Thank you!!!

Thank you guys for helping me know that I am not alone in my Mommy Woes! I am feeling better. I actually started feeling better after I typed it all out. Some how just writing things down helps to put them in perspective. That and the love of a good man and a wonderful daughter is definitely the best medicine a girl could ever ask for that is for sure.

We are having a party on Friday. A celebration just because. Anna wanted to have a party. She LOVES parties. So we are having Yia Yia and Pop and Aunt Casey over (they were coming for the weekend anyway) and we are having a dinner party. We will have spinach dip as an appetizer and Chicken Tettrizin (sp?) as our main course and cookies and a special surprise dessert if I can get it all done. We have some balloons and streamers and special plates. I am excited! It is also a thank you to them for all they have done for us. They have been there for us through so much and I want them to know we appreciate it all.

Wordless Wednesday

Mommy woes

I have thought about blogging about this for a while now but kept chickening out. I don't want to be looked at as a freak or suddenly find out that I am all alone in how I feel. As it is I can tell myself that surely there are others that go through this too. However, I have decided that I will feel better if I get it out. I may or may not post this we will just wait and see. :)

Being a Mommy is so hard sometimes. You feel like you have the weight of the world resting on your shoulders. Being a stay at home mom I feel even more pressure. I should be able to have a perfect house. I should have a brilliant daughter (which I do by the way lol). I should be able to hold intelligent conversations at all times. I should be able to keep up with everything going on in my world, my hubby's world and Anna's world. I fall short on most of these things almost daily and then I feel like I am failing miserably. I dream of being a Super Mom but inside my head I know that there is no such thing. In my heart I just can't seem to grasp.

My hubby will come home some days and ask me what is wrong. I give him the oh nothing or I am tired answer. The truth is I feel like I have let him and/or Anna down for whatever reason. Maybe the laundry didn't get put way or toys are all over the house or dinner wasn't ready or maybe I lost my patience with Anna. It doesn't matter the reason the end result is the same. I expect more out of myself for this job than any other job I have ever had & I can't seem to keep up.

I have never thought that I was a perfectionist and I typically am not. Just in this one thing, the most important thing in my life I would like to get it perfect. Since I can't do that, because God knows none of us are perfect, maybe I can just get it right. I want to make my hubby and Anna feel like they are the most important people in my world. I want them to know that I love them with all my heart and soul. I want them to know that even when I screw up (which happens often) I keep moving forward because I know they will be right there with me. I want to give them the same support and encouragement that they give me. My family is perfect with all of its imperfections and I just need to remember that includes ME!

My dearest Hubby I must apologize to you. Not for falling short because I know you don't see it that way but for not being honest with you about how I feel. I need to be more open with you and learn to let things go. Thank you for loving me even while we figure our lives out. I love you very much!

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Well I finally got smart lol. I kept a notebook in the kitchen to write down some of the cute things Anna is saying so that I could actually remember. I will give you guys some of the cutest.

1) Anna wanted Daddy to play and Daddy wanted to look at a video online.


Anna: Come on Daddy

Daddy: I wanted to look at your video

Anna: Mines gone Daddy come on

2) Mommy and Daddy were making her bed (after washing the sheets) and afterwards as she is looking on. She puts her hands on her hips and says: Much Better!

3) Sitting at dinner one night Anna looks up ever so innocently at her Daddy and said "Daddy you want a tail?" ~ Holding up her ponytail.

Her favorite phrases of the week


I'm done with this.


I'll be back. lol



Her favorite song: Yankee Doodle


Her version goes like this: Yankee doo doo comes town


on his pony ~ macaroni


Yankee doo doo ~ yankee doo doo


girls are handy





For more Tiny Talk go to Mary's blog at Not Before 7

Weekend Recap!

We had a fun filled busy weekend. We thought it would be uneventful and well dull, because we weren't having company and we didn't have any plans. Friday night we had a relaxing evening at home. I grilled some of the best bar b que chicken I have ever tasted! My cousin Joey made the sauce and I hate to say it but it was so good it is all gone now. I am hoping to convince him to send me some more.

Saturday~We got up and decided to take Anna to the Mall to the soft playground for a while just to get out of the house without freezing. While we were there I ran into a friend that I see there every once and a while and she told us that Clifford was going to be at a bookstore on the other side of the mall. We dashed over there at the appropriate time and ran into the sweet lady that kept Anna when I was in a bind and needed someone ASAP. She kept her for about 3 or 4 months. Her daughter is just a little younger than Anna. She has since had a new baby. He is 7 weeks old and as adorable as can be. The girls played around and listened to story time together. Clifford made a very brief appearance and boy, do I mean brief! It was fun anyway though. That afternoon we were hoping to go by and see some old friends but didn't make it cause they had a previous engagement until 7 which was just to late with Anna. So we just hung out at the house and made some yummy hamburgers and homemade baked fries. It was fun just chilling out and Anna needed it because she still has a runny nose.

