Right now it is 26 degrees, the wind is 30mph, and it's trying to snow. By trying I mean a few tiny flakes are flying around in the air, and if you look really hard in the low places of the ground you can see a little white. It's pretty miserable out there. Yesterday was in the 70's! It is not unusual for there to be a big difference in the temperature from day to day here, but I don't remember an almost 50 degree difference!! That's crazy. For those of you that don't live where the weather is crazy like this, I'm sure you can imagine! It is a bit of a shock. At least the cold is making it feel a little more like Christmas time. It was hard to get in the spirit with the 60 degree weather we had been having. My parents and sister live where it is still in the 70's and 80's, so they are really having a hard time!!
Thanksgiving was a great time. Most of the food turned out pretty good! In an attempt to fit all that we needed to in the oven at once, and trying to get it to all cook a little faster, a couple of the casseroles got a little dry, and the jello salad froze in the extra fridge that we were storing it in. Surprisingly the Jello turned out fine when it thawed! We ate it all anyway, and had a great time! My first time cooking Thanksgiving was not a disaster, and I learned some things for next time. I plan to redo some of the dishes that didn't turn out so great when everybody is here for Christmas.
Gabbie took her first steps a day or so after Thanksgiving!! She now walks about 50% of the time. She gets so excited when she does, and she always tries walking first, before she crawls. She can walk for a long way before she falls, and when she does fall, she can stand back up all by herself. She can walk while carrying a toy as well! I think she will be walking 100% by Christmas. I can't believe she started walking at 10 months. I can hardly remember her being a tiny baby. I don't know if it is because I had such a hard time recovering after she was born and I didn't get to enjoy it like I wanted to, or because she has grown up so fast! I told Tony that I can still call her a baby until her birthday, even though she is "toddling"!
Natalie is really getting into being a big sister, sometimes a little too much. Gabbie was messing with the DVD player the other day and Natalie tried to put her in time out and talk to her about what she did, like we do with her! I had to tell her that only Mommy and Daddy can get onto Gabbie. Natalie does pretty good at trying to keep Gabbie out of stuff too. Gabbie was getting into the cabinet with the pots and pans, and Natalie went over to her and said "No,no Gabbie. Can't touch it." Then she put them all back in the cabinet and came and told me what Gabbie was doing! Like I said, I think sometimes she may be a little TOO helpful!
The other day Natalie was talking to herself. I wasn't really listening, until I heard her count to 7...in Spanish!!! I guess Dora gets most of the credit for that one, we really haven't been working on that yet!
Natalie loves to do things by herself, especially getting dressed. She can even button her own shirt. Cooking is one of her new favorite things too. I was hoping that if she cooked the food, she would want to eat more of it. I was wrong. The last two days she has wanted to cook something, so we did, then I asked her if she wanted to eat some of it and she said "No!" and ran away! So much for that plan! She has slowed down eating again, after she was doing do good and gained some weight. I am hoping that she doesn't lose all that she has gained now! I guess we will see.
I have almost all of my Christmas shopping done! I have 3 more to buy for some family members, and a few stocking stuffers for the girls and that is it! I do have a couple of homemade gifts that I need to finish, but I don't have to do any shopping for those. I really want to wrap some and put them under the tree, but I don't think that would be a very good idea. I don't think they would last very long!! I guess I will just have to wrap them and put them back in the closet for now. I even have Christmas cards ready to go in the mail tomorrow. I don't think I have ever really done cards before, so I feel like I am really on top of it this year!!
For now anyway! I know better than to be too proud of myself. I managed to get the girls' Christmas pictures done the other day. That was no small feat let me tell you!! That was all I got done that day and I was not in a very good mood by the time I got finished! I didn't really get any good ones of the two of them together. I decided that it is pretty much impossible to get the two of them still at the same time! I did get some that are pretty good of them separately so I guess those will have to do.
I can't believe that Christmas is just two weeks away!!! Wow! It sure is coming fast. I need to get organized and plan what Christmas cooking I am going to do. Things are going to be crazy this year as Kaleena is getting married on Jan 3rd. We will have family in town for over a week, from Christmas until then, so I probably won't do too much fun stuff since I will be feeding a bunch of extra people.
I need to get back to the house work. I have had projects going on all week and I haven't gotten the normal daily stuff done, so I am a bit behind.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Getting Ready for Thanksgiving
I want to start out saying THANK YOU to you who have left comments. I LOVE reading them. It helps me to know if anybody is actually reading my blog also. So if you happen to read my blog, and haven't left a comment, please sign up as a follower and/or leave a comment so I can know about you. I will try to write more often so there is something more interesting to read.
I am getting ready for Thanksgiving here. This is the first year that I am hosting and cooking the majority of the food! Yipes! I am looking forward to it though. My sister and her fiance` are coming from Houston, and my grandparents from Oklahoma are coming. Of course my sister that lives here will be here, but that is all. My parents are of course working out of town and can't get enough time off to come, so that is how it fell on me. We won't have many people here, but there will be enough to fill a table and eat some turkey so it will be fun.
I have almost all of the grocery shopping done, just lacking those last minute things that won't stay fresh long enough to buy them ahead of time.
The girls and I put up the Christmas tree last night. I know it's early, I don't usually put it up this early, but I kinda wanted it up when everybody is here for Thanksgiving, and I decided I didn't want to try to do it while they were all here so....I had a good evening to do it, so that is what I did.
Natalie LOVES it. She just looks at it and says "Wow, pretty colors! Pretty lights." She probably hung 90% of the ornaments on it, she thought it was so fun! She keeps saying "Mommy, nother one!" (wanting to hang another ornament on) She doesn't really mess with it at all now, aside from admiring it. I think her helping to put it up helps with that. Surprisingly, Gabbie hasn't messed with it yet today, so maybe I won't have any trouble with her either.
We have also brought out the Christmas music and Veggie Tales. Natalie loves the Christmas Veggie Tales! She watches them over and over and over and....You get the point. She and Gabbie both really loved a Trans Siberian Orchestra song that I had playing the other day.
I am really excited for Christmas this year. Natalie is old enough to really get into it, and Gabbie will almost be 1, so she will have lots of fun as well, even though she doesn't understand as well. I am starting it early, but I figure it makes up for last year. Between moving a few days before Thanksgiving, and being 9 months pregnant at Christmas I didn't really get to enjoy the holidays as much as I like to. So this year I am going all in! One of my very favorite things is having all the lights off except for the glow of the Christmas tree. It is so pretty and peaceful.
I am pretty much done with all of my Christmas shopping too. I have been buying things a little at a time for over a month now, so it didn't all hit us in one month. Pretty much all I have left is the little stocking stuffer stuff. I won't be able to put anything under the tree until right before though. I know I won't be able to keep the girls out of that!
Tony and I have already done our gift for each other as well. We got a Wii several weeks ago, so we have already been enjoying our Christmas!
Natalie's medicine seems to be working, she is eating a lot more, and I even had to let the waist of her adjustable jeans out a little bit! Yay! She goes to the Dr on Tuesday so we will see what she says.
She can count to 15 now! She has known all her shapes, colors and the alphabet for several months now. She is getting so big!
Gabbie has 3 teeth now, and the 4th is coming through any day now. She can stand alone for a long time, and the other night she took 2 steps all by herself! We were excited. I think she still has a little while before she does much walking on her own, but she sure is trying hard. I think she may have it down by Christmas. She loves music as much as Natalie does. She waves her arms around to the beat of the music anytime she hears it. She was up in the middle of the night the other night and Tony started singing to her. She stopped crying and started waving her arms all around dancing to his song!
Gabbie is up from her nap now so it is time for me to run. I probably won't get around to posting again before Thanksgiving so, Happy Thanksgiving! Remember what the day is all about what you have to be thankful for. I am thankful that gas is $1.73!!!!(aside from the obvious things, my family and health and all those kind of things,of course ) That is making a BIG difference for us.
I am getting ready for Thanksgiving here. This is the first year that I am hosting and cooking the majority of the food! Yipes! I am looking forward to it though. My sister and her fiance` are coming from Houston, and my grandparents from Oklahoma are coming. Of course my sister that lives here will be here, but that is all. My parents are of course working out of town and can't get enough time off to come, so that is how it fell on me. We won't have many people here, but there will be enough to fill a table and eat some turkey so it will be fun.
