Kathryn's new glasses

so kathryn's glasses broke last week, and since they are still under warranty they replaced the frames (the lenses were fine, the arm just broke off)...before the end of the warranty we will get her new lenses.

so while we were there, and waited for them to fix the glasses, we checked out all the other frames they had. i must have just agreed to the first frames the lady showed me, because there are much cuter frames out there! so i took some pictures with her in them. some are a bit big for her face right now, but in about a year she will have outgrown these frames, and we'll need to get her some new ones, so i wanted to see what everyone else thought of the frames i got pictures of. 

so these are my favorites, they are slightly big on her, but to me, she looks like a mini me! and she just looks darling!

a house, garden dreams, HOP

so we are having our house built (yay) and i've been looking around at other floor plans of houses in our neighborhood/D R Horton communities, to see if there was anything else that compared to what we have...and sadly there is none. i look becuase i realized just how much i'm not going to like our brick color that we didn't get the option to pick out...and wondered if it was worth changing houses...well of course not. we really like our floorplan for the price we got it for and i'm just going to have to deal with it. 

but i have made a blog just for the house, (for those who care) so i don't clog up this blog with all my crazy pictures. those who are interested click here. 

for a quick update, they have been building for a month, and they have all interior walls done, they are waiting for an inspection on plumbing, HVAC and electrical, and then they will insulate and sheetrock it. of course all the interior will need to be finished, the brick has been delivered, windows and exterior doors put in, so they are seriously rolling. anyone who has built with D. R. Horton before, how much longer are we looking at waiting til completion? our guess is 2 more months. end of august. we'll see.

of course now that we are finally getting a house, i can unleash the gardener at heart (and let kathryn's gardening love expand) so i have lots of wishes of things i'd love. of utmost importance...a vegtable and fruit garden. only thing is...walker has clay for soil. so does anyone have any luck with gardening out in walker? my dreams are for:

• carrots
• tomatoes
• bell peppers
• celery
• broccoli
• lettuce
• zucchini
• cucumbers
• grapes
• strawberries
• blueberries
• bananas (i would LOVE)
• pineapple
• cantelope

anyway, i know that is quite a list, but i'll take what i can get... lots of these can grow in pots etc. we shall see. i can see myself (with my little helpers) out in the garden daily... oh the fun to be had!

so as most of you know, kathryn has speech issues. i finally got in touch with the school system in livingston about her evaluation and they have it finished, only thing is, they only do speech therapy during the school year. so she won't start until September. there is a private sector of speech therapy, but with us trying to build a house, we don't need to go broke before we get in trying to pay for the speech therapy...so sadly at this point we can't afford it. so i have looked into other options of things i can do at home while i wait...and i've come up with the Hooked On Phonics program for Pre-K. has anyone tried this with any success? it's only 35 dollars, so better than buying that Your Baby Can Read program ($200) which she got bored with very quickly. i just hate sitting waiting on someone else to fix a problem...

we've tried to watch our mouth move in the mirror, but she wasn't interested and i didn't have the patience to catch her attention... so, i am at the end of my rope with this one. it's really hard hearing her say words wrong when i know she is capable of saying the specific letter sounds... (ex. she says the "f" sound perfectly, along with the "ox" sound, but when i ask her to say "fox" i get "box" i tell her it starts with the "f" sound, so she says "FFHbox". or saying "umma" instead of "open" when she has said "open" on command before) what can i do???

Daniel's Party

so i know it is short notice, but i figure only family is coming anyhow, but for anyone who is interested...there will be a playground for kids to play on, and food to eat. better late than never....

donating blood

so i have always wanted to donate blood, but never found the right opportunity. i always thought it was the one thing i could easily give and it could save a life. that's pretty rewarding...

so i was going to walmart to get some sunscreen and milk just before we were to go to Foxy's and let the kids swim. on my way in, the guy holding the "donate blood" sign asked if i was willing, i said, maybe on the way out. i had kathryn with me, so i had to think about it...she isn't so great when i have my hands tied...

well, we got what we needed and on the way out i saw him again, and i said, is there anyone who would watch my daughter so i can donate? and he replied oh yes, there are plenty of girls in there who'll watch her for you while you save a life...

