Kenzie is 10 months already?! Among other things.

On the 17th Kenzie turned 10 months old. She is growing up very fast and is always on the move. She is a very happy baby and I love her beautiful eyes, big smile, and playful attitude. She is a ring tail tooter though and gets into EVERYTHING! Everything she can get her hands on still goes in her mouth, and if she cant find something to put in her mouth she has started to go to our little divider between the two living rooms and gnaw on it. (When she was standing there the first time we didnt realize what she was doing until we went to pick her up and saw the paint missing from the corner of the wood. (YIKES!) Here are a few more things about Kenzie-

• she can stand for long periods of time and can walk holding just one hand, but does not really want to move on her own. She took 2 steps on Dec. 17th, but thats all she wrote.
• She thinks the funniest thing in the world is to knock something down or throw something down over and over again when you pick it up (such as stacking blocks, or when I sit her pacifiers on the rail of her crib)
• She is wearing mostly 9 month or 9-12 month clothes.
• She is eating 3 or 4 #3 jars of babyfood a day as well as 4- 6 oz. bottles of formula a day. We have started giving her juice on occasion and she seems to do well with the sippy cup.
• We lay her in her crib at 9 oclock and she falls asleep on her own and sleeps till about 8 in the morning. She is a very sporadic napper and there is no pattern of how many naps or how long her naps will be day to day.
• She loves to clap and give high fives.
• She has one tooth on top and the other one should come in at any time. 3 teeth on bottom.
• Her hair is still very short whisps and doesnt seem to be growing.
• She loves Christmas trees!! Well, it may be she loves lights, lol.

I am so blessed to have 2 wonderful daughters who are healthy and happy!

I also got my braces taken off yesterday and am very excited to finally have straight teeth! The retainers are a little difficult to deal with when trying to talk, but I am really trying to get it down so I wont be slurring and spitting on my students when I go back to school, lol.

As far as other things go- my principal got a bus for us and our families so we could go see the light tour. Well Maddie was supper excited about seeing the lights, but was Extatic when I told her we were going on a bus! She always sees buses and says "Mommy, theres your bus" or "Mommy, there goes your kids". She loves "the tunnel" and "the huge santa" (by the post office).

As far as potty training goes, we are wearing only panties now, and do very well most of the time besides the occasional poopy accidents. She even wears panties to bed and hasnt had any accidents until 2 nights ago and again last night. Not sure whats up with that, but 2 nights in a row is not cool. :(

The only other news I have for those of you that dont know, is that Chief unexpectantly passed away at the vet 2 weeks ago. He was throwing up and had diarreha so we took him to the emergency vet since it was a Sunday to check him out. They said that they have had several cases similar to his recently and that they would run some tests and hook him up to an IV overnight to get him some fluids. The nurse said they had him set up and were fixing to take him to his bed and as she was walking him down the hall he just instantly fell limp in her arms. So about 30 minutes after leaving the vet, we got a call saying that Chief was gone. :..( This has been extremely hard for us for many reasons.

• 1st because I expected to pick him up the next morning and didnt really say goodbye when we left that day.
• 2nd because he was 4 1/2 years old and was as happy as could be on Saturday.
• and lastly because explaining to Maddie why Chief couldnt come home, or where heaven was, or why God wanted Chief, or the various other questions she has asked that are hard to explain to a 3 year old. Everyday since then she has asked "when Chief was coming home?" or "why does God want Chief?"

To end things on not such a sad note, I just want to wish everyone a very Merry CHRISTmas and a Happy New Year! 2011 is going to be filled with many more exciting events and I am looking foward to it!

Kenzie's 9 month checkup

Kenzie's 9 month check up was Wednesday (which was actually 9 1/2 months), but here are the results.
Weight- 17 lbs. 7 oz 20%
Height- 27.5" 33%
Head- 17.25" 45%

She's an inch taller and 1 1/2 pounds heavier than Maddie was at 9 months, but their heads are the same size.

She smiled or stared at Dr. Sawyer the whole time and she only pouted (no crying at all) when she got her flu shot. She is such a happy baby and I love her big gummy smile! She has started standing by herself for long periods of time, but she refuses to take any steps without holding on to something. She can wave, clap, and give high fives. She also started shaking her head when you tell her no. Then she just smiles and keeps doing whatever it was that I told her not to do. She is a stinker for sure!

While we were there the dr. checked Kenzies gums for teeth, and as soon as he left Maddie told Josh. If he thinks he's checking my teeth, he's not!.... She is also such a stinker.
As we were leaving she bent down and picked something up (or so Josh thought) and told Josh she had a lizzard. So we played along and asked her what his name was and she simply replied "Johnny Lizzard". So on occasion I ask her what he's doing, and most of the time she says he's sleeping, lol. He was playing with his friends once and I asked who his friends were, and she said she didnt know his friends because she hasnt met them. WOW...What an imaginiation!
Well I have to run....my very demanding daughter (Kenzie) is ready to eat!

Kenzie is 9 months old!

I just cant believe she is already 9 months old!!
She is a busy girl.