Sunday~We went to Sunday School and church. Anna just loves going here because she gets to play with her friends. I ended up in the nursery with an adorable little boy that is probably close to 1 he was cruising a little. Anna wanted to come down with me so she did for the last 30 minutes. We came home had some left overs and got Anna down for her nap. After her nap we went to see our friends we wanted to see Saturday. They fed us a yummy dinner and I was naughty and had dessert. They didn't know I was trying to lose weight and I hated to be rude and not eat it. Oh who am I kidding it looked so yummy my will power went straight out the door. After dinner we "shot the bull" as our friend says. Then we decided to play cards. They have this torturous game that is a twist on poker. It was awful lol. After that we switched to penny poker. We had a blast and didn't get home until almost 9. When we got home Anna was totally wired because she had a healthy amount of chocolate too. She rode her horse and ran around until we could rope her in around 9:30. We managed to get her in the bed but she didn't go to sleep until at least 10. To bad she was up bright and early at 7.

First Place

We have set a date for beginning our First Place Bible Study at church. We will begin class with an orientation and what not on Wednesday, February 6th @ 6:00pm. I will be the leader and I am very excited about starting. We will hopefully get a good group that can offer up encouragement and praise for weight loss. It is so important for us to take care of our bodies and God even tells us our body is a temple. My temple needs some major remodeling and I am working on it. With Gods help I know it will be done.

I will admit though that I am a little nervous cause I will be the leader. I will be expected to set an example and make this interesting for everyone. Pray for me whenever you think about it, that I will listen to God and know what he wants me to say and do. I want this to be a great experience for all of us.

Lighten Up Friday on Saturday

My weight loss partner MamaCheryl reminded me that I didn't do the Lighten Up Friday. I didn't want to do it this week because I really bombed this week. I mean I lost 1 lb but I didn't really put much effort into it. I didn't do my step. I didn't walk much. By that I mean I walked like 1 day. My exercise was keeping up with Anna and doing yard work which is really better than I did last year but not good enough for this year. My diet wasn't terrible but I didn't go out of my way to be overly nutritious. Meaning I had to many carbs and not enough veggies. I don't know why. I was just in a funk. I was feeling blah. I will blame it on the weather. It was bitterly cold (well cold for here anyway). It was windy and rainy and just yucky in general.

So I will pick up where I left off (5 lbs lighter than I started) and try to get back on track. I wish I had Cheryl's determination and will power, she has already lost 10 lbs. She rocks and I hope it rubs off on me soon lol.

On a lighter note: We are watching the Greatest Super Bowl Commercials. That is the only reason I will be tuned in to the Super Bowl tomorrow night. They crack me up! Whhhhhaaatttttssss Uuuuuppppppppppp!

Interesting Clothing Choices

I am having writers block so I thought I would share with you all the interesting choices my daughter made with her clothing yesterday! I am concerned about what arguements we will have in the future about her creative choices lol. Have a great weekend! Hope this starts you off with a smile!

Video Friday

This is Anna's favorite book. I got tired of reading it over and over and over. I wonder if this will be enough?

Biology 101

I didn't realize for some moronic reason what a great place the flower bed would be for a science lesson. Yesterday afternoon as promised we went out to finish weeding the bed. While we were out there we ran across a worm. It scared me cause I am one of those girlie girls that does like creepy crawly things or bugs in general lol. So when it came out with some weeds I gasped and scared Anna. Being the great Mom that I am I bring Anna back over to see the worm and I even touched it and tried to get her to touch it. It was a great moment of science for my daughter even though I was about to jump out of my skin lol. I taught her about how the worms live in dirt and are even a sign of good healthy dirt. They make sure that the plants grow and thrive just by crawling through it and eating it. It brought back memories of 9th grade Biology when we had to dissect the worm. Do you remember doing that? If you went to far down you would see nothing but dirt! OOOOO GROSS!!!

So then after 15 minutes of studying the worm we went on and started pulling more weeds. Being careful not to touch the worm or disturb any more. A few minutes into our work I pulled on a paticularly large bunch of weeds and when my hand was coming back towards me full of weeds a frog jumped out of them. Thank God I have a good bladder cause that might have caused me to wet myself! Remember I don't like creepy crawly things. I managed to not scare Anna. I kept my gasp in even though I really wanted to let it out. Then we had a lesson on frogs. I don't really know that much about frogs so this lesson wasn't going to be so long. We covered that frogs like to eat bugs so they are always welcome in our yard. We discussed the sound they make and how they hop. She is really good at making a frog sound, she does it in her throat and sounds so cute. Maybe I will get a video of it for you guys soon. Anywho, this little froggie had a hurt arm and we discussed that. She almost cried when I told her it was hurt. I pointed out that he was ok that we learn to live with things over time. She seemed to take that in stride and then she wanted to make him hop lol.

