Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you on this special day! I am just sitting beside my tree that is all lit up with presents all around and stockings full. Christmas carols are playing and I am waiting for the rest of my family to awake. :) I still have a hard time sleeping on Christmas Eve. I guess I am still a kid at heart! Anyway, I wanted to wish everyone a VERY Merry Christmas and dont forget why we are celebrating today. God gave us incredible gift in the form of his son! Now, I am sure that it wasnt on Dec25th exactly but I think its a good enough day to remeber it! :) Go have fun with your friends and families!

My Baby is One!!!

Can you beleive it? Asher is one now. His birthday was actually December 7th so sorry for the delay in the post but we were on a roll talking about breastfeeding, vaccinations, etc... :). Anyway, he is So super cute it just makes me want to pee my pants. He is full on walking now. It took him a bit longer than Jack but he is So different from Jack in every other aspect too. He is so adorable toddling around the house. He gets excited and tries to go fast and then totally takes a spill. But he is resiliant and gets right back up and trudges on. :)
I cant wait for Christmas! Jack is going to be SO fun this year now that he fully can grasp what is going on and Asher will actually be able to play with his toys. Of course now, I am going to have to deal with the whole sharing thing. FUN!! Since we have had Asher Jack has all of the sudden taken an interest in baby toys. Sibling rivalry!
Oh, Jack is in his first Christmas program at church on Sunday! I am so excited and you can be sure that I will post some pictures! YAY!! Ok, enough of my ramblings. Thanks for listening!

Oh Brother

I am sure that everyone has seen this on the news but I had to post about it because it just makes me SO angry!! I am so outraged by the new "Left Behind" video game! If any of you haven't heard about it, its a new game that is apparently set "post rapture" and your goal, I guess, is to kill non Christians. Huh????? Who put this thing out on the market. Is this what we have representing Christianity? Apparently if you kill a christian accidentally then you lose some life but you can earn it back again by praying. How Nice. If this was out in the market and it was Muslims killing Christians it would be an outrage. Who is buying this and who is defending it??? I don't even have words for this! Gee, I wonder why people have such strong feelings on Christians? Could it be the stupid people who always come out of the woodwork to represent us. I sware we aren't all like this!

Boobies on a Plane!

Ok, Well it seems that we all have our opinions on breastfeeding and parenting! THe 130 or so comments racked up pretty fast, and all from a post about my family pisture! LOL :) So, this is somewhat in conjunction with that whole topic. I was watching Dr Phil the other day and it was about Home schooling vs public/private schooling. THese people were getting really pissed off at some of these home schoolers because they didnt agree with it. As I was watching it I started to wonder Why these people care who is home schooled and who is sent to school away from home? I have someone in my extended family (who obviously does not read this blog :))who gets Very passionate about the fact that children should ONLY be sent to Public school. Who the heck cares!!!!! Its kind of similiar to the question that I asked in my comments in my last post about why my pediatrician cares if my son is still nursing at night or if I choose to co sleep. As long as we are not neglecting our children why do people care what parenting style we choose. I know alot of people that do not choose to co sleep but that doesnt mean that I think that they are a bad parent. I understand if people want to share their opinions, I am ALL for that because I think that we need to be educated about other views, but this, my way or no way, thing is crap. Anybody got any thoughts?

Family Pictures

We have ALL been battling the flu this week and it has NOT been fun! Its So sad to see your kids in pain and unable to help. Its especially hard to watch your 11 month throwing up. This is the first time that Jack has been this sick either but he handled it pretty good considering. Its a good thing because its hard to do much when both mom and dad are sick as well.
So, now that we are all "flu free" we decided to get our fall family pictures taken. They took some time because we had a hard time getting Asher to smile at the right times and look into the camera but in the end they turned out pretty good I think.
Hey did you guys see that news report about tha lady who got kicked off of a plane for nursing her baby? What the hell is that about?? Ughh, that really pisses me off!

FINALLY!!

Okay, Okay, Okay, I know I am a little late for putting up the Halloween pictures but my camera was not cooperating. Arent they Adorable though!(Jack was a little pictured out in the family one) Just for clarification, Asher was a Kaola and Jack was Dr Shepard from Greys. It was SOO cute. When people would say "Oh, what a cute Dr!" He would say, "I'm Dr Mc Dweemy from Gweys Anatomy" Thats My Boy!!!! :) Anyway, They had a great time, or Jack did anyway but I am sure that Asher enjoyed his stroller ride.
Oh, Speaking of Greys Anatomy, I just cant get enough of that show!! LOVE IT!!!

Thank You little town!

