This is for Ryan D.

These are what I call my "signature shots" and I love to take them. I am posting these for Bill's cousin Ryan - apparently he isn't a fan. But you can get some cute pics this way...at least I think so. Here are 2 of my favorite from this month so far.



I love how you only can see Addie's eyes here and Bill & Ellia are laughing cause he was tickling her.

Not Me! Monday......

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

• This week the stomach flu infected our ENTIRE household and took us all down for days. And this Mama and Daddy had no choice but to lock their kids in their bedroom with them, provide them with lots of toys, crackers, pedialite, & play constant kid movies/cartoons while they recovered & slept off the flu.
• Yesterday, while at a birthday party Addie had an explosive diaper. She was wearing a new very cute outfit that I was excited about. And so after changing her I did not tell Bill to put the outfit back on her, even though there was a bit of leakage on the pants. And supposing this did happen my friend wasn't in complete horror of my actions.
• While eating lunch at a fast food restaurant I will not name this Mama did not change her 4month old on the bench at the table because there was no changing table in the restroom. And this Mama then did not put the very dirty diaper on the food tray with the rest of our garbage leaving her husband to say "Why do I still smell poop?" as he was enjoying his frosty.
  
• Last night after bathing the girls & getting them ready for bed I was exhausted. When it was time for Addie's last bottle I didn't want to run downstairs. So this Mama did not wash out the bottle from earlier that morning in the bathroom sink with her toothbrush. Now that would just be down right disgusting & lazy, good thing she didn't do it.

Wow, only a few this week. What can I say it was a rough week & we were down for the count for most of it. What did you not do this week?

Picture Tag

Julie wants to know what the sixth picture in my sixth folder is...Let's go see....


Awwww, it's Addie's ultrasound picture of her little hand & arm. How sweet and fitting since our little "Love Bug" turned 4months old this week & tomorrow - Valentines Day marks her Conception date!!!


I tag Sabrina, LeAnne, Fran, Shannon, Christabelle, Melody, MckMama & Kim

Not Me! Monday......

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

This week while we made a spontaneous visit to a downtown park this Mama did not change her 16month old's diaper on the park bench. When there's no restroom with a changing table a Mama has to get creative. Besides Ellia thought it was fun & clapped her hands or was it because her dirty diaper was getting changed finally?

After our spontaneous visit to the park we ate our lunch of fish and chips. Or rather Ellia ate a lunch of saltines and tarter sauce. Did I really let her just eat tarter sauce? Hmmmm, it did made her happy & we were able to enjoy our lunch. Don't worry she had some string cheese as well.

Earlier this week after getting dressed for the day my lovely 4month old spit up all over my shoulder. And I did not wear that shirt almost all day only to change when I had to go next door to visit the neighbor.

"You better smile big for Mama or else" did not come out of my mouth when we were on our way to get Valentines Day pictures taken. Now, why would I utter those words to my child, let alone to a 16month old who can't even understand them. It's sure a good thing I didn't say them.

While cooking dinner this week Ellia got into the baby excersaucer and couldn't get out. And this Mama did not just leave her in there just so she could finish cooking. And then when I didn't rush to her aide immediately she didn't start crying, then screaming and then start rocking back in forth in the thing causing it to start to tip over. Don't worry super mama caught it before it fell over - just in the nick of time. And I'd like to say she learned her lesson but of course not the case.

MOPS Tuesdays

I love MOPS Tuesdays, I love them even more when my husband has the day off and offers to keep one of the girls. So this morning Ellia got to be with daddy and Addie came with Mama to MOPS. MOPS was great as usual. During MOPS I get a text from Bill and it says "Elle and I are running errands call us after mops".