We were pretty much done weeding at this point because she wouldn't let me get to close to the frog which was the only place left to weed. Luckily there is just one little part that needs to be completed. The bed looks SO good. I have even impressed myself with how good it looks. I don't think we will be getting out there again until next week because it is getting cold. That is ok though because by then I can go back and get some of the ones that pop out during the weekend. Did I mention that the weeds LOVE this flower bed.

I think I will use the rest of my Home Depot card when spring comes to put some pretty colorful flowers out there this year. I need some prettiness in my life. I know what you are thinking I have Anna how could I need more prettiness. Well the truth is that Anna is beautiful and wonderful and she deserves to see prettiness all around her and so do I!

Works for Me Wednesday!

I am addicted to taking tons of pictures. Mostly of my daughter but also of scenery and dogs or whatever. My digital camera is a point and shoot camera so you can't do much to make the pictures special. I use to use Kodaks software to touch up my prints because well I have a Kodak camera. However, I have since discovered the best free software for touching up prints. It is Picasa2! I took some pictures at the Disney on Ice show and we were pretty high up but with Picasa I zoomed in and the pics turned out great. I did this picture with both Picasa and Kodak and the one with Kodak distorted the picture and made it all fuzzy and this one is crystal clear.

I also love that when you take pictures and you want to actually see textures there is a sharpen button that will let you actually see blades of grass or hair on skin or whatever. This picture was taken from a pretty good distance. I zoomed in and used the sharpen button and you can actually see the ripples in the water. It really brings the picture to life.

I could go on and on about the different things you can do with this program. There is a glow button that just brightens it all up and a soft focus button that blurs the edges around whatever part of the picture you want.

If you like to play with pictures give this a try. It is actually through google and it is totally free. It does take long to make a simple picture look great!

Wordless Wednesday

Yard Work and Poop

Anna and I went out this afternoon after her rest time. Nap time didn't happen but she did rest. After about 15 minutes of playing with Anna and her Tonka truck, I decided I would get some work done.

I did the fun job of picking up all of the poop left by my big ole boxer. That was a great job that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was honestly the most stinky and yucky job that has to be done. It was either that or have Anna picking it up with her bare hands and putting it in her truck cause she did try that the other day. Gross, huh!

After I accomplished that lovely mission I decided I would tackle the flower bed that is the bane of my existence. I didn't get it all cleaned out because let me just tell you the weeds LOVE that bed. I did rake out the leaves and most of the mulch and got about half way through the weeds. We had to stop cause our wheel barrel was full and we didn't have anywhere to dump it. At least that is my excuse ha ha. The truth is I was extremely thirsty and HOT. Yes that is right it is the middle of January and I was in Jeans and a short sleeve shirt and I was HOT! It is sad.

Tomorrow we have a play date in the morning and in the afternoon we will attempt to complete the bed.



If you have any inexpensive tips for keeping out weeds please let me know!

Confusion!

There appears to be some confusion in our house today. As you know Anna is potty trained (Praise God) but today she wanted to pee pee like Daddy. She got confused when I told her we didn't have the right parts to do it that way. She kept telling me she wanted to pee pee like Daddy. She demonstrated what she wanted to do and was crushed when I told her she would pee pee all over herself if she tried to do that! She finally gave up but she was NOT happy about it at all!

show and Tell

This is my first week joining in with Show and Tell! I thought I would share with you all something that I hold near and dear to my heart. It is one of the last gifts my brother gave me before he passed away. He bought it in Japan when he was over there with the military.

I use to collect unicorns way back when. Now this is the only one that I still have. The others are probably at my parents house in my old bedroom. This one stays in my kitchen in the window seal and even though she is a little dusty she is well loved.

If you want to see more show and tell items go to Kelli's Place!

Lighten Up Friday

Time for my weight update! It has been a better week for the most part. I mean I did fall of the wagon on Saturday pretty bad but the rest of the week I have managed to keep myself in check. I exercised and ate healthy and in smaller portions. It was a good week over all.

I lost 2 lbs this week putting me up at 4 or 4.5 if you go by that. I am pleased with that because the alternative is gaining or at best staying the same. So we will continue working and moving and eating correctly because we are off to a pretty good start.

Words of encouragement are always welcome :)

Introducing!

My new best friends!!! My MIL has loved these slippers for many, many years. In fact it is one of her Christmas presents every year. So this year I decided that I would beg for her hand me downs lol. However, seeing as she is one of the best MIL's a girl could ever ask for she was kind enough to give me one of her new pairs; she was given 2 pair this year instead of just one. Now I see why she loves them so, they are the most comfortable slippers I have ever had the pleasure of putting on my feet. I am not even going to tell you about me wearing them to run to the grocery store to pick up something real fast. If I did my MIL might take them back because that is just not done. But lets just say they are comfortable enough to wear out just because you "forgot" they were slippers and you weren't supposed to wear them.