I have been told by several that used to live in the small town of Valparaiso that it is No place they want to live because they just cant seem to find happiness here. Some have gone so far as to say that there is a "spiritual oppression" over the city. LOL! Now, I can understand that some people will find their nitch in other places so I get that. Now the "spiritual oppresion" thing I have a hard time swallowing, but whatever. Have those people ever been to Houston? ANyway, I am feeling pretty content in my life as of now. I mean, my freinds and family keep moving away from me and I still have some pretty big goals I would like to acheive but overall this season of my life is good. I was talking to my sister in law the other day on the phone and I suddenly realized how grateful I am to be in a place where I have Lots of people around me that are like minded. Now, I know that most people surround themselves with people that are similiar in values, beleifs and lifestyles but I realize as I talk to Elizabeth in some places those people are MUCH harder to find. Now, I am not talking politics and religion nesasarilly though sometimes that is a natural side effect. At this stage in my life my values in raising children are my big soap box issues because that is what I spend my time doing. All of the people that I spend my time with (for the most part) parent simaliarly to Daniel and I. We try to give our children the very best we can emotionally and nutritionaly and realize that for a season in our lives we have to be a little less selfish with our time as well as our bodies. Breastfeeding and attatchment parenting are a few examples. All of this seems natural to me. Instead of ignoring my natural instincs as a mother I feel I should listen to the cries and needs of my children and at the same time grow in becoming a less selfish person. (I think that is whay we have kids :) ) Anyway, I notice the more I talk to Elizabeth in Rocky Mount, she is having a hard time finding people on the same page as she is. Breastfeeding alone is much less common it seems and I think when they saw her wear Zachery in a sling they must have thought she was from Africa. HaHa! Even down to simple things like nutrition. Their church secretary called her extremley health conscious because she didnt want her 3 yr old having Pepsi in Sunday School. LOL! Who gives someone elses 3 yr old Pepsi?? Isnt that something you would leave to a Parent to decide.
Wow, I said all that really just to say thank you to my small town and all of the people that surround me in my life here. Oh, and Thanks for continuing to check my blog even though I am completly lame and cant post more than once or twice a month! :) Thanks for sticking with me!

Happy Birthday to me!

This is my final year that I will be able to say that I am a 20 something. This time next year I will be saying goodbye to my 20s and entering the adult world of the 30s. :) For all you out there who have already crossed over, I am not saying you're old but there is that stigma that just makes you feel a bit older than everyone else. I think we should just stop counting because it gets too depressing. :) BUT, that said, I hear (or at least Oprah says) that the 40s are the new 20s so that would make me like a teenager or something! :) (not that I would want to go back there either) So I guess 29 isnt so bad but it does seem ALOT older than 28 for some reason. Ok, I'm rambling, I'll Shutup! :)
You might ask what I did to celebrate my 29th birthday? Well, Desiree and I took a road trip to attend our friend Birdies baby shower. For any of you who dont know we met Birdie on the Lets Talk Alias blog and, along with some others, have become friends via blogging. Today we got to meet our blogger friend in the flesh and got to shower her with baby gifts for her new spy baby girl! It was a fabulous road trip filled with loud music and groovin in the car and the shower was a Blast!! Thanks Jen! I will post pictures later once Des downloads them. I hope that you all had a great weekend as well!!

How does life take up so much time?

I know I have been MIA for a while. It seems every time I get a chance to do anything frivolous my kids get wind of it and make sure my attention is on them. Actually, I have been trying to focus on my boys as much as I can because I have been watching my neice Mady ( who is 7 months old)3 days a week and it takes a bit of my time away from them. The Pampered Chef is keeping me busy because I am trying to get into a groove of some sort. I am still working out some kinks with that. I have a Pampered Chef Bridal Shower on Sunday, which has been keeping me up at night because this isnt just some show, its someones bridal shower. That is something this couple (or the bride at least) will remember forever! Thats alot of Pressure! :)Anyway, I will let you know how that goes! UMMmmmmmm, what else is going on...Oh yes, the lakehouse is So nice now! Daniel has done Such a good job (with the help of lots of friends) remodeling. We had a Great labor day weekend with Levi and Family and Des and Family. It was So great to get to see my brother and sister-n-law and get to spend time with my neice and nephew. Ughh, my neice Afton is SOOO adorable, I could Eat her!! :) Cedar is So funny, he is So animated and its so Leviesque. LOL!
Ok, well its late and I am losing my thoughts quickly. Hope you like Ashers 9 month shots. Isnt he Such a little man?!

