Our Journey Through Life

New Hair - AFTER

2012-01-12T08:34:00.001-06:00

Several hours later, I walked out of Dear, Clark salon with a much shorter, straighter, lighter, better head of hair.

I woke up this morning and was actually able to run a brush through my hair and it didn't poof out like I stuck my finger in a light socket.

New Hair - BEFORE

2012-01-12T08:25:00.002-06:00

For Christmas, I received a fabulous gift certificate to a fancy-shmancy salon in downtown Dallas.

I had been worried lately that I would wind up like one of those people who NEVER change their hair and continue to have the same hair that they had in high school years (decades) after graduation.

My hair had grown excessively long as of late.

In fact, when my hair was down, if you measured from the top of my head, to the longest part of my hair (which now passed my belt loops) the tape measure would read: 29 1/2 inches.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-04T10:07:00.000-06:00

Wishing everyone out there in blogger land a Happy New Year!

2011 was an amazing year for our family!

I can't wait to see what is in store for us in 2012.

Jill's Birthday

2011-10-22T20:57:00.001-05:00

Last weekend, Gillian turned 13.

We had a quiet family celebration at home and then we did dinner out.

Normally, we run Jill and Jordi's parties together because only 3 weeks separate their birthdays, but since it was a milestone birthday this year, we opted to let Jill choose what she wanted to do.

She invited her closest friends and we spent the afternoon at Six Flags.

Unfortunately, there was a World Series game right next door to us. It had a 7:00 pm start time, but several (thousand) people decided to hit the park before hitting the game. Out of all the times we have gone, this was the busiest.

The girls made the most of it, and we got on a few roller coasters and other rides, ate some junk food, and did a little shopping.

On the way home, Jill and her friends were already planning on doing this again for her 14th birthday.

Dad Update

2011-10-10T10:51:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post today.

It seems even though my dad beat lymphoma, the chemo is getting the best of him.

Last night, he was admitted to the hospital with extremely low blood pressure and fluid in his lungs.

The doctors removed 2 liters of fluid (according to my sister) and are giving him morphine for the pain.

I feel helpless, my head and my heart are telling me two different things. My heart is saying "Go," while my head is saying, "Pray."

Now as I read my post, I realize that I am being overly dramatic. He should recover from this. God IS in control.

Also, I am chosing to hide some facebook statuses because of fear that I would receive horrible news by an inconsiderate update. There are just certain things that should remain in the family, at least until everyone is aware of the situation.

Girl Drama

2011-09-09T13:03:00.003-05:00

Up until this point, I have always said "girls are so easy, I don't know what I would do if I had a boy...blah blah blah."

I am beginning to rethink the first part of that quote.

It's not that my girls are causing me drama...THEY AREN'T. It is the other tween girls that come into contact with my girls that are causing me the drama.

Seriously, I know God is using them to be character builders for my girls but the hurt feelings stink!

I wish we could just skip this chapter of growing up.

Gearing Up For Fall

2011-09-06T14:54:00.002-05:00

I ordered this adorable fall outfit at the beginning of August. It was one of those "no returns accepted" sort of deals and I was quite distressed to find out that sixe 6-12 months is really 6 months. I doubt this will even fit Miss P in October, but she looks pretty cute in it now.

School

2011-09-06T14:46:00.002-05:00

The girls are headed into their third week of school. So far, so good. Jordynn absolutely loves being a 5th grader. Her only complaint is that the school lunches aren't as good as they were in Washington. Funny kid. She signed up for a leadership program at school, and seems to be making friends.

Gillian is right in the middle of middle school. For the most part, her days are good. She is still learning her way around 7th grade girl drama and how catty girls can be. She gets annoyed that the kids in her history class are pretty rowdy and when they act up, the teacher makes the whole class stay in for part of their lunch. She isn't planning any extra school activities yet, but she did inform me that she is interested in basketball and track. I am guessing it is up to me to figure out how we are going to add those to softball (she plays year-round), taekwondo, and youth group.

Praise Report

2011-09-06T14:44:00.000-05:00

My Dad called me last week and filled me in that his lymphoma is in remission!

Peyton Update

2011-08-01T13:37:00.002-05:00

Peyton has been given a clean bill of health. After seeing a neurologist about her seizure, the doctor didn't think it was a seizure at all. She thought that it was choking due to reflux. At first, I thought that was scarier than a seizure, but the more days that pass without incident, the better I feel.

Since the "incident," we have purchased a video monitor for her room, and we are more vigilant with checking on her. After two weeks of making sure she was already asleep before laying her down, I have realized that I am going to have one super-spoiled little girl. So, starting last night we have begun to lay her down drowsy, and let her cry for just a bit.

Gearing Up For School

2011-08-01T12:54:00.002-05:00

I was informed by Jordynn this morning that school starts in three weeks. 21 days to be exact. She is so excited.

Gillian has the excited/nervous combo going. In some moments she really wants to go, and in other moments she really just wants to stay at home with me.

I am a nervous wreck.

Homeschooling was never meant to be a permanent thing for us. It was just going to be temporary until we got settled and into a better school district.

Now it is time for me to let go.

I wonder if they are ready. I wonder if I have sheltered them too much and that they will be completely naive and taken advantage of...I wonder about boys.

I remember how hard seventh grade was for me. It was my first year in a public school. Gillian reminds me so much of me.

So, while we are school supply shopping and getting our closets ready for back to school clothes, I am a little sad

Peyton

2011-07-10T10:21:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was just another typical day for Peyton and myself. The older girls are in Alabama and Wade worked a 12:00 - 9:00pm shift. At 8:10 I gave Peyton her last bottle for the evening and laid her down around 8:30. I came back downstairs and was finishing up a movie I had started to watch. She fussed for a bit, but that was totally normal. Wade called me a little after 9:00 to see if I wanted him to bring me home anything. I had had a migraine all day and was in need of espresso, hoping the caffeine would help the headache. I hung up the phone, let the dogs out, and headed upstairs to check on Peyton.

She was laying there in her crib, on her back. Her head was twitching ever so slightly to one side. I felt her chest and she wasn't breathing ( Looking back she must have been, otherwise how could she have twitched?) I picked her up and she was limp. Her hands were ice cold. I ran down the stairs and called 911. It was the scariest moment of my life. I thought she was dying. She continued to twitch her head, but wasn't breathing well. I checked her airways and there wasn't anything blocking. The police arrived very quickly and the paramedics were right behind them. They took Peyton out to the ambulance but kept me inside to answer questions. When I would ask about her they would just say "They are working on her."

After all the questions were answered, they finally let me call Wade. I was pretty hysterical and he couldn't understand much of what I was saying. He just heard the EMT in the background talking.

One of the EMTs helped me gather my shoes and lock my front door so we could head to the hospital. They wouldn't let me ride in the back with her, and I still hadn't seen her. They did say that she had started to cry and she had vomitted. Wade pulled in, just as we were preparing to leave.

Once we got to the hospital, I finally got to see her. They had taken off her jammies and she looked so tiny on the stretcher. She was so pale. I answered questions for the doctor and the nurses were checking her over when she vomitted again. I have never seen a little one spew out that much stuff. It freaked me out. The EMTs had said she had a fever when they first responded, but it was already down to normal.

Her reaction scared me more than anything. She was so calm. She just sat there. She is normally the smiliest baby and she wouldn't smile or cry or anything. She finally fell asleep after a couple of hours. She looked so peaceful. When she woke up, she gave me a little smile.

The end diagnosis was a seizure. We have to follow up with a neurologist on Monday. The emergency room doctor told us that with seizures no one knows what can cause them, or even if she will have them again.

We asked what to do if she does have another one, and they told me to do the same thing that I did. Make sure to check her airway, to roll her on her side and call 911.

Today we are moving her crib into our room for a little while. I know it is probably being overly cautious but that is fine with me.

Pictures 4/15/11

2011-05-30T19:34:00.004-05:00

I Don't Miss Blogging

2011-05-30T17:20:00.002-05:00

I was checking out some blogs that I read semi-regularly and I noticed on my dashboard that I haven't blogged since March 28th. Wow, that's a long time.

Since then, we have: moved, finished school, each of the girls have gone up one belt color in tae kwon do and are working on their next belts, finished a rec league softball season, participated in Jill's first softball tournament, had a baby dedication, found out my dad has lymphoma, and shipped the older girls to grandma's house for a few weeks.

As far as fun stuff goes...We have: hit the zoo, gone to Six Flags, went swimming, had sleepovers, and gone to see several movies.

Did I mention that Peyton is now 4 months old? Holy Cow, time flies.

I realized that I didn't miss blogging at all. Quite frankly, what I have missed are real, honest, friendships. I think it would be way more fun to call someone up and tell them about what's going on in my life instead of typing it and throwing it out into cyberspace hoping someone responds with a comment on my blog.

The House

2011-03-28T16:03:00.006-05:00

We signed the lease on Friday. I was going to post pictures from the listing, but decided to wait because the pictures were full of the owner's furnishings and I think it would be more fun to take my own photos of the rooms. I will give everyone the details though.

The house is an amazing 2,874 square feet. And seriously, the rent is just a little bit more than what we are paying for our 1,450 square foot home that we are in now.

It has 4 bedrooms plus a den with a gigantic walk in closet. I can't wait to give Peyton her own bedroom.

The master bedroom has a huge bathroom with a very large bathtub. I am so excited! Our current place is lacking a nice bathtub. There is also a walk-in closet that has three levels of shelving and racks for clothing. I will need to put a ladder in there just to reach the top.

We signed a one year lease to start with and for the first year the owner is paying for the landscaping, the pest control, and the HOA fees.

The house is half a mile away from both the middle school and the elementary school that the girls will go to. It is less than 4 miles away from church and two miles away from where Jill will go to youth group. YAY! It is also 5 miles closer to where Jill plays softball.

We can start moving small stuff in anytime and our official move in date is April 5th.

Looking at Houses

2011-03-25T06:24:00.004-05:00

Last May when we were looking at schools for the girls, we decided that it was time to look for a new place to live. The house that we are in is okay, but we had heard a lot of unpleasant things about the schools that were close to us. Our goal was to move by May of 2011. We started looking for a place in February and we didn't have very good luck. We decided to go through a realtor, and he emailed us several listings of houses for rent and I picked a few that we wanted to look at, but he never got back to us.

I was frustrated.

Wade called me from work this past Tuesday and said, "I am going to blow your mind. Check your email and let me know what you think." He hung on the line while I opened up the email with this picture.

I said that it was nice, when really I was thinking "There is no way we will ever get something this great."

He said that he was on his way to pick us up so we could take a peek at the inside of the house. We got ready to go and I explained to the girls that we were going to look at a new place to live, but not to get too excited because we were just starting the process and we will probably have to look at several places before we find one that we get.

As we were driving to the house we passed the elementary and middle schools that the girls would be going to. They are right next to each other! How convenient is that? We pulled up, and the house looked amazing! The owner showed us around, we fell in love with it. All the while, I am telling the girls "Don't get your hopes up, other people want this house too." The owner said that we were third on the list. We filled out the paperwork anyway and went on with our day.

Thursday, he called Wade and told us if we still were interested we could have it.

The amazing thing about this house, is that the rent is only slightly more than what we are paying now and less than what we set our max that we were willing to pay at.

We are signing the lease agreement on Friday at 11:00 am.

I will post more pictures after that, and if for some strange reason it doesn't pan out, this posting will self destruct.

The Zoo

2011-03-25T06:10:00.004-05:00

On Tuesday, my dad flew down for a visit. We decided to take advantage of the beautiful (but not too warm weather) to visit the Dallas Zoo. The older girls and I had been several times but Wade hadn't had a chance to go yet and we figured it would be a good way to entertain dad.
The zoo was running a membership special so instead of paying 60 some dollars for us to go for the day, dad treated us to a family membership.

This was Peyton's first major outting. She did really well! She slept for half of the day and the rest of the time She was content to hang out in her stroller or attached to me in the front pack.

Peyton's One Month Check Up

2011-03-02T19:27:00.002-06:00

Today was Peyton's one month check up. It was my first outting with just Peyton and myself. Wade had to work and the girls had a ton of school work to do and they also promised to do their chores while we were gone (which they did).

The waiting room was full of really sick kids (DUH), I am not sure why that surprised me. I wish they had a well visit room like our old pediatrician did. Anyway, I kept her covered with her blanket and avoided the kiddos as much as we could.

Peyton was weighed and measured. She has gained a pound, which puts her at 8 lbs 1 oz. She has also grown to 20 1/2 inches. She is in the 25th percentile for height and weight.

So tiny.