They are Isotoner Secret Sole! Super comfy!

Discovery

I have discovered something that many of you bloggers may have already found. It is the most entertaining, funny and sometimes sad, outrageous and sometimes simple blog in the blogosphere! No ~ No it is not my blog but thank you for thinking that lol. It is Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. Oh and I forgot to mention her gorgeous pictures! She is also sharing a story in chapter form of how she met and fell head over hills in love with her cowboy husband. She calls it "Black Hills to Tractor Wheels" if you like romance mixed with steam and everyday life go over it and read it. I can't wait until the next chapter comes out! Oh and don't forget to check out her cooking blog as well! Can you say YUMMY!!!

After you check her out come back and tell me what you think!

This and That

We have had a good day so far. We went out this morning to run our errands and we went to the park inside the mall. It is actually cold here today. So cold in fact my feet are freezing! Yes you heard me ~ my feet ~ are freezing!!! I even have socks on thank you very much lol. Anyway, It was a nice relaxing morning so this afternoon we will have to do a few things around the house. I have dishes to be washed from breakfast and lunch. I have another load of laundry that needs to be done. Why is it that laundry and dishes are NEVER done!?! I also have chicken salad to make and I have to figure out what to do for dinner. I am sure I will have to pick up toys once again too.

Speaking of toys 5 Minutes for Moms has a great give away going on over at their place! They own a business that sales cool toys. They are giving away a 1965 Red Mustang! Run over and check it out. I know Anna would love to have it and I am sure you little one would too!

Wordless Wednesday

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Anna is full of words any more. She is more like a parrot than anything.

I was on the phone earlier today and she was repeating every word I had said.

The other night we were eating dinner and we had the radio on one of the soft rock channels. The Bee Gees came on and her Daddy said " Oh I listened to them when I was little and liked them a lot. Do you like them, Anna?" She cocked her head to listen for a moment and looked at her Daddy and said "NO!" As if that were the craziest question in the world!

Her favorite questions are: What are you doing? and where are you going?

Her favorite sentence: We go outside now! We go watch George my room! We use an umbeLLA.

Today we went to check on my neighbors dog. Her name is Harley and Anna gave her a treat out of her own hand. So this afternoon she said: We go give Lolly a treat!?!

She is a bossy little thing telling her Daddy: Go put your coffee down and play! or I need a break!

Oh and my daughter is obsessed with pooting! She is always saying somebody pooted. This is probably going to get embarrassing one day lol.

For more cute kiddy talk go to NB7!

breathe!!!

I knew that I was out of shape. I knew that I was starting at the beginning but come on lol. I was freecycled a step and a cd. I got on it for the first time and I tell you I was winded after about 8 minutes. I kept going for a little longer until I got lost on the steps lol. Boy do I need help! I think while Anna naps today I will just do some walking on my step to make up for the louzy workout this morning. I keep telling myself that at least I am doing it. At least I am trying. At least I am doing more than I was before. Everybody has to start somewhere, right!

I am eating better this week than I did last week. Saturday I bombed but I will just have to make up for that this week. All I can do is keep going and not give up. I knew that this would be a challenge and I wouldn't be able to change on a dime. I will do this slow and steady because we all know that is the way to win the race!

We can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us!

Children's book review ~ just for fun!

Moo, Baa, La La La ~ No, No that isn't right ~ Pigs say oink All day and All night!

I think that is one of the cutest little books that Anna has to read. It is entertaining and educational. It is fun and bouncy. Anna enjoys feeling like she is reading it. I will read the first part on the page like: The Cow says and she will say MOOOOO! She feels like she is participating instead of just listening. I love how excited she gets about reading! Thank you to Sandra Boynton and all the other children's books writers for helping us create a love of reading at a young age!

I love all of Sandra Boynton's books. We read them all the time and I don't even get tired of them. If you don't have any of her books I recommend that you run right out and buy at least one! Maybe the Hippopotamus book it is really good too!

By the way I thought I would add that I was not paid for this review lol!

Whirlwind Weekend

My weekend started with a lot of housework and a migraine! Sounds fun, huh? Not so much! My in-laws were coming and my MIL is a neat freak and well lets just say I AM NOT! So I ran around making sure the floor was mopped and everything was clean and tidy. By the time my in-laws got here I had a whopper of a headache! We were supposed to go to Olive Garden for dinner but by the time we got there it was a 40 minute wait. So we went across the way to Logan's instead. My headache went down hill quickly with the noise and the lights it turned into the worst migraine I have ever experienced. It was so bad I was about to get sick on my stomach. I came home and slept from 8 until almost 8 the next morning and felt like a new woman.

