The Pointer Project

Don't ask me...

2012-02-08T18:51:00.001-08:00

Because I haven't a clue!

Chunky monkey

2012-02-08T18:50:00.001-08:00

And we rocked a pony tail the other day. Loves.

Pizza night

2012-02-08T18:34:00.001-08:00

I'm trying to get back to cooking every night. Since Temple was born, I kinda got lazy. (Well first I got spoiled by wonderful friends and family bringing food!)

Let me back up. Actually cooking is the easy part. It's the events leading up to cooking thats hard for me right now. Oh, how I wish groceries would just appear in my fridge and pantry...

So. Where was I? Oh. While grocery shopping without a list, without a plan, just hoping recipes would come to me mid-aisle the other day, I saw pizza crusts, marinara, and pepperonis all in one section. I did have to go back and grab some mozzarella cheese, but thought homemade pizzas would be a fun, easy meal.

Last night was the night. Once the girls came in and we washed the worms and dirt off their hands (gulp), they helped me create two yummy pizzas, I like to call Heart Burn Pie!

Teagan made a "girl pizza".

Presley went with a more traditional extra cheese.

Maybe if I do it again I'll get all crazy and buy another ingredient. But like I said, that takes forethought and I possess none!

Pretty

2012-02-05T18:51:00.001-08:00

Patio weather

2012-02-03T18:41:00.001-08:00

We went and ate Mexican food on the patio tonight. Mama needed out of the house! And some chips and salsa. (And an adult beverage! ☺).

The big girls found this intimate table for two and set up shop.

They eventually converged on our basket of chips.

We came home watched some America's Funniest Videos all piled in the bed and then put them promptly to sleep since Presley was "tired" when she got home from school today. Or was it when she woke up this morning?

Lovey

2012-02-03T06:22:00.001-08:00

This is how Temp loves to sleep! With her lovey up almost covering her face.

So sweet!

Tempy

2012-02-02T19:12:00.000-08:00

Temple is 3.5 months. Oh my goodness. She couldn't be a better baby. She is so go-with-the-flow. I can generally lay her down awake when she's tired and she'll go to sleep. Not always, but for the most part.

I'll admit, she hasn't had much tummy time (or any) but today I laid her on her tummy and she rolled over to her back almost immediately. She's not a big fan of the tummy time though. She does like her swing and bouncy seat, so she spends some good time there.

Anywho, this was yesterday when I put real clothes on her! (Thanks again, Carole for the cute dress!) I find it hard to dress her in anything but pajamas because I just feel like she's uncomfortable! But look how cute!

Honey got us these cute shoes!! Thanks, Honey! We've been sporting them all over town!

Wasn't long before big sisters wanted in on the action! The more the merrier!

Morning fun

2012-02-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

While I drink my coffee and take my time getting going for the day, I'll often play with Teagan in the playroom. This particular morning, she was having a birthday party for her "rCarley" bear. She calls it rCarley, instead of iCarley. Anywho, we were in no short supply of sweets, as you can see.

Snuggling with lil Temp. She was just about ready to go back to sleep!

Teagan requested a "family picture" with her bears. The blue bear used to be named Mike Wazouski (from Monsters, Inc.) but has been changed to just Max. rCarley has a pair of the girl's bloomers on and Temple's shoes.

A few tidbits about Teagan lately.

She was the star student at school a couple weeks ago. They asked a list of questions and then she got to take her favorite book and favorite toy. She chose a book we hadn't read yet they just had gotten for Christmas. I said, "That's your favorite? Well let's at least read it first!"

And then one of the questions was, What's your favorite part of the day? She answered, "waking up and going to school". That's odd since every morning she asks, do I have school today? And when I say yes, she screams and crys, "I don't WANT to go to school. I HATE school." I was like uhhhh.... (I usually let her get a little cartoon time in, and then she's fine.)

A little boy in Presley's class had played with her and a few of the other girls in Presley's class at Presley's Christmas party. He was tickling them and making them laugh and squeal! Well Teagan talked about him tickling her ever since! Well today he made a point to tell Teagan hi today when we went to pick Presley up and oh. my. word. She talked about it all afternoon!

She's still a firecracker and raises a stink when she doesn't get things exactly the way she wants it. But that's life. Sorry kid. It's just the level she takes it that makes you want to give her her way so that she doesn't go there. And sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. And sometimes she has a great day or a great morning of not throwing huge fits. All that to say, we're working on her self control and controlling her impulses. It's not easy for her. But sometimes, she'll choose not to run off screaming and instead she'll say, "ooooookaaay." And I can see her using that self control. I really praise those moments.

On that note, we started a bean jar. When they fill it up they can choose to go somewhere or pick out a special toy or something. But I'm not sure we're using it right....

Little Lady, part 2

2012-02-02T18:09:00.001-08:00

So, my new camera has no flash, and it was pretty dark. But I like how the pictures turned out.

Presley is ALL girl! Notice her ring and bracelet.

Getting it just right!

Happy 62nd birthday to Poppa!

You can see our stroller in the distance. Yeah, it ~~smelled~~ stunk like stale hibachi for several days...

Little Lady

2012-01-30T20:13:00.001-08:00

Presley has a new obsession. Her purse. It's a fake Luis Vuitton I bought out of the back of a car many years ago. She's been taking it everywhere!

This morning when I went to wake her up, guess what was right next to her?

Huge crocodile tears when I said she couldn't take it to school. So I let her. Darn me! She said all the sixth graders carry purses.

On pretty days Teagan, Temple, and I walk to get Presley from school and stop back by the park on the way home. Therefore, we had this today...

I have the cutest picture of her putting lipstick on (from her purse) last night at a hibachi place celebrating Poppa's birthday. But they're on my (new) big camera. Which I'm loving so far!

My goal is to take better, everyday pictures of the girls in 2012. Y'all keep me honest! 😉

Cheeks

2012-01-26T20:18:00.001-08:00

This baby is growing so fast. Looks at those cheeks!!

She hardly slept at all today and the second her sisters went to sleep, so did she!

Inappropriate

2012-01-24T10:45:00.001-08:00

I forgot two things the girls said on Sunday during our excursion to the zoo. When we got on the train, Teagan said loudly, "Mom, it smells like poop in here!!"

It was actually just HIGHLY offensive body odor.

Then while everyone was looking at the gorillas, who at their backs to us, Presley said annoyed, "All I can see is his buttcrack."

We don't say butt.

Mid-January update

2012-01-23T19:47:00.001-08:00

What's up around here, in numerical form. Not by order of importance!

1. BlogPress is back! It could have been user error, but it was right there in the app store tonight when I searched it. ?? Regardless, it's the best!

2. We got a new mattress! Guess who doesn't love, or even like, it? This little missy.

She had been going to sleep by me just laying her down swaddled (in the divot on my side of the bed) and walking away. And she was getting up to eat just once at 4am. First night on new mattress (which sadly has no divot), she was up somewhere between 4 and 20 times. 😔 She's really missing my divot. I'm missing her going and staying asleep so easily. Despite all that, I really enjoy our new bed.

3. Mav has an appointment with the vet tomorrow to get neutered. He's been terrible lately. Anyone need a new dog? Just kidding...kinda.

4. Three kids is a lot of kids. Wait, let me back up - sometimes I suddenly realize, I'm a mother!

5. A friend sent me this article.

http://buffalogrove.patch.com/blog_posts/the-never-before-told-super-secret-ingredient-for-raising-an-amazing-daughter

I loved it. Even though it terrifies me at the same time! I need to read it every day. Maybe every five minutes.

6. We took the DART rail to the Dallas Zoo on Sunday with Addie and JJ and crew. It was fun, scary, interesting and a range of other emotions.

The zoo was fun too.

Sweet cousins. My two are the oddly dressed ones. Just FYI.

7. I've been trying to exercise.

I really enjoy running. However, it's hard to make time! (See number 4 above!). That's an excuse. I know. But it's such a good one.

8. This child o mine had three bruises on her forehead and one on her cheek. At one time.

They healed and then she got one more on her forehead. 👎

9. I gave the father of my children a talking to/guilt trip/eye opener after visiting www.killthecan.com

He's now quit this.

Hopefully.

When Price got a new (to him) truck, he started dipping. Why? I have no clue. But a year later, he was still dipping. A lot. And really liking it. He was addicted! So he's kicking the habit. If you know him, show him some love for his efforts.

10. My special ring.

Presley picked out the most beautiful adjustable ring you've ever seen just for me for Christmas at the holiday shop that comes to her school. So sweet and thoughtful! She got Teagan a peace necklace, Dad a compass, Temple a little baby doll, and even picked up a little something for herself! 😊

11. Kenzie got a new job and started today. I secretly hope she hates it and decides to quit. But for only selfish reasons.

12. I installed the smileys on my phone. I ❤ them! They annoy Price!

Favorite pictures from Christmas 2011

2012-01-17T18:59:00.000-08:00

Out take from our Christmas card shoot. Temple wasn't feelin' it!

Family picture with Santa at Crystal's Santa Party!

The girls in their room.

Love the love in this one.

Our first year to make ginger bread houses. It was SO fun!

Teagan feeding her Baby Alive Christmas morning. She couldn't wait for it to poop!

I found Presley enjoying her new karaoke machine while watching herself in the mirror - a favorite past time!

Christmas Eve PJ's at Aunt Shelly's.

Color-time!

2012-01-17T11:40:00.000-08:00

To summarize what Presley has been doing....

The girl loves. to. color!!

"Can Willa and Dovie come over?"

2012-01-17T11:33:00.000-08:00

Or "I want Willa and Dovie to come over!"

On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Teagan says this no less than 500 times. She's even learned to call Addie herself and bug her! They usually at least come once a week, sometimes twice a week since Jay still offices in Rockwall. And we've gone to their house in the big D a time or two, too!

These three have lots of fun together as you can see!

Halloween

2012-01-17T10:59:00.000-08:00

Halloween was a crazy time of year with Temple just being born. This was when we went to Scare on the Square the weekend before Halloween. I'm so glad we did because Teagan ended up falling asleep on Halloween night and literally did not want to wake up to go trick or treating.

Presley wanted to be Stephanie from Lazy Town. Her costume was pieced together and that wig she HAD to have really pushed my postpartum hormones to the limit (or over the limit, depending on who you ask!). Teagan was Strawberry Shortcake and Madden was batman!

Later that night we went to Aunt Shelly's Halloween party. Kenzie, Manuel, and Batman joined us. Manuel and Price went as a Senior and Senorita. Usually Price and my go to costume. But apparently, I've been replaced! Yikes!

I forgot to take a picture of Temp until I got home. But she was dressed in costume too!

So here's Madden and Presley trick or treating on Halloween. Temple and Teagan were at home asleep! :( But big sister ~~was forced to~~ gladly shared her candy the next day!

Notice how we had more costume issues... We worked together to piece this costume together from the playroom. Next year, I'm going to insist she pick a costume from a bag from the store like Teagan did, even though hers was WAY over priced, it was worth it not to have to go through all the costume issues....

The pumpkin carving contest was fun this year!

From left to right: Price's ET , Jacqueline's 'gun to the head' , Poppa's face , Presley and my face, Heath's witch, and Shelly's baseball player.

And the winner goes to....

It really turned out cool! He got the idea from TMZ, but free handed it himself!

Teagan turned Four!

2012-01-17T10:31:00.000-08:00

Teagan had a ballerina party this year. She picked the "theme" and it was so cute! I think all the girls enjoyed dressing up in their dance-wear! We didn't invite our boy friends, which I struggled with just because I don't like to exclude my peeps, but judging from how her two boy cousins dealt with all the girlie-ness, it was a good call.

Teagan with her yummy petite fore!

After everyone arrived, we headed into the dancing room. All the girls lined up and followed the instructors.

Teagan was a little timid at first.

She slowly warmed up.

And finally giving it her all!!

I wish the dance portion lasted a little longer, but overall it was a great party. Teagan loved it!

I can't believe that my baby is FOUR! Yes, she is still my baby! They all are!

Am not a fan...

2011-12-28T18:29:00.001-08:00

Not sure what happened to my blog press app, but it stopped working. Then I couldn't find it in the app store to reload. Soo, I'm trying out blogger's mobile app. Not a fan. It won't let you put the pictures where you want them. And that's so part of my blog M.O.

So the search is still on.

Poor child has Mama's fro

2011-12-10T14:56:00.001-08:00

After her bath, Temp has some crazy curls. It flattens out after about 12 hours or so.

This picture don't really do it justice. Last time she had a bath, Teagan said, "I don't like her hair like that." And then tried to flatten it out. I love it and if it really is like mine, come puberty, I'll know how to help!

Come to Mama

2011-12-08T20:00:00.001-08:00

Have you ever heard of an iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaner? Basically it's a vacuum cleaner that vacuums all by its self. Uhhhh, yes please!

