Someone Special

Almost two weeks ago my grandfather was put in the hospital with pretty severe pneumonia. After a day or two in a regular room he was moved to ICU as his condition was just worsening. The worst part about it all is when his spirits get down he just seems to lose hope that he will ever get out of the hospital. When I went to visit him a few days ago, I was not prepared for what I saw. This giant of a man (in my eyes) was so frail and in so much pain. He had this huge respirator mask on his face that made it almost impossible for him to talk which only caused him more frustration. The mask kept him from wearing his glasses and his hearing aids, so the frustration just mounted. When I went up to visit he said he was not eating any more because he was just going to die right there in that bed. This was so hard for me to see and hear. What was so amazing was to watch my grandmother who is not in great health herself sit there and just rub his head and his arm trying to keep his frustration level down. She just kept saying positive things and smiling at him. She is my hero. I will have to write a blog about her later. Pepa is by no means a perfect man, but in the last two years I have made an effort to make my grandmother and him a bigger part of my life. Since I now have kids of my own, I have wanted to make sure that they got to know their great grandparents. I have tried to go see them at least once a week and try to take them dinner from time to time. I'm not trying to brag on myself, I just want to do whatever I can to help them out and bring them a little joy. Ava has become quite attached to her Mema and Pepa and they are so enamored with her! Even when they are feeling really sick they love to see her. They have always said that she is the best therapy. Every time we go over Taylor cleans their fish pond in the back yard and Ava just performs and puts on a show for them. She also has some books over there that she gets out and Pepa reads them to her every time. These times are so precious to me and I know that I will never forget them. I am praying for you Pepa! Get well soon so we can come over for a visit!

Ava and Pepa on Halloween.

Taylor and Pepa on Halloween.

This is my favorite picture! Ava and Pepa were taking a water break one day this summer.

Tomorrow and things to come...

Tomorrow I am going on a weekend shopping trip with my mom, sisters and Molly Kate. Alan is keeping my two big girls here at home. I can't wait! I have wanted to just get out of town for so long now, and going with my favorite peeps just makes it that much better. We have done this a few times, just a girls trip, but my most memorable one was a few years ago. The four of us (this was before kids) headed off to Dallas to find my wedding dress and bridesmaids dresses. I realize there are stores in Lubbock with these sorts of things, but any excuse to hit the road and Dallas malls, we take it! I found my dress pretty easily. We went to David's Bridal and I saw it in the magazine thing and just new it was the one I wanted. The lady kept bringing me other things to try on and I kept asking for the dress in the magazine. That's what I wanted! The bridesmaid dresses were not so easy to find. I just had my two sisters in my wedding party, so I was looking for something a little different than the usual bridesmaid dress. I happen to be an expert bridesmaid. I have been one myself seven times. I know that is a ridiculous amount. I am not that good of a friend, but apparently I either look really good standing up there next to the bride or people just really like me. Either way, I have quite an extensive collection of dresses. And let me just say that when a bride tells you she picked a dress that you can wear again it's not true. Where are you going to wear a hot pink, rinestone encrusted dress (Kelsey)? Adult prom???

Ok, back to the shopping. We looked a lot of places and after a while it just got very comical. One dress that I kind of liked, my sisters could not stop laughing in. Paige had to remind me that Pepa would be at the wedding and the amount of cleavage the dress was creating was not acceptable in the presence of my grandpa or anyone else for that matter. I just liked the color of the dress and didn't notice because they were laughing so hard and I couldn't figure out why. I know this weekend trip is going to be fabulous and full of more wonderful memory making moments!

And let me conclude by saying that I have loved being a part of every wedding I've ever been in. The girls all mean so much to me. And the dresses that each one picked were perfectly fitting for them and their weddings and I was so honored to be there for all of them.

Ok, the next blog I post, I'm going to try and make it a picture blog. Here are the pictures I am working on finding, just to give you something to look forward to.
1. The new haircut (see previous blog for more info.)
2. Some pics of me in these bridesmaid dresses.
3. The "Squirrel" collection (hopefully this will include me in my squirrel overalls, Ava and Molly Kate in their squirrel outfit)
4. Pics from our shopping trip!
5. Anything else I might run across that might bring you a bit of holiday joy!

Queen of Denial?

It's amazing what covering up some gray hairs will do for you! Yesterday, I got my hair cut and colored and I don't feel like an old lady anymore. It was getting really bad and had to be done. It's a little darker than I thought it would be, but I know it will fade out a little bit after some washes. The cut is the interesting part. I didn't want it any shorter, so we just did a little trim, but I took the plunge and went for bangs! Not just sweep it to the side, long bangs, but full on bangs! I haven't had bangs since the third grade. This was back in the day of the forward and backward curl followed by lots of teasing to achieve maximum bang height. The reason I gave up on bangs at the ripe old age of eight was because of my cow-lick. (I don't know if this is how you spell it, but I spell it like this because my dad told me I got my "cow lick" after a cow licked my head when I was a baby. I don't know what else to believe or how else to spell it, so just go with it!) The cute, poofy, super-teased bangs were cute on most girls, but not so much on me. Because of the before mentioned cow lick, my poofy bangs were always off to the side. Ok, back to the new cut. The bangs are working and not going off to the side. Thank God for straight irons! After the cut, I got mostly positive reactions. This always makes a girl feel good. I did however, get three comments that it looked like a wig. Now, normally I would just stick with the positive comments and ignore the wig ones, but all three wig comments were from family members, so my thought is this. Does it really look like a bad wig and my family are the only ones being honest with me? Are all of these people who are giving me positive feedback lying to me? Are these people really my friends???
Here are the wig comments:
Dad: "Ooo, cool. Cleopatra wig. Didn't you ever see Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor? Cleopatra wig!"
Taylor: "You got your hair cut. It looks like a wig. At least the gray hairs are gone."
Alan: (shocked look on his face followed by an attempt at a graceful recovery) "It's different. I like it. It almost looks like a wig." (more attempts at recovering from shocked face and previous comments) "I mean a nice, expensive wig. Not a cheap one."
What is that? Sheer honesty is what I think it is. So all of you so called friends out there who said you liked my hair, I don't know if I can believe you. My sister did tell me that she did not think it looked like a wig, but she could be lying to me. She knows I'm in a hormonal postpartum state still, and maybe she is trying to salvage my feelings. Regardless of the comments (good or wig-related) I like the hair. I think that's all that matters, and if not, the bangs will grow and we can all go back to normal some day!

