Almost Wordless Wednesday

Don't let this sweet & adorable face fool you. She is really giving us a run for our money. I know this is suppose to be a "Wordless" Wednesday but I have to tell you what our dear, sweet little one has been up too lately.

First, she has decided she no longer likes to take naps. Yep, decided this last week and it has continued. Right now she is in her crib playing, talking, coo'ing but not sleeping.

Second, she has quite the temper (I do not know where she gets this from). Her Italian roots are really coming through more than her Scandinavian roots. Last night she was mad & didn't want to go to sleep - shocker. I went in there to give her a bottle & she saw it and wanted it that moment. So she began screaming & then banged her head, deliberately I might add, on the crib. After making sure she was okay I laid her down again, still no bottle. Then she began screaming even more & pulling at her hair. She was completely red by now & very pissed off!! I just gave her the bottle and walked out. She fell asleep within a few minutes. Yikes, watch out world!

And this sweet face, not mine but the other one....let me tell you what she did yesterday.

She was put on time out for sitting on her sister and pulling her hair. So she went to the stairs to sit & think. (an everyday, 3x a day at least occurrence) She kept standing up & when I'd look at her she'd sit down. I said to her "Ellia, sit down now" and when she did it again I said "Ellia No" to which the sweet, baby girl replied "Mama, You No" and pointed her chubby finger at me too. I almost lost it laughing and had to quickly turn my head. I recovered and told her that we don't tell Mama No. And time out resumed till the next time out. (15 Min's later)

Neglected Blog

Wanted: New author for Team D Fun blog
Team D's blog feels neglected. The Team Manager has been writing on her other blog & has forsaken the team. She promises to get back into the swing of things soon.

Just hang in there, the season isn't over yet!

Not My child Monday!

Did you almost die of embarrassment when your child pulled their own pants down at the library? Want to scream bloody murder when your toddler took a pair of scissors to the dog's fur? Feel like a terrible mother when your kid said a four-letter-word at a back to school event? Well don't! Mothers aren't perfect and neither are children. Let's 'fess up today because it's Not my child! Monday!

Within the last few weeks our daughter did NOT grab her younger sister by the legs and pull her into the bathroom, help her stand up at the toilet and then teach her how to play in the toilet water. Not My child!

This same child did NOT almost completely empty the toilet water with all her little pots & pans from her kitchen. And when I found her she did NOT say "Mama, me cook"....How could I be mad at that?

While I have been typing this she did NOT stand up on the beanbag chair that is inside our kiddie corral area & then try to do a summer salt over the corral and start screaming "Mama, me stuck" as she lay half over the corral walls.

Last night when Grandpa came for dinner Ellia did NOT refuse to eat dinner. And not wanting to play that game we did NOT just allow her to get down and run around the house. We do NOT just give into our child that easily.

While out to dinner this past week above said child did NOT poop her pants just as we were sitting down and proclaim out loud "Mommy I pooped" and then begin to say "I pooped, I pooped". Did I mention that we were in an area of restaurant that echoed very loudly.....so I am sure that everyone could hear her.

Wow, all of these are about Ellia......Ya know cause Addie is such a sweetheart And never does anything wrong........ Right! Just cannot remember any from her.

Love never fails!

"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not
parade itself, is not puffed up;
Love does not behave rudely, does not seek it's own; is not provoked, thinks no evil
does not rejoice in iniquity; but rejoices in truth;
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things,
Love never fails"
1 Corinthians 13:4-8

I suck as a wife....no seriously sometimes I look at my husband and I just wonder "why is he with me?" He is a saint, a true saint I tell ya.

Bill took 4 vacation days this week to go fishing. You see it's the start of Humpy season in the rivers. Humpies are pink salmon. And for those of you who don't know me, I am allergic to salmon. So this isn't exactly a fish that I can eat. I like it and always try to eat a little but it always upsets my stomach.

Anyways, I knew that these 4days were dedicated to fishing. He doesn't ever get to do something just for himself. He makes sacrifices every day for our family. So the least the man can do is fish for 4days if he'd like.

So on Monday afternoon he mentioned taking Ellia fishing with him. So I heard this and made plans to train my new Arbonne Business Builder, ya know since I'd only have 1 child. Then when it came time to go he didn't know if he'd go or if he did if he'd take Ellia. Naturally I was a little upset. He finally decided to go out with some friends & to take Ellia.

