Loved Today

Today was a good day....well, for me, at least.

I had to take this girl for her two year old check-up.

Apparently, Isabella has decided that going to the doctor is just not her thing.

She had a blast dancing around in the waiting room so I thought this visit would be a breeze.

My mother instinct was off. Really off.

The minute Isabella got into the exam room, it was like her memory kicked in and remembered those fun times of shots and being messed with, in general.

Our kind, mild-mannered doctor was gentle and sensitive to my scared child. 

We made it through and found out that my slim girl has gained almost four pounds in the last six months and is right in the middle of the chart for height. The most important thing is she is healthy and doing well in every category.

I am one thankful mother.

I taught Isabella today that after something unpleasant, it is good to do something pleasant.

You know to bring balance to life.

So, we went shopping.

I make it sound super fun like we went to the mall but we really just went to Sam's which Isabella thinks is a blast. It thrilled her little soul when I put a box of spinach beside her. She kept patting it and making new words for it. She spoke to several people there and was a pure delight.

My girl has already realized the joy of shopping.

Oh, God has been so good to me.

We played the afternoon away with Chase which is always a fun time.

Jeremy's parents came to watch the kids while Jeremy took me out for an early Valentine's date.

I was slightly giddy.

Then, Jeremy gave me these...

 so I had to change into something cute to match my boots.

We went to see Sherlock Holmes which is one step away from going on DVD so we had the theater to ourselves. We did not even have to whisper plus it was a really good movie.

Next, we got wild and went to a restaurant that....

now, get this.....

had a waitress and not a child in sight!

This is a rare treat for us.

We were able to talk without being interrupted or be worried that little ears might pick up something that they should not.

 It was nice to have some adult conversation with my best friend.

We came back to a happy foursome at our house.

PawPaw had brought some curly fries and milkshakes for the kids so they were good to go.

Who cares about nutrition when grandparents are around?

And, a fun night was had by all.

Happy Love Day, Y'all!

Two Years....Already?

This week, Isabella turned two years old.

I can hardly believe she is already two.

She is on the fringe of changing into a full-fledged toddler yet she is still my baby right now. I can only imagine how much change she will go through during this year.

My girl will learn about the potty, new words, and how to not take off running when I put her down in public. Not sure which one of those I am the most excited about. They all sound good to me.

Change can be good.

I try to be excited about the future and not look back at how much my baby has changed.

With that said, we had a fun family party for Isabella to celebrate being 2.

Chase was absolutely thrilled about the birthday wreath I made from Pinterest.

 

Oh, and let me add that I do realize that [my picture taking abilities + my children = MANY bad shots] 

like this one.....

I mainly wanted to document the whole cupcake look Bella has going here. From her hair bow down to her tights were cupcakes.

 

Check out those cupcake pockets.

This was the first time that she was more interested in the gift than the paper and bows.

She was one blessed little girl. Bella hardly knew which gift to play with first.

Avonlea came and sat at Isabella's new table. Chase is in the background setting up a "stage" for his band in Bella's new dollhouse. 

 

 She had a blast playing with all her new food and kitchen ware.

Auntie Ashley and Uncle Evan made the cupcakes. Does this guy look familiar? 

Isabella is still not a big sweet eater. I was not sure if she was even going to touch the cupcake.

Chase had no problem grabbing that cookie and gobbling it down.

Isabella decided to join in and try two different kind of cupcakes. They were quite tasty!

It looked like a toy store threw up in my family room. It was better than Christmas! Both of my kids have been playing non-stop with every gift Isabella received. I have so enjoyed watching them.

The girls were in the ball pit then Chase had to join them. Just look at the way Avonlea is looking at him like, "Hey Buddy, three's a crowd!"

She can't quite reach the pedals but I have a feeling that she will by summer time.

Isabella had a much better time than she did last year since both kids were just getting over some horrible virus. Bleck!

It is quite safe to say and both of us enjoyed this birthday more than her birthdate.

Like I said the moment I met Isabella face to face, "I can not wait to raise you."

Raising Isabella has been such an honor and joy these last two years.

I so look forward to this year.

Thank You, God, for letting me be her mom!

 

A Little Video from Our Backseat

The other night, I finally remembered to dig out my flip camera to record one of our fun moments in the car. Isabella was randomly singing, "Jingle Bells". (I know, Bella, I can hardly believe Christmas is over, too.)  She was doing fine by herself but once the camera came out, you will see who tried to steal the show...

A Little Catch Up

I have been a lazy blogger. 

I attribute a few things to my lazy blogging attitude toward writing lately.

