I got a new toy

I got a new toy on Friday.  I'm so excited!  I've been wanting one for a long time.  I really didn't mean to buy it this time, but apparently my 1-click shopping is set up on my Amazon app.  I clicked expecting it to be added to my cart and it was purchased.  I guess it was fate!  What is it you ask?



A pretty new lens!  It's a Nikon 50mm 1.8.  I decided to opt for the 1.8 instead of the 1.4 for a couple of reasons.  One, the price.  The 1.8 is quite a bit cheaper.  Two, I'm new to photography and still trying to figure stuff out.  I decided if I eventually need the functionality of the 1.4, I can trade up.  I'm hoping I'll get to share some of my pictures with my new lens on the blog in the future.

Made by Me Monday - On Tuesday

I'm trying a new thing on my blog.  Maybe it will make me post more.  Probably not, but I can try anyway right!

On Mondays, I'm going to feature something that I made.  Hopefully I can make something every week so I can keep this going.  I guess it could end up being a recipe since I would make food.  Ha, we will see.

Today I'm featuring this Christmas headband that I made for Miss Priss.



It was so easy to make and I think it turned out great.  There is one problem, though.  I didn't measure her head when I cut the elastic so it is too big.  I'm really upset because I really like it.  I guess she will have to grow into it or I might just wear it!  It does fit me.

I used the tutorial from this blog.  It was so easy to follow and she shows lots of pictures so that you make sure to get it right.  This was the first rolled flower that I made.



I made the red flower on the Christmas headband second.  I really like how the first one turned out a lot better than the red and green one on the headband.  Turns out I forgot to fold my fabric in half before I started rolling.  This means that a lot of the back side of the fabric shows instead of just the front side.  Oh well, you live and learn.  I guess I'll just make Miss Priss a new one since this one doesn't fit anyway.  I really enjoyed making this headband and I hope to make some more.  I have some fabric scraps that I need to use up!

What a Difference 3 Years Can Make

Girl C was born on Friday, August 19th.  That is 3 years and 2 months after I had Boy C.  The labor and delivery process was so different between the 2 of them.

I was induced with Boy C at 39 weeks because I had high blood pressure and was starting to show other signs of pre-eclampsia.  I went in to be induced Saturday morning at 6:30 and was in labor for 12 hours before I ended up having to have an emergency C-Section.  His heart rate was dropping and we couldn't get it to stabilize.  I went back to have surgery and it seemed to go pretty fast.  I was pretty out of it since I had been in labor all day and had a lot of drugs in my system.  After surgery I didn't feel good at all and was shaking like crazy.  I was quite a while before I was able to hold him.  He was born at 6:22 pm.

Fast forward 3 years and 2 months.  I had a scheduled C-Section with Girl C at 39 weeks.  My blood pressure was great and I didn't have any other signs of pre-eclampsia.  We went in Friday morning at 9:30, surgery was scheduled for 11:30 and she was born at 11:55 am.  The surgery seemed to last a lot longer and they had to do a lot of pushing on my stomach to get her to come out.  I felt great after the surgery and was actually able to hold her on our way back to recovery.

With Boy C, we were in the hospital for 5 days.  My blood pressure was still up and I wasn't feeling good at all.  With Girl C, we came home the second day.  It is just crazy to be sitting here typing this with a 5 day old, sitting at my house and being able to get up and do pretty much what I need to do.  I still get a little tired and hurt every once in a while, but I feel amazing compared to Boy C's recovery.  I'm starting to get used to her and it's all coming back on what to do.  Our little family is complete and we are so excited.

