La Bella Vista

It's been awhile!

2007-11-04T12:45:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in God knows how long so I thought I'd update my 2 readers on life.

*First (and probably the biggest/most important news) I'm pregnant. 13 1/2 weeks to be exact. It is going by SOOOOOO fast! I feel like I just found out (although I knew before I was even 4 weeks along). We have heard the heartbeat and had 2 ultrasounds b/c I've been bleeding but everything is going well. I first felt the baby at about 10 weeks and am now feeling him/her pretty regularly. Any suggestions for names? We are totally at a loss. I think all the goods ones have been used. We are due in May so I guess we have time to figure it out but I don't feel connected to this child at ALL and I think a name would help.

*2nd-Little Bit is growing at an amazingly fast rate! I can't keep up. She is forming sentences--very short--3 words but sentences none the less. Her first was "See Mommy's car" and her 2nd was "Cat open door" b/c my cat was trying to open the laundry room door.

*3rd--We won our apartment complex's pumpkin carving contest. I was happy. We got a gift certificate to our local mall and got almost all of Little Bit's Christmas presents. We have 2 things left to get. Yea!

*4th--I have decided I'm useless at my job. B doesn't think so but I totally do! I do all the crap no one else wants to. There are now 3 of us marketing girls which I really don't mind but I don't have any definition to what I do. I just do whatever comes along (make copies, sort out coupons, and run Family Fun Night which they will be changing in Jan. and I won't be able to do it anymore). I have cried a lot about it and had to remind myself a THOUSAND times that I'm just pregnant and crazy but I'm not really buying it. I did really well until last week. I haven't cried through this WHOLE pregnancy until last week and I cried like 4 times.

*5th--2nd most important-OXICLEAN WILL BLEACH YOUR CLOTHES!!!!! OXICLEAN WILL NOT REIMBURSE YOU!!!!
I called them after I successfully bleached a BRAND new pair of maternity pants and the lady was a real jerk! She said "well, it contains bleach" (like I was ignorant). I responded with "my bottle doesn't say that" and she replied with "well, it says it contains hydrogen peroxide...that's a bleach agent." HELLO????? Do they realize that not everyone knows that?? Why do they not print that on the bottle??? It is now my goal to inform EVERYONE I KNOW that it WILL bleach your clothes! I yelled at the lady on the phone. It was my first breakdown of my pregnancy and resulted in my first set of tears. I told her I was a marketing major in a PR job and I would ensure that I spread this to everyone I know. She didn't care.

2007-08-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

i hit my 100th post like 6months ago and am now on 113. how sad is that? life is really getting the best of me!
first things first--we sold our house and moved to an apartment. yea! i thought the 2 weeks with my mom would be absolute torture but they weren't bad. only the first few days were. i was an emotional wreck from leaving the house i had lived in 5 years, had come home to from our honeymoon, had brought our firstborn home to, etc. and my mom thought everything i was feeling was a personal attack on her and that she hadn't done enough for us. go figure. my husband listened to us argue one night and was blown away by her side of the story (or lack thereof). i think she was basically trying to make an argument for herself and it just wasn't working. anyway, we are now in an apartment where the square footage is about the same but we have so much more space! it is such a better design. i have no idea where we're going from here but we'll be here until next august anyway.

little bit has been an angel since we moved. i don't know if it was the change of scenery, if it is b/c the house is more open than the other house was, i really don't know but her attitude has done a 180. as a matter of fact, she has been teething (cut her first eye tooth yesterday--top right if looking at her) and i haven't give her motrin one time. she hasn't had one grumpy day and i've heard the eye teeth are the worst. i swear she is a different child! don't get me wrong--she does have her moments but they just aren't stretched out into days anymore. i'm so thankful! it has been this turn around of events that has led us to realize that we can handle one more. for a long time b and i wanted 3 kids (2 boys, 1 girl in that order). i think God laughed when we thought that. first of all, we the girl came first, then i got pregnant and realized i didn't want to do that 2 more times, then i had her and realized i wasn't even sure i wanted to do it one more time. but things really do get better and this age is my favorite thus far. she's trying to repeat everything we say. i've never paid attention to how she says it (like how her tongue falls in her mouth) until emma pointed it out about ella but i have since realized that little bit doesn't put the tip or back of her tongue to the roof of her mouth when saying words. like "g" sounds or "n" sounds. she can say an "n" at the beginning of a word but definitely not the middle. she just isn't a detail oriented child. i'm not either, though, so she gets it honestly. she just wants to get the big picture out there.

her eating has become a little more picky in the last week or two. she's still eating the same things but only a bite or two and she's done. if you have one bite of 10 different foods, she'll typically eat every single one but not 10 bites of the same food. tonight b and i stopped and got ice cream and i tried to give her a little and she wouldn't even take that. she loves loves loves sweet peas, carrots, and broccoli though. she hates meat! i can barely get her to eat it and wouldn't even try if it weren't for the protein. and she loves bread

elmo is quickly becoming her best friend. she loves elmo's world. and yes yes yes i know that television equals brain damage but i can't help it if i have to get work done and need a 30 minute distraction. that's the price i have to pay for not putting her in daycare i guess. is it better for me to watch her, get work done, and put elmo on for the occasional entertainment or is it better for someone else to watch her where God only knows what goes on? i'll choose option "a" thank you! if she sat mind numbingly in front of the tv all day everyday, i'd worry but i can barely get her to watch a 10 minute elmo segment. she's just too busy for that! plus, i will always stand behind that elmo is educational! we got a new dvd a few days ago and she can "sing" the songs and do the hand motions for them. don't tell me she isn't learning! i also heard the other day (in one of these many studies) that of kids who A-watched tv unsupervised B-watched no tv and C-watched tv with their parents, group C scored highest in aptitude tests. i LOVE to sit and watch tv with her. i don't do it everytime but i do it a lot! so there's my argument on the brain damage i'm exposing my child to. i still think she's going to be brilliant. and if you don't believe me, ask her to sing for you.

hope all is well in blogger land! comment if you will :) i love to read 'em (even if blogger picks and chooses what it wants to email me)

oh and these pictures--that is our new backyard (complete with a lake that we absolutely will never swim in). b says he doesn't know who this kid is b/c he doesn't have one this old. gosh they grow up fast :)

WOOHOO!!

2007-07-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

we're moving...that's right--we sold our HOUSE!! hallelujah! I'm so excited! I'm not excited about the fact that blogger is going really slow though....hmmm...

it all happened really really fast. We showed our house on a Thursday. The following Friday the guy selling our house for us called and said the people wanted to buy it but wanted to see it again. So we showed it again on Saturday. Then, the next Friday (last Friday actually), we had the check in hand and our (little) profit! Woohoo!! We are officially spending our last night here tonight. It is bittersweet. We have lived here for 5 ½ years now so I will be a little sad to leave the house but DEFINITELY not the park we’re in. they cut our grass yesterday and charged us $35…I was TICKED! I’m a little concerned about my cats and little bit but we’ll be fine

we are going to stay w/ my mom for 2 weeks and then we’re moving into an apartment. I’m excited. My most favorite time of my life was living in my apartment. That sounds really bad. Don’t get me wrong, I love my life now but looking back, that is the part that I’d LOVE to relive. Please pray for us as we stay w/ my mom and step dad…it could get ugly. We get along great but…well, you know how parents can be. Thankfully, I have to go to a training course the 2^nd week, so I’ll only be there 1 week but my poor husband and child will be there 2. it is going to be HORRIBLE moving little bit out of their house. They are going to spoil her rotten. My cats will be locked in a bedroom for 2 weeks (poor babies). We were going to stay in an apartment that a friend of mine owns for a week and then go to my mom’s for a week to keep my cats from being locked up but it just didn’t seem smart to do that. That would be 3 moves in 2 weeks! Yikes! We have packed up our entire house in one week, though. I feel like that is pretty good packing!

Harry potter comes out tomorrow night. I’m SOOO excited. Yes, I know it is witchcraft and wizardry but I stand firm in my beliefs and am old enough to know better. Thankfully, little bit is too young to get psyched up over the HP mania so I don’t have to argue with her about why she can’t go see the movie or read the books. Maybe when she’s my age. I have read the spoilers online. They seem fairly reliable but so did the original spoiler that came out a month ago. They conflict with each other but I would assume that spoilers a week from the release are more accurate than spoilers a month from the release. The ones I found today actually have all of the chapter titles listed and what happens in each chapter. Supposedly someone scanned pages from the book and posted them online. I never saw those b/c they were immediately removed. I am one of those people that reads the last page first so I’ll know what happens at 12:02am Saturday. if anyone is interested in the spoilers, feel free to post a comment and I’ll get them to you. It took me about an hour to find the ones that seem accurate so I’ll save you a little effort…

Little bit is continuing into her journey of the terrible twos…she’s only 20 months old!!!! How do you deal with throwing things and stomping feet in the middle of a fit and hitting??? I mean, we spank but you can only do that so much! Frustrating…….. She’s still cute as ever though and learning at a rate that amazes me! Her speech is really clearing up too. It is so fun to watch her development

quick update

2007-06-26T20:07:00.000-07:00

b/c i don't want to forget--
little bit learned to turn a flip today. she was standing on her feet with her head on the floor and flipped on over. she proceeded to lay on her back and try to figure out how to go backward. she kept signing/saying "help" (sounds like "up") until one of us would go turn her over backwards. then, she got up and forward flipped about 10 times...it was too cute! she laughed about it a LOT!

she jumped off of the pool side on sunday for the first time. she was with my niece and nephew (who are both 4) and my little sister (who is 8). i was in the pool, she saw them jump, and she decided she wanted to. i SO wish we were around them more often b/c it is SO good for her to be around the older kids. she also went half way down the water slide...we sat her half way up it and let her go (daddy was in the water to catch her).

she is also saying "yeah" to everything right now. it is really funny when i ask b a question and she responds with "yeah."

she helps pick up her toys SO well! we got her a sandbox and she loves it, she helps me load the dishwasher...i really have found that little things like that make my life a LOT easier!

ok all of these are random thoughts in no particular order but things i want to remember

back from the beach

2007-06-24T12:21:00.001-07:00

this past week we went to jax, fl to house sit for family. it was SO nice! free gas (company car), free place to stay (their house), and free food (some chick-fil-a but we did pay for a lot). plus, we brought back all of our clothes CLEAN!
little bit LOVED the beach and hated the ocean :) the first time we went to the beach, we walked toward the water and she was fine but shortly thereafter she turned around, saw a wave, freaked out, and fell in the water...all 4" of it. that did it for the ocean. the next time we asked her if she wanted to go to the beach she said "no" but after a few visits (when she realized we meant the sand) she was excited to go.
one funny thing--we went to longhorn one night (chocolate stampede baby!!!) and she was just GRUMPY (to be nice about it). we made it through dinner and finally (i'm forgetting what she did) b had to take her out of the restaurant. he took her to the car, explained what she did, and spanked her. that was a few days before we left. for the next few days, everytime we'd drive by longhorn, she'd say "no no!" her memory AMAZES me!
a few weeks ago i was telling her where we lived (the state). it was a one time conversation, not really reiterated. then, yesterday, i saw a car w/ a new york tag. i said "i wish we lived in new york" and she said "the state we live it." i was SHOCKED that she remembered. i can't for the LIFE of me get her to understand colors though!
recently (about 3 weeks ago maybe) i told her we needed to cut her fingernails. she proceeded to the drawer where we keep the clippers, pulled them out, and brought them to me. that is the same drawer that isn't baby proofed and she gets in trouble for playing in. i let her get the clippers but nothing else. so yesterday, she got in the drawer and got in trouble for it. today, i was telling b's mom about her getting her own clippers out of the drawer and she started saying "no no!" about the drawer :) now, if she can remember when we are sitting at a hospital no where NEAR the drawer, why can't she remember when we're looking at the drawer?

tell me where your kids are...colors? numbers? letters? counting? phonics? i feel like i'm slacking on the teaching aspect with little bit. i know i work and i don't have much of a choice but i feel like our time spent together is often wasted. i don't know what activities to do with her though...reading a book-out! she won't sit still if you're sitting there with her. she'll "read" for a long time by herself but not with me! puzzles--out! she'd much rather hide the pieces somewhere other than the puzzle. she will play follow the leader pretty well (put her hands up, on her head, touch her nose, etc) and she knows the parts of her body for the most part. she can climb up steps by herself (for awhile now), loves putting things inside other things, and can do motions to songs (twinkle twinkle little star, if you're happy and you know it). she understands coloring and loves to but is by no means trying to trace or draw what i do (read the article)
**side note--i do think this is a pretty good page and definitely relates more to what little bit can do than some of the other sites i've read.

how about potty training? are they ready? are they showing signs? little bit definitely tells me when she poops and that she wants to go potty (sit on the potty) but she won't go in the potty (not even peeing). i know it says most kids aren't ready until 2-2 1/2 but then people in my sunday school have super kids who go before they're 2.

so having said all of that--also tell me this--do you get annoyed when people tell you how their 18 month old can count to 40 and sing 25 songs, and knows their abc's? i know they are just proud but geez! a friend of a friend does that w/ her 2 year old. "oh, she knows blah and blah and can blah and blah" and it drives me batty! i want to know how my kid measures up but i don't want people to brag about the wonder that is their child!

another post! i'm on a roll!

2007-05-29T11:54:00.000-07:00

little bit is still teething (or just generally cranky). she can't do anything at all without fussing about it!! thankfully, b has been home the last few days and i'm in an ok mood today so it isn't bothering me. hopefully it will stay that way :) a few things i keep forgetting to write about: she can "sing" jesus loves me (it really amounts to "jee jee jee jee" but she gets the beginning tune) and the backyardigans theme song (she just carries that tune--no words), she tells everyone she loves them "wub-u," she says "otay" for everything but has also recently started saying yeah or "wah." i love "wah!" it is my absolute favorite although i want her (eventually) to say yes ma'am.

my "friend" sara (i have to say that w/ quotation marks as i'm not really sure how i feel about our friendship at the moment) hasn't bothered to call me. she's been back 5 days, i asked her to call when she got back and she hasn't. i know she's back though. i saw her car at her workplace today. she was concerned enough to email me the first day of her honeymoon wanting to know what we needed to talk about but not concerned enough to actually call? i really think she knows what is going on and just doesn't want to talk about it.

my friend rachel (long time friend from high school that i only talk to twice a year or so but that i love and miss DEARLY) is getting married. i'm so happy for her but i really hope she doesn't ask me to be a bridesmaid. i might just be flattering myself even thinking that she would but i really hope she doesn't. i SOOOO don't want to be in another wedding.

my boss at CFA told me he would get me a new phone. i'm SO excited. i just hope he follows through with it. it is a SUPER nice phone (pda/phone w/ all microsoft programs, flip out keyboard, internet, etc). i'm excited about it.

did i blog about picasa last time? if not, go to google, search "picasa" and download it. it is the absolute BEST photo software EVER and it is SOOOOOO easy to upload your pictures to web albums to share them w/ friends. it is also SUPER easy to edit and add special effects to your pictures. for example--this picture is lillee (the not really but kind of honorary flower girl from the wedding). i took this w/ an awesome camera but in just regular color. i edited it w/ picasa...in about 20 seconds.

we have vacation coming up in a few weeks that i couldn't be happier about. we NEED it terribly bad!! the beauty of it is that my aunt and uncle live near a beach and we are going to stay in their house while they are away at camp! so it will be FREE :) plus, b's company pays his gas so it will also be FREE to drive! and i have Chick-fil-A coupons so again--we can eat for FREE. the best vacations are FREE :)

2 posts in one week! wow!

2007-05-23T09:18:00.000-07:00

i am feeding my daughter cheerios and while i have a moment to think (in quiet) i thought i'd post (very quickly b/c i just noticed my battery is about to die).

per my last post--i have now moved from total anger to totally heartbroken and i'm still really confused. i don't understand what happened but i also don't understand the problem i have hanging onto friends. my best friend in the whole world in high school and i "split up" several years ago. she moved a few hours away and that was hard but we made it work for a few years. then we ended up in a heated argument stemming around my changing my major (she thought i was selling myself short), she moved and didn't bother telling me or giving me her new phone number, and things just haven't been the same since. we hardly ever talk now (like twice a year--MAYBE). after my 1st 2 years of college i met sara (the bride from the last post). she was in a serious relationship, i was married, her old friends were partying and weren't in serious relationships and we just kind of...worked. for about 2 years everything was great. then i got pregnant and hormonal and never wanted to talk on the phone (but selfishly always wanted someone to talk to me when i was ready) and things changed with her. but we talked it all out and i realized how much i stink as a friend (back to the selfish comment) and started to work through that. however, little bit came along w/i just a few months and i don't know what happened after that. i guess maybe she thought that i was too busy or she was intruding...i don't know. we still invited her over frequently but she would only stay a few minutes, she stopped asking me to go shopping or have my nails done or anything really. but her old friends had now settled down some and she started hanging around them again. then there's andi. we got close while i was pregnant (she was pregnant too) and after her little one was born, she stopped calling (little bit is 3 months younger than her's).

so i definitely see a pattern (life changes, friends change) but i feel like a friendship should withstand and pull through life changes! i am heartbroken to know that i may not ever have a lifelong friend again. how do i stop this cycle?

i'm back...and dumbfounded

2007-05-18T20:52:00.001-07:00

i have been so terribly overwhelmed and busy lately. i haven't had time to do anything! sorry for the 1 person who reads my blog :) and this is little bit on her first bowling night. she actually did really well. we just passed her off a LOT
so let me update you on life:
1)Little bit is great. she is becoming ever increasingly a toddler. curious beyond belief, mischievous beyond belief, and adorable beyond belief. her speech is becoming quite good. i have a bad habit of saying "oh, God" and she repeated that the other day along w/ "oh my Lord." it is cute but i have to be careful :) this week "outside" has almost been perfected. i'm very impressed! she burnt her fingers last tuesday. i had gotten out of the car and put her on the ground. i told her to come to me (i was standing at the back door and she was near the front of the car) and she started walking. i turned to get the groceries out and she starts screaming. she stopped pretty quickly so i figured a pinched finger, no big deal. over the next half hour or so she'd grab her hand and cry. i finally looked really closely and realized there were blisters on her 1st 3 fingers. evidentally she grabbed my brake rotor. wednesday i put her down when i got her out of the car and she walked a good 5 feet away from the tire :) learned her lesson...she has also mastered the art of climbing stairs. she will still get nervous and get down and crawl but she can pretty much walk up them like a big girl.
2)i'm in a wedding tomorrow...yes, that wedding. we had the rehearsal dinner tonight and i got the biggest stab in the back i've ever had in my life (here i go whining again). she has been engaged for about 17months (longest engagement ever). before she got engaged, i was going to be her maid of honor (matron i guess actually), after she got engaged, it was still me. 6 or 8 months ago--still me as we talked about me having to walk up the aisle w/ her future father in law. tonight--i'm not the matron of honor anymore. i told my husband on the way to the rehearsal that i felt like a bad matron of honor b/c i don't have time to go hang out and pick out flowers, invitations, etc. and take care of my 18month old, my husband, and 2 jobs...it just can't happen. i told him that i wished she would've picked someone else but she didn't. she picked me and i hated i couldn't do more (i did throw her a shower). so we get there and the director is going over who goes where and looks at 2 girls and says "ok, renee-you're the maid of honor and rebecca-you're the matron of honor?" they both said yes. i turned and looked at my husband w/ the absolute most dumbfounded look i could muster. i couldn't believe it--still can't actually. i don't mind not being the maid/matron of honor but i mind not being let in on the secret. did you see the office last night? i guess i'm the secret matron of honor that no one else knows about. well, i resigned my name from the running anyway (didn't see the office? download it on itunes--it's worth it). i have never felt more humiliated, stabbed in the back, betrayed, let down, angry, you name it, i felt it! and what was i supposed to do? stop the whole thing and say something? embarrass her (or myself even further)? nope, i just had to stand there and seethe. i'm still seething. my insides are just burned up! and not only am i not maid/matron of honor--she picked 2 people over me and i am now the LAST bridesmaid (the one you don't really want but have to have so you stick her at the end). so i played the only childish card i could--she said "well, i'll see you in the morning" (we originally planned to be at the church around 11am to help her get ready and take getting ready pics, etc) and i responded w/ "we'll be here by 1" (meaning 1pm or the same time pictures start and we have to be there). and i say "we" meaning my husband and i b/c he's also in this disaster of a wedding. i wish i would've backed out when the dress issue came up. i'd just like one answer--when was i demoted from my post? has everyone known about this for awhile now and i was the only one not in the loop or is this a new thing? this will come up in a future confrontation...be on the lookout for that post. if her wedding wasn't tomorrow and i wouldn't freak her out, i'd be on the phone now (or 3 hours ago).

3)i saw shrek the 3rd tonight. it was cute. my husband and i figured while we had the babysitter for the night, we'd take advantage of it. i miss the movies. we went 42 times the first year we dated (yes, we were geeks).

4) we are still cloth diapering. i love love love it! and am SOOOOOO addicted.

i'm so tired...