Saturday ~ we were pretty lazy and didn't get our day going until 11 at which time we went shopping for Anna a dress because she really doesn't have anything to wear to church. Let me just tell ya'll that finding a cute or, God forbid, a pretty dress for church is next to impossible at least in Anna's size. That is 2T or 3T just in case you are curious lol. The babies had some cute ones and the older girls had a few cute ones but not toddlers! We had a late lunch and then later Chris and I went on a date of sorts getting together with people that have graduated from his program. I was worried it would be a total bore but it really wasn't. We sat with one of his best friends in the class Christi and her hubby. They were very comical talking about rolling high schools and the things kids today take for granite like windows in a car that go up with a button and not the handle.

Then for the BEST part. (I wish I knew how to show sarcasm on a blog lol!) Anna didn't want to go to bed in our room last night. Aunt Casey was staying in her room and she was fine with that the night before but Saturday night she started screaming. "No Mommy my room my room. Please Mommy my room!!!" It took forever for me to get her settled in our room and then she woke up at 12:30 doing the same thing! Well, maybe not as bad but bad enough to be so late. We came and sat in the living room in the rocking chair and I thought I had her asleep. Just when I went to get up and lay her down she wakes up and starts whimpering "my room now Mommy" So we settled back down for another little while and I finally managed to get her back in our bed around 2:30. By 3:30 I was going out of my mind and I landed back on the couch by myself, leaving Anna in bed with my hubby. Around 6 he brought her back to me. I felt like I hadn't had any sleep whatsoever. I played hooky from church and got me a nap! It was the BEST nap EVER!!!

Today has been pretty lazy. After my in-laws left Anna took almost a 3 hour nap and I basked in the peace with a book. Not that we don't love having the in-laws here because we DO! But boy the peace after our crazy weekend was like balm on a 3rd degree burn or something!

The World Wide Web

I have been broadening my horizons were the internet is concerned. I have discovered the beauty of Facebook and even *gasp* Myspace! I have found a few girls well teenagers now that I use to keep several years ago that moved away. It has been cool seeing them and talking to them after all this time. I have also found some old classmates too. There is a cool feature on myspace where you find people that went to school with you. So if you haven't tried it you really should and if you set up an account on either let me know so we can be friends ;)

Lighten Up Friday!

I have decided that Friday will be my day to focus on weight! I have had a so so week. I have managed to walk or at least be extra active with Anna most days. We really only missed one day so I guess it wasn't to bad. I managed to cook mostly healthy foods although we did do spaghetti last night. The starches are so my weakness. I did buy a new kind they have out that has 3x the fiber and as much calcium as an 8 oz cup of milk so I guess it wasn't so bad. I had a few cookies the other day too. *hanging my head in shame* On the bright side though I have cut back my portions and I am trying to make sure to drink more water. I am trying to make a conscious effort to buy healthier foods, which isn't always easy as they are usually more expensive. I am also trying to make sure that when I play with Anna I use as much energy as I can running around with her.

Having said all of that even with my set backs I have managed to lose 2.5 lbs and my pants are fitting a little nicer. I am hoping that next week I will be stronger and do even better.

Tonight I am going to the Olive Garden. I will try not to be to bad while there. I will have to do a little extra exercise today or something!

Oh Brother!

I realize that I have never talked about my brother much. I don't know why this is other than sometimes it still hurts to talk about him. He has been gone for 12 years now and that feels like a lifetime. He has been on my mind a lot lately. Therefore, I thought I would share a few stories about him that stand out in my mind.

He was a really funny kid. That was super skinny and all legs and arms. We would fight all the time and really enjoyed fighting probably like most siblings. We were opposites in that I was a little butter ball. I probably weighed more than him for most of our lives. Anyway, one day out in our little 3 foot pool he was splashing me. There is one thing that I really can't stand and that is someone splashing me in the face. I told him not once but 3 times to STOP SPLASHING MY FACE!!! Did he stop, oh no! So after telling him the third time when he did it again I went and grabbed him and shoved him under the water. My Dad was in the pool with us and was oblivious that his daughter was about to drown his son! My brother was struggling and I was relentless. My mother start yelling at my father to get me off him and I of course let him go. I don't think I would have drowned him I was just a child but I wanted to make sure he understood not to splash me in the face again. I don't think he ever did!

There was another time when he decided he was going to fix something while we were home alone. I can't remember what it was but he put a pot of water on to boil. He turned on the wrong eye though and turned on some grease that had been left on there from the night before or something. He didn't realize what had happened and poof the grease goes up in flames! He grabs it and puts it in the sink. Turns on the water and whoosh the flames went higher. My genius brother grabs one of the socks off of his feet and grabs the handle and runs it out the back door and tosses it out. He burnt his arm pretty good and scared the pee out of me. This was before cell phones so I couldn't get my parents. I had to call a neighbor down the street that was one of my best friends grandmother. She came down and doctored him up and made sure the house wasn't going to burn down. Good times lol!

