Summa summa summa TIME!!!

We have been successful at doing a whole lot of nothing our first week of summer. But here are some of the things we have done so far.

hErE is WHAT I am LoVInG about SuMMERtIme.....

1. Playing everyday all day with my favorite kid in the world. To all of you stay at home mommys: how do you ever get anything done? Naps? Okay, I guess I should stop napping everytime Blake does.

2. Eating...a lot of eating.



3. Working out again. I took some pics in my swimsuit (no, I am not putting them on here) so that I would be able to track my progress this summer. Eating 24-7 is not helping this cause much.

4. Being outside. Blake has been playing in the water A LOT. Maybe we should get out more and go to the pool?? I think she is trying to tell me something.

5. Watching Blake come up with creative, and sometimes a little gross, ways to play on her own.

Yes, that's an empty can of cat food. And notice that this is two different days doing the same activity.

6. Taking baths in the middle of the day because we have played so hard and we are DIRTY! I have a little tomboy on my hands.

7. Letting Blake and Daddy spend time with GiGi and Grandpa so I can go to VEGAS with my mom and sister! (I don't have any pics yet...)

ThINgs i Am NOT LoVinG so MUch.....

1. All the stinkin' mosquitos in our backyard!!! We bathe in off everyday before we step foot outside.

2. Since we are trying to sell the house we have decided it probably needs to be clean... I HATE trying to keep the house spotless with a kid running around behind me pulling out everything I just put up! I am doing a really good job though, as you can see....

NOT!!! This is ridiculous!

And to all who are wondering, yes we are planning on moving. I don't want to go into details because... well, I just don't want to yet. More info to come!~

Here you go Joni...

And for anyone else who still checks....... Blake takin' the mic

I love this one because you can see her face through Darth Vader's (sp?) eye hole

Blake with uncle Barry
She didn't love the mac and cheese as much as she loved using her own fork

Computer hog...this is why I can't get on to blog anymore

B got a huge misquito bite on her ear and it swelled up. I didn't think it would ever look the same again...but it does.

Playing in the sprinkler

Yea!!! mommy stopped being lazy and finally posted about me!!!

Blogging Sabbatical

By definition a sabbatical is a rest from work. I have not been doing that AT ALL. But I haven't been blogging...obviously. We are trying to get some stuff figured out in our lives and I thought taking a break from the blogging world would help but it really hasn't. So I'm back. And since it has been so long here is a list of things that have gone in my life during my "sabbatical". I hope this isn't boring...

1. My parents took Blake to Abilene for a long weekend so Ryan and I went to Dallas for a mini vacation.
2. I tried bubble tea for the first time...amazing.
3. We went to IKEA.
4. Worked in the yard...picking up leaves.
5. Mom got Blake a sand box and we filled it with sand and she plays in it all the time! It was a great purchase.
6. Made a list of things that need to be done around the house.
7. Cried because they stopped publishing Cottage Living.
8. Tried to join Facebook three times and it wouldn't let me...guess I'm not cool enough.
9. Caught Blake playing croquette (sp?) in the backyard with the spatula from the grill and a dog turd.
10. Started my spring break by going to Edmond to visit Ryan's family.
11. Went to Abilene during my spring break to hang with mom, dad, Heather, Laine, Bowen, Robin, Linda and Reegan. It was great fun.
12. Audrey came to visit me at the end of my spring break because she is moving to London...ridiculous.
13. Shauna and her fam came over while Audrey was in town for a cookout.
14. Picked up some more leaves...
15. I went back to school...it's a hard thing to do after a week off!!!!!
16. Took Blake to the Dallas World Aquarium
17. Played outside...A LOT!
18. Spilled an entire cup of coffee on my pants in the parking lot of my school one morning
19. Ryan showed up at my school to bring me my pants but forgot my pants at home...
20. Wore sweat pants and a t-shirt that I found at school to teach the entire day...my underwear smelled like coffee
21. Went back to Abilene for Easter: we decorated eggs, hunted egss and played!
22. Finally got on Facebook...who wants to be my friend?
23. Started reading several books that I still haven't finished including: Gang Leader for a Day and The Shack...
24. We've been to Central Market to listen to music several times...one of my favorite things to do when the weather is nice
25. Got a bone density scan and it said I have a low bone density...Calcium supplements anyone??
26. Had a fun night out with the girls for Tara's birthday!
27. Started using one of those gradual self tanners because I am W-H-I-T-E! I can't decide if I like it yet.
28. Realized that I am a different size than I was last summer so none of my shorts fit...I hate buying shorts.
29. Getting ready for TAKS...it's this Thursday. Please pray that all my kids will pass and in order for that to happen, pray that the test is easier than last year!!!!
30. Heard the song "It won't be like this for long" on my way to school one morning and cried through the whole thing!
31. Been loving the age that Blake is right now...she is hilarious!! I love her more every single day!!
32. Gaining a deeper understanding of God's love as I watch my baby grow!
33. Picked up more leaves...have I ever mentioned that we have 36 trees in our backyard????
34. Got two...that's right two...tickets from those dang cameras for running red lights.
35. Working on what our future holds in terms of jobs, our house and where we want Blake to grow up
36. Started playing tennis again
37. Had a crick in my neck for a week...maybe it's because I have old woman bones
38. We've gone to the dog park a few times since the weather has been great!
39. Ryan and I have a new "deal," if you leave something in the living room and don't put it up you have to clean one room of the house chosen by the other person.
40. I have been counting down the days until summer since spring break
41. We went to the Main Street Arts Festival
42. We ate at the Love Shack in the Stockyards...best hot dog ever!
43. Ryan brought me flowers and a four pack of Virgil's rootbeer(the best ever) on a random day...he's the best!
44. We have a plague of disgustingly huge june bugs on our porch...the other day I needed to mail something and found about 700 in our mailbox....yuck!!!!!!!!
45. Have been spending way too much time watching American Idol and Biggest Loser...
46. I have cooked several new recipes lately
47. Since officially starting my facebook page yesterday (meaning I looked for friends etc) I have checked it about 10 times.
48. I have been writing this post for almost an hour and I am struggling to think of two more things to make it an even 50
49. Decided to go on a trip to Vegas with my mom and sister right after school is out
50. I missed blogging and checking other people's blogs...but I'm back now so please don't be mad anymore!!!

