My So-Called Life

Sweets

2012-01-31T20:16:00.003-06:00

For some reason, my {skinny} sister-in-law decided it would be fun to get together and make a bunch of candy and cookies. We've had this idea to do a cookie exchange, but every year it gets away from us, so this is the next best thing.

One afternoon I hauled all my stuff up to Newark and we cooked and baked and talked and ate into the night. It was so much fun.

Yeah.... S'Mores Bars were a late addition to the list, and we didn't have the exact ingredients. Kaitlyn and I improvised rather well, though!

Ashley didn't participate in much of the baking, but man, that girl can talk!! ;)

Heather made us the best chicken noodle soup & homemade bread EVER. And because I can never say no to steak, especially from Spence, I had some of that too. :)

I hope this is one of those things we always make time for! Love my family!

U-C-S-P x 2

2012-01-31T20:08:00.002-06:00

We had so much fun with our Ugly Christmas Sweater Party this year. I hope it's a tradition that's around for a long time to come. I didn't take many pictures, but we had great food, great friends, and a lot of laughs.

No I will not Carpe Diem, thank you...

2012-01-19T20:49:00.004-06:00

kai·ros

noun \(ˈ)kī¦räs\

“A moment of indeterminate time in which something special happens.”

Mike went back to school last week (last semester!) and we're back to the grind. It's been kinda nice actually, to get back on schedule. I get the kids dinner, bath and then bed pretty easily for the most part. It's nice to know I can do things all by myself. :)

A friend from BabyCenter posted a link to THIS ARTICLE and my head just exploded. In a good way. It is exactly, exactly my words!! Well, written much more eloquently than I could ever do, but seriously. She's in my head! Some of you might remember my friends from BabyCenter, and our board name: I Love Being a Mom, I Just Hate Doing It. Now, we really felt that way when we all had 5 month old babies who never slept, had colic and / or reflux, or we just couldn't figure out how our new life fit into our old life. (Surprise! It didn't!!) Anyway, now that we're all, seasoned moms, and what-not, things are easier. But the same message holds true. We don't enjoy every single little itty bit of being mothers. Do we love our kids? YES. Have we settled into things? YES. Are we frustrated at times? SURE.

One day last week, a friend and I were talking about all those little moments, where you just look at your life and go, Oh dear, I love this! I had a moment like that just before that conversation. We were driving in the car, and the sun was shining, and Maddy was saying the funniest, sweetest things in the backseat, Hudson was just sitting there listening to her. It was all very adorable. And I thought to myself, THIS is what I love. These quiet moments that I can think about later. Those are the moments I live for. Kairos. They make all the nonsense - the wetting of the bed, the hitting, the hands in the toilet, the breaking of things, the tantrums, all of it - worth it. And no, the hard times don't happen too frequently, but if it's something I really don't like, like being lied to, or hit, NO - I don't want to enjoy them, and you can't make me. ;)

This article had me laughing and crying and nodding my head in a 'Heck YEAH!' kinda way. I loved it. So go read it.

And carry on, warrior!

It's the most wonderful time...

2012-01-11T21:50:00.004-06:00

Except this year, it kinda wasn't. I don't know, for some reason I was in a HUGE funk. It took me forever to put all the decorations up, and the only reason I finally did was because Mike had taken it upon himself to do so, and, well, we all know that ain't happenin'. ;)

We did decorate the tree a bit earlier than normal, which was nice, because as soon as Mike gets into finals, all bets are off. The kids had a blast ~~breaking~~ playing with all the ornaments.

I was called into the Nursery late last year, and boy did I love those kids! Of course it was nothing like I imagined it - they've only had one HORRID day out of many - it's been such a great experience. The other teacher brought in clothes for all the kids to dress up in and act out the Nativity scene. It. Was. Hilarious.

We had a friends' gift exchange for the wee chirrens. For me? Notsofun. Hudson had pink eye, so I had to leave him at home and then Maddy acted like a bit of a nightmare. See, we got a Cinderella and Prince Charming doll set thing to give away to one of the girls, and Maddy was hung up on that the whole time. I didn't anticipate this at all, though I suppose I should have. Ah well, live and learn.

After she had some treats, Maddy was fine. Sheesh.

Christmas Eve

First off, it was pretty exciting because my brother (and his wife!) and my mom got to be here for Christmas. My mom stayed with us, poor thing, on our totally uncomfortable couch, and Travis and his wife stayed in a hotel, so really, it worked out perfectly. They joined us at Mike's parents' for Christmas Eve and it was great! We had tons of On the Border take-out, plus Mike made guacamole. Jenny had also covered all the sweets covered, so we were all happy as we could be. Dinner was great, then my father-in-law read the story of Jesus being born, and then we all opened some gifts. The kids were spoiled to the billionth degree. Ridiculous! But seeing their happy faces made it all worth it.

They're a little nutty

When we got home, Mike and I prepped the house for Santa to arrive, complete with some milk and cookies and the letters from the kids. I also left out some paper for him so he wouldn't have to go rummaging around, looking for some scraps to write on. (Santa leaves a note for the kids when he comes to our house.)

Christmas Day

Christmas morning, Hudson woke up waaaay to early for my tastes, but I was able to get him back to sleep, snuggling next to me. Maddy woke up when Travis & Jenya got to our house and walked right out to say hi. I had planned to video her entrance into the living room so I could capture her shock when she saw all the presents, so I think the fact that I asked her to go back to her room for just a minute kinda set the tone for what happened next.

She didn't seem upset about it or anything, and finally after waiting awhile for Hudson to wake up, I got him up, got the video camera ready, and told Maddy it was time to come out. And she wouldn't. She said she was scared. Who says that? I tried, Mike tried, Travis and Jenya tried. Nothing. Finally Travis brought her out on his shoulders, and she had her hands over her eyes, and would NOT uncover them. I'm telling you, that girl will be the death of me! FINALLY, after much cajoling, she took her hands from over her eyes and looked at her first present - new PJs. Santa brought both the kids new PJs and Maddy got a Pinkalicious doll, and Pinkalicious' pet unicorn, Goldilicious. Hudson got a mini 4-wheeler thing.

This kid is a mess. I think Santa should have brought the new {matching} PJs earlier.

My mom spoiled everyone, Mike spoiled me, Travis and Jenya got us two games we've really been wanting, plus some slick threads for the kids. And I know that presents shouldn't equal happiness, but it seems everyone really went out of their way to think about the gifts and do nice things for each other.

Hudson sure took a liking to his Auntie Jenya! At any point during their visit, you could find him in her arms. Sweet love.

Because of Maddy's Drama Delay, and the kids inability to wake up early on the one morning they're entitled to, we got a super late start on the opening of gifts. Then Mike made breakfast for everyone, and after that, it was 1130 AM. I looked at Mike, and we knew we would never make it out the door for church. I was pretty bummed. Of course we *could have* trudged over there, and I'm sure we would have been blessed for it, but Hudson actually napped quite well and long-ish, and when he woke up, we all got ready to go to Spence & Heather's.

Spence's mom and step-dad were there, and Grampa, and my niece Kaitlyn (who Maddy calls Kate-Lan), Travis & Jenya, my mom, and Spence & Heather's neighbors. Such a fun little group. :) Instead of the big Christmas dinner they've done in years past, that they absolutely KILL themselves over, and then don't get to have too much fun because they're so busy cooking and whatever, they decided to have a bunch, er, a TON, of hors d' oeuvres and snacks to munch on all day. It worked out really well for a few reasons, mainly because our 'little' group was too big to fit at their dining room table. Plus this took the pressure off me to have my crazy kids behave at a nice dinner. Phew! :) Don't worry though, there was plenty of food, including sausage balls, Texas Caviar, smoked chicken legs, queso, and so much more.

After eating our hearts out, we opened presents. (I know! AGAIN??) It was a good time. We got some really nice things, and the kids... well, if they're brats, DON'T BLAME ME. Ha! I do everything I can to say no and be mean mommy, and their aunts and uncles and grandparents just don't feel the same way. :)

We put Hudson down for bed and played some games. And ate some more. And relaxed. It was the best. But then we had to pack everything up and come home. So although December didn't start out well, Christmas was very good. We're so blessed to have the family we do, and we're lucky most of them were able to come down for a Texas Christmas!!!

It all started with a little productivity

2012-01-10T13:58:00.003-06:00

I think I accomplished more yesterday than I did all of 2011. (Maybe.) But it was a good day. Towards the end of the day, I thought I'd do 'Tuesday's chore' of cleaning one of the bathrooms. So I did. Really good. I even vacuumed, preparing to mop in there after the kids had gone to bed.

Later on, Maddy & I were cleaning up their room (disaster!) and I noticed that the spot where Hudson had dumped the humidifier earlier was still wet. Either still wet or he had dumped it again, not sure. So I went into the {clean} bathroom to get a towel and SURPRISE! There was Hudson. With the toilet scrubber in hand, splashing in the toilet, covered in water, the entire bathroom soaked. SOAKED. The walls, the mirror, everything. He wasn't even in there that long!!!

This boy is rotten.

But hey, at least I didn't have to mop. ;)

And this is the post in which (I think) I'm finally caught up on my blog...

2012-01-05T19:43:00.000-06:00

Sometime in October, we made a visit to the zoo. The weather was just too perfect. The silly thing was I didn't know they closed at 5 PM. But it actually worked out great because by the time I got tired of walking around (aka, chasing Hudson everywhere), it was time to go.

My kids! Sometimes I can't believe how lucky I am to have these two rascals.

Turkey Day!

2012-01-04T22:34:00.006-06:00

My second-favorite holiday. LOVE Thanksgiving.

I'm the only member of my family that knows how to look at the camera. Drrrrrr.

I love it sooooo much. And this year, my step-sister Ashley was here to celebrate with us, along with my brother(from-another-mother)'s Mother, who now lives here, along with her husband, and her dad (who we call Grampa, and is adorable), and then my brother's friend Jeff, who is basically another brother as well. (Seriously, my family tree is so jacked up, but in the best way). Do you know this about me?

The kids did great, we ate a delicious meal, we went around the table and told what we were thankful for - it was really wonderful. We put Hudson down and played Country Dance 2 (Wii) and laughed and laughed.

I love my family. I'm so thankful to have them!!!

The sunset was so pretty so The Hud and I went out to enjoy it. It was a bit windy, but still beautiful. Then he found Uncle Spencey's 4-wheeler. Oops.

Til' next year!

A glimpse

2012-01-04T22:07:00.003-06:00

Riding bikes in Miss Stacie's circle:

Pretty sure this is where Santa got the idea for Hudson's gift this Christmas ;)

My poor little guy with allergies!

Linc-the-Stink and his crazy face

Keeping The Hud's girl for a couple hours so her mama could sleep:

I took some pictures for a friend's Christmas card, and here is the Best. Picture. Ever. of her little guy:

The Dirty 30

2012-01-03T20:57:00.007-06:00

We started off the day at the park with friends. They gave me a shirt ^^ which is HILARIOUS, on the front it says, '30 sucks,' and a cute headband, and we planned to meet for dinner and a movie later. (Side note: Loooooooooooong ago, when I found out Breaking Dawn was coming out on my birthday, I declared that's what we would be doing. Ha.) My friends came to get me and we headed to Red Robin. A bunch of my other friends were able to make it too and we had a great time. After dinner, we were supposed to head to the theater, but the crazy person I was riding with went past it and went to my house. :)

When we pulled in and all the lights were off, and there was this curious sign on the door. An exact replica of this one:

We walked inside, and everyone yelled SURPRISE!!! There had been some shady things going on at the restaurant, people leaving earlier than us, just some different things, but I never expected everyone (and their husbands, and their kids!) to be at my house. And my sisters-in-law, my sister, my in-laws, all showed up too!

Mike (with the help of my friends) had decorated the place soooo well. Complete with a life-size Jacob Black. Be still my beating heart. There were treats, brownies, cookies, red apples and bright red punch everywhere. And red licorice strips. And lots of chocolate. It was adorable!!! And it was all for me!!!

We hung out for awhile, I opened my presents (I got, amongst other things, a Wii!!!), and then we headed to the movie. It really was one of the best nights ever, and certainly the best birthday I can remember. A HUGE thanks to all my family and friends for making it such a fabulous day!

2011 in a nutshell

2012-01-03T20:14:00.004-06:00

Biggest Purchase:
Law school continues to win this one, 200 times over.

Favorite Movie:
Something Borrowed

Least Favorite Movie:
The Polar Express
(I know this isn't new, but we got it a couple weeks ago, and it was the worst!)

Favorite Celebrity:
Ginnifer Goodwin

Least Favorite Celebrity:
Russell Brand. I'm sorry. He's hideous.

Guilty Pleasure:
The Bachelor. I don't feel guilty about it, but I feel like I should. Know what I mean?

Sickest Moment:
My kids were pretty sick at the beginning of the year, Hudson requiring a nebulizer and Maddy having a super high fever for three days. That was horrible, to see them in pain.

Also at the beginning of the year, we all got the "death flu." Well, Hudson was spared, thank Pete, but I lost seven pounds in one day, from the {literally} throwing up every 30 minutes. It was disgusting.

Saddest Moment:
There have been some issues with friends that really made me so very sad. They've all been resolved, but I was actually sick over it. Horrible.

Achievements:
I sent my baby girl off to school
I did another (non-competitive) 5K
I did a lot with my kids, taking them places and trying to do fun things

2011 "Firsts":
Family vacation to Houston & the beach, which was a lot of fun

Solo trip to the OC - incredible

Lessons Learned:
Women are just really big high school girls. With babies. {D-R-A-M-A}
You can't please everyone
I'm really happiest when I'm with my family

2011 in 1 word:
Stressful

2012 will be:
Better

Hopes for next year:
To continue my love affair with vegetables.
To finally conquer my addiction with The Dew
My husband will graduate! And take (and PASS!) the Bar! Woot!

a wee late...

2011-12-29T20:04:00.002-06:00

(for those that didn't get one in the mail.)

An American hero

2011-12-03T19:46:00.005-06:00

America lost a great man today. Ryan Sharp, who is the brother of one of our good friends, passed away today. Ryan served in the US ARMY and was stationed in Afghanistan, and was hit by an IED bomb a couple of days before Thanksgiving. There are many more details than that, including an amazing example of the power of the priesthood, but the sad fact is that Ryan didn't make it.

I am heartbroken for my friends and for their family, and for the suffering they're going through. Not to mention that he leaves two little girls behind... I'm also heartbroken because I haven't seen anything on the news about Afghanistan / Iraq in quite some time. People don't seem to talk about it anymore. Have people forgotten that there are still brave men and women over there, fighting for freedom?! I know I haven't!!!

If you could please keep the Sharps in your thoughts & prayers, I know they will appreciate the support. And please keep the families of military men and women in your thoughts as well - they face harsh realities that most of us can't even fathom.

Thank you, Ryan, for your service, and for the ultimate sacrifice - your life.

Skull & Bones

2011-11-25T20:39:00.001-06:00

Mike got a letter from one of his first-year professors, requesting his presence at a meeting on Sunday, October 30th, at 8:38 PM. It requested that he keep the letter a secret and not to share it with any of his peers. It also mentioned he could bring an escort if he so desired.

Welllll, I was really nervous about this. I almost didn't want to go, just in case they took him away in handcuffs. ;) Jenny came out and kept the kids for us and we headed out to the school. We were met at the door by two of his peers, where one took me one way, and the other took Mike a different way. It was all so secretive and really was freaking me out. When we got to this auditorium, the girl at the door knew me already, and welcomed me. She guided me over to a gigantic food table and told me to help myself. At this point, the only other people in the room was Professor Ridge (the one that had sent Mike the letter) and some lady he was talking to. We were early (for once!) so I sat there, without eating, and waited. And waited, and waited. Finally, a couple other women showed up and sat down. Not by me, mind you. (Why do women always do that? Go sit by someone if you see them sitting alone!) We chatted a bit and then the lights dimmed and one of the girls stood up at the front with a microphone and started with, "Each semester, there is a meeting held to discuss honor code violations and academic improprieties. *pause* This is not that meeting."

Whew.

Turns out, Mike was inducted into the Barristers. We're still not really sure what it is, but out of the entire law school, Mike was one of seven chosen. Each inductee was presented to the vast audience by a current member of the Barristers, along with a couple of slides on a PowerPoint about them. It was really cool to hear someone else talk about Mike and all of his accomplishments, and pretty funny too.

Next week is Mike's last week of class for the semester, and finals start the week after that. Then he will have ONE. SEMESTER. LEFT. It's like, just as soon as I got used to him being in school, it's almost over. Craziness, I tell you. Craziness.

Good job, babe!

More partyin'

2011-11-14T21:45:00.000-06:00

We had our families over to celebrate Maddy's big #4 on her actual birthday. She couldn't have been happier - all of her favorite people in the same room. She was spoiled rotten and we had a FANTASTIC feast (pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad, a fruity green salad and some chips). It was a great time had by all.

Haircut & a new bike!

