Surviving Residency

Where Have We Been Lately??

2011-12-15T05:39:00.000-08:00

What's up everybody? If you're reading this, then you really like me. I don't know why I haven't posted anything for almost two months. But here's a quick review of what we've been doing lately.

We went to the pumpkin patch again this year. I have to say I enjoyed it a lot more this time around since I wasn't seven days away from having a baby! Last year we weren't able to ride on the wagon to the pumpkin field due to my "condition." :) But this year we did and it was a lot of fun. Of course we weren't surprised when it took Grace a LONG time to pick out a pumpkin. She has never been able to just pick something. We always cringed a little inside when she was younger and someone would offer her candy and tell her to pick her favorite. It was the longest process and she couldn't be rushed. Well, she hasn't changed a bit. We walked around the field for quite a while until she found the perfect one. It was fun to watch her get excited and run around the pumpkins.

Same photo from last year except Jude is on the outside this time.

We met our favorite cousins at Kings Island. We all have season passes for next year and can't wait to meet up again. They get along so well and have the best time together.

I just had to add this picture because it makes me laugh. :)

Jude's first experiences with fall leaves.

Fall fun!

Of course there was trick or treating.

Jude is a little nut ball and he started standing on his head for some reason. It cracks us up every time.

Avery wanted to join him.

Nana took Grace and I too see Wicked for Gracie's birthday.

It was awesome!

Our three sweet kiddos.

Avery turned three and had a Tangled party. I was a zombie with A LOT of mouth pain. Stupid wisdom teeth.

Jude has decided to be the climber in the family. We're going to have to keep an eye on this boy.

Hopefully I will do better about blogging. But if I don't I'm sure you won't be shocked. Ha! Ha! No really, I will do my best!

Sick Baby Boy

2011-10-26T08:38:00.001-07:00

We all know that typically, boys don't do sick well. I've been married for nine years now, and I can testify that men don't do sick well either. Sorry dear, but it's a fact. Jude is no exception. He's had a fever the past couple of days and all he wants is his mommy. I think he's teething on top of it, poor little guy.

Here are some pictures of what happens when I try and walk away.

First, we start to pucker our lips.

Then the wailing begins.

Finally, we hit our limits and fall to the floor in despair.

So what's a momma to do? Try and make him toughen up so he doesn't become a sick whiny boy all his life? I'm sure I could do that, but I'd rather hold him and let him fall asleep on me. It makes him feel better. Yes, I'm continuing the cycle of sick whiny boys and I don't care. ;)

Our Boy is One!!

2011-10-18T11:26:00.000-07:00

It seems so unreal to me that we've had Jude in our family for a whole year. While the timing of adding to our little family was not the best, we couldn't have asked for a better addition. He has brought so much joy into our house, especially during such a stressful time in our life. Of course having a baby made it all that more stressful, but I wouldn't trade him for the world. The one word that comes to mind when I think of him is...blessing. He has been such a blessing to us, and we fall more in love with him everyday!!! We are so thankful that God brought him to us.

I remember when I was just a few weeks pregnant, and still wasn't totally excited to be having another baby. I was VERY worried about the amount of work that was going to be added to my already busy life. Plus we knew residency was going to be crazy, so that was another worry. Let's not even get started on my vain worries about weight gain and having to lose weight after I had just lost all of Avery's pregnancy pounds!

I clearly remember getting ready for my Mom2Mom meeting one morning, and was stressed trying to get Grace ready for school, Avery reading for the meeting, and the few things I was in charge of to bring with me. I was frazzled and in tears because all I kept thinking was "I'm not going to make it with three. I barely keep up with two. I'm going to go under when this baby comes." I got to church, put Avery in the childcare, and headed to the meeting. I tried to put my emotions in check and try to enjoy the time with my group. I don't think I did a very good job because one of the sweet ladies in my group, Nadia, asked if I was okay. I told her a little bit of what was going through my mind that morning. I told her I felt like Satan was trying to whisper all those negative thoughts into my ear, and I was listening. I will NEVER forget what she said to me. She said "You know why he's doing that don't you? He knows that baby is going to be someone great someday." Wow. I'm crying just remembering that morning. It was the first time I had viewed this baby as someone who would grow up and have the potential to do great things. Not just another mouth to feed, diaper to change, more laundry to wash. But a real person, with real talents, who can make a difference in the world. And now that he's here, I can already see that she was right. He is going to be great, I just know it!!! Thanks for those words Nadia.

Whoa, I didn't know I was going to write all of that in this post. ;)

On to the party!! I made a "Watch Me Grow" banner. I got the idea from the blog Homemade by Jill. It was so cute, and easy to make. I put a newborn picture at the start and ended with a picture I had taken a few days before his party. Then I made one for each month of his life. I really like the way it turned out. I may start doing this for the girls, but just do a picture each year. Avery's will be a little short this year, but we'll keep adding to it. :)

Here's the last six months.

Our little prince!

How cute is this boy??!! I made the onesie right before the party. I just cut the number out of fabric and used a heat bond iron on. I had big plans to sew around it and make it look nice, but I ran out of time. I think it still turned out cute!

Wiped out parents with their third and precious baby.

Scottie was on night float at the time, which is the cause for our exhaustion. Jude is looking at him like "hey, where have you've been?"

Scottie started to give Jude his cake, but we forgot to put a candle in it. This is his face when the cake was briefly taken away. Hilarious!!

He still looks a little worried. He really wanted that cake!

Oh yeah, he didn't waste any time getting into the frosting.

Don't take it!!

Starting to dig a little more.

That's the stuff!!

We'll have to work on table manners. :)

Since we're cruel people, and enjoy teasing our children, we took away his cake again. Just for the reaction. I know, we're mean.

Licking the plate clean. This kid doesn't mess around!

Happy boy.

This is the only picture I got of my mom. But I like it.

Pure sweetness.

After a quick rinse in the bath, he was ready for presents.

He tried to do some of it himself, but he has an impatient older sister who "helped" with most of the unwrapping.

Woo Hoo, we finally have some boy toys in the house! :)

Playing with his presents.

I love this picture of Jeff and Penny with the kids.

Scottie's grandparents came over for the party. We love being closer to his family now. We've always lived the farthest from them since we started school, so we saw them the least. But now we're only an hour away, and it's great!!

Happy Birthday Jude. You truly are a blessing to everyone!

Apple Picking

2011-10-04T07:54:00.001-07:00

I'm so excited that we get to actually enjoy fall this year. I was out of commission for most of fall last year, and Scottie was too busy to do anything with the girls. So this year we are going to do all the fun things we wanted to last year. I found an apple orchard that has pick your own apples. Unfortunately I think we waited to long to go because most of the good apples had been picked and all that was left had been eaten by bugs. Yuck! So we'll go earlier next year. But it was still fun to get out and walk around the farm and look for a few good apples.

Grace looks like she could be on a country magazine in this picture. Such a pretty girl!!

Avery tried her hand at modeling...

We'll have to keep working on that skill. ;)

Avery was the first one to find a good apple. She loved picking them off the trees. But then she'd look at them, realize they were bad, and throw them to the ground with a big sigh.

Beautiful sisters!!

Hey, you're starting to look like a model!

Well....

This is pretty much what was left on the trees. It was a little disappointing, but we'll know better for next year.

I think she found something!!

Grace was so happy whenever she found a good one!

Avery is such a sweetie.

They may fight, but they really do love each other.

Peeking through the apple trees.

This was the resident pig, and there was a sign that said he loves apples. The girls had a blast feeding him some of the not so pretty apples we found. It was cute and disgusting to watch him eat them.

Jude spent the trip in his stroller. But I have a feeling he'll be running up and down the rows next year!

Grace and I shared a cup of apple cider slush. It was SO good!! I would have bought more, but when one small cup cost 99 cents, I just had to be sad when it was gone. It was seriously the best slush I've ever had!

I thought I took these pictures that evening, but now that I'm looking at them I realize they were taken the next day. But I wanted to leave them because they're just so cute.

Oops...I interrupted their little nap with my flash. Sorry Scottie!! ;)

Gracie is 8

2011-10-01T09:37:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting around to posting Gracie's birthday pictures, even though it was two weeks ago. I had a hard time figuring out what kind of cake to make for her. I'm not the world's greatest cake decorator so some of her suggestions were beyond my skills. So I started searching the internet, which is where I get 98% of my ideas. ;) I saw this cake and decided to go for it. She has enjoyed soccer so much I thought this would be a great cake for her. It's not perfect but she really liked it, and I'm pretty proud of myself.

Mom helped with the decorations. Grace is such a detail type of girl, so I wanted her party to look a bit more festive. She notices those kinds of things, and I think she was happy to have a room made up just for her.

She finally got her piggy bank. For months now she has begged for this bank from Target. I kept telling her no because I knew it would make a cute birthday present. She's happy now.

Ready for cake!

Avery got a little excited and blew the candle out for her big sister.

I had Grace pretend to blow it out. I should have just lit it again, but I don't always think of that stuff till later. ;)

My mom got her a journal with her initial on it. She was writing in it all night and kept worrying that someone was going to read it. She even fell asleep writing in it. What kind of secrets can an 8 year old keep??

She pretended to be excited about getting a box of Cheerios for her birthday.

But was happy to find a new wallet in it from Nana. Silly Nana!!

Mr. Cake Face looking serious with the balloon string.

Grace also got a new ds game from Scottie and I. She tends to ignore the world when she starts playing that thing. That's one reason why we don't buy new games very often. ;)

I think she had a good day. Mom came up and then Dad and Carol came over as well. She felt loved and celebrated, and that's all you need on your birthday. Every year I say I can't believe she is ---years old. But she really is growing up too quickly for me. It's nice to have the crazy toddler years behind us, especially since we have two more to experience, but there are times I miss that little girl singing "Little Tine Tines" (little einsteins) Grace has a passionate personality and she will demand much from life. And while that can make parenting tricky sometimes, I have no doubts that she will lead a full life because she won't settle for less. We love you Miss Grace and all that you bring to our family.

Road Trip

2011-09-06T20:01:00.001-07:00

How do you make a baby laugh after being in the car for 2 1/2 hours? Apparently all you need to do is shake a bag of goldfish. Who knew?? :)

First Day of Second Grade

2011-08-29T06:56:00.001-07:00

I love how excited Grace gets for the first day of school. It's the only day in the entire year I don't have any trouble getting her up. She jumped out of bed and had her clothes on in record time. I did notice, however, that she didn't eat all of her breakfast. On the way to school she confessed to being nervous. Her school got split up in the redistricting so not all of her friends from last year will be at her new school. Her best friend Taniyah is going to a different school. She got a little teary eyed talking about her this morning. I'm sure she'll make lots of new friends, and we still have Taniyah over to play, so I'm not worried.

How cute is my girl? This is the outfit she picked out for the first day of school. She wanted it pulled back with her matching panda ponytail holder. This girl is very particular about her look, just like her Daddy. ;) Which is a good thing!!

Grace wanted me to take her on the first day instead of riding the bus. I'm so glad I got to do it. I wouldn't have been able to walk last year due to some lovely contractions, but this year we had a smooth morning. The parking lot was full so we had to park and walk for quite a bit, but it was such a beautiful day we didn't mind. I tried to take a quick picture of her new school. There were a lot of people behind us so this was the best shot I could get. Look at that sky? Could the day be any more perfect?

New cafeteria!!! No more eating in the gym! Woo Hoo!!

Gracie's brand new classroom. Of course the school isn't anywhere close to being done. The library was full of boxes, there was a big spot in the entrance hall that will probably be filled with colored tile or the school name. But all in all the morning seemed to go pretty smoothly. We walked in, found her room, and started unpacking.

Avery and Jude along for the ride! :)

I am sooooo thankful I got to take her to school. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I think it made her feel better to have us with her as she tried to find her way around the building and her classroom. Her teacher is young and seems nice. I'm sure the past week has been stressful for all the teachers. But it looked like she had her room ready to function on the first day.

Saying goodbye to Sissy!! I know they'll miss each other, but a little time a part everyday will be good for them. At least it will cut down on the fighting that seems to erupt when they've been together too long.

On the way back to the van Avery wanted to do what the other kids were doing by peeking through a hole in this fence. Let our adventures begin!!

Second Grade

2011-08-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the last night of summer...finally!!! Gracie's school district spent the year building brand new elementary schools, so they tried to give themselves as much time as possible by pushing the first day back to Aug. 29th. It's been a loooong summer. Not a bad one, just long. We are definitely feeling the need for structure and schedules. I'm all for lazy summer mornings and wide open days, but it get's boring after awhile.

Due to some "issues" with the neighbor kids, Grace spend a lot of the summer with her mom and siblings. Personally I think she was happier in a way. I know she just wanted some kids to play with, but she also realized there's no need trying to play with people who aren't nice to you. So we filled our days with trips to the pool, sometimes a playground if it wasn't too hot. Luckily the grandparents invited the girls down several times this summer, which gave Grace a chance to relax and play with kids who are actually nice to her! Of course our biggest event was Disney World. I know she loved that!! So even though the summer didn't go as we thought it would, I think we all grew closer because of it. (there were also plenty of fights and headaches, but that's normal too)

Tomorrow she will be going to a brand new school and a fresh start to make friends who really count. The top of my prayer list is for Grace and a protection of her heart. Kids can be so mean, and I pray she can learn how to keep the good ones and ignore the ones who need some manners. ;) I can't believe my baby girl is going to be a second grader. Time really does fly!!

Oh this boy...

2011-08-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

I just love him.

Super Fun Day!

2011-08-21T06:44:00.000-07:00

We woke up Saturday morning and decided on a whim to go to the zoo. I'm so glad we did, it was a lot of fun. It was a little hot, but no one complained.

The first thing we saw was a zoo worker holding a snake. Of course I would have been perfectly happy to walk on by, but the girls wanted to see it. Avery wasn't afraid at all. She walked right up to it and petted it. Look how close it's tongue is to her hand. It freaks me out a bit!

Okay, this really freaks me out! But it didn't bother Avery.

Grace always has to feed goats when we go to a petting zoo. She has such a big heart for animals. In this picture she's trying to get the goats to move so she can feed the sheep that's being butted out of the way. She can't let an injustice like that go by while she's around!!

Here's my Judey Bear chilling out at the petting zoo. He was starting to get sleepy and was content to just sit and look at everything.

Love him!!!! I've never wanted a baby stage to slow down has much as I do right now. On one hand I can't wait to see him turn into a little boy and starting walking/talking. But knowing he's my last baby I'm trying to hold on to this snugly little thing a little longer. (But not too long, I don't want a whiny momma's boy on my hand. :)

Avery grooming the goats.

The bird house was a big hit! Avery had a blast feeding the birds with her popsicle stick of bird food. Sometimes she didn't give the bird enough time to pick anything off before she moved on to the next one. But she finally figured it out.

Grace opted for the sugar water food. She had a bird on her shoulder and her hand. I don't know how she stood so still.

