A special day

Happy birthday to my sweet sweet girl. What a year it has been and can't wait to celebrate many many more with you! I love you more than you could ever imagine!

A year ago





And today

What a blessing you truly are! Mommy loves you! Happy birthday sweetie...

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a blessed day! For those that are not here with us, I hope this brings comfort.

"Christmas in Heaven"
by Wanda Bencke

I see the countless Christmas trees
Around the world below,
With tiny lights like Heaven's stars
Reflecting in the snow.

The sight is so spectacular
Please wipe away that tear,
For I am spending Christmas
With Jesus Christ this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs
That people hold so dear,
But the sound of music can't compare
with the Christmas Choir up here.

I have no words to tell you
Of the joy their voices bring,
For it is beyond description
To hear the angels sing.

I know how much you miss me,
I see the pain inside your heart,
But through our memories so dear
We are never far apart.

I can't tell you of the splendor
Of the peace here in this place,
Can you just imagine Christmas
With our Savior face to face?

I'll ask Him to light your spirit
As I tell Him of your love,
Then I'll pray for one another
As you lift your eyes above.

So, please let your heart be joyful
And let your spirit sing,
For I'm spending Christmas in Heaven
And I'm walking with the king.

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness

No, it's not Miss Hannigan, I just cannot believe it is Christmas already! Where has the time gone, where has the year gone....in just a few days, I will have a one year old, absolutely crazy, but so divine, all at the same time. I only had to work Monday this week and I am off until January 5th, woohoo! The time will fly by and I will be back before I know it, but I will be sure to enjoy every minute of it!

I hope to get better at this blogging nonsense after the new year....I haven't been so great these past few months, but the holidays are my excuse and I think it's a good one. :-)

Also uploading pictures on the computer tonight.....so, what do you think?



Think she gets her mother's hair genes? Poor girl, I'm so sorry!

I probably won't be back to the dub dub dub until after Christmas, so until then, MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone. I hope you all enjoy your time with family and friends! Until next time, here's something I'll leave you with. Can you believe this was just a year ago on Christmas day?


Til next time....

All I want for Christmas

I (heart) Santa.


I was so impressed with her, she did great! :-) I think she is just a doll....

Walk this way

Look at me!

MY FIRST STEPS

Tried to embed, but it didn't work...

(apologies that my only words are "big girl"...guess I need to practice on my mommy language!)


How did my baby grow up so fast?

Welcome Baby Evan and Baby Charlotte!

Baby Evan arrived in our world on Tuesday, Nov 24! He is an absolute doll and many congratulations to the new parents, Allison and Justin!



And sweet little Charlotte was also born on Nov 24, but 11 weeks early. She is a fighter for sure and is doing great, so please say some prayers for continued Strength, that she and her parents get stronger and stronger, day by day. I cannot wait to meet that little angel.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It is hard to believe that the holiday week is winding down and in just a couple of days, I will be back at work. :-( And, now the hustle and bustle of Christmas begins!





More to come on our Turkey Day festivities, so stay tuned. Til next time...

The 12 days of Thanksgiving

That's right, 12 days until I have to go back to work, woohoo!!! I was beyond excited yesterday as I exited the office, held up my hands and said, "See ya suckers!". Pure joy I tell ya.

Spent 1.5 hours at the grocery store this morning, getting everything for Thanksgiving. I wanted to get all my shopping done before the mad rush, and I was quite successful! Also, saved $25 with coupons, cha-ching! I look forward to Sundays when I can clip my coupons. I know, I'm a nerd.

Off to chiropractor and then to Target to tackle some Christmas and birthday shopping!

Til next time.....gobble gobble...

Where in the world....

....did I go!!? I know, I know...I haven't posted in almost 2 weeks. And, I am certain the virtual world has missed me, right? ;-) I really don't have an excuse, except I guess I just haven't been motivated. I'm in a rut right now....work just sucks. Nothing major is going on, I'm not working THAT hard, and come on, I only work 3 days a week as it is. So, why the complaining? I just don't like working anymore. I wake up DREADING to go to work every day, I mean, REALLY DREADING. It doesn't make it any easier that I work in the consulting world. What was I thinking? A part-time consultant? HA, now that's funny. Don't get me wrong, I'm not working any more than I am getting paid for, but in the world of consulting, that won't cut it. If I'm not giving 200% (i.e. working more hours and producing more work), then it's never good enough. I'm OK being average, mediocre, you know....and in this industry, that's just not how it works. Being average (i.e. having a balance between work, life and family) has consequences.

