Girly Girl...

As you know I have two little girls. They could not be more different. However, I have found one thing they both love.... dressing up! I made Little Sis a tutu yesterday and she loves it! Big Sis already had one that she got for Christmas last year (but it is much different than the one I made). So I got it out and they wore their tutus all afternoon! It was so cute.

We woke up this morning and as soon as breakfast was over they were both begging to put their tutus back on! I love this. I love that they are being girly girls. It makes me dream of days when we will go shopping for prom dresses and wedding dresses. Not that I'm trying to rush it... I'm enjoying every minute of their childhood and I hope they are too!

Here is a picture of Little Sis in her tutu (and pajamas). I took one of Big Sis but she slept in a big t-shirt that my sister gave her so she looked a little ridiculous in a huge t-shirt with a tutu. Besides, I'm planning on making her a green tutu like Tinker Bell - her new favorite thing right now! So I'll try to get that done today or this weekend and post pictures of her in her Tinker Bell tutu.

Happy Friday everyone!

The mind of a two-year-old....

We are having much success in potty training so my girl is wearing her big girl panties all day pretty much. As we all know, wearing panties brings the joy of having them ride up or get twisted or basically just not laying right. Big Sis is figuring all of that out now. I have pictures, but I will not post them on here because while I think her bootie is cute as can be, I don't want anyone else to see it! :) I'm sure you all understand.

Anyway.... she has started letting me know when her panties need adjusting. And what she does is come tell me that "my bootie is coming out"! Seriously, she came up with that all on her own and every time she says it I crack up! My bootie is coming out! LOVE IT! And I am constantly amazed at the mind of my two-year-old.

In other news... I have been a busy bee working on some projects for an upcoming baby shower! Yippee!! I am having such fun with it. I've also been working on some other projects for my girls and for some people I know who are having babies. In the past year I have become this girl who loves a project - especially the crafty projects. I never knew I had all this craftiness in me... but I love it! Plus it keeps me from going crazy :)

On the pregnancy front things are well. Little One is growing and is about the size of an apple right now. So cute! I'm feeling great and am looking forward to my appointment next week. We will be scheduling my big ultrasound then and I can't wait to get another look at this sweet miracle. Husband and I are having a serious name dilemma. First of all he doesn't want to pick a name until we know the gender. Ok, I can live with that. BUT.... every name I suggest he shoots down. And every name he suggests I don't like either. SO we are really struggling on agreeing on any names for this baby. There have been a couple of names we agree on but seems like with each of those something is holding us back. I guess we shall see.

Looks like I need to get to work on some projects while my kids are napping.... hope you all have a wonderful day.

The Inevitable...

I realize I don't live in a bubble where I can keep my children tiny forever. I know they will grow up and I love watching them do that. However, it is really hard. A lot harder than I thought it would be.

You know I'm struggling with sending Big Sis off to MDO in a couple of weeks. I'm so excited for her but I still have a hard time "believing" that she is old enough to carry a backpack and a lunchbox and be taught by someone other than me. I'm working on getting over my sadness and emotions. I still have a couple of weeks to get there. Or so I thought.

We walked into church this morning. We haven't been in a couple of weeks as we have been out of town and then last Sunday we had the fever which kept us home. So today we walked in and signed the kids in and started down the hallway to their rooms....

Then the Children's Director stopped us outside of Big Sis's room and asked us if Little Sis is walking well. We told her she was and she said she needed to move up into the room we were standing in front of. Big Sis's Room? Hubs and I looked at each other and then we looked at the security tags and noticed that Big Sis had moved up to the next classroom too. WHAT? I had to choke back tears.... she's my baby, she should be in the baby room, or at least the little toddlers' room. But no.

Somehow in the past month or so she has gone from being my little girl to being a for real big girl. How did I let this happen. And I'm so torn in my emotions because I know what a blessing it is to watch her grow up and to be a part of it. I know that there are mothers out there who don't get to experience that and my heart breaks daily for these women. I am truly happy for her and all her "growing up" and big girl things. She is such an amazing little girl and I am incredibly proud to be her mother. But to me she should still be this tiny...

She should still be my 5 pound baby that I spent endless hours holding and praying over. She is such a joy to us and we love her more each day. I never knew this kind of love was possible until she was born and being a mother to her and Little Sis and now the new baby has been the most incredible blessing.

I am still emotional about everything but the husband has been so supportive. I looked at him this morning and said "this is the first time in 2 1/2 years that we haven't had a child in the baby room at church" to which he replied "it's just for a little while, we'll have one in there in a couple of months!"

I know children grow up but sometimes I wish I could control it... let's be honest, I wish I could control a heck of a lot more in my life than I can. But since I can't control it, I'm trying to embrace it. And thankfully my baby girl is so excited that it is hard for me not to join in her excitement. Hopefully this week I'll have some pics of some of her "school" goodies. She loves them all so much!

