Our week in review

Our week this week, was just as crazy as ever!

I thought I was all done with being sick, well with throwing up at least, but...I was wrong. I got sick again this week. Coke is so my friend. It really does settle my stomach and make me feel so much better. Eating is such a chore. I know that I'll have the hardest time losing my baby weight just like before because once I'm not pregnant any more, my appetite will be back with a vengance.

I did feel a little bit better though, I actually made dinner like 3 times this week. That is the most I have done in 3 months.

My belly is so big and has grown so fast that I have developed a little waddle. I know that it's only going to get worse from here on out. The baby was moving a lot last night while I was laying in bed and Chris actually got to feel a little bit of a flutter. It's so exciting!!!

Sweet little Addi had dance class again this week. She is so stinkin' cute. I love watching her dance. She is doing 3 dances at her recital this year. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" for Ballet, "Men in Black" for Tap and "It's a Hardknock Life" for Jazz. I can't wait. Her recital is so much fun. It's at the TPAC, which is where all the broadway shows come when they visit Nashville. It's a pretty big deal.

She had to go to the doctor this week for an earache. I thought for sure she just had a regular old ear infection but when the dr looked in there, her ear canal was bright red. She had tubes put in when she was 1 and the tubenever came out of the canal. It was stuck in the wax and had embedded into her canal. Ouch! So the dr used a water pick and got it out. Addi thought it was so cool. The procedure didn't hurt her a bit, she thought it was funny that her ear got a shower.

Mason has soccer practice on the same night that Addi has dance class. So I usually go to dance and Chris goes to soccer. Today he had a game. He was so funny. He still doesn't quite get the concept. He thinks if he kicks it once he's done. We kept telling him to be aggresive and go after the ball. I think his favorite part is having a drink at half time and the snack after the game.

He got his report card this week. The only thing his teacher said is that he's a great student. We're so proud of our buddy and so glad we made the decision to go with this public school. He is going on 2 field trips this week. On Tuesday he's going to the zoo and on Friday he's going swimming at the YMCA. He is so pumped!!

Chris had a pretty crazy week at work this week. He ended up coming home late (after 5:00pm) 2-3 times this week. I am so spoiled and have gotten used to him being home before 5:00 and I really don't like it when he comes home after that. On Friday, he had to go to the dentist for more dental work. He had to be sedated for all the work. It's so funny to see my big,tough honey so out of it. He's quite sore still today, but hopefully he'll be better soon.

That's it for us for now! We wish you all a great week!!

Easter and stuff

Happy Easter everyone!

Look how cute our family looked this afternoon before church. We are all dolled up in our Easter Sunday best. Addi was super cute with her dress, her makeup, and of course her gloves. Mason wanted a big boy tie like his dad. Dang...Cute Kids!!!!!

Mason also played in his first soccer game this weekend! He is on Team Ireland with 2 of his friends. He loves it. But he doesn't quite understand the concept of running after the ball to kick it into the goal. But never the less, he ran around like crazy. Chris and I laughed our heads off watching all those little kids running around in confusion. The other team scored 3 goals right in the first 5 minutes of the game so we thought it was going to be a blow out. But our team caught up and it was pretty much a tie.

Good weekend!!!

Blogs

I love to read other people's blogs. I love to peep into their lives and see the way they live. I love how funny and creative other people are. I like the think of myself as funny and creative too, but when it comes to blogging, I usually have no idea what to talk about.

If I were to talk about what's going on right now, that would be:

1. I am still so sick and am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO tired of it. I am so grouchy. I can't even stand myself, so I'm sure no one else can stand me either. I especially like when someone asks me how I'm feeling and I say that I'm not feeling so well and they say, "Well, you're in your second trimester now so I'm sure you'll be feeling better soon." um...yeah.

2. My kids are sooo bored. I'm bored. I don't have the energy to keep up with them. Today we went to McDonalds after school. (we are having a cold front and it's too cold for the park). I was so tired when we got home that I had to take a nap. All I did was sit there, reading a magazine, watching them play. How could that make someone tired?????