2007-03-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

i haven't been sleeping good lately (well, i haven't been going to sleep until really late) and of course, little bit doesn't typically sleep past 7:30am anymore :( it is a sad time of no sleep!! i tried to take a nap yesterday afternoon and just couldn't sleep good. so, i tried again today...my fat lazy normally sleeping-all-day-cat wouldn't leave me alone! he walked on me, marched on me, sniffed my face, meowed at me, you name it, he did it! he was probably shocked that i was sleeping in the middle of the day. i normally can't slow myself down enough to sit down, much less lay down.

some recent little bit-isms--she now calls things "boo boos." i say things b/c i'm not exactly sure what she's calling a boo boo. i really don't like that phrase and had asked my mom to call scratches owies or something other than boo boo but she didn't...so now if little bit sees a scratch of some sort, she calls it a boo boo. however, if she also sees our legs, she calls them boo boos too :) that originated from my mom having surgery on her leg and telling little bit that it was a boo boo. she is infatuated with birds (buwds). she watches them outside all of the time and taking her to petco is like baby valium. she is instantly happy! i showed her the freckle she has on her wrist a few weeks ago, so now she is infatuated by it. she talks about it a lot :) and will show it to you when asked. she has also started be more proactive in getting people to play with her. if she wants to sing "if you're happy and you know it" she starts to clap and says "bapa" (don't know why), if she wants to pattycake, she claps your hands together, and if she wants to sing "head and shoulders, knees and toes" she grabs her head (and attempts her shoulders). she has such a personality!! she is definitely head-strong! i hope our next one can keep up with her (whenever that time comes). she has also started singing...and dancing along to her singing. she has danced for a long time now but the singing--that's new :) she really likes the backyardigans theme song so whenever they come on, i pick her up and we dance. however, the last few days, if i haven't picked her up (and she hasn't run to me to be picked up), she has just danced by herself. she spins in circles a lot for that song b/c we do that when we dance together. the singing is all together one of the cutest things ever! we can tell when she's singing the backyardigans (that is hard to type and may be spelled wrong) b/c of the inflection in her voice. her voice gets really loud and really high pitched :) she will also sing Jesus loves me but it just consists of a little swaying and "jeesee jeesee jeesee." whatever works! we were at a pretty nice italian restaurant about a week or 2 ago and she started singing the backyardigans...at the top of her lungs...and it was quiet (but crowded).

i feel out of the loop

2007-03-21T06:37:00.000-07:00

i was just catching up on a little blog reading as little bit talked quietly to herself in her bedroom (i love it when she wakes up happy) and realized that i am REALLY behind! i haven't forgotten you guys...i promise! i have been so wrapped up in this cloth diaper thing (well, the website where you buy, sell, and trade) that i haven't made time for my blogging buddies. i apologize (and of course the phone rings and breaks the beautiful silence)

so here's my newest contemplation--when everyone first started getting telephones (not necessarily cell phones but actual in-house telephones) don't you think they were a novelty? i'm sure it was exciting to talk on the phone. now, it is SUCH an annoyance. does the phone bother anyone else? i've thought about this a lot in the last few days and the phone just ringing definitely triggered the thought. i mean, i love being able to be in contact with people who don't live nearby or people i don't talk to very often but it seems like every time i'm changing a diaper or every time i am trying to take a sunday afternoon nap...or every time i just want it quiet (i.e. right now) the phone WILL ring and it WILL be an unnecessary call. if we ever need it, though, i am thankful we have it...

little bit is doing great. she is saving "i love you" now although it is more like "bub boo." it is so cute though! she has a wagon which she LOVES (see the picture). she goes to the door or window a hundred times a day saying "wa ya" (which, of course, in baby means wagon). she finally has 8 teeth! yea! the last one broke through on march 16th. i don't see anymore in her near future though. she is the slowest teether ever! i'm sure she is doing lots of other cute things but i honestly can't remember...i can't even remember yesterday, how am i supposed to remember a year ago?? that is so sad to me!

just call me "crunchy granola"

2007-03-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

we are now (officially) a cloth diapering family. about 2 weeks ago a friend of mine from playgroup showed us her new cloth diapers and i was hooked--instantly. i have thought about it before but little bit poops about 10 times a day (really, just 2 but it feels like 10 sometimes) and i just didn't know if i could handle it. however, it is SO easy! i love love love it! the only (slight) problem is that i am SO addicted. i want more, more, more. i just ordered this cow print one.
how cute is that?? i want some hawaiian type prints but i'm in limbo waiting on a girl about some trades so until then, we will have cow print :)
i'm the most excited that i don't have to buy disposables anymore! woohoo! and the few packs i have stocked up, i am getting my money back!

more new news: i got a new car. well, a "new" car. it is new to us. we were completely outgrowing my little jetta so we are now the proud owners of a 2006 ford escape (unfortunately, not the hybrid version). i have a picture but it hasn't been uploaded. shame on me...

little bit continues to grow, learn, amaze, and try me. she is picking up EVERYTHING we say or do almost immediately...got to be careful what we say. she continues to test my patience but i have to admit, compared to some of the kids i see on a daily basis--she is SO well behaved! yes, she's active, and yes, she pitches fits, but for the most part, she minds me. i wish i could just bottle up this bit of her personality and keep it for later. i am so afraid of forgetting how she is right now. i know i will b/c i know how much i've already forgotten but i guess i just have to hold onto what i have for now.

I have one central theme today...

2007-02-18T19:05:00.000-08:00

...blessings. I think everyone that reads my journal on a regular basis knows that I am a Christian. If not, then yes, I am a Christian. I don't write about that very much (maybe I should) but I feel like I need to share a few of the blessings (straight from God) in my life right now...

First (and the one thing that is most relevant to the Christianity idea) I want to share about tithing (spell check said that is right even though it looks really funny). If by chance anyone is not aware of what tithing is, it is giving 10% of your income (and I count that before taxes) back to the Lord. I have always been good at this. I was raised to do it, so I naturally did it. My husband, however, wasn't raised to do it. I don't know if his parents actually do it or not (I would guess that they do) but regardless, they didn't teach their children to do it. Anyway, when we first got married, I tithed from my check but not his (even though I handled the money) b/c he wasn't comfortable with it. Well, 2 years ago I made it my New Year's Resolution to tithe 10% of our total income. It was SO hard to part with that money to begin with but WOW! What a difference was made in our lives! At that time, we had approximately $5000 in credit card debt (and of course--nothing to show for it). Some had been carried over from B's life before me, some was from our wedding, and some was from vacations (and although I don't condone the use of credit cards, those were some of the best times of our first few years together and I don't regret a single penny). By March of last year (14 months later) we had no more credit card debt. Now, you may be thinking that we just got really smart and started putting every penny on our credit card...nope. We live paycheck to paycheck like 70% of Americans. We do have cable, the internet, and cell phones that are unnecessary, but we have never had to cut those off or miss a payment. Honestly, I can't tell you where the money came from. I can just tell you that God handled it all. We had also (in that time frame) had Little Bit and paid the hospital off.
Unfortunately, the story doesn't end there. Over the last 10 months (oooohhh... this hurts to say) we have run our credit card back up to $2500. On what, I have no idea. All I really know that we bought was 2 iPods (no we didn't need them) and Starbucks (and we definitely didn't need that). We got our income tax check back last Friday and had planned on putting 1/2 on the credit card and 1/2 on the hospital bill from my biopsy last year (they have been payroll deducting that and it was holding me down to my job at the hospital). We did that and that left us with $1300 on the credit card. So Saturday, B and I sat down and looked at the money we have and came up with $875 to put on the credit card. We went from $2500 3 days ago, to a little over $500 today! We took nothing out of savings, all of our bills are paid (we both have awesome credit scores and if it means cutting something off or missing a payment, we'll cut it off...I don't play around with missing payments or late payments), plus our car insurance that isn't due until next month is paid. How awesome is our God?? Just a little simple obedience, and we're all taken care of. I am sure that there are some people out there saying "well, if you had kept that money instead of tithing, you wouldn't have run up the credit card." I don't even want to THINK about the HUGE mess we would be in if we had kept that money.

The next blessing--Pampered Chef. I am now a consultant (yea!) and again...WOW! I have never really used PC products. I cook some but mostly just easy recipes that don't require a lot of kitchen tools. I signed up a few weeks ago (I had already planned to have a party) and the party I hosted, was considered my first consulting party (even though I had my upline do the show for me). I made $75 commission off of that first show. Basically, 5 hours of time (including the show, cleanup, and putting in the orders). I already have 4 more shows booked, plus 2 that are giving me dates this week. PLUS, the consultant's starter kit is AMAZING. The products are SO awesome! Stoneware--the most amazing cookware ever! I can bake chocolate chip cookies that are soft and chewy!! With the food chopper, I can chop up chicken and eggs for chicken salad in no time, with the ultimate mandolin, I can slice my potatoes in crinkle cut slices (and not slice my fingers off) in minutes...the list could go on but I'll spare you. If you don't know about PC, please feel free to leave me a comment with an email address and I'll share more with you. If you do know about PC but maybe haven't taken advantage of the products lately, again, leave a comment (w/ your email). If you are interested in getting some of the products free or at a discount, definitely leave me a comment w/ an email address. I could not be more psyched up about this!

And my last and final blessing--the hospital. It really has been a great job over the last 4 1/2 years. I have really enjoyed most everyone I have worked with, and God has truly blessed me in that I have flexible hours. However, the time has come to say goodbye. Getting up and leaving my family yesterday morning was practically torture. After I got to work, I started having doubts about leaving--I mean, I've worked in that job for so long and the pharmacist (Johnny) that I work with directly was definitely Heaven sent to take care of me. Johnny's face fell when I told him I was leaving (I could have cried) but then I called home and B put Little Bit on the phone and she said "heeeeey mama!" (which is the absolute cutest thing she says b/c everything is "hey" something..."heeeeeey juice" "heeeeeey book" "heeeeeeeey now") and she "told" me about a book, dada, her baby, and Chick-fil-A (I think she thinks that everytime I leave her I go to CFA). I could have walked out of the door right then and there. I think it was my answer.

So there. The small things in life are what keeps us going, right? I know I complain in this journal a lot but I want you guys to know that my life is not all about complaints (I just use this as my vent). I know where my blessings come from.

Oh Oh Oh and this dress that Little Bit is wearing...it was made by yours truly. THAT is a blessing too! There are these absolutely DIVINE dresses (where did I come up with that) at the mall that I LOVE LOVE LOVE but they are $30 (for one stinking dress that she'll wear MAYBE twice). SOOOO...I decided I'd learn to make them myself. It cost less than $5. It isn't perfect (and not quite as cute as the ones at the mall) but it is a start...and I have to say--I think it is pretty good considering it is my first ever.

2007-02-11T12:41:00.000-08:00

i think if people would just stop talking and think about what they are going to say before they say it, my life would be easier. my feelings have been hurt several times in the last few days by some of the people in my life that i'm closest to, and if they would've just shut their mouths, it wouldn't have hurt. a lot of the problem is that i have the mind of an elephant. i don't forget ANYTHING! and i take everything to heart. i don't lie to people but i don't disclose information that i feel like might hurt their feelings (especially when i'm just rambling and it is completely useless information). evidentally, in my part of the world, there are not many people who practice this same idea. i'm not putting myself on a pedestal but i'm trying to protect my feelings...

little bit continues to be the cutest thing ever! she's gotten to where she recognizes the chick-fil-a restaurant. as a matter of fact, she recognizes the road going to cfa and when we turn onto it, she starts "saying" it over and over again (her version anyway). well, 2 days ago i pulled up a mock up of a tshirt we're having made w/ the cfa logo on it and she read it :) ok, ok...my 15 month old is just really good at recognizing things but i can tell everyone she can read, right? she is also consistently recognizing and talking about (in her sign language) the color red now (so we're starting on blue this week). a week ago we went to firehouse subs to eat lunch w/ her mamow and papaw and that evening b and i rode back by it and she started pointing and saying "papaw" and about 2 weeks ago we dropped my mom off at the doctor's office and since then she says "mamow" whenever we ride by there. they have such great memories at this age!
and a cute story--we went to church today and had planned to stay for sunday school and church so i went to check on her in between times (since she has a tendency to scream for the entire 3 hours) and she caught a glimpse of me and started crying and saying "mama...mama" over and over. we decided to just get her and leave and when i picked her up she turned around to all of the workers and other kids and waved and said "bye" all pitiful through her tears. about 10 people busted up laughing. it was really sweet.

2007-02-01T19:50:00.000-08:00

...and to make matters worse, there is no dentist within 25 miles of us, there is no obgyn within 25 miles of us, and there is no walk in clinic within 25 miles of us (this would all be 25 miles of "from point a to point b" not 25 miles of driving...more like 30-40 minutes of driving). WHAT THE H-E-DOUBLE L KIND OF INSURANCE IS THIS????????? WHY ARE WE PAYING MORE FOR INSURANCE THAT SUCKS??????????????????

dear Lord, please forgive me for that outburst of anger. I know you are dealing with me for some reason. I don't know what the issue is that you are trying to fix, but I am up for the fixing. Please help me to stay sane during this time as I am really on the verge of tears most any moment of the day. I know I have to rely on you and I know you'll bring me through (I especially have to rely on you b/c I can't afford to go to the dr and get the crazy pills that I crave). I pray extreme health over my family for the next (at least) year and that this cold that Little Bit has will not get any worse.

Please help me not to cry...send me something funny...anything will do.

Who wants to hear me cry??

2007-01-31T19:11:00.000-08:00

If you don't, you might want to stop reading now.

I am so frustrated with things right now. I am over the sadness and onto frustration (I'm not sure which is worse). One example of my frustration...B has worked for Nabisco for 12 years. A few years ago Kraft bought them out. Before the change, B got great bonuses, incentives every quarter, weekend trips all the time, it was just wonderful. Plus he has a company car with paid gas and insurance...jeez what a job! Then comes big ol' Kraft. Slowly the bonuses got smaller (they were "restructured"---ha!), the incentives completely disappeared, and it has been over a year since the last weekend trip. On top of all of that--our insurance has changed 3 times in the last 4 years. We had Aetna, then went to United Healthcare, and now we're back to Aetna. With UH, all of Little Bit's well baby visits were 100% covered as well as her immunizations (approximately $337). Well, they changed to Aetna this year and her 15 month checkup was today. My mom told me that a friend of her's who works at the pediatric office in billing told her that she had pulled up Little Bit's info and she doesn't have insurance. There is so much wrong with that statement--#1. we do have insurance; just not what they have on file #2. as far as that lady is concerned, it is none of my mom's business (although, I tell my mom every single thing) and finally #3. HIPAA VIOLATION!! But besides that annoyance--they don't take Aetna's insurance. They told me they would file as out of network but I had to pay in full up front. Right...b/c I have $337 just eeeking out of my ears. I wasn't so mad about the HIPAA violation until after the whole they don't take my insurance issue but now, I'm ticked! I work in healthcare and I know what a big deal HIPAA is. I know that lady was just trying to help, but she should've just called me. Anyway, back to the dr--the closest pediatrician in our network is 25 miles away...25 freakin' miles away! We are in the fastest growing county in our state and we have to drive 25 miles to get a pediatrician??? Plus, I don't know anyone to ask about the quality of this dr. I've cried a lot today. I'm debating about what to do w/ the HIPAA issue. My gut says to sue (welcome to America) but my logical mind says to talk to the director of the clinic. I am sure I made them feel really really bad too b/c I took them 2 trays of chicken salad sandwiches from chick-fil-a. I told the lady to cancel my appointment and as I was turning to leave she said "well, are you still leaving these?" I should've just taken them back.

Does it ever get to the point in life where you feel like you aren't going one step forward and 2 steps back??

On a happy note (and not at all helping the money issue) I bought a new diaper bag today. It was a $25 diaper bag on sale for $6.24. Woo. I like it so much better than my other one.

Little Bit is doing good. She went to church nursery for the first time in 2 months last Sunday and now has a runny nose. That happens every single time. They couldn't calm her down during the 2nd hour, either, and had to put her in another room. I think it was b/c her 2 "teachers" during 2nd hour were male and she doesn't like males. She is so cute, though. I just want to eat her up. She has been in a really good mood today (probably b/c she's getting sick b/c that seems to happen most times). She says "now" now. My mom always says that (e.g. "let's zip up your jacket....zip....now"). So everytime we do something, Little bit says "na." She also knows Chick-fil-A. Our CFA is in a shopping center where it is hard to see but tonight we were driving past the shopping center and she started grunting (her version of mooing like a cow) and signing cow. I said "where's a cow?" and she pointed to CFA and said "ziz zsha zsha" (which means Chick-fil-A). I am impressed with her memory. All we have to do is walk in the front of walmart and she starts signing fish so we'll take her to see the fish tanks. She is growing and changing so much. It is so hard to believe she' s 15 months old.

On another subject (I'm jumping around a lot) I think I am going to start selling pampered chef. I am about 98% sure (yesterday was 97%). If I do that and like it for a month or so, I'm quitting the hospital (no, I'm not going to have 3 jobs). I'm excited about it. But not enough to get really excited b/c I'm still so frustrated.

2007-01-18T12:28:00.000-08:00

to
This is my 99th post. I should do a "100 things about me" next time....I doubt it happens though. I've been meaning to do one for ages now. I just never have time.

Little Bit is good. Other than the few nights of having issues going to sleep (which hasn't been a problem the last 2 nights) and crying so hard she threw up last Sunday, the last week has been perfect. I don't know what clicked last Wednesday but thank God it did! I feel a little more sane. I might actually think about having another baby...but still not for awhile!!

Today Little Bit told me she was one (she holds up one finger), she told me she's smart (we tell her that all the time and tap our heads), and she started signing Thank you (she already tries to say it but it is cute signing it too). Yesterday was a day of a lot of lessons...we don't eat cat food, we don't eat cat litter, we don't put the remote control in the toilet, when we squish our fingers in drawers--it hurts but we shouldn't be playing in drawers (this is an ongoing lesson). I felt like I was explaining things to her all day but it wasn't the type of stuff that aggravates me. It was just innocent teaching. She has eaten really well the last 2 days, also. Can we stay in this stage for a little while?? I like this one...

On a different subject, I'm depressed. I don't know why. Well, I do but I can't fix it. I feel like I need more time and more money and those 2 things totally contradict each other. Therefore, I guess I will continue to be broke and have no time to see my husband. I should be working on stuff right now instead of blogging but depression leads me to no motivation which leads me to being unproductive and leaving me a list of things to do which take up more of my time. Sounds like if I'd just snap out of my depression, it might help. I have to work the next 3 days, then I have Monday off and then I work Tuesday and Wednesday. I think knowing this is adding to my depression. I feel like I haven't seen B in a month. We never just sit and talk anymore. By the time we get Little Bit in bed, we just need time to wind down and go to bed. Having a date night once a week or month even is pretty much out of the question. My parents live 30 minutes away (yes, I know that isn't very far) but by the time B gets home from work, we get Little Bit to their house and get back where there is something to do (basically back to our hometown so another 30 minutes), we have to rush to eat and run back and get her so she doesn't get in the bed really late. We waste 2 hours just getting her to and from them.

Anyway, I know I'll snap out of it and I'm thankful that Little Bit is cooperating w/ me during this time, but I needed to get it out.

2007-01-15T19:27:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is going to be cold. We will hit our high of 47 at about 3am and temps will continue to fall throughout the day. Ok, really, I'm just whining. Compared to the rest of the U.S. we have really warm weather year 'round. Today, for example, it was 74. 74 in January!! I secretly want it to get a little cold here. Just for a few weeks. Just enough for me to get tired of it...and just enough snow to take a few pictures of my sweet little girl.

Speaking of my sweet little girl...she isn't wanting to go to sleep at night. Any suggestions? She will just scream and cry for no apparent reason. I don't know how to help her. I know they go through some separation anxiety around this age but it is just so weird. The last few days have been absolute heaven with her except at night (and a little bit yesterday afternoon where she screamed to the point of throwing up...twice). She patty cakes all the time, she tells everyone "bye" (not a baby "bye-bye" but a grown-up "bye"), she repeats everything I say to her (although she can't get hardly any of the letters right--just the syllables...that makes it cuter though), she "says" please (signs it or says "heeeese") for almost everything b/c I won't give her anything if she doesn't say it (the demanding has gotten old)...she is just the cutest thing ever...except at night. I know she'll get over it. I just feel bad torturing her and making her cry when I know something is obviously bothering her.

P/S have I mentioned how much I love my new camera???? (and my roomba too)

2007-01-12T12:08:00.000-08:00

In light of this I thought I'd post the stuff I feed Little Bit. Also, it will help me to have a list b/c I get confused about what to feed her.