• Busy putting things in her mouth, it doesnt matter what it is and where she found it. :/


• Busy climbing in things, out of things, around things, and on things.


• Busy eating....all the time! She is eating 4-5 six ounce bottles a day as well as 2-3 #3 jars of baby food, and an occasional snack (cheerios are her favorite!, but she likes Gerber cheetos too)


• Busy being a jealous belly....she does not like for me to hold anyone or anything else. She gets jealous if I am holding Maddie, Chief, or my laptop in my lap.


• Busy SMILING :) - She has such a beautiful checky smile, that I love to look at every morning.


• Busy crawling. She can crawl as fast as Maddie can run, lol...not really, but she is very quick. She does not however seem to have much interest in walking. She will let go of her rail and stand alone for a few seconds or move from one table to another chair close by, but if I tried to hold her hands and stand her up, she will immediately sit down.

She does go to sleep close to 9 oclock every night and wake up between 7 and 8. She is very good at playing peek-a-boo, and can play for a long time. She also thinks the funniest thing in the world is to twist and turn when you are trying to change her diaper. Now Maddie did that like Im sure most children do to a certain extent, but Kenzie is super quick and really flexable which makes it MUCH harder to make her be still. The whole time she is doing this she is laughing like a hyena, which makes me laugh, thus making her want to keep doing it.

I am completely in awe of my 2 wonderful girls, I love them both so very much and just cant get enough of them. Now I am excited to announce that I will be the proud Aunt of a niece! I am so happy for Lacy because she will have a blast with a daughter, and I am excited for my girls that they will have a girl cousin to grow up with and have girly slumber parties and other things that I enjoyed so much when I was a kid. I have such a wonderful relationship with my cousins, and I pray that my girls and my neice will become best friends! My cousin Tina is having a boy and I am also excited about that because he will be the first Grandson on that side of the family and it will be nice to have a little boy running around during family get togethers.

Kenzie's 1st Halloween....she wore the same costume that Maddie did her 1st Halloween...However, we lost one of the feet while trick or treating in Bronte :(

Maddie's 4th Halloween...She was Cinderella!

Maddie and Annalise at the schools trunk or treat.

Happy Birthday Josh

Josh turned 28 years old on the 13th! I love it when its his birthday because other than my girls there is no one that I love giving gifts to more than him. Even though I didnt get him much, just a card, a shirt, and a UT pullover, I still get excited to give him something for a change. He has surprised me several times at work with flowers and chocolate covered strawberries for my birthday, anniversary, or just starting back to school. (So thoughtful) However, he doesnt usually want anything that is within a reasonable price range. (Guns, Hunting Bow, trucks, lol) So its hard for me to just get him something nice that he actually wants. Well this year I wanted to mae him a special cake, and after finding an idea from another blog I made him this cake.

This is a picture of us on his birthday before I had to leave for work...obviously I was still a little tired, lol.

I am behind on blogging, so here is what I have to catch up on:

1. Brontes homecoming

2. Maddies Big Green Tractor

3. Kenzie will be 8 months on Sunday

Its Fall!!

I absoulutely love this season. The weather is perfect, there are football games to go to, and its the beginning of the best holidays!!

This year for Halloween Maddie is going to be Cinderella, and she hasnt even seen the movie. So before we actually dress up as Cinderella, we will have to rent the movie and enlighten her. I still havent decided what to do with Kenzie, but Im leaning towards recylcing Maddies costumes. I might do matching costumes for the 1st and 2nd year for all my kids just to be fair. If thats what we end up doing, Kenzie will be a monkey this year. If not, well...I have no idea what she will be if we dont do that. If they werent so expensive then I would probobly just buy something else, but $30.00 for an outfit they will only wear once is a little much for me.

Here are a few pictures of Maddies first Halloween in the monkey costume. She was only 2 months old, so it was a little big for her, but it should fit Kenzie much better.





On another wonderful note, I am now the proud owner of a 2010 Chevy Tahoe!!! It was very unplanned, but it was a good deal and we just couldnt say no. It only has 21,000 miles on it and was used as a program car (he thought maybe Enterprize used it for a rental) Our original plan was to pay off Joshs truck and buy a Tahoe at the same time, which would have happened right as we were having our 3rd child (at least that was the plan). However, we were going to buy a new Tahoe that would run us about $50,000 (eeeeeek!) Well we were driving home from Rosas and Mitchell Buick had a Tahoe out front that was the dark gray that I wanted, so Josh wanted to go look at it. So we get out, and of course a salesman comes over....and about 4 hours later. We ended up buying it. We got them down to a good price and they paid off the rest of my car loan so I wouldnt have double payments (we wanted to keep the car to use so we dont always have high gas bills). Its pretty much awesome! It has black leather seats, remote start, and 3rd row seating (which i didnt know some Tahoes come without). The only defect is a small scratch/knick by one of the back doors, but other than that....looks brand new!

Already?!

Kenzie had her first tooth come through on 9-9-10. Almost 7 months old....Maddie didnt get her first tooth till she was 10 months. However, Kenzie never acted fussy or got diaper rash or any of the effects that Maddie did. Just another difference between my girls, lol.