Loving to cook

I have had cooking/baking fever lately. The only problem is that it is almost impossible to cook anything in a house with two little kids at home all day! Ava wants to help, but there is not much a two year old can do and it's still too hard to gauge Molly Kate's nap times which is when I try to get all the cooking out of my system. I realize I should be using this time to clean or do some laundry or napping myself, but I just gotta get in that kitchen and cook! Yesterday I made Cake Balls. I got the recipe from my friend Marla's blog. She got it from another blog. Anyways, they were such a huge mess to make that I nearly gave up and just pitched it all in the trash, but I perservered! So now today I am finding reasons of why I need to go eat another cake ball! It was definitely worth the 24 hours of red-stained hands from rolling the little balls. Luckily, I sent most of them with Taylor to school. She had to bring treats for her class today. And tomorrow is my grandpa's birthday, so I'm taking some to him this afternoon! Which brings me to my next cooking endeavor. My Pepa's favorite snack is Jalapeno Poppers. Not the frozen ones you buy at Sam's in a jumbo box of 4 dozen, but real, homemade ones. He will fire up his grill at 3:00 in the afternoon just to cook 2 or 3 jalapeno poppers. So, I made some for him today. Again, this is not a great thing for Ava to help with, and of course she wanted to. It's hard to explain that the seeds I'm scraping out are very hot and she can't touch them. And then I have to explain to her why she can't eat raw bacon. We are just wrapping the peppers in it to cook.
Two nights ago, I cooked Chicken Fried Steak for the first time in my life! Alan thought I called his mom and asked her how to make it. He didn't believe that I just knew how to do it! Actually, I owe it all to my dear friend, Twila. Twila used to stay with us when we were little when my parents went out of town. My mom was quite the health nut when we were little so I had never had Chicken Fried Steak, or at least never seen it made in my house. So when Twila came, she introduced us to the world of high-calorie, high-fat foods! So, Tuesday night, I did it! Homemade gravy and all! It was really good too, surprisingly!
I have many more items on my cooking wish list this week, so I'll let you know how it all turns out. If you have any fabulous recipes I need to know about, let me know! I love to try making new things.

Christmas Tag

I have decided to start my own little game of "blog tag" with a Christmas theme!
1. What is your favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night
2. What is your favorite Christmas album? Harry Connick Jr. "When My Heart Finds Christmas". The new one is good too, I just haven't gotten as into yet.
3. What is your favorite Christmas gift you have ever received? Cabbage Patch Kid when I was six
4. What is your favorite gift that you are giving this year? I am giving Alan The Office DVD board game. I really wanted for myself, but I figured I could give it to him and I could also enjoy it that way!
5. Favorite place/location to look at Christmas lights? Our old neighbor's tree on 80th Street!
6. Favorite Christmas treat/candy? homemade caramel corn
7. What is your funniest Christmas memory? Probably the first Christmas I was married. I had told Alan that I wanted to start a Christmas tradition for our family and all get new Christmas pajamas to open on Christmas Eve. He said he would buy some for me. So, on Christmas Eve night we got home from our family party and went to open our Christmas pj's. Alan realized that he forgot to get me some pj's. I was very upset. At this time in my life I was a bit more of a control freak and not as in control of my emotions as I am now! I then realized that there were no presents under the tree with my name on them. Taylor had presents. Alan had presents. No presents for Leslie :( I was obviously very upset. So Alan decided to run out to get me something. Since it was Christmas Eve and about 11:30 pm he found himself at Walgreen's. It was the only place open. So that year I got a watch and a bottle of perfume. I don't wear perfume and the watch accidentally got thrown away with the pile of trash from all the presents because I left it in the sack it was wrapped in and Alan gathered everything up and threw it all away before I realized it. I did get some pj's that year though. Alan went and found these two old red t-shirts he had from when he umpired Little League baseball. He somehow cut them and tied them together to make a long gown thing. Looking back on it all now it is pretty funny and he hasn't forgotten to get me a Christmas present since then! On a side note, that same year, Taylor got a rabbit that she accidentally killed in less than 48 hours. Long story, sad Christmas.

Ok, now I tag....everyone!

Yesterday, Molly Kate her first official photo shoot with Aunt Paige. Paige is the unofficial photographer of the family for many reasons. 1- She has the best camera. 2-She actually remembers to bring her camera and use it at family events. 3- She really is a great photographer. 4- My pictures usually end up with someone's head cut out of the picture or all blurry because about the time I'm about to click the pic Ava either runs out of the picture, runs through the room doing something crazy, etc. So all that to say, here are some pictures of Molly Kate!

Now that you've seen my little angel, here's a little update about life with three girls! It is quite an adjustment! Not only are Alan and I now outnumbered, I can not figure out how to get anywhere on time! No matter how early we get started, it seems that something comes up and keeps us from getting out the door when we need to be. I guess it's all a part of the learning curve, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Taylor is such an amazing big sister! She helps me so much with the little ones. Ava is doing a really good job of adjusting to no longer being the center of everyone's world! She really loves her baby sister. Molly Kate is so easy!! I could not have gotten an easier baby! She rarely cries. She just kind of grunt/squeals when she's hungry. That's it! So easy! My girls are so wonderful!

It's finally Christmas time here!

We finally put the tree up at my house! After weeks of thinking about it and days of saying we were going to do it, it is actually up!!! And miraculously Ava has not ripped off every ornament within her reach! I guess my lessons in manners are paying off because today she asked if she could break one of the ornaments. I of course said no and she replied with a really sweet, "Please, Mom?" I really love my tree and I'll tell you why. It's not a really pretty tree. My mother always has the most beautifully decorated, amazing tree. My sisters have both inherited this decorating sense for their trees, but mine is not so much. It's a fake tree with lights, and little bit of ribbon and then the ornaments. This is what I love so much about our tree. I put up all the ornaments, even the semi-ugly ones the kids have made because they either have their pictures on them or just because they made them! Then we have our snowmen. Beginning the Christmas right after Alan and I got engaged, I bought a cute ornament with two snowpeople in love. The next year, our first Christmas as a family, I bought a little snow family ornament. I have continued the tradition and it made me so happy to see all my little snow families! This year I get to buy a snow family of 5!!