Breakfast:
Until a week ago she had baby oatmeal w/ fruit every single morning. I figured if she'd eat it, I had better give it to her b/c I knew it had good vitamins and iron. Well, so much for that. so now...
1/2 pancake w/ thinly spread peanut butter
banana (sometimes 1/2 and sometimes a whole one)
oranges
apple
gerber cereal bar w/ thinly spread peanut butter on top

Lunch:
grilled cheese sandwich sans butter (she'll eat the whole thing--little piggy) and sometimes i add turkey for a little extra protein
green beans
gerber meat sticks (w/ ketchup)
mac and cheese
fruit
pb and jelly sandwich (again, thinly spread)
whatever my mom is eating for lunch and decides to feed her

Dinner:
bits of whatever we're eating
basically anything i listed for lunch

Snacks:
Cheese
Cheese
Cheese
Cracker (saltine, chicken in a biscuit, wheat thin, pb crackers, cheese crackers)
goldfish
grahams
fruit

Ok, so I know it doesn't seem like a lot but you come get the child to eat. It is like getting water out of a rock (or in a rock for that matter). And I have to admit, she does get a little bit of ice cream every now and then--this was per the pediatricians office b/c she doesn't eat much. They said not everyday and not a lot, but a little every now and then just to give her some fat.
Don't give me that look...I am not a bad mom!

Maybe you can motivate me...

2007-01-08T19:12:00.000-08:00

...to stop eating ice cream everyday :) I had gotten out of that habit (well, just overeating in general) and I still do fairly well but I'm definitely NOT dieting. Just trying to maintain. I want to diet, I know I need to finish what I started, but I have NO drive to actually do it. Help!!

So I'm posting a before and after. Tell me I look great and I need to keep going, tell me I look horrible and I need to keep going, tell me whatever you want...just get me going again!! Please!!
BTW--I look way too horrible in that first picture to actually show my face. And speaking of that, I could also be the poster child for Proactiv. If anyone is considering it but just can't quite make up their minds, let me know. I'll send you my testimonial pictures (as embarrassing as they are).

2007-01-06T14:31:00.000-08:00

my best friend is getting married in may. she threw me a shower for little bit and has just been there through everything the past few years. i (on the other hand) suck as a friend, feel like my friends are too clingy if they call every single day, and start ignoring their phone calls. this has happened with her on more than one occassion but i've done better since i realized that i do this (about a year ago now).
anyway, that was really beside the point but just fyi. so, we were looking at bridesmaids dresses online on new year's eve and found several really cute ones. the issue is that i'm the smallest of the bridesmaids (and i'm not too small myself) and the biggest of them is pretty big and has enormous boobs. several of us (there are 6 total) don't like to be hanging out to the world but a few of the others do. so anyway we decided no halters, no strapless, no fitted, with full backs, and as cheap as possible (definitely not more than $150). and they're going to be black so how much more flattering can you be? she said if we couldn't agree on one, she'd do the mix and match and let us pick the top. yippee. sounds great. so today they go dress shopping. i, of course, have a child, 2 jobs, and a husband and couldn't drop everything to dig through dresses so i chose not to go (was forced by my jobs and sick child actually). she told me yesterday "i know renee and becca are going to want strapless but we're not getting strapless." she calls me this afternoon:
her "what size dress do you wear?"
me "ummm...i lost 20lbs...i don't know" DUH
her "well...we need to come down here (an hour away) and get sized this week" LIKE I HAVE TIME FOR THAT
me "how about i get sized in town and call them"
her "ok...we found a dress...it's STRAPLESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (all the emphasis is b/c i'm mad...not b/c she was excited about telling me that)
me "i'm not wearing a strapless dress. i have broad shoulders. i've already told you that"
her "but it looks the best on maranda." WHO CARES?? I'M THE MAID OF HONOR (ok, that's really irrelevant but why did we even talk about what i want if it doesn't matter??????????)
me "how much is this going to cost?"
her "ummmm...well...it's $150"
me "so...i'm paying 150 for a dress that is strapless and i'm only going to wear one time?"
her "i'm sorry! it's the best we can do"

me...i'm TICKED!!!!!!!!! we have to buy these dresses (which i'd be ok with if i could wear it more than once), pay to have it altered, buy shoes, rent a tux (b's in it too) which i'm SURE they'll pick the best of the best, pay for a wedding gift, and throw her a shower. oooooooooooooooooo...i'm so mad...

i know i sound selfish. i'm sorry for that. i should be selfish. it is her day, her wedding, blah blah blah but i just can't help feeling this way.
i just needed to gripe. again, fyi: i suck as a friend.
loves and hugs and better days to everyone else!!

Random thoughts

2007-01-04T09:28:00.000-08:00

*I love my new camera
*It is the best Christmas present I have ever received
*Little Bit is running a fever...again
*She isn't too grumpy though
*2 days ago was the best day in a long time with Little Bit. She was so happy
*I got a Roomba for Christmas. It is the 2nd best Christmas present ever. You'd be disgusted to know what comes out of your carpet after it is vacuumed for an hour
*I hate ants...hate them. hate, hate, hate, double hate, loathe entirely! Terminix is coming today. Goodbye $300 over the next year :(
*I'm secretly glad Christmas is over. I love the Christmas season but we spent a lot of money on gifts this year. I'm glad every paycheck isn't spent before I get it.
*I love my new job. CFA rocks!
*We started bingo with the assisted living places in the area. I did not like that. I thought I would but I did not. One man hit on me, one lady repeated everything I said 5 times (I was kind of thankful for that when calling out numbers though), one lady had sinus issues (I won't make you gag uncontrollably like I did when she left), and one of the workers that came with them got on my nerves. and I have to do it again next week.
*B is on vacation next week. We are cleaning out the house and putting it up for sale. again.
*New Year's was quiet. We played spades with another couple. We were in bed by 10 after 12.
*Dick Clark hurts my heart. I'm so thankful that I didn't watch his countdown b/c I heard it was pretty rough. I just want to hug him.
*I am (still) 20lbs down. I haven't lost in quite some time. I gained 0.5lb last week and was the same this week. I ate 14 cookies last night. and 2 pieces of cheesecake throughout the day yesterday. and Chick-fil-A for lunch. I'm sure I'll have lost something next week :)
*I am in no way motivated to diet (shocker, right?) but I want to lose 10 more lbs.
*I met a girl at Target the other night. I meet my friends in weird places. I met Emily at Books-a-Million.
*Little Bit got her 5th tooth on Christmas Day (will the child ever be able to chew with a full mouth of teeth??)
*I feel kind of lost b/c I'm all caught up on Chick-fil-A stuff.

2006-12-22T11:48:00.000-08:00

I GOT A NEW CAMERA FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!! I'M SO PSYCHED :)
LOOK FOR MANY PICTURES TO COME :)
p/s yes, I know it isn't Christmas yet but my poor husband (God love him) was worried I wouldn't like it and we'd need to take it back...plus, now I get to take Christmas pictures with it...and it rocks!!!

2006-12-17T06:48:00.000-08:00

Are "new-mommy sanity" classes being offered anywhere? Seriously, I'll pay! I am absolutely about out of my head!! My beautiful sweet (although busy) little angel has QUICKLY turned into a little terror. I don't know what happened! I was busy working a grand opening for Chick Fil A all week long so I wasn't home much. I don't know if that screwed her up or what but GEEZ! I need my little girl back!!! I was home almost all day, everyday but I'd put her down for her nap, B would get home, and I'd go to the G.O. until after Little Bit went to bed. Maybe she was acting out b/c I wasn't there but darnit, I've been here the last 2 days and she's still acting horrible!
Case in point:
*Spankings are no longer effective. I might as well be rubbing bunnies on her legs b/c my smacking them is doing NO good. I've even reverted to the wooden spoon and it has done no good. What comes next?
*She likes to climb on the coffee table.
*Even worse, she likes to climb on her leap frog table and STAND. Those things are really small and not at all flat enough for her to balance!!!
*She CONTINUOUSLY does what I tell her not to. I say "no" and she hears "please keep continuing to make me pull out my hair."
*We put one of those baby play yards around the Christmas tree shortly after putting it up (although the picture is shown without the gate) but it doesn't work anymore. She now finds something to stand on so that she can reach the tree...or she'll just hold on to the gate and shake it with all her might in hopes the tree will fall into her reach.
*She has taken up gagging herself in the carseat. For 5 miles last night she did this and then...of course...threw up. Yippee...
*She will NOT stay seated in her high chair, the cart at the store, or anything else that her bottom needs to be in contact with. I had to physically hold her legs down through the leg holes in the cart at the store yesterday...while she kicked me.

I'm losing my mind...I am absolutely going out of my head and I feel like my whole day consists of spankings. I bet I spanked her 20 times yesterday and every spanking was met with an innocent look and a continuation of whatever act deserved the spanking. Does anyone have a suggestion??? And please don't say time-out b/c I seriously doubt that is going to work on a 13 month old.

Things the strangers look for

2006-12-09T11:34:00.000-08:00

In reference to THIS post, I decided to check my site meter. I don't have the super advanced version so I don't get to see everything that people google and get me as a result but here are a few:
*disobedient kids (I never SAID she was disobedient...did I?)
*recipe for longhorn's chocolate stampede (from Land O Lakes, Florida)
*LA BELLA SHOES (am I missing something?)
*What wing sauce does Applebee's use (not a clue)
*"spanked by" + "little sister" (please explain if you know anything about this)
*TMX ELMO RIP OFF (I didn't rip them off)
*Longhorn chocolate stampede (from Wilson, NC)
*recipe for longhorn chocolate stampede (from Brookeville, OH)
*ashley belle vista (I think I am quite a beautiful view)
*Chick-fil-a (yea for my great new job)
*2006 october yahoo.com "ASHLEY" (hmmmm...)

More Stuff

2006-12-08T06:51:00.000-08:00

Life is just so busy! I really want to blog, I really want to comment on your blogs, but I barely have time to run through and read them. I can't remember what I've written about so if I repeat myself, just skip through it.

I have a new job (and I still have my old job). I am working with Chick Fil A as a marketing director. There were 3 of us doing it but now there are 2 1/2 b/c one girl can't make up her mind if she wants to do it or not. I LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT. It makes me hate my other job even worse b/c I have so much fun w/ CFA. Everytime is something different, and when you are passing out free Chick Fil A, EVERYONE is your friend. So back to my last post (the "I hate people" one), I am a people person as long as it is people I don't know and they are being nice to me. I'm good with the public when it comes to this CFA stuff. I had to be on the radio this morning and I was NERVOUS and talked really really fast. I just hope everyone understood what I was saying :)
Last night I worked w/ CFA doing an event called "Taste of (insert my hometown)" and it was so fun. It was a benefit for the Domestic Violence Interventi on Center and basically, people had to buy tickets for $25 and a lot of local restaurants were there sampling food. I had some good food! It was at a really nice hotel at a really nice golf course but here's the funny part (and I wish I had a picture to post)...Hooter's was there with one of their naked Hooter girls!! I was flabbergasted! I honestly felt like everyone though I was a lesbian b/c I could NOT stop staring at the girl but it was out of UTTER DISBELIEF that this girl would dress like that and feel perfectly comfortable in that environment (not to mention it was 20 degrees outside). I was shocked!

Speaking of our weather--how crazy is this: tonight's low is 24, tomorrow's low is 30, the next day 40, and the next day 50 something. How crazy is our weather??

Weight loss--I'm at 20.5. I said I wasn't going to try and lose during the holidays but just try and maintain but then I went last week and had lost 2lbs. This week probably won't be as good b/c of last night and a Christmas party I'm going to on Saturday. Plus, next week I'm doing a grand opening for Chick Fil A so I'm sure I'll be partaking in some food :)

Christmas shopping is almost done!! Yea! It is a good thing too b/c I'm running out of time and money. I also have a sick baby so I can't go shopping today (or probably this weekend either). I'm excited about Christmas. I'm getting a Roomba...did I say that already?? WOOHOO! Clean floors all the time :)

So that's all...

me+people=bad

2006-11-30T13:06:00.000-08:00

I am NOT a people person. Have you picked that up? Here's the reason (or my decided reason, anyway): I am a people pleaser. I want to do no wrong to anyone. However, in my quest to people-please, I am CONSTANTLY hurt, offended, or flat pissed off in one way or another. Example 1: Little bit's bday party. I invite God and everybody and then don't get an invitation to my own niece's family birthday dinner (have I rammed that into the ground yet?). Example 2: I'm trying to legally park at the Christmas parade yesterday and some man stands in front of my car in broad daylight w/ a hawaiian print shirt on (yes, at the end of November) and proceeds to wave his arms around like I am blind and flying towards him at 65mph in a car with no brakes. I was dead stopped. My tires weren't even rolling. I proceeded to roll down my window and yell at him (there was a little more to that story but I'll spare you all the details--just know that he deserved to be yelled at). Some lady yelled at me today that "THE SPEED LIMIT IS 15MPH!!" so I stopped, backed up, rolled my window down and politely informed her that I was going 15mph (let it be known that I was at the entrance to where I live, having just turned off the highway...I could'nt have been going very fast). I don't like people.

Have you noticed how we feel invincible in our cars? If someone cuts you off in your car, just yell and scream and cuss b/c they can't hurt you. If they are in the middle of the street (which the woman was) talking to someone in another car (parked in the middle of the street) and you are in your car, let them yell at you. As far as they know, you won't even acknowledge them. WELL, WOMAN...YOU HAVEN'T MET ME YET! I call people out. I don't like being called out for things, and if I am made to feel uncomfortable in that manner, I make them equally as uncomfortable. I have stopped for NUMEROUS people (mostly children, but still) in this place and confronted them about what they had to say to me as I was strolling along in my car. I also confronted this HEIFER of a woman at Kroger one day who ran a stop sign and proceeded to shoot me a bird like I had done something wrong. The only thing I did was continue to drive and not hit my brakes, praying the entire time she would take off my bumper so I could sue for something stupid like a toe jam. I am NOT crazy and would NOT hurt someone physically but DON'T for a SECOND think I'll let you get away with being ugly to me. I won't!

Right after I turned 16 a friend wanted to go to the movies with me and another friend one night. She was only 15 and when we asked her mom, her mom said "I'll let you since you are going with Ashley. I know she can take care of herself." Translation: "Ashley's mean." I wasn't always like this. My insecurities have led me to this point. When I was in high school people picked on me...a lot. and for a year and a half or 2 years, I just took it and tolerated it. I went home daily and cried and wrote in my journal about how sad I was. And then one day, it was like a light shone over my head. Instead of just going home and crying, I'm going to fire right back. I started to do that and within a year or so, people didn't pick on me anymore. I wasn't an angel by any means. I said a lot of things that I shouldn't have about people, but (and this is NOT an excuse) it stemmed from them saying something about me. It hurt me, then made me mad, and then I snapped. When I started dating my (now) husband, one guy (who I didn't get along with anyway) said it was "f-ed up" that he was 8 years older than me. I cornered him during break one day (in front of my most favorite teacher) and told him I had 2 mother's and didn't need another one, but if the position opened up, I'd let him know. I'm pretty sure it was him who wrote "B****" in the dust on my car.

Translation: Ashley's mean.

Ramblings of a tired mind...

2006-11-29T11:01:00.000-08:00

WOW! It has been over 2 weeks since my last post. Geez time flies!

**Thanksgiving was good. I wish I had pictures but I was too busy to remember to take them. Christmas will not be the same way (busy, yes, but I'll remember pictures).

**My stepmom is still miffed about my sister being pulled out of school. I did go to Olive Garden the night of my niece's birthday dinner that I wasn't invited to and they were all there. I was lied to and told it was "last minute." Even if it was, I live about 3 1/2 minutes from Olive Garden (literally). So I called my dad and asked him what was going on. All he kept saying was I needed to talk to Renee (my stepmom). I asked was she upset with me about my sister and the school thing and he said "well, she wasn't happy." I said "not happy with me?" "you just need to talk to her." I told him I had tried calling 4x and she hadn't bothered calling back so I was giving up. 2 days later I was in the emergency room visiting my sister-in-law (also where my stepmom works) and there hangs a flier for a Christmas party for "Friends and Family" at my stepmom and dad's house. No one had invited us. I received an invitation today (that was a week and a half ago). I don't like my family.

**B's mom finally invited us to Thanksgiving. He had to call her about something and while he was on the phone she told him (4 days before that Thursday and after all of the rest of the family had been invited). I don't like his family either.

**My mom (I love her) is sick. I've had to call into work the last 2 days b/c I have had no babysitter. I hate doing that but I'm only going in b/c my boss is short handed so it isn't a real big deal. It has been nice not working.

**Life is too busy. I haven't been working but I haven't been home for the last few days b/c of errands. and when I am at home, things are too busy for me to actually enjoy being here. Does anyone else's husband like to leave things half done? Mine does. He'll take the trash out of the garbage can and put it on the deck, but then he'll leave no bag in the can and the bag on the deck will be ripped open by cats b/c he "forgets" to take it out. That's just one example...let's not fill my blog with too much mindless ramble.

**I have a new job...marketing with our local Chick Fil A. I'm super excited about it and yes, it is tiring doing that on top of all of the other stuff but it is so much better than my other job (which I am also still doing). Thankfully the 2 girls I'm working with have other jobs and/or families as well so if I have to drag Little Bit along with us, no big deal. The pay isn't as much as I'd like (the same as at my other job, actually) but it is in my degree field and it is experience. Maybe it'll help my event planning dreams along.

**I'm sure there's more to write but I'm tired and my laundry needs folding and I have to be at our Christmas parade at 3:30pm to promote CFA. That gives me 2 hours to get my junk together, fold clothes, get ready, and (hopefully) rest.

**OH OH! and I'm at 18.5lbs lost and while I want to lose 30 total, I think my goal is just going to be not to gain during the holidays. I should post before and after pictures on here...but I'm not sure you'd be able to tell a difference.

PMS (for women only)

2006-11-13T09:39:00.000-08:00

It seems that ever since I resumed having my montly visit from Aunt Flo, PMS has about done me in! I have horrible pain near my ovaries, I ache from my hips to my ankles to the point that I can't stand for extended amounts of time, and I'm ILL! Pissy would be a better word. So, that time's coming (I can tell b/c I also have an insatiable hunger which is NOT good for dieting) and this morning I wake up bloated...I have NEVER been bloated in my life! EVER. and now, my watch won't even fit my wrist, the scale is up 3lbs, and my fingers feel like fat sausages. I'm going to get some midol but does anyone have another suggestion? I haven't felt like this since I was swollen from being pregnant. Even my face feels swollen.

My step sister has failed to invite me to my niece's birthday party Wednesday. I busted my tail to make sure that (even though we were going to have 30 people in my tiny house) everyone was invited to Little Bit's party and evidentally, I could've left 7 people off (the step family). I love feeling loved.

B's mom has failed to invite us to Thanksgiving dinner. They normally have it at his grandparent's house on T'giving night but we haven't been in 3 years. However, I was informed last night (after calling his sister with Christmas questions) that his mom is hosting it this year. Has she bothered to call us? Has she bothered to see if we might be able to make it (especially in light of the fact that we never come on T'giving night)? Oh, no! Does she think we can read minds?

This is my PMS post...I'm sorry for the grumpiness. Maybe next time I post my hormones will be balanced out.

Some rambling thoughts

2006-11-05T13:22:00.000-08:00

**He's mine!! That's right--I got one :) a TMX Elmo doll!! and I did NOT pay eBay prices. I ran across a website with insider info and found out that most Target stores would have a shipment in this morning b/c their toy ad broke w/ him in it. I still haven't seen the ad, but Elmo was in fact at our Target. He's red, fuzzy, and giggling :) They told us yesterday that they would be getting 53 of them in. They got 12. Either the employees went wild getting the rest or they were cut big time! *sigh* It has been a long week of fighting for this fella and I'm glad it is over. My toy searcher is on hold until the PS3s come out. Then, don't expect me to blog til I find 2 of those.

**Little Bit is getting her signs confused. We tried to take her off of a bottle this week, and I think that is what caused it. I think she thinks that "milk" means bottle. So now she just does "water" for everything since she hasn't been getting a bottle. EVERY-THING. I have given her 2 bottles today, though, and her signs have been pretty much normal again. Go figure. B and I have decided to call her bottle a "6oz canoe in a polka dot." That way if we talk about getting her one when we get home but don't have one then, she's none the wiser.

**B goes back to work tomorrow. Sadness.

**The girl who used to be my best friend in high school has a little sister who is 11 and evidentally got to watch Flava of Love with her substitute teacher the other day. The 5 girls in her family are not necessarily sheltered; however, they sure don't know about "humping" at 11 and that's what one of the other little girls told her they were doing on the show. The substitute then told them to be quiet b/c she hadn't seen this episode. According to Jo, she saw "women in bikinis being spanked by a man wearing a big clock, a man who was naked except the little blurry thing, and a man and woman humping." Her mom went to the school and the sub was put on one year's probation. What a slap on the wrist! This was the school I attended...I will NEVER move back there and put my child into that school system...never. I will eat ramen noodles if I have to, but I don't want her at that school.

**Christmas shopping was started this weekend. I bought 3 gifts. At least it is a start.

TALK ABOUT A RIP OFF!!

2006-11-02T19:18:00.000-08:00

Check this out!!
People who do this stuff should be shot!

I'll be posting more when I have a TMX Elmo. Yes, I'm one of the crazed people and yes, you will think I'm even crazier when I tell you the lengths we're going to for one of these dumb dolls!!

