Saturday, January 28, 2012

Who Needs a Puppy?

For the past 3 or 4 months I have really wanted a puppy.  I have no idea why b/c I am not much of an animal lover.  So far I haven't found a puppy that doesn't shed and can use the potty in the toilet.  I kid about the toilet thing but dog poop does gross me out, especially when I step in it, see it or smell it.  Seriously though, did you know that to get a dog that doesn't shed it will set you back a whole lot of money???  WOW....won't be going there anytime soon unless Rylee follows through with her promise of getting me one for Mother's Day. 
None of that really matters anyways b/c I have my very own puppy dog already.  That little puppy would be named Tegan:)  I joked with my husband the other day telling him that if something happened to me I wasn't worried about him or Rylee but Tegan would never recover.  He literally follows me all over this house.  He makes every step I make.  If I leave the house without him, he ask when I will be home over and over again.  When we are play fighting, he totally licks my face just like a puppy.  Gross I know but this is a great gross out tactic that my husband has taught my sweet boy to win a battle.  He loves on me all the time and tells me that I am the sweetest mommy ever and he loves how I do everything he tells me too....wait, maybe me doing everything he tells me too is why he is a rotten little boy???  Uh, I just totally had an ah ha moment.
Anyways, the other day I was not feeling well with a headache.  I was laying on the couch with a wet rag over my forehead and eyes.  I was dosing in and out of sleep.  When I woke up one time I felt Tegan holding my hand.  I looked down in the floor beside the couch where he had brought his pillow and sleeping bag in the living room, made him a pallet in the floor right next to the couch and was laying there watching TV and holding my hand.  Isn't that totally like a loyal little puppy that sleeps at the feet of his sick owner???  I mean really, Tegan doesn't shed and he poops in the potty.  Maybe I will just start calling him my little puppy dog and start letting him sleep at the foot of my bed at night!!!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Enough Already!

To say that I am living in rainy Georgia would be a total understatement.  It has rained and rained and rained some more for the past couple of weeks.  I am sure that everyone can relate to the feeling of the stir craziness that a lot of rain can do to a mommy with wild and crazy kids.  The kids haven't been going outside for recess so when school lets out, Tegan has been like a caged animal let out to play.  CLIMBING THE WALLS!!  DRIVING ME NUTS....you know in a good kind of way:)  Everything is just so yucky wet and to top it off one day it is hot rain and the next day it is cold.  I think we are all a little tired of being trapped in side. 
Gloomy weather just puts me in a blah type mood.  I am so ready for sunshine, flip flops and vitamin D! 

On a totally different note, gas is getting out of hand and I am screaming enough already as the dollar amount numbers flip and flip and flip on the gas pump.  I just figured up that in exactly two weeks I have put $220 worth of gas in my SUV!  TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY DOLLARS IN TWO WEEKS!  Since my explorer is paid for, it is hard for me to get something more gas efficient but goodness gracious the gas pump is draining my bank account.  I have been all over Auto Trader in search of a tiny little nice low mileage four door car that isn't 20 years old!  Do you know how impossible that is???  Apparently people aren't selling their gas efficient cars. 

Can you tell I am all over the place tonight!  Oh well, at least you got a little update from me and now I will step down off of my negative soap box.

Friday, January 20, 2012

This Is Only for a Season....

It seems like I never ever get a free second.  If I am not at work, I am working on my business.  If I am not working on my business, I am running my kids somewhere.  If I am not running them somewhere, I am doing things for them.  On top of that I am constantly cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, grocery shopping and loving my husband.  I think you get the picture.  So it doesn't come as a surprise to me that I am a little overwhelmed with all the activities that are slowly adding to my schedule.
Rylee has started her second session of gymnastics once a week.  This past week she auditioned (like a for real audition) for a play that will be put on for the public in our town.  She got a part or several parts.  That is a wonderful thing and we are all so excited about it except the fact that she will have play practice 3 nights a week, 2 hours a night for THREE months!  Then on top of those two things we will be adding t-ball for Tegan to the schedule in March.  Yep...that schedule makes me throw up in my mouth a little:) 
I have worried about how my husband and I will keep up with everything and not make our kids feel like their activities are a burden to us.  I keep reminding myself that this is just a season.  In fact, I am sure that the next several years will be busier than I have ever been and busier than I will ever be.  One day things will slow down.  One day I will sit down and watch TV again without multitasking.  One day I will wonder where all the time has gone and how my kids got that big so fast.  But for today I will try to enjoy the moment and the season that I am in for it won't last as long as I think it will! 