I have almost all of the grocery shopping done, just lacking those last minute things that won't stay fresh long enough to buy them ahead of time.
The girls and I put up the Christmas tree last night. I know it's early, I don't usually put it up this early, but I kinda wanted it up when everybody is here for Thanksgiving, and I decided I didn't want to try to do it while they were all here so....I had a good evening to do it, so that is what I did.
Natalie LOVES it. She just looks at it and says "Wow, pretty colors! Pretty lights." She probably hung 90% of the ornaments on it, she thought it was so fun! She keeps saying "Mommy, nother one!" (wanting to hang another ornament on) She doesn't really mess with it at all now, aside from admiring it. I think her helping to put it up helps with that. Surprisingly, Gabbie hasn't messed with it yet today, so maybe I won't have any trouble with her either.
We have also brought out the Christmas music and Veggie Tales. Natalie loves the Christmas Veggie Tales! She watches them over and over and over and....You get the point. She and Gabbie both really loved a Trans Siberian Orchestra song that I had playing the other day.
I am really excited for Christmas this year. Natalie is old enough to really get into it, and Gabbie will almost be 1, so she will have lots of fun as well, even though she doesn't understand as well. I am starting it early, but I figure it makes up for last year. Between moving a few days before Thanksgiving, and being 9 months pregnant at Christmas I didn't really get to enjoy the holidays as much as I like to. So this year I am going all in! One of my very favorite things is having all the lights off except for the glow of the Christmas tree. It is so pretty and peaceful.
I am pretty much done with all of my Christmas shopping too. I have been buying things a little at a time for over a month now, so it didn't all hit us in one month. Pretty much all I have left is the little stocking stuffer stuff. I won't be able to put anything under the tree until right before though. I know I won't be able to keep the girls out of that!
Tony and I have already done our gift for each other as well. We got a Wii several weeks ago, so we have already been enjoying our Christmas!
Natalie's medicine seems to be working, she is eating a lot more, and I even had to let the waist of her adjustable jeans out a little bit! Yay! She goes to the Dr on Tuesday so we will see what she says.
She can count to 15 now! She has known all her shapes, colors and the alphabet for several months now. She is getting so big!
Gabbie has 3 teeth now, and the 4th is coming through any day now. She can stand alone for a long time, and the other night she took 2 steps all by herself! We were excited. I think she still has a little while before she does much walking on her own, but she sure is trying hard. I think she may have it down by Christmas. She loves music as much as Natalie does. She waves her arms around to the beat of the music anytime she hears it. She was up in the middle of the night the other night and Tony started singing to her. She stopped crying and started waving her arms all around dancing to his song!
Gabbie is up from her nap now so it is time for me to run. I probably won't get around to posting again before Thanksgiving so, Happy Thanksgiving! Remember what the day is all about what you have to be thankful for. I am thankful that gas is $1.73!!!!(aside from the obvious things, my family and health and all those kind of things,of course ) That is making a BIG difference for us.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Backtracking
Not much new is happening, so I thought I would post some pictures that have been taken over the past month or so today. I have been meaning to post them for quite awhile now, but just haven't made myself do it.
I am now on my 5th straight day of not leaving the house. I am cleaning the floors today and well...doing this! I am starting to feel a little shut in, and I'm sure Tony is tired of me calling him and saying, "Oh, can you stop by Target and get some diapers?" "Oops, we are TOTALLY out of toilet paper." "Ummm, Natalie needs more milk". Three different items, three different days! I am having trouble collecting myself. :) Natalie has a birthday party to go to tomorrow, so I will finally have the car and I can get out for a little while. Sometimes having only one car can be a little tough. I need a few things at the grocery store, but they will have to wait until Monday, when Tony gets paid. Tomorrow is SUPPOSED to be payday. but since the owner's wife is the one that writes the checks, and she doesn't like to work on Saturday...Payday is pushed back 2 more days! That really gets to me. If your bills are due on the first, you don't get to wait 2 more days just because it is Saturday! The bad thing is his other payday for Nov is on Saturday also, so we will be waiting AGAIN! Anyway...I had to get that off my chest.
Natalie seems to be eating a bit better now that she is on the appetite stimulant. We still have days here and there where she doesn't eat too much, but they are not as often as before so I am happy. Maybe between the medicine and bribing her with stickers we can get a little bit of weight on her.
That's mostly it for now, so here are the pictures that I told you about...
The Beautiful flowers my wonderful husband brought me for no reason!
Natalie playing in the shop with Pawpaw and his saw dust.
Natalie trying so hard to get the wagon out the gate.
I'm not really sure what that face is all about!
Natalie being such a good big sister and pulling Gabbie in the wagon.
I think Gabbie may be a little worried!
Molly chewing on a stick that is bigger than she is.
Going for a pretend ride in Mimi's car
Mimi is so funny!
Story time with Mimi.
Story time with Auntie Neena.
Natalie wearing great-Papaw's boots that she put on all by herself.
Gabbie pushing the car/walker toy. It is her favorite thing to do now. She is getting so big!
Fun sister time in the tub!
Big smile!
There's a Natalie in the ducks!
I am now on my 5th straight day of not leaving the house. I am cleaning the floors today and well...doing this! I am starting to feel a little shut in, and I'm sure Tony is tired of me calling him and saying, "Oh, can you stop by Target and get some diapers?" "Oops, we are TOTALLY out of toilet paper." "Ummm, Natalie needs more milk". Three different items, three different days! I am having trouble collecting myself. :) Natalie has a birthday party to go to tomorrow, so I will finally have the car and I can get out for a little while. Sometimes having only one car can be a little tough. I need a few things at the grocery store, but they will have to wait until Monday, when Tony gets paid. Tomorrow is SUPPOSED to be payday. but since the owner's wife is the one that writes the checks, and she doesn't like to work on Saturday...Payday is pushed back 2 more days! That really gets to me. If your bills are due on the first, you don't get to wait 2 more days just because it is Saturday! The bad thing is his other payday for Nov is on Saturday also, so we will be waiting AGAIN! Anyway...I had to get that off my chest.
Natalie seems to be eating a bit better now that she is on the appetite stimulant. We still have days here and there where she doesn't eat too much, but they are not as often as before so I am happy. Maybe between the medicine and bribing her with stickers we can get a little bit of weight on her.
That's mostly it for now, so here are the pictures that I told you about...
The Beautiful flowers my wonderful husband brought me for no reason!
Natalie playing in the shop with Pawpaw and his saw dust.
Natalie trying so hard to get the wagon out the gate.
I'm not really sure what that face is all about!
Natalie being such a good big sister and pulling Gabbie in the wagon.
I think Gabbie may be a little worried!
Molly chewing on a stick that is bigger than she is.
Going for a pretend ride in Mimi's car
Mimi is so funny!
Story time with Mimi.
Story time with Auntie Neena.
Natalie wearing great-Papaw's boots that she put on all by herself.
Gabbie pushing the car/walker toy. It is her favorite thing to do now. She is getting so big!
Fun sister time in the tub!
Big smile!
There's a Natalie in the ducks!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Sleepy Morning
Today is another cold, sleepy morning. The girls woke up EARLY! (8:00am!) Anybody who knows much about my girls knows that anytime before 9:30 is early for them! I guess they decided that it was pretty early too, because Gabbie fell asleep around 9:00 or so while she was having her bottle and I was in the shower. Natalie fell asleep around 10:30 during Veggie Tales! She never falls asleep during those! They are both awake now, and since Natalie only slept about 30 min, it shouldn't mess up her nap.
It is only in the 50's today, and pretty windy for the second day in a row. Yesterday the wind was about 30mph, so it felt really cold! I don't think it is quite as windy today, but still not really a day for being outside.
Last night was our church's fall festival. It is called Lord of the Harvest. This is the first year we have gone, since the girls weren't really big enough to enjoy it. Gabbie is still a little small, but Natalie had a blast. There were a bunch of those big inflatable things to jump and slide on, along with some little games and of course lots of candy! Natalie didn't want to leave, but she was so tired at bed time!