Birthday Parties, Big Fish Tanks, and Jungle Animals

2006-10-31T13:12:00.000-08:00

~Little Bit's birthday was Sunday, as was her party. We survived. Thank God! Most everything went perfectly. I have learned that I don't like kids...I hope this changes when it is your own (as I hear it does). Let me
clarify that--I love kids that are well behaved. I don't like kids that don't mind. I bet I told Little Bit's cousin 8000 times not to go into our bedroom and to leave our cats alone. He never listened. She loved the cake. LOVED it. I have heard from a lot of my friends w/ 1 year olds that they babies pick at the icing but not her. She dug right in. It might have something to do with the fact that she doesn't do the pincher finger thing yet, but I think she just really liked it :) She got lots of fun stuff--clothes galore, several toys that sing annoying songs that I can't get out of my head, and a tickle me elmo chair (no, not the coveted TMX Elmo). All in all, it was a success

~We visited the Georgia Aquarium yesterday. Totally great and totally worth the money. Yes, spending $25 to go see a few fish seems a bit high, but like I said--worth it. Little Bit even seemed to like it. She was definitely exhausted, though. The big tank was AMAZINGLY big.

~We don't "celebrate" Halloween . However, we are dressing Little Bit up and going to the All Saints Fair at the church. It should be fun. I think we are also going to go have her picture made with her cousins and aunt (who's 7). We had our playgroup today and dressed the babies up in their costumes. TOO cute! We took about a million pictures but I'm hesitant to put a bunch of people online without their permission. Between her birthday, the aquarium, and today, I'll be uploading pictures for days!

Dear Lord

2006-10-27T06:59:00.000-07:00

Thank you that it is 9am and Little Bit is still sleeping. It makes me happy...especially in light of the upcoming time change. Amen

Speaking of Little Bit--WOW the sign language thing is just amazing me. I can almost see her mind working when I teach her a new sign. I have always done water or juice as "drink" b/c it is interchangeable. Well, when she does it, it is very similar to "cat" so I decided to specifically do "water" in hopes that there will be a distinguishable difference. We were in the bathtub the other night, and I was telling her about the "water" and it took about 30 seconds for her to start signing it back to me. Then, last night we were in the tub and she just started signing it. She was also signing it when she was thirsty yesterday. I wonder what she thinks about the water being in her cup and in the bathtub (other than the fact that she threw her face in the water and took a big gulp). She has also picked up "pumpkin" this week. Oh, and have you ever seen Hitch? Remember the part where the guy dances and makes the pizza and lights the fire and does the q-tip? B and I think that is HILARIOUS so since Little Bit was about 5 months old we have gotten her to do it (us moving her hands/arms around). 2 days ago she decided that she can make the pizza all by herself :) It is too cute! Right off the top of my head, I don't know how many signs she has, but I have them all written down and the date I notice her doing them. It is so fun being able to communicate with her. I really think it is helping with the temper tantrum thing.

Amen :)

2006-10-24T07:05:00.000-07:00

Little Bit can now "say" the blessing. My mom has been really working with her on it. So now, when we sit down to dinner and I say "let's say the blessing," she puts her hands together under her chin (ignore the bits of food on her face b/c she had technically already started eating and I had her resay the blessing to get the picture). She has also added "milk" and I think "dog" to her signing vocabulary. Milk is my favorite one thus far. It is so cute :) God love her...

Work is still...well, work. I really despise it! What stinks is that I would really like my job if it weren't for the people. Yesterday, I was SWAMPED trying to get stuff pulled, so I asked this other girl (who was talking on the phone and drinking her coffee) to help me with one thing that would've taken her about 2 minutes, and she looked at me and said "No." The new girl (Emily) said "was she serious?" yup! As serious as a heart attack! This would also be the lady who called me at home wanting me to bring her free Oreo cookies (my husband is a Nabisco rep) and who asks me about 10x a month to work for her...yeah, right! That won't happen again! And FYI: it is perfectly OK to accept free stuff from a rep (ex--Oreos from the Nabisco guy) and to jokingly say "well, you should bring us some cookies." However, it is totally unacceptable to call said rep at home and ask them to bring you free cookies. Seriously lady, we make a living on SELLING the cookies. *sigh*

I'm sure I have much more stuff to write but Little Bit just woke up (and it's 9:15--yea for sleeping late) so I need to go feed her breakfast :)

OH OH OH--If anyone knows what to feed a picky (almost) 1 year old, please do share!

2006-10-11T13:36:00.000-07:00

i'm so thankful for my blogging friends. in a perfect world we would all live on wisteria lane and no one would've committed suicide or be twisted (like so many of them are).

thanks to my blog i:
have learned how to take care of ants and not poison my family (thank GOD)
have learned NUMEROUS baby tips, techniques, and ideas
have laughed until i cried!
have gotten so many nice comments when i am having a bad day
have been able to share the most important thing in my life with people i hardly know but would give my left pinky toe to go out to dinner with
have been exposed to some of the most talented writing ever
have learned NOT to get a gymboree credit card :)
have seen some of the best pictures that have ever existed
have lived vicariously in california, utah, and nyc (primarily)

i've learned a lot more but i can't list it all!

little bit got her 3rd tooth in today (about darn time too). one of the ones on the top. i'm hoping this alleviates some of the crankiness (although i'll be surprised if it does b/c the one right next to it is ready and rarin' to come in). she also decided today that walking is a little bit more fun than she realized. she has been walking a good bit here lately but today she's done it a lot. don't get me wrong, we're not signing her up for a walk-a-thon or anything b/c she is still QUITE wobbly but practice makes perfect. my mom has an INCESSANT need to worry about EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY THING pertaining to little bit so she decided she needed some shoes and no matter the cost, we were to buy her a pair. little bit is now the proud owner of a pair of white, pink, and black k-swiss sneakers.
originally, she had these new balance shoes but they were INCREDIBLY heavy and velcro. i thought "velcro's easier" but i failed to think "what's easy for me, is easier for her." she figured that out and back those went.

now she has these k swiss ones (except where these are blue, her's are pink and where these have that funky design, her's are black). they are much much lighter and they tie. and she hates them. everytime we put them on her, she fusses...nonstop! blame it on the teething if you'd like but i'm pretty sure the fact that she keeps picking up her foot (in her shoe) and crying is a dead giveaway that it isn't teething.

2006-10-10T13:12:00.001-07:00

email me at ashley_1301 (at) yahoo.com if you can help me with the previous problem!

2006-10-10T13:07:00.001-07:00

CAN ANYONE EMAIL ME AND TELL ME WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH THIS BLOGGER BETA STUFF??? I CONVERTED MY ACCOUNT AND NOW WHEN I TRY TO CLICK ON MY COMMENTS, IT SAYS MY BLOG ISN'T FOUND! HELP!!

anyone want to make me feel better?

2006-10-09T13:19:00.000-07:00

long boring post that you shouldn't feel obligated to read but i need to vent:

1) i finally made all the decisions about little bit's bday party--location, menu, time, etc. i sent out invitations on saturday via email b/c i'm too cheap and lazy to get the ones i really wanted and actually mail them out. several people have responded. however, my dad, stepmom, and dad's parents looked at the invitation and didn't bother to rsvp. it does hurt my feelings a little that they wouldn't automatically plan to be there. however, maybe the next story explains that a little bit

2) my dad and stepmom used to live in the same town i do. several months ago (way before this school year started; actually, before the last school year ended) they moved to another town about 30 minutes away. my step sisters still live in my town so instead of taking my 7 year old little sister out of school here, they decided to use my step sister's address. last week my little sister's school called me wanting me to bring her a pair of shoes b/c she broke her sandals. many things wrong with that--*i don't know what size she wears, *i didn't know i was an emergency contact (not that i mind but i just didn't know), *they live 30 minutes away from me. so i told the lady that i would have to drive 30 minutes in order to get her a pair of shoes. i don't think i told her that they lived 30 minutes away but if i did, i refuse to feel bad about it b/c THEY are the ones breaking the rules and it shouldn't be MY responsibility to lie for them. anyway, long story a little shorter--my sister is being pulled out of school and put into the correct school district and the word is that the school found out b/c "something about her shoe breaking." great...i'm sure everyone loves me right now. i have also called my step mom 2x in the last week and she hasn't bothered to call me back (something she always does when she checks caller id)

3) my boss is the worst boss that ever did live. he made me cry a lot today (which i hate to do in front of people but can't help it to save my life), he's changed my schedule (which makes me cry even more), he told me that i was a "grown woman" and basically to stop crying, and i now have to work the weekend of my daughter's birthday. i hate my job. good thing i made all those decisions and sent that invitation out saturday (she says sarcastically). maybe this is a sign not to have a birthday party. after all, it is just going to involve 30 people in the tiniest house ever and most of them are ex families (ex in-laws, ex husbands, ex...lots of stuff) and my daugther doesn't like but 2 of them anyway.

4) my daughter is cranky. she's felt a little warm today but no fever has registered on the thermometer. she is DEFINITELY teething. she's spit up twice in the last 2 days (not a usual thing for her anymore) and she had the absolute worst diaper ever on saturday night. maybe she has a virus.

anyone have anything to make me feel better? a valium maybe? i couldn't even take that, though, b/c we've had 2 people get fired recently for failing drug tests and therefore my other boss says "we are going to be tee teeing in cups a lot more often." great...

2006-10-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

Go to www.photoworks.com and register. then use this coupon code for a free 20 page photo book! it is regular 12.95+shipping but i only paid $4.50 for mine (just shipping!!). so excited. it took about an hour to put together but TOTALLY worth it :)
coupon code:
C457-38-5164-21

i just visited my website via internet explorer

2006-10-02T15:28:00.000-07:00

does it look like that to everyone and why has no one told me???? i use mozilla and it looks perfectly fine. maybe i should put a banner up that says excuse the mess b/c i honestly don't know how to fix it...then again, i don't know how to do a banner either.

2006-09-29T19:43:00.000-07:00

i'm supposed to be reading, praying, bathing, working out, and going to bed b/c i have to be up early for work and what am i doing? blogging...not at all a waste of time!

i am happy to report that i can officially fit into a jean size SMALLER now. thank you thank you. i'm sure the brownies i've had the last 2 days had nothing to do with that but that's nothing a little hard tae bo won't take care of! i'm down 10.5lbs (have i already posted that) and don't want to go back up!!

little bit has absolutely amazed me the last few days. i took some medicine yesterday that made me VERY nauseated b/c i didn't eat first (brilliant) and thought i was going to be sick so i took little bit and some toys to the bathroom with me and was dry heaving. she, in the meantime, was standing behind me holding her toys and mocking me gagging up a lung. it would've been really cute had i not been so sick.

she "told" me that the cats were eating yesterday and she also "told" me about her cat book and the dog in it that says "woof" (or "ooof"). and then she "told" me that daddy went outside tonight. it is so fun to interact with her beyond my yapping and her looking at me wondering if she's really related to me. and we went to the park yesterday...or the day before maybe...yeah, the day before. she didn't really like the park that much and seemed glad to toddle out of there.

2006-09-26T09:07:00.000-07:00

this will be a relatively quick post:

first of all, can i just say that i love my blogging buddies. you guys made me feel tons better after the whole dress "issue." update--it has still not been discussed with the husband but it's coming (probably right before i try to dress her in it for the 1st time).

2nd--little bit updates:
*she can "say" all done, outside, and cat with her sign language now. about time too! she can also tell you what sound a dog makes, say "uh oh," and is trying very hard to say "thank you." she has been working on the last 2 for awhile but up until the last week or so they sounded the same. she's now trying something a little different for "thank you" ("tch uh").
*little bit is officially a walking child...ok, so that may be extreme but she's trying darn hard! as i said before, she took her first steps on sept 11th but last night she decided that she no longer needed to be coaxed by a book or mommy's kitchen tools. she just stood up and walked. she'd take a few steps and catch her balance, take a few steps and catch her balance, take a few steps and fall down. i think she got about 8 in one time but i was very impressed with her courage. it just happened all of the sudden.

she amazes me every single day with her growth and development. thank the Lord she was brought into our lives :)

it's me (finally)

2006-09-22T12:29:00.000-07:00

i'm really slacking on this blogging business but i just haven't had the energy.

little bit took her 1st steps on sept 11th (great day, huh). just 3 here and there is all it has been since then (7 in a row one time but just one time). i still don't think she's quite ready for walking. i think she's scared.

ww is going good. i'm down 7lbs. last week was a really bad week b/c aunt flo had come visiting and i couldn't get enough chocolate! it was bad! but this is a new week and i'm doing really well this week.

went to a consignment sale last night and got little bit some new clothes. i feel like i got a lot of good deals but i'd like to ask you, my dear internet, your opinion on something.
i found this dress. cute, right? i thought so too. it was $6.50. not too terribly bad but one of the more expensive outfits that i bought. well, for some UNKNOWN reason b has a major problem with leopard print. however, i don't think of leopard print as black and white. and even if it is (which it isn't), i'm not dressing her in a black/white leopard print bathing suit and sending her to nursery school! i honestly didn't think b would have that big of a problem with it but boy was i wrong. he said absolutely not and when i said that i didn't think putting my (almost) 11 month old in blk/wht leopard print would send her to a life of prostitution, he replied that he wasn't talking about prostitution but it is "a slippery slope." INTO WHAT?????? i doubt she even remembers the dress. what is she going to slide into?? GRRR...i'm a bit peeved about it!

here's the real gripe: i went to a lot of trouble to get stuff together to sell, hung it on only metal hangers w/ no rubber or plastic and the hangar facing to the left, tagged it with the tags you have to download and print from the internet on the right side of each item with only medium or large safety pins, filled out the tags, put my code number on masking tape inside each of the items, separated and tied together the different sexes and sizes (and yes, i had boy clothes for some reason), waited outside with my 10 month old for 45 minutes at 7:45am 2 saturdays ago (while he went bike riding) to drop the stuff off so that i was one of the first 150 so i could shop the sale early, and then went and fought with all the insane mothers trying to save a buck...and I CAN'T EVEN PUT THE CHILD IN THE STUPID DRESS! *sigh (big exasperated sigh)* and no i'm not kidding about all the stuff you have to do to sell items...they are really that picky!

and the rest of my argument--I CARRIED HER FOR 9 MONTHS AND LABORED FOR 10 HOURS AND PUSHED HER 7LB 9OZ SELF OUT OF MY BODY AND HAD "ISSUES" DOWN THERE FOR 6 MONTHS AFTERWARD AND I CAN'T DRESS HER IN WHAT I WANT TO!

it's my baby and i'll whine if i want to! (sorry you have to listen though)
please leave me a comment and make me feel better.

step back ladies!!!

2006-09-13T13:47:00.000-07:00

here come the milk daddies :)

(author's note--i should add this i guess--i think this is totally creepy! hope i don't offend anyone. you have to do what floats your boat but...well...ewww)

where were you?

2006-09-11T06:56:00.000-07:00

on 9/11/01 i was sitting in history class. it was my first semester of college and only my 2nd month being out of my mom's house. one of the professors came in and asked to speak w/ my history teacher. they walked out in the hall and when she came back she said she had some news but she was going to finish whatever she was talking about and then tell us. she finished and said a plane had hit the world trade center and school was being cancelled for the rest of the day. honestly, not being a travelled person, not being a history or geography person, i had NO clue what the trade center was. i just knew it had been hit. so i called my mom from the pay phone (don't know where my cell was) and she was in a panic. so i went back to my apartment and turned on the tv and saw the towers burning. it wasn't too much longer and they fell. it was hard to watch knowing people were dying and there was nothing anyone could do. that afternoon my husband (then boyfriend) came over after work. he had to leave to go back homee for some reason andi was scared to death so me and my fish went to my mom's house and stayed the night. i had gotten gas earlier that day and thank God b/c the pumps were backed up many many cars deep.

the only thing i remember about the days following is nonstop television. i couldn't tear my eyes away from all of it. i finally just had to cut the tv off. i already had anxiety issues and it made it so much worse. i still have all of the newspapers, magazines, internet articles, etc. that i collected in the weeks after the attacks.

i don't typically watch the stuff that plays on tv all the time about it (now). the documentary stuff is interesting but it just reminds me of all the pain i felt for those families. however, last week i watched a nat'l geographic documentary called Witness 9/11. it is about 6 people who were in manhattan or nj that day and had their own cameras. i saw footage that i had never seen but also footage that disturbed me more than the news documentaries do. one of the guys asked "is it september 12th?" that just amazed me b/c 9/11 is such an infamous day. it is just automatic, but that day it wasn't. that day was just another day for every single one of those innocent people. i wake up most days and think "what day is it?"

my beautiful 10 month old

2006-09-09T08:13:00.000-07:00

if you tried to see baby suri's pictures via my last post--you may have missed them. sorry! i should've figured they'd have to take them down. the magazine will be out in a week or so though.

this week has been long! i'm tired! i haven't done that much but i'm tired!

i lost a half of a pound at weight watchers (pretty much what i was expecting). i was hoping for a pound (or 2 or 5) but at least i didn't gain right? according to my really nice new digital scales i've lost 2 since tuesday though so i'm excited about that. i've really been doing good sticking with the diet except for last night. it was my step dad's bday and you all know (if you read my journal) of my love for a longhorn chocolate stampede...well, we went to longhorn. my mom and i split a dinner though so that was a little better and then we split dessert. it was great! then b and i walked a mile and a half :) so i didn't feel horrible about myself

speaking of chocolate stampede--i was trying to find nutritional info on it the other day and when i googled it, my journal pulled up about 4 times :) how funny!

go see baby suri

2006-09-06T18:18:00.000-07:00

the inside spread"

the cover"

she's a real cutie! looks a lot like both of them. but i have to admit that on the cover, her light colored eyes and jet black hair is a little creepy.

2006-09-05T15:04:00.000-07:00

weight watchers tonight. i'm afraid i haven't lost anything b/c my scale hasn't moved (or doesn't seem like it has). it is really hard to tell though b/c it isn't digital...i should get a digital one. maybe i will.

b's best friend is going to iraq in november. please be praying for him. he has a 4 month old daughter (if you periodically read my blog, they are our friends from maryland that were down several months ago). it will work out really well for them with the whole money thing but i don't think money is worth him going overseas.

more new news on the house: my aunt and uncle may end up buying it. we went to my dad's for a labor day get together yesterday and b was talking to my uncle about selling our house. well, my uncle (tim) kept asking questions and b realized he was interested. turns out that tim and ann (my aunt) were thinking of buying a travel trailer type thing to put down on their land at my grandparents but ann wanted something bigger. anyway they said for the price they were going to pay plus having to furnish it, this is a better deal. they have a house they are selling right now (one they fixed up) and are supposed to close on it on the 22nd. tim said they'd let us know something between now and then (probably around then). he said he'd go ahead and buy it and let us just pay them rent until we find a place (which would be awesome!!!). that would give us time to find a place and not have to move twice. God will take care of it if it is meant to be. don't want to get excited but how can i not?

it's been 10 days since i posted last!

2006-09-01T12:10:00.000-07:00

things have been...i would say crazy but a better word would probably be lazy. i have worked some though and *ahem* tried to keep the house clean (which is what i'm s'posed to be doing now but am blogging instead) so the last 10 days haven't been a total waste.

little bit is doing great. changing every single day. she had some little virus or something last week where she just ran a fever but nothing else. it is still a mystery. she now plays peek a boo by herself (we don't have to hold the blanket up anymore), she is starting to sign "cat" (thank God b/c we've been working on these signs for 5 months now), her sense of humor has developed quite a bit more (she laughs at a lot of stuff now), she dances to every bit of music she hears, and she's added "n" to her vocabulary. there's something else she just started doing but darned if i can remember what it was. she amazes me every day!

she has also weaned herself almost completely. by no doing of my own, we are down to one nursing a day (just in the morning) and i have NO idea what i'm doing now! i can't get the whole bottle/food/sleep schedule figured out. we aren't scheduled people really but i do like to have a bit of a routine. it just isn't happening with the bottles now. on the bright side of that, i bought 5 of the big formula cans for $25 (total). that's about $100 worth of savings. i love good deals! i also found gerber organic 2 packs (stage 2) on sale for $0.50 and $0.75 with over a year until expiration. no clue why they were on clearance b/c the store just started carrying them and still has them. they had the whole selection on clearance though.

weight watchers is going good. today hasn't been the best day b/c it's friday so instead of going out for ice cream (like we normally do) i decided to make my own. of course i had to taste test...but that's what flex points are for! and i have to say, what i made is quite tasty!

hobby lobby is now open. no more going to the local VERY expensive scrapbook store. cheers to that!

i have to work this weekend. thankfully i don't have to work 2 full shifts but even a little bit of work is draining. thank God i have a job that's flexible though!

the end...