1. Pinterest. I think I now officially have a relationship with this site. Yes, I just used the word "relationship" about a website. I sit and pin about this idea and that recipe. Yet, I have only done a few recipes from it. All those projects that I have pinned are just dreams for now.  I seriously do not have time to do all those projects because I am too busy finding more projects to pin. Ha!

2.Organizing. Jeremy and I usually do our spring cleaning during the first of the year. There is no yard work to be done and our work load at the office is not too bad so we try to use this time to start cleaning out and reorganizing for the new year. Since we have two little ones and both of us work outside the home, it takes me forever to get a task done. I try to do it when they are asleep which is usually my blogging time.

Okay, enough of this jibber jabber. Here is a little of what this month has looked like for us...

Chase has decide that he must drink hot chocolate (yes, out of a straw) when Jeremy and I have our morning coffee except he looks cooler than us with his Starbucks cup.

Speaking of cool....

 there is nothing cooler than this look Isabella has perfected.

We can't help but...

smile when my niece Avonlea is around. 

She smiles all the time which makes all of us smile right back.

 My other smiling niece, AK, celebrated...

her 2nd Birthday. Here she is with my sister, Lisa.

 Isabella's 2nd birthday is coming up in a few weeks and...

 we realized that she just might want a kitchen. My two could barely party with the rest of us because they were too busy "cooking" in the kitchen.

 Another reason, we were excited to drive three hours to this party was....

that we got to meet our newest family member.

I just wish I had gotten a picture of me holding him!

 Here are the girls....

taking a juice break.

They play so well together already. 

Looking forward to a lot of this for all of our future get togethers.

 I had to throw this picture in because...

I thought it was neat how this is a dress in a much smaller size which Isabella wore last year. I found the shirt and pants that match at a consignment sale and made the dress a tunic. I love reworking an outfit!

 After Isabella was done showing off her old/new outfit at church,

we crashed hard in nap mode that afternoon. I must say that it is a good Sunday afternoon if ALL four of us fall asleep. Chase does not take naps anymore so it is a miracle if this happens.

 I am glad he rested up the day before because on Monday...

he had to get a cavity filled. I was a bit worried how he would do. Once they put "Mr. Nose" on him and filled him up with laughing gas, all was well. 

 The only problem was...

he kept biting the side of his mouth while he had no feeling in it. So they put these cotton rolls in his mouth to make him stop.

After the dentist, we took off to do a little shopping for Isabella's birthday. 

She was beginning to get a little fussy and in need of a good nap. She insisted on Abby and Grover sitting beside her in the cart which kept her sweet, quiet, and still for a bit longer.

We were inspired by the kitchen she played with at AK's party and we found one for 1/2 price while Bella was visiting with her two HUGE friends. It was exactly like the one I had in mind so I am quite pleased and am looking forward to giving it to her on her birthday.

I do believe I am caught up on my blog.

Are you still with me?

Or do you have picture overload?

Now, please excuse me because I am sure I need to find something on Pinterest for whatever I was hankering for dinner.

The Bowl

The first day of my year did not get off to a resounding start full of fun, watching football, and eating black eyed peas. Instead, I had a horrible night's sleep because Jeremy was up a lot sick. I ended up having both kids at church by myself and there was no relaxing Sunday afternoon nap in my future.

My energy level stayed up pretty well until about 6:00 pm which is when I could tell I was getting a little grumpy with my family and their bedtime could not come soon enough. I was sensing that I was going to need to pull some grace and energy that I felt was not there at all from some unknown source just to physically make it.

Any moms out there remember some tired days like this?

{I realize how whiny I sound right now but hang in here with me. I have a point.}

I made a quick dinner for the kids. I did something I never do. I put Isabella's in one of my favorite pasta bowls. My sister called and I got distracted while talking to her. I left the kids eating in the kitchen so I could hear my sister better.

Then, this huge crash came from the kitchen.

I knew immediately what had happened and my heart sank a little.

My favorite discontinued, really expensive to replace pasta bowl was in pieces all over the floor!

The little girl in the high chair seemed to have no idea of the sadness she created.

I tried to tell her how wrong her actions were. I tried to explain to Jeremy how hard/expensive it would be to replace. I tried to share all my frustrations for the moment but Isabella just sat there in her "I have no worries"state and was ready for me to let her get out of her chair.

While Jeremy sweetly cleaned up the disaster, I just had to walk away for a moment. That just seemed like the cherry on top to a tiring day.

I heard Chase say something while I walked past his room that slapped me out of my selfish moment so fast.