However, once he made this decision he had to leave that moment to meet the friends. I was trying to show my friend Sparkpeople.com and wanted to pack Ellia a little bag to take. (ya know a cup, some snacks etc..) So we started to argue a bit, and I was like "just give me a minute" and which he responded with something like "I don't have a minute". Wrong thing to say to me at that moment!!

Love never fails

I sadly responded wrong! In front of my friend I told him he was acting like an A#$hole. Yes, I called my husband an A#$hole and in front of our children & my best friend. Yikes!!!
They left, Ellia and him with us not really resolving our little tiff. Again Wrong!

Love never fails

That night they came home, we chatted, resolved issues, ate dinner & he left to fill my car with gas as I had to leave early the next morning. (and getting gas isn't my favorite thing especially with kids).

Love never fails

Do you know what my husband came home with???? A dozen roses for me. Yes, me! The crazy, tired, emotional, over booked, mean wife who called her husband an A#$hole. I should've been the one that bought HIM roses!

I didn't deserve those roses especially with my actions/attitude that day.

Love never fails

It's kinda like our saviors love....do we deserve it? No, we don't but he offers it freely. He forgives us even when we have been downright nasty. Just like my husband loves me and forgave me. I am forever in his grace & the Lords!

p.s. I am married to the BEST man ever!

Feels like Fall

Did I go to bed last week and sleep through August? It sure feels like we've hit the end of September with this weather.

Fall is my FAVORITE season, I've written about it before here. I decorate my house all Fall festive & Team D begins to hunker down for the winter. I love the leaves changing, the crispness in the air, hot cider, soups, casseroles, warm fires, and lots & lots of candles. I love that you walk into Target and see all the school supplies out & ready for purchase. The idea of school shopping with the girls makes me giddy but not my pocketbook.

But seriously, did summer go away? All these overcast, rainy, gray skies for the last week are making me think summer went away.

You see I'm just not quite ready for Fall yet. The girls & I still have to hit the water park a few more times, visit the zoo at least 2 more times, have another summer BBQ with friends and not to mention our cousins baby shower & BBQ that is at the end of August, at our house. I am not ready for Fall. Are you?

Favorite Photos

Over at Mclinky today it is Show us your favorite photos. These are just a few of my favorites.

Proud Daddy with Elllia

First time holding my baby girl & feeling that warmth envelope me. Our first mother/daughter photo

This was a cell phone pic of Ellia, but it is one of my all time favorites

First family picture after Addies birth.

Twenty Years

Yesterday, was Bill's 20yr reunion at Bellevue Christian. A family BBQ was planned for all the alumni & their families.

The night before was a get together for the Alumni only at a local Brewery. Apparently, I was all the talk among the women. I guess they all follow me on Facebook and couldn't wait to meet me the next day. Who knew?

Their was a slide show with pictures of their school days and other memorabilia floating around. I looked through the Class of 89 year book. So funny to see all the clothes & car's . Here is a great picture of my husband that was put into the slide show. (excuse the bad quality, I took pic of the slide show picture)



Wanna know my husband's 20yr goal, where he'd see himself in 20 yrs?????

Living on a Greek Island as a goat hearder.

Yeah, you read that right. I think he is far from that, unless you consider raising 2 little girls kinda like herding goats, aren't baby goats called "kids"

Anyways, it got me to thinking, what was I doing 20yrs ago....Hmmm, lets see

1. I was 12yrs old
2. Our family had just moved back to Florida
3. I was in love with the New Kids on the Block & had attended their concert in the spring of 89
4. I wore legwarmers and plastered Aquanet on my ratted bangs.


What were you doing 20yrs ago??

Ohh, and below is a picture of a fellow BCS grad......Bill's Aunt Beth. Love you Aunt Beth!

Once Upon A Blog turns 2yrs old

This lady designs blogs & such. She is fabulous. Go check out her blog!
Here's to hoping I win a blog make over or something!!!

You can too, check it her blog, Once Upon A Blog.

Cute

So Ellia has learned the word cute. I don't know where she learned this from, it couldn't be from me, cause ya know I don't ever say the word "cute" I most certainly don't use the word "cute" to describe anything and everything I speak of.

Here are a few things Ellia has said this week using the word "Cute"

"Mommy, she's cute" - referring to my friend Heather as she walked to her car after visiting.

"Ohhh, Mommy Addie cute" - after I got Addie dressed the other morning

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, cute jacket" - tonight at Target as we strolled through the little girls section. What does that mean when my 22 month old is telling me that a jacket is cute, and it was! Ms. Fashion queen herself....Uh, oh watch out daddy.