One of the funniest things he did was when he was in trouble for something. Only the good Lord knows what cause he was in trouble ALL the time. Anyway, my Mother was trying to give him a spanking and he was older at this time probably 11 or so. Well, he dashed out the door and yelled back if she could catch him she could spank him lol. I think that was the last time she tried to spank him. I know she didn't catch him!

I remember huddling under the covers with him during storms and laughing at stupid jokes together. I remember digging in our yard and reaching red clay and thinking instead of digging to China we had been digging to hell. I am sure Robbie helped me come to that conclusion! I remember riding bikes down the street trying to keep up with him and going to our neighbors house and skate boarding down their driveway. Him the correct way, me sitting on my butt lol. Then when we got older I remember having crushes on a few of his friends ~ now I wonder why but hey I was just a kid. I remember hanging on for dear life as he would fly his little vw bug over big hills and curves. His friends would always tease me that they had to pry my hands off the seat to get me out of the car. I remember him blaring his hard rock music and me complaining because we had to listen to it when secretly I actually learned to love SOME of it lol.

Things went wrong after he got even older. He started drinking and constantly needing money for more drinks. I didn't cut him any slack with this and I wouldn't loan him money. I was really pretty hard on him and our relationship suffered for it. The last thing I remember about my brother was a few days before his accident he stopped by to get something and we actually talked and cut up together like the good ole days. Before he walked out the door he looked at me and said "Love you!" Probably not 3 days later he was in a horrible accident. We don't know if it was because of drinking and driving or not. I like to think he just lost control of the car but he wasn't tested for any of that so I will never know. I guess the odds are it was alcohol related. I just thank the Good Lord that no one else was involved in that accident.

Dealing with his death was and is one of the hardest things I have ever had to deal with. I wish with all my heart that he were here to enjoy Anna and to give me a hard time. I wish so many things that I don't even want to go there lol. Just know if you have a sibling in your life you are very lucky! Know that time is precious and oh so short and we are not guaranteed a tomorrow!

LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE!!!

Good Times and Resentment!

We went out for a play date this morning. We had a blast. Anna played hard for an hour on the playground with Brooks before heading back to their house. They ran and sang and climbed and picked up acorns and ran a bunch more lol. We went back to their house and had lunch and played a little more. Lori and I talked about church stuff, life and all that girly stuff we tend to talk about. It was a nice change of pace for both me and Anna. I was feeling all relaxed and happy when we got home. That is when the resentment hit me. I walked in the door to find red stuff all over my floor. I couldn't even determine what it was until I was right on it. Apparently my dog decided he was going to eat our fish food. So now even after vacuuming my carpet is still tinted red. I will have to get the carpet cleaner out after Anna wakes up and I have to tell you I resent the crap out of that.

I love my dog to pieces but I am so tired of never having a clean house. If he isn't finding a way to get into trash, he finds any type of food left on counter like bread or fruit or oatmeal or whatever I have left out. Now that I am onto his game he has switched to going for fish food. Oh and I forgot the time I left my purse down with m&m's in a ziplock bag and he got into that! I am just so frustrated and ready to beat the dog! If anyone wants a 13 year old boxer that sleeps a lot and likes to eat like a goat call me!!! He is free in fact at this point I might even pay you to take him lol.

Thanks for letting me vent!!!

* Disclaimer: Thank you Mamacheryl for reminding me that he will also water your plants , furniture and carpet to help them grow! Oh whats that, you say furniture and carpet don't grow well you won't know until you give it a shot, right! My phone is waiting ~ call now!!!

A Lighter Note!

If you have been around a while you know that we use to have 2 dogs. We ended up adopting Maggie out. It was a very difficult decision but the right one. Here is Maggie living large at her new home. It is a relief to know she is happy and spoiled rotten!

Neighborhood Drama!

So my crazy ex-neighbor has finally gone over the deep end! I have been trying to ignore her phone calls for 3 weeks because I just don't want to be involved in her drama any longer. So yesterday she pops up at my house and I just try to rush her out without upsetting her because well honestly she does have mental issues and I don't want to upset her. Anywho, while she was here she went on about how angry she was with her ex that happens to still live next door. About 20-30 minutes after she left my neighbor came over asking if she had been over at his house. I informed him that she had been here but I didn't know about over there. Apparently after leaving here she went over and keyed his new car. He said he was going to have to file ANOTHER police report and being confused I said what do you mean another one! He told me how over Christmas "someone" ran into his garage and damaged it pretty badly. He even went to get pictures to share with me. WOW that is pretty terrible I have to say. I mean I knew my "friend" was not doing well but WOW!!! I seriously cannot have Anna around someone that is doing this. But back to the story, a little while later Anna and I were in the yard playing and a cop pulls up next door and he shows her the car and explains everything to her and she comes over here to question me. I told her that yes she was here and yes she said she was very angry at the neighbor and no we aren't really good friends and I am trying to figure out how to get out of it totally. She told me if he gets a restraining order she won't be able to come here either. In light of what we have discovered we decided that we would try to cut ties without upsetting her to much. When she called this morning Anna & I were still in bed and my hubby decided he would call her back and explain that we like both her and our neighbor and we feel like we are being drawn into the middle of something ugly. That once they work through there crap we would love to hang out with them both. But for now we don't feel like she should come over here and I am not going to hang out with her either. He said it as nicely as you can say something like this! She called back shortly there after and said that he didn't have to worry that she would never contact us again and it was real Christian of us to do this to her and I was a real coward cause I didn't do it myself. What a run on sentence lol. Anywho, I probably should have done it myself but I always botch things like that up and make matters worse so it was for the best this way. As for it not being very Christian - I do worry about that! I mean yes I feel like I have done everything I can to help her on one hand but on the other is it Christian to give up on someone? If Anna weren't in the picture it would probably be different I just can't have Anna around someone that is not stable.