Chase has conversations with himself and he mumbles to himself a lot. Usually, it is about a concert or a band so I do not always listen to him. 

This time, I did.

Chase said, "You know if she were not here then she would have never broken Mama's bowl and Mama would not be upset. If she had not been born, then Mama's bowl would have never been broken."

WHAT????

I jumped back into his room and asked him to repeat what he just said. He did and I felt such remorse.

A bowl. A dumb old bowl made my son think that because of my reaction.

I got on my knees and grabbed his hands. I told him about forgiveness. How Isabella is way more important than any bowl. She is just a baby and she does not understand completely that her actions were wrong so we need to just give her grace and forgive.I told him that it was all my fault really because I should not have given her the bowl to begin with. Then, I asked him to forgive me for overreacting and being grumpy.

He said, "Mama, I love you. I forgive Bella. I forgive you. Let's play."

{Sidenote: Don't you wish everyone could forgive and get over something that quickly?}

I could not play at the time. I had to thank Jeremy for cleaning up the mess and help him finish the cleaning job then I had to pick my baby up.

I just held her and feeling ridiculous how I reacted to a bowl breaking.

Yeah, I was exhausted from the day and the bowl was a special wedding gift to me but it was my fault for giving it to a baby in the first place.

I looked at this....

which is one of the three I have left.

Then, I looked at this...

My Gift from God sporting her new plastic high heels.

Yep, I just need a quick reality check on priorities, invest in some plastic bowls, and get a good night's sleep.

i Intend

Leslie over at A Blonde Ambition did her yearly "I Intend" list that she does every new year.

She inspired me to do my own.

I quit doing New Year's Resolutions when I started having kids. I think my main resolution for each year was to not do too many dumb parenting mistakes and to sneak in a nap when I could.

Pitiful, I know. 

I have really been just all about surviving the last few years.

I am happy to say that I am finally feeling ready to attack a new year with gusto and get a good list of good "intentions" ready for the next 12 months.

Wendy's 2012 Intentions:

1. Get myself on a sleep schedule.

I have always had problems with this one since I am a night owl who is married to a night owl. Once I get the kids in bed, that is the time I get all the things done that needed to be done for the day. I pick up toys, clean the kitchen, do laundry, blog, facebook, have uninterrupted talk time with Jeremy, catch up on our recorded shows....whew, it is amazing that I get in bed at all.

Well, no matter what, I gotta get more sleep.

2. Smell good....all the time.

I have wanted this perfume since I found it two years ago at Anthropologie. It is not expensive but Jeremy had just bought me some perfume and it takes me forever to use up a bottle.

I do not use perfume for a year after having a baby then I get out of the habit once I start wearing it again. 

Jeremy gave this to me for Christmas this year and he thinks I smell soooo good.

I love it when he thinks I smell good.

3. Continually clear clutter and bring order to my home.

 This one is so hard with little ones but I have found a lady with a book who has helped me.

A friend told me to go to her website and my house no longer overwhelms me.

With two little ones, clearing clutter is a work in progress and there is always room for more improvement.

4. Read more books.

I used to devour books before I got married. My reading habits became almost non-existent when I had kids. I want to change that this year. I have a stack of books crying out for my attention. I have been told that I will read again. Maybe this will be the year I begin...again.

5. Get more "girl time" in my life.

I fear that I have neglected this area in my life and all the friends God has given me. I will not be able to spend as much time with my friends like I used to but a little time is better than no time at all. I feel great after a little coffee meeting or a quick lunch with a friend especially if my kids are not with me. It rejuvenates me.

6. Put those running shoes on and get moving.

I bought some running shoes last year and have yet to put them on. I have not figured out how to add exercise to my schedule with the kids plus I was so tired for most of the year that I just did not have it in me. Hooray for babies sleeping soundly through the night now!!

7. Have a family picture made.

 This was our last formal family picture in May 2007. 

I think it is time, don't you?

 This was one of our last informal family pictures. 

This "intention" may be the hardest one on the list.

8. Keep up my visits to Target and Sam's.

I had to add this one because I am already doing these two and it helps me feel better that I know for sure that I can attain this one with no problems.

By the way, I don't even have to buy anything at either store. I just like the experience of going. 

Where else can I get snacks for my kids while I look around? My kids are great shoppers if I can keep them busy eating.

9. Go on more dates with my husband.

I waited and prayed for this guy to come into my life for years. I need to make it a priority to keep up my relationship with him. These dates do not have to cost a lot just time together away from the kids i.e. talking on a bench at the park or a walk on the nature trail near our house.