Well while Mav was on extended stay at Mimi's and then came back, I really realized how much dog hair accumulates and I really needed to vacuum/sweep everyday. Did I? No. But I needed to! And I realized how much I enjoyed a clean floor! It made me feel like the house was clean. (even if it wasn't! and usually it isn't!) So I put one of these bad boys on my Christmas list. My niece asked in utter disbelief/disgust, "you asked for a vacuum for Christmas?" She's so 14!! When she's old, she'll understand.

Since it's services we're needed now, I got to open upon receiving!

Here's a crappy phone pic of it in action!

So far I love it! I haven't programmed it yet to start automatically. I just move it around. It does a great job with the pet hair and very easy to clean! And right now it's fun to use and giving me motivation to keep the rest of the house clean! Like a new pair of tennis shoes to motivate you to workout! Maybe I should add THAT to my list!

I really don't have a "list". Price wanted me to make one and it basically turned into a honey do list. He looked at it and told me to go to bed, bath and beyond and pick out my own pot holders and door rugs and he was not going to paint my baseboards.

Alison shared something she heard on a podcast or something. I liked it and it's resonating in my ears and just in time.

Instead of spending/stressing about Christmas, do the following four things:

-Worship Fully
-Buy Less
-Give more
-Love ALL

It *almost* makes me want to send back the vacuum.

On a serious note, the girls are excited to buy presents for a girl or boy that might otherwise not get presents. We'll see how that goes. Last year we took unwrapped presents to Crystal's Santa party and Presley had a few issues. But this is the child who has a hard time dropping things off at the dry cleaner. She did pray for the kids who don't have parents tonight. So maybe she getting it. But she also gave thanks for "Jesus dying on the cross for our sins" and then asked, "what are sins?".

On that note, I think I've covered everything!

Except that my littlest baby is still happy!

And you are probably happy this post is officially done!

My three baby girls

2011-12-06T11:35:00.000-08:00

I finally got all my pictures on one hard drive (backed up by another hard drive) and neatly organized and accessible. I even downloaded pictures from my little camera finally! I'm on a roll! (yeah right, but it's so nice to be able to check things off your to do list!) Ironic because this post has been a draft since December 6th.

I've been wanting to do this post for a while. Here's all my babies as babies.

Presley Anne ~2 weeks old

Teagan Astelle ~3 weeks

Temple Adeline ~2 weeks

Right hand kid

2011-12-04T19:59:00.001-08:00

Presley is ready to 'babysit' whenever and wherever!

The only problem is that usually she won't leave well enough alone. She wants to move her around and turn her this way and that. Way too brave for me to take an eye off of her. Especially sitting in that chair. Temple is surprisingly tolerant of the girls holding her. Good thing because they can't get enough!

And here's multitasking at its finest. I was like, uhhhh.

Back to the grindstone

2011-11-27T19:47:00.001-08:00

Ok I was almost done with this long post and then I clicked to define 'oblige' and the whole post was gone. So here's the gist.

We had a great thanksgiving and break.

Got our tree up.

Got one for the girls' room this year! They love it!

My littlest cutie pie is 6 weeks old. And happy!

Loves to be swaddled at night!

Presley said she is ready to go back to school.

Teagan wanted a bow in Temp's hair. And a picture.

Mav is getting shock therapy come Tuesday. Let's hope he picks it up quick!

Blogging from bed

2011-11-21T21:15:00.001-08:00

So when it's been a while since I've posted, I look and see what pics I have taken on my phone. Not many since we got a new little camera, since my old one bit the dirt. But here's what i have.

Madden, Willa, Teagan and Dovie at Aunt Mac's playing that elephant game where you catch butterfly's that blow out the elephant's trunk. Kinda gross now that I think about it. One of them put the net on their head, so they all had to do it! Except Dovie's net wouldn't fit. Lol

Always a pleasure to find random inappropriate pictures from the games they play on my phone. Nice Santa, real nice.

Can you see what's glorious about this picture?

1. Clean windows! Price cleaned all the windows inside and out on Saturday! They looked so great I couldn't stop admiring them! I had lived with the dirt and grim for so long, I didn't realize how filthy they were! You can't really even tell from this picture. But I assure you, sparkly!
2. Christmas lights. Price tries to be *that* neighbor. (Yeah right! See number 1.). But he has been known to put up Christmas lights really early before. Christmas makes him so happy and he can't help himself! But he was really sad last night when he plugged them in and one string blew a fuse and it was drizzling outside. He opted to let it be.
3. Not those curtains that are driving me crazy. They're hung crooked and I think they should be hung all the way to the molding. Plus the rods don't fit in the rod holder on one side. So the rod is just resting on it. I hate to be a buzz kill after I just said how happy I was with number 1. and 2. But that's pretty much my middle name if you were to ask my children and husband.

Anywho, back to my photo gallery.

Presley made this today with her magnets. I thought it was super cool!

And finally. My child not only put this getup together, but wore it out in public. I have officially put on my 'I don't give a darn what you wear' hat.

Teagan, always one to take full advantage, wore her (actually Presley's) old Doodlebops shirt to her Thanksgiving feast at school. You know the one where all the other kids wore their cutest thanksgiving outfit, they sang a few precious songs about Jesus and all the parents had their video cameras and cameras out like the poparatzi.

On one hand it feels good (no, great!) not to fight that battle but on the other I would like my child to look better (dare I say cuter?) on a special day. And then I have an internal struggle with the fact that on the grand scheme of LIFE, it doesn't matter, there's way bigger issues in this world, and I must. fight. materialism. Sometimes I win that fight and sometimes I don't...

Where was I...

Oh yeah, so that's my bloggy M.O.

To summarize

2011-11-16T18:49:00.001-08:00

This is pretty much how Temple felt about today.

She's five weeks tomorrow. I'm thinking she may be going through a growth spurt. She's got baby acne. She had lots of gas tonight, probably because she's been eating every waking moment (that she wasn't crying) all. day. long.

Teagan's baby was a lot happier, less gassy and hardly made a peep all day!

Let's hope tomorrow there's less crying because Mama might have to join in if not!

Lovefest

2011-11-14T09:55:00.001-08:00

My friend, Robyn, used to say her two girls would have a "lovefest" in the morning when her second was just a baby - smiling, talking, giving kisses and hugs.

Well Temple is so smiley and happy in the morning and is very generous with the smiles! Here's Dad getting some love!

Presley LOVES when Temple smiles at her! It does give you the warm and fuzzies!

My Pirate Crew

2011-11-13T12:53:00.001-08:00

Cash had a pirate party yesterday. Those parents of his are always down to dress up. So Shelly found these cute pirate costumes for the girls and Temple's skeleton onesie fit in perfectly!

Teagan-ism

2011-11-06T17:45:00.001-08:00

As a follow up to yesterday's post...

Today Presley was writing a grocery list of things we needed. We were spelling the words "together". Flour, milk, coke, medicine, etc.

So Teagan wanted in on the fun and started making her list. She asked, "Mom how do you spell beer?"

Here she is at preschool the day they celebrated her birthday. Her teachers are great and always make all the kids feel so special!

More birthday pics coming soon!

Psyche

2011-11-05T12:23:00.001-07:00

Temple is so sweet. Here she is smiling again!

Last night Honey and Poppa (and Cash) came to watch all the girls while Price and I snuck off to go recharge our batteries over dinner (round two on a gift certificate we were given to Bin 303 - thanks, Al and Jay!). I had my first beer since Temp was born. And it. was. nice!! Oh how I love the hops!

Unfortunately Temp wasn't as sweet as that picture above for her Honey. So we scurried on back and got a handle on things.

It just reminds me of what a date night can do for your psyche. Thanks, Honey and Poppa!

Smiling

2011-11-02T18:36:00.001-07:00

Look who was happy to see her mama!

Nothing is more rewarding than to see your baby smile at you for the first time!

**This is laziness at its finest (taking a pic of my camera instead of downloading, getting on my computer, etc). Please forgive a sister!

I tried to get one on my phone, but this was about the best I got.

And this was just pure sweetness! Did anyone else start signing "Ebony and Ivory" in their head?!

Temple

2011-11-02T12:27:00.001-07:00

He's a pic of lil Temp while she's sleeping right now!

And one awake from yesterday.

She's already three weeks old tomorrow. Can't believe how fast it goes! I'm trying to savor every second! So I don't even mind terribly when she stays awake from 4 to 5 each morning or her fussy time from about 4 to 5 each evening.

She's a sweetie! We're all enjoying her. The girls want to hold her every second. Which is sometimes convenient and sometimes not. Pres and Teag might be having a little hard time adjusting. Especially now that things have settled down and we don't have constant company (read: entertainment). I'm not worried, just need to be sure to give them both lots of individual attention. Easier said than done!

Speaking of which, better get to the lil big sister.

He's baaa-aaack!

2011-11-02T12:05:00.001-07:00

Thank you, Mimi and Papa for keeping Mav for the last four weeks while we waited for Temple and then when things settle back down after she was born!

It's nice to have him back. I hope it stays that way!

My three girls

2011-10-18T18:48:00.001-07:00

Milk happy

2011-10-16T06:31:00.001-07:00

"Can I hold her?"

2011-10-14T13:31:00.001-07:00

It's 11:35 am and this is the 10th (?) time Teagan has wanted to hold Temple!

Hard to say no especially since I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon.

Sister's back at school today and couldn't wait to tell her friends and teacher that her littlest sister was born yesterday. We printed a picture just on regular paper for her to take.

This is from after school and just before she got to have HER turn holding lil Temp.

So far Temple has been pretty mellow. She slept really well last night and we had to work hard to wake her up to feed her. Since she was so big, we were instructed to feed every two hours to prevent any possible low blood sugar. Well two hours comes along so fast, especially at night! Whew!

It's been fun getting back into the groove of a newborn and an added family member. We've had lots of help so maybe that's why it's been fun! And don't even get me started on the wonderfully delicious food around here. Mama's appetite is back!!

Temple Adeline is here!

2011-10-13T13:32:00.001-07:00

Yesterday morning at 7:22am, Temple arrived!

10 lbs and 22 inches with a full head of the blackest hair I've ever seen! Yes, Price guessed that weight! It freaked me out then, and it still does!

It wasn't quite the labor and delivery I was hoping for, but she's here and we're both healthy and that's more than I could ask for!

It was only about a 4.5 hour ordeal, and the first couple hours weren't too bad. It was the last few that kicked a mama's booty! Going to try to write her birth story soon before I forget! Because one thing having a baby reminds me - I'm no spring chicken!

The girls were so proud to be big sisters! And guess what! She's a pacie girl! Whoohoo!

Right now Temple looks like both girls when they were born!

These are just phone pictures. Aunt Mac was on camera duty so the morning was fully documented.

40 weeks!

2011-10-11T19:19:00.001-07:00

Today I am 40 weeks. Temple has still not arrived! Just like her big sisters, she too wanted to be fashionably late!

It hasn't been uneventful around here though. I started with a stomach virus early, early Monday morning. You would have thought I got hit by a bus. Presley came home from school complaining of a stomach ache. After falling asleep early, she barfed all over our bed. It was massive. I'll spare you the picture, but Price did take one for some reason. Anywho, Pres has been a trouper and recovered really fast. (Made me look like a whimp!) Price woke up feeling queasy but powered through his day to get some things done before the baby comes. Teagan has escaped the wrath somehow and thankfully.

Mom braved the germs today and helped me de-germ the house, helped tackle my laundry, went to the grocery store WITH the girls, and cooked us dinner to battle our ailments - potato soup!

With the house clean, I feel like we can now move forward. So, back to waiting.

I have had lots of contractions over the last 24 hours. So I know it won't be much longer!

Sunday view

2011-10-09T14:31:00.001-07:00

Aunt Mac has the NFL ticket so every Sunday, except last Sunday, we've made ourselves at home over here. The set up is so nice to let the kids play outside while we vegg on the couch and enjoy some fooseball (or blog).

Here's my current view. From the couch.

It's been such a nice day where we can just leave the door open and watch the three little ones play. They have played outside almost the whole time we've been here. They came in while it rained hard, but went back out in the drizzle.

Oh dear, they just found the mud. They're wet, dirty and probably stinky but having so much fun!

And yes, Madden is relaying a message. :)

Weight Projections

2011-10-09T13:41:00.001-07:00

Since we have plenty of time, today we made some guesses on Temple's weight.

Mimi 9# 15oz
Papa 8# 13oz

Honey 9# 12oz
Poppa 8#

Aunt Shelly 9# 13oz
Heath 7# 10oz
Jacqueline 8# 2oz

Addy 9# 6oz
Jay Jay 8# 6oz

Aunt Mac 9# 8oz
Manny 9# 4oz
Chloe 8# 14oz

Daddy 10#
Mama 9# 14oz

My dad (Papa) guessed Presley's weight exactly! So we'll see who's the closest for Temple. We didn't officially make our projections with Teagan. I think I was too scared to even think how big she'd be.