So I get to the car and as it's warming up, cause ya know it's still very cold here in the NW, I call him. He's been to work to send some emails and get his car washed. His store has a car wash & I secretly think he likes showing off the girls to his co-workers. He says to me "So what are we doing for lunch?" and I'm thinking lunch??? I just left MOPS and am stuffed. But I play along and say "I don't know, why, what were you thinking?" He says "Why don't you meet me down at Greenlake? We'll let Elle play at the park & we'll grab some lunch". I agree excitedly. I love Greenlake and what a fun, spontaneous afternoon trip.

Here are some pictures from our afternoon of fun.

Spuds Fish & Chips where we had lunch
Someone discovered "the nectar of the god's" as daddy called it - tarter sauce

Here she is dipping a fork into the tarter sauce. Basically all Ellia ate at lunch was tarter sauce.

Trying to slide down backwards on the slide
Sliding down the slide
And now trying to crawl back up it. She sure loves the slide.

Done with the slide & ready to concur the rest of the park.


Daddy helping her to go down the slide on her bottom.

This is daddy after he had to run after & catch Ellia. Someone thought it would be fun to take off on her own adventure when Mama was tending to Addie & Daddy was tending to Bubba who was barking at a squirrel.

View of the lake from our table at lunch. What a beautiful day!!

Not Me! Monday......

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

This week when MckMama posted a comment on my blog about our Miracle blanket I did not get so excited I almost fell out of my chair. Nope, not this Mama I remained calm, collected, & quietly told my husband sittin 5 feet from me "MckMama posted a comment on my blog". At least this is how I like to think I responded. Who gets so excited about a comment? I mean really?

Ellia did not have ice cream 4x this week (and a few times not just for dessert) just because I think it is totally cute how she eats it with a spoon and sits there saying "mmmm, mmmm, mmmm" every time she takes a bite. Rationalizing it by saying it's made of milk & she needs to have milk every day. (I will post a video of this soon)

And when I went to the store on Super Bowl Sunday I did not buy special ice cream with sprinkles in it just for her.

While getting ready for my husband's aunts 70th birthday party I did not have a hair fiasco and respond with "I might just do that cause it would look better than it does now" when my husband jokingly said "Why don't I just shave it off for you?"

I did not text my workout buddy at 3:30am to tell her I couldn't work out and then blame it on our 3month old. Nope, that would be just wrong. And just in case you're wondering working out is my favorite thing to do. You believe me right??

Finally this week I did not leave Ellia in her crib an extra 30 minutes the other morning so that I could take a shower, check email, check facebook and grab a cup of coffee downstairs. And only did I go and get her when she started to cry - up until then she'd been quietly talking & playing. And this morning as I type this blog I've already had a shower, checked email & facebook and had a cup of coffee but someone is still in her crib. Hmmmm, wonder if she will remember these times when she gets older?

Miracle me this, Miracle me that.

WE Believe,WE Believe,WE Believe,WE Believe!!!!! (shouting from the roof tops)

So our dear sweet Addie is a colicky baby - however I am happy to report she appears to be turning the corner. But we were at our wits end with her and then I discovered the Miracle Blanket on MckMama's blog and our world changed. I just knew it was the answer to all our problems.

Bill found one on Craiglist and it has rocked our world!!! Although it is a blue one, beggars can't be choosers and I am a true believer in MIRACLES!

Addie has slept in her bassinet since January 12th and not in my arms. Up until then, for 3 months I had been sleeping with a baby in my arms every night. And she is now sleeping 5-6 hrs a night, in her blanket, in her bassinet. The crib is in her future very soon....next week. This blanket will calm her almost immediately and put her right to sleep. It is simply a MIRACLE.


Here she is, ready for a nap. She loves this blanket too.

Sleeping on the couch.


Sleeping in her swing
We believe in Miracle blankets!!!

Not Me! Monday......

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.


This week I did not dress my daughter in her pj's only to discover they were too small for her and that the pants were too short on her legs. And since I couldn't possibly be tired from a long day decide to just leave her in them and put on a pair of RED hello kitty socks stretched up over the too short pants. And this couldn't possibly be what she looked like the next morning.
The other night while in a hurry to get my screaming baby dressed after her bath I did not dress her in a onesie that was 12months & 3x too big for her. Nope, I didn't realize my mistake when the really big onesie snaps were down to her knee's. And I didn't say "Oh, well you're just getting your pj's on & going to sleep - you'll be okay". Nope, not I.

