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Friday, June 28, 2013

15 Ways Nathan and I are different

I read the Pioneer Woman's blog and she recently did a post on 15 ways her and her husband are different. I thought it was a fun read and wanted to do one for myself:

1. Before going to bed I HAVE (seriously, I have to) brush my teeth, wash my face, and put pajamas on and go to bed in our bed. Nathan can (and does) go to sleep wherever he sits down wearing whatever, at whatever time.

2. Nathan has serious road rage over the silliest things. Someone doesn't pass him after he moves over for them, leaving their blinker on, going too slow, etc. While these things annoy me, I do not let it get me that mad and do not do anything about it. I do not see the point. Nathan however feels the need to get in front of them with his blinker on (thinking that will clue them in that there blinker is on) or gas it when they finally decide to pass him.

3. I don't like seafood with the exception of fake fish sticks and tuna fish. Nathan loves seafood with the exception of fake fish sticks and tuna fish.

4. Nathan loves to canoe. I used to love to canoe. (One bad canoe trip can really ruin it for you for life - float with care :) )

5. Nathan cannot swim. Even after lessons he still can't do it. I have had to get him off the bottom of the lake and drag him to the shore before. I think I am a pretty good swimmer.

6. He drinks beer. I do not care for beer. I rarely ever drink (haven't drank any alcohol in over 2 years) but when I do, it has to be fruity (not salty) and taste nothing like liquor.

7. I do not like butter or salt. Nathan cannot get enough butter and salt.

8. I am geographically challenged. I do not know east, west, north, or south unless I can see I-40. Nathan has to give me directions using landmarks, not miles or streets. Nathan can find any place with little directions and can estimate distances like it is no ones business.

9. Nathan has a terrible memory. I can literally ask him to do something and 5 minutes later he has forgotten the entire conversation. I have a good memory - but it is failing the older I get :/

10. I have to have sno-cones with cream on them. He has to have sno-cones with NO cream. He is not a fan of anything creamy - including alfredo, sour cream, cream cheese, and cool whip - 4 things I cannot live without.

11. I think birthdays are a big deal. They are just another another day to him. No big deal.

12. I am a pool girl. I don't like ponds, lakes, etc. I don't know what is in that water but I am sure it wants to eat me. Nathan loves them. He says I am city. I am fine with that.

13. Nathan loves Quentin Tarantino movies. I can't stand them. Django was the best one and I still wasn't crazy about it.

14. Nathan loves to drag race. I think it is spending a lot of money to try to die. Not a fan.

15.  Nathan is no good at months or times. He has no clue the order of the months and rarely knows what month it currently is. If I say a.m. or p.m. he replies "just say after lunch or before lunch". :) I am great with dates and times.

With all of these differences we still make it work - we mesh well together. When we disagree on stuff I always tell him "God just thought he was SO funny putting me with you huh?" :)

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Monday, June 24, 2013

2nd Anniversary of my 29th Birthday!

When I was little I never imagined a time I would not have a big birthday. It is just how life was. My parents and family were always good to give me my day and make me feel special. So, I blame them for always making my child birthdays so awesome that my adult birthdays are just so blah.

I get SO excited over Noah and Ryan's birthdays. More excited than my own birthdays. I want to make sure they have the best birthday party and memories - not by buying them a bunch of gifts - more of just the memory that we all took time to focus on them for one day and wanted to make it special for them. I try to do the same thing for Nathan - as much as he will let me. He thinks birthdays are no big deal once you are an adult.  I told him it was his job to plan me something special on my birthday and he said it was my parents job - I swear that was in our vows somewhere :) I don't agree - in my family we didn't stop celebrating that person just because they were a teenager or young adult. Another year with each other is a special thing and needs to be celebrated. Until I die - I plan to have my kids over for a dinner, gifts, and cake at the least. It is strange to me that I am old enough that my birthday is not a big deal to anymore - I have been having a lot of them over the years and all, but I don't know when it stopped becoming a priority to celebrate the day at least (sometimes the whole week). I even had immediate family forget altogether. Now, I feel like it is a burden because people don't know what to get me (and that is my fault somehow), everyone is busy, kids schedules trump adult plans, life happens.