Today was Ava's Christmas program at "school." I have a little video I thought I would share. She did such a good job! While most of the kids in her class were crying, she was doing the motions and semi-singing. My little girl is growing up!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, I was going to write a "Thanksgiving Letters" addition, but after reading my friend Liz's blog about all the things she is thankful for, I thought I could hold off on my sarcasm for a while. I will do a "Holiday Letters" blog another day filled with silliness and sarcasm for the whole season. So today, here are the things I am thankful for!
1. My husband. He is a loving, hardworking, devoted, passionate man who loves Jesus. He is an incredible father to our three beautiful girls!
2. My kids! I have the three most gorgeous, fun, amazing girls! I never thought I would have three daughters, maybe because I came from a family of three girls. I really thought a boy would be in the picture by now, but God knew exactly what I needed! I love my precious girls! Taylor- you are so amazing! Ava- you make me laugh all day long! Molly Kate- I just love snuggling you! I can not wait to see what you three grow up to be like.
3. My family. My parents are the best ever. I love this stage of life. We are great friends, and yet they are still such a wonderful prayer covering and encouragers in my life. My sisters are amazing. Paige- you are my hero. The gifts inside of you are so much fun to watch come out. Kelsey- you always make my day. What a great mother you are. You inspire me with that every day. My brothers-in-law are so much fun and my niece, Madi, is the cutest! I love that she knows who I am and she smiles when she sees me.
The rest will just be a list, because I could literally go on about all of these things forever!
My church- my other family, my job- I get to do what I love and use the gifts God has given me to serve Him, my extended family- greatest in the world!, my friends- what a blessing, health- sometimes I forget how blessed my family and I are to be in such great health.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Observations

For some reason I can not seem to go to sleep just yet. Maybe it is because I have been on the computer forever. I started out watching an old episode of One Tree Hill on thewb.com. Then I checked facebook, myspace, 3 different email addresses and of course the blog. Do I really need that much social networking??? So, now I thought I would just share some random thoughts.

First, I noticed in my last post a picture of my husband with Kate. He is wearing this silly orange trucker hat that he got at Home Depot last week. He got the notion to trim up our trees a little bit, which they desperately needed. Of course by the time he was done, two entire trees are now gone from my front yard. He just didn't see any use for them anymore, or he got really chainsaw happy. Back to the hat. When he went to buy the chainsaw, apparently the hat was on a display with the kind of saw he bought. He asked the Home Depot guy if they sold the hat and they didn't. This was the only one they had, and it had just come for the purpose of the display. I guess the guy saw how sad Alan was that he would not be going home with a bright orange, Stihl chainsaw hat, that he took it off the display and let him have it. So, now Alan wears it all the time. He really likes the hat even though he looks a little redneck wearing it.

My second observation is of my new baby girl. While she is sleeping she will out of nowhere start panting like a dog. It is very loud and at first it kept freaking me out. I would jump up to go check on her in her crib, but she just lies there asleep, panting. What is that all about???

My final observation for the night. I have changed so many diapers today that I lost count. Of course the new baby needs lots of diaper changes. Ava started wearing pull ups because "she's a big kid now" and likes to go on her little pink potty instead of in her diaper! Yay, this is all very exciting, except that she doesn't understand the concept of just pulling the pull-up down and pulling it back up when she's done. She takes off every piece of clothing from the waist down (pants, socks, shoes, and pull up), goes potty, and then tries to put on a new pull up which always results in both legs in one leg hole. She then runs around the house naked from the waist down because the pull up is all bunched up around the waist. So I haven't really changed her dirty diapers, just re-pull uped her about 15 times!

Baby Kate update

I realize I have done a terrible job of documenting my sweet new baby's first few days of life! She is now 10 days old and is doing great. She is such an amazing baby. She hardly ever fusses or cries and she is sleeping pretty good at night. Here are some pictures of her trip home from the hospital and the first week at home!
Heading home from the hospital!

Proud big sister!

A visit from Aunt Paige.

Snuggling with daddy.

10 days old!

Christmas already???

I just got on to check a few blogs from my lovely friends, and three of them were blogging about putting up Christmas decorations!!! Now, I love Christmas time SOOO much. A few years ago I decorated for Christmas the first week of November. The downfall to this was that by the week before Christmas I was tired of it and was ready to take it all down. So, I've learned to wait a bit on the decorating, but I guess I didn't realize that it was already time to start decorating (unless these three friends of mine are just crazy Christmas people and have jumped the gun! I don't think this is the case.) Well, now I'm just not sure what to do. I still can't believe that Thanksgiving is a week from Thursday, so maybe I need to get it in gear and get the tree up. This all seems a bit overwhelming since I just had a baby a week ago. I will say that the baby is not the difficult part. It's the two year old who is trying to adjust to the new baby! Maybe tomorrow I will blog about the adventures of the new baby and the two year old! I am surprisingly not exhausted yet and have been making myself do things that I like to do during Ava's nap, like reading blogs or maybe putting up a Christmas tree!

So far so good!

I don't have a whole lot to write about. When you have a new baby your day pretty much consists of feeding her, changing her diapers, trying to get a little rest and this cycle is pretty much all you do on a regular 2-3 hour rotation. So, that's been my day with the occassional crazy from Ava, but that is to be expected. So here are some of my favorite pictures of my precious Molly Kate and some of her new family members!

Kate is here!

My precious little one has arrived and I finally have a few moments to myself to share her pictures with the world via blog! First of all, we decided to call her Kate. I know there may be some confusion. On day one, it was Molly Kate, but as the day went on it just wasn't fitting. It's quite a big name for such a tiny little girl. I was a little freaked out since we had already turned the birth certificate papers in! So, on day two we went with just Kate and it is perfect! Kate is the name I loved all along and we put Molly with it as a first name which I still love. It was just a lot to call her, so Kate it is! Molly Kate means "pure joy" and I can not think of a better way to describe her. She is just so beautiful and content and has brought me nothing but pure joy! So, here she is world: Molly Kate Rich!

10 more hours!

I am officially in the final countdown. We are talking hours people! So what do you do the night before your baby is born? Well, I guess you blog! I'm really anxious, nervous, excited, did I mention anxious??? I'm not really sure how much sleep I'm going to get tonight. I am just so ready for her to be here!
I am going to try and get my mind off of tomorrow for a little bit, so I'm going to write about something totally off subject! This morning at church, the sermon was part of a great series we are doing on Family. Today was all about honoring your marriage and your spouse. I never thought of the two being separate, but I now see that I have to make sure I'm honoring Alan and not just honoring the marriage covenant I have made with him. Alan is so incredible. I don't think I've ever written a blog about him. I tend to write about funny things and stupid, meaningless things, but I want to share a little bit about my amazing husband. Abby really inspired me with her last blog and after today's message, I see how I need to be more intentional about honoring him sometimes.
I thought about making a list of all the things I love about him, but I think I'll just speak more from my heart. When I first met Alan in early 2002, the first thing that stuck out to me was that he was a dad. You don't see too many young, single fathers raising a daughter. He was and is still such an incredible father. I know he really wants a boy, but he is a great "girl dad." My dad is a great girl dad, so I know that these are a rare and special breed! I met Taylor when she was just about 18 months old and we have always had a special bond. Even before Alan and I ever dated or anything, Taylor and I were connected. I guess God knew what He was doing! I just loved seeing this young guy bringing his baby girl to church, loving God, serving Him in so many ways, and just having an amazing attitude about everything. I'll never forget a few years later when Alan asked me on our first date. My stomach was fluttering, my heart was pounding, just so many emotions. Maybe I'll share more of our story in another blog. Since the beginning of our relationship I have never doubted that Alan loves me. There are times when Satan tries to lie to me and tries to get my emotions all stirred up into thinking that maybe he doesn't love me anymore, but I know that's just not true. He is so faithful, so steadfast, and so wonderful. I am truly blessed to have such an amazing husband. Is our marriage perfect? Not by a long shot. We have had plenty of ups and downs and I'm sure there will be many more, but from this day on I am going to do whatever I can to honor him. With my words, my actions, and my thoughts. And tomorrow we will welcome our third little girl into this world! I am so excited to get to share a life and a family with this wonderful man!