Tell me what you think! Did we do the right thing? Was it not very Christian of us? What would you do?

Back to the Farm Plus Ramblings

This morning I decided I would take Anna back to the Bamboo Farm so that we could enjoy the great outdoors and I could walk in a peaceful place. We were there for almost an hour and walked for about 90% of the time. Not always at a quick clip but we did pretty good. We got to see a grey heron that was beautiful. We spooked him out of his tree. Then we got to see some other type of bird floating in the water but I couldn't tell what kind he was. We scared him off too. Guess we were on the noisy side lol. Anna's favorite part was watching a tractor in motion. They were taking out a dead tree and it was fascinating let me tell you.

A few updates for my regular readers:

Anna has not wet the bed in over a week now. We get up every night around 1 or 2 am and she goes potty and we go right back to sleep. It really seems to be working for us. Last night we didn't get up until 3 and I think she would have been ok without getting up at all but better safe than sorry.

I am trying to start a group of ladies at church that would like to lose weight. We are going to possibly do the First Place plan. One of the other ladies is going to help with the start up and then I have for some reason volunteered to be the teacher or leader or whatever you want to call it. I am hoping if I take on that position it will give me even more motivation to set a good example and work harder.

Sunday Musings!

Well, we took our dog to the vet and they told us there was no medical reason to put him down. So the bottom line is that we have to watch him continue to deteriorate and continue having bladder issues until he is at a point were he can't get around at all and is doing even more pitiful than he is now. I really don't like watching him go through this it just breaks my heart that he hurts so much.

On a lighter note, we had a great day today. I taught a stellar lesson in Sunday School this morning. I had the kids answering questions and laughing and really interested in the word of God. That was really cool. Then this afternoon I had nursery with Chris and we had fun. We only had 3 kids so Anna and 2 others that we know very well. They danced and sang and read several books. It was fun watching the kids play together and communicate with each other. It is amazing how great they get along. We are all going on a play date probably on Wednesday.

We also met some of our friends at the Bamboo farm for just a short while. It was such a beautiful day today that the fresh air and sunshine just lifted my spirits! I ran and played with Anna for a while getting a little exercise. I missed my walk today not a very good record since I just started yesterday. I will walk in the morning and play with Anna some more too. I have to say playing with her seems to be more of a workout than walking most days lol.

Order in our lives

I was studying my Sunday School lesson last night and it is all about orderliness. I had never really thought of this as a lesson to be learned by God but it was right in front of me the whole time. As the lesson says it started with God creating the earth. He didn't just snap His fingers and have everything as He wished. He took six days to do it all. Doing it in a specific order. This lesson really talked to me because I am not as orderly as I should be. I tend to lose things because of my lack of order. I will come in and take my keys to the bathroom or put my purse in the kitchen lol. If I did things in a specific order every time I came in I would always know where things were.

So I am going to teach the kids about orderliness tomorrow and I will try to learn this lesson myself. I will attempt to show the kids that you can apply a lesson to your life! That the Bible isn't just a book that we read but a book that is a guideline for us so that we know the best way to live our lives. God only wants the best for us and He gives us the answers if we just open our eyes and ears but mostly our hearts!

2008 - The year of weight loss!

I was reading over at Letters to my Daughters and she stated what her year was about and listed out very specific goals. So I thought maybe that would be a good idea for me as well.

So my year will be the year of weight loss!

1) I will lose at least 50 lbs over the course of the next year. With a total weight loss goal of 100 lbs. Scary, huh. I figure if I break it down into two years it won't be so frightening. If I can do it faster than that great if not thats ok too. As long as I can keep it off and not gain any extra!

2) I will exercise starting at 30 minutes daily at least 5 days a week. Working my way into an hour a day 5-6 days a week.

3) I will start eating healthier: less pasta and starches and more veggies and fruits

4) I will start creating a menu in advance to make #3 easier.