2 Days before little girl arrives......

I'm a ball of difference emotions.  I'm so ready to not be pregnant.  I'm ready to have my body back and to feel like myself again.  I'm ready to meet our little girl and start learning her personality.  However, I'm super nervous about having a girl.  I have always wanted to have a girl, but now that I will have one in 2 days I just don't know how to feel.  I felt the same way when I found out I was having a boy.  I hadn't been around a lot of baby boys, so I didn't know what it would be like.  After having him, I found out it was great.  He is so much fun and I am so used to him now.  I know that a girl is going to be different.  I am more used to being around girls, but I know that one day she will grow up and before a teenager.  I remember how I was as a teenager.  I wasn't a bad teenager, but I know that I was hard to deal with sometimes.  I am sure she will be too.

I'm also having a hard time knowing that Boy C is going to have to deal with having another child around. I think that he is going to be a great big brother.  He seems so excited when we talk about his little sister.  I think he will be such a big 'helper' and want to do everything for her.  I also think we are going to have to make sure that he isn't too rough with her.  Other people think that this is going to be a really tough time for him.  I really hope it isn't.  I hope we have done enough to prepare him for what is ahead.  I know he doesn't completely understand, but hopefully everything will go smoothly.

Surgery is scheduled for Friday.  I think we are all ready, but are not quite sure what to expect just yet.  I know we will all figure it out and our little family will be complete.  I'm so ready to see what the future holds for us!

Here's to a smooth surgery and recovery......

Getting a 3 year old to sleep

Boy C has been having a hard time going to sleep lately.  I can't figure out what the problem is.  J thinks that he gets too tired and then it makes it hard to go to sleep.  A lot of time, that is the problem.  He stays up too late on the weekends and doesn't take the best naps.  Naps may be about to go out the window.  I'm not ready for that at all.  Another part of me thinks that he is starting to realize the Girl C is going to be here very soon.  3 weeks and 4 days until the scheduled c-section.  In a lot of ways, I am ready for her to be here.  I am so tired of being pregnant.  I don't enjoy it at all.  I'm ready to get back to my normal self.  But I also know that when she gets here, things are going to be so different.  I've heard that going from 1 to 2 kids is the hardest.  I guess we are about to find out.  Lots of people do it and we will be fine.  Bring it on.  We are ready!

Week of May 16th

C is gone for the week and it is so different when he is not around.  I found myself feeling like it was when J and I got married and it was just the 2 of use.  But then I am always thinking about what C is doing or if he is ok, so it really isn't like it was with just J and I.  I know he is having a great time so it is ok!

Friday we went to the Rangers game.  We had a great time.  C started the night a little iffy but he got a lot better and made it through the entire game and fireworks.  Here are a few pictures it took with my phone.

C also got hit in the face at daycare last week.  A friend was swinging a bat and C just happened to walk behind them at the wrong time.  It didn't seem to phase him much, but it did make for a good picture.

Saturday we had 2 birthday parties to go to.  One was a 1st birthday party and the other was a 100 year old party.  The circle of life.  It was great to be able to go to both celebrations.  C had a great time playing and dancing at the 100 year old party.

Not much going on this week since C is gone.  J and I are just taking it easy and trying to do some cleaning around the house.  I'm trying to get rid of some of the stuff we have accumulated over the last 5 years that we don't use or need.  It feels good to clean stuff out.  I just wish I had more time to do it.

We do have C's 3 year old pictures and family pictures this weekend.  I am looking forward to that since I love pictures so much.  There will be a new person doing them this time.  It is a girl that I have known for most of my life but haven't seen it 10 years, so this ought to be interesting.  I'm sure they will be great!

Until next week.......

Trying for weekly..........

I’m really going to try and start blogging again. My goal for now will be a weekly update. Hopefully I will be able to get in the groove of updating weekly and that will make it easier to start blogging more regularly.


This last week was a good one. I went to the doctor on Tuesday and everything still looks great. I’m still gaining weight and the doctor wants me to slow down on gaining so much. I’ve already put on 21 pounds which is quite a bit. I try to make myself feel better about it since I have been feeling so good lately, but I am going to try to eat better and go on more walks. Hopefully I won’t gain as much in the second half. I am 24 w 3 d today.