Time for an Update!

It's been a few days since I last blogged and technically I didn't include anything of great importance in my last round of letters. Since I am such an important person with so many important things going on, I better catch you all up (please note the sarcasm, I don't really think that highly of myself). This was my first "official" week off of work. I led worship on Sunday and have taken off ever since. I have noticed a big change in myself over the past year or two. Honestly it feels really weird to be "out of the office". This week I have felt so out of the loop. There was a time when this would have greatly upset or offended me. If something is going on, I need to know! And everyone involved definitely needs to hear my opinion on it, right? This used to be my attitude but lately, I just really don't care! Not in a bad way. I do care about what's going on, but I don't feel like I need to put my two cents in anymore. Whatever gets decided is fine with me! This is actually quite a liberating feeling. My husband has pointed out on just a few occasions (sarcasm again) that I can tend to be a wee bit controlling. I have really been working on this because that's not who I want to be. I've always considered myself a very laid back person, but the last 4 or 5 years I have gotten myself a little tightly wound if you know what I mean. I'm just trying to learn to relax and stop trying to control every little thing. Whatever happens, happens. I'll do my part and sit back and just let everything else take care of itself. And I will be happy with the outcome!

Yesterday I had a slight freak out. I think it all snowballed because I decided to do too much yesterday and on top of it all, I was keeping my niece and nephew for part of the day. I won't go into a lot of detail, but this just added more to my plate than I could handle at the moment. So in typical Leslie fashion, I started a project!! I rationalized in my head that if I stayed busy I wouldn't notice the 4 screaming children in my house so much. I put the baby bassinet together and did a fantastic job if I can brag on my pregnant self for a bit. I was on a roll so I kept going. We bought a chest/trunk thing for the nursery. It has been sitting in the garage for two days now (in a box...in pieces). I decided I wanted it put together at that exact moment (this is the controlling thing I was talking about) and since Alan was not going to do it at that exact moment I would just do it myself! I'm a pretty handy girl so I got my screwdriver, wiggled the box into the house and opened it all up. I'll give you the Readers Digest version. I got most of it done, but could not finish the last piece. It really required two people, but I was impatient. So, I tried to finish it myself, messed up several times, and now Alan has to fix it for me anyways! Oh well.

I know this is getting long, but when you can't sleep and have nothing else to do but lie here and be assaulted by the growing baby inside of you...you keep blogging! My plans for the next few days include:
1. finishing the chest for the baby's room (this is actually on Alan's list)
2. put the double stroller together (again, this is really on Alan's list)
3. find a few more things to put on Alan's list.
Sounds like a good last 3 days of pregnancy to me!

Letters for the last week of pregnancy

Dear Ben at Star Nails,

Thank you for the fabulous pedicure you gave me today. I should probably be thanking Abby who gave me the gift certificate for the pedicure on my birthday in August, but today you were the one with magic hands my friend, so the thanks goes to you. Let me also say thank you for not making me bleed. The last two pedicures I have gotten have come with a fair share of pain and blood. You however drew no blood today. Kudos to you, Ben! And by the way, is that your real name? Ben? I'm just wondering because our favorite chef at O'Hana is named Kevin. Well, I would hear other people talking to him and his name was obviously not Kevin. Perhaps this is just an easier name to pronounce than his given Asian name. You see, Kevin left a few months ago. After a few sub-par O'Hana chefs we have found another fantastic one, and would you believe it, his name is also apparently Kevin! Maybe they just call their best chef at the time Kevin. Ok, I know this has nothing to do with you, Ben. I was just wondering. Anyways, thanks for the great pedi experience. I am loving my "Dutch Tulip" toes!



Give me ten!

Leslie





Dear Texas Tech football team,
Great game Saturday. You nearly put me into labor. I'm not sure if I can watch the Oklahoma State game this week if it's going to be as nail-biting as the Texas showdown. I just can't take the chance that another last minute amazing Harrell to Crabtree pass won't push me over the edge and send me to the hospital early. I'll see what I can do, but I may have to step out if it gets too exciting!

Wreck 'em!
Leslie


Dear registered voters,
Go vote tomorrow. If I can waddle my way to the voting polls, so can you. Maybe without the waddling. VOTE!!!

Leslie


Dear maker of the baby sling I bought yesterday,
I am slightly doubtful that your product will be a success. The problem is that I will not know for sure until the baby arrives. Your sling is not much more than a glorified pillowcase (albeit a very cute pillowcase. Your design was by far the cutest, which is of course why I bought it). Part of me thinks that I could have made this very sling in 8th grade Home Ec. I am going to give it a try, but do you have some kind of guarantee that my baby isn't going to slip out? I guess we'll have to wait and see. I'll let you know how things go after I watch the instructional DVD and try it out on a real baby.


Dear high heels in my closet,
I have not forgotten about you. I see you everyday, and I still know you are there. Hopefully, very soon we will reunite. I am slightly concerned that my foot may have grown a bit more with this pregnancy and some of you may be cleaned out of the closet and I will have to find new homes for you. Please know that this saddens me as much as it does you. We've had some great times in the past, and I am ready for a reunion tour. Thanks for you patience as I have shown extreme partiality to my flats over the past several months.

Missing you,
Leslie


Dear elastic waist jeans,
I wish I could forget about you. You have been there for me the last few months, but I am ready for our relationship to take on a new look. I can't stand the way you fold under my belly anymore. I can't stand the fact that you have to be tugged at and pulled up an average of 56 times a day. It is time for buttons and zippers again. My fear is that this will not happen as quickly as I like, so I will still wear you from time to time. I'm sorry if I don't sound grateful for all that you have done for me lately, but it's time to move on. I'm just not that into you anymore.

Stretched out,
Leslie

and finally....

Dear gray hairs,
Enjoy your last few weeks. You have come on very strong the past two months. Well, your reign of terror and aging are about to be over! When this baby gets here, you are out. I will do whatever I can to look like a 27 year old again. I realize that your texture is totally different than the rest of my hair, but I don't care. As long as I can be a brunette again, I'll take the wiry, crazy little hairs that have taken over my hairline. Just say no to salt and pepper!

Push it!
Leslie

2 Posts for the Price of 1

I have been meaning to put up pictures of the girls "new" room for quite some time now. I finally moved the pics over from my camera, so here they are!