Oh how I love this picture. A bird landed on Scottie's shoulder and Jude just stared at him. It looks like he's looking for some reassurance from Daddy that the bird isn't going to hurt him.

It didn't take long for Jude to feel comfortable with the bird. He just studied it like he does EVERYTHING!! Nothing gets past this little observer.

He even tried to pet it, but it flew away.

Grace had this bird doing some balancing tricks in order to get it's food! :)

Nothing helps a hot sticky day at the zoo like cotton candy ice cream!!

Let me just say that I will NEVER step foot into the insect house again. I HATE bugs, but the girls wanted to go in, and of course they loved it. They oohed and ahhed over every creeping little bug. Whatever floats your boat, but it's just not my thing.

Three sweaty, happy, tired kiddos leaving the zoo.

What a great way to spend the day!

On our way home we decided to stop at IKEA to look around. We didn't get through the whole store, but we did pick up some fun stuff!

We've never eaten in their cafe, and I'm glad we stayed to eat. Kids eat free there right now so we were able to eat cheap!! The food was actually pretty good, and I love the atmosphere. Avery said her favorite part of IKEA was the meatballs, who knew! ;) There's a little play area in the cafe which allowed us to eat without inhaling our food. Usually Avery is done way before us and gets pretty restless. We could see her play from our table, so we got to take our time and eat and talk. It was a lot of fun!

Jude went crazy for the mashed potatoes. He kept banging on the table for more!! Don't get between this boy and his food!

Jude and I headed out to the car while Scottie and the girls were checking out. He thought he was big stuff sitting in the drivers seat.

I don't even want to think about him growing up and driving a car. Nope...not going to think about it.

Fun, fun, fun day!!! I would say that this was one of the best days we've had since moving here. Can't wait for another impromptu adventure! :)

Avery's Prayer

2011-08-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

I have to get this written down before I forget everything she said.

Today she got in A LOT of trouble for spilling a box of cocoa powder all over the toy room and computer chair. (I don't want to talk it about it, it still makes me angry.) So her punishment was to sit in the recliner while I cleaned it up, which required quite a few spankings for her to stay there, and then after an early lunch she had to go straight to bed. She also wasn't going to get to go outside. Which is what we were getting ready to do when she got into the cabinet. Before they ate Grace asked her if she wanted to pray. Here's what Avery had to say to God.

"Thank you for God. Please don't let get in trouble. (Grace interrupted and asked who shouldn't get in trouble. Avery whispered "me") Please get to go outside. Please Mommy and Daddy don't spank me ever, ever again! Amen"

My Water Babies

2011-08-10T10:10:00.001-07:00

We've really enjoyed our subdivision's pool this summer. Thankfully Jude likes to swim as much as the girls. Otherwise we would be in trouble. He loves his float and just hangs out in it while his sisters are swimming.

I couldn't get a picture of Avery's face because she spent most of her time swimming under the water. She is a little fish!

Playing together

Even though they love to swim it has been a little tricky handling everything with a baby in tow. Next summer should be a little easier since Jude will be walking. But I don't want time to speed up too much yet. He looks too cute in his little float!! Don't you agree?

Sisters

2011-08-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you can't live with them, but you definitely can't live without them! :)

Stuck

2011-08-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

Jude crawled under the kitchen chairs last week and found that he couldn't get out. So sad.

He finally realized I was talking to him and hadn't been abandoned.

So he decided being under the chair wasn't so bad.

He even blew a few raspberries to prove it.

Love this boy!

Normal?

2011-07-31T20:29:00.000-07:00

We were taking pictures the other night, and for some reason they kept coming out crazy.

In this picture I was trying to get Jude to smile, so I yelled "Cheeeeeeese." Little did I know he was already smiling, and I ended up with crazy eyes.

Then Scottie tried to take our picture and instead of saying cheese, he started making some high pitched sound. I couldn't even keep it together for a second. I almost fell over from laughing.

This one wasn't too bad. But I had to grab the wall because I was starting to lose my balance, Jude looks scared, and who knows what Avery was about to do.

And.....then there's this. We stopped taking pictures after this one.

Disney Day 2 & 3

2011-07-30T12:32:00.001-07:00

I'm combining the first two days at the park in one post. Because I'm lazy and I don't have a ton of pictures for those days. Something happened when I loaded them into the computer and I lost a bunch of pictures. I'm so sad that we lost pictures of Avery with Princess Tiana, Piglet, Eeyore, and our lunch in EPCOT. I love and hate technology. :(

Anyway here are two pictures from our breakfast with Pooh and friends.

This was Jude's first experience with the characters and he loved it. I loved the food. Even though it was a pain to get up early enough to get everybody ready, walk to the Magic Kingdom, get our tickets, etc... it was worth to have breakfast with the characters. We've done breakfast, lunch, and dinner with different characters, and I think the breakfast food is the best. Lunch, umm...not so much. Especially at Hollywood Studios. But this was the second time we've done breakfast at the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom, and we really liked it both times. Fried french toast - YES please!!

This is the only other picture I have from our first day at MK. A red faced Grace with Pinocchio. :)

Kelsey and Joe came with us that day, and I am so mad at myself for not taking any pictures of them. It was a hot busy day, and I just forgot!

Our third day was split between EPCOT and our hotel. It was soooo hot, we only lasted a little bit after lunch before we called it a day and went back to the hotel.

One of the main reasons we splurged on the Contemporary hotel was the convenience of the monorail. It was so nice to just hop on the air conditioned train, that was rarely packed, and go from our hotel to either the Magic Kingdom or EPCOT. Totally worth it with two little ones who need to rest in the middle of the day.

Here's a picture of Grace waiting for the monorail and scoping out the EPCOT map. It really didn't matter because it was so hot that we didn't get to enjoy that park very much. We will avoid the summer months next time we plan a Disney trip!

I can't remember what country the drums were in, but I would guess Africa? Did they have an African section? It was seriously so hot, that I forget a lot about that day. But the kids had fun banging on the drums.

Jude had to give it a go too!

Jude and Nana in front of the big golf ball. ;)

After dragging ourselves around the park until we couldn't take anymore, we came back to the hotel for some swimming. Avery kept opening the bathroom door to make sure everyone was ready to go. She LOVES swimming and couldn't wait to get to the pool!

My little cuties.

The pool felt so good that day.

Cutie with her floaties.

This is what Jude did while we swam. He took a nap with Nana in the air conditioned room.

Can I just say that this trip would not have been fun without my Mom. Having a Nana come with you when you have two little ones is a must! Thanks Mom for coming and helping us stay sane while vacationing with a baby and a toddler. :)

During our afternoon of swimming we talked about what to do that night. We all agreed that it was too hot to drag the kids to another park. So Scottie called the Chef Mickey's restaurant, which was in our hotel, just to see if they had any openings. We weren't really expecting them to since this is a very popular character meal. But lucky for us they had a dinner reservation at 5:30. Woo Hoo!! After enjoying ourselves at the pool, we got ready and walked over to the restaurant. It was one of the best spur of the moment choices we made that week. The food was really good and we got to get pictures with all of the main Disney characters without waiting in long lines at the park.

**If you ever plan a trip to Disney with little ones, I highly recommend booking character meals. Yes, they are more expensive, but if you do the dining plan it works out pretty well. It's a great way to get pictures with the Disney characters without making your toddler stand in a ridiculously long line. If you have a toddler, you know how much they love standing in lines. ;)

A blurry picture with Donald Duck.

The girls loved Minnie Mouse.

Goofy was a lot of fun. You can tell Jude liked him.

Pluto was another fun character. We had such a good time at Chef Mickey's.

*Gracie is wearing her Disney lanyard with her new Disney pins. (it's flipped, so you can only see the back of the pins.) We decided to let her do the pin trading this year and she loved it. We cheated and bought a bunch of pins off of Ebay, and then she had a good collection started so she could trade at the parks. The pins have different disney characters on them, and then you can trade them with park employees who are wearing a lanyard. She had so much fun looking for certain pins, such as tinkerbell and the different colored puffels from club penguin. At the end of our trip she got to buy a 2011 pin. It was a lot of fun, and I think she was at the perfect age for it.

So many pictures...so little time

2011-07-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

This summer has been flying by and I keep forgetting to post our adventures. It may have something to do with taking care of three kids all day, and then crashing at night. I'm going to make it my goal to get all the Disney pictures on here by the end of the week. Hopefully I can update even more, but right now I'll just focus on the Disney trip. :)

Crazy at Disney World

2011-07-14T12:51:00.001-07:00

This is one of my favorite videos of Avery! Grace and I watch it a lot and laugh every time. We were in the hotel after a very long HOT day of walking around. We had been to EPCOT to eat dinner with the princesses. I think Avery had some heat exhaustion because she is acting kind of weird in the video. The timing of the sound is a little off so it makes her look goofy! :)

Disney World Day1

2011-06-27T19:17:00.000-07:00

On our way!! This is actually in the Orlando Airport. She saw someone with their ears on, so she had to put hers on right away. We had an early flight, but thankfully it was a direct flight. I was so tired by the time we got there. I'm glad we decided not to do a park the first day, it made for a more relaxing day. I highly suggest that idea, it made the day not so hectic.

Grace cracks me up when we fly. She likes to read all of the safety procedures. It's always good to be prepared! :)

Jude did pretty well on the flight to Orlando. Even though we woke him up super early, he stayed awake for most of the morning. We just kept feeding him baby puffs and occasionally stood up at the back of the plane, he stayed fairly happy. Such a good baby!

Avery didn't do too bad either. It was a little hard for her to stay in one place, but we made it there without too much drama.

I on the other hand had a horrible time at the end. The night before I felt like I was getting a cold, but now I think it was sinus troubles. As we started to descend I got a stabbing pain above my right eye. Once the pressure hit my head my sinuses felt like they were going to explode...literally. I've never been known to create a scene in public, but I'm pretty sure I looked like a weirdo during the last ten minutes of the flight. The pain in my eye and head were so bad that I was crying uncontrollably and rocking back and forth in my seat. It hurt to touch my eye, but it hurt even worse if I didn't put some kind of pressure on it. I have never been in that much pain, and this is from someone who's recovered from three c-sections. It finally eased up when we landed, but it still throbbed for a couple of hours. What a way to start a vacation!!

The kids were getting pretty tired by the time we got loaded up at the airport. Jude just kept his little blanket up to his face for a long time. Traveling is hard for little ones, but flying is sooo much better than driving!

On the Magical Express and heading to Disney World!!!!

None of us were surprised that it only took Avery 5 minutes to find something to mess with in the hotel room. I'm not kidding, we had only been in the room about 5 minutes before she found the sink and proceeded to fill it up. Luckily Grace noticed her before the sink overflowed. Oh this girl....

Since we didn't get tickets for the first day we spent the afternoon in the pool after lunch. Avery is just like her big sister and is a natural in the water. Just give her some floaties and she is good to go. She was even jumping off the side, but only if someone is close by. I love watching her swim, it makes her so happy.

We were anxious to see how Jude would react to his first time in a pool. Thankfully he LOVED it!! With two pool loving big sisters, it's important that he likes the water. Otherwise we would have some troubles. Not this little guy, he had a blast splashing around in the pool.

The only problem we had with Grace was keeping track of her. She LOVES LOVES LOVES to swim and takes no time at all finding her way around the pool. The slide was a big hit. I'm glad we took the time to relax and swim instead of trying to race around a park. It actually felt like we were on vacation just hanging out in the water listening to fun music! :)

Kelsey and Joe drove over to spend time with us since they only live about two hours away. Sadly this is the only picture I got of her. We spent the entire next day at the Magic Kingdom with them and I didn't get one single picture. It was a lot harder to remember pictures on this trip. Too many little ones to keep track of, and it was stinkin' hot!!

This picture was taken on the bus as we headed to Downtown Disney for dinner.

We ate at Raglan Road Irish Pub. Scottie and I had gone there the last time we went to Disney and really liked the food. It wasn't quite as good this time, but Kelsey said her and Joe enjoyed their ribs.

Jude got to experience the tartness of a lemon. He made the funniest faces! But it didn't stop him from eating quite a bit of it.

They had Irish dancers (from Ireland) performing while we there. Graced was so excited to see them. She has been wanting to take lessons for a while now, and there is a studio not too far from our house, but the lessons and costumes are just too expensive for us to afford right now.
Maybe someday!

Grace, Joe, and Nana were doing a little bit of Irish dancing after dinner. :)

There is a huge Lego store in Downtown Disney. They had several of these Lego creations outside of the store. It's amazing what they can do with those little plastic blocks!

We finally got back to the hotel and the kids needed to go to bed. Kelsey,Joe, and Mom hung out by the pool and talked out some wedding plans. Scottie borrowed Kelsey's car and got some stuff at the store for us, and I put the little ones to bed. We had lights off and trying to settle down when I noticed the light show going on outside our window. We stayed at the Contemporary Hotel and had a view of the lake. It was so cool to open our window and see the light show going down the lake and hearing the music. I finally got them all to sleep and try to get some sleep myself since we were headed to the Magic Kingdom the next day!!! :)

Just a few...

2011-06-17T13:54:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures of our recent trip to Disney World. I'll post the rest when I get a chance!

We did A LOT of swimming!

He wasn't afraid of the characters at all!

We got to try lots of sweet treats!

Our snuggle bug on the bus.

Fun in the Sun

2011-06-01T12:38:00.001-07:00

I bought a slip-n-slide this past weekend, and the girls tried it out on Sunday. It was fun, but left a giant muddy mess in our yard. For some reason our yard doesn't drain well, and can become really marshy. So we'll just have to pull this out every once in a while. Thank goodness for the free splash park down the road, and the swimming pool in our subdivision!

Playing together!

I love Avery's little cheeks!! :) (The other girl is from our neighborhood and is friends with the neighbor.)

Check out my little man at the park!!

He entertained himself for quite a while with our swim bag.

Avery waiting patiently for the water. I put one of Gracie's old suits on her, but it was a little big. She kept pulling the top down. She didn't realize her tummy was suppose to be showing. ;)

Grace, not so patiently waiting on the water. We see this face often.

Getting wet!

Avery loved this particular fountain. She spent a lot of time playing here.

Every once in a while Grace would come play with Avery. But Avery didn't mind playing by herself. Another sign that she's getting older. It makes me happy and sad at the same time.

I couldn't take very good pictures because Jude kept getting excited and jumping around in my lap.

He had a great time watching the water and kids play, but he didn't want to get wet. The water was pretty cold, so I can't really blame him.

They played for about 30-40 minutes, but it just got too cold. I knew it was time to pack up when their teeth started chattering. At least we know of a fun, FREE, place to play this summer. I have a feeling we'll be here a lot!

(yes, I realize that Jude is eating Avery's crocs. You have to watch him, he is always putting gross stuff in his mouth. Typical boy!)