Am I just in a phase?! Does this happen to everyone?? I hope so, because the option for me not to work, is I think, not an option. I told Randy that I was going to buy a monogramming machine and see what these crafty (er, non crafty) Martha Stewart hands can do! It can't be that hard, can it? I guess I get my inspiration from etsy.com, addicted to that site! If you haven't visited before, check it out. It's UH-MAZING! So, don't be surprised when I tell you I've bought the machine. :-)

Who's ready for TURKEY?? I absolutely LOVE Thanksgiving! Definitely my favorite holiday. I guess because I love family and food, and it's before the hustle and bustle of Christmas, and it's just a great All-American holiday. And we get 2 days off of work, yoohoo! All you have to worry about is when you'll have to unbutton the top of your pants to make more room for food. No worrying about if Great Aunt Elda would rather have the red arglye sweater or the blue wool socks for Christmas. Ours will be a small gathering this year, but looking forward to spending the time with family and friends, that's what it's all about. Oh, and I guess it's about football too. :-)

On to reality TV....was bittersweet to see Tracy leave the Biggest Loser. I know she was nuts (but in my mind she was just playing the game)...she reminds me so much of Rachel. Not so much her personality (maybe a little bit of her quirkiness!), but definitely her physical appearance. I looked forward to watching the show so I could see her. Made me think of Rach often and realize how much she is missed. *Sigh*

OK, got to get back to my wine drinking ;-), til next time....

Happy Halloween!

Chim chim cher-ee

Went to see the musical Mary Poppins on Wednesday night, it was absolutely fabulous! The sets and dancing were phenomenal! My fav was Step in Time. If you ever get the opportunity to see it, go!

There were quite a few kiddos there, which I can certainly understand, if they're 4 or older. BUT, there was a BABY there, and crying at times! Seriously?!? Why on earth would you bring a baby to the theater? I don't care what show it is, you don't bring a baby, out of respect for fellow theater goers! I would have been furious if we had been sitting by them, but luckily they were on the other side of the theater. Thank heavens! Some people....

Til next time...

Forever your girl

Oh Paula.....I knew you wouldn't get away from us! The big news is that she's going to be a frequent guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance. Love it! Interesting, since Ellen used to be a guest judge and now she's the new Paula on Idol. Gotta love Hollywood!

I watch both, so guess it's a win win for me! Love Ellen and love Paula, being her drunk, drug induced self. Never a dull moment!

Hope you'll watch with me!

Til next time...

Frickin' laser beams!

My dad started radiation today. This is the first of 40 treatment sessions he goes through. He will go 5 days/week for 2 months. Please add him to your prayers, that these "frickin' lasers" will kill those damn cancer cells, that he goes through treatment without experiencing major side effects, and that emotionally he can make it through this! I'm sure he can, but the extra prayers are definitely appreciated and I know we have some awesome people prayers out there, so get to work! :-)

At one of his prep appointments prior to the start of the treatment sessions, he was "tattooed" so that the beams hit him and the cancer cells at the right angle and position. He asked the lady for a butterfly tattoo, but no such luck. Haha! I'm so glad that he's able to keep his sense of humor in all this!

The most likely side effect will be tiredness, so we'll see how that works out for a retiree that must be on-the-go at all times! Each week he will receive progress reports. I'm not sure what that means yet, but my mom will go with him to those appointments each week so she can hear the reports as well. Right now she's not planning to go with him every day, unless he's really tired.

I just THANK GOD that treatment and a cure is available and I continue to pray this will do the trick!

Let's kick this in the rear!!!

Til next time...

Float like a butterfly

So this is what I will be, what do you think???


Thought it was quite appropriate since her teachers at school call her "butterfly". She is so funny, when she gets excited, (while sitting), she straightens her legs out and flaps her arms up and down. Hence, the butterfly. I ordered it on Friday and got it today, what awesome customer service! I am really happy with the quality too...sometimes costumes can feel so cheap, but this one has good fabric, or so it seems. We shall see. Let's pray for some good weather so we can actually show it off to the hood!

Oh, and by now, you've probably heard (or seen) that the next Bachelor will be Jake Pavelka, from the Big D. I thought he was a complete tool and douche on the last show, but of course I will still watch since I'm a total junkie! (And my source was correct on the choice, I just forgot to post it here before the big unveiling!)

Had our big 9 month check-up today. Yes, we're about 3 weeks behind but her pedi was out having a baby of his own! She is 30% on weight (18 lbs), 25% on height (almost 27") and 50% on head. Go Sam! It is amazing to think she will be ONE in just a couple of short months! That reminds me, gotta get the Christmas lists going!

So, what are your Christmas wishes this year??

Gotta get back to DWTS. Til next time....

Welcome Mark!

On Oct 18, 2009 at 12:22 am, a wonderful blessing entered our world, Mark Wendell. Here he is...he is just precious! Love all the dark hair! I think he's going to be an opposite of his big bro Zach. Congrats to the entire family, love you guys!