2011-11-14T17:15:00.000-06:00

Saturday was a special day - I told Mike he could sleep in for once while I got up with the kids. I cleaned, showered, and decided to go to Best Buy because there was a coupon for a couple of CDs I wanted. (Am I the only person left in the world who still likes CDs?) I went back to the computer and OF COURSE had trouble with the printer. I got all in a huff because I was trying to keep Hudson quiet and trying to print out the darn coupon. Well, it didn't work, so I was like, FORGET IT! I took Hudson out of the room and noticed again how long his hair was getting. I grabbed my scissors and went for it. Wellll, let's just say it didn't work out so well. The back looked okay, but the front? Notsomuch. I text Stacie for help and she said to bring him over. :) She fixed him up real nice and he looks much better! Thanks Stacie!

--------------------------

For Maddy's birthday (which I haven't even blogged about - EEK!), Mike and I got her a bike. A ghetto one from WalMart that Mike picked out. Like, g-h-e-t-t-o. Well, Maddy loved it. But it took about five seconds of her 'riding' it in the house before we realized the chain guard was cracked and somehow was blocking the chain so the wheels couldn't move. (Nice pick there, Mikey.) ;) He also got her a helmet that *GASP* was too small! So she's been waiting and waiting for us to get our act together and exchange her bike. We finally did that on Saturday (after the haircut incident), and we found the perfect bike! Well, Maddy found it. I wanted to get her a bigger one, but she was set on this teensy tiny Barbie bike along with a bigger helmet. As soon as we got home, she went to town on that thing. After much practicing, I went inside to take a nap (luxury!) and the kids stayed out and played.

Getting ready...

The Hud running around like a crazy person

Go Maddy, go!!

She was so proud of herself. Love her!

This afternoon, the weather was amazing! We all went outside to play and ended up taking a walk - me pushing The Hud in the stroller, and Maddy riding her bike! So awesome!

Tea time

2011-11-12T21:15:00.000-06:00

I had this huge, elaborate plan for Maddy's party, but with everything else we had going on during the end of September and all of October, I just thought my head might explode if I tried to go through with it. (I can't tell you what the plan was, I think we're going to use it next year, haha.) After scrapping that idea, I thought it would be cute to have a little tea party for Maddy and her friends.

Of course all the ideas in my head didn't really turn out, but oh well. I kept thinking of lace and burlap and pale pink and bubble gum. You know? Anyway. I had so much help from my mom, and of course Mike - couldn't have gotten everything done without them.

Maddy & Grandma

Kate, Eva & Brynlee

The menu was little rolls with jelly, cheese & crackers, grapes, strawberries, Oreo balls and punch. I wanted to make these adorable little napkin holders I saw on Pinterest (which is feeding my obsession with all things twine & burlap, thankyouverylittle!), and almost got a sewing machine just so I could do it, but at the last minute, I used hot glue. And then, I realized at the very last minute, I forgot napkins! Bah! Good thing I had some bright green ones from last year... The party favors were a laugh-a-minute when I realized the sucker I bought for each of them said B-A-B-Y. Duh. I just thought they were so perfectly pink!!! *sigh* I made each of the girls little rosette necklaces, added a little notebook and called it good.

When I was thinking of the party, I thought dresses as in church dresses. But when everyone came they were wearing princess dresses. Totally fine, but boy did Maddy look silly. ;) So she ended up grabbing one of her dresses and looked perfect.

All of her friends were SO generous. She got a bunch of great gifts, including some little stuffed characters from Angry Birds, her favorite game. She was in heaven!

I set up a small table on the floor, thinking they could all sit and eat there. It didn't end up how I envisioned it at all, but with a budget of almost $0 and a very fried brain, it ended up being just fine.

After eating, the girls went and ~~trashed~~ played in the kids' room. Then there was some cupcake eating and more playing.

Just before everyone left, the girls started playing with the balloons. These two pictures made me laugh, I just had to post them.

Crazy girls!

Misery, take II

2011-11-10T22:00:00.000-06:00

When we first learned that Mike's niece was getting baptized in November, we thought about it for about 1 second before deciding we would never make the trip to that place again. A few weeks later, I started talking with Kirsten about it, and when I found out everyone else was going, I knew we had to go.

Thanks to a friend's suggestion, I got the kids some surprises to open every hour we were on the road. We also didn't make the mistake of waking up the kids to leave in the middle of the night. Mike finished up something at school and came home, and we got on the road. Of course there was traffic on I-35 (ugh!) so we kinda got a late start. We ended up making pretty good time though. The kids did well. Really well. By the time they got tired of whatever toy I'd given them, there was only about 15 minutes left until the next surprise. We stopped 'somewhere' along the way (the name escapes me at the moment) for dinner and let the kids stretch their legs. After dinner, we changed the kids into their pajamas and started a movie for them. Things were going well, they were liking the movie and everything, but then they started to get tired. Hudson does pretty well when he's tired, he just... well, he just goes to sleep. *gasp* Shocking, right? Maddy? Notsomuch. She's always been kind of a high maintenance sleeper. She'll fall asleep, but riding in the car seat isn't super comfortable, and with her legs hanging, and her head falling everywhere (despite my attempts to stop that) - she was just in agony. She would fall asleep for 10 minutes, and then wake up a bit and scream and thrash about. I know. Aren't you jealous?

It was about this time {when I got really tired of turning around and trying to make her happy in some small way} when I started noticing all these signs for Branson. Now, having been to Branson, I was wondering why on earth there were all these signs so far north for Branson? Would they really expect people to pull over, turn around, and go back south to check out the sites Branson has to offer? And then it hit me. We were going south. SOUTH. When we were supposed to be going north.

We got turned around and made it there around midnight. We went in and chatted for a couple hours (!!!) and finally got the kids to settle down. Then I kicked Mike out because his snoring was beyond annoying and I had a peaceful 4 hours of sleep.

The next day we hung around their place, both Mike's brother and his wife had things going on, so we were on (little) kid duty for the few of their children left behind. They were having pretty fabulous weather so we played outside a lot. That night, Brian, Kirsten & Jenny got there, and we had pizza for dinner, played Wii, and chatted. We also had a hotel for that night, so we wrapped things up and headed to our sanctuary. ;) The kids slept fine, and the next morning Mike went to play soccer with his brothers and some people they know. Crazies. Jenny & Kirsten were nice enough to accompany me to the continental breakfast and we took full advantage.

When the boys got back, we changed and went back down to the swimming pool for our niece's birthday party. Her parents hired a clown to come and do balloon animals for the kids, and boy howdy did they have a blast! My sister-in-law's parents got a room right next to the pool, so the kids were able to use that as their potty station. After swimming came a catered lunch of fried chicken and potatoes, and present opening. And pie. It was fun! (But crowded.)

Little Will-I-Am

At that point we got to change to our other hotel room, the suite. (They didn't have any regular rooms available that night, and no other reputable hotel had any rooms available either, so we paid the extra $30.) It was amazing!!! The room was.. well, sweet! We put The Hud down for a nap and Jenny and I went shopping for the evening meal. We wanted to do something nice for their family, so we got all the fixin's for Honey-Lime Enchiladas. After the store, we hurried back to the hotel to get ready for the baptism.

The baptism was great, our niece did fabulous! We were all so proud of her. It was really cool to feel the spirit so strong. If you haven't been to a baptism in awhile, you should go. It's incredible.

Our family

Afterwards we raced over to Mike's brother's house to make dinner. Everything turned out really delicious. We had enough to feed an army, and an army we had! After we put most of the kids down (Hudson at the hotel with Mike's parents 'babysitting'), and the little girls were watching Tangled, we hung out and talked for a bit. We had to sensor a lot because our nephew, who is now almost ELEVEN, was up with us.

When it got pretty late, we dragged Maddy from her slumber back to the hotel and put her on the bed. We stayed up chatting with Mike's parents for a few minutes (and Maddy slept through that, which was totally weird) and then went to sleep. The next morning we got up for church, attended sacrament meeting, and then went back to the hotel to pack up. :( We stopped by their house one last time before making the long trek back to Texas. Things went pretty well on the way home. The kids were pretty tired and slept a lot, which was nice. But the last couple hours we got stuck in some freak thunder / lightening extravaganza, so that delayed us. Also, somewhere in Oklahoma, the freeway was shut down, and there were no detour signs or anything, so all of us were just following this one lone trucker. Scary, no?

After a few exorcism-like performances from Maddy, we made it home. In one piece. And safe and sound.

The End.

All the grandkids (but one). Look at my child. The tall, skinny one. She was such a punk!!!

The siblings

Fallidays

2011-11-01T20:02:00.000-05:00

^^ I am seriously so clever.

Well, Halloween & Thanksgiving came and went in a hurry, didn't they? Dang. I'm normally NEVER this far behind at blogging but I've been in a funk lately. No motivation and all I want to do is be lazy. This is really not the right time of year for that. Blah. Also, I feel like no one blogs anymore. And if you're not blogging, you're not reading blogs. Unless you're me. I'm still reading all y'alls blogs. Am I talking to myself right now? Who knows?

I thought I better hurry and post the pictures from our Fall festivities this year so we can get down to the nitty gritty of my birthday (ahem, Jenny, whenever you decide to send me the pictures!!!) and then eventually, Christmas. :)

First up - Emily's party

Emily invited us to her Halloween party and it was awesome! That, combined with a very exciting Rangers play-off game, made the house extremely loud. The kids had a blast in the bounce house and there were a lot of yummy treats for everyone.

My adorable kids & their clashing stripes. (Not planned.) ;)

There were so many people there! It was awesome. And warm.

We stayed as long as we could, and the kids did sooooo good. But boy howdy, did the meltdowns begin when it was time to go.

Next up - Trunk or Treat

We had a chili dinner combined with another ward (so. many. people.) and then headed outside to get the candy. I opted to put The Hud in a stroller since he has such a habit of running away from me as often as he can. It worked okay. When he got tired of being in the stroller, we confined him and Dylan to the back of the Sharp's truck.

Maddy was Little Red Riding Hood (again!)**** and Hudson was The Woodcutter. Problem was, by the time that night rolled around, he was so over carrying the ax. Whatever, dude!

It was awesome to have so many friends there. We love our ward!!!

Even Marlee, who had a baby a couple days before, showed up. That girl is nutso. But the good kind of nutso!!

**** Interesting side note. I had almost convinced Maddy to be something else, but it just kept coming back to Little Red Riding Hood. Since it isn't all about me, I conceded. Next thing I know, Mike comes home with a Little Red Riding Hood costume for her. Because he thought she would have gornw out of the one from last year. MIKE!!!! She wears 18 months-size skirts, for cryin' out loud! Sheesh. Anyway. Rant over.

After that - The Eldredge Halloween party

We were excited to see what they had in store this year for the Spook Alley, since Maddy loved it so much last year. It did not disappoint!! There was also their delicious nacho bar and pumpkin carving. And they were celebrating Jack's birthday, so we even got birthday cake. :) Such a fun night!! We were so happy to be invited back.

The babies cleaning up the floor for us. Aren't they sweet?

Next - Halloween night

On Halloween, we decided to stick close to home. We never have, so we really had no idea what to expect. We never get any trick-or-treaters really, haven't since we moved in, but then again, we're always gone, so what do I know? Our good friends, the Johnsons joined us for a walk around the block. It was perfect! How did I not realize that two streets over, there's a full-on block party going on??

Abby and her parents. And Baby Jared hiding in the Moby. He was like, 6 days old. Give him a break!

Getting both kids to look at the camera is a challenge.

Check out The Hud's face when he's just about to take off running towards the party. Priceless!

After it was all said and done, we let the kids have a little candy and then sent them to sleep off their sugar coma.

Stunned from the amount of candy he was allowed to eat

To be continued...

The BIG 4

2011-11-01T13:45:00.001-05:00

My beautiful baby girl is FOUR! I remember when my friends had little girls that were four, and I always thought they seemed so big. Now my little Buggy is that age and I can't help but be sad! (But happy too. But sad.)

Last month we were watching General Conference and she was on a roll with her comedy routine. She kept calling it "Jennifer Constance" and when President Monson got up to speak, she looked at him and calmly said, "He's old." When the choir was singing, she said, "Ooooh, look at the pretty princesses!!! Their dresses are so adorable!!!" :)

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Maddy speaks pretty clearly and correctly for the most part, but there are a few things she says, I just don't have the heart to correct her:

- Strawberry Nortcake
- Strawberry is still pronounced straw-beret (but not in Strawberry Nortcake. is that weird?)
- Library is still pronounced li-beret
- When we tell her we're going out to eat, the first thing she says is, "Are we going to Mexico?" (She means, are we going to a Mexican restaurant?)
- Red Robin is Red Robin Hood.
- Maddy just stopped calling a headband a band-aid. I loved that one.

-----------------------

She's got an imagination like I cannot believe. Mostly involving a princess, a mean mother and someone running / crying. But still. She is learning so much in preschool - she comes home with the funniest things to say. She loves Sunbeams - this last Sunday she came home and exclaimed that she had a boyfriend. I asked her where she even heard that word, and she said Kate. I asked her what Kate said about it and she said, "Kate said that her boyfriend is Clay and my boyfriend is Jack. *giggle giggle*" Oh dear. I told her to forget she even heard that word.

-------------------

And a fun conversation with Maddy a couple of months ago. I had it saved in my drafts, ready to post, but never pulled the trigger.

(This was while I was calling some people to check on their visiting teaching, and said the word 'partner')

Maddy: What's a partner?

Me: Well, when we go visiting teaching, we take someone with us, and we call them a partner

Maddy: Like, when you ride on a horse, on their back, and walk around? That kind of partner?

Me: ... ... ... ... ... ... Oh! Like, 'Howdy, partner!'

Maddy: Yeah!!! ... ... ... I have a cowgirl hat. But it's too small...

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And her favorites, at age FOUR
(her exact words)

Cereal - Flap Jacks (Apple Jacks)
Vegetable - Um... Um... tomatoes
Fruit - Strawberries and carrots
Drink - Lemonade and water. And limeade
Toy - Barbies and crayons
TV Show - Cat in the Hat and SuperWhy and Dinosaur Train
Game - Ummmmmmmm, I like to play Clifford (on the computer)
Book - Monsters, Inc
Restaurant - Chili's & Chuy's
Holiday - Tuesday & Thursday (she goes to school on those days - think that's a coincidence?)
Animal - Um, um, he got the football!!! They won!! (she got distracted.) Zebra
Song - Popcorn Popping
Color - Blue and pink and white
Number - 2

And some pictures, taken by Stacie (of course) -

Juh-Rod

2011-10-31T22:09:00.005-05:00

One of my good friends had her baby boy last week. Jared Paul joined his big sister Abby, and his parents on Wednesday around noon. Karen & I went to see him on Thursday night (they had already gone home!) and my goodness gracious. It was so nice to hold a quiet, little baby!!! It's so weird to imagine Hudson being that small, but he was!

He is GORGEOUS and sweet and Marlee is doing a great job with two! She's handling it like a pro. Love my Marlee!

Congrats Marlee & Paul!! We're so happy for you!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-27T14:28:00.002-05:00

There is a pumpkin patch really close to our house, on the property of a little church, so a few days after my mom got here, we ventured over. Of course the night before was the first time our area had seen real rain in quite some time - - there was mud everywhere! Genius.

I tried to get some pictures of Maddy but she would NOT stop moving. :)

The kids went crazy running around, Hudson fell amongst the pumpkins and Maddy wouldn't listen to a darn thing I said.

All in all, a fun time all around. :/

But we survived and my mom bought them two tiny pumpkins. All the proceeds go towards the church's mission trip next year. Pretty cool!!

Gearing up for the Fall Classic*

2011-10-27T13:44:00.007-05:00

*Fall Classic = World Series, for those that are unaware.

On October 1st, Mike and I threw caution (and money) to the wind and decided to go to the Ranger game, which was game 2 of the ALDS against Tampa Bay. We ended up having pretty sweet seats in left field, four rows up. Right behind David Murphy (and then Josh Hamilton). I LOVE the post-season, specifically going to post-season games. This is when people that really want to see some baseball, go to the games, not just the 'let's pack the kids up and torture them with 3 hours of sitting in teeny seats / baseball.'

To the right of me was a lady that was probably almost 80 years old. To the left and behind us was a guy that shouted annoying things during the entire game. They were supposed to get us all revved up or whatever, but instead, everyone was just really annoyed with him. The lady sitting next to me told me that during the regular season, her season tickets are right by his and he does it all. year. long. Good heavens! Anyway, I thought it was awesome that this older lady was there, and MAN, was she hard-core!!! I happened to mention I was a Yankees fan and she didn't hardly speak to me the rest of the game! But I loved her still. I hope that's me in 50+ years!

The Great Hambino - Josh Hamilton

The game was awesome, the Rangers did well. Mike went to hunt us down some funnel cake and came back with a fancy dessert plate for two. HEAVEN. :) Mitch Moreland got up to bat in the 8th, and Mike said, 'That dude is DUE!! He hasn't had a good hit in a while..." and BAM!!! Home run. And then fireworks. (At the stadium, not between Mike and me.) So cool!

We had such a good time. It was then and there that I realized going to concerts and baseball games are the times I have the most fun (when I'm out without my kids). Those are things I truly love. I hope I get to do a lot more of both, and I'm thankful for Mike who sees the importance of both things, and loves them both too!

The Rangers have the chance to win it all tonight in St Louis. GO RANGERS!!!