10. Get this blog spruced up.

Sorry that I have not changed up the look of my blog in awhile. I have been tossing around the idea of a name change and giving the whole blog a makeover. Hopefully, it will happen this year.

Alright, I got a lot to do this year and I am ready for the task.

Do you have any intentions for this year?

December Keeps One Busy

You may not have noticed but I have been gone a bit the last two months. Here is a little of what I have been doing in December...

We started out the month with Chase & Isabella joining several kids on the stage at our church dinner. They sang Bella's favorite Christmas song of "Jingle Bells." 

Yes, I was a total stage mom by holding onto Isabella's shirt the whole time. I don't trust her for a minute. She could take off to who knows where if I let go.

We had some fun times shopping while enjoying everything we could about the season.

Chase was also Joseph in the kids musical at our church. I was thrilled that the only thing he did out of the ordinary was that he bowed to the crowd a little too much when everyone clapped for the manger scene gang. I think he was the only who did bow.

Jeremy has a birthday in December and he was a happy guy with his piece of birthday cheesecake.

Ummmm, no, that is not his sippy cup.

I braved taking these two to see Santa by myself. They were so excited. Well, Chase was which was a HUGE improvement from his feelings on Santa last year. He was a bit scared of him last year but this year, he decided that he was a good guy. 

One October night when I was having dinner with just the kids and the conversation was lagging a bit, I had an idea. I asked Chase what he was going to do when he saw Santa this year. I told him that Bella would be afraid of Santa if he acted like he was. Chase did not want his sister to be afraid of Santa so he decided that he would not be. We also worked on what he was going to say to Santa which he did perfectly about a month and a half later when he finally saw him.

He said to the big guy, "Hi Santa. My name is Chase and I would like a blue Paper Jams Pro Guitar that I can download all my favorite Aquabat songs on."

That speech was met with a blank look from Santa like, "What did he just say?"

It was a little long but Chase had a little more to say...

"This is my little sister Isabella and she wants a 'Let's Rock Elmo' for Christmas."

Santa looked relieved, "Oh, Elmo! Do you like Elmo, Isabella?

Blank wide eyed stare from Bella. Chase said, "Yes, she does and I like the band 'The Aquabats.'"

Thanks Chase. No one knew that.

Our tree was a little bare this year. I left off most of our ornaments that normally go on the bottom due to little almost two year old hands who likes anything that favors a ball. I did not even put any presents under it until a few days before Christmas.

I am happy to report that only one ornament was touched and only one gift had to be rewrapped.

Bella did way better than I thought she would. Hopefully, next year, I can put all the ornaments back on.

I am relieved that she did so well because I was having visions of what I saw years ago on "Jon & Kate Plus 8" of when Kate put a huge baby gate around their tree and gifts. Of course, if I had EIGHT little Isabellas running around, I would probably have a gate around more than my tree.

The Lord knew I could only handle one baby at a time.

This is what the kids woke up to on Christmas morning. Everyone had their own little pile/area.

He got what he asked for!

Isabella did too but she was more in love with these two pillows from Yo Gabba Gabba.

Chase helped me unwrap a few of my gifts. Jeremy said that this gift was for him too because he can't wait to have a meal from it. I also got the Pioneer Woman cookbook so I would be inspired to use my new pot.

A few years ago, my brother-in-law (Uncle Wendell) started a tradition of giving my 91 year old grandmother gag gifts by giving her a home pregnancy kit.

Here is Big Mama with one of her many funny gifts from Wendell. It is a picture of her with two guys from the show Swamp People. It looked like she was in the back of the boat with them on a gator hunt. 

Don't worry. Big Mama got lots of good gifts too. Plus, she gets Wendell back now with crazy gifts to him too. I laughed til I cried on a few of the gifts.

We also had a great Christmas time with Jeremy's family. Isabella is trying on her first pair of heels.

Isabella loves her cousin, Avonlea. I can't wait to see them together next year.

I am sad that I missed getting pictures of the three times that we sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and blew out the candle on His Birthday cake. We made sure the kids understood what this special season is really all about. 

I had so many favorite moments of this month but one that I was not expecting was Chase's fashion choices. Usually, he wears on three or four mostly blue shirts and dark pants. He is not fun to dress at all anymore except at Christmas.

He got all into the spirit of things with lots of red and green in all his clothes.
My eyes were blessed by the change. I still have hope that he might expand his wardrobe a little in January.

Whew! Did I lose anyone out there with this month long post?

I hope each of you had a great time celebrating Jesus' birth!

Now, really looking forward to a fresh new year.