A pick-me-up

If anyone needs a pick-me-up, listen to this song...

I did it

I entered Samantha in a Gap Kids casting call contest. Many of you have told me to enter her in a photo contest, so I finally did. It was free, so no loss for us if she doesn't win, right!? Seriously though, I cannot even imagine how many people enter that contest. Oh well, we'll see what happens...maybe we'll have a little star come December. The 20 finalists will be announced December 7. If you want to see her entries, go here...

http://family.go.com/gapcastingcall/entries/smb3191/

How could this cutie not win!??! :-)




Speaking of HALLOWEEN, we need a costume! Any ideas out there? I was thinking of getting one off ebay. If she's only going to wear it once, then I don't want to spend a lot of $$$. What do you think? Could we pull Dorothy off!?

So, what are your kiddos going to be for Halloween?

Looking forward to our pumpkin patch outing tomorrow! PLEASE let the cool weather arrive by then! I'm about to go insane with this 95+ weather we've been having, ugh!

Oh, and I promise to start blogging about the shows soon, just need to get caught up!

Til next time....

Beware

....this is going to be a boring post, but I haven't talked to the "dub dub dub" world in a while, so thought I owe you guys at least something, even if it's not worth your time.

We had a great weekend! Friday, it started off at the old stomping ground to see the mighty Panthers of Klein Oak play Klein. Randy's mom suggested the idea and I'm glad we decided to go. It was a lot of fun. Man, we are old. Those kids looked so damn young. And to think when we were that age, being seniors, we thought we were so old and cool! So, it was us, both sets of parents and the Tolles clan. I had no idea how Samantha would do since her night night time is around 7:30 (which was game time), but we gave it a go, with carrier in tow (ugh!), just in case she wanted to snooze. Well, she didn't sleep at all and was never fussy! She was mesmerized, I think by all the action, bright lights and music. She didn't close her eyes until we got in the car, and we left with about 5 minutes left in the game. KO did not win (wah!), but by FAR they won the halftime show. Go band and Strutters! I was so impressed and so proud! :-) They did awesome. And, the Strutters didn't have to wear the old moldy, crusty overlays like we did! They had on some cute black and pink outfits, man they are lucky. Guess that's what 15 years does to the drillteam fashion world. Did I just date myself?! Anywho, Samantha slept until 8:30 the next morning, but of course, we still got up at 7:30, such is life.

Saturday, we did absolutely nothing, although mom got out for a shopping trip! I only bought 1 shirt for me, all the rest was for the babe. She was in desperate need of some clothes. I was sending her to school in highwaters, but I kept telling myself they were capris. ;-) Found some great deals....bought nothing at full price, bargain shopping, gotta love it! Sunday, we went to the Texans game (Samantha stayed with the grandparents), and thank goodness for the W-I-N.

Not looking forward to my work week starting tomorrow, but hopefully it will be Thursday before I know it!

Although it won't help that I'll be daydreaming about my folks while they're on a cruise....from San Juan, they're going to St Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua and St Kitts....oh the life. I need a vacation.

Til next time....

You put that where!?!?

That's what Randy had to say or at least, something similar. This past weekend little Samantha was quite constipated. Seriously. No poops on Saturday (when we're used to 3 or 4) and none on Sunday until I went into action. So being the worried, have no clue, new mom that I am, I was reading Baby 411, looking online, anything that I could find to help my sweet babe. At one point, she was in tears and pushing so hard, that I thought she was going to explode. :-( And, still, nothing came out. So, I headed to the store to stock up on prunes and juice. That should do it, right?!? Stuffed her with those, and the wait began. Surely there would be progress! I thought we had it, major farts and sounds of liquid poo (yes, I did it, go mom!)......there was poo, but it was hard as a rock. A kid would have thought it was years-old play-doh or something (you know when you mixed all the colors together so it made a really nasty poo color). Ugh. More juice. More hard poo. At least it was coming out now, but can we get some loose stools please!?! So, this is when I went to another device. The thermometer. We have one that has the different attachments for rectal, oral, armpit, etc. I lubed it up and up we went! Samantha got a little fussy, but nothing too bad. Tried this a couple of times, and don't even think it helped, but the next morning, we had normal poo, ROCK ON! :-) That morning, Randy looks at the thermometer (still had it out and ready in case we needed to use it again) and says...

(see title of this post)

I looked at it, and said, Oh Shit. Excuse my potty mouth. ;-)

I had used the oral attachment instead of the rectal one! My poor baby! What a wonderful mother I am, right? Well, to my defense, I know I didn't shove it up there all the way. It was definitely more than the rectal one would have gone, but what can I do about it now? I guess the attachment that was extra long looked (in my current mindset) like it was the cure-all more than the short stubby one. ;-)

You live and learn. Anyone want their temperature taken? Haha! :-)

Oh, and check out the survey on the right-hand side. Just curious what reality shows you kids watch. Let me know if I need to add one to my fall line-up. ;-)

Til next time...