Funkytown

2011-10-25T22:07:00.000-05:00

While my mom was here, we took her to the Stockyards. We've had some good times down there, it was great to add some more. We walked around, looked at stuff, and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Hudson was so adorable - waiting patiently in his stroller while we decided where to eat

We were about to put Maddy on one of the horses and couldn't get our money out before another dad offered to let her ride with his son. They were so cute riding side-by-side!

We finally decided on La Playa Maya. If you're curious about if you should go there, DON'T. It wasn't bad by any means, but there are about a billion places that are better.

Hudson - 18 months

2011-10-21T13:56:00.006-05:00

My sweet little buddy!!!

Hudson is such a character. He is always giggling, running around, looking for something else to get into. He also loves to take things from people and run away, laughing all the while. Maniac, I tell you. He likes to rough house and play, and is just busy. I have a really hard time keeping up with him, honestly. He falls a lot, has bruises / cuts / scrapes all the time.

When he was just getting to be mobile, and would crawl over to something, or knock over something he shouldn't, I would say, "NO" and the kid would just start sobbing. Now? Hahahahaha. Telling him no, yelling "NO!!" at him, smacking his hand, timeouts... Nothing works. But I'm *trying* to be consistent. He is much more persistent than my consistency, if that makes sense. When I walk him to his room for time out (since he'll no longer just go when I tell him), he has a smile on his face. ARG.

He is talking so much now. At his 18 months appointment, I had to fill out this gigantic questionnaire. It asked, among other things, if he was saying 15 words. I thought and thought (I've not really ever been one to count words) and thought, NO WAY! Maybe 10, maybe. And then I swear, the next day, he started talking more. I'm sure most of it is only things Mike and I can understand, but it's progress! At night, we sit in the rocking chair, and he'll put his hands out and make the motion for 'Popcorn' and say, "Puh?" So then we sing 'Popcorn Popping.' Then he'll make the motions for 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' and say, "Iiii?" When I get up to put him in his crib, he says, "Chaaaa?" (Chair.) Hilarious. And it's just this little tiny (almost whiny) voice, so pathetic-like. Love that kid. A few other words include: Hi, bye (which comes out with a Southern drawl, I kid you not), silky, chicken, mama, dad, Buck, ball, baseball, car, more, Elmo, cheese, night-night, Dylan, pee-pee, please and walk. He's a lot of fun!!

Some of his favorite things - Elmo, the TV being on 24/7, his milky, his silky, his cookie monster I got him at Goodwill in California, Maddy, the remote, NutriGrain bars, spilling everything he can, broccoli, any kind of meat, and running away from his mother. :) He still will sometimes take two naps a day - a nice, long one in the morning, and a short one in the late afternoon. I do that if he wakes up earlier than normal. But most the time, he takes one nap around 1230 PM. Most of the time, it lasts 2.5-3 hours. Soooo nice.

At his check-up, his stats were:

Height - 32.5 inches (50th %ile)
Weight - 25.11 pounds (25-50th %ile)
Head circumference - 51 centimeters (>95th %ile)

One funny story - When we say the prayer, he is super adorable when he folds his arms. And when the prayer is over, he says, Duh-da. (Amen?) Well, one time I made the mistake of opening my eyes and looking at his adorably chubby arms and.. he caught me! He opened his eyes, we shared a little giggle, and I put my finger up to my lips and said "Ssssshhh." Well now every time we say a prayer, I open my eyes and he looks at me and puts his finger to his lips and says, "Ssssshhhh." :)

He started Nursery on Maddy's birthday (October 9th) and had a pretty okay day. I am right next door in Sr Nursery, so I was able to keep an eye on him. His best friend Dylan started the same day, and Dylan did NOT have that good of a day, so I think Hudson was upset about that. Overall though, it was fine. The next Sunday though... Oh boy. Another story for another time. Bottom line - I'm nervous for this week. :( But Mike will be there (he hasn't been the last couple weeks), so he can worry about it! :)

First day of Nursery! Wish I'd gotten a better picture, but that morning was... crazy.

He runs almost everywhere, climbs on everything, eats just about anything we put in front of him, but he still takes the time to snuggle a bit here and there. He loves to give hugs and kisses, and is a HUGE flirt.

I am so grateful that this boy is in our family. I don't know where we'd be without him.

Happy 18 months, Hudson!!!

It's been awhile

2011-10-21T00:06:00.002-05:00

Egads! It has been sooooo long since I've blogged. Not due to anything in particular, we've just been busy. My mom was here for two weeks, we had Maddy's birthday, visits with friends and family, the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure in Dallas (I raised 110% of my goal, thankyouverymuch), Mike was out of town for 5 days... Plus we're just now having fabulous fall weather! It's been nice. The list goes on and on!

I just got some pictures back that my amazing friend Stacie took for me a couple of weeks ago. Once again, she got the best shots! I know I'm biased, but geez.

I hope to post again soon!

Save the tatas

2011-10-20T20:54:00.000-05:00

Back in October, I joined my sister-in-law's company team to do the Susan G Komen Race For The Cure in Dallas. I personally raised over $200 (thanks to those that donated!) so I felt pretty good about it.

Heather got a hotel for us the night before, so after a delicious dinner at Blue Mesa, we partied it up in our room (with the help of some delicious Luke Bryan and some even more delicious s'mores bars)

The next morning, we got up at the crack of dawn and met everyone down in the lobby. It. Was. Early.

This is my niece Kaitlyn. Isn't she a doll? If you didn't know I had a niece, that's okay. It's a long story.

This is my step-sister Ashley. If you didn't know I had a step-sister, you're not alone. Another long story.

We made our way over to the race headquarters. Sooo many people. All with one purpose.

We walked as a company, and although I would have liked to walk a little faster, I really wouldn't have been able to anyway. The beginning of the race went through a neighborhood and the people that were trying to run were having all sorts of issues. There was estimated to be over 20,000 people there. Crazy.

Afterwards we went to the Original Pancake House for some brunch. Heavenly!

Pondering the days events while we waited over an hour for brunch. I guess everyone else had the same idea we did.

It was such an experience to see everyone there, with a common goal. To see the Survivor's Tent, and all the people there, and then seeing all the people walking with a picture of a loved one on their shirt that didn't make it... Ugh, it was heartbreaking. And inspiring.

*A twist to the story is that when Mike asked me if he could try out for another mock trial team, I made him aware that the weekend of the 15th would not be available to him. Hahahaha. Well, what do ya know, that was the week he was in San Diego. THANKFULLY, my mom was still here from celebrating Maddy's birthday, and she was able to keep the kids overnight for me. And she did a fantastic job!! Thanks Mom!

SoCal

2011-10-04T21:41:00.002-05:00

Last month, I went on one amazing trip.

My friend Carrie, for reasons unbeknownst to me, kinda thinks I'm awesome. So, with all her millions of dollars, she decided to fly me out to see her for a few days. Let me tell you something - - - WOW. I had the best time.

Carrie and I met on the October 2007 BabyCenter board when she started a thread asking if anyone else out there in the world wasn't loving every minute of being a mom. I quickly raised my hand and joined the discussion. Motherhood was NOT what I thought it was going to be like, at all, as most of you know. And thus our 'Good Mom' board was born. (Actually titled 'I Love Being A Mom, I Just Hate Doing It.) Ever since, Carrie has been a pretty big part of my life. Because of Carrie starting this board, and all the other ladies having courage to admit they felt the way they did, I no longer felt alone.

Since the board started, a lot has changed. Most of us have gone on to have another baby, and we no longer are mystified by why WE are different than other moms (are we really different? or are we the only ones brave enough to talk about it? jury is still out...), we're not as frustrated over all the things we used to be - but we're still friends, and still totally there for each other.

Back to the trip!!!

I flew out on Friday, the 16th. I was a mess leaving my babies at the airport. I sobbed. It was sad. I felt like a terrible person for leaving my children. Once we got in the air, everything was okay. And then we landed. Apparently, John Wayne airport is right in the middle of... you know, the city and stuff, and the main runway is short. One of the shortest in the country. So when we landed, we just kinda - - dropped down. Ha! Glad I took my Dramamine. Also glad I didn't know it was coming.

Carrie had been circling around for awhile and I darted out into traffic to hop into her luxury sedan. We hugged while at a red light, and that was that! It was like I'd been hanging out with her (in person) for years and years. She took me to this adorable little cafe (ish?) where we ate some delicious food. Then we went to pick up her son Jude at his intellectually superior preschool. Jude was just like I imagined - funny, smart, tall - his teensy, tiny voice doesn't match his lanky 2nd grade body though, if that makes any sense. :) We went back to their place, which is just totally adorable, and I met her husband, Rhys. Just as handsome as I'd seen from pictures, nice and charming as could be - I was so happy to finally meet all these people! Carrie's baby girl Raya was a shy little thing, but she warmed up to me after awhile.

Carrie and I went out to see some of the town, had some little breads at Corner Bakery

and also to see I Don't Know How She Does It, which, is kind of the perfect title to a movie of how we came to be friends. The movie was good. Good, not great, but worth seeing. We enjoyed a bit of a street fair, which I guess is just normal in Fullerton (?) and Carrie got a wee dinosaur balloon animal for Jude.

Later that night, after the kids were in bed, Rhys made us the single most fantastic thing I have ever eaten.

A beautiful set-up, right?

Dinner + dessert

And I don't even know what it was called! All I know is there was cheese, ravioli, green onions, tomatoes, some kind of cream sauce... H-e-a-v-e-n. All the flavors in my mouth were exploding! And then the dessert had something to do with peaches and ice cream. !!! (Is it odd that I'm going on and on about this meal?) We also watched Lady A on Ellen that Carrie had DVR'd - a perfect way to end the day.

The next morning we got up and after eating these delicious muffins -

we headed to Long Beach.

It was so pretty. I stuck my feet in the water and BRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

After walking around the beach and me asking Carrie what every single thing was (and her not knowing - hahaha), we headed to lunch at La Creperie Cafe. You do not understand the new found love I have for crepes.

Yes, 'tis true - I'd never had a crepe before. I will forever be singing their praises. We also went to Fashion Island in Newport Beach, which totally knocked my socks off!! (It's really not an island though, don't be stupid.) That night we went to Lucille's for some BBQ and I had to represent with the Texas style beef brisket sandwich.

On Sunday we headed to Hollywood and Grauman's Chinese Theatre. We walked up and down Hollywood Boulevard and saw as many stars on the Walk of Fame as we could.

This one was kinda funny. First of all, in my defense, there were people everywhere. And it was starting to warm up, so there were sweaty people everywhere. Anyway, I was distracted. And disoriented. Ha! So, I saw this ^^ and said, "Oh, hey! There's Tom Hanks and his wife... Rita Hayworth???" Then I thought to myself, No, self, that's not right! And then it hit me. "Thanks, Rita Hayworth." Ahhh, I crack myself up.

We were waiting to cross the street when this random guy walked in front of us and held up this sign. Just silently standing there. Crazy.

Genius

We got back in the car and drove through Beverly Hills (inside, my junior high self was squealing with delight -

)

and then I didn't really take any pictures!!! I barely got the ones I did! (Carrie fancies herself a race car driver.)

And then we headed onto Venice Beach. On the way, we happened upon the Los Angeles temple!

Fancy that!

Before we got to the beach, I spotted a Freebirds and I had to show Carrie what that was all about. :)

Venice Beach - well, what can I say? As crazy as I imagined, crowded, wild.

Can you see anything wrong with this picture?

At one point there was like, this troupe or something, of this guy announcing he was going to jump over ten people, and he would say funny things (most of them derogatory towards white people), and then his little group members would say something in line with whatever he said. Like they had the whole thing rehearsed and everything. Hilarious. They did some cool tumbling and tricks.

But they wanted money, just like everyone else. Still, it was like nothing I'd ever seen.

Monday morning, we went out to breakfast at another little cafe place, and then Carrie dropped me off at the airport. Side note: The short runway, along with the noise ordinance surrounding the airport, makes for a very quick and steep takeoff. *deep breaths*

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I really could not have had a better time. Carrie is one of those people that will be in my life forever. I'm so thankful that I had her to get through a really rough patch when Maddy was a baby, and I hope I can repay her in some small (or, several small) ways in the years to come. Love ya, Miss Carrie!!!

*Sorry for the mismatched photos. I took some with my phone and that fandangled Instagram stuff, and then the rest with Shirley. Apologies!

A first of First Days

2011-09-15T20:50:00.000-05:00

On September 6th, Maddy started school. As I mentioned before, I debated putting her in this year because I thought two years of preschool might be a bit redundant, but when it comes down to it, I realize she needs more than what I have to offer.

The night before, my sister happened to be staying with us, so I'm glad I didn't have any kind of a chance to think about it. (The whole week before, I'd been tearing up randomly, getting really sad, just worrying, etc.) Tuesday morning was kind of a craze, of course, but we made it out the door in time.

Watching her walk into that preschool, away from me... that was really hard. After we took a couple pictures outside her classroom, she walked right in and basically didn't look back. They had little play-doh sets out for everyone and she started right in. I snapped a couple pictures and that was that, time for me and Mike to go. I was okay until we were walking out, and as soon as I put my sunglasses on, I lost it. Mike ended up taking me to Chick-fil-A for a Coke (light ice) to console me. :)

I KNOW it's a good thing, I'm not worried about her, I'm just sad for me. It's just incredible how quickly time passes, she'll never not be in school again. And if she takes after her parents? School for the next 30 years?! Haha. ;)

She is so amazing. She has such a strong will, but is so sweet too. She cares about other people so much and takes care of Hudson a lot - always making sure he has his milky and silky and a toy. I'm grateful to have her in my life, even though she is one stubbornmessofagirl.

Outside our door

Thank you Pinterest, for everything you've done for me. Including helping me look like I'm a fun and creative mother. :)

Happy 1st day, Miss Buggy!! We love you!

Summer 2011 - Top Ten

2011-09-09T23:39:00.002-05:00

This might be the longest post ever. EVER.

1. Celebrating SIX years together with my awesome husband. Things aren't always rosy up in here, but I love him. He gets it. He's my lobster.

August 6th, 2011

We went out to his parents' for swimming and then Jenny, Kirsten and I went to the mall. GLORIOUS DAY. I bought new shoes and some jewelry at Forever 21. I felt like a rock star. Then we all went out to dinner at Red, Hot and Blue. It was a perfect day.

Have you not been to a restaurant with The Hud? Oh. You should try it sometime. It's fun. Luckily Red, Hot and Blue is never super crowded when we go and he can run around without ruining people's supper!

Maddy and her Oreo face -

If you happen to notice that her skirt is a bit short, well, it's size 18 months. !!! Too cute on her, but it's about time to give it up.

2. Craft nights with friends -

We ate way too much crap, stayed up way too late, and spent too much money! (Well, I did.) But this summer, we bonded, big-time, and I love it. If I can't have a lot of family nearby, this is definitely the next best thing.

June

Stacie's husband was out of town for a month or so early on in the summer. We knew that in order to get her at the craft night, and let her creativity rain down on us, we had to gather at her place. :) We did it a few times and it was awesome!

Holly had us over one night to watch The Bachelorette and make a cute 4th of July craft. Holly fancies herself a woodcutter. She does great work!

July

One Friday night, Shannon got her husband and kids a hotel room (gasp!) and we all had a sleepover!! We stayed up til like, 3 AM - talking, crafting, laughing our guts out, eating, oh June!! It was a blast!

Shannon was so cute, her and Shellie (our Scentsy SuperStar Director!) hooked us up with some stuff.

3. Awesome concerts

Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton & Jerrod Niemann

Spence and Heather bought two too many tickets to this concert so they invited us to go. It. Was. Incredible. Does anyone else feel like after they see someone in concert, they know them on a first-name basis? We'd seen Brad Paisley before, way back before we were married, I think, and since we'd been at that concert all day / night, we left while he was playing. The person I was most excited to see was Jerrod. I have... well, kind of a deep love for him. His songs are amazing and he's a great songwriter too, which really gets me. Oh, and did I happen to mention that these seats were on the floor? 17th row?! Thankyouverymuch. Yes, indeed.

Of course Texas had been going through this 'One Million Days of 100*+ Weather' so we waited until the last minute to go. People were sun stroked right and left. Friends! Heat + Alcohol = NO GOOD! Even with the heat, the sun and all the stinky people, we loved it.

Kix Brooks, Jerrod Niemann, Steve Holy & Bradley Gaskin

Marlee's sister stalked some radio station people until they finally gave her tickets to the Last Blast of Summer concert, only to find out that she was too young to go!!! Since the concert was at the Glass Cactus (a bar), she had to be 21. Well her misfortune was my fortune!! Heh. Marlee's other family members bowed out and Karen, Shannon & I gladly snatched those bad boys up.

We got there early enough so the place wasn't completely full. Half of us were pregnant so we went out on the patio and ordered some food to tide us over til 4th meal. ;) When the music started we went in and found ourselves a place on the dance floor. The first two acts (Bradley Gaskin & Steve Holy) were great, but what I was really waiting for was Jerrod. Oh Jerrod. *swoon* After he was done singing, all the girls were saying I should try and get his autograph - he was signing stuff and we were pretty close to the stage. I had a t-shirt from the radio station, and finally, after minutes of complete mental anguish, I did it. I walked up there and shoved my shirt at him. I was sweating, shaking and SO nervous. He was talking to some dumb chick who, 'supposedly had a birthday that day,' so I wasn't able to make eye contact with him. (!!! What am I saying?! What did I think that was going to accomplish?) But he signed my shirt and then moved on to the next groupie. A night I'll never forget, to be sure!