2006-08-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

i'm all nostalgic tonight. i don't really know why. i've been on myspace looking up old classmates from high school and on facebook looking up college classmates and i really miss...well, everyone. even those i wasn't so fond of.
what i'd really like to know is when did we grow up? everyone is married and everyone has kids and i still feel like i should be playing 3 ninjas with my best friend from childhood and breaking the glass out of her curio cabinet. that was just yesterday (ish). instead i'm worried about my child who has been running a fever for 2 or 3 days and how am i going to pay for weight watchers classes b/c darn it--i'm going!! i will not let the fat take me over! i just don't feel like we should be thinking up baby names and posting our wedding pictures (not necessarily in that order). i found out (via myspace) that another one of my high school friends is having a baby and was shocked. why was i shocked though? i have a baby...why can't everyone else?

little bit has picked up several new tricks this past week (despite her mystery fever)--she can now say "uh-oh" although it comes out "uh-uh" and she can shake her head no. what's really funny is when she puts something in her mouth that isn't s'posed to be there. all i have to say is "*little bit..." and she starts shaking her head no :) so cute! God love the cute little thing!

and yes, i really am doing weight watchers. i went tonight for the 1st time. i need accountability. i need someone to tell me to get off my lazy butt and walk around the block (although i have been doing really really good with that the last 2 weeks). i need someone to weigh me every week and say--"you did it!" and give me a big hug (well, they won't do that but i'm sure b will). i need some guidelines b/c Heaven knows i'll eat everything in sight otherwise! i'm pretty motivated about it right now so i'm excited. i officially start tomorrow (and yes, i had my celebratory last dinner--chicken fingers, homemade french fries, and chocolate chip cookies). i only need to lose about 25-30lbs (i say "only" like that will be an easy thing--ha!) but i really just don't want to gain weight now that i'm barely nursing. fyi: dropping from 4 nursings/day to 3 will REALLY cut down on the calorie burn due to milk production. trust me and all my wobbly bits!

a new picture from my photo edits for you to contemplate:

and go to labellapictures.blogspot.com for more! and if you see some that look normal (no edits), i put them there so people could see the originals.

thoughts:

2006-08-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

*does anyone know why my comments are registering? my page says i have "0" but i have 2!
*my comments have picked up lately. am i more interesting now?
*why do people hate mommy bloggers? what'd we do to anyone?
*is blogging really for "power"? is there really a "junior league" in the blogging world (read about midway down)?
*has feminism really failed b/c some of us choose to stay home as opposed to working a 40 hour a week job?
*isn't feminism being able to have a choice about what we WANT to do as opposed to being dictated by someone else (i.e. men or OTHER WOMEN for that matter)?
*and why would people who don't have kids sit around and listen to people who do have kids talk? pick another table!
*UPDATE*
i have now downloaded a photo editing software (which i am CLUEless about) and have played with it for 2 hours and here is what i have come up with:

it doesn't look like much but that little booger was TOUGH. i'm used to point and click things and this is definitely not point and click!! i'm loving it though!
maybe one day i'll be good enough to create my own banner (that's my goal)! i'd be so excited

wanna hear something sad me whine?

2006-08-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

it isn't nearly as sad as my last post but a close 5th maybe (behind world hunger, the war in the middle east, poverty, orphans, etc)--i have no clothes. absolutely no clothes. i have things that cover my body that 11 year olds might call clothes but that's it. nothing nice. i have to borrow all of my "nice" stuff from a friend of mine who i LOVE for lending me things but I NEED MY OWN STUFF!! everyday...every single day...i wear some form of a navy blue or black tshirt and shorts. every. single. day. the bras i have, i have been wearing throughout my whole pregnancy/nursing experience. my underwear...it is too sad to even discuss!!! the clothes i'm wearing right now--navy blue tshirt that i've had for...about 4 years and has a hole under the arm (i didn't know this until yesterday so i wonder how long that's been there) and plaid boxer shorts that were my stepsister's when i was in 9th grade (i've had them since then--about 8 years) that have holes EVERYWHERE. how sad? i would love to lose about 20lbs and buy a new wardrobe but at this point in my life, i just don't want to go try on clothes. i lost all my prepregnancy weight (not that i was happy with that weight) but my body is SO different. *sigh*

PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN

2006-08-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

hey guys! this website has really tugged at my heartstrings. please donate if you can. even if you can only spare a few dollars i know it will help. if you can't donate but want to help, repost this in your blog and maybe other people who can donate will see it (this totally sounds like a spam thing but it isn't). thanks in advance for all your help!!

http://www.wildanimalsanctuary.org/

2006-08-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

this week has been a very mind draining week and it hasn't even gotten started. the house stuff is really beginning to wear on me. but i really don't want to talk about that.

by the way--i'm just in the process of getting this blogroll thing going so if i haven't added you yet, i'm working on it i promise!!

justice got a new toy for his birthday (one of those things with wheels that he can walk around and push) so when we had our play date the other day, i let little bit try it out and decided it might be beneficial to get her one. let me just insert here that i am WEAK when it comes to my daughter. i mean WEAK. i will go without clothes for the rest of my life as long as i can get her what she wants or what i think she wants/needs :) so to target we went and got her a walking thing. she loves it!! in the picture it looks like a little car but it converts between the two. so here's a video:

Video Hosting - Upload Video - Video Sharing

and here's a picture of her driving:

she really likes the cheap little thing :)

WOW!!

2006-08-13T12:30:00.000-07:00

I MEAN WOW.

have you ever wondered

2006-08-09T19:29:00.000-07:00

does anyone have a Blog Roll? i've never paid attention on other people's sites but man are those things nice! i can log onto my website and see if anyone has updated recently. it makes me happy! no longer do i have to go back and forth between my links and everyone's page that i'm just checking in on. haha!

have you ever wondered what makes us (as parents) go back on our word. man, i remember being pregnant "my child will NOT sleep with us in the bed. it just isn't going to happen." "my child will sleep through the night by 12 weeks b/c babywise said so and God knows they know everyone's individual children." "she's just going to have to cry it out." "she is NOT going to sit and watch tv...we will go outside and play!" the list really could go on but i'm sure you get the drift. when does it come to the point that you say "ok, i give up" and go back on your word? little bit hasn't really "slept with us" per se but she sure slept ON us for many weeks. it was the only way WE could get sleep. and anyone who reads my blog knows she's not sleeping through the night and she's WAY past that 12 week mark. and the tv thing--well, thankfully she doesn't really like the tv that much (my stuff is much more interesting) but i honestly would let her sit and watch it for a half an hour or so just so i could unload the dishwasher without worrying about her slicing her cute little fingers off! i really think it is just desperation. desperation for a little peace and quiet. desperation for a little time for ourselves. desperation to just feel like "ME" again (whatever that may be). i guess as long as we draw the line between letting tv time slide and letting them play with knives, we'll be ok. my sister (the 26 year old one) has a 3 year old. and honestly, i love my sister, but she's a bit lazy. so instead of just saying "no" and meaning "no" she says "no" and means "go ahead and do it b/c i'm too lazy to get up and actually stop you." i don't want to get to that point but i see how it would be easy! it is so easy to look at little bit climbing the baker's rack and think "she'll be fine and i'll tell her 'no' next time" when, in reality, i have to remember that consistency is what counts (even at 9 months) and you can't start disciplining when they're 16 (blah blah blah).

and since i said that--i heard my other sister (the 22 year old one with a 3 year old) tell her daughter today "i've already told you 'no' and don't ask me again" and it all of the sudden hit me that we're parents...PARENTS. that is such a BIG WORD! i'm not a parent. i'm still a child! how can a child raise a child?? i mean, i know i'm a mom but wow! i am molding and shaping this little being into what she will become. i feel like me and my 2 sisters and my brother should be jumping on the trampoline and making up "routines" and judging each other and sleeping in our bathing suits so that we can wake up and jump in the lake; not disciplining our kids and spending 25 hours a day raising them (yes, 25).

sorry i got deep there...doesn't happen much so just muddle through when it does!

2006-08-05T14:13:00.000-07:00

does anyone scrapbook? do you watch the scrapbook show on diy? they have such good ideas. my stepdad was looking at my scrapbook yesterday (keep in mind he's a man with NO scrapbook experience) and said i should go in the business--ha! he has NO idea what these people can do and how much money they spend. i was looking at scrapbook stuff last week and b was with me and found some jolee stickers that said "my 1st bike" and made me buy them (he's into cycling for anyone who didn't know). he was afraid i wouldn't be able to find them when little bit gets her 1st bike. he's so silly! he doesn't really like scrapbooks b/c he says they take away from the picture but then he gets me to buy stuff for mine :) i don't use a lot of embellishments though so maybe that's why he likes mine.

little bit had a rough night last night. i literally have no ideas left on how to get her to sleep through the night. we've done it all--routines, crying, solid food, i've even started supplementing some formula but none of it makes any difference. there are no teeth trying to come through, her ears were fine at her dr's appt, and if i go in there, she immediately stops crying. it is SO frustrating! she woke up 3 times last night. the 1st 2 times i was awake so it was just mildly frustrating but the 3rd time i had JUST fallen asleep. and the she cried forEVER. everyone said "let her cry it out; it'll only take a week or 2 and she'll be sleeping through the night." what a joke! i know there are plenty of people that it works for but i want to know what i'm doing wrong. everyone also said when we started solids it would rest heavier on her stomach to help her sleep...again--yeah right! she's been on solids for 3 months now and i've gotten about a week or week and a half worth of sleep. it is almost like she realizes that we're getting excited that she may be at that sleeping through the night point and decides that she needs to wake up and scream. she used to just fuss for 10 minutes or so and go right back to sleep but now it is bloody murder screaming. i think she's scared (separation anxiety maybe?). who knows...maybe she misses her friends. it has been awhile since she had a play date with anyone so maybe she is just bored with me and rebelling. i know she gets tired of being in the house all the time. b has been off of work all week and i'm REALLY going to miss him monday but maybe we can get back on our schedule and get our play dates going again. i miss the adult (female) contact too!

onto better little bit subjects--she is now eating cottage cheese, yogurt, cheerios, goldfish, and fruit puffs. the cottage cheese and yogurt are kinda hit and miss (depending on her mood) but she doesn't seem to dislike them--they just aren't her favorite. it is hard for me to realize how much she is growing and changing sometimes but my mom pointed out how different she looks now compared to some pictures from april and the difference is she's losing her puffy cheeks. i mean, she still has them but she's growing into them.

she keeps us on our toes! we caught her stealing a sip of b's drink the other day. he put it down next to the couch and we were getting her diaper bag together to leave and turned around to this:

for free pictures:

2006-08-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

go here and pay attention to the coupon codes: http://comparephotosites.com/

fyi: i've used snapfish and photoworks and am EXTREMELY pleased with the quality of my pictures. low shipping costs too and better quality than walmart or target. plus the pictures are shipped in record time! i have my prints in less than a week (2-4 business days). thus far i have found ways to get 105 free pictures and have around 120 more to upload for free :) it is a wonderful world!

little bit got a new stroller. i LOVE it! i feel like i got a good deal. it was $20 (babies r us) and has a shade and mesh bag on the back (my only 2 requirements). b and i both like it thus far. the only drawback is it is kinda hard to close. you have to be careful or you'll pinch yourself. but it is so pretty!

atlanta was fun. the hotel was nice. the 1st room we were in had hair on the bathroom floor (lots of it--like someone was shedding). don't know how the cleaning service missed that but i called the front desk and 2 managers came up and moved us to a corner room which basically just gave us a lot more space. it was such a blessing though b/c little bit needed that room to crawl around. it ended up being a life saver!! we had a lot of fun. i LOVE riding around in a big city (although compared to nyc, atlanta is teeny). it makes me want to move to a big city. we ate at the varsity. i don't know if you've ever been but honestly it leaves a bit to be desired if you ask me. it is just a bunch of people yelling and throwing around greasy food. we also went to the world of coca cola. it was a lot smaller than i remember but it was alright. we got to try coke from around the world and lilt is AWESOME!! i drank 2 cups of it (little 4 oz ish cups but still). i would LOVE to buy some and have it shipped here (it is from great britain) but the cheapest i can find is $1.35 per can plus shipping. i'm not sure it is that good!

little bit has her 1st swimming lesson tomorrow. we're only going to one lesson but i just want to learn what i need to do for her so i don't think 2 weeks worth of lessons is necessary. plus, this lesson is private. i'm excited.

she had her 9 mon. check up yesterday morning. she was great! 50th ish percentile on weight/height and 90th on head circumference!! i was surprised about that b/c i don't think she has a big head but i guess she does :) it just means she has a big brain.

she has started a new trick--she's walking on her hands and the bottom of her feet. but she only does it for a few seconds at a time so i can't get it on camera. busy week this week with b being on vacation. looking forward to it!

2006-07-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

thanks to everyone who visited my home. i should've credited Boo Mama but i forgot. i apologize for that but it was all her idea! and a great one it was!

i have to pat myself on the back just a little
b and i wanted to go out of town this week. nothing extravagant really b/c we're a little short on change but just a small getaway. so we decided to go to atlanta. i booked through Hotwire and got a GREAT deal! we're staying at a 3.5 star hotel in downtown and paid $73 per night. it is an AWESOME hotel too! i checked on their website and it would've been a minimum of $159 if we'd have booked through them. i love hotwire! there is a catch though--you can't find out the name or address of the hotel until AFTER you book it and it is nonrefundable. they tell you the vicinity (and it isn't a large range of an area), the amenities, and the star rating and you just have to trust them. it is SO worth it though. we've used them 4 times before and have never had a complaint. as a matter of fact, the few times i haven't used them i've been VERY disappointed with my selections!

wer're going to do a time share thing on our next vacation. we're buying it through ebay travel. they have great deals! have you ever done a timshare? it kinda sucks b/c of the presentation but i can handle a 90 minute presentation for a little bit of nothing and a great vacation!

i wanted to pat my back about something else too but i don't remember what now...should've written it down.

i haven't heard back from the job thing but i'm still hoping it happens. b is on vaca this week and i'm so excited about that! our anniversary is thursday. if i get this new job i'll have to work but that's why we're going out of town on another day this week. we're also going to the world of cocacola. ever been? it is really really neat. b has never been and it has been a LONG time since i have so i'm excited about that too.

little bit cried for 2 hours off and on last night starting at about 1am. i have NO clue what's wrong. no teeth poking up, no fever, just fussy. her 9 month checkup is on monday though so maybe if she has an ear infection we can get that taken care of! speaking of that--she's 9 months old today!! happy bday little bit! we love you :)

yea! i remembered!

2006-07-28T08:35:00.000-07:00

hey everyone and welcome to my house. it isn't anything spectacular and will hopefully be sold one day soon but for now, it is home and i'm thankful that God has provided a roof over my head!

we'll start with the front door. it is plain white but i love the screen! one of my favorite things is to open the front door, back door, and all the windows and let the fresh air in.

next where the blogging happens--this is my desk in our bedroom. i spend about 90% of my free time right here (and when i say that, i mean about 30 minutes a day). it has all my essentials: computer, roller ball mouse which is the best mouse EVER, camera dock, phone, speakers, and printer...oh, and see the little flower pot looking thing right behind my computer--that is a confession of my love of pens. it is CRAMMED full of pens and that is not even a drop in the bucket!!

next--my kitchen. honestly, i don't spend much time in here. the majority of it is to feed little bit or scrapbook (see my box on the table). i like to BAKE not to cook. mostly i just throw some chicken in the oven and bake some french fries. the refrigerator used to be COVERED in pictures and things but when we thought we had the house sold, we cleaned it off and packed it up. it is kinda bare now. the only things on there are the essentials.

onto the next room--my living room. we spend almost all of our time in here. it is the room of fellowship and fun. i know on the left side of the picture you can see a few toys but that (again) isn't even a drop in the bucket!! we have a GAJILLION toys. i'm not sure how we got so many either b/c b and i rarely buy anything. most of it is given to her as hand-me-downs. the recliner doesn't belong in this room. it is actually supposed to be in my husband's office but when i had surgery i couldn't sleep in the bed so we moved it in the living room. it hasn't gotten moved back (see my last post for details as to WHY it hasn't been back there. hint--boxes). the pack-n-play is out b/c we use it as a shield to keep little bit out from under the coffee table.

and finally my room of coice--little bit's bedroom. i'm so proud of this room. i painted it blue and green before i got pregnant (i just KNEW i'd have a boy--ha!) but i thought it was kinda bare so i decided to paint a mural on the wall. b left to go somewhere for the day and i got bored so...well, you can see what emerged. so since i painted a jungle on the wall, we were stuck with jungle animals for her theme. no pink or purple or butterflies...nope--monkeys and giraffes :) can you see the cloud looking things on the wall? i got paranoid that my neighbors were watching me nurse so i decided to buy that window art stuff.

so that's my house. hope you enjoyed my tour...like i said, nothing special but it is home and a roof over my head...praise the Lord for that! have a blessed day!

still got the bloggy tour of homes thing 1st but keep reading

2006-07-26T07:04:00.000-07:00

i don't know how to keep this post on top until a certain date so i'm just going to keep reposting it until the date. skip down a little for my updates.

i hope people want to participate in this b/c i think it is so neat!! i'm nosy and like to see the insides of peoples' houses and how they're decorated so i'm excited. anyway GET THE DETAILS HERE and start taking your pictures! there's still a week left to clean :)

-----------

watch me forget to do that. i already have my pictures taken and everything but sure as the world i won't remember. this post is going to consist of many pictures b/c i have many new ones to share.

1st of all--our friends from maryland were in town until yesterday. we got to see them 4 times (which is a MAJOR record b/c normally it is 1 time for a very short amount of time). we went and saw "cars" on friday night (which was great by the way). and the other times just visited with them. b really misses brad. we also found out that there is an 80% chance brad will have to go overseas in january for 6 months (he's in the military). i think that has b a little worried but i'm sure brad will be fine. i hate it for mandy and mackenzie (their new baby). so anyway speaking of mackenzie here's a picture:

2nd of all--i don't do the tackle it tuesday thing BUT here's a great one (even though it is wednesday). so if i haven't updated you on the house here goes--the people were trying to finance WAY too much money (b/c they didn't want to pay closing or downpayment) and so they couldn't get financing. stinks really but i know it is God's way of protecting us. i'm just holding on b/c i know when it is time, He will make it worth the wait! anyway so we had a room (b's office) FULL of boxes where we had packed stuff up. most of it we didn't really need anyway so we decided to rent a storage shed (which i found a GREAT deal on-- they had a 2 for 1 special--two 5x10 sheds for $31/month) so we started moving boxes. oh and we've also used our guest bathtub as storage forever b/c we never use the guest bathroom. here are the before pictures:

and here are the after pictures (yes b keeps his bike inside...i swear he is like a girl with her diamonds when it comes to that bike):

it took 2 days and a lot of sweat and tears (literally) but we got it done!! now we just have a pile of stuff in the hall to take to goodwill and we will officially be finished.

little bit is doing great. she has the sniffles (really just a runny nose) but the only time it bothers her is when i have to wipe it or suck it. she does NOT like that. she used to laugh when i'd suck her nose out but i guess she wised up a bit. i let her feed herself yesterday for the 1st time (with a bit of guidance from me). here is the picture of that:

i've been making my own baby food. i'd say it is going pretty good. little bit doesn't like it as much as gerber but she'll eat it (slowly) and i figure she'll eventually get used to it. i'm still using some gerber (like prunes and apples and chicken and anything to take on the go with us) but when we're at home i'm trying to just use the homemade stuff. it is really easy to do and saving us a good bit of money!!

i have a semi job interview today. i don't know if it is actually an interview or if my interview was over the phone monday but i'm going up there to see how things are done today. i still don't want to go full time b/c of little bit but i've been planning to start working more at the hospital soon b/c my mom's quitting her job and will be able to keep little bit for me. anyway my friend sara just got a new job at a drug store nearby and called monday saying they were looking for parttime help as a technician (which i'm already registered for b/c that's what i do at the hospital). it will be a totally different environment b/c i've never done retail pharmacy but it pays more and that makes me happy. i'd basically work 2 days a week for 10 hours a day and 2 saturdays a month for 4 hours (between 20 and 25 hours a week). it would be a steady income b/c i'd have a set schedule (which would be nice b/c i love making my own schedule at the hospital but i never go to work) and we could definitely use the money. we'll just save some and put the rest toward the house to bring the principle down further. it'll be hard at 1st but i guess i'll adjust to being away from little bit 2 days a week. it will also be hard working 10 hour days but i can do it! they don't get lunch breaks either. i'm a little concerned b/c i'll have to pump 2x a day but i'm just going to be up front and honest from the get go and if she wants me, she'll offer me the job and if not, no harm no foul.

if you hung in there through this whole post, i'm impressed. it is LONG i know!!

The Bloggy Tour of Homes

2006-07-20T21:14:00.000-07:00

finally!

2006-07-20T21:06:00.000-07:00

i finally finally finally am starting to feel some semblance of order to my house. for the last...well, i know 8 1/2 months i have felt as though my house was utterly trashed. i could spend all day cleaning and still feel as though it was just a mess. i think the reason is b/c every single nook and cranny was full. all of our drawers/doors/shelves were bursting with STUFF. nothing special, nothing in particular, just STUFF. but no more people!! to make a really long story short (b/c it's late) i'm pretty sure our deal with the house fell through. HOWEVER, it is such a blessing to me that it even was a possibility b/c we got so much STUFF packed up and now we have 2 storage sheds up the road that we can put all the STUFF in. i can open any drawer or door in my house and feel like i can breathe (with the exception of our pantry b/c i had to do some rearranging and make little bit a tupperware cabinet so now my 2 food cabinets are kinda cramped--hard to explain). i'm excited! now i feel like my bills will get paid, my house will stay clean, laundry will stay done and i can BREATHE! i know b thinks i'm crazy but i have honestly felt like i was suffocating here lately. no more though!!!!

as for 2 storage sheds--yea for good deals. we got 2 for the price of 1 for 12 months. tickled pink.

also, little bit update--she still has attachment issues with everyone except my mom and stepdad and me and b and occasionally my best friend sara. i thought maybe she was getting better but she proved me wrong tonight with b's parents. it was bad. not as bad as it has been in the past but bad enough.

much more to write but i'm too tired.

i know i always ask you to comment but i'd really love it if you did this one!!