The girls have had runny noses and coughs for a week or more now. Tony and I have been a little sick too for a few days. I guess the weather changing has gotten to all of us. Gabbie had her 9 month check up on Tuesday. I can't believe it has been that long already! She has been here for as long as I was pregnant with her. Boy is goes by a lot faster after they are here!! Her checkup went well, she weighs just over 18 lbs. She got a flu shot, and has to go back in a month for another one. She thinks she is big stuff, playing with all of Natalie's toys, and crawling everywhere. She pulls up and can walk while holding on to something. She still thinks Natalie is the funniest person ever. She finally cut her first tooth on the 12th! It is taking it awhile to come all the way in though, it is still just barely poking through the gum. Her nose is really running bad since she is teething on top of being sick. Poor baby!
Natalie went to the Dr on Tuesday as well, but only to have her weight checked. She has been small for awhile now, so the Dr is keeping an eye on her. She has gained a few ounces since the last visit 3 months ago, but since she is still growing in length she is still dropping on the growth chart. She is now in the bottom 3% for her weight. She weighs 23 lbs. The Dr has put her on an appetite stimulant to try to get her to eat more. She hasn't eaten very much at all in the last 3 days or so. She is not really picky, she just doesn't want anything to eat at all, even of her favorite foods. She usually always wants chicken nuggets and french fries (I know, I'm a GREAT mother), but she won't even eat that lately. We will start the appetite med tonight probably, so we will let you know how that goes. We go back to the Dr in a month for another flu shot for her as well, and to check her weight again. I am constantly trying to get her to eat a bite of something, and the more calories the better. I never thought I would be trying to get my child to eat high calorie foods, or not care if what she eats is healthy or not, as long as she is eating. It is very hard for me! I am also trying hard to not let it become a habit, so that when we are back where she need to be, we won't have unhealthy habits. She still loves being a big sister, and the older Gabbie gets the more fun they have. She calles her "Sister Gabbie" sometimes. They have their own little language too. They jabber all the time and I have no clue what they are talking about, but they seem to understand each other fine. The other day Gabbie was fussing and when I asked her what was wrong Natalie said "Her teeth hurt". I hadn't thought of that at the time, and Natalie was exactly right! Just a little bit ago Gabbie was in her highchair having a snack and Natalie leaned over to talk to her. She said "You want toys Gabbie? Ok!" and then she ran and got her some toys to play with.
Natalie loves to help with the laundry, vaccuming, cooking, and pretty much any housework I am doing. It slowes me down a bit, but I let her help so she can learn. She is crazy about Play-Dough. She playes with it every day.
Now that I have had some caffiene, I think I can get to that never ending housework. Natalie ran down to their room saying "Come on Gabbie, Come on." Gabbie followed her and now they are playing in their room. This is my opportunity since they are occupied.
It is only in the 50's today, and pretty windy for the second day in a row. Yesterday the wind was about 30mph, so it felt really cold! I don't think it is quite as windy today, but still not really a day for being outside.
Last night was our church's fall festival. It is called Lord of the Harvest. This is the first year we have gone, since the girls weren't really big enough to enjoy it. Gabbie is still a little small, but Natalie had a blast. There were a bunch of those big inflatable things to jump and slide on, along with some little games and of course lots of candy! Natalie didn't want to leave, but she was so tired at bed time!
The girls have had runny noses and coughs for a week or more now. Tony and I have been a little sick too for a few days. I guess the weather changing has gotten to all of us. Gabbie had her 9 month check up on Tuesday. I can't believe it has been that long already! She has been here for as long as I was pregnant with her. Boy is goes by a lot faster after they are here!! Her checkup went well, she weighs just over 18 lbs. She got a flu shot, and has to go back in a month for another one. She thinks she is big stuff, playing with all of Natalie's toys, and crawling everywhere. She pulls up and can walk while holding on to something. She still thinks Natalie is the funniest person ever. She finally cut her first tooth on the 12th! It is taking it awhile to come all the way in though, it is still just barely poking through the gum. Her nose is really running bad since she is teething on top of being sick. Poor baby!
Natalie went to the Dr on Tuesday as well, but only to have her weight checked. She has been small for awhile now, so the Dr is keeping an eye on her. She has gained a few ounces since the last visit 3 months ago, but since she is still growing in length she is still dropping on the growth chart. She is now in the bottom 3% for her weight. She weighs 23 lbs. The Dr has put her on an appetite stimulant to try to get her to eat more. She hasn't eaten very much at all in the last 3 days or so. She is not really picky, she just doesn't want anything to eat at all, even of her favorite foods. She usually always wants chicken nuggets and french fries (I know, I'm a GREAT mother), but she won't even eat that lately. We will start the appetite med tonight probably, so we will let you know how that goes. We go back to the Dr in a month for another flu shot for her as well, and to check her weight again. I am constantly trying to get her to eat a bite of something, and the more calories the better. I never thought I would be trying to get my child to eat high calorie foods, or not care if what she eats is healthy or not, as long as she is eating. It is very hard for me! I am also trying hard to not let it become a habit, so that when we are back where she need to be, we won't have unhealthy habits. She still loves being a big sister, and the older Gabbie gets the more fun they have. She calles her "Sister Gabbie" sometimes. They have their own little language too. They jabber all the time and I have no clue what they are talking about, but they seem to understand each other fine. The other day Gabbie was fussing and when I asked her what was wrong Natalie said "Her teeth hurt". I hadn't thought of that at the time, and Natalie was exactly right! Just a little bit ago Gabbie was in her highchair having a snack and Natalie leaned over to talk to her. She said "You want toys Gabbie? Ok!" and then she ran and got her some toys to play with.
Natalie loves to help with the laundry, vaccuming, cooking, and pretty much any housework I am doing. It slowes me down a bit, but I let her help so she can learn. She is crazy about Play-Dough. She playes with it every day.
Now that I have had some caffiene, I think I can get to that never ending housework. Natalie ran down to their room saying "Come on Gabbie, Come on." Gabbie followed her and now they are playing in their room. This is my opportunity since they are occupied.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
A Taste of Fall
Like last time I wrote, much has happened since my last post. I am only able to get on here when Natalie is napping, otherwise she is on my lap the whole time pushing buttons. She knows all her ABC's so she gets really excited when she sees them. Usually during her nap time I do housework, but I am fairly caught up today. It is dark and rainy outside and about 62 degrees. Yay! I am so excited for the cooler weather. It has still been in the mid to high 80's most days so I am ready for the change. The high on Monday is only supposed to be in the low 50's!! Burrr! I need to get the girls some warm Pj's. Since neither one of them sleeps under the covers too much, they will need then with the nights getting down in the 30's and 40's this week. It seems that fall is here for now! It may or may not be here to stay though, you never know about the weather around here. The nice thing about Amarillo is we get to experience all 4 seasons. Sometimes we get them all in one week though!
The family came to visit for a few days at the beginning of the month, so that kept me busy. We had a lot of fun as always. My parents were on their way to a different city for work and stopped by to get my mom's car as it looks like they will be at this post for quite awhile probably. My sister has been laid off from her job in Houston due to a combination of the hurricane and the economy, so she came to visit as well. The girls as always had a blast. Natalie is still saying that Neena went home to be with Clint, and she is still thanking Pawpaw for the smarties that he brought. The visits usually leave quite an impression.
Natalie is getting so big. She loves to help me cook. She was helping me the other night when Tony came home from work and when she saw him walk in she said "Dada, I'm cookin!" She was so excited to be big. She often says to me "Nat Nat big girl!" when she is doing something that makes her feel big. Just so I don't forget I guess.