Chocolate cake before a concert? Don't mind if I do!

Taking the shirt from me without even looking at me. Just because I wasn't screaming, 'Jerrod! Jerrod! It's my birthday!!!' Liar.

Signing my shirt! And he's left-handed. Cool, eh?

It was such a fun night. It's so nice to get out and be ME. I love it that I can do that. I have some of the best friends!

4. Shellie's shower

When Shellie found out she was having another girl (number 3!!), the cutest idea for a shower popped into my head - Southern Belle. I know whoever says you're not supposed to have a shower after the first baby, but I wanted to do something nice for her. She said all she needed was diapers, so we had a diaper shower, and suggested the guests participate in a diaper cake decorating contest (ie, bringing the cakes already put together).

Thanks to my awesome friends, we were able to pull off a pretty awesome shower. I came up with different names for all the food (which I've always wanted to do), decorated my first-ever diaper cake, and had a fabulous time with friends and family of Shellie's.

My partners in crime

Sooo. Funny story. The night before the shower, all the boys decided to have a Guys Night. I guess they were super jealous of all our fun a couple weeks before. They got pizza, snuck in the church to play basketball, ate snacks, played video games, whatever. Well, right before all of the boys were supposed to go to Shannon's, their A/C went out. !!! In the midst of 30+ days of over 100* weather. ICK. The guys still went on with their Guys Night, and Shannon still wanted the shower at her place. So we trucked on. IT. WAS. UNBEARABLE. I truly felt like I was in another time. (I had just read The Help, so that might have added to it.) There I was, all gussied up, Southern Belle-style, and sweating like a pig. We said that after it was over, we were all going to jump in the pool. Aaaaand, we did.

SO FUN!!!

5. Splash pad time

July

Just Stacie and I this time, but still fun. Aside from the kids coming up to us every other second (not an exaggeration) and saying they wanted a snack... Not a big deal, really, just... well, you know.

Our kids get along so well. I know Maddy loves hanging out with the boys. Takes after her mama, I suppose. ;) And Hudson and Linc follow each other around - it's just adorable.

August

We came to the splash pad and then all they wanted to do was play on the playground. Worked for me because I got to get wet afterwards, but UGH. That playground equipment gets dang hot!

Pouting over something, I forget what...

Finally in the water. RELIEF.

September

Our last trip to the splash pad for the summer. :( It's really okay though because Maddy has had those swim shoes for two (could it be three?) years, and there's a hole forming in the toe on one of them. ;)

6. The kids and their friends

Maddy's first sleepover at a friend's! Eeek. Her friend Kate invited her over in July, and I honestly didn't think she would make it through. She did stay there all night, but she was the last one to finally fall asleep (1130 PM!), tried to give herself a concussion by walking right into a bed frame, and was VERY cranky the next day. Oh, and she was also the first one to wake up. Haha. Poor Karen.

One night in August, Mike kept {all!!} the kids so Stacie and I could go to JoAnns. (She's helping me to sew in a straight line.) When I got back, I found all these pictures on my camera of them being superheroes. I love that he does stuff like that! The kids had a blast.

And then last week Jack and Linc came over to play for a bit. Jack and Maddy were CRAZY. But they were having fun, so I guess that's what important, right?

Totally unprompted -

I KNOW. Can you imagine if they really do get married like Maddy wants? They will have the blondest-haired, bluest-eyed children ever in the history of the world.

So comfortable with each other. :)

7. Pool time

Shannon & Keith had everyone over one last time before their kids started school. It was nice to get into that 98* pool - quite refreshing! :)

Rocking this swimsuit one last time. (I hope.)

I had to get this one of Jack and Missy. Jack instinctively put his arm around his cousin and looked right at the camera. His mother must be a photographer.

Shannon busted out some popsicles for the kids and I tried to tell Hudson to LICK it, not take a bite.

Brain freeze, much?

Look at this face -

Poor buddy

8. Seeing old friends

Our friends Kevin and Katie came out from Miami and invited us over to Kevin's parents' house for dinner. I know how it is going home, and trying to fit 1,000 things in, so I'm so glad we were able to see them! I don't talk to Katie too often, but when I do, it's like nothing has changed. She is so incredible. I admire her so much, and wish I could be (or look!) like her. (She is a supermodel for sure.)

Maddy & Hudson just flocked to Katie. They LOVE her!

Kevin & Mike are dorks.

Kevin's sister and her husband were there too (along with tons of other random people, haha) and were SO cute to play with my kids. I know they are going to be AMAZING parents.

Meadors - We'll see y'all out there in May!!! ;)

------

Thanks to the power of Facebook, I found out my old friend Luke was working in town. He was able to come with us to church one Sunday in August, and then stayed for dinner and dessert. It's funny, because we only really knew each other for awhile in high school (he moved away), but he really is an awesome guy. It's crazy when someone comes out of your past like that.

9. Temple night

On ward temple night in July, they asked if any of us wanted to do baptisms. My friends and I signed up to do that, not knowing that you can't if you're pregnant. (I AM NOT. But a lot of them are.) I hadn't done baptisms since the single's ward and it was really cool. Afterwards we all went to Purple Cow and had fun. It was a nice break from the world.

I think we should be sisters. Don't you?

And finally, number ten. The last one. And the worst one.

10. Getting Maddy ready to start school

Blah. :( Getting her in preschool was kind of a last minute thing. First off, we didn't know if we would have the money. (I guess we still don't, HAHA.) Secondly, she has an October birthday, so she won't start kindergarten until Fall 2013 - that would equal TWO years of preschool. Sounds a bit redundant to me, especially considering the money situation. Thirdly, a couple of my friends sent their kids to this particular preschool last year and didn't say it was totally amazing and worth the money. It turns out though, that the teacher from last year retired, and a lady that I know of through church was the new teacher. *Thanks for the heads up on that, Leslie! We enrolled Maddy, and I just tried to push it to the back of my mind. A couple weeks later, Leslie let me know they were having a Meet & Greet for the kids (genius), so on the first of September, I took her in to see what it was all about. She showed a teeny bit of hesitation at first, but was fine.

Hudson did very well also. Ha.

I can't believe she's ready for this!

Bachelor Pad, Episode 5

2011-09-06T21:14:00.003-05:00

Favorite comment from episode 4's recap actually has to do with episode 5, which I love. My mom just couldn't wait!!!

The thing that I remember most (about last night...and sorry, I'm skirting ahead) was a camera shot of Blake and it was at a downward angle. And, Blake was smiling. I swear, all I could see was a bunch of dentist teeth protruding from his mouth. He's good looking nonetheless. (and, nothing personal about his teeth....they're just so numerous. Like he grew one too many)

That is hilarious on so many levels.

I actually didn't get to watch last night's episode until today, my sister stayed with us for a night and I thought it would be rude to totally shut her out for two hours while I sat there like a zombie in front of the TV. :)

The Nearlywed game - Ahhhh. Kinda funny. But I guess what kept getting at me was how everyone doesn't like Blake?! I don't understand? Are we just not seeing the huge insight into his personality? I figured out Graham and Michelle's strategy just before they came clean on the camera. JOKERS! No fair. Brilliant, but no fair. The rest of it was pretty dumb. Holly was truthful down to her very core and I can't believe Michael is still dumbstruckinlove with her.

Michelle and Graham's date was pretty sweet and somehow... less... scandalous than I thought it was going to be, so good for the both of them. May their romance lasts longer than Ames & Jackie's.

Blake and Ericka's date was weird and gross and awkward. Even though I didn't think she looked as bad as she normally does. Maybe she's been going without the lip injections since being in lock down at the pad? Dunno. I can't believe the guts of that woman. She kept coming at him, kept coming at him, and when he shut her down, she turned the tables on him and made him out to be the bad guy. I was super appalled at that point. (Because I wasn't before. Apparently I have a sickness.)

I have no idea why Blake and Ericka chose to give the roses to Kasey and Vienna!!! Honestly, what in the world are these people thinking!?! It's mind-blowing. And he's like, (basically) a doctor, right? And she's in law school? Good heavens, our world is really in for it.

An irritating part with Kasey (since I haven't hated on him enough) was when they figured out that Graham and Michelle were going to vote for Blake and Ericka to go home, Vienna said (to Kasey): Well, we tried. To which the genius in him responded: No we didn't. Was he trying to save face for the cameras, himself, what? He has some serious issues. And their whole fight about "whatever?" Oh goodness. I was embarrassed for them. I couldn't believe I was watching two people mass manipulate each other in such a way. It was a wreck. And then my eyeballs fell out of my head.

So Holly and Blake kissing - wow. Not really what I expected. I thought she would have more tact than that. So she can kiss a new guy in front of the man that would LITERALLY lay down his life for her, but she can't keep the new guy around another week? Meh.

The finale is next week. Who is going to win this thing? Predictions?**

** For those that haven't read spoilers, ahem, Miss Karen!!

Bachelor Pad, Episode 4

2011-09-05T16:51:00.003-05:00

*Posting from my phone, forgive me for spelling errors, run-on sentences, etc.

Favorite comment from episode 3's recap:

"This show should be on cable."

Hahaha!! You're so right Chad! But then if it was, I would have to watch it online...

I couldn't really take notes last week since my husband is the new janitor at the church, and he was gone that night cleaning and my children were running around like crazy banshees and the last thing I want them to see on TV is this show. So yeah.

I absolutely adored Blake and Holly's date, I thought they were so cute together and it was nice to see something functional for once. Their chemistry and flirting and the little things they said to each other were just... *sigh*

Melissa going home was almost like Christmas morning for me. Her attempts to save herself were laughable at best and, well, I just hope she stays home when they have the 'Recap / Tell All' thing at the end. I don't want to see her face on reality TV ever again.

Kacey continues to be such a jerk and I can only hope, should he win this thing, that he comes on contact with some ugly skin disease when he goes home. Is that wrong?

William continued to be adorable and win my heart. This kind of game wasn't the right fit for him though. So basically, he should stay away from doing comedy, games that involve winning only by backstabbing other people, and dating. Poor fella.

Michelle Money not participating in the kissing game was intriguing... Maybe her daughter didn't see Brad's second season of The Bachelor, therefore still maintains a perfect image of her mother in her head. ;)

My heart was warmed when Kirk and Graham were up all night with Michael trying to console him when Holly was out late. That had to be very uncomfortable.

I'm excited for tonight's episode. Who's next to go???

Storms

2011-09-01T15:51:00.005-05:00

As I'm sure most of you know, I have a new found love in Pinterest. You can catch me over there mostly all day, every day. It's kind of a sickness. But if it's wrong, I don't want to be right.

There's a saying going around, that I've heard before, and there's all different & fancy pictures and crafts with the saying on them. But it keeps echoing in my mind.

I've been having a heck of a time the last weeks. I'm tired all the time. All. The. Time. I know I don't go to bed at any kind of a decent hour, but even if I do, I wake up just exhausted beyond belief. More often than not, right after dinner, I go lay down, even if it's for 30 minutes. (I'm not one who can normally catch a nap during the day. Even if my kids cooperate, I can't relax enough to do it.)

Mike just started his third (and last!) year of school and is working a lot. He's about to become even busier because he's president of this-or-that and head of something-or-other at SMU. The kids are so darn busy. Like, they just never stop. Hudson is seriously trouble. He wears me out more than I could ever tell you. I know most parents go through this, but I can't seem to get a handle on it. I don't care if my house is messy, I'm not one to go into a tail spin over that. (Normally.) I don't spend any length of time getting ready, so that's not a big deal. My kids are great and happy and I love 'em.

I'm just so tired.

The other morning, it rained. RAINED!!! Oh sweet glorious rain, how I have missed thee! I was laying on the couch when Maddy asked, "Mama, can we go dance in the rain?"

I sat up, got their shoes on, and we went outside. It had stopped raining by then, but there was a tiny puddle here and there was a tiny stream next to the curb. They had so much fun. I loved watching them. I didn't do much dancing but I was so happy to see them so happy.

I'm not sure where all this is going except that I have TRULY enjoyed every moment of physical pain, emotional torment and sheer exhaustion these two have brought to my life. :) It definitely hasn't been easy, but yes, it has been worth it. I am so grateful to have them. These crazy, beautiful kids. I love that they remind me on an almost-daily basis what's really important. I'm learning SO much from them.

*Yeah. We don't so much do up Hudson's PJ onesies. We're klassy like that.

Bachelor Pad, episode 3

2011-08-29T09:46:00.006-05:00

Is it too late to post this? I don't know. But I'm excited to see the aftermath of what happened last week!

Favorite comment from Episode 2's recap:

I loved when Kirk and Kasey were in the little "romantic" boat and Kasey said something about thinking a shark was going to bite his arm off. Hilarious.

Love you, Codester! We really are thinking like twins, I thought the same thing!

-------------------------

Power couples – can we talk about how ridiculous this is? And can we call them something else?

Blake backpedaling with Melissa is fabulous. I can’t believe how crazy Melissa is. This is too funny. I just love Blake. LOL on him loving Jake being in the house and him being a buffer. He played it wrong, that’s for sure. And Holly saying ‘everyone is ticked at Blake.’ What? Two days ago she was flirting like crazy with him. Flaky!

*someone went a little crazy with the turquoise spray paint on the back deck of the Pad. Did anyone else catch that? Their set designers must be on Pinterest.

This week’s challenge – Jake just makes me sad. He is grasping. This synchronized swimming thing is amazing. Michael to all the professionals - “are any of you single?” LOL! This challenge makes me so happy! The guys outfits are gross but the girls look awesome! Who are the judges?

DAVE GOODE!!! DAVE GOODE!!! DAVE GOODE!!! Omw, omw!!

I hope Vienna chokes. (Chokes as in does horribly, not actually chokes. That would be just mean.) Erica – OMW!! She is a wreck during this challenge. This whole thing is awful! Chris Harrison says the girls aren't bad? Was he even watching? The guys did much better but it still seemed like a mess. Yay Michael wins! Woot! Yay Michelle wins! So glad. If Vienna would have won, I would have been mad.

Vienna doesn’t seem like everything is so awkward and stuff in the house, she always looks like she’s having a good time! Jake & Erica in the bedroom, holding hands! For goodness sakes

Date – Michelle’s teeth look so different. Did she have some kind of work done? Have I already asked this question? I don’t like to see people’s tongues when they kiss, no matter who they are? They made a mistake here, b/c they showed a clip of Graham wearing the rose, and she hadn’t even asked him yet. I feel like Michelle is going to get her heart hurt. I didn’t like how she talked to Blake and let him know where he stands. Lame.

Date – Holly’s outfit is adorable. And Michael’s too. They are such a cute couple. “We have to wear a helmet?” Duh. Vienna’s remarks are so ridiculous. And Holly and Michael talking is breaking my heart. She acts like she’s still in like with him!! What is she doing, let the poor boy down easy. She’s saying she constantly wants to touch him and be with him. And then she’s saying other things to the camera. Infuriating. I wonder what the time edit is this? Bret Micheals!!! Used to a-d-o-r-e him. Bret looks different. Like, younger than me.

I can only hope Kasey is the one going home.
Blake making breakfast - niiiice.
Where is William in all of this? Laying in bed?
Erica without make up is… well, hmm. And her rubbing Jake’s arm? Blech. And he’s totally playing Erica, right, b/c none of the other girls will touch him with a ten foot pole.

Okay, Vienna and Kasey sit down to 'talk.' The face Vienna is making while he talking to her, is amazing!! Hahaha. "I don’t want it to be an engagement ring." What a psycho. Now he’s singing!?!?!?!?!?!?! I am so embarrassed for both of them.

And this gem, from Mike, re: Melissa – “She needs to eat a sandwich.”

Only one guy going home tonight? I’m totally shocked that Erica knows what the majority of 13 people is. And Erica manipulating Melissa is so cool. And sad. But more cool. I don’t understand how Kasey is so mad about Jake ‘manipulating’ everyone, and he has been doing it this whole time! I am so mad. Erica with the gavel – hilarious.

I bet Jake goes home. I don’t know, I just don’t think they would have showed all the previews for Kasey saying, ‘It’s me, I’m going’ if he really was. They always try and throw us off their scent. Trailer park trash and a tattooed guy – hahaha!!! Oh Erica.

So, Kasey is safe and that’s the end, right? Stupid Kirk. I hate him. And now we have to wait another week to find out?!

Under the Sea

2011-08-24T13:25:00.001-05:00

A friend of my sister-in-law (but she's my friend now, too) posted something on Facebook about going to see Little Mermaid at some theater in north Fort Worth. I jumped at the chance since that is one of Maddy's favorites and our VHS copy is broken (haha). She asked about it way in advance, but still ended up getting me tickets and taking care of me because I am the world's biggest procrastinator.