What can I say she's "Cute" ;o)

Ever have one of those weeks?

Ever have one of those weeks? One where everything goes wrong, you are extremely over booked, emotional, Aunt Flow visits, your kids just can't seem to listen or obey, you husband irritates you whenever you turn around, my business isn't taking off as fast as I'd like, phone rings off the hook, Ya know one of thooooose weeks?

Well, that was my week last week. I just seemed irritable and pissed off all week. And there wasn't just one specific reason it was just all of life wasn't agreeing with me. And it was my anniversary week so I shouldn't have been like that, but I was.

Why do we as women do that?
Why do we say "No I'm not mad" as we bang the cupboard door shut?
Why do we sulk around?

I know I am not alone in this!

And seriously sometimes I don't know exactly why I am pissed off. To which Bill cannot understand that at all. Am I alone out there?

I wish that I could say I was the perfect wife/mother & that I prayed about my attitude and it was all better.....but I did not pray & I am not the perfect wife/mother by any means. The fact is I sulked around, snapped at my kids, snapped at my husband and was just downright mean.

I realize that God is working in me. He is trying to show me something, teach me something & change my heart. But I am not seeing it, hearing it or exactly ready for the change.

But life goes on here at the Team D dugout. And this week has been better for sure. Things are turning around.

Ahhh, that felt better to get it off my chest.

Show us your Wedding Ceremony/bridal party/flowers

Today at Kelly's Corner it's "Show us your Life" - Wedding ceremony's/flowers/bridal party.
We have pictures but unfortunately in this day & age we do not have the digital pics. So I had to sink to a new low......taking pictures of pictures in an effort to show off our day. Which by the way was 3 years ago this past Tuesday, July 28Th.

We got married on a Hot day at the end of July 3yrs ago this week. Our theme was "Simple Elegance" and I think we pulled it off lovely. Our colors were Brown, Champagne & Red. I loved the way the 3 colors went so beautifully together.

Our day was BEAUTIFUL!! I loved the church, my dress, bridesmaids dresses, our flowers and Bill in his tux!!! It truly was a wonderful day. Here are a few of the ghetto pictures of pictures for you to see.....

Me outside in my dress, I loved this dress!!! I didn't even want to take it off at the end of the night and Bill said "You're kidding right?" ha!

Close up of me, my veil, & my bouquet. It was so heavy!! I didn't count on that. But I loved it.

Walking down the isle with my daddio. We got married at Basytr College in the chapel. I loved the setup of the pews & the marble floor. Because of it's ornate decor we didn't have to decorate, we just lined the isle with candles. It was soo beautiful.

Almost to the alter, it was a loooong isle to walk down.

Ring Bearer Luke with Bill's wrestling shoes. The rings were in the shoes!


Fun portrait of us girls

Formal portrait of my girls & I

Bill's Groomsmen & Groomswoman goofing around

Flower girls Moriah & Becca

Me with the ring bearer. I love this guy!

My nephew and I. He looked so cute in his tiny tux

The whole wedding party, 5 bridesmaids & groomsmen/woman, 1 jr bridesmaid & 1 jr groomsmen, 2 flower girls & one ring bearer

Best Man, Maid of Honor, Happy Couple & our Pastor after signing the wedding certificate

Trust me the pictures do NOT do the justice of how beautiful this day was. It was more than I could have imagined and more!!!

Awww Fridays....

Awww I just love Fridays. It's the end of usually busy weeks, it's laundry day, and 1 day until food network. (I love watching the Food Network on Saturday's while Bill works)

These are just a few pictures I took just this morning of the girls. Enjoy!

I carried Addie down in the laundry basket, Ellia wanted to be in it too

While I was collecting all the laundry someone got into my mascara

Do you see her face? She totally knows she got caught & is in trouble.

But not bad for her 1st attempt to applying the stuff, huh? Guess she's been watching Mama a little too closely in the mornings.

4years & the Tour de France

Happy 4yr 1st date Anniversary baby!!

Today is the 4yr anniversary of mine & Bill's first date. We met at a Starbucks and we shut the place down!! It was the best 5hrs I had on a date EVER! The conversation never came to a lull, and we laughed & laughed. It was soooo nice. I knew right then and there that Bill was different. He was a cool guy and I wanted to get to know him more. Which of course meant more dates! ;o)
And next week will be our 3yr Wedding anniversary. Wow, time fly's.