Gabbie is changing so fast. She is doing great at feeding herself finger snacks, and going and getting into whatever she wants, (or whatever Natalie is getting into of course.) She pulls up on everything, which of course results in lost of bumps and cries for "ma ma ma". She will eat anything she finds on the floor, no matter how tiny or edible. The other day I fished a teeny tiny rock out of there. Her coordination is best when she is putting something in that doesn't belong. I doubt that she could have gotten a piece of food that small in there! I sometimes catch her in the process of putting something from the floor into her mouth, so I say "Gabbie stop!". That just makes her jump, and then she rushes to cram the thing in as fast as she can before I can take it from her! How do they learn that kind of thing so young?! Last night she was up twice, the first time for close to two hours, and the second time she was screaming for 45 minutes! She has been sleeping through the night since she was 2 months old, so I am not used to this. I think the scream session was because of teeth, or lack there of. She is almost 9 months old and doesn't have a single tooth! I really don't mind that she doesn't have any yet, but I am very afraid that we have 4 trying to come in all at once! That will not be fun. Natalie had 6 come in all in one week right after her first birthday. It really wasn't too bad though, and we got it over with all at once. We will see how this goes.
As an update to my last post, we have been trying to get the van fixed. So far we have spent in the neighborhood of $500 dollars just to find out that it is going to take another $1900 to actually get it running. Stupid computer stuff! Since we don't have that kind of money laying around, and it is hardly worth spending that on it, we are probably just going to sell it at the auto auction. We just have to get it towed for the fourth time! We need to sell it before it totally sucks all the life out of us! :) It is hard to know what the best thing to do is, but right now it is just costing us a lot of money that we don't have to spend on it. So it looks like we will be going down to just the Expedition. Thank God gas is going down! We can make it work, I don't need to go anywhere all that often, and if I CAN'T go anywhere, I can't spend any money! There is the plus in that! I will just have to plan all my errands ahead of time and take Tony to work that day. Then I pray really hard that no emergencies or anything important comes up at the last minute. I will be quitting my Wed evening child care job. It doesn't work very well with me having to pick Tony up and be at work at the same time. Plus now I am barely breaking even or even loosing money on gas by keeping it. That doesn't make very much sense does it? They knew from the beginning that it may not work out for me to do it, so it shouldn't be a problem. I will probably have to stay until they find another teacher though, we usually have 20-25 kids,(only about 5 or so speak English) and only 3 teachers. Fun times!
I better run, our couples life group from church is meeting tonight and I still have a bit to do before I am ready to go, so I better hurry!
The family came to visit for a few days at the beginning of the month, so that kept me busy. We had a lot of fun as always. My parents were on their way to a different city for work and stopped by to get my mom's car as it looks like they will be at this post for quite awhile probably. My sister has been laid off from her job in Houston due to a combination of the hurricane and the economy, so she came to visit as well. The girls as always had a blast. Natalie is still saying that Neena went home to be with Clint, and she is still thanking Pawpaw for the smarties that he brought. The visits usually leave quite an impression.
Natalie is getting so big. She loves to help me cook. She was helping me the other night when Tony came home from work and when she saw him walk in she said "Dada, I'm cookin!" She was so excited to be big. She often says to me "Nat Nat big girl!" when she is doing something that makes her feel big. Just so I don't forget I guess.
Gabbie is changing so fast. She is doing great at feeding herself finger snacks, and going and getting into whatever she wants, (or whatever Natalie is getting into of course.) She pulls up on everything, which of course results in lost of bumps and cries for "ma ma ma". She will eat anything she finds on the floor, no matter how tiny or edible. The other day I fished a teeny tiny rock out of there. Her coordination is best when she is putting something in that doesn't belong. I doubt that she could have gotten a piece of food that small in there! I sometimes catch her in the process of putting something from the floor into her mouth, so I say "Gabbie stop!". That just makes her jump, and then she rushes to cram the thing in as fast as she can before I can take it from her! How do they learn that kind of thing so young?! Last night she was up twice, the first time for close to two hours, and the second time she was screaming for 45 minutes! She has been sleeping through the night since she was 2 months old, so I am not used to this. I think the scream session was because of teeth, or lack there of. She is almost 9 months old and doesn't have a single tooth! I really don't mind that she doesn't have any yet, but I am very afraid that we have 4 trying to come in all at once! That will not be fun. Natalie had 6 come in all in one week right after her first birthday. It really wasn't too bad though, and we got it over with all at once. We will see how this goes.
As an update to my last post, we have been trying to get the van fixed. So far we have spent in the neighborhood of $500 dollars just to find out that it is going to take another $1900 to actually get it running. Stupid computer stuff! Since we don't have that kind of money laying around, and it is hardly worth spending that on it, we are probably just going to sell it at the auto auction. We just have to get it towed for the fourth time! We need to sell it before it totally sucks all the life out of us! :) It is hard to know what the best thing to do is, but right now it is just costing us a lot of money that we don't have to spend on it. So it looks like we will be going down to just the Expedition. Thank God gas is going down! We can make it work, I don't need to go anywhere all that often, and if I CAN'T go anywhere, I can't spend any money! There is the plus in that! I will just have to plan all my errands ahead of time and take Tony to work that day. Then I pray really hard that no emergencies or anything important comes up at the last minute. I will be quitting my Wed evening child care job. It doesn't work very well with me having to pick Tony up and be at work at the same time. Plus now I am barely breaking even or even loosing money on gas by keeping it. That doesn't make very much sense does it? They knew from the beginning that it may not work out for me to do it, so it shouldn't be a problem. I will probably have to stay until they find another teacher though, we usually have 20-25 kids,(only about 5 or so speak English) and only 3 teachers. Fun times!
I better run, our couples life group from church is meeting tonight and I still have a bit to do before I am ready to go, so I better hurry!
Friday, September 26, 2008
New Additon
These last couple of weeks has been a crazy stressful time, and I wonder if my life will ever be what we hope and dream for it. These weeks have shown me that it doesn't do much good to plan around here.
Long complicated story short, we had to get a new (to us) car. The Van broke down, and while my car was still in great dependable shape, it was a bit small for all of us. ( I bump my head and usually at least one of the girls' every time put them in their car seats.) You can forget about room for groceries, or anything else by the time you have all the stuff that goes along with two little girls in there. The original diagnosis on the repairs for the van cost more than it is worth, so we decided that the best thing to do was sell try to sell the car, and get something else that is dependable and gives us enough room. We decided that we could survive on one car for awhile, since my mom's car is here for use in emergencies. We listed the car for sale on Craigslist, and started keeping our eye out for something else. We decided that whatever happened would be what was supposed to happen, and we didn't really try hard to sell the car, or find a new one. In less than a week we had an offer on the car, and found another one that we could buy without having to finance. SO... after a miserable weekend of car shopping with a baby and a toddler we are finally done with all of it! I'm so relieved to have it done. I have had my fill of used car salesmen-that's for sure!
2001 Ford Expedition
We may never know what the right thing to do was, but this is what we chose to do-no looking back. I miss my car, I have had it since I was a Senior in high school, but I do really like my new one. From what I know anyway! Tony has been taking it to work, so I have had little time to get to know it.
The second we walked in the door from buying the Expedition, the phone rings and it is my mom. Turns out she is needing her car, so it will no longer be here for emergencies. So much for our one car plan! I don't mind only one car, but if one of the girls gets hurt, or Tony is in a wreck or something, I have no way of getting to where I need to be. That makes me a little nervous! The good thing is, the price on fixing the van will be a lot lower than we were originally told. The bad thing is, we still don't have the money to get it fixed yet...hopefully in a few weeks. Then Tony can drive that to work, and save the miles and gas on the new car. That's kinda the plan anyway...but like I said, plans don't really work out very well for us lately!
The girls are growing so fast. Gabbie can crawl anywhere she wants, and she pulls up on everything! She wants to be big so badly! Anything Natalie does, she wants to do too. It is sad for me, because she is still my baby! I am not ready for her to be a toddler too!
I gave Natalie a haircut last night. It was only supposed to be a trim, but it was pretty uneven (It's only been trimmed once before) and with her wiggling, it came out shorter than I planned. It looks cute, but that was a sad moment for me too. It has taken her almost 2 1/2 years to get that much hair! It looks thicker now though.
That's most of the new stuff for now. Gabbie is awake from her nap and wants a snack, so I better go.
