offices, car dealerships (to schedule oil change for my car), and repair companies (to fix the oven). The girls were getting crazy from the lack of attention from me so I had to wake Marcus up early to help me out. Usually on Monday mornings he sleeps in because he has to work that night, but today we had to pick up his mom and sister so he was going to have to wake up early anyways, I just moved that time up a bit. To make it up to him I made him breakfast in bed. Then I got everyone ready to go, and I headed out the door ALONE in the Jetta to run some errands. it is nice to get to drive in a car all by myself sometimes! Marcus loaded the girls in my car and headed to Cville, I met him and switched to my parents car. We then drove to the dealership to drop my car. After that we headed to pick up Marcus' mom. Then we had lunch at Booya's, the girls' most favoritest restaurant of all time. I took the girls to my parents to nap while Marcus headed home in the Jetta to take a nap himself. A friend of my moms came over to ride with me to pick up my car this evening when it was ready, I completely lost track of time, and we made it there only 9 minutes before they closed. We then came BACK to my moms house to spend the night, because I was supposed to pick Marcus' mom back up tomorrow morning (but that got cancelled), and we were already late for dinner, so I figured we would crash at my parents' empty house. So here I sit, the girls are asleep, I am waiting for Marcus to bring the list of things I need for tonight and tomorrow, so I thought I would blog. I wanted to hit the sack early, but obviously that didn't happen.

That was how my V-Day went.......hope yours was just as exciting!

you like the red font? all 3 of us girls wore red shirts today, so I thought I'd stick with the theme

Again???

I am sick.......again! I now have the FLU! It sucks! Thankfully I feel like I am on the road to recovery now. My fever is down, I only hack up 1 lung (instead of both) about 4 times a day (compared to like 20), and my energy level is coming back. When I got sick 2 weeks ago I thought that was bad enough. Then when I got sick this time all I could think about was wishing it would be like 2 weeks ago. This flu thing hit me hard, but in a different way. It wasn't like the last time I had the flu 10 years ago, but it was hard for other reasons. All my symptoms hit at once, unlike my last sickness where one day I had this symptom, the next day was something different, but at least it wasn't all on the same day.

So this go around here's what happened. The girls and I took a trip to St Louis this past weekend. My parents were buying a new car up there so I offered to go along, just in case their trade in didn't make the trip. So my parents bought the car and returned home the next day. The girls and I stayed at my awesome friend's house for the weekend. When we returned home Monday evening, I told Marcus I just didn't feel well. I just assumed that i was exhausted from the weekend and the drive. So i left the girls with him and took a bath. But it kept getting worse. He went to work and I put the girls to bed and climbed in my bed at 7:15. I was EXHAUSTED! Tuesday morning we woke up and I took Kaylee to school and headed to Kindermusik with Ainslee. As I was pulling into the parking lot I got a call from the teacher saying the entire semester of classes was cancelled. GREAT! PERFECT! So we went to mom's house for lunch and nap. Mom and I picked up Kaylee early from school and went to get our allergy shots. All day I felt myself getting weaker and weaker, the cough started to consume every minute of my life. it was bad, I felt like my brother was sitting on my chest. We all came home and I made dinner. After I put the girls to bed I went to sleep early again. Wednesday i barely made it off the couch. My fever started to rise, and I knew I had to make another doctor's appointment. So Thursday morning I was back at the doctor's office (for the 3rd time in 2 weeks!!!) 2 weeks ago I was certain I had the flu, but i didn't, and this time I was certain it wasn't the flu and it was. Goes to show what I know. Because of my horrendous cough and the sound in my lungs the doctor decided to give me a breathing treatment. I sat there for 15 minutes breathing in this gaseous stuff through a tube, and after about 10 minutes I felt it happening. I took a few breaks from the treatment to see if I could stop it, but it was inevitable. I made my way to the bed (I was previously sitting in the chair) and began to hyperventilate. I was so weak I couldn't even call for help. Thankfully my breathing treatment was over and the nurse was coming to check on me anyways. She immediately called for help and after about 30 minutes I was nearly back to "normal", well flu-stricken "normal". They wouldn't release me to drive, so I had to call Marcus to come get me. He, thankfully, had taken the night before off work, and taken Kaylee to school for me that morning and Ainslee to her new Kindermusik class, then he came by to get me. He got me lunch, brought me home, put me in the bed, went to get my meds, and jumped at my every demand.
This time, unlike last time, I actually have an appetite. I WANT to eat, it is quite strange. I think that has helped speed my recovery, along with all the rest I've gotten. I was able to get 12 hours of sleep last night after taking my cough syrup. My doctor warned me it might make me drowsy......and it did! The sleep has done my body good. Today I feel better, not 100% but definitely better! My parents, once again, have come to my rescue and helped with the girls. This time my mom isn't quite feeling well either so my dad has taken on most of the work himself. I am SO THANKFUL! I will most likely get the girls back tomorrow, and we can begin again. I sure hope that this is my last sickness for the next 10 years. The sad part about it is i typically don't get sick like this, and if i do it is like once a year. I hope and pray that the girls evade this sickness as well. I am a little nervous about Ainslee, I fear she might be coming down with something, pray pray pray its NOT the flu!