When the doctor examined her, she took an extra long time listening to her heartbeat. I had known that Peyton had a murmur, but I wasn't too concerned about it. Of course the pediatrician tells me that we need to see a cardiologist...this week. I ask if it's serious, she says, "no, but let's not wait." Of course that puts me into a moderate panic. She tells me that she will set up the appointment and call me and let me know when it is. By the time I get halfway home, they have called and let me know that the appointment was for this afternoon. They have also called Wade at work and filled him in.

More panic.

Wade meets us at the cardiologist and we fill out paperwork. We had only a few minute wait, even though the waiting room is full. The first test was an EKG. That was a little traumatic seeing all these things hooked up to her chest. She wasn't that fond of it either. It took me holding her down to get all of the sensors taped to her. After that, we met the doctor and he listened to her heart. He decides that she should have an echocardiogram. She slept through the whole thing. We met with the doctor after that was taken and she was given a clean bill of health. Phew! They diagnosed her with an Innocent Murmur which basically means that her heartbeat is slightly louder than a normal one, but completely harmless. It may even disappear as she gets older.

Not exactly how I expected our day to go, but the good news is she is growing, and is in great health. Just a few more weeks of quarantine because of the RSV virus, then we can introduce her to the world.

Adjusting

2011-02-23T14:02:00.003-06:00

Now that the first and second wave of house guests have left, and Wade has returned to work, we are getting to see what our new life will look like.

So far, it has been pretty hectic!

I was just getting ready to get back into the swing of things when our pediatrician informed us that the RSV virus was running rampant in our region so we needed to quarantine Miss Peyton until the middle to end of March. After doing the research and talking to a nurse friend we agreed that the best thing for Peyton would be to keep her away from enclosed spaces and groups of people for the required amount of time.

That makes my schedule a little bit crazier, but so far, I am hanging in there. On top of all the activities we are already doing, this past week, Jill has decided that she wants to do Tae Kwon Do as well. The good news, is her and Jordi can take the same class, so it's not like I am making an extra trip. Also, softball has started back up, so that's one day of pitching and one day of team practice.

Jill has been going through a really tough time lately. Not only did she have the foot injury last year, but now it looks like her migraines are hormonal so we can count on them to arrive monthly. One Dr. suggested we put her on the pill to regulate her hormone levels. That didn't go over to well with me. She's 12. There will be no pill in her future. We are seeking other treatment options.

Jordi had a few behavioral issues when we first brought Peyton home, but since the Grandmas have gone home, she has been really good. She loves helping out with her little sister. She even loves changing diapers. I think with Jordynn she just needs reassurance that she is still every bit as important as before.

New Glasses

2011-02-14T02:44:00.002-06:00

Ever since Gillian got glasses in the second grade, Jordynn has wanted them too. She just never needed them. Once Gillian got contacts, Jordynn stopped asking for glasses. Now she needs them. LOL. She is doing great with them and loves that she can see clearly.

The Hospital Stay

2011-02-14T02:01:00.003-06:00

I had been holding off on writing this post hoping to gain perspective of the whole hospital fiasco. At the time, there seemed like so many horrible things that happened. As I look back, I realize that I can overlook almost everything...After all, I got to take home this beautiful baby girl. Nevertheless, here are a few of the annoyances that contributed to me checking out a day early.

Two different people warned me that I wouldn't get any rest while I was there.

They were RIGHT! Monday evening it started. Three different nurses came to check on Peyton and myself hourly. The problem was, they didn't coordinate with each other, so I had someone different coming in almost every 20 minutes. Also that night, the machine that was hooked up to my legs to prevent blood clots decided to malfunction so it beeped continuously. I would call the nurse in, she would readjust it then leave and five minutes later it would start beeping again. This went on for hours. 3:00am Tuesday morning, the tech who was in charge of taking my blood pressure and temp also decided she needed to change all of the garbages in the room, so she flipped on the lights and made a HUGE racket! By 4:00am I had been up for over 24 hours and I was completely drained. I was sobbing, and I begged my nurse for a reprieve. She managed to get the other two to check on me and Peyton, then we sent Peyton to the nursery so I could sleep. Three hours later, the day nurse brought a sleeping Peyton in, woke her and myself up and insisted that I nurse.

Tuesday morning didn't get much better. My day nurse wasn't having a good day so she decided to take it out on me. It was her job to get me in the shower. She started by ripping off the bandage that covered my incision. OUCH! Then she started the water. It was ICE COLD! I refused to get in. She insisted. We argued. I won. She flipped some wet towels at me and told me to wash up. I cried.

Wednesday morning Wade had to go to work so I was left to fend for myself. We had a huge ice storm the day before and the roads were still covered so my mom and the girls couldn't come to see me. I felt pretty alone. The morning started with a blackout. The hospital generators don't cover the individual patient rooms so it was pretty dark for a bit. Once the power came back on, I sent Peyton to the nursery because I was exhausted. I had gotten to sleep for maybe an hour when food services came in and woke me up. Later, my IV had started to come out of my hand and I lost almost a full dose of pain medicine down my nightgown, so the nurse just jammed the needle back in my hand. So unpleasant. When my doctor came to check on me, I begged her to release me. I could have gone home that night, but the pediatrician had already made rounds and wasn't coming back until morning. I was stuck.

Thursday morning was check out day. My doctor knew how miserable I was, so she showed up bright and early. The whole checkout process went pretty smoothly and I had a really nice nurse that morning to help me out. My only complaint about Thursday was that I asked when they were going to do the hospital picture of Peyton. I had been looking forward to that the whole time...Remember the ice storm? Well, the people that take the pictures couldn't come to work that day. I was so disappointed. I know it sounds trivial and hospital pictures normally aren't that great anyway, and are usually over-priced, but I was so looking forward to them.

That was my stay at the hospital. I must say, that even with all of the junk that went on, The labor and delivery nurses and Peyton's nurses were all wonderful. You could tell that they really enjoyed what they do and that they truly care about the patients.

Peyton's Arrival

2011-02-07T18:56:00.004-06:00

Peyton Nikol arrived at 7:58 am, January 31, 2011

She weighed in at 6 pounds 6 ounces, and was 19 1/4 inches long.

We checked into the hospital at 5:30 am with a scheduled c-section time of 7:30. The two hours before the surgery were the longest of the entire nine months of pregnancy.
From 6;30 to 7:30 they prepped me for surgery, which included starting an IV, drawing blood, monitoring the baby, and the dreaded epidural.

At 7:30 on the dot, they wheeled me back into the operating room. Wade joined me a few minutes later. Everything became real at that moment.

This little person that I had wanted for so long, was about to arrive. It was amazing. I cried the entire time.

When they pulled her out, she was quiet for just a few seconds before finding her voice. She was perfect. All of those worries that I had during pregnancy were for nothing. Her Apgar scores were 8, 9. After a few minutes, they wrapped her and handed her to Wade while they finished up with my surgery and tubal ligation.

When they were finished, I was wheeled into a recovery room and they gave me Peyton for the first time. It was so good to hold her. It was so unlike my two previous c-sections where I didn't get to bond with the girls right away. After a little while, they brought my mom and the girls back to see us. I could tell instantly that Gillian and Jordynn were going to be the best big sisters in the world.

An hour later, they took Peyton to the nursery and me to my room. I felt so good. I have never came out of a surgery so awake, so energized. I was pretty medicated but not to the point of being loopy. I put on some make up and chatted with the girls.

I sent Wade and the girls home around 1:00 pm so that they could all take a nap. We had gotten up pretty early and they looked like they were going to fall asleep. Mom stayed with me and Peyton. It was pretty chaotic, There were three different nurses that came in every hour to check on us. One for me, one for Peyton, and one who took my blood pressure and temperature.

We got our first visitors around 5:00 pm. I thought it was very fitting that it was Ted, Nikol and their girls. Wade and the girls arrived shortly after them. We had a nice visit and played pass the baby for a bit. It was the perfect day.

I still felt great...I hadn't slept since 3:00am, but I was still going strong...Now, the rest of our stay in the hospital was not nearly that smooth...Stay tuned for all the gritty details.

Ramblings of a Very Pregnant Woman

2011-01-20T07:45:00.003-06:00

Ten days to go.

Slightly freaking out, but in a good way.

I have almost everything done around the house that I need to, except for a thorough house cleaning, which I plan to do over the next three days.

Wondering how it is going to be having house guests along with a new baby for almost a month straight. Wondering if I will survive...

Disappointed that Wade won't get to take much time off of work. He gets a week, but he is taking it when his mom comes out because I won't be able to drive.

I am not worried about having to have a c-section, but I am getting frustrated with people giving me a hard time about it.

This past week, I have gotten more grief over it from people who don't even know my situation. It is kind of frustrating.

Do I want one? NO.

Do I have to have one? YES.

Would I love more than anything to have the whole element of not knowing when or where it would start? More than anything.

My doctor and I just aren't willing to take the chance of my overly scarred uterus rupturing during a natural childbirth.

I am not one of those women who just want a c-section because of the convenience. I didn't want to pick out her birth date. I keep secretly (well not so secret anymore) hoping that I will go into labor early, but the doctor assures me that won't happen.

One More Speed Bump

2011-01-18T09:41:00.003-06:00

I had this long post already typed out about the horrible day that I had yesterday and how the hospital called me and told me that they couldn't admit me unless we prepaid $5,000, but it doesn't matter.

God has provided us answers and options. He hasn't been carrying me during this entire pregnancy only to drop me three feet from the finish line. He is Good.

Getting Ready

2011-01-15T10:48:00.004-06:00

After nine months, I am starting to feel like it's about time to have a baby. We had a few speedbumps along the road that slowed us down in preparing for her arrival, but I think we are right on track now. Yesterday, I spent the afternoon assembling and filling out warranty and recall information on the carseat, stroller, and pack and play.
This week has also been the week of care packages from the Washington grandparents. My dad wasn't sure what to get, so I tried explaining the way the baby registry works. Well, he did great getting things off of the list, but didn't tell the cashier that they were for a registry and amazingly enough and without any planning, a few hours later Wade's mom bought identical things. On Monday, Wade and I will have a little exchanging to do, but that is okay. Since we will be sharing a room with baby until we move, I have had my eye on some cute fabric bins to put her clothes in and we will pick those up in exchange for the duplicates.

Today is the day for baby laundry. I saved a few choice outfits from Gillian and Jordynn and I wanted to get everything else washed and ready. I had forgotten how expensive baby laundry soap is...What is the brand of choice for all you moms out there?

As Promised

2011-01-10T19:35:00.002-06:00

Well,here they are in order of pregnancies. It took me a lot longer to find pictures of me pregnant with Gillian than I thought it would, which if funny, because I wasn't the least bit self conscious back then. Here I am on Gillian's 2nd birthday just 3 1/2 weeks before Jordynn was born. I was huge, but the biggest issue I have with this picture is..."What the heck was up with my eyeshadow?" Oh right, that was my Mary Kay selling time. Yeesh.

Okay, here I am just last week, and you can't see a darned thing. I have really crappy lighting in my bedroom and that is the only place with the full length mirror. I will say that I am wayyyyyy smaller than both previous pregnancies, but still very much hippoish. I will attempt to have Wade take a picture of me before Peyton makes her arrival.

Pregnancy Pictures

2011-01-03T12:11:00.002-06:00

Against my better judgment, I will post pregnancy pictures.

Please note:

I am not happy about this, nor will I enjoy looking at them down the road, but I did think that since I was going to do this, I would dig up pictures of when I was pregnant with Gillian and Jordynn and post them as well.

I am not one of those super cute pregnant women that glow. I just look like a whale.

Stay tuned.

They will be up this week sometime.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-03T11:57:00.003-06:00

This Christmas we had a first for our family. We were able to stay in one place the entire holiday season. The girls (and my mom) were a little disappointed that we didn't go to Alabama for a week like we had in the past, but we made the most of it and Mom and Neal came to us.
The only downside was that, at least one person was sick every day of their visit. That factor cancelled all of our sight seeing plans that we had made.

Kidventure Christmas Program 2010

2010-12-20T19:15:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was the children's Christmas program at our church. The kids have been working really hard on it all month long. They did great! Jill was such a great Mary.
Jordynn was the lead star. When I told her how proud I was that she was the main one, she replied, "The only reason I was the main star is because I was the tallest." It was pretty cute to see because she was a full head taller than all the other stars.

Pregnancy Update

2010-12-04T12:32:00.003-06:00

I haven't done one in awhile, so I thought that I would fill everyone in.

57 DAYS TO GO!!!

The time seems to be going really fast now, not only because I am having a January baby, but because December always goes by fast for me. After all, it is Christmas time, and there is so much to be done.

Health wise: I am hanging in there. My blood pressure is on a roller coaster right now. Sometimes when I go in it is high and other times it is normal. I think it just depends on what I have on my mind when it is taken.