Price's 10 pound guess is freaking me out a little, I must say! He upped it when my mom said I weighed 9# 15oz when I was born and claimed he's never heard that before (but we all know he just doesn't listen).

We didn't make guesses on WHEN this child is going to arrive. But if anyone cares, I think it'll be Wednesday. My theory on that is Presley was three days late, Teagan was two days late, and I'm hoping Temple will only be one day late.

Also, here's where we got Temple's name.

It's a great state fair...

2011-10-06T18:45:00.001-07:00

Wednesday was fair day. Is it weird to anyone else you get a day off school to go to the fair? Wonderfully convenient, especially since it's on bring three cans and get in for $2, but still odd on a way. We met Addy and fam and Aunt Mac and fam there.

First things first.

Madden opted for nachos. Is he crazy or what?

We stumbled upon this attraction and thought 'what the hay?' :)

Here they are working.

Basically the kids work the farm and get paid a (fake) dollar they can then use to buy something from the store. All the kids came out with a pack of trail mix. Except Teagan. She came out throwing a fit because she wanted a $30 stuffed sheep. After that, it was time for Daddy a beer.

I hadn't gone through the farm with everyone, instead I stayed in the comfort of my wheelchair. Yes, I embarrassingly (especially when Price was pushing me) experienced the state fair from a wheelchair. He did not account for the foot rest and almost took out several people, not to mention I had to ask several times if he was looking where he was going and put my foot down to slow us. It was such a lesson of control and humility. One, God willing, I won't have to experience again. So I'm thankful for those that put up with me so that I could even be there!

Anywho, at some point between roasted corn and cotton candy, we rode the carousel. (By we, I mean Price and the girls!)

And then the nascar cars.

We were standing around thinking about what we should do next and Manny offered, "I'm not getting any fatter just standing here." So it was decided. Time for more food. Fried butter. Fried PB&J. Fried cheesecake (didn't try that one, but heard to was okay).

Then to the airplanes.

We finished the day with the swan rides.

Oh wait, we were going to end there but we had a couple more tickets so the girls rode a ride they deemed the "best part of the day"!

It was this super fast swing we probably never should have let our kids go on. Dovie did not want to ride because she saw it going before hand. Willa didn't see it going so she was game with Presley and Teagan. And when that ride started, it was the funniest thing ever. She was so scared and it was written all over her little face. But after she realized she was okay and her fellow riders weren't scared, she finally smiled and enjoyed it. Still makes me laugh!

We were so tired by the time we got home. We washed up, ate something of substance and went to bed.

And hopefully we'll get to do it all again next year. It'll take us that long to save up again because, Shazam!

Mama's lil helper

2011-10-04T17:00:00.001-07:00

I swear she wanted to vacuum and was enthusiastic at first. It didn't last long, but long enough to vacuum up some Cheese It crumbs and cookie crumbs from the other day.

By the way, what do people without dogs do after meals? I've never seen so much food under my kitchen table! I can honestly say I miss Maverick... when it comes to HIS vacuuming abilities!

39 week update

2011-10-04T13:45:00.001-07:00

Oh my word! The discomfort is on a whole new level, one of which I have never had the pleasure of experiencing. Thank you Short Torso or Big Baby or Over 30 Year Old Body.

This is today.

I literally can not find a comfortable position. Am I the biggest complainer in the whole world, or what? But dang!

I saw Tina today. Still about 75% effaced, but have dilated another centimeter for a grand total of four centimeters. Whoohoo! Last time I was a 4 it was a couple days before I had Teagan. So I can do another couple of days. A week though is just depressing! But regardless, I know it all goes by super fast. I might need to go read the book I read to the girls while they're on the pot and having a hard time going number 2.

They request it. That and sometimes a little prayer, but it works! And that's what I need - a positive attitude and to say a lot of prayer!

Tina also said Temple has flipped all the way posterior... Not the greatest of news. She also said that if I was still pregnant by next Thursday at our next appointment, she'll give me the "start up kit". (She doesn't do it until you reach your due date. I miiiight have allluuuuded that I'd like the start up today.)

Presley took this picture this past Friday. It's blurry, but I kinda prefer it that way!

I think my belly has grown since then! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go grab my previously mentioned reading material and get reverend.

My peeps

2011-10-03T18:29:00.001-07:00

Here's what our Sunday looked like. And by Sunday, I mean ALL day long! Presley was making "a library book.". She colored all day! Teagan was less die-hard about coloring, and shuffled between puzzles, playing with her baby, dressing up like a ballerina, and a few shows (when football wouldn't cut it).

Price and I watched football (we are both on fantasy leagues) and colored, puzzled, and all round just catered to the girls.

Overall we all huddled around the coffee table, the central hub of the house. It was a perfectly lazy day.

First Day of Preschool

2011-10-03T07:09:00.001-07:00

Does she not look so big?? She is about to turn four at the end of this month, which is just hard to believe. Teagan has done so good with preschool from day one! No tears, no hesitation, minimal difficulty getting ready to go. On the first day, she even saw a classmate from her old class and asked him, "Hey, remember me?" in her sweet little voice. It was so sweet. She is a social butterfly like her big sister.

38 week update

2011-09-28T21:15:00.000-07:00

38 weeks and 1 day to be exact. And in three hours it'll be 38 weeks and 2 days. That pretty much sums up my thought process lately.

I had my 38 week appointment yesterday. I was dilated to a three and 75% effaced. (Two weeks ago I was a 2 and 50%.) So moving in the right direction.

Last week I felt horrible and finally went to the nurse practitioner for blood work. I was going to see her anyway to line up some pain pills for post delivery. (I know that doesn't make sense - homebirth with the hard stuff afterwards, but it does to me!! After I had Teagan, I used my sister's leftover pain meds from a few month's beforehand when she had Madden. And WOW, what a difference a lil vicodin can make!)

Anywho, basically I am having difficulty breathing while standing and my legs go weak after 30 seconds or so. Walking isn't as bad, but I can't really talk while I walk, and I better not have far to go! I just have to consciously breath, it doesn't come automatic. Sitting I feel fine. It's weird.

My blood work all came back fine. She called an OB who said I should go to the ER. Did not expect to hear that! So after we talked and prayed about it we decided to go, but on the way to big Baylor, I started having contractions that didn't stop.

We didn't want to roll up in labor so we tried to change activity and grabbed a bite to eat near the hospital. They continued, so we went to Harry's for some yummy custard. They still continued. So we decided to come back home. We chalked it up to God saying we didn't need to go and should go back home, it was nerves about going to a hospital and them trying to induce me or give me a c-section, or Price's driving. Take your pick. But the contractions continued until we went to sleep.

So I literally did bed rest/couch rest/sitting rest over the weekend. I did a little activity Monday. Not much at all. Alison came over and did the dishes, loads of laundry and picked up the playroom. I did a little more on Tuesday. Mom came today and I did a little more, but seriously not much. And all while sitting. Today I actually felt a little better. Still having issues, but not as bad as over the weekend.

At my appointment yesterday, Temple is still on her side so not fully posterior. She's also got at least one foot tucked under her booty, so she's taking up some major length and pushing on my diaphragm, ribs, stomach. And she's still SO high. Maybe she dropped a little today and that's why I felt better? Who knows!

____________
Updated to add:
I wrote this last week and it never got published. So I went ahead and published even though it's mostly old news!

Peacefulness

2011-09-25T17:35:00.001-07:00

Guess who's enjoying an extended stay at Mimi and Papa's house?

He'll stay there until Temple makes her debut. Hallelujah!

Then and now, Part 2

2011-09-25T17:27:00.001-07:00

Then

Then

Now

I guess I can't resist taking pictures of sleeping babies.

Yo ho ho

2011-09-25T12:12:00.001-07:00

We've been into pirates lately!

Oh rats!

2011-09-25T12:10:00.001-07:00

The other day, we grabbed some pizza and ate at the park since it felt awesome outside!

Then it started raining a little bit and it just felt too good to leave so we found temporary shelter under the train where the girls got to play with this rat.

Don't worry, it was a pet rat named Penelope. A little girl is the owner who lives near the park so it wasn't the first time we've played with it. By 'we' I mean the girls because that tail is disgusting. I was on germX duty. Price sent pics to the fam and then forgot to tell them it was a pet rat. Needless to say, our parenting was in question. It still might be...

Then and now

2011-09-25T11:40:00.001-07:00

Then

Then

Then

Now

May I?

2011-09-21T20:03:00.001-07:00

May I take a moment to document a pregnancy memory/complain?! Everyone has been asking how I'm feeling. Well pretty much like crap!!

I've been so weak and exhausted the last few months. And its only getting worse! I thought it was my iron at first. Had to supplement with the other two, so I started that early and got an A+ when that got checked. Then I thought it was my blood sugar, but passed my glucose tolerance test that I insisted I take even though I hadn't been spilling glucose or had a big weight gain between visits (my midwives screening criteria to even do the GTT).

Now I can barely stand for any period of time without feeling like I'm going to pass out. My legs get weak and I HAVE to sit! I can walk without feeling like that but I have no stamina. Evenings aren't as bad, but are rapidly becoming like the rest of the day. It makes me really feel for people who are chronically ill. And on that note I feel silly for complaining about anything when some pregnant moms are on bed rest their entire pregnancy. I do have a light at the end of the tunnel (in addition to lil Temp) and should feel better soon.

I'm trying one last thing to try to make these last 2+ weeks more pleasurable. B12 supplements. B12 deficiency can be another type of anemia. But I read that it can take up to 2 months to replenish and get rid of symptoms. So we'll see.

Another thing is at the last appointment with Tina, she said Temple is trying to go posterior. So she gave me some exercises to do and recommended going to the chiropractor to try to get her in a more favorable position. Then it all came back to me! Presley was posterior (came out face up instead of face down). Basically it just means a harder labor and delivery. Granted the third is bound to be easier. So they say!

This is the last time I'm planning on being pregnant and I'm trying to savor these last days. But on the same token, I'm so ready to meet this little sister. Price and I both think this is going to be our brown eyed girl!

We're eager to see how much she weighs. Price calls my big babies 'gargantu babies'. I'm aiming for the 8's but mentally preparing for the 9's and praying that it's not the 10's.

So anywho, if you're the praying type, please say a couple for us!

At a glance

2011-09-21T19:08:00.001-07:00

We sponge rolled Presley's hair for school. Can't wait to do it again! Pretty much one step away from Toddlers and Tiaras! (Do y'all watch that? Oh my!!!)

Teagan and I took a stroll one morning in our new (to us) stroller. Hand me down from my SIL. I'm not used to strollers that roll that easy. Had to learn the hard way to always use the brake. Sorry Weegie!

Saturday was busy, long but fun! We went to a fair here in town, then to a birthday party, then Octoberfest, and then met Price's fam at Kobe steaks. It was a long day and I thought I was going into labor at one point.

Dad was designated rider. This so got us in the mood for the state fair!!

Warning: if you have claustrophobia, look away. I had to look away! This was some attraction the girls had to ride!

Last but not least, my belly is hanging out of everything! I was JUST hanging around the house in this, but my clothes options are dwindling. I've only bought one Target shirt, borrowed some, and reused a lot! Thank you hoarding gene!

Speaking of hoarding, I've been hard at work washing baby clothes and getting things organized (not my strong suit). For now, we've brought the changing table in our room and are using a chest of drawers that was already in here. Still need to get the baby bed set up or bring the cradle back from storage. I also have a pack and play we could use. We haven't decided. Price installed another clothes rod in the closet. So I have lots to hang and move around. With both the older girls we worked right up to the due date. I wonder if I were to finish early, if she would come early. At this rate she'll be two weeks late!

Dorkous-maximous

2011-09-18T12:36:00.001-07:00

Maverick is always where the girls are. He especially loves bath time.

Here's entitlement at it's finest.

And again with the entitlement.

Eating bubbles.

I'm sure there's more comfortable places to rest.

And just...oh hell no!

The latest on our pup is that he now sleeps in the crate at night. We've eliminated much angst and gnashing of teeth in the morning this way. He's getting a lot better at going outside on demand. He still barks a lot which is still so annoying. He's knocked out four windows in this old house. One was from sliding into it head first but the others were from going ape poop at something outside. Here's the first one from barking at the mailman.

Price nicknamed him Deputy Dipshit. And nothing could be more fitting.

31 and 32

2011-09-08T20:32:00.001-07:00

That's how old Price and I are now. Price being the elder. My birthday took place while I was on my blogging hiatus! So I thought I would fit it in strategically while telling about Price's birthday, which is today. But if I have to spell it all out like that, then that's not very strategic, huh?