Here's to hoping for a HEALTHY 2011!

Sickness and Thankfulness

Don't be fooled by my recent surge in blog posts the past couple of days. I actually wrote them all one night (and the next morning) earlier in the week. Before I came down with this crazy sickness that has left me completely helpless. Monday I woke up with a slight cough that I knew wasn't going to be a good situation. It had that "sick" taste to it, that sounds weird but there is a distinct difference in my "sick" cough and my just regular 'ole cough. I just knew it was going to turn in to more than a cough. And I was right. Tuesday evening I was sitting on the couch with Kaylee looking at some of her baby pictures (which is her new favorite past time), all of a sudden I began to ache. And it got worse and worse by the minute. It was setting in F.A.S.T!!! I went into our room where Marcus was getting ready for work and immediately he told me I didn't look good. I told him I was about to put Kaylee to bed and then I was going to bed myself. And that's what I did. That night I got ok sleep, throughout the night I ached I ached in between my toes, I ached EVERYWHERE! But then Wednesday morning I couldn't move. I couldn't get out of bed, I could barely sit up. Kaylee came in to our room with her new doctor kit that she got for her birthday and wanted to "listen to my heart" and "check me out". I would've cried laying there not being able to care for her, but I couldn't, I didn't have the energy. She played nicely on the floor in our room while we waited for Marcus to get home, and Ainslee still soundly asleep. Once Marcus got home he stayed awake doing various things around the house and getting the girls' morning started, while I slept some more. I knew he had to sleep so I got up and went to the couch, hoping if I was in a central location I could at least look after the girls. I realized quickly that was not going to be an option. So I called my mom. She dropped everything and came out to the house. She came in to find me helpless on the couch while the girls played upstairs. She joined them and I went back to bed. I stayed in bed all day, and finally she decided it was best if she just took them home with her for the evening. Well that "1 evening" has now turned into 3 nights. I am still running a fever, which was topped out at nearly 102*. I NEVER get a fever, like never EVER!!! So for me to have a fever that high, is like normal people having a 102*-103*. And then for me to have it for multiple days, I knew I was sick. I didn't plan on going to the doctor, because even if it was the flu (and I was certain it was) what would they do for me? But when I woke up Thursday morning and tried to call out for Marcus, and nothing came out of my mouth I knew that something had to be done. My throat was so swollen no sound could be made, and if I was able to squeak some sound out it was minimal. I had Marcus call my doc and make an appointment, and I began getting ready to leave. After nearly 2 hours in the doctors office, a 1/2 gallon of blood, strep test, and flu test later, the doctor confirmed that I most likely had a bacterial infection. He suggested a shot in my arse, I hesitated, but in the end I got the shot.......AND the oral antibiotics. He told me it was still best if I wasn't around the girls, especially when my fever was still up. So my mom offered to keep the girls ANOTHER night! I was so thankful, and I really felt like I was on the road to recovery. But then Thursday night came, and I couldn't sleep, it was the worst night of the sickness, by far! I woke up this morning and STILL had my fever! I called my mom for an update on the girls and she insisted that I was in NO condition to care for them. So she has offered to keep them yet another night! I am beyond thankful! and appreciative! I have no idea how we would've survived without her help! I have tried to focus on resting and getting better. I miss the girls terribly, but I know that i HAVE to get better! It has definitely been nice being able to focus on me and my health, knowing that the girls are cared for and happy. And I, for only like the 3rd time in my life, have been completely selfish. I haven't done anything except rest. The house is falling to pieces around me, and that kills me, but I know that I need to get better, so that comes first! So here i sit down 6 pounds in 3 days, have only eaten 2 bananas, 1/2 cup of applesauce, a tiny bowl of soup with crackers, and a piece of corn bread since dinner Tuesday night. And I haven't even eaten anything today. Through all of this I sit here being thankful, thankful I am alive, thankful for the health of my babies, thankful for MY health (the rest of the 350+ days of the year), thankful for the help I get when I need it most, thankful for a kind, loving, caring, compassionate husband, and thankful for family. I am so abundantly blessed and I am THANKFUL for every single bit of it.

