Babies, Big Sister and Bumps in the road!

who has time for tired?

2011-03-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

Not me! I will think every now and again that I am tired, worn slick out actually. It will cross my mind and I will go on to the next thing and put that thought away. I have been trying to get more sleep for awhile now, but the night owl in me just won't let it happen. There is too much fun to be had to be tired. Too many things I wanna do and see to let a little lack of sleep slow me down. Maybe when I am sixty-five it will all catch up with me. Physically it already has. These dark circles under my eyes don't come from nothing. But it is a small price to pay to enjoy every hour and minute and second that I can squeeze outta my day!

starvin' artist! Ha yeah right!

2011-03-01T12:35:00.000-08:00

I love being an Art student....... Everyday we are able to view something in a new way. Try a new project or learn about a new technique. No one really cares if you show up to class in your lounge clothes cause chances are that you are going to be covered in a mess by the time you leave anyways. BUT......it is a LOT of work! I never realized how many hours outside of class I would be putting into my projects. I am literally eating, breathing and sleeping my art these days. I LOVE IT! But I know I will love it more, when I can create from the comfort of my own studio with no restraints or project guidelines. Let's face it I don't have a welder, metal, power tools and safety gear at home that my 3-D class requires. And as of right now I don't have a new Mac or all the software for graphic design (YET, hurry up August!!!), so I am stuck trekkin' to WKU to do my creating on a school level. However right now is all about the learning process. Developing my style. Deciphering terms and techniques. Finding out what I do and don't like. So far on the list not a great fan of the welding, but love love love all the computer skills I am acquiring! Learning about all the great artists and viewing some AMAZING works of art.

It has re-awakened a part of my soul that has lay quiet for a long time. For the first time in years I am seeing things with fresh eyes again. I was able to spend a whole hour today enjoying a show at the Kentucky Museum on campus. To look at work from my peers and see what other artists are creating. To see what inspires others is absolutely priceless. It brings a whole new set of ideas to you for your own work!

I want to travel to all these places we are talking about in my Art History classes. See the paintings and buildings and sculptures all first hand. Stand in the same halls as these great artists of years gone by. I want to soak in the culture and inspiration of foreign ground. See new places to find new muses. I know it is a whole lotta want to's for a mom of three living in small town Kentucky. But that is all about what this journey back to college is. It is a chance to make things happen. To love what I do and things I learn so much that I can't help but pass that excitement on to my kids. To learn to love being an artist and help my kids understand why arts of all sorts are so important to the world today. So if I starve along the way, that is ok by me. I could stand to lose a few pounds anyways! Especially if it is all in the name of ART! :)

Happy Tuesday Ya'll!!!

time flies........

2011-02-23T10:11:00.000-08:00

So when I started blogging the twins were babies. It was my way of dealing with leaving the corporate world and staying home with three small children full time. My how times have changed. In less than one week my small NICU babies will be full fledged toddlers.....the big 3! I never could have imagined all the twists and turns our lives have taken over the past three years. Much of it has been a blur. The first year just trying to survive going from 1 child to 3 was hard. And each year after has been a little easier, despite new challenges. These days I balance the kiddos, Kyndall's school, my school, sickness, meltdown's, the twin's daycare and home life as well as I can. The next few weeks will bring us a whole new batch of changes as the twins start preschool and learn to be their own individual selves for the first time ever. I decided to let them each have their own classroom and teacher experience. Give them a little independence. Force them to move out of their comfort zone. We will see how it all goes! In all these changes and time passing by, I am always certain of one thing....we may not always know the plan that God has set forth for us. But you can always be certain in knowing that his plan will always be much more amazing than anything you have ever dreamed for yourself!

snow ready for spring!!

2011-01-31T13:30:00.000-08:00

hahahahaha, Yes I am silly! But this cold winter weather has gotten me down! I need the sunshine! I crave flip-flops, pedi's and the grass being green. I really thought that when I moved to Kentucky the weather would be nicer than back in good 'ole Nebraska. Boy was I wrong! Sure the snow doesn't get as deep and the temps aren't quite as cold. But a day with no sun, is a day with no sun. No matter where you are! Now that school has started back and I have to get out everyday no matter what the temp. is or what is falling from the sky, it really makes me appreciate warm weather more. So mother nature if you are listening and have any chance to make it warmer sooner rather than later, I know we would all appreciate it! Pretty Please! :)

SNOW DAY!!!!!!

2010-12-12T20:51:00.000-08:00

We get a snow day tomorrow! Yee Haw!!! Can't wait to play outside with the kiddos. With hot chocolate and making some cookies as well! Sprinkled with lots of picture taking! We are making the most of it! Too bad Daddy has to work!

Wow, what a difference.........

2010-12-08T08:39:00.000-08:00

..........a few weeks can make! I am now knee-deep in finals work. This week had been so nuts that I feel like I am just trying to keep my head above water!!! And it isn't even finals week yet! The crazy thing is that I only have one final to actually take next week! So many of my professors decided to give exams this week over the last few units and count them as the final. Which stinks cause it means classes and tests and projects all simultaneously. Which is what finals weeks is SUPPOSED to be about. Just being able to focus on testing and not the normal class schedule. I will quit complaining and just say that I am glad to have made it half way through the week. I have one quiz out of the way. As well as turning in my final drawing portfolio just a bit ago. So that is a load off my mind. Now I just have to get through a final this afternoon, My last big design project that is due in the morning as well as a portfolio of my semester's design work. Then tomorrow afternoon I have an exam in Psych over four chapters and since I have a high A average in there I should be able to exempt myself from that final. Last but not least I have a review session Friday to prepare for my big American Government/Political Science test. That one will probably be the hardest. But at least I have the weekend to breathe a bit and get more studying for it in before Monday.

Next week should be a breeze school-wise once my test is over! I am really looking forward to it! I will work a little bit and get to go to Kyndall's Christmas party at school. Which I am super excited about! It is the 1st party all year I will have gotten to attend since school usually conflicts! Then Friday I just have to come back to campus to pick up my final portfolio's with their grades! The rest of the week I am going to spend getting the five of us ready to go to visit my family in Nebraska over Christmas. As long as no big road blocks or bumps in the plan get in the way, we plan on leaving the 18th and staying there until the 1st of the year. I can't wait. It has been almost 1 year since the last time I saw all of them. I am super homesick and it will do me good to relax and spend some time with my old friends and family all together in the same place.

Hope you all are having a great holiday season! I still have yet to finish up or decide much about Christmas cards. Maybe I will get to that next week too! I feel another to-do list coming on!!! AAAGGGHHH!! :) LOL!

Happy Wednesday! Take time today to enjoy the little things!

Downtime........

2010-11-23T12:06:00.000-08:00

I am typing this from a computer at WKU, but I could literally jump up and shout that I am "SO READY FOR THANKSGIVING BREAK!!! WOO HOO"!!!! I have to go to work at 3, then I get off at 4:30 and embark on five days of nothing but family and good eating! I love it! I am excited to spend time with my kids, and just enjoy life with no hustle and bustle. I may go shopping on black Friday, or I may not! The beauty of it all is that it is up to me! Nobody dictating our schedules! Our Christmas tree is up as well as most of the inside decor, so all I really have left to do is mess with the porch if I feel like it! It is heavenly! I am floating on a cloud thinking of all this un-scheduled downtime we are going to get to have. Sure I may do some laundry here or there, and I know I will run the dishwasher and clean the kitchen a bunch. But the smile on my face is because I know I can do it all in a t-shirt and p.j. pants and not even have to touch the eyeshadow or mascara all weekend long if I don't feel like it! Of course we all know, that the time will be to short. I will turn around and it will be Monday again. But believe you me, I am gonna enjoy the next few days in every possible way..............come on 4:30! LOL!

Hope everyone has a blessed and happy Thanksgiving. Doing whatever it is YOU want to do....eating, shopping, napping, you name it! Enjoy your family and friends and don't feel bad about having that second helping of stuffing. I know I won't!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

2010-11-16T15:37:00.000-08:00

Life has been hectic as always! Can't believe that Thanksgiving is just over a week away and then the hustle and bustle of Christmas will be upon us! I have still been keeping up with my gratitudes this month. Even though I haven't written them all down here on the good old blog, I have made a real effort to think of as many things as possible each day to be thankful for. Sometimes that means just recognizing good things in the moment. Other times it has been actually putting pen to paper and making an old fashioned list. A few excerpts from that past week would be as follows:

I am so thankful that:

I survived my first parent-teacher conference. Actually I got glowing reviews about Ms. Kyndall! I was so happy to hear good things about my girl. And have a few fears put to rest by her teacher as well. It was a blessing!

I have had an umbrella for all the not-so-nice days on campus.

My husband is a good father and provider and has allowed me the chance to return to school without having to worry 24/7 about if the kids are in good care or not.

Keaton and Claire are adjusting to "big kid beds" (toddler beds) They are growing up so fast!

Good conversation with good friends.

I am able to watch my kids enjoying life and learning about new things! Watching them experience something for the 1st time is like doing it all over again myself. Completely amazing!!

On another note, I want to challenge everyone to not only count your blessings and BE THANKFUL.....but also tell someone that you are thankful for, THANKS! I think this quote sums it up:

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.
-- Albert Schweitzer

We all have these people in our lives. And if you are like me you rarely take the time to truly put into words how special they are to you. What a good thing it is to have them in your life! So take time out this week and let them know! I promise you will be glad you did! If you are not great with the spoken word, then jot it down in a notecard. Write it on the mirror in the bathroom, leave a note on the fridge. However and where ever you want.....just do it! You might be surprised at what you spark in someone and better yet, you may just find out that lots of people are thankful for YOU too!

Have a blessed week everyone! :)

Where does the weekend go? :)

2010-11-08T10:49:00.000-08:00

Every weekend seems to fly by faster and faster. I just don't ever have enough time in them to get done all the stuff that I want to, much less NEED to! :) I did make time this weekend though, to judge a pageant in BG. It was held at the new South Warren High School, which is absolutely beautiful! I hope all those kids know how lucky they are to go there. It is nicer than any University I have ever set foot in! It was fun to see the girls all dressed up. It was for the Calendar Girl pageant, so there was a great turn out. There was 14 contestants, which for a new school is great! My favorite part besides seeing all the dresses, was reading the girls responses to the questions that they were required to fill out. Some of them were hilarious, like what vegetable they were most like! Others were really philosophical....think like this "what is most important wealth, knowledge or beauty?". Made me remember back to my highschool days when I was doing pageants and how I thought I had all the answers to life back then! Ha, little did I know, right! :)

It was nice to be in the pageant atmosphere again. It had been since this summer that my girls had done one. We have actually decided to take a break from competing until they are a little older. Right now they are in the same age group and it is hard for me to give as much attention to each of them as I would like to with them being so young. I know that in the future we will pick it up again, when they are able to at least go out on stage alone and I can just watch from the sidelines. I hope they have as much fun with them as I always did. Some of my very best friends after highschool, were girls I met during Miss Teen Nebraska. I still keep in touch with them to this day.

I know that lately pageants seem to be cast in such a negative light. But I don't feel they are. I will always be grateful for my pageant experiences. For the knowledge, poise and self-confidence I gained from them. And for the life-long friendships that I fostered. As far as I am concerened....LONG LIVE BEAUTY QUEENS! :)

Have a great week everyone! I will be back in a day or two to update my gratitudes!

Happy Monday!

Gratitude

2010-11-02T09:05:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been thinking a lot about gratitude, big and small. Things in life that we take for granted and the overall feeling that we should be thankful for more. We are truly fortunate to live in a warm home and have food on the table each night. But beyond that we have many other things in life in which we should take the time to recognize and give thanks for. I was blog-hopping the other night and came across several posts which all referenced gratitude journals. Simply put it is taking the time every day to write down 5 things you are thankful for. It can be as simple as the sun in the sky or the smile on your kids face. For me I am challenging myself to start and keep this journal for the next 30 days. I want to be specific. I want to rememeber that the Lord is constantly at work in my life. All in all, I think it will be neat to go back to the journal on Decemeber 2nd and see what all I wrote down! Maybe give me the inspiration for an art project or two. Ultimately I hope to keep it up through December too, cause lets face it when things get hectic around the holidays it is easy to grumble instead of giving thanks! LOL! :) I will share my gratitudes here from time to time. And if you think this sounds like fun then join in and post your gratitudes too! I will get us started..........

Today I am thankful for:

1. Seeing a white squirrel on the way to study this morning. It was funny and unusual and a neat way to start the day!

2. Having people in my life who are involved with helping my twins get prepared for school. We have an amazing team of therapists and workers who care about them like they are their own family.

3. The fact that I remembered to wear a sweatshirt today. The weather has turned cold and for some reason WKU is spending our tutition money on still running the AC! :)

4. Being able to sit here right now and know that my kitchen is clean. Even though I was tuckered out last night I still went ahead and loaded the dishwasher and cleaned up from the evening meal. It is nice to not have that hanging over my head!

5. Extra time unexpectedly in my day. I was able to leave my morning class early and get a head start on studying for a test I have at 12:30. This has put me in a much better mood!

Bring on the Christmas music!

2010-10-31T10:38:00.000-07:00

So Halloween is officially today. Even though we did our trick or treating last night due to a town ordinance that changed it to Saturday. And I have to say that I am glad to see it go. It has never been my favorite holiday. The kids enjoyed it. They will eat candy for the next four weeks. End of story. On the other hand, I am ready for the holiday of all holidays............CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would put my tree up tomorrow if Jordan would allow it. We all know he won't though. So I will count the days til Thanksgiving. Stuff myself with Turkey and Dressing and then wait patiently until midnight that night when I can officially begin my joyous Black Friday shopping. I can't wait!!!!!!!!

It is the MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!!! :)

Trunk or Treat!

2010-10-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

Just a few pics of the kiddos before our annual Trunk or Treat at church. The girls as you can tell by the pics were super excited to dress up. Keaton not so sure about it all! :) Maybe this will get him excited for the real thing Saturday for Halloween!

Are things really better with age? :)

2010-10-14T09:07:00.000-07:00

I am so thankful for getting the chance to be able to go back to school. I know it may seem like a small thing, but I really do Thank God everyday that I am able to take this second chance and really immerse myself in learning and the whole process that is college. It makes me a little regretful though, that I didn't make the most of the college experience at a younger age. But for some reason I just wasn't ready at that point in my life to absorb this knowlege and apply it to my life. Young and dumb, too concerned with the other things that college life had to offer at the moment. So for me college is one of the experiences that has gotten better with age. I don't think I take things for granted here like some of the young kids in my class do. Don't get me wrong, I highly recommend finishing the process while you are young, not married and kid-free, but there is something to be said for being able to apply the life lessons that I already have collected to my new process of learning. Each day that passes is one day closer to graduation, but it is also a new day to learn something new that I didn't know before! That to me is exciting!!!

Happy Thursday everyone!!!! :)

Funny

2010-10-09T21:57:00.000-07:00

Sometimes life is just funny. People are funny. The way things happen are just funny. And by funny I mean many things, funny ha-ha, funny strange, funny I couldn't have seen that coming with a crystal ball, funny weird. It all is just funny. There are things I have seen since getting married and having kids that I swear a Hollywood writer couldn't come up with! Living in Allen County would sure give some t.v. show good material. I truly think we have more funny/strange/unique people than any other county in Kentucky. It is just one of the most different places I have ever lived in my life. And I have lived LOTS of places! It has taken me awhile to figure out how the people here operate. But I am slowly but surely getting the hang of it. One thing is for sure, I don't know how long I will live here, or if I will spend the rest of my days in Scottsvegas, but I sure don't think I will ever fit in with their brand of funny. Now that would be good for a laugh! :)

FALL BREAK!!!

2010-10-06T21:21:00.000-07:00

I have enjoyed all the challenges so far of going back to college full-time. It has been rewarding to try new things and challenge myself to learn material and take tests all over again! (hey it has been almost 9 years!) But the late nights at school and the extra work that goes into design projects, artwork and general studying has left me a little (ok a lot) worn out. That is why I couldn't be happier that from tonight until Sunday night I am on FALL BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really need this time to get lots of things done that have fallen by the wayside since this summer. First and foremost I need to get a haircut! I haven't been to get one in months and I am not sportin' this mini-mullet past the weekend. It has GOT TO GO! Secondly I plan on getting all my laundry done and the kids summer stuff put away. I will keep out a few outfits in case we experience any unseasonably warm weather again, we do live in KY afterall. They always say if you don't like the weather here just wait a few minutes and it will change! But for the most part if it is summer it is headin' into hibernation in the basement. Last but not least I am going to get all my fall decorations out and up! I have been wanting to buy some new stuff lately, but I promised myself I wouldn't get anything until I took inventory of the stuff I already have. Not that I NEED anything else, but it is always nice to add a new fall prim or two to the collection.

On the FUN side of things, I think we are going to try and make it to Jackson's Orchard. I would love to wait a little longer til the leaves are changing more, but I think the weather this weekend is supposed to be pretty spectacular. So we will take advantage of that while we can!

So that is my next four days in a nutshell. I hope to squeeze in some good walks and outside time in there too. But if the laundry beast takes me over then I will have to slay it before I can play! :) I will try to post pics of the fall deco. as a little motivation to get it all done!

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week! TTYL!

WOW, where has she been!

2010-10-04T17:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry friends, family, and those that don't know me but stumbled upon this page quite by accident, as you may or may not have noticed I have been M.I.A! And we are not just talking the out for a day or two, back next week kinda missing! We are talking full on dropped off the planet gone for a year type stuff! Shew! Now before you go on thinking that I have been at home eating bon-bons and just living the easy life, let me set ya straight! I have been a busy girl. And I really don't know just where to begin. So let's see........in the past 12 months I have..........