Sorry this was just a list and there are no pics...one thing at a time people.

si-ick

Tonight Ryan and I went to play tennis at some courts near our house. We let Blake wander around and play (i.e. dodge the balls we were hitting to each other). After a few minutes I look over and she is chewing on something..."Blake, what's in your mouth?" She opens it and chewed up gum falls out. siiiiiiiiiiiiiick!!!!

Bad Mom of the Day

First of all, I am a blogging maniac. This is my second post within 24 hours. Lookout!

Today I am playing stay at home mommy. I love to skip work for this! We started off the day with homemade french toast and then played while Mickey Mouse Clubhouse was on (I am in the habit of turning on cartoons in the morning. She does not watch them AT ALL. She loves the songs just not the cartoon. But secretly I love them!)

Then we got dressed and headed off to Target. I need a black shelf to put on the wall in Blake's room. Right when I got the cart she started moving her legs around like a martial artist so that I couldn't get them in the leg holes on the kid seat. So, I put her in the basket part. I do this all the time. She sits in there and looks around and sometimes stands but I go very slow. Yeah, I know. I am breaking the rules on the flippy down seat thing. It definitely has an X through a picture of a kid standing in the basket. AND NOW WE KNOW WHY...

I was in the book section looking at some books for Ryan and she stood up. The next thing I know she is reaching for something, puts her foot up on the side of the basket (she is climbing on everything lately) and FLIPS OUT OF THE BASKET!!!!! I had enough time to grab the back of her sweatshirt to break the fall a little but she flipped completely over and landed on her back. Somehow, she did not hit her head. I freaked! I picked her up and then immediately looked around to see who saw! Luckily, no one. I felt bad enough, I did not need anyone around to see what happended and freak out with me. She cried for about 30 seconds really hard until I found the pacifier in my bag and she stopped. I checked for bumps and bruises and amazingly there were none. I was sweating profusely.

We ended up leaving without a shelf but managed to find several "I'm sorry I put you in the basket and let you flip out on your back" purchases including: some sidewalk chalk, bubbles, a new stroller for her baby (the last one broke because she sat in it all the time) and some easter eggs.

Vegas...Here we Come!

Mimi, did you teach Blake a new trick on Monday?



Blake's rash...the rest of the story.

Blake's fever finally subsided and her rash disappeared. I have no idea what was wrong because I didn't take her to the doctor. By Monday she back to her old self!

Crate Training

We have been trying to crate train Stella. We tried with Lola too. We did really well... she slept at the foot of our bed for almost two years. We decided that we could not go through that again. So Stella has finally learned to sleep in the crate at night. She wakes up at the crack of dawn to pee but no more whining during the middle of the night. If you have ever had a puppy, or should I say a spoiled puppy, then you know it is very similar to having a baby. They wake up in the middle of the night and cry and whine and they need to go to the bathroom a lot and the pee on things and you have to clean it up...just like a baby.

The crate training worked so well with Stella, we thought we would try it with Blake.

Here she is going to bed...night night Blake.

It only took her a few nights to not get freaked out when we shut the door. We even gave her a blanket to sleep on. When she starts to get scared we just talk to her through the door and give her a treat every now and then.

Aaahhhh...nice and rested. As soon as she starts whining we hop out of bed and let her out to pee. Works like a charm.