Weight Gain: Yeah, I am gaining more than I should, but let me fill you in on a little secret...I don't care. It's true, I really, really don't. I know that I will take it off after the baby, so I am not going to fret about it. It will just take me a little longer.

Mentally: The mood swings are KILLING me!!! Some days, I could just cry and cry. Other days, I feel as if I could rip someone's head off. Mostly I feel really alone. Wade works so much, and I don't have any family here...When I was pregnant with Gillian and Jordynn, I would go out with friends weekly, and see my mom all the time. Now, I go for days without leaving the house aside from playing taxi to Gillian and Jordynn. I would love to have a few super happy days. I think that would be fair.

Getting Ready for Baby: Ha Ha Ha. We are still trying to pay off hospital and baby doctor. As soon as that is done, then I will probably go into turbo mode and really figure out what I need to do. I did find a pediatrician, I think. Going to go meet with her in a week and a half. I am taking the girls in for well visits and if they like her, She's a keeper.

Christmas Pictures

2010-11-29T14:42:00.003-06:00

Our family has the tradition of putting the Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving and then taking pictures the day after. This year was no exception.
For some reason, the last few months the girls have been really interested in having our dogs take part in family traditions. So we dressed them up as well.

It is hard to believe how grown up Gillian looks now that she wears contacts.

By the way, all of these pictures are what I consider the "outtakes." Halfway through, I noticed I left my dusting rag on the table by the tree. After I straightened that up, Jordynn wanted to change her shirt, before I started taking more photos.

The good news is after an hour, I ended up getting pictures that everyone was happy with and I have already ordered the prints that I need. I told Wade that next year, we will have them done somewhere, because if I can't get our ten year old to cooperate, how am I going to get a ten month old to?

Jordynn's 10th Birthday

2010-11-11T20:44:00.003-06:00

On Tuesday, we celebrated Jordi's 10th birthday. It is truly amazing how fast children grow up! Jordynn is such a blessing to our family.
We started the day with presents. Wade and I knew that there were a couple of gift cards in her stack that would come into play later. She loved all of her gifts, especially the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series from Grandma Beckie.

After presents, we headed out for a bit of shopping. She wanted to go to Build-A-Bear and Claire's. I love how at her age, she wanted to buy an outfit for her favorite stuffed animal, but then bought a few pairs of earrings for herself. It made me appreciate how she is slowly growing up. We hit Red Robin for lunch and then visited Target so she could spend her gift card from Grandma Shu-Shu. Once she finished picking out a toy and pajamas we headed ATA Blackbelt Academy.

For months Jordynn has been talking about wanting to do Karate. Wade had called the place and they agreed to give her a free lesson (in the past, Jordi wants to do things, but then decides right after she starts, that it is boring or too hard). We knew right away that this was the perfect fit for her. After her lesson, we signed her up.

Autumn in Alabama

2010-11-04T15:25:00.003-05:00

Months ago, when Mom and I made arrangements for her to fly out, I volunteered to drive her home, so we could visit Alabama before I was too huge to drive that far. When the day came to actually head out, I was completely exhausted. The entire week before the trip we had done so much running around and sight seeing with Mom, there was no time to rest. Thank goodness, she drove most of the way while I slept.
The girls were so excited to get there. They love playing outside on Gillian's chuckwagon. Jordynn's 4 wheeler was in the shop again, next summer she is due to get a new ride similar to Gillian's.
We weren't prepared for how cold it was in the mornings. Bella would shake so hard, that she would have a hard time going potty so we invested in a jacket for her. I don't know if it helped, but she looks pretty darn cute.

Last summer, Mom bought a horse. Now that he is getting tamer, she figured it was time for everyone to learn how to ride. She takes lessons weekly and is doing really well. I am impressed.

This was the first time that the girls have been on real horses, not just ponies. I was shocked that Jordynn took to it a lot faster than Gillian. Jordi was a natural. Within five minutes she was doing everything on her own so the trainer could work with Jill. Don't get me wrong, Jill was awesome as well, it just took her a bit longer.

Other highlights included: A 3:00 am trip to the storm shelter. Talk about scary. It was like we were in the middle of the movie Twister. The alarm went off and mass chaos ensued. Of course, no tornado hit, but it was still scary. Two days later, we made multiple trips to the same shelter, one tornado actually touched down a few miles from Mom's but no major damage was done.

We also had to help pick out a whole new computer for Mom. While she was in Texas, there was an electrical storm that fried her computer and modem. She is very happy with her new Sony laptop.

Lastly, we took Jill to an orthopedic specialist about her foot issue. He prescribed her some new medicine and gave her three more weeks of no activity. After that, she will be good to go. She can't wait to start pitching again.

Jill's 12th Birthday

2010-11-04T15:10:00.003-05:00

Gillian's 12th birthday was a complete success. My mom flew out to surprise her, and even though everybody around the girls knew, no one told them! She was shocked to say the least.
She opened presents the night before her birthday because Wade had to work an open to close on her special day. Of course she made out like a bandit. We had gotten her contact lenses and a few other small things, we know to not try and compete with Grandma (see picture above for her gift).

On the actual day of her birthday, she wanted to go to the zoo. So we ventured out to the Dallas Zoo and had a really nice time. We looked at everything that she wanted to and rode the monorail around (which was a very nice break from all the walking).

After that, we headed to Cheddar's for her birthday dinner. They have the best chicken strips on the planet. In fact, the four of us each ordered the strips and had enough left over for Wade to take for two days worth of lunches.

From there, we headed home so I could make some snickerdoodle cupcakes for her to share in Kidventure at church the next day and the girls and my mom battled it out on the Wii Resort for hours, until Jill finally called it quits because she was so tired.

Late Night Social Commentary

2010-10-30T01:26:00.003-05:00

It is 1:30 in the morning, and I am sitting at the computer, trying to listen to two rooms full of girls (making sure they aren't killing each other) I have come to the realization that ALL parents should tell their kids "NO" once in awhile.

I think it is an important life skill for kids of all ages to know the proper way to react when they don't get their own way.

A Quick Update

2010-10-13T19:16:00.003-05:00

I am expecting the next two weeks to be a bit of a blur, so I thought I would catch everyone up now.

Pregnancy Update: 109 days and counting! 24 weeks and feeling pretty good. Don't get me wrong, I am still tired a lot, and extremely hormonal, but other than that all is good. My last ultrasound showed that the calcium around Peyton's heart is getting smaller, so officially doctor is not as concerned about birth defects.

Girly Update: Girls are plugging away at school. There have been a few moments of laziness and bad attitudes that have crept into our school day, and I am doing my darnedest to nip it in the bud. In fact, there is a huge warning sign on our fridge that states that one child in particular will not be allowed to participate in their joint birthday sleepover if there are any more eruptions. Those of you who have been reading me for awhile know that I am dead serious about ultimatums.

Both girls have joined Girl Scouts. It will be interesting to see how we juggle their meetings and scheduled outings into our routine. Crossing my fingers.

Tomorrow, my mom is flying out from Alabama to surprise Gillian for her 12th birthday (can you believe I am going to have a twelve year old???) on Saturday. I have known about this since August, and have managed to not spill the beans. Here's to hoping that I don't slip up in the next 18 hours. She will be here for a week, then we will drive her home and hang out at her place for a week. It will be the last trip I make before Peyton's arrival.

Hubby Update: Wade is good.

He works a ton, but really enjoys his job. He is an Assistant Sales Manager, which means he is in charge of hiring his own employees. That has been a challenge as of late. People interview, they work a day or two, then decide that car sales is not the career they thought it would be.

Pet Update: Seriously, why do I have pets?

Avy barks at everything. It is very grating on my nerves. Bella likes to poop in the house. She is fully trained, she just does it when she thinks we aren't giving her enough attention. I went to ladies bible study last Sunday and as I walked in the door, she had an accident right in front of me, because I left her at home.

Update on Jill

2010-10-07T11:44:00.003-05:00

Today I took Jill in for her follow up appointment for her foot. I was so impressed by the doctor and his knowledge the first go around, I knew we were going to get to the bottom of this injury in no time.

Ha!

Our appointment today was very quick. We were in and out in five minutes. I was still asking him questions as he left the room. She still has a lot of foot pain when she does physical activity, also the back of her heel "pops" quite loudly. He said yes we should be concerned with the popping noise because it is the tendons that are popping, and that can lead to a lot of trouble. Then he said new x-rays weren't needed and she can return to all activity, but to keep using the heavy dose of anti-inflammatory medicine 3-5 times a day. In my opinion, that doesn't make sense. I don't want her to be playing on an injured foot, that can't make things better...Can it?

So, I have arranged for a second opinion. She will be seeing a specialist in two weeks.

Care Package From Grandma

2010-10-04T20:24:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago, my mom sent me a priority box full of cute, very girly baby clothes.

It is hard to believe in just a few months we will have a new little addition that will be this tiny!

My mom heard about the nickname Monkey and has done a very good job at finding cute little pink monkey things.

I think that when we move, and she gets her own room, I am going to decorate with monkeys and butterflies. In my head it looks really cute. We will see.

Snoogle

2010-09-18T10:21:00.003-05:00

I am so excited to try out my new pillow tonight. It is called the Snoogle total body pillow. For the last few months, I have been sleeping with a minimum of three pillows, which usually end up on the floor at some point during the night. One of the joys of pregnancy is not being able to be comfortable in any position. I am hoping this will do the trick.

Thank you Amazon for great prices and very speedy shipping. You made my weekend.

No Fall Softball

2010-09-14T18:37:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago, Jill was at softball practice and while she was running, her foot got caught in a hole. We came home and iced it, wrapped it and gave her some Tylenol. After a few days she said it was better. We went to practice the following Sunday and she was unable to do any running activities. A few days later, I called the pediatrician who discouraged me from bringing her in. I figured it would heal on its own. We skipped a practice so she would have more time to recover. This past Sunday while at practice, she started to cry because it hurt so bad.

Today we went to the podiatrist. He took some x-rays and examined her foot. She has Achilles tendonitis as well as some issues with the growth plates in her heels.

For the next three weeks she can have no physical activity other than normal walking.

No flip-flops, no dress shoes or boots - only tennis shoes.

She is to ice it off and on all day.

Next week, she will start soaking it several times a day in alternating warm and cold water.

She has special stretches that she needs to do twice a day.

A prescription ointment to be applied 3 times a day.

In three weeks we will go and have new xrays to see if we are making progress.

Because the fall softball season is only 8 weeks, the doctor would prefer her to not play at all. I feel so badly for her. She is very upset that we have to put all of her lessons on hold. She told me the worst part was she finally got on a good team and won't even get to play one game. I also reassured her that it was good we found these problems out now, instead of when she is older. She will be as good as new in no time.

142 Days To Go!

2010-09-10T16:33:00.005-05:00

If anyone expects to see belly pictures in any of my posts...too bad! I am not one who is all aglow with pregnancy beauty. I am half way through and I already feel like (as Wade implied the other day) an Oompa Loompa.

Last Tuesday we had our ultrasound. It was very exciting to find out we were having a girl. EVERYBODY was surprised, even me. Our little monkey is not shy at all. The tech said it was very obvious what the gender was.

After the fun stuff, the technician noticed that she has some calcification around her heart. It could be nothing, or it could be a sign of down syndrome. I am choosing to believe it is the first option. It is fairly common, and usually goes away on its own. My doctor also confirmed that it was pretty common. She said if I wanted we could do an amnio and a level 2 ultrasound, but I am going with the wait and see approach. No sense in subjecting the baby to extra testing, not to mention, it would stress me out even more. So, next month I will have another ultrasound and they can keep an eye on things.

Other than that, everything went well. My blood pressure is great, my weight is ridiculously high ( I am blaming vacation for a lot of that - 7 days of eating almost every meal out...) and I feel good. Most days I don't even take a nap.

C-section is scheduled for January 31, 2011.

The Girls First Rock Concert

2010-09-04T11:51:00.004-05:00

Creed has been my favorite band since Wade bought a cd with a dumb song about being a new dad ten years ago. I gave him grief for all of a minute before I decided they were worth listening to.

We went to their concert last September and had a blast. It was so much fun. In May, I found out that they were coming again, and I was so excited. Wade gave me an I.O.U. for Mother's Day because the tickets were going to go on sale in June. Right before we were going to order the tickets we found out I was pregnant and decided that we didn't need to be frivolous...after all we had seen them before. I was a little disappointed, but knew that we could save the money for baby expenses and that was okay with me.