When we met that summer 4yrs ago the Tour de France was going on. Little did I know that this race would play a big role in our relationship and still does today. While we would chat on the phone or computer we would both watch the race. And then we watched the closing ceremony together, ya know after we'd met.

Wanna know what we did last night???? We watched the Tour. Even though Bill had checked online and knew what had happened he needed to see it happen on TV.

As I lay there last night I found myself really not understanding the Tour or anything about it. I've watched it for 4yrs and really never paid attention.....know what I mean? So last night I asked questions. Here are a few insights to the Tour that you might not know:

A. There are four jerseys that are awarded to riders EACH day:

1. Yellow - Best overall rider's time for the day
2. Green - Top sprinter - there are checkpoints along the way for sprints and the first 5 riders across the checkpoint get points.
3. Poka Dot - Top climber or "King of the Mountain" - get points the same way as in sprinting
4. White - Best newcomer or young rider with best time for the day
   

And did you know it is possible to get more than one jersey each day??? I did not either. Lance Armstrong has apparently gotten the Yellow & Poka Dot before. I guess he is a good climber.

B. There are 21 stages to the tour and it takes almost a month to complete and more than 2,175 miles through mountains & towns.

C. The tour course is almost always the same and it is not completely all in France. Go figure. It winds through Italy, Monaco and Spain.

D. There are NO women riders. Why? Glad you asked cause I asked and do you know what Bill said? "Because these are professional riders Gina, and a woman could not keep up with them, they are riding 20+ mph up these mountains, do you really think a woman could keep up with that?" Well okay then.

E. Did you know each main rider, like Lance Armstrong, has his own team? And each team is comprised of who they think is the BEST rider. And the team is hired, yes they get paid to do this, to help the Main rider win the tour.

F. The main group of riders in the race is called the Peloton.

G. Each group/pack of riders following the leader are called "Chasers"

H. Did you know it's bad to ride alone? Seriously. You want your team mates to be with you in a chaser group so that they can help you "Attack" the leader and take over. And the more you have in your group the better chance you have. Teamwork in riding...who knew!

Anyways, it was fun talking to him about the tour. Getting his insight, watching CRAZY people dress up in cow costumes and run alongside the riders with flags on their backs, riders crashing out, and seeing the beautiful country of France.

And who knew that I might actually enjoy the Tour and the quality time I had with my husband? I love you Bill!

Not My Child MONDAY!

Addie is NOT already at 9months of age showing all signs that she is a "mini me". She is NOT the most impatient child I have ever met.

Ellia did NOT pee on her younger sister last week while we were potty training. And then think it was funny when we told her this was NOT okay.

My child did NOT dip toilet water out of the toilet with her toy kitchen pots & pans. And then proceed to drink it in front of our company. She also did NOT fill up the little kitchen sink in her kitchen with the toilet water and then she did NOT pretend to wash the dishes.

My child did NOT find all the candy from the 4Th of July parade that we had hid in our diaper bag. She did NOT then proceed to eat the candy, wrappers and all. And then just to be nice hand out some of the candy to other kids while we were at lunch yesterday.

She is NOT mean to her baby sister, whacking her on the head, sitting on her, peeing on her, stealing toys from her. Then when other kids her sister's age come around try to hug them & love on them. Why is it that she is mean to her sister but not others???

When we were leaving for church yesterday Ellia did NOT tell me "Mama I pooped" when we were walking out the door. Sure enough she had.....and she's not ready for potty training. Yeah right!


Ellia is NOT obsessed and I do mean obsessed with going "Bye Bye". She does NOT ask me at least 3x a day "Mama me go bye bye" or "Addie go bye bye". And when I tell her no that we aren't she does NOT get upset and start crying.

She is NOT learned how to throw fits, complete with throwing herself on the floor, kicking & crying. And she did NOT do this last night in front of our company because I wouldn't allow her to have another package of fish crackers. Nope she wouldn't do this because she is the most well behaved 21 month in the world! ;o)

Craft Supply Giveaway

So I am really getting into searching for give aways/prizes and more on the web. In this economy a girl has to have options. And I am having so much fun entering these. Who know's maybe one day they will pay off and I will actually win ;o) !

I found this blog & her give away today. Blue Cricket Design. Go check her out.

Blog Hop

This week, on TUESDAY, 7/14/09, the theme is THREE THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT ME .