Spent a lovely snowed-in Christmas with my family in Nebraska.
Threw a throw-down of all throwdowns for Claire and Keaton's 2nd birthday!
Started a new job.
Resigned from said new job.
Gone back to college full-time, to pursue my passion of art and graphic design.
Started a new job as a student worker on campus.
Made new friends.
Left old friends.
Celebrated 2 amazing birthdays with 3 amazing kids.
Lost 20 pounds.
Gained 20 back.
Lost 10 again. :)
Prayed a lot.
Put faith in the unknown and the Lord above. A LOT!
Celebrated 6 years of wedded bliss with Jordan.
Stayed a weekend in a gorgeous home in the Smokey Mountains for the 1st time.
Got rear-ended in Bowling Green at rush hour.
Focused on myself, my kids, and my husband and never felt better about it!

So really as you can see, my time has been well spent. But the said thing is I don't have the details of all these amazing happenings written down anywhere. Sure I have the photos of some of them, but we all know how I am about actually printing off the photos from the memory card. Sheesh, that is a whole 'nother post. So in the interest of looking back at these events fondly years from now. And also for the plain and simple fact that I miss hearing myself think, type and sometimes talk out loud.....I guess back to the blogosphere I come. Ready or not. I can't promise that all or any of my posts will be interesting. But I can promise that I will share more often what is going on in the life of this mom to three, student 24/7, working, half-crazy, wife who still doesn't love to cook's life!

Afterall, 12 months is really to long to go without talkin' to someone. Don'tcha think? :)

Justin Moore Concert!!!

2009-08-03T22:09:00.000-07:00

Jordan and I don't get to have "date" nights very often. So the fact that we were able to get out and go to a concert together this past week, was a real treat! It had started out as a group of us going, but several friends had conflicts so it ended up being just the two of us! I have to say that we really enjoyed ourselves! We stopped in at Toot's to grab a bite to eat before we went to the concert. We had gotten tickets from WGGC to go to Beech Bend to see Ryan Ross, Bailey Birge and Justin Moore. They all were awesome! Sometimes I get nervous about seeing singers live, cause not all of them live up to their "radio" voices. This was not the case for Justin Moore though! He sounded even better in person! It was so great! We got to Beech Bend just as the gates were opening, so we ended up getting seats just five rows from the stage. I only brought my little camera so my pics weren't the best. But I just wanted to take a few to make a scrapbook layout about our fun night. It might be awhile before our next date.....but this one was so fun that it will last us for awhile! :) The best part about the whole night is that our concert tickets were only 5 bucks each!!! I would have paid SOOO much more to see a concert that good! We keep joking that it was the best ten bucks we have spent in a long time!

Hope everyone is having a great week so far! TTFN!

Wordless Wednesday!

2009-07-22T11:55:00.000-07:00

Good grief, where have I been????

2009-07-18T22:24:00.001-07:00

I have been a sorry blogger here lately. Between facebook and Jokers to keep up with my Big Brother obsession, and just life in general with my kids and family I have left little time for much else!

I guess the biggest news going with me is that I am ready to go back to work! GASP!! I didn't think I would ever say that but I am! I have thought long and hard about it and it is time for me to get back into the real world, and for the kids to experience being with someone else besides mommy and daddy 24/7. Sure they get interaction at church but that is just one day a week. And I really would like to get out and have some adult interaction of my own! So truth be told, my reason may be a little selfish, but I really do think the whole family will benefit from this change. Now the hard part of finding a job. We have been really blessed to find a babysitter who is just minutes from our house and keeps a few kids that are both Kyndall and the twins ages. So there will be a chance for each of them to be around other kids their age. Now I am just waiting for the phone to ring from one of the several applications that I have put in! I am praying that something will pan out soon, cause I would really hate to lose this babysitter!

Since I have been a bad blogger I will share a few pics of some of the fun stuff we have had the chance to do in the month of July! We love summer! So here are a few more things we have done this month:

I got Kyndall's hair cut off!!!! It is as short as she has ever worn it! I am still adjusting to it, but her daddy loves it. This particular picture was taken at Faye and Pa's. Kyndall is actually riding Faye's horse Skywalker, but you can't tell cause Jordan was afraid to let her loose and back up to take the pic! Good thinkin' daddy! We had all gotten together for a real family dinner, Jordan's dad was even up from Texas. The kids all had a big time and Kyndall was so upset when it was time to go home! She is such a country girl!

We have a "for sale by owner" sign in our yard finally! After lots of talk and decision making, we finally put it up! Not much action yet, but we are hoping it will pick up soon!

Kyndall competed with her first batch of big girls in the Allen County Fair Pageant. She was grouped with 2,3, and 4 year olds! Although she didn't get a trophy, she did an amazing job on stage! She did her smile and wave like she practices and blew kisses to everyone! To my surprise she even did a cute little twirl a few times! She was so great! This pic is her and her bestie Hayden Grace before they went back for their competition! Aren't they the cutest!

Claire got second place in the Allen County Fair Pageant! She was a dream on stage....smiling, waving, and walking out all by herself! She is a lover of all eyes on her for sure!

We went to our first wedding as a family of 5!! Ali Bomar and Joseph McReynolds had a beautiful ceremony is Fountain Run! The wedding was gorgeous, but keeping the kids quiet was exhausting! That will be that last one for us for awhile!

So that is just a brief look at what has been keeping us so busy this past month! Can't believe that summer is winding down and fall will soon be here. Seems like the older I get the faster the days go! Hope everyone is doing well. I will try to be a better blogger, but I am not making any promises!! LOL!

Wordless Wednesdays!!

2009-07-08T21:30:00.000-07:00

Blessed with three awesome kiddos! I love being a mommy! :)

Allen County Fair Pageant 2009!

2009-07-07T08:14:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post a few quick pics from the girls pageant this past weekend. They both did really well on stage and had fun. Claire placed 2nd and got a trophy (which she packed around the rest of the day!) Kyndall didn't place but she did a great job on stage. I was so proud of her and I am confident that she will do just as good at the next pageant. She is really starting to get comfortable with the audience and loves to show her stuff out there. She really made me proud this weekend!

We have been enjoying the summertime around our house. Especially the luxury of long holiday weekends like we just had. Besides the pageant we spent a lot of time swimming, hanging out as a family, and cooking out. We really had a good time as a family of 5! :)

I am still processing the fact that both of the twins are walking and they just turned 16 months old. Seems like they went from small squishy babies to toddlers overnight! *Sigh* on to the next phase. Such is life, right? :)

Well that is all for now. I am posting in the mid-morning and I think the kiddos will for sure have something destroyed by the time I step away from the computer! It is hard to tell with them. When you have three kids running three different directions the odds that one goes unsupervised and there for gets into trouble just increases! Ha, ha, ha!

Have a great Tuesday! Talk to everyone soon!

TODAY----

2009-06-30T09:23:00.000-07:00

Outside my window... a yard that will have a "for sale" sign in it soon! Hooray!!!!

I am thinking... about the many blessings in my life! My husband, my children, my aunts, uncles and cousins. A roof over my head. A loving church family! I could go on and on!

I am thankful for... a husband that always helps me with our children and plays and equal role in their lives.

From the kitchen... I need to find some breakfast, even though it is almost noon! LOL!

I am wearing... comfy terry cloth capris and my Nebraska Volleyball t-shirt.

I am creating... in my mind. I haven't quite made the time this summer to get down to my studio and scrap! But I will soon!!!

I am going... to get some household things organized today, and maybe even fold some laundry. I know ambitious!

I'm reading... lots of new blogs that I have found from twopeasinabucket.

I am hoping... to get back home to Nebraska before Kyndall starts school!

I am hearing... the soft noise of my ceiling fan and "Zee Fronk" on Disney channel.

Around the house... Keaton is packing around a set of stacking cups, several ride on toys have been drug out and abandoned, Kyndall is watching t.v. and rocking her baby, Claire is eating leftover fruit loops out of her high chair seat! LOL! Just a typical day!

One of my favorite things... hanging out with Kyndall while she swims at the pool and goes down the frog slide. It is the ultimate summer treat!

A few plans for the rest of the week... send some birthday wishes to some friends and family, more pool time with the kiddos, hang with the kids while Jordan gets to enjoy his early b-day gift with his brother (Hank Williams Jr. concert)!

A picture to share... Kyndall and Jae enjoying some serious pooltime at the country club! I love this pic cause I have one of them last year in the exact same pose. I can't wait to compare them and see how each of them have changed!

16 years ago today............

2009-06-24T13:34:00.000-07:00

This fella was the only little baby in my life! Wow how times have changed! LOL! It is so funny to look at pics now and see him interacting with my own kids. Time sure does fly! I am so proud of the man you are becoming C.J.! You are funny, honest, loyal, and a great person to be around. I was blessed to be able to spend several days with him when my family came to visit in May. I love him to much, and will always think of him as the little guy who used to suck on my chin as a baby! Bet he will love when I tell his girlfriends that story someday!!!!

HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY C.J.---You are truly one in a million! I love ya!!!!

Struggle..........

2009-06-22T22:09:00.000-07:00

That is how balancing my life in Kentucky with my family in Nebraska has been for me lately. A struggle. Really all the things that have been bothering me most are out of my control. (As most things are!) But anyone that knows me understands that I am a control freak and sometimes it can get the best of me! I have been hurting for two members of my family, that are going through rough patches in life at the moment. One cousin is dealing with a hard break up after a long relationship and another is dealing with losing a friend due to a tragic car accident. Both these things have seemed to just really weigh my spirit down the past two weeks. I need to find a way to bring the sunshine back into my life.

I am letting the guilt of not being in Nebraska to help them through this hang over me. I am sure they understand that I am here and this is where my life is for the moment. But that doesn't seem to comfort me. For the past few days I have been beating myself up over it. I need to quit. I am hoping that putting a few things in words will help me release it from my heart.

I need to re-focus. I have let worry creep into the places where prayer needs to be. Don't get me wrong, I have surely been praying, but not as often as I should or I can guarantee things would not have gotten this sorrowful for me. I just want to take both these girls pain away. Bear it myself so that they won't have too. I feel like being far away from home I can't do that. But I know all these things that are causing this pain are in God's plan. He is in control and when my cousins come out on the other side of these hardships they will be better stronger people. I have faced many hardships in my life, watching physical and emotional violence as a child, being placed in foster care, my mom dying when I was ten, surviving years of sexual abuse, alcholism and drug use of my parents. As horrible as all those things were, had I experienced even one minute less of any of, I wouldn't be the person I am today. I have faced many struggles and overcame them as best as I could. I hope and pray that these girls will do the same. It is not always easy to see at the time, but God's plan is always there. I just want them to trust in him and not lose sight that the Lord will lead them in the right direction.

My facebook status reads tonight "Where there is no struggle, there is no strength." A quote from Oprah. I have true faith in that. Jamie and Megan's struggles right now will turn into strength in the long run. Maybe when they least expect it. For now all I can do is let them know I love them no matter where in the world I am. Hopefully our bond is strong enough for them to feel my hugs and love even several states away.

Stormy weather!!

2009-06-19T09:27:00.000-07:00

We have had some really strong storms roll through our area the past few weeks. I am not a big fan of thunder or lightning, but if we are going to get it I much prefer it in the day vs. the night! :) Earlier this week, while in the kitchen fixing lunch, I noticed these clouds right outside my window. Of course I had no idea we were even expecting any rough weather, the kids had Noggin on and they don't give me breaking storm news! LOL! The clouds were moving so quickly, that I really didn't think anything would materialize around us. So I went out on the porch and snapped a few shots. Within about five minutes these clouds had pushed on through and pulled in a glorious storm, full of thunder and lighting. Since there were no tornado watches in effect for our county, I went ahead and did the usual lunch routine with the kiddos. None of them were scared by the large lightning flashes or big booms of thunder. Kyndall asked what it was the first time, and then after that kept telling her bubby and sis "It's okay guys, just 'tormin'!" LOL! So cute! Their biggest beef with the whole storm was it knocked out our cable for a little while. They couldn't understand why I couldn't turn Yo Gabba Gabba back on for them! :) Oh to be a kid again! When that is your biggest worry! So needless to say, we rode out the storm. The grass and flowers outside all got a good healthy drink, and we have some pretty neat pics. Although, I don't think we will take up a career as storm chasers, it was neat to see the whole thing develop and know we were safe and sound!

Forgive my tardiness......

2009-06-12T10:38:00.001-07:00

but I am still so proud of my girls! :)

Claire and Kyndall both did the Ms. & Mr. Barren River Pageant last Saturday and despite it being a long day with lots of waiting did AWESOME once they went on stage!!!

Claire was in a category with other girls her age (from 13 months-18 months) and won 2nd place! She did great on stage. Standing up by herself for a bit, and waving at the judges some. She also did a little foot stompin' dance which must have won her some personality points!!! Even though her behaviour off-stage was a little wild, she still did a good job when it counted most! Once they handed her a trophy she was a happy camper. It was a new "toy" to play with and she enjoyed chewing on it for the ride home!

Kyndall was in the 24-35 months age group and she did a great job also. She walked up onto the stage without hesitation. I went with her, but this is the first time ever that we didn't have to pack her out there and set her down. She smiled, waved and blew her kisses just like we had practiced. She kept talking about getting a kings crown (like the little boys had won) She got mad for a few minutes when we had to leave the stage the first time cause she didn't get to take one with her. But she was happy once awards were announced! She got third place and they handed her a trophy. It had a beauty queen on it and she kept saying "look mommy a queen on it!" She packed it around the rest of the day!

This will be one of the many pageants that we plan to do this summer. Kyndall is at an age where she is really enjoying them. And despite Claire's ornery streak, she seems to like being in front of the crowd too!

Below are just a few of the photos Jordan took that day. I love my girls!!!!

Wordless Wednesday!

2009-06-10T06:22:00.001-07:00

Claire and her daddy waiting on her turn at the Little Miss Barren River Pageant! :)

Just a few of my favorite pics from May! :)

2009-06-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

"Other things may change us, but we start and end with family" ---Desmond TuTu

2009-06-02T20:26:00.000-07:00

I was blessed to be able to spend three whole days with these fabulous faces!!! The ones I love the mostest! My Aunt Amy and cousins C.J. and Nicholas came to visit me along with a great family friend Laurie (didn't get any shots of us together darn it!) We had such a great time together, and I was supremely spoiled by them helping with meals, dishes, laundry and the kiddos the whole time they were here! Needless to say I was very, very sad to see them go, and not just because of their housekeeping help! LOL! I love them all dearly and can't wait to get to go back to Nebraska sometime this summer for another visit.

These faces are truly my heart and soul. These are my people, they are what have shaped me into what I am today. They are the most important part of my life even though they are hours away. I will always cherish these pictures because they show that no matter what the distance between us at the moment, my kids still have more family that loves them than they will ever know. No matter how long the time in between visits, it is always easy for us all to pick up right where we left off. That is the joy of family....true family...comfortable, easy and fun! I love these guys!!!

Sorry to be such a slackin' blogger, but as you can see I have been enjoying time with those closest to my heart, and nothing can top that! I will do a little better once I get through the next few weeks which will be filled with pageants, VBS prep and a week full of Boomerang Express!! WOO HOO!!! You know I will be a picture postin' fool once all that is over! LOL!

Happy Tuesday Everyone!!

I......

2009-05-21T07:23:00.001-07:00

I Am: A Christian, a wife, a mother, a niece, an orphan, a scrapbooker, a crafty girl, and a survivor!

I Want: my kids to have all the things I didn't have growing up. And I don't mean material things, I mean to know their parents will always put them first, self assurance, to know that they can come to me with anything and I will protect them. To not have to know what alcohol, drugs and abuse can do to a child and most of all to know that I love them unconditionally.

I Have: an amazing husband who makes raising three kids fun, easy, and more manageable than I ever thought possible.

I Wish: I had all my friends and family all together in one place....not spread out across the country!

I Fear: not seeing my children grow up.

I Hear: Yo Gabba Gabba for the first of many times today.....it is the kiddos absolute FAVORITE show! Even the twins love it! (For those of you with a comment about kids and t.v., keep it to yourself thanks! It gives me my sanity some days!)

I Search: for a balance in my life between mommy hood and not losing me. It is a work in progress! Raising my kids is always first and foremost but it is nice to get a chance for me time and the things I enjoy every once in awhile too!

I Wonder: what my mom would think of this family that I have created, if she was alive today. I also wonder if my Dad is still living or where he is. Does he ever think about me and the family he is missing out on?

I Regret: not spending more time with my mom the summer before she died.

I Love: fiercely, if you are someone I consider to be a friend or family, then I am loyal to the end. I will fight for you or be there for you....whatever the situation calls for. Because I love big!

I Always: take way to many pictures, trying to get that PERFECT shot!

I Usually: start my day by settling the kids in with breakfast and their sippy cups, then logging on facebook to see what the rest of the "world" is up to! It is my instant connection with the rest of the planet! LOL!

I Am Not: one who has a problem with speaking my mind......I usually tell it like it is. I have a strong set of beliefs and I stand by them!

I Dance: in the living room with my kids! Even when Kyndall tells me "No dancin' momma!"

I Sing: at the top of my lungs, with the car radio turned up loud and the windows down every chance I get!!

I Never: get tired of listening to music. My life's soundtrack would take you all over the spectrum into lots of genres (think hip hop, country, rap, pop, and jazz!). I truly believe there is an appropriate song for every occasion!

I Rarely: buy something without a coupon! I am a huge fan of Gymbucks, Children's Place Rewards, Old Navy cash back, Kohls Cash....I could go on and on...but you get my drift. I am a bargain shopper!