Long complicated story short, we had to get a new (to us) car. The Van broke down, and while my car was still in great dependable shape, it was a bit small for all of us. ( I bump my head and usually at least one of the girls' every time put them in their car seats.) You can forget about room for groceries, or anything else by the time you have all the stuff that goes along with two little girls in there. The original diagnosis on the repairs for the van cost more than it is worth, so we decided that the best thing to do was sell try to sell the car, and get something else that is dependable and gives us enough room. We decided that we could survive on one car for awhile, since my mom's car is here for use in emergencies. We listed the car for sale on Craigslist, and started keeping our eye out for something else. We decided that whatever happened would be what was supposed to happen, and we didn't really try hard to sell the car, or find a new one. In less than a week we had an offer on the car, and found another one that we could buy without having to finance. SO... after a miserable weekend of car shopping with a baby and a toddler we are finally done with all of it! I'm so relieved to have it done. I have had my fill of used car salesmen-that's for sure!
2001 Ford ExpeditionWe may never know what the right thing to do was, but this is what we chose to do-no looking back. I miss my car, I have had it since I was a Senior in high school, but I do really like my new one. From what I know anyway! Tony has been taking it to work, so I have had little time to get to know it.
The second we walked in the door from buying the Expedition, the phone rings and it is my mom. Turns out she is needing her car, so it will no longer be here for emergencies. So much for our one car plan! I don't mind only one car, but if one of the girls gets hurt, or Tony is in a wreck or something, I have no way of getting to where I need to be. That makes me a little nervous! The good thing is, the price on fixing the van will be a lot lower than we were originally told. The bad thing is, we still don't have the money to get it fixed yet...hopefully in a few weeks. Then Tony can drive that to work, and save the miles and gas on the new car. That's kinda the plan anyway...but like I said, plans don't really work out very well for us lately!
The girls are growing so fast. Gabbie can crawl anywhere she wants, and she pulls up on everything! She wants to be big so badly! Anything Natalie does, she wants to do too. It is sad for me, because she is still my baby! I am not ready for her to be a toddler too!
I gave Natalie a haircut last night. It was only supposed to be a trim, but it was pretty uneven (It's only been trimmed once before) and with her wiggling, it came out shorter than I planned. It looks cute, but that was a sad moment for me too. It has taken her almost 2 1/2 years to get that much hair! It looks thicker now though.
That's most of the new stuff for now. Gabbie is awake from her nap and wants a snack, so I better go.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Lots Happening...
So it has been a LONG time since I have posted last. First it was because nothing much worth posting about was going on, then because TOO much was going on for me to get a chance to get it done! Go figure. So anyway, here is a few highlights of the last few weeks.
Here is a Horney Toad that we found in the yard. We actually saw two different ones over a couple of days! I was excited, I haven't seen any of these since I was a kid. This was actually Tony's first time ever to see one in real life! I guess they don't live up north.
Here is a one antlered deer that came up to graze in our yard. I figured the more it ate, the less we would have to mow. It wasn't afraid of anything, it just looked at us and went on with what it was doing.
This Is Molly. While Pawpaw was in town he found a puppy that he thought the girls needed. Molly is a nine week old, 3 1/2 lb Beagle. She is great with the girls, and Natalie loves her to death. She carries her around with her all the time. Once she catches on to the housebreaking than it will be even better. She loves being outside, so while the weather is still nice she is spending a quite a bit of time outside as well. I think she will be a great pet.
We had family in town for the holiday weekend. My parents, sister, and future brother-in-law were all here. I always love it when everyone is in town, but it always seems to take me a few days to get the house and schedules put back together! :0) It's totally worth it though. It took me a little longer this time, with two kids- both of them mobile- and a puppy. Plus I had several errands and appointments that I had to do, so that is why I am just now getting around to posting. A week later. I am finally pretty much caught up on the extra stuff, so now I am just doing the daily never ending stuff. The girls are on totally opposite naps right now, as soon as Gabbie wakes up from her morning nap, Natalie goes down for her nap. I miss having the break from them, but I guess at least I get time with just one instead of two.
I have gone back to working at Paramount Baptist in their childcare dept. This time I am working for a few hours on Wednesday nights. It is barely worth it with the gas and all, since we live a ways from town. I told them that I would do it through Christmas and see if it was worth me working longer. I don't think it will be, but I figure any little bit extra will help with Christmas and Birthdays coming up. Plus the season is changing, and both girls need new clothes.
All of us together.
Natalie with Auntie Neena, Uncle Clint and of course Molly.
Natalie in the tree.
Natalie, Pawpaw and Molly on the swing.
I guess that's it for now, I have to get back to the laundry and floor mopping.
Here is a Horney Toad that we found in the yard. We actually saw two different ones over a couple of days! I was excited, I haven't seen any of these since I was a kid. This was actually Tony's first time ever to see one in real life! I guess they don't live up north.
Here is a one antlered deer that came up to graze in our yard. I figured the more it ate, the less we would have to mow. It wasn't afraid of anything, it just looked at us and went on with what it was doing.
This Is Molly. While Pawpaw was in town he found a puppy that he thought the girls needed. Molly is a nine week old, 3 1/2 lb Beagle. She is great with the girls, and Natalie loves her to death. She carries her around with her all the time. Once she catches on to the housebreaking than it will be even better. She loves being outside, so while the weather is still nice she is spending a quite a bit of time outside as well. I think she will be a great pet.
We had family in town for the holiday weekend. My parents, sister, and future brother-in-law were all here. I always love it when everyone is in town, but it always seems to take me a few days to get the house and schedules put back together! :0) It's totally worth it though. It took me a little longer this time, with two kids- both of them mobile- and a puppy. Plus I had several errands and appointments that I had to do, so that is why I am just now getting around to posting. A week later. I am finally pretty much caught up on the extra stuff, so now I am just doing the daily never ending stuff. The girls are on totally opposite naps right now, as soon as Gabbie wakes up from her morning nap, Natalie goes down for her nap. I miss having the break from them, but I guess at least I get time with just one instead of two.
I have gone back to working at Paramount Baptist in their childcare dept. This time I am working for a few hours on Wednesday nights. It is barely worth it with the gas and all, since we live a ways from town. I told them that I would do it through Christmas and see if it was worth me working longer. I don't think it will be, but I figure any little bit extra will help with Christmas and Birthdays coming up. Plus the season is changing, and both girls need new clothes.
All of us together.
Natalie with Auntie Neena, Uncle Clint and of course Molly.
Natalie in the tree.
Natalie, Pawpaw and Molly on the swing.I guess that's it for now, I have to get back to the laundry and floor mopping.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Not Much Happening
The potty training is going great! We are having few accidents, and she is telling me most of the time when she needs to go. I am so relived! The real test will be church Sunday, hopefully she will tell her teachers that she needs to go, and I won't have to deal with an accident there.
I don't have much new news to tell about, but Tony is always asking me if I wrote on my blog, so maybe this will make him happy! :)
Gabbie is getting closer to crawling, she can scoot herself across the floor pretty well, just not up on her hands and knees yet.
Today is all cloudy and rainy, and (Get this!) 61 degrees right now!!!!!! It is only supposed to be in the low 70's today. Not usual weather for August I'll tell you. I was planning to take advantage of the cool weather and play in the sandbox today, but I am very happy to take the rain instead! Now I plan to enjoy the cool day inside-today I will be able to open the blinds, and the ac won't have to run non-stop!
I don't have much new news to tell about, but Tony is always asking me if I wrote on my blog, so maybe this will make him happy! :)
Gabbie is getting closer to crawling, she can scoot herself across the floor pretty well, just not up on her hands and knees yet.
Today is all cloudy and rainy, and (Get this!) 61 degrees right now!!!!!! It is only supposed to be in the low 70's today. Not usual weather for August I'll tell you. I was planning to take advantage of the cool weather and play in the sandbox today, but I am very happy to take the rain instead! Now I plan to enjoy the cool day inside-today I will be able to open the blinds, and the ac won't have to run non-stop!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
In Case I Forget
I haven't posted in awhile, I am DEEP into potty training Natalie. I am determined that I am going to make it work THIS time! That means not leaving the house, and not doing much else than following her around, asking if she needs to go to the potty. It is hard to do when you have another child that needs you attention too. Natalie does pretty well, I put her on the potty and she stays there by herself. She usually prefers for me to not be in the room when she goes. It usually takes her awhile too, so I can do other things while she is in there. This is the hardest, most discouraging thing I have done in a long time, if not ever. I really didn't feel like she was catching on very well, so I was not a very happy mommy. We have done pretty good today, but I am still having a hard time with it.