The day before the show, I thought I should probably look the location up online to make sure I could get there. Then I got to thinking... It wasn't a movie theater, it was like, well, you know, a theater theater. *sigh* I was like, How on earth is Maddy going to sit through a PLAY??? Luckily I'm friends with smart people that wouldn't encourage me to take my 3 year old to a real-live, fancy-schmancy, production of a play. ;)

We got there and happened to end up on the front row. What luck! Turns out, this little theater is home to mini-actors / actresses - they were kids! I thought I was going to be really bored (and I was a little), but Maddy LOVED it. It actually wasn't Little Mermaid as in Ariel, but a story similar of A Little Mermaid. Maddy kept asking where Flounder was, where Ursula, was... kinda confusing, right?

When it was over, we walked out and the sweet gal who played the Little Mermaid was standing there posing for pictures with all the kids. I snapped this of the two of them -

and Maddy was in heaven the whole day. She kept asking, "When is Ariel going to come to my house?" and "Where's Ariel?"

Afterwards, since Stacie was watching Hudson for me and he had just fallen asleep, I asked Maddy if she wanted to go out to lunch with me. We went to Razzoo's and it was really nice to have it be just her and me. She is a fabulous lunch date, let me tell you. Good conversation, she shares her food, and she also provides endless entertainment.

July 14, 2011

BBQ in the 'hood

2011-08-20T16:10:00.001-05:00

Because we've been having temperatures over 100*, doing anything outside REQUIRES water. Luckily the folks in our ward knew this when they planned a BBQ for us. Bless them.

Everyone brought a side or dessert and one of the guys in our ward hooked us up with some very fun games. There were some volleyball nets, good friends and lovely conversation. Even in the make-you-wanna-rip-your-clothes-off heat.

Don't be alarmed though. No clothes were ripped off in the making of this BBQ.

*There are a lot of pictures. :)

Dylan with his greeting for Hudson. He's getting there. ;)

Oh these boys! I just love 'em!

Maddy and her Kate

So we knew there were going to be water games. I was envisioning water volleyball or something. Um, yeah.

Jack loved this! And he had pretty awesome aim too. What an arm. Perfect match for Maddy!

It was a great turnout, even with the heat.

Mike and Stacie

Hudson and Dylan spent a lot of the time throwing Mike's Mt Dew bottle back and forth. It was BLAZIN' hot.

Some of the other kids. Most of them are related somehow. :)

Maddy had been working up the nerve to go down the slide. I never thought she would, just climbing up those steps was a chore. (Thankfully someone helped her up.) But she did it! And she loved it. It's amazing how proud of her I was - she's pretty brave, really! Especially compared to me.

Ready... Set... Go!!

Hahaha. Look at her face!

I got distracted taking pictures of everything, and finally someone flagged me down and let me know Hudson was in the mud. I didn't care, per se, but I didn't jump up and down with joy either. That was a new shirt, after all. :) I think I better get used to it, right? (Assuming it ever rains or whatever.)

We left shortly thereafter.

Bachelor Pad, Episode 2

2011-08-16T22:06:00.009-05:00

A big thanks to those that commented, and a shout out to Chad for being a guy and commenting! But Tenley? Really? Maybe she can choreograph a dance just for you!!! :)

And a couple questions:

Did the producers change it up because Jake was almost certainly going home? No Jake = no drama

Are Kasey and Vienna going to win the whole thing?

Favorite comment about episode 1:

Vienna: If she doesn't quit using the "p" word, I'm going to slash her tires.
(p=protect)

Mom. You are awesome.

---------------------------------

On to last night's episode!!!

*I've decided to organize my notes as best I can, I took a lot. I think I kept having flashbacks to high school / college - I was scribbling notes furiously.

Kasey - The first five seconds and you're driving me crazy!!! All according to your plan? Please. I laughed as he missed his first shot at the challenge, just after bragging about his baseball cred. Loser. Kasey on the date = so lame, but the coolest thing he's ever said (and ever will say) - "We're (I'm?) having yacht of fun." Bwahahaha. And then Kasey and Kirk going back on the boat together - so romantic. That was funny. They were so squished in there! Right before the rose ceremony, when Jake was asking for... whatever he was asking for, Kasey was such a jerk! And all throughout the show, SO. DARN. SMUG. Can't stand him.

The challenge -

Jackie hit Jake when asked who she wanted to go home?? Didn't they go on a date last week? I guess her loyalties know no bounds, right? *eye roll*
I can't believe Melissa won, and doing her little curtsy, I want to puke. She said a couple of times how confident she was she could win the whole game. Really?
I feel really bad for Erica, she didn't deserve that. But I'm not so certain some of those eggs weren't hitting Melissa. I hope someone was watching really closely. I laughed when Erica was talking trash on Ella. !!! I am OVER everyone hating on Jake. So he's a jerk. Move on.

Michael / Michelle / Erica / Holly date -

I think I'm going to get sick with the camera action. Reminded me a lot of Blair Witch.
Holly seems pretty messed up. I kinda feel bad for her. And Michael gave her the rose anyway. Too bad!
Holly & Michael talking, man, my heart is breaking. And then she pulled out the best friend card? Yikes. I like how he shot that down right away.

Quote of the night:
"Everything that you are... I love." Michael to Holly *swoon*

Melissa / Blake / Kasey / Kirk date -

I can't believe Blake is trying to play Melissa. Doesn't he know how badly this will end for himself? Words cannot fully describe my glee that he is playing her. He's doing a dumb thing, but looking great doing it, if you know what I mean.
When she was talking about how she feels like the Bachelorette, I wanted to reach through the TV and shake her! Totally different. Read: These guys don't even like you, you crazy!!!
I love that she went against the 'pact' she made with Kasey. She changed her mind, any woman's right. And Kasey saying she wasn't a good person because of that? Laughable.

Etc -

I'm getting a bad feeling with Gia talking to Graham. I'm nervous she's trusting him. Friendship means nothing in this house.

Blake / Melissa / Holly - Wow. Crazy. Sad. Crazysad. I can't believe she sat there with them. Has she no shame?

Jake - Asking Vienna for anything is such a bad idea. I wonder where he got that? The producers of the show, perhaps? Sickening to watch. Sad to see Vienna throwing everything back on him. I wonder if he's really in debt? I would honestly be fine with him going home, that way all that drama can end.
------------------------ Game Changer! --------------------------
Well, looks like Jake isn't going home after all. Super. So now two girls have to go home. Love Chris Harrison laying the smack down on Vienna. And her wanting to stay because she's not going to let Jake win anymore. Please.

Kasey going around telling everyone that Gia was scheming the whole time makes me mad. I would love to know what really happened here, I feel confused. Gia leaving is poop. I like her!

Why oh why is Michelle friends with all these people? She seems pretty smart, so I wonder if she got in the house and knew immediately who she would have to align herself to win?

Looks like Jackie is the one to go home. And Ames following her? I'm totally crying. This is the sweetest thing I've ever seen. Twu Wuv. *But according to my mom, they've already broken up. Boo.

Bye, bye Gia and Jackie!

Bachelor Pad, round 2

2011-08-14T22:44:00.006-05:00

I know. I KNOW!! I need to get a life. I just can't help myself, I can't stop watching!!!

I loved last week's episode. I was addicted right from the start. I took notes on my new (f-a-n-c-y) phone and everything! And I just sat down to post them, to find out what y'all think, and the notes are gone. GONE!!! :( Darn kids, playing with my phone! ;)

Poop. I wanted to get all my opinions out on everyone so I can see if they change as the show goes on. (For reals. I need a Bachelor Pad intervention!) I can't remember a lot. But here is what I do remember:

I cannot believe the whole Vienna / Kasey train wreck. She is totally manipulating him. She is like, QUEEN Manipulator! Wow. I thought I had skillz. I aint got nothin' on her! She was all over the place with him. If I didn't dislike the guy so much, I would feel sorry for him.

If Vienna and Kasey are the last couple there, I won't ever watch the show again. Please know that I say that with the strongest conviction, knowing full well I'm lying.

Oh Jake. I didn't love him before, and I don't love him now. He did himself a huge disservice by giving Vienna the rose. I just don't buy it! What a dope.

I kinda liked Alli before, but man, she seemed really lame. I wonder if she was drunk? How could she not know the drama she was going to start with Justin? Speaking of Justin, yeah, he was kind of a tool, but he was funny! I was entertained by him and was sad when he was let go. Not terribly surprised though.

Blonde skinny girl - Who are you? Why are you here? Ugh.

Blonde Princess girl - I don't have anything nice to say, so I'm going to keep my trap shut.

I like Gia. Not a lot of people do, but I do. I feel bad for her, I feel bad she's there, AGAIN, trying to win some money. She's a cute gal. I hope things work out for her. Ella seems nice but I have a feeling she is going to be one of the first to go. She seems 'meh.'

Michelle Money! Woot! Can't wait to see more from her. (So funny that I disliked her a lot when she was trying to get with Jake. Now I just love her!) I am excited to see what happens with her and Jackie.

Graham. Um, yes please. Same with William. And Kirk. Though I don't know Kirk at all (I didn't watch Alli's season).

I like Michael. I liked him when he was on Bachelorette (was that Jillian's season?) and I feel bad he's so head-over-heels for what'shername. That girl isn't the sharpest took in the shed, either. When Blake was talking (and hellllllllllllllllllo Blake!), he said something so ordinary, and she giggled over him using big words. Ames is charming, I'm glad he's back.

What do y'all think? Who is going to win? And won't you miss Dave and Jesse??

Or is that just me?

A couple questions for ya...

2011-08-10T22:28:00.000-05:00

Some girls from church decided to get together today and the time chosen was 2 PM.

2 PM has been a sacred time in my life for many, many years now. It's when General Hospital is on. I've watched this show for as long as I can remember, and with all the cancellations of other soap operas, it makes me nervous to miss it.

So here's the question.

Right before I left today, I was thisclose to turning on the TV so that 'whoever' would think I was there watching it. One more viewer is one WHOLE more viewer. Right?

Is that weird?

And another question.

This isn't the first time I've thought about doing this. And I actually have done it before. I hate it when shows I watch get cancelled!!!

Is that even more weird?

**Might I add that the only reason I didn't turn on the TV before I left was because we're having all this dry (HOT) weather, electricity is scarce, so I try and do my part to conserve. You're welcome.

#33

2011-08-08T16:18:00.005-05:00

There's this guy we know, and he had a big birthday this summer. (It wasn't what 'normal' folks might call a 'milestone' but we felt it necessary to celebrate nonetheless.)

We had pizza and salad and ice cream and lots of fun time in the pool. It was great!!

Some of my beautiful friends and their beautiful babies

Goofball!! The right picture is when she was sitting by the pool with her legs in the water, eating her ice cream, and she was so cold!

Hudson playing with some rocks

Once everything got going, the guys decided to do crazy things while jumping in the pool.

They were all pretty great tricks, but the best picture I got?

THIS ONE.

Wait for it.

Are you prepared? Are you sitting down?

Bwahahahahaha. My goodness. I have never laughed so hard.

(Those two guys are brothers, if it helps make the picture less awkward for you.)

Happy Birthday, Keith!!

Why didn't I think of that?

2011-08-05T13:37:00.003-05:00

Me (referring to Hudson): Maddy, he is KILLING me! What should I do with him?

Maddy: Put him in danger.

Let freedom ring!

2011-08-04T22:27:00.006-05:00

July 4th this year was awesome. We went out to breakfast with the Myers (a tradition, if you will) and had a great time.

After that, we came home and had the kids nap, and then we headed up to my brother's house. We invited Karen, Shannon and their families, and it was so much fun. We ate great food, listened to great music, and had a nice visit with people we knew, and people we didn't. It was awesome.

Sitting out in the dark, with Maddy on my lap for the first bit, and Hudson on my lap for the second, I felt so extremely lucky to be where I was. Watching the kids play with sparklers, watching the adults light the MAJOR fireworks, it was so fun. I was reminded of why I love this holiday so very much.

Fifteen months & change

2011-08-04T22:10:00.001-05:00

(Okay, so he's really sixteen months. What do you want from me?)

Some new (and old) things about The Hud. He literally keeps me on my toes all day. I get him out of one mess and five minutes later, he's right back in another. I might get gray hair soon.

*Crawls up on everything. Everything. Nothing is sacred. Chairs, couches, tables - I'm waiting for him to try the counter and re-create his father's act of breaking his collarbone when he was a kid.
*Doesn't love to share. He occasionally will if I tell him, but he wants what he wants.
*Starts Nursery in 1.5 months! Woot!
*Just started speaking. A teeny tiny bit. Ball (Bah), Buck (Buh), Dog (Dah), and he's been saying Dad (Daaaaa) for quite awhile now. He'll also say Mama (Ma) on occasion. Cute stuff.
*Likes to spin in circles
*Last week I put on Lion King for him twice and he made it all the way through the previews before giving up. He's getting there.
*Can drink from a water bottle like a PRO. He loves it. At first he would just make the most gigantic messes, but about a month ago, he started getting the hang of it.
*Loves all things electronic. Anything that has a button, he'll push it.
*Speaking of 'buttons,' he started playing with his belly button about a month ago. I thought it was really cute until someone I know mentioned that their child did this when they were little and still had to do it to fall asleep at night. It kinda freaked me out so he's spent most of the last month in onesies. Ha. (I'm such a control freak, right?)
*Starting to get more picky when it comes to food. I've noticed he'll eat just about anything when it's just our family at home, but when we have people over, or we're out somewhere, he tried to act like a tough guy and not eat anything. No good.

April

Eating goldfish off the floor while Buck watches longingly

May

June

Yeah. Didn't so much love being pushed around by his little friend. Ha!

Folding his arms for the prayer! (Ever-so-reverently, might I add.)

July

"Look Mama!"

Just doing a little drawing to pass the time

I caught him right when he woke up from a nap. Can you imagine being so happy to see a camera first thing?

August

Bath time!!!

Oh my Hudson. What a crazy little man you are. I LOVE YOU!

An update, Maddy-style

2011-07-25T23:00:00.001-05:00

maddy had a red mark / bruise on her forehead. i asked her what it was and she said she didn't know. i asked her if she got hurt, and she said no. mike had her come over to me so i could look at it, and i told her she had spot on her forehead. she said, 'it's a mark. my mark. the mark that means i'm thirsty.'

I had this ^^ saved as a draft from June 15th. Not too sure the route I was going to take with it, but I figured I'd leave it there while I go on a bit about my Maddy.

Maddy is getting smarter and smarter - I'm finding it hard to keep up with her. She is pretty sassy, and we've had some definite rough patches. She's told me a couple times recently that she hated me - - OUCH. It hurts! Mike had a long talk with her, and she hasn't said it since, but man alive. (That wasn't the first time she'd told me that, and I'm not sure she knows exactly what she's saying, but still.) I honestly have no idea where she gets that. I mean, obviously I'm sure I've said I hated THINGS before (um, cockroaches, anyone?), but not people? But to a 3.5 year old, I guess it doesn't matter. Oops. Guess I should be more careful. When she gets mad, she's starting to go to her room, sometimes without being told to, which is nice. The bottom line is, she really does continue to care for people deeply, a wonderful trait.

She cares so much about her friends that she cries her eyes out 80% of the time we leave them.

Maddy with the Eldredge boys - June 2011

When we had the party for Lincoln, the youngest of their crew, Mike took Jack (the one Maddy is hugging!!!) to our house and watched him so we could have the party for just the babies. He said when they got in the car to come back, Maddy said, 'Dad, I'm going to marry Jack.' Mike was like, 'Oh really?' To which she replied, 'Yeah. But when I'm bigger. And older.' So Mike said, 'Jack, what do you think about that?' And he said, 'Yep!' Hahaha. I've long joked they should get together, but never in front of her. So the fact that she is coming to this on her own??? Awesome.

She loves her brother so much she helps him on and off her bed. She also finds any and all excuses to hug him throughout the day. It's adorable. I'm not quite sure he likes it quite as much as I do.

Giving Hudson hugs - June 2011

Showing him how to get in our shower and "dance" - July 2011

Sharing her ice cream cone with him - July 2011

Safely getting him down off the water bottles when he was trying to open the door - July 2011

She loves Buck so much, she lets him clean up after her when she dumps her cereal all over the floor. (Sadly, I don't have a picture of this. But come over at any given time, and I guarantee there will be a bowl of Cheerios dumped on the floor.)

She loves her dad so much, she wants to be with him all the time.

On their Daddy-Daughter date - June 2011

She loves me so much, and knows that I love her so much, she thinks she can say anything she wants to me and everything will be fine. :P

Before church - June 2011

She plays with her Cinderella accessories (Gus-Gus, Suzie) along with her Barbies, she likes to wear her Princess dress {that the neighbor gave us} every single day, all day. Hudson will pull out all the books off the bookcase and they'll sit on / by her bed and read for awhile.

June 2011

Mike and I recently got new phones and she is o-b-s-e-s-s-e-d. She keeps asking to 'just press ONE button.' Her eating is pretty much the same - picky and picky. But I'm *trying* to just ignore it and let her do her thing. Her favorite thing to watch right now is a Dora DVD that my brother & sister-in-law got her. Over and over, it's so fun! ;) She's getting pretty good at working the computer, she'll play pbskids or nickjr by herself for small amounts of time. This morning I was trying to get some laundry folded and I let her play out on the table. She came back to me about 20 minutes later and told me her arms hurt from playing - haha, I thought that was sweet.