I Cry: freely. I wear my heart on my sleeve and it isn't uncommon for Jordan to find me blubbering over a commercial or a music video if they strike me just right. What can I say? I'm an emotional girl!

I Am Not Always: ready to jump right out of the bed in the morning! Probably cause I have a tendency to stay up entirely too late!!!

I Need: to keep making my health a top priority! 2009 is my year to have it all!!!!

I saw this list on my friend Paige's Blog a few days ago, and made a mental note that it was something I wanted to do on my blog also. I fell in love with the concept of journaling prompts in college, it always seemed to make writing assignments so much easier. Now as I blog there are days that I find myself stumped. I will have thoughts and ideas that I want to get out, but not a great concept as to how to put them together! So it little lists like this that help me to express myself. Thanks to Paige for posting it and for helping me to put some words to paper, eerrr, I mean computer screen! LOL!

Wordless Wednesday!!

2009-05-20T08:11:00.000-07:00

Just a few more photos from Class night 2009!!! Just a few short days and Adam and Allie will be ACSHS alumni!

Class Night 2009

2009-05-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

This is a pic of Jordan and his twin cousins Adam and Allie. First of all aren't they gorgeous!!! (the twins, not Jordan!) LOL! Secondly I am so proud of them. They are just about as good as family can get. They are great to my kids, fun to be around and both have plans for their lives after high school! It is hard to believe that on Friday night they will be graduating from high school! When Jordan and I first started to date they were just ten years old.....I know I say it too much, but gosh time flies! Seeing them in the midst of all their graduation festivities makes me realize how quickly things pass. I feel like I was just in their shoes the other day. I had all the answers (not really) and thought I had life all planned out! Did I know that I would be living in Ky with my great husband and three kids all under three!!!! No way!!! Would I have changed anything about decisions I made at that time in my life....looking back yes. But I realize that if I had made one little shift in my plan at the time, or made one different decision, my life would be totally different. I look back now and see the Lord at work. He has been with me every step of my journey, even when times were dark and I had lost all those answers that I once thought I had. I hope that Adam and Allie realize that in their futures the path won't always be well lit. That sometimes you have to pause and search out what God wants you to do. The answers won't always be just laid out before you. But I also want them to remember to enjoy the journey as it unfolds. For good or for bad, that is what will build character! If I could tell them just a few short things it would be.....keep your family first, carry Jesus in your heart, and take lots of pictures! These days are fast fleeting and before they know it they will be able to look back on their individual paths and see the good and bad decisions that got them to adulthood. I just hope for them the next 12 years of their life after high school go by more slowly than mine did! It truly is just a blink of the eye!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-05-13T10:13:00.000-07:00

Oh, to be 1 again! :)

Night Owl Ramblin'

2009-05-12T23:32:00.000-07:00

That is what I am doing tonight. Staying up way to late as usual, and writing this post just to break the monotony between facebook, , twittering, , two peas , and other random site surfing! I had a VERY productive day today. Got almost all my laundry done, including the parts I hate....folding it and putting it away. I dream of the day when I can hire someone just to do that dreaded part of the task!

I hosted a premier designs jewelry party at my house tonight. It was nice. I earned a lot of free jewelry and it was a great reason to clean my house from top to bottom! :) We even got the kids rooms picked up! Toys got sorted and re-distributed (with a lot of help from mom-mom, THANKS!!!) It is inevitable with 3 kids that stuff just gets mixed together. Kyndall's room ends up with baby/early toddler toys. The twins end up with her stuff in their room. Not to mention paci, sippies, and other random personal items that just go through an endless swap! These poor kids have very few things that are strictly theirs. But I guess that just comes with the territory of being in a house full of siblings. I was an only child until my aunt and uncle took me in and that was one of the hardest things for me to adjust to. Once you have other kids around it seems like your "stuff" becomes public property to a certain extent. It is probably one of the reasons that I am so particular about my things to this day! I loved my cousins, don't get me wrong, but as a teenager your stuff can tend to define you in your mind. So to share that with younger kids can be kind of a bummer, when you are used to having no one else around! I am hoping that since my kids are so close together in age, they will always foster a sharing spirit. They won't ever really remember a time when things were all theirs. They will probably only remember that they always had to share, or fight, with and for their toys! LOL! I am not sure if that is good or bad, but that is just the facts of life around this place!

The rest of the week from here out gets crazy busy for us.....I think we have something to do everyday until after church on Sunday. Shew! If I make it til then! I am super excited for Relay for Life Friday night. It is something we have taken part in here in Allen County ever since I moved here. I am praying for nice weather, as last year was rained out and they had to stuff us all into the highschool. We are deserving of a nice day, so if one is in the cards for us, I hope Friday is it!

Well I am going to try and catch some zzz's. I hope that tomorrow is just as productive as today. Of course the big challenge is maintaining the order in the house that we worked so hard today on! With 3 kids it is a constant challenge. I put away and they drag out. Oh well. Maybe they will discover some new exciting toys that they forgot they had! That might keep them occupied! LOL!

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday! I'll check in soon!

AWANA closing ceremonies 2009

2009-05-11T21:21:00.000-07:00

So proud of her AWANA participation certificate! She packed it around the house for days, before I snuck it away to put into her scrapbook!

Accepting her certificate from Ms. Tricia!!

They were singing a song about all the things they do in AWANA.....this part was "Pray quietly" It melted my heart when I saw that Kyndall knew the words and the motions to the song!

The Puggles class performing for us! :)

This was Kyndall's first year to be able to attend AWANA at our church. She absolutely loved it and looked forward to it every Sunday evening. Whenever she would see me hanging up her Puggles (her class's name)shirt, she would get all excited and say "I wanna go there." or "let's go church". So to be able to go and have a celebration of all they have done this year was really special. Their class was the first up and they sang two songs for us. It was sooo neat to see all the little fellas lined up and Kyndall even knew the words to the songs! It was very sweet. They got certificates of participation from Ms. Patricia and Kyndall was very anxious to go up and get hers. She waited patiently (as patiently as 2 and a half will allow) for her name to be called and just looked and looked at it once she had it in her hot little hands! We had a great night with our church family and enjoyed seeing all the other classes recite their verses and get awards too. My favorite picture of the ones I posted is where Kyndall has her little hands folded to pray. It was a part of one of the songs they were singing, and it just reminded me how grown up she is. Doing all sorts of things on her own! She is such a little blessing and I am so thankful for the love and guidance she gets from all her friends and church family at White Plains Baptist Church!

Wordless Wednesdays

2009-05-06T21:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay, just a few words. :) You know me!!! I just feel a little vain posting a picture of myself on here (usually I at least have my kiddos or something) But I needed to put this in a place that was well, um, public! See I am down over twenty pounds since the first of the year. It has been a long and slow process, but I am losing weight the right way no pills, or fad diets, or slimming teas. Just cutting out calories and workouts at the Y. So I wanted to put this picture up to remind myself every now and again, how far I have come. Of course I still have a long ways to go. But I need to remember that slow and steady wins the race. It is tempting to fall back into old habits once that first little bit of weight comes off. But I need to keep going. I want to be healthy for my kids and my husband. I want to continue to reach goals that I have set for myself. And this picture of what I look like now will be a reminder of that. Hopefully I will look back at this photo twenty more pounds from now and see a different person than I am at that point. I want to keep going. I need to keep going. So this is my little way of remotivating myself. I don't want to look back and think gosh you had such a good start what happened. I want to look back and think wow I am even better now than I was then!

Shew, so that just made Wordless Wednesday, become Wordy Wednesday.....back to our regularly scheduled blogging about kids, family and the things we do daily! LOL! :)

Happy Hump Day everyone!

AT THIS MOMENT..........

2009-05-01T22:05:00.001-07:00

I should be in bed, but playing farm town on facebook is so much more fun!

I am super excited about the super cute hair goodies that I ordered from TARAMARIE

The dryer is thumping away, my husband is snoring, and some late night talk show is playing on the t.v.

I am excited about big changes that might be heading our way.

Missing my family in Nebraska has taken over a lot of my thoughts.

I am lovin' this new game I found called DeepLeap

I am saying lots of prayers for my friend who is labor right now with her first precious girl!

I can't get enough of this song:

I have lost almost 21 pounds since I started my diet.....and I need to restart my motivation for the next 20!

Having all my kids healthy at the same time would be a dream come true.

I really wish Claire would figure out how to locate her own paci when she wakes up instead of assuming that I will come in there and find it for her!!!! Especially when i am trying to blog! LOL! :)

I am patiently waiting for the day when I can take my whole family on a trip HERE!!!

I am trusting that the Lord knows what is best for me, so I need to follow whatever path he lays forth. Even if it isn't the path I may have chosen for myself. Everything happens for a reason...right??

I am still amazed at how quickly my kids are growing and learning. They do something new on a daily basis!

My toenail polish of choice is a bright pink, which makes me feel like summer will be here soon.

I am pretty sure that I will miss Jordan all day tomorrow since he has to work!

I have a whole bunch of things to look forward to in May, including a visit from my Aunt Amy and Laurie and seeing Lady Antebellum in concert with some of my girlfriends!!!!

I still wish I had a cell phone that I could twitter from. BOO!!!

Doing something scrappy is still on my weekend agenda, I just have to find a place to squeeze it in.

The urge to take a hot bubble bath has taken over.

So with that I will end this rather random post! Sorry for being such a bad blogger! Life has been busy, crazy, but good. I will update again soon!

TTFN!

Leavin' on a jet plane!!!

2009-04-22T16:39:00.001-07:00

This will be my last post for awhile, I leave out in early tomorrow morning to enjoy my first ever trip away from my kiddos! Just me, some great old friends and visits to family for three and a half whole days! I am really excited, and a lot nervous about leaving my kids. It is actually making me a bit sick at my stomach to think about being gone from them during this time. I know they will be fine and well taken care of, I am just so used to spending all day every day with them. So this is going to be hard. But I will enjoy myself too, and come back a better, rested, relaxed momma. And that is a win-win for everyone!

So back to packing I go. I never travel light! I am a the person that caused the airlines to put limitations on the number of bags you can check! LOL! So I am sure I will pack, re-pack, re-arrange, and re-evaluate most of the night! You never know what you might need or want to wear on vacation. LOL!

Talk to you all soon! Hugs!!!

Ivana

Taking a break....

2009-04-18T10:47:00.000-07:00

from the madness of laundry and housework! I am trying to get ALL the laundry done in the house, and the place cleaned from top to bottom. This way I think I will feel more ready to start packing for my trip to Nebraska this Thursday. I am super excited to go, don't get me wrong, but the control freak in me is screaming that I need to have everything in its place and planned out so that Jordan and the kids have the easiest time as possible when I am gone. I have all the blinds in the house closed so I can't be taunted by what a gorgeous day it is outside, and lured away from my chores! I have lots to do including getting things set out and organized for the kids while I am gone. I am probably going to be anal and even lay out their clothes for each day! LOL!

I am a little worried because on the Friday that I am gone all three kids are having to go to The Learning Center (daycare) for the day. I know Kyndall will have fun. She went there from the time she was six weeks old until April of last year when I quit the bank to stay home with the kids. So she is pretty comfortable there. Although the few times she has gone since she quit full time, have been rough at drop off. But I am really nervous for the twins. I think that Claire will be fine with it. She is really social and can play alone or with others really well. Keaton on the other hand is a bit more of an introvert. He likes one on one attention and to be snuggled and talked to alot. I know the daycare environment will be different #1 cause it is all day ( not like the hour he might play in nursery at church) and #2 there will be fewer people in the room with him, so that means less one on one attention. I know it is just for one day, but it still hurts my heart to think they might not like it. Knowing my kids, they will surprise me and do just fine! :) They are little and pretty adaptable after all. I don't know what I am worrying about!

Well just wanted to take a break. Clear my head a little, before I tackle the next project. If you don't hear from me again this weekend, just know that I am stuck under a pile of mismatched socks somewhere! UUUGGGHH! :)

Happy Saturday!

I'm HOW old????

2009-04-16T05:37:00.000-07:00

Well here it is! I tried to dodge it. Tried to keep myself busy in hopes that it wouldn't arrive. I obsessed over it. Pondered on it. And finally stayed up half the night waiting for it to arrive. And it came without notice. There was no loud bang or big parade. But it arrived none the less. Snuck up on me a little, even though I was expecting it.....my 30th birthday! Now don't get me wrong, I am not one of those woe-is-me fellas who thinks life ended after 29 but, I do have to stop and think where did the last twelve years since highschool go? It is strange to me. To think I am this age. I am blessed to have my family and really good friends around me. Some folks at thirty are still searching for that. But at the same time, I still feel like there are things that I didn't know at 18 that I am still trying to figure out! I always thought at 30 you knew it all!!! What happened to me??? LOL! So I guess, I will spend this year searching for that knowledge. Trying to find the answers to the questions that I haven't quite figured out yet. Maybe learn a thing or two about myself. But a have a sneaking suspicion that a strange thing will happen, I will be sitting here this time next year with a lot of the same questions. I will be too busy enjoying life to worry much with the small things. And a year will zip by like it always does. I know from 29 to 30 has been a blur, I can only wait and hold on to see what the next ten years hold! Happy Birthday to me!!!! Thirty isn't so bad, the hard part is remembering to say I am not 29 when asked my age. They say the memory is the first to go you know? :)

Have a blessed Thursday everyone!

Wordless Wednesdays!

2009-04-15T12:50:00.000-07:00

Hurry up Summertime!!! PLEASE, Pretty Please! With a cherry on top! :)

Best Easter Ever!!!

2009-04-14T09:29:00.000-07:00

We really had the most fabulous Easter ever this year! I guess cause it was because this was one of the first years that Kyndall could really get into all the activities, but we just had so much fun!

Saturday we went to the annual egg hunt at The Tabor's home. Nathan is the music director at our church, and he and Debbie have a beautiful home and yard where they host the hunt! It had rained and rained the days before, but that didn't bother us! We just let Kyndall wear her mud boots and raincoat instead of her normally frilly attire and she had a blast!!! Keaton and Claire mostly took in the action from their strollers, but a good time was still had by all!

On Sunday we had a great church service, and Kyndall got to hunt eggs again after church. The weather was perfect and all the kids looked so sweet in their matching Easter outfits. I was pleased because we got a few family pictures which is normally really hard for us to do!

After church Kyndall went to eat with the Gunter's and we went to Grandmother's for lunch. It was laid back and relaxing. It was nice to have everyone together on Easter, even though we did miss Madison and Carson.

Later on Sunday we stopped by Cindy's so that Kyndall could see the bunny cake that she had made for the kids. Kyndall loved it! She exclaimed that it was "cute" and immediately demanded a fork so she could start munching! What a kook!

All in all, we had a very nice weekend. Beautiful weather, fellowship with friends, spending time with family....who could ask for anything more??

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend just as much! :)

Happy Easter Everyone!!!!

2009-04-11T22:52:00.000-07:00

It's not about the bunnies, or the chocolate, or the cute Easter outfits (although these are all fun). Remember what this day is truly about.....Jesus Christ who died on a cross for us, so that we may be forgiven of all our sins, and live with him for eternity. How wonderful is that! He died so that we may live! Happy Easter to everyone! :)

Gettin' ready for the Rabbit!

2009-04-10T08:37:00.000-07:00

We colored Easter eggs with Kyndall for the first time the other day and had a really great time. She was so excited about it. I asked her before naptime if she wanted to do it when she woke up and she replied "yah, it be fun!" :) Like she just knew it was something that sounded like a blast! She is so funny! Of course she wanted to stick her hands in the dye cups when she wasn't busy using the wax crayon or the stickers. But luckily for us, her favorite color is yellow and that dye was really pale so she didn't dye her hands too badly! We ended up dying a little over two dozen. I had boiled three dozen eggs, but of course had a few to break and she wanted to eat a few too. All my kids love eggs, so I know that these won't go to waste!!

The funny thing is I remember coloring eggs as a kid, but never realized all the pre-work that went into it. It really took me a long time to get everything set up and ready to go! LOL!:) But it was worth it. I guess this years festivities will be calm compared to the rest here on out. This year I only had to worry about Kyndall and what she was doing with the eggs, while the twins played in the floor. Next year they will all want to have their hands in the dye pots! Shew! I need a year to get ready for that!!! :)

Hope everyone has a blessed Easter! :) TGIF!!!

A day at the zoo!!!

2009-04-08T19:51:00.000-07:00

We had a great day at the zoo, despite me getting super sick with a stomach bug half way thru the day. Kyndall was excited to see all the animals! She talked about it all week leading up to the trip. And since we have been home she hasn't quit naming animals or telling people where we went. The Louisville Zoo was really nice, and just the right size for a day trip. The only down side of the day, was eating the overpriced yucky food for lunch. Jordan was so funny to watch, because he was just as excited as Kyndall about being there. We had such beautiful weather and it was really a fun day. Uncle Joshey met us halfway through the excursion to finish seeing the zoo. He was a blessing since I got sick just a little while after he got there. He was able to help with Kyndall and I got to sit down here and there. We got some really great pictures of all the animals. And Kyndall even got to go in the petting zoo and hang out with some llama's, donkies, and goats. Overall I think she really loved seeing all the animals that she reads about all the time in her books! We will definetely be back when the twins are big enough to appreciate the zoo experience!!

Enjoying some pretty weather!

2009-04-06T20:02:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to the Roadside Park on one of the nice weather days last week. We had a great time, and the twins got to check out the swings for the first time too! I was glad we took advantage of the nice weather to get out and about cause now of course it has turned off cold on us again! Boo! So ready for the nice weather to be here to stay! :)

Just can't get enough......