2006-07-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

i got this off of Gina's website. it is like mad libs. just copy and paste in the comments section, fill in the blanks, and then post the blank one in your journal (if you'd like). thanks in advance! i'm excited to hear what everyone has to say :)

Dear Ashley,
I _____ you. You have a nice ___. You make me ____. You should_____. Someday I will ___. You + me = _____. If I saw you now I'd ______. I would build a ____ just for you. If I could sing you any song it would be _____. We could ______ under the stars.
Love, _______
(P.S. ______.)

just some stuff...

2006-07-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

some of you have probably already seen this but it is really beautiful if you haven't!

this weekend was pretty busy. little bit has been a tiny bit grumpy. she's been acting really sleepy a lot and just generally fussy. i didn't feel so hot on friday so maybe she picked up whatever it was that i had and it is just taking her a little longer to get over it (literally, mine was about 6 hours and now i just have a little bit of a runny nose). she typically loves the pool but she didn't seem to have a whole lot of fun in it yesterday. as a matter of fact she wasn't even in it 10 minutes. i think maybe sunscreen got in her eyes though so i'm sure that didn't help. she has also been getting up at about 7am and that is too early for her (and me). if she gets up before about 7:30, you can forget it! she'll be an ill pill all day long! so this morning she got up at 7am, banged around for awhile, fell back asleep and i think b woke her up on his way to work at 8:15am. i was thinking she'd be in a good mood since she had gone back to sleep but here it is 10am and she's already napping b/c she's so grumpy. i just don't understand. no teeth seem to be coming through.

she is also normally REALLY excited when someone comes to get her up in the morning or from her nap and she won't even smile about that. it is sad really b/c i love her smiles...

on saturday she was pleasant. we got up and went to my mom's around 8:30. we went swimming and b got his hair cut (we have to drive a half an hour for him to get his haircut b/c he's so picky and if you've seen a picture of him, you know he doesn't even have all that much left--silly boy) and then at noon, i nursed little bit and me and b left for the day! we had a wedding to go to that night and instead of having to bring little bit back to my mom or her come get her, we decided to just go ahead and leave her. she stayed with them until about 9pm and i have to say, it was nice! we had all afternoon to just hang out and get ready and then went to the wedding and really enjoyed it! little bit was great for them all day. it makes me happy that she can go with them now and not scream all day. she was even pretty good in sunday school yesterday. they said she didn't scream the whole time (just half of it) and when i picked her up she wasn't red eyed, splotchy, or snubbing. yea for progress!!

i cleaned my house last night. not like i really want to but i at least got everything pretty babyproofed and the floors vacuumed and mopped. it has been on my list but i'm lazy. we just have "stuff" everywhere.

this is a picture of little bit and lee (a friend of her and justice) who (for some reason) really wants to chew on little bit. he gets all excited when she gets close by and tries to chew on her. maybe he is just giving kisses. which brings me to the question--do you think babies can sense when other babies are male or female?

here is a picture of little bit and justice. i hate that i missed the best part of this but i couldn't get my camera on fast enough. they were crawling side by side going after the rug. it was so cute but by the time i got my camera on, justice was stopping.

little bit has learned to eat finger foods--well, fruit puffs anyway--without choking and throwing up. yea again for progress!! she was also feeding herself last night which she hasn't been able to do. my little girl is growing up.

we have friends down from maryland this week. i'm excited to get to see them! they have a little girl who is 10 weeks old and i can't wait to see her. it's b's best friend from high school and his wife. b is over the top happy that they're here and i think he is just ITCHING for them to call and want to hang out (they are actually here staying with one of their parents). he never checks the caller id (most of the time doesn't even know where the phone is) and when we got home yesterday that is the first thing he did. he has also been periodically checking his cell phone.
it's cute :)

thus far

2006-07-13T08:13:00.000-07:00

today has not been a good day. i fully expect for it to get better though! it is all about what you make it, right?

so we haven't heard from bridget and john (the people buying our house) since last thursday when they just "HAD to go out of town" and were going to TRY to drop the paperwork off for the park (come to find out they just HAD to go deep sea fishing...again). however, i have my own sources and don't need them to tell me what's going on. here's the low down: i talked with charlotte (the lady who owns our park) and she said bridget and agnes (john's mom who's the cosigner) cleared the credit check and john just needed to give her names/numbers for 3 credit references for him. no big deal except she hasn't heard back from them (this was monday). i was a little bit encouraged, though, that they had dropped the stuff off. so today, i decided to call their loan officer (ken) and ask when the estimated close date is (actually, i just wanted him to volunteer info on what's going on at the moment). so i call this morning and he says "well, i've been trying to get in touch with agnes and was just about to call her back b/c their loan didn't go through." i was like "WHAT??? THEY WERE PREAPPROVED!" i honestly didn't yell but oh i wanted to! i just asked him how they were preapproved if it didn't go through. evidentally they are preapproved for a loan BUT they are trying to finance 5k more than the house is worth and they can't do that. SOOOOOOO...he said he's going to try and go through another lender. he called me back a few minutes later and said he got in touch with agnes and she said she could come up with a little of the down payment (the reason they have to finance so much is to finance that into the loan) so he's going to try and run it through with her contributing to the cause. i cried. not really hard or anything but as i was praying for the Lord to just handle this and His will be done (not mine), i did cry. i haven't even called b and told him. his boss is in town today and i don't want him to be in a bad mood or have a bad day. i guess at this point we can just thank God that we haven't signed a contract on a house yet. what irks me so bad is that we have tried and tried to get bridget and john to handle their business so that we would have time to find a place after all their loan and stuff came back approved and i think they just assumed that everything would be just fine and didn't bother to think about the fact that this may not work out. i hate people being selfish!!!

onto other things--i think little bit can say "cat" or some variation of it ("ca" mostly). it is funny how it took her FOREVER to say a consonant and in the past week i've heard her say more different sounds than she ever has. she gets really excited when my kitties are around though and says "ca" a lot. i have been saying "cat...can you say cat? ca ca ca cat?" for ages now and i guess she's picking it up. either that or i'm wishful thinking. i told b about it and i think he was skeptical and then he heard her do it and his jaw dropped :)

i got my nails done yesterday--deluxe pedicure (complete with the exfoliator, clay stuff, and hot towels) and a full set on my hands. we have a wedding to go to saturday and i wanted to look semi nice. i've had gift certificates since my bday in march and mother's day and thank God for them b/c that would've broken the bank! the sad thing is that now i want to go back everday and have my toes done and i can't afford it!! my nails are really cute though :) my friend sara actually came over to scrapbook with me yesterday and forgot her pictures (silly girl) and b got off work early so we just left little bit with him. she's been pretty grumpy lately too so i'm glad i got out for awhile. i thought that within a few weeks of starting "sleep training" babies are supposed to learn to put themselves back to sleep...ha! we're around week 6ish and she STILL wakes up crying in the middle of the night! i haven't gotten up with her in AGES but after she cries for 10 minutes, i can't go back to sleep for 30.

so that's my week in a nutshell. oh does anyone scrapbook? b/c if so, let me share my savings with you--tuesday i went with sara and her mom "shopping" (meaning i had $20 to eat on and buy whatever i wanted all day) and we got great deals! at michael's they have cardstock on sale for $1.99 per pack of 50 sheets (it is $7 at target) and at ac moore they have 12x12 sheets for $0.20 (they are $1.49 at the local scrapbook store). so i got everything i needed and ate lunch for $20!! yea for deals!

i hope everyone's day is going better than mine! but just keep in mind, that my day is about to get so good that it may blow yours out of the water :) i hope

yuck!!

2006-07-12T20:17:00.000-07:00

BEWARE!!

2006-07-11T06:58:00.000-07:00

this picture is lee, little bit and justice at their playdate last friday. they mostly just played along side each other. no eye poking or hair pulling this time!

i really have no reason to update b/c things are the absolute same for us--we still don't have a house and those people buying ours still haven't applied with the park. i did get smart yesterday, however, and called their loan officer b/c i knew he'd be meeting with them at 3pm yesterday afternoon. sneaky you say?? well, SOMEBODY has to handle their business if they aren't going to!!! i feel like they are taking for granted that if they got a loan, then they'll automatically be cleared through the park--nope! and i've told that girl that but NOOOOOOOOO she won't listen!! anyway, i talked to their loan officer and he said that they HAVE to be cleared with our park before he can run the loan. he asked if they were really strict out here and i said yes, they have to have blah blah credit score and clear a background check and he wanted to know if the guy's mom's (the cosigner's) credit would suffice but THAT i don't know...which is why they NEED to apply already!!! so he said he would push them to do that without letting them know that i called...thank you Lord! at least we should have some answers by week's end. i just don't understand people! i mean, i procrastinate on a lot of things and of course, i'm not perfect but when i'm holding up other people, i try to get a move on! grrr...

we had another sunday school social last night. i'll post 2 pictures--1 is the house it was at which is also known as "the reason we are uncomfortable in sunday school."

there are 2 of us (couples) that don't have immaculate houses and in some cases, you can definitely tell who we are! some of them are very cliquey and don't really talk to you if you don't have money. what a sunday school class huh? but the teacher's really good and we have made several friends so...we take the good with the bad. anyway the 2nd picture is a testament to how big our sunday school class is--there were 25ish kids running around!

that's TOO many to have in a pool. we probably have about 25 couples in our class. really, that picture looks like a community pool :) this was also right after ice cream time so there are still a few kids on the sidelines finishing their ice cream. i did think the idea was great though--every family had to pay $5 for pizza and drinks and then bring one item to put on top of ice cream (chocolate, oreos, reeses, sprinkles, fruit, etc) and then we made our own ice cream sundaes. little bit got hit in the face with one of those splash ball things. b was changing her diaper and one just came flying out of the air and smacked her right square in the face. she freaked out! he REALLY freaked out! he wouldn't even let her sit on the ground anymore without him sitting between her and the pool. he's such a good daddy and definitely protective of her!

thanks for your prayers!

2006-07-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

just fyi: God is still in the business of answering prayers! everything is fine with my lymph nodes! thank the Lord! and the one in my face is getting smaller (i think i said that already). i have to go back in 6 weeks just so he can "feel my neck" again :) i feel so much better!

a few good posts i've read recently (thanks to metrodad and mom-101)

this is how i feel everyday

i dread this day but this is SO funny! let me know what you think!

it's a sad day

2006-07-06T08:44:00.000-07:00

(just one more pic of little bit standing) they closed on the house yesterday. they tried to back out at 3pm but the lady told them she wasn't willing to postpone it so they pushed it through by 4pm. i was very upbeat about it when i called her but the further into the night it went, the sadder i got. i try not to let things like this bother me b/c i know how brian takes this stuff to heart but this one hit me where it hurt. i just KNEW that was the house that was meant for me. evidentally i was wrong. there's a reason though, i know it, and God has something so much better planned. but i would LOVE TO KNOW how when i ask how long closing will take, i'm told 2 weeks but this lady (as of last thursday) didn't even have financing!!! she closed in 3 business days...LITERALLY! i can't help but feel like we were jipped. enough of that.

onto happier things:
--i am pleased to annouce that little bit can now say at least one consanant: "b" as in "bababababababa" and i love it! we got off the phone with the people about the house and we were sad (driving home) and heard her in the backseat. it was God's way of making us feel better!
--if you like boneless buffalo wings from applebees, chile's, etc...here's a recipe for you (a bit healthier too b/c it's not fried)
you will need:
enough chicken to feed your family
flour (i use whole wheat but it doesn't matter what kind)
eggs
hot sauce (i used moore's buffalo wing sauce last night and it is the best thus far. i have only found it at bruno's)

cut your chicken into bite size pieces. in a (large) separate bowl, beat 2 eggs (you may need more depending on the amount of chicken you do) with a fork. in another bowl pour the flour. put the chicken in the bowl with the egg and coat it really well. then place it in the flour and lightly coat it. put it in a 9x13 dish and bake it at around 350 until it's done (15-20 minutes ish). using a corning ware dish (or other stove top safe dish) pour the chicken into it and coat with hot sauce. let it simmer for about 5-10 minutes and enjoy!

a great dish to go with it: baked french fries:
slice up enough potatoes for your family. place them in a bowl and put enough water in it to cover the potatoes. let them sit for 10 minutes. drain the water off and pour 1-2 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil on them. stir them around to coat them well. place them on a baking sheet (i cover the baking sheet in parchment paper but you could also use greased aluminum foil or just grease the pan really well), sprinkle seasoning salt on them to taste and bake for about 20 minutes on 350 (you can flip them at 10 minutes if you wish to). the parchment paper helps keep them from sticking and/or burning to the pan so i would recommend it. or if your lazy (as we all are at times) just buy some frozen french fries, put them on a cookie sheet, and throw them in the oven! still great!

so in about 30 minutes, you can have a meal for your family that isn't fried or too terribly bad for you!

a few little side notes: if you don't have egg, buttermilk will also work but don't just use water b/c the flour will just fall off the chicken when you put the wing sauce on it. also, we've tried texas pete buffalo style chicken wing barbecue sauce and it is HOT AS FIRE!!! it made my tastebuds hurt the next day...way too hot!!! and also hot chix original buffalo wing sauce and for us, it is too peppery. we get the "medium" of the moore's (cuz that's all there was) and it was the perfect heat!

please please please let me know if you try it! i'd love to know what you think!

i'm back!

2006-07-05T08:38:00.001-07:00

so many things to post (pictures mostly). well, first things first--my surgery went well. i am a little sore of course but it is getting better. i will probably find out something on friday at my follow up appointment. thanks for the prayers!

the people buying our house are SUPPOSED to be applying with the park tomorrow and meeting with us to sign a contract after that. now my prayer is that they get approved through the park. we'll find out about the house that we want today. they are supposed to close on it but i know if it is God's will, things will work out for us. i'm not stressed about it b/c i also know if it isn't God's will, that means there's something better out there.

the 4th was good...just busy b/c we have so much family to visit. we went and saw a fireworks show last night but i really wasn't too impressed with it. we are used to going to the lake and seeing a BIG fireworks show so seeing this one just wasn't the same. little bit didn't mind them at all though. she was fussy b/c it was after 9pm (her bedtime) but she just stared at the fireworks.

speaking of little bit--she stood up by herself on saturday morning. i don't mean pulled herself up either...she was standing on her feet and hands and then just stood up. she lasted about 4 seconds and fell on her bottom. b and i were SO excited! she thinks she needs to do it all the time now. i'll post a picture of that b/c of course i have one. she also got her 2nd tooth in yesterday--finally!! i have been waiting for this one to come in for 3 weeks now. her first showed up one day and came in that night but this one has just creeped up.

go to photoworks.com for all of your digital photograph needs! i ordered some prints from them about 2 weeks ago. i got them last week and they are AWESOME! i don't know if you guys ever upload to walmart.com but when you get the prints they are kind of fuzzy. the pics i got from photoworks weren't fuzzy at ALL and they had fixed all the red eye without me even asking them too. i was very impressed! and you can get 25 free prints when you sign up (you still have to pay shipping but it was only $2.90). when you pay for the prints and shipping it ends up being a little more than walmart (i thought it was less but i was wrong) but to me, the photo-crazy mom, it is SO worth it! actually if you order 1000 prints, it is only $.09 so that would be cheaper but who would order 1000 pictures at a time??

pictures i'm posting:
i have no idea what order they are in but one is of little bit yesterday in front of the flag, one is of her smiling because she was playing with her pack of diapers, one is of her standing herself up, and one is of her with her heinie in the air :) she does that pose a lot for some reason. it is actually how she learned to sit herself up (by folding her leg underneath her and pushing).

roller coaster of emotions!

2006-06-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

that is what this week has been, is, and i'm sure will be. so 1st of all--i have to be at the hospital at 7am. whoa! i was expecting 9:30. i have been fine until now...now, i could throw up. not excited at ALL! please please please pray and have anyone you know pray too. thanks!

2nd--the people buying our house got approval for the loan! yes! now they just have to get approval through the park. i tried calling the office here today but couldn't get anyone. i'll get brian to try calling tomorrow. i've told them 1000 times to apply but they haven't yet. i will be sad if they can't get into the park. they do a credit check and background check. i'm not so worried about the background check but i am a little about the credit check (although all they have to have is a 550). i know they got financing for the house but they had to have a cosigner. God will handle it though...He has everything else!

3rd--the house we want is still up in the air but i really feel like this is it. it is under contract--are you stupid, you put an offer on a house under contract?? yes, we did. here's why: the lady wanting to buy, has to first sell her house and then the people wanting to buy her house have to first sell their house. the lady selling our new house doesn't want to wait on all that. they are supposed to close on july 5th (one week) and the buyer doesn't even have financing yet. things are looking good for us! some signs that it is meant to be: japanese maples. does anyone know what japanese maples are? a lot of people don't but they are very expensive trees. my grandparents own a nursery and grow/graft their own maples and these people had 4 in their yard. also, in the pictures they have of the house from before they moved, they have a painting hanging in their living room. we have the exact same painting in our bedroom (jack vettriano: the singing butler). the house has a bay window...i've always always always wanted a bay window. the list could go on but let's just say that i think i know what my new address will be. and if not, then i feel like it is just affirmation from God that there will be something else out there.

3rd--little bit stories...whew! she's been wearing me out. she's either teething or starting into temper tantrums. either way, it isn't fun! she never cries with tears. she complains and fusses a LOT but there are only tears if she's hurt. however, the last few days she has absolutely pitched fits! she has just WAILED for no reason. i'll be holding her and trying to nurse her and all of the sudden she'll just bawl. i think it is b/c my milk isn't coming down fast enough. when it comes down she stops. she's done this twice, though, when i haven't been trying to nurse (she was just sitting in the floor) and the only way i've stopped it is by sucking on her pacifier (me sucking on it). she has also started waking up at 3am again. last night she fussed for about a half an hour before she fell back asleep and then woke up and fussed at 4:15am and then again at 5:20. then she slept until 8:30am and woke up happy as a lark (what's a lark?). poor b didn't go to sleep until 12:30am and then was woke up at 3am and finally went to work about 4:30 i guess. we have been packing like mad people! it's fun though! i love to pack/unpack. pray that they'll get approval through the park also.
a few little bit pictures:
1st--little bit and her friend justice. they kind of had a play date today. cute aren't they :) the other day little bit scratched his face. today, justice pulled her hair :) sweet revenge!

2nd--that's what i call exhausted! i sleep like that sometimes though. especially if i wake up in the middle of the night. i end up laying over just like that.

2006-06-27T09:11:00.000-07:00

i have another prayer request. i've decided to have the biopsy on one of these lymph nodes. it'll be thursday (don't know what time) but should only take a half an hour or so and i'll go home that day. please pray that there is no major problem but also that i'll have a peace about having this done. i've tried having my wisdom teeth out twice and haven't succeeded yet. i just don't do good with needles/surgery/being put to sleep/etc. thanks!!!

They really love each other...they just pretend not to

2006-06-23T10:05:00.000-07:00

i have never written about my cats. my profile says i have cats but for all you guys know, my cats roam around without love and affection. so wrong! they are very pampered. a lot less than before the days of little bit but still, pampered. my orange cat (quincy-- named after the iguana in "Foxtrot") was my first. he is a shelter cat who was quite pitiful when we rescued him. he's the "biggest cat ever" as everyone points out when they first walk through the door and glimpse him running to the bedroom to hide under the bed. he is totally petrified of storms, vacuums, and people. he loves the people who see him on a regular basis (my mom, my friend sara, my stepdad, brian, and of course me) but he'd rather not know you if he doesn't already. my little cat (gracee--so named b/c she's grey) is also a shelter cat. her story is longer than my quincy's. i got a cat in january of '04 (i think) from a shelter about 45 minutes from here. it's a different state and in that state, animals (by law) have to be spayed and neutered before being rescued. the cat (reasy) was only 6 or 8 weeks old but they said it would be fine to spay her--they did it all the time. when i picked her out she had a little cough sounding thing but i figured hairball (stupid me didn't know 6 week old cats didn't get hairballs). anyway, that was on a saturday. the following monday they called to say she had an upper respiratory infection and were going to wait to spay her. they SHOULD have waited a full 10 days for the antibiotics to do their thing but unfortunately they did it the next day...grrrrr...we went and picked her up on that thursday. she was happy and so cute and laid in my lap and loved me. i was so excited. shortly thereafter (like the next week) she got really sick. since she was spayed, her body couldn't deal with the infection that she still had and try and heal her surgery wounds so she ended up dying. it was horrible horrible horrible. the most horrible thing! well, i got TICKED and the shelter said to pick out another cat and they'd take care of whatever costs i had incurred (it had been a lot--the poor cat had to have an iv)!! so we saw little gracee. the first time we saw her she was climbing the cage she was in and SCREAMING at the top of her lungs. she was oh so tiny (only 4 weeks old) but weaned from mommy so they let me take her (they said i'd have to bring her back in a few weeks to be spayed...uh-huh yeah right. we had it done at 8 months). we had to keep her and quincy separated for awhile b/c of worms and also quincy was 13lbs and gracee was about 2oz (or so). his paw would've squished her body. the problem with gracee was she wasn't eating right. she loved to eat but she'd only eat while you were sitting right there with her so she didn't get enough. sooooooo...she ended up being hypoglycemic. we came home from dinner one night and she was sleeping. i woke her up but she could barely lift her head. i said "b, something's wrong" he said "no she's just groggy" i said "no something's wrong." her blood sugar had bottomed out and she couldn't even hold her head up. it was PITIFUL! i was sobbing, b was trying to get her to wake up (he still thought she was groggy), my mom couldn't understand me (on the phone) b/c i was crying so hard but finally talked to b and said try feeding her. so i held up some food to her mouth and she wanted it so bad but couldn't open her eyes to see it so she CHOMPED into my finger. i had to be on antibiotics and my finger looked like the jolly green giant's. not pleasant. i still have a scar and it bothers me from time to time. we finally got enough down her that she started to come out of the funk. we had one more episode like that and then she went to spend 2 weeks with my step aunt (big animal expert) and came home like a whole new kitty. she is now perfectly healthy and also, a bit spoiled. she thinks her "place" in life is on my shoulder. she has a catnip-stuffed frog (we call him "lieutenant dan" b/c his legs are coming off--forrest gump). every night she "kills him," brings him to the bedroom, and drops him next to me and then curls up on top of me and goes to sleep. then, whenever we leave the house, she gets him and brings him to the door. she's funny with that thing!

so there's the tail of the 2 cats :)

for those who haven't already...