I do have the most amazing kid birthday memories though! Swim parties, sleepovers, skating parties, my sweet 16 (getting my car!), and out on the town for my 21st. I am hoping to provide my kids with the same awesome memories and maybe have them be able to experience that special birthday feeling a little bit longer! This may sound like I am saying "oh poor me" and that is really not how I want this to come across - it is hard to convey when writing sometimes. This is how adult life is, but this is also a reminder to myself to make a big deal out of birthdays for my kids well on into their adult lives, because I know I wouldn't hate that! I have made it 31 years - this is a big deal. But, my birthday seemed like any other day of the week (minus people telling me happy birthday). I told Noah it was my birthday and he wanted to blow out my candles. I told him that Momma didn't have a cake. He said he would make me one - and he piled up his mashed potatoes and stood his green beans up in hit and sang me happy birthday - it was the sweetest thing. He has such a good heart - it made my day.
My mashed potato cake and green bean candles :)

I am healthy, have 2 amazing kids, a loving husband, and lots to be thankful for - and hopefully will have these things and many more blessings for my many birthdays to come!

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Father's Day Weekend 2013

My niece Savannah celebrated her 12th birthday this weekend with a pool party! We had a great time at the party and it was Ryan's first time to swim! She LOVED it! I think she will be a water baby like Noah.






Sunday we went out to lunch for Father's Day and gave Nathan his gifts. Nathan mentioned awhile back that we needed a new grill, so I saved my pennies and got him one :) I got it at Sears in Ft. Smith and when I went to get it I was expecting it to be in a box. Well, lucky (sort-of) me, they are pre-assembled at Sears! So, me and 3 guys from Sears were taking it partially back apart and moving carseats and kid toys and all the junk in my car in order to make it fit! It was quite the ordeal and I am glad Nathan wasn't there - he would have been embarrassed for sure! But, it all worked out! The kids also each "made" him something. I found a picture frame you can record a message on and Noah recorded "I yub yew dada hahaha" on it and I put a picture of him and Nathan in it - it is SO cute. I also made a gift from Ryan that matches the one Noah gave Nathan last year where she spelled Dad with pictures - it turned out so good! Ryan also gave him a book called "Why Daughters Need a Dad" and it is full of good advice! We had lunch at Colton's and then Nathan spent the day in his shop working on race car stuff.



My dad and step-dad had to work on Father's day so we are celebrating them each at different times over the next few weeks. I am a lucky girl to have such a good Dad who always made sure I felt loved and taken care of, a very generous and caring step-dad who was always there to help me, and Nathan is a wonderful dad to our babies!

Friday, June 14, 2013

Ryan Maelynn is 9 Months!

Ryan has officially been outside my belly for as long as she was in there! Here are this months highlights:

* She weighs around 20 pounds and is 29 inches long

*She is still nursing when she is with me. She bit me 2 months ago and the bite still hasn't healed due to constant feeding and pumping, so that doesn't feel pleasant. I am hoping I can get it to heal soon, we have almost made it to a year! She drinks around 12 ounces a day and 1 4 oz jar of baby food and one 2.5 oz jar of meat at the sitters during the day, then I feed her 10.5 ounces of baby food and a 6 ounce cereal/breastmilk bottle before bed at night. She still loves baby food and kicks her legs and throws her arms when she sees the spoon coming! She is now back to loving all the food - all the meats included! Such a good eater! She has not had anything but babyfood and breastmilk so far, so I think that helps them eat their baby food better.

* Ryan is over her growth spurt or whatever was causing her to wake up at 4:00 a.m. I started feeding her a cereal/breastmilk bottle instead of nursing her before bed and that helped a lot! She is back to going to sleep 8-8:30 and sleeping until 8:00 the next morning (I wake her up now through the week at 7:15 to go to the sitters).

* She is still in size 3 diapers, and size 4 night diapers. She sleeps too long for a normal diaper to hold up.

* She is in 9-12 month clothes and most of her size 2 shoes still fit, but she has been able to keep a few size 3's on.

* Ryan will sit in the floor and play with toys for hours - literally hours! She loves to stack and unstack rings on the tower, play with her toy "tablet", and throw balls. She has started stealing Noah's toys some, he isn't thrilled with it.

* She still has NO interest in crawling or pulling herself up on things. She just lays her face down and cries if I lay her on her stomach. When she is sitting in the floor playing she will reach for something far away and just fall over and lay there helpless until we sit her back up.

* She still just has 4 teeth :) Both bottoms and tops middles! Just last night I felt the teeth on both sides of her bottom middles are coming through now too!

* Her "tricks" (as I call them) so far are giving kisses (get ready, she will just lick you when you ask for kisses), giving fives, and waving bye!