3. Addi has the worst allergies right now. I finally took her to the doctor to get some medicine and she is finally doing a little bit better. She still sleeps with me occasionally and her a Chris have a regular chorus of snoring. so fun!! Tennesee is supposed to be the allergy capital of the world.

4. I took my first engagement pictures the other day. It was for a couple in my ward. They are so in love and so cute. It was so fun to take their pictures. All I did was observe and snap pics as they naturally interacted. I loved it! I think they were pretty happy with the pictures too.

5. I can't believe it is already almost Easter. My kids are so excited. We went to an easter egg hunt on Saturday sponsered by our city. There were mostly marshmellowy eggs to be collected that our kids don't like. And they didn't get any of the prize eggs. So we had to come home and put on a little Easter egg hunt here, so they could get some prizes. Man, they are spoiled. :) I wouldn't have it any other way. :)

I guess that's it for now. Have a happy week!!

Finally

I am finally updating. Sorry!!! Life has been a freakin' roller coaster ride. Here are the highlights:





December:


My mom came to visit.


Chris had oral surgery.


Chris got baptized (so amazing).


Christmas


We went to Chattanooga to the Aquarium and we ate the BEST pizza on the planet at The Mellow Mushroom.





January:


We celebrated Mason's 6th birthday at the Aquarium Restaurant and Sting Ray petting reef


We found out we are having a BABY!!!!!


Chris got called as the Cub Master in our ward.





February:


I started in with morning sickness.


Valentines Day-the kids each filled out their own Valentines for their class.

Chris planned a date for us, childcare and everything! We went to the Melting Pot (a fondue restaurant) and it was sooooo yummy and nice to be just us.




March:


We celebrated my 31st birthday.



St Patricks Day
















We went to Atlanta for Spring Break: Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola, Centennial Olympic Park (where the fountains were), IKEA, and the LDS distribution center (the closest one to us)



We heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time.



Personal Notes-
Chris: Is doing so awesome! He has finished reading the Book of Mormon for the first time already. He is a stud! He also gave his first talk in sacrament meeting. He was super nervous but did a really great job. His job is still way crazy but his office moved out of Nashville and closer to our house so his commute is only about 45 minutes each way instead of 1 1/2 hrs +. He comes home early most of the time. It's sooooooooooooooooo nice!

Mason: Is tearing it up in Kindergarten. His teacher constantly praises how well he is doing. I go in and help with reading once a week. This week she asked if we practice writing at home because his penmanship is so good. :) He is in the top 2 of his class for reading and is doing really well in math too. The local elementary school (which I was so nervous about) was definitely the right decision for him. He is so fun and full of life still. Just today he and Addi were playing in the wet sand box from all the rain and decided to have a water/sand fight. Needless to say our deck looks like a battlefield and they were both covered head to toe in wet sand. But hey, they were both laughing having a blast! He also started soccer this week.

Addi: Is still quite the princess. She likes to dress up, wear makeup and have her toes and fingernails painted. She is a tornado and regularly destroys her room. She is taking dance lessons again this year and is doing fabulous. Her recital will be in June. She is in pre-K and is doing very well. She loves it there and will be sad to leave it next year when she goes to Kindergarten. She has been going to speech therapy to help her with her letter substitution and has improved so much in the month she has been going.

Me: I have been very sick. I can definitely tell that I have aged since I was pregnant last. I am so tired all the time. Nausea is my constant companion and the barfing has come to visit quite a lot too. I am even sick of myself for how pathetic I am. I am trying to make a photography business and took my first engagement pictures last week. I am really enjoying it. I can't wait to start taking baby pictures!!!

So that pretty much catches up what we've been doing for the past few months. I will try much harder to do better about updating.

Please comment so I know that someone is actually reading this thing. :)

Long time no talk...

Hey all, still here. Just been crazy lately.

We survived Mason's first day of Kindergarten, Addi's first day of pre-school, getting used to Addi going to dance class gain, and working around Mason's tball schedule. We also survived Addi's birthday party...barely.

It was fun. We had 13 little boys and girls over here for Addi's Princess Ball. We decorated crowns, wands and shields, broke a princess and fought a dragon pinata and ate snacks. It was overwhelming, but I would (and probably will) do it again.