2009-03-30T22:27:00.000-07:00

of this song lately! I am a huge Lady Antebellum fan anyways, but this song just really is one of my favorites! It is a song I want my kids to know, that I sing for them. It is a song I need to remember that my Lord sings to me. I want my husband to know the words are to him also. It is just such a blessing in the form of a song! Enjoy!!!

Serenity Prayer

2009-03-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

"God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen."

--Reinhold Niebuhr

Just some words that have spoken to my heart tonight. They seem fitting for some of the events that have surrounded me lately. For someone that is a bit of a control freak (well more than a bit) it is nice to remind myself of who is truly in control. That I need to hand over all things to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For it is not in the things of this earth that I shall dwell with for eternity, it is with him. I am so thankful for my Lord God, with him all things are possible in my life.

Out takes of life!

2009-03-30T09:11:00.000-07:00

If our life was a movie, here are some scenes that might end up on the cutting room floor, but are just too good to miss out on!

Keaton and his big smile complete with dimples. There is no doubt he is in action in this photo. But I love how lively and fun he looks. :)

I think this face says it all about my wild, crazy, funny, lovable, over-the-top, entertaining Kyndall! She is a bundle full of energy most days, with just enough sass to keep her tetering on the line and just enough sweet for me to love her no matter what!!

Usually one of the kids will be smiling in the group shot, but this one is just pure chaos! Which laughably is totally us!! I love that Kyndall has my car keys hangin' from her mouth and Keaton is enjoying chewing on a toy. I am not sure what Claire is up to, but lookin' nice for the camera just isn't on her agenda today!

And last but not least everyone needs a crazy hair day once in awhile, and now that Claire can wear a little pony on the top of her head, she has them quite often. This is the look she ends up with after a day of pony tail wearing, and getting too close to Keaton who loves to yank out her bow! I love it! :)

Bathtub Picasso!

2009-03-26T21:56:00.000-07:00

Some of Kyndall's newest creations! But don't worry folks those are crayola "tub soap" crayons. Just the perfect thing for the girl who loves all things crayola! I am not sure when Kyndall's obsession with coloring/drawing/writing began, but she loves to create! (wonder where that came from?) LOL! So we figured that why not combine coloring and bathtime two of her favorite things. She got these crayons as one of her little gifts on the twins first birthday. As you can see she put them to quick use. Luckily for us they are washable, but I had to take a few photos before I washed off she and her daddy's masterpiece! She did the scribbles and instructed him to write the names of all of us on the tub! So this was a combined effort! If I could put it on the fridge I would. Nothing is better than seeing the works of art that my girl creates! Move over Picasso, here comes Kyndall! :)

Wordless Wednesdays

2009-03-25T19:02:00.000-07:00

I am homesick for the farm. I miss my family and friends in Nebraska. I even miss the barn apartment where the kids and I stay while we visit! I am so glad that my trip home is in less than one month! :)

Exhaustion!

2009-03-23T20:39:00.000-07:00

I am tired of being tired. Poor Claire has been sick for a month now and it is about to wear me out too! RSV is the latest lovely illness to attack our house. As crappy as that is, at least it is better than a mystery sickness with no real course of treatment. So now the twins are on breathing treatments every four hours. Which translates into me feeling like I am giving a treatment at all times! But if it gets them healthy, I will do it until I am blue in the face! I want HEALTHY, HAPPY kids back.....not the crabby, cranky, clingy, snotty, coughing, monsters that have been hanging around here lately! :) So for now it looks like the kids are heading in the direction of healthy, thank the good Lord, cause I don't know exactly how much more this momma could have handled. I am not sure I will know how to act if we don't have to make four trips to the dr.'s office this week! I really want everyone to get better so we can get out and enjoy some of this great weather we have been having! I am hoping that the temperatures stay nice and the sun keeps shining...that should keep everyone well too! :)

In other news, I am getting super excited for my trip back to Nebraska to celebrate turning 30 with a bunch of friends from highschool. It is almost gonna be a mini-reunion. But when you graduate with 30 people in your class, any gathering with three or more feels like a mini-reunion! LOL! :) It is always nice to go back to Louisville. It always feels the same as the last time, no matter how long I stay away. It was such a great place to grow up and if I wasn't in Scottsville, it would be my number one choice of places to raise a family. Lucky for me I ended up in a small town that is equally as great. I just wish I wasn't 12 plus hours from my old friends and all my family! Oh well, the visit will be good for me. I am just nervous about being away from my kids for the first time ever. This is my birthday present from Jordan a weekend kid-free. Which in theory sounds lovely, but putting that into practice and not being worried is entirely another thing.

Well that is all the news for now. I hope everyone else is healthier than my house is! Say a prayer for us and our sniffles and coughs! Happy Monday everyone!

Here is what I have been up to when I should have been blogging

2009-03-19T21:29:00.000-07:00

So here are some websites/blogs that I just can't get enough of lately. It might explain why my own blog has fallen into such a state of neglect! But I thought I would share them for everyone's viewing pleasure!

This is a food blog that I have been scanning for like a WEEK! Each recipe looks so yummy and I love that she does step by step photos! Just in case some day I might want to make a few! For a girl on a diet this blog is like window shopping and I love it!!!

Of course an old favorite is still Pottery Barn Kids. I love that the whole site looks like spring has just blown in and is here to stay. That is what I am craving right now! :)

This site is one I am just starting to get into and explore. It is called Twinstuff. When you are a mom with multiples sometimes it can feel lonely. It is nice to be able to network with other parents who are going through the same things as you!

Bring the Rain this blog is such a story of courage, heartbreak, faith, and family. I will warn you right now, it is a tearjerker, but the message behind it of God's love and the way he works in our lives through each struggle is AMAZING!!! It is one of the places I visit most often when I am feeling overwhelmed as a mom. It just puts things into real perspective for me.

And of course last but not least is the site I could read on for a week and still find more I wanted to read about Pioneer Woman!! This gal has it all wit, humor, story telling chops, and a cowboy for a husband! Who could ask for anything more??? Not to mention her great recipes and photography ability. These things all add up to make it a must read!

So there are just a few of my daily distractions here lately. It is amazing how you could just literally go for days online and find something new at every turn. I guess that is why my list of bookmarked pages could stretch from here to Hawaii! But I love them all, and wouldn't know what to do if my list was accidentally erased! Don't tell my husband that! He thinks I spend too much time between facebook and Two Peas in a Bucket as it is! He would have my other browsing material wiped out in the blink of an eye! LOL! Have a great Friday everyone! :)

Wordless Wednesdays!

2009-03-18T19:22:00.000-07:00

Today has been rough, so I need a little blue sky. I thought what a better place to put it than on my blog to share with everyone! I took this picture last summer while out swimming with Kyndall! I can't wait for the days to turn like this again! :)

Today we celebrated..................

2009-03-15T22:34:00.000-07:00

The twin's turning ONE!!! It was a great day with our closest friends and family with us! We had a lot of fun, ate some really yummy cake, and watched the kids enjoy all their new toys and presents! Here are just a few of my favorite parts of the day. I won't add all the photos now, cause as you can imagine I am exhausted and it is already almost one a.m. But here is a sneak peek of the action with more to come tomorrow! :)

I was in love with the cakes that Tammy from www.atasteofwhimsy.com made. AND they tasted twice as good as they looked! They were SPECTACULAR!!!!

Poor Claire is still sick, but that didn't stop her from helping to open presents. Here she is checking out the new pony that Granmom got her.

Daddy and his mini-me are grinning cause they know that cake is about to be served! These boys love their sweets!

The birthday boy! Playing with one of the many new toys that he got! He had such a ball checking everything out. He truly enjoyed every present that he got!

The party cake and the baby's smash cakes on the table prior to the party starting. I told you I was in love with these cakes! I might have taken more pictures of them than I did the twins! J/K!

Keaton was soooo sleepy by this time, but he knew something exciting was about to happen, so he managed to hold his eyes open long enough to see what it was!

Claire patiently waited on all of us to see what was going to happen next! :)

They tolerated our singing of happy birthday but look a little confused as to what these giant things are in front of them!

Keaton decided pretty quickly that he liked the cake, but he liked it much better once Micca started to help him eat with a spoon!

Claire took matters into her own hands! We had no idea that she was such a master of the spoon until today! This girl could give Kyndall a run for her money when it comes to who is the best shoveler!! :)

She really, really enjoyed herself! I am not sure what she liked best though, the spoon, or the cake?

I am pretty sure that I make this same face when I eat! LOL! :)

I for sure see more utensil time in this girls future.....but maybe not with a giant smash cake!

Keaton knows what's good he loved his cold glass of milk to go along side of his chocolate cake!

This was what was leftover when Big Bubba headed to the bath tub! This pretty much sums up the day! Exciting, messy, worked over, and a little tired looking.....but so worth every minute of work that we all put into making the party fun for the twins! I am sad that they are one, but glad that we got to celebrate it in such an awesome manner!

Hope everyone else's weekend was as blessed as mine! :)

Notes from the twin's one year check-up!

2009-03-12T21:23:00.000-07:00

Baby "A" a.k.a: Claire Elizabeth

Weight: 19 lbs 4 oz.'s up from 5 lbs 8 oz.'s at birth and 5 lbs even when she left the NICU!

Height: 28.5 inches

Head cir: 46 cm

Still our little petite girl. She seems much lighter than Keaton even though only a pound seperate them. She is pulling up and standing all the time with help from the couches and coffee tables. We just know that she is going to take off walking any day now. Claire has her two top and bottom teeth, and is working on a third. We almost never know when she is getting new teeth because number one she hates to have anyone look in her mouth and number two she hardly ever fusses over it! She is the only child of mine that cut her teeth in the traditional order starting with bottom first. All the others got top in first. She is good natured and a born explorer. A true beauty, she gets compliments everywhere that we go. She is a natural people magnet and that shows in her personality! We are working on moving from a bottle and formula to a regular sippy and milk. So far she is resisting, but it might have something to do with her still being sick. Maybe in a few more weeks she will be transitioned. She loves to eat solid/table food and sneak drinks of Kyndall's chocolate milk whenever she finds a sippy unattended.

Baby "B" a.k.a: Keaton Tyler

Weight: 20 lbs. 4 oz.'s up from 5 lbs. 4 oz's at birth and under 5 lbs. when we left the NICU!

Height: 29.5 inches! Even though he looks shorter than Claire, the measuring tapes don't lie!

Head Cir: 45.3 cm

Keaton looks to me like a chunky boy, but he is only in the 10-25th percentile for boys in all of his measurements. He is a loving little guy, and needs his momma to hug and kiss on him several times a day. (which I don't mind at all) He is just now starting to be brave enough to go off on some adventures with his sisters. For the longest time he would play by himself while they hung out. But now he is starting to get in on the action. Keaton is tender hearted and usually gets his feelings hurt more easily than Claire, but he is quick to forgive and as long as there is an open lap to occupy he is better in no time! He has his top two teeth and one on the bottom too. It seems like it takes him so much longer than Claire to cut his and he gets way more upset while they come in than she ever does. That's a man for ya! He eats Cheerios by the handful and is notorious for reaching over and helping himself to Claire's food and her sippy cups (after he tosses his own on the floor) He is also cruising all around the house, and crawls at the speed of light. He is taking to whole milk much better than Claire. Although he also prefers the bottle still to the sippy. His big blue eyes continue to melt my heart and I can't wait to see what new things he learns to do in the coming months!

I am so blessed to have three healthy, happy children. All of which have distinctly different personalities and quirks about them. But I wouldn't have it any other way. Being a mom is truly the best and most rewarding job I have ever held. :) I love these guys with all my heart!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-03-10T23:13:00.000-07:00

Hello Summer, If you are listening we are ready for ya!!!!

Geez, where have I been????

2009-03-09T21:14:00.000-07:00

Well friends, I think I may have momentarily lost my bloggin' mo-jo. But have no fear, now that several of the large tasks I was busy with are done, I think it may have found it's way back home! :) So sorry to keep any loyal readers that I might have in the dark about what is going on with me, but let's face it, I have been BUSY!!!! Here is a run down of my past few weeks.

First of all the weekend before my big tag sale with Andrea, Tricia, and Brandie at the Washington Building Claire became really ill. It started with a really high fever that Sunday night. It was 104 and she was shaking and having a really hard time breathing. So off to the E.R. we went. We even went the extra distance to Bowling Green in hopes of getting her the best care possible (which would ultimately not be the case) Anyhow, after a four hour wait, they called us back and saw us for all of four minutes. Diaganosed her with a double ear infection and put her on an antibiotic. Since the extra tylenol they had given her in Triage had brought her fever down under 100, I was okay with the diagnosis. So we decided to go on home and just monitor her overnight. Claire is usually the first one up in the mornings and the next day she was still asleep long after the other two kids were up. Very strange, but I tried to tell myself that it was the late night at the hospital catching up with her. So by 10 a.m. I was on the phone to her dr. cause something just didn't feel right about what they had told me the night before. So that Monday I got to spend ALL day at the graves gilbert clinic with all three kids in towe, having every test run on Claire under the sun, because low and behold the E.R. had told us incorrectly and she had NO SIGN of ear infection AT ALL. Needless to say I was a little hot about the crappy service we had gotten at the E.R. And on top of everything else we were back at square one in regards to what was wrong. So they began the tests at GGC.... Bloodwork, RSV, flu, strep. Poor thing was worked over good! All the illness tests came back negative, but her bloodwork showed an extremely elevated white blood cell count. We still weren't sure what the problem was and had to wait 48 hours for the bloodwork cultures to completely develop. The next day, they thought she would have to be hospitalized since she kept getting sicker and wouldn't hardly eat or drink. But praise the Lord she did start to take her bottle once I got her back over the the GGC and she was able to produce a urine sample for them. So they were confident that she wasn't dehydrated, and gave us clearance to go home and keep waiting. By this time she had been given two Rocephen shots, so I was hoping they would be so strong they would nab whatever was ailing her. Long story short, after almost a full week back and forth at the dr. office, several shots, tons of tests, and a lot of sleepless nights later we never did get an official diagnosis of what was wrong. She basically had an infection somewhere that her body was fighting. Lucky for us, she got better and is back to her old self, and no one else in the house got sick either! That is a blessing in itself!

So the rest of the week, I prepared like a mad woman for my huge tag sale. Luckily for me my friends helped me to unload, price, and sort my stuff until 3:30 a.m. the Friday night before the sale. But man was it worth it. I never realized how much stuff I had accumulated for these kids until it took up half of the building where the sale was! I should have taken a picture of it all! You all would be shocked! But as I said, it was worth every ounce of effort. We had a great turnout and I sold a ton of stuff! All in all it was a great day, condsidering I made money, got to spend time with my good friends and had more space to fill up with stuff in my basement when it was all said and done! :)

This past week was filled with then preparing for the Lil Angels Attic sale. I didn't really pressure myself to much with it. I just put a little over one hundred things in it. Since most of my stuff was still organized from my sale, it was easy to tell what I wanted to include and what to leave out. Weds. I got to drop my stuff off and work my volunteer shift. The kids all went to the childcare that Broadway provided and liked it a lot. Kyndall had a blast and would have stayed all day if I had let her. Keaton and Claire were really good, but when nap time rolled around they definetely wanted to be in their own beds, so we packed up and headed back home. I was glad to have gotten a good time to drop my stuff off on Weds. Last time I didn't bring my items until Thursday and by then the sales floor was so full that my stuff didn't make it out for the pre-sale that night. I think having it there earlier helped a lot. I sold over half of it and was surprised that some of the things that didn't sell last sale were the first to go this year. Just goes to show that you never know. Of course the best part for me was shopping the pre-sale. I got a bunch of great stuff and got everything at great prices! I was totally happy. I went back on Saturday for the half off day and got great items then too. I love a good deal. And to me as long as I make a little more than I spend, then the sale is a success! That isn't the same philosphy Jordan goes by, but oh well! He didn't do all the work getting ready to sell the stuff, so he doesn't get a vote in that matter.

Wednesday was a hard day for me, so it was good that I was busy with the sale. The twins first birthday was that day and I am still having a struggle with the fact that my babies aren't really babies anymore. Since we aren't having any more kids, it makes each birthday that mine have a little bittersweet. Each milestone that they reach, will be the last one that I get to share with an infant. They are no longer so dependent on me. They hold their own bottles, go where ever they want to play, don't want to stay long when I hold them. It is really just a sad, sad realization that my kids are all growing up. I know that I don't need to have any more kids. Three is perfect for me, but I still get a little twinge of wanting when I see a girl who is pregnant or see a newborn baby. I think it is even harder for me to get past, because I feel like I missed out on enjoying so much of the twins babyhood. It is hard when you have multiples plus a toddler to truly enjoy the small things that they do, that you so quickly forget, yet long to have back. I know I am blessed to have three wonderful, healthy, beautiful kids and I am in no way complaining. It is just starting to become real how quickly they grow and if you don't write down or photograph things while you can you might never get that chance again! Boo hoo!!!

Well I think that brings us pretty much up to-date on our household. I am still working hard at my diet/exercise and first place. I have lost almost 13 pounds. So that has been really positive. I am on the right track. I tackled step aerobics again tonight, and no matter how hard it is, I have vowed to keep on truckin'! I want to get lots of use from the YMCA membership I am paying for! :)

A year in pictures/review!

Who knew 365 days would go by so quickly! Above is a photo, from the first few days the twins spent in the NICU. Even though I don't feel like a year has passed since then, their time there in the hospital does seem very far away. I am so glad they are healthy today!

One of the pictures we have of all four of us. Kyndall is missing since she wasn't allowed in the NICU. I still cry looking at their sweet little bodies and perfect round heads. Even though you can't tell here, they each had such distinct personalities right from the start, that they have stayed true to even today. AMAZING!