Those silly little rich people

OK, So I went to the Aberdeen subdivision garage sale a few weekends ago and although I found a few gold mines I had to sit back and laugh at alot of the residents. The very first garage sale (KEY WORD: GARAGE SALE) I ventured into I saw a box labeled "Nursery Ensemble" 325$. HAHAHAHHA!!! Who goes to a garage sale planning to spend that on a crib set!! LOL! She was selling her onesies for 2.50 each. Yes, onesies, plain Carter omesies. Apparently because she lives in an upscale neighborhood her baby clothes rise in value after her kids wear them! LOL! My next stop I found a table of toys and kids goodies. I saw a brand new Aqua Doodle still in the box. YOu could tell it was a bit older because the box was faded but it hadnt ever been opened. She was asking 10$ for it, but as I picked it up I saw another garage sale sticker that read 8$. It was evidently from another garage sale and I am sure that these people paid 8 bucks for it out of someone elses garage. I figured since she bought it for 8 I would offer 7, the lady looked at me like I was crazy and said "These things go for 15 at ToysRus". OK, First of all, I'm not at ToysRus I'm in your garage, second of all there is a sticker here that says 8$. (OK, I didnt actually verbalize the first part) She got really flustered "Oh that was supposed to be taken off"! Yah, I figured that lady! She opted not to take my 7 and acted like I was going to give her 10. She was appauled that I wasnt going to buy it. It was the principal of the thing. I HATE it when people tell you how much they bought stuff for when you make them an offer. I know how much stuff is for in the store but your selling it at a garage sale!!!!! If you want to make money off something sell it on Ebay! ANyway, thats my rant. I guess I should also say that not everyone was quite so arrogant. The good sales did outweigh the "Boutique" priced sales. One guy told me I could have anything I wanted for free, he just wanted to get rid of it. I got some good childrens learning games for Jack there. Ever play Hi-Ho-CherryO? :)

The long awaited lake house

We are the proud owners of a house on a lake! Something that my husband has been wanting since, well, not sure how long, but probablly long before he met me. After a long weekend waiting for the previous owners to get out we finally moved what little furniture we have for the place in on Saturday evening. Daniel, being Daniel (and Ryan) ripped out the kitchen first thing. It wouldnt be any fun for him if there wasnt a project involved! :) Desiree and I gutted one of the bedrooms that was in SERIOUS need of a makeover!! I'm not into Peach and Grey floral wallpaper with bright peach lacy curtains! I know it sounds lovely but its just not my style. If any of you are interested in the curtains though mabe we could salvage them. HA! We had a little time left over to relax in the hot tub and take the jet skis out but next time we need to reserve more time for that! I will try to get some good pics this weekend and post some. Des had some of her and I in the hot tub but we ended up looking like a couple so I opted not to post that! LOL!

Me......with bangs

Ok, Asher is just an added bonus. I just happened to be holding him when Des was taking my picture but he is stinkin cute so I figured you wouldnt mind! OK, so this is my new look. I have people tried to convince me for years to get bangs but it seemed like to big of a commitment. The period when I was growing them out when I was 11 must have scarred me. :) Well, on Monday when Des was getting her hair cut, she and my sister-n-law convinced me. So, for the first time in 17 years I have bangs. What do ya think?

Happy Birthday

Ok, you are all going to laugh but August 9th never passes wihtout me remembering Melanie Griffiths birthday. After spending 7 years gaining as much information possible about the woman you cant help but not acknowledge their birthday. For any of you who dont know when I was 14 I became facsinated with Melanie (kinda bizarre, I know) but anyone who knew me, knew just as much as I did because it was always the topic of conversation. Sorry Guys!! HAHAH I even made my class at school pray for her every morning! ( I went to a christian school) I still pray for her when I think of it!
So, Happy 49th birthday Mealnie!!

New and Improved!

Thanks to my Fabulous friend Kendrah (also known as Girlscout) I have a new look for my blog! Isnt it so ME! She did it with no help from me all the way in Seattle. Ok, well I did tell her about my Melanie obsession! Remember that?? HAHAHAH! Good TImes!!! Anyway, Thanks Kendrah, I love it!

UPDATE!!!!!!

Well, after lots of phonecalls, faxes, headaches, and chest pains we finally have an update on our real estate disaster. THe GREAT news is that we got the lake house after all. We actually get to close next week! :) YAY and YAY! You would assume that since we got the house we must have been able to close on the apt. but that is not the case. We are Still having to have the apt rezoned, which means Lots of time and money. We asked the buyers to find a new lender (we even offered 5 grand off) but they refused. THey had a meeting the other day to discuss if they wanted to wait this out. THey decided it was a good time to ask for more money. WHAT??? THese people are Frickin MORANS!! Long story short they asked for about 3 thousand dollars some of which they are claiming is lost income. LOST INCOME??? That doesnt even make sense???? If they walk away and dont buy the place they are going to have to wait alot longer to get some income out of a place. PLUS, they are the ones that are choosing to make this drag out. All they have to do is find a different lender and this wouldnt even be an issue! UGh, Anyway, at this point we dont care if these guys walk or not. We luckily got the Lake house on a 3 year land contract so we really have 3 years to sell our other property. So thats our update. God is good and He is totally in this. Thanks for all your prayers!

The Idiocy of Americans!