Mason was having a hard time at tball, but he's doing so much better now. He is being more aggresive about going after the ball. He is hitting every time he's up to bat. He can even almost throw the ball where he's aiming at. :) Chris and I almost die every game watching those 5 and 6 year olds playing. It's so hard to remember how young they are and that they are still learning. Mason usually plays center field. It's not uncommon to see him out there twirling around, playing in the dirt and/or messing with his hat.

That's our update for now!

First day of school

Well, we made it. I was totally in denial that he was going to Kindergarten. I didn't even take the tag off his backpack or write his name on his supplies until 11:30 the night before. I kept breaking down in tears, so I went into his room, sat by his bed and held his little hand until I could stop crying. Then I went back to packing until I started crying again and repeat the process. I think I just needed to mourn that he's growing up. That I am not going to be with him all day every day any more. That he is going to have relationships away from me. That another person will be in charge of him for a large portion of the day. That I am leaving him in the care of that person, who I really don't even know. That I have to have a TON of faith in the school system. So I am trying to stay mellow and just trust that God is watching out for him.

He was so brave! He walked right into his classroom, sat down where Mrs. Wade told him to and said, "Bye Mom!" So cute! Then I didn't even cry...ok maybe just a tear or tow, but I think they were tears of joy because I was so proud of what a big boy he was.

Next week he has a full day (7:30-2:30) on Tuesday with part of his class then starts forever on Thursday. sniff...sniff

School starts when?

Holy cow...when does school start? My kids are making me crazy. Sure they are super cute but they are making me insane! We went shopping this weekend (TN had a tax free weekend)are all ready (well a few things left to get for Addi's school supplies) but socks...check, undies...check, new backpack for my kindergartener...check. Bring it on!!! Oh sure, I know I am going to sob my eyes out on the actual day he goes to K but right now it sounds so sweet!!!

Our goings on this week:
*Tomorrow I have to have a root canal done....looking forward to it (actually I am because my tooth is killing me! Just not looking forward to the $400 out of pocket expense I have, ug!)
Mason also has a test to see which T-ball team he will be on
*Tuesday we are going to a pool party
Addi registers for dance class
*Wednesday I am hoping to finish my dining room (touch up the paint, paint my old chairs and table to match the new chairs I just got and finish the shelf I just built)
*The rest of the week will entail entertaining the kids so we all don't kill each other while trying to stay cool in the hell we call summer in Tennessee (95 degrees with 80% humidity)

A little over a month

...that's how long until my mil comes and then my mom comes a week later. I am hoping to have lost a little weight by then. Think I can? Yea, me neither. haha But wait, this week, I have drank a ton more water then usual, I have managed to stop eating after dinner (ok so I've eaten a few pretzels, but they don't count right?) and I've been to the gym THREE days in a row!!! I even went to a killer class last night, was still super sore today but went back to the gym today and walked on the treadmill for 30 min at a 10-12% incline...go me! I've been trying to get myself under control so the deadline of family visiting is a great motivator.

*sidenote* I left my headphones in a cubby at the gym yesterday. They were very crappy, cheap Walmart ones so I figured they would be there or would be in the lost and found. But nope, someone took them. How shameful. I don't think that $2 headphones are worth going to hell for but whatever. Anyway, I left my other headphones and my ipod in the car so I went to go get it. But I'd already checked my kids into the childcare and I have to turn in my keys. So I broke into my own car. I usually leave my hatch open in my Passport. So I climbed in the back and over the seat to open the door. So I got my stuff, got in and got onto a treadmill and everyone in the gym had a view of my car, so they all saw me break into my car. How embarrassing!

So tute!

Man, she is funny! Tonight she is sitting by me, trying to go to sleep. Of course she usually can't sleep or stay asleep if she isn't touching me. Silly mama's girl! Anyway, she looks so cute, with crazy hair, just sitting here, so tired, with sleepy eyes. But still so cute! So I said to her, "Babe, you're so cute, I could just eat you." She looks all concerned and says, "But mama, then I neber see you dain. I be so sad." Seriously, could you just eat her up!!