Yesterday, Wade called me and said his boss gave him something. He then sent me a picture of 4 tickets to the concert that was last night. Wade promised that he would make it home in time and we could go. Last year, I wouldn't have dreamed of taking the girls because Staind was the opening act. This year it was Skillet, a very loud but obvious christian band. Wade got home an hour and 15 minutes late and I was ready to throw the towel in. He insisted that we go anyway. It is a good thing we only live ten miles from the venue. We arrived in plenty of time, we only missed the opening act which was a group we never heard of.

We found our seats which were in the second to last row (which is okay because there are huge screens). Then we hit the restrooms and I browsed the souvenir table. I collect sweatshirts and for years I have wanted a Creed hoodie, but they never had any, well they did last night. YAY! Also, it was $15 bucks cheaper than most of the concert hoodies I have seen.

We got back just in time for Skillet to start. I love them, they rock. The girls seemed to enjoy them too. They are our next itunes purchase. After they finished another guy from Wade's work showed up with his family.

Once Creed took the stage, three partiers in front of us decided to spark up a doobie. I told the girls to cover their mouths and nose with their sleeves. Wade's work buddy went and got security. The not-so-efficient security guard told us that it is not against the law to smoke a joint at that venue as long as they weren't under cover (which they weren't) and it wasn't more than 1/4 of an ounce. I knew that we were going to have to leave early because I didn't want us exposed to that. A few minutes later, Wade's friend complained to a security supervisor who was more than happy to move us. He took us by twos into the front area of the venue. Jill and I were ten rows back from the standing area and off to the side. It was so much fun. We had great seats and were able to breathe. Wade texted me and told us that he and Jordi were in row 5. They really enjoyed their new location as well.

This morning, Wade's phone went off pretty early and I could hear him tell one of his curious coworkers "yes, if it is under 1/4 ounce they will let you smoke it..." Apparently, his buddy was already telling everyone how he got us all awesome seats.

To Register or Not to Register...

2010-08-30T20:31:00.002-05:00

I think that my doctor's office is selling my information. How else did 15 different baby stores and magazines find out that we were expecting? Good Grief! I am bombarded daily by junk mail that I didn't request (Which I happily browse through, I mean, it is exciting after all).

Last week, I received a high-end catalog requesting me to register for fabulously expensive items like a $900 yes $900 stroller. Even if I could afford said stroller, I couldn't justify buying it - let alone putting it on my registry and asking someone else to buy it for me. For goodness sake - that is a house payment.

Today, I received a very fat catalog from Target. I didn't even know that they had catalogs other than the weekly ad. It was full of nothing but maternity and baby items. They are trying to entice me to register with them. If I agree, they will give me a $20 gift card. Hmm...

Here comes the dilemma. How do I feel about registering? Is it tacky to register if you already have kids? Part of me says yes, but then I think, "Well, my youngest is going to be 10, it's not like I have any baby things lying around the house anyway."

Another part of me says "Go ahead, that way when Wade's mom asks what you need, you can tell her you are registered and she can shop online and have it shipped."

Still not quite sure what I will do. Wade and I agreed not to buy any baby things until we find out the sex of the baby (8 days). We will just have to wait and see. I sure hope this little "monkey" decided to cooperate.

This Past Week

2010-08-30T19:56:00.002-05:00

Since getting home from our fabulous-but-insane vacation, life has not slowed down.

Saturday 8/21

Upheld my promise to the girls and took them to see Eclipse. I had seen it when it came out so I was able to tell them when to close their eyes (Bella and Edward making out). They loved the movie, but as we got to our car afterwards, noticed that some misguided youth had smashed my window and stole some items out of my car including my cd player and portable navigation. Who knew it was dangerous to see a movie at 10:40 in the am?

Sunday 8/22

Church, then grocery shopping, then first softball practice with the new team. Practice was great but got over at 8:30pm - not really digging the time.

Monday 8/23

First day of school. In case you hadn't heard, I have decided to home school for one more year. After doing a ton of research and talking to people who work with the school district (one woman offered to pray for us) we opted to school at home until we can move to a location that has better options.

*On a side note, it is hard to believe that the girls are in 6th and 4th grade.

Tuesday 8/24

Full day of school followed by batting lesson for Jill.

Wednesday 8/25

Our 15th Anniversary.

Mom sent us a great care package that included pictures she had taken at Olan Mills over the summer and a new navigation for my car. LOVED IT! We took the girls out to dinner with us and had a nice evening. It is hard to believe we have been married for that long. Wade and I were reminded of how many people gave us the "it won't last 6 months" spiel. I find it very sad that four of those people are now divorced.

Thursday 8/26

Ate a delicious muffin then 30 seconds later realized it had ground walnuts on the topping. It put me out of commision the entire day and most of the next. Thank goodness pregnant ladies can take benadryl. Had to find a ride for Jill because she had softball practice.

Friday 8/27

Still recovering from muffin. Jill had pitching practice so off we went.

Saturday 8/28

Stayed close to home. It was so nice to just watch movies and hang out with my girls. We watched The Last Song. I don't advise this movie to the weepy ones. After the girls were done with that, they went to play so I watched Date Night and didn't think it was as funny as I first thought it was.

Sunday 8/29

Church. Nap. Softball Practice.

Tuesday 8/17/10

2010-08-26T09:38:00.003-05:00

Tuesday was our last half day in Washington. We spent the morning with Dad. He took us shopping and bought the girls each an outfit and bought me a sweatshirt (it is hanging in my closet and as soon as it gets out of the 100's I will wear it). After shopping he took us to Ivar's for lunch. I have missed their clams and chips! It was so good. From there we went to Walgreens to stock up on cheap souvenirs.

Then it was time to load up. It is always hard to pull out of my dad's place. Not because the driveway is deadly, but because it makes me sad. I don't know when the next time I see him will be.
From there, we headed south to Kent to visit my Grandma. She was the main priority on the visit list and we saved her for last. My aunt and cousin and her baby showed up right as we got there. I love them, but they monopolized the entire visit. I really just wanted to hang out with my Grandma.

The freeway was the closest we got to the Space Needle this trip. I had wanted to take the girls to the Seattle Center, but there was no time.

Wade had to be to work in a few short days, so we started the drive home.

I must say, it was the pits. My body started shutting down because of exhaustion and I was pretty useless driving home.

I couldn't drive more than 2 hours without nodding off. Wade didn't complain at all about not getting much rest. We drove straight through to Denver, then stopped for the night.

16 more hours of driving the next day and we were home by midnight on Thursday, which gave Wade six hours of sleep before work.
The vacation was completely exhausting, but worth it.

Monday 8/16/10

2010-08-26T09:14:00.002-05:00

Monday, we were off and running bright and early again. We started by dropping Wade off at the Local Scoop in Arlington to have breakfast with Pastor Chad. The girls and I stayed just long enough for a hug and a quick goodbye, then we met Wade's mom at Kohl's for some shopping. I think it is funny how the grandparents always think the kids need clothes. Anyway, I am certainly not complaining, I appreciate all that they do, so we shopped. The girls each got a few outfits and accessories. Madisen and I even got in on the action. I got a few maternity things and she got a dress and a stuffed animal.

From there we took Madisen home and then headed to Ericksen's for more coffee. This time it was an iced, decaf, soy, white chocolate, mocha. Yep, still the best. Gillian and Jordynn also got Italian sodas which they sucked down while I was catching up with one of my favorite baristas.
Then we drove over to my niece Ashley's house to visit with her for a few hours. The girls were kind of disappointed that one of their cousins was away for the weekend, but I reminded them that at least they got to visit with her in June. So we played with Isabella (NOT named afte the vampire chick) it was fun to be with her, I think she kind of remembered us.

I followed Ashley to Red Robin where we met up with Rhonda, Dylan, and Sarah. Dylan (who is a freshman) is finally taller than Gillian. we had a great lunch and it was really nice to visit with my sister. I didn't think that I missed her, but I do.

Next, we drove to the Skurlock house to say our goodbyes. We briefly ran into Wade there, as he was headed to the movies with his brother and nephew.

Then it was back to dad's. He was hungry and ready to eat. We put our stuff away and headed out to a pancake place for dinner, then Baskin and Robbins for dessert. When we got back to the house, I fell asleep on the couch and Gillian woke me up five minutes before my friend arrived to pick me up for coffee.

Coralynn and I have known each other since the 2nd grade, when I puked on the back of her head. I am still sorry about that. Anyway, we chatted at Starbucks until they closed up and she dropped me off at dad's.

Sunday 8/15/10

2010-08-26T08:53:00.003-05:00

Sunday was our busiest day by far. We woke up around 7:00 and ate breakfast with my dad. He made pancakes, sausage, and hot chocolate. After that we headed up to our old church Lifeway Foursquare in Arlington, but first, we had to stop at my favorite espresso stand, Ericksen's. The owner and I have been friends since the 3rd grade. I was sad that she was off, but their coffee is still the best! I had a 16oz White Chocolate Big Train with Gooey Caramel. Oh, it was sooo good (Think Frappacino only better).

Church was awesome! The service was great and we got to surprise our pastor and that was so fun. I had a great visit with a lot of old friends and that is really a great feeling. After church, we darted up to see Wade's cousins who were basically second parents to him. I love them, it is so nice to have normal family members. They couldn't believe how big the girls are. After a too short visit, we headed to pick up Jordi's bff from kindergarten, Madisen. There was a lot of squealing and present exchanges. Then off to a BBQ and baptismal. After that, we went to a church friend's house and hung out with him and his kids for an hour. Again, too short of a visit, but when there are massive time constraints...What can you do?

From there we drove back to the Skurlock house for Dave's birthday dinner. Giant Subway platters. Anna (my sis-in-law) has a friend who is pregnant and remembered the whole no lunch meat thing, so she ordered me a veggie sandwich. It was a little thing, but very thoughtful. The girls and I hung out there for a few hours, then headed back to my dad's. I left Wade there so he could watch the wrestling pay-per-view his brother wanted to see.

That evening at my dad's was pretty uneventful. The girls watched the Disney channel and I went to bed super early. I felt really badly for my dad. I wanted so much to just hang out with him, but I was so tired.

Saturday 8/14/10

2010-08-24T21:27:00.005-05:00

Saturday, we were up and running at 7:30 in the morning. My dad wanted to take us shopping at the Navy base (gotta love tax free stuff). The only downfall was the fact that the base only had 4 racks of girls clothes and they were less than appealing to us. After that, we drove to our friend's house for some much needed catching up. Gillian and Amanda went to preschool together and then later on Jordynn and Hailey went to preschool together. These girls were meant to be friends. While the girlies were catching up, I was busy stamping with their mom, Sandi. We had so much fun.

After we left their house we headed into Everett to catch up with Wade and his mom. She was going to hang out with the girls when we went to Dave's birthday party. He had NO idea we were coming!
He was pretty speechless unlike some of the other friends that were there.

We arrived at 3:30 for the annual fantasy football draft. Every year I try to get out of it, and every year they tell my that I am a Skurlock and it is my duty to play.
After the draft, they had a poker party celebrating Dave's bday, as well as Anna's 40th as well. It was pretty fun, until I almost fell asleep at the table. We left around 11:30 and we were beat.

The Drive

2010-08-24T08:49:00.002-05:00

I will attempt to catch up on the blog, but with the girls both doing online school and us only having one computer hooked up to the internet, it might take awhile.

We left for Washington on Wednesday, August 18th at 4:30pm. We hit some good ol' Texas traffic right off the bat. So, I napped while Wade drove. I took over for the night shift. We made pretty good time without speeding too much. We stopped for breakfast in Colorado, and Wade continued to drive while I tried to nap. We made it all the way to Burley, Idaho before calling it a day. Talk about tired! We figured that we put in 27 hours only stopping for bathrooms and the occasional snack. We were all asleep by 8:30pm.

The next morning, we were up and eating a free breakfast (thank you Best Western) by 6:00am.

During that days drive, I managed to sleep on my neck wrong and I kinked it up pretty good. Thank goodness we know a great chiropractor in Everett. We pulled into my dad's house at 5:15pm, ate a quick dinner and then headed to my appointment for an adjustment.

Jordynn's Summer Vacation

2010-07-30T17:35:00.004-05:00

Here are some of the highlights of Jordynn's vacation.
A view of No Name's house. For the first few weeks, that was as close as Jordynn would get to the horse.

The bluest sky ever. Picture taken from Grandma's backyard.

An early morning sunrise. They were on their way to Grandma's house.

Bella

Natasha.

Waterslide fun.

Turtles at the Botanical Gardens in Huntsville.

Flower Power.

By the end of the visit, Jordynn really loved the horse.

Jill's Summer Vacation

2010-07-30T13:36:00.005-05:00

Here are a few highlights of Jill's summer....They are in no particular order....