I dont know if Idiocy is a word but it fits so I am going to use it! I was reading an article this morning on AOL about the new BabyTalk magazine cover. Apparently lots of people are Outraged because they have a picture of a baby nursing at her mothers breast. (click here for the article) Its obviously NOT Xrated but just a picture of a nursing baby. Its funny to hear peoples responses because people are talking about how they shredded it when they received it and how this is Filth! LMAO!!! OK thats just hysterical. Are people REALLY that ignorant???? The article itself leaned towards supporting breasfeeding but reading the reactions and comments of people just made my blood boil! I cant tell you how I would LOVE to get stuck in a room with one of these ladies and talk to her! We put Nudityy and Crap all over TV but people are offended when they see a mother nourishing her baby? HUH? OK so THEN, I decide to read some of the things people have posted and the First one I read says this.......
"FIRST OF ALL SHAME ON ALL OF YOU DISGUSTING PEOPLE SAYING THAT IT IS OKAY TO BREAT FEED.HOW DARE YOU?IT IS WRONG THAT IS WHY WE HAVE BABY FORMULA AT STORES.IT IS DISGUTING TO SEE THE ANIMALISTIC THINGS THAT WE DO HERE IN THE UNITED STATES.AS AN AMERICAN AND A WOMAN,MOTHER,TEACHER I BELIEVE THAT THE RITUAL OF BREAT FEEDING HAS BEEN REPLACED BY WHAT IS NOW TRADITIONAL BABY FEEDING (BOTTLE).I ALSO HAVE A BIG ISSUE WITH CHILDREN BEING DIAPER CHANGED IN FRONT OF ME.NEITHER I NOR MY KIDS WANT TO SEE A CHILD WITH FECES ALL OVER HIM BEING CHANGED BY A MOTHER FIDDLING WITH A CLEANING PAD AROUND HIS PENIS.THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!"
IS this woman Serious?????????? Thats HYSTERICAL!!!!! I'm serious, I couldnt stop laughing!! Of course part of me was appauled but I think its the most idiotic thing I have read....um....ever maybe!
I REALLY dont understand the argument for people who think women shouldnt nurse their babies (in public or at all). I understand people may not want to see a boob flaling (how do you spell that?) around but I have Never seen a woman nurse in public without trying to be as modest as possible. Obviously you have your exceptions as you do with everything in life but overall most woman arent going to flash their breasts for everone to see! I could go on for a VERY long tome about the reasons I agree with Nursing but I figured I would see if any of you had ever heard ANY arguments against it that made any sense or if any of you have any personal issues with it.
OK, thanks for taking part in my rant!! Fire away!

Caution, Road Blocks Ahead

UGhhh, why does buying and selling a house always have to be so stressfull!! We are scheduled to close on the apt building on Aug 3rd but apparently that may not be happening which means we will not be closing on the lake house on the 8th. So, for those of you who dont know, the apt building we own has had 3 apt in it for like 25 years and a TON of different owners meaning it has been sold several times. All of the sudden though the county is saying that it isnt zoned to be a multi family home it is still zoned to be a single family residence. Therefor the people buying it cannot get their financing. Hence, we cant sell it without it being Re zoned which takes 50 bucks, some paperwork and a signature but that signature takes almost 2 months to aquire. The county says that it could have been zoned correctly at one time but no one recorded it. So, my question is why is this OUR problem???? Why do we have to deal with something they have let go for 25 years????? Our realtor gave us a lawyer to contact who may be able to clear this up, for a big wad of cash, of course. He supposeldly is working on it but wont return our phone calls. I am sure he is working REALLY hard for us! Wow! I sound Really negative. I know God has a plan and I am trusting Him but its still frustrating and I need to vent or I will explode!

The Lake House

Sorry for the lack of blogging but summer seems to be keeping me pretty busy! This whole Pampered Chef thing, though its not moving very fast is taking alot of time that I used to spend doing things like blogging. Plus we have just purchased a lake house about an hour from here (well we close early August) so I am trying to find furnishings etc.. I cant wait to be able to get in there and decorate and then Do Nothing! Just sit on a boat and drink some beer!!! Sounds nice, doesnt it?? So when any of you come visit we can go to the lake house and stay! Anyway, I will write more soon! I am sure when fall comes so will more blogging!

Meet Xander....

What may look like an ordinary orange foam star to most is Jacks new friend (or replacment cousin)Xander. Xander goes EVERYWHERE with us. Jack takes care of him, gives him naps and baths. Makes sure that he is fed and dressed. He actually has quite a story about him. He apparently has 3 bedrooms, 2 TVs (one Snow White and one Scooby Doo), One blue bed with a pink pillow and one monster bed with a scooby pillow. I'm not sure where he is getting all of this but it sure is funny to watch him. He is very attatched to this little star. He left it at the Church property where we had a picnic on Sunday and I had to tell him a bazillion times that we would get it tomorrow but that Jesus would watch over him while he slept. The first thing he said when he woke up this morning was "Can we go get Xander now" :) Its So fun to watch his imagination grow as well as how he is dealing with his cousins moving away. I would imagine its very theraputic or something! :)