A little while ago Natalie came up to me and said "potty". So I hurried her into the bathroom. This is the first time that she has asked/told me that she needed to go to the potty. I put her in there for a little while and went back to check on her and she actually went!!! This is not the first time she has gone on the potty, but it is the first time for the combination of the two. Thank you God! A little encouragement in the midst of the struggle! :) I feel like I have won a Gold Medal!!! We have had more successes today than accidents, so I feel like a million dollars! It's funny how being a mother changes your priorities! Who would have thought that something like going to the potty could make me feel this excited?
Now I know that we are in no way even close to achieving our final goal, and we will have many more accidents along the way, but I want to remember this moment. I write this in order to have something to look back on to encourage me in those times.
A little while ago Natalie came up to me and said "potty". So I hurried her into the bathroom. This is the first time that she has asked/told me that she needed to go to the potty. I put her in there for a little while and went back to check on her and she actually went!!! This is not the first time she has gone on the potty, but it is the first time for the combination of the two. Thank you God! A little encouragement in the midst of the struggle! :) I feel like I have won a Gold Medal!!! We have had more successes today than accidents, so I feel like a million dollars! It's funny how being a mother changes your priorities! Who would have thought that something like going to the potty could make me feel this excited?
Now I know that we are in no way even close to achieving our final goal, and we will have many more accidents along the way, but I want to remember this moment. I write this in order to have something to look back on to encourage me in those times.
Monday, July 28, 2008
My Favorite Time of Day
This is my favorite time of day. Both girls are napping, (this happening at the same time is RARE!) and I get a chance to get caught up on some of what I want to do. The clouds have built, and it is thundering! I LOVE THAT! Hopefully it will rain, right now the clouds aren't big enough, but hopefully they will keep growing.
I am in the process of rearranging some things in the house. I think Natalie is big enough to play with her toys in her room, so after some cleaning out and arranging I have managed to fit most of them in her room and closet. She took well to the change, she walked into her room and said "Wow! Toys!" It was almost as good as Christmas, you would have thought they were all new toys! She spent the rest of the time before her nap playing in her room, by herself. Gabbie even played in there with her for awhile. They were so happy, and so was I! Now my living room looks like a real adult room! I still need to finish organizing some stuff and vacuum though.
Gabbie is six months old now, I can't believe it. The time has gone by so fast. She had her Checkup today, she weighs 16 & 1/2 pounds. She had her Cardiologist appointment earlier in the month, to follow up on the murmur and abnormal EKG that her regular doctor performed. The EKG done by the cardiologist came out normal, and he said whatever was wrong before had corrected itself. She only has a "Functional Murmur". She is getting very good at sitting alone now, although I still put a pillow behind her to catch the occasional falls. She is always busy, and always has to have a toy or something in her hands. She is always doing something! She is trying out the crawling muscles, although I think we are month or away from that still. (I don't know if I'm glad or not! :) )
Natalie is still a challenge, in more ways than one. We are still trying to get her into the idea of potty-training, and not having much success in that area. She can count to 10 all by herself. She knows several shapes and colors, and is now getting into the alphabet. She knows A-F in order pretty well, while recognizing a few others, just not in order. Last night she brought Tony a piece of paper and said "Dada, A Bs." She wanted him to write the alphabet for her. She can recognize most of the letters when they are written down.
When she was saying her prayers last night She said " Dear Jesus, I love you,... R,S,X,Y...Amen!" I guess she had the alphabet on her mind. Her prayer usually goes, "Dear Jesus, I love you. Thank you for Mommy and Dada and Gabbie, amen. She loves saying her prayers at night.
She loves shoes, and usually ends up wearing 3-4 different pair every day. She does great at putting them on by herself, and gets them on the right feet most of the time. When she doesn't, all I have to say is "Other foot", and she switches them. She likes having a say in what she wears and especially what hair bows she wears. Usually the shoes and bows don't match the outfit when we are at home, but it makes her feel like big stuff. She says please and thank you almost always without having to be prompted.
Natalie and Gabbie still get along great, Gabbie is showing more of an interest in Natalie's toys, so sometimes we have trouble, but for the most part they adore each other. Any time Gabbie is unhappy or cries, Natalie is right there to comfort her. Natalie wants to carry Gabbie around, but since there is only about 7lbs difference between the two, that is a little difficult to do. So she will just grab her by the legs and pull her wherever she wants her to go! (I have to watch out!) I can always tell if Natalie is nearby by watching Gabbie. When Gabbie sees her big sister she gets so excited and smiles so big. Today both girls were playing alone in their room together for quite awhile, as happy as they could be. Gabbie can push herself up when she is laying on her tummy when she is in bed too see over her crib bumper. When she does this she can see Natalie's bed, and I often hear them talking and Natalie playing peek-a-boo with Gabbie when they first wake up. That's one of my favorite sounds!
I need to go get busy now. Tony just called and he is off work now so I need to get started cooking supper.
I am in the process of rearranging some things in the house. I think Natalie is big enough to play with her toys in her room, so after some cleaning out and arranging I have managed to fit most of them in her room and closet. She took well to the change, she walked into her room and said "Wow! Toys!" It was almost as good as Christmas, you would have thought they were all new toys! She spent the rest of the time before her nap playing in her room, by herself. Gabbie even played in there with her for awhile. They were so happy, and so was I! Now my living room looks like a real adult room! I still need to finish organizing some stuff and vacuum though.
Gabbie is six months old now, I can't believe it. The time has gone by so fast. She had her Checkup today, she weighs 16 & 1/2 pounds. She had her Cardiologist appointment earlier in the month, to follow up on the murmur and abnormal EKG that her regular doctor performed. The EKG done by the cardiologist came out normal, and he said whatever was wrong before had corrected itself. She only has a "Functional Murmur". She is getting very good at sitting alone now, although I still put a pillow behind her to catch the occasional falls. She is always busy, and always has to have a toy or something in her hands. She is always doing something! She is trying out the crawling muscles, although I think we are month or away from that still. (I don't know if I'm glad or not! :) )
Natalie is still a challenge, in more ways than one. We are still trying to get her into the idea of potty-training, and not having much success in that area. She can count to 10 all by herself. She knows several shapes and colors, and is now getting into the alphabet. She knows A-F in order pretty well, while recognizing a few others, just not in order. Last night she brought Tony a piece of paper and said "Dada, A Bs." She wanted him to write the alphabet for her. She can recognize most of the letters when they are written down.
When she was saying her prayers last night She said " Dear Jesus, I love you,... R,S,X,Y...Amen!" I guess she had the alphabet on her mind. Her prayer usually goes, "Dear Jesus, I love you. Thank you for Mommy and Dada and Gabbie, amen. She loves saying her prayers at night.
She loves shoes, and usually ends up wearing 3-4 different pair every day. She does great at putting them on by herself, and gets them on the right feet most of the time. When she doesn't, all I have to say is "Other foot", and she switches them. She likes having a say in what she wears and especially what hair bows she wears. Usually the shoes and bows don't match the outfit when we are at home, but it makes her feel like big stuff. She says please and thank you almost always without having to be prompted.
Natalie and Gabbie still get along great, Gabbie is showing more of an interest in Natalie's toys, so sometimes we have trouble, but for the most part they adore each other. Any time Gabbie is unhappy or cries, Natalie is right there to comfort her. Natalie wants to carry Gabbie around, but since there is only about 7lbs difference between the two, that is a little difficult to do. So she will just grab her by the legs and pull her wherever she wants her to go! (I have to watch out!) I can always tell if Natalie is nearby by watching Gabbie. When Gabbie sees her big sister she gets so excited and smiles so big. Today both girls were playing alone in their room together for quite awhile, as happy as they could be. Gabbie can push herself up when she is laying on her tummy when she is in bed too see over her crib bumper. When she does this she can see Natalie's bed, and I often hear them talking and Natalie playing peek-a-boo with Gabbie when they first wake up. That's one of my favorite sounds!