Yesterday, after a long day of scrap booking this Mama did not walk out to find her car had 2 flat tires. And this Mama did not get upset, cry, freak out and get upset with her husband. Nope, I was as calm as a cucumber.....YEAH right.

This Mama did not let her 15month old share some of her coffee because the cup had a straw in it and she has just learned how to sip out of straws plus she wanted to take a sip.

While blogging, checking myspace & facebook I did not let my 15month old take out most of the DVDs in the cabinet and play with them. Now, why would I let her do that & keep herself occupied for a whole 30 minutes? (next time I wont have to worry since there aren't that many DVDs any longer. we sold most of them to buy our Wii fit)

This Mama did not yet again have a freak out when she discovered that the dog chewed up another little people. And go off again about how the little people must stay together and now that set will not be complete. And I did not get upset with my husband when he started laughing at me and told me "You know they are just toys and that our daughter won't realize one is missing"

And while typing this blog I did not feed my baby, burp her and then put her to sleep. Nope that would make my superwoman and I am far from that. But maybe just maybe I have finally learned how to multi task at the computer.

Scrapbooking Adventure

What does this picture have to do with scrap booking? This is how my day of scrap booking day ended......being towed out of the woods and home.

Yeppers, came out to my car not noticing a thing - cause it was dark & snowing. Got up the driveway and almost to the main road & my car felt really weird. My friend and I got out and discovered we had a flat tire. Backed down the dark & scary driveway & called our husbands. It was then that my other friend, who was still there scrap booking discovered that my other back tire was also flat. How do you wind up with not 1 but 2 flat tires? Hmmmm, a question I still cannot answer.

Thank goodness for Melissa's MIL who buys her family AAA every year - due to that we were able to get towed home. The tow truck driver, Chris was very nice. And his 4yr old son Jaden kept Melissa entertained with questions & games of "I spy my little eye on" the WHOLE way home. He was cute but boy could he talk. He promptly told us as we got into the truck, after introducing himself, "Ya know it's snowing outside and do you know what that means? That Christmas is coming again" On a quick note - our tow truck driver had to bring his 4yr old son because his wife was at home with the 8month old. Five days after their daughter was born his wife had a brain aneurysm and a stroke. She is paralyzed on one side, had to learn to talk again and is in intense physical therapy a few days a week. I forgot to get her name, but am going to begin praying for him & his family. This tow truck gig was suppose to be a 2ND job to help bring in extra cash, but he was laid off last week. When you read this, would you please say a prayer for Chris & his family?


Although the day didn't end on the greatest note it did start well. Here are a few pictures of our glorious weekend. I doubled booked myself this weekend. Scrap booking was suppose to be an overnighter. Starting at 9am on Saturday and ending on Sunday at 4pm. However, our church Cedar Park does this service called Presentation Sunday - where we pray for infertile couples & those wishing to get pregnant. We had invited Bill's cousin & her husband for the service. (more to come on that in a later post) In a last minute decision my MIL offered to host a dinner for my husband, our girls, & the cousins so that I could stay a bit longer and scrapbook. Thank you mom!!! (she's a blog stalker)


LeAnne, Sabrina, Lindsey, Jessica, Melissa, Tiffany and I settled in with our car loads of paper, scissors, crickets, tape, glue, stamps and other assorted materials. It was a fabulous day of laughing, eating, watching girly movies (7 by the time we left), scrapping, eating, laughing, card making, talking, laughing & did I mention eating.


Here a great candid shot of LeAnne intensely working on a page, Sabrina in mid sentence, Jessica watching one of the movies, and Melissa working earnestly on her cards. All n all there were 5 baby girl scrapbooks being worked on!