Its hard to believe we have already finished 3 weeks of school. I am hoping that the year continues to go by as quickly as the first 3 weeks. We will be busy busy for sure, but thats ok with me!



Josh and I have been dove hunting twice, and will go again tomorrow. I have only shot 6 from the first 2 trips, so maybe tomorrow will be a little better. We did buy Maddie some earmuffs, overalls, and hunting boots, because she keeps telling us that she wants to go hunting. I bet we try to take her next weekend....we shall see how that goes. If nothing else she will look like a hunter, lol.



I have been in the mood to clean lately, and have done what I can, but it seems as if I am making no progress. It is very frustrating to live in a messy house, but no matter what we do, it seems to stay that way. I have to remind myself that I am a full time working Mom and somethings got to give. Sadly its my house. I go to work and when I come home I want to spend my time with my family. Maddie doesnt go to sleep till 10-11 so as soon as shes out, I head to bed also. The downside to this is that I would like to have people over, but am to disgusted with my own house to let others see it. Another reason for our mess is that we have too much stuff!!! We are going to have a garage sale sometime, but who knows when that will be...until then we have boxes of stuff waiting to be sold which also adds to the clutter. OK. So I am done griping about this now, lol.

I have officially experimented with the Swagbucks toolbar, and it is totally legit! I will be recieving my first 5.00 Amazon giftcard shortly. And all I do is use the search bar. You get points for using their search bar and other ways, and then you can trade them in for prizes or giftcards. I choose the Amazon card because its the best deal. You can get Target and other giftcards too, but it takes more points. If you are interested in trying it, I put the link below. Its very easy and free!

They are growing up soooo fast!

Maddie 3 year update:

28 lbs. -18%
35.5" - 12%

As soon as we walked into the doctors office Maddie gently grabbed my face so I was looking at her and said "tell her (the nurse) that I dont need shots" HAHAHAHA!
Even though she was not getting shots, she still was extremely anxious and cried most of the time. We made it through the appointment, everything looks great, and she got a notepad, lol.

Maddies birthday party was AWESOME! We had a great turnout and lots of people came that I wasnt expecting! She got so many great gifts and loves them all. Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate her big day, she is still talking about it.

Kenzie 6 month update:

14 lbs. 14 oz.- 26%
26" - 56%
Head - 16.25- not sure the percentage, but they measured twice because its such a small number, but he said that her soft spot was still open and there shouldnt be anything to worry about, she just has a small head.

Kenzie is (and has been for awhile) pulling up on the couch and her crib, we had to drop her mattress down in her crib already. She is officially crawling now, but when she wants to go really fast she still prefers to army crawl. I am sad to say that she now says "dada", but she doesnt know what it means...so does it count? Haha, Im just kidding, its cute.

Kenzie- 6 months

Kenzie turned 6 months old yesterday, and what a wonderful 6 months is has been :)

• Her 6 month checkup is not until the 24th (I will have to leave early on the second day of school) so I dont have her measurements, but I will update them after her appointment.
• She can get wherever she wants, including up the stairs, by doing her lung or army crawl. She would be crawling if she could figure out how to work her arms.
• She loves to chew on everything she gets her hands on, especially paper. :( Our phone book only has a half of the back cover because she has got ahold of it several times and gnawed on it till it was soggy then tore it off.
• She can sit up by herself, but its more of a side way tilt.
• She LOVES Maddie...she will do the biggest belly laughs whenever Maddie decides to pay attention to her. Maddie has figured out that she is the reason Kenzie laughs and has started to pay more attention to Kenzie, which is wonderful.
• She is wearing 3 month and 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers.
• No teeth still, even though she has been acting like a teething baby for 2 months now.
• I still nurse as much as possible, but now that school has started back, she has started drinking alot more formula. Today for instance, I fed her before I dropped her off at Lacys house, she ate 18 oz. while I was at work, I fed her again when we got home, and will feed her at least 1 more time, maybe 2 before she goes to bed. However, she didn't have any baby food today.
• We have tried all the #1 vegetables and she ate them all with no reactions. We have tried bananas and pears for the fruits, so far so good. Up till now we have just been feeding her one tub a day, but I think we will start one fruit and one vegtable now that she is actually 6 months old.
• She still spits out a pacifier most of the time and inserts her thumb instead...this drives me crazy, but what can I do?

Bracing Myself!

August is a VERY busy month for me! Let me explain. (Warning, this may be very unorganized and bounce around a bit.)