4th Of July Festival. Point Mallard Park
Decatur Alabama

Playing in the pool a week after hitting Grandma's house.

Driving to Grandma's. It was really early.

Cowgirl Jill and No Name

Jacob and Jill.

Grandpa's birthday.

Blue eyes.

The Girls Are HOME!!!

2010-07-17T20:47:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, I made the drive to Little Rock to meet up with my mom and the girls. I left just after 6:00 yesterday morning and arrived at our designated breakfast spot - Cracker Barrel, shortly after 11:00. The girls almost knocked me over, and I think they both grew again. Well, I know Gillian did. Before she left for Alabama, she had just gotten new shoes that were a 7 1/2 and two days before coming home, she informed Grandma that her feet hurt all the time. So she came home with some very fancy new size 8 Sketchers that I just might have to borrow. Anyways, after breakfast we loaded up and headed home.

The ride home was MISERABLE!!!!!! The girls slept pretty much the whole time, and I was so tired and uncomfortable.

Today we just caught up on sleep. Gillian ended up taking a 3 hour nap and Jordynn took two naps totalling about 2 1/2 hours.

It is so nice to have them home, even if they have holed up in their rooms most of the day.

Baby Update

2010-07-13T17:35:00.005-05:00

I had my first official prenatal appointment today. It went really well. I even found the place without getting lost! Everything looks really good so far. I am due on February 5th 2011, but since I have to have a c-section, they will schedule it a week before my actual due date. So, it looks like a January baby.

Things have changed a bit since the last time I did this. It is hard to believe that it was TEN years ago. The foods to avoid list has grown. I think the hardest for me is lunch meat. I am a sandwich girl. I can still have them - if I heat them up first and that sounds so gross! Also, artificial sweeteners are out. I love those little flavored water packets and now they are a no no. On the upside, she wrote me a prescription for my nasty headaches. I get them almost daily and tylenol doesn't even come close to fixing the problem. Also, in another week, I should be able to return to the gym which is a good thing because I my appetite has returned with a vengence. Smells and certain foods still make me ill, but when I find something that tastes good, I want to eat and eat and eat.

My Alabama Visit

2010-07-13T17:13:00.005-05:00

I got home from my summer visit with my mom last week. It was a really good visit. After 3 weeks without seeing the girls, we got to spend some much needed time together. The ride out took eleven hours because I hit some seriously heavy lightning and thunder the last hundred miles.
My mom gets up every morning at 6:30 to take care of her new horse, No Name. Jordynn was the only one who got up early to help feed and brush him.

My niece Ashley, her daughter Isabella, (NOT named after Twilight character, she is really adamant about that) Jordynn, Ashley's oldest Elizabeth, Gillian, and my other niece Sarah. It has been two years since we have seen them. It was nice to catch up.

Each visit, we try and do one touristy thing. This year, we hit the Huntsville Botanical Gardens. They had set up several treehouse structures for the kids to climb on and walk through.

Care Package From the Girls

2010-06-18T11:26:00.004-05:00

I just received the sweetest packages from the girls this morning, so I thought that I would share...Tinkerbell is from Jordynn (naturally).

This one is called "Four Parks One World." Gillian picked it out.

My mom called me last week to let me know that I would be receiving a surprise from the girls this week. It was a very nice and unexpected surprise. What was an even bigger surprise is the girls paid for them with their own money that they earned for hard work in softball and good grades. I have great kids. I can't wait until next week when I go out to visit.

It's Official

2010-06-09T17:10:00.002-05:00

This is the picture that I sent to Wade on his phone last week. He was a little surprised - to say the least.

Yep, we are EXPECTING!!!

I am the kind of person who would rather wait to tell people when I am further along, but by the time I am ready to tell everybody they will simply smile at me and inform me that hubby has told them already. He is going crazy telling people. I think he might be a little excited.

So, since I have a small blog with only a handful of readers I am going this route first. That is right blogging family, I am sharing with you first. Well, aside from all of the grandparents and the girlies. All of which are extremely excited! A few are sad that they live so far away and one is probably already shopping.

Dear readers, if we are facebook friends please remember to wait until I announce before commenting on my profile...

Here is what I know so far.

I am 5 weeks

Due date around 2/4/11

Morning sickness isn't just in the mornings, it is an ALL day event

I am still working out 3-4 times a week, but no heavy weights

Nap time is my new best friend.

Twins run in the family, but it is too soon to tell.

Wade has naming rights if it is a boy. Lord help us if it is twins, Wade wants to name them Bo and Luke Duke. According to him they would both have the middle name Duke.

That is all for now. I am sure that I will be blogging a bit more because now I have something to write about.

Update From The Girls

2010-06-08T19:27:00.002-05:00

The girls sent me these pictures by phone yesterday. They had just gone shopping and got new swimsuits. I talked to them today and they were having a great time. Gillian is pitching three times a week with a catcher my mom found at the local high school. The girls are both working in summer workbooks for a half hour each day so they can stay sharp mentally.
They are having a lot of fun learning how to feed and brush my mom's horse "No Name." I am hoping that they will send me pictures of the horse in the next day or two.

Mom's Visit

2010-05-31T13:27:00.004-05:00

My mom drove out last Monday to spend a week with us before she took the girls home with her for part of the summer. To say that the visit did not go as planned, would be a huge understatement. For starters, last Monday (a few hours before Mom was due in) Jill started holding her ear and yelping. Off to the walk in clinic we go.

Double ear infection and strep throat. Her medicine regime was crazy! Three prescriptions plus Tylenol, Motrin, and Delsym. Good news - she was only contagious for 24 hours.

This picture represents how Gillian spent her week. If she sat down for more than a few minutes - out she was.

On Tuesday, Wade was off and he volunteered to stay home with the kids so Mom and I could go and have some fun. Not many of you know this, but my mom is a HUGE slot machine fanatic. So, we headed up to Oklahoma where she could expend some energy by pushing a button every few seconds. It didn't take me long to lose all of the money that I had allotted myself for entertainment, so I just watched her. The problem with that is, I am a "cooler" meaning, if I sit by you - you WILL lose. It doesn't matter what you are playing. After awhile, she gave me some money and sent me on my way, so she could recoup the funds that she lost when I was sitting by her.

Wednesday, we stayed close to home. Jill was still super tired and miserable.

Thursday, we went out to eat and the girls played their last softball game of the season. It started off really close, but turned ugly quickly. The other team was playing dirty and getting our girls frustrated. At one point, our coaching staff went out to the mound and started yelling at Jill because she didn't catch a girl who was stealing home. Off the bleachers went my mom. The girls could not ask for a bigger supporter than Grandma.

Friday was shopping day. We went to Sam Moon. The only way that I can describe it is, that it's a Claire's for grown-ups. It was massive! Filled with thousands of purses, earrings, hats, necklaces...you name it. The best part is the things there are DIRT CHEAP. I walked out of there with two necklaces and two pairs of earrings for 13 bucks.

Saturday was packing day for the girls. They were really moody because they hate goodbye scenes. After all of the packing was done the four of us played the Wii for 6 hours.

Sunday - they left bright and early. I woke up with them and helped load the car. It was a tad difficult because one arm was so sore from Wii bowling. They texted Wade and me the entire road trip. Luckily with their new phones they get unlimited texting and picture mail. Phew, that will be a good thing.

I can't say much....

2010-05-10T20:39:00.002-05:00

We are planning a vacation, and I am dying to talk about it....

Spring Softball Pictures

2010-05-10T14:45:00.003-05:00

As our softball season winds down, it was time to scramble for team photos. Last year, I was elected team photographer because I had a nice camera. This year, the coaches asked me again to be team photographer. It is a project that I have enjoyed. I dutifully take my camera to every game and last Saturday we had our official team shots.
I only took two individual poses of each girl, because most of our team was a returning player and the only change to our uniform was an added visor. After individual shots, I let the kids take buddy shots. That was so much fun capturing the silly element. In my opinion the facial expressions are better, because the smiles aren't forced.

The team photo was almost perfect. It wasn't until I got home, that I realized one girl didn't have her visor on. GRRRRR....

General Update

2010-05-05T20:04:00.003-05:00

Things are good around here. We finished state testing last week, which was a huge sigh of relief. Gillian doesn't test well. She is super smart but goes into panic mode at the mention of the word "test." She passed her math and reading, and we still have about three weeks to wait to find out about her science results. Jordynn loved her tests. I think it made her feel like a big girl.

We are still plugging away at softball. It consumes 3-4 days a week. Gillian really loves the sport. Jordynn is ready to take a break. The team we are on, has major issues and it is a struggle to keep going. On one hand, it is a great lesson in perseverance, and commitment. The girls agreed to be on the team, so they are required to finish the season. On the other hand, I would love to say, "Enough is enough, you don't have to go anymore."

Only four more weeks left. I started the countdown two weeks ago, and it is nice to see the games get crossed off the schedule.

Mom is coming out at the end of the month. She is staying for a few days, then her and the ladies are headed to Alabama. They are so excited. It must seem like I really enjoy it when the girls are away, but that is not the case. I miss them terribly every time they go, and I usually spend days on the couch moping. I let them go because I love them. It gives them a summer adventure. My Mom and Neal can spoil them rotten and take them places.

I am having second thoughts about public school next year. Tomorrow, Wade and I are supposed to go check them out. Part of me wants one more year with them at home. I don't want to let them go. I want to keep them in the nice little bubble that we have created.

Bella

2010-04-20T16:15:00.004-05:00

Wade bought me a present last week. Her name is Bella and she is a 5 month old Chiweenie ( a chihuahua and dachshund mix). Pictured above is her "Cone Of Shame." (think Up) Before we could bring her home, the shelter gave her all of the first shots, heartworm medicine, frontline flea medicine, worming medicine, they spayed her, and microchipped her. I couldn't believe what an awesome deal we got.
We rescued her from the Mesquite Animal Shelter. Honestly, I didn't think that I wanted another animal, but after researching Chiweenies I knew she was the dog for us. They have a lifespan of 15-18 years.

the girls are having such a great time with her. They like the fact that she can wear all of those ridiculous doggie outfits. Pictured above is her new hoodie that says "Cutie Pie." We brought her home, only to find out that she was completely potty trained as well.

Yep, She is a keeper.

Twenty

2010-04-20T16:01:00.002-05:00

This post is just about me today.

I hit the 20 pounds lost mark.

WooHoo!

I know that I will struggle with weight loss probably my entire life. I love food, especially the unhealthy kind. Weight loss and eating right do not come easy for me (unfortunately ephedra was banned years ago).

Right now, I log all of my meals on a website which tracks all of the nutritional values that they have. It is an eye-opening experience. Especially yesterday when I input pot roast only to find out that it had 33 grams of fat in a 5 oz serving.

I am also exercising 5-6 days a week. There are days when I have to drag myself to the gym. I make sure on those days to tell the girls that we are going...they hold me accountable because they love the kids area.

After Jordynn was born, I lost 100 pounds. At the time, I was quite impressed with myself. Looking back, I realize how unhealthy it was. My diet consisted of metabolife and smoking. I ate what I wanted because 3 or 4 bites and I was full.

Doing it the right way certainly takes a lot more effort, but in the long run it will be worth it.

Daddy's Girl

2010-04-05T17:53:00.002-05:00

Today was an interesting day for me. It was my 32nd birthday and I found myself really missing my dad. My dad and I never really had a great relationship before we moved out of Washington, so it was easy to leave. This morning, he called me to wish me a happy birthday and while he was on the phone with me, I opened the card that he sent. Cue waterworks. I hung up the phone and composed myself - then mom called. I opened her presents while we talked. Cue waterworks round 2.

I am really content with our lives in Texas, but birthdays just aren't the same without the people who brought me into the world.

Wade and the girls were great. They let me have my moment and then I finished opening presents and we headed off to the movies. We saw Clash Of The Titans in 3-d. One of my favorite memories with my dad is going to the movies and I can remember seeing the original with him. Then we had a fabulous lunch, and home for cake and ice cream.

Dentist Appointments

2010-04-01T16:42:00.002-05:00

Our family has always been in the financial position of not making enough money to afford medical and dental insurance, but making too much to get any state assistance. This is fine. We have always delt. The Lord has always provided for us. This year we bit the bullet and started paying for medical and dental insurance at a whopping $700 a month. It has been a little tight, but we are fine.

Last week, Gillian started having problems chewing, and her mouth hurt. I figured it was because her molars are growing in. She has been eating so little that she has started to lose weight, so off to the dentist we went.

Gillian has one small cavity that will need to be filled, we can handle that. Unfortunately, her permanent teeth are growing in too fast, so she needs to have a couple teeth pulled. Oh, and she needs top and bottom braces.