So small and sweet, they used to put up their arms and turn their heads exactly the same way when they rested. It was like even sleeping, they knew what the other was doing. :)

First fourth of July celebration at our church. I always thought that both kids had a lot of hair then, but looking at it now, they both seem a little bald! LOL!

Claire Elizabeth around six months old!

Keaton Tyler around six months old also!

365 days later, so grown up and independent. Hanging out in the morning having one of their only bottles of the day and watching Sesame Street with their big sister. So grown up! :)

One her actual birthday! I was trying to get a good picture of Claire and Keaton together, but she had other ideas! This was after she crawled away at lightning speed and then turned around and laughed at me when I chased her! This girl is WILD! :)

This was the best picture I could get of Bubby Keaton, he kept shutting his eyes, I guess the flash was hurting him. But you can still see what a little man he is growing into. Those blue eyes and that blonde wavy hair just melts my heart. He is momma's boy! :)

Well that is all the pictures for now. I could upload them all night and never be through. There is one thing these kids don't lack and that is photos! Even though I do look back and wish I had taken a few more to remember everything. But oh well, that would just be more to scrapbook. Hope everyone is doing well and I promise to be a better blogger......just let me get the twin's first birthday party out of the way this next weekend! :) SHEW!

Wordless Wednesday!

2009-02-18T12:04:00.000-08:00

Well maybe just a few words.....I am still sick.....with the flu....it stinks! I will take this as my lesson to always get my flu shot. Always. Always. Always! I make my kids do it, so I should too!!! I have not been sick for this long in a very, very, very long time. I will be doing the happy dance when it is all said and done. So once the sickness leaves I promise to be a better blogger, but for now you will have to be satisfied with some cute pics of my beautiful kiddos (if I do say so myself) ! Happy Wednesday everyone, hope your health is better than mine at the moment! :P

Claire with my empty water from working out. This thing is as big as she is, almost! :)

All smiles! Although she looks like she is up to no good! What a stinker!!!

My sweet boy and his handsome little face! Such a cutie pie!

Keaton on the move! This boy finally has crawling figured out and he is pretty speedy too!!

Kyndall showing off her new fake smile. Most of the time she won't have anything to do with my camera, but on the rare chance she does we get something like this! Shew...Hollywood here we come! LOL!

New scrappin' love!

2009-02-15T20:18:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to share a few projects that I finished up here lately. Not all of them are exactly new, some of them were started months ago, but were still missing a little something. I added journaling to a few, embellishments here and there, and just some this and that! The important thing is now they are officially completed and safe and sound in Kyndall's album and our family album. I am wishing for some more scrappin' time in the near future. Let's see if the craft fairy grants it or not!

We had a busy weekend and I am still under the weather. So tonight it is out of my norm and early to bed. Even though it is already 10:30....I have promised Jordan I would come to be before 11, so I will update tomorrow on the events of our fun past few days! Hope everyone enjoyed their Friday-Sunday! TTFN!

Wordless Wednesday!

2009-02-11T23:02:00.000-08:00

knee deep in kids stuff!

2009-02-10T11:07:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone! I have been slackin' on the bloggin' lately due to sickness and just overall busy-ness at my house! I am glad to report that I am feeling a lot better and so is Keaton. I wish I could say the same for Ms. Claire. On top of her sinus infection she has popped another tooth, this time on the top and she is really in miserable teething mode. I feel so sorry for her. I can tell she is really feeling down cause for the past few days she has just wanted to be held and cuddled and close to me. For a girl that is usually always on the go and can't even stop to take a bottle, that is a huge difference. So I am hoping and praying that in a few more days the sinus infection will clear up. She finished her antibiotic today, so it shouldn't be long. Then from there she might get some relief with her teeth too!

Aside from tackling half of our household being under the weather, I am also knee-deep in a major sale preparation. I was lucky enough to get a consignor number in the Lil Angels Attic sale, but after I surveyed all my kids stuff I was going to have way more than the 150 items they allow you. When you have to purchase baby stuff in two's it really adds up! So I decided to rent out a place here in Scottsvegas to have a sale of my own. Then whatever is left from that can go on the the Lil Angels sale. Trust me I have enough to go around! I have bouncey seats, exersaucers, bathtubs, toys, playgyms, and tons, and tons, and tons of clothes that need to go! They are consuming half of my basement at this very moment!!! Considering Kyndall never wore the same outfit twice until she was about two, I guess you can imagine how much stuff I have!! Claire was able to wear a few things of Kyndall's but because of the difference in the seasons I had to buy a lot of new stuff for her too. It all just really adds up! I keep all my stuff in great condition since I usually sell it when I am done with it. I am a major stain stalker and asked for five bottles of Oxiclean for Christmas if that tells ya anything! LOL! :) So I had lots of people contacting me about looking at my stuff before I took it to Lil Angels. Rather than hassle with a bunch of different people coming to my house at all different times, I figured it would be easier just to do one big sale in a central location. So on February 28th from 8-2 I will be hosting a huge tag sale at the Washington Office Building in Scottsville. Most of my things will be kids items as I mentioned above. Girls clothes sizes 0-18months and boys clothes size 0-12months. But I will also have my hairblossoms, bow holders, and some scrapbook items (supplies as well as pre-made) albums for sale. Also my friend Andrea is going to have a bunch of nice primitive items for sale. If anyone is interested in more details about the sale or would like to come and set up a few tables yourself feel free to message me on facebook.

So that is what I have been up to. On top of that the twin's first birthday is looming in the near future. But luckily the supplies have been bought and the invitations are about complete. So it has taken a backseat for the moment to the other tasks at hand. Hope everyone is enjoying their week. I will update later, if any more exciting news comes my way! LOL! :) TTFN!

sick, sick, sick

2009-02-08T15:59:00.000-08:00

Today has been a day of yuckiness. I am sick. Claire and Keaton are sick. Just feeling crummy all around. It is one of those days, when you don't do much but move from the bed to the couch and back again. I am very thankful that my fabulous mother-in-law was able to take the twins this morning so that I could rest and Jordan & Kyndall could go to church. I slept most of the time while they were gone. Then once Jordan got back with the whole crew they all actually cooperated and took naps at the same time. That was super for me, it meant I could go back to bed for awhile and not feel like a neglectful mommy. Now Jordan and Kyndall have gone back to church and it is just C & K and I at home. We are all grouchy! I am really bummed, cause this is the only time I have missed first place so far. I was really looking forward to getting weighed in, cause I did so well this week. :( I guess that is just motivation to keep on doing good, so my number will be even lower next sunday. I just hope I am feeling better by morning, so I can go back to full time mommy duty @ 100%. So if anyone has any feel better wishes could you please send them our way. I will be glad when we are all back to normal (whatever that is!).

Hope everyone had a better weekend than me, and was able to get out and enjoy some of the gorgeous weather! I am mad about missing that too, but that is a whole other post! :) TTFN!

Keeping babies out or mama in??? I am not sure sometimes! :)

2009-02-07T12:42:00.000-08:00

This is what I see most nights when I am in the kitchen making dinner. It absolutely cracks me up. Claire has been doing it for quite awhile, but Keaton has just recently figured out he can come over and watch his mama through the baby gate. They look so funny as they peer through at me. Sometimes they will yell as if to say hey remember us, let us in this thing. Other times they just stand and watch. Content to see what I am doing and happy to see the world in a different way. The funniest times are when Claire puts her face up against the mesh and sticks her tongues through the holes. These kids are so funny. It is strange to think that we won't have to always have these gates up. That one day the kids will be free to go anywhere when they are older. But for now, I enjoy making dinner without three little ones around my feet. Although we do have the occasional escapee as Jordan or I go in and out. But for the most part the gate does the job. God bless the person who invented the baby gate! :)

The never ending battle

2009-02-06T12:38:00.000-08:00

At my house there is constantly a battle going on for something. A car, a pony, a sippy cup, a blanket. Keaton wants what Kyndall has, Claire wants what Keaton has, Kyndall wants what Claire and Keaton have. The possibilities and combinations of who wants to take what from whom is endless. So I decided the other night to just take a breather. Not worry about who took what from who and sit back and take a few pictures so we could all look back one day and laugh. Here is what I came up with during battle-- "SIPPY CUP"!

Keaton waiting and watching patiently for the right time to pounce on Claire and the cup!

The beginning of the cup tug-o-war. I love the look on Claire's face here. She looks so darn determined!

She looks to have won for the moment. I think Keaton got occupied with something else.

Somehow she must have lost control cause now Keaton was back in possession of the prized cup.

Claire is back in control and is thinking that biting might be a good defense. I swear the kids do own more than just one sippy! I could put 1o0 out for them and they would still fight over the exact same one!!

I had to back up a little cause the action was getting pretty intense.

In the end I am not sure who ended up with the cup. I kept laughing so hard that I had to stop taking pictures. But I have a feeling they both forgot about it after awhile and went on to fight over bigger and better things, like who got to chew on the t.v. remote next. Aaahhh, the little things in life. :)

Hope everyone has some fun plans for the weekend. I am going to be busy organizing, pricing, and sorting all my kids clothes and toys they have outgrown. I am getting ready for the spring little angels attic sale. Also I am hosting a sale of my own Saturday Feb. 28th at the Washington Center, if anyone is interested in being included or just coming to shop email or message me on facebook for more details.

Have a great weekend! TTFN!! :)

Let the biting begin!!!

2009-02-02T23:19:00.001-08:00

It is official both the twins have teeth! Which is really odd to some folks that they are almost a year old and just now getting their first teeth. But let me tell ya, they have Kyndall beat already. That child had her one year photos taken on her birthday and her smile was just as gummy as the day she was born. She had all this crazy wild hair that stuck up everywhere and a big gummy grin. She looked like a cute little old lady who forgot the fixodent! So the twins being just shy of 11 months and having teeth is big news for me!

Poor Keaton had been working on his tooth for what seemed like months and months. I can remember all the way back to September him starting to get annoyed with it. He was like Kyndall and decided to cut his top teeth first. Which my pediatrician says is really rare in kids (apparently not rare in mine!). I swore everyday for the past five months that tooth was gonna make an appearance soon. And lo and behold Friday the little bugger finally went from one big knot on his gum to a little pearly white sticking through. I was so happy for him! Now maybe he can get some rest at night. That is until the next tooth decides to make its appearance.

Now Claire on the other hand was a complete surprise. We had been checking her for months. Thinking that she would start teething any day just cause Keaton was. I can't tell you how many well-baby check ups and regular old sick visits we went to where Dr. Patty would look at both of them and assure me Keaton's were on the way, but say that Claire's were no where to be found yet. I never questioned it cause she never offered to complain about her teeth. She wasn't overly fussy. She didn't drool like a garden hose like Keaton did. For the most part once she went to sleep at night she did fine. I just assumed she would get them late. Maybe even later than Kyndall. I wasn't too worried about it. I remember when Kyndall was going on eight months old and still didn't have a tooth I called Dr. Patty all torn up about it. She reassured me that it was perfectly okay for her not to have any teeth. In fact she told me the longer they stayed under the better chance she had at having great teeth. So for me (someone who had a gap so big between her front teeth she could stick her tongue through it, which led to lots of time in braces and the dreaded headgear! UGH!) that was A-Okay with me! Last night Claire had a little bit of a crying spell around 3 and then just basically decided she was up for the day. We just chalked it up to her maybe being a little gassy and then once she was up, we just thought she was ready for playtime. It wasn't until this afternoon that I saw her put her hand to her mouth and I thought she had picked up something she shouldn't have off the floor to chew on. I did a quick sweep of her mouth and hit something hard. Assuming it was whatever she put in her mouth, I picked her up to get a better angle to retrieve it. And there it was, a little sweet tooth on the bottom gums. It was actually out further than the one Keaton had been working on for months. And then right next to it, the start of the other! I was so excited and shocked all at the same time. How could this kid have gotten almost two teeth and I be totally oblivious!!!??!!! After I got over the guilt of feeling like a bad mom, I chalked it up to being super busy with three kids, and I am just hoping I am more aware of her next major milestone whatever that might be, to make up for it!

So now I am excited that both babies should have pretty good chompers in time for their one year pics. Funny how you can have three kids and they all do everything at such different times and in their own particular way. I guess it is just a good reminder to me that they will continue to do and grow in their own ways as the years go by. I can't expect one to do like the other did or vice versa. I am just blessed with three beautiful wonderful kids, who all keep me on my toes in their own ways. I just can't wait to see what they do next!!!

Happy Monday everyone! TTFN!

Shew, where did my weekend go?

2009-02-01T21:23:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that I am sitting here and it is Sunday night already! I was so busy this weekend that I don't even really remember when one day ended and the next one started. But it was a good busy, a fun busy, the kind of busy that you wished could last longer than Friday, Saturday and Sunday!

First of all on Friday night I got the supreme luxury of going to crop with some of my old Memory Box buddies!!!! Along with meeting some new fun scrappers too. It was great. Betty, Terri and Deb W. along with their regular croppin' group had rented out two cabins at Barren River Lake to spend the whole weekend scrappin', relaxing, and just hanging out in general. I was blessed to be able to spend from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday hanging out and being crafty with them! The cabins were awesome and everyone had more than enough space to spread out and be creative. I got more done that night than I ever have at any other crop in my recent memory. I completed three pages and two cards. I felt super productive! Plus it was so great to be with old friends. We shared stories and laughed and laughed. I would have loved to stayed the whole weekend, but that wasn't in the cards for this trip. Maybe next time.

I am truly blessed to have been included in this awesome time with such fun people! Another great side-effect is that I came home re-inspired to create more layouts this year than I have in the past few months. I remembered again what it was like to scrapbook just cause I loved it. Not necessarily for doing a book for someone else, or to make projects to sell. So I am hoping the motivation from this will last me well into the spring! Then when it runs out I will know it is time for another girls night out with the scrappy friends! :)

Saturday I woke up bright and early to babies that were ready to play, play, play. Kyndall had gone to Mom-Mom's the night before and stayed with her. So I had some good one on two time with the twins. Jordan had left out earlier in the morning to cook the men feed the masses breakfast at church. He and several other guys get together every few months and cook for all of the women and kids. It is a fun time and the food is usually pretty good! Unfortunately this time conflicted with one of the most important dates I have on my calendar this month....sign up for the 'Lil Angels Attic Consignment Sale. I was on pins and needles most of Saturday morning right up until sign up time. I am always worried that I won't get in or that my computer will goof up, since consignor numbers go in usually less than two minutes. I was one of the lucky few, along with my mother-in-law. We both got in and now begin the daunting task of sorting out spring/summer clothes from the fall/winter cause they only accept seasonal items. I have a feeling that numbers went in record time this year. Last sale I was able to sign up for a number and then go in a few days later and sign up a volunteer shift and pick my drop off time. This time around it seemed like all those things went quick. By the time I made it over to the volunteer page, lots of shifts were already full. I got decent times for both and I am excited as always about the sale. Not only will I be able to get rid of a bunch of stuff that is taking up space in my basement. I am excited about getting new spring/summer stuff for the kids. I am a shop-a-holic when it comes to my kids wardrobe, but that doesn't mean I don't love a bargain. I rarely, RARELY, rarely pay full price for anything. I am the queen of coupons, consignment and yard sales. When you have three kids, every penny matters!

After getting myself signed up for the sale and Jordan getting home from breakfast we decided to head to Bowling Green to go to the mall and run some errands. So we packed up Claire and Keaton and all their traveling supplies and headed out. Kyndall stayed in the 'ville, since Brian and Micca were picking her up that evening to go celebrate Brittany's 16th b-day. We made pretty much a whole day of shopping. We spent from 12-6 in the mall and at hobby lobby and party one looking for supplies for the twins first birthday (to no avail). We ate dinner with the Lee's at Logan's that evening. After that we headed over to Kohl's to check out their spring clothes and winter clearance. That was our last stop of the day and we headed home with some great new stuff at great prices and three tired kids!

Sunday morning was our usual rush of getting three kids up, ready and out the door in time for church. We headed to Fountain Run to visit with Jordan's family for the afternoon. Jordan's little brother Matthew came up with his mom from Tennessee to see us. He is a doll and we hadn't seen him in a long time. It was good to catch up with them. I was glad that they got a chance to see the babies. It is funny that Kyndall has an uncle who is only about five years older than her! She thinks Uncle Matthew is pretty darn cool though! We left there in just enough time to run back to town to drop the twins off with babysitter mom-mom, go to the grocery for some Super Bowl snacks and head to church for the party. There was a good time had by all at the party, even though I was more interested in the commercials than the game. However, I was sorely disappointed by the commercials this year. I just didn't think they were as GRAND as years past. Oh well, maybe the economy will be better next year and retailers will feel more like spending millions of dollars to get me to send five dollars their way! LOL!

Last but not least I did get a chance to go to First Place and weigh-in and have a short meeting before the game party started. It was a nice pick-me up. It gave me a few quiet minutes and I am proud to say that I was down another 1 and 3/4 pounds. I have lost almost nine total. Slowly but surely the weight is coming off. I figure it took awhile to put it on, it is going to take awhile to come off! I joined the YMCA on Friday so that will give me a little boost and let me get out of the house some during the week with the kids to break up my day. I am excited to go to my first step aerobics class tomorrow night. It is actually a class that is taught by my church friend and First Place coordinator Marritta, so I think I will feel totally comfortable even though I may not get all the moves on my first try! LOL! Good thing no one is videoing this thing!

So now here I sit at the tail end of my weekend, exhausted but happy that I had a great time with my friends, family, and church. I am excited for a new week, and a new chance to be a healthier me. I know it will be just as busy, but I promise to be a better blogger in the days ahead!