Mother’s Day was Sunday and when I got home from work on Friday, C had a present for me. It was a plastic cup that had paper on the inside of it. It said ‘MOM’ in glitter and he had colored on it. He was so excited for me to open it. J also got me a gift which really surprised me. It was a boy and girl charm from James Avery. For some reason he thought I wouldn’t like it, but I thought it would super sweet and thoughtful. We stayed home Friday night and my parents came over on Saturday. My dad and J went to play golf and me, my mom, and C met them at the golf course after they were finished so C could get in some practice on the putting green. He wouldn’t use is putter (only his iron) but he had a great time. We went home for a nap after golf and had supper at Logan’s Roadhouse. I usually really like Logan’s, but our service was horrible. I’m kind of turned off on them right now. My parents left Saturday after supper.

We made a trip to Stephenville on Sunday for lunch with J’s mom and grandmother. Lunch was a little tense because that is right at C’s nap time. He didn’t want to eat or sit in his chair, but we made it through. We went back to J’s grandmother’s house to watch the Mavericks beat the Lakers while C took a nap. After C woke up, we went to eat supper and then C decided he should get to go to the lake for the week. J’s mom will be at the lake so C is going to stay with her. I am glad that he gets to change up his normal routine for the week, but it makes me sad that he isn’t at home with us. I miss him like crazy. It is so weird to be at home when he is not there. J even said he had dreams about C last night and that it is even harder now for him to be away from home.

We have some big plans for this coming week. Depending on when C comes back home, J and I might try to make it to the 8.0 music series this Wednesday. I don’t know if it will happen or not, but we can hope! We will also be going to the Rangers game on Friday with one of J’s cousins. I’m really excited about it. They moved to Illinois so we haven’t seen them in a while. On Saturday, we have a 100 year old birthday party to go to. J’s grandfather’s uncle will be 100 and we will all be there to celebrate!

That’s enough for now. We have a lot going on but we tend to stay busy. Until next week………..

I'm blogging AGAIN......

Time to get back in the groove of things.  Yesterday was Valentine's Day.  We have never been very big on celebrating Valentine's Day.  I bought C a Valentine's M&M and he loved it.  His prize for going potty is M&Ms so he is pretty big on them these days.  By the way, he is going potty.  It is amazing.  I honestly wasn't sure this day would ever come.  He hasn't had too many accidents in the last couple of weeks.  He has been going pretty consistently for the last 3 maybe 4 weeks.  I am so proud!  Maybe full time big boy underwear are in our near future.  Anyway, back to Valentine's Day.  I didn't buy J anything because, as mentioned before, we don't really celebrate Valentine's Day.  I got home and he told me he bought me a present.  I was a little upset because I hadn't got him anything, but that's ok.  He wasn't sad!  He got me some earrings and he was very excited about them.  I am wearing a pair of them today.  We went to Taco Bueno to eat.  We did this last year so I guess it is now a tradition of our family.  J joked that he rented the place out for us because we were the only people there.  We had a great night and a great Valentine's Day.  Here's to many more!

Splash Day

Today is splash day at C's school.  I'm not really sure what that means; however, I know that he had to wear a swim suit and bring a towel with him today.  Last night he was complaining about going to bed (which he does every night, he is never tired!) and J told him he needed his sleep for splash day tomorrow.  That obviously worked because we didn't hear a peep out of him the entire night.  He has ended up in our bed the 2 previous nights, so I was pretty excited for a full nights sleep.

So when C woke up this morning, we were still talking about splash day because he didn't want to go to school (he never does!).  I told him he had to go because it was splash day and he gets to wear his swimsuit.  He was excited about the swim suit, but said "I go lake."  We had to tell him that he couldn't go to the lake and he had to go to school.  Then I made the mistake of asking C if I could go to splash day with him.  Of course he said "no" (he always does!) and that was that, so I thought.  J called me after dropping C off at school to let me know that C was upset because I wasn't coming to splash day.  Go figure!  "Momma go to splash day?"  "Momma come to splash day with me?"  J had to inform he that I had to work (that is where he always says I am) and that he told me I couldn't come to splash day with him.  Apparently that didn't work, but I'm sure he had a great time anyway.  I'll ask him all about it tonight!