well that's nice. turns out, the nurses were all busy, and so it was multitasking trying to fill out paperwork and not let kathryn play with the bio-hazard box of whatever on the counter... then when i go to give blood...i was really worried, cuz i had to be reclined and kathryn was given a piece of cake and sat just opposite me on a chair watching me...and when i saw the gigantic needle they were going to get the blood from, i tried to think of anything else.

it wasn't hard, kathryn just about lost it when she saw the nurse rubbing the iodine all over my arm... i was trying to talk to her and calm her down, but when they poked me with the needle and all the blood started coming through the tubes and into the bag, she really lost it, she started to get out of the chair and i'm trying to tell her to stay in, and she wanted to take the needle stuff off...when the nurse caught her (a big black guy) picked her up and put her back on the chair...she just screamed at the top of her lungs, over and over. i tried to tell her it was ok, all she could muster was "mommy hurt, mommy has bo bo!" it was so cute to see she cared. i was supposed to squeeze this stress ball while they were taking blood, and every time i squeezed it, i could feel the huge needle, and it kept making me light headed, and i tried not to think about it, but toward the end, it was hurting and i had a hard time breathing,  i was dizzy, i couldn't hear, and everything was getting fuzzy. the nurse said i was done, and kathryn still screaming tried getting down again... i asked him if he could just put her up on me, he did, and she gave me a big hug and kiss and kissed my arm and said "fafie mommy" (which means "sorry mommy") she's so sweet and caring when it comes to people getting hurt. it certainly made me feel better, literally. in 5 mins i felt normal again, and was surprised i didn't pass out. i'll have to think twice about giving blood again. it was a bigger needle than i thought it would be and i hate needles...

but it helped having kathryn there to take my mind off of the giant needle sucking blood out of my arm! lol. 

nothing worth having comes easy

it's that the saying? you have to work really hard for what you want. success never comes easy... hard work sets apart the winners from the losers... well, we all know what we have to do to be successful, and none of that is going to be easy. 

so, i've been involved in making lunches and delivering them to a few businesses for a little over a month now. 

when i was first thinking of this idea, i was trying to convince one of my friends to "help" me in this endeavor. well, she went on vacation shortly after this idea and has yet to come back, and the more i got to thinking about this, the more i wanted to try it. i soon realized, if this was going to happen, it was going to be up to me. it was an easy decision to go ahead and try it out... and then the consequence of the decision didn't quite hit until after the first week, canceling 2 of the days and being an hour late for 2 of the days. i realized just what i had gotten myself into!

but i was determined to make it work, i just needed to work on the cooking and prep time to be sure i could have everything ready at the right time. it took a good 2 weeks to get the timing right. and that is when i added 2 more businesses into the delivery schedule...i just jumped into going to more than one business, hoping i wasn't late, and it turned out perfectly, and that would be the ideal day. i had 18 lunches delivered that day. that was exciting. 

it's unfortunately gone down from there. 2 of the businesses don't seem to be interested anymore and i'm not a pushy person, so i accept the rejection and try to move on. i've sort of hit a road block though. i'm about out of ideas for businesses to go to (i'm trying to go to places that know who i am, not just complete strangers...it's if-y trusting strangers with food?) 

this business experience has however really made me marvel at the entrepreneurs that have "made it big" becuase their success was certainly well earned...it's hard work starting up a business and even harder getting past the snags and pushing through the hard times to make it to the good times. it's sooo not easy trying to do this and be a full time mom. 

it's not even the cooking that's hard. what i don't prepare/cook the night before, suddenly meets a deadline the next morning, and with daniel wanting some mommy time, and kathryn wanting juice or this or that, it gets hectic trying to keep everything on track and on time. that is really my big challenge. not all mornings are like that, but at times it seems easy to just give up and quit. especially when it seems like no one really supports all the time and energy you put into something. but this is one thing that i am determined to succeed at. i'm not giving up yet. i have flopped a few meals, been late delivering, and not the best prepared, but Trendsic has been that life preserver helping me stay afloat. Thanks guys. really. i couldn't do this without you. 

They have been the only steady customers putting up with me "getting the recipes right" and all that.  they make me not want to give up. so i will try to scout a few other businesses, and we'll see how it goes. 