It's remarkable to me how fast time is going. I looked at her today, as I was dropping her off at her first friend at-their-house sleepover, and I thought, 'What on earth?' It's scary. There are parts of her I just want to bottle up and keep forever. Thank heavens for blogs and pictures and videos! We tried to get her into a preschool but they were full - we're not too sure what we're going to do. I've thought about doing something at home, but.............................. Yeah. We'll see.

I love this little girl so much and am SO thankful to have her in my life. She keeps me humble and keeps me laughing (when she doesn't make me cry)!! Love you, Miss Buggy!!

Baby Daddy Day - 2011

2011-07-25T22:45:00.000-05:00

Ahhh. Now this is real life, aint it?

I would feel like a terrible, horrible jerk if I didn't say something about Father's Day this year. We had a nice day, went to church, learned some good things, and then came home. Later on we went out to Mike's parents' for dinner a la Jenny. It was deliciously amazing - we had a great time.

There are very few instances I have cause for complaint with Mike as a dad. (And 99% of those things are just me being drama.) He loves our kids so much and takes such good care of them. He gets down and plays with them, plays 'pretend' with Maddy, takes them out with him when he's going somewhere, etc etc etc. He takes pride in being a good dad, in letting his kids know he loves them. Oh man, do they just adore him!! Hudson has really started to just love, love, love him. They are both so excited when their daddy comes home. I love it!

Hudson's tears from being bossed around by Miss Maddy - Poor buddy!!

Sweet outfit, right?

My father-in-law with his Texas kids & grand-kids

Happy Father's Day, Mikey!!

The one where both kids got their hair did

2011-07-22T14:03:00.006-05:00

I have a lot to catch up on, but I finally got these pictures uploaded (technical difficulties up in here + we seem to be very busy!), and I wanted to post them. Mostly for my mom. Hi mom! I haven't talked to her much in the last week because I don't have a phone anymore. Yeah, long story short - I lost it. Well, I guess that's the long story too. Anyway.

The last couple weeks, no matter how I brushed or washed Maddy's hair, it just looked so ratty at the bottom. I've never cut it before, so I kinda got to thinking. And then the last week or so, Hudson's hair has seemed extra out-of-control. I asked my friend Stacie if she would cut their hair and so we went to her place and she took care of it.

Both kids did FANTASTIC. Hudson sat *fairly* still and Maddy was a champ. I'm so glad it's done!

Not too sure...

Wondering if she's still going to look like Rapunzel...

I was nervous about this day - I'd been putting it off with both kids because with Hudson, I was scared he was going to lose his curls. And with Maddy, cutting that inch off was cutting off {one of the} inches she had when she was born! That was hard for me. But Stacie made it painless. And she didn't laugh at me when I kept the hair. :) Thanks Stacie!

Because apparently, there was some concern

2011-07-09T16:26:00.001-05:00

Me: Uh, Maddy? Can I go to the bathroom?
Maddy: Yeah. But I'm staying in here with you.
Me: Oh. Okay.
Maddy: I need to make sure you don't fall in.

*Hudson crying from another room*

Maddy: I'll go check on your son.

...the leader of the plaque - watch him suck up that gas, oh my...

2011-07-05T22:47:00.000-05:00

Please take a moment to watch this video and familiarize yourself with the brilliance that is Steve Martin in Little Shop of Horrors. This movie was like, my childhood. Well, no, not really. But I loved it! I still love it. (Mom, you should send me that old VHS copy of it!)

On May 24th, I took Maddy to her first dentist appointment. I hadn't been putting it off for any other reason except that's just what I do. But I got a flier in the mail about this new (ish?) office and it was a sign that I needed to get her in. We brush her teeth twice a day (she brushes and then we brush), with regular toothpaste (I made Mike in charge of making sure she had the spitting out part down, so we could switch her to regular toothpaste. I swear that toddler stuff is worthless! I think it was around the beginning of the year?), so I thought there wouldn't be any problem.

I dropped Hudson off at a friend's house and we made our way to the dentist. When we got off the freeway, I'll be honest, I was a little scared. I'd never been to that part of town before. We pulled up to a rotten, old mini-mall type place and I was so nervous about what was going to be waiting for us inside. Just another reason to never judge a book by it's cover - that place is nice! Kinda modern, not too terribly comfortable or spacious, but nice just the same.

They finally called Maddy back and the super nice tech told her she was going to have some pictures taken of her teeth. Maddy took it all in stride and was so easy going about everything. I was surprised to say the least. She got right up on the chair and opened her mouth just like she was told. Then we had to go back to the bigger x-ray machine, and Maddy didn't even bat an eye! Made me so proud!

The dentist came in a few minutes later and looked at the x-ray. Her big-girl teeth are rightthere, by the way. Just waiting for those little monsters (that we lost SO much sleep over) to fall out. Anyway, he started off by asking if she sucked her thumb. (Never.) Then he asked if she drinks a lot of juice. (No. Hardly ever.) Then he mentioned that she needed to brush her teeth better. (Wow!) He told me that her teeth have a lot (emphasis on A LOT) of ridges. I asked him what that meant, and he said it just meant she was going to have to brush her teeth more often and better than other kids. (Sweet.) Then he said she had not one, but TWO (very small) cavities and they would need to be filled. I made an appointment to come back a couple days later and we were on our way. But I'll be honest, my head hung in shame on the way home. I PRIDE myself on dental hygiene. Ugh. Stupid teeth.

A couple days later we went back and they got her in right away. They sat her down and a different dentist came in. I chatted with him a bit, confirming that he went to Baylor for dental school and asking some other questions. He looked genuinely surprised that I knew that information. I said, 'I wasn't just going to bring her in, not knowing anything about you!' He said, 'No, no, that's great! Not all parents are created equal.' (I think he was telling me I'm awesome. Not sure.)

They proceeded to fill the cavities (the water-sucker-outer was Mr Thirsty, the gas mask was a pig nose that smelled like strawberry - everything was just so cute) - the hygienist and the doctor both kept complimenting her, telling her how brave she was and how great she was doing. It really helped her feel at ease. At one point her legs kinda went crazy and they said that was a side effect from the gas. They also put sealants on her other molars to help in the prevention of more cavities, and then they cleaned her teeth really well and sent us on our way. The secretary helped her pick out FIVE little toys and Maddy was in heaven.

This isn't a picture of her from that day, but she's wearing the same thing she wore when she had her cavities filled. So there.

*Coincidentally, I went to the dentist a couple weeks ago - I hadn't been in six years! - and FINALLY had a gigantic cavity taken care of that has been bugging me since December. I know. Without insurance, and me being a gigantic wuss, I didn't want to know what was lurking underneath the surface. A metaphor for my life, to be sure. Luckily, a member of our stake presidency is a dentist and everyone I know referred me to him. It was fantastic! He filled it right there - said it was pretty close to needing a root canal. :( And when I started tearing up, he didn't even mock me. Now I just need to go back and get them cleaned. (So he can find all the other cavities!)

Linc-the-Stink

2011-07-02T23:06:00.006-05:00

Last month, one of Hudson's little buddies (Lincoln) turned ONE. Linc's dad was out of town for a month and missed his birthday, so I wanted to do something fun. I had this idea to throw a surprise party for him. We had to be very careful who we told - you can't trust kids, you know. When we would talk about it, we would really whisper, or, I would turn my head so Lincoln couldn't read my lips. It was all very top secret.

The day of the party, we got there to decorate a bit early. Shannon had this really cute idea to make banners for the chairs, and they turned out so cute (if I do say so myself). We had homemade chicken fingers, veggies, crackers & cheese - what more could these babies want, honestly?

After dinner, Linc opened his gifts. He did pretty well for himself, and he even was willing to share. Sweet. Heart.

The games for the party included playing with balloons (which, if you couldn't guess, was the theme) and making a total mess of Lincoln's house.

And then it was time to sing. And eat cupcakes courtesy of Miss Shannon.

Chocolate coma

Well, Linc has something of a voice on him. I think it must be in his blood. (His dad's side, obviously.) He 'said' something, and Dylan took it out of context.

Well, Abby didn't like that at all and told us what she thought about it.

And Hudson was like, 'Dudes. Eat your cupcakes!' My boy has priorities, you see.

It was a great party. Each of the babies got a bag filled with goodies - chalk, animal crackers, goldfish and a book.

The birthday boy with his mama

Happy Birthday, Lincoln!!

Day of Memorial

2011-07-02T22:56:00.000-05:00

(I'm just a little behind. Not to be confused with I have a little behind.)

On Memorial Day we went to Mike's parents for a BBQ and some swimming. We invited our friends Mike & Karen to come along - Maddy couldn't go one more day without playing with Miss Kate, and the rest of their family is pretty fun too. :)

We headed to the pool ASAP where I leisurely got in. I'm just not one of those people to jump in. No matter the temperature of the pool, I like to take my time.

There's water on my hand! Crazy!

The kids had an absolute BLAST, and before long, it was time to go back and start lunch. The guys, my father-in-law, and Jenny took the kids back and Karen and I laid out for a bit. Ahhhh, so relaxing!

We had a delicious lunch and... s'mores for dessert! Mmmmmm.

I hope there are s'mores in heaven.

What a day!

2011-06-24T13:28:00.002-05:00

This morning was a busy one.

(I imagine most of you won't care about this, so feel free to skip - it's kinda long!)

The best brother-in-law ever came home from one of his many vacations, so we had the pleasure of greeting him when we got off the plane. His flight was scheduled to get in at 10:20 AM, but I called American first thing in the morning to check. I got the dreaded "We're sorry, but your flight has been delayed. Your flight is now scheduled to arrive at........... (I was thinking noon or something) .... 10:29 AM." Phew. I decided I had just enough time to stop at Fina for a cool beverage. We got closer to the airport and I called back, just to make sure. "We're sorry, but your flight has been delayed. Your flight is now scheduled to arrive at........... (Oh no! Again?) .... 10:31 AM." Wow.

We pulled up to the airport and Brian called and said they had just reached their gate. I had a plan that we could park and go in and greet him. As we were driving through, Maddy was spotting planes all over the place, and of course I completely missed Terminal D. Oops. We circled back and bit and then I missed the parking garage closest to his gate, so I figured we'd just have to wait outside for him. I called him, thinking he was just about to get his bags, and he said they were still on the plane. Well heck-to-the-no, there was no way I was going to get Hudson to last in his car seat for that much longer, so I went in to park anyway. We *finally* made it inside the airport, and since I took out the stroller out at home to make room for Brian's bags, I had Hudson walk. Quite an experience. Although he is getting faster, with shoes on, he really is still pretty slow. In addition to that, every fire alarm in the hallway, he wanted to stop and look at and try to reach. (Thank heavens he's still too short.) Every door in the hallway, he had to go to and try and open. *sigh* I guess I could have carried him, but why? We had all the time in the world, right? We were just about to Brian's baggage claim when he called and said he had his bags. What? Seriously, it hadn't even been 10 minutes!

We made our way back out to the car, and headed for Brian & Kirsten's house. We'd been driving for a little bit when all of a sudden, from the backseat - - "Moooooooooom? I have to go pottyyyyyyyyyyyy." We pulled over at the next exit and Maddy took care of business.

Eventually we did get Brian home, but then we waited for my mother-in-law to get there, because she was going to let me borrow her Cricut. She came, and we chatted for a minute, and then she asked if we'd had any lunch. It was just after 12 PM, so it was perfect timing. We went to CiCi's and had some great (and cheap!) pizza, and after Hudson was done, I let him walk around the place. To stretch his legs and whatnot. Of course the first thing he did was walk over to this (very) elderly woman in a wheelchair and try and bust her out of the joint. He grabbed on to the handles and pushed. Luckily, she was pushed up to the table as far as she could go. :) Awkward but funny.

On the way home, Maddy was so whiny. (Imagine a super irritating & whiny voice) "Mooooooooooooooooooom. When are we going to get hooooooooooooooooooooome?!?!" I told her I wasn't going to answer any more questions if she kept whining, and she needed to speak like a normal person. (I'm sure that's going to give her a complex or something, about her not being normal, but that's the only thing that came to me at the time.) So then she said (imagine a super irritating and whiny voice), "Mooooooooooooooooom, I want to go home pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease."

Ha.

I'm tired.

It's getting hot in herrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

2011-06-18T21:59:00.001-05:00

As soon as we could, we headed to the nearest park where we could play around in the fountain. I'm not sure if they put the fountain there, knowing the local kids would run amok in it, or if it was just for looks and the city has just accepted it. Either way, we win. It's deep enough to be enjoyable, but not so deep that I am freaking out the whole time. Well, unless Hudson is in there. Then, all bets are off.

The big kids "making a plan." Hilarious to watch.

All the kids

Friends

A week or so later, we went to this splash park that is basically down the street. I'd heard about it, but never been before. I took so many pictures, but I'm just going to post a few of my favorites.

These next two make me SO happy.

Our city has this Music in the Park thing going on, and last week we decided to go for it. It started around 1030 AM, and thank heavens for the little fountains at the edge of the grass - it made the concert (and being out in the heat) bearable. 23 Skidoo was the hip hop band playing - - it was SO COOL!!! Their songs were perfect and Maddy had a blast. I am definitely going to be buying one of their Cd's in the near future!

A fun video of Maddy dancing:

Our ward playgroup has been held at the fountain park (that's what I call it) since the end of last summer. Last week they changed it to somewhere else, but we didn't know until we were already playing. Heh. The only picture worthy of posting is this one:

I guess he's catching on when I say cheese.

*Seriously. Every day last week we were up and out the door before 10 AM. Not a huge deal, I suppose, but when you're not used to it? E-x-h-a-u-s-t-i-n-g. And being in the sun every day was great, but it just wiped me out!

This week I went back to the splash pad to get my visiting teaching done. :) My companion brought her four kids, plus her nephew (he's Hudson's age), and our visiting teachee brought her two sons and their awesome dog, Gracie.

Hudson watching the big kids

Miss Maddy

Friends. Well, maybe. At church, all Hudson does is try and pull him down. :/

Dorothy!!!

2011-06-12T00:09:00.009-05:00

We had a big storm roll through here a few weeks back. This one was PDS, or something, which I've only really seen once before. (Could have happened more than that, I just didn't know about it. Contrary to what you might think, I don't know everything.)

First it was just big, roll-y, beautiful clouds.

And then the sky turned a weird color. I'm sure it all had to do with the sunset, blaa blaa blaa, but I was outside taking these pictures and got pretty nervous right quick. So I ran inside.

And then our power went out.

Normally during a storm, I watch the news (even if it doesn't seem like a big deal. If you know me, you know I love weather. I used to watch the Weather Channel, just for fun), hang out, enjoy it. I have lived here almost seven years after all - this wasn't my first rodeo. But without the TV? Without Pete Delkus? Without any kind of radio? My goodness. I was in a panic! Well, I wasn't until it got dark. Then I started to worry.

And then the sirens went off.

When the sirens go off, it could be for any kind of severe weather, if I have this right. Hail, whatever - basically it means that you could be hurt by being outside, and not being in a protected location in your house. I had already put Hudson down but I could hear him crying, so I went in to get him. We sat in the hallway and then, since I didn't know what was coming, I started texting people. "What does the news say?" But the only people that were taking it as seriously as I was, was my sister-in-law, and she lives 45 minutes northwest of me. She said there was rotation at the ballpark and to stay put. I made Mike grab the mattress off our bed (and he had to do it one-handed, because Hudson was f-r-e-a-k-i-n-g out and wouldn't let me put him down) and we sat in the hallway. Our whole family. Me, Mike, BUCK, Hudson & Maddy. If you've been to our house, you know our hallway wasn't built for big people. Or a queen-sized mattress. And the air conditioning was not working, obviously. And it was 85* in the house. It was hot.

And then it started hailing.

Maddy was getting pretty nervous, and kinda crying, and Hudson was just a complete mess - over-tired, didn't understand what was going on - it was quite a sight to see, I'm sure. Mike started telling her all the fairy tales he knew (the happy princess ones) and that calmed her down a bit. Hudson just whimpered and cried the entire time. It was awful. But it was mostly awful because I didn't know what was going on, and it was so darn hot. And then the sirens went off again, and the thought that kept coming to my mind was 'Wow. We are so completely unprepared for a natural disaster. And we don't have renters insurance.'

I think we sat there for about an hour when someone finally text me and said everything was good. My only fear is that something would stir up in the night and we'd be done for. But even with the power on, I probably wouldn't have stayed up all night, keeping watch. So, whatever.

Ever since, Maddy has been a mess.

She used to be 'scared' at night. I thought she was faking and put her to bed every time. Now I see I was right before. I mean, sure, she might have been scared of something, but she was really just trying one of her many stall tactics. (The girl has game when it comes to stalling. Always has.)

The severe weather sirens go off every Wednesday (unless its a stormy day), and the first Wednesday after it happened, Maddy stopped in her tracks, looked outside, and asked, 'Is there going to be a tornado, mom? Or do those only happen at night?'

We had some friends come over for dinner, and they happened to be a bit late because they were at a baptism. Maddy asked who was getting baptized, and I was trying to explain to her that the missionaries found someone who wanted to learn about Heavenly Father and Jesus. Then she said, 'Heavenly Father protects us. He protects us from rain, from tornadoes...' My heart sank.