• First of all, my sweet darling (independent and sometimes too big for her britches) daughter is turning 3 on August 22nd! So sometime this month, I think we will have a checkup with the pediatrican, but maybe not, because I dont have an appointment wrote down...Im calling Monday to check.
• My other sweet darling (fussy gussy) daughter is turning 6 months and she does have a 6 month check up the week school starts.
• I also have them scheduled for individual pictures at Sears (Kenzie on the 17th and Maddie on the 21st.) I like to have them as close to the actual day as possible.
• Then of course staff development starts on the 11th and actual school starts on the 23rd.
• Maddies party is at the Bronte pool the day before school starts.
• I have an orthodonist appointment on the 24th I believe.
• My classroom is very very far from being organized and ready for school....although I do have a plan in my head, and thats the hardest part for me. I have not been to thrilled with the way my room ended up the last two years, but with my pie shape room its been very difficult to find something that worked well. I believe I may have a good solution this year and cant wait to get it set up to see if I like it.
• This year for Maddies birthday, we have talked to some family and decided to get Maddie a cheap metal swingset (well, not really cheap, but not the really expensive wooden ones that I want them to have someday). Since we know we will not live here forever, I dont want to build a big wooden swingset, just to take it down in 1-3 years when we move. So as soon as I finish this post I will start looking online to get one ordered.
• On top of all the expected August to do items...we are still working on the bathroom remodel. So far the tub, faucets (sink and shower), tile around the shower, and new light have all been replaced. The only things we need to finish are priming (already started), painting, putting up the trim, and caulking the edge around the tile (we had to order it, so we are just waiting for it to come in)
• On a GOOD note, Josh and I will also have our 4 year anniversary on August 19th. What makes it even better, is that since Target was having such a good sale last month on Kitchen Aide Mixers we went ahead and bought it as our anniversary present to each other! So not only am I the proud owner of a Red Kitchen Aide Mixer, I also do not have to worry about shopping for an anniversary gift this month on top of everything else.
• Oh, did I mention that our friends Henry and Stormy will be headed to the hopital in about 6 hours to have their baby girl! Yeah! Shyanne will also be having Jaxon in the near future, so it looks as if we will also make time to do a couple of hospital visits to meet some very beautiful babies!
• I am also still having some issues that occured after having Kenzie, so I will more than likely be going in for a check up sometime myself.

So like I said...I will be bracing myself for a very busy yet WONDERFUL month of August!

On a Roll!

I have had so much to blog about lately that I am trying to break it up into parts. We have had quite a bit of trouble with all of our remodeling that we were planning on doing this summer. So here is the 411.
Problem #1- After installing the brand new oven, only 1 element was working. So I called Maytag and they scheduled an appointment for 4 days later. ok, I can handle that. Well we go out of town for Mallorys wedding and when we return there is a message on our machine that we have to reschedule, so I call the number and they say it will be another week and a half before they can get there because they double booked....(I dont think so!) So I called Maytag back and they said they would call another company and we should get a call the next day, well of course I didnt...so I called them back yet again, and finally they got another company (Kuntz) to come out and look at it the next morning. The Kuntz guy said whoever put the oven together must have been in training because several wires were on wrong and one was not connected...He fixed it, end of problem. For all of our trouble she gave me a 1 year extended warranty on the oven (4 calls to get problem 1 solved)

Problem #2- The stove top we purchased came in and after installing it, we noticed that the metal part on top (just cosmetic) was bent so that the edges came up on each side. It unit worked, but I think that when you buy something new it should look new. So I called Maytag again and asked if they could replace the top piece (this conversation took forever!) She finally said yes, and they shipped us one that would arrive in 7-10 days. We got it a week later and it looked as if they had pulled it down the street. It had paint chips knocked off and was dented in several spots. So I call back to Maytag and explain the problem. She sends another one express 4-5 day. It arrives and it is worse than the first one they sent us. So I call back AGAIN. She said she would send us another one but would ship it by freight which takes anywhere from 1-2 weeks. I said ok, whatever it takes, it wasnt a big deal because the stove actually worked. However, another week and half later we get our 3rd stove top and it has several scratches and seems to be bent like the original one that came on the stove. So now at my house I have 4 big stove tops that are usless, and my stove top is still bent, but Im tired of collecting stove tops so I gave up. She did sent us a 75.00 refund for all of these troubles. (4 calls to get fed up and quit trying on this problem.)

Problem #3- We thought we would have better luck at Home Depot this time, so we went there instead of Lowes. My shower has not worked in the bathroom since we moved in, and since it is tiled we haven't ever messed with it. We just used the bathtub and if we wanted a shower we would use the other bathroom. Well we decided since the tile would be ripped off to fix the pipes, that we would go ahead and replace our little bathtub with a whirlpool tub. So of course the tub we wanted wasn't in stock but the guy said he already had one ordered and it would be here in 7-10 days. So we went to San Antonio and when we got home there was a message that said "We just wanted to check to make sure that everything went well when loading our purchase"...HUH? So I call back and find out that they sold our tub to someone else, but she couldn't let us know until she talked to an IMA on Monday (It is Saturday). So I at 3 on Monday no one has called so I call back and talk to the same lady, and she said she forgot and that the IMA had already left for the day. ARG! So this morning Home Depot calls and says that our tub has arrived....hmmm...thats strange. So I explained to this new lady about the previous calls and she says that our tub was never given away and that it had just arrived (that's bull, because he said 7 days and it has already been 2 weeks). So after speaking to a manager, she said that she couldnt do anything about it (as far as a gift card, discount, etc. ) Well after about 5 more minutes of talking with her, she offers me a 50.00 refund. (Funny how 5 minutes ago she wasnt allowed to do that!). So we go to pick up the tub tomorrow. (3 calls to fix Problem 3)

So 11 calls later (several hours wasted off my life, I have 125.00 refunded to me, and extra warranty on the oven)

So needless to say our remodeling has not been going as smoothly (or as quickly) as originally planned.