My Jobs

Lately I have felt like I am adding more and more to my plate. I cant even imagine if I had to actually "GO" to work each day! I have always said that being a stay at home mom is a TOUGH and under appreciated job. But now, nearly 4 years into it, I have learned that being a working mom just doesn't seem possible! I have the utmost respect for all the moms (and dads) who are able to hold down a job outside the home, as well as raise their children, I know I couldn't do it! Recently I have felt like having a job outside the home would be "easier". Over the past 4 years, I have successfully added many titles to my name including:

1. Mommy cook
2. Mommy plumber
3. Mommy electrician
4. Mommy carpenter
5. Mommy doctor
6. Mommy chauffeur
7. Mommy maid

1. I haven't been performing this one to the best of my ability as of late, and I really don't have a good excuse for that. I do hope that I get out of my self proclaimed "cooking funk" and start preparing some proper/nutritious meals.

2. I never imagined myself as a plumber. But after the bathtub repair, and the dishwasher installation, I added this title to my name.

3. This came from installing the dishwasher too. Did you know that a dishwasher doesn't come with a plug? You have to manually connect the black, white, and green wires and secure them with wire nuts........CRAZY! Im just glad I got them all right on the 1st try!

4. This is due to my work upstairs as well as the microwave installation which required a bit of "tweaking". Upstairs has been a bit of a fiasco. First we missed the studs when attempting to attach the green board to the ceiling. I had to climb up into the tiny attic crawl space (no less than 15 times) above the playroom ceiling and attach 2x4's to each of the studs so that we would be able to get the board attached and cover up all the holes we had made in the ceiling. It was quite a feat!

5. The girls have been under the weather lately. I have been dealing with, coughs, colds, fever, sniffles, etc. And since I made the decision over a year ago to completely cut out all unnecessary meds for the girls, I have been dealing with the sickness with my good old fashion home remedies. The sock treatments have come in REAL handy, and have worked like a charm again. Kaylee was able to kick her cold in a matter of days and is doing just fine. Ainslee has been a bit different. Hers didn't get quite as bas as Kaylee's, as in she never got the 103* fever, but hers has lasted longer. And i know that this is because I was unable to do all her treatments at the beginning of her "sickness". She spent the night with my parents, and therefore missed 3 treatments in a row. Anyways, we are back on track now and she seems to be doing much better.

6. I feel like the chauffeuring has begun already! Play date here, play date there, Kindermusik, school, story time, gymnastics........we log lots of time in our car! Oh and have i mentioned we are still driving around in the Jetta. My car has yet to be out of the shop for more than a week since like November 20th. It has been a crazy ride, but hopefully we will be transferring all our "stuff" back into it soon. I will say that this car switching business has definitely saved us a buck or two in gas.