Saturday, January 14, 2012

A Very Happy Girl!

This was the very first year ever that we decided not to do a big birthday party for Rylee.  I thought she would miss the party or be a little upset but that wasn't the case at all.  I made a huge effort to make this birthday just as special as one with a big party and I think I was very successful as she has said over and over again that this was the very best birthday EVER!!!

The night before her birthday I decorated her door just after she went to bed.  She thought it was the coolest thing ever!
I took her some cupcakes to school on her birthday so that she got to have a small celebration with her classmates.  Her actual birthday was on Wed. so we took her out to Outback for dinner and I slaved away in the kitchen to make the requested doughnut cake.....or at least someone at Krispy Kreme slaved away making the doughnuts, I just stacked them:)
If your kid loves doughnuts, this is the best idea ever.  I bought 2 dozen doughnuts and they were all gone by the finish of breakfast the next morning.  I wish I could take credit for this but this was all Ry's idea!


 Normally we don't get her much for her birthday b/c we are shelling out tons of money on a party but this year we got her a black bookcase and canvas bins that she had asked for.  She also asked for a bag full of surprises so that is exactly what she got!
On Friday night she had her very best friend come over to spend the night with her so that she could help us celebrate Rylee's birthday on Saturday.  They played hard and there was some pretty intense dancing going on to Just Dance.
This morning we got up early (a lot earlier than I wanted on a Saturday:) and headed out for a surprise breakfast.  I told her that she was going to get to go somewhere fancy but I wouldn't give her any clues.  Emma and Tegan didn't know either so they were just as shocked!  She always loves to ride past a place up the interstate called Chateau Elan.  It is a winery but looks like a huge castle.  She has always been fascinated with that place.  A while back we actually drove up the driveway but never got out.  Well today when we got off the exit she started telling Emma to look b/c we were about to pass the castle.  The look on her face was priceless when we turned in to the driveway and she realized that this was where she was going for breakfast....
All three kids were so excited and I don't think they believed us at first.  Once we walked down the grand staircase (the people there kept calling it that), I think they finally believed us.  The breakfast was a awesome breakfast buffet complete with all your usual breakfast favorites, a fruit bar and a full service omelet station.  They put us at a table that looked like it was made just for a birthday girl!  Everything was so fancy, which if you know Rylee, she is totally fancy.  The girls smiled the whole time they ate.  Tegan was excited but he was way more excited about the fact that he was sitting next to his Emma. 
After we ate they let use wonder around a little.  How many of you got to run around and do cartwheels on the lawn of a castle today?

None....you should try it!


Tegan loves Emma to pieces!  He is in his glory when he is right in the middle of these two girls!
After leaving "The Castle", we headed to Mall of Georgia and went to Build-A-Bear.  Now I know you are thinking that Rylee is a little to old for this but she picked it as the one thing she wanted to do for her birthday and I didn't feel so bad when there was a 14 year old in there building a bear for her birthday!  Apparently we have deprived her and not taken her to do it before today and she just couldn't live another day without her bear.  Unfortunately, I got tired of carrying around my big camera at this point and there are no pictures of it b/c we are tight wads and don't have smart phones to take pictures with. 
All three kids loved it!  It was a really great day.  Tegan was on his very best behavior.  Rylee was so thankful for all that we did for her this birthday.  Emma said it was the best birthday party ever.  She also said that eating at Chateau Elan was way better than eating with a princess at a Disney castle b/c those castles aren't real like Chateau Elan is:)
Today we made such great memories with our kids and Emma. 