5) I will report weekly on my blog my progress. Including weight loss or God forbid gain and any trials that I have faced over the week. This will help me stay accountable to myself.

If anyone has any tried and true weight loss ideas I would love to hear them!

I will put a picture of me on here soon for the before! I need to get Anna down for her nap first!

Tough Choices!!! Again!

Well our boxer is 13 years old now. He has brought much joy into our lives over the past 9 of those. We adopted him when he was 4. I will never forget the moment I fell in love with him. It wasn't when I met him. It wasn't even when we brought him home. He was going to be hubby's dog and I wasn't going to have anything to do with him. At the time we didn't have a fenced in back yard so he was on a runner and would get tangled around trees ALL the time. One day I was home alone and he was tangled and barking up a storm. After listening to him for a while I got my courage up (I was simply terrified of big dogs) I went out to untangle him. The minute he was untangled he bounded toward me and put his front paws on my chest. The moment he did that, with the full 80 lbs of weight behind him, my butt hit the ground. The moment my butt hit the ground that big ole messy tongue was all over my face. I fell in love in that instant. We have been a pair ever since. Of course, he has always been closer to my hubby but always has room for me. Well, I say that but since Anna has been around I do believe he loves her the best!

Anywho, for 9 years we have had a witty, sassy, Houdini dog that has brought smiles to many faces. Now that beautiful dog is wasting away! He has trouble getting up and walking. He is having bladder issues and we think he has some type of worms. My poor boy is not doing so well. We have decided that it is time to possible send him to doggie heaven! Boy this is even hard to type. At least you can't have tear smudges on the computer lol. Anywho, we have an appointment to see the vet on Saturday. They will do an exam and determine if that is what we should do and if it is they will do it. I feel so guilty and so horrible for even thinking about doing this. Watching him struggle daily and yes cleaning up behind him daily is just more than I can take. I have been praying for some time now that he would just go in his sleep one night but apparently that isn't going to happen. Please if you have a spare moment say a little prayer for us all over here because this is going to be a very rough weekend!

You know your a Mom when:

you walk out to get something from the car for your daughter in your pjs and with minnie mouse ears on your head.

You dance and sing going through the grocery store and don't think anything of it.

You run around the front yard chasing a laughing 2 year old and can't imagine being any place else.

You go to bed early every night just so you can enjoy snuggling with your little one.

You do things like bake cookies or the dishes with the help of your little person even though you know it will double how long it takes to complete the task.

You miss the days of nursing and snuggling but thrive on the activity of your busy body.

You come to terms with your living room looking like a daycare center 24/7.



Help me out with my list. Tell me what makes you know you are a Mommy!!!

Works for me Wednesday

Mucinex works for me!!! A few days before we were to leave for our Christmas trip Anna developed a nasty cough. It sounded like it was well on its way to becoming something serious. A friend of mine recommended the children's Mucinex and after only 2 doses the cough and mucus were ALL gone!!! It was amazing how quickly and efficiently it worked!





While we were on our trip I started developing a cough probably not as bad as Anna's but still very bad. I took Mucinex once a day for 3 days and it was ALL gone! Next time any of us get a cough or just chest congestion that will be the first place we will go!!!

For more Works for me ideas go to Rocks in my Dryer!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Anna and her "baby"

Happy 2008

I can't believe another year has passed. Time is just going by oh so fast anymore. I rang in the new year the way I have for many years. I slept it in lol. I just can't seem to stay up that late. I have always struggled with staying up late.

When I was little I thought it was totally unfair that my brother (older than me by 3 years) got to stay up later than me. I rebelled and my mother told me I could stay up but I had to watch the clock. (a little grandfathers clock on our mantel). The first night I stayed up and watched that clock go around and around for about an hour. Talk about hard headed! The second night I think it was about 15 minutes and the third night it was about a minute. To this day if I see a clock and it says later than 9 I get oh so sleepy lol.

So I slept in the new year and woke up enough to wish my hubby a happy new year at 12:30. It works for me the New Years Eve shows aren't as good as they were when I was little. Of course Someone new was doing it this year so I don't know how it was.

I haven't really made any new years resolutions other than to try to keep a neater house. I am going to continue working on getting rid of clutter! I also intend to lose more weight but that isn't a resolution just a part of my life lol. I have managed to get into a pair of jeans I haven't been able to get into forever! I am so excited about that!!!

Off Topic: We had some minor set backs in the potty training world. We had more accidents over the past week than we have had since the first week of training. I guess it was all of the excitement etc. We still wet the bed at night sometimes we are at 3 nights without wetting. Of course that is probably due to me taking her to potty when she is still asleep around 1 or 2 whenever I wake up to go lol. I will just continue to do that in hopes that soon she will know that is what needs to be done.

Well Happy New Year Y'ALL!!! May it be full of wonder and excitement, love and friendship, health and a little money too!!!