So much to do

2011-05-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

I think Jude is saying, "Hey Mom, you have a lot of posts to write. Where are they?" Well Jude, you're right. I have a lot of pictures I want to post and write about, but I just haven't got to it yet. The month of May has been so busy. I'm not complaining though. It finally feels like we are getting a life here in Ohio. It's still not my favorite place, but at least we have a few things to do now.

Keeping up with this nut ball is a full time job! :)

This picture reminds me that I need to go to the grocery store. The girls love Jude's snacks and that's about all we have in the house right now. Hopefully I can get some more pictures on here soon!

Rainy Wednesday

2011-05-18T12:15:00.001-07:00

I love babies in just a diaper. Especially sitting next to a pile of laundry that I will probably ignore for another day. ;)

Love my chunky monkey!

Sweet Avery

What's your Wednesday look like?

Easter Weekend

2011-05-15T07:21:00.001-07:00

I know this is a little late, but Scottie went on night shift shortly after Easter and I've been a bit busy!!

We went to his grandma and grandpa Conner's for dinner on Good Friday. It is so nice to be an hour away from family now. Hopefully we can get over there more now that it's easier to travel with Jude. Here he is with his great Aunt Joy, and she is great!! :)

Everybody loves Aunt Joy!

Scottie, Penny, Grandpa Conner, and Jude

All three kids with their Great Grandparents. The girls love going to their house, especially to see their bird Ringo. :)

Jude and Rena. She is the amazing talent behind Jude's hat, blanket, and Avery's new beautiful blanket. I love everything she has made for them! She's now started on a blanket for Grace because I told her I thought Grace would prefer a new book for a present. But when she saw Jude and Avery's blankets she got a little sad. So of course, being the nice person she is, Rena started on one for Grace. I have no doubt that it will be as beautiful as the other two.

Since Scottie had to work on Sunday morning, we did their baskets on Saturday. It felt a little strange to do them that day, but the girls loved their dolls and of course the candy!!

Jude getting his first taste of Peeps. I think he liked it. ;)

It rained that weekend so the community egg hunt was canceled. So we put the leftover candy in plastic eggs and had a hunt at home. They had fun, but I hope we can do one outside next year.

You can't let the Easter season pass by without coloring eggs. I don't know what this tradition has to do with Christ's resurrection, but it's still fun.

My pretty girl.

Even though I was flying solo that morning, we still made it to church. I was sad to go by myself, but it was important to me to go to church on Easter morning. I'm thankful for what Jesus did for me and was happy to celebrate that morning, even if I had to go by myself.

I think this sums up our life lesson here: Life isn't always picture perfect, but you keep trying anyway.

Johnny Jump Up and a Burp

2011-05-03T19:34:00.001-07:00

Jude has really started enjoying his johnny jump up. He just bounces away and loves it! I wanted to video tape him in it today and of course Avery had to be right there! She is standing next to me watching him jump. Pay close attention after he stops jumping because she gives us all a lovely burp. It cracked me up!

**The jump up is a little noisy, so you might want to watch the volume when you play the video.

Grandparents Who Are Great

2011-04-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

I think everyone has both positive and negative things about their childhood. Things they vowed they would do differently than their parents, but also traditions/aspects they would love to keep the same. One part of my childhood that I would LOVE to repeat with my children (but sadly never will) is living close to grandparents. I was blessed to live near both sets of grandparents and great-grandparents. My dad's parents lived, literally, 1 minute from our house. I spent a lot of time up there and I loved every minute of it. I think living so far away from everyone is harder for me because I have always been surrounded by family. Not just family members that I saw every once in a while, but on a daily basis. Even the grandparents that lived "in town." :)

So during spring break this year the kids and I loaded up the van and headed back home. We spent one afternoon up at my grandparents house. The girls loved it, and so did I. :) Grandpa fired up the organ and played a few songs for them. (which is another childhood memory I cherish.) I'm pretty sure there is a picture of me doing the exact same thing as Avery. In fact it would probably look identical since she looks a lot like me when I was her age.

At first they just watched and listened for a little bit.

But they could sit still for long. They had a blast dancing around while Grandpa played songs like "Beer Barrel Polka."

They thought Jude needed to join in the dancing.

I think Grace has found a new love, the piano. Grandma Pat was showing her how to use her fingers on the keys. She had a great time. A couple of days later Grace spent part of the day with Grandma and Grandpa since I went back to Ohio early and she stayed a couple of extra days. I hear she spent quite a bit of time at the piano.

She really wants one at our house, but even the old used ones are expensive. I would love to have one too, and for her to take lessons. I'll have to keep my eyes open for a good deal someday!!

Another double take from when I was young. Grandma Pat read to us every time we spent the night at her house. I can still see us laying on the pull out couch and her reading different stories out of this one series of books. I can't remember what they were, but they remind me of the Dick and Jane type stories. Maybe Grandma remembers what they are called...

Sitting in a chair with Grandpa reading books was something that happened often as well. He would read from a really old story book that his grandfather (or his dad, I can't remember) read to him. My favorite was The Spider and The Fly.

I couldn't get Jude to cooperate with the camera, so this was the best picture I got of the two of them. He is such a good baby, and loves to be held by everybody!!

I'm so glad we had a chance to visit with my grandparents. I really miss spending time with them. You don't realize how much you love certain people until you are far away from them. I always knew I loved them, but seeing my kids with them made me realize how blessed I was to have them so close all those years!!

If Jude could talk...

2011-04-18T10:08:00.000-07:00

"What's with the camera Mom? Neither one of us feels good, so just put it down please."

"Really, I don't want to take any pictures."

"I'm not looking."

"Seriously lady, I've had enough."

I wasn't going to post my dehydrated lips and lovely washed out, still haven't lost all the baby weight, been sick for days looking face. (now THAT is a sentence!!) But I just love his facial expressions. :)

Our Baby Boy

2011-04-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

The big day had finally arrived. It was a day full of mixed emotions for me. Of course I was beyond excited to meet my little boy. But also nervous to become a family of five. Life had already started out rough in Ohio and I wasn't sure how I was going to handle all of the responsibilities that came with three children and a busy husband. But ready or not, he was coming!

One last shot of the big belly. I would say most women are ready to have their bodies back by the ninth month of pregnancy. My last month was bittersweet. I was SO ready to get rid of my giant belly, but sad because I knew it was the last time I would ever feel those precious kicks from the inside. Jude is our last baby so I tried to cherish all those last pregnancy feelings, but by this moment in time I was DONE!!

As always, I was nervous about going into surgery. I was even more nervous because the lady doing my spinal was taking instructions from another person. When I heard her say, "now,what you're going to do is..." I was freaking out!! Why did I have to be this person's guinea pig?? She didn't do it right, which shot an incredible amount of pain down my back. Then she tried several more times, until the other lady told her to stop because they needed to numb me again. If you've never had a spinal, let me just tell you that the local numbing shot hurts worse then the actual procedure. So now I had to have it done all over again. I'm not ashamed to say that I was crying. My body was just worn out from everything it had been put through the past couple of months, and I just wanted it to be over. Finally the experienced person took over and they got it to work. But it just kind of went down hill from there. The new person obviously was still learning how to control all of the medicines, and it just didn't go very well. I got sick a couple of times before the operation started, and I felt awful throughout the whole procedure. Scottie was so good about talking to me and rubbing my head. Finally I heard what every mother wants to hear, those precious first cries. I couldn't believe I had a baby boy!!

The girls are waiting, eating fruit snacks, and playing the DS. They were obviously having a better time than me. :)

Here he is: Jude Michael. He cried for quite a while at the beginning. The nurse said they had to use the vacuum to help him out a little bit, and his head was probably hurting him. People kept saying he was feisty and had a temper, but they couldn't have been more wrong. He just had a headache people!!

I loved all 8 pounds and 21 inches of him immediately.

So cute!!!!

Just chilling on mommy's legs about an hour after birth. Where's that feisty temper now??

We were so happy to have a little boy join our family.

Grace and Avery meeting their brother. (by the way, that was the hospitals hat. I wish I hadn't been so loopy from the meds or I would have insisted someone find him a better hat. I hate that thing, it's so ugly.)

Nana and her babies!

Grandpa and Jude (seriously, that hat has to go)

Grandma and Jude in a normal hat.

Love this picture!! All she wanted to do was sit and hold her baby brother. But she ended up taking a little snooze with him.

Ma-maw and Pa-paw with Avery and Jude. (Penny was having troubles with her eye and the patch was helping to correct it. I promise she doesn't have a fantasy of being a pirate! :)

Uncle Joe drove all the way over to meet Jude. He is such a good uncle. The girls love him to pieces!

The girls holding Jude one more time before it was time to go home. Grace never handles this part well. It's weird because she is so independent and has stayed at her grandparents houses many times by herself without any problems. But to stay in our house when I'm not there upsets her. I don't think she likes to think about her mom and dad being somewhere without her. She wanted to spend the night at the hospital every night we were there. I hated to know she was so sad, but she had Nana with her so she wasn't too sad.

Scottie's Aunt Cindy just happened to be in town from Iowa, so she came over with Jeff and Penny the next day. I'm glad she got to meet Jude since I'm pretty sure it was the first time she saw Avery. We never seem to be available to come over to Hagerstown when they come to visit, so we don't get to see her very often.

Daddy and Jude taking a nap in the hospital. Trying to soak in the peace and quiet before we have to go home to the girls!

Jude in his coming home outfit. Aunt Rena made his hat and I love it!

All bundled up and ready to start our new adventure. I couldn't believe we were bringing home a little boy, I thought for sure we were going to have all girls. But we were thrilled to carry out a little bundle of blue. Although there were still those overwhelming feelings at the thought of three children depending on me, but it was too late to worry about that now. ;)

Avery was happy to see Jude, but not too happy. She would hold him for a minute and then say "I'm done" or "take this thing." Eventually she warmed up to him and started talking about her baby Jude.

Grace loves being the older sister. She really loves babies and is pretty good with them. Her and daddy were always fighting over who got to hold Jude. I think she will make a good babysitter someday!

Oh, and this is how Avery prepared for baby Jude. She got all "pweetty" with Mommy's make-up. :)

To blog or not to blog...

2011-04-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

that is the question. After a VERY long break, I'm starting to get the itch to blog again. The last six months have been about pure survival, and I just haven't had it in me to sit down and blog. I've been able to throw some pictures on facebook pretty quickly, so that's been my way of updating friends and family so far. But I feel like I'm in a place where I can sit down and write out my thoughts again, and to be honest I think I need it. Blogging helps me have a voice since I don't have anyone physical to talk to most days. So, I think after the kids go to bed tonight I'll start with Jude's birthday since that is where I left off. Of course I won't back track the last six months, but I would like to get that special day down in writing. Here's to finding my voice again!!

Last weekend....

2010-09-25T15:29:00.000-07:00

We were so blessed to have Scottie's only weekend off be the last one before Jude makes his arrival on Thursday. Not only does it help me avoid doing last minute preparations by myself, but we get to spend some quality time as a family before things get a little crazy for a while.

The residency program at one of his hospitals sponsored a family event a Youngs Dairy Farm. We had a really good time. They fed us lunch, gave us bracelets that allowed us to do all of the activities for free, and we were able to get a free pumpkin. The weather was perfect and the girls really enjoyed it!!

The first thing Grace wanted to do was the miniature golf. I was having some stomach and back pains from all the walking we did from the parking lot to the lunch shelter, so we only played four or five holes. Grace wasn't too happy about that, but she got over it pretty quickly since there was a lot more to do.

Avery jumped right in there and started playing. It was so cute!

Getting a little help from Daddy.

Oh my word, that woman swallowed one of the pumpkins!!! Oh wait... that's me. (I'm not sure why my back end looks deformed.)

Grace loves to slide on the big slides. Avery wanted to go, but she wasn't tall enough. Maybe next year, but I doubt it. For some reason she likes to stay on the tiny side.

First time up to bat. We put her in the slowest cage, but it was still 30 mph. She said it hurt to hit the ball, but she kept going.

Here it comes, I can see it!!

Yeah... not even close.

My poor little baby got hit in the finger with a ball. It happened in the middle of her turn, but she was afraid to turn around and tell us because she thought she would get hit again. So she kept hitting the balls even though she was in a lot of pain. She said, "I just told myself to be tough." It broke my heart to know she was in pain but didn't say anything. She has a pretty nasty bruise on her knuckle, and has declared that she will not be going to the batting cages ever again!!

Waiting in line for the bucket ride.

Avery was suppose to ride with her big sister, but she told Scottie "I ride wif Daddy." That wasn't a part of his plan, but he did it anyway. Such a good Daddy.

Ready to go!

We never have trouble getting the girls close to animals. They feed and pet goats every chance they get. They are both farm girls at heart.

Avery said, "he likes me!"

She thought the goat food was free for the taking. Better learn early girl, nothing is free!!

You can't go to a dairy farm and not get ice cream!! It was good ice cream, but Scottie and I both agreed that it's better to eat it plain. We both got some with candy pieces mixed in, but the ice cream is good enough on it's own. Avery's strawberry was the best.

Does that look like one scoop to you? Next time we'll get the kiddie cone!

Avery kept mooing, so I couldn't get a good picture of her face.

I know I say it a lot, but I love these girls!!

I know exactly how that pumpkin feels!! But just a few more days and we will become a party of five!! Can't wait to bring our little guy with us next year!

Pweety Eyes, Taa-Daaaa

2010-09-23T07:09:00.000-07:00

That's what Avery said when we discovered that she had gotten into my mascara.

She loves everything that has to do with make-up. You can't take her through the make-up aisle at the store because she will open the lipsticks and try on the samples. She's our little girly girl.

Showing Daddy her "pweety eyes."

Lately

2010-09-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pictures I've taken over the past couple of weeks. Sadly this is one of the only ones I took of Grace. I have a ton of Avery, but that's because she is home with me all day. By the time Grace gets home I am totally wiped out and taking pictures doesn't even register with me. I need to make sure and take some more of her so she doesn't feel unloved. ;)

I love this picture of the girls. Avery has to do everything Gracie does. Sitting on the couch? Check! Eating a snack? Check! Covered up with a blanket? Check! They are so sweet together.

I was on the computer one day and I heard Avery playing behind me. She was just talking to herself and then I heard "my gasses." I just had to laugh when I turned around and saw her with the doctor glasses on while holding her kitty. Too cute!

This girl is OBSESSED with lipstick!!!!! It's so hard to tell her no when she asks for it, but she makes the biggest mess every time. She found this bottle somewhere around the house, and it took a while to pry it out of her hands. I'm telling you....obsessed!!

In the words of Avery- "Pwetty!"

I've introduced Miss Avery to the fun entertainment of the swivel chair. I started spinning her around and she kept yelling "Again!!" It's the simple things in life, isn't it?

Swing-swing with Papaw.

Jeff tried to take Avery on a ride with my bike, but the front tire blew. Boo!!! I'll have to get it fixed because Avery thought it was awesome.

Avery eating a pickle on Gracie's pillow pet.

So cute!

