Our Carli is a Blessing - A Gift From Heaven Above

Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers

A WEE BIT OF HEAVEN DRIFTED DOWN FROM ABOVE

Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers

YOU LIGHT UP THE WORLD WITH YOUR SWEET BIG BOY CHARMS

Lilypie Fifth Birthday tickers

You're So Precious to Me, Sweet as Can Be, Baby of Mine

Lilypie Fourth Birthday tickers

Friday, January 25, 2013

Carli's Bird Feeder

Carli made a bird feeder at school last week using an empty toilet paper roll, syrup and birdseed.  When she got it home, her Daddy helped her hang it on a tree in the backyard.  
 


 
She was a little disappointed that she never saw the birds eat from her little feeder but they did eat!  The seeds have been picked clean.  She informed me this morning they must have been super hungry and we need to make them more food.  Guess we know what we will be doing in the next few days or so!  


post signature

Thursday, January 24, 2013

2012 Facebook Status Year in Review - PART 2

JULY
 

 Ava is all about proving she is not her sister and potty training is no exception.  Although I could do without her pooping on my living room floor.  :/  ~  Are slips no longer available these days?  Really a dress covers nothing if you can see right through it!  ~  It's 85 degrees in my house...sure makes it tough not to go get another Sonic Dr. Pepper!  Blah.  ~  Are conditioner coil fixed...only to have some other part break and it won't be in until Monday.  :(  Oh well, look out Grammy and Pa - we are crashing at your house!  What a roller coaster.  ~  Had a great wkd at my parents...it was nice and cool and the company was great!  But man I sure slept good in my nice, cold house last night!  ~  My husband is pretty awesome.  Who else would spend the past three nights helping wrangle 3 year olds at VBS?  We are exhausted!  But strangely enough Carli has energy to spare - not quite far!  ~  Allergies induced by hysteria.  Ever hear of it?  It exist - Carli is suffering.  ~  We just scared the monsters hiding in our attic, above Carli's room out into the street.  We left the attic light on and Carli locked all the doors to keep them out.  It is 11 pm and Carli is reading her Bible in bed so "Jesus will keep her safe"  and I am sitting on the floor just in case the monsters overcome their fear of light.  OH the joys!  ~  Just ordered my third blog book - I got 2008, 2009 and now 2010 printed!  Just got one more year to print to be up to date!  My version of a baby book.  Ha!  Thanks Mom, Dad, Terry and Tessie for helping get this done!  ~  My Mom is going to Ikea tomorrow...I may have made her a shopping list.  ~  Both vehicles cleaned out, vacuumed and carpets shampooed - garage cleaned and picked up - six car seats disassembled, washed and reassembled - three dogs bathed and brushed (my groomer will be shocked) - two little girls bathed and in bed - now I guess I will shower too!  ~  Thanks to some awesome neighbors, I got to go on a date with my hubby tonight.  Although, we didn't go to Lowe's so I am not sure it qualifies as a legit date for us!  :)  ~  We asked Carli what she learned about in Bible class and she said, "Guys with fire on their heads. "  AKA The Holy Spirit.  ~  Ava has had a dry cough at night for almost four wks.  So this morning I got her an appt to see the doc just to make sure she was okay.  This afternoon she started running a fever.  At the doc they said no ear infection or other drainage just a cough and fever.  Got an antibiotic just in case.  Fever came up again tonight and spiked at 102...finally got it down to 100 and she is sleeping restlessly.  Maybe a long night!  ~  Sending lots of thoughts and prayers to my awesome "little" brother, Anthony King, today and the rest of the week as he is taking the bar.  Love ya and Good luck!!  ~  Fever meet Ava.  Ava meet Fever.  :(  ~  Good News:  Ava asked to go potty and did!  We celebrated with two M&M's all around and I was the best Mom ever.  Bad News:  Carli refused to eat breakfast and therefore Ava refused to eat breakfast.  I refused to cook anything else or let them have anything else (goldfish) and I quickly lost my status as the best Mom ever to the meanest.  Is it my turn to go back to bed yet?  ~  Got the girls napping with the promise of going to see hot air balloons tonight with Logan!