Jordynn also has a cavity that needs filled, and at some point a chunk of a back tooth came out, so she has to have that pulled. Oh and did I forget to mention top and bottom braces???

I am so thankful for our dental insurance. It won't cover everything, but will help out tremendously!

Jill's Home Run

2010-03-31T12:36:00.003-05:00

I am sure that you have heard by now, but in case you didn't...Jill hit her first home run in the 12 and under league last night. We were trailing by a lot. I had just taken my camera out, and was going to video Jill's at bat, but by the time I was ready, she had 2 strikes and 3 balls against her, so, I figured that there was always next time...then I heard the crack of her bat...The girl in the outfield misjudged the distance, and by that time Jill was rounding second. Several parents (and myself) were on our feet cheering like crazy, and as she ran home we could hear her "Woohooing." She went in the dugout and was met by the cheering of her teammates and high fives all around.

We still lost last night, but it was okay. All of the girls tried last night. There wasn't anyone playing in the dirt or standing around with their arms crossed. If our team could improve a little each week, by the end of the season, we should be able to pull off a win.

Side Note: Jordi has a bruised bone in her wrist. She fell off of her scooter this week and is pretty much unable to swing a bat, or wear a glove. We are hoping she will be better before the next game.

Ice Skating Fun

2010-03-31T12:11:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago, the girls went to an ice skating birthday party at the Galleria. For my Washington readers, the Galleria is a HUGE mall with an ice skating rink inside, as well as many high end department stores.

The girls had never been on ice before and they were really excited. I had been trying for years to get Wade to take us ice skating, but no such luck. When I was Jill's age I took lessons for over a year. I have only been on skates a handful of times since then.

I took Jordynn around the ice first. This is the only picture we have of her NOT crying. She hated it. I was sure that she was going to be the daredevil and love it. She felt that she had no control. She let me drag her around exactly one time before taking her skates off and going shopping with her daddy.

Jill surprised me. She loved it. She fell about 9 times, but knew to fall on her backside and tuck her fingers in (to keep from getting them skated on). I was impressed. We skated about 45 minutes before I was too tired to continue -- It's hard work dragging kids around, who are unsure of their footing.

The rest of the party was a lot of fun, and Jordynn participated in everything that was NOT done on the ice.

Our Goofy Nephew

2010-03-27T11:17:00.003-05:00

Last week, we received a hilarious email from Wade's mom. His brother's family is really big in to hockey and they go to most of the Everett Silvertip games in Washington. From what I have been told, they have a dance contest during some point of the game.

I am not tech savvy enough to figure out how to direct link the video to blogger, so if you have the time follow these steps to see my nephew and his crazy dance moves.

1. go to YouTube

2. type in...big idiot kid dancing at tips game

3. turn up sound so you can hear the commentary

You know that you have the right video if you see a teenage boy dancing in the aisle wearing a green and white jersey.

Again, this video was taken by strangers. Zach was a good sport about the whole thing and has been perfecting his dance moves. I can't wait to see the next one.

Wrecking Crue Softball Round 2

2010-03-24T17:06:00.003-05:00

Note: This is more of a rant than a family update.

Yesterday was our first game of the spring season of softball. The girls have been working so hard at becoming better ball players. They truly enjoy the sport. This is the second session that we have played with the Wrecking Crue. In the fall, we didn't fare so well. Our record was 1 and 8. Yikes!

As Wade and I were in the stands last night it occurred to us that as parents it is unfair to blame the coaches and the umpires for losses. Ultimately it is up to the girls AND the parents to make time to practice during the week. We have one practice a week, and one or two games. That leaves 4 or 5 days that most of the girls don't even pick up a ball. I was talking to a hitting coach and he said if the girls would just practice swinging a bat for 5 minutes a day it would make a big difference in their hitting. The same thing for playing catch with a parent or sibling. Just a few minutes would give the girls the confidence and accuracy they need.

Okay, in case you were curious we lost 18-2.

Jill's stats: 3 innings pitched, 6k, 2w and struck out twice

Jordi's: stats played 2nd base 4 innings and stopped the ball when it came to her

I was so proud of the girls. Last season, Jordi wasn't sure if she even wanted to continue playing. She changed positions and it has made all of the difference! She loves being on the field. Jill did great too! Her pitching lessons are really paying off. Last year she gave up a lot of walks because she had a hard time staying in the stike zone. Last night, she was on target. Several girls got hits off of her, but that is okay in the long run it shows us that she is improving.

2009 Awards

2010-03-16T15:43:00.003-05:00

Last night was the 2009 Van Tuyl awards for the state of Texas. The group consists of 28 dealerships and around 1,000 sales people. Wade finished in the top ten for last year. We were treated to an AMAZING meal at a fabulous establishment named III Forks.
There are large signs on the outside of the door that state "Proper Attire IS required." I am so glad that I went dress shopping. I would have felt out of place in slacks and a blouse. Everyone was dressed very formally.

Here is a picture of the banquet room that our party was in. It was filled to capacity. As you walked up the stairs to the room, the hallway is lined with photos of celebrities who have dined there. Of course Wade spotted Alec Baldwin's photo right away.

Our dinner was a 3 course meal. I looked at the online menu to get an idea of what the cost would be...

Lobster Bisque 7.95

10 oz Filet Mignon w/ whipped potatoes, creamed corn, and snap peas 43.95

Chocolate Mousse whipped with fresh blueberries - couldn't find a price

Everything was so good! It was so hard not to pick up the cup of lobster bisque and slurp it up. I have never had anything that delicious before.

After dinner they hastily passed out the awards and by their calculations, Wade finished the year off with 153 cars sold - in 4th place, which is awesome, but Wade and the dealership he works at, had different statistics for last year. According to them, he sold 180 cars (which would have put him in 2ndplace.) Wade didn't even mind the mix up. It was a huge honor to even get invited to this dinner.

After dinner, we went to pick up the girls who were staying with our friends. We ended up chatting for hours, and had such a great time! We got home a little after 12:30 this morning. It was such a great night.

Snow Update

2010-02-12T14:57:00.002-06:00

Here is an update on the Texas snow:

The snowfall Thursday set a one day record for Dallas-Fort Worth. The official snow measurment at DFW Airport was 11.2 inches. The previous record was 7.8 inches set in 1917 and again in 1964.

Christmas in February

2010-02-11T14:22:00.006-06:00

Our Christmas Eve Snow.
As I was uploading pictures of today's snow, I realized that our Christmas pictures were still sitting in the camera. Oops. Time to get them uploaded. One of our favorite traditions is making Jesus a birthday cake and then singing to Him before we open any presents.
The girls and their loot. We took turns opening one present at a time. It made the morning last longer. The girls showed extreme patience.

Their favorite gifts were scooters. They had been asking for them for a couple of years and we finally got around to getting them.

Snow Days

2010-02-11T14:10:00.003-06:00

We woke up this morning to an unusual sight. The backyard was covered in snow, and it was STILL falling! The news said that we would get about six inches today. The girls were so excited!

Posing in the front yard.

I let them play outside for a half an hour before lunch. They were a little bummed that it was such a short amount of time but Jill is recovering from a cold and I would prefer her not to catch pneumonia. I would have gotten more pictures of them playing, but I now have the nasty cold and made a hasty retreat into the house.

It is supposed to snow until midnight. The last I heard we would get around one inch every hour. YIKES!

Avy

2010-02-01T00:16:00.003-06:00

Our Avalon has been quite a mess lately. After we put Cooper down, we knew it was going to be hard on the girls. We did not figure that it would be quite so hard on our other dog. She is a wreck and has been ever since. During the day she walks around whining carrying this stuffed bear that sings. At night she sleeps at the foot of our bed with the bear. She doesn't eat or drink very much and refuses to take car rides - which I think is because she has watched me take two dogs in the car and I haven't returned with them.

I am hoping that she will snap out of it soon.

Jordynn's Tuck Everlasting

2010-01-26T16:19:00.003-06:00

Two weeks ago, Jordynn started reading Tuck Everlasting for her third grade literature course. Every day there was a chapter guide and questions that went along with the story. The end of the class always ended with a four to six question test. She aced every single one.

Today, was the final assessment for Tuck Everlasting. She had to turn in a four paragraph paper which talked about general things like plot and characters. One paragraph needed to focus on her favorite part and why. She turned in her report and I helped her with a few grammatical errors and some neatness issues.

When I went through I noticed that she forgot to capitalize the T in the name Tuck. I told her she needed to fix them. Instead of erasing, she just drew a line on the top of all of the T's making them look like F's. Not to be obscene, but her paper then looked like it should be rated R. I had to steer myself into the other room, so she didn't see me chuckle.

So, we got it all fixed and I went over the grading criteria. Yay! She received an A- on the final. Her report inspired me to read the book. I skipped over children's literature when I was her age...

Long story short, I am curled up waiting for all of these funny / scary events to happen...and they don't. Mae does not shoot the man in the yellow suit in the back of the skull with a machine gun. Winnie does not go flying off of the horse when she takes her first drink of the spring. She also does not live happily ever after with Jesse. I was so bummed after reading the book.

Now, I don't want anyone to think that I am angry with my child because I am not. I am amused. She has a great imagination. Unfortunately, I have to regrade the paper and we need to review it tomorrow.

January

2010-01-22T07:41:00.002-06:00

This morning we said goodbye to my mom. She drove the girls home on Monday and stayed with us this week. Now that she has been here a few times, the visits keep getting better and better. We used to try and cram as much sightseeing as possible, now we do a little shopping (and eating) and just hang out. My mom is such a blessing. We used to have such major issues, it is so nice that we communicate so much better than we used to.

The girls were pretty glad to be home. They were a little upset that they had to continue with their school and not take vacation days. Having the time apart from them helped me to realize that I am so tired of all the home school battles. It is time to enroll them in a traditional school - next year of course. I am so nervous about it, but it is very necessary. Jordynn's first day back, she threw a massive temper tantrum over school work. Enough is Enough. I plan on keeping my sanity. I had originally thought it was just me, but the two weeks my mom had the kids, they fought her as well when it came to school. I don't want the girls to grow up and only remember our daily fights, and the constant tension in our house.

Lack of blogging

2010-01-08T15:49:00.002-06:00

I have been a bad blogger as of late. Well, it's been awhile now. I have to say it was for a very stupid reason. Someone (whom shall remain nameless) had read my blog and got upset by it. This person was so upset, they felt the need to call me and tell me how upset they were. Yikes! I never meant for blogging to hurt anyone, it was an outlet for me. So, I hastily removed the offensive posts and ignored the urge to blog. I have to say, after awhile the whole mess kind of annoyed me. It is after all, just a blog.

So here I am now, returning to it, wondering how much of my life is okay to share and how much is not.

Cooper

2010-01-05T17:00:00.002-06:00

Today, I said goodbye to my dearest pet. My beloved beagle, Cooper. We rescued him from the pound almost 5 years ago. He was about 5 when we got him, already set in his ways. His previous owners had debarked him, so he was a quiet addition to our family.

He went everywhere with me. We travelled across country (a few times) together. He was my companion through everything. He WILL be missed greatly.

Jordi's 9th Birthday

2009-11-11T15:06:00.005-06:00

On Monday my baby turned 9. It is hard to believe that she is that old! All Jordynn wanted to do for her special day was go to Joe's Crab Shack. So we did (technically, we went the day before for lunch). She ordered the Cajun Steampot with sausage, crab, boiled shrimp and potatoes. She ate almost everything. She wasn't excited about having to peel the shrimp, but had a lot of fun cracking her own crab.

On her actual birthday, she wanted to make breakfast for us. She fixed scrambled eggs and toast. Wade gave her a little help with the eggs.

After breakfast was present time. She had a very modest amount of presents due to an untimely temper tantrum. She was warned that if she didn't do something, I was not going to finish birthday shopping. Much to my surprise, her eight-year old attitude said "FINE! I DON'T NEED PRESENTS!" Now, this will be the birthday forever remembered as the one where Mom stuck to her guns and did NOT finish birthday shopping. We gave her what we had already purchased and that included a couple dvds and a pair of jeans. She also received some very nice presents from her grandparents including a digital camera, and a few cds.

After presents, we ate delicious devil's food cake with white chocolate frosting. SO GOOD!!! Then we headed off to the movies to see A Christmas Carol in 3-D. I really enjoyed it! Poor Jordi did not. It was a little scary for her, especially the ghost of Jacob Marley with all of his chains. After the movie we headed home and played a few rounds of Clue.

I think Jordynn had a good birthday. I also think that I am starting to see a turn for the better in attitude. I have noticed an improvement just since I have been spending time with them in the evenings playing board games. A few weeks ago, that wouldn't have even been possible. She would have me so frustrated by the time school was over the last thing I wanted to do was play games, now I use the games as a reward for a good day at school.