Anywho! We went to Lone Star Park with my whole family. While I did not get a big group picture, here's what I did get! My family of four was representin' some independence day being it was July 3rd.

We were right on the glass and the kids spotted a snow cone stand outside right below us by the track. So in an effort to kill some time while we waited for the fireworks which didn't start until after dark, we ventured down there through the crowds and braved the stifling heat to get these munchkins some shaved ice.

That was the best shot I got! Fireworks were awesome! If you're ever looking for a great firework show you can watch from a cool seat, you can't get much better! Oh and to top it off, Price actually won some races and came home with over five hundred dollars!

So today was Price's birthday. He started it off taking his little big girl to preschool. He predicted a category 1 when we dropped her off, but she was such a big girl and walked right in without so much as a slight hesitation! We were so proud!

He then had to work. Boooo, and also thank you! After work, he wanted to take the girls fishing again. Something to do with some country song... Of course the girls were game!

Presley put this skirt on because she wanted to "match the birthday boy". She was very into fishing and really wanted to catch one. But it wasn't in the cards this time.

Teagan preferred throwing rocks, playing with the dirt, sticking her hands in the mud, and making a trip to the bathroom.

We left Mav at home this time, so I could help a little more, but I was like Teagan, and ADD'd out.

I wanted to do a family shadow shot, but could only recruit my fellow ADDer, Teagan.

So after dinner, bath, and bedtime, the highlight of his day was about to start - opening game of football season. And this is what I have to look forward to for 16 more weeks!

Price watching the game, with his laptop open to his fantasy football league so he can quickly pick up players, with his phone nearby so he can talk trash with his fellow leaguers.

Happy birthday, Babe! I love you lots!

My little big girl

2011-09-07T17:55:00.001-07:00

Here's some of what me and Weegs have been doing.

Playing. (She carried a full 12pack of diet coke from the kitchen to put under her grocery cart like we do at the grocery store.)

Puzzles.

A little park action. (She picked out her shirt, bow, and shoes this day.)

More puzzles.

Errands. (In Sister's car seat, of course!)

And even more puzzles!

One thing I haven't taken a picture of her doing is watching tv. She's weaning nicely. She gets a fix in the morning and another in the late afternoon.

Both girls have been horrible at getting in our bed in the wee hours every single night. Some nights before I've even fallen asleep. We've been letting them sleep with us on the weekends since P started kindergarten. They love to and I'm sure the reason we let them has to do with all the nostalgia I mentioned a few days ago. That's the only thing that makes good sense. Because four folks (and one big o' pregnancy pillow) in one bed sure the hell doesn't! Anyway, my point is this is how Teagan was sleeping the other morning when I got up.

In a pregnancy pillow cocoon!

She starts back to preschool tomorrow. Hopefully she'll do well with the drop off! That's the hardest part for her. Her teachers were awesome with her on Tuesday so I'm sure she'll be fine!

My babies

2011-09-05T19:28:00.001-07:00

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times. These two have a close bond. They've slept in the same bed since they were 3.5 and 2 years old and we have no plans of separating them anytime soon. Most nights it takes them a while to stop talking/fighting/playing/requesting things and actually go to sleep. One particular night they were talking and it was taking a while and Price went to go listen at the door and he heard.

T: I'm scared, Sister.
P: I'll hold you, Teags.

My babies!!! I don't know why I'm feeling so nostalgic right now. Maybe because Temple will be here in five weeks (or before), Presley's in big school now, and I've had a lot of one-on-one time with Teagan in the last two weeks and have just marveled at what a big girl she is!

This may be no big deal, but she can do major, 100 piece puzzles like a champ! That's big around our house.

I've missed this sleepy-headed, too-talkative-for-the-morning child over the last two weeks.

I've missed leisure mornings all together! They start off with a bang (or an alarm) and don't stop! All day! On one hand it's nice to start the day early and get going. But it's also nice to have nowhere to go and nothing to do! That's the lazy in me!

So speaking of my babies. This summer we went to the beach with Price's family and we snuck some pictures in one evening. This is just one of me and Price showing the (much smaller) baby bump, aka lil Temp.

I need to still edit the other ones of the girls with their cousins. So cute! Will share soon. There was some really sweet ones!

Texas fall y'all!

2011-09-05T18:24:00.001-07:00

It's not fall yet, but today was gorgeous!! Oh my word! We started the day with the labor day parade in Garland. Price and I enjoyed it more than the girls. Then went to lunch at a vegan pho place that had this right outside.

We thought it was ironic.

Then we decided to head back towards home with lawn care in our future. Until!! And thank goodness! We saw some people fishing in the dried up lakes on the way home. So we moseyed over to walmart grabbed some kiddie poles and went to the park. It was like a scene from a movie. People were out flying kites, playing soccer, riding bikes. They were smiling and having fun! It just felt good!

I wasn't much help with the fishing. First, because the stink bait was STAAAANK-KAY! And secondly because I was too busy regretting we brought this fella.

He was a handful as usual. We finally made our way to the dog park and playground. Hit up some snow cones on the way home and called it a day. I had even forgotten it was a school night until it was about 6 o'clock.

Back to the grindstone tomorrow. Presley said, "I think I'm not going to feel good tomorrow." Nothing a little pep talk about her friends and the playground can't cure, I'm sure!

Thank you, Lord for a beautiful day!

One week down!

2011-08-26T07:20:00.000-07:00

It's official!

We officially sent Presley to big girl school for an entire week! Nary a tardy. Nary a tear. Well... maybe a couple of tears, or "misty eyes" as Price calls it, from me and Price, but she marched herself into that classroom like she owned the place and never looked back. We were waiting. Well she finally did...we were still waiting.

So after we all went to pick her up, we came back to have a piece of cake we made the night before and talk all about her first day. I got this idea from my friend, Laura. She actually writes their name on it and grade. Our's was lucky to have icing! Just like with pre-K, she was pretty tight-lipped about her day. But we got a few details. Specifically about her boy friend who had spiky hair. I heard it 'boy friend', Price heard it 'boyfriend'. But the next day she came home talking about a break up, so maybe Price heard right... I try to ignore things like that. Anyway, she said her favorite part of the day is recess. Whose isn't? We've learned a few friends names throughout the week. One day she came home adamant about going to her new friends house for a playdate, but couldn't remember her name. She actually got mad because I wouldn't take her. I tried to explain that we didn't know where she lived or even her name, even though Presley said her address was "978". Still not helpful!!

And every cake needs it's sidekick! Ice cream! Teagan can fish that gallon out of the freezer and get the ice cream scooper out of the drawer she can barely see over lickedy split!

Speaking of which, she's my new solo daytime sidekick. She's been enjoying puzzles and errands (she likes to always ride in Presley's car seat when Presley's not there). We have had a little adjustment as she misses her playmate, but we've spent time with her cousins too!

This makes me smile.

2011-08-25T10:00:00.001-07:00

Jumpstart

2011-08-18T16:21:00.001-07:00

Here's to jumpstarting my blog.

It's been a while.

That was at babe's chicken a while back. It was delicious! What does that have to do with anything going on around here lately? Not a darn thing.

But this pic does!

Specifically this one!

My biggest baby is going to big school next week! I'm still in somewhat of denial! I finally got proactive and got us prepared. But no amount of preparation can prepare us for having to be there by 8 am! Wish us luck!

Thank you!

2011-07-08T11:44:00.001-07:00

This year I decided to let (make) Presley write her own thank you notes after her birthday. When we started, I did not realize what a daunting task it would be. We still have five more to write, so if you haven't gotten yours, it's coming! It's been a good lesson for all of us (patience) and a great mid-summer review of her letters. Not to mention really slowing down to see and appreciate what her friends got her!

Here are just some of the things Presley said before, during, and after our card writing sessions.

"I wrote that with my eyes closed.
I need a break.

Who's name is the shortest?
I need to stretch.
I'm tired!!!

How many more?

I just want to write 'Pres'.
It's cold.
What's Victoria's favorite color?(to write that one in that color)
Can Teagan have a turn?
How do you write an R again? (when I know she knows that one!)"

She was surprisingly A.D.D. and really sought out to cut corners. That apple fell straight off Price's tree!

Price was no better, I tried to get him to take a turn helping her and he basically guided her hand for each letter. Uh no!

Some looked pretty rough! Some were pretty good. I wrote a little note on the back myself too!

We'll see how next year's go!

My big girl

2011-06-15T15:16:00.000-07:00

My eldest is now five! FIVE years old!! I STILL am having a hard time believing it! She's quick to remind me though, and whomever we meet, that it is true! She really feels like a big girl, and rightfully so!

We had a waterballoon party, per her request, at the spray park. Of course I feel like I didn't take enough pictures or talk enough with each of the guests. But overall, I think it was a successful celebration!

Here are the invites! They turned out super cute!

I was a little hesitant to put this on the back (per Price's request), but I went against my better judgement and humored him. :)

This is Presley's friend from school. They have the same name. Aren't they just cute!

FINALLY it was time for the waterballoons! There were moments of frenzy. As Price and I were filling them all up, we were thinking about how long it would take the kids to tear through them. I'm glad to report it was more than 30 seconds! The bruise on my finger and the blister on Price's finger was totally worth it!

Before they began, I had to give the motherly rules, "don't throw it at any one's face, aim for the feet, we're all friends, play nicely, GO!!"

But uh, clearly someone wasn't listening. Not sure whom she was aiming for... but she was serious!!

We are still working on our thank you cards. I'm letting Presley help me this year (to work on her thankfulness and her writing). The rest of the day, Presley kept saying it was the "best birthday party ever!"

Rockwall Dog Park

2011-06-05T10:27:00.001-07:00

There's now a dog park in the 'hood! We check it out finally and it was great. Mav ran until his little heart was content, met a few pups he could chase, and utilized all his energy.

There was ample shade which was wonderful! The only complaint I had was there was a muddy trench that drained water going through a part of the park and he loves mud. Surprisingly though he steered clear and remained clean and dry for the most part.

We're back home and he's looking really tired! Hopefully we can make it part of our routine and that'll keep shoes out of his mouth and his defiance at bay. This dog is such a handful and crazy as hell. If I were the giving up type (and the girls wouldn't be devastated) he would have been re-homed a long time ago. He's got it in him to be a good dog, we just have to find it within us to bring it out. Meanwhile, I'm praying for patience and getting a shock collar! :)

We have crabs!

2011-05-28T20:23:00.001-07:00

Lol. Hermit crabs! (Pardon my animation, I've had an Odouls tonight!)

We went to a store with this huge display of hermit crabs. The girls were mesmerized! So they bugged us until we relented and so far it hasn't been horrible (as in messy, stinky...as crabby as I thought it would be).

Presley did put hers down the other day in the house and then forgot where she put it. After looking for it for about ten minutes, I rounded the corner and saw it climbing down the arm of the couch. The next time, I made her play with them outside.

Teagan's hermit crab just changed shells. It was a fun discovery this morning. In this picture, Teagan's actually holding Presley's. So we are thinking that one (the soccer ball) will take the green shell soon!

Presley named hers Slinky. Teagan named hers Poopoo or Poophead (depends on the day).

Rrrrarrhh

2011-05-22T16:37:00.001-07:00

Awhile back, when Pres got her "mouth jewelry", Teegie Weegie got her teeth cleaned.

She loves anything tiger related, so she picked these frames.

She honestly could not have been more chill!

She got rave reviews on her behavior and was cavity free! Whoohoo!!

Lil artist

2011-05-21T08:10:00.001-07:00

I'm loving how Teagan has been drawing lately. It's that perfect stage where they first start drawing people and telling you who it is.

In this picture, she said it was Presley, Teagan, Daddy, and Maverick.

I kinda got a sad/confused face and said, "where's the mama?" and I wanted to add "that cooks, cleans, launders your clothes, bathes, loves and cares for your little booty 24 hours a day, 365?"
I mean the dog comes first?

But she quickly added me to her portrait and I quickly found peace.

And here the artist is next to her fine (and now complete) family portrait.

I love it!

And here's another drawing from yesterday. I just love how funky and artsy it is.

(We doodled on the back which is coming through.)

I'm sure it's something only a mother would love, but it signifies so much more than just her drawing, but her growing up and being such a big girl. In my hormonal state, I just want to hold on to that for as long as I can. However, when she's throwing a 30 minute fit because she didn't get to pour her cereal or she only got two Oreos instead of three, I'm willing to let go and make an exception (or two or three per day).

So this morning she remembered that she wanted to pour her cereal BEFORE I did.

Even though it's a big waste, I know she needed to do that to learn something (gross motor?). Had I given in and let her yesterday, the only thing she would have learned was that she got her way.