AUGUST



Voluntarily getting up at 5 am on Saturday...not so fun.  Getting my kids up at 5:30...very interesting.  Getting fresh hot donuts at 6 am sure makes it better.  Hearing the excitement when the girls figured out today was finally the day we go see Naggy and Pappy...totally worth it!  ~  It wouldn't be vacation without a pedicure!  :)  ~  If Carli asks, monsters live in Oklahoma.  ~  For the last two hrs we have been serenaded by a cute little two year old singing "Rain, Rain Go Away" repeatedly, hand motions included.  It was cute the first fifty times.  The planned on naps int eh car on the way home went away with the rain apparently.  ~  It's 1 am and both my children are awake, I have yet to go to sleep.  Not cool.  ~  You know how sometimes you are really tired.  Emotionally and physically...today, I am really tired.  ~  Was hoping to not see midnight for the third night in a row...but I think I am not going to be so lucky.  ~  Happy 35th Anniversary to my Mom & Dad!  Awesome parents, amazing grandparents and a wonderful example of a Christian marriage.  I thank God for blessing me with  you both!  Love you!!   ~  Emergency trip to Alto to help Mom in her room...who does meet the teacher on a Wednesday after keeping teachers in mtgs all day for the last four days?  Must think teachers are miracle workers and super heroes!  ~  Unintentionally left the house with no diaper bag this morning and had Ava in big girl undies.  We were gone for almost three hours and thankfully she stayed dry the whole time.  She even went potty when we got home...shew!  We may just conquer potty training Ava after all...now if only the girls would nap!  ~  Carli:  Ava is smelling the moon!  Me:  What does the moon smell like?  Carli:  The stars.  Me:  What do the stars smell like?  Carli:  The lightening.  Me:  What does the lightening smell like?  Carli:  The monsters.  Because Jesus used the lightening to put all monsters in the stars.  **Clear as mud.**  ~  Look Mom!  A seed from my watermelon!  Can we plant it in the garden so it will grow a pumpkin?  -  Carli  ~  Strong willed child, where do you think you got those genes from?  Try me - I can outlast you!

SEPTEMBER


I just rocked Ava to sleep for her nap for the first time in a very long time.  That'll teach her to try to grow up on me!  ~  Row 31 Seats A & B on American Airlines is like the front row of seats ont eh plane!  Lots of legroom!  And our flight was wifi...and they serve Dr Pepper.  NOt a bad start to this business trip at all!  ~  Got to talk to Keith last night before bed.  Got to "talk" to my girls this morning on skype.  Pretty good end to a day and start of a new one.  Off to New Mexico!  ~  How much glass is in a 9x13 Pyrex pan?  Well, when shattered, there would be enough to cover my kitchen floor and large portions of the dining room floor as well.  Now you know.  ~  Ava is so excited to come to my office in Alto, she peed on herself for the first time in a wk...no kidding...her last accident was a week ago at the office.  And her sister, Carli, obviously can't get enough of me and must be "helping" me with every task.  She has deemed herself the official name writer of our partnership - she has put her name on all my paperwork...good thing she skipped over the IRS papers.  The joy of working from home or the office with kids! 

OCTOBER 


Carli is now officially four years old.  Apparently turning four, comes with much more attitude and defiance than being three required.  ~  For the first Wednesday since Ava has been potty trained, she has not had an accident at my office.  Woohoo!  Now, if she could just not pee in her jeans that I brought for her to wear to church (she has peed in them every Wednesday for the last three weeks), it would be a miracle Wednesday.  ~  Hello 3 am...it has been awhile.  ~  A positive note about having a 4 year old, Carli tried everything on her place at lunch today!  She ate most of her roast, all of her carrots (and asked for more!), took a bite of potatoes and even at a bite okra!  My 2 year old ate a quarter of a roll.  Win some, lose some.  :)  ~  So there was this one time when I decided to wash pillows...and the feather pillow may have blown up in my washer...just maybe.  ~  Pumpkin patches near Tyler? Preferably not expensive.  I was kind of spoiled by Pappy's Pumpkin Patch...  ~  carliiiiiiiiiiiiiii hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhayssssssssssss She typed her name all by herself...consider your day brightened!  :)  ~  Me:  Ava what is your baby's name?  Ava:  Jesus!  ~  The things that lurk behind a refrigerator is rather scary...had our ice machine worked on today...and lets just say the floor just got a good scrubbing.  ~  My weekend just got interesting...  ~  The life of a 4 year old is so dramatic...I feel sorry for the kid's parents when she's a teenager...oh wait...  ~  Put a W in the wind column for this parent - successfully convinced Carli to get gymnastic pictures taken and they are cute!  Not too shabby since the though of taking pictures brought Carli to tears!  ~  Stomach virus or food poisoning?  Whatever it is, it has done me in and I really didn't have time for this...although sleeping in the middle of the bed half the day was nice.  ~  God Bless Kayla Mascorro and her never ending patience...