Since Mike is home at night now (yay) he puts Maddy to bed. What I didn't know until a couple days ago, is that since the crazy weather night, when they go in to brush her teeth and go to the bathroom, Maddy has made him shut the shower curtain all the way, and then stand in-between her and the window. She's getting better about it, but it's still a work-in-progress. Poor thing!

These are some pictures I stole from my family, who live northwest of here.

I think this is what is referred to as scud, but I suppose I could be wrong. Looks funnel-y though, doesn't it?

Definitely funnel-y. But still scud-like. Who knows?

The hail

I believe the only tornadoes verified were one in Azle (northwest of here) and one at the airport, which is a pretty HORRIBLE place to have one.

It was a lively spring this year. Wonder what'll happen next year?

End of the world, be darned.

2011-06-07T21:28:00.003-05:00

It was time. Time to go to Razzoo's, time to hang out with the girls, and time for another Zydeco Dancer.

Some would say I was mocked for wanting to sit on the patio, but since it was the end of the world and all, Razzoo's was packed! We made it out there and had a fine feast and a TON of laughs.

It was Shellie's birthday - thankfully Stacie remembered a gift!

Laughing about naked naps. DON'T ASK.

Right before a giant bird attacked.

THE Zydeco Dancer. Mmmmmmmm.

I am so thankful for good friends!

Worth a thousand words...

2011-06-07T21:24:00.005-05:00

Hudson two-fistin' it, and Maddy wanting nothing to do with it. *sigh*

How to start your summer vacation, by Me

2011-05-26T22:08:00.005-05:00

Alternately titled: Things are not always sunshine and wooden spoons up in here.

------------------------------------------

Have your significant other lose their job the last week of school. (Last day - May 13th)

Have your significant other break their clavicle playing hockey (May 19th)

Have no insurance {Luckily (we all know it wasn't luck, right?), someone that was at the hockey game worked for a doctor that gave significant other a free x-ray then, and one in a few weeks, after it has had some time to heal.}

Have significant other get a new job! This one is better in every way - a bit closer to home, slightly better pay, more interesting work - except for one. It's temporary.

Tell significant other to start their new job, and on their very first day of work, why don't you go ahead and have significant other's truck break down on the way home? (May 23rd)

Go through a long & arduous process to get the truck to a shop, and have your kids with you through this 2.5 hour process. Because most kids love being strapped down in a car during dinnertime / bedtime, right?

Pay a ridiculous amount of money to fix an old (but awesome!) Great White Hope.

Have great family and friends support you through it all. With them, anything is possible and you WILL get through it.

The wooden spoon

2011-05-23T23:56:00.001-05:00

Somehow the pictures that I posted of Hudson and his wooden spoon didn't make it on my blog post of our visit to Houston. Technical difficulties, I guess.

I was avoiding doing any housework and took some time to edit some pictures, to show y'all his true passion for this wooden spoon. It helped us through some rough times, I assure you!

He's mid-bite now, but you should have seen him when we had just picked Matt up. He was crying, crying, crying, and holding that wooden spoon up so Matt would know not to mess with him. It was a sight!

At the beach. The perfect utensil to dig in the sand

This is just a big, fat fail altogether.

This one is a little better. Aside from the wind and Hudson not looking up, and OH! The spoon!

He would not give up his rights to that spoon!!!

The perfect companion for a man(in-training). Skinny, easy to hold onto & doesn't talk back. Am I right?

*I have also gone back and re-added the pictures that should have posted, FYI. :)

Any thoughts on a name for Hudson's BFF? I don't really wanna call him Woody...

Cleverly titled: The Park

2011-05-23T22:45:00.005-05:00

I had to do something to get that creepy face off the top of my blog!

One day last week, the kids had grown pretty restless by dinnertime. I decided to throw caution to the wind and get dinner to-go, and play at the park. Mike was obviously down with the idea, so we headed out.

When we finally made it there (a short drive seems terribly long when your 3-year old can't stop complaining), we had a great time. Hudson LOVED going down the slide (his first time!) and swinging is always a hit.

Yep. This is my family. Ha! :)

My sweet buddy

This totally took me by surprise that she climbed right up there. I think I'm definitely in denial about how big she is!

Swinging...

... and showing off his man cleave

I hate this thing!!! I think it's a tragic accident waiting to happen, not unlike every other thing on that playground. Buuuuut Maddy loves it.

Weeeeeeeee!!!

♥

Houston

2011-05-18T23:17:00.003-05:00

Do you want to know what I look like when I get maybe 3 hours sleep, in a stinky hotel room, get in a car and drive for an extended period of time, get to the beach and face gale-force winds, hear about jellyfish-infested waters, am covered in grit, but get to see my kids having a blast in the sand?

I look older than almost-30, don't I?

The day of Mike's last final, we headed down to Houston. We have been wanting to go down there for quite some time but just have never made it. One night a few weeks ago, I told Mike, 'We have got to get out of here!' So we did! And it was great!!!

We got there about 7 PM Monday night. The kids did well on the drive down, both of them slept a good portion of it. We checked in and ordered pizza as it was getting later and later. After a big delay and a minor payment issue, things were good.

I was nervous about how Hudson would do (and Maddy too, let's be honest. She's never been the World's Greatest Sleeper...), since he would be in the same room with all of us and be able to see us. We put the pack-n-play in the bathroom area and hoped for the best. Of course that meant we all had to brush our teeth super early, but really, that was a good thing! And he went right to sleep, Maddy went to sleep around 10 PM, Mike nodded off immediately after that, and there I sat. ... ... ... Oh for cryin' out loud. I think it was after 1 AM when I fell asleep and of course Hudson woke up soon after.

Tuesday we woke up and kinda took our time getting ready. We picked up Mike's best friend Matt and headed to Kemah.

We played for awhile on the Boardwalk and got some food, and then everyone else decided it was really important that we go to the beach. Which was fine, except I was the only one that hadn't brought their swimsuit on this little adventure. (I thought we were just going to be in Kemah!) So we backtracked a good deal and got to Galveston where I kept Hudson way back on the sand once Mike & Matt saw jellyfish. Yikes.

That night was fine, everyone slept fairly well. On Wednesday morning, we decided to go see the Battleship Texas. We both thought we knew the way there, so we didn't consult a map before leaving. Ummmmmm, yeah. We were about 15 minutes from Galveston before we started wondering if we'd taken the wrong freeway. Who knew South Texas was so huge? :/ We walked along the beach, ate at Rainforest Cafe, got some Ben and Jerry's ice cream, and had a nice time. The wind was CUH-razy, so each of us got a fair share of sand in our eyes (and every other orifice).

The San Luis Resort - We're totally staying here one day. It looked amazing!

Rainforest Cafe

Delicious!!!

We drove back to our ~~Sleazy 8~~ motel and freshened up before meeting Matt at the Downtown Aquarium. Now that place is amazing! (And super pricey. Thanks Matt, for the meal!) We hung out for a bit afterwards - this is the part where Mike & Matt wanted to win Maddy a stuffed animal so they both spent a stupid amount of money doing it - and then went on a little train ride where we saw some sharks in a tank. It was cool!! Except that while we were waiting for the train ride to start, Hudson decided to go the bathroom. And MAN ALIVE. No further explanation needed, I'm sure.

I have no idea what Hudson is pointing at. I'm sure he doesn't know either.

No really. This is our food. For just the five of us. If this is wrong, I don't want to be right, know what I'm sayin'?

A pregnant seahorse. Awesome, no?

Maddy didn't do so well on her turn, but the awesome carny gave her a prize anyway!

This is the only picture even worth posting. It was so dark in there, and I was so consumed with the smell of Hudson, I couldn't really focus on taking pictures. *shudder*

I can't tell you for certain what he's thinking here, but he *could* be thinking about how his dad had to change his diaper in the back of our car, and it was so completely disgusting, and how he quite possibly turned his Uncle Matt off of ever wanting to have kids.

Winding down before bed - Tangled, anyone?

The next morning we got ready in a hurry (after a last-ditch effort of getting my fill of TLC and HGTV), and headed over to Matt's apartment. He was at work, you see, but he has a pool. After getting into the apartment complex, slathering sunscreen all over everyone, and getting into the very cold water, I realized I wanted nothing to do with Hudson and a big giant pool (of death). That kid has no fear!!!

I laid out for about five minutes and then we decided to hit the road.

His old scab had fallen off that morning, and {basically} right after that, he somehow hit his eye on the bed in the hotel room and got a nasty bruise. :(

Here are some pictures of the drive home -

This was about five minutes into the car ride home. Too bad it didn't last very long for The Hud.

If you can see his little finger, he's saying, 'I'm number one!'

Although it wasn't relaxing or anything, it really was a great trip. And proof that I can have fun with my little, crazy family. (As if I needed any!)

*I just realized it was a really bold move to post a picture of myself like that at the very top of my blog! I'm having all kinds of feelings now, like, Do I really want people to be able to see every nook, pore and cranny on my face? Do I seem conceited like I think people WANT to see that? I could go on and on. Just know that I don't and I know y'all don't. Okay? It was just a really long / nice / windy / family-ish day, and I wanted to record how I felt about it. And that was it.
Whew.

The things I might say

2011-05-09T14:47:00.006-05:00

Yesterday was the best Mother's Day so far. I got to sleep in, and when I woke up, it was to Maddy & Mike bringing me breakfast in bed. A (mostly) egg white omelet, turkey bacon & a couple of pancakes.

When I got myself a glass of milk, I saw a tray full of Oreo Balls in the fridge. Can we say LUCKY? I also got all three movies in the Twilight series. Maddy decorated a card for me and signed her name, and was just so excited. (I think she thought it was my birthday or something.) We got ready and went to church, where Mike took Hudson all three hours. It was so weird to not have to worry about him for three hours. I actually got to listen to the really great messages and I felt uplifted when it was over. Then we went to Mike's parents' house for dinner, where Jenny provided a fine feast for us. Bruschetta Chicken, asparagus, the most amazing salad ever, and rolls. And then we had cherry cobbler and ice cream for dessert.

Maddy fell asleep in the car on the way over. Mike took her straight to the couch where she slept for quite awhile. Shocking.

Hudson feeding Auntie Kirsten some snacks.

My mother-in-law with her Texas children.

I truly felt loved and well-taken care of throughout the day! I think that's why the day was so nice - more often than not (well, let's be honest, almost 100% of the time), I'm taking care of others. Hey, not saying I always do it well, but I'm trying, right? (Mike helps out a ton when he's home, but he's not here much, so it's mostly me.) So really, having that responsibility lifted from my shoulders for pretty much an entire day was just heavenly. I love my kids, I love being with them, but sometimes I am tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiired. ;) Anyway, it was a lovely day.

-----------------------------------------

My friend Marlee posted this video on Facebook and I just had to share it here.

If I could go back and tell myself some things about being a mom, I think I might say:

Relax. Be patient!!

Don't be so hard on yourself.

You don't have to be perfect.

Your kids will love you no matter what.

Seriously. Sleep while you can.

And seriously? Let your baby fuss. She'll be FINE.

Remember all the things that brought you to this point, but don't be sad about it. Remember the good times but know there are MANY more to come.

It's okay to be sad. It's okay to be at a loss. None of these stages last forever. (Even the teething.)

Hold on tight to everything she does. Everything that is new & different. It'll be gone in a flash.

Love yourself and the job you're doing as a mother. No one can mother YOUR children better, though they might have opinions to the contrary.

---------------------------

I have been SO blessed. I have two amazing kids. Sure, they may not sleep wonderfully, and they may not like to sit through church, but on every other front, they make me so extremely happy. I love seeing all the funny things they do, and the new ways they make me laugh every day. I am a lucky gal.

In response

2011-05-04T23:28:00.004-05:00

My friend Kateka posted a comment on my post about prom that got my head turning -

How funny you were reminiscing about this, just Saturday I was watching my old home video of my prom. Stuart was telling me that long white gloves were soooo uncool, but I wore them, and I think in Utah, they were still fashionable.

I got to thinking, they had to be cool, even if only a little bit, because my best friends and I got a picture all together that night, and look -

NO, it wasn't planned. Really and truly.

So I guess we were all really cool or we were all really big idiots.

Spring, sweet Spring

2011-04-27T21:36:00.015-05:00

Spring means General Conference. (Whether we watch much of it or not. *ahem*)

Spring means being in the backyard. A lot.

Spring means yard work.

Spring means tons of scraped knees for the Madster. (No pictures of that though.)

Spring means swinging!

Spring means celebrating Spence's birthday.

Spring means getting 'The Smolder' (Tangled fans, anyone?) from The Hud.

Spring means making a mess whenever you can. Doesn't matter, cuz you're outside, right?

Spring means trampolines! And this mother going crazy because shirley a trampoline = death.

Spring means a nice pre-Easter dinner (fried chicken, funeral potatoes, asparagus, an amazing salad & peach cobbler) with Mike's and family, and a nice little Family Home Evening to go with it.

Spring means new friends.

Spring means Easter baskets!

Spring means bubbles...

...and a nice Easter with family & friends at my brother's house. Complete with an Easter egg hunt for 2.5 kids. Ha! My sister-in-law ROCKS.

Spring means Texas-size storms. We literally watched this one roll in - you can see everything from their backyard. It was incredible.

Spring means finals. And after Monday, Mike will have one year left. Woot!

Spring means new birth, specifically Baby Wyatt, who surprised us all by coming FIVE weeks early, and is the cutest little peanut you'll ever see.

Spring means we have just a short time left before we're sweating our guts out. ;)

The Dyl!

2011-04-26T23:48:00.004-05:00

Karen's baby boy Dylan, had his 1st birthday this month. We were very excited to help Hudson celebrate his best friend's birthday. Karen & Mike had everyone over for {deliciously amazing} cake and ice cream.

Dylan is such a sweet little guy. I'm sure he could *potentially* be different at home, when it's just him and his family, but around us, he's always pretty laid back and does things on his own very well. He just goes and plays to his heart's content. He is really fun to watch, and it's wonderful to watch him & Hudson interact.

Uhhh, what's going on here?

Happy Birthday!!!

We love Dylan Boy and we're so glad we got to be there for his big day!!!

On the hunt

2011-04-23T12:09:00.007-05:00

My friends and I had an Easter Egg Hunt for all the kids yesterday. With everyone pitching in, it really wasn't a big deal. We even got together the night before so that the eggs could be stuffed. (Shout out to those that did that instead of craft!)

The menu:
Deviled eggs
Chicken salad on croissants
Delicious pasta salad
PB&J sandwiches
A fruit pizza

And the dessert:
Brownies
A Peep Train
Cupcakes

A HUGE thanks to everyone who came! I thought it was so fun! More importantly, both my children came home and crashed for the afternoon.

Two groups - Babies & Big Kids. Love it! Some of the kids are missing from these - we had to hurry and get them while their clothes were still clean! Haha.

♥

While we were finishing up eating, the guys that could come went and ~~threw the eggs down the hill~~ hid the eggs. We lined all the kids up on the sidewalk and then turned them loose. I don't know that Maddy really 'got' it - she was walking around aimlessly, more interested in being with her friends than the competition. But she had a blast!

By the time the hunt was over, most of them were just done.

We are so lucky to have so many great friends around here. It makes being away from family a little easier.

Tracy, me, Holly, Marlee & Stacie
Angela, Karen, Shannon & Shellie

*The really great pictures were taken by Stacie. :)

Some good things will come from this, I can feel it!

2011-04-19T00:22:00.007-05:00

I went to a Stake Relief Society Conference on Saturday, and it was incredible. I was pretty emotional throughout, and promptly teared up at random little things all that night. {I also might have burst into tears and got mad at Mike for no real reason upon coming home. And no, I'm not pregnant. Just crazy.}

In one of the classes offered, it was said that our house should have all the same elements that the church does - the same things should be going on at home that they do at church on Sundays. We should be teaching, we should have the spirit, a picture(s) of Christ, etc. An interesting thought, as my home is very different from church. :) And we were reminded / instructed more than once to know our children. To really get to know them, to spend quality time with them, to learn what they like and don't like, and to know that they are individuals.

I attended a class on Family Home Evening, which I recognize as important, but since we've had kids, we've not really participated in. I had it beat in to me that it doesn't have to be some GIGANTIC ordeal, and some ideas were given on how to involve Maddy, and eventually Hudson. I am proud to say we had our first Family Home Evening since 2007, tonight! It was short, sweet, and Maddy basically did the whole thing. When I asked her what song she wanted to sing, she immediately responded "I Am A Child of God!!" I loved it.

In another class (shout-out to Kathryn, whose mother-in-law taught the class and was fabulous!), we were taught we are super heroes, and were given tips on teaching young children, along with this quote from Harold B Lee - -

"Parents, remember that now is your opportunity; you may feel yourself harassed as you struggle through the days with an unruly child, but you are living the happiest and the most golden years of your life. As you tuck them into their beds at night, please be kind to them. Let them hear a kind voice amid all the angry, vile voices that they will hear throughout life. Let there be an anchor to which these little ones can turn when all else fails. The Lord help you so to do."