Anywho, I got a little off tract from showing off Teagan's art skillz. That's a newfound skill of mine - turn everything into a big ball of emotions. Maybe that's how the dog found a place in the family portrait before me!

It's a...

2011-05-18T20:37:00.001-07:00

GIRL!

We are all excited and can't wait to meet her! I don't think we've ever picked a name so fast. But we've about decided on Temple. We actually talked about a "Temple" before there even was one!

(I had a Good Housekeeping magazine cover print framed in our kitchen. The featured author was Temple Bailey. And for another side note, I was named after the author Taylor Caldwell.)

We still need a middle name that starts with an A that flows. We are open to ideas... :)

Some things the girls have said lately that make me smile/laugh/cry:

1. As I was getting out of the bath, Teagan's eyes got big, and said, "Move that towel. Oh my, your baby grew!"

2. During the sonogram and after they said it was a girl, the girls said, "Boys are rough anyways. Like Cash and Madden."

3. Presley asked me why my boobs where getting closer to my tummy. Thanks!

4. Presley said "I love my baby sister, we're going to be best friends."

5. "How's the baby going to get out?" I was like, uh.....

Details

2011-05-07T20:41:00.001-07:00

An array of things in a list.

1. Let the girls play in the fountains at the Harbor yesterday. Had mixed emotions on whether I was a good mom or not.

2. Price has been out of town this week. Got back yesterday. The girls were SO glad to see him and didn't want him to leave today to "work" (go to horse races). He hated to leave them too.

3. While Price was gone, I made a conscious effort to say "yes" more and "no" less (see number 1. above). Still made them mind, but I tried to be much more fun. Unfortunately that doesn't come as natural to me as it does for Price. And we only had one rough day out of four, and even it wasn't all that bad. Just had a few moments. I might try to adopt being more fun more.

4. Daddy strikes again!

This time the mess was in the bath tub. And he cleaned it up himself (for the most part)! (Muddy shoes are still on front porch, by the way.)

5. Since Price and I couldn't agree on finding out the gender of Baby C (as in a, b, and now c), we drew out of a hat and Price won. We find out a week from today if this kid's a boy or girl. At first I mourned the moment that now won't be, but now I'm looking forward to finding out. But Price still has the right to say we can wait. Yeah right!

6. We kind of both think it's a boy but neither of us would be disappointed if it's another girl. Its weird because everyone -people we know and people we don't really know - think we will be disappointed if it's a girl. Honestly, I can speak for me and Price and we won't be!!!

7. Presley thinks and wants it to be a boy. Teagan thinks and wants it to be a girl. So someone might be disappointed there!

8. The girls filled out a mother's day questionnaire at school where they filled in the blank. Teagan knows me pretty well! Even if she did add a year to my age.

Presley's was just funny!

9. Went to the Cottonwood Arts Festival with Maria Paula and Robyn and their kids and hubbies today. Here's all the big girls after eating ice cream/snow cones all lined up on a hill. Cute! They enjoyed playing with each other today.

10. Happy Mother's Day all you mama's! Here's me with my babies at their school parties. One on Tuesday.

And one on Thursday.

And that's a good number to end.

Baby steps

2011-05-04T21:12:00.001-07:00

This dog and I are taking baby steps.

He's still on my nerves 95% of the day and I would love to get a shock collar. Seriously. Remote control! But I'm seeing slow (like snail slow) progress. It is progress nonetheless.

He still suffers from a horribly weak bladder, but that's even improved ever so slightly. He's completely entitled to get on my furniture, eat/steal food off the table, naw on my kids, bark and occasionally nip at guests. He wants out in the morning at 5:30. He enjoys watching the sun rise. It's like his morning coffee. When it was raining this past week he didn't know what to do with himself and was especially annoying. His wet nose keeps all my windows in a perpetual state of smudgy. Even the tvs, because he has to bark/attack those every once in a while too. Whatever it is dries hard and is difficult to get off. I could go on. And I will.

He's like a defiant child. He seriously looks at me like, "why don't you make me, b*#%@?" Those are the times I want to swear like a sailor. Oh wait, I do. Out of ear shot of my children, of course! ;)

I've tried to beat it all out of him using an array of 'spankers' as Teagan calls them - newspaper, a belt, my hand, yelling. Oh the yelling. Sick of the yelling.

What works for him, I'm still trying to figure it out completely, is to praise him continuously and let him do it on his time. Now that I spell it out like that he sounds like a typical man....

Baby steps. We're taking them. And one day I might even like this dog.

More worms

2011-05-04T20:27:00.001-07:00

Madden was over for the day a while back, so Price came home with not one, not two, but three containers of worms. Night crawlers to be exact.

This was one container.

That one and the other two resided in my fridge for about a week. The girls would take one out every once in a while, open it up and give the worm on top a tickle and want to carry it around and shake worm dirt all over the floor.

I would then suggest we set them free out in the yard and they would object. So finally one day Pres was ready to "sell" her worms. We loaded them up and walked them over to Willa and Dovie's house. Addy even fished out a dollar.

We gave one to her neighbor across the street who has two kids. Come to find out her 7 year old daughter is loving worms right now too. A grandad and his two young kids were walking by and they became the proud owners of the third and final container.

Presley tried to collect since she was "selling" them, but I quickly assured her she already made a whole dollar and we could give these last two away. I really appreciated her entrepreneur spirit, but I would have paid them to get these things out of my fridge!

I was kinda embarrassed when she tried to collect from the grandad. But not nearly as embarrassed as when Teagan at Costco yesterday loudly asked if the lady next to us in line was a girl or a boy.

Easter 2011

2011-05-03T09:18:00.000-07:00

Lentil Soup

2011-05-02T19:41:00.001-07:00

Presley and Teagan had gone over to Addy's house about a month ago and while they were there, they had dinner - lentil soup with cornbread. I couldn't even tell you I've ever had lentils, but Alison said Presley ate two bowls full (with crumbled cornbread in it, of course). I was obviously surprised. Over the next couple of days, Presley kept asking me to cook what she had at Addy's house. So I did and while me and Presley are big fans, Teagan and Price only tolerate it. It's so easy, which is one reason I'm a big fan. You don't have to soak the beans, they cook within 30 minutes, and they're healthy! I've made it once a week since then. This last time, Price put a temporary ban on it. I do tend to find a dish I like and then wear it out! So I'm taking a break from making it for now.

Here's Pres adding her favorite ingredient - cornbread!

So anyway, I thought I would share the recipe. Y'all know I don't really like following a recipe, and it changes each time I make it. But here's what I (and Alison) do.

Lentil Soup

Sauté chopped garlic, yellow onion, carrot, and celery (if I have it) in olive oil. Add salt and pepper. Once all that is soft, add the lentils and water (follow package instructions) and probably more salt and pepper. :). Bring to boil and then let simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. I usually thicken with corn starch when it's almost done.

While that is cooking, I make some jiffy cornbread and stick in the oven. They both get done about the same time.

The girls cool their soup by adding ice cubes, stirring it up and watching them melt. They love that part!!!

Price is giving me a hard time for sharing this recipe, but I would love for other people to share their easy, healthy recipes that their kids actually eat! (That last part is the real kicker! It doesn't even have to be super healthy!) So if you have any good ones, please by all means, SHARE!

One more thing that I want to share. Granted I am 17 weeks along now, and clearly I'm favoring salt over sweet and some people might be sick of hearing about my obsession with corn right now. But I can't get enough of roasted corn. It's in season right now. Throw some corn with the husks (green means ripe) and all in the oven preheated to 350 degrees. Cook for 30 minutes and then peel and doctor with butter and Lawry's seasoning salt. Chase it with a cup of water!

When the cats away...

2011-05-02T18:33:00.001-07:00

...the mice will play.

It's been raining for a few days now. I told the girls they could "jump in muddy puddles" with Daddy while I ran to the store to grab a couple things. (The girls are loving a show called Peppa Pig, where her favorite thing to do is jump in muddy puddles.) I assumed Price would find some rain puddles.

Ummm, no. I came home to this.

They made their own muddy puddle and while they tried to jump in it, they pretty much sank in it. Oh that Daddy. He never ceases to amaze me! Next time I'll be much more specific!

Yard work and outdoor "pets"

2011-05-01T08:11:00.001-07:00

Oh my! You don't even want to know how many days we've worked in the yard. We've trimmed trees, racked leaves, cut down an old diseased half-dead redwood tree, trimmed hedges, dug up butchered bushes, planted potted plants, planted flowers in the window boxes, racked leaves, adjusted the watering system, dug up roots, racked more leaves, and pulled LOTS of weeds.

Here's our trash pile. This picture doesn't do it justice!

It takes up half our driveway and bulk pickup somehow missed us last week. So it's still there!

I got all the window boxes planted with new coconut netting.

I had to scrap and repaint a few of the window boxes that had seen better days. And totally replace three that the years of watering had basically eaten away metal and they couldn't have survived another season. I love the pop of red against the white and black house. And more than that I love that you don't have to dead head these inpatients. They just grow!

I still need to plant some perennials in the front beds and add some annuals for color in the back.

I'm enjoying working in the yard and the girls are enjoying playing in the yard. This is the first year that I feel like I can take my eyes off of them for any length of time without thinking they are going to go through the fence and into the street.

They've been digging for worms, doodlebugs, and snails every spare minute they can. Presley calls whatever she digs up, her "pets". She ~~traps~~ keeps them in any container she can find.

Teagan is ready for the water. This particular day, she ran instead put on her swimsuit and came back out wanting to play in the water. But it was no where near warm enough. She settled on a little soccer and couple pictures.

Presley has found two garden snakes. The first one she pulled out, she said "look mom, the longest, faster worm ever!" I said I don't think that's a worm and yelled for Price and he said "that's not a worm, it's a snake!" Presley then immediately dropped it. But Price caught it again and we kept it for a day or so.

Just look at those dirty fingernails!

The next one she found, she let her daddy pick up! So she's learning. Teagan enjoys digging for worms just as much, but she draws the line at snakes. My personal line is drawn at worms if anyone cares to know.

Daddy is the official worm digging parent. I just supervise, take the occasional picture, and make sure hands are sufficiently washed afterwards.

Teagan's Birth Story

2011-04-28T17:45:00.000-07:00

The Birth Story of Teagan Astelle

Here’s the short version. I woke up at 4:00am with contractions. I woke Price up at 4:30am. We called Tina at 5:00am. She got here about 5:30am and I got in the tub. Started pushing a little before 6:00am. She was born at 6:12am. She weight 8 lbs 14 oz.

Here’s the long version. Because I like details.

When Presley was about 6 months old, we found out that I was pregnant again. Presley’s birth was hard and long. She was so big that my cervix stayed very low afterwards causing me to be achy for months after she was born. I was literally “to’up from the flo’ up”. Six months was almost not long enough to fully heal for me let alone forget the pain of labor. Forgive me if I made Presley’s birth story sound peachy. It hurt like hell and I was scared to do it again. I knew I wanted to do it at home, but I just hoped and prayed that it would be faster and easier with it being my second. My prayers were answered. Thank you, Jesus!
(Side note: In my last trimester of pregnancy with Presley, Tina was over for a monthly checkup. After seeing a bag of snickers on the coffee table, and maybe hearing I had a major sweet tooth, Tina told me that I should try not to eat too many sweets from that point on because it all goes straight to the baby. I didn’t really believe her. But after Presley was born at 9 lbs 2 oz, I became a believer. And I was bound and determined to cut back on the sweets the whole dang pregnancy with Teagan.)

We had decided that we would labor in the tub and if I wanted to actually deliver in the tub, we would. We were just going to play it all by ear. The one plan we had in place was to call Alison so she could come be with Presley if she were to wake up. (Kenzie had just had my nephew not even three months prior, so she kind of busy to be calling in the middle of the night!) We didn’t know how I would handle the labor and Pres was still such a baby, I didn’t want to scare her. And I knew from round one that I needed Price to be with me.

The last four months or so of my pregnancy, I had lots of Braxton hicks contractions. So many that I thought I might be in a labor a few times. But my uterus was just practicing. Enough so that the day before I went into labor, at my scheduled appointment, Tina checked me and I was at a 4 not in labor. So that was a good sign. We ended up going to a high school football game that evening. I woke up about 4 in the morning with some pretty heavy duty contractions. They had never woken me up and required me to get up out of bed. So I timed them for a while and they never stopped or got less intense. It’s so weird because even a day after my due date, I continued to ask myself, is this really it? And then I actually doubted that it was. I finally woke Price up to get a second opinion. He immediately tried to pull the “let’s see if you can go back to sleep”. Which caused me to have another “massive change in demeanor”. Because damn it, it hurt and I was NOT laying back in the bed. So then I think he fully woke up and realized, oh my goodness, this could be it!! So we timed a few more and decided we better call Tina. We gave Alison a call as well. Tina made it here about 5:30am or so and checked me. I was about a 6/7 and she said I could get in the tub if I was ready. So I got in and it felt divine. Alison and Amanda, Tina’s midwife-in-training, arrived shortly thereafter.