NOVEMBER


So, I have this brother and he passed his Bar on the first try...yeah, he is awesome.  :)  Super proud!!  ~  I told Carli we were going to go shopping with Cousin Dionna tomorrow and she said:  "Yea!!  Momma what is shopping?"  Ha!  That made her Daddy proud!  ~  Things Ava accomplished during nap time:  Lots of cuddling, giggling and questions, messed up the awesome Sunday hair-do, a kiss and a few I love yous and I can't close my eyes b/c then I can't see!, found the paci and hid it again...and no sleeping.  Pretty entertaining but not very restful.  ~  Carli and Ava are selling some Avon products as part of their school fundraiser.  If anyone is interested in buying something from them, send me a msg.  We aren't much for knocking door and guiling ppl into buying stuff!  ~  Balancing a bank account at 10:30 at night...not my brightest idea.  Stupid 42 cents.  ~  Don't put in your ad that your garage sale won't start til 8 am and early birds will not be acknowledged and then start selling at 7 am.  Very frustrating to show up at 10 til 8 and find the item I was looking for sold an hr earlier!!  ~  Yeah for awesome friends who invite us over for lunch on Sunday and then more friends who bring us warm cookies int eh afternoon!  Very blessed!  Thanks guys!  ~  Sometimes I make no bake cookies for the simple pleasure of licking the bowl.  It's true.  ~  First thing out of Ava's mouth this morning:  Momma my belly button is a circle!  And Carli responds with:  Look like an oval to me!  ~  A mom in Ava's class is going to open her kid's backpack to find a surprise of dirty undies and missing a pullup...compliments of my daughter and a substitute teacher.  ~  Servers, pinging, passwords, power cycles, remote desktop access...you would think I knew what I was doing...but it's not working so apparently not.  ~  Are we sure today isn't Monday b/c that is pretty much how this day has started... ~  Lessons learned this morning:  1.  Windpants maybe water resistant but they are not pee resistant.  2.  My child's ability to profess her love for me after she has peed on me occurs 10x more often than if she would have just gone and done her business in the bathroom.  3.  Diapers at age 2.5 don't really seem like such a bad idea today.  4.  I'd rather be peed on than to have to deal with a poop accident and I know this from experience today.  5.  My child professes her love for me even more so if her "uh oh" includes said poop.  6.  If the younger child sees no point in using the potty today, the older one believes she must go every 15 minutes and receive an M&M as a reward for being a big girl.  Conclusion:  We need more undies, M&M's and Dr. Pepper in our house today.  I am beyond thankful for the ability to wash clothes and fabreeze...that stuff is wonderful.  ~  I maybe partial, but I am pretty sure my Mom cooked the best Thanksgiving feast!  Good food, good company and lots of blessings made for a great day!  ~  Am currently not happy with blogger or google for storing my pictures in a random picasa album and then telling me I had used all my fee storage and must now pay to upload pictures on my blog.  No bueno.  ~  Handed Ava her PJs to go put in the hamper and she ran toward the bathroom door:  ME:  Ava where are you going?  AVA:  The Wrong Way!  And she kept going...PJs ended up in the bathtub...better than the toilet.  :)  ~  "Ava are you goofy?"  "No Momma, I am Donald!"

DECEMBER



I have Ava figured out, I guarantee that she will pee in her pants as soon as the last load of dirty laundry has been washed.  Never fails.  ~  My children see no need for naps today...they think they won, little do they realize I will get the last laugh when bedtime comes at 7 pm.  ~ Coffee is gross, Mocha is okay but Dr. Pepper is heavenly.  ~  Went into Ikea and left with only light bulbs, seriously...went into Feebirds and asked for a Hybrid burrito (the smallest) and Keith got a Freebird (next size) and my burrito was bigger than his!  And our kids got their food for fee....not too shabby of a day!  ~  I told Ava:  "I sure hope you are laying in your bed young lady!  Ava responded: "I'm not a young lady, I'm Ava!"  **Oh boy.**  ~  My window unit a/c in my bdrm just went belly up.  I know what I want for Christmas now.  ~  For my birthday I told Carli all I wanted was for her to give me a "yankee dime" for every year old I was...I think showed her that a "yankee dime" was a peck on the check.  She proceeded to give me four "yankee dimes" and three "yankee nickles" (zerberts) and told me I was 27 eyars old.  I'll take it and I am sure Pawpaw would be proud of the valuable "yankee dime" knowledge I have passed on to his namesake!  :)  ~  A bleated thanks for all the wonderful Birthday wishes.  Had a great day with my family and got to go on a date with my hubby while Grammy & Pa babysat.  I am blessed!  ~  Carli has interactive dreams.  She talks, hollars and occasionally cried in her sleep.  She sleeps hard and has no memory of the dreams int eh morning.  When Ava is exhausted I swear she has restless leg syndrome.  She tosses and turns and takes hours before she is in a deep sleep.  Thus at midnight I am sitting in the girls rm massaging Ava's legs and watching Carli put on a show.  Cinderella apparently is not listening to Carli!  ~  Thankfully did not experience any chills and fever spikes last night but did wake up to a very swollen throat and a 101 fever.  :(  Nothing a little Tylenol and Dr. Pepper won't fix!  :)  How's that for being positive!  ~  I so wish I had Ava's energy level when I had a 101 fever.  ~  Thank God for my awesome husband!  HE sent me to bed at 8 pm all medicated up!  Praying tomorrow means I feel a ton better!  ~  Doctor:  Take two.  ~  And it is the flu.  Because the missed diagnosing me the first time it is now too late for tamiflu to do anything for me.  Awesome.  ~ My husband let me sleep all afternoon.  Fed kids lunch, took them shopping, made sausage balls and is planning pancakes for dinner after he gets back from picking up the kids prescriptions for tamiflu.  Love our pedi too for giving kids meds to help keep them from getting sick!  Now if I could figure out how to gargle litocain and numb my super sore throat instead of the back of my tongue, I would call the day accomplished!  ~  Turns out the will power of a sick momma is a bit stronger than that of a strong willed 4 year old.  God bless my husband, the day is only half over.  ~  48 hrs fever free!!  Woohoo!!  Now to keep the room from spinning around and around and around...  ~  Happy New Year to me!  Looks like we are going to go to ACU's Sing Song for the first time in over five years...I think the girls are going to love the show!