Tears for Charlie

Call me a dork, but I dont care. I have to post something in honor of the BEST morning show host on TV ever!! You just cant get any better than Charlie GIbson. :) I have had an odd obbsession with Charlie since I was like 14. I wont even let people turn on the TODAY show in my house. HaHa! Not sure where my loyalty to him comes from, well, I guess I do but I wont get into that. Isnt he someone you would want to be your brother, uncle, dad, grandpa, etc....? I'm glad we havent lost him for good but doing World News Tonight isnt quite as Fun as GMA. You dont really get to see the lighter side of him, he's going to have to be all Peter Jennings and serious. Oh Well, its something. Its really funny when I think about it. I grew up always hating that my parents had to watch World News Tonight every evening. I remeber thinking it was SO boring. But now I am going to do the same thing, I gotta have my Charlie fix! :)
ANyway, Good Luck Charlie, We love you! :)

More Pictures

I cant help it, I Love pictures and I love my kids so you guys have to deal with the reprocutions of that! :) But, Isnt Asher adorable? It took him all of 5 min to get his pictures taken. It has always taken about 45 minutes to get 3 pictures out of Jack. One of their many differences!

OH, We are getting our new car today! WooHooo!!! Our Lease is up and so we are going from one Oddesey to another. I looked at the Quest and some SUVs but when it comes down to it, as much as I would like to be "cool" and drive around in an SUV its just not practical. Plus, after having an Oddessey, there is just nothing better, imo. Really, I'm destined to have a mini van because I spent years saying I would NEVER have one. Someday I will learn, Never say Never! :)

My Boys!

How fun are little boys! Summer is here and not being a summer person myself I typiclly dont stay outside much but this year seems to be different. Jack is old enough now to really PLAY outside. In past years he would go outside and lay down on his little slide and talk to his imaginary friends. Of course I guess his HUGE play set helps too. Anyway, I have really enjoyed it this year so far. Its So bizarre what a little man Jack is and how much fun he is to play with!
Oh, on another note I took Jack to see CARS yesterday, Anyone else seen it? Great Movie, it kept me entertained and Jack loved it! Also saw The Break Up with Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn, Very Funny!!! Sorry this post is so random, not much going on here but wanted to post something.

Our Local Park

Just had to brag a bit on my hubby and his latest project. He spent LOTS of time and energy building this Monstrosity of a play set. Jack and all of his friends LOVE it and it helps keep me sane since they play outside alot more. It took a while to get Jack to go down the slide but now he is a pro! Bring your kids and come play! :)

And then there was one........

As I write this my brother, sister-n-law and best freind, niece and nephews are driving to their new home in NC.I cant seem to make it 5 minutes without bursting into tears and I wish I had a IV with a martini bag to deaded the pain. Sucky Suck Suck is really all I have to say! At one happy point my mother and brothers all lived here together happily and now after deaths and people moving away I am the last man standing. I dont even know how I ended up here, I didnt grow up here, I wouldnt say my roots are here, but here I am! I watched my brother and sister-n-law drive away last night and realized how much this is going to SUCK!!!!! I'm sorry if I am sounding rather negative but I am feeling rather negative today! Just for the record, I am happier than you could ever imagine that my brother will be happy and in a job he can sleep at night and spend time with his family. None of this is to make them feel guilty. But this is my blog and I can cry, whine and complain if I want to. I dont have much more to say becasue my thoughts are kinda blurry right now.
Thank You Daniel and Levi for listening to my tears.

The Curtain Closes....

So, Its officially over now!:( I have to say we had a BLAST celebrating the Finale of ALIAS. I guess I shouldnt say Celebrating, but, you know. It was a reason to have a party, and I am Always up for a party! ANyway, Its late and I am exhausted but I wanted to post some fun pics of our evening. Hope any of you that watch the show enjoyed it! Good Night

Holy Season Finales!!!

Its that time of the year again. ALl the networks put their best into the vary last episodes of the season or in some cases of the Series. Its always a bitter-sweet time, yes, I know we are talking about television, but doesnt anyone else get all sad when they watch a series finale, even if they havent ever gotten into the show. THe cast always cries and talks about how much fun they had...its just too freaking sad! Anyway, Greys Anatomy last night was FABULOUS!!! What a great show!!!! WIll and Grace Series Finale on THursday is going to be a tear jerker, Lost will be exceptional, I'm sure, House will be genius and we all know that on MAy 22nd when the last ALIAS airs I will be a puddle on the floor. I remember when Growing Pains aired its last episode in 92 it was the first time I really got upset when a show ended...C'mon I was an emotional 14 year old. :) Since then I have survived a ton more, Cheers, Lois and Clark (Dont laugh!), The X FIles, Friends. Its funny how those things become a part of your life or at least they were a part of mine! What were your favorites, which ones were you sad to see go? I know I'm not the only one who likes her TV shows! :)

Sheesh, Where does the time go

Just posting to post really, because it has been a while! Not much to say. I have been spending most of my time the past week or so trying to get my Pampered Chef business off the ground. Anyone want to have a party? :) The rest of my time not spent with my children has been spent reading one of my favorite blogs www.letstalkalias.blogspot.com trying to revel in the last few weeks of my all time favorite show!!! I know, I'm pretty lame! LOL!!!
Asher got his shots yesterday and ended up with a fever all night! Poor baby was Miserable!! I know they need their shots but I have to say the adverse effects SUCK!!! Plus I hate that you have to hold their arms and they stare at you while they get 4 shots in their legs. They look at you with these eyes that say "why are you doin this to me" :( OK enough rambling!