Man. Talk about a knife to the heart! How I struggle with my 3 1/2 year old!! She knows exactly what to do to make me crazy. But I want my house to be a place of peace, so I'm really going to work on it. I think I'll have to post that quote all over my house in order for it to happen, so I may just do that. Stay tuned. ;)

Done, Finished, The End

2011-04-18T23:20:00.008-05:00

{Some of the young men in our ward}

Yesterday, Mike was released as the Young Men's president.

A couple of these kids, Mike has been with for quite awhile. Before The Big Split of Spring 2008, Mike was a counselor in that presidency, and then when we split, he got called to be a teacher for guys. And he did that until the summer of 2009, when he was called as YM president. So that's over three years. That's a long time.

I know he'll miss it, but I imagine he's ready to hand over the reigns. I know there were a lot of things he wanted to do, but was limited because of his school schedule, and he wanted to be there for the guys. He made a lot of great friends, and it's not like he won't see them on Sundays. I think Maddy will miss it a bit - she's gone to a lot of activities with him, and calls the guys her friends. She says, 'Where's Phillip? And Matt? And The Other Matt? And Roman?' It's so cute.

It's bittersweet. I'm sure I will love having him home Tuesday nights (if he is indeed, home, on Tuesday nights) and Sundays will be a bit easier without all the meetings. On the other hand, I know that our family has truly been blessed because of Mike's service. I'm thankful to have a husband who sacrificed to do what the Lord wanted him to.

And having these kids over the few times that we did was a blast. They. Are. Hilarious.

Official-ness of One Year

2011-04-18T22:17:00.009-05:00

I feel like I have a bunch of posts talking about Hudson being a year old and pictures and the like, but there is much more to say about this boy.

His stats right after his birthday were:

Weight: 22 pounds, 5.5 ounces (25-50th percentile)
Height: 28.5 inches (10th percentile)*
Head circumference: 49 cm (above 95th percentile)

The biggest news - A few days after his birthday, he took his first step! Then he went about a week, taking one step here, another there. Then he started taking 2-3 at a time. Now he's up to about 6 or 7 steps. He's adorable. I think it'll be another month before he's really walking, but to watch him try is the most fun thing ever. (Is my version of fun really different than yours? It might be.)

Up until a week after his birthday, the kid would eat everything but carrots. And then one day, it's almost like I saw the light bulb come on - he realized he didn't have to eat what was put in front of him. Highly annoying. I thought I would get a bit more of a reprieve.

Enjoying his first peanut butter & jelly sandwich. Mmmm!

Feeding himself some applesauce. Not bad for a first-timer!

He's kinda starting to play around more. He'll come up and kinda, attack me. And just crawl all over me. And lay his head down on my shoulder for no reason. Melts my heart. He loves playing with Maddy, I just wish she felt the same way. She always says, 'But he can't talk!!!' One day, I hope.

He doesn't love books. Lame, huh? I thought he would, since Maddy always has. Just another way they are totally different. We'll keep trying though!

New car seat and forward-facing! (And please spare me the drama on how you love your child more, therefore you're keeping him or her rear-facing until they're two years old, tyvm.) I love looking back there and seeing both my kids. I love it!

Not too sure what's going on. "What's with the camera, Mama?"

"Hey look, Maddy!" (We were parked in our driveway at this point - haha.)

Occasionally he'll sleep through the night, but more often than not, he's up once. He takes two naps a day still, one in the morning around 9 AM and another around 2 PM. I hope it lasts foreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeever. :) If I leave the room, it's bad news. Of course I have to, but man alive, this kid acts like it's the end of the world. We had a nice break from this, that lasted all of a couple weeks, but it's back. I'm trying not to mind it and just trying to soak up every bit of it that I can - before long, it'll be gone.

Right after his birthday party, I noticed two gigantic molars coming in up top. Oopsies. Poor child. They're in part-way but are taking their sweet time! He chews on his hands quite a bit but other than that, they don't seem to bother him. (Unless you count the waking up during the night and not wanting to be separated from me. But I don't. :/)

Nicknames include - The Hud, Big Guy, Little Buddy, Hudson Prince(y), Stinky Man

Can't wait to see what's to come with this kid!!! ♥

*I'm actually not sure this is accurate.

Prom. Your mom.

2011-04-09T21:12:00.007-05:00

This weekend was the LDS Prom in our area. I don't know how many other states do this - Mike said they didn't have it back when he was in school. Anyway, a friend of mine had the opportunity to go and be a chaperone, so we've been talking about it a little bit this week. Then, I just happened to get on this organizing kick today (it didn't last long with a fussy child clinging to my legs, plus I tend to get so overwhelmed by all the STUFF, that I give up, but anyway...), and happened upon some pictures from my senior prom, in 1999. Old school, you say? Okay. Maybe so.

I was kind of dating this guy. Let's call him - - well, let's call him Ted. Ha. Anyway, I guess we were dating, I don't know. I think we hung out a lot, but I don't remember very many dates. I did like him a ton though. He had a nice Jeep, after all. ;) And his family was sooo nice. Like, the kind you always wanted your boyfriends to have. Really. So, he hadn't asked me to prom yet, but I don't know if I just assumed he was going to, or we had discussed it? I can't remember. This kid, Ted, was kind of a jokester. Well, one night we went to a Jazz game (I honestly would not have remembered all these details if I hadn't happened upon ticket stub after ticket stub - man alive, I AM A HOARDER!!!) and he was acting kinda shady, but we had a good time. And later on, after I got home, there was a surprise waiting for me. An alarm was set for me under my bed, and it went off at super early the next morning. When I looked under there, this is what I found:

Yeah. A week before the dance. Good heavens. Lucky I was sensible enough to buy a dress way before and it was being altered (by one of my best friend's moms) at that very time. He came and got me the day of the dance, very early in the morning and we headed up to Park City to go on a hot air balloon ride.

It was incredible. The view was amazing and we had a great time. I feel like we met up with people later, for lunch and some kind of activity, but I can't remember. (I am almost 30, you know...) After my best friend Kristen spent a long time doing my hair (it was awesome!), he picked me up for dinner & the dance. I can't even remember now where we went. Does anyone else know? Haha. It was somewhere nice... And I kept joking that I felt bad because his parents were shelling out a lot of cash for our date as Ted didn't have a job. Ha!

Most of my friends at the dance

We went to the dance and had a blast. I loved every minute of that night. Afterwards we went back to Ted's house, and he let me borrow some clothes and we went to The Reel, where they had rented it out for the night and we watched... I think it was 10 Things I Hate About You. It was so fun. And we got home so late. And then I'm sure I slept in until the next afternoon. Ahhhh, the life.

Mini-train!!

2011-04-08T22:36:00.004-05:00

I wanted to do all of my mom's visit on one post, but seeing as how it takes me twenty years to upload pictures, I guess I'll just do what I can.

My mom came down on the 23rd (of March) to visit and to help us celebrate Hudson's birthday. We had such a good time, the best in awhile, I think - it was so fun to be around her - she. makes. me. laugh. I seriously haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

On Thursday, we went and rode the mini train in Fort Worth. We did it last summer with Mike's family, and it was so fun! So we got some food for a picnic and sat out in the sun and had a great time.

The kids loved it, and the weather was beautiful! Of course my mom is a bit... hmmm, elderly, should we say (haha, Mom!), so I had to bring a blanket for her. And Maddy hated when the train was just sitting there, idling (?) - she thought it was so loud and just covered her ears. Hilarious.

And of course, one of Huddy, just because. ♥

Little Guy, Big Game

2011-04-05T20:34:00.008-05:00

*He has a little shirt that says that. Uh-dorable!

We had all our friends and family over for a little celebration for Hudson's 1st birthday. We're so thankful to those that could make it. I think Hudson had a pretty good time. And I did. So that's what really counts. ;) I went with the baseball theme, to go with the pictures Stacie took, and the glove & ball my dad sent The Hud for Christmas. Plus, I just love baseball.

Not an easy task to freehand (cut) this. Oh I wish I had a Cricut!

These are the incredible cookies my friend Tara made. She is so talented. If she was doing this as a job of some kind, I would give y'all her info. But she just does it for people she loves. Sorry!!! :)

So we had hot dogs & links, little bags of chips, nachos and then ice cream cones for dessert. (The peanuts, Baby Ruths, Double Bubbles & popcorn were the appetizers. What? That's not on your Weight Watchers diet plan? Psh.)

Dinnertime!

A new Eldredge sandwich. Ish.

Mike S, Jon & Keith

Doug & Cooper

Stacie & Lincoln

Miss Shellie & Miss Penny. ♥

Kirsten & me

There were more people there, including all of my family! But this horrible way I'm posting these pictures is uploading them to PhotoBucket and then copying and pasting them. And I can't resize them before-hand, so they're taking forever to upload to PhotoSucket. I will definitely add the other pictures later. He was so freaking spoiled, which, of course I should have known. We are so grateful to have the best friends and family - they have supported us in more ways than one the last year. Hudson got the coolest things, including three swimsuits!!! A more practical mother would probably exchange them, but no. Not me. Maddy can still fit in 18 month things *gasp* - maybe Hudson will follow suit? (Get it? Suit? Hahaha.)

I made Mike do the opening of the gifts. I've done it every year with Maddy, and I always feel like an idiot. I mean, I want to give each gift the time and attention it deserves, but I know not everyone wants to sit around watching all that. Mike tore through those bad boys!!! I think he was excited for the Blue Bell ice cream...

And then it was time for the cake. Marlee's wonderful sister, Chelsea, made the cake for me. She did a great job!!! He wasn't sure at first, but as soon as he got past the icing, it was game ON.

And he just sat there like this, for a good while. Loving him some chocolate cake. ♥

I apologize for the pictures being so big. And don't even get me started on the formatting issues I'm having right now - I HATE THIS. Grrrrrrr.

Stand-by

2011-04-02T23:28:00.007-05:00

We were thisclose to losing all of our pictures from the last year - due to something I'm sure came from Facebook. (I believe I've mentioned this to a few of you, but I really hate Facebook lately.) Anyway, I was just sick sick sick with worry about it and thankfully a lot of friends and family gave us good tips to get the pictures back. I hope to be back to posting about all the things we've done lately, including my mom's visit here (holla, mama!) ASAP.

I got on the computer tonight, a little nervous about messing something up, and somehow happened upon this video of President Hinckley. When you get a minute, please watch it. This was taped almost three years before he died, but apparently it was his last visit to the British Isles.

Amazing.

My BIG guy

2011-03-27T20:20:00.007-05:00

My amazing friend Stacie took Hudson's 1-year pictures. This lady is seriously talented - CALL HER if you want great pictures done & you're in the area.

The day before you.

2011-03-26T22:27:00.000-05:00

Friday, March 26, 2010 - The young men came over to spend the night. (Hooray.) Your Daddy pulled out our other (ghetto) TV and the kids played video games. I made cupcakes and Maddy had one - she took her sweet time eating it and getting frosting everywhere. One of the young men said to me, 'You're looking really pregnant.' *insert deadpan face* There were pizza boxes and soda cans and young men everywhere. I attempted several times to put your sister down for bed, but with the kids going to the bathroom every 5 minutes (this is not an exaggeration), I don't think she could calm down enough. She kept saying, 'I wanna play wif da peeepul.' (She loves those guys.) I couldn't walk anywhere without tripping over one of them, so I went back to my room and put New Moon in our little portable DVD player. Our wonderfully conscientious neighbor across the street was having one of her keggers, so I listened to them hoot & holler for quite awhile and then listened to all the guys laugh and laugh, and I listened to Maddy talk and cry and talk - needless to say, I wasn't getting to watch the movie and I wasn't getting any sleep. Which, by the way, talk about the theme for my pregnancy - everything (and nothing) kept me awake! I never slept. Blah. I finally pulled Maddy out of bed and let her watch New Moon with me (probably not a super good idea) and when she kept asking about every little thing, I turned it off and tried to make her go to sleep. She finally did, and I must have crashed too.

Saturday, March 27, 2010 - I woke up to the sounds of laughter and Daddy letting Buck outside to rouse some of the guys sleeping on the hammock from their slumber. We got up & Daddy made some cinnamon rolls. Literally everywhere I stepped, there was an arm or a leg, so I just sat at the table and ate. And started paying attention to the fact that every 10 minutes or so, I would have {what I thought was} a contraction. Your dad got the guys up and out, and then got ready to go do all the stuff he had to do at school, all the way in Dallas. He was about ready to leave and I was kind of in a panic, but I didn't want to tell him that he couldn't go - after all, what if this wasn't labor?

From there, it all went really quick. I was timing contractions, talking to my friends on BabyCenter. I called Grandma, called your Daddy, wondering where he was. And that last time I talked to him, he was going on and on about traffic and this, that and the other, and I burst into tears. I knew at that point that something was different. He said he was going to call Gammy to have her come sit with me, and I told him no. I told him I would be fine until he got back, that I was going to take a shower, and would call him back. While I was in the shower I had two pretty strong contractions - and I don't really take long showers. Yikes. I called him when I got out and he said Gammy was on her way.

I made Maddy a sandwich and we were watching Lion King. I remember looking at her, trying to hold on to every last bit of 'just her' that I could, knowing that this was it. That she was about to be YOUR big sister!! I was so glad that I got to snuggle with her (ish) during the night because she really isn't so much a snuggler, and that was like, it. I was so scared of the unknown, I really didn't think you were going to come before we had to have you evicted!!! I had never really experienced labor before, never even felt a contraction before that week, so this was all new and very scary. Gammy walked in the door and said, I think we need to go. I ran around as quick as I could, trying not to cry, trying to get the bags packed - I was just so afraid.

We got in our car (Gammy was driving) and she was trying to go as quick as she could, but still drive smoothly. It really wasn't bad, more scary than anything else. The contractions were about 45 seconds - 1 minute long and were consistently 5 minutes apart. When we took the exit to get to the hospital, I turned around and looked and Maddy - I was just crushed that this is how it was all happening. I wanted to be able to hold her, and tell her that everything was going to be okay, that in just a little while she was going to be a big sister! But I didn't say much - just focused on breathing and not bursting into tears. We pulled up to the hospital and Auntie Kirsten, Uncle Brian & Auntie Jenny were waiting for us. They walked me up to the Labor & Delivery floor and from there, our journey began! Little did I know that it would be such a short time until we would see you.

Daddy made it just about the time I got the epidural (not a moment too soon when you're laboring on a bed - blah!), and about an hour later, you were here! You didn't need any extra help getting here, you wanted out! The moment I laid eyes on you, it was like I knew you. There was something so familiar about you - and it wasn't just that you resembled Maddy. It was something else. From the beginning, you & I had an immediate bond - I hope it stays this way forever.

The transition to two kids hasn't been easy by any means, but you have made it a true joy. I love you Hudson! Thank you for making our family what it is - we're so lucky to have you!!!

*The Day Before You, by Rascal Flatts, is actually the song Mike & I danced to at our wedding. Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

Red, Hot & Blue - I ♥ YOU!

2011-03-19T21:21:00.007-05:00

If you're ever in town, you gotta try some Red, Hot & Blue. I love it for many reasons, but one of them is that it reminds me of when Mike & I were dating. Ahhhh, what a fun time that was! Being in that part of town, going there and experiencing the beautifulness that is RH&B. Today was such a day that we drove out to indulge ourselves. (We had actually planned to go to Shady Oak, since we hadn't been there forever, but the nearest location was closed! Boo.) Then Mike mentioned driving a little further than we anticipated, and BAM. We were on our way.

We called Mike's sisters, but only one of them was available, so we met up with Kirsten at the restaurant and enjoyed some fine Memphis-style BBQ.

Glorious.

This is Hudson the entire time we eat anything, anywhere. Reaching as hard as he can, just to get his slick mitts on WHATEVER. Will there ever be peace at mealtimes again? Stay tuned.

Maddy loves her Auntie Kirsten!!!

All in all (and not just because we had a fantastic dinner), today was such a great day. Sure, there were fits from Maddy over naps, bedtime, and having her window rolled down in the car - it was a bit warm for my liking - there were lots of things that had to be done today, including Mike helping one of the young men with his Eagle Scout project and then helping our friends move - but today was just a great day.

♥

Ahhh yes, now I get it.

2011-03-14T23:00:00.007-05:00

Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet. ~Vietnamese Proverb

There were times when Hudson was brand-new, that I wondered what on earth we were thinking!!! I had this fussy-pants baby, that (at times) didn't want to sleep, and I mourned my time with Maddy. Gone were our simple days of hanging out - everything, it seemed, revolved around Hudson.

But my Maddy... She has always had the skill to make him watch her, whatever she's doing... To have him smile when she makes a silly face, to squeal when she laughs, but now that they play together? Oh yes. Now I know - THIS is what I imagined when I thought about having another baby.

One of her greatest joys - feeding him!!! January 2011

All ready for church - February 2011

Dancing with his sister - February 14, 2011

Where's Maddy?

Shoulda known the simplest thing could keep them entertained for hours!

Causing all kinds of trouble, I'm sure...

Coloring together - March 2011

I know it won't always be easy, or even dare I say, joyful or peaceful, having two kids, but I know that the times I see them interacting, and Maddy doing anything and everything to make Hudson happy {after doing anything and everything to irritate the crap out of him} make me more happy than I ever thought I could be.