post signature

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

2012 Facebook Status Year in Review - PART 1

JANUARY
 


Carli's first day of Tuesday/Thursday preschool is tomorrow...I hope I survive. ~ 20 minutes of peace now that the girls are napping and before a conference call...I need a Sonic Dr Pepper. ~ On the way to school this morning we watched a Mickey Mouse Christmas movie and sang Jingle Bells.  Carli is a little slow at getting in the Christmas spirit!! ~ After listing to the big dogs outside bark for over two hours, I finally threw on a coat and went and put the culprit in the kennel which was interesting at one in the morning since Susie was none to happy and weighs a good 150 lbs.  I wasn't laying down two minutes when two motorcycles stop out on the street and proceed to reeve their engines forever before speeding off...I haven't seen 1 am in a long time...on a bright note the girls don't seem to be bothered! ~  Quote of the day:  "Logan is my favorite boy, no, his is my favorite spider boy!" - Carli Lynn ~ Our new windows came in today...but they were all wrong!  :( Looks like we wait another month so they can send them back, make them right and try again! ~ Where was angry birds when I was pulling all nighters with a new born?! ~ Carli - "Momma, is Kayla coming to play today?  I think she misses us. " Me - "No Baby, not today - she will come tomorrow. "  Carli - "Oh!  So Sassy will be here today?  I know she really misses me!"  **And then Ava proceeded to go around yelling for both Kayla and Sassy for a good 30 minutes while Carli yelled at her that no one was coming today!  At least I know they love their babysitters! ~  Carli just asked me where her mother was...I told her I was her mother!  She said no, you are my Momma.  My mother is at work.  So I asked what her mothers name was...her name is Bill.  ~  Alright take three...supposedly our  new windows will be here on Friday and installed on Monday...maybe the third time is the charm!  ~  Was just told by a stranger that my three year old was very well mannered!  Score one for these parents!  ~  Today is pretty amazingly awesome!

 
FEBRUARY


Day 1 of no Dr Pepper was a success...no headache today - woohoo!  But I am exhausted, apparently I was living on caffeine and the lack thereof has me whipped! ~  Watching spiderman circa 1981 with Logan...wow, graphics sure have come a long ways!  ~  Date night!  ~  My kids talk a whole lot...an awful whole lot.  ~  Carli to Logan - I don't like pink any more.  My favorite color is orange.  Logan to Carli - Now what will you wear?  Good question.  ~  Carli's mother, Daisy Bill, is working.  Carli's momma, me, wills pend the day in bed.  Not sure whether to be appreciative of the fact that Carli thinks I deserve a day of rest or alarmed that she thinks I don't do anything but sleep!  ~  I think I shall invest in a Magic Eraser, as crayons do not wipe off my walls nearly as easily as washable markers.  However, crayons also do not mark up fabric furniture as badly as markers...its a toss up as to which I despise the most at the moment...  ~  Carli - "I love you with the love of the Queen Momma."  Me - "Carli, who is the Queen?"  Carli - "Riley's Daddy."  ~  This morning Ava found her favorite bouncy ball.  It became her security ball.  She held it all day.  All thru church, ate lunch with it, took a nap, back to church, dinner and finally fell asleep tightly grasping her bouncy ball.  I just uncurled her fingers from it to put it on the dresser so it won't get lost during the night.  Very cute, but I am thinking a security blanket would have been easier to keep track of!  ~  So far this month...new throttle body on the car, new tires and oil change for the truck and now a new disposal, and eventually a new sink cabinet (b/c of some nice mold ) for the kitchen.  The new cabinet will simply have to wait...the repair budge is in the red!!  ~  My nephew Logan volunteered to say our dinner prayer tonight and it was so sweet!  He did a really good job and was a highlight to a very challenging day!  ~   Date night wouldn't be complete without a trip to Lowes.  :) ~ Carli's Prayer:  "Dear God, Thank you for Jesus.  Thank you for God.  Thank you for prayers.  Thank you for us.  In Jesus name, Amen."