Tomorrow we are taking my car to get the windows tinted, then to Concho Collision to get an estimate on the repairs for the fender bender I had in December. Next week some company is coming to my house to replace the front glass in my car that has been cracked down the middle for a year or two now.) Hopefully this process will go much more smoothly.

The good news is that we got an unexpected refund check from our Morgage Company because we overpayed in our escrow account, so that should cover all the repairs to my car!!!

______________________________________________________________

This is the same post but completely off subject. A friend of mine that I used to go to school with in Wink died on Sunday from a boating accident in Austin (Lake LBJ). They were riding at night and hit some rocks and all 4 people were ejected from the boat and taken by helicopter to a hospital in Austin and they were all in critical condition. Karah (my friend) died shortly after. Karah was 24 years old and had a 2 year old son. She was very close to her brother and parents and I cant imagine the pain they are going through right now. Please pray for her son Madden and her family.
http://www.kwes.com/global/story.asp?s=12835606

http://www.cbs7kosa.com/news/details.asp?ID=20711

San Antonio Trip

We left for San Antonio on Wednesday after Maddie and I got back from swimming lessons. We checked into our hotel and then went to the Riverwalk mall and ate at the Rainforest Cafe on the Riverwalk. (after many laps around the block trying to figure out how to get to the river level with a stroller, come to find out, there is an elevator!) Thursday we woke up and went to the Children's Museum which was Awesome! Maddie had a blast, and was a mad women with her shopping cart. She would do really well on Supermarket Sweep. That day for lunch we walked back to the riverwalk and ate at Joes Crab Shack (not my favorite food, but Josh and Maddie love seafood). The funny thing about my daughter is that as well as she speaks, she still replaces the w sound for the letter r and l. Well on the way back to the museum she was telling me that her and Daddy ate cwap (she was saying crab, but it sounded like crap) She would say "I like crap, Daddy likes crap, we ate alot of crap". It was hilarious! It made me glad for once that I did not like crab. While we were there we of course bought shirts, and Maddie picked out the one that had a crab on it and it says "Im crabby like my Daddy"! hahahaha

Anyway, we went back to the museum for a few more hours and then went back to the hotel and called it a day...we were a little wore out so we took a little nap, went swimming in the pool, and then ordered pizza to our room. The next morning we opted to sleep in a little bit, got packed up, and went to Target and then headed to the zoo. We didnt get to the zoo until 11 or so, (ahhhh, thats what I was trying to avoid) We rode the train and then went to the zoo, I think we left around 3 or 4. It was super Hot of course, but well worth it, we all love looking at the animals. We got home a little after 8 Friday night, and I slept good that night, lol.

Here are a few pictures from our trip!

Maddie and I in the aquarium, this was our last stop before heading home. Notice the sweat on Maddies head, lol...it was HOT!

Daddy and his girls...we bought this little Snugli at Target before we went to the zoo because there are alot of times you are not allowed to take your stroller. Josh LOVED it, and so did Kenzie.

I have a picture just like this one of Maddie from last year, shes growing up so fast.

Maddie and Daddy with their "Lets Get Crackin" bibs from Joes Crab Shack

Can you tell she is running? She wouldnt let me push the basket at all, because she said I was too big.

I was excited to see all the good stuff she put in her basket. Notice the bucket of ice cream, lol.

This was one of her favorite areas in the museum. Maddie loves to organize and rearrange things. If you notice the blocks behind her are stacked with only thier matching blocks. Thats my Maddie!

Maddie milking the cow.

Maddie standing in the huge bubble ring...I couldnt get it much higher because as soon as she got a chance she would pop it.

Maddie and I enjoying our meal at the Rainforest Cafe

We had a great time and cant wait to go back next year!

Kenzie is 5 months!

Kenzie's life as a 5 month old:

1. Can sit tripod for a short time

2. Can get anywhere she wants by scooting or army crawling....she uses her knees, but still insists on using her elbows instead of her hands to push up.

3. Puts everything she can get her hands on into her mouth.

4. Wears 3-6 month clothes

5. Prefers to ride in her new Snugli (the baby pouch thing) as opposed to her carseat.

6. Loves the outdoors and swimming (she will wait longer in between feedings if she is outside)

7. Still eats every 2 hours and sleeps all night long.

8. Eats rice cereal on occasion, and we will try baby food today for the first time...Im thinking green beans :)

9. She weighs 14.6 lbs and 25.5 in. long- both at home meaurements so probobly not exact

10. No teeth, but she drools and chews on everything.

4th of July!

Here are a few pictures of 4th of July.

Amy and Katelyn waiting for the fireworks

Josh and Kenzie hanging out, and Maddie and Jordyn playing in the back of the truck.

Me and the girls :)

Josh and I

Maddie and Jordyn having a good time. (Jordyn is only 5 1/2 months older than Maddie, lol)

These are the pictures we took at Amy and Dales before we went out to the lake.

