Bah Humbug

Note to self: don't ever try to change or upgrade your blog while your 17 month old is awake. If I forgot anyone on my blog list, I sincerely apologize and hope that you will find it in your heart to forgive me (for I have no brain cells left) and remind me. In the midst of changing diapers, checking temperatures, and dealing with a fussy teething baby, I accidentally deleted a few things from my blog (specifically the blog list).

Note to self: don't ever go on vacation right before a major holiday. Obviously we didn't learn our lesson 2 years ago when we went to Hawaii 2 weeks before Christmas. BIG mistake. Being gone for 4 days before Thanksgiving then returning to a house FULL of company for a week then working 2 days in a row...BIG mistake. And leaving again in 2 weeks. Too much stress.

Matt and I are starting our diet tomorrow. That's probably another "note to self" - don't ever start a diet in the holiday season. Ha! I probably wouldn't be doing it if he wasn't helping me. Before when I dieted after having MC, I would have to prepare 3 separate meals: 1 for me, 1 for Matt, and 1 for MC. That's ridiculous!

Posted a pic of Santa's little helper! Note to self: don't even bother putting up a tree when you have 17 month old. Bah-humbug!!!!!!! ;)

Thank you Mom, Dad, and Heather for helping me clean and decorate the house! Although neighbors, just look the other way as you drive by because the outside is only half-way done...and I don't see it finished in the next few days. Can anyone tell how tired I am???

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! (Days til Christmas: 28)

This was an unplanned event, but we all dressed in orange. Go Vols!

There's No Place Like Home

Truly, no place like home. Vegas was awesome, but we are so exhausted and we're glad to be back. We missed MC terribly and she's grown in 4 days! But I don't think she even knew we were gone because she has so much company here for the holiday!

Matt and I walked a VERY long way to get this picture. We could have easily had our heads super-imposed beside the sign in the Stratosphere, but NOOOOOOOooooo, I wanted to see the real thing! So after about 15 miles of walking, we finally found it out of civilization and a scary part of town! :) Matt is still not speaking to me because his legs are "broken". ;)


Ah! The fountains of Bellagio! I thought it would be more romantic, but with all the crazy people standing around - begging for someone to take your picture - it's pretty, but not necessarily romantic.


Overall, Vegas is an interesting town and the shows are amazing. Looking forward to Turkey Day!!!!!!

2 Peas in a Pod

Mom brought Kennedy home with her a couple of days ago, so MC has had a friend to play with! They are 2 peas in a pod! They are being so nice to each other and SHARING! Unbelievable! I'm so glad they will be here to keep MC while we're gone and I don't have to worry about the house either. Heather and Kerigan are on their way!




I have an addiction to the Coke drinks. After my 4th cavity in the last 3 months, I am going to attempt once again to cut them out. I've never had a cavity until I turned old! My dentist really lectured me (again) today. I quit while I was pregnant - only to substitute it with sweet tea (with Splenda). So here goes!


Talk to everyone when we get back! This is our first real vacation - that has nothing to do with business or conferences! With no baby! Yeah! I'm so excited! I hate that it falls so close to Thanksgiving (I've had to work almost every day for a week to make up for it). So we're ready for a vacation!

No, No, and No

MC, Maddie, Chad, and Jack


Such a "big girl"


I feel like every word out my mouth today has been "no" "stop" and "no-mam." It's so sad that I can't think of one positive thing I've said towards MC today. She is into EVERYTHING! She even gets into things that I've baby-proofed. She's taller now so she can reach the counter and pull stuff off. I was trying to clean since I really haven't been home since last Wednesday...and she literally followed behind me making a bigger mess than before. What's the sense in cleaning???

She has a new attitude and "no" is in her vocabulary! She will back-talk me and pinch me when I get onto her. She tests me on purpose! AAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Needless to say she spent most of her time in the playpen today screaming. SO glad my family will be here later this week! Hurry up and get here! I haven't had much sleep since last Wed...hoping this week will be better but I doubt it.

I've added some blogs to my list over there on the left. Check them out! I also started Facebook yesterday --- it's a little addictive (as is blogging).

Here are a few pics from tonight. We had a nice get-together dinner over at James and Laura's! Their house is so nice (from the last time I saw it!) You wouldn't even know it's the same house!
I thank them for allowing all the kids to come too. They love socializing as much as we do. Although I do think it was good birth control for Laura.

New words of the week so far: Gigi, grrrr (bear sound), and OK!