Melissa's goal of 10 cards fell short at 7 but let me tell ya they were amazing cards!! I got 10 pages done in Addie's book and so I feel a little accomplished. (I'll post a few of my favorite pages in the next few days. ) It was a successful day of scrapping and fun times with my friends.


Did I mention that we did a lot of eating. What is a girls weekend without lots of snacks? I mean is there such a thing? Only one question............Did we bring enough?

Not Me! Monday......

It's Monday and you know what that means..........Here is the latest edition from Team D.

• This week in an effort to multi task this Mama did not carry down her 3month old inside an empty box of diapers along with the bag of dirty diapers out of the pail. Well, it wasn't quite empty I did pad the bottom with some extra diapers for the downstairs changing table.

• I most certainly did not wipe Ellia's nose several times this past week with the inside of her shirt. Why would I do that and not grab a tissue?

• We did not take what I thought to be a quick trip to see daddy at work and not pack a prepared diaper bag. Thus resulting in having to buy a new outfit when Addie had a major blowout. Nope this Mama always has a prepared & ready diaper bag. And that prepared diaper bag always has an extra change of clothes for both girls.

• This Mama did not urge her husband that we needed a miracle blanket and then beg him to find her one on craiglist or ebay. Why would I take so many bloggers word on a "miracle" blanket? Cause I am desperate to have a baby sleep not in my arms. And he did find one....and it is a miracle blanket. I will post a separate post just on the blanket as it is worthy of it!!!!

Need a new outfit?

Today we went to visit daddy at work and Addie wore a special outfit. We received the outfit from Bill's boss, Cindy. The outfit is a little Alaska outfit with dog sleds all over it. Cindy is from Alaska and actually has competed in dog sledding competitions. (And just another piece of info on Cindy - she knows Sarah Palin. Yeppers, they went to school together and are very close friends.)

Cindy loved seeing Addie & even posed in a picture for us. (Yes, Addie has her own Costco name tag - it says she's been an "employee" since 2008 and that she is "Daddy's little girl" - Ellia has one two with her hire year as "2007" - The girls wear them when we go shopping or visit daddy)

So we visit with Cindy and then Bill notices a nice aroma coming from Addie. Turns out she had a BLOW OUT!! All up and down her legs even into the cute little booties. Well I didn't have another outfit, cause while I packed the diaper bag I actually thought "I wont need a change of clothes we'll only be gone for a couple of hours". Turns out I was dead wrong. So we made a mad dash to the clothing area and picked out a new outfit for Addie. While I I headed to the bathrooms to clean her up Bill waited in line with the tag to pay.

This is the before picture with Cindy and the Alaska outfit:



After picture at home in her swing & in her new outfit:
Lesson learned: ALWAYS pack an extra outfit - even if just visiting daddy at work.

Get Real.....

I found this really cool gal in another blog - who found me through McMama. Such a small world but yet not. See that is why blogging is so much fun. It gives me an outlet, helps me stay in touch with friends & family and lets me meet others I wouldn't normally meet.

So over at Melody's blog she did a post about being "Real" and so here is my attempt. We found out we have a lot in common. It's scary how much we have in common...go check out her blog to see.

And so my list of being "Real" follows:

• I often find myself packing extra food & water in the car when I go out just in case we get in an accident and I am stranded in the woods in a wrecked car. And there is always a blanket in the car. Who does this???
• I think the girls must always be dressed Perfectly. Matching socks, shoes, hair bows, bibs you name it. It must all match.
• I would love to dress the girls in the cool, urban, organic, funky style but the "matchy matchy" thing in my head takes over every time.
  
• Coffee next to my husband is my BEST friend. I love it and if I could would drink it all day, every day. But when you're dieting as I am, it's a not the best for you.
• I am determined to loose the baby weight from both my pregnancies. And I was sad this week when both my friends had lost more than me. But it motivated me to try a little harder this week.
  