On to my next big thought. working moms. HOW DO THEY DO IT????

and i thought being a SAHM was hard. try working AND having to complete all of the duties of a SAHM. coming home from work to cook, clean the house, bathe the kids, make sure their home work is done, feed them, and put them to bed, and squeeze in doing chores like dishes and laundry...i mean, i don't even have a "full" time job with these meals, and already, the laundry is lacking. we are doing good if we find the clothes we need from the "clean laundry" hampers. folding laundry? ha, no time for that. and of course the house seems like it's always a wreck...how are you supposed to have the energy to keep it clean? much less (for me at least) the ever-growing MOUND of dishes... so...my hat (if i was wearing one) goes off to all the working moms or women who are working more than one job (when are you ever home to get anything done?!?) YOU ARE AMAZING!!!

no seriously. that takes some will to "just keep swimming" in the heavy currents of life. so kudo's to those ladies! i have much respect for you now that i have experienced that myself. (and mom i am talking about you! you've done this...since before we were born! Wooah)

so that kind of leads up to my next point. MOTHERS ARE AMAZING. well, the mothers that are real mothers at least (this is not to be confused with mom's that are drug addicts and don't even know they have children)

since it's so close to Mother's Day i figured i'd take the time to express my appreciation to all the mom's out there that i know. you all are all an inspiration to me and when i feel like i'm at wits end, one of you chips in some advice, or i watch you do something unique, and realize, i'm not the only one going through this. there are so many awesome things we do that don't get recongized, and i just want to let you know, i see how much you love your children, in good times and bad, and it inspires me to be a better mom. 

and for my mom, thanks for being my mom and supporting and believing in me throughout my life. i wasn't the most well-behaved child, and did things that made you want to pull your hair out, but you loved me...no matter how slow i ate a meal... =) or how many times you found me digging in the dirt with your good silverware... =) or how hard-headed i was...you still love me...and now you get to have a good laugh seeing kathryn do all those things i did to you! so break out the smile. she really is just like me. and i get to figure out what her passion is and let her reach for those shiny things in the night sky. 

motherhood...no one ever said it would be easy, but in the end, it sure is worth it.

so the moral of the story is...

well, today when i woke up i was feeling really sick (sinus infection and coughing and hacking up a bunch of junk) and the kids aren't done with their pink eye medicine, but i really wanted to give the bishop my tithing, so i decided i would get dressed run up there, and hand it off. i told john my plan, and for him to stay home with the kids, and he agreed. and just before i left, i fed kathryn, john fed daniel, and then john went to lay down in bed. i went in and said "uh, you aren't going to watch the kids?!" and he replied he was tired. ok, well, i'm still leaving without them, so... whatever. i had a feeling something not so great would happen if john decided to stay asleep. 

well, i am on my way home when john calls (it's been about an hour since i left) and says daniel came in the room crying, so he pulled him up on the bed, and daniel crawled to the edge and fell asleep. i asked "what about kathryn" well, she's being kinda quiet, let me go check on her. uh oh...

he calls me back obviously aggravated saying something about putting a lock on the pantry door when we get a house, and why does she feel the need to make a mess all the time (4th day in a row she has made a pretty big mess) i asked what happened, what did she get in to "what didn't she get in to!!" he declares that she got to a full bag of chips, a big box of spaghetti noodles, a box of tuna helper, the cheese pack in the tuna helper box, a 2 liter of sprite (basically all gone) and a book got ripped to shreds... well, i told him i was a few mins away, i'd come help him clean it up. apparently, the chips were all over the dining/hall bedroom area, spaghetti was contained mostly to the dining area and yeah...a mess. i took some pictures when i got home, but he had already started sweeping up and really, the pictures don't do justice to the mess that was made. 

more dirty diapers pulled out...ugh...and spaghetti noodles made it to the bedroom.

from the door of the bedroom. chips all over and vacuum still in the room from the oatmeal mess

looks like a tornado came through...

chips were swept up in the hall and living area before i got home.

he was working on the mess in the dining area...

she thought it would be fun to put the spaghetti noodles in the sprite jug and tried to get the cheese powder from the tuna helper pack in there too... lovely.

and so the moral of the story is:

don't try to sleep or neglect toddlers in any way when they are awake. they are like tazmanian devils...and get very destructive. end of story.