This was Kenzie's first 4th of July (4 1/2 months old) and Maddies third 4th of July (2 yrs. 11 months).

It was a great day and Maddie actually watched the fireworks this year.

Say goodbye to the crib :(

Maddie will be 3 in August and until just recently, she has never attempted to climb out of her crib. I have not been in a hurry to take her out of her crib, because I like the fact that she cannot go off exploring on her own if she wakes up before I do. However, due to her recent climbing expeditions, we finally went today and bought her a bed. I LOVE IT! We also bought the drawers with wheels so we can have more storage under her bed. The bed itself can be moved up and down so you can choose the height, and in the future if we decide to convert her bed into a bunk bed, they have all the matching stuff to do so!

This bed is currently an order only item, so it will be 2-3 weeks before we get it in. But thats ok, it's worth the wait.

As for Maddie's recent onset of Terrible Twos, here is what she did yesterday morning (of course while Josh was at work).

First- caught her with one leg over the rail of her crib trying to reach something off a shelf.

Second- She asked me for a banana, but I was feeding Kenzie, so I told her yes I would get her one as soon as Kenzie finished eating. Well, as I was on my way to change Kenzies diaper, Maddie walks into my room holding a steak knife ! AH! I asked her what she was doing with it, and she said she wanted a banana. So I followed her into the kitchen and she showed me a banana, that she had also got off the counter, that had a 1/3 of the peel cut off of it long ways. I wish I would have taken a picture, because I still cant believe she did all that cutting and avoided cutting herself in the process.

Thirdly- actually this happened before the banana incedent, but oh well. I was feeding Kenzie and Maddie had to potty, so she did the whole process by herself...Pottied, dumped the bowl, wiped her hiney, and flushed. Apparently, when you do it all by yourself you can get the reward all by yourself. So she helped herself to 2 skittles, lol.

Ok, so besides being armed with a steak knife, these are not major catastrophies, but still she is becoming VERY independent!

While Maddie is becoming a big girl and getting into a real bed, Kenzie is growing up and moving from our room (sleeping in her pack-n-play) into her room with Maddie. Last night she slept in her crib for the first night.

We are also doing quiet a bit of remodeling so when we make some progress I will show you the before and afters.

Kezies 4 month update...

Kenzie has been 4 months old for almost a week now, but our appointment wasn't until Monday the 21st (and we actually almost missed it...luckily they let us come in late).

Weight- 13 lbs. 7 ounces 45%
Height- 24.75" 67%
Head Size- 16" ?%

The pediatrician said we could go ahead and start rice and #1 foods, but I think we will just do rice for awhile. I wasn't able to make enough milk, so I used formula in the rice cereal for her first try. So it was her first taste of formula and food, she wasn't really impressed. She is still eating every 2 hours, but sleeps all night long.
She rolls over both ways without any trouble, and has started the scooting process. I have to lay out a big blanket now instead of putting her on her play mat, because she moves to much to stay on it. She drools quite a bit, and chews on anything she can get her hands on. I believe this is another way that Maddie and Kenzie are different because Maddie never put stuff in her mouth.
She is for the most part a very happy and smiley baby. I love the gummy smiles and her short little attempts at a laugh.

We went to Mallorys wedding this past weekend and it was a lot of fun. Everything went smoothly and we had a great time! Maddie was a flower girl and cried the first run through at rehearsal, but then did awesome the second go round. The day of the wedding, we were great and excited and right as I was fixing to walk out, one of the ring bearers started crying thus causing Maddie to start crying....it was over for her. She walked out the door and into Daddys lap (3rd row from the back) She told my dad she didn't want to do it because the music scared her. Oh well, at least she looked super cute for her pictures!


This is Maddie and Ady (2 of the 3 flower girls) the 3rd one is one the left throwing a fit in the chair.

Here is Maddie, Kenzie, and their wonderful, irreplaceable, sweet Daddy on Fathers Day 2010.

We got him a #1 Dad t-shirt, a 8x10 collage photo of the girls from Kodak, and a golf style Scentsy Warmer. I thought that the warmer wasnt much of a manly gift, but since he uses mine more than I do, he might like it. (and he did)

Big Hasel=Big Savings!

This was my first big money saver as a coupon user.
I purchased all the above items for $7.21 !!!!!!!!!! Can you believe that!?!

I will break it down for you-
Glade Air Freshner/Odor Eliminator-............ 3.49-1.00-2.00= 0.49
Scrubbing Bubbles Extend a Clean Sprayer- 6.99-3.00 = 3.99
Dove Deoderant 2 pack ....................................6.59-2.00-1.00= 3.59
Dove Body Spray ...............................................3.49-3.49 =FREE
2 boxes of Vanish Drops @ 2.14 each............. 4.28-2.14 =2.14
Scrubbing Bubbles toilet Gel............................3.94-3.94-FREE
Scrubbing Bubbles Starter Kit.........................6.29-6.29=FREE
Scrubbing Bubbles 12 pk refill..........................3.94-3.94=FREE

This totals out to 12.21 and I had a $5.00 gift card from buying somthing last week. So 12.21-5.00= 7.21

However, this isnt what will happen unless you get lucky like I did. (If thats what you want to call it) After I checked out the first time I was looking at my receipt and didnt think I saved as much as I thought I would. After checking it over I realized they didnt apply 2 of my coupons (big ones of course), so I went back to the cashier and tried to explain it to her and she tried to get it to work, but was unsuccessful so she called the mananger over to help. After trying to explain it to her she finally just had me pull the items back out of my basket so she could go back over it item by item. Once we were said and done she actually rescanned a coupon that went through in the first transaction, so I got that item free too.