Wednesday, June 12, 2013

"With Hope, The Odds Don't Matter"

I was recently contacted by a very nice woman named Heather Von St James. Here is what she told me:
I am 44 and a mother to a quirky little 7 year old, Lily. She is my only child, and my whole world. When Lily was just 3 1/2 months old, I was diagnosed with mesothelioma; a type of cancer that kills most people within 2 years. As I’m sure you can imagine, the first thing that came to mind when I was diagnosed was my baby girl and how I wasn’t going to be able to watch her grow up.
After intense treatment and recovery, I’m still here 7 years later and cancer free! My journey with cancer was a terrifying one and I'd like to turn my pain into purpose and become someone that other people can look to for guidance, inspiration, and hope in situations like my own. My husband and I recently participated in a short video about my experience with cancer and I contacted you because I feel that your blog would be an excellent place to share. I’m hoping to use this video as a tool to raise awareness of this horrible little known cancer that is such a deadly killer (and sadly, 100% preventable).
I watched the video and KNEW I had to share it! She is a great example of strength in the face of adversity! I know several people who have fought against the odds being told they or their child will not be able to do certain things (even live) and blowing the doctors minds with their progress! Mesothelioma is not a death sentence and Heather is proof of that!

For those who don't know, mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that develops from cells of the mesothelium, the protective lining that covers many of the internal organs of the body. Mesothelioma is most commonly caused by exposure to asbestos. The most common anatomical site for mesothelioma is the pleura (the outer lining of the lungs and internal chest wall), but it can also arise in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity), and the pericardium (the sac that surrounds the heart).

Thank you Heather for contacting me and sharing your story with me - it is inspirational and God bless you for spreading awareness!

I highly encourage you to watch and share her video! Click here to watch! Enjoy!

Monday, June 10, 2013

Tori's Visit & Ryan's Ponytail!

My niece Tori came in from California so we had a pizza and swim party at my aunt's house for her. Nathan had to work, so I was a little stressed trying to keep Noah from drowning and Ryan from screaming since it was past her dinner and bedtime, but I did it - I amaze myself sometimes :) 


 Noah obviously had a blast in the water! He loves the water and I am hoping he is going to be a good swimmer - his dad's side of the family isn't known for having the best swimmers, so I am trying to make him as comfortable in the water as possible. So far, so good! He had a life jacket on the whole time and I was still scared to death he was going to drown. I had a dream once that he drown, and I have not let him swim without me being there since. Silly I know, but this dream was SO real.


 Tori finally got to meet Ryan! The oldest grandkid and youngest grandkid together :)


 I miss having Tori close by for all our family get togethers :(


We had a big moment in our house this weekend - Ryan's first ponytail! It is SO cute! I cannot wait to be able to fix her hair everyday - a momma dream I always had coming true! (Excuse the mess behind Ryan, she loves to play in the floor and she gets a little crazy throwing toys around everywhere!)

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Since the "I Do's"

Since Nathan and I celebrated 7 years of marriage last week (coming up on 15 years together total now - YIKES!) I have been thinking back on how so much has changed since our wedding.




I thought our wedding was beautiful. It was just how I imagined it - except for a few things. Here is where I will dispense my wedding advice: I had people actually come up and tell me they didn't like my wedding because they had to take too many pictures. I thought then it was rude, and still do to this day. I LOVE pictures - love the memories they bring back. You want to know something funny - the ones complaining are not even in our lives anymore - but I still have my beautiful pictures (thank you very much) :) I do recommend doing first look pictures and taking as many as possible before the wedding so that you can get to the reception quicker. Nathan is very social and wanted to talk to every person who came to our wedding, which I would like to do but didn't think it was necessary. Some people left before we got to the reception and done cutting cake and eating, etc., so he wasn't too happy about that - but when you pay someone big bucks to take pictures for a certain amount of time you have to get it all in during a certain time. Again, take them before. Pick your wedding party wisely. I had a good group of girls and with the exception of one, I am still good friends with them all. Nathan has never had many close friends - just a bunch of good friends, and he is still basically friends with all his groomsmen, just doesn't see some as much as he used to. Life happens. Finally, don't stress. You will be no less married at the end of the day if your wedding goes perfectly, or if half the wedding party drinks the alcohol at the rehearsal dinner that was meant for the wedding and ends up swimming in the hotel fountain and throwing up all over the hotel lobby. Ahhhh, memories!