I need to go get busy now. Tony just called and he is off work now so I need to get started cooking supper.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Family Blessings
It is 11:03 am, still morning to me, although some of you don't really see it that way. Natalie is still asleep, partly because she went to bed very late last night and partly maybe, because of the heavy cloud cover outside. Because of the clouds it is only 67 degrees outside! I thank God for that. The A/C is not running at the moment!
Gabriella is awake and in a great mood jumping and talking in her jumperoo...after spitting up all over my CLEAN pants before I even had them on for 30 min! I Thought she would have waken Natalie up when she woke up but when I went in to get Gabbie, Natalie didn't even stir. I think I hear her waking up now though.
Yesterday my great-grandmother was put in Hospice. Apparently she had a heart attack on Sunday night, and will not recover. So I have family in town. I love having the family around, my mom is flying in today, and my dad is driving in from where they were in CT, so he will be here in a couple of days. I hate that the family has to be here under these circumstances though. My other Great-Grandmother passed away in March of this year. I knew that these days would come, but I never expected them to be within 4 months of each other. I am very fortunate, these are the closest relatives to me to pass away. I also have had the privilege of knowing 3 great-grandmothers. (The other one passed away when I was little, but I still remember her.) My girls have had the GREAT privilege of having 2 living great-great-grandmothers (on my side, there may be one alive on Tony's side, but we aren't sure.) when they were born!! I told my husband that is a lot more than most people get, so we are very blessed. I was not as close to this grandmother as my grandmother that passed away in March, for several reasons, but I will still miss her. I have many happy memories of her.
Today is payday, which means I need to make out my grocery/shopping list of what we need for the next two weeks. Then I have to narrow it down to what we can actually afford, and then figure out how I am going to make that work!
It may be a few days until I can post again, with all the family stuff going on, so until then God Bless you and remember to look for your blessings.
Gabriella is awake and in a great mood jumping and talking in her jumperoo...after spitting up all over my CLEAN pants before I even had them on for 30 min! I Thought she would have waken Natalie up when she woke up but when I went in to get Gabbie, Natalie didn't even stir. I think I hear her waking up now though.
Yesterday my great-grandmother was put in Hospice. Apparently she had a heart attack on Sunday night, and will not recover. So I have family in town. I love having the family around, my mom is flying in today, and my dad is driving in from where they were in CT, so he will be here in a couple of days. I hate that the family has to be here under these circumstances though. My other Great-Grandmother passed away in March of this year. I knew that these days would come, but I never expected them to be within 4 months of each other. I am very fortunate, these are the closest relatives to me to pass away. I also have had the privilege of knowing 3 great-grandmothers. (The other one passed away when I was little, but I still remember her.) My girls have had the GREAT privilege of having 2 living great-great-grandmothers (on my side, there may be one alive on Tony's side, but we aren't sure.) when they were born!! I told my husband that is a lot more than most people get, so we are very blessed. I was not as close to this grandmother as my grandmother that passed away in March, for several reasons, but I will still miss her. I have many happy memories of her.
Today is payday, which means I need to make out my grocery/shopping list of what we need for the next two weeks. Then I have to narrow it down to what we can actually afford, and then figure out how I am going to make that work!
It may be a few days until I can post again, with all the family stuff going on, so until then God Bless you and remember to look for your blessings.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Every Day Life
I haven't posted in awhile, because not much has been going on. We finally got the ac fixed, after almost 5 days. It's amazing how much you take that thing for granted.
My sister came from Houston for the 4th of July. I always love it when she comes, she is 10 hours away and that is hard for me. The girls and I miss her. Natalie loves playing with her auntie Neena. We didn't really do much for the holiday, just went to the park to see the fireworks. Natalie loved them. She would clap and say "Yea stars!" whenever they would go off. The mosquitoes were so bad at the park. Kaleena said they are worse here than in Houston. That's got to be bad!
Things around the house are pretty much the same, I am just trying to stay caught up on the housework which is a never ending battle, and waging major ant wars! I am still finding them at the strangest places.
Natalie has hit the terrible twos big time so every day is a challenge! She has learned to say "I'm Sorry", so that is helping a little bit. Gabbie is learning to sit alone, I can't believe that she is big enough for that already. She will be 6 months old next week!
Natalie loves watching that frogs at night. They come and sit by the lights on our deck. They are pretty smart, the lights attract the bugs, and they have all they need without having to hop anywhere. We saw one frog eat 7 June bugs in just a few min. Natalie says "Rog, RIBBIT RIBBIT! Hop, hop." She would watch them all night if I would let her.
I'm having a hard time getting the pictures where I want them on my post, so they are kinda all mixed up. You can read part of the post, and then match it with the picture it goes with! There is a little project for you!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
Hot Hot HOT!
It's strange how things happen sometimes.
Our AC went out on Saturday. It was a pretty good day for it to go out I guess, you know, since it HAD to go out. It was cloudy and in the upper 80's, so we didn't totally melt. Saturday night was very cool and had a nice breeze, so we opened the windows...until it started to rain! Now we never complain about rain here, we always need it. I was a little bummed though at the timing of it. So I closed the windows, and thanked God for the rain.
Sunday was similar to Saturday, and since it was cooler outside than inside that evening, we mowed until it was too dark to see. It was a nice cool evening, but not a stitch of wind. Now we don't complain about the lack of wind here. A day where the wind only blows 15-20mph is usually considered a calm day. So it was very strange when I found myself praying for wind!
Now today it is in the 90's,and about 89 inside. There is nothing I can do to cool down. We finally got in touch with the guy that is going to come look at it for us. He said he will come tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter. I am not looking forward to that, since I am out of cooling ideas, and clothes that I can remove! I had errands that badly needed to be run tomorrow, but unless he comes early afternoon, it doesn't look like that will happen.
We woke up today and the phone lines and internet were out. Something strange is going on around here. That was the easy one to fix...of course.
At least maybe 4 days without the ac will make the electric bill smaller.
Our AC went out on Saturday. It was a pretty good day for it to go out I guess, you know, since it HAD to go out. It was cloudy and in the upper 80's, so we didn't totally melt. Saturday night was very cool and had a nice breeze, so we opened the windows...until it started to rain! Now we never complain about rain here, we always need it. I was a little bummed though at the timing of it. So I closed the windows, and thanked God for the rain.
Sunday was similar to Saturday, and since it was cooler outside than inside that evening, we mowed until it was too dark to see. It was a nice cool evening, but not a stitch of wind. Now we don't complain about the lack of wind here. A day where the wind only blows 15-20mph is usually considered a calm day. So it was very strange when I found myself praying for wind!
Now today it is in the 90's,and about 89 inside. There is nothing I can do to cool down. We finally got in touch with the guy that is going to come look at it for us. He said he will come tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter. I am not looking forward to that, since I am out of cooling ideas, and clothes that I can remove! I had errands that badly needed to be run tomorrow, but unless he comes early afternoon, it doesn't look like that will happen.
We woke up today and the phone lines and internet were out. Something strange is going on around here. That was the easy one to fix...of course.
At least maybe 4 days without the ac will make the electric bill smaller.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Back to Blah
Well, we are back home in the heat.
Our trip went great, both girls were great in the car. The weather was so nice. On Saturday it was in the 60's and rainy. The wind didn't blow at all. It was nice to get away and have fun as a family. We went into Red River and looked around at all the little gift shops. We saw deer, fox, turkey, and several birds at our cabin.
The fox came at night, so we were unable to get good pictures of them. Natalie thought they were cats, and meowed at them the whole time she saw them. Not much exciting happened, but that was probably what made it a great trip.
I had a crazy week planned this week, but everybody cancelled on me. So...I'm left with a Dr appointment for the girls to have their ears checked to make sure the infections are gone, and that's it. I'm excited. That leaves me more time for, "Do you want to sit in the potty?"
"NO!" And so the cycle continues....
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Here we go...