The confusion was with the Scrubbing Bubbles...let me explain.
I had a target coupon that was buy one Scrubbing Bubbles toilet gel get a Free 12 pk refill
I had a manufacturers coupon that was buy one Scrubbing Bubbles toilet gel get a free Starter Kit or 12 pk refill.

So I bought a toilet gel for 3.94 and used the target coupong to get a free refill (3.94) and used the other coupon to get a free starter kit (6.29).

That was the plan....but the 6.29 coupon didnt go through.

So when the manager was doing it she reran both coupons again, even though the 3.94 coupon had worked the first time. So I got all 3 items for FREE!

It was a big hassel, but it was a big money saver!

Couponing and Houses

Well I have been using the diaper and wipie coupons on a regular basis since Maddie was born and got excited when I could throw in another coupon or two. However, after seeing Shyanne do such a good job couponing, she has inspired me to put a little more effort into it. (Thanks Shyanne!) As of now I am still using my little accordian coupon holder, but I am considering using the offical organizer (a notebook with sections). I also started reading some of her blogs that were related to couponing and I am starting to get really excited about this! I will make my first real coupon trip tomorrow. I will let you know how it goes!

Last week was Mallorys bacholerette party at her place on the river near Menard. We had a great time. I did get a sunburn, which bummed me out because that prevented me from going tanning for the week before her wedding (I know....its probobly to late anyway) and my back is itching like CRAZY! However, we did make another big step on the potty training with Maddie while there. She used a regular size toilet for the first time and continued to use it all weekend! Yes I have to let her hold onto my neck while she is sitting there because shes afraid to fall in, but thats better than toting that dang potty around everywhere we go.

Our appliances from Lowes came in so we will be picking them up and installing them tomorrow...no more pepto bismol pink oven and stove!

However, we found out today that another couple that Josh knows is moving back to Bronte and is looking at the same house we are looking at. I was upset at first because I didnt want to get outbid (even though she didnt except our offer, we had hopes that no one else would show any interest and she would come down). Then I just had to tell myself that it is all in God's hands, and if its meant to be, then it will happen. If not there is something better in the future.
I catch myself starting to pray that we get that house, then I have to stop and say...no scratch that...We really like the house and are excited to get to move to Bronte, please help me remember that when and where we move is in your hands and IF it is in your plan for us to have that house that you help us in our decisions for the process.

The rest of this week is a busy one, but we are very excited!
Tuesday- install new appliances in kitchen and go shopping with all my good coupons!
Wednesday- Kenzies 4 month pictures, getting my hair cut and a pedicure
Thursday- Josh works (nothing exciting about that)
Friday- go to Midland for Mallorys wedding rehersal
Saturday- Maddie is a flowergirl and I am the Matron of Honor at Mallorys Wedding! FUNFUN...there will be a dance afterwards, and I am super happy about that!
Sunday- Fathers Day. I love this day because nothing makes me happier than reminding Josh how much I appreciate all his help and reminding him that he is the best Daddy ever!
Monday- Kenzie's 4 month appointment (I am sad about the shots, but I love seeing her progress)

After that we will have some time to rest and relax, and in July Maddie and I will be doing swimming lessons at the YMCA! Good times!

Summer Fun

We finally got out the bathing suits and Maddie and I played in the sprinker while Kenzie watched. (She got to wear her bathing suit though). At first Maddie wasn't sure about it, but after about 20 minutes of touching the water with her hand, she finally ran through it.

I had my first workshop today. It was a GT workshop called Mosaic, and this is actually my second time to take it. I absoultely love it!! If you have ever drove by the museum and saw the mosaic slugbug, thats what we work on, except now there are 2 classic trucks. An artist draws the designs on the truck with chalk and we go in and tile it. Last year I worked on the front tire, and this year I worked on the hood. I worked for 4 hours straight and wasn't able to finish the whole roof, but I did finish the heart at least. These are supposed to be finished and set out on the river walk (I think towards Belle St) sometime this Fall. The truck I have worked on actually has a table in the back and the side of the truck bed is the seats, so you can eat in the back.

As far as us moving to Bronte goes.....it is not in the immediate future. The lady did not take our offer, but her house wont appraise for what she wants, so my thought is that sometime in the future we may get a call saying she will take our offer after all (no one in their right mind would pay what she is asking for that house.) If she doesnt come down, then it just wasn't meant to be and God has a better plan for us. The good news is I won't have to drive back and forth to work everyday and we are fixing our house the way we wanted to when we moved in. We put in the new door today (when I say "we" I actually mean Dusty).