7. I am seriously beginning to wonder why I even fold laundry. Also I am throwing around ideas in my head of self cleaning floors (not really but the idea sound AMAZING!). I feel like my work is never done!

I'm sure that there are many more "titles" i have collected over the years, but along with the notoriety comes a price.........my memory. HA! I cant remember a darn thing anymore!

A few things that make me happy

in no particular order....

watching the look on Ainslee's face when she is trying to figure something out, it is so darn cute! Im not trying to brag or anything, but EVERYONE stops me to comment on her (and Kaylee), I seriously cant go anywhere without being approached. It is kinda nice but kinda annoying too, I have a teeny tiny taste of what it feels like to know a famous person. heeheehee

Putting Ainslee to sleep; I swear she is the easiest baby when it comes to going to bed. Typically she is DIVING to get into her crib (probably because she feels safe from you know who in there). I could just throw her into the crib, but i like to read books, rock, and snuggle her before bed. It is one of my most favorite times of the day!

But what is just as awesome as those few special moments, is coming out of her room and finding the kitchen completely cleaned up after dinner!

Picking up Kaylee from school, hearing about her day, and listening to the songs she sings.

My new slippers

The fact that I only paid $7.20 for 100 Christmas photo cards from Shutterfly! Now If I could only find some discounts for postage.....the 17 cards that get mailed overseas cost almost $1 each! (thanks Shutterfly for your awesome deals for bloggers, and Nicole for telling me about them!)

Getting things checked off the "to do" list. We got more dry wall hung this weekend, Christmas lights put up inside and out, Christmas boxes down, attic shop vac'd, tub leak fixed, crepe myrtles trimmed (we usually dont do this, but since we are digging them out of the flower bed this winter, and they were totally in the way of hanging Christmas lights.....Marcus trimmed them up), flower bed border fixed, garage floor cleaned out (now if we could only get it organized!), Im sure there are more things we've been able to check off the list, but cant remember them now, I just know we have gotten LOTS done lately.

Having a working hot water heater again. I have been able to take nice long HOT baths for the first time in a couple weeks.

Kaylee's bedtime issues are almost resolved! She stays in her bed almost all night and does it willingly.

Pioneer Woman's recipes! I swear she is a genius! I havent made all my remaining recipes yet, but when I do expect a post about them.

Christmas shopping....not the actual going to 12 different stores and NOT finding what you want part. But the figuring out what I'm getting everyone and then finding deals/sales/coupons! I LOVE LOVE online shopping, it is one of my favorite pasttimes. Cant wait for this Christmas......its going to be a good one!

The fact that Walmart now prints their receipts double sided! I have gone into other stores and bought 1 or 2 things and my receipt is a foot long, what a waste of paper! I was shocked today when I went in to pick up about 14 things and got the tiniest receipt, soooo AWESOME and Eco-friendly! Its the little things that make me happy......now if only more people would recycle!

Seeing Ainslee's cute little hiney in some big girl panties. AND (knock on wood).....she has yet to have an accident in them!


And the the thing that has NOT made me happy...... spending $1500 on car repairs last week!

Facebook

This is supposed to be my Wordless Wednesday post. It does have pictures, but it is a bit WORDY...........sorry

I recently scanned and posted tons of old pictures. Most of them were from our trips to Ireland to visit Marcus' family, his mom was born and raised in Ireland, the rest of the family still lives there. So any of you FBers out there know that when you post pictures your friends can comment on them. And I have gotten SO many comments on these old pictures. It has been like a bunch of little "happys" all day, when the comments hit my phone. I LOVE the Irish! I love their sense of humor and quick wit! Whenever we are around the Irish crowd it never fails, my stomach aches from laughter. SO FUN!


so I posted this picture....