While I was having a contraction in the tub, I would lie on my side and move up and down the tub using my legs to kick off the bottom of the tub. It worked to get me through each one. It’s weird because your body just kind of does what it needs to do and what gives you some relief at the time. Another fascinating thing about labor is that during a contraction your brain doesn’t think. Your body just takes over. But then after each contraction is over, your brain starts working again and you then actually engage in conversation.

At some point Tina broke my water which is never pleasant. But it wasn’t long after that I started having these grunty contractions that meant it was time to push. Tina checked me and again, just like with Presley’s birth, I had a little cervix left. So she manually pushed it back while I pushed Teagan’s head past it. Ouch. But it was all pushing from there. But then a new problem arose. The tub was so long that I couldn’t hold my legs, push and stay above the water. Price had made it clear that he did NOT want to be in the tub. And I don’t blame him. There were lots already floating around. We tried a few things to prop me up, but nothing was working. Price took one for the team and suited up and got in behind me. He basically held me up while I pushed. Once again, being my rock!

I suddenly remembered that I wanted a mirror down yonder so that I could see my progress as I pushed. (This would have been a great thing for me to have had while I was pushing Presley out, but in ALL the hubbub I nor anyone else thought of it.) I hadn’t thought about it beforehand so all we could find was this little mirror that was in our bathtub that’s fog resistant, so it wasn’t clear and I kept asking whoever was holding it to move it up or down. But it still worked fairly well and before we knew it, Teagan’s head was out. We had to wait until the next contraction to push the rest of her out, which seemed like eternity. Finally she was out and up on my chest. Her umbilical cord went on for miles so Price could have held her from behind me!

Teagan’s first few breaths sounded very wet. So Tina used some sort of contraption to suction out probably about 50cc’s of water. Afterwards they put some oxygen on her for a few minutes. When she first came out, we thought she looked JUST like Presley. But then over the next few hours, she had her own look and no longer looked anything like her big sister.

After a little bonding time in the tub, the cord was cut and they took her into the next room to clean her up and do her APGAR score and get measured and weighed. That’s what I was most curious about!! She weighed 8 lbs 14 oz. Whoo hoo!! I saved myself 4 whole ounces and I appreciated every single ounce. I still can neither confirm nor deny the validity to the whole ‘sweets go straight to the baby in the last trimester’ thing, because it really makes no real sense. (I’m assuming it’s not just sweets, but any additional calories above what you and the baby need.)

After Price and I cleaned up, Presley woke up a big sister! Perfect timing!! She was curious about the new baby that just appeared! She might have had a few moments over the next few weeks where Price and I looked at each other and asked, “is she acting out”? But she did great!
Teagan was a great nurser from day one! Pair that with the fact that my milk came in super fast and we ran into a little bit of a problem. Teagan would eat and then get way too much and then projectile vomit. There was no amount of preparation that was suitable to catch or contain it. It went everywhere!! So when she was three days old we had to take her to the doctor. It finally got better as my milk adjusted. And then she never spit up again. (She preferred massive blowouts!)

We went into raising baby number two with the assumption that we knew what we were doing. We quickly learned that what worked for the first, did not always work for the second. We had to learn Teagan and find out what she liked. For example, she didn’t like to be rocked and cuddled to sleep. She wanted to be put down and left alone. She didn’t want to be held like a baby in the crook of your arm, she wanted to be held upright so she could keep an eye on everyone. And the biggest shock of our lives – she did not like a pacifier! (Presley was literally obsessed with ALL of her’s!) I tried every make and model manufactured to no avail. Overall, we worked it out and are still learning what works and does not work for each of the girls.

Before I had Teagan, I got a nice hand-me-down pump to use. I didn’t pump much with Presley and I was looking forward to being a little more free to leave Teagan knowing I could pump and she could have a bottle. Well! First Teagan wouldn’t take a bottle. It was like poison in her mouth, just like with a pacifier, tried every make and model. Second, Teagan wouldn’t go to anyone except me. She didn’t even like Price for a good little while. While flattering, you can imagine that this plum wore me out!! When I would leave her with someone, mostly my poor mother, I would pick her up saying “Thank you and SORRY!!” It wasn’t easy for them, her, or me to leave her. But oh how I was refreshed after I picked them back up! (She didn’t quite feel comfortable with others, even family, until she was a good 18 months old. She still doesn’t like big crowds and remains weary of new faces. She’s 3 ½.)

Having the girls so close together, I look back and it’s literally a fog of memories. When both girls would be crying at the same time, Price and I would look at each other and laugh. That’s all you could do! My motto soon became “whatever works for now”. Some things that worked included co-sleeping (all four of us), naptimes in the baby carrier (I would put her in there, cover with a blanket, and give it a shake), nursing on demand (I WAS the pacifier! Price called it ‘the silencer’!), late nights and late mornings, glasses of wine – oh wait, that was what worked for me!!

Rainy day

2011-04-23T17:50:00.001-07:00

The other day when it rained, it was perfectly stormy and an awesome night to just sit on the porch and watch the rain start. The girls grabbed their umbrellas and rain boots and had a ball.

"I hear it!"

"Did it stop?"

Presley stuck her umbrella in my plant for a hands free moment or two. We keep letting Mav out front with us, but it never fails he runs off and then gets a nice spanking when he gets back.

Love her sweet dimples in this one.

Love a rainy evening!

Creek

2011-04-22T16:26:00.001-07:00

Today Price took us to where he made many MANY childhood memories. So many that he's always said he wants our kids (even back when 'our kids' were fictitious) to grow up living on a creek. We packed up our picnic basket, put on some old tennis shoes and headed to the creek.

First we ate lunch under the bridge. We threw rocks and sang 'the grumpy ol troll who lives under the bridge' from Dora the Explorer a lot.

Then we walked up the creek bed to the right until we reached this tree. Price told the girls that when you see a tree down like this on a creek that means pirates have been through there.

Then we walked back and down the creek bed the other way. The girls loved getting their feet wet and splashing in the water. Eeew.

We eventually turned around and headed back to the car that was parked by this awesome park. Of course all the girls wanted to do was swing. Presley was pretty much swinging all by herself for the first time. She's growing and learning new things all the time!

We had a lot of fun and will probably be asked to go back there soon!

Kindergarten roundup

2011-04-20T18:17:00.001-07:00

It's hard to wrap my brain around the fact that Presley will be going to school in just a few months!! Real school! The kind where you get in trouble if you're late! And you go five days. In a row! And it lasts for 7 hours each day!

Last week was the kindergarten roundup. She was such a big girl! They took all the soon-to-be kindergarteners and took them for story time while the parents listened to the spill. At first she didn't want to go, and they didn't have to, but with a little encouraging she jumped up and got in line to go. (I made her leave her purse.)

I, on the other hand, with all my crazy hormones cried during the orientation. And had a hard time stopping. It was ridiculous and I was embarrassed. It was when they mentioned a 'boo hoo breakfast' for the parents the first day of school after we drop the kids off at their classroom. We'll just have to play that one by ear. It's a nice idea, but who wants to boo hoo in front of others? I don't...again!

I still can't believe we're already to this point. I swear she was just born!

When they were talking about school starting at 8, Price leaned in and said to me, "you are going to have your work cut out for you!" He sees me trying to get two ready and to school twice a week by nine. One, five days a week, by eight with consequences? Oh dear.

Pres, we're going to have to work on that together! (And pick out what you're wearing the night before!)

Right now she's into long dresses. It can't just be a dress anymore. I think I was in the fifth grade before I cared what I wore to school. Where did we go wrong?

Did I mention how well (good?) her pre-k class is going? After a conference with them, they saw no red flags on her waiting another year before starting and gave her two thumbs up.

Despite her clothes antics, I'm excited, scared, nervous, and already completely exhausted thinking about it. She feels like the biggest kid on the block! She's proud and so are we!

Carnivals

2011-04-07T16:57:00.001-07:00

After we went to the zoo a few weeks ago, we had an impromptu trip to a carnival with the Peavys.

We started off on the ferris wheel. I ain't gonna lie, I was scared up there.

Then the kids got to ride lots of rides. When I see the girls all packed in a car, I ALWAYS flash forward to when one of them will be *really* driving.

Teagan comforting Victoria who was only a smidgeon scared on the alligator ride. They rode like this almost half the ride, until Teagan's arms got tired and then Victoria was on her own!

Then they rode the helicopters which the little bar did not stay shut during. The carnie gave instructions to hold it shut. Then all four parents reiterated that a couple times each.

It was fine, they had fun and we were on to the next ride! And then this happened.

Teagan didn't get to ride the mini sizzler. She wasn't tall enough. But Presley and Victoria were! She was sad but handled it pretty well.

We ended the night with cotton candy and a corny dog. It was a good time!

Presley's birth story

2011-04-06T18:35:00.000-07:00

I wrote this when Presley was about 15 months old, just to give you a timeline. I'm not a writer by any means. And this is really long, just to warn you! ****************************************************************************
The Birth Story of Presley Anne

I’ve wanted to write the story of Presley Anne’s birth for about 15 months. Now when I sit down to write, my mind has gone blank. Where to start….? I started my pregnancy like everyone else. I went to my women doctor and started there. Then my sister gave me a book (Ina May's Guide to Childbirth) that had a good list of questions to ask your OB-gyn in its reference section. Questions like “rate of episiotomies” and that sort of thing. So when I asked my doc about his rate of episiotomies, his reply was 95% of first time moms. He said it as if that were the answer I was looking and hoping for…uh…NO!!

So I started talking it over with Price and telling him I might be interested in a home birth with a midwife. He thought I was a little nutty and proceeded to tell everyone who we came in contact with that “she thinks she wants to birth this kid with no pain medication.” So then after some coercion, not as much as I actually thought, we met with a midwife, Tina, who I had talked with over the phone who I found where else? The Internet! She answered all Price’s questions and really calmed his fears of whether a home birth was safe. The great thing I like about Tina is that she knew her limitations. She didn’t try to come across as ‘all knowing’ as some of the midwives had when I talked with them briefly over the phone. So we called her back and told her she was the one for us and we were going to do it.

So Tina came to our house for all our prenatal appointments and we got to know her more and vice versa. Well, I hadn’t had so much as a fart cramp and I was nearing 40 weeks. Then on my due date, we were having dinner with Price’s family, and I felt my first sensation of a contraction. It didn’t hurt at all, but it was there. It was right before we left that I started having them. I didn’t want to say anything to the whole family for fear they would follow us home and be waiting in the driveway for any baby news. But when we got in the car, I told Price and we timed them all the way home. They were fairly consistent, but didn’t really get any more intense. I was still excitedly telling him when each one would start. So we called Tina when we got home just to give her the heads up. She told us when we should call her back, that we still sounded like we had a good ways ahead of us. Boy was she right! So we went to sleep Saturday night.

Sunday morning I woke to a pretty strong one that quickly got me moving out of bed. We called my sisters and we all headed to the mall to start walking and try to move this thing along a bit. Price was armed with his stop watch around his neck and was eagerly timing them. We were dorks! The contractions were not really that strong, but they weren’t going away….so that was a good thing. So it was me, Price, Kenzie, my niece, Chloe, Alison, and my brother-in-law, Jay. We ate at Luna de Noche, and my intentions were to eat light, but as usual, I ate more than a teenage, athletic male and was stuffed full. We headed back home with little progress. On the way we stopped at Target and got a kiddy pool to blow up and have just in case I wanted to labor in once the time came. We blew that up and filled it with water for some reason. But that night we were able to go to sleep again. I slept fairly well although the contractions intensified a hair.

Early Monday morning a contraction jolted me out of bed where I had to stand upright to make it through. Now we’re cooking, I thought. So all morning on Monday my contractions were a little more intense and I was vocalizing and rocking with Price to get through them. In retrospect, these contractions were nothing compared to what they were to become. Now I look back at my sillier self and laugh a little! Ignorance is bliss. Anywho, we went to Wal-Mart, got some last minute items (popsicles, flowers, who knows what else). Every time a contraction would come, we’d duck into an empty aisle and sway and I’d keep my noise level down. We got back home and my mom came over. We wanted to have her there for an extra set of hands. Well, she starts crying at my first contraction! I also felt a little inhibited vocalizing, which really got me through them, and after not that long, my contractions slowed down and the intensity didn’t increase and probably even decreased in intensity a bit.