New bunk beds, paint and bedding. The girls especially love the top bunk!

Ok, now onto Halloween. Taylor decided to be a cheerleader this year and Ava was a bee. If you asked her she said "Just like the Bee Movie." She is really into this movie right now, and I must say I enjoy watching it with her. It is pretty funny. We started the night out with a visit to my grandparent's house. They just love it when the girls come over, and of course they wanted to see them in their cute costumes. Here are Taylor and Ava with Mema and Pepa.

We then went to Hallelujah Night at church!

Ava and Madison, the flower and the bee.


Taylor got her face painted. The other side said "Go Crabtree." Originally she wanted to go as "Crabtree's girlfriend" for Halloween. I didn't even know she knew who Crabtree was. And I wasn't sure how to dress up as a college football player's girlfriend. She is such a funny kid sometimes!

My niece and nephew, Bella and Karson.

Ava's favorite thing was the jumper and the big blow up slide.

We had a great time!

Lots of randomness!

The past two days have been so crazy. Life has slowed down somewhat, but I need to get in gear on some baby stuff. The nursery is SO not ready. The problem is that I have no motivation to do it. I have a new cute dresser, but have not put any clothes in it. I got the antique looking daybed out of there, but still need a mattress for the bed I am using. I am still waiting on the blanket chest that I ordered to come in. I keep telling myself that as soon as that comes in I will get busy, but I'm not sure that I will. It's just lots of little things that add up to one giant mess of a room. I only have 11 days left to do it!!!

To top it all off, my sleeping patterns are a little out of whack. Last night I will chalk it up to the fact that at one point both girls were in our bed. I think that was from about 3:00-5:00 am. Taylor slept with us the whole night because she was scared of the noises the dishwasher was making. I told her it was just the dishwasher. She explained to me that she wasn't afraid of the dishwasher, just the noises it was making. Ava woke up around 3:00 just crying and saying "Mommy, I need to snuggle you." So, of course I went and got her and put her in bed with me. It's hard enough to sleep with an enormous belly! I wake up every time I turn over. And then when Ava starts flailing around and kicking me in the head, I put her back in her bed. We have to go through our usual bedtime routine again even though it's 5:00 am. She doesn't know the difference though. Some days I am wide awake at 6:30 and other days I can not even open my eyes until 9:00. It's terrible, I feel like the worst mom, because Taylor practically gets herself ready for school. Alan gets up and dries her hair and takes her to school. I just wake up every ten minutes and check to see if she's brushed her teeth and has her school bag ready. But getting out of bed seems like an absolute impossibility. I usually want a nap around 4:00 pm and around 8:30 pm I get this second wind and I find myself cleaning the kitchen and trying to get caught up on laundry all while putting the girls to bed. There is no rhyme or reason to it all. I think God is just trying to get me ready for the new baby, because Lord knows any normal sleeping patterns will be out the window!!!

Tomorrow my plans include a little bit of work to wrap things up before I take maternity leave, a pedicure (hopefully!), and getting Taylor's costume for Halloween. Taylor has quite the social calendar these days. She stays busier than the rest of us it seems like. We just found out her grandfather just moved back to Lubbock, so he wants to take her to dinner tomorrow night. Her grandmother wants to see her at least once a week, which is fun for Taylor because she gets to go see her horse when she's with her Mimi.

One final random thought. I thought I would share a funny story that happened to me a few weeks back. My hubby got me a "Pea in the Pod" massage from this new day spa called "The Woodhouse." It was a really nice place. Too fancy for me, but it was still a fun treat. I went in and they got me a robe and slippers and showed me where to change and a locker to keep my stuff in during the massage. Then she told me to go through this door once I was changed. So I got my robe on, locked up my stuff, and went through the door. It was this fancy room with super rich wood and furniture and this fireplace. The lady brought me some water in a fancy glass and told me that my masseuse would be in to get me in a moment. I was the only one in the room, so I chilled by the fireplace, sipped my water and relaxed. The girl came in and took me to the massage room. It was just a normal massage. It was nice and relaxing. When she was done, she told me I could put my robe back on and go back to the "Quiet Room." I assumed the quiet room was the room I had been in before. So, I got up, put the robe on and opened the door to the "Quiet Room." Well, this time there was this older, bearded guy sitting by the fire, reading a thick, leather, hardback book, drinking a glass of wine....also in the spa issued robe and slippers. All he was missing was a pipe. It was the most awkward moment. I sat in the chair the furthest away from him. I started to realize that the girl did not give me any further instructions. Was I supposed to wait in here for something? Was she coming back to get me? Was someone going to come get this guy? The awkwardness went on for about five minutes and I realized that no one was coming for me. He showed no sign of leaving any time soon. He was just enjoying his wine and his book and the fire. I got up and went back to the bathroom/locker room. I got my stuff, quickly changed and got out of there!!! It was such a weird experience. The old guy never made eye contact with me, but it was still a little creepy being in our spa robes chilling in the "quiet room" together.

Bizarro Sunday

Does anyone remember the Seinfeld episode where Elaine is in Bizarro world? Well, yesterday was Bizarro Sunday. I vaguely remember the Sunday of last year's Pursue conference being a little wacky also, but yesterday was just crazy!!! First of all let me say that the Pursue Conference was so fantastic. I have to give major props to my sister Paige for her spearheading of the entire event. Also to Kyla who works harder than probably anyone else at the church and makes things amazing!!! I would work on anything with these two girls!!! Of course there are countless others who amaze me and absolutely rock my socks off. Maybe I'll write another blog about them tomorrow.

So, back to Bizarro day. We got to church at 7:30 am for the usual sound check and run through of some songs before the service. I honestly was in no rush. We had already led worship 4 times in the last two days in the same room, so we were all kind of taking our time. Once we got started there was a crazy buzzy, feedback sound. The sound guys were pretty sure it had something to do with the electrical end of one of the guitar amps. I don't know anything about this stuff, so I was just waiting patiently for them to figure it all out. After many failed attempts, Randall was just about to crawl under the stage and see what could have possibly happened overnight to make things get so crazy. About that time they kind of realized that they had traced it to the wrong channel or something and it was the acoustic guitar. Turns out, the battery was dead and it just needed to be changed. So, about 12 seconds later we were back at it.

We had run through most everything we needed to and it was almost 8:45, which is when I like to be done so that people can come in and we're not up there singing. Well, we are finishing the last song and here comes my dad down the hallway with a vacuum cleaner. If you don't know, my dad is the Senior Pastor of the church. He has never been one of those people who thinks he's above any job, so I guess he saw something that needed to be vacuumed and just took care of it himself. So, here he comes 15 minutes before the service with his vacuum. Plugs it in and proceeds to suck up something that was bothering him right in the door way. I have no idea what was there. Then it got funny because some ushers saw what he was doing and were trying to help or grab the vacuum or something and it just looked like this little circus in the doorway. It was quite funny.