MARCH
 


Carli to Ava:  You know what I love you with Ava?  I love you with the love of the Lord!  ~  Rocking a sleeping newborn after a full nights sleep...is that even possible?  Only if the newborn isn't mine!!  ~  Please send up a prayer for my Grandma.  She was admitted into the hospital last night for pneumonia.  ~  Got to see my Grandma tonight!  :)  ~  This day just got longer.  ~  Not that anyone is awake right now...but if you are and are free tomorrow can you watch my kids?  Sitting in the ER with Keith and not sure what they plan to do.  ~  Keith was having chest pains, racing heart and arm pains, so we came to the ER.  He has a leaky heart valve.  We found out about it six months ago.  All the test came back okay and they gave him meds to bring everything down.  They said it was typical episode and the only way to get everything back in check was to come to the hospital and check everything out before they gave him meds to reset everything.  Scary night but I think we get to go home soon.  ~  Thank you all so much for your sweet comments, prayers and offers to help.  Keith is doing good, actually he says he feels normal.  We are all tired but that we can handle for sure!  We are very thankful for our wonderful family who is so willing to help in the middle of the night and have called to check on us throughout the day.  Please keep praying for my Grandma as she is still in the hospital in Nac with pneumonia.  Thank you!  ~  What we heard from Ava's bed when she was suppose to be napping, "Sorry Momma, I forgive you!  Sorry!"  Over and over and over...  ~  Got to meet sweet baby Sawyer and visit with some good friends too!  It had been too long!!  ~  Here's to hoping that the side of the bed the girls woke up on this morning won't be the same as the one they wake up from after naps...yest it is 12:30 and we are already doing naps.  It's been that kind of morning.  ~  Just heard from the back seat - I sure love Unc Tone!  ~  Grandma is back in the hospital.  :(  Please send up prayers for her.  ~  Carli is sound asleep and Ava is talking up a storm...not the norm and very frustrating trying to get a 22 mth old to hush!! ~  Made an unplanned visit to Alto today and got to see my Grandma for a few minutes...loved her hugs and getting to actually talk to her...hated seeing her in a nursing home and looking so not like my Grandma.

APRIL
 



Awesome wkd getting to see a forever friend while spending the whole wkd with my mom AND getting to sleep past 6 am two days in a row.  Mom even took me shopping and I actually bought something, miracles do exist!  So many thanks to my wonderful hubby and inlaws for watching the girls and to my dad for letting me 'steal' mom!  ~  Carli is "talking" on her cell phone.  Her side of the conversation consists of "yes ma'am," "welcome," and "I love you!"  Love it!  ~  I dropped my phone and busted the screen.  When I picked Carli up from school she saw the screen and exclaimed, "Oh no Momma!  Your phone has a booboo!  I will kiss it and make it all better."  She did kiss it and then proclaimed, "It didn't help, you will need to get Daddy to fix it I guess."  If only kisses fixed everything!  ~  My car is parked in the garage for the first time in five years...and if you've seen our garage, you know what a feat that was!  AND...I could even open the doors to get of the car and did not have to resort to climbing through the back...yep, miracles seem to happen every day around here!  :)  ~  Ava woke us up at 3 am crying.  She had a 101.5 fever.  Took till 5:30 for the ibuprofen to kick in so she could sleep...we are off to the doc this morning!  I am betting ear infection.  ~  My child just peed on my couch...and her reason, "The potty was way to far away and crocodiles would eat her up."  Obviously she didn't factor in my reaction, the crocodiles don't seem so bad now!  ~  As if to make sure I knew she was feeling better, Ava has decided to boycott her nap along with her sister...they are too kind to me.  ~  Work day for me...Daddy/Daughter play day for Keith and the girls.  I hope he survives!  :)  ~  Me:  "Carli, maybe one day when you can say 'yes ma'am' and do what I ask you to do then you can watch TV."  Carli:  "yes ma'am...momma, now can I watch TV?"  **Heaven help me.**  ~  Surgery on my shattered phone screen has commenced...I have left the room so that Keith's steady sure hand will not be hindered by my sighs and gasps...  ~  If you texted me last night I didn't get it...I know I missed four msgs...but have no idea from whom.  The screen on my phone is fixed in the sense that it is in one piece but now the touch part of the screen doesn't work...so I can't access anything.  Got the trusty iPhone for today!  ~  The neighbor's wonderful cat (the same one that dug up half my yard last year) has decided to use my flower bed as his litter box and dug up at least four plats and killed two others.  Am not a happy camper.  ~  Alright neighborhood cat...let me know how you like the crushed red pepper flakes and mothballs in my flowerbeds...I hope you hate them.  I hope you hate them so much, you go back to your own yard to tend to your business.  And if you don't, Chuy's dream of me voluntarily letting him case and capture a cat may just have to come true.  ~  At lunch with my Grandma today.  She looked good!  And was the same Grandma that I sure was missing!  I think she is getting so close to getting out of the nursing home! :)  ~  Caillou on PBS which somehow Carli found on Netflix is mildly annoying.  ~  My heart is aching for Erin and Marshall today as they lay their sweet baby down to rest.  Please send up a prayer for this amazing couple as they deal with the loss of their precious child.  ~  Carli +  Scissors + pom-poms...imagine what the playroom looks like.  ~  My pinky no longer has a cuticle thanks to a full buggy, car keys and the combined weight of my children on the back of the said full buggy.  Who knew a cuticle could bleed so much...we added band aids to our buggy.  ~  After being asked more than once to help clean the play room, Carli had to go to bed without getting to watcher "show" like she usually does...I think her world came to an end.  I hope it made enough of an impact to let her know Momma ain't playing when she asks her to do something!  Sometimes it's hard being the mean one... ~  I washed my face tonight...I may have washed it twice.  After I brushed my teeth I couldn't remember if I had washed my face...so I washed it again just to be sure.  I hope this is a sign of the end of a hard day and not a sign of getting old...  ~  Dear Naptime - despite the way my children treat you, you are a loved and much appreciated part of our family.  Please do come back soon...like in less than five minutes before I pull all my hair out (on a positive note though, if I pull all my hair out I could cancel the hair appt I have tomorrow and save some money, just lose my sanity.)  ~  I have curly hair...I rarely fix it straight.  So when I go to a stylist and ask for a cut and style and specifically say I do not wear my hair straight, why do you spend over an hour straightening my hair?  I would prefer you fix my hair curly as I normally wear it...  ~  A delicious pink pizza with sprinkles is what we are having for supper according to Carli.  We finally figured out she meant a poptart.  When I told her it was called a poptart she informed me it didn't have popcorn in it!  ~  Keith won the patience battle with Carli tonight.  Me?  I was wandering how my sweet mannered 3 year old transformed herself into a hormonal, inconsolable teenager where anything I said was obviously with the intent of ruining her life...I think I shall take a sleeping pill and pray this is all a bad dream!!