A Wee Bit of ME

This sounds fun.  Learn a little about me and I don't have to think what to blog about.  I am working on some posts to recount our recent vacation to Colorado, but I haven't gotten them finished.

And who like my new blog design?  Thanks Bailey!

  
{one} what website do you spend the most time on?
Probably facebook.  Stupid, right?!?



{two} what's the furthest you've ever travelled?
Wow, I don't really know.  I've only been out of the US once and that was to Cozumel, but that's not very far from here.  Probably when we took a family trip to Wyoming.


{three} what's your guilty pleasure tv show?
Big Brother and all of the housewives shows.  NY is probably my favorite.


{four} if you had to give up one favorite food, what would be the hardest?
can it be a drink? Dr. Pepper.  I want to give it up.  I do!  I've tried.  But I just love the taste of that sweet nectar!


{five} if you could become any fictional character, who would you be?
I have no idea.  I don't read.  I don't have time to read.  I would be a fictional character in my Becker Financial Accounting book if there were any.  That is the only thing I read these days!


{six} what's your favorite season of the year?
I don't know.  I'm not sure I have one.  What a cop out, right!  I am ready for summer when it is winter and I am ready for winter when it is summer.  So maybe Spring and Fall?!?


{seven} what's your biggest phobia?
Dying.....does that count as a phobia.  I'm sure that there is a more proper name for it but I don't know what it is.


{eight} would you rather swim in a pool or the ocean?
Pool, for sure!  On before mentioned trip to Cozumel, I stepped into the ocean when we first arrived to take a picture and that was the only time I "got in."  The rest of the time was spent by the pool!  But I hate bathing suits!  And I spend most of my weekends during the summer at the lake.  I don't like the lake either!


{nine} what did you eat for breakfast today?
Fiber One Oats and Chocolate bar.  That's pretty much what I eat everyday unless I go to SONIC!


{ten} if you could only listen to one song for the next month, which song would it be?
Airplanes Part II.  I LOVE it!  enough said

Blog Design Giveaway

Check out http://www.addictedtoaddison.com/2010/07/blog-of-month-award-plus-giveaway.html to enter to win a new blog design.  I can't wait for my new design!

Meredith

New Car

Oh.....and I got a new car!  I am so excited.  It is a Ford Expedition.  It is big, but we got a really good deal and we couldn't pass it up.  We are planning to have more children and we just thought it was time to get a bigger car.  It is so different to drive than my little Volvo was, but I think I am starting to get used to it.

The Pacifier Incident

Apparently Colton decided today that he didn't like pacifiers any more or that he really likes them.  I'm not sure.  Colton took one of his "friends" pacifiers out of his mouth today and got bit twice.  I am not sure if Colton wanted his "friends" pacifier or if he didn't want his "friend" to have his own pacifier.  So Colton has a bite mark on his hand and his back.  Jerrod said he tried to talk to Colton about the incident but Colton denied all involvement.  Maybe Colton will have a better day tomorrow.

Let down again.....