2006-06-22T17:20:00.000-07:00

GO READ THIS and then tell me that you fully support my decision to never leave my child alone with anyone...ever.

we looked at a house today...love it love it love it! it had 2 offers (that the people accepted) but the contracts fell through (can you say "what a good sign"). it is already child proofed, new hardwood floors, new roof, new ac/heat, new hot water heater, new carpet...it doesn't get much better! formal dining room, fireplace, HUGE backyard and in a cul de sac! we're making an offer tomorrow (please Lord, let bridget and john be able to get financing for this place. if they don't, help me to remember that there is something better out there for us and You know best). i'm excited. john talked to b today and he said they were going today to work on getting the financing and he'd let us know something (hopefully) tomorrow. his mom wanted to know why we wanted out so fast. evidentally, she thinks something's wrong with the house. actually, we want out b/c our payment is due the 10th and they wanted to be in here by the first to middle of july. therefore, we're shooting for the 8th. we're trying to accomodate them and being accused of witholding info and selling them a crap house. b told him that he could come out here today, tomorrow, or any other day and see that there is nothing wrong. i'll be mad at that heifer if she messes this up!
gotta go for a walk!

i rock!

2006-06-20T10:31:00.000-07:00

9 comments on my time-before-last post! woohoo! go read them :)

i found a website you should all visit: Deal of the Day. If you go to their freebie thing (and get in on the freebies when the offer is still available) you can really rack up! i'm sure they sell your name and address to every available marketing company but hey, i'm a marketing major...i shouldn't complain, right? free stuff=i don't care if they call!

little bit only woke up once again last night. i didn't go in there. she didn't fuss long. sleep was good!! i was sleeping HARD too i guess b/c b's alarm went off at...well, early and i never heard it.

nothing else to write :)

the weekend

2006-06-19T06:55:00.000-07:00

i'm happy--i had 6 comments on my last post...yea me!

we had a pretty good weekend...very productive on saturday. not at all productive yesterday. saturday we (basically my husband) cut the grass, washed my car (first time in at least 8 months--probably 10...thank God it doesn't show dirt), fixed the vinyl on our house (a storm busted a few pieces), went and looked at houses, dropped off some stuff at goodwill, and visited my dad. plus, b had to work some. yesterday, we went to church (little bit screamed through sunday school) and went to visit my stepdad and b's dad. it took all day. i love the fact that i have family and that we're close enough to visit but it is really hard getting around to everyone--especially on a sunday afternoon (b/c of church in the morning). we have 3 sets of parents (his, mine, and my other) and if you want to spend any amount of time with them, you have to have all day.

a house burned up in our park the other day...scary! my dad was a volunteer firefighter when i was little and my mom worked on the ambulance and i HATED when they had anything going on. where i'm from (very small town) if ANYthing is going on, everyone gathers around and watches. so everytime there was a fire, if we knew about it, we were watching it. scared me to death! well, i haven't seen an uncontrolled fire since i was little so it just brought back bad memories. thankfully no one was in the house. i'm not sure what happened but we saw them cleaning it out yesterday and it looked like almost everything had smoke/fire damage.

we put an offer on that house on tuesday. it was rejected. we feel like the guy was being a bit unreasonable though. he is asking $100 less than appraisal. we offered him what he's asking but that he'd pay half of closing costs ($1900). he said he's not taking less than what he's asking. i'm not ABOUT to offer him 100% b/c the house has a few things that need to be taken care of so i don't feel like it is worth 100% of what he's asking. if he had been asking a few thousand less than what it appraised for, we could negotiate a little but he's not so we can't! no big deal though...i know it just wasn't meant to be. b was MAD though! i had to remind him that there were many other houses out there! there are acutally some villas that we really like but they have an association fee of $100/month. i hate that! it is for lawn maintenance (there's no lawn) and the security system (we can get it for 17.99/mon ourselves) and small roof/exterior repairs (i doubt we'll have $100/month worth of that). i'd kinda like a yard anyway.

an old high school teacher of ours was in an accident this past week. she's ok but she pulled out in front of a motorcycle and killed the 2 people riding it (husband and wife). word is she was friends with them (they went to school together) and when people got to the scene she was kneeling in the road holding one of them crying and saying she was sorry. and now (supposedly but i don't doubt it) she is having to be heavily sedated. she hasn't had an easy life. her first husband was a logger and his truck broke down so he was on the side of the road and someone hit him and killed him. pray for peace for her. i wish i could just make it better b/c she really is the sweetest person!

not too much little bit news today. she did sleep through the night on saturday which was great!! she woke up at some point last night but i just let her fuss herself back to sleep. either she didn't fuss long or i was just really sleepy b/c i don't remember staying awake for very long. i dreamed about head on (have you seen the commercial--"head on, apply directly to your forehead. head on, apply directly to your forehead. head on, apply directly to your forehead." it isn't my favorite). just a side note there.

2006-06-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

whew! i'm tired...little bit just will NOT sleep...what's the deal??? does anyone else have a 7 1/2 month old that won't sleep through the night?? help!! i'm contemplating some sleep training but she's really not that bad of a sleeper. ok that doesn't make sense so here's how it goes around here: she still takes about 3 naps a day (i'm very thankful for this and at first i thought maybe she's sleeping too much during the day but she just can't make it without 3 naps). when she naps, i hold her until she closes her eyes and then put her in her crib (still awake but drowsy) and she goes to sleep fine (that's what i mean by she's a good sleeper--i guess a good go-to-sleeper). at night i feed her and she falls asleep nursing and then i put her down in her crib and typically she's asleep for awhile. but then she'll wake up in the middle of the night and want to eat. i know she doesn't need it nutritionally anymore but she'll cry forever! night before last she woke up at 1am and cried (and it's not tears and screaming in pain...it's just complaining and tear free-fussing) for an hour, finally fell back asleep but was up at 6:30 and complained ALL DAY LONG YESTERDAY!! LITERALLY! i've noticed that if she gets up before 7:30 she is an ill pill! yesterday was no exception. so last night she woke up at 3:15 and fussed for 45 minutes before i finally decided that I needed to sleep and went and fed her. i don't want to cut the monitor off b/c she's sitting herself up now and starting to pull up so if she hurts herself, i need to hear it but i can't sleep with her fussing like that...what do it do?????????? since she's sitting herself up, when i go in there she's sitting up waiting on me. i really think she may be having a hard time laying herself back down to go to sleep. not that she can't lay herself down b/c she can but you know how when you're laying down, it is easier to go to sleep than when you're sitting up.

onto happier things...i've lost 5lbs! in a week!! woohoo! it excites me :) now, 20 more would be ideal!! since i heard about this whole lymph node thing (which i still haven't decided if i'm going to have the biopsy or not) i have been trying to eat better and make myself healthier. i have cut out all sugar (except what's in my ketchup and orange juice) which is a HUGE deal for me b/c i'm a sugarholic! i have also not been snacking a lot. i eat 3 square meals a day and drink carrot juice 4x a day...yes, i said carrot juice. no, it is not good but honestly, it isn't as bad as you'd think. i'll probably be turning orange here shortly but i'll be healthier. the carrot juice is a big deal for me too b/c i eat absolutely NO vegetables (well, except romaine lettuce in my caesar salad). and i hate carrots! i have also cut out starbucks. it has been 2 weeks since i had starbucks. i went from at LEAST every other day (if not everyday) to not having it at all. it's hard but i'm doing it!

father's day is sunday (i'm sure you all know). any ideas?

things

2006-06-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

sometimes i get to thinking about things. here are 2 of them:
everytime i reach for little bit, no matter what she's playing with, she immediately drops it and reaches for me. i wonder if she thinks of each time i hold her as an adventure and she just can't wait to see where we're going next.

the things that we are doing right now are going to affect our kids from now until forever. if our kids end up in therapy, it'll probably be a result of something we did or did not do. how scary is that? anyone watch the real world? paula has a lot of issues and said that some of them stemmed from her childhood. that's scary! i know i have a need to fix everybody's problems and have been told it is a result of not being able to fix my parents' divorce when i was a child.

we're going to look at a house tonight at 6pm. we looked at one last night but it was only 1100 sq ft and on the upper end of our price range. the reason is b/c it came with all stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors, ceramic tile in the bathrooms, marble tile in the kitchen, and a 16x20 shop. it was a cute house that needed some yard work and landscaping but kinda high for 1100 sq ft. we don't want much bigger than that (about 1300-1500 would be ideal) but i know we can get a house for a better price than that. the one we are looking at today is 1330 sq ft, in a nice area (good schools), looks like it has at least a partial basement (which i love b/c i hate bad weather), 3br/2bth, hardwood floors/ceramic tile/carpet (new a year and a half ago) so i'm excited. b liked it (from the outside), i like it, and i'm sure little bit will (except for those hard floors on her little knees) so if we like it from the inside and all goes well with selling this place, then we'll probably put an offer on it.

here are some new videos. little bit now spits...nonstop :) and yes, she is growling in parts of it (she also does that nonstop). she also went swimming in my parents' pool for the first time this weekend...speaking of that...we had just gotten in (barely gotten wet) and we heard a HUGE crash from around the circle and then LOUD SCREAMING so we all jumped out, my husband took off running, my step dad jumped in the truck and come to find out, some kids from around the block had been riding in their golf cart (which they do ALL the time) and flipped it. there were 5 of them on it, thankfully they were all ok. the oldest one lost the front ends of his 2 big toes but the rest of them were just kinda banged up. anyway, VERY scary to hear a crash and then screaming like that.

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Praise the Lord!!

2006-06-13T08:02:00.000-07:00

we have had a great week thus far and it is only 2 days into it! my dr's appt went really well yesterday. the dr. still doesn't think this is anything to worry about and doesn't really want to do the biopsy. he said if it was him or his wife he wouldn't do it but he'd just watch it closely. however, he said if it would give me peace of mind we could go ahead and do it. totally up to us! we're praying about that now. we have it tentatively scheduled for june 29th but are going to see where we're directed. he also ordered a cbc and a chest xray both of which came back normal. yea!

little bit (who is going to be an inspirational speaker if this photo has anything to do with it. actually she just has this really funny face she makes where she sticks out her tongue and basically strains...she was doing some version of that) has decided that she is just going to grow up this week. she's been pulling up some for the last 2ish weeks but has been doing it more, she sat herself up yesterday for the first time (from laying down), and she's also starting to crawl. she can't get up on her hands and knees so she does it on her elbows and knees. her legs are definitely going one after another though. she amazes me! it is also amazing that she is so strong physically but yet absolutely will not say a consonant (no "mama" "dada" "gaga" or "baba)...so funny!

my dentist appt (first one in 3 years) went well last week. no cavities! ok, well, technically--one cavity but it is in a wisdom tooth that i have to have pulled so it doesn't count :)

we also had people come back and look at our house yesterday (thank God again). this was the 3rd time. they came by themselves 1st, then with her mom, then with his mom (who is s'posed to be cosigning with them). they said they were going to get the loan to go through this week. i think they are going through the same people we have it financed through so i think that will help matters. if they buy it, they want to move in at the first to middle of july. i want to be out by the 10th b/c otherwise our payment will be due and the lot rent too. the only "hangup" is that we have no where to go :) i have always felt like when the house sold, there would be a place ready for us and i still feel like that. there is actually one house in our price range, etc that we are hoping to go see tomorrow. maybe that's the one. i hate getting my hopes up but it's too late--they're up! i almost want to start packing :)

well, fellow bloggers--my child is up from her nap and fussing so i must go to her! oh, wait! "the view" just said "it is just as risky to not smoke while your pregnant as it is for you to not breastfeed." wow! i wonder how people came up with that?
thanks for your prayers and thoughts! they mean the world!

no th13 today...sorry guys!

2006-06-08T06:30:00.000-07:00

i need prayer if you guys don't mind. about 6 weeks ago i found a swollen lymph node in my cheek. i went to the ear, nose, throat doctor and he said to watch it for 4-6 weeks. so 2 weeks ago i went back and he put me on an antibiotic to see if that would work. in the meantime, i started having some twitches in my face and his nurse decided i should come back in. so on monday i went back and he ordered a cat scan of my neck (i am really not sure why he wanted one of my neck when the problem was my cheek but no matter now). the cat scan showed some "prominent" lymph nodes throughout my neck. his nurse scheduled me an appointment for monday to talk with him and said that more than likely he would want to schedule an appt for surgery to remove and biopsy them. i have also been having a problem with a wisdom tooth on the same side of my face so (according to my uncle) it could be the root of all my problems. let's pray it is! anyway, obviously i am anxious but i know God is in control so i am just going to trust Him to take care of me! at this point i just thank God that the doctor decided to do the cat scan of my neck (like i said, i don't even know why he ordered that although i'm sure he had his reasons). so, anyway, thanks in advance for your prayers!

testing...1...2...3...

2006-06-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

This is a new thing so if this doesn't work, sorry! just trying it out! this is a video of little bit a few months ago. we were folding clothes and b kept throwing a towel over her and she got so excited! i love how spastic her legs look the first time he does it. i don't like my voice on here but as far as i can tell, that's really what i sound like. maybe i should work on that :)

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please comment if you read this one

2006-06-05T19:55:00.000-07:00

sometimes i feel (as a pretty much new first time mom) that i should give advice to expecting mothers (i have actually found that this is my new calling in life and also now understand every other woman's reasoning for giving such advice). does anyone else feel this way??? i also know that they will TOTALLY not understand the magnitude of these comments until after they get back with that beautiful new bundle of joy. i know i didn't (but maybe they're smarter than me). so here's some of my advice (although not NEARLY all of it)
first of all--sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep--NOW--a LOT...relish in the fact that you can take naps...long naps...whenever you want...and you can sleep late...again i say, SLEEP!!!!! also, take baths...enjoy your baths. make sure they are LONG LUXURIOUS baths! you'll miss it if you're a bath person. and don't dwell on other people's stories about their birth experiences. i had the best birth ever!! i was induced (yes, it threw me into labor fast but i wouldn't have it any other way) and was done in 10 1/2 hours. it was great! yes, there was pain; no, it wasn't unbearable and not NEARLY as bad as everyone else made it out to be. honestly, you just forget about the pain. within 2 weeks you won't remember anything except how nice it was to be waited on hand and foot in the hospital (if that is where you're going anyway). i would be checking into the hospital NOW to have a baby if i could! i would love 2 days of doing nothing! i would also suggest sending the baby to the nursery at night if you have that option. don't feel like a bad mom! you're not...actually, you're a great mom b/c you're resting up for being more able to take care of the little one when you get home. and my last and most important piece of advice: accept help from EVERYBODY who offers it to you!!! don't turn anyone down for anything (even if they want to fold your underwear and you think you might be humiliated--you won't be...you'll just be thankful)!

i have a lot more advice but i'm more interested in hearing everyone else's. PLEASE COMMENT AND LEAVE ANY ADVICE YOU HAVE...JUST FOR MY CURIOSITY!

p/s yes, my child once was a hobo...

YEA!

2006-06-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

Little Bit FINALLY has a tooth wanting to come through. I've been noticing that it was surfacing for a week or so (just a little transparent spot on her gum) but my mom saw it this morning and said "have you seen her gums? she's getting a tooth." so i looked and sure enough--almost a tooth. It hasn't broke the surface yet but you can feel it through her gums. She has been pretty cranky for the last few days too so I guess that's why (although sometimes it is hard to tell if she's cranky b/c of teething or just b/c of her personality).

Some people came and looked at the house tonight. They really liked it but they all do. We'll see. If it is meant to be, it'll happen. It would be ideal b/c they want to move in August and that would give us a little time but I don't want to get my hopes up. Like I said, if it is meant to be...

So You Think You Can Dance is SO funny! Well, the auditions were anyway. Several people claimed to be dance teachers but they were horrible! It seemed to me that "talent" was considered unique. Not necessarily a good dancer but someone who could "pop." it's interesting.

Good weekend planned--nothing to do!! yea!!

My favorite Foxtrot strip ever is listed above. Foxtrot is SO great! Everyone read it!

Doctor again on Monday, probably going to do a cat scan. Prayers please!!!!!!!!

It's raining, sleep will be good tonight! I'm excited! *night night*

just a little food for thought...my tt is further down the page

2006-06-01T08:30:00.000-07:00

i have read several blogs in the short time i've been doing this that have made comments about needing to lose weight or being old or various other "flaws" that people feel like they have. it always really strikes me when someone says that. i have a VERY low self esteem which comes from several VERY bad high school experiences but on here, i have no bad feelings about myself or anyone else. every blog i read, i picture the person who writes it and i always picture beautiful women. you're all different (some people have brown hair/brown eyed personalities and some have red hair/green eyed personalities) but no matter how i picture you guys, you are all beautiful. ok, so that got me to thinking about God. God doesn't see imperfections. we are all made in His image. He sees all of us as beautiful creatures. i think it might help all of us to think about that. it sure makes me feel better about myself! so anyway, this may not even make sense. it does in my mind but sometimes i have problems verbalizing things.
two posts for the day...who knows, you might get a third!!

2006-06-01T07:55:00.000-07:00

Thirteen Things I Love About My MOM

1. She gives me support in everything and anything!
2. She is and was a great role model for me.
3. She treats B like one of her own. His parents don't do that for me and it hurts my feelings sometimes so I'm glad my mom does that for him.
4. She can cook...GOOOOOOOOOD!!!
5. She would absolutely crawl to the ends of the earth if you needed her to
6. She is a prayer warrior! She amazes me sometimes in her praying, etc. I aspire to be just like her in that aspect!
7. She loves Little Bit more than sliced bread! She wants to be with that baby every waking moment!
8. She has courage and doesn't let fear stand in the way of anything that she wants or wants to do (she trusts in God 100%)
9. She is beautiful!
10. She tells me she loves me about 15 times a day and always has!
11. She calls me everyday (and worries if she can't get me)
12. She always seems to remember to ask about things I've asked her to pray about...even if it has been awhile since we've talked about it. For example--she asked me about Justice's heart murmur the other day and it has been several weeks since we talked about that
13. She is a great Mom and I hope to be just like her!!

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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2006-05-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

Little Bit pulled herself up yesterday! yea! i'm so impressed.she was sitting in my lap and a toy was on her walker that i guess she decided she needed. so she just reached up and pulled herself on up. then, to make sure it wasn't a fluke, we had to get her to do it about 5 more times! she is also trying to learn the whole crawling thing. she has no problem getting what she wants but she can't quite get the crawling thing down. she's trying really hard though. give her a month or so...it's amazing to see her change so quickly!
she was officially 7 months old yesterday and i think she may have decided to have a sense of humor. up until recently the absolute ONLY way to get her to laugh was to pinch the inside of her thigh and sometimes that didn't even work. now peek-a-boo is working or if you give her a new toy or say "boo" or "duty" (i don't know why). it is so cute!!
i'm sad she's growing up so fast!!!!!!!! but so excited to see where she's going next :)
quick post...