MAY
 


Whomever prayed that God bless me with patience.  I am grateful for your kind thoughts to remember me in prayer, just wish you had prayed for my sanity.  :p  ~  It was nice to sleep past 6 am this morning and not get up til 6:45, but working out at 8:45 at night was a bit more humid and a lot hotter than it would have been had I dragged myself out of bed this morning!  ~  Carli instructing Grandma in drawing a spider, "First you draw a circle.  Oh!  That's a good one!  NOw you draw legs.  Those are funny spider legs, Grandma!  Oh no!  Where will you put the spider face?  There ya go.  That looks good Grandma.  Just like a sun!"  Ha!  ~  Tea party pictures were a HUGE success...even if Ava didn't want to smile until we were almost done.  :)  Thanks Jennifer!  ~  Keith said Hayden sure does seem to like me.  Carli responded that Hayden likes everybody, Daddy!  Ha!  ~  Met some some awesome ppl for an amazing dinner (mmm, Little Mexico) to end a pretty stinkin' good but long day!  :)  ~  Dear "Mean" parent self...one day, I promise this will pay off...just remember that.  *sigh*  ~  Anyone in Tyler taken their kids to gymnastics?  If so, where and would you recommend them?  Debating about taking Ava this summer...  ~  Random comment of the day:  "Anthony and coffee.  That's a scary thought."  Comment made when we were talking about Ava preferring cold sausage and I told Keith Anthony use to drink Pawpaws cold coffee when he was little.  ~  Happy 2nd birthday to my Ava-Bo!  May your smile keep getting brighter, your eyes keep twinkling with mischief and the terrible twos conveniently forget to stop by and stay this year!  Love you!  ~  And so the terrible twos begin...just found Ava's diaper...it was missing Ava.  ~  Called Grandma to get specific directions on how to cook a pot of our fresh green beans from the garden (since Carli and Ava have always eaten her fresh green beans).  Who knows how they'll turn out with a little bit of this, a dash of that and cook just about that long!  Oh how I love that lady!  ~  Ava loves me so much she broke into hysterical sobs anytime I left her bedroom last night.  After battling her till 4:45 I gave up and moved Carli to my bed and got two hrs sleep in her princess sheets.  Oh I live for nap time today!  ~  Many thanks to Bobo the monkey, Twee Tweet (Tweety Bird), Minnie Mouse and Mr. Big Black Bear along with the assistance of a new lamp and fan for helping Ava to sleep ALL night long.  Between that and her Daddy putting her to bed, we did not hear, "Where Mommy go?!'  all night long!  Hope that we did find the final solution to our all nighter Wednesday night...more light, more stuffed animals and Daddy putting her to bed!  :)  ~  Uncontrollable giggles coming from the girls bathroom...hope they didn't flood the bathroom.  They went to wash their hands 5 minutes ago.  Even if the did, I got to eat my lunch without any disruptions.  The pros outweigh the cons... ~  Chaos at the Hays' house today!  Five dogs being groomed, yard getting new sod and trailers and ppl everywhere!  I called and asked the guy who was going to come restain the playset to come tomorrow...there is only so much  can handle!  I may have invaded my neighbors driveway...I wander what their parking fee is...  ~  My husband randomly bought me an air conditioner for our room tonight...I'm so excited to sleep in a 65 degree room again!  :)  ~  I guess if Ava is going to keep me up for a couple hrs in the middle of the night, I can call it a blessing that I hear Carli laughing in her sleep.  A welcomed relief from all the crying Ava just had me endure.  :)  ~  How do you teach a 3.5 year old to blow her nose?!  ~  This new phase of Ava waking up at midnight and staying awake for 2-3 hrs is not cool.  :(  ~  6:30 on a Saturday is so much better than being awake from 12 to 3 am!  Thanks Ava (and Keith)!  ~  Carli just put her toes in timeout for taking her shoes off when I specifically told her to leave her shoes on.  She said she would busted their butt but toes don't have one...now she's asking me why toes don't have butts.  Oh my.