At some point Tina came and checked me and I was only about a 4, but my bag of water was bulging and this was definitely labor. She told Price to call her when I had a change in demeanor. I was still in great spirits and looking good (well, as good as a 40 week pregnant girl can look with seriously no clothes that fit and ‘swole’ up all over) with my makeup on and I think my hair was even half-way done. A change in demeanor, huh?? So Mom decided to go ahead and go back home since things had slowed. I think she and I both wondered if she could really handle being there or not. Alison invited us over for dinner that night with the family – lasagna. Well every book I’ve read said you do not want to eat tomato-based anything before or during labor because it’s very unpleasant to throw up, just in case. We also planned to go for a hot June walk to help labor along. So we walked over to Alison’s and at this point the contractions were picking up. I had to tell everyone, or at least the girls, that I was having some major anal pressure, which now I know as back labor. After dinner, which this time I ate like a dainty ol’ lady, we started off on our labor walk that we had planned so many months before. It started off as me, Mom, Kenzie, Alison, and Chloe. We walked a good ways, stopping every once in a while if I needed to stop and have a contraction. But I think I was walking through them for the most part. Then we dropped Mom and Chloe back off at the house and took a break. At this point I would have to dash to the back room to deal with the contraction because I didn’t want to scare anyone, namely my dad, who was nervous about the whole thing. So then me, Kenzie, and Alison headed out for another hot June labor walk. We kept the pace up and I was stopping frequently to deal with the contractions and then we would journey on. We took a turn to go through an alley-type path when we heard a horse nay. We live in the city, so we weren’t quite sure where this horse and his hauntingly loud nay came from. Then we heard it again. We decided we weren’t fully committed to walking this direction and turned and went the way we came. Despite this rush of adrenaline, the contractions continued nice and strong.

We headed back to Alison’s, who’s house is only a couple blocks from ours. Mom and Dad decided to take our dogs at my dad’s persistence. I was still thinking that we had a few days ahead of us. So I’m glad that he insisted. Between contractions, and running to the back room to have one when each came, we said our goodbyes and started walking back home. I distinctly remember holding on to Price’s arm on the way home and stopping in the middle of the street to have a contraction. I want to say they were really strong, and they were. But compared to how they got later in the night, they were still ‘sissy stuff’. And they were still nowhere near where we needed them to be in order to call Tina.

We were so tired, it had been a long couple of days. So we laid down and I propped myself up a bit to see if would allow me to sleep in between, I just wanted to sleep or have this baby….sleep or have this baby!! I didn’t last one contraction, I was upright swaying. I knew that I had to be standing to have a contraction. Therefore, there would be no sleeping in between. So then we prayed. This is my favorite part because it is a true testament that God is always with you, always listening to your prayers, and gives you just what you need when you need it! Amen! We prayed that we would either sleep or have this baby. Right after we said 'amen', I had a five minute contraction! And Price called Tina and told her there had been a “massive change in demeanor”….who me??? So now we were REALLY cooking. They didn’t stop or let up. It was about 12:45 when Tina arrived and quietly starting setting everything up and unloading. Price started filling up the kiddy pool with hot water and started boiling water on the stove to finish filling it up after all the hot water ran out of the tap. (We had to drain it from the day before earlier Monday, because we realized that there was no way to turn it from cold to as hot as it needed to be without starting from scratch when it was time.) Tina checked me and I was a 7, whoohoo! Once the pool was ready, I got in and oooooooh, how nice it was! I had my maternity bathing suit top on, but no bottoms. So yes, I was bare butt chillin' in the pool, and during each contraction “flopping around like a fish” per Price. I was still vocalizing with each one, which as I’ve said before, really helped. Price, still with his stop watch, would tell me when each contraction would peak and then I knew I was on the other side and on the way back down the contraction. Each time, thinking ‘I got through another one’.

It all happened so fast. After a while, the other midwife, Rose Marie, arrived. It’s always a pleasure to meet someone while you have no pants on, but nevertheless, it was nice to have another set of hands and additional midwifery knowledge and experience. She asked us what we were naming the baby. After we said “Presley”, she said, “so it’s a boy!” That made us all laugh. Meanwhile, Price was still running back and forth bringing boiling water to the pool to keep it warm. Although, it was feeling great, I was so hot and sick of the water. Tina checked me again and I asked, am I at least a 9? In which she replied, “no, just an 8”. In which I replied, a single profane word that starts with the letter F. That was the only time that I swore the entire labor and delivery, which I thought wasn’t too bad. I was just so tired at this point! And I had only progressed a single centimeter?

Then it got really intense, or should I say, even more intense. I remember one time, feeling ‘out of my mind’ and looking at all three of them – Tina, Price, and Rose Marie – thinking, begging for them to tell me what to do. As if there was something more I needed to do. I also remember getting frustrated because my bangs were all curled up and on my forehead (hot steamy water and curly hair don’t mix) and getting in my eyes and I was constantly moving them aside. Finally I asked for some bobby pins. Then suddently, I just wanted OUT of the water, so I got out and used the bathroom and I had one contraction. Price recounted it later saying I took a ‘swan dive’ back in. Definitely better in than out no matter how hot and water logged I was.

So Tina broke my water. I remember around this time that I was hanging on to Price over the edge of the inflatable pool and still flopping about that I leaned into him so close and I seriously almost bit him – twice. How weird is that?? I did have the sense enough to refrain, thank goodness. Soon, I was done with the water. I stood up and striped off my bathing suit top and hopped on the bed. Um, hello, totally naked?? Yep, and I didn’t care at all for some reason! So then I still wasn’t fully 10 cm, but Tina was able to stretch the last little bit of cervix over Presley’s head and I could finally start pushing. Yeah, the part of labor everyone and their mama said was the best part because you were doing something. Well, it wasn’t so great for me. I pushed and pushed and pushed….for two hours. Finally I was on my back, the position that I feared the most. But I was pushing the best in that position and I was getting to sleep a little in between contractions which weren’t as strong or as close together as they had been prior.

Rewind a little. Tina had estimated Presley to be about 7 pounds after palpating my stomach with her hands. Just a rough estimate, I understand. Ok back to the head now coming out after two hard and long hours of pushing. Tina looks at Rose Marie and says “I don’t think this baby is 7 pounds.” Rose Marie says to Tina, “I don’t think she’s 8!” Of course I was oblivious to all this. What I wasn’t oblivious to was the fact that once the head was out, Tina causally, as if we had all the time in the world, asks Price if he wanted to catch the baby. Well he was to my left, and I distinctly remember saying, “uh…can we just…” PROCEED was what I was thinking. But Price quickly got prepared to catch Presley and soon she was on my stomach. How special that he got to catch his first born.

Her umbilical cord was really short so she couldn’t even come up all the way until it was cut. Presley was born at 4:45 am. She wasn’t crying, which I was wanting to hear, just to confirm all was well. No one else seemed concerned. She was good and pink and looking up at me with her big open, blue eyes. Oh it was so good just to see her little face and see what she looked like! And what a relief that it was all over….well almost. The placenta was like pushing a bean out compared to Presley, who wasn’t 7 or 8 pounds. She weighed 9 pounds, 2 ounces!! Who would have thought, not me. But my dad had guessed that exact weight when we were poling weights and heights and dates. He was only one day off from her birth date too!

Anywho, she was so bruised on her face. She didn’t quite enjoy the passage out either. She got a vitamin K shot and the bruising went away within a couple of days. So right when she was on my chest, Price started calling the family to come over and meet Presley. Presley and I took a herbal bath to clean up and by the time I was done with a quick shower, a couple of stitches, and first attempts at breastfeeding (it wasn’t as easy as I’ve heard – and what a curiously strong suck for such a little thing!), everyone was here. They were already holding and enjoying Presley for a couple minutes by the time I was dressed and back in bed. It’s no secret that I wear Price’s ‘panties’ (they’re pretty much panties, very panty-like, anyway. They’re briefs and very comfortable, especially when I’m pregnant.) So Tina was helping me get dressed and asked where my underwear was. I had to explain that I wear Price’s panties and where they were. She said that was the first time she had ever put “man panties on one of her mama’s”. I guess it’s nice to be the first in some form or fashion.

Everyone came and stood around the bed and heard all about the experience while we all bonded with Presley and passed her around, I wanted my turn too! Mom brought me a boiled egg and some pita bread – I was starving at this point. Price and I were euphoric, but completely exhausted! He said we would have handed off Presley to the Taliban at that point just to get some sleep. The family took Presley and we went to sleep for about four hours, they made breakfast and celebrated Presley’s birth. We woke up and it was the beginning of being cared for, and we needed it! When we went into having a home birth, we didn’t even consider or think about the fact that we were going to need help after the birth. Our families effortlessly stepped into that role without even being asked. My mom didn’t stop cooking and cleaning for a couple days! How fortunate we were! Mom stayed with us for the first night. And Price’s mom stayed with us the second night. How nice it was to be able to get a couple hours of sleep knowing that Presley was in good hands! We were feeding her every two hours because she was so big, that’s what we were instructed to do. So we didn’t leave a lot of time in between.

With so much company, when Price and I did have a minute to get some shut-eye, all we could do was talk and relive the whole experience. We were still euphoric days and even weeks later! I seriously could not have done it without him. He did amazing through the whole thing, way surpassing any and all of my expectations! We are closer having made that journey together! How could you not? His confidence in me never wavered, although afterwards, he said that he had his doubts at a couple points. I never would have guessed it.

We praised God for His hand in the middle of it all and for blessing us with a perfect, healthy baby girl! We continue to praise God for Presley Anne and seek His guidance in raising her and now we praise God for his hand in speeding up the conception of Teagan Astelle (a little sooner than we had on our timeline). At 36 ½ weeks along, I can’t sleep well and falling asleep is really hard. So tonight, instead of just laying there thinking, I decided to get up and write this story. To not only document the most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced, but to reflect on Teagan’s soon-to-be arrival. This time, I’m more nervous because I know what to expect. I know the intensity and I fear Teagan’s birth weight…surely she won’t be bigger!!! I have faith that just as God was there with us for Presley’s birth, He’ll be with us for Teagan’s birth. Just as I was anxious to see Presley’s face, I am just as eager and anxious to meet Teagan! We have faith that Presley is going to love her little sister dearly! I look forward to writing about Teagan’s birth in the upcoming weeks!

Self portrait

2011-04-06T12:08:00.001-07:00

Teagan likes to take pictures of herself with my phone.

So much so, I had literally 87 other self portraits to choose from. But this one was the cutest!

News

2011-03-31T16:29:00.001-07:00

We have some big news around these parts. Presley's gonna give you a few hints.

At Chickfala.

Playing outside.

Playing around the house. (That's a handmade baby sling over her shoulder she made out of a baby blanket and rubberbands.)

This one takes the cake though.

She said "I'm breast feeding my baby."

(She's a little bit obsessed!)

Yes, you guessed it, Teagan's no longer going to be *just* a little sister!

After we told the girls, I didn't know if Teagan quite got it. But then a couple days later, her and Presley were playing Big Sister and Baby where Teagan was the big sister. Usually they just play Mama and Baby where Teagan is the baby.

I know I'm going to have two good helpers and two great big sisters!

I'm due October 11th and I'm trying to talk Price into not finding out this one's gender and let it be a surprise. It'll be hard, but how fun is that? He's made it clear we are done after this :( and I just want to hang on and savor every minute of it! And not knowing just adds a level of wonder and excitement that you can't recreate anywhere else. What's 20 more weeks? (That's what I keep asking him.)

Anyway, we're excited! I want to maybe share Presley and Teagan's birth stories soon. Presley's was a little more eventful than Teagan's, whose was so fast there wasn't time for many events. I'm hoping this one will be fast too!

We're planning on delivering at home again with our midwife, Tina whose birth center is called Heavenly Hands Birth Center, which she just opened in downtown Rockwall but she's been in the business for many years first starting out as a doula. She delivered both of the girls here at the house. Presley's was a 'land' birth and Teagan had a water birth. I'm thinking we'll try another water birth. But as always the plan is to have no plan, but just go with whatever works at that time!

Anywho! Looking forward to October! Not so much looking forward to swim suit season this summer...

Weekend fun

2011-03-27T14:34:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we stumbled onto some free kid tickets to a circus in Allen going on right now. And we were in the area and the show started in just 30 minutes. So we decided to be somewhat spontaneous and take the girls. Not long after we sat down, the circus money making began.

Before $25 bucks.

After $25 bucks.

This was the first time we let them get anything like this and it was mostly because the guy came over and placed it in their hands. Kinda hard to say no at that point. They enjoyed them all night and a lot of today.

Good thing we had just eaten because even still all the goodies they were pushing looked delicious! Sodas, peanuts, popcorn, cotton candy, snow cones. They were relentless! Coloring books?!? Have you no shame?

Then the circus started and I quickly remembered why I don't really like the circus.