Hoping we all have a wonderful week...

It's Friday!!

I'm so excited today is Friday. We have had a crazy week this week and I know all 5! of us are ready for some weekend time!

We had our roof re-done this week. A couple of months ago we had a nasty hail storm that resulted in our roof being damaged (along with about every roof in our neighborhood and nearby neighborhoods). So we found a great contractor and we have a new roof. And we LOVE it!

If you have never had your roof replaced... let me tell you, it is an experience. And if you have, I'm sure you know exactly what I mean.

We live on a dead end street, not a cul-de-sac, but the street literally ends. We had planned ahead and parked our cars out on the street in front of the house so the roofers could have the driveway and such. They started Tuesday and it was no big deal. The girls and I didn't have anything to do that day so we stayed in and just hung out.

But Wednesday... that was a different story. We had a list of things to do so we had to get out and about. The roofers showed up around 9am and I had planned on leaving with the girls around 10am. I got them ready and we started to leave... it was a couple minutes after ten. We opened the garage door... even though there was no vehicle in there, I opened it out of habit. That is how we usually leave the house. As it was opening I watched as the entire width of the garage was boarded up, so to speak. The roofers had placed huge pieces of plywood all down the garage and on the other side of the plywood was ONE of their trailers. So we closed the door and went back inside to go out the front door.

Ok.... this is where things got "interesting". I looked at my key ring and realized that there was no house key on it. I then began searching for one. Called the hubs.... figured out what key to use (as I said, I rarely use the front door to leave the house). This whole time I'm packed up with the diaper bag on my shoulder, a 22 pound baby on my hip... holding the hand of my other baby and a KinderMat in my hand to return to WalMart while we were out. I wish I could have seen myself :)

So we head out.... across the yard.... to the car on the street. I get the girls in and sit down and turn on the car.... then it hits me. Wednesday is trash day. I haven't seen the trash guys yet. One look in the rearview mirror and things get REALLY interesting. The trash truck is backing down our street (it always does because there is nowhere for it to turn around at the end of the street). I look around. There is a truck at the very end of the street.... Our driveway is full of truck and trailer.... there is a car right behind mine.... there is another trailer across the street from my car... and now the trash truck is coming down the road.

All I could think was.... How will this work?! I had already planned my escape route... back down to the neighbor's drive and turn around in there (my car was facing the dead end of our street). I sat there as the trash truck came dangerously close to me.... I could have touched it without having to reach too far out my window. They got our trash and then headed back down the street. This took a while though, and some maneuvering by the truck driver, but it was a success. I followed them and made my turn-around. Then I got "stuck" behind them as they were stopping to get trash. The guy on the back felt sorry for me (I guess) and he asked the driver to scoot the truck over so I could get around. He did and it was very nice of him.

By this time, it was 10:30!!! I used to be the most impatient person. Seriously, it was a huge problem for me. And that impatience still creeps up on me sometimes. But the hubby and I have noticed that since we have had kids my patience is much better! I was having a good day Wednesday and instead of being furious about the situation, I just laughed and laughed. I called my sister when we actually got going and laughed with her about it. I honestly wish I had had my video camera with me because it was a sight!

Anyway, I tell you this story to say this... I am GLAD it is FRIDAY! The roofers finally finished everything this morning and we are very happy with the end result. No more loud noises during naptime and no more insanity on our street.

We have some fun things planned for the weekend and I'm excited about that. I'm still emotional about MDO so I won't say anything really about that. :) It has been a good week. Crazy, but good. And I'm looking forward to a good weekend. Hope you all have a good weekend as well!!!

Am I Crazy???

This morning we went and signed my Little Girl up for Mother's Day Out. She calls it "school" because she knows so many people who go to school and she wants to go so badly. So to us, MDO is School.

I know this is probably crazy (and I like to think I'm not normally a Crazy Mom) but I feel like she is really going to school. This is a new phase for us and I've been really emotional about it. My emotions range from excitement to sadness. Am I crazy? I mean, it is only MDO. It's actually supposed to be for me, right??? Mother's Day Out? :) I haven't cried so far, but I just feel like she is too little to be going to "school". She's my BABY! I'm sure the tears will come soon...

But my girl is so excited and her excitement is very contagious. We walked in to turn in our registration and we got to go see her classroom. We got to see the little bathroom with the teeny tiny potties. We saw all the toys and the playground. She loved it all and wanted to stay and play. :) She's going to be great and enjoy "school" so much. This just makes me feel like REAL school is so close. Lord, let me enjoy every moment of these next few years because I know they will go by so quickly.