What we pass on....

I was just watching Oprah and thought that I would blog some of my thoughts because it was very thought provoking. It was about 3 and 4 year old girls who are obsessed with their looks and their weight as well as girls in general with extremely low self esteem. Being a former annorexic or recovering annorexic (whatever you want to call it) it brought out Alot of emotion because it reminded me of all those same very real and raw feelings. It talked about how we as parents pass on our own issues and insecurities to our children. It made me grateful that I dont have a daughter for once. One, What are the odds that in todays appearance obsessed society she wouldnt grow up and live through the Hell of feeling fat, ugly and inadequite. (when I say hell I am understating) Obviously not every woman grows up feeling like that but there is that chance and going through it myself it would absolutely tear me up to see my daughter go through that. Can anyone e lse relate to those tortureous all consuming thoughts? Two, I feel like with having my own issues she would be coming into the world with a disadvantage already. I do try to be pro-active with Jack in letting him know that Fat is not a word we use as well as other things. But I realize that I use it when I am referring to myself. I try not to but I di it without noticing it. ow do we give our kids a fighting chance so that they will not compare themselves to what they see on TV and elsewhere and feel equal when they go out into the world. What are your thought and opinions? Do any of you see this in your own home.

Has someone seen my Sanity???

I think that I have decided to stay in my house until my children pass the age 3. Not that I am saying 4 will be better but if its not please dont tell me! I prefer to stay blissfully ignorant!!!!! I just made a Pointless trip to the mall with my boys and once we got into the mall Jack turned into a possesed monster!!! I have NEVER seen my child or anyone elses act like this in public before. He was Flailing around for reasons I really couldnt understand becuse he wasnt makng much sense underneath all the crying. The ENTIRE mall was gawking at the both of us. I am sure I wasnt making their shopping experience enjoyable but I wasnt going to give Jack what he wanted because that would teach him nothing. SO, we didnt get anything done that we needed to do and I packed up our stuff and left. (After buying him shoes that I am praying fit him, needless to say I didnt reaLly get to try them on) A total of 45 minutes at the mall he spent about 38 minutes screaming his head off. I DID notice later that his cousin gave him some red candy when we first got there which could have been the culprit. Jack has a Strong reaction to red food coloring. (Thanks Levi! :))I'm worn out!!!! So, when you see poeple in the store and their kids are acting like lunatics what do you do. Do you roll your eyes or give them thumbs up for not giving in. (I understand that the answers may be different for those who have children and those who dont) Obviously leaving the store and going home is the best option and gets my sons attention so really there isnt much point in taking him if I am going to have to leave a place 20 minutes after I get there. Such is life....thanks for listening to my vent session!!!
On a happy note..................1 more day until ALIAS!!!!!!! If anyone calls me tomorrow night between 7 and 9 I will NOT pick up!! :)

What the.....

I was reading my friends blog and thought I would post a link that she had. Its about how planned parenthood has spent the past four years trying to inch its way into the christian community. It was interesting and I am still in awe. Share your thoughts.
http://www.lifenews.com/nat2182.html

The fear of the unknown

So, 2 children continues to keep me on my feet and it is also bringing new changes in my life. I will be entering the wold that works ALOT but doesnt get paid. Otherwise known as the Stay at home mom!!! I just put my 2 weeks noice in at the bank after working there for 7 years. Its been a place I never really wanted to leave but circumstances are telling me that its time. I know that its God because never before have I been ok with the thought. I am sure I will get into something to make some supplemental income just for my own sanity but it will be something I can pace myself at and do on my own. Pray for my sanity in dealing with being at home with my kids full time!! :) At least I have enough friends to keep me busy socially which is a Must for me!
On another note, i just finished 2 books that were Excellent! "The Book Theif" is a historical fiction about a foster girl in Nazi Germany during World war 2. If your looking for a book to read, pick it up! The other was "The Giver", much shorter and good story!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggady Jig!

I wasnt neglecting my blog on purpose I was just not able to read or post since we were on vacation last week. We went and spent a few days in Chatanooga TN with my grandparents which was actually alot of fun. I loved watching my My grandparents with the kids. Jack ate up all the attention and my grandmother was able to stop Ashers fussing everytime she held him. Arent grandparents great!I also got to see my moms old dog Tessa. My uncle Randy adopted her after my mom died. my grandparents had fattened her up when they had her but she is back to her old self now. Spoiled and healthy. No more caramels for her! (who gives their dogs caramels??? other than my grandparents of course!) My mom would be happy! Anyway, after Chatanooga we went and met our friends Jamie and Liz in the mountains by Pigeon Forge. It was a Fabulous cabin secluded in the woods. I LOVE THE MOUNTAINS!!! Jack fell in love with the hot tub and now asks every five minutes if we can go to Menards and buy one. I'm not kidding when I say "every five minutes". :) We all had a great time and I wasnt to thrilled about coming home! But alas, all good things must come to an end. (I guess that phrase doesnt apply to everything but oh well) I hope you all had a good week!