Getting Ready

2010-08-31T19:47:00.001-07:00

I have finally washed all of the baby clothes. It may not look like much, but everything is stacked up pretty high. Unfortunately Daddy forgot to buy more hangers when he went to the store for me the other night, so that huge pile of clothes on top of the couch will have to wait a day or two until I can hang them. I washed them all in Dreft, and it smells so good. It makes me excited to think a little baby will be filling them out soon!!

Confession:
This is honestly one of the first times I have been truly excited about having another baby. I know that sounds awful, but this surprise has been hard for me to process emotionally. But now that it is getting closer, I'm getting excited. I've had a lot of thoughts go through my head since we found out, and I'm sure I'll talk about them sometime....

We've had the swing down in the living room for a couple of weeks now. Avery likes to push it and say "baby brother." It's about the only thing she has said was his, everything else is hers. Even today as I was folding the new blankets she grabbed one, rubbed it all over her snotty face, and said "my bankie." It's sad, but all I could think was - it won't smell like dreft if you do that!!! I think I have issues with Dreft.

Below the swing is my "new" boppy. I got it at a great baby resale store called "Once Upon A
Child." These are great places to buy children's clothes and accessories for a good price. I know we have sold clothes there before and got a good price for them. It really depends on the area of the store. The one down the road from us doesn't have much at all, which isn't surprising since we live in a not so classy part of Dayton. But 20 minutes away, in the nice part of town, they have awesome clothes!!! Mom found this boppy for $10.00, and it is in great condition!!! I love a good deal!

I'll post more pictures as we get things organized. Hopefully we can get his room a little more organized and decorated soon. But since he's the third, don't expect too much. We've learned our lesson and know that babies don't really care how much you decorate their room. ;)

Updated

2010-08-31T11:12:00.001-07:00

I updated my pregnancy ticker so it shows the accurate number of days left until the baby comes!!

Avery Singing

2010-08-26T06:36:00.001-07:00

I tried to get Avery singing on video a few weeks ago. Grace was listening to The Phantom of the Opera, which she is belting in the background. I got her to sing a couple of times, but she wasn't doing it like she had earlier. You will also get to witness her ability to eat anything she finds on the ground. It's seriously becoming a problem. She will eat just about anything she finds. Crazy kid!!!

Grace and Avery

2010-08-26T06:35:00.001-07:00

This is my second attempt to catch Avery singing, but she stopped as soon as Grace started talking. Of course Grace isn't camera shy, and wanted her chance to talk on video. I have no idea where she got this saying. Another crazy kid!!!

I Hope This Lasts!!

2010-08-17T05:56:00.001-07:00

We finally got a day of nice weather. While it was still warm, it didn't suffocate us when we went outside to play. I have felt really guilty this summer because I haven't been able to do much with the girls. We stayed inside quite a bit due to the heat. My body just didn't handle it very well. So when the humidity went down yesterday we spent the afternoon in the backyard after school.

Grace has finally mastered the art of riding a bike without training wheels. She is loving it!!!! But I think she is getting tired of just riding up and down the sidewalk next to our house. I told her after the baby is born and I recover we can take walks around the neighborhood while she rides her bike.

I'm so glad our neighbors have full grown trees to give us some shade. We have never lived in a house with any kind of shade, which makes playing outside a little too hot sometimes. But we have plenty now and I am loving it!! I wish we had trees in our own yard, but we will just have to make due with what we get from the neighbors.

Lounging in the grass eating baked lays.

They are the sweetest sisters.

I'm not sure why this picture didn't flip. But it shows Avery pointing at "air-pains."

Grace is pointing out bunny rabbits in the clouds. Avery didn't get it and started looking for bunnies in the yard.

I guess Avery thought it was still too hot outside because she started pouring water on herself. Actually she does this about everyday, inside or outside, it doesn't matter. She is the messiest kid I have ever encountered!

I really hope this weather lasts for a while. I want to enjoy the girls before I have to start giving a lot of attention to the baby!! :)

First Day of First Grade

2010-08-11T05:46:00.001-07:00

Gracie is officially a first grader. I can't believe it!! She was so excited and nervous this morning as we got ready for school. Avery was excited too, she just didn't know what she was excited about.

She's been trying to smile with her mouth closed since she still has that big tooth hanging sideways in her mouth. But it is starting to get really loose, so I hope it falls out soon. It's making her feel a little self-conscious. I think she will feel better when she gets to school and sees other first graders with dangly front teeth. ;)

Backpack drama!! We bought a backpack a few weeks ago when we were at the mall with Dad and Carol. They bought her the dress she is wearing for the first day of school, and I bought her a gray and pink backpack that she wanted. But three days ago we were at Target buying a few things and she saw this monkey backpack. She fell in love with it and it's matching lunch box. Scottie said no way, but I was wavering quickly. I have a feeling that this might be the last year she will want to carry a pink monkey backpack. I know that may seem silly, but I definitely feel like she is growing up so quickly. So we came to a compromise, she could get it by giving us her money that she earned from her Papaw, and with the knowledge that the pink and gray one will be her backpack next year. She was so excited, and I felt like I get to keep my baby girl for one more year.

Waiting at the bus stop. It was so hot and humid!!! If you have naturally curly hair, don't come to Ohio. It won't do you any favors. I have had the hardest time with Gracie's hair. Everyday we deal with frizz and tangles. I am really ready for fall, for many reasons. :)

The girls were singing Wheels on the Bus while we waited. I think Avery is going to be a little lonely without her big sister to play with her.

I told Grace to wave at me, but I didn't get the picture in time. She was really nervous by the time the bus got here. She told me she had butterflies in her tummy. So we prayed together right before the bus came. In fact I prayed all morning that she would have a good day, and that good friends would come into her life. I was really happy to see that she got to sit with a little girl that lives down the street. We've talked to her a couple of times this summer and she seems really nice. I hope this is the start of a good friendship!

So now it's just me and this little monkey. We've already read a couple of books and will have to find things to do until Sesame Street comes on at 10:00. Avery is not a big t.v. watcher, but she LOVES Sesame Street.

I'm counting down the hours until Gracie comes home and tells me all about her first day of first grade!!!!

Cookie Recipes

2010-08-08T11:16:00.001-07:00

I thought I might post the recipes I used for my cookie table. I made peanut butter, chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and chocolate Rolo cookies. The oatmeal raisin cookies were suppose to become sandwich cookies with cream in the middle, which would have tasted like an oatmeal creme pie. But I ran out of time on the day of the party. I'll post the link to both the plain cookies and the sandwich ones.

I've told you about the peanut butter ones before, except it's a recipe for snicker cookies. I just leave out the snickers and use this recipe for plain peanut butter. I LOVE this recipe. I will never make another kind of peanut butter cookie again. You can find the recipe here.

I had never made the Rolo cookies before, and was taking a risk by making them for the first time on the day of the party. But it was worth it, because I thought they were really good. You can find the recipe here.

I found the oatmeal raisin recipe at Annie's Eats. I really like her food blog and can't wait to try more of her recipes. You can find the plain cookies here, and the creme sandwich one here. I plan on making the sandwich cookies soon because they look soooo good!!

I already had the chocolate chip recipe in my recipe box. So I'll post the whole thing here on the blog. I really like these cookies because they use a box of vanilla pudding. I think it makes the cookies really soft and sweet. The only thing I've noticed is that the regular recipe can sometimes make the cookies a little too sweet. I usually halve the recipe and they turn out perfect! I used the whole recipe for the party because it makes a lot of cookies. They still turned out good, in my opinion, but I still like to cut it in half. You can also use different flavors of pudding to make different types of cookies. My roommate in college use to make them all the time. She was always mixing it up. One time she used chocolate pudding and white chocolate chips. Another time she used mocha flavored pudding and milk chocolate chips. They were really good!!!
Anyway, here's the recipe:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

4 1/2 cups flour
2 cups butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 (3.4oz) pkgs. vanilla pudding mix
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. baking soda
1 pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 eggs
1 (12oz) bag of chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Beat in pudding mix. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Blend in flour a cup at a time. Add baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 - 12 minutes.
Yields: 4-5 dozen

Toooo Hot

2010-08-05T08:46:00.001-07:00

We had a heat advisory yesterday, which was not a surprise since this whole summer has been unbearably hot!! So we stayed inside...again. I had so many fun things planned this summer, but it's been so hot that we haven't done very much. I'm a little bummed about it, but I just can't be out in this heat for very long. Maybe next summer won't be so hot!!

Grace spent the afternoon painting. She asked me to find a picture on the internet that she could look at for inspiration. ;)

Avery spent quite a bit of time at the table eating a doughnut. She is the slooooowest eater! But we didn't have anything else to do so it worked out for me. We had gotten doughnuts that morning at a little mom and pop cafe after we ran to the real estate place to drop off our rent. She ran straight to the counter and pointed to the ones with "can-ie" on them. And that's about all she ate off the doughnut, icing and "can-ie's." Of course I had to eat the rest for her. They were really good doughnuts!! There is something to be said about family owned doughnut shops. They are so much better than chains stores. I need to stop talking about them because I would love to go back and buy a dozen right now!!! That would be a bad idea, right??

This is what Scottie did the whole time he was home. He had just gotten off of his 30 hour shift!! And he worked the entire 30 hours. He said they were crazy busy and he didn't get much time to stop and take a break. I felt so bad for him. We just let him sleep. Even though he didn't wake up until after we were all asleep, it was nice just to have him in the house. We are going to have to get use to this and realize it is our new "normal" for now. It's a crazy life for a resident!!

Graduation Party

2010-07-31T22:21:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been almost three months since Scottie graduated from medical school and we are just now having a party for him. We couldn't do it right after graduation since he left a week later for officer training, and then had to start his residency as soon as he got back. Today was the best day for him, even though he worked the night before and had to work right after the party. I told you this residency life was going to be tough!

But we had a good time and I am so happy that we had the chance to celebrate all of his hard work. I'm almost getting teary thinking about everything he has accomplished, I am so proud of my husband!!

I made a little table in our front room with a few pictures and his diploma. There were some cards on there from our family. Thank you!!!

This my cookie table, and I am so proud of it!! I asked Scottie if it was okay to do this instead of a cake because they are ridiculously expensive, even at Wal-Mart. He didn't mind, and I got an excuse to bake cookies!! I love baking, but I don't like to have cookies around because I will eat them all. This was the perfect way for me to bake and not eat everything in sight. Although there are some left over and I'm trying to think of how to get rid of them, maybe meet some new neighbors??

I put gift bags on the table with some ribbon so everyone could take cookies home. I love this idea. I read an article somewhere that suggested doing it for a bridal shower. All the guests are asked to bring a batch of their favorite cookies and a copy of the recipe for the bride. Then everyone gets to take home cookies and the bride gets a stack of new recipes. Great idea!!!

Avery and Nana. Wow, Mom was a life saver. Even though I had been working on the house and the cookies for three days straight, I just didn't have the energy to get it all done. Luckily Mom helped me finish cleaning and we spent the whole morning getting the food ready. Thanks again Mom, I couldn't have done it without you!

The food table, which is also our new set of cabinets that Scottie made. I am so impressed with his skills. He bought the cabinets and then cut plywood for the back and sides, and cut trim for the corners. Then he painted it and put the counter top on it. I LOVE it!! It really looks good in the kitchen and has given me a lot more storage/counter space. Thank you hubby!

I was trying to take different pictures of the party and everything we had done. My brother-in-law Joe thought I was taking a random picture of him. To be honest I didn't even notice there were people standing there, I was taking a picture of the food table. Which is why everyone is in mid-motion. Oops! ;)

Scottie's Granny, Grandma and Grandpa Conner, and his dad Jeff.

Scottie's family that came to the party, including his "Aunt" Rena (she's really Penny's cousin but more like an Aunt) and his cousin Jesse.

Like every party I go to, I got busy talking and socializing and stopped taking pictures. So sadly I didn't get a picture of my Uncle Mark, Aunt Teresa, and cousins Katie, Amanda and her family. We were so happy they came to celebrate with us, and can't wait to play Things again with the rest of the Jenkins crew! :)

Grace and her cousins caught a butterfly that was definitely in it's last hour of life. Although I think all of their love and "experiments" helped it move on to butterfly heaven a little faster then mother nature intended. I'm not sure what experiments they did, but I know they weren't trying to hurt it. They named it Jessica, drew pictures of her after she passed away, and created a song about Jessica the butterfly. I love how these kids play together, they are so funny to watch.

Grace, Chloe, Dylan, and Ezra help Jessica into her new home. They even put grass in there for her to eat, maybe her last meal? ;) Avery was there "helping" too, but we didn't get a picture of her with them.

After the party Grace was talking about Jessica the butterfly. She said "well Jessica is in heaven now, or maybe hell.... if she killed somebody." I didn't know how to respond and she sounded so serious, so I just waited until she left the room to burst out laughing.

The girls found the dress up box in the basement. This is one of their favorite activities when they get together. Chloe looks so cute in the Snow White costume, but I don't about Grace in her ripped up Star Wars costume from two years ago. She loves it so I guess that's all that matters.

You gotta love cousins!!! The girls were trying to talk us into letting Chloe stay the night, which is something her mom Amanda and did all the time when we were younger. It was almost like going back in time listening to them tell us how it would work even though Chloe didn't have any clothes with her. If I hadn't been totally wiped out from the past few days of party preparations I would have said yes, as long as it worked out with Amanda. But I was about the fall over by the end of the day. We promised the girls we would work something out soon so they could have a sleep over. How could we say no? They get along so well and have the best time together. We will definitely have to do something soon!!

Thanks again to everyone who was able to come. I know there were a lot of people who wanted to, but it just didn't work out. We appreciate every one's notes of encouragement and congratulations. Thank you to all of our family and friends for supporting us the past four years. Not only does it take a village to raise a child, but it takes a village to help someone make it through medical school without losing their mind!

Starting My Summer Updates

2010-07-29T18:37:00.001-07:00

The girls have been trying to get out and play in our big backyard. It's been a little hard to play with this sweltering heat and humidity. Hopefully the humidity will go down soon and we can start enjoying our yard more!

I know I've said it before, but Grace is such a great big sister. She plays with Avery and helps her all the time. I love watching them play together on the swing set.

Starting the day together.

Avery likes to feed people. I just wish she didn't like to drop food on the floor as well. If only she would eat all of her food, the little bird! (Can you see Daddy completely out in the background? This is right after he came home from the night shift. I am so glad this is not a permanent rotation.)

Avery was trying to help Grandpa tighten the legs on the table. She never got to the legs, but she sure looks cute anyway.

I have been wanting to go to the downtown farmers market ever since we moved here, but didn't want to venture out there on my own. So Dad and Carol went with us when they came to visit last weekend. I think I will enjoy it when the weather cools down. It was almost too hot to walk around and shop. There were some small food vendors, produce, and then homemade goods like ceramics, soaps, jewelry, etc... It was cute, but I don't want to go again until it cools down!