Ok, now onto something less emotional... :) I haven't been good about posting pictures lately but I am trying to get better. Last week my dad came to visit for the day. He had a test to take here for work (he passed... Go Dad!). So after the test we all had lunch together and then he wanted to take the girls to Wal-Mart to get some treats. He loves them so much and he loves to take them to the store and let them pick whatever treats they want. He left soon after we got home from WM so I got all the goodies out of the bag to see what we had made it home with.

Does Pappy spoil his girls.... I think so! We are so lucky to have him! Love you Dad/Pappy!!!

Tests, Operation, and a Surprise....

Here is the background. Thursday afternoon I noticed Baby Girl was warm. Temp 101ish. Motrin and bed. I was up in the middle of the night to give her more medicine as her temperature was still up. This has been ongoing since Thursday afternoon. The tylenol and motrin get rid of the fever but it comes right back as soon as the meds wear off. Then Sunday night I noticed her lips turning purple and her arms and legs were too. They were cold to the touch even though she still had a fever. We got her warmed up and gave her some more meds and put her to bed. Needless to say, Momma didn't sleep well (and hasn't slept well since Thursday night). So Monday morning I called the pediatrician and made an appointment. Thinking this would be no big deal, just a quick look over and make sure there wasn't anything wrong, I took Big Sis with me. Oh how wrong I was....

The doc wanted to do a blood draw. She then decided we needed a chest x-ray and possibly we would be doing a urine test. So the three of us sat in the waiting area for blood and x-ray. Blood draw came.... Baby cried. Big Sis didn't know what to do, so she just patted Little Sis on the back and curiously watched.

Then came x-ray. Since I'm pregnant I couldn't go help. So they took her away, which caused Big Sis to cry (she's pretty protective of her sister). After a few minutes we heard the unmistakable cry coming from the x-ray room. Baby Girl was NOT HAPPY! A few minutes later they brought a sobbing baby girl back to me. We went back to the exam room to wait for our results.

Chest x-ray was good. No problems there. Blood count was not perfect. Her white blood cell count was elevated and it caused the doc to think it may be a bacterial infection rather than a virus so she wanted to do a urine test. Now.... if you have never had a urine test run on your baby you may not know what happens. Sadly, this isn't my first experience with a baby urine test. They can't pee on command so how do you get the pee pee out? By catheter.... so sad. But Little Sis survived (not quietly.... she screamed A LOT). Urine came back fine so the doctor decided to call it a virus for now. Keep treating it the same and hopefully it will go away. If the fever is still present Wednesday or Thursday.... bring her back in. Got it!

Thankfully, we woke up this morning with NO FEVER!!!! Praise the Lord! Back to normal!! And in case you were wondering, Big Sis was awesome the entire time we were at the doctor's office. She was such a help to me and I am SO PROUD of her!

Now.... we are in day 2 of "Operation: Get Big Sis Ready for Mother's Day Out". I realize some moms may think I'm crazy, but I am very concerned with how she does with MDO. She has never gone to MDO or DayCare or stayed with anyone who wasn't family. I think this is great... that we've made it 2+ years and have been fortunate enough to keep her with us most of the time. However, this is presenting me with a problem as MDO gets closer. One problem - naptime. We've always had a scheduled naptime (flexible, but I try to keep to a schedule). However, I've always said as long as she plays quietly in her room during naptime then it doesn't bother me if she doesn't sleep. There is no playing at MDO during naptime... she needs to know how to lay down and rest.

Well, lately this has become a problem so Mission #1: Naptime = lay quietly in your bed. Yesterday's nap was not a success but today has been a different story!!! YAY!

We also have a lot of things to do to prepare for her to be away from us one day a week (I know how crazy this sounds, but it is an adjustment for all of us and I prefer to be overly prepared for EVERYTHING). Hopefully we can get naptime under control so we can focus on discipline and all the other things that I have to have figured out before next month.

And finally.... I got a surprise on my doorstep yesterday.... are you ready for this??????

Oh yeah baby.... that's my giveaway package that I won at Natalie's Blog!!!! She sure does know how to host a giveaway! This made my day. Check out all the great things in the package (and there are still more things to come).

The girls both LOVED the Sophie the Giraffe.... They thought she was so cute and her squeak is precious! And Big Sis has had a blast with the See What I See game! She has played with it constantly since I gave it to her. So great!

The husband and I have argued about whether or not the swaddle blanket and the sweater and booties are gender neutral since I showed him everything I got. I have a feeling this will be an ongoing discussion if we have a baby boy :) I guess we will find out in about a month!!!!

Ok... I think this is enough for one day! I don't want to overload the readers. :) I have a lot going on, so hopefully I'll have some good posts for you all this week.

I'm back...