The Big Mooooove

I am busy helping out at work this weekend for the big move. Vicksburg and Clinton are moving to their new locations (opening Sat). Tonight, we have to spend the night in the pharmacy in Vicksburg. Should be interesting. We have SO much fun together and I LOVE the people I work with. When there are people who can make you laugh, it makes the day go by so much better. When I am getting cussed out by a mean old man, I just think of MC and everyone else goes away. Then there are my great co-workers who make me laugh when I want to cry. When you can joke with your boss and say just about anything, I WANT to do a better job and volunteer in days like today.

The bad news is I don't get to see MC much this weekend. I left at 7 the other morning and didn't come home until almost 10 that night. Then I leave today at 2 and won't be back until tomorrow. Sorry no new pics to post.

I frequently get asked about the old Clinton Kroger. They are keeping the fuel tanks open (plus the new ones on Hwy 80). They are building bathrooms for the employees who will run the fuel center (hence the horrible construction going on in an already horrible parking lot). I heard yesterday that there are bids on the old building from Lowe's, Office Depot, and Target. YES, you heard it - TARGET! Although they said Target didn't like the idea of bathrooms in front of the building. So no one knows for sure yet. The suits said they thought Office Depot would win the battle. Who knows! (gossip gossip gossip)

Anyway, I'm working in Vicksburg this weekend, but I'll be at the Clinton store all day Monday and Tuesday...so come by and say hello while you're checking things out! We're "mooooo"ving!

Pj's and Ponytails

It's 2:00 pm and we're still in our pajamas! I like those days. Since we're staying in, I decided to take some advice and try giving MC eggs...for lunch! I sprinkled a small bit of shredded cheese on top - added some waffles (we'll try the blueberry ones later)...Breakfast for Lunch!!!! She attempted the eggs and then spit them out. I wasn't expecting her to even put them in her mouth, however she did pick out the cheese. I had tried shredded cheese before with NO luck. So it wasn't a total waste of time and food.

Someone asked me the other day why I never put her hair in a ponytail. Why would I??? This is how it turns out:

Not the prettiest ponytail in the world...lets just give it some time. But putting her first ponytail up was fun for me and she loved it!

Ok, I have called every church in town (Baptist, Pres, AND Methodist) and there are no Mother's Day Out openings for her age. Can you believe that? God is telling me that she needs to stay home and drive me crazy. So I went to check out the SchoolAids store and I was in heaven! It ALMOST inspired me to home school. I have a bit of a paper fetish though...I love OfficeMax, stationary stores (online or not), and my favorite part of planning a birthday party is the invitation! Call me crazy. Anyway, the store was a bit too old for MC's age but it did give me hope for later. There are SO many things that can help with homework and such. It's not just for teachers, but parents as well. I did find a puzzle and (my sister's idea) a ROLL of big paper to cover her kid's table. She loves to play with the colors.

From eggs to Uggs! I found a pair of baby Uggs at Mistletoe and they are too cute! Couldn't help myself. Our Christmas card photo session with Jeanelle got cancelled today due to the rain! Here's hoping it will stop raining and we can get out of our pj's!

What a day!

We woke up this morning to a breakthrough! Her LAST molar has FINALLY broken the skin! Yeah! So she was a bit fussy today. It didn't help matters when the DirecTV guy showed up...and the cleaning crew, the lawn guys, the painters, Rob - the stain guy, and Bobby - the fence guy all showed up at the SAME time - all before 10 am! MC was actually taking a nap during all this and they finally woke her up with all the noise. So after lunch, I decided: lets go to Mistletoe Marketplace! I thought I could handle taking her (couldn't find a babysitter). While driving, Candice tells me that there are NO strollers allowed. What????????? No strollers??????? Okay, I can handle it. I have a leash! She has this little stuffed dog that is a backpack with a leash type thing. Thought about turning around...no I can handle this. I'm still trying to beat the supposed rain that was on its way. We get there! I have to park in the VERY back - as far from the front door as I can get. I find out they have baby carriers available to rent/borrow. I'm PRETTY SURE MC is too big for that. I try it. . . yep. . . too big. So I carried her on my left hip for 3 hours! Tried putting her down to let her walk with the leash - not without SCREAMING bloody murder! Understandable since there are SO many people around who don't even acknowledge the fact that I drop everything I buy because I can't hold it all in my right hand and sign the receipts with my left. I'm determined to buy an actual Christmas gift for someone other than myself if I'm going to all this trouble. FINALLY! I found something for my niece that I know she wants! I couldn't feel my left arm by the time I left. MC was inconsolable. No Tylenol. What was I thinking???????