These pictures are from a few nights ago. She had taken a late nap so she wasn't interested in going to sleep. So while I played in my scrapbook room, she played in the playroom. She found this scarf, put it around her eyes and proceeded to do karate moves. Then she said, "Mama, take pictures. I so tute." What could I do but take 30 pictures. Both her and Mason call doing karate moves "whitcha" because thats the noise I make (like an old kung fu movie) when we are play fighting. .

July 4

Ok, so the next time I say that I want to host a party, please tell me that I can't!!!!

We tried to have a nice simple ice cream social. Just a few friends and neighbors. We were going to have ice cream, hang out and chat outside, then watch fireworks. Well, about an hour and a half before the start of the party it started pouring down rain! So we had to stay inside. The kids were all nuts!!! Running and jumping around, wrestling etc. My house feels really big normally. But with all those kids and thir parents here, man...not near enough room!! So then we head outside to start the fireworks. Chris and a few of the dads lit them about 6 feet into the road in front of our driveway. A bunch of the kids and moms sat about 10 feet down the driveway. So they were about 16 feet away from the fireworks. Then I asked the men to slide back and they were about 12 feet away from the driveway. So were at around 18 feet. (Can you see where I'm going with this??) We had a ton of fireworks and enjoyed them for quite a while. Then "the incident" happened. Chris lit one that malfunctioned and cut into the group. Luckily most of the kids were running around the yard by then and weren't around, but it almost landed on my pregnant neighbor, so my other neighbor jumped in front of it. Thankfully the only injuries were a scraped foot for the pg neighbor and a bruised thigh on the other. I almost died I was so stressed. I dispensed bandaids and neopsorin. The rescuing neighbor just would not stop talking about it. How she would have had to "kick Chris's a$$ for burning her." She just kept repeating that over and over. OK seriously, it sucks that anyone got hurt but it was an ACCIDENT!!!!!! I probably apologized 100 times to everyone (like it was my fault) but that girl just kept talking about kicking Chris's butt. Seriously!! I don't know why it bugs me so much. Probably because I was already stressed out. And I didn't want anyone to get hurt. So today I was going to call my pg neighbor to make sure she was ok. But before I did, the big mouth neighbor called to get pg neighbor's phone #. She only did that to torture me. We all have each other's phone #'s. Man...NO MORE PARTIES!!!!!!


I have been having some issues this summer. I just don't want to do anything with anyone. I love just being with my kids. I love going to the sprinkler park with my kids. I love watching them and also reading a book or mag. I don't want to have to always make small talk with other moms. Is that so wrong? I don't need playdates for my kids every day. Or even every week. My kids play very well together, although they fight too. We play games, play computer, do art projects, play Leapster, and yes watch tv, eat snacks, play in the pool, go to the library, ride bikes, play with the slip n slide, play barbies and little people, play super heros...etc. I was starting to be comfortable with just being home. I used to have to run all over the place, but this summer, I am just trying to take it easy. Now some of my friends think I'm anti social because I don't want playdates. hmmmm...I feel like I can't win.

Sorry about the whine! I'll be better tomorrow!

No news

Ok, so I really don't have much to say except, how many days until school starts????? Just last week I was talking about how much fun we were having here this summer. Just last week I was so happy to have my kids home. Just last week I was looking forward to all the fun stuff we were going to do. Fast forward to this week...I have done more yelling, pouting, crying, time out putting then I have in a long time. It's a freakin' war zone! Me against them. Whew!!!!

Been having some health issues too. I hate feeling so rotten...THAT could have something to do with why I'm so grumpy too.

If you have any spare prayers please send them my way!