Cute pictures

so i have a ton of pictures that i wanted to share

i like how our eye color stands out. and we both have glasses. 

when jaime (my brother) came down from WA for our Paw Paw's funeral, we got to enjoy spending time with him! we never get to see him so that was nice.

all of us with Jaime. we all look so happy and excited! 

at my Grannie's house after the funeral, Daniel was feeling a bit attached to me, one time when i went inside and the door closed before he could get in, this is how i found him. peeking through the window with a look of desperation on his face

i really like this picture. she crawled into my Grannie's flower bed and just looks so peaceful. i loved nature as a child too. 

towards the end of the day, Daniel really took to Jaime. he was a lovey dovey with him, and it just looked so sweet. 

Daniel seeing mommy didn't immediately lunge for me...he stuck his tongue out. gotta love these babies!

He is just so kissable. We know.

Kathryn and Lydia are such sweet cousins. they act like sisters. it's so cute. 

Katie really loved Daniel! she told Aunt Linda (her maw maw) that she wanted a picture with him. so we threw them all up on the swing. 

and daniel went crazy and started crawling for the camera case. silly boy.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!

So Kathryn has been exceptionally bad in the mornings lately and i decided i would look back on all the frustrating things she's done to be able to read and laugh about it now, since it's in the past. ha.ha.

so kathryn got a new bed (i'll post pictures later) 2 weeks ago, and since then, she figured out how to take the child safety door knob off her door (how we used to be able to keep her "contained" to her room... and since i simply couldn't find both pieces (conveniently  for her) to put it back on, she has been able to "escape" and...destroy. 

well, ok, she isn't USUALLY so bad, but for some reason, in the morning when she wakes up at the butt crack of dawn, she decides peaceful sleeping daniel should be up to. here are some of the ways she USED to wake him up:

1. turn a movie on and turn the volume to max (flippin made me jump out of bed!)

2. climb in his crib and jump on his bed bouncing him awake

3. throw toys and stuffed animals in his crib on top of him

well, luckily enough she can't climb in his crib anymore (he took over her bed which was lower to the ground) but she has resorted to new ways... here are the ones from the last 2 weeks:

1. take the entire trash can full of dirty diapers and dump it in his bed (YUCK!) firstly, i don't even know how she possibly managed to pick it up, it gets pretty heavy with all the soiled diapers...but that was one time i simply removed daniel as fast as i could and cleaned quick and so no documentation was taken. lol. 

2. dump an entire box of king vitamin cereal in daniels bed, and on the floor to be stepped on (i wasn't there, i was babysitting for volleyball, but i can only imagine. thankfully, john cleaned it all up before i got home.

3. and this morning it was waking up at 7:50am to what i thought was the sound of ritz crackers being taken out of the pack and smushed... but it turned out i was wrong. i find daniel playing with an entire roll of aluminum foil (the crinkling sound) in his bed, and an enitre container of oatmeal dumped in his bed and on the floor! the same darn oatmeal that when i was "putting stuff away" from kathryn's reach last night i looked at an thought "no, she wouldn't do that" imagining her taking the oatmeal and making a complete mess. well if that isn't ironic. 

so a few other things that didn't quite affect daniel that i found her doing when i woke up at 8-8:30 the last 2 weeks:

1. i find her with a strange substance all over her face (she came in my room to tell me hi) put on my glasses to see that it is my lipstick all over her face, hair, fingers, bed...yeah. bye bye lipstick! 

2. another morning i heard her open her door pitter patter out, then run back in and close the door, i decided 5 mins too late to go see exactly what she decided to smuggle into her room...to find it was her box of eye patches that look like eye "bandaids" and they were all over daniel, her, and her stuffed dog and cat. 20 patches for $6 and to see only 3 be used (before she got to the box) is a bit frustrating, but it was kinda cute how she had put them all over daniel and her stuffed animals. too bad she started ripping them off and throwing them in the trash before i could take a picture. lol. 

3. another morning i found her in the bathroom looking over the toilet, when i realized, the dripping noise was coming FROM the toilet...she put a toy and toilet paper in the toilet and flushed several times i'm sure, and got the desired effect of "clogging the toilet" i had WAY too much to do with preparing the meals that i just pulled her out of the bathroom (she hadn't had a chance to dirty herself luckily) and closed the door to clean it up after i delivered the meals.