So I have slacked off on the blogging again and it is not even 1 month into the new year.  We had a pretty good weekend.  Colton went to the lake with JanMa and Pops on Saturday and stayed until Sunday after lunch.  Apparently he got to go to Mary's and Boom Town.  Not real fair in my opinion.  Jerrod and I stayed home and did some work around the house.  Colton's toys have been taking over the living room, so we did some rearranging in the office and moved Colton's toys in there.  This is a problem because there in no TV in the office yet so Jerrod and I really don't want to hang out in there.  Last night Colton went into the office and brought his fire truck and motorcycle back into the living room.  He didn't play with them but I think he just needed the company.  Maybe we will be able to teach him to play in there and we will get a TV put in there so Jerrod and I will stay!  The house looks really good.  Just picking up that needed to be done and I just kept putting it off.  I hope we can keep it that way.  Never have been able to in the past but maybe it will stick this time.  So we are back to another week of work.  Hopefully it will be a pretty uneventful week since it will probably be my last slow week before tax season hours start.  I am not really looking forward to that but I know it will come and go.  Until tomorrow (hopefully)........

Shoot.....It's been a while

Well, I have fallen down on the blogging job again.  I guess I got too overwhelmed with Christmas and traveling to update the blog.  Wednesday after work, we headed to my parents house to spend Wednesday night and Thursday for Christmas.  We were supposed to head to Stephenville on Thursday night (Christmas Eve), but the weather had a different plan.  It was Winter Storm 2009.  It was a blizzard.  Snow was blowing everywhere.  We decided to wait until Friday (Christmas Day) to head to Stephenville.  We started our trip and the roads were pretty bad.  All we needed to do was make it to the interstate but that was a pretty hard task on the country roads.  We got to a long hill and almost made it to the top, but we stalled.  There was another truck that was also stuck and someone was pulling them out.  We set there and waited hoping they would pull us off the hill also.  Jerrod got out to help get the first truck unstuck and our pickup started sliding back down the hill.  I yelled at Jerrod and hopped over to the drivers seat and put on the brake.  Luckily we stopped and we put on the parking brake and all was good.  We got pulled off the hill and made it to the interstate.

The roads were ok after that because everything was starting to melt.  We had a very short Christmas lunch in Stephenville and we were back on the road to Dumas.  The roads were pretty good except for between Eastland and Cisco.  They got bad again before we got into Lubbock.  After we got on the interstate in Lubbock, all was clear and we made it safely to Dumas.  I really thought I was going to have a heart attack.  I hate driving on bad roads.  I just don't think it is worth it but we did make it!

Saturday was our trip to Colorado.  We made it without too many problems.  Colton was such a trooper in the car.  He cried a couple of times but he was really, really good!  We skied Sunday and Monday.  It was really nice and clear, but cold.  We went into town Monday night and had a good supper at Lady Falconburgs.  We walked to the Polo Outlet and on our way back we heard some commotion.  Someone actally got run over in the middle of Downtown Durango.  It was crazy but I think the lady was ok.  We had to direct some traffic and then we headed back to the condo.  We decided not to ski on Tuesday and just hung around the condo all day.  It started snowing and it hasn't stopped yet.  We spent a couple of hours in the member's club at the Lodge and watched the skiers come down the mountain.  We went out the ski this morning, but as I said earlier it had snowed all night.  I guess I am a pretty decent skier but I still don't really like a lot of powder.  I came in for lunch and decided to call it a day.  Everyone else went back out for the afternoon.  Colton is taking a nap and I am just watching TV.  One more day of skiing and I think we are going to start heading home on Friday.  I just don't want Colton having to spend 14 hours in the car.  We will see what happens.  Until next time!

Winter Solstice 2009

So I had no idea that yesterday was Winter Solstice 2009.  Since Jerrod's family loves summer so much they reminded me!  It was the shortest day of the year, but it sure felt pretty long to me.  Well the work day actually went by pretty fast.  It was 3pm and it really felt like about 11am to me.  That was good!