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend as much as I did!!! TTFN!

Wordless Wednesdays

2009-01-28T09:18:00.000-08:00

I miss my Christmas tree!!! WAAAHHHH!!! But I will be glad when the spring and summer get here too. Oh well. :)

What am I gonna do with this girl?

2009-01-27T10:12:00.001-08:00

Kyndall is the wildest girl I have ever met. She loves to yell, dance, sing and just be all around goofy. The only time she ever stays still is when she isn't feeling good. I am not sure what to make of this wild child sometimes! I think she may grow up to be a rocker, or a world traveler, or even a dancer. I have a feeling she is going to crave adventure her entire life. It is fun to see her personality develop more everyday. She definitely gives her daddy and I a workout when it comes to keeping up with her. She has such a free spirit. She would rather run around naked than ever have clothes on. That's why we had to change back over to zip and snap p.j.'s cause with her two pieces she would strip out of them just as soon as we took our eyes off of her for a minute! She has her own ideas about where and when she should do things. She thinks she is in charge of both Claire and Keaton. I guess in a way she feels like the queen of this castle and they are her subjects who do what she says! That will be okay, I guess, as long as she remembers who the REAL boss is around here!!! HHHHmmmm, what are the odds of that! LOL! :)

Well happy Tuesday everyone. I will be back to blog more later, since I have been terribly absent from the blogosphere this past weekend. TTFN!

Something fun and random.

2009-01-22T20:43:00.000-08:00

I was catching up with all my regular blog reading the other day (which takes several days, cause I am addicted to so many of the awesome, funny, talented bloggers out there) and came across a challenge on my friend Chris's blog. She challenged us to leave a comment on her page and she would assign us a random letter of the alphabet. Then we had to come up with ten things that we like/love that start with that letter and why. I thought it sounded like a fun idea and so I jumped in. My letter she assigned me was the letter "L". So here are ten things I like/love starting with "L".

1. Little Kids-- Namely Kyndall, Claire and Keaton. I am a little partial to those particular little kids for some reason! I have them running all over my house, so I might as well love 'em. Right? :)

2. Late nights--Since the twins arrived I am a late night gal. I enjoy the peace and quiet and free time to spend catching up on chores, watching t.v. or just doing whatever I feel like. Some of my best ideas have come to me at 1, 2 and 3 in the morning.

3. Laughing--It is a no-brainer. Nothing beats laughing. I love it. The deep kind. That leaves you with black mascara tears, gasping for breathe, and holding your belly. For me when I laugh really hard I usually end up with the hiccups too. Not a great side effect, but totally worth it.

4. Long Distance phone calls--Nothing makes me feel much better than a phone call to my Aunt Amy back in Nebraska. She is my best friend, my hero, my confidant, and the closest thing I have ever had to a mom since my mom passed away. I love her so much, and nothing is better than a Sunday evening phone call to catch up with her and all my family in the Cornhusker State.

5. Leaves in the fall--Fall is by far my favorite season. The weather becomes more tolerable. We make our annual trip to the orchard. I get to decorate my porch and home for fall. The colors of all the trees turning is splendid here in Southern Ky. Everywhere you turn it seems like a different set of leaves are putting on a show. It is one of my favorite things about living in this part of the country.

6. Loose fitting clothes--We all know what that means! As I stick to my First Place plan, I am starting to notice a difference in how some of my clothes are fitting. For me it is something I have really been working on this year. I have several health goals I want to reach and I have never been more motivated. I have been repeating this mantra lately...."what we eat in private, we wear in public."

7. Lots of friends--I have never been the kind of person who can only have one friend at a time. Although I have met lots of those types of people. We usually don't click. I say the more the merrier! You can never have enough friends.

8. Lipgloss--I prefer it over lipstick. I think it is easier to wear and not as harsh. It is usually the last thing I put on before out the door. I have been known to wear it around the house, even when I don't have any other makeup on!

9. Long weekends--Granted I don't work in the traditional sense. But trust me raising three kids is the toughest job I have ever had. And I have had some bad ones. (Once I worked for the Gallup poll when I lived in NE. Basically I got paid to be hung up on.) So even though my job doesn't stop for the weekends, my husbands does. So any extra days that I have with him at home to help me is a BONUS!

10. Lots of Music--I couldn't live my life without songs. I love music of all colors, shapes and sizes. Country, Hip-Hop, Pop, Rap, Alternative, Rock.....you name it I probably know it and listen to it. I dare say that given the choice of no t.v. for the rest of my life or never getting to listen to a song ever again, I would give up my reality shows in a heartbeat.

So there ya have it. A fun little list for your reading enjoyment this Thursday afternoon. I am glad that tomorrow is Friday. The twins are going to be spending their very first night at Granmom's tomorrow night. I hope all goes well with that, since they still don't sleep through the night. We are taking that chance to get out with Kyndall and do something fun with just the three of us. We don't get to do that much. So it should be fun. I am sure I will post some photos of whatever it is we decide to do.

Happy Thursday everyone. TTFN!

Please say a prayer.

2009-01-21T23:25:00.000-08:00

I have a favor to ask of anyone that reads my blog. It is not a personal favor, but one that I would be so happy for you all to oblige none the less. Our cousins have very close friends that are going through an extremely rough time right now. They were expecting a little boy to be born in April and he unexpectedly made his arrival on the last day of December. This sweet little boy and his family are in desperate need of prayers. Lots of them. Specific prayers, general prayers, short prayers, long prayers.....any kind of prayers that you all can send up. They have a created a Caring Bridge webpage so that we can all keep up with his status. Please take just a few minutes out of your day and visit little Miller's page. Once there enter in the name MillerSmith (with no spaces) in the section where it says visit a CaringBridge website. There his story is told more completely than I will be able to but in a nutshell he was born premature at 24 weeks. He weighed one pound eight ounces. His family has been told several times by the dr.'s to expect the worst, but each time this little guy comes back fighting. He is truly a miracle. As a mommy of two NICU graduates myself I know how grueling this time can be for the parents and relatives as well. Please remember to ask God to lay his grace and comfort upon them also during this stressful time. If you all are involved in any prayer groups, or know any church prayer intercessors, or just good folks who would be willing to pray for this little guy, please pass his story on to them too. I know with his story spreading far beyond just those who know him, that we will see many more miracles out of this little fella. Thank you for your help. And remember to say a special thank you tonight for the healthy children in your life! I know I will. :)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

Another big-girl moment! <----read another tearful moment for mommy!!!

2009-01-18T21:15:00.000-08:00

This was Kyndall's precious long hair on Thursday morning as she played with Claire. It was soooo long and soft. When she took a bath and got her hair wet, it went clear past the middle of her back.

But as long and lovely as it was, it was starting to show a few signs of wear and tear. Sadly, it was becoming a little lacking in luster and got stringy looking pretty quickly.

So that prompted this trip for her first ever haircut! Which made me sad and tearful, anxious and scared all at the same time!!!

Although she was as cool as a cucumber! In my opinion I had two things going for me which helped put Kyndall and myself at ease. Number one: One of my best friends owns a salon and she was going to be doing the honors of this first cut! So Kyndall was totally okay with being there. Number two: Kyndall had just been at Hairworks last week to see her favorite big-girl friend Brittany get her hair cut. Since Brittany is almost 16, everything she does is pretty cool to Kyndall! Needless to say Kyndall talked about getting her own haircut all week long after she left from hanging out with the Gunter's that day.

So she was totally fine when Brandie got started and put all her hair up in a clip. In fact she even remembered that Brittany had also gotten her eyebrows waxed the week before and was more concerned with asking us about getting hers done too, than anything else!

She got to wear this totally cool kiddie-cape with the fish on it! You can see her cheering section behind her consisting of Gran-mom and Bubba Keaton. We couldn't get a shot of the other two supporters cause Claire and Daddy try to avoid momma's paparazzi tendencies!

She got to take the clip out once her cape was secured and she must have thought that was pretty neat by the look on her face! :)

She sat pretty still and with a little bribing and coaxing we were able to get her to look down so that Brandie could gage where to make the first cut.

Brandie even squirted her hair with water to wet it and then let Kyndall try out the squirt bottle too! Mommy was an instant target, but I didn't care as long as we ended up with an even 'do!

I am pretty sure that I held my breathe for both this photo and the next one...........................

YIKES!!! Was I really sure that 2 inches was not too much? Would I hate the way it looked? Would I cry and cry and cry that I had cut off the hair that my baby had since the day she was born? Not really the same hair, but that is how I thought of it.

Shew we all made it through the first snip. Kyndall didn't cry, I remembered to breathe again, and we decided to continue the bribes with a sucker which made Ms. K very, very, very happy!

See I told you....very, very, very happy!!!

The only thing that really bugged her was trying to figure out the entire time how to get her arms out from under the cape! Have you ever tried to eat a sucker without your hands??? Quite messy and not something I really recommend with a two year old!!!

Still waiting patiently to check out her new 'do!

When it was all said and done and she figured out that she still had hands despite the cape, Kyndall gave it a quick once over with the old sticky sucker fingers and was quite pleased!!

So here is the new look. Still my baby girl. Just minus two inches of sweet strawberry blonde locks which are now tucked securely into a baggie attached to her first haircut certificate! Just waiting to find a home in her scrapbook.

And even though we decided against the eyebrow wax for at least the next 14 years, we compromised and let her get the works package complete with blow out and style from Brandie's talented hands! LOL!

So here is the final look. Much softer and prettier than what she started the day with.

And last but not least a shot for the scrapbook of Brandie and Ms. K who was still thoroughly enjoying the sucker long after the glow of that fresh from the beauty shop feeling had left her!

Sniff, Sniff....so there you have it the story of Kyndall's first haircut and a brief reminder to me that yes my baby is growing up. :) Oh well, I should be glad that I at least get to tell the stylist what to do! I don't even want to think of her having a "style" of her own in mind in the near future! YIKES!!!

Hope everyone had a good weekend! TTFN!!

2009-01-16T23:13:00.000-08:00

I have been blessed by a fabulous blog award this week! I think honesty is very high on the must have list of virtues, so to me this award means a lot! So my thanks goes out to The RaMbler who bestowed it upon me! :)

The rules for this award are:
First, choose a minimum of seven blogs that you find brilliant in content or design. Secondly, show the seven winners' names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with “Honest Scrap". Well, there’s no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon. Lastly, list at least ten honest things about yourself.

So here is my list in no particular order :)

1. To Maureen over at Dolphin Designs her blog is neat and she always comes up with cool post ideas that she shares with us over at 2p's!

2. My dear friend Terri whose blog is inspiredbeyondjustbreathe2 . She is a fellow scrapper and also is just a good soul!

3. Paige who I talk of often on my blog. She has a cutie patootie toddler too and you can read all about their life at Mommy to a Charli Girl!

4. Samantha who also experiences life in fabulous Scotts-vegas! She writes about it all over at The Highs, The Lows and The In-betweens .

5. Ashley from Double Trouble. I think her blog name says it all and you will all know how I relate to that! :)

6. My mother-in-law who has been a bad blogger lately. Maybe this award will inspire her to go ahead and post something already. Geez, you haven't done anything since last year!!!!!!

7. And last but not least Audrey who blogs at Lil Booger Bows . She combines super cute photos of her little booger with lovely hair bow goodness that her ridiculously creative self makes! Check it out!

So with that part accomplished now the tough part :) Ten honest things about myself---

1. I bite my nails. I quit every several months and then start back again. I have ever since I was little. Oh well.

2. I would rather get a well-worded card than a fancy no-thought present any day. Words to me are better than any store bought gift.

3. My mom died when I was ten. She drove drunk. Losing her forever changed me and made me into the person I have become today.

4. I think avacado's, artichokes, and asparagus are yummy!!!

5. I am in the midst of a major scrapbook studio cleaning, organizing and purging session. It started at the first of the month and I am hoping to be finished by spring! Keep your fingers crossed.

6. American Idol always makes me cry. I know weird, but any time they show the back stories on the contestants even the bad ones who can't really sing, I tear up.

7. I tend to laugh if someone falls down or if my husband hurts himself. Mean I know, but it is the truth! I usually make sure they are okay, but once that is established watch out. I will laugh til I cry!

8. Facebook is open on my computer at all times! I love to keep up with everyone's "status"! :)

9. Sometimes at night if I don't want to get up with the twins I tell Jordan I was just up with them and put my cold feet on him until he gets out of bed. (this is an honesty list afterall!!!) For those of you who know him, if you let him in on this you will be officially on my list! So let's keep it our little secret!

10. Whenever I hear that song "I bust the windows out your car" I turn it up really loud and sing along. Not sure who sings it or why I love it, but I think I must secretly wish I had done that back in my younger years! ;)

So there ya go, probably more than you ever cared to know about me, but oh well. That's a risk you take when you read my blog. Have a good weekend and I will try to post some new photos soon of the exciting happenings in the world of the Clay's!

TTFN!

Wordless Wednesday................

2009-01-14T22:57:00.000-08:00

Okay, maybe just a few words.....we all know that I am not being good at wordless......Where does the time go???????? Nuff said, before I start to bawl :P Happy Wednesday everyone!

Two peas in a pod.

2009-01-13T08:34:00.000-08:00

Matching outfits that they wore to the church Christmas program. I love my sweet girls!

Causing a major mess in Kyndall's room! Unfortunately we are still working on learning about clean-up! :)

Kyndall reading Claire a bedtime story after bathtime the other night.

So sweet to see them standing side by side.

Kisses before bedtime, from big sissy!

Lately, I have been enjoying the relationship that has formed between Claire and Kyndall. To put it lightly they are inseparable. Where one is the other wants to be, no matter what. Being an only child, I was not really sure what type of bonds my kids would form and when. I sure didn't think being buddies would happen at this early of an age. But these two girls really seem to enjoy each other. Claire likes to be in the middle of any action, and Lord knows Kyndall is ALL about ACTION!!! Kyndall likes that she can give and take toys at her will and Claire never really seems to fuss. She loves her bubby and sissy equally, but if Claire isn't by her side, Kyndall is usually asking where she is. I am hoping that this companionship lasts them long after I am gone. I think having a sister is a blessing and I am so glad that my girls have each other.

Some of you may worry that Keaton will feel left out in all this, but I really don't think that is gonna be a problem. He is content when the girls are off together. That means more mommy time for him and also that his sisters are leaving him alone! He prefers his space more than Claire so Kyndall is more of an irritant than an attraction to him right now. I know that will probably change the more mobile he becomes. But for now, as a momma I am just fine that he still likes to be concerned with me and what I am doing. There are never enough hours in the day for us to sit and cuddle! He is afterall, his momma's boy! :)

Who wouldn't love that sweet face and chubby cheeks for kissin'??? Such a sweetie.

Well happy Tuesday everyone. I am off to start and hopefully finish my to-do list! Hurray! TTFN!

A new endeavor!

2009-01-12T14:33:00.000-08:00

So last night I took one of the first major steps towards becoming a healthier me in 2009, I attended my very first meeting of my new weight loss group. I had done my research and weighed my options and I narrowed it down between "Weight Watchers" and "First Place". They each had their pro's and a few con's, but overall I felt "First Place" was a better fit for me for many reasons. First of all it is Christ centered. It helps us to understand that putting God first in our lives will help lots of things improve, not just our physical health. It allows me to follow a meal-plan, which was important to me, yet have flexibility to prepare my own meals. We work around food exchanges which is similiar to WW points. It focuses our eating around the food pyramid, so we aren't on some crazy carb restriction or extreme reduced calorie plan. To me that seems more doable in the long term spectrum. The meetings are going to be held each Sunday night at my church. That is super convenient for me since we go to church that evening anyway for Kyndall to go to AWANA and for us to attend service. So really choosing to be involved with First Place was easy. It kind of took all my excuses away. And I have to admit that spending an hour without my husband and kids, getting to talk to other adults was pretty nice! :)

I have come to a very big realization that I have to do this for myself. This time I want to succeed. Every time I cheat and give in to food temptation, I am only hurting myself. I want to learn to live a life that isn't about food deprivation, but better choices each time I put something into my mouth. I know personally that food for me is an emotional thing. I have eaten for a long time to supress feelings. If I just eat when a bad emotion or hurt from the past comes up, then I can drown it in the food. Problem Solved? Not really!! I am hoping through this process and being involved in F.P. that I will get to the bottom of why I really eat. It is a great chance to connect with other Christian women on a physical and emotional level and get to the bottom of things. I know this won't be easy. I don't expect every day to be perfect. I know I will mess up. But I want to live each day with a bigger awareness. A new appreciation for myself. And in the end I want to be proud that I was able to face this challenge head on!

Matthew 4:4 "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' "

So I plan for the next twelve weeks to spend a lot less time living on bread and a lot more time eating up the words of God, enjoying every bite of my devotional time, relishing in my bible study and learning to be a better, healthier, skinnier, more prayful me!

Hope everyone else had a good Monday! TTFN!

two peas challenge

2009-01-09T09:40:00.000-08:00

So, one of the windows that is pretty much always open on my computer is the website Two Peas in a Bucket I go there for scrappin' inspiration, to buy supplies, to look at other scrappers work, and to chat on the message boards. Okay, so mostly I do the latter! LOL! But it does keep me connected to other scrappers and other bloggers as well. On the general scrappin' board, DolphinDesigns comes up with challenges to help all the bloggers have something to write about! :) I can always use a little inspiration from time to time and yesterday she challenged us all to blog about five ways we have changed in the past five years! I thought with it being a new year and all that sounded like a great idea. So although I am a day late (the story of my life) here is my answer to that challenge!