1. Betcha didn't know that before marriage & before kids I was quite the concert gal. Well, Bill and I did attend a few together. But I have seen bands like Keane, Duran Duran, Journey, Matchbox 20, U2 (3x), Tom Petty, Dave Mathews and here is a picture of Adam Levine of Maroon 5. I love concerts!!! I recently saw New Kids On The Block. It was just like when I was 12 only better.



2. Right after this picture was taken of Bill and I the summer we started dating (this is one of my favorite photos of us) I got mono. Yeppers, the worst case my doctor has seen in a looooooong time she said. And that along with it came a nasty rash. Warning the picture of my legs with the rash are really horrible.

Aren't they pretty?

And amazingly he kept dating me, even though I looked like this from head to toe for 4weeks straight!!

3. That I used to have a cat named Harley. And that I love Harley motorcycles. That's how she got her name. But she went and met her maker shortly after Ellia was born. She wasn't a friendly cat at all, well at least to anyone that wasn't me. Bill put up with her for 2yrs and he was a trooper let me tell you. Besides his allergie to cats, her constant hissing at him & scratching him....ohh, and there was the time she peed on him in bed. RIP Harley.

Not Me Monday!

This week I did NOT start and stop potty training Ellia at least 3x. Rationalizing she isn't ready for it, it could NOT be me that is NOT ready for it, right?

When Ellia had a poopy accident on the floor I did NOT post it on Facebook and then proceed to post right after it what we had for dinner. That would be just gross!

I did NOT ask my husband to come on his day off and go Raspberry picking with the girls & I on a MOPS outing. He did NOT object & he did NOT decide to call it a MOPS & DOPS (Dads of pre-schoolers) outing.

This Mama did NOT have a breakdown this past week, make dinner & then promptly leave the house to spend some time alone. I did NOT head to Barnes & Noble, grab a latte & wander around the store pretending/reminiscing how I used to do this as a single woman. And I did NOT enjoy every single minute of that 1.5hr. I DID come home refreshed & find my children already in bed. Resulting in a quiet evening snuggling with my husband.

On Friday evening, I did NOT go to a good friends birthday party and get a bit drunk. I did NOT mean to, it just happened. When you don't drink often it can creep up on you. I did NOT try a cucumber martini and like it. And I did NOT tell my husband about 15x and our babysitters 3x that our car smelled like french fries. (even though it was the cheese bagels in the back seat) And I did NOT accuse my husband of having these said french fries with out me.

I am NOT so very excited about this Wednesday being the release date of the newest HP movie. And in anticipation of the movie release I am NOT re-reading book #6 yet again.

Yesterday, when my friends called asking to meet up for lunch before stamp club I did NOT jump up to get ready. I did NOT opt to not take a shower & just sprinkle some baby powder in my UN-washed hair. My hair had NOT been washed in 3 days. And this Mama did NOT make it out of the house in less than 15 minutes.

Raspberry Picking & Jam making

On Wednesday this week I had a MOPS play date to pick Raspberry's. When I agreed to come I quickly thought "Am I crazy to try to go berry picking with two little girls?" But my friend, Sabrina quickly assured me it would be fine. That the isles at Remlinger Farms were wide enough for strollers.

But I didn't have to worry it turned out Bill was off. So I pulled him along to help pick & to help with the girls. He joked that it was a MOPS and DOPS "Dads of Preschoolers" play date. Okay honey.




Picking was fun. Although Ellia ate many, many, many berries and not all of them were ripe. Good thing they said you could eat while you picked. She had fun squeezing under the berries to join her friends on the other isles. (and yes I dressed Ellia in farmer clothes, overalls & boots, cause I am soooo anal about these things....)




Then on Thursday Ellia and I made freezer jam. Tons of fun and let me say YUMMY!!! Thanks to Aunt Beth - who gave me the idea of making the jam because the last time we visited she gave us a bunch of jam & told me it was easy to make.

Daddy trying to teach Ellia how to pick them

Addie wished she was older & could pick. Although she did pick her fair share of leaves

The keeper of the berries

Pre-Jam making - in our aprons

Ellia decided the strainer was a good hat

Helping Mama pour in the sugar

Smashing, smashing, smashing

Still smashing - notice the jam splatters on her face, and keeping her hands out of the jam proved to be a challenge too. Good thing this jam is just for our family! ;o)

All done - made 4.5 good size containers. And we still have berries left over for a pie & syrup

This is a sad girl! She didn't want to be done. She kept saying "Pleeease Mama, Meee" she wanted to keep making it....Poor girl.