This picture hung in my living room until recently (it got replaced by Ducks Unlimited prints - Nathan said it was his turn to decorate the living room - ha!). I was constantly reading the things people wrote. Some people just wrote their names. Some wrote well wishes or memories. It is so strange how much these peoples lives have changed. Last names have changed. Babies born. Some have passed away. Some have moved away (I miss you Cassie!). That day was my special day and hundreds showed up to help celebrate it. I have showed up for some of their special days since then. Some I never see or talk to. Some I don't care to see or talk to. Some I miss a lot.

I watched our wedding video with Noah over the weekend. He thought that was hilarious! He kept asking where he was. I told him he hadn't came out of my belly yet (he obviously wasn't technically in there yet or I was pregnant for 4 years) but he knows he was in my belly so that helped him understand a little, or so I thought. Later when he saw me on the video he said "theres momma and dada and Noah in mommas boobies". Oh Boy! He kept saying "hey, I know her - that's my memaw/meme/papaw/etc". When I was walking down the isle he said "aww, momma going to see dada, dada happy" - the stuff he says like that amazes me - makes me think he is a genius. Then he pees in my living room floor and I remember, he is just a regular old 3 year old that is special to his momma :) I try to watch my wedding video once a year. It makes me cry every time and I am not sure why, I think it is the music - I am a music person. The part where one of me and Nathan's good friends who recently passed away was wishing us well really got me this time. So glad I had my wedding video taped. It is full of awesome memories.

Since Nathan and I said "I do" we have had a lot of life changing events. We traveled out of the country. Struggled with infertility. Bought a new home. Beat infertility! Became parents to an amazing little boy. Joined a Church. Both of us have been blessed in our careers - things keep going up for both of us in that department. Almost lost our little girl - SO thankful to have her! Can't wait to see what's next!




Monday, June 3, 2013

Our Weekend...

After a 3 day work-week, I needed a 3 day weekend with the kids :) I love it when Noah gets up and I get to tell him he gets to stay with me all day - the look on his face is priceless - it is like he won a million bucks! The babysitter was closed Friday, so I got to enjoy my babies extra this weekend. We had to do most of our playing inside because of all the rain - but I'm not complaining - in a few months it will be really hot and I will have to be outside all the time!

I will admit, 3 years ago when the babysitter was closed or the weekends, taking care of Noah was work. I hadn't regularly taken care of a kid - on an every day basis, so it was hard making the shift from sitting around doing what I wanted to taking care of a child all day and doing whatever to make him happy. Now, I look back and it seems silly. I can take care of both children by myself with no problem. It is crazy how comfortable you can get watching your own kids. I look forward to full days off with them now - it is little work and a lot of fun! Actually, the work amount is the same (if not more with 2 kids) but it is no natural now I don't notice it. I can't imagine having 3 kids and not sure I ever will - and in a few years I may not be able to imagine life without a 3rd - who knows!

Saturday we celebrated my nephew Paxton's 1st birthday! Due to the rain, the party was moved indoors, but once the rain stopped, Noah was in puddle heaven! He was having so much fun chasing kids and splashing in puddles and throwing rocks in puddles. He is BOY through and through.





Noah has been such a good brother ever since Ryan was born. He has started a little with the not wanting to share. He is a typical kid where he doesn't want something unless someone else has it - and for the most part Ryan could care less if he takes it from her as long as she has something else to chew on. But, I don't want him to get in the habit of taking toys from her. So, this weekend we had to work on that some. One time he really wanted one of his dinosaurs Ryan had and I told him to let her play with it. He said he wanted it, I told him to leave her alone about it or go to time out. He said he WANTED to go to time out. He is constantly putting himself in time out. He cracks me up. He got out of time out and told Ryan he was sorry, and she had of course moved on to a different toy. Once she starts crawling, I think we are in for a lot of fights.



Sunday afternoon it was finally sunny enough for some outside time. So, Noah, Ryan and I went out and played with the swing set and Noah threw rocks and sticks - his all time favorite things to do. The swing set was completely in the shade - I think we picked a good spot for it for this summer. I am paranoid about snakes so I kept looking for one to jump out and get us. I need to get come repellent to put out around the swing set area or "Noah's Park" as he calls it :)






It is always a little harder for me to drop the kids off on Monday mornings - not for them, for me. I just get so used to being with them, it feels weird to get in an empty car and drive to work. But, then later while I am eating lunch with 2 hands or going to the bathroom without an audience it feels nice :)