Ok, here's the big kicker. We started the service differently because we were wrapping up this conference and we wanted to make it special and what not. So, we start with all the lights out and I am standing right at the front edge of the stage. I start to sing "Hosanna" and we show this awesome video of people's faces from all over the world. It just really sets the tone for what we were wanting to get across, just focusing on God and on the people who break His heart. Anyways, that song goes good, and we start into song #2. I am not actually leading this song so I'm kind of standing back a little bit. I guess my eyes were closed, because I felt Kyla push my back. I just figured I was about to run into something behind me so I scooted up a little bit. Well, she kept pushing me and I looked out and my dad and sister were both on the front row telling me to come here. I thought it was really odd because we were in the middle of the song. I thought maybe they just needed me to announce something so I'm kind of looking down at them and then Paige says, "Come here, NOW!" At this point I think I must be in trouble. My first thought was that maybe my shirt was see through or something crazy like that. I walk down to where they are, mind you the song is still going. At the same time they both say, "Your zipper is down." So, here I am, on the front row, having just drawn attention to myself by walking off the stage in the middle of a song. Luckily I had muted my microphone before they both announced my fashion faux pas. I kind of half way hid behind my dad and zipped it right up! Now my dilemma was how to get back on the stage. Should I go around the side and try to sneak on? Should I just walk straight up? And then I started realizing that I had opened the entire service by myself in a spotlight, dead center of the stage. I am 37 weeks pregnant, so I am already attracting enough attention to that area of my body with the planet that has become my stomach. Oh well, no time to worry about this now, I just decide to haul it back up there, right up the middle of the stairs and kept on singing. BIZARRO DAY!!!

I decided that if that was the worst thing to happen to me all day, then I was doing pretty good. It could have been worse. I had nightmares the entire week before the conference that my water was going to break on stage in the middle of worship. Now that would have been embarrassing!!! I survived Bizarro day and now I can rest for a bit. I have two weeks until Molly Kate arrives and so now I can focus on getting ready for her arrival!!!

Break My Heart

I think God is really trying to get me ready for the Pursue Conference. We have an amazing worship team for this year's conference. We have been having lots of extra rehearsals and learning new songs and I am just so excited to see how it all turns out. Well, the whole theme for this year's conference is "Break Our Hearts for What Breaks Yours." I have really been praying this and believe that God can totally do this in all of us. My thought on what this looks like though has been all about the lost, hurting people in less fortunate countries.

This week, God has totally rocked my world with all of this. I get really excited thinking about what I can do for people in other nations, but God showed me (again) this week that there is a huge situation staring at me in the face right here in Lubbock.

Most of you know that I am a stepmom. It feels weird to say that, because I don't feel like a step mom. Taylor lives with us full time and as far as I'm concerned she's all mine! I love her more than anything and the whole "step" label just feels weird for me to even say. Anyways, Taylor's birth mom, Summer, has always been a big prayer issue in my life. The whole process and journey that I have gone through (and continue to go through) concerning Summer is quite elaborate. First, I dealt with anger toward her. How could a mother act the way she does? How can one person be so selfish? These are all questions and issues that I struggled with and dealt with and now feel such peace about it all. God's grace is so amazing. That's all I can say about it. It's all a testimony of God's grace being enough in each situation. After the anger phase then I just felt sorry for her. Sometimes I still do even though I know that she has chosen the life she has and her choices and actions are why she is where she is at in life.

Now, Summer is pregnant. This has been a very trying time for me, because it is hard to see how Taylor has had to deal with it. Overall, she is very excited about a new sibling. My issues of course go back to Summer. Without going into all of the details, she is currently living with her ex-boyfriend who is fresh out of jail for drug dealing. He is not the father of the baby. Can you imagine the conversations I've had with an eight year old about all of this??? Things you never thought you would have to discuss with a third grader! What "breaks my heart" about this entire situation is that Summer will not go to the doctor for prenatal care. My assumption is that she is back on drugs and I just can't stand the thought of that. Since I am also pregnant I realize the weight of the responsibility of creating and sustaining this other life. It is a huge thing, but wow, what a blessing!!!

Every time I think about what I can do for the orphans in Africa, or the prostitutes in India, God redirects my focus to Summer. I don't know why this is the one situation in my life that I will probably always have to deal with, but I know that God has purpose for it all. So, if you think about it today, please pray for Summer. Please pray for the unborn child that she carries. This is Taylor's little brother or sister. My prayer is that #1- the child gets here safely and drug free and #2- God will protect Taylor from too much information and more than her little mind and heart can handle.

Room Swap

It has been busy around here the last week. Most people get a nursery ready before a new baby, but instead we have just redone Taylor's room. Or I should say Taylor and Ava's room. The plan is for the girls to share a room. So far it's working out, but maybe that's because Ava hasn't actually slept in the new room yet. We got the girls bunkbeds. Ava is just not quite ready for a big bed. Or maybe I'm not ready for her to be in a big bed. Even with rails, there is still a chance of escape, and the way Ava has been acting lately she would definitely be on the run all the time!!! So for now, they share a closet, a dresser, lots of playing space, but they still sleep in different rooms. One step at a time!

Now I need to get busy on the nursery. I decided to keep everything pretty much the same since Ava's nursery was so cute. If I can get through this upcoming weekend I will get busy getting the baby's stuff in order!

Speaking of this weekend, I am SOOOOO excited about the Pursue Conference! Last year was so great, but I think this year is going to be even better!!! If you are not sure about coming or not, just come! I promise your life will be changed.

Compliment....I think.

On Sunday, I got a really nice compliment. Two of my dear friends told me that they had been talking about me over the weekend. It all started with a trip to Forever 21. Apparently there were a few girls in the dressing room with a screaming baby in a stroller. After lots and lots of crying and no attempt from any of the girls to console the baby or to even break away from trying on things, the baby proceeds to puke in the dressing room. At that point, one of the girls offers the baby a cookie and some juice. Not really a great idea right after the baby has thrown up. Well, one of my dear friends can't really handle things like throw up. Just the sound of it sends her into the gagging state. She and the other friend were frantically trying to get their own clothes back on so they could get out of the dressing room and escape the whole scene. The girls and the baby had left by this point, leaving the poor teenager with an after school job at Forever 21 to clean up the mess.