1. The most major of things that has changed in my life is that I am now a mom.....to THREE kids!! There are days when I can hardly believe it. Days when I stay up late thinking, am I really ready for motherhood and then realize ready or not I am knee-deep in it! It is the most awesome, exciting, tiring, scarey, meaningful job that I have ever had in my life! The crazy thing is that I always just knew in my bones that I wanted to be a mom to lots of kids. I never had true real career goals that I was passionate about. I mean I wanted to go to college and I had ideas about what I wanted to do for a job. Just nothing that I was 100% decided to pursue. As far back as highschool I remember thinking a job would be nice, but what I really wanted was a family of my own. So I guess you could say in an exhausting, messy, fun, crazy way my dreams have come true! I love my kiddos and as hard as it can be at times I know that I wouldn't want my life any other way!

2. I am fatter... :( I still have a closet full of size 2's and 4's from highschool, but the truth of the matter is those days are gone! Maybe one day my girls will want to wear them, afterall things do seem to be coming back into style from my day! :) Ha, ha, ha. But on the bright side, there is more of me to love!

3. So the ironic thing is that even with #2 being stated, I am still happier! I am settled into a life I love. I have a great home, a wonderful church, and a family that loves me. All my relationships are ones that I have because they fullfill me not because I am trying to make someone else happy. I am my own person and although five years ago I was on my way, I wasn't in the same place as I am today.

4. I am finally letting some of my true hair color shine through! I know you are thinking big deal. But for me it is. My hair was ready for a break. I realized the last year that I had colored it continuously for over ten years. That is a lot of bleach and highlights! So for the first time in ten years I let my natural color grow out and kept it that way for quite some time. I got the color itch a few months ago, but still only have highlights on the top. I am so happy to have my natural color back and more importantly remember what that natural color even was!

5. Lastly but most certainly most importantly I am married. Jordan and I will celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary this year! We started dating in 2001 and were married in 2004, where does the time go. It seems crazy to think that we already have three kids. But I guess when you have them two at a time, your family number increases with a quickness! The crazy thing is we even waited a year and a half after getting married before I was preggo with Kyndall! So being married is another change, but one that I wouldn't change for anything. I love my husband and he is one of the best things to ever happen to me. Not to mention a fabulous father to our kids. My family always tells me that if they had hand-picked my husband they couldn't have found better then him. I secretly think they like him more than me, but that is to be expected he is a lot nicer! :)

So there ya have it, five changes in the past five years. Crazy to look at all in one place. Where does the time go? Time to start looking forward to the next five I guess!

TGIF!!! Have a fun and safe weekend!

My theme song, here lately!!

2009-01-08T08:22:00.000-08:00

Songwriters: Leslie Winn Satcher & Rebecca Lynn Howard

I work all day in a breakneck run
Just to come home to another pile of work to be done
And all I wanna do is flop on the couch and die
Baby comes in he's give out too
I say "It's pizza or nothing. And Trixie's all outta dog food"
I could just break right down and cry

I need a vacation from my life
Me and my husband we need a wife
Somebody who's sole ambition is laundry
I wanna fall asleep on "MY" patio swing
While somebody else does the dishes and cleans
Mariachi's could stroll through the yard and play softly
Wouldn't even have to leave 2523 General George Patton Drive
And I need a vacation from my life

Don't even get me started on Saturday's
All I do is rearrange the clutter
Hey, I invented shabby chic
Who wants to mow when it's so dang hot
Me and baby got a theory about our little half acre lot
If it blooms, it's not a weed

"OH" I need a vacation from my life
Me and my husband we need a wife
Somebody who's sole ambition is laundry
I wanna fall asleep on "MY" patio swing
While somebody else does the dishes and cleans
Mariachi's could stroll through the yard and play softly
Wouldn't even have to leave 2523 General George Patton Drive

Oh, I need a vacation from my life
Me and my husband we need a wife
Somebody who's sole ambition is laundry
I wanna fall asleep on my patio swing
While somebody else does the dishes and cleans
Mariachi's could stroll through the yard and play softly
Wouldn't even have to leave (MidState), Tennessee 2523 General George Patton Drive
I need a vacation from my life
"Oh i need a vacation from my life"
"Thats Right"

I have loved this song by Rebecca Lynn Howard ever since it made it's debut a few years ago. But after becoming a SAHM I have realized that the lyrics run through my head more often than I would like for them to! :)

Happy Thursday everyone. My day can really only go one way....and that is up....hopefully!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-01-07T06:35:00.000-08:00

2009-01-05T21:02:00.001-08:00

I am so honored to have been given this award by two of my local blogger gals! They both are busy moms just like me. Paige whose blog is Mommy to a Charli girl , is such a cool girl! She is also an inspiration to me. As a single mom she is doing an awesome job with her little girl and pursuing her own career goals. She has really got it all together!

I also got the award from Samantha whose blog is called The highs, the lows and the in-betweens . She is a great example of someone with the determination to reach her goals, even while being a momma. She recently graduated college and is going to be a teacher. I just know that she is gonna be a great one and I can't wait until she gets a teaching position here in Allen County!

So here are the rules I am following to pass on this awesome award:

Find the beautiful ladies that you follow and give them this award. Hopefully, it will truly mean something to each and every one of you. Don't be shy...give it to the same person and don't forget to tell the recipients!

So here are the BEAUTIFUL women that I am honoring with this award!

Chris @ What's in Sissy's Head? She is a fellow Nebraskan and beyond that she always has fun posts to read. As a mom of two boys I know that she is super busy, but she always finds the time to comment on my posts which I love! Thanks for being such a neat gal!

The Rambler whose blog is called what else.....The Rambler :) Each time I read her blog I usually leave laughing. She keeps a great sense of humor despite the fact that she has some serious situations that she deals with on a daily basis. Her youngest child has Cerebral Palsy and I can't imagine how challenging it must be for her to do all she does with other kids, and a home to run! So for her to even have the time to blog, or joke, or even sit down is amazing! My hat goes off to her!!!!

So those are the gals getting the award from me. Thanks again Paige and Samantha for the award! It really does mean a lot! :) Happy Tuesday everyone!!

It's that time of year again......

2009-01-02T22:00:00.000-08:00

Yup, you got it. Time to start sticking to those New Year's resolutions! But lets be honest, we all seem to like to come up with these big out of reach goals, which would be impossible for superwoman! So this year I am taking a different approach. Don't get me wrong I still have a list of resolutions, I just plan on attacking each with baby steps. So here are some of my goals for 2009:

1. Work on becoming a more healthy me. I would like to incorporate more exercise into my life now that the kiddos are all getting a little bigger. Right now I am researching my options. I am not sure if I want to invest in a piece of equipment for the house, re-join the Y, or just try to pick a few nights to walk. I am trying to decide what I could do most consistently regardless of Jordan's schedule, and what will work best with three kids. Either way something is going to change. I am done with the excuses!

2. I am going to work on my organization in my scrapbook studio. I would like to be able to be as efficient as possible during what little time I do get to create. So I think having an organized and functional workspace would help me to achieve that goal. The less time I spend hunting for a certain stamp or tool means more completed pages for me! And that is a goal I have all the time!

3. Since I was generously given a fabulous new camera for Christmas I want to learn all I can about it. It is important to me to be able to make the most of it and all its great features. So not only do I vow to completely read the manual cover to cover, I also plan on reading up all I can online about becoming a great photographer....Shutter speed, lighting, etc. I plan to be a photography know-it-all come this time next year! :)

4. Lastly but certainly not least I want to take time every day to be grateful. I think there have been many days this past year when I have been so overwhelmed with life and caring for Kyndall and then adding the twins, that I forgot to just breathe and thank the Lord for all he has done for me. I need to remember that time on this earth is not promised to us. Each second is a gift from God. I want to spend less time focusing on what's next and more time living in the now. I want to take the time to say thank you to my husband, friends and family for all they do to help me out. I need to thank my children for showing me unconditional love and bringing a smile to my face. So this year I plan to do just that. I realize that I might not always have the words to say out loud what I am thankful for, but I plan to utilize a journal to help me with that hurdle. I resolve to start a gratitude journal and write down daily things in my life and world that I am grateful for, even if it is just the grass in the yard and the kids playing in my living room floor! :)

Now I have shared my resolutions with you all, please let me know what you plan to resolve to do in 2009.

TTFN!!!!

p.s. I thought about resolving to work on my excited overuse of the exclamation mark but then I just knew that would be out the window by the time I finished this post. So I guess you all are just stuck with a whole bunch of these !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for another year!

Just a few reasons why......

2008-12-28T22:55:00.000-08:00

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

I have been a bad blogger lately! But it seems life has just been really hectic with Christmas coming and going and all! From the photos above I guess that is just a little piece of what I have been up to, so you all wouldn't think I fell off the face of the earth!

Photo 1: Our house late Christmas Eve after Santa had made his visit and left some great loot for the kids. Note the empty milk glass and cookie plate on the coffee table and the note he left the Clay Kiddos! They are soooo spoiled! :)

Photo 2: Keaton and I at the Lee's we had a great night with them before Christmas. We ate at our favorite restaurant and then went back to their house to exchange gifts and eat some yummy pumpkin pie!

Photo 3: Kyndall had her first Christmas program at Church. This is the best photo that I got of her and one of the few times she was still. Luckily the program involved the parents so Jordan was able to sit with her up near the stage! :)

Photo 4: We took the kids to see Santa at my old work (South Central Bank) and of course Kyndall ran off screaming and crying even though she had talked really excitedly about seeing him all day long. The twins did better, but we just couldn't get any great shots of both of them at the same time! Imagine that.

Photo 5: Christmas Eve and the kiddos opened up their Christmas P.J.'s to wear to bed that night. I never realized how long it would take three kids to open up all of their gifts! Totally a new experience for this momma! :)

Anyways, that is just a little glimpse of our lives this past week and a half. There will be more to come soon, when things settle down a bit. Jordan is off all of this week too, so we will get to spend more time together as a family. Super excited to have him home with for awhile longer!

I will post again soon! TTFN! Hope everyone had a joyful Christmas and is gearing up for a fabulous 2009!!!

HO, HO, HO!!!

2008-12-24T09:43:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Hope everyone has a holiday full of fun, family, friends, laughter, good food, heart felt gifts and lots of memories to last throughout 2009!!!!!!

I never thought this day would come.....

2008-12-22T22:46:00.000-08:00

But tonight Kyndall is out of her crib and into the toddler bed. She absolutely adores it. From the moment Jordan brought it through the front door she has sat on it and talked about it and layed in it. As soon as we put it in her room she asked for a blanket, her silky bear and her paci! She was ready to go to bed.....fully dressed! The girl is a nut and me, well I am an emotional mess!!!!! I have cried all night over it! I feel like she is so grown up. It is breaking my heart. But I will get over it. It's not like I don't have two babies in cribs in the room right across the hall. Still Kyndall is my first baby. The one that I made all my first time mom mistakes on. The one that broke me in. The one that gave me lots of new experiences. The one that was little just the other day. So here I sit typing and crying. Resisting the urge to go into her room and set up camp for the night next to her bed. I guess a little part of me wishes that she didn't like it so much. That she didn't move from babyhood to the big-girl world with such ease. It took no effort on my part to convince her the bed was the place to be. She just knew it was the next step and she was ready to roll with it! I wish that maybe she would want to stay little just a little while longer. To make her old momma feel more happy, and a little less like she is losing her baby. But we all know that kids grow up. This is the first of so many "firsts" and so I need to put on my big girl panties and accept the change. But going in for one last goodnight kiss and extra pat of the head won't hurt so I'm off to do just that. But I am going to blow my nose first! :)

Take a minute to love your little ones while you can. And remember to remember the small things they do that make you love them so very much!!!! TTFN!

Our newest member of the family...........

2008-12-19T10:25:00.000-08:00

Kyndall got this dog from Brittany and Jacob and loves it to death! She won't even nap without it. Once she gets up the dog gets up too! It is the funniest thing. It even has on a shirt that is fullsized with Kyndall's name on the back. I think they made it with iron-on letters! It is too cute! As you can see from the photos the dog takes up over half of her pack and play. We need to go pick up her bed this week so that they both have more room! We are still in transition mode from her crib being recalled to actually getting her a toddler bed. I am reluctant to move her into a big bed, but I know we need to. So we are getting her bed this weekend for her to try out! Wish us luck on that! :) TTFN!

Happy weekend everyone! Get all that last minute stuff bought, wrapped and ready to go....the days are getting less and less! HOORAY! :)

Check out these stats!

2008-12-17T16:10:00.000-08:00

12-17-2008--nine month check up (which actually happened @ 9 & 1/2 months old!)

Keaton Weight: 19 lbs 2 oz.
Claire's Weight: 17 lbs 15 oz.

Keaton's Height: 27.25 inches
Claire's Height: 27 and a half inches

Keaton's Head size: 44.5 cm
Claire's Head size: 44 cm

They are at the following percentiles based on their gender:

Keaton Height: 25th
Claire Height: 28th

Keaton Weight: 15th
Claire Weight: 15th

Keaton Head Cir: 44th
Claire Head Cir: 45th

Overall both babies looked great. Other than the winter colds they are both battling, things developmentally are right on track for both of them. I have always worried since they were born so early that things would be more difficult for them, but they are little miracles. I guess since they are both mobile now the next thing we know they will be pulling up on stuff to stand and walk! My babies are growing up, whether I like it or not! I am a proud momma for sure, I just wish it would all slow down just a bit and they could stay small for a little while longer. Well I am off to boo-hoo now! TTFN!

Christmas card out takes!

2008-12-15T10:02:00.000-08:00

Kyndall and her grouchy face!

Claire looking constipated and Keaton wishing he was somewhere else!

Hey Keaton, the camera is over here!!!

Chewing on the darn ornaments AGAIN!!!

Claire showing off her new found talent of waving!

It was a big job to get a few decent pictures of the kiddos this year for our Christmas card. Most every other year we go to have professional photos made. But this year since I am staying at home now, I tried to be thrifty and do photos of the kids in front of our Christmas tree. I thought I had a good plan to try to do Kyndall and the twins each separate in hopes of getting a good photo of each to combine onto one card. I figured Kyndall would be the hardest, so I did her photos first and surprisingly got several that I liked and it only took us about 15 minutes. I was so glad she cooperated. But the babies more than made up for it! It took me two days and several different outfits before I even got a so-so photo of each! Which is funny to me, cause it seems like I take good candid shots of them all the time! Just goes to show that when you need a good picture the subjects won't always play along! So needless to say after several days of photo taking and three hours on the computer trying to find a card that accommodates three photos I am finally done. Now I am just sitting here with my fingers crossed hoping that they arrive from Shutterfly before Christmas Day :)

In other news, our weekend was pretty busy as always. We spent Friday and Saturday shopping until nearly midnight both nights in an attempt to knock out our last few Christmas purchases and doing a major grocery restock! It had been awhile since we had a BIG grocery shopping trip and I had some Christmas gifts that needed to get bought and passed out! We are mostly done and I can't wait to get it all wrapped and under the tree. The late night shopping trips got the twins a little off their sleep schedules so I will pay for that this week as I try to get them back on track.

Sunday was church for us as usual and we experienced the most wonderful Christmas Cantata at our service. It was a beautiful combination of old Christmas songs along with some new that I hadn't heard before. It was titled "Welcome to Our World" and was created by Craig Adams. In each medley there were soloists and after each of the medley's was narration that told the wonderful story of the birth of Jesus. Even though the story is familiar to every Christian it was amazing to hear it put to music and singing. It was an absolute blessing to us!!! We had several amazing soloist perform, but I have to say that one in particular brought me to tears. Lisa Bryant had lost her voice and was unsure if she was going to be able to sing. But she was going to give it a try with Nathan's help. She got up there and was going to start out slowly, but her voice was suddenly there and strong for the song "AMEN". Nathan didn't even have to help her! It was truly a miracle from God. She couldn't even talk prior to that song and the Lord gave her the power to sing that song strong, beautiful, and clear. It was upbeat, inspiring and my favorite part of the cantata. Her voice is a blessing and I am so glad that she was able to share it with us! Good job to all the cantata participants it was a great way to celebrate this joyous season!

Well that is all for now. I have two babies that want to get up from their naps. So I hope everyone has a good week and gets lots of holiday tasks accomplished! TTFN!

Dear Santa, All I want for Christmas is........

2008-12-11T19:19:00.000-08:00

This totally awesome wall unit, which I would put in my bedroom to show off anything and everything! And it is a steal for only about $5,000.00!

A pink (which is of course my favorite color) Ipod to get me motivated to workout and have all my favorite music close at hand always! Oh and if you have any nice looking personal trainers that would be appreciated as well.

The Ultimate in camera bliss....the Nikon D60. It will be mine one day, even if I have to sell a vital organ to make it happen! LOL! So please Santa don't let it come to that and make it happen for me! :)

A totally comfortable, cozy, relaxed bedroom with sound-proof walls, that I can slip away into and get some quiet time for me each day. And the bed doesn't look to shabby for napping either. I think Nate from the Oprah show would be willing to come and do the decorating. Especially if he got a personal invite from you big guy!

And last but not least this awesome scrap-box! I know, I know I already have a studio, but I think I would be soooo very organized and get lots accomplished if I could organize my most used stuff into each of these little cubbies! Plus I just love the black beadboard!

Oh and I couldn't get a photo but would also like the 2009 Chevy Corvette ZR1. I think you can get them for next to nothing right now....just a little over 100g. Color doesn't matter as long as it is silver or white! LOL. And please bring me a babysitter too, cause when I am out driving my car with two seats I won't have any room for three carseats so the kids will have to stay behind.