Here we go again....

If you have read my brother and sister-n-laws blogs you will see that there is a VERY LARGE possiblilty of them moving away from here, all the way to NC. Now my brother would jump at any chance to move back there and I am glad that this is something that would be good fo rhim and his family. I love them and want whats best, BUT, dont I still have the right to be upset. I know that if its Gods will then they will get the job and they will b on their way and I trust that will be what is best but Gods will isnt always easy to accept. I am sure that it was Gods will that my mom leave this earth but I gotta tell you it REALLY Sucks not having her here!!!! Especially Now! So, here I am, the last remnant of my family, still here. Do people Really think that I am going to welcome the last peice of my family leaving me. It seems that its a trend. Hmmmmmm?
OK, so I just had to get that off my chest. Again, I want what is best for John and his family so I am praying for Gods will.

Um.........

OK.....I have officially replaced my adult vocabulary for a 3 year old vocabulary. Even as I write this I sit for several minutes in the middle of each sentence to try to find my words. I seem to have lost any capability of having an adult conversation with words bigger than 5 letters. It took me 4 minutes to think of the word capability. How sad is that? I was trying to write a comment on my friends Alias blog the other day and somewhere in my head I had a really intelligent response but I had No words to put it in. I takes me so long to put words to my thoughts that by the time I actually do I have a 3 year olds whining for my attention or a newborn that wants to nurse. I eventually gave up because my brain started to hurt! :) My children turned my brain into mush! AGHHHHHH! :) Does anyone else get this? Will I ever get my intellagence back?

Sharing my Qhirks.....

I figure I can get away with this whie they are young. Right now my kids enjoy things that I do because they want to be like mommy and daddy. THere will soon come a day when we arent so cool and I am taking Full Advantage!! :) So, for now....Jack and Asher are Alias fans along with their parents! Arent they Lucky!
During the Acadamy Awards when Jen came out to present an award Jack exclaimed "mama, its Sydney!!!" Thats my Boy! Speaking of that....did you see her almost totally wipe out as she came out! It was Very Close! Anyway, Not much more to say because I have spent my day with kids and my brain is pretty much mush! :) More on that later.....

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!

Today is my mothers 56th birthday and though she is no longer here with us I wanted to acknowledge it all the same. I received a phone call last night from my best friend from middle school who I haven't talked to in a good 10-12 years. She continually told me how sad she was about my mom and how much my mom meant to her. I am always so incredibly surprised on how many lives she touched and how deeply she touched them. It must say something about a person when their pharmacist comes to their funeral. :) She was Amazing!
I also wanted to say thank you to my sister-n-law. My friend Janet asked me last night how I was dealing with not having my mom around since we were so close. I thought about it and I have to say that Its totally God that I have my sister-n-law, Elizabeth in my life. I can call and vent or cry or ask silly questions, and most of all I can sit and talk about my mom with her and know that she feels the same loss. So, Thank You, Elizabeth, for being there....And Thank you, John, for not moving you and your family away! :) OK, enough blubbering! Thanks for listening!
Oh, to John and Lee......Janet Cooper says hello!

Back Online

I'm Finally back online with the rest of the world! I felt So out of touch for the last few weeks. We just got new carpet (which is Fabulous by the way)and we had to basically move out of our house for a few days. We took out my computer as well as my desk and in the interest of space we are not putting my desk up back and I am now typing on a new lap top. All that to explain why I have not been online in a while.

Since my last post I have gone back to work 2 days a week! Its so different from when I went back with Jack full time. Full time was too much time away from my baby. Part time is a nice break. Its just for a few hours a couple days a week. I kind felt like I was on a mini vacation. I know that sounds bizarre and I hope it doesn't sound like I didn't miss my kids because I did.The difference is while I am at work I feel like I am accomplishing something and while I am at home things CONSTANTLY need to be done and as soon as I do them they get UNdone. Its Endless Constant work! When I do something at work I get to complete the task and it typically stays completed, at least for the day. Does anyone get that?
Apologies to all for slacking on my blogging! Hopefully this laptop will make it easier.

Happy Birthday Jack!!!

Just wanted to announce that my son is now officially 3 years Old! How does time go so fast?? Its Crazy! I am also pleased to announce that he is also finally potty trained! I guess what they say is right. When they are ready they're ready! It took like 2 days for him to get it. He has an accident from time to time but he has done Great!!!! Its SOO nice not to have to change 2 kids diapers!! WOOHOOO!!!! I have to make a public Thank you to Elizabeth for being there to ask all of my silly potty training questions to (as well as parenting advice)! She was a lifesaver! Thanks E!!

On a Totally different subject....Did everyone watch "Greys Anatomy" last night??? How Great was that!!!! It totally kept me pumped through the whole thing!!!! Cant wait till next week!