So this brings me to the compliment. Thank you for your patience. They told me that they decided I was the coolest mom they knew and that I should teach a class or something on it. Here are three of the qualifications they came up with that earned me the title in their eyes.
#1- I continued to live my life even after I had kids. Even though to me it feels like everything slowed WAY down, they said I just seemed to keep going. I bring my kids along and didn't put everything on hold just because kiddos came along. I have always felt like it was very important to just include them in the things in our lives that are very important to us. I don't think it's an accident that Taylor has her own guitar and Ava thinks she has to sing songs on a microphone, preferably on a stage. Alan and I decided long ago that since worship is a huge part of our lives we wanted to include our girls in it too.
#2- I don't obsess over little things. This includes things like eating things off the floor. Honestly, I decided long ago that things like that don't really bother me. I know about germs, I know about disease and all the nasty things could be living on the floor. I think that this practice of the 5-second rule is a big reason why my kids are rarely sick. In all of Ava's two years she has had a few ear infections and excema. That's pretty much it. I don't think food off the floor really contributes to dry skin, so I can pretty much rule that one out. Now let me clarify that this only includes food that has just fallen. I do not promote making a buffet out of things that have been on the floor for an unidentified number of days. I'm sure there are other things, but this seems to be the best example.
#3- My friends think that my kids are cool. I guess this is a reflection of me. They think I'm cool, so that makes my kids cool. I think they're pretty cool.

So that's pretty much it. I don't think I could teach a class or anything. And I should probably also say that these two friends don't have kids themselves. One of them never wants kids and the other one is in no hurry. She actually doesn't want to birth her own kids. That part freaks her out. So, I'm not sure how valid their opinions are, but I will still take the compliment!

A Momentous Occasion!!

This weekend Alan and I (with some help from my cousin, Kimberly) painted Taylor and Ava's room. Yes, it will soon be both of their room although Ava is in denial. When asked if she likes the new pink and blue walls in her room she says "Oh no, mommy, my room is over there. This is Tay-Tay's room." We'll have to work on that. As we were clearing things out to get started, Alan and I faced "THE PILE." Yes, it deserves all caps.

You see, Taylor has a soft spot in her heart for animals. She dearly loves all species, all breeds, all kinds of animals. This has carried over into a love for stuffed animals. For years her collection has grown to the point of nearly overtaking her room (and she has a big room people!) So, we looked at the pile and thought. I am a little more caring at times than Alan and decided she would have to get rid of at least 10 0f them. (You see THE PILE consists of at least 60 stuffed animals). Alan was appalled. He said, no way, we're getting rid of all of them. Keep in mind Taylor was out of town this weekend, so she missed this whole interaction (thank God!) Since we couldn't compromise, we just threw them all into Ava's room and started painting.

Well, last night Alan told Taylor that she could keep 10 stuffed animals and the rest would no longer have residence at our house. She nearly choked on her Frito Pie and then with teary eyes said "Daddy, you can't do this to me." They really are special to Taylor. She can tell you where she got every single one of them, who gave it to her, how old she was when she got it, what she was wearing the day she got it, etc. But she finally admitted that she was outgrowing them a bit and she would do it. Alan gave her a 30 minute deadline to make her 10 choices. After a full 30 minutes of going through THE PILE she came out with 12. She couldn't decide between a few of them. She was completely torn up about it. So, Alan giving into his softy side agreed that 12 would be ok. So, now our mountain of stuffed animals is down to a mere mole hill. And what blessed me the most is that Taylor wants to give all the other stuffed animals away at Adopt-A-Block on Saturday. She said that she needed to find special homes for them and give them to kids who probably didn't have as many toys as she did. Taylor, I am so proud of you!!!

The Unusual Blog

I don't usually blog about things like this. I like to keep it light and humorous, but I'll be honest and let the blogging world in on a little secret. I have been very down lately. I guess the lighthearted blogs were a way of showcasing the fun things in life. The things that make me smile and I could retreat for a short time into the happy things and just laugh or smile. But today, as I woke up I just felt so sad. For different reasons, none of which I feel I need to share in this blog (I'm not that open of a person), but then something caught my eye. I was checking the usual sites (email, myspace, facebook, blogspot) and then I decided to go to biblegateway.com. It's just basically the bible online but you can search in all kinds of translations and compare, so I like to use it. The verse of the day was Psalm 62:1-2 "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken."



I just started to cry (again). Lately I have felt so shaken. And what makes it most difficult is that I don't want anybody to know so I try even harder to appear strong and immovable. I could feel myself starting to slip though. It's hard to keep that up for weeks on end. At times, you just have to be human, let your guard down and be vulnerable, I guess.



I went on to read all of Psalm 62, and I would like to share it with you today.

1 My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
3 How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw him down—this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
4 They fully intend to topple him from his lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse. Selah
5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God [a] ; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah
9 Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath.
10 Do not trust in extortion or take pride in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
11 One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong,
12 and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.

I love that I can pour out my heart to Him. I even try to keep that to myself at times and just assume that God has other things on His mind. But He is the one place I can go to and just pour out my heart and find peace, hope, and rest. My other favorite part is the end. "You, O God, are strong, and You, O Lord, are loving." The two things I seem to be most deficient on lately are strength and love. So, to know that God is both of these things and I can stop trying to find strength and love in outside sources is just a load off my back! I've known all of this, but somehow I get to the place where I need to be reminded. So, maybe you need to be reminded today.

On a side note. There is a cat at my back window. It has watched me type this entire blog. I hate cats. Every time I look over at it, it just licks the window. I guess God likes to keep things humorous after all.

Football!!!

Ok, I'm really not a big Texas Tech fan, but yesterday was Tech Day at Ava's PDO. She got a Tech cheerleading outfit as a gift a while back and has never worn it. Like I said, we don't really go to any Tech events or any other events that require a two year old to wear a cheerleading outfit. So, I was excited to put it on her yesterday. She was so excited and kept throwing her arms up yelling "Go Tech!"

We also went to our first Monterey game this season last Thursday. It was Alan's birthday and we couldn't think of anything to do. My cousin, Jay is a senior this year and it was fun watching him get to play on Varsity! It seems like just yesterday he was in YFL!

Jay is #13 (on the left)

Letters to people at Wal-Mart

Dear checker,
I want to commend you. I truly believe you are the greatest employee I have ever encountered at Wal-Mart. I have come to your line many times before. Sometimes I will even wait a little longer in your line, because you are so pleasant!! My only comment would be to fix your name tag. I believe your name is Jahava, but the letters are a little faded and crooked and I can't quite tell if that's right. Plus, I've never heard the name Jahava, so I'm wondering if this is correct. Either way, you are fantastic! You know every number on every piece of produce. Most of the other checkers always have to revert to the "cheat sheet." I understand that there are a lot of numbers to memorize, but bananas, seriously??? If you can't remember the four digit code for bananas, we have bigger problems! Doesn't like every single shopper purchase bananas? But you Jahava, you knew the code for flowery kale! I am impressed. Kudos to you on your checking skills. And your bagging!!! You actually understand that I put things on the counter in a certain order and you bag things so they make sense. You do not put canned goods in the same bag as the loaf of bread! (This has happened to me before, bread on the bottom.) You keep frozen things together and boxed things together. This makes my grocery put up so much smoother. So my hat is off to you! Thanks for doing a superb job!