Because it scares the heck out of me and I'm wishing for it to be over the whole time when something like this is going on. That's a guy on another guys shoulders walking a tight rope.

I do like parts like this though.

But even then I still have thoughts of Animals Gone Wild where elephants go storming through crowds of people. I know, I have problems!

And when Price took the girls to ride the elephants during intermission I just had to put on my happy face.

I think the cold had gotten to my brain at that point. The cold front had caught us off guard and me and Presley froze!! Teagan had her usual layers on and was just fine!

Mama and her baby

2011-03-24T16:20:00.001-07:00

Dallas zoo

2011-03-21T21:22:00.001-07:00

This past Friday we went to the Dallas zoo. Even though it was spring break, we decided to brave the crowds and get out and enjoy the beautiful day.

I didn't really bust out my camera phone until the end when we fed the giraffes. We bought the five dollars worth of lettuce and went over to the feeding area. We split the leaves between the girls and while I wasn't paying attention, Teagan threw her $2.50 over the ledge. So we had to snag a leaf from big sister. Then we waited. Only one giraffe was taking the leaves, so it took a couple minutes. But soon he came over and gently took the leaves from us. It was really cool!

Then we rode the carousel and headed back home.

Sweet sisters

2011-03-13T20:47:00.001-07:00

Riding a motorcycle game together at Shenanigans. Unprompted big sisterness.

She did it again today as they were looking at a bug together when Teagan got a little scared.

At school, I'll pick Teagan up first and then we'll go get Pres from her class. More than once, Teagan gets so excited to see Presley that she runs up and hugs her. It's really sweet to see them be loving to each other. It almost negates all the "Sister doesn't want to be my friend" and "Teagan said she doesn't like me anymore". Unfortunately there's more of that than the sweet stuff. But the sweet stuff makes me know that they really do love each other. :)

Palate expander

2011-03-10T20:09:00.001-08:00

Last week we drove down to Georgetown to go to the dentist. My dear friend Megan, who I've known and gone to school with since 3rd grade, including 4 years of college, is married to a pediatric dentist, Travis, who she met in college. Biology class to be exact! He and his friend Kenny, another SFA alumni, have a practice in Georgetown.

Anywho! Presley has a little crossbite and needs a palate expander to correct it so there's no problems later in life with her jaw.

She did great throughout the cleaning, X-rays, and fitting/mold. And she didn't have any cavities. I was shocked!!! We have a fully stocked candy bowl at all times. We ain't scared to eat a little candy around these parts!

So here's my brave little girl!

Trav and his staff did great and we look forward to going back to get the expander placed. I'm a little nervous about her being sore and upset with this thing in her mouth. But we'll get through it! She picked her spacers out after a few days. I hope they did their job!

Chickfala

2011-02-23T16:35:00.001-08:00

Pres proclaimed yesterday, "This is my favorite food in the whole world!"

It IS good, sista!

Yesterday after the girls woke up from a nap, they wanted donuts. Well the donut store had long closed, so I suggested Chickfala. There may have been some cheers! Or maybe that was just me! We hadn't been out of the house since Saturday and I was ready! Even if we did only drive through and come back home.

With all the cheers and 'the best food in the whole world' proclamation I thought it was promising that they would actually eat. (They haven't been eating that great afterall.) Well Presley ate one nugget and a few fries and Teagan didn't eat a bite.

And of course that dog was there waiting for a bite to fall, or for us to turn our backs so he can help himself right off our plates!

Homey don't play that.

2011-02-22T10:23:00.001-08:00

Ying and Yang

2011-02-22T08:25:00.001-08:00

The very next day after I wrote about Teagan, Presley pranced around the house before bed in this ensemble with her baby, her shopping cart and her makeup by her feet.

And I thought to myself, yet another example of how different the girls are from one another.

The next day, she got ready to do an errand and lunch at Chickfala and wore this.

I have to fight/bargain/supervise what she wears to school twice a week, so the other 5 days, I tend to get pretty lax. She still wants to always wear a dress or a skirt. She often tells me whatever I have picked out "isn't pretty" or "isn't cute". I think she's heard she looks cute while we're out and about one too many times...

Notice her backpack. Whenever we leave the house, she goes into her playroom to "pack up". This means she brings all this stuff neatly stuffed in a purse or bag - jewelry, makeup, babies, baby stuff, phones, sunglasses, cameras, hair assessories, toys, or any combination there of. Which all ends up in the car. I try to cut it down and just allow one or two things, but sometimes I humor her.

The other day I was putting makeup on and Presley asked me if I wanted to borrow her makeup because she "couldn't even see mine." I tried to explain that was a good thing and you want it to look natural. She said she liked hers better since you can see it. I think her motto is the bluer the better! Because this particular morning she got all dolled up and I took this picture by 10 o'clock.

Here's more examples of her girlie-ness.

And here's when just a good ol pair of jeans was acceptable.

Just look at those arm rolls!

Presley can write her own name and is learning by leaps and bounds! (This is back when she had impetigo - she's still quite the picker.) She does have a hard time with the letter 'S' and questions which direction it should start and finish.

She was the star student last week at school. One question she had to answer to tell about herself was what she wanted to be when she grows up. She answered 'a cupcake and ice cream maker'.

One last observation about Presley is her ability to try to get what she wants. She's a fast talker and can be quite manipulating. The other day, after I told her she couldn't eat some Fun Dip after breakfast (or was it before?), she snuggled up in her daddy's lap and whispered "do you want to be a good daddy or mean like mama?". Let me just say, he was mean like me, which resulted in Presley getting upset and choosing to talk back and be highly disrespectful which resulted in not getting to enjoy that Fun Dip for three whole days! Ouch!

Another classic example is one day her and Madden were racing to the back door because they both wanted to open it. Well Madden got there first so Presley quickly started swinging between the couch and table nearby and said "Hey Madden, can you do this?". Sure enough Madden fell for it and aborted his quest of opening the door to show his cousin he could indeed swing just like her. Then Presley jumped right back to the back door and opened it. It's amazing how her little brain works.

Anyway, back to present day. Unfortunately, both girls have a fever right now and it's been a lazy couple of days. Hopefully it's just a little bug and not a different strain of the flu! They seem to still have energy and are still eating okay. But nothing makes you feel more helpless than sick kids. :(

It's baaaa-aaaack

2011-02-17T15:38:00.001-08:00

The sand in my house from this.

Embracing her inner girlie

2011-02-16T19:48:00.001-08:00

Teagan is my non-girlie girl. (Which is just fine with me, mind you.) Not just because she doesn't particularly like skirts because 'they're not comfortable'. Although I get her to wear them sometimes with the ploy that she can wear it for a little bit and then take it off. Instead, she much prefers comfort over cute and would rather wear the legging with long sleeves or a hoodie at all times. This is a favorite outfit, for example.

When seasons change from cold to hot, she still wants all limbs covered if not layered at all times. Same goes for sleepwear!

She doesn't really care what she wears and gets dressed with ease. Now, she does raise a stink about her shoes every once in a while, only because she wants them to be comfortable.

When she plays dress up, she gears more towards costumes and not so much princess.

When she plays pretend, she is usually the mama, the teacher, or anyone else who is the boss.

She loves movies where the main character is a boy. And usually a boy who gets in trouble - Home Alone (1, 2, and 3), The Sandlot, The Christmas Story, The Little Rascals, Slappy and the Stinkers, and The Big Green, just to name a few!

Her favorite color has always been blue. She toots like a motor boat. (Seriously, like 200% more often than Presley. And it's not just air, it's stink too. )

She loves to play with her boy cousins.

Price has always said he had 'his son' with Teagan.

Well, this particular day she really embraced her more girlie side. The shoes, the stance, the singing, the assessories - it's a side we don't get to see ALL at once very often! It was a treat! It inspired this post!

I don't push girlie or tomboy. And I try not to label her as either. I love her just the way she is! Which, in my opinion, is a leader who is determined, persistent, true to herself yet practical, and sensitive but with a little bit of wild and a whole lot of ornery thrown in for good measure.

Sounds kind of like a mission statement....

Valentine's day

2011-02-14T19:09:00.001-08:00

Last Thursday, the girls both had their parties at school. I got to join Pres for breakfast and Teagan for cookie decorating after lunch.

Here's their valentines they gave out to their class with suckers. The templates were free from Florabella if you liked their facebook page. Alison liked it for me since I couldn't be a fan myself.

Front:

Back:

Today we had an impromptu cookie decorating party of our own with Monica and her boys.

Here's one I snapped of Levi.

Thanks for sending me pics, Monica! (I'm totally camera-less right now! My little one is broken and my big one is in the shop. And my phone's camera is not serving me well lately!)

To complete the day of fun, love, and good cheer, we grabbed a bite to eat at Chipotle and took Mav to his second week of obedience training at Petsmart. Like I told the class during introductions, we were there so we can have more peace at home.

Here he is sitting on my foot during class.

And the girls loving on him.

Hope you had a wonderful valentine's day, too!

IMAX and science

2011-02-14T15:04:00.001-08:00

On Sunday we decided to get out and enjoy the pretty day. Price has been wanting to go to the planetarium. So off we went to DFW.

First we saw the IMAX, Monsters Under the Sea. It was pretty good, about prehistoric animals in the sea. All that intellectual stuff really hurts my brain! Seriously!

The girls were so funny in the theater! It truly was a realistic experience for them, as evidenced by these comments:

"If I get off my chair, am I going to fall in there?" and "Are those monsters going to eat us?" - Presley

"Is the water going to get up my nose?" and when the scene ended by the sea creature eating 'the camera', "Did we just get eaten?" - Teagan

But by the end, they were both 'needing to go to the bathroom'. Which basically means, let's blow this joint.

We took the opportunity a few times to talk about patience.

Alison and Jay and the girls met us afterwards and we had time to walk to the planetarium and enjoy the outdoors.

The girls wanted to ride these 'big rubber duckies' so bad. But we had no cash and it was a great excuse and we stuck with it. Next time (maybe)!

The planetarium was a little bit of a let down. In retrospect we should have nixed on it and gone through the exhibit 'dinosaurs unearthed'. We might even go back to see that since we didn't have time on Sunday. They had one real-boned dinosaur up outside the exhibit and a couple other fake ones that moved and roared.

All in all, it was good family fun!

Letters

2011-02-09T21:05:00.001-08:00

I don't know what these things are called. It's magnets and you can create lots of fun stuff.

Teagan made a letter.

Presley likes to make 'circus tents'.

They are unfortunately hard to keep all together. So after they play with them I find them all over the house for the next couple of days. Small price to pay for fun!

Bath time

2011-02-09T20:53:00.001-08:00

Previously bath time at our house was reminiscent of one of my favorite poems growing up from the book A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein. I actually remember the librarian reading this to my class in elementary school. I never forgot it!

Crowded Tub

There's too many kids in this tub.
There's too many elbows to scrub.
I just washed a behind, that I'm sure wasn't mine.
There's too many kids in this tub.

As the girls got bigger and bigger, the tub got smaller and smaller and one day that poem popped into my head! I realized, there was no more room for me!

So now this is my view! And I enjoy watching them play together! Sweet sisters!

Still

2011-02-09T20:20:00.001-08:00

Maverick is still on my nerves. Actually, probably even more on my nerves. But. At some point in the early morning hours Mav, as stealth as a cat, gets on the bed and snuggles up to my legs. I honestly don't even realize he's there until I see this.

And then my nerves straighten out and me and him are at peace. Even if it's short lived.

We started obedience class this week, so we are hopeful...

At home

2011-02-09T08:36:00.001-08:00

Y'all. We've been at home for like a solid 7 day week! Presley is feeling better, but still weak and fatigued. That flu is no joke. Poor child.

We've made the best of it though. I did a whole load of just pajamas. That's a whole lot of lazy right there!

We've had tea parties.

We've blown our nose. A lot!

We've played with playdoh.

And while big sis was resting, me and little sis had some fun. We drank hot chocolate on the front porch while we enjoyed the snow.

We ate icicles. (Which was great because she had bit her tongue, and we just snagged one from outside!)

We built a mini snowman! Sister came out, but she didn't last terribly long. Neither did Daddy because he was a little under the weather too. :(

*********
I started this draft this past Saturday. Later that day we broke free from the house and went to the grocery store, with everyone else in town!

Everyone is feeling better now. I've got a touch of the sniffles now myself! Today, Price let me sleep in and then brought me breakfast in bed - an egg sandwich and coffee! Love you, babe.

Here it is another snow/ice day! Last night we went and stocked up on our family fun supplies at Target. Movies, playdoh, klenex and some bread and milk.

Wondering if we'll be able to get out there and play today. So far there isn't much to play with....

Three words

2011-02-02T11:52:00.001-08:00

On. My. Nervous.

Like a teacher told me in high school, "you're cute, but you're gettin' on my last nerve".