JUNE
 


Carli randomly says...I sure love my Grandpa.  I told her I loved him too.  Then she turned to Ava and said, Grandpa is in heaven with God, Jesus and Santa Clause.  Maybe we can see him at Christmas.  Still go some explaining to do I guess.  :)  ~  Number one sign we need a vacation...we got the car packed, kids loaded and ready to leave only to realize we aren't suppose to be there til new wkd.  *sigh*  At least we figured that out before we drove six hrs!  ~  Plan B:  mow the yard and grocery shopping.  ~  Carli - That's not the beach Momma, that's the ocean!  ~  Carli and Logan act more like siblings than cousins sometimes.  They pick and pick and pick at each to her but if I get on to them they defend each other.  And here I gave up Dr. Pepper this wk...what was I thinking?!  :)  ~  Every morning I see Logan, I ask him what he had for breakfast.  Almost every morning, he tells me he had cookies.  I ask him where mine are and he tells me he ate them all!  I tell him he better start sharing with me and quit rubbing in that he ate all the cookies...this morning he brought me some cookies and made sure I ate them.  Gotta love that kid!  ~  Finished mowing the backyard at 10 pm...will be the last time we go three weeks between mowing.  Had to mow it twice and then rake the cut grass so my dogs and children would not track it all in my house.  I am tired.  But at least I worked off the Dr. Pepper I had today!  :)  ~  Potty training has commenced...  ~  Lessons learned today:  Ava is not potty trained and thinks the whole process is a game in which she holds it as long as she can before flooding her shoes.  Carli thinks she needs M&Ms any and every time Ava pottys...even on the floor.  My girls are awesome helpers and troopers to spend the day with me in Alto surprising my Mom with a clean laundry room and Grammy maybe short more than a few packages of M&Ms.  :)  ~  Our normal week just got busted....Ava has a stomach bug.  :(    Dry heaves and very pitiful...no school or gymnastics for us tomorrow and I guess potty training will have to take a bit of a break tomorrow.  Wish us luck...washing sheets for the fourth time in three days.  I think I prefer it if they had just been peed on this time.  ~  Survived a very long night...going on not a lot of sleep but I am getting lots of cuddle time with Ava and that pretty much makes the dirty sheets, towels, diapers, pitiful whining and lack of sleep okay.  ~  Tonight when Carli's Bible school teacher asked her what her last name was, Carli promptly responded, "Carli Princess."  ~  AC not working but at least that means I didn't have to cook dinner!

post signature

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Happy Birthday Naggy!

 
My Grandma had a poem in her home for as long as I can remember that my Mom gave her.  It went something like this:
 
How blessed I am,
How fortunate I've been,
That you are his mother,
And also my friend.
 
Happy birthday Tessie!  I am truly blessed and honored to be a part of your family.  The girls wanted so badly to make you a birthday cake as they just knew it would make you magically appear at our house!  I couldn't turn down the opportunity to make something sweet...you know, in your honor of coarse!!
 
They worked hard helping me measure and mix...
 


And then they did the most important job of all...they licked the pan and beater...





Finally, after dinner was over they got to have some cake with strawberries and whipped cream.  We hope you enjoyed your real birthday cake as much as we enjoyed making one for you (and eating it!). 

 
We love you a lot Naggy!  Happy Birthday!!


post signature

Friday, January 11, 2013

Potty Training at Night...

And we didn't even know it!

Last night was our first night back to gymnastics in three weeks!  The girls did great and were excited to go back.  Ava and Keith came home after her class and I stayed to watch Carli.  When she and I got home, she really really wanted to put on her Princess PJ's.  No big deal, I let her.  We had dinner, watched the Veggie Tales Movie "God is Bigger" and got ready for bed.  Nothing unusual.  Girls were asleep by eight.  Good night!

About one in the morning, Carli taps me on my shoulder and says she spilt water in her bed.  I was confused and went to her room.  Sure enough her bed is soaked.  She points to the water bottle on the dresser and says, I just wanted to get a drink.  Okay - no biggie.  I get a towel.  Put it over the wet spot and give her a dry blanket and back to bed we go.

Fast forward to this morning.  The girls slept in til eight.  When they woke up, I go through our morning routine of changing out pull ups for undies.  Carli says, "I already have my undies on, see?"  Sure enough she did.  And then it dawned on me.  The following conversation ensued:

Me:  "When did you put your undies on?"

Carli:  "I didn't wear a pull up, I'm a big girl Mom." 

Me:  "Okay, so did you have an accident last night?"

Carli:  "Yes, I spilled water all over my bed."

Me:  "Really, or did you have an accident and have to change undies b/c they were wet?"

Carli:  "Mom, my undies were wet b/c I spilled water EVERYWHERE.  I already told you that!"

Sure enough, found the soaking wet undies in the dirty clothes.  They did not smell like water. 

Me:  "Carli, did you get your night gown wet?"

Carli:  "No Mom, I didn't want my princesses to get wet!"

We still have a ways to go and some laundry to do!


post signature

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Ava's Performance Flop

 
Remember back in October, the girls had a gymnastics performance for the Alzheimer's Association.  Ava loved it and Carli hated it?  So in December when a sign up sheet was put out for a Christmas performance, the obvious thing to do was to sign Ava up and not sign Carli up.  Done.  It turned out that day that Aunt Carolyn had a funeral to go to and Grandma needed someone to hang out with.  Perfect!  Grandma would get to see Ava do gymnastics!  So we met up with Aunt Carolyn for lunch in Jacksonville.  After lunch, Grandma came with the girls and I back to Tyler for Ava' little performance. 
 