• Taking the girls out is hard work and although I am happy once we are out somewhere I too, like Melody find it too much work and so staying home even though it's not the funnest is what I prefer.
• I love my husband but at times he soo frustrates me. I know I am not alone in this. Isn't it weird how little things never bothered you before when you were dating or you never knew about them until you got married. And now they bug me like crazy. Like leaving soda cans on the bedside table. Or taking off his socks and just leaving them where ever he took them off.
  
• We got a dog and it was my idea. But sadly it's not what it's cracked up to be. I love Bubba but do not like the shedding of his hair, the big poops he creates in my yard or the fact that our yard isn't fenced. Which means I must take him out 3x or 4x a day on a leash to use the bathroom. And I am busy enough with two little girls that this really irritates me.
• Patience - I stink at this. And though I am getting better (having kids has helped) I am still not the best at it. Every day I battle this.
• My toes too cause some vanity issues within me. They are what you call "hammer head" toes - inherited from my father's side of the family. And it would appear that Ellia has them as well - Ahhh, I just hope she doesn't go through the same complexity issues over them as I did growing up.
• I am trying new birth control.....the "ring" - and I must confess I wanted to use this type of BC really badly. But I am hating it. It would appear that my body is rejecting the "ring" and keeps pushing it out. Thus.....
  
• I am completely stressed out about BC. What am I going to do? I forget to take BC pills and my husband & I cannot be trusted to solely use condoms....this how we got our little Addie. I don't know what I am going to do. And I have found myself thinking about this almost all day for the last 2 days.
• Like Melody I too hate it when our girls cry in front of others - even family. Something inside of me goes a little crazy and I MUST soothe them into quietness.
• I am crazy about keeping my house clean and trying to be the best mom to my girls. Almost scary how crazy I am about these things. I totally obsess about them to no end. (Just ask my husband) Am I alone in this?

Okay, so if you found my list of "Get Real" things helpful and you checked out Melody's then I Tag you to complete your list of "Get Real" things. Be completely honest. It actually helped take a load off my chest today. See God is good. He directed Melody over to my blog today and helped me to be real with myself and all of you other fellow bloggers.
**Don't forget to tell me if you completed your list so I can check it out. **

Thanks Melody!! - here's to more blogging fun & good times with one another ;o)

Random Thoughts Thursday

Do you ever just find yourself in your own little world and thinking about the most random thoughts? Well today was my day and so I decided to let you all into my Random Thought Thursday mind.....

**** Wow, my floors look clean but when I got down to mop them (yes, I mop on my hands & knee's) I realized how dirrrrty they really were.
Then my thoughts went to: there is soooo much dog hair on this floor; I bet Melissa really hates mopping this floor now that we have Bubba; Wow, this is the first time I've mopped my own floor in over 8months; Ohhh this is that song by Toby Mac - with Kirk Franklin - Bill loves it and I don't know the name of it, but there's a line in it that says...."I don't want to gain the whole world and loose my soul" - So then I think about the words and why Bill loves it. He is always telling me that he doesn't want to fall into the stereotypical Costco Management guy - get promoted, get the pay raise, loose sight of the world & his family. Wow, I think I get why he loves this song; My blog needs an overhaul. I mean a complete overhaul. I want a new name other than "curlyqfun" - And besides that in my blog picture I don't even have curly hair. How can I make it private but yet fun? Since Bill wants me to make it private & how do I do that without leaving someone out who visits it that I don't know visits it. I need a theme, a cute fun theme; Baseball theme, football, hmmmm, blog changes are coming; What are we having for dinner? Sure was nice when our friend brought us dinner as a surprise last night, hmmm what are our odds of having that again? Hmm, do I hear my phone ringing? Why was the pedicure lady so quiet? And why did she keep talking to the next pedi lady in a language I cannot understand? Was she talking about me? I know my feet were bad, but come on. Wonder when I'll get to have another pedi & mani?; I sure hope that Bill and Ellia are gone long enough for me to clean & do some blogging.; Wow, finally done with these floors.