Softball Pictures

2009-11-10T15:38:00.003-06:00

One of my unofficial duties as team parent for the Wrecking Crue (think 80's hairband and 40 year old parents to figure out the spelling of our team name) was to also be the team photographer. I was really nervous about that. I am not a photographer. I stressed about it all week leading up to our photo day.
No, Jordi does not wear glasses. She bought those at Claire's and thinks that she is pretty cool!

Overall, I would give myself a B for the day. I had a hard time with being consistant in posing the girls. I would get it basically the same, but when I got home I noticed ball/ batt placement was different. I also had forgotten my sunglasses, so that made it harder to make sure I was getting the best smiles because a lot of the time, the sun was in my face.

I still need to crop a few of the pictures. Most of the parents opted to purchase a cd from me instead of prints. I put together a few package prices and plan to order the prints this week.

Chuck E. Cheese Party

2009-11-10T14:49:00.003-06:00

For Jill and Jordi's birthdays we decided to do a Chuck E. Cheese party. Let's face it, they are growing up, and in a year or two, they might think it uncool to hang out with this mouse. So, I slaved away at invitations, never expecting every single person (except 2) to be able to come. I also forgot to factor in that 3 of the invitations I sent out were going to siblings. So when it was time to party we had over 15 girls partying with us!
The girls had so much fun! They played games, at pizza, and had wonderful cupcakes that my awesome friend, Lisa made. When it was time for presents I could not control the group of girls. A few stayed to watch the girls, but honestly most of them got up and played games.

Jordynn hanging with her friend, Ashton.

Jill hit several jackpots on this game. Let's keep this girl away from Vegas.

All in all, it was a great party. The kids are at an age where they can wander and we don't have to constantly worry. I like how they stamp everyone's hands before you enter, and they check everyone before they leave. That took a lot of stress off of the day. Also, we were the only party at the scheduled time, so they let us have our tables for an extra hour. It was nice getting to visit with the parents that stayed.

Miley Cyrus Concert

2009-10-24T12:27:00.003-05:00

The closing event to Jill's birthday weekend was the Miley Cyrus concert. Grandma Shu-Shu bought tickets for the girls to celebrate both of their birthdays. I was a little nervous going into Dallas with just me and the girls, but we did great. We only live 16 miles away from the downtown area so it didn't take anytime to get there. The girls each got a new outfit for the concert and their grandma also sent them souvenir money. THANK GOODNESS! Things were pretty pricey! Both girls picked out the same t-shirt. Jill also bought a program, and Jordi bought a necklace.
I must admit, I didn't really want to go. Once we got there, I snapped out of it. I realized this wasn't about me, and as a parent I needed to not be selfish. So, I rocked out to Miley Cyrus with the girls. Honestly, we had so much fun. Miley put on a great show! At one point, she was hoisted high above the crowd on a motorcycle singing "I Love Rock & Roll." Her costumes were great and she changed about ten times.

My only complaint was the opening act. It was her brother's band Metro Station. To me, they were a cross between Duran Duran, The Goo Goo Dolls, and Winger or any other early 90's hair band. Their lyrics were somewhat inappropriate for the age of the majority of the fans. They were heavily tattooed, (not that there is anything wrong with a well placed, tasteful tattoo, heck I have one...) and I swear most of their songs (at least what I could tell about them) were about making out.

Lead singer, Trace Cyrus.

Gillian's 11th Birthday

2009-10-24T11:50:00.003-05:00

On October 16th our oldest turned 11! It is so hard to believe that Jill is that old. She is doing great! She is the star pitcher for her softball team and currently getting straight A's in school. As a reward for all of her hard work, I let her take the day off from school so we could have a girls afternoon. We went to the Toy Story double feature and then to Subway for lunch. When Wade got home that evening we had pizza and opened presents. All of the packages from the grandparents arrived on time and pre-wrapped! Jill took her time opening each and every one. She is the kind of girl that will take each piece of tape off one at a time. Wade and I couldn't top the grandparent's gifts this year. My mom got her a hot pink ipod and Wade's mom got her Miley Cyrus tickets. She was thrilled!

I decided last year, enough with the store bought cakes. I have several cake cook books so I let her pick out the kind that she wanted. She chose chocolate with peanut butter frosting and m & m's. I had to improvise with my allergies. We substituted the peanut for soy butter. It was delicious! It tasted just like the peanut butter frosting I remembered my dad making. Jordi said it tasted like squash, but that didn't stop her from devouring it and wanting more.

Six Flags Photos

2009-09-28T11:14:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was bring a friend for free at Six Flags. We were all over that! We decided to play hookey from church and take another family with us. We had a great time and our girls really get along great with theirs.

My friend Lisa, Alicia, Daffy, Jordi, Jill and Ashton. Ashton and Alicia had never been to a theme park before and we a little uncertain of the characters - and the rides.

You have to check out Jordynn's face. It CRACKS me up!!! She was trying to imitate The Joker. I think she did a pretty good job.

After Alicia was drenched on the Aquaman ride, it pretty much ended her afternoon. It turns out, she didn't want to get wet. Oops. She was perfectly content to watch everyone else. She was a great sport.

We spent the majority of the day there and had a great time.

On a side note: Gillian finally braved the Batman ride. It is the roller coaster where your feet dangle. Jordynn has ridden in two or three times with me and always tells Jill how awesome it is. She loved it! When we got off, she was disappointed that we weren't going to ride again.

THAT'S MY GIRL!

Wrecking Crue Softball

2009-09-25T12:29:00.003-05:00

We are full swing into fall ball. The girls are on the same team again this year. I think that it will probably be the last year we are able to do it. I feel like I am cheating Jordynn a bit, because everyone compares her to Jill even though there is a two year age difference.
We played our first game of the season last Monday. It was great that my mom was able to see it. If only we hadn't lost. Jill pitched the entire game and struck out two. As far as batting goes, she made it to base because she was hit by pitches twice.

Jordynn had a rough game. While the girls were warming up, a team mate pushed her down (on purpose), then on her first at bat was hit in the leg so hard we could hear it in the stands. Later, she was in the dugout and the same girl from earlier hit her in the face with the butt of a bat. That time it was on accident. It was pure chaos for a few moments after that.

Jordynn was a trooper though. She stayed in the game and we got the other junk taken care of. I am hoping for smooth sailing from now on. Our next game is Monday, I will keep everyone posted.

Dallas Arboretum

2009-09-25T12:02:00.003-05:00

During my mom's visit, we decided to do something new - instead of the usual Six Flags routine. Jordi was a little upset about that but got over it eventually. We went to the Arboretum. I had heard a lot of great things about it. It did not disappoint. The fall colors were so beautiful!

They had storybook houses throughout the area. The one above is Hansel and Gretel. Jordynn had fun acting as tour guide and finding the houses on our map and then leading us to them.

There were plenty of spots for great pictures. It did make me a little sad when I realized that Jill is hitting that age where she doesn't want her picture taken all the time. We would ask her and Jordi to go stand by something and she would get a little huffy about it.

They had a huge pumpkin patch set up. I thought it was a little early to get them but it had been a few years since mom had gotten to go with us so we let them go ahead and get theirs. My only rule is: They must carry it themselves. I will post more pictures when we actually carve them in a few weeks. You will see the trouble that Jordi got into with her pumpkin ;o)

These were my favorite plants from there. I bought a couple of seed packets and will attempt to grow them in the spring.

Creed

2009-09-24T12:02:00.002-05:00

On Tuesday, Wade and I went to the Creed concert at the Super Pages Center in Dallas. He had bought me the tickets for Mother's Day. I had a really hard time getting excited for the concert, because they had cancelled 2 other shows that I had tickets for in the past. It was so dreary on Tuesday, I kept thinking that they would end up cancelling due to weather (most of the venue is outdoors.)

Our itinerary said to be there at 4:15 sharp. We arrived early and waited in line. Wade had asked one of the security guards how many were on the guest list for the five star experience. There were only 25. Very cool in my opinion, it wasn't going to be too crowded. After we signed liability waivers we were escorted to the reception area where there was a bar and a small buffet. Every person was given 3 drink tickets. Our hostess "Anne" came out and explained where to stand when the band came out and went over the rules. We were not allowed to ask for autographs and we could not take our own photos. She would do that and post them on the website. Wade and I hadn't found a table and were sitting in some chairs off to the side, Anne told everyone to line up behind us. Yay! First in line. I felt like I was going to throw up. Then it happened.

This very loud and very inebriated woman came up to me....from this point in the true story, she will be known as bourbon girl.

Bourbon girl came right up to me and got in my face, yelling some very unpleasant things about how crappy it was that Creed was not signing autographs. I tried stepping away, but didn't want to lose my place so I just listened to her vent. When she finished her rant, she asked me if bourbon and beer mixed, because she had been drinking straight bourbon since ten in the morning and the place that we were at only served beer. At that point, I turned to Wade and said, "Dear Lord, please don't let her barf on me." She went on and on and on.

Then Anne announced that the band was coming. I was so nervous that I ate a half a tin of Altoids. Wade was cracking up. Come on, I have loved this band for close to ten years. I don't want to smell bad.

Being first in line, I wasn't sure what to expect. I shook everyone's hand and all my brain would let me do was say "hi" Seriously, that's all I said. After the picture I think I thanked them like 27 times before moving on to get our goody bags. Wade and I each received a bag containing; a tank top, poster, button, deck of cards, and a hat.

When it was time to move to the concert area, I was a little intimidated. Me? In a mosh pit. Ha. We were pretty close to the front of the line so we got great spots in the front and we were able to lean on the barrier that separated us from the stage. On my left, was this really awesome couple that seemed really friendly. On my right, was Wade and.....bourbon girl. She had drank all of her tickets plus her husband's. She had a beer in her hand and just kept getting louder. At one point, she flashed the security guards. Out of the blue, she told Wade not to mess with her husband because he had spent A LOT of time in prison.

There were two opening acts, Lo Pro (whom we had never heard of) and Staind. Lo Pro were okay. Staind was a little rough for my taste. The lead singer freaked me out. He did this thing, where his eyes rolled back into his head...Gave me the creeps. He threw his guitar picks into the crowd and I missed grabbing one so the security guard handed it to Wade when they were off the stage. I can't repeat what the guitar pick says. Bourbon girl was very mad that she didn't get anything, so her husband bought her another beer, which she dropped immediately by accident. Poor thing.

Finally, Creed took the stage. It was awesome. From that point on I was able to completely tune out Bourbon girl. One of the security guards asked Wade if he needed an ear plug so he could tune her out. She kept screaming the wrong band members names out.

Scott Stapp spent a lot of time on the side of the stage that we were standing at. Mark Tremonti was the guitarist and was awesome! You could tell that they were having a great time playing. All of the band members had smiles on their faces.

Before the concert started, Wade had asked me what my favorite song of theirs was. I had told him Higher. The song reminds me so much of when the kids were little and the fun things that I used to do. I remember going over to a friends house every week for dinner and I would listen to the CD on my way home. It makes me feel not old.

Wade had said, "So, they play that and we can go right?" I told him "No Way, we were staying until the very end."

Funny thing was, they encored with it. It was one of the last songs they played.

The Passing of Hermie

2009-08-31T10:53:00.003-05:00

Last night when Jordi was telling Hermie goodnight, she noticed he wasn't moving. She called in her daddy to take a look. Sure enough, Hermie had died. I am not exactly sure of the cause of death, but I am pretty sure, when a crab climbs out of his shell and climbs on top of the back of said shell, something is not right.

Oh the tears, then the tears transformed into wailing. She cried and cried. I just held her and tried to comfort her the best that I could. She ended up bunking in with Jill last night because it was "too hard to be alone."

This morning, she asked to take the day off of school because "It's too hard to do school, especially when I think of (sniff sniff) Hermie."

I know I sound really unsympathetic, but with Jordynn there is ALWAYS an excuse for everything. I am letting her choose which order to do her school work today, and I did tell her if it really was too hard she could take today off, but we would have to cancel our swimming plans tomorrow in order to make up the missed work.

That led to more tears.

New Blog

2009-08-27T13:10:00.002-05:00

It has happened, I now have another blog. I needed a way to keep track of all my craft projects that I do and a way that I can show them off instead of just taking a picture with my phone and then sending them that way. Check it out

www.traciescrafts.blogspot.com

Back to School

2009-08-24T14:09:00.003-05:00

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with the topic, I just thought it was kind of cute and it does show off Jill's new glasses that she got when they were at my mom's this summer.

We are now entering the second week of school. I still think it's crazy we start in August, but I do enjoy getting out at the end of May.