We got to the church, got Ava changed and got to enjoy listening to some live music while we waited for the gymnastic performance.  Ava loved it!  She played her little bells, she danced, she smiled, she laughed.  And then it was time to do gymnastics...and she flopped.
 

 
Seriously, she simply refused to do anything.  She would not even walk on the balance beam.  Bummer.  Thankfully the only other little girl that came was quite the performer and she showed off really well.  Ava looked pretty pitiful.  It probably was a combination of her sister not being out there with her, there not being a whole lot of other little gymnast and they made the circle a little bit too close to the gymnastic stuff.  Whatever it was, Grandma did not see Ava turn even one flip but she did see Ava in her cute gymnastics outfit...we take what we can get!
 
Carli and Grandma pretty much sit like this the whole time we were there...pretty much inseparable.  When a gentleman came and asked Grandma if she wanted to dance (Ha!), it was Carli that told him, "No Way!!"  Awesome!  
 

Who knows maybe the third time will be the charm and I could get both girls to perform on the same day in front of ppl they don't know?  A Mom can dream...

post signature

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Just Resting....

It was a good Sunday afternoon to take a little nap on Daddy...
 


post signature

Monday, January 7, 2013

Logan's Christmas Program Performance

 
I have this cute little nephew.  His name is Logan.  He has won my heart over.  :)  We have been so blessed to get to be so close to him over the last year.  On January 14th, his Momma starts her new job in College Station.  She got an awesome promotion and we are so proud of her accomplishment!  But we are so sad that Mr. Logan is having to move away from us.  We were a wee bit spoiled to get to see him so much.  The girls enjoyed playing with Logan, and going to church with him on Wednesday nights.  They enjoyed getting to spend so much time with Logan.  They LOVE him so so much!  So when Aunt Chelle told us about Logan's Christmas program at school back in December, it was a must that we all go! 
 
Logan did an awesome job singing his little heart out at his Christmas program!  He was one good lookin' little dude!
 

Here are the three amigos.  Such personalities.  Smile for the camera guys...and this is what we get!

 
Logan loves his little cousin Ava.  


Way to go Logan on your awesome Christmas program performance!  We have so enjoyed getting to see you grow in the last year!  You are an amazing little boy and we cannot wait to see what God has in store for you!  We love you so very much and will miss you a ton!  But that just means when we do see you on the weekends and holidays you get lots of extra loving from us all!

post signature

Sunday, January 6, 2013

A Dollar for Our Thoughts

 
I struggled with trying to figure out what to give our teachers at school this year.  It seems that a lot of the Mom's try to outdo each other and though I may have a crafty bone or two in my body, it doesn't hold a candle to what some of these ladies come up with it!  So after thinking, and searching and thinking, it finally dawned on me that it really doesn't matter what it looks like or what we spent on it.  All that matters is that the teachers know how much we appreciate them.  And so our craftiness and interviews, yes, interviews commenced.
 
First we did a little painting...
 

 
 
And then we interviewed the girls.  We ended up making four of our little notepads.  One for each of the girls teachers and then one each for Sassy and Kayla.  We had a lot of fun getting the girls' responses to our questions.  Some of my favorites were:
 
Where does Ms. Donna live? 
   "With her Momma and Daddy like me, only I don't think she has an Ava like I do."  - Carli
 
Ava, who are your friends at school?     
     "Ms. Robin and some other little people."
 
The boys were not good today at school.  We need to pray for Ms Donna and maybe the boys too! - Carli
 
"Ms Robin misses me."  - Ava when on vacation.
 
"Sassy's real name is Sassy.  Remember Mom?  She comes over all the time and we call her Sassy!"
 
"Sassy tickles Carli's arm.  Sassy tickles my arm and it makes me laugh!"  - Ava
 
"Kayla’s favorite color is blue, or maybe purple.  It could be brown.  I am not sure.  It’s probably a rainbow.  Yeah, she likes rainbows."  – Carli
 
"I love Kayla and she loves me."  - Ava
We ended up getting 25 comments, scriptures and encouragement notes for each note pad.  Then we alternated them with one dollar bills and made a little note pad.
 
 
 
 
 

It turns out they were a BIG hit!  They weren't perfect by any means, but the teachers, Sassy and Kayla loved them.  I ended up picking up Ava from school early the day we gave the teachers their gifts.  Ava's teacher was almost in tears thanking me for the awesome gift we gave her.  Then Carli's teacher had already written Carli a pretty generic note for some pumpkin bread we had given her earlier in the week.  We got a second thank you note gushing with thanks over the "Best Gift she had ever received in her 20+ years of teaching."  Awesome!  I think we figured out what to give our teachers from here on out! 

We got a text from Sassy thanking us for her notepad saying it brought tears to her eyes.  :)  Kayla loved her notebook too!  Yea!  Mission accomplished.  Make these four ladies feel special and make sure they know how much we appreciate them.  Success!  :)

post signature