We're driving home and I'm dying of thirst since the Trademart was steaming hot (not because I'm toting a toddler and 2 bags of stuff though). I decided to stop at McDonalds for a drink...realizing MC has NEVER been to Mickey-D's! I knew she liked french fries. She ate 1 whole chicken nugget (lesson learned - McDonalds does NOT have the best nuggets but too late now) and HALF of a Jr. Hamburger and about 3 fries! ~WOW~ For someone who can't even eat diced apples or carrots she sure chowed down saying "MMMMMMMM!" Pulled out my phone and snapped a few pics of her FIRST trip to Mickey-D's! She also found a few bites of an Oreo cookie...I have come to the conclusion that she'll eat anything that is not healthy!

Then I'm putting all my purchases upstairs and as I come back down the stairs I find MC STANDING ON TOP OF THE COFFEE TABLE! Mind you - she's not a climber. Another first. She has never attempted to climb on ANYTHING BEFORE. I couldn't get down the stairs fast enough and over the kiddie-gate. I had a heart attack thinking 'what if she falls before I can get to her?' Matt saw a small child in the ER once who broke his neck after falling off the coffee table. He was lucky and is fine (as far as I know) but he still broke his neck. What are the chances of surviving a freak accident?

I'm going to bed in hopes that the feeling in my left arm returns sometime in the night.

What in the world?

What in the world is going on? I woke up this morning to find out not only is Obama our new President, Phillip Fulmer resigned, and A.I. got traded??? ;) Completely ignoring news channels, I filled our time last night letting MC eat SPAGHETTI! Yes, I know I'm a little late in letting her try this. She loves it (me feeding her with a fork) but I've never let her eat it by herself! If this child is OCD, it will totally be our fault. Why clean up a mess if you can prevent it? So I don't let her eat stuff like that normally - so Mom told me that might be part of our problem. I held my breath the whole time thinking "Please don't throw it....please don't throw it...please don't wipe it in your hair...please don't throw it..." and somehow i found spaghetti noodles in her diaper while giving her a bath! Picture speaks for itself. Not too bad for a 16 month old. She looked at me with the "what in the world" look on her face: she was like REALLY???

Gold Glitter

As we were driving this morning, MC yelled out and pointed out the window. Not sure if it was a bird or the wind, but something had disturbed a tree. Hundreds of little gold leaves were falling like snow and glistening...it looked like it was raining gold glitter! Very pretty. Started our day off right.

Y

MC had her first career day this morning. Its in the genes I guess. Work hard to play hard. She helped me out at work until her Daddy could pick her up. She made all the mean sick people smile and laugh. So now she's playing after a morning's work!

Y

Just wanted to post a cute picture of my nieces at Halloween. Kerigan and Kennedy went as Alice in Wonderland and the White Rabbitt (Kerigan's friend Larkin in the middle was Supergirl).

Too cute. Can't wait for those turkeys to visit for Thanksgiving!

Little Miss Ladybug

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH! Sarah celebrated the big 1 this weekend. She really enjoyed her ladybug cake and got lots of good gifts! There's Sam on the right in the next picture - or as I like to call him mini-Bill. I was going to post a picture of baby Jack but I decided not to for fear that Carly might kill me ;) Jack had an unfortunate accident but seriously I am relieved. I am relieved in the fact that I am not alone in our struggles with food. (I know Carly is not relieved by this but you know what I mean?) MC throws up in restaurants all the time. I broke down in tears because MC and I fought for an hour over APPLESAUCE! She still gags on things she eats everyday and don't even think about trying something new (like real bits of apple or a grilled-cheese sandwich). I thought I would press the issue again since it's been awhile...and we're still right where we were 4 months ago. With so many parties lately, it has really frustrated me. I feel like I can't have a good time because I'm worried she may gag or throw up in front of everyone. And if she doesn't do that, she'll scream and make a scene if you attempt to feed her.

I found perfect birth control this morning! I have a new respect for Jon-N-Kate + 8. Keeping the 3 year olds at church this morning was an eye-opener for Matt and me. SEVEN 3 yr olds! I could never be an elementary teacher or day-care worker. I bow down to those who are!

Looking forward to Mistletoe Marketplace this weekend! Work has been a little crazy lately with flu shot clinics and moving 2 stores (Vicksburg and Clinton are both getting new stores on Nov. 15). I have to help move the Vicksburg Kroger next week which will be interesting. We will actually spend the night in the pharmacy! We can't move the drugs until midnight with police escorts and such. Yes, the pharmacy will have a drive-thru and same hours. It's very similar to the I-55 store: sushi bar, big organic/nature section, and just bigger and better departments. Anyway, enough promo. Ya'll have a good week.