Satisfied customer,
Leslie


Dear kid at the lobster tank,
Please do not pretend you are also a lobster and pinch my kids when they come over to check out the lobsters. It is hard enough to avoid a break down in Wal-Mart with a two year old without you clawing her!

Keep your pinchers to yourself please,
Mad Mommy


Dear lady with the two carts,
I'm not even sure where to begin. Are you buying for two separate households? Are you trying to keep your refrigerated items separate from your non-refrigerated items? I do not understand your method. Maybe this stands out to me because I personally witnessed you knock over a Fruit Roll-Up display after nearly taking out the Halloween candy aisle. Seems like one basket might be best next time.


Dear guy at the door with the petition,
When a pregnant lady with two kids and a fully loaded basket are trying to get out the door, please do not block the exit and ask me if I'm a registered voter and if I would like to sign a petition about alcohol sales in Lubbock. Personally, I think Wal-Mart is a crazy enough place without an entire alcohol section! I'm just thinking of my shopping sanity at this point! I don't need you to continue to pressure me and give me your speech after I already said that I'm not interested. Pregnant lady, two kids, melting popsicles. Out of my way please!

Hurried shopper,
Leslie


Dear shoppers who don't return your carts,
Return your carts!!! That is all.

So as you can see, it was an eventful day at Wal-Mart. I didn't even go late at night which is when most of the craziness happens!

Tag, I'm it!

I was tagged by Kristi to write a blog about my husband's favorite things. So here goes.

His girls.

Wakeboarding.

Watching the Cowboys.

Playing guitar.

Collecting guitars and amps.

That's all I can come up with right now. Sorry, I don't have pictures for the others! So, I tag Denae, both my sisters, and Jennifer.

Things I like

I just read my sister's blog and I am reminded of how incredibly smart she is and how incredibly shallow and lazy I enjoy being at times! Paige gave a very long list of book recommendations that she has read over the last few months and I realized I haven't read anything recreational but a baby name book, a few magazines, and I finished an entire Kakuro puzzle book. I can't even make my own list of recommendations, because I don't really know if I recommend these things, they just happen to be the mindless things that I enjoy at the end of the day when I am exhausted and want to completely "veg" out.
#1- Kakuro. I am a total nerd on this one. I got a Kakuro book at Barnes and Noble a few months ago and just finished the entire book (150 puzzles). It was the green belt book, so now I feel prepared for the next level, brown belt. That's right...brown belt! If you don't know what Kakuro is, look it up. It's fun.
#2- A few shows I like to watch on TV. During the day, my TV watching consists of the same Backyardigans DVD mixed in with Veggie Tales from time to time. So the only time I get to watch TV for myself is at night after the girls are in bed. I pull up the DVR list and pick from my recorded favorites. These include (in no particular order) The Office (ok, this is definitely #1), Project Runway, The Soup, Top Design, and I think that's about it right now.
#3- reading blogs. This is my new favorite computer pasttime. I'm kind of over myspace. I enjoy facebook, but not quite as much as the blogs. I have some great ones of my friends right on my blog page, so check some of them out!

Ok, so those are my current "recommendations." Pretty lame I know. Maybe I should start reading more. I want to read "The Shack" but haven't picked it up yet. Any thoughts on this book? I've just heard a lot about it.

Who needs a Lap Band!

I've discovered a new way to eat less. Grow a baby inside of you! Apparently your stomach will be shoved into some tiny corner of your insides and you can only eat about three bites before feeling stuffed. And if you eat more than those three bites, no matter what it is (cereal, chicken, grapes) chances are you will have intense heartburn and a reflux feeling that will make you think twice about eating more than three bites! I must say though that Tums are a great friend to me right now. They don't seem to count in the three bite rule, yet they get rid of the burning sensation growing in your throat. Is this an overshare? Sometimes I don't know if I cross the line. Just thought I'd share since I'm sitting here having over done it with a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. Bring on the Tums!

The green bean face-off!

Motherhood is such an adventure! Especially when you are raising two kids at very different ages. Taylor came into my life (I officially became "mom") at the age of four. I had no idea all the things that I had missed, but Ava is giving me a crash course every day! I realize I am probably biased, but Ava is pretty stinkin' smart. She talks in these elaborate, complete sentences lately. And she calls me "mom." Not mommy or mama, just mom. "I'd like to watch a movie now, Mom." or "I'd like a fruit snack, Mom." I can have these entire, in-depth conversations with a two year old, and what's funny about it is I'm not sure if many other people can understand fully what she's saying. She speaks pretty clearly, but I think I know some of her words just because I'm around her all day.

We had a big moment last night. Let me preface this by saying this is a spanking story. Yes, I believe in spanking my kids. I don't abuse them, but I do give them spankings when the situation requires it. So, lately Ava has been testing me on every level. She pushes me to the limits and sees just how far she can take things. I always said I wouldn't be a "threatener." I honestly have bad mouthed other parents for threatening continuously to punish their kids, but never following through. That was before I had a two year old! So, last night after Ava had spit out all of her green beans and telling me "No mom, I don't like that. I'm not eating that." We went back and forth several times. Alan can straighten her out with just a look, but she does not respond quite the same way to me. Alan tells me that I have to be consistent or she will always run over me. So, I stuck to my guns and gave her a spanking. Now, Alan says that Ava is just like me, so I shouldn't be surprised that my spankings don't do a lot for her. I used to actually laugh at my mom when she gave me spankings. I thought it was funny! I'm not sure what the difference was last night. I have spanked her on many occassions, but she didn't seem too affected by them. This time, she really cried and looked at me and said "That hurt Mom. That spanking hurt my bottom." I told her it was supposed to hurt a little bit, or she would never learn her lesson. We finally had a breakthrough! Don't worry, she has no bruises, I didn't spank her too hard, but it finally worked! She finished all of her green beans. It was actually comical. She really didn't like them, but, she ate them. She shuttered and made faces the entire time. She even kind of gagged a little bit, but she ate them!!! Advantage: mom!

Veggie Tales!

Yesterday I took Ava to see Veggie Tales Live! We had a great time! We met up with our friends Jonah, River, and Marla and the kids really enjoyed it. I think the moms enjoyed it almost as much though! Here are some pics of our fun time!

Getting ready for the show!

I think Ava clapped the entire first half!

Intermission....get ready for the hats....

Jonah got Larry Boy...

Ava got Bob...

The stars of the show, Bob and Larry!!!

Ava's favorite, The Cheeseburger Song

Hooray for Veggie Tales!

Heading home after a fun show!