Not much...

to say. Just wanted to let you know that we're still alive. We are in the 2nd week of summer vacation and doing great. We are trying to stay busy to keep us all out of trouble. Mason and Addi are at summer camp at the MDO today and were totally pumped to go. We have been swimming, to the fun stuff at the library, on a few playdates, to a couple of fun birthday parties and more. Here's what else we have planned to do:

*go see the movie "Cars"
*go swimming some more at the YMCA
*have playdates at least once a week with friends
*Summer camp again next week at MDO
*Vacation Bible school in July
*Addi's dance recital
*a visit to the new water park in our town (if it ever opens)
*a trip to the kiddie pool at Don Fox Park(it's an awesome public park with a 18 inch deep pool that totally rocks)
*lots of art projects (painting letters, bead necklaces, treasure boxes, tooth fairy boxes, fuzzy pictures and more...thank you craft dept at Walmart!)
*a few birthday parties
*possible an Ice Cream social for our neighbors and friends for July 4th

I am turning into one of those moms that is excited to have my kids home for the summer! I'm sure by the end of August I'll be more then ready for them to go back to school though.

That's all for now. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

Graduation

My baby graduated from preschool today. He's so big and has brown up so much, sniff sniff!

At the ceremony the director asked each of the graduates what they wanted to be when they grew up. Mason said that he wanted to be a construction worker. I thought he said a circus worker. I about died of laughter! My kid the "carni". OH my, I was so disruptive, my shoulders were shaking with laughter during the prayer, I am so bad. But dang, it was funny! Anyway, he's all done with pre-school. Kindergarten here we come!

We're baaaack!

Man, I need a vacation from my vacation.

We had lots of fun, but it was waaaaay busy. Here is a synopsis:
Thursday: flew in, checked into the Nickelodeon hotel (it rocked) and hung out by the cool pool.

Friday: relaxed by the pool all day, it was awesome! The pool is made for kids around 5-6 years old. They can go on all the slides, they just have to wear one of the provided life jackets. We had a blast!

Saturday: We checked out of the Nick hotel (it was terribly expensive) and into our other hotel. It wasn't ready yet so we had to just walk around for 4 hours. The kids were miserable and complained the entire time. We hung out for a an hour or so at the nicest McDonald's on the planet. Seriously, flat screen tv's, waterfalls, pretty trees inside the playarea, the booths looked life furniture...way nice! We got back, settled into our room and went swimming in the pool.

Sunday: We went to Magic Kingdom. It was fun, but VERY HOT! The highlight of Mason's day was going on the Buzz Lightyear ride, then actually seeing Buzz. We went on the Stitch ride that everyone hated. Addi actually started crying and wanted to leave. We refused to wait in any long lines to see the characters so we didn't get photos with Mickey, Minnie or Donald. Bummer! We rode a few other rides and saw the Princesses in the Cinderellabration show.

Monday: We went to MGM. It was way hot then too. We went on the backstage tour that was awesome. We also went to a stunt car show that was great! Met the Power Rangers of course! Addi was quite bent that we didn't see the Pink one.

Tuesday: We woke up to a thunderstorm. The power went out in our hotel room and stayed off for 2 hours. We went to Animal Kingdom. It was COLD! I did bring sweatshirts for the kids but not for me so I complained until I got one there. We all wore our ponchos and ended up having a pretty good time. We went on a African Safari that was my favorite part! There were elephants, crocodiles, giraffes, gazelles, a lion, a warthog and even zebras that came right up to the van. Super cool! Oh wait, my other favorite part was "The Festival of the Lion King." It was like a broadway show. The people were in full make up and costume, it was the closest thing to broadway I've ever seen. I loved every second of it!

Wednesday: We got up, caught out shuttle to the airport and came home.

It was a great time, but I am so happy to be home! Now to just get caught up on all my projects:
end of year scrapbooks for my kids' pre-school teachers, planning a first aid program for a church activity, getting caught up on laundry and house stuff and getting used to the idea that my kids are going to be out of school FOR THE SUMMER IN LESS THAN A WEEK! aaaaaaaahhh! That is scary! Anyway, better go get some of my projects done!

Disney

We went to Disney today. We are all so exhausted. It was fun though!



more to come...