Also my friends Amy and Dale went to the doctor today because her blood pressure was high (even though shes been on bedrest) so she will more than likely have baby Katelyn tomorrow! I am super excited.

A big start for the summer!

Josh and I have been looking at a house in Bronte, and we made an offer last week. However, they did not except (which was expected because we offered way lower than the asking price). The house is Josh's dream house, which means it has a huge back yard, a huge garage, a nice yard, and its brick. It's not necessarily my dream house per say, but I do like it alot, and with some work it could easily become my dream house. The reasons I like the house: huge garage, nice yard, brick, a bathroom in the master bedroom, storm cellar, large living room that is open to the kitchen and an office area. On the other hand here are my setbacks: small kitchen, paneling in the living room, kitchen, and hallways. Only a shower in the master bath (no tub), and no fence around the Huge backyard.

All of the things I mentioned that I do not like can be remedied fairly easy except maybe the size of the kitchen.
Another set back is that I will be driving back and forth to San Angelo for work because there are not any openings in the near future at Bronte for a K-4 teacher.
However, the biggest reason I am willing to make this move is for my children. Even though Maddie is still several years away from starting school, I want to make sure that when that time comes we are settled in a house we love and not forced to pick one because we have run out of time.

This may or may not work out, but I have faith that whatever happens is for the best. We are going to put in another offer tomorrow and see what happens.

In hopes that they accept our offer we decided to go ahead and fix all the things that we have put off in this house since we moved in. Since we moved in this house in 2006 we have fixed the shower and painted the back bathroom, replaced the carpet, and put on a new metal roof. Those were things that had to be done. The other things that I have wanted to change were not really necessary, but more cosmetic for the most part. However, I think that if we go ahead and fix them we can sell our house quicker and for a higher price if it comes to that.

Here is what we bought at Lowes yesterday: stove top, oven, shower head and faucets, sink faucet, front and back door, tile, paint, and many other items. The list of to do projects has already started, because I painted the front door and Josh replaced the sink faucet. Wednesday Dusty is coming over to take the old door off and put the new one up. The biggest project will be the bathroom, but I have to take down the wall paper and we have to take the tile off the wall, then we will replace the pipes, shower head, and faucet, then Dusty will come back and put the wall back up and tile it. Then I will give it a fresh new coat of paint. I bought a pretty blue color for the top half of the room. We are not putting the back door up until we move because our current door is equipped with a doggy door for Chief. The appliances had to be ordered so they will be installed in about 2 weeks. I also plan on painting the kitchen, hallway, and our bedroom.

So in conclusion, my summer has started off a very productive and expensive one! Josh is taking before and after pictures on his phone so I will show the final products as we go.

And the race is on!

Not litterally cause I havent ran in quite some time, lol.

The month of May is probobly the busiest month of the year for me. There is SO much stuff that has to be done at school, but alot of it cant be done till last minute. For instance, our school will be hosting summer school, so we have been told that unless we want people messing with our stuff that we should have everything packed up in boxes by the last day of school. Please explain to me how I can teach with my stuff all packed up. I guess since we have to go to work the Saturday after the last day of school for staff development from 8-12 I will spend the rest of that day cleaning my room and packing it up. We took the 1st grade to the Abilene Zoo today and that went pretty smoothly I would say. All 61 students were pretty excited and I would guess at least 1/2 of them had never been to a zoo. We also got to ride in the charter buses, which I know none of them have ever done, because our class was the first 1st grade to ever get to ride on them! As fun as it was I am glad that I can knock one more task off my list.


Here are the things at work I still have on my to do list

scan pictures and make them into a power point by Friday

finish summer school paperwork

plan End of Year party

meet with my new First Grade team tomorrow

make a school supply list for next year

clean, reorganize, and pack up my classroom

end of year report cards

get things ready for 1st grade awards ceremony

plus countless other little things that I cant even think about right now because I am so overwhelmed :)

all of these things must be done after school and on weekends because we are still teaching, hoping to get just a little bit more information in before they leave us.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that is there is only 12 school days left until summer break!

Now onto my at home to do list for May:

• clean my house and my back yard as much as possible so we can build the cover to put over our deck as soon as possible.
• babyshower on Saturday
• Kenzies 3 month pictures and a birthday party on Sunday
• continue planning Mallorys bacholerette party and send out invitations
• get sizes for the other flower girls in Mallorys wedding to my Memaw ASAP
• hit up Childrens Place as soon as I get a chance to go to the mall since it opens tomorrow!!!
• celebrate Mothers Day with both families since on the actual day Josh was at work and we couldnt do it any other time until now.
• celebrate my 26th birthday (woo hoo, just so you know there is sarcasism in my voice)

So the fact that I have broke down crying twice in the past 2 weeks doesnt surprise me now that I think about it. Stress is not good for me, and I bundle it up till I explode, and then I take it out on Josh.

The good news is that I can scratch getting Kenzie's ears pierced off my list since we did that on Monday!

Here are the pics! Before, during, and After :)