Well that about covers it. I am sure Jolly old Saint Nick remembers my long list of years past so I am sure he will appreciate the shortened version. So Santa if you happen to be a regular reader of my blog, I think I have been good all year. So please check your list for my name. And don't worry about bringing the big stuff and fitting it down the chimney....bring it all I will leave the front door open and the porch light on for ya! :)

Ho! Ho! Ho! or should I say HA! HA! HA!

p.s. Not to try to sway you or anything, but no good mommy present, no good cookies at the Clay house. And I can't promise that the milk will be in date if i don't get something off the list! Just a thought Santa. :)

Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-10T21:11:00.000-08:00

Keaton @ 9 months old

2008-12-09T21:53:00.000-08:00

My little man is getting big too. It is hard to believe that when he came home from the NICU he was under 5 lbs. He has defintely made up for lost time. Here are some of the things he is doing now that he is a big boy of 9 months.

*He enjoys the view from his exersaucer quite a bit. It keeps him out of Kyndall's direct line of fire and he has taken a liking to several of the toys that it has on it.
*His favorite activity is spinning the dinosaur wheel on the exersaucer. He is quite good at it and can make it go really, really fast!
*Although he isn't crawling yet he can roll or pull himself pretty much anywhere he wants to go.
*I wish I could say that he is sleeping all night, but that isn't true. He still wakes up most nights and needs his paci back or for one of us to tuck his taggie back into his blanket with him.
*When it comes to mealtime Keaton still prefers the bottle. He enjoys table food more now than when he first started eating but his favorite is to kick back and be held and eat his bottle. He will hold his own bottle, but still likes for someone to hold him while he does that.
*He also started eating puffs over the weekend and is still working on chasing them down and picking them up. He does well chewing though and seems to be enjoying this new adventure in food.
*Yelling is his fortay. I guess in a household full of sisters you have to do something to get noticed. I think the picture above shows him in mid yell! He should have very strong lungs!
*Keaton is a little more tender hearted than his twin sister. He still enjoys mommy holding him and laying his head down for a few minutes at a time. I have absolutely no problem with this and will continue to baby him as long as he will let me! LOL!
*Naptimes are good for Keaton. He enjoys a morning and afternoon nap and goes to bed usually with no problem.
*He is also easy to put to bed in the evenings much like Kyndall was. He just enjoys getting his taggie, paci, and fluffy blanket then he rolls over on his side and usually is asleep within a few minutes.
*Right now he is cutting his two front teeth and is also sick with a nasty cold so life for him is a little rough. We are all singing "all I want for christmas is my two front teeth" right now. It is funny that he is cutting his first teeth much earlier than Kyndall did but he is cutting the same two that she got in first as well. Most kids get their bottoms first but mine prefer the top!
*We still call him Big Bubba and his title holds true, he weighed 19 lbs 2 oz at Dr.Simmons office this week. But he still looks short to me. Max, Morgan and Bradley at church all call him "chunker" which fits him well.
*Although things are a little long, Keaton is wearing 9month and 12 month clothes comfortably. He even got two new pair of Nikes this month finally, after a long search for shoes to fit his wide "fred flintstone" foot!

I am so happy that God knew better than I and put this little boy in my life. I never thought I wanted a son until he came along. I couldn't have been blessed with a better one. He loves his momma and I love him soooo much. No matter how big he gets, he will always be my littlest baby, my youngest child and my buddy! I love you Keaton Tyler!

Claire @ 9 months old

2008-12-09T21:33:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe that the twins turned 9 months old on the 4th of Dec. I am starting to see their baby-ness slip away and they are turning into mobile, spunky, sassy almost-one year olds! I am not sure where the time has gone exactly but I thought I would make a quick record of some of the new things in their lives right now as well as things that have been highlights for them from this past month. Because I have a feeling that these things are going to be a distant memory soon just like them being tiny babies is! :( But with all the fun new things they are learning and doing I don't have time to be sad much about when they were small. So here is what little Ms. Claire has been up to since turning nine months old!

*Claire had her first puffs on Sunday night. She loved them and is a lot better at grabbing them and chewing them then Kyndall was when she first started.
*We have also started giving her a sippy cup and she seems to enjoy chewing it more than actually taking drinks. But she is getting the hang of using it herself.
*Also on Sunday (12-7) she officially crawled. She has been roaming the living room commando style for some time. But Sunday she did an honest-to-goodness hand and then knee crawl. She is now getting everywhere. Today she crawled into Kyndall's room.
*She and Kyndall play quite well together. Claire is more even tempered so when Kyndall takes toys and then gives her something else it doesn't bother her much. She is just glad to be down in the middle of the action.
*She weighed 18 lbs 2 oz. at the dr. on Monday. We went because both she and Keaton were sick. They don't officially go for their nine month check up until the 15th. I will be curious to see about the height difference in the two. Claire seems much much longer.
*She still fits most of her six months clothes, except for the length in pants. I never thought I would have a long legged baby, but Claire has proved me wrong. She takes up every inch of a 6-12 pant or 9 month romper lengthwise.
*Napping is not something that is usually on Claire's agenda. She may catnap 15 minutes here and there but mostly she likes to be awake and doing something.
*There are very few times in her day that she is sitting still. Most of the time she is either in route to a new toy or munching on one she just picked up.
*Claire prefers to be loose in the floor over being in the walker or exersaucers. She likes to be in charge of her location! LOL!
*At the beginning of the month she and Keaton officially quit sharing a crib. She has her own big space now and seems to be enjoying it quite a bit.
*Food is something that Claire really likes, but she prefers the solid kind and sitting in her highchair over laying back and having a bottle. It is like wrestling a cow to get her to finish a whole bottle at one time. She is constantly trying to sit up and see what everyone else is doing. I told you she was nosey! :)
*She is very strong and can pull herself up to sitting from almost any position. She also enjoys getting wwwwaayyy up on her tiptoes and putting her hands in front of her and holding herself up.

These are just a few things define Claire at 9 months. It is so fun to see her personality emerge more everyday. I am blessed to have such a beautiful, fun, and outgoing baby in my life! :) I love you Claire Elizabeth!

A day in the life of a cow in the Christmas Parade!

2008-12-07T22:08:00.000-08:00

All bundled up to head to the Miller's and get our float to town. By all bundled we mean: tights, a pair of p.j.'s two more pair of socks, fleece pants, then jeans, two shirts (not including p.j. top) and then jacket. Hat on her head, furry croc boots on her tootsies and mittens on the hands! I can't even believe she still fit into her carseat!!

Spending a little time with Ali and Maddie before we hop on our float to get judged before the parade! Man is is cold outside!

Running around with Daddy who is much colder than Kyndall cause he isn't in a fuzzy cow suit!

Waiting for the judges to check out all of our hard work! Don't you just love the greenery on the manger in the background? That was mommy's favorite part!

Done with judging and waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the parade to begin! This is one patient cow!!!!

Okay, so the patience comes in spurts...but all in all we had a great afternoon/evening and finally got to head out onto the parade route. Kyndall loved riding through the crowds and waved at lots of people. She and Daddy sat on one side of the float and mommy and Patricia sat on the other along with all the other kiddos who made up our live nativity and heaven scences on the float. It was definetely worth all the work that we put into building it and we can't wait to come up with a new float for next year!!! Moo-rry Christmas Everyone!

It's officially Christmas at the Clay house!

2008-12-04T11:53:00.000-08:00

Close up of some of my favorite ornies

Our tree which after three years of begging from Jordan I still won't part with. He wants pre-lit, but I just can't imagine life without this tree. We bought it together on our first Christmas dating! :)

View from the side. I moved the tree into the middle of the window this year instead of putting it in the corner for more ornament coverage! LOL!

My special Precious Moments nativity. It was given to me by my Aunt Amy, it had belonged to her mom who died of breast cancer a few years ago. I plan on checking out Ebay and someday making the entire collection complete for my kiddos to fight over someday! (yeah right)

A few of my special snowman buddies!

The special plate where Santa can always find some cookies on Christmas Eve!

Just a few of the extras I put out this time of year. I love the believe star pillow.

My very favorite snowman. (I know mom's aren't supposed to have favorites) But this fella came to live with us after many dropped hints to Jordan one year about what I would like for Christmas. He totally came through and this fella has been a member of our family ever since!

The kiddos stockings hung on a peg rack, since we aren't lucky enough to have a mantle or fireplace! Maybe someday when I get to renovate an old farmhouse somewhere!

Another fun snowman that hangs out in our dining room.

Love the spray with the jingle bells and berries!

My believe sign is usually in my tree, but little hands have lead me to find a new home for it this year! I would hate for it to fall out of the branches and knock and unsuspecting baby on the noggin!

My dough bowl of Jingle bells on my dining room table. I am not sure why, but I absolutely love jingle bells. I seem to hunt them out where ever I go this time of year and my collection has been growing and growing. I think in a few years this bowl may have to be replaced with a bigger spot for all of them!

So as you can see Christmas is clearly my holiday of choice! I must admit it took a little extra motivation this year to get into the spirit. But I am glad that I finally did. The kids have been extremely good with the tree and new decorations. A house just always seems so much cozier when it is lit by the glow of christmas lights!

Hope you all have a great Friday!

Thoughts on a snowy Monday afternoon---

2008-12-01T07:36:00.000-08:00

I give up!!! I tried a few practice photos the other day just to see what was going to happen when I take the kiddos to have their phots professionally done for Christmas. So these are the shots I got. Not exactly what you wanna see coming at ya on our Christmas Card! SIGH!!! I am pretty sure my only option at this point is to photograph all of the kids apart and then do one card with multi photos. So much for family unity and love! HA! :)

Hope everybody had a fun Turkey Day. We were pretty low-key. Enjoyed the beautiful weather with all the family and kiddos on Jordan's side. That night we headed to The Lee's to eat again and just relax. It was nice to not have to rush around as we have done on lots of holidays in the past. Just a laid back day. What every holiday should be in my opinion.

I resisted the urge to partake in Black Friday and instead stayed home with the kiddos so Jordan could go hunting and to the playoff ACS game that night. I don't really think I missed out on too much. After looking over the ad's I had pretty much decided there was nothing I "had" to have anyhow. I did get out Saturday to shop, after I spent a few hours that morning decorating our church for Christmas. I still got lots of great deals and was even surprised that Wal-mart had two of the things that I was assuming would have been sold out on Friday. So I picked up two of the kids Santa presents at good prices. The mall wasn't insanely busy and we even managed to drag ourselves to Toys R Us before we went home. So it was a productive and fun day!

Well off to get Kyndall who is up from her nap. Have a good Monday!!!

Hugs-
Ivana

Well.......

2008-11-26T21:58:00.000-08:00

Since it is 12:02 a.m. I guess it will be okay to post this.....HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Hope you all enjoy a holiday full of family, friends, counting your blessings and of course a meal worth remembering! Here a just a few more of my small blessings that I will leave you with:

I don't have to bring any food to our feast tomorrow! I know I am a lucky dog. Just show up and eat!

I get to spend the evening with good friends and my husband and three wonderful kiddos!

I have a warm bed to crawl into in the wee hours of the morning.

I am healthy and able to stay at home with my kiddos!

Well time to pay a visit to the above referenced bed! Have a wonderful Turkey Day and don't forget to save room for the pumpkin pie! :)

Hugs-
Ivana

It's official. Claire is just plain silly!

2008-11-26T09:38:00.000-08:00

I have never seen someone so happy about being able to put their foot in their mouth in my entire life! This girl is Cah-ray-zee!!!!! And did I mention she also has crazy hair, at all times? But I love her none the less!

Happy day before turkey day everyone. Gobble, gobble, gobble or in Kyndall speak "dobble, dobble" :)

Tag I'm it! :)

2008-11-25T08:06:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite bloggers who is also is a mommy and lives in the same town as me is Paige. Her blog is Mommy to a Charli girl and much to my surprise she has tagged me! So here's my chance to tell you even more random facts about me (ha, ha, ha) and more importantly link up and tag a few of my other favorite bloggers!

Here are the rules:

Rule #1 ~ Link to the person that tagged you.
Rule #2 ~ Post the rules on your Blog.
Rule #3 ~ Write 6 random things about yourself.
Rule #4 ~ Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
Rule #5 ~ Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their Blog. Rule #6 ~ Let the tagger know your entry is up.

And here are my six random things:

1. If I am in the car, I prefer to be the one driving. There is rarely a time that Jordan gets to drive us anywhere! I guess that is part of me that likes to think I am in control! LOL!

2. I went to kindergarten in Las Vegas, NV even though we didn't live there for very long.

3. Singing in the car is something I do on a regular basis (and occasionally dance too!)

4. There are still days I can't believe that I have twins!

5. I stay up late almost every night. It isn't unusual for me to be up and about doing stuff until 1 or 2 a.m. Then back up @6:30 or 7 with babies!

6. I used to be the manager at The Buckle in Greenwood mall. That is where I met my husband.

Now for the lucky ladies that I am tagging--

1. My old friend Tracie from back in the Memory Box days! She is a hoot and I check in on her blog "My Happy Life" regularly. She will usually have a little box on her blog that list funny things her daughter has said to her recently and they usually leave me laughing until my tummy hurts!

2. My mother-in-law Cindy who is new to the blogging world. I started mine and now she is as addicted to checking other peoples cool blogs out as I am. She has even started her own called "A little bit of mac--no cheese"

3. Another good scrappin' friend Betty who has a cute little blog called "Granny's Musings" . She is a lover of all things scrappy just like myself!

4. A good old friend Sarah whose blog is now dedicated to her brother that was recently injured while fighting for our freedom. She also posts cool scrappy stuff and great projects that she has done. She is a really talented lady! Sarah has a beautiful way with words and her blog "Love Letters Illustrated" is worth being bookmarked!

5. I also frequent Terri's blog "Inspiredbeyondjustbreathe2". She and I have kept in touch since my days at the memory box and will hopefully get to meet up and scrap sometime in the near future!

6. I also check in on this blog regularly "Just a flip-flop mom". She posts great scrappy projects she is working on, life and family things and just in general is a good read.

Shew, That was hard! :) But fun! And a good excuse to post. Thanks to all the ladies I tagged and to Paige for tagging me! Happy Tuesday!

Hooray for a productive day!!!

2008-11-22T22:20:00.000-08:00

No I am not writing a new poem as my post title might lead you to believe....but I am celebrating the fact the I completed 1 and 1/2 whole albums today! I know, totally great! They are the 8x8 books that I am going to be selling at breakfast with Santa. And I am sure excited to have the boy and girl baby albums almost completely done! It took most of the day for me to get the first one done. But by this afternoon the ideas were a-flowing and the second book was coming together at a good pace. I will try to post some pics tomorrow of a few of the layouts. I hope to get several more books done and at least five sets of cards ready to sell at B.W. Santa next month. So I am crossing my fingers that time and fussy babies will allow me to do so.

In other news, Kyndall is still the funniest kid I know. She was hilarious this evening being silly and just actin' the fool. She was in the dancin'-ist mood you have ever seen and everytime one of my ringtones would go off on my phone she would break it down! She cracks me up! I have been trying to sneak and get some home video of her dancing but everytime she sees the camera she is more interested in trying to run it herself than being filmed. Sheesh! How is a mom supposed to thouroughly embarass you when you are 15 if you don't allow me to take incriminating video now? Smart kid I guess! Me not so much, to this day I have hidden multiple pictures of me with my finger in my nose around the age of 3! What can I say I guess I was a digger? Oh well.

Well I am trying to do better about going to bed early. Especially since I have a long day tomorrow, including Jordan out of town all tomorrow night, I had better head that way. I am proud of myself, I may get some shut eye before 1 a.m. This might be the record for the week.

Hope everyone had a fun Saturday night!

Hugs-
Ivana

Just a peek!

2008-11-20T22:35:00.000-08:00

Here is a sneak peek at a few of the goodies I have been working on to sell at Breakfast with Santa. I have been busy making all kinds of pretty things for babies and little girls alike. These hair blossoms are super cute and I get a ton of compliments everywhere I go when Claire has one on her head. I can't wait for everyone to see them. The event is December 6th @ the Allen County Primary Center. We will start at 8 a.m. and end at 12. So come on out and say hi if you are able. If you can't make it but are still interested in either purchasing something I already have made or having me do a custom creation for you just leave me a comment here or you can email me at ivana.clay@yahoo.com

I will also have custom scrapbooks, handmade cards, stamped gift tags, bow holders, and a few other goodies for sale that day as well. I can do custom scrapbooks with your photos as well. The albums I will have available at B.W. Santa will be pre-crafted and be ready for you to just add pictures to. They will be a super simple gift idea for the holidays. Who wouldn't love a handcrafted album with their own photos in it all set to give?!!? However I will have a sampling of my own layouts available for folks to see my work and style. That way they can see if they are interested in me creating an album especially fit to their photos and occasions. :) Contact me via email if you have a larger project that you need completed or would like to set up an appointment to review your own project needs. Thanks!

Hope to see a bunch of folks at the Primary Center on December 6th!

Geez, what is this the WWF?

2008-11-20T22:24:00.000-08:00

Maybe one day my kiddos will be famous. Who knows. I think that judging from the pictures above and what goes on in my living room floor on a daily basis they all have a great shot at the World Wrestling Federation. Now if they start doing flying jumps off my couches on top of each other we are gonna have problems!!! Maybe they will be content for a little while wallerin' each other in the floor. A momma can only hope for no injuries and to not have to step in and referee too much! Hmm, seems like Keaton is the common denominator in all these wrastlin'/hug matches. I always knew he looked like a trouble maker. That is just like a boy. I will need to be keeping my eye on him!

Happy Friday everyone! Cause it is now officially Friday with me typing this at 12:35 a.m.! Long live the bloggin' insomniac!