Baby Training? Is this a Circus?

I just have to vent a bit about something that really confuses and perplexes me. Of course, its probably going to step on some people toes but we are all entitled to our own beliefs.
This whole parenting style of "Baby Training" or the idea that this baby came into my house they can fit around MY schedule is somewhat disturbing to me. First of all, did the baby get a say in whether or not they came into this family, second, they're a baby, isn't this the time in our lives (as parents) that we are learning to be selfless as opposed to selfish. Aren't children Gods little way of teaching us the the world doesn't revolve around us and we should put our children BEFORE our own selfish wants. So, that said, the whole baby training, ie, letting our babies (babies being the operative word) Cry it out because they should learn to do things on our schedule is somewhat ignorant. Why should we expect a baby to act like anything But a baby?? A baby cries because it is the ONLY way to communicate his/her needs. If we ignore those cries we are, in turn, ignoring their needs. A 6 month old doesn't have the capacity to manipulate. Yes, it may cry because it wants to be held but that is a need to a 6 month old. They wont be babies forever and I don't believe that we are "spoiling" them by giving them what they need. After all something that is spoiled is typically left alone untouched on a shelf somewhere. Now, I'm not saying that Baby training doesn't work, it does, if you let your baby scream he/she will eventually get tired because no one is responding to its call, she will give up and at this point begins to learn not to trust his/her own feelings or his mothers. How frightening would it be to be so helpless and it seem that your very basic needs are being ignored. OK so I'm ready to hear your opinions...dont hold back. :)

Back Home...

We are all back at home safe and sound! Thank you all SO very much for all your prayers! For all of you who didn't know Asher was in the hospital. I cant tell you how frightening it is to have your 6 week old baby in the hospital and to feel so helpless. Long story short(I dont have a ton of time), Jack apparently got Whooping Cough somewhere and apparently passed it along to little Asher as well as possibly myself. Its not that big of a deal for Jack or I to have it because we have been immunized but its a little scarier in a 6 week old who hasn't yet been immunized and doesn't have a lot to fight with. Thank God I am breastfeeding! Somehow Asher also had a chest X Ray that said he had pretty severe pneumonia as well but we were all stumped (Dr included) as to why he wasn't quite as sick as a baby with severe pneumonia. Anyway, either way he is being treated for both but since he made such a wonderful recovery they said he was able to come home and finish getting better here! So whether it was Lots of Prayer or a bad xray I am just glad that he is doing well and able to be at home without a bunch of wires hooked to him! I cant tell you how disturbing it is to see your little 8 pound baby with an IV attached to him. Its very sad. I cant tell you how grateful to God I am to have a healthy baby!!! Anyway, its good to be home myself as well, those hospital beds are not the most comfortable! :) Thanks again for ALL of your thoughts and prayers and I will try to blog again soon. Life kinda gets away from me sometimes!

I'm So Tired!!

I forgot that having a newborn is so tiring! Not that it isn't worth every second but the fact remains that my body is exhausted. The physical exhaustion added to the hormone changes in my body make me very emotional. I feel like a big cry baby half the time. Some things seem warranted while others seem trivial. I went out to my mothers grave the other day and as I was talking to Jack about her I started thinking about how much fun he would had with her now which in turn started lots of crying. I cant even tell you how much she loved her grand children, she would have SO much fun with them at this age. Its not really fair that they don't get to see how much she treasured them or that they don't get to be spoiled by her. My mom would have given a stranger the shirt off her back, can you imagine what she was like with her grandchildren. Anyway, sorry I got side tracked. Oh yah, I was babbling about my emotions. All I'm saying is when you have to fight back tears during "March of the Penguins" you know your a little over emotional! Its a documentary about Penguins for cryin out loud! That's just Silly! :)
Moving on.....Levi and Beth went home a few days ago (I cried about that to) and everything is getting back to normal. I am in the midst of planning JAcks 3rd birthday party but other than that its pretty non eventful. I posted a couple pictures. One is of Asher and the other is Daniel and I at my Co. Christmas party. I think it was like 4 days before Asher was born. Sorry my post was so random and scattered.

Happy New Year!!!

I know that it has been a while since I posted but I hope that you will forgive me since I am trying to adjust, once again, to having a newborn in the house, not to mention having a 2 year old as well. Things are going well but I am Exausted because of lack of sleep. Asher has decided he likes to nurse ALL night long which means I dont get any sleep. rgot how exuasting nursing is! Other than that things are going well though. He is Very cute and so far had a good temperment.
I hope that everyone had a Wonderfull Christmas!!! Ours was great! It was So exciting for Jack this year. He is really at an age that he can grasp what is going on so it was a blast! Family came to visit and to meet Asher, my brother Levi is up for a few weeks and I am Really rellishing in that. I always forget how much I miss having him here until he comes to visit! Anyway, not much more to report but I Really want to hear how everyone elses Christmases were, so c'mon blab away!
Can I also say, (not that you care) but I miss my Alias on Wednesdays! :)