Grace got some flowers at the market. They were closing down and the man was selling everything for a dollar. So she got to pick out several different colors of flowers, and then put them in a vase at home. They are still sitting on our table and look very pretty! (Yes, she is sitting in the stroller. Avery wanted to walk and Grace didn't, so they switched. But only because Dad was there to push, there is no way I could push Grace around now.) *Sorry I cut your head off Dad, it wasn't personal. ;)

Grandma and Avery walking through the market.

This has become Avery's favorite spot in the house. Scottie has been putting together some cabinets in the kitchen for me. This kitchen is small and has very little cabinet/drawer space. Avery is going to be so upset to find that Daddy has finished painting them and will soon be filled with all of the kitchen stuff that has been piled up in the corner. I have a feeling she is going to try and play in it anyway. So I need to make sure I put tupperware in there instead of anything breakable.

Death of a blog or New Life?

2010-07-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

My Uncle Bill emailed me and asked if our blog had died now that we actually survived medical school. I've thought about it off and on this summer, and decided that it just needs some new life. I've renamed it "Surviving Residency" and believe me I can already tell the next three years will be a survival of the fittest!!

I've stayed pretty quiet on the blog since May. As I told my uncle, I haven't felt very positive lately and didn't want to fill the blog with gripes and complaints. But if I truly want to document our experiences through this medical journey, then I'll have to put out the good and the bad. This intern year is going to be hard for all of us, and the added blessing of our baby boy will bring it's share of joy and tough times as well. So hopefully you won't mind if I sound down or stressed sometimes. Just know, I'm only expressing my complaints and not spirally down into a deep depression. (Grandma ;)

I've got a lot of pictures from this summer that I would like to share. I'm hoping to start back tracking and posting some of the good times we've had so far. Stay tuned, because I feel like I'm getting my blog groove back together.

Mooooooooomyyyyyy

2010-05-03T23:40:00.001-07:00

This is what we hear every night before Avery falls asleep, and the first thing she says when she wakes up in the morning. It is so cute. I wanted to get it on video without her hearing me. Sorry about the dark video, it was the only way to capture her sweet voice. ;)

Teacher Appreciation Week

2010-05-02T20:30:00.001-07:00

This week is teacher appreciation week. When I was a teacher the PTO usually gave us little things throughout the week. But Gracie's school doesn't do that and it's up to the room parents to do things for the teachers. I didn't realize I was a room parent, but somehow I ended up being one of six mom's who were emailed and asked if we would take a day to do something for the teachers. At first I thought, sure I can bake some cookies or something small like that. (In my teaching experience we got one small thing each day, a can of pop, a candy bar, sticky notes or a pen.) Then the other mom's started emailing back and signing up for their day. I was shocked when they starting saying things like: an edible arrangement, gift certificates to a restaurant, a basket of flowers for the teacher and one for the assistant... Great, a plate of chocolate chip cookies is going to look pretty lame. ( Just for the record, I know Gracie's teachers would not think this because they are two great ladies, it's just my own problem with peer pressure!!) So I tried to think of something fun, but not overly expensive to do for my day. I really like what I ended up doing and think it's better than a plate of cookies!!

I bought two small baskets at Walmart and then filled it with goodies that the teachers said they liked. Not all of them were on the list, but they went with my theme so I hope they like it! :)

Here's what I put in the basket and their little sayings:

Diet Dr. Pepper: You're just what the Dr. ordered.
popcorn: Have a POPPIN' good week.
Extra gum: You always go the EXTRA mile for us.
Starburst: You are a STAR in our eyes.
Bliss chocolates: Having you for a teacher is pure BLISS.
Peanut M&Ms: We are NUTS about you.
Reese Pieces: We love you to PIECES.
Payday: For all you do, you deserve an extra PAY DAY.

I hope they like their gift!! I know I would have loved to get something like that for teacher appreciation day.

** I know it sounds like I'm complaining, and I don't mean to whine. I just think it's a little unfair for six people to have to foot the bill for the teachers when there are 23 students in the class. The school didn't contact the main room parent until Thursday, which didn't give us any time to collect money from the other parents. I am definitely all about showing appreciation for her teachers because I know how much work it takes to make a classroom work everyday, and her teacher is awesome!! I think I'm just tired and feel like complaining. I really shouldn't write anything past 8:00 because I just get cranky. So I'm going to stop writing. I just wanted to share my idea because I think it turned out pretty cute, and I'm excited to give it to her teachers because they deserve a lot of appreciation!!

Pa-core!

2010-04-23T07:54:00.000-07:00

One night Grace wanted to watch a movie and eat popcorn. Since she didn't have school the next day I told her yes, but she would have to wait for Avery to go to bed. It was getting close to her bedtime and I didn't want her to try and stay up late with her big sister. As you can see from the picture, my plan worked perfectly...

I put Avery in bed and listened for signs of slumber. When all was quiet, I got out the popcorn and put it in the microwave. It only took one minute of popping before I heard yelling and screaming from the girls room. It sounded like something was really wrong, so I ran in there and scooped her out of the crib. As I was checking her out to see what could be the problem she stopped crying, pointed to the door and said "pa-core?"

I don't know if she heard it popping or smelled the popcorn, but either way she knew we were eating one of her favorite snacks without her. I couldn't resist her cute face or sweet little voice. So she got to curl up with Sissy and eat some popcorn. She was a happy camper and went right back to bed after her late night snack. It was another one of those "I love having kids" moment. They really do bring a lot of joy to your life.

Easter 2010

2010-04-19T06:52:00.000-07:00

It was that time of year again; time to dye eggs. Grace was completely obsessed with the project, and asked several times a day, for several days, if we could color the eggs. It was driving me crazy! But we finally got around to doing it and she was very happy.

(by the way: does anyone know of a good photography class? I would love to learn how to take better pictures. I hate it when their faces look pale from the flash.)

Avery had to get in on the action too.

On Easter morning we did something new. I bought a pack of resurrection eggs, and we hid them for the girls. It's a neat way to share the Easter story. There are twelve eggs, and you open them in order. Each egg contains something that symbolizes part of the story. Like the first egg had a small donkey in it and then there was scripture that talked about Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. Of course as you get closer to the end there are things like the nails, and crown of thorns, etc... I had a hard time reading through it without crying, and told Scottie he could be in charge of the reading next year.

The last egg was empty and represented the empty tomb and Christ's victory over death! I think Grace really enjoyed the eggs. It will be a great tool for every Easter.

Avery had a blast trying to find the eggs. I was sad that we didn't find any Easter egg hunts this year. I kept looking in the paper, but it looked like we had missed them during spring break. Grace was really disappointed. I am going to try really hard next year to find one for the girls.

This was the only shot I could get of them with their baskets. Avery was too excited and wouldn't sit still.

I think she got a sour jelly bean.

Very excited for candy!!!

After church we went over to our friends Nate and Debbie's for lunch. I was a little sad knowing that this will be the last time we get to do this with them. We went to their house last year too.

When I look at this picture I can't help but wonder if I will have to search for a third Easter dress, or a pair of pants and matching shirt next year??? We'll find out May 20th!

I'm Back....

2010-04-17T06:34:00.000-07:00

Avery always has to "help" when I am loading or unloading the dishwasher. Apparently baby was dirty and needed a shower. I snuck it out when she wasn't looking. These are the times that you sit back and say "I love being a parent." It's so fun to watch them and try and figure out what they are thinking, like why would you put a baby in the dishwasher??

There's my other baby staring me down. This is one of the last pictures I got of him here at the house. My in-laws graciously said yes when we asked them to take Kingsley for a while. That's a entire post in itself, but it's been a good thing for us and him. He has lost some much needed weight since he's been with them. I'll talk about it later. I miss him a lot, but it really has been a good thing.

An exciting event: Avery's first Krispie Kreme. Yep, she liked it.

This was taken back in the beginning of March on the first warm day. Even though it was only in the low 50's, it felt great at the time. Grace was practicing her tennis swing. She loves to use the balls on a string. It was the best $10 we ever spent. She is able to practice tennis without taking out someone's window.

My baby's first time playing outside. She loved it! She just walked up and down the sidewalk and thought it was the greatest thing ever.

Pulling her baby stroller.

A couple of weeks later it was warm enough to head to the park. I think Avery liked the slide. What do you think?

Sliding sisters.

Daddy and Avery spending some time on the swings.

Nana came to visit and watch Avery while I had my first doctors appointment.

My beautiful girls.

Gracie always amazes me with her creativity. She took a few boxes from the garage, opened them up and made tunnels for her and Avery to crawl through. She is such a neat kid.

Avery taking a turn through the tunnel.

No, this is not a horse walking down the sidewalk. It's an Irish Setter, just like my Uncle Mike had years ago. I love these dogs, but they have a lot of energy.

Avery wanted to hug this dog so badly. Luckily it was a sweet dog and was patient with her hugging.

Jeff and Penny brought Gracie's old car over for Avery. They had been storing it for us since we moved to Kirksville. It's so fun to get out old toys and remember when your child was smaller.

First push-up. Yep, she liked it.

All dressed up to go out for Mommy's birthday.

I can't believe how much older she looks this year. Where did my baby go?

Nana came over on my birthday to help me out. I had a bladder infection that was causing contraction like pains. The doctor put me on medicine and everything turned out ok, but it was a little scary when it started.

Eating dessert at Biaggis.

Celebrating number 32! I didn't feel very good, but I didn't want to miss the chance to go out on my birthday. I think I look awful, but it ended up being a good day. We went to Target after dinner and I got a new purse and wallet. But I was spent after all of that and went home to lay down. Hopefully 33 will be a little less painful.

It's been a while since I've posted anything, so if you are reading this you are a devoted friend or family member. This pregnancy has been the hardest one so far. I have been exhausted and SICK! I am so thankful to be in the second trimester. I feel a lot better and have finally gotten some things done around the house. Hopefully I can keep the blog updated since I have quite a few pictures to share and we have a lot of exciting things coming up!!!!

February Moments

2010-03-01T17:39:00.001-08:00

Grace had a fun surprise in February when Jill, Stuart, and Wyatt came over to visit with Dad and Carol. She had been wanting to go to Chuck-e-Cheese for a long time and this was the perfect time to go.

This was Avery's reaction when Chucke came out. She was pretty excited.

I have no idea what's going on here.

I was totally shocked to turn around and find Scottie at the basketball game... yeah right!

Avery and Wyatt had a lot of fun on the little car ride. We spent several tokens on this one.

I told you that Avery would climb on you if you sit in her chair. She was all over Dad that day.

Grace was showing off her super reading skills. How many people can you fit on a poofy chair? Apparently five!

We made a trip to Indy for Gabby's birthday party. Avery went nuts when they brought out the cake. This girl has a SERIOUS sweet tooth.

I was a little nervous about going to the party since the girls only get to see each other about two times a year. I wasn't sure if Gabby would have her own set of friends there and Grace would feel out of place. But all the worries were gone as soon as I rang the doorbell and heard Gabby yell "Grace is here!!!!!" They are the sweetest friends.

One of my favorite people in the world! My friend Kim.

This is the bag that I made for Gabby. I forgot to take a picture of it when I finished it, so Gabby was gracious enough the model it for me. It was pretty easy and I have enough fabric to make one for Grace too. I just need to find the energy to do it.

Love these girls!! (Can someone please tell me why Grace doesn't smile with her teeth?)

Sweet Avery taking a "ride" on Kingsley.

Avery having a not so sweet moment. Hey, we all have them!

This is exactly what I wanted and fought for when trying to have a second baby. I really wanted Grace to have someone to play with everyday. She made a "car" for the two of them. Avery is sitting on Gracie's booster seat and Grace turned the shopping cart upside down so she could be the driver. It made me smile to walk in the room and see this picture.

We decided to have our friends over for the Superbowl. Scottie and I aren't big football fans, but the Colts were playing and it gave me a good reason to have people come over. Our friends Nate and Debbie brought their three kids to the house. We have known them since our first year of med. school. It's hard to believe that when we started Grace was three, Addison was almost two, and Kayden was a tiny baby. Avery and Julianna were added two years later. It's been nice to have people to talk to throughout this experience and we will be sad to see them go to Texas as we head to Ohio. :(

I have a picture of Grace surrounded by Q-tips when she was a baby. Maybe I should learn to put them in a baby proof spot before the next one comes.

Gracie's school Valentine party. She requested to wear a dress, and a ponytail with a red headband.

We finally got Avery's first haircut. She had this funky top layer that was stringy and hanging over the rest of her hair. I'm glad her Donald Trump hair is gone!!

She didn't enjoy getting her hair cut. As soon as the put the cape on she started crying. I need to get the picture off of Scottie's phone. She looks so sad, but it was worth it to get her hair blended into a decent hairstyle.

Goodbye February!!! I will not miss you. I have my eyes set on Spring, and I can't wait for some sunshine!

Future Bookworm

2010-02-22T19:43:00.000-08:00

If you come over to our house you need to know that this is Avery's favorite chair. She likes to eat her snacks on it, sit at the top and gaze out the window, and she loves to look at books while she is lounging on the "poofy chair." If you sit there, she will climb on you. I'm just warning you.

Her other favorite thing is books. She doesn't really play with toys, but you can get her to sit in your lap and look at books. She doesn't have the attention span yet to sit and listen to every page, but she is getting there. The other day I was busy doing something, probably trying to clean my wreck of a house, and I noticed that it had gotten quiet in the living room. When I came in I saw her sitting in her chair "reading" a Babysitters Club book, which is a chapter book without pictures. (It was also my favorite series of books when I was young.)

I have a feeling that she is going to be one of those kids who is always sitting around reading a book. I think I will love that about her! :)

Not Kidding

2010-02-08T15:02:00.001-08:00

This was the best picture I could get today. I think it's a sign of the crazy days ahead for us.

We found out this weekend that our family of four will become a family of five in early October. I'm sure you are wondering, "did they plan this?" The answer to that would be - NO! It's kind of funny, but not really, that we tried for almost two years to get pregnant with Avery but only one time of...umm... not being prepared... and here comes baby #3. I sincerely apologize if that is more information than you wanted to know, but I'm just being honest.

It's amazing how many emotions you can go through in a 24 hour time period. Believe me, I've hit them all so far. Of course I am happy, but there is a large part of me that feels overwhelmed. We are getting ready to move in late spring, Scottie is going to officer training for almost 5 weeks, new house, new city, new life. Not to mention that we are about to enter the world of residency, and rumor has it that its' not easy. I think Scottie has to be on call every four days, and that means that he will be at the hospital the entire time. Won't that be fun to be home alone with three kids every four days??!!

But those are the negatives and I don't want to dwell on them. I want to enjoy this surprise and praise the One who brought him/her to us. It really is a blessing and a miracle, and I want to treat it that way. By the way, we are really praying for a boy. I am 100% done after this little one joins us, so I hope we get to buy lot's of blue!!

Will you join us in prayer for this new little miracle? We are praying for the health and safety for both of us, and the ability to handle all the new stresses that are about to come our way.

Here's to life's wonderful surprises!

LOVL is in the air!