I am getting ready to leave town tonight when Tony gets off work. We are going to our family's cabin in New Mexico, close to Red River. I am so excited! The weather is supposed to be in the 70's for the highs, and 30's, and 40's for the lows! That is a big difference from the 90's and 100's that we have been having here.
We have never really had much of a family vacation like this, and even though it is only for the weekend, I am very much looking forward to getting away. This will be the longest trip that either of the girls have been on, so I don't know if I am looking forward to that part! We won't be leaving until 7:00 or later, and it is a five hour trip, so they will probably sleep for a big part of it. For now though, I better get back to packing, since Tony is working I have to pack for all four of us. Enjoy your weekend, I think I will!
We have never really had much of a family vacation like this, and even though it is only for the weekend, I am very much looking forward to getting away. This will be the longest trip that either of the girls have been on, so I don't know if I am looking forward to that part! We won't be leaving until 7:00 or later, and it is a five hour trip, so they will probably sleep for a big part of it. For now though, I better get back to packing, since Tony is working I have to pack for all four of us. Enjoy your weekend, I think I will!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
They're Everywhere!
I know from some of my Myspace, and Facebook friends that I am not alone in this struggle. They are annoying, and trying to take what is not theirs. I have been fairly successful in keeping them away from me so far...until today. THEY... are ants. Teeny tiny, black ants. I have kept them out of the kitchen so far by making sure that I keep it clean and don't leave anything out that may attract them. I was at my bathroom sink (which is clean,by the way) and I saw a few ants crawling around. I followed those ants to see what could be so interesting in my bathroom. I saw them going into the cabinet that sits on the counter top. I opened the door to see dozens of ants crawling up to the top shelf. I continued to follow the stupid things straight to...my mouthwash! They were all over the the bottle. I cleaned, and killed all the ants, but couldn't find where they were coming from. A few hours later, I go in to check on my mouthwash, and find it covered in ants AGAIN!! I clean and kill again, and this time there are enough ants that I am able to follow the trail ton see where they are coming from. The ceiling! Sneaky little boogers! Who would think to check for ants coming in around the ceiling! So I finally got all the ants out of the bathroom. I will have to go check in a little bit to make sure they haven't come back. Somewhere outside there are some ants with some serious breath issues, or they have a bit of an alcohol problem.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Trying to Recover
I didn't get around to posting yesterday. It was a crazy day! I was only home for about 2 hours, for nap time.
I still am not feeling well, it feels like I have a giant vise just squeezing my head. Major sinus pressure/infection. And to top it off, the wind is STILL blowing over 30mph, for like the fourth day in a row. It doesn't look like I am going to be getting better very quickly. Since I am nursing I can't take anything to unclog my head either. So, my head is a throbbing fog, the wind is blowing, the temp outside is above 100 for the 5th day this month...I told Tony that I am not leaving the house today!
Since I'm staying in, that means its time to give the potty training another shot. We had two successful trips to the potty this morning! I was so excited...then we had three times of not making it in time, so I'm back to not being so sure. Oh well, when she gets up from her nap we will try again.
Naps have been a struggle lately as well. She goes to bed, but plays/talks/yells, for a hour or more before she goes to sleep. By the time she finally goes to sleep she doesn't get to sleep for very long before I have to wake her up so she will sleep at night. Gabbie won't sleep for more than 30 min at a time during the day lately either, so things have been a little crazy around here! Hopefully soon we can find a routine that will work for all of us.
I still am trying to figure out/find the time to get more stuff put on here. (pictures etc.), so check back. Hopefully it will get better.
I still am not feeling well, it feels like I have a giant vise just squeezing my head. Major sinus pressure/infection. And to top it off, the wind is STILL blowing over 30mph, for like the fourth day in a row. It doesn't look like I am going to be getting better very quickly. Since I am nursing I can't take anything to unclog my head either. So, my head is a throbbing fog, the wind is blowing, the temp outside is above 100 for the 5th day this month...I told Tony that I am not leaving the house today!
Since I'm staying in, that means its time to give the potty training another shot. We had two successful trips to the potty this morning! I was so excited...then we had three times of not making it in time, so I'm back to not being so sure. Oh well, when she gets up from her nap we will try again.
Naps have been a struggle lately as well. She goes to bed, but plays/talks/yells, for a hour or more before she goes to sleep. By the time she finally goes to sleep she doesn't get to sleep for very long before I have to wake her up so she will sleep at night. Gabbie won't sleep for more than 30 min at a time during the day lately either, so things have been a little crazy around here! Hopefully soon we can find a routine that will work for all of us.
I still am trying to figure out/find the time to get more stuff put on here. (pictures etc.), so check back. Hopefully it will get better.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Oh Mondays...
I usually get behind over the weekend since Tony is off on Sundays. We usually just relax after church, and I have to get busy on Monday getting caught up on the laundry and cleaning. We didn't make it to church yesterday since the girls have been sick. (They both have ear infections.) They are feeling better, but the antibiotics make them cranky. I didn't think it would be very nice to make a nursery worker have to deal with that, so we stayed home. The good thing is, we can listen to the sermon online, so we don't miss to much. It's a good thing we did, Natalie was better, but Gabbie was the cranky one. She had a hard time going to sleep for her naps, and when she did would only sleep for 30 min or less, so she just cried. She was so tired. She is on her 2nd nap of the day today, so maybe she will do better.
I actually got a bit of housework done yesterday since Dada was home to play with the girls,(so nice!) so I am not starting out behind today! That has turned out to be a good thing since I started getting a sore throat last night, and my grandparents from out of town stopped by for a little bit this afternoon. I don't feel too sick, just stuffy in the head and a little tired. Maybe it's just allergies? Who knows. My sister has strep, and the girls have had the ear infections. I know I'm not as bad as either of those.
Right now I am at that wonderful part of the day where both girls are down for their naps. Natalie isn't asleep yet, she is telling me now that she has a dirty diaper. I know, what you are thinking, she needs to be potty trained if she can do that! I used to think so too. We are working on it, but she won't tell me that she NEEDS to go, only that she HAS gone. Past tense. URGH! I guess I need to go take care of that. Then I need to make some banana bread with the black bananas that are on the counter before the fruit flies and ants find them. After that I will try to work more on getting this site up and running, and hopefully put something interesting on it.
I actually got a bit of housework done yesterday since Dada was home to play with the girls,(so nice!) so I am not starting out behind today! That has turned out to be a good thing since I started getting a sore throat last night, and my grandparents from out of town stopped by for a little bit this afternoon. I don't feel too sick, just stuffy in the head and a little tired. Maybe it's just allergies? Who knows. My sister has strep, and the girls have had the ear infections. I know I'm not as bad as either of those.
Right now I am at that wonderful part of the day where both girls are down for their naps. Natalie isn't asleep yet, she is telling me now that she has a dirty diaper. I know, what you are thinking, she needs to be potty trained if she can do that! I used to think so too. We are working on it, but she won't tell me that she NEEDS to go, only that she HAS gone. Past tense. URGH! I guess I need to go take care of that. Then I need to make some banana bread with the black bananas that are on the counter before the fruit flies and ants find them. After that I will try to work more on getting this site up and running, and hopefully put something interesting on it.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Trying things out
So I'm new to blogging. I'm not a writer, as you will probably soon be able to tell. I don't even know if this is going to be successful or not.
I am a full time mom. I have two little girls, one of which needs to be potty trained, which means I am crazy busy!
Hopefully I will have time to put up enough new posts to keep it interesting. Since I don't know how this is going to turn out, I am going to do a bit of a trial run before I let anybody in on my musings. Nothing terribly exciting happens to me very often, but maybe this will be a way for the 3 or so people who actually care to keep in touch. If nothing else maybe it will be a way for me to keep my own crazy life in perspective. So here goes...
I am a full time mom. I have two little girls, one of which needs to be potty trained, which means I am crazy busy!
Hopefully I will have time to put up enough new posts to keep it interesting. Since I don't know how this is going to turn out, I am going to do a bit of a trial run before I let anybody in on my musings. Nothing terribly exciting happens to me very often, but maybe this will be a way for the 3 or so people who actually care to keep in touch. If nothing else maybe it will be a way for me to keep my own crazy life in perspective. So here goes...
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