After work we headed to Nana's for chicken fried steak.  Randy & Britney and Aaron & Amanda were going to be there and we really don't get to see them that ofter so off we went.  It is a little over an hour drive to Stephenville, but it was worth it.  C fell asleep in the car so it took him a little while to warm up to everyone.  There were a lot more people there than I expected.  Pretty much everyone was there!  Lets see if I can name them all:  Nana, Jerry, Nikki, Jordan, Jordan's friend, Madison, Marly, Randall, Randy, Britney, Kenton, Jacy, Libby, Heather, Scott, Kendall, Carly, Dale, Pam, Aaron, Amanda, Emma, Gavin, Jerrod, me, Colton, Brent, and Crystal.  I think that is everyone.  Sorry if I forgot you, but you probably won't read this anyway.  We headed back to Weatherford around 9:30, got C to bed, and went to bed ourselves.  I was really tired.  Tired enough that I slept through my alarm this morning.  Oh well!

What a day

Wow!  What a day!  We left the lake and headed back home.  C fell asleep so it was a pretty quiet car ride. That made me happy.  I was ready for a little peace and quite.  I decided since he was asleep that we would make that stop at Target that way he would have a little longer to sleep.  Well, of course, he woke up as soon as we pulled in the parking lot.  So we all got out and went into Target.  I got the gift tags and a couple other things.  We then stopped at Woly Board Co. because Jerrod is looking for some new ski clothes.  C just went wild when we got in there.  He wanted to run around, wouldn't let either of us hold him and was just screaming.  Jerrod has no patience for that so he just walked out of the store.  We drove through McDonalds for lunch and we went home.  C had Chicken McNuggets for the first time today and he seemed to like them.  He ate all 4!

Jerrod decided C didn't sleep long enough, so he put him down for another nap and he slept for at least another hour.  Some more peace and quite!  When he woke up, we decided to head to Ft. Worth and check out the ski clothes at CD Ski & Sport.  I love that store, but I could probably buy 1 of everything in there and still not be satisfied.  C started acting up again and Jerrod was about ready to leave, but he I took over and he got to look at all the clothes.  I did find some ski bibs for C that I am going to have to go back and get so he can play in the snow while we are in Colorado.  Jerrod decided not to buy anything there because "he didn't want to settle" so we went to a store at the mall.  He tried on 2 pants and a jacket there and decided to get a pair of pants.  It was very much a snowboarder store.  There really is a difference between snowboard clothes and ski clothes.  I do like the pants he got though.

One more stop at Academy to look for snow clothes for C and we were on our way home.  We fixed some supper, I did some stuff for work, C took a bath and got ready for bed.  As soon as he got to sleep, Jerrod's sister arrived.  She is going to be living with us for awhile until she can sell some houses!  We will see how long that lasts.  Jerrod is really looking forward to her being her since tax season is about to start.  He will have another adult to converse with!  Here's to selling some houses!

Back again

I'm back again after only 2 days since my last post.  I have to say I am pretty proud of myself.  Who knows how long I will keep this up, but I will keep trying.  I have decided this will be my New Year's resolution.  I will try hard to keep up with the blog.  More for me than for other people.  This will be like my diary in the digital age.

Right now we are sitting at the lake house.  Colton wants to go outside really bad but it is probably below 40* and he doesn't have any shoes on.  JanMa is trying to distract him to do something different.  Now he is hanging on the door and crying!  He is too silly.

We have 3 days of work this next week and then it is Christmas vacation.  We can't wait!  I still need to wrap all our presents.  I also need to get some name tags that hang on gifts not stick on.  That will be a quick trip to Target.  Hopefully that will get done today.  Not much else going on today other than getting home.

Falling Down

Look who has fallen down on the blogging job.  ME!  Maybe that should be my New Year's resolution:  to keep the blog updated.  We will see.  This weekend we are headed to Lubbock for Crystal's graduation from Texas Tech University.  We are going to pick Brent up on our way through Abilene so maybe the car ride with an almost 18 month old won't be so bad.  Then back to work for 3 days and Christmas.  I can't wait to be skiing in Colorado.

Photo Related Giveaways

Check out this awesome giveaway. I sure wish I would win!

http://www.mycharmingkids.net/2009/12/power-of-two.html

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http://grammiemommy.blogspot.com/2009/12/power-of-two.html