2010-02-05T06:50:00.001-08:00

I bought this cute Valentine decoration at Hobby Lobby the other day, but I guess I didn't look at it very closely. Otherwise I would have noticed that it said LOVL instead of LOVE. I hate taking things back, but this is a pretty bad mistake so I will be dragging myself back into Hobby Lobby to exchange it. How did this get past several people? The worker who made it, the person who packaged it, the store employee who unpacked it and hung it in the store, and the dodo who bought it?

I started something new this year for Valentine's day. When I brought this stuff home Scottie asked, "so which blog did you get this idea from?" I was a little mad, but had to laugh because I did see the mailboxes on someones blog. But everything else was my idea!! I sewed the fabric, filled the bucket with paper, pens, and stickers, and labeled our mailboxes. Every day we write a note to each other and say one thing we love about that person. Then we read them at dinner. We'll do it every night until Valentine's day. It has been a lot of fun, and encouraging to hear what someone else loves about you.

Sorry this is sideways, but I couldn't get it to turn. It's Gracie's first note. She didn't quite get the concept, and wrote an apology note for her behavior that morning. Even though it wasn't what I told her to do I loved it just the same. I love that she would take the time to say she was sorry for acting up that day. For Scottie she told him that we are getting an early summer. (It was ground hog's day, obviously!) Now she writes things like " I love you becus you or spishel." I'm going to keep her cards so I can look at them when she's old enough to spell special, and wish I had that little kindergartner again.

I think this is going to be a yearly tradition. It has been a really positive thing for our family. Especially me, as a girl, it's nice to get notes from your husband that tell you things like:
"I think you are so beautiful."
"I love how you take care of me and the girls."
"I love that your are such a great mommy."

Seriously, who doesn't love hearing things like that?? Yep, we will definitely being doing this again. :)

Our Little Talker

2010-02-02T20:40:00.001-08:00

19 Years

2010-01-31T13:07:00.000-08:00

I know these pictures are small, but it's the best I could do right now. Scottie is going to try and make them bigger. But I really wanted to write a post about my grandma who passed away 19 years ago today. Her name was Mary Leigh. That's where we got part of Avery's middle name, Joleigh. We ,the grandkids, called her Mimi.

I only had thirteen years with her, but she really made an impact on me in that short amount time. So I wanted to list nineteen memories/thoughts of the wonderful woman that was my Mimi. Most of these memories may sound silly, but since she left this world too soon they are from the eyes of a child.

19. She had beautiful nails, that she meticulously took care of every day. She taught me how to file and paint my nails, even as young as the first grade.

18. I loved it when she would let Curt and I water her plants throughout the house.

17. I have many memories of her sitting at the counter in their kitchen playing solitaire with a deck of cards. It always looked hard, and I'm not sure I could play now if it wasn't on the computer. ;)

16. She had a great laugh. I can still hear it even after all of these years.

15. She was a sincerely kind person. It wasn't a kindness you could fake.

14. She was a really patient grandma. The only time I ever saw her get mad was when Kelsey, Sarah, and Katie got into the bedroom that they had just bombed for fleas. The memory is a little fuzzy, but I think she hosed them down outside.

13. There were ALWAYS Jello Pops in Mimi's big green freezer. You could also count on individual cups of jello with fruit, or chocolate pudding with cool whip. :)

12. Every time we stayed all night she would get up and make pancakes with sausage patties.

11. She had a sweet soul. I remember her telling me about a kitten that passed away while she held it and how she just sat there and cried.

10. I couldn't wait for Christmas because I knew that she would buy matching presents for me and my cousin Amanda. They weren't cheap little matching stuffed animals. We got matching outfits, boots, jewelry, etc.... It was awesome!

9. She was a great cook! I learned how to make chocolate chip cookies from her, and I think about her every time I make them. She also made "rope meat" (roast tied with string) for me because she knew how much I liked it.

8. She was the mother of seven. Sadly, three went to be with the Lord before her. Now that I'm older and understand more about the real world, it amazes me that she still had a smile on her face and a good outlook on life. She was a great mother.

7. She always had flowers growing in their back yard. I especially remember the roses by the white brick wall.

6. She drove a car that she called Rosebud. I love that she named her car.

5. She made the BEST cherry pie.

4. She never put people down. She was an encourager.

3. She had a calm presence. Which was needed in our family. We are a passionate family, and sometimes emotions can run high. But we also possess a wicked good sense of humor!

2. She was beautiful - inside and out.

1. You never had to wonder if you were loved. She had enough love for everyone and you knew it.

I miss my Mimi. She left a hole in our hearts and in our family that can never be filled. But I am thankful for every day I got to spend with her.

(If you have a memory of her, feel free to leave a comment. I changed it so anyone can write on the blog. If you don't have a google account just click the button next to Name.)

Baked Potato Soup

2010-01-30T07:50:00.001-08:00

Here is another great recipe from Tasty Kitchen. I didn't get a picture of the soup I made the other night, so I used the picture from the recipe. If you are having a day where calories don't even enter your mind, then you should make this soup. I don't make it often, but there are days when the thought of bacon, cheese, and sour cream only mean yum - not fat!! I use 2% milk and light sour cream. It's funny that I now think using 2% is an indulgence from our regular fat-free milk. I grew up on whole milk, and I thought 2% was milk flavored water. Now I think it's "thick." Just a random fact about me.

Anyway, this soup is perfect for these cold snowy days. So give it a try, and then go run a couple of miles. ;)

4 Large Baking Potatoes
2/3 Cup (11 Tablespoons) Butter Or Margarine
2/3 Cup All-purpose Flour
6 Cups Milk
3/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
4 Green Onions, Chopped And Divided
12 Slices Bacon, Cooked, Crumbled, And Divided
1-1/4 Cups (5 Ounces) Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Divided
1 (8-ounce) Carton Sour Cream
Chicken Bouillon (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Wash potatoes and prick several times with a fork; bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour or until done. Let cool. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise; then scoop out pulp, and set aside. Discard skins.

Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat; add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and bubbly.

Add potato pulp, salt, pepper, 2 tablespoons green onions, 1/2 cup bacon, and 1 cup cheese. Cook until thoroughly heated; stir in sour cream. Add extra milk, if necessary, for desired thickness. Add little bit of chicken bouillon for extra flavoring. Serve with remaining onion, bacon, and cheese.

Random January Moments

2010-01-29T06:28:00.001-08:00

You can find Avery with something around her neck at any given moment during the day. She loves to put Gracie's purses on, as well as draping Scottie's belts around her neck. It's a little strange watching her walk around with random objects hanging off of her.

Avery is showing off her mad basketball skills with the hoop Grace got for Christmas from Mam-maw and Pap-paw.

I laughed so hard when I flipped on the light and saw this sleeping beauty in my bed.

Grace is a celebrity! She was so excited to see her face on the back of the Bloomington Parks and Recreation winter/spring program book. It's a picture from the art class she took this summer. She feels so cool!

Nana came to visit and took us to Panera while Grace was at school. Then we had to take a trip to Gordman's. If you don't have one I feel bad for you. They have an awesome selection of decorating items for cheap. The first time we went I told Scottie that Mom would love this place. I wasn't wrong, we go every time she comes to visit. ;)

Avery wanted to wear Nie-Nie's boots. For some reason she started calling Mom that name. We decided it was meant to be as it sounds like a combination of Nana and Mimi, which is what we called my grandma.

This is Avery's new favorite activity. I can't wait until there is sun shining through that window. I'm so tired of this gray gloomy January.

The girls were spending some time together on the "poofy chair." Avery was feeding Grace baby cheese puffs.

Avery thought it would be fun to pelt her big sister in the head with puffs. Grace thought it was hilarious, so of course Avery did several times.

We are happy that January is almost over, because that means we are one month closer to Spring!!!!!

Last Day of Disney!!

2010-01-27T19:36:00.001-08:00

Be prepared, there are a lot of pictures in this post! But it was our last day, and I had to get as many memories on film as I could. This is Grace on our last morning waiting for the Magic Kingdom bus, ears and all!!

This is a creepy Disney employee attacking Grace. Actually he was a silly employee and made our wait for the bus more entertaining.

Daddy and Avery chilling together and you guessed it... waiting for the bus. I hated waiting. It always seemed as if every other park's bus would come around before our bus. I'm sure that's not true, but it always felt like it!

The girls and I made a trip to the candy store when we got to the Magic Kingdom. Grace picked a giant lollipop, and Avery thought it was awesome! We told her she couldn't open it until we got back to Indiana, but it's been several weeks now and it's still unopened. It's so pretty that I hate to see her eat it.

The blanket in front of Avery is our awesome fleece blanket we bought, and needed, at the park. It has a picture of the castle lit up at night. It is super soft and wasn't very expensive.

Avery was trying very hard to unwrap the tempting sucker, but luckily she isn't that skilled - yet.

How many happy babies do you see waiting in line? She was so happy throughout the entire trip. I wish I could say the same for Grace, but we'll get to that later.

This my friends is an example of why it is so important to choose your clothes carefully when spending the day at an amusement park. People who are waiting in line have nothing better to do than examine and judge your outfit. If you enlarge the picture you will see why . Seriously, how many different stripes can you wear in one outfit???!!! His undershirt has diagonal stripes, the sweater has horizontal, and the pants have vertical ones. Hilarious!

Awww... the Dumbo ride. I wish I could say that we took this picture to capture the joy they felt while riding this ride. But every time we checked the line, it had at least a 70 minute wait. Sorry Dumbo, but you aren't that thrilling. Maybe next time.

Appropriate title :)

Sneaking in a little rest by Cinderella's castle.

We wanted to get a family picture in front of the castle with all of our Mickey Mouse shirts. Unfortunately Avery was still sleeping, but she has a Minnie Mouse shirt on too.

Another example about choosing outfits carefully. The girl to the right has Louis Vuitton written across her butt, and the guy on the left is wearing white canvas shoes without socks. I don't have any fashion sense, but even I know that neither one of those looks are good!

Our lunch reservations were at The Coral Reef restaurant at Epcot. We rode the monorail over from the Magic Kingdom. It was so much nicer than the buses. I was excited to get a picture in front of the Epcot ball. I had always seen pictures of it, but this is the first year I saw it for myself.

Don't we look like a nice, happy, calm family? Well, 30 minutes before this picture was taken we were a cranky, unhappy, loud family. Grace was being awful and Avery was screaming. Scottie and I were about to lose our minds. Luckily everything settled down after we ate. Technically this was our lunch, and we ate at 3:20. I'm sure you can guess why we were so cranky. But Scottie and I really wanted to eat here and that was the only time they had available. You can't see it but there is a gigantic aquarium in front of us. It was really neat to sit and watch all of the fish and sharks swimming in front of us. Scottie said it made him feel weird to eat seafood in front of a bunch of fish. But you know I had chicken, so it didn't bother me! ;)

I loved the high chair that attached to the table. The only problem was that Avery could touch the bench and stand up. I'll explain why that was a problem in just a second.

Yep, that pretty much sums up our dining experience at The Coral Reef restaurant.

Okay, here is where we had problems with the cool high chair. I've already explained the devil's, uh... I mean Disney's, plan to have you eat dessert with every meal. Well I went ahead and ordered a dessert with the intentions of taking a bite or two and leaving the rest. I only got one bite before I saw Avery snatch a spoon and lunge at it with all of her might. I just sat there in shock for a minute. First of all I didn't know she could use a spoon, and second of all how did she know this was dessert? She certainly didn't attack her dinner that way.

Look at that crazed look on her face!! She has a major sweet tooth. We will have to watch this one closely!

Avery dancing outside of the restaurant.

We took the girls on the Nemo ride. It was cute, but not overly exciting. The exhibits outside of the ride were interesting. You could see the other side of the aquarium from the restaurant, and they had other little aquariums too. I think the girls enjoyed that more than the ride.

After the Nemo ride we hopped back on the monorail and headed back to the Magic Kingdom for our last night of fun. Except we weren't having much fun at this point. Grace had gotten super cranky and was being rather difficult. I may or may not have cried a little and declared that she was ruining our vacation. If that were true, I would have only said it to Scottie. But I"m not saying I behaved that way....

But look at the palm trees. Nothing says Florida like palm trees. I love Florida!

We took a few minutes to get ourselves together and then we were ready for some more rides. Although Avery looks a little drugged in this picture. I promise she only had water in her cup!

Grace insisted on getting her picture taken here. I had explained to her on the first day about the stocks and what they were used for. She didn't think they were very nice and that people shouldn't have used them. So I was surprised when she wanted this picture.

Grace wanted to model in front of the castle. I think she nailed it. ;)

I really wanted us to go on the It's a Small World ride. I know it's cheesy and a little outdated looking, but it's a classic Disney ride. It wasn't too long of a wait, but that didn't stop me from completely scaring a Chinese family when they tried to get in front of us. If you have ever been to an amusement park with me, then you know how I feel about cutters. Add the fact that it was almost 8:00 at night, well, I can't be held responsible for my actions. Sorry Chinese family, I didn't mean to frighten you. I promise. I just really hate it when people cut in line.

Daddy and Grace watching the Spectromagic parade. Avery and I were trying to leave the park, and like always we got caught by a parade. You would think we would check our map with the parade schedules on it, but we never did. So we stuck around for a few minutes and then Avery and I weaved our way through the crowds. We were both tired and I just wanted to get back to the hotel. Scottie and Grace stayed until the park closed. What can I say? They're night owls and I am not!

This is what was waiting for us when we got back to the hotel. The maid had arranged all of our stuffed animals, some old-some new, and had them watching t.v. It freaked me out at first because I couldn't figure out why the t.v. was on when I knew we had turned it off that morning. Then I saw the toys. I loved that the maid was thoughtful enough to do something fun for us. I took a picture of it because I wasn't sure if they would still be like that when Grace got back. They weren't, Avery had pulled them all down within a few minutes of this picture.

Grace was having a blast at the park while we were at the hotel. Her and Scottie rode the Buzz Lightyear ride several times. That's the benefit of staying at the park so late, the lines aren't as long.

There was a second Spectromagic parade at the end of the night. They were close this time and were able to see all of the characters. Scottie said it was pretty cool looking. I'm glad Grace got to see it up front.

One last picture in front of the castle. What an awesome place!!

Daddy was teaching Grace how to break the rules back at the hotel. Because there was a sign, clearly marked, "Do Not Climb." But it does make a cute picture!

Finally at the end of a very long day and a fun filled vacation.

Avery actually put herself to bed that night. I was trying to pack everything up so we weren't rushed in the morning. She played around for a bit and then banged on the crib and said "nigh, nigh!" I put her in there and she went to sleep. I wished that happened every night!

The next morning we had breakfast and then headed for the shuttle bus. It was a little chilly that morning. But nothing compared to what we were heading for at home.

This is the bus area. You can get to any park from here. It's also where they pick you up and take you to the airport. It's a very nice service that they offer.

Thank you Disney World for giving us so many great memories!! We will try and come back soon!