Crazy what your mind thinks of when you are mopping the floors.

Not Me! Monday......

It's Monday and you know what that means..........Here is the latest edition from Team D.

• This Mama did not post last week cause she was too tired, too sick & just plain burnt out. It couldn't have been that crazy of a week....Or could it have, hmmm?
• Today this Mama couldn't possibly be turning 32, yeppers you are reading right 32 years old. Why, Thanks I know I don't show my age....or at least that's what I keep telling myself.
• Team D survived the 3 week invasion of family. Or we almost survived. It was a hard 3 weeks for all of us. (I won't mention kicking my dad out of the house....That was a slight CRAZY moment on my behalf) Being snowed in didn't help matters much at all. But we did survive...and dare I say this.....we miss them? Yikes! ;o)
• This Mama did not catch her 15 month old eating what she thought was teddy graham crackers.....ONLY to discover they were the dog treats...Ya know the ones that are shaped into little people...Didn't know they made those for dogs huh? Well they do and Ellia thinks they taste...G R E E E E AAAAA T!
• I did not have a small break down the other night and tell Bill "If Addie had been our first child their would've been no more" - Having a colicky baby gets you extra jewels in your "Mama" crown in heaven, right? I'm bankin on it. Ohhh, and there are Mama crowns in heaven...I am sure of it.
  
• I am not in love with my new handy, dandy vacuum sweeper. Why would I be in love with a vacuum??? Oh, but you haven't met this thing...It is amazing...I am thinkin of bloggin about this little green, mean machine. I bought this little guy for $10 bucks the day after Thanksgiving at Walmart and wrapped it up for myself under the tree. It has become my favorite Christmas present!! You thought I'd say how much I love my new Cricket cartridges, or my new down comforter, or the new amazing flat iron I got.....Nope I am in love with my green machine. It does wonders on my hard wood floors - especially in getting all Bubba's dog hair. Amazing what $10 can get ya.
• I am not falling more and more in love with little miss Ellia. Everyday she makes me laugh and her personality is coming through so much. I love how she races around with her doll stroller and plays with her kitchen. She is just so darn cute and she makes me smile everyday.
• This Mama is not obsessed with keeping the the Little People play sets ALL together. Ya know the people & all their parts MUST stay together it's a rule. And the other day when I was cleaning up and found the doll house people in the backyard set (which is only suppose to have a dog & little girl) I did not freak out. Nope, who would freak out about Little People being in the wrong set? But supposing I did freak out just a weeee bit, my loving husband did not say " You don't possibly think they are all going to stay together and that we aren't going to loose some, right?" And I didn't respond back with a resounding "YEEEES".....I was glad to know that I am not alone in my Little People obsession....I found it comforting to see Sabrina's post on this same issue last week.
• And finally speaking of obsessions - which I admit I might have a few....dog hair, Little People, dishes being done right after dinner....I don't need to go on. This morning this Mama did not wash down the suede couch yet again cause you can see all the snotty nose/ drool marks from Ellia & Addie. And when Bill tried to sit down I did not possibly tell him "Don't sit there I just washed the couch, sit on the floor" - Nope, cause why would I obsess about our couch? - Why did we buy a suede micro fiber TAN couch again? Oh, yeah we bought it before kids.
  

Birthday #32

Tomorrow is my birthday. My 32nd if you must know.

I am not sure if I should cry, jump up or down or mourn. Cry cause I'm getting older, jump up & down cause I made it through another year or mourn another younger year gone.

My husband bought me a manicure & pedicure. Or rather handed me $$ and said on Monday you are going to get a mani & pedi. Fun for me!!! I cannot wait as this is what I really wanted. A whole 2hrs of quiet and pure relaxation! I guess my mom took him aside before they left and said "Ya, know Gina really wants a mani & pedi" - Thanks mom!

Whatever happens tomorrow I know this for sure....I have a wonderful husband, two beautiful girls and age is just a number. I will celebrate with my family & enjoy my manicure oh and breakfast in bed. Yep, I hinted around to see if this was happening....and you betcha.....WoooHooo!