2006-05-25T09:21:00.000-07:00

Thirteen things we do in our househould (or as a family)...a list by Ashley
you may or may not want to do these :)
1. We watch Lost...religiously...and then discuss it
2. We pile all of our clean laundry in our bedroom until we just can't stand it anymore and finally fold about 12 loads. We are pretty good about washing but we are horrible about folding!
3. We read the Bible and do a devotion right before bedtime.
4. We play with toys...all day long
5. We walk around the block. I wish we did this everyday but some days it just isn't possible
6. We cook. I also wish we did this everyday but we don't. My goal is to come up with about 10-12 recipes that we LOVE and want to eat so that we can stop wasting money at Quiznos.
7. We grocery shop. B goes to do bread pull up (at WM of course) and we start the shopping and then when he's finished he joins us. I would hate to go by myself!
8. We sit outside on our deck. Not for hours or anything but sometimes just a few minutes in the afternoon and talk about our days.
9. We change diapers...many diapers...again, all day long
10. We read. This varies a lot across the board. We read the Bible (see #3) but also I read novels...mostly silly novels...B reads bike magazines and Little Bit gets books read to her. What a life :)
11. We label the baby food. I can't stand those little plastic containers b/c you can't tell what's in them without looking at the top so when I buy it, I use a silver sharpie (it shows up on everything) and write what it is and when it expires (I even write the expiration date on the jars). Maybe that way we'll be able to go through all of them before they ruin.
12. We don't drink milk. I eat milk poured over my frozen yogurt (which I have every night after Little Bit goes to sleep) but neither B nor myself like to drink it. Little Bit, however, will be coaxed into drinking it. We also don't eat vegetables. I literally eat one vegetable--romaine lettuce (and only romaine!!). I hate them. I am going to have to learn to eat them though b/c Little Bit will be coaxed into eating those too.
13. We talk to each other. I think communication is one of the most important things in a relationship so I try to make sure we always make time to talk to each other. Even if it's about nothing.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
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why will people not comment...

2006-05-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

sometimes i wonder why so many people visit my site but don't comment. i don't think every visit constitutes a comment, nor does every post. but have you looked at my comments lately? it's sad...what's even sadder is that i average 15 visits per day (yes, that's sad in itself) and i only get (maybe) 2 comments. what's funny is that almost everyone knows about th13 so my visits go WAY up on thursday. all of this comes from site meter. i just wish i knew who everyone was :) then i'd haunt your blogs with questions as to why you incessantly visit my site and never comment!! i know you're here tuskegee and notasulga!!!! honestly, this post will probably make people never visit my site again but i love comments...they're what keep me blogging. what's the point in doing this publicly if no one shares in my posts. not everytime...really, just once a week maybe.

onto other things...i will now (not getting paid for it) plug Febreze Noticeables. They are a God send! NO DOUBT! my daugther's poop has gotten more and more smelly so her diaper holder thing has gotten more and more smelly. however, i no longer smell the bad smelly b/c the good smelly hides it! that's right! totally hides it! i recommend the "morning walk and cleansing rain" scent...oh it's wonderful!
--must clean now

Where I'm From...this is a hard post and could go on for AGES!!!!

2006-05-21T18:06:00.000-07:00

I'm from sandboxes, piers, corks (not bobbers), fishing poles, popsicles in plastic wrappers that mom had to cut the top off of, hand-me down clothes, from Pop Tarts, Pop Rocks, and Coca Cola in bottles. I am from a small house that was actually a trailer (I had no idea until about 6 years ago), with a carport, from the smell of grass being cut, lakewater (dead fish), and wet sand from my sandbox that I could never remember to keep the lid on. I am from the lake, from jetskis, kneeboarding, and attempting to ski (what a disaster), from being the only kid on the street for many years, people moving next door, and then being related to my next door neighbors (2 sisters and a brother), from japanese maples, buttercups, rows of muskedine vines, the snakes Dad shot while they were swimming in the water, little baby frogs that lived in the leaves next to our fence and the big magnolia tree outside the house. I am from the rabbits and quails my dad used to raise and then serve me (while telling me I was eating chicken). I am from barefoot walks down an older road (not asphalt but that stuff with rocks sticking up out of it) and playing softball by the streetlight late at night. I am from opening Mom and Dad's gifts on Christmas Eve and then getting up in the middle of the night to open Santa's presents, from my blue eyes from my dad, my mouth from my mom, and my hair...we're not sure. I am from my stepdad who I got my relentless attitude toward people being polite and not disrespectful, my stepmom who watched me many many times when my dad was working, my childhood best friend skye who always had to be right, from my cat Alf, my dog Cuddles, and my bird Sunshine (who could say "pretty girl"). I am from "hindsight is 20/20" and "lick your calf over," from "i love you," "God," and "never scream while you're swimming in the lake." I am from Christianity, from the United Methodist Church as a child and a Baptist church as a teenager. I am from being saved in Sunday school as a child and thankful for that! I am from Sunday night dinners, Wednesday night youth group, musicals, traveling to other churches to perform, and getting hugs from everyone in our church. I am from the south, with collard greens, fried chicken, corn bread, blackeyed peas, chocolate pie, and sweet tea. I am from southern drawls, redneck trucks, cowtipping and mudriding (I don't participate but SOOOO many people here do). I am from summer...3 seasons out of the year, summer bugs, summer rain, summer storms, summer fun. I am from fishing, from my mom setting her pole down, turning to get something and the pole being snatched off of the pier. I am from Disney World when my mom and dad took me. I was 4 and we went to Venice Beach first and picked up shark's teeth and then to Disney World and Sea World. I am from Gatlinburg, staying in a chalet on the top of one of the mountains and my stepdad letting me ride with my mom up the skylift b/c I was scared. I am from telling my stepdad that MY seat was the front seat and he could sit in the back. I am from denting my mom's car playing softball with my stepdad and having fire drills so I wouldn't be scared to sleep in my bedroom on the 2nd floor of the house. I am from July Fest and getting my face painted and from the Ice Cream socials at the volunteer fire department. I am from Bonnie and Clyde (literally--I'm related), England and my lost great great (a million times more) relative, and Ireland. I am from having a job at 15 and working for most things I wanted but having everything I needed, from cleaning my room (all the time), doing dishes, laundry, and cleaning the pool. I am from my husband who has been my faithful companion in marriage for 3 1/2 years and dating 2 1/2 years before that. I am from my grandmother who loved me more than I'll ever know and who "thought the sun rose and set" on me and from being told that at her funeral. I am from her buying me Hardee's hamburgers, having dinner ready for me when I got off the bus, her asking me if I had "got my lessons up," and then her letting me watch what I wanted on TV. I am from my family and how much they mean to me. I am from love. Forever love. Strong and Real love.

Whew!!

2006-05-21T17:01:00.000-07:00

what a weekend!! Little Bit has been a major challenge!! Attachment issues are one thing...just plain screaming at everyone but Mommy--totally different! B's little cousin's graduation party was last night. I'd say there were 40ish people there but it isn't a very big house so we were all kinda crammed in together. I just basically felt like I was in the way the whole time. We only stayed an hour and a half and we were doing good to make it that long! B's sister came and grabbed Little bit as SOON as we pulled up and ran off with her and by the time we made it to the door, she was crying. Then his mom wanted to see her and she started crying again and from that point on, everyone that looked at her made her cry (except Super Mommy of course). My heart says "I love you too, my precious angel." My mind says "please please please let someone else hold you b/c my arm is breaking and everyone is going to think I sit at home with pictures and coach you in screaming at these people." Finally I went into the living room (there was no one in there) and she was a totally different baby. She was smiley and happy but then B's sister came in there and got in her face again and it just got her worked up. I know she wants Little Bit to love her and I'm sure eventually she will but geez! She gets in her face and makes this WOOOOOO noise and I don't think Little Bit really likes people all in her space. Finally, I said "that's it...let's go" and of course then she stops crying. Well, then B's mom grabs her and she freaks out again. It really is a no-win situation. I know they mean well but I wish people would just leave her alone once I get her quieted down. B's dad did the best thing. He got her at one point and just tried to get her out of my sight and entertain her with something else. That meant a lot to me that he just tried. B's mom just kept saying "well, my own grandbaby won't even come to me!" I bet I heard that 20 times but ya know, if she'd just come see her occassionally maybe she would go to her! She works at a nursery and one of her little ones was at the party and when she got there she grabbed her and said "well, my grandbaby won't come see me but I know you will." Maybe her grandbaby don't want to go see her b/c when her grandbaby was born, she said about 50 times that her grandbaby was "no fun" and that her kids and nursery were "more fun." I wouldn't want to go see her either. OH! and why do people insist on calling kids with 2 names by just one? ok, to be fair...if I don't know you that well, I might expect it, but when you're a grandparent? You know your grandchild's name (or maybe that's another reason your grandbaby doesn't want to go to you). Let's just say Little Bit's name really is Little Bit...for the last 3 or 4 times we've seen B's family (mom and sister anyway) they have just called her Little. we SPECIFICALLY spelled her name as all one word so people wouldn't do that. Too bad we thought about that so hard. We could've saved that effort for other things! OK...i'm going to try not to write about B's family on here anymore. I really have to learn to let these things go. I hate that I feel this way and I know I need to let it go. It is sin for me to harbor these feelings. Onto something else...

Sunday school this morning: I left Little Bit in the nursery. I told them to come and get me by 10:15 if she hadn't stopped crying (it was about 9:30ish). at 10:45 is said "woohoo! she must be ok." i proceeded to the nursery to feed her and take her into worship service with us and heard her screaming before i got near the room!! I mean SCREAMING! The director of the nursery stopped me before I got to the room and said "are you just checking on her or are you getting her?" I was getting her but I don't like that I was asked that either b/c they don't want you checking on them if they're upset b/c it makes them worse but doggoneit (how redneck am I) if i want to check on my child and then leave her, it's my perogative. I pushed her out! Anyway, they claimed that she hadn't been screaming the whole time but a good friend of mine was teaching a 4 yr. old sunday school and heard her (a good ways away) and said they had tried everything to get her quiet. I was a little agitated to say the least. I don't mind her crying a little. It's normal for babies to cry some but not that kind of screaming--inconsolable and snubbing (that noise everyone makes when they've been crying really hard for a long time). She had even started to break out in hives from it. I wish they'd just do what I ask. I'm her mother, I know what I want for my child. They kept saying "well, she's not hurting...she's fine." Yes, I know she's not hurting physically but geez! she's been crying for over an hour! I understand they are just trying not to interrupt us but I would've stayed for sunday school...she just would've joined us. *sigh* I love Sunday school. I don't want to not go. Any Suggestions?

i wrote this yesterday but blogger was down so it is just now getting posted

2006-05-21T15:39:00.000-07:00

she is so so cranky! i don't really know why. i think prunes have helped the constipation issue. it took a few days but things seem to be better (thank God for that). but now she is just cranky. on the up side of things, she slept GREAT last night!!!!!!! all night!!!! woo hoo! she may have worn herself out crying though b/c her evening wasn't so great. we had one of my friends and her fiance over for dinner and me and my friend were sitting in the floor playing with little bit when she hit herself in the face. she was already cranky anyway but that made it worse. so i went to her room and was going to nurse her but she didn't want to do that. so we sat in her room playing and she had a baby einstein bell (that is a bit bulky and hard honestly) and slapped herself in the mouth with it. at first i just said "it's ok...you're fine" and i guess she believed me b/c she stopped crying and stuck the bell back in her mouth. then she pulled it out and there was blood. so we had to stop that and she did NOT like it! then we gave her a different toy and she hit herself in the eye. it turned red all around it and started watering (although she was crying pretty hard so maybe that was from the crying) and then (b/c she was crying so hard) she broke out in hives. has anyone else's kid done that? she seems to break out in hives if she's in the sun or gets to hot or cries hard. so maybe she has a headache...or mouthache...bless her heart!

we have to go b's little cousins graduation party (high school grad) tonight. i know there will be good food (they always have good food) but from what i understand there have been about 100 people invited and i'd bet about half of them are her friends. plus all of b's family will be there. it should be interesting if nothing else.

the baby calls

my poor Little Bit

2006-05-20T12:45:00.000-07:00

see if we're compatible...i wasn't at all to the person who i got the link from

2006-05-18T19:18:00.000-07:00

I just took the Movie Compatibility Test (MCT) at Flixster.com. I would like you to come take the test to find out if you two share similar taste in movies.

http://www.flixster.com/servlet/invite/169767338swiABCm

Flixster is a simple web site that lets you share movie ratings with friends and connect with people that share similar movie taste to you.

Hope you like the site.

Sincerely,
Team Flixster (Joe & Saran)

2 posts for today...my tt is a little further down

2006-05-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

here is an email i got from my lovely sister-in-law (the same one who burped in my child's face a few posts earlier):

whatz up...where are my baby's pictures from the beach? I know ya'll stay busy and don't have time to piss much less get on the computer... just whenever you have time, but before ya'll go to the beach again... On a different note.. Keep May 28th evening open. I'm cooking for B's, Dad's, and Corbin's B-day that evening...If dad doesn't have a trip. I'll get back with ya'll later on this....

first of all, how rude????!!!! geez...and 2nd of all, thanks for asking if we had anything going on on the 28th. i really appreciate knowing that my thoughts and opinions mean something when we're planning stuff. oh...and the "my baby" part...whatever!!!!! she screams everytime you get near her. i hardly think she's "your baby." b's mom says that too "there's my baby..." ok...sure, you've seen her a total of 5 times in her life and she's "your baby?" deluded i tell you...deluded. they aren't my favorite

2006-05-18T07:38:00.000-07:00

Thirteen Random Thoughts of Ashley

1. Little Bit stayed with her grandparents for a short amount of time last night and didn't cry. This both excites me and terrifies me. It is nice not having to worry as much that she is screaming; however, independence is coming fast!! I figured out that in 6 months if I have nursed her 5 times a day, then I have nursed 900 times. I know it is more than that though b/c she was waking up at night for awhile and I think we used to nurse about 6 times during the day. I won't get to do that 500 more times with her though b/c I plan to be done by 12 months (not to mention she is quickly deciding solid food is great stuff)
2. On that same note--time is passing too too too fast!! It is almost JUNE!! It was just Christmas and now the year is almost half over!! How do you slow it down?
3. Lost is a great show but I am tired of the unanswered questions. Come on guys!!
4. I want to meet Ellen Degeneres. I want to go to her show. I think she's great!
5. I have my breastfeeding group today. I love my group. It is SO nice to get together with the people who totally understand what I am going through. It is funny that I have been nursing for almost 7 months now and I'm still going to a support group :)
6. Little Bit is playing with her wipes. Am I a bad mom? Anything in the house that I don't feel is a choking/hurting hazard I basically let her play with. Her eyes just light up everytime I find something new for her. I love that look but can't afford new toys everyday!
7. I am trying to stop going to Starbucks. The problem with this is that B gave me a giftcard for Mother's Day. I think I may have Starbucks today...just to start using the card, you see. I don't want to make him feel bad :)
8. I read that if Little Bit is trying to get a toy, I shouldn't just give it to her but let her try and get it herself. It is so hard not to just bump it a little so she can easily reach it. At the same time, I'd like her to be a bit independent (totally contradicting #1).
9. I have a dr's appt tuesday about this thing in my face (supposedly a lymph node). Please pray!!
10. I have a firehouse sub in the fridge that I am absolute DYING for! I would eat it now but then I won't have anything for lunch.
11. In the middle of the night (or early morning) when Little Bit needs to eat, I sit in a chair in her room. There's a little wall right when you come in her room that her nightlight is on but from my chair you can't see around the wall to see the door. My cat will walk around through the door and cast a HUGE shadow and scare me. everytime.
12. i just had to go change a diaper. I think Little Bit may be constipated. suggestions?
13. B and I shredded about 8 bags of stuff this week. Junk that we've had for about 5 years. I felt accomplished when I got finished with that. We also got the office to looking a little more...organized. Now if we could just sell the house.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

2006-05-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

one of these days i'm going to start carrying a notebook with me in the diaper bag (b/c i'm a mommy so i don't have a purse anymore) and writing down all of the wonderful ideas for topics i have for my blog. i always think of the greatest things and then when it is showtime, i have nothing...stagefright...typefright??

i seem to have fallen out with all of my pre-baby friends. it kinda stinks. a lot. i love my new friends but there's nothing like a good conversation or a good chocolate stampede with friends who know everything about you. my best friend sent me a card for mother's day that was so so so sweet! i adored it but it made the comment that "we can't do things together like we did before." in all actuality, a lot of the time, that is true but she doesn't even try to get together with me anymore. i mean, i've called her and her b/f up and asked them to dinner a number of times, i have asked her to come shopping with me, etc. but she never asks to do anything with me. i wonder if she feels like she is intruding or if she just doesn't want to be bothered with a baby tagging along. if that's the case, though, she sure does make a big deal about little bit whenever she is around. i asked her not too terribly long ago if we had done something to make her and pat mad at us and she claimed we hadn't but i have my doubts. she has also fibbed a little here recently about some going ons and i don't understand that either. do i sound like a high school girl? i still am at heart. anyway though she isn't the only one. i basically had 3 girlfriends before little bit came along and now i hardly talk to any of them. i feel like i make an effort to still call them, etc but maybe not. maybe i've changed. maybe people can't deal with babies. maybe their lives are too busy now and i don't know that b/c we never talk. sometimes i wish i wasn't a people person but i just can't get motivated or energized unless i'm with people.

pictures went great last night!! i was so proud. i can't wait to see the proofs!! beautiful little girl :) going to entertain my mom now.

2006-05-15T19:21:00.000-07:00

my coffee cup

i'm being supermom today!!

2006-05-15T12:12:00.000-07:00

thus far i have--gone to walmart where i intended to grocery shop but ran into a friend and talked for 30 minutes and decided since i need to keep little bit on her schedule for today (since we're having pictures tonight) i'd just take my cat food and oj and go home, taken a pregnancy test (i am EXTREMELY emotional right now. i literally BURST into tears twice yesterday and i have never done that except when i was pregnant) but thankfully it was negative, fought the brigade of ants that has no doubt decided to carry my house off with them, paid my bills (the little stupid ones i always forget about--like dr. bills), vacuumed, washed 2 loads of clothes, sorted out little bit's outgrown clothes, finished loading the dishwasher, and read a few blogs. i feel accomplished and it isn't even 3pm. however, i have probably been running off of a sugar high since the only thing i've eaten today are my mother's day brownies :) who has time to cook??

how was everyone's mother's day? mine was ok (refer to the bursting into tears mentioned above). i'll leave it at that.

we had a storm come through on saturday night that scared the BE JEEZ US out of me!! literally. my mom called and said bad weather was near but the radar showed it going north of us and we were under no watch so i figured we'd be safe in our little shoebox. i was wrong. i had just finished nursing little bit to put her to bed and decided i didn't want her in her room b/c it was windy (there's a big tree right next to her) so b had set up the pack-n-play but the walk to the living room stimulated her so i was sitting on the couch getting her to go back to sleep and it got really really really really windy and started hailing. b was in the bedroom so i said "b (husband's actual name though)...b..." he basically started running through the house and was like "get up now and get to the utility room." well, i grabbed his hand and started praying and then ran to the utility room and called my mom and got her to pray (it is still raining/hailing/winding, etc) and then it was like it was all gone and over with. the power blinked once or twice but no big deal. the underpinning on our house looks like someone started at one end and just shoved it to the other end. scary scary scary!! my neighbors have a fireplace and their stack thing blew off of their house. i am scared of storms anyway but when my husband gets scared i REALLY freak out b/c he NEVER gets scared!! there's my weekend drama.

we went to dinner with my in-laws on saturday before the storm. my husband's sister *jane (name changed) was a real doll (not really). she burped in my child's face. not a little polite "oops that slipped out" but a man burp. in her face. she was already screaming b/c jane was aggravating her and she doesn't really like that so maybe jane thought burping would solve the problem. she was wrong. and nasty. i love my in-laws (not really).

supermom has more to do.

i forgot today was thursday...

2006-05-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

Thirteen favorite foods of Ashley

1. Chicken fingers and french fries (by far my fave)
2. Chocolate chocolate chocolate (any and every kind)...brownies w/ chocolate icing, ice cream, chocolate stampede (from longhorn), chocolate chocolate chocolate
3. Popcorn made in a skillet
4. Graham crackers w/ peanut butter
5. Granola Bars
6. Lasagna
7. Spaghetti
8. Turkey burgers (these took awhile to grow on me but i really like them)
9. Chicken dressing
10. Baked lays (any variety)
11. Italian salad dressing Chicken
12. Poppy seed chicken casserole
13. Steak (rare) with a baked potato
14. Caesar salads
15. hmmmm...i'm a picky eater and i'm really running out of things...chicken noodle soup...ymmmmm

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Sleepy time...

2006-05-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

evidentally babies sleep like this. i had no idea. there is a picture of me like this when i was a child and this i guess confirms that other kids do it too (look at the may 2nd post). speaking of this blog this kid is STRONG!! look through some of these pictures. my little bit's feet are a bit "unique" so she can't lift herself up yet (not by herself anyway) but this kid is only 4 days older than mine and WOW! i'm impressed! maybe a little einstein there.

not much to write about today. little bit is becoming more and more temperamental by the day. today she was trying to grab my keys out of my hand as i was putting her in the car and when i took my hand away (with my keys in it) she screamed so loud that i thought i had hurt her. when i put my hand back (with the keys), she stopped. she's so silly. she also (on saturday night) got upset with me b/c i told her no. i've been wondering when she'd realize that this isn't a funny word. she likes to pull the pad in her high chair around her face when she's eating and she ends up with food on it and her and me and everything else so i've gotten to where i stop her and tell her no. she didn't like it. she protested...loudly...and wouldn't eat anymore. i have a tendency to lose my appetite if i get upset about something so i guess she gets it honestly.