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Today is brought to you by the number NINE

I can not even believe that I am about to say this but Happy 9th Birthday to my precious baby girl!!!
It seems like these last nine years have just flown by.
We seem to be entering a whole new world of changes when it comes to Rylee.  The first major thing (which really isn't that major) about her is that she has always been in love with the color pink....apparently nine year olds are to old for pink.  That's OK though b/c I am loving the blues and greens that she is currently obsessed with.  Another really big change is that while she is still a super sweet girl, she is trying to assert her independence more and thinks that she should question everything we tell her or ask her to do. 
But all in all, Rylee is still as sweet as ever.

Her awesomeness goes far beyond anything that I can take responsibility for.  She has pure talent and there is no doubt that she didn't get that from us. 
 She has amazing people skills.  In fact, most adults are shocked at how grown up she is in conversation with them.  But the very best thing about my girl is that she has a heart of gold.  She really feels everything that is around her.  She worries about hurting other people's feelings and tries her best to be a wonderful person at all times.
I have said this before and will say it again....whatever I did to be blessed with this girl, I am thankful for it.  I pray for her daily that she has peace, courage and faith and so far, the good Lord has not let me down. 

Here are some highlights of Rylee's 8th year:
1.  She came to us shortly after turning 8 and asked if she could be baptized.  Watching that moment was one of the proudest moments of my life. 
2.  She played a season of soccer.  She got out there and did a great job in every game but after the last game of the season, she basically said that was nice and was ready to hang up her shin guards:(

3.  She completed 2nd grade with multiple awards.
4.  Third grade has been a super easy adjustment for her. 
5.  She started gymnastics and has found a sport that she really loves. 
6.  She is obsessed with exercise which translates in to her forcing me to exercise with her. 
7.  She is very helpful at home.  One of the most helpful things that she takes pride in is that she sets her own alarm clock, gets up in the mornings, gets her brother and us up, and then gets ready for school.  She even gives Tegan a quick breakfast some mornings:)  (I'm not sure if that make her look good or me look bad???)

Rylee is such a special child!  I know all moms say this but I see that girl doing something great!  Even though I am sad to see her growing up so much, I am also very excited to see what she will do in life.  Every day that the good Lord allows me to have this girl, is a very blessed day!
Happy Birthday my baby girl!  You will never know how much you mean to me!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

2012 Goals

I know it is totally lame but I seriously always do feel some sense of renewal when a new year begins.  I love the thought of looking ahead and not behind...even though I am not always good at it.  I always set up "goals" instead of calling them resolutions.  This year, most of my goals are things that I have had in mind and have already been doing for the past several months. 
1.  Simplify my life....by this I mean everything.  I want less stuff in my house.  I want less stuff on my schedule.  I want to live simple. 
2.  I want to make my business in to so much more than anyone believes I can.  I have a goal to be providing for my family and living strictly off of my business by this time next year. 
3.  I want to relax and enjoy life more.  I want to take more time to just sit and play or talk to my children.

Those are my goals for this year!  This morning we went to church (not a better way to start the year) and in our church bulletin, there was something I loved and wanted to share.
Happy New Year
Happiness depends upon your outlook on life.
Attitude is just as important as ability.
Passion find yours this year!! 
Positive thoughts make everything easier.
You are unique, with special gifts, use them.

New beginnings with a new year.
Enthusiasm is a true secret to success.
Wishes...may they turn into goals. 

Years go by too quickly, enjoy them.
Energy may you have lots of it.
Appreciation of life, don't take it for granted.
Relax, take the time to relax in the coming year.

These are words to LIVE by!  May you all look for time to relax, have positive thoughts, use your gifts and appreciate everyday of life that you are given....I know I am sure going to try to do all of these things!