(I am going to post date all of the Disney pictures after a few days. So if you want to see them again you will have to go back to December. I just want them all together.)

Chicken Tacos and an Alien Invasion

2010-01-21T08:21:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share a super easy recipe for chicken tacos. I got the recipe here at the Tasty Kitchen blog. It's a community blog started by The Pioneer Woman. If you haven't been to her website before, you should check it out. She is hilarious. I've been reading her blog for a couple of years. Anyway here is the recipe if you don't want to go to the link:

3 pieces Frozen Chicken Breast
1 package Taco Seasoning
1 can Ro-Tel Tomatoes
Tortillas
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheese

Place the frozen chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock pot. Sprinkle the taco seasoning on top and pour the Ro-Tel in (do not drain). Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Once you are ready to serve, shred the chicken with 2 forks. Serve on tortillas with sour cream and cheese.

I usually use just two chicken breasts, and there is plenty for the three of us. (I saved the small bit of leftovers and put them in the freezer. If it still tastes good, then I'll probably use three breasts next time so we can have more leftovers. I'll let you know how it goes.) I also don't use the whole packet of taco seasoning, but that's because I'm not a huge fan of Mexican flavors. So if you love tacos, by all means throw all of it in there! Do not substitute the Ro-Tel tomatoes with plain tomatoes, it won't have as much flavor.
To warm the tortillas I used an ungreased skillet over med. heat and put a tortilla in there one at a time. Leave on for 15 seconds and then flip over for another 15 seconds. It made them soft and warm. I would also recommend the sour cream, or maybe some queso (if you dislike sour cream like me) because the tacos can be a little dry without it. They still taste good, but it would definitely add to the dish!

Do you see what she is doing? Do you see that smile? We certainly haven't seen it in a while. She has been very crabby and moody for the past month or so. It warmed my heart to see her smiling. I asked Scottie if aliens had invaded her body, because not only was she happy, she was helping!! Part of the reason, I'm sure, was because we told her that if she had good behavior she could watch the movie UP. I may have thrown in the promise of popcorn and a cold bottle of root beer. ;) But to be honest I think a lot of it has to do with our new house rule. No t.v. until after dinner. Plus we have moved her bedtime up to an earlier time. Anything to help bring some peace to our house! I think it's starting to help. She was actually skipping and playing with her toys yesterday after school. Let's pray that it's the added structure to our home that's helping and not aliens!!!

Look at my table! She put away all of the food, scraped the dinner dishes, and washed the table. I could get use to this. I hope we weren't breaking any child labor laws! I'm also not counting on this happening every night, but I'll take it when I can get it.

She got her reward! Popcorn, root beer, and a movie.

Avery is so sweet. She likes to feed people. I love this kid.

I am having a problem with her eating habits... she doesn't eat very much!! She would eat fruit all day if you let her. Vegetables? Maybe a few peas, corn, and occasionally cooked carrots. But there are no guarantees. She also wants to feed herself, just like Gracie did when she was younger. I tried to give her a cookie, but she wouldn't take it unless I gave her the box. THEN she would a couple. I don't know about this one.

(Look at my mighty hunting dog! He is ready to strike at any moment. He is quick too! As soon as something lands on the ground, it's gone.)

Her cuteness smooths away all of the frustrations. She thinks Cookie Monster is a bear. I love to hear her say "bare." It makes me forget that she was just screaming for the box, and just threw half of her lunch on the floor. Now you know why I colored my hair the other day... to cover up all the gray hairs I've gotten recently!! But they are both worth it.

Hanging with the Blome Family

2010-01-20T18:10:00.000-08:00

We drove over to Indiana on Saturday to spend time with our best friends Christian and Emily. We hadn't met little miss Lainee yet, so we spent the day with them at their house. Which is beautiful! It gives me hope that we will have a nice house someday!

Scottie loves to hold babies. I think it is one of the sweetest things about him. And Lainee is a sweet baby!!

Grace and Carter were sharing a snack.

We went out for dinner at the local Mexican restaurant. Between Carter and Avery, we left a fair amount of food on the floor. I bet they were glad to see us go!

How cute is this???? We will have to include it in the slide show at their wedding. We've already arranged for them to get married. Sorry ladies... Carter is taken! ;)

So cute! I love it!

We've finally reached the age where our children take up over half of a couch. When did we become adults with multiple children??

Please excuse Gracie's bum. They were playing a pretty intense game. Carter would throw his toy and then they would run after it. Grace was kind enough to let him get every time. She is really good with younger kids, much to my surprise. I love watching her play with Avery and other little kids.

Avery couldn't keep up with Carter and Grace, so she decided to play in Lainee's car seat.

I love these guys. They have such a great friendship. I just wish we lived closer so we could hang out more often.

We were so glad to meet you Lainee. Can't wait to see again soon!!

Disney- Day 3

2010-01-18T18:12:00.000-08:00

We started the day by sleeping in and then heading to Hollywood Studios for lunch. We were lucky to get a character meal in our trip since we planned it so quickly. Of course it wasn't the exact one we wanted, Grace wanted to do a princess one but that would have been impossible since you have to make reservations months in advance, but we still had fun with Jo Jo, Goliath, Leo and June from Little Einsteins and Handy Manny. I can't say we enjoyed the food, in fact it was pretty nasty. I would not recommend eating at Hollywood Studios. Yuck!

Grace gave Goliath a big hug!

June has always been one of Gracie's favorite Little Einstein characters. She doesn't watch it anymore, but we have some cute video of her singing the opening song when she was two. It's a cute show that teaches about different famous composers and artists. Hopefully Avery will like it one day.

Throughout the meal the characters would move around the restaurant taking pictures with the kids, and then every twenty minutes or so they would have a little dance party. Avery wanted to get up there and dance with all the kids. I thought she would be scared of the giant characters, but she was shaking her booty with the rest of the them! ;)

Grooving with Jo Jo!

I think she was more interested with Jo Jo's big red nose then anything else. We never got a good picture of the girls with Jo Jo because Avery kept staring at her.

A picture of the magic hat in the middle of Hollywood Studios. You can tell from the picture just how busy it was that day. We didn't stay at this park for very long. They have a lot more shows and attractions with just a few rides. Almost everything had 100-120 minute waits. Yeah, that really works for a one year old! But Scottie and Grace were able to go on the Star Wars ride, which they loved! After that we headed to the buses and headed over to the Animal Kingdom. I hope we can go back to Hollywood Studios some day and get to enjoy the different shows.

Before we left we grabbed a snack. We were starving after picking through our disgusting lunch. Scottie and Grace declared that this was the best box of popcorn they have ever eaten.

Avery slept throughout the entire bus ride. I hated that she didn't have a chance to get in a good nap, but it would have taken a lot of time out of our day to go back to the hotel. It didn't seem to bother her, she slept the whole time despite the noise.

As soon as we walked into the park we saw Timon. He had just gotten there so we jumped at the chance to get our picture taken with him. The Lion King is one of Gracie's favorite movies, so she was excited to get her picture taken with Timon.

This is the Christmas tree at the entrance to the park. I was bummed that we couldn't get the whole tree in the picture, but it was just too big. They did such a neat job decorating all the trees.

We took a train to the petting zoo. We were able to see some rhinos and a baby elephant along the way. Avery was loving the train ride!

Chillin' on the train... literally. It was getting chilly. Avery's nose and cheeks got very rosy.

This is what I saw while I was changing Avery's diaper. My pride and joy, blowing her lips out with the hand dryer. I think she had more fun with the dryer than she did with anything else that day.

Daddy and his girls.

The girls really liked petting the sheep and watching a llama chase a pig. I wish I could have gotten that on video. It was quite a sight to see a little fat pig run for his life, while a giant white llama chased it at full speed. Animals are so fun to watch!

I love this tree at the Animal Kingdom. It is huge! If you enlarge the picture, you can see the different animal carvings. Such a neat thing to see.

We had to cut our time at the Animal Kingdom short so we could get to Downtown Disney for dinner. We did a lot of traveling that day, but in order to get our money's worth in the meal plan we had to go where we could get reservations. I am so glad we went here. It was Raglan Road Irish Pub, and it was good! The atmosphere was dark and cozy and the food was great.

Avery still had her rosy cheeks and nose, poor thing.

Grace was showing off her Lion King tattoo. I was trying to get a picture of the 130 year old bar, which was imported from Ireland. But it was too dark to get a good picture.

I included this,poorly taken, picture for Mom and Curt. When I was younger, they were having a discussion about taking foreign language classes. Curt was trying to decided what he wanted to take in high school. I told them that I wanted to learn Irish, to which they burst out laughing uncontrollably. They told me that there wasn't an Irish language. But the jokes on them because look what was on my coaster!! Okay, I know it's really a dialect and not really a specific language, but it is something that can be taught. So there!! ;)

I'm not much of a fish eater, but my fish and chips were gooood!

We took a few minutes to walk around downtown Disney. I would like to go back and visit when it's warmer and not so busy. There was a neat Lego's store, but it was so busy that we decided not to fight that mess. But there were some amazing Lego creations outside of the store. This monster was actually in the water. Grace looks a little freaked out in this picture, maybe she was practicing her acting skills. It does look like we are about to be eaten!!

Grace finally got her beloved Star Wars toys. She saw them on the first day we were there, and wouldn't stop talking about them. We would've liked to have hid them in our suitcase and give them to her for Christmas, but she would have gone crazy. It was the only thing she really asked for, and we had some spending money from the grandparents, so we let her get them on the third day. I have to admit that they are pretty cool. I would have loved them when I was a kid.

A great way to end the day... playing with Star Wars toys.

Friday Night Fun

2010-01-08T20:49:00.000-08:00

Are these not two of the scariest pictures you've ever seen?

We told Grace she could pick a game to play after dinner, but with one stipulation - not Pretty Pretty Princess. As you can see from the pictures, we still played that game. She has more games than one kid needs, yet she picks Pretty Pretty Princess every time!! The object of the game is to collect pieces of jewelry in your designated color, and whoever gets all the jewelry and the crown wins the game. Even though I don't really like the game we still had fun. Scottie and Grace had to yell "boo-ya" every time they got the crown. They are so alike that sometimes I feel like an outsider when I'm around them. But now I have Avery to be a mini-me, so it all works out. ;)

I'm hoping the next time we play games we can play something other than Pretty Pretty Princess. I'm sure Scottie wouldn't mind playing a game where he didn't have to put on earrings and bracelets. But Gracie is lucky to have the kind of dad who will wear jewelry and a fake crown because he knows how much she likes the game. He's such a good daddy!

(I don't know why Grace wants to wear sleeveless dresses in the middle of winter, but that was the second one she had on today. I made it for her this past summer, but I hadn't finished the straps and it was a little big. It fits great now, and I hope it can make it until this next summer. She looks so cute!)

Disney - Day 2

2010-01-06T18:20:00.000-08:00

The first full day was spent at The Magic Kingdom. It is hands down, my favorite park at Disney World. I get so excited every time I walk into the main entrance and see Main Street with the castle in the background. It just proves that you are never too old to enjoy Disney World!

This picture was taken in front of the train station, right before you enter the park. I have an old picture of my family standing in this same spot, back in 1990. I would scan it and show it to everyone, but that's not going to happen. I was twelve and had entered the awkward pre-teen years with giant bangs and braces. Trust me, sticking with the girls picture is a better choice.

We caved in and rented a double stroller. It was a little pricey, but ended up being totally worth it! Grace was in a much better mood when she was able to sit and ride when she got tired. Plus it kept Avery happy. As soon as we got there we headed to Frontier land since our lunch reservation was in that area. We walked around and then got in line for Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Avery was scared of the singing pirates and just kept her head on my shoulder. I have a feeling she isn't going to be a thrill seeker when she gets older.

After the ride we walked around a bit more, got a fast pass for Thunder Mountain and then headed to lunch. We ate at The Liberty Tree Tavern. Scottie and I really enjoyed the food, he got yankee pot roast and I got roasted turkey. It was really good!

Avery has learned that crayons are for coloring and not for eating. She seems to enjoy coloring, but every once in awhile she tries to snack on one. ;)

Doesn't Grace look cute? She actually let me fix her hair that day. I figured she would let me pull it up, but I thought for sure she would fight me on the ribbons. But for some strange reason she was okay with it, which is not the norm for her. I don't care why she did it, I'm just glad she was happy.

She cracked me up while we were waiting for our table. I was explaining to her that they built the building to look like it was 1776, which she thought was interesting. As we were waiting we listened to the servers call out peoples names. But they were talking so quietly it was hard to hear the names. I told Scottie that they needed microphones, to which Grace replied "Mom, they didn't have microphones in 1776." She is one smart cookie!

Cute, cute, cute!!!

Grace is acting silly, as usual.

Of course she wanted to do a silly picture with me too. Sometimes it's just easier to go along with her plans.

I was able to get a somewhat normal picture with her.

These were just two of our yummy desserts during our trip. Let me just talk about the Disney dining plan for a minute. We got an awesome military discount on the meal plan, and it ended up being on of the best decisions we made on this trip. We were able to eat one sit down meal a day, and one meal from a cafe type restaurant. We didn't go to the next plan, which would have allowed us a breakfast meal, but I think we will next time. Each person gets a snack each day. It was so worth it, and we didn't have to eat chicken fingers and fries the entire trip!! The only thing I would have liked to see changed are the desserts, because every meal comes with a dessert. It's fun to indulge every once in a while, but every meal?? I would've liked the option of getting a salad, or an appetizer of veggies and dip instead. But it was fun to eat some things I wouldn't have normally ordered. At this restaurant I got a toffee cookie dessert with ice cream. It was awesome!!! Of course everything comes with Mickey Mouse sprinkles!

After lunch Grace and I headed to Thunder Mountain, and Scottie got Avery to fall asleep. She stayed asleep while we waited in line for The Haunted Mansion. She even stayed asleep after we got into the building. Sadly the poor thing got woken up by everyone screaming when they cut off the lights. She didn't really care for the singing ghosts either. Hopefully she will enjoy the rides a little bit more when she gets older.

Gracie couldn't wait to watch the Philharmagic show. It is one of our favorite attractions at Disney World. It's a 3D movie with sounds and smells shooting at you throughout the show. It is really fun for kids to watch, I highly recommend it!

Hanging out in the stroller.

The Magic Kingdom has several parades throughout the day. Unfortunately we always walked up to them at the wrong time. Grace had to sit on Scottie's shoulders just to see the top of the floats.

Avery wanted to see too!! :)

Our first picture in front of the castle. We weren't really prepared for the weather to be so cool. It ended up being cooler then what they had predicted. So we were piecing outfits together. I think I wore those jeans for three days straight because I only brought two pairs. Oh well, hopefully it will be warmer next time.

I just love my little baby!!

It was really neat to be at Disney World during the holidays. They had everything decorated so nicely. This is a picture of Main Street, and you can see the castle lit up in the background.