Florida, here we come

I don't really have much to say tonight, except WE ARE GOING TO FLORIDA IN 2DAYS! I don't know who is more excited, me or my kids. OK, yes, Mason is way more excited then me, as evidenced by his literally bouncing off the walls today. No joke, the kid was nuts. But super cute! I'm thinking Benadryl might become our friend in the next few days. He just can't relax. I'm taking Betty (my laptop) with me so hopefully I'll have internet access at the $200 a night hotel we are staying at...ouch! As long as the kids have fun- that's all that matters. That's all for now! See ya in a week!

just for laughs

Ok, SERIOUSLY, you have to check this out! It is THE funniest thing I have read for a long time. Tonight the whole "Tom Cruise flowbee" comment had me snorting, laughing loudly and brought tears to my eyes for a good 5 minutes. I even woke Chris up from his narcolepsy slumber. So dang funny!

CKC Nashville

Was lots of fun. Bought tons of great stuff...yet I stayed on budget-go me!!! I met and took classes from Michelle Hill and Donna Downey. They are just as great in person as they seem in cyberspace. Donna totally cracked me up and I would pay lots to take more classes from her. Check out her blog, there is a pic of my class. I didn't make it to the lss she taught at in the area ( I really don't like that store) because I doubt Chris would have been too happy about that after

















I was gone for 12 hrs on Saturday. It looks like she did cute projects though.




Michelle's Lil Davis class was awesome. We used all their new stuff that hasn't shipped yet. It's all glittery and lots of fun. Even the rub ons have glitter in them. Fun!! The page was super cute.

Michelle then had a thing at my scrapbook store. Lil Davis did a cross country RV trip and made a stop at my lss. She did a great make n take, taught a class and had a page contest (that I didn't win AGAIN!).

All in all it was a great day!

Oh the trauma

Look what happened today...


Addi cut her own hair. Oh, I was so pathetic. I just started bawling my eyes out. Of course then Addi started crying. Then Mason came into the room and joined in on the cry-a-thon. There was hair everywhere. Every time I looked at it, I just started crying again. So sad. I was upstairs putting stuff away and when I came downstairs Addi had pushed her chair over to the counter, climbed up on top of it, opened the upper cabinet and got the scissors out. So after I calmed down a bit we went to Supercuts to get her hair fixed.







Now she looks like this:


It turned out a lot better then I thought it would. Luckily her hair is curly so the "layers" blend in pretty well. Those bangs...oh those bangs....well there wasn't a whole lot one could do to fix them. I had the stylist cut some of her grown out bangs to sort of disguise the 1 inchers. The shorter do does look really cute and it was SOOO much easier to come out tonight after her bath.

She keeps saying that she'll never "tut her own haiw adain." And that she's sad because she wants "way, long, big, big haiw" but I keep reassuring her that it will grow. Dang she is so cute!

Nothing too exciting

I always plan things for "when things slow down." Well, that never happens. Life just seems to get busier. That's why I have such a hard time posting to my blog. I wait until I'm not busy. hahaha!

My poor little Mason. I guess I wouldn't be a mom if I didn't worry, but he can be so difficult. There has to be a more effective way to discipline him. He is such a sweet, sweet kid but it so stubborn. Man, it's so hard. I need an instruction manual.

I've been reading a really good book that I recommend. It's called, "If momma ain't happy ain't nobody happy" by Lindsay O'Conner. It's a book for Christian women, especially mothers. It explains exactly how I feel. I know I am blessed to be able to have kids and stay at home, but sometimes that doesn't make my job any easier. She gives some really good insight in how to deal with our emotions and find the joy in every day. It really helped me to know that I'm not alone in my struggles and I got some great advice to make me and my family happy. So good!

I don't know if I'll ever get used to living here in Tennessee. It's already so hot and humid. Yes, it's only 80 degrees but it's so humid that it necessitates running our air conditioner. Today I can actually see the moisture in the air. So crazy. Last night I had a meeting for church(at our stake center that is 1.5 hours away) that got out after dark. I walked outside and expected to feel a crisp breeze. I almost chocked. Yes, it was cooler, but still soooo humid. And the bugs, oh the bugs. We were coming home, after our meeting, on the interstate. The hugest, biggest most disgusting bug hit the windshield. We all thought it was a rock or something because it was so big and so loud. But it left a big gross smoosh mark so it must have been a bug. ewwwwwww! Crazy Tennessee. But on the upside, it is absolutely gorgeous here! The trees are so thick and so green. It's so pretty.

That's it for now!