Alright.... here we go! I have A LOT of catching up to do on here. We have been busy this past week and I was miserable yesterday with a headache but I am ready to fill you all in now. Sit back, relax and be prepared for a post that is all over the place...

We are getting better about our little night night issue with the Princess. I have just resolved to not let it get me so frustrated and I think we may be on the upside. ALSO.... she is using the potty all day, every day (except for sleep times)!! I know you are all jumping up and down with me! This is incredibly exciting and our diaper usage has dramatically dropped! YAY!!!!

We went to Branson, MO two weekends ago with Mimi and Nanny and we had oh so much fun! I did an insane amount of shopping (for me) and came home with new fall/winter wardrobes for both girls. I am planning on taking a picture of it soon to show you how much stuff I got them. Oh how I love outlet malls. And my girls loved shopping there too - because most of the time they were outside. Yes, the inside girl (me) has been given two little girls who LOVE to be outside. I'm hoping #3 likes to be inside with me, so at least I'll have someone to hang out with while the girls and their daddy play outside! We also took the girls to Silver Dollar City while we were there. I think we ALL loved it as much as the girls. And my Nanny bought me a sweet necklace that I LOVE!

Sidenote about jewelry. I am not a big jewelry person. I have spent the better part of the past 3 years holding a baby and necklaces and bracelets just don't work well in that situation. I love to wear jewelry (I'm not a blingy person, but I love some color or something that catches the eye) but I try to live with as little stress as possible. And fighting the kids for my necklaces is just more than I want to deal with most days. But I'm planning on changing that.... :)

Last week was really hard on me which is the reason for no posts. But here I am this week and things are MUCH better. We did take a trip over the weekend. My sister (who lives way too far away from me - 10 hours) was in Memphis, TN for the weekend so we decided to drive that short trip and meet her. And my dad decided to do the same! So we had a great weekend with them. We shopped and went out to eat and swam at the hotel and just had a great time with some of our favorite people. My girls light up when they are with my dad and my sister. They light up when they are with any of our family - those two girls LOVE their big family! It is so special to the husband and I to see them so happy to be with family. So we had another great weekend! I'm wondering, when will weekends last 5 days and work weeks last 2? :)

Because the girls are set up with new clothes for the fall, this Momma decided to fancy up their outfits a little with some hairbows. So instead of spending a lot of money on them, I'm making them. I am heading to Hobby Lobby (ahh, love that place) today to get some things I need to finish up my bows and I will then have pictures to show you. New clothes, matching bows.... so excited. I'm also on the hunt for some cute fabric to make Thanksgiving and Christmas dresses. I'm not a pro at fabric shopping, so I'm curious... where do you buy your fabric????

Ok, my little Crazy girl just woke up extra early from her nap so it is time for me to go. I also have a huge amount of cleaning to do today since I did NOTHING yesterday. But I'm feeling good now and I'm about to get my clean on!!!

Oh, and since I like to leave you with a little something exciting.... I WON! I entered a giveaway on Natalie's Blog and I won! Really, I never win anything, but I won this! I can't wait to get my package in the mail so I can show you all the amazing things that she gave away! But maybe more exciting than the giveaway is that I found her blog because of it. It is a really great blog and I hope you all check it out sometime. YAY.... I'm still excited!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!

Too drained...

I keep wanting to post but honestly I can't find the energy or time or whatever. We've (well me mostly) have been dealing with some naptime/bedtime issues with our precious 2 1/2 year old that have taken a toll on me, mentally, physically and emotionally. There have been many tears shed and many, MANY frustrated moments over the past couple of weeks. And there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. I'm in the middle of a rough night right now so this will be short.

I do have many blog ideas and I'm hoping this phase will pass quickly so that I can get back to blogging :) But right now, I have to deal with this situation at our house and it doesn't leave me much time to do anything else (after all the other things that have to be done daily). Basically I have no "me" time really left in my days. I'm not complaining... just explaining. This is why I've been absent for a while. I'm hoping to get back to "normal" soon :) Until then, hope all is well with you all!

I Don't Wednesday

Here we are again.... Time for I Don't Wednesday at Jenna's blog! This will be quick since it is naptime and I have A LOT to do!

• I don't have my baby girl's Christmas stocking finished. I've made all of ours but I am having a hard time finishing hers.... it will be done by Christmas though!
• I don't have on real clothes today... just lounge pants and a t-shirt - it's a nasty, rainy, HOT day here and we are staying inside!
• I don't blog as much as I would like - things have been really crazy around here lately.
• I don't like cooked fruits. I love fruit, just not hot!
• I don't like lemon in my water.... I just want a lot of ice in there. :)
• I don't know how I'm going to arrange the bedrooms in our house to make room for the new baby.... I need to get on it!

That's what is on my mind today. I'm hoping to get out another post today... we'll see :)

Happy Wednesday all!