Christmas 2008 Dinner

Christmas dinner was a bit delayed due to the snow. We thought it might not happen at all due to a power outage in the morning. But luckily the power was only out for a little while. Once it came back on dinner was put into the oven and everyone was told to come at 3:30.

We had Bill's parents John & Jeanette, his sister Susan, cousin Scott, Nana & Papa (my parents), cousin Thomas & George. George is our older neighbor across the street. (the one Bill spent all morning helping put chains on in the snow) His wife died this summer & he was alone because his family dinner got canceled - after he and Bill got the chains on the car he found this out.


The table all set up. I made glass ornaments for each person & used them as name place cards. I even managed to make one for George at the last minute. (Thank heavens for extra bulbs!)

All of us sitting around the table waiting for the festivities to start.

John, George & Jeanette after they opened their Christmas crackers & put on their crowns
Ellia wearing her crown

Cousin Scott, Nana, Papa & Thomas with their Christmas crackers & crowns
Eating dinner

Christmas 2008 - Daddy putting together the "stuff"

Ellia opening her new doll stroller


Daddy putting the stroller together

Ellia reading daddy the directions

All put together and ready to take it for a spin

And she's off.........

Next item....the grocery cart


Daddy's handy work

And someone is in a hurry to push it around & go shopping

Christmas 2008

The cousins in their Christmas Eve service attire
Addie on Christmas morning
Ellia coming downstairs Christmas morning


Christmas morning kisses shared between sisters


Tree & presents before the kids came downstairs.

Ellia's first time seeing her kitchen

Where do all the food & dishes for her kitchen go? In the window of course!

Ellia trying on her camping backpack with her first sleeping bag, flashlight & water bottle. She is ready for camping this year!



Opening up her toy shopping cart from Nana & Papa

Not Me! Monday......

Here it is my Not Me! Monday after the holidays. Wow, what a list it is today!!!

• This Mama did not say to her mother - who is visiting out of state...."Because I said so that's why" when her mother asked her about putting something away. Wow, it is sooo true you do become your mother later on in life.
• This Mama did not put the hot apple pie on the porch after Christmas dinner so that it would cool down. Who would do that? And if you're wondering if it worked.....ya know in case I did really do this....I heard it worked in a jiff. Only took a few minutes.
• Bill and I did not drive around for 2.5 hours the day before Christmas eve and get stuck in the snow just so we could spend time together. Nope, now why would we want to be stuck in the car together when we could be stuck in the house together?
• I did not obsess for weeks over the Christmas cards & letter - only to get them out in the mail the week of Christmas. What was the point of obsessing when they still went out late due to all the snow??? And I don't really still have a stack to mail today either!
  
• On Christmas morning this Mama did not make her 14month old go up & down the stairs 2x so that we could get the whole thing on video. And then have the "perfect" moment when she encountered all the presents & her new toy kitchen by the tree. Now, who would make a tired, hungry and excited 14month old do that??
• I did not get grumpy and complain about the snow that fell upon our great state for 12 days straight. Nope I shut my mouth, baked goodies, watched movies, played in the snow and just relished in the beauty of it all without any complaining what so ever. Yeah Right!!
• We did not get all dressed up for Christmas Eve service, drive in the snow & ice only to get to the service just as it was starting and have to sit in the foyer way. Nope we planned ahead and left early just as you should for Christmas Eve service in the snow......We did but still wound up late. But it was worth it!!!!
• And this Mama DID realize how much she has missed out these past 2 weeks and IS going to try to take it all in, roll with the ups & downs and pray for patience these next few days that her family is still in town. Because that is what Jesus would do and she is honestly trying to be like him, but realized that she is failing miserably this season.
• And finally, this Mama hasn't had 2ND thoughts about being on birth control this week. Thinking to herself...."we could just glove up every time"....Yeah Right like that worked for us...2 babies in a year! Guess she'll just get used to the bloating, weight gain, out of control acne and on-going visit from "Aunt flow" - after all isn't that the fun of birth control?
  