Jill - 5th grade

weighing in at 97 pounds and has grown to 4'10". It won't be long until she passes me up.

4th pair of new glasses in 3 years

Starting pitcher for the Garland Wrecking Crue softball team

Likes: Hannah Montana, 7th Heaven reruns and playing the wii

Subjects: Math, Literature, Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Intermediate Art, Health, PE and Spanish Year 2

Jordi - 3rd grade

weighing in at 83 pounds and 4'6". She can now ride all of the major coasters at Six Flags.

Still begging for glasses even though has PERFECT eyesight

Star Catcher for the Garland Wrecking Crue softball team (okay, she's the only catcher)

Likes: Full House reruns, puzzles, and any video games

Subjects: Math, Literature, Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Art 3, Health, PE, Study Strategies and Latin Year 1

In order to have a more positive year than last, I have taken to bribing the children with Friday Rewards if there are no attitude issues during the week.

I am also contemplating a 3 strikes and you're in public school policy, but I am not sure if Jordynn will really push me that far - yet.

Mojo

2009-08-06T15:21:00.003-05:00

Meet Mojo. He was born April 27, 2009. He is a pure-bred Jack Russell Terrier.

About a month ago my mom called me and asked if I would be interested in a puppy. How could I say no? Long story short, she bought me a puppy. MY MOM, bought me a puppy. Is that strange to anyone else?
Anyway, he is the biggest pain, but I am already too attached to do anything but pull my own hair out.

Last Day - Six Flags!

2009-08-06T15:00:00.003-05:00

What is a trip to Texas without visiting Six Flags? We are becoming pros at the whole Six Flags day. We can get in and out in a matter of a few hours and still have had a great time. My goal is by the time our passes run out in December, to have ridden everything there. I am getting close.
Zach, Jordi, and I went on Batman first. Zach had never been on a ride where your feet dangle. He is slightly obsessed with the movie "The Dark Knight" so he wanted to do everything Batman oriented, which was fine EXCEPT he was quoting the movie on every ride. I tried to drown it out with screams, it worked. Sort of.

While Zach and I went on Mr. Freeze, Wade and his mom took the girls over to a little Batwing ride. They enjoyed it so much, they rode it twice. From there, we hit the water rides which got us very wet and made for a miserable rest of the afternoon. Denim and water don't mix in hot weather.

From Six Flags we went to the Fort Worth Stockyards and then out to On The Border (again) for dinner.

We told Sharon her next visit should be twice as long. There were still dozens of things she wanted to see, but we couldn't cram into four days. It was a great time.

Downtown Dallas

2009-08-06T14:43:00.003-05:00

On day two of Sharon's visit, we headed to downtown Dallas. We were going to check out the JFK memorial and walk around. It was another scorching day! I don't think it dropped below 102 during her entire visit! There were a few people there, checking out the history. I thought it was pretty interesting. I never realized that he was killed on my mom's birthday. There were a few different people walking around talking about conspiracy theories and giving the tourists a play by play of what happened.

This is the window that Lee Harvey Oswald "supposedly" shot from. Sharon and Wade were very fascinated in hearing everyone's opinion. Some guy even had story boards and rather graphic photos from the shooting. I steered the girls clear of that and waited patiently. The one thing that bothered me the most. Well, I don't know if bothered is the right word but, people were standing on the X's that mark where he was shot, getting their pictures taken. I don't know, it just bugged me watching whole families stop traffic while they posed where someone was assassinated.

From there, we went to lunch at the Twisted Root Burger. It was recently featured on Diners, Drive-In's and Dives on the Food Network. They had every kind of burger you could imagine. They even had Alligator and Ostrich. I settled on a Buffalo burger with Swiss cheese and mushrooms. It was awesome! I am not sure that our lunch was worth the $95.00 price tag, but it was good.

Fort Parker and Mexia with Sharon and Zach

2009-08-06T14:30:00.003-05:00

On the first full day that Sharon and Zach were here, we travelled to a town called Mexia. It was where Sharon's grandparents lived when she was a little girl. She used to go and visit them for two weeks every summer through her entire childhood. It was about a 2 hour drive from our house. Thank goodness for air conditioning! That afternoon the heat index put it at 115 degrees. After we visited the town, we headed off to a tiny little cemetery where her grandparents and various other family was buried. The kids chose to stay in the air conditioned van while Wade and I walked around with her.
From there, we headed over to Fort Parker State Park. She wanted to walk around and see how it had changed since her childhood. Probably not the best day for that. I had no idea we were headed there. The grass was really long and the girls and I were in flip flops. Bug bite city!

It was very educational and the girls had a good time. The car ride back was pretty peaceful, the hot afternoon had made everyone sleepy and the kids sacked out quickly. From there we headed to On The Border, a delicious Mexican food restaurant that reminds me a little of Azteca, but more traditional.

A Visit With My Dad

2009-07-07T13:36:00.006-05:00

I thought I would catch everyone up with the visit we had with my dad. I was really nervous about him coming down. My dad and I have a very interesting relationship. We don't talk. We never have. He has always been there for me just not in a verbal manner. Don't get me wrong I love him very much and we had a great time - there was just a lot of pressure to make sure that everything went smoothly.

Our first full day together we went to Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum of Oddities. There were several different portions to it and we had a great time. Pictured above is the maze of mirrors. It was pitch black in there (when I wasn't taking pictures) and we wandered aimlessly for about 20 minutes before claustrophobia got the better of one of us. The museum portion had some really cool displays, of course there were some really gross displays as well. I chose to not photograph those.

On Thursday, we drove to Louisiana to visit my dad's brother, Roland and his family. I was a little apprehensive about that as well. I hadn't seen my uncle and aunt since I was 12 or so. Not to mention my dad kept mentioning cousins that I had absolutely no recollection of. My dad had planned for us to stay two days. I was thinking, "What on earth are we going to do with strangers, for 2 days?"

Honestly, God showed me a side of family that I thought only existed in movies. My Uncle Roland met us at the car and welcomed us completely. Right off the bat, he invited the girls to VBS the following day. We entered their amazing house and my aunt gave us huge hugs. My cousin lives right next door and he and his wife have a daughter the same age as Gillian and another cousin was over that was Jordynn's age. They had such a great time hanging out. For the rest of the evening, people were in and out of the house introducing themselves and just being super friendly. The next morning, I went to VBS with my Aunt Fran and the girls. I helped out with the arts and crafts. After that, the girls and I went to the movies with my cousin Sheila, and the girls. That night, there was a family dinner with all of the cousins and it was so awesome to see siblings get along and hang out. Afterwards, there was cards and board games until all the ladies went over to Sheila's to watch Twilight.

The girls and I have an open invitation to stop by anytime we are on our way to Alabama.

After Louisiana, we just had a few days with my dad. We took Dad to church (he fell asleep :) ), we went to see Transformers 2, and we took him to a couple of different malls. It was hard to find things for him to do because the week he was down it was 102 degrees and up. With his skin cancer he's not supposed to spend a lot of time in the sun. The last night, we played rummy while I made cookies for him to take home. All in all, I think it was a pretty good visit.

Dad's Arrival

2009-06-24T09:42:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, the girls and I headed to the airport to pick up my dad. For the record, I dislike DFW. I was there last week to pick up my mom and I went to the wrong terminal. Who knew American Airlines landed at 3 different terminals? Anyway, I had made arrangements the night before with my dad. I was to meet him outside the baggage claim. This was very important because he doesn't believe in cell phones. I made sure that I was there plenty early which was a good thing because when we arrived his terminal was in partial lock down. I couldn't drive up to where I was supposed to find him. I had to park elsewhere and the girls and I braved the airport.

Long story short, we found him and made the long trek back to the car. I did almost lose Gillian and that was frustrating. We all got on the escalator going down except her. She stood at the top and started crying because she was afraid that she was going to fall. I was half way down when I realized what was going on. She had put both hands on the rails and was prohibiting anyone else from getting on. I was carrying all of Dad's luggage so he had to quickly climb the escalator (going the wrong way) and pull her down while she flipped out the whole way.

We made it safely home where we were able to catch up on a whole year of not seeing him. I am hoping that this week will go smoothly. It is supposed to be over 100 degrees everyday and that makes it hard to go do things because of his skin cancer. I am planning lots of indoor activities.

Growing Up

2009-06-06T11:24:00.003-05:00

A funny thing happened yesterday and I thought I would share. The girls and I had some running around to do, and while we were in line at the bank, I noticed Jill was carrying her purse. I asked if she was planning on buying anything.

She replied, "No, I just wanted to have my phone."

To which I jokingly asked, "Why? Do you have a hot date?"

That was followed by a round of snickers from both of the girls. Then Jordynn asked why parents get freaked out about dating.

I was thinking to myself "I could tell you some stories..."

Instead I told her not all parents freak out as long as there are several ground rules that are followed and when the girls get (much) older we will discuss it with them.

FLASH FORWARD TO 10:30 LAST NIGHT

Wade and I were watching CSI: Miami on Netflix, when the phone rang.

Wade said, "Hey T, your phone is ringing."

I answered, "It's not my phone."

Just then, out scurried Gillian to grab her phone out of her purse. She flipped open her phone, looked at the number, and closed it super quick. I was a little curious so I went over and took a look at her phone. Turns out, it was a wrong number. I told her next time, she could be a little more polite. She returned to her room, and I went back to the couch.

Wade looked at me in total shock of our child's phone ringing at 10:30 and all he could say was "What the HELL was that?"

Oh boy, and everyone thought I was the one that was going to be over protective. HA!

I should also mention that Gillian's phone very seldom rings. In fact, it is usually grandparents that call her (or wrong numbers). I like the idea of her having a phone for emergency purposes.

Baptism Bash

2009-06-01T09:22:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, was our church's semi annual baptism bash. Our church believes in baptism by immersion when the believer is fully aware of what why they are being baptized. Wade decided that it was time for him to take the plunge. Growing up Lutheran, he was baptized as a baby, and early in our marriage he told me once was enough. Lately, after reading the bible and listening to church sermons he has had a change of heart. Last week, he asked me at what age could the girls be baptized as well.

Instead of the normal bible lessons that we do as part of home schooling this past week, we looked up verses that spoke about why Jesus wants us to be baptized. It was so fun to watch the girls take notes on what I said and they wrote down verses to study. Gillian decided right away, that she was ready to make that decision. Jordynn said that she wasn't ready. The next day, Jordi came up to me when I was doing something else and said, "Mom, last night I talked to God about being baptized. I am ready to do it now."

Yay! I wouldn't have cared if she decided not to, it just meant that she wasn't quite ready. I love the fact that she PRAYED about her fears and concerns and they were answered for her.

Yesterday, in 90 plus degree weather, 35 people were baptized from our church. It was amazing to watch whole families make that statement of faith together. I think that it is very special that the girls and Wade were able to share it.

I also thought it was a tiny bit funny that I got some weird looks, and "Hang in there" comments. I am not quite sure what those were about. I think that some people thought that maybe I wasn't baptized....I don't know. I was baptized when I was 16 in a hot tub at my old church.

Softball Pictures

2009-05-16T13:44:00.003-05:00

This season has been very different than what we were used to in Washington. It is taken us awhile to get the hang of everything down here. For starters, if it is sprinkling - the cancel the games. The girls have had games cancelled for three weeks in a row due to weather.

Secondly, they don't do team photos. That really threw me for a loop. For the past 3 years, the team photos and the girls individual sports photos have been my Mother's Day and Father's Day presents to the granparents.
I decided to take my own. Here are the normal photos that I took on one of our "rainout" games. I figured since the girls were in their uniforms when we heard the game was cancelled what better time. I uploaded them to my favorite photo site www.shutterfly.com and next week I should have the wallets and 5x7s I ordered. I must say, it is a heck of a lot cheaper to do it myself. I just know that I am not the greatest photographer.

Pitching Update: Jill is still seeing her pitching coach and will continue throughout the summer. I can see such a huge difference in just a few short weeks. We are very excited for fall softball.

Happy Easter?

2009-05-15T12:52:00.003-05:00

I know that Easter was a month ago, but if you look closely at the top picture, you might be able to guess why I hadn't posted any pictures. Notice the sullen child in the yellow dress. Yup, that's my Jordynn. She was like that most of the day. She refused to take pictures. You might also notice Gillian's squinty eyes and red face. She was pretty sick that day (and her hair made her look like a poodle). After our morning of grief, I told the girls that they were going to put on their dresses and let me take pictures on a date of my choosing - OR ELSE! The time has come!

My mom had bought them their dresses and the giant blue talking bunnies when she was out visiting us. She was a little irritated that she wasn't emailed Easter pictures. I am going to surprise her with these when she comes out next month.