Avery and I headed back to the hotel to nap while Scottie and Grace stayed at park. This picture is of Grace climbing the Swiss Family Robinson tree house. They also got to ride on Space Mountain. Grace says that it is her favorite ride so far. I think it's too dark and fast, but she is definitely the thrill seeker of the family!

Getting ready to head back to the hotel. They were able to see the castle light up with "icicles."

Isn't Disney World magical??

Poor Kitty

2010-01-05T11:38:00.001-08:00

This is what happens when you "think" you know what your one year old is doing. After dropping Gracie off at the bus stop, Avery and I were chilling out by the computer desk. I was checking email and rental properties in Ohio (woo-hoo), and Avery was playing with her big sister's white princess kitty. I could have sworn that Avery was sitting next to me the whole time. But I have recently nicknamed her "Ninja Baby." I can't tell you how many times I've turned around and she is right at my feet, without ever making a sound. So our little Ninja somehow got past both Scottie and I on her way to the bathroom, which is her favorite room in the house. We usually keep it closed, and we always make sure the toilet lid is down. But we had been a hurry this morning to get Grace to the bus on time, and the bathroom door was overlooked. Well the next thing I hear is Scottie yelling "oh my gosh!" He found her dipping the kitty in the toilet and then... wait for it.... sucking the water off of it!!!! He was completely disgusted, and I couldn't stop laughing.

Yep, mother of the year. I'm expecting the award to come in the mail any day now. Regardless we have a pretty funny story to tell her boyfriends in the future. ;)

Disney - Day 1

2010-01-03T20:01:00.001-08:00

On the plane, heading to Orlando, Florida. This picture was taken around 10:00 in the morning, and this baby had been up since 3:30. Can you believe she is awake and smiling? Avery is one of the best babies ever!! We didn't have any trouble with her on the plane. I kept thinking that she would go to sleep, but she only slept the last fifteen minutes of each flight. We were just happy that she was content and not screaming her head off. Way to go baby!

Of course Grace was a super traveler. Give her an IPod with a few movies on it, and she is good as gold. The only problem we had was trying to keep her from laughing too loud. She was watching Elf, so it was to be expected. :) We were thankful that she chose that movie instead of Phantom of the Opera. Grace is incapable of watching that movie without singing at the top of her lungs. I don't think the other passengers would have appreciated her rendition of Masquerade.

I'm sad to say that this is the only time we tried to wear shorts. We were in Florida, and desperately wanted to wear them!! But it was just too chilly. After this picture I changed Avery's clothes and put a pair of jeans on myself. Grace was being stubborn (shocker) and wouldn't put anything else on before going to Epcot. After eating dinner at the hotel Avery and I went back to the room for some much needed sleep, and not just for her! ;)

Grace and Scottie went ahead and took off for the park. But they stopped to take pictures with some Toy Story friends. This was our section of the Movie's resort. Disney does such a good job of making everything fun for kids.

Grace and Little Bo Peep. You can see the giant statue of Woody in the background. Our room was behind him on the third floor. I love staying at the Movie resorts. Last time we came with Mom and Kelsey we stayed in the Herbie the Love Bug section. I liked this area better because it is close to the food and pool area. I really wished I'd taken a picture of the pool. They have it decorated in the Fantasia theme, with a giant Mickey Mouse fountain. Of course it was way too cold to go swimming. That was so disappointing for me because I know how much Grace loves to swim. Maybe next time!

Gracie is posing in front of the Epcot ball at night. At this point in the evening Avery and I were probably standing in the rain waiting for the bus. (not fun!) This turned out to be a dud night for us. We really wanted to walk around and look at the different countries in Epcot. They had them all decked out for Christmas. But we couldn't ignore the fact that Grace hadn't slept since 3:00 that morning and her crankiness was at a very high level.

Grace finally admitted that she was cold. So Scottie bought her a Mickey Mouse jacket, which is super cute and came in handy for the rest of the trip. He also got her a pair of Minnie Mouse ears. How can you go to Disney World and not get a pair of ears? This is what childhood is all about my friends!

So is eating Micky Mouse ice cream at 8:00 at night.

Mommy wearing the ears. Wow, I look exactly like a person that has been traveling all day! The shower felt awesome that night.

Silly Daddy!

This silly little monkey was having a good time in the hotel room. But it didn't take long before the lights were out and we were snoozing at last. We were so excited about the next days agenda-- The Magic Kingdom!!

(Somebody needs to get that kid a kleenex! Where are her parents??)

Being a Mom....

2009-12-31T09:37:00.001-08:00

means that you will drag your tired sick body out of bed so you can hold the tired sick body of your baby. It means you will rub her back and comfort her even though you want some comfort yourself. You will hold off on some much needed rest just to make sure the Tylenol is bringing her fever down. It also means leaving your to-do list untouched so you can hold your baby on the couch for the better part of the day, because that's what she needs at the moment. Being a mom also has you sitting in the movie theatre with a splitting headache and upset stomach because you promised your oldest daughter that she could go to the movies during Christmas break, even though you would rather be in bed.

You do these things because, like all good mothers, you adopted a new motto on the day your first baby was born : Life just isn't about me anymore.

**I'm trying to redo the look of my blog, so it may look boring for a little while.

Christmas Crafts

2009-12-28T11:10:00.000-08:00

I made these Christmas countdown blocks for Gracie's teacher. I sanded down some wooden blocks, painted them, and then modge podged several different types of scrapbook paper. I used stencils and a sharpie for the letters and numbers. You can get more specific directions here. I originally got the idea here, but I liked the other sites directions better. I was really happy with how they turned out. I have enough materials to make one for us, but I'll have to do it later. I've had my fill of Christmas this year. ;)

I was in charge of the snacks for Gracie's school Christmas party. I made these snowmen pretzels from the Family Fun magazine. They were really easy to make, and looked so cute! I also made fruit and cheese kabobs, but I didn't have time to take a picture of them. But they turned out cute too. I didn't realize Family Fun had directions on their website. So if you want to make them click here.

There were several crafts I wanted to make, but I just didn't have enough time this year. There is always next year!!!

Gracie's Christmas Eve Prayer

2009-12-24T17:41:00.000-08:00

Dear Lord,

We know it's getting ready for your birthday. We want to celebrate you more than Santa or his reindeer. (except for Dasher)

Watch us on our trip to Indiana, and help us have a good time.
Thank you for our food.

Amen.

We had a blast!

2009-12-24T10:20:00.000-08:00

I can't wait to tell you all about our trip to Disney World! We had a lot of fun. But it will have to wait until after Christmas. I have a huge pile of laundry to do, presents to finish wrapping, and packing for Indiana. So I'll just post this one picture until then....

One Party down....

2009-12-24T09:47:00.001-08:00

We had Christmas with Scottie's mom,dad, brother, and his grandma/grandpa Conner last night. His brother Joe took us all to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse! He had some certificates that he got for Christmas at work. He works at Meridian Hills Golf Course as a assistant golf pro, and the members always give him awesome tips at Christmas.
I was the only one that didn't have steak. I know steak eaters probably think it's a sin to order chicken at a nice steakhouse, but the chicken was really good!! Thanks for the great meal Joe!

(I promise Scottie isn't ready to come across the table and punch me. I just caught him and Joe off guard. But it was the better of the two pictures I took. I need to remember to take several at one time so I have a chance of getting a good one.)

Gracie received a wad of ones from Uncle Joe. She thinks she is rich now. Avery got an awesome jacket, but I didn't get a very good picture of it. It's a cashmere blend of some kind. It is so soft and beautiful. He got her a blanket with the same material last year. Uncle Joe always spoils his nieces!!!

Beautiful sisters!

We tried to get a family picture at the end of dinner. It didn't work out very well. We were all tired at this point and still had a two and half hour drive ahead of us. It felt so good to sleep in our own beds last night.

Grace started playing with her first Christmas present this morning. She got a container of Lincoln Logs from Mam-Maw and Pap-paw. She has had a lot of fun playing with them already. She's also wearing her new leotard from Grandma and Grandpa Conner. The first day after getting presents is always the best!!

Thanks everyone for the presents, money, and dinner last night. We had a really good time, even thought I could have fallen over and gone to sleep at any moment. ;)

Peek-a-Boo

2009-12-15T21:54:00.000-08:00

I see you!!

We are crazy, but on Friday.....

2009-12-13T13:18:00.001-08:00

This is the sign we gave to Gracie, and told her she had to read it by herself in order to get the surprise. She did a great job reading it! This vacation is very spontaneous. Scottie only gets a week off this year, and it's the week before Christmas. This is also our graduation vacation. Scottie has to do basic training for four or five weeks after graduation, so we can't go then. (Don't get me started on the air force staff member that didn't get his paperwork in at the right time, which caused Scottie to miss basic training two years ago! I'm still a little mad, but like all things in life I just have to go with the flow.) We got an amazing military discount, and they had a great deal going on that only lasted until Dec. 23rd. It was too good to pass up, and I may sound selfish but we deserve this vacation! As a family we have worked hard, and sacrificed quite a bit the last four years that Scottie has been in school. I'm not saying that life has been terrible, or we have had to sacrifice any of our daily needs. But it's been a long journey, and it feels good to celebrate. (Even if it's five months early. :) So we fly out on Friday and come back Tuesday evening. I am so excited, but a little stressed. We have a lot to do before we leave, but it will be worth it. We've been planning since Wednesday, and everything seems to be falling into place. Let's just pray the weather is nice! We'll try and update while we are there, but I'm not making any promises. ;)

Finally!

2009-12-10T20:31:00.001-08:00

I know this seems like a really random post, but I'm so excited about my snowman bucket. I have had this bucket for six years. Mom bought it for me in 2003 and I have always liked it, but couldn't find a purpose for it. So every year it just sits empty near the tree, just waiting to be filled. Well, this year I had an "a-ha" moment after I bought a pack of Christmas books for Gracie through school. I was switching all of her fall books out of her bookcase in her room and replacing them with winter/Christmas books from the bookcase in the basement. (Yes, we have so many books that we have to have two bookcase. What can I say? Once a teacher-always a teacher!) I saw the bucket on my way back to her room and I got the great idea to put all of her Christmas books in there. I love having it sit by the tree so we can pull a book out and read together anytime we want. So now my little snowman bucket finally has a purpose. I know no one else will probably share my enthusiasm, but I wanted to share anyway. :)

Mom and Steve's Wedding

2009-12-10T19:39:00.000-08:00

I know most people already saw these pictures on facebook, but I want it documented on the blog as well. The wedding was beautiful and everyone had a good time. Doesn't Curt look handsome walking Mom down the aisle? Doesn't Mom look beautiful?!

The happy groom waiting for his bride. If you haven't met Steve, I'll tell you that he is a great guy!! He is one of the nicest people I've ever met.

Kelsey and I walking behind Mom and Curt. Avery only wanted Mommy at that time, so she came with us! :)

Grace did not want to be disturbed during the ceremony. She took her flower girl duties very seriously.

My cousins Amanda, Katie, and Sarah sang during the lighting of the unity candle. This is a picture of Mom and Steve listening to them sing "This Day" by Point of Grace. They did a great job, like always!

Grace was so excited to be a flower girl. She looked beautiful!

Avery was in a silly mood after the ceremony.

We were being silly together.

One of the few family pictures we've taken since Avery was born.

She wasn't feeling the greatest that day. Her tummy was bothering her. We realized later that she needs soy milk instead of cows milk. It has made a world of difference for her. I just wish she could have enjoyed the wedding a little bit more.

I love this picture of Avery. She is still smiley even though she doesn't feel good.

Nana and her girls.

Mom with all of her new granddaughters. Don't they look fabulous?!

The girls got a little nutty with Steve. I think they were done posing for pictures at this point. Poor Steve!!

I love this cheesy little baby. She just makes me smile.

Avery was stealing Nana's food!

Mom and Steve dancing. They make a great couple. I'm so happy that Mom found someone who treats her so well!

This picture melts my heart. How did I get such beautiful girls?

The first seven Jenkins grandchildren, aka The Magnificent Seven.

We aren't shy about showing off our dance moves. ;) (Although Curt looks a tad bit embarrassed)

We are just goofy, and we like it that way! If you ever wondered why I act the way I do, well now you know why. I can't help it, my weirdness is inherited. (now Andrew looks embarrassed)

This is a great picture of all eleven Jenkins grandchildren. We came in two waves. The first seven grew up together, and then the next four grew up together, or still growing up. ;) (See the big guy in the back? That's my cousin Mason and I held him when he was a tiny baby. That doesn't even seem possible!! I am old! )

There was a Christmas parade that passed right by the reception. I bought the kids stockings to catch their parade candy, and put their initials on each one. I had a great vision of hand making the stockings, and embroidering the initials. But there were thirteen kids to make them for, and I just ran out of time. Oh well, it's the thought that counts right??

It was a fun evening full of dancing. I think everybody had a good time. Congratulations to Mom and Steve. Here's to many happy years together!

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-06T17:13:00.001-08:00

This is the first Koehler Family picture we've taken in sixteen years. It's the first time we've all been together since Uncle Bill and Aunt Elaine moved back from Hungary. The only people missing are Jill, Jake, and the boys. We were able to get a picture with them, but some of the other family members had already left. (Thankfully we are all dressed nicely and no one is wearing pig tails. The last Koehler picture was a dandy! )

I really like this picture of Uncle Bill's family. It has been so nice having them back in the states.

Uncle David and Aunt Susie. David, Amy, Heather, and baby Ethan. Heather's fiance Cole wasn't able to be there. Hopefully we can catch him next time.

Four generations: Grandma Pat, Aunt Susie, Heather, and Ethan.

Here we all are, minus Jake. The handsome guy in the back next to Curt is Kelsey's boyfriend Joe. We really like him, even if he is originally from Jersey. ;) He says things like "coufee" Just kidding, we love ya Joe!!

I included this picture because Kingsley felt like he needed to be in the picture. And I like this picture of myself better. Hey, it's my blog! :) (p.s. Dad, you really need to do something about those wires. I bet you could hold them together with a bread tie. Just a suggestion...)

Avery playing with one of her birthday presents from Grandma and Grandpa. It's a machine that blows balls up through a tube and then back down again. Avery has a good time with this one.

Eating her first powdered doughnut.

We have to make the face. It's quickly becoming a habit.

Avery enjoying her first Thanksgiving meal.

Grace showing off our little turkey crafts. We filled them with candy, and then she put one at every persons chair.

Grace and Stuart. They always have a good time together.

Grace got caught by Uncle Bill. Stuart was keeping a safe distance.

Uncle Bill is giving a sad face because of the drawings Grace and Stuart made for him. There is one picture of him getting eaten by an alligator. He's drowning in another. I think they lovingly made a picture of him being shot to death. I'd be sad too. I'm not sure where the violence came from. Grace usually draws pictures of kittens and hearts. It must be a boy thing to draw guns. Maybe I'll just stick with girls. ;)

Sorry Uncle Bill!! I'm sure you never teased them or played around with them, which in turn prompted them to use you as a target. We all know what a wall flower you are.