Please pray .......

Please pray for baby Stellan! He is very sick and on his way to the hospital. His mom writes one of my favorite blogs at My Charming Kids.

I will post Not Me Monday later as well as Christmas day pics.

Super 5 Post Friday!!!!!

I have had a terrible time blogging and I really, really need the outlet.

Coming today and only today a special introductory 5 Post Friday!!!! Look for em all within the next few hours - as time permits. ;O)

Christmas will be posted this weekend.

Post 5 - How much do I love Bill - let me count the ways:

I believe I married the BEST husband in the world!! He is such an amazing man. He continuously loves me even when I suck at being a wife. The past 10 days he has been a trooper with me! I am a creature of habit/routine. I like things orderly and in their place. I like to have a clean house. All of this has gone out the window with all the snow and my family in town visiting. And I don't do good when these things are in an uproar or disrupted. And my husband bears the brunt of my frustrations. But through all this he still loves me!

Bill, (I know he reads this blog) this is for you baby........

1. You love me even when I am not loving to you.
2. You always know just how to make me laugh - even when I don't want too
3. You are an amazing father to our girls
4. You bring me flowers spontaneously
   
5. You listen to my fears, my doubts and even my dumb questions - always giving me a gentle answer even when I know you want to say "What are you thinking?"
6. You put together Ellia's stroller and grocery cart without complaining yesterday - even though it took a lot longer than you had expected. Who knew doll strollers & grocery carts could be so complicated.
7. You are handling my family being here in our home for 3 weeks better than I am!
8. You helped our older neighbor get his chains on - in the snow - for over an hour - at one point even lying on the ground, in the snow to crawl under and attach the chains. I was sooo proud of you!! (Even though at first I was upset that we had to wait to open presents)
9. You are so giving
   
10. You continue to sacrifice over and over for the girls and I
11. You are always there to listen to me vent about the next annoying thing that bothers me
12. You always wipe away my tears ( And baby I know there's been alot this year - Thank You)
13. You have a very cute butt (sorry to family who reads this)
14. You look so good in your baseball hats. I love when you wear them.
15. You are a good friend to others
16. You still get excited about my cooking almost every night
17. You call me at least 2x a day just to say hi and see how the girls and I are doing.
    
18. You are so passionate about your hobbies IE...fishing, hunting, wrestling and you encourage me to pursue my hobbies/dreams
19. You did not balk last night when I said "Let's start our own "Biggest Looser" program the day the new series premieres on Jan 6Th. Eating right & exercising and we will weigh in every Tuesday during the show"
20. And finally - You love me for me - You don't try to change me, even though I know you want too, You accept me for me and still 3 years later love me for ME.
    

Post 4 - Baby coo's and smiles

This past week my darling, sweet, almost 3month old baby girl started smiling and making cooing noises. This is the sooo much fun! It's the sign that she is coming out of the "baby coma" that babies are in for the first few months and her personality is starting to shine through. I just love talking to her and trying to get her to talk back to me. (well at least for now, not sure I'll like it when she turns 13!)

The first time Ellia heard Addie "talk" she spun around and looked at her in my arms and you could tell was thinking "What the He*$ was that?" - All she's ever heard Addie do is cry......the look on her face was priceless....it was sooo cute. So I held Addie down to her and told her that her baby sister was talking to her. And she got so excited & started talking in her "jibberish" as Bill and I call it. It was the sweetest thing ever!!! I wish I had it on video.


Addie's feet in her strawberry - poka dot pj's this morning. I love baby feet!! Baby feet bare, baby feet in shoes, baby feet in socks, baby feet in sleepers - Are you starting to get the idea here?


How's this for a face?


Cooing at me this morning - making all kinds of noises



Look at this sweet smiling face! Is there anything BETTER than this??