...It is Marcus' cousin Niall, best man in our wedding, in the red shorts. And another one of his cousins, Mark, in the blue pants on the left. We are in the backyard of another one of his cousins house, and they rented a blow up gladiator thing. Basically it was a huge rectangle with "platforms" and hitting stick thingys. (sorry for the horrible description). The point of the game is to hit your opponent until they fall off their platform, last man/woman standing wins.

here is a rundown of the comments from this photo so far, I hope they are as funny to you as they are to me, and not one of those "guess you had to be there things"

Marcus: Niall beat Marcus....then I whipped Niall

Me: thats because you have 50+ pounds on him!

Marcus: I think it was more my ninja like reflexes!!

Niall: Ninja like? Good times!!

Pam (another cousin): I remember that day....it was good craic (which is slang for fun)

Mark: I let him win.....he would have cried otherwise

Niall: That's not true Mark. I'm telling on you!

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here is the next picture...

Marcus: Mark...you are seriously running out of excuses!!

Aundrea (another cousin in the pic): Was Niall trying to be taller than Lorcan ???? (Niall is the one at the top with his head cut off, Lorcan is by far the tallest in the family)

Niall: I would go to town on Mark but my head is missing so I'm out!!

Marcus: I'm not even in the picture and I didn't miss the chance!!

Pam: Well the colour of the day was definitely yellow! Niall was decapitated..Marks legs were foil wrapped..the Mammies were in their flowers....Paul wanted to be John Travolta & I was pissed...I lost count of how many West Coast Coolers I drank that night, I didn't think they were sho shtrong :-0

Paul (another cousin in the pic): The hair cut wasnt that bad Niall. Pamala was just back from her Fame audition

Pam: And might I add ...Mr Travolta....I got it :-D Hope all's well with you & yours :-) Px

Marcus: All is good here...Mr Travolta!!

Crista: Who hung Niall from the rafters?

Aundrea: The more I look at this pic the more I see. It's a Classic ! Fair play Pammie

Marcus: I think I was on Niall's shoulders!!

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here's another....

Marcus: Im skinny, Niall has hair...and a god awful shirt!!

Audrey (a family friend who is also from Ireland): Niall's shirt is smokin'!!!

Marcus: Say nothin!!

Audrey: c'mon Marcus, can't you come up with a joke (what kind of supposed Irish man are ye???)

Marcus: no jokes here...just illusions, nothin but smoke and mirrors!!

Audrey: well, that was close, but no cigar! ahahahaha

Marcus: Burnie, Burnie...sorry Auds, you won't get it!!

Audrey: hmmm, teaching the kids not to touch anything hot?

Michelle (Niall's girlfriend, notice the 2 l's): Niall still has that shirt.... It's... Well .... It's different I suppose....

Niall: The hassle that shirt caused over the yrs!!

Marcus: And years to come...cyber space is forever!!

Niall: I really dont care. Its my fav of all time!!

Michelle: The fashionista has spoken......

Marcus: Do you hang that shirt up or keep it in a humidor?

Michelle: Upon further Investigation it seems that the cigar shirt in question was put in the skip! Pity about that! (oh and I might add it wasn't me)

Marcus: Moment of silence!!

Niall: ‎:-(

Michelle: ‎: (

Crista: Get a room!

Marcus: Can't keep HIM off me!!

Michele: I know right! They are a little close in this one!

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here's another.............

we went on a bus tour of Dublin city....Niall joined us, even though he has lived there his whole life

Marcus: double decker bus in Dublin...who looks like the tourist!!

Michelle: There's always someone trying to get in on the pics heh?

Niall: I wasn't even with them!!

Michelle: The cool looking couple with the shades and then we have the token dork at the back!!! Ha ha!!! Niall I'm joking ........ You know I love you!!!! xxx

Marcus: We had to bring someone to carry our bags...best we could find!!

Crista: I think he escaped from my treatment facility...looks familiar.

Niall: Ah Crista did you have to go there?

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Basically my point is, if you ever have the chance to hang with some Irish folks dont pass it up, it will be something you never forget. Or even better, if you ever get the chance to visit the beautiful country GO!