P.S. Happy Birthday Amy! Cheers, here's to another year! Love ya!

Can 2009 end already please?

I'm ready for 2010. Anyone else feel the same? It's been a difficult year for me, my family, my dearest friends and even strangers. Although, we will be blessed with Mark and Evan very soon, and for that I am grateful! I cannot wait to meet them and welcome them into our world! How precious newborns are, *hug*.

Most who are (or not) reading this, know it's been a crappy year for me health-wise. Two episodes of a stomach virus; 3 episodes of mastitis - one of which put me in the hospital for 5 days; tummy issues - just had a stomach scope a few weeks ago and found out I have gastritis, a.k.a. stomach inflammation. I'm on an acid reducer for 2 months, so hopefully it's just from acid and I won't have to go through additional testing. And today I find out that I have Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex (TFCC). I've had pain in my right wrist for a while now and I just figured it was nothing to worry about and would get better on its own. Well, it has slowly gotten worse so I decided to go see an orthopedic surgeon. Basically, I have torn cartilage in my wrist. Treatment options are:

1. Do nothing, until pain gets worse
2. Cast - over the entire arm and elbow - for 6 weeks (not an option with a 9 month old!)
3. Splint/anti-inflammatory meds, such as Aleve (can't do this because of my tummy issues and splint won't help 100% because I will still be able to twist my arm, from palm down to palm up)
4. Surgery - arthoscopy (like they do with the knees, elbows, etc)

I'm leaning towards option 1 or 4. I'm not in severe pain, so why do anything? But, then again, before it gets to that point, should I take care of it now, while I'm working part-time and have a semi-immobile child? So, we'll see. It's an outpatient procedure and I would only have a splint on for 1-2 weeks, and then I should be good to go, with a few weeks to full recovery.

Thank God for insurance. I cannot even begin to think about paying for all of these docs and medical care from my own pocket. Scary. I have heard that the year after giving birth/having a c-section can be pure HELL on your body. Well, I am full proof of that. So, what else can come my way? I pray, nothing, but will continue to get through the rest of this year every way possible! I've got a darling angel to inspire me!

Let the countdown begin, only 94 days until 2010!

Til next time....

Life is just a bowl of cherries

That pretty much sums it up, doesn't it? I absolutely love cherries and I love life! And everything is better with a cherry on top, right? I decided to start a blog because I think I drive my hubs crazy sometimes with my random conversations, rants, vents, etc. This gives me a place to write and share my thoughts on being a mom, raising the most precious daughter on this earth and life in general, whatever may come my way! Do I plan to post every day? No, I don't think so unless I have some really good gossip to share or venting to do. I am addicted to reality TV so expect regular postings on my shows. I hear that the next Bachelor will be announced during the Oct 13th episode of Dancing With The Stars. Can't wait! That show is a train wreck, especially in the last couple of seasons, but I'm still a follower. I've got an "in" to someone who might be able to share the new beau before the official announcement, so check here and I'll share the scoop if/when I know more! ;-)

Speaking of reality TV, this happened a couple of weeks ago, but how on earth did Chicken Farmer win America's Got Talent? I had never watched the show before but did this season because a co-worker (of sorts) is the husband of Barbara Padilla, who has AMAZING talent by the way. I was 100% she would win or The Texas Tenors, purely based on their cheese factor, and that somehow, I think they would survive in Vegas. But Chicken Farmer? The only time I saw him perform was during the Finals, and I thought he was absolutely terrible! There was no way he'd be the winner, but he won! How did he win Americans' hearts over Barbara? I think it was a conspiracy and rigged from the beginning, so consider me a HATER from here on out. I refuse to watch that show ever again. But, I did think Hoff was Hofftastic. He made me laugh. Oh well, just another show I won't have to clog up the DVR with. So, good riddance. By the way, I think a tour with Barbara and Susan Boyle would be awesome!

I expect a good week for DWTS. Didn't you just LOVE the Patrick Swayze dedication last week? I almost felt myself getting up and dancing along. That movie is such a classic and can't wait to watch it with Samantha one day. That will teach her that "nobody puts Baby in a corner!" Damn straight Patrick and may you RIP. Thanks for everything you gave us, you are a legend and will never be forgotten.

Speaking of people who will never be forgotten. Please keep the Sullivans in your thoughts and prayers. I don't know them, but if you read their blog, you will understand why I mention them here. Being a new mom, my heart goes out to that family, especially baby Chloe.

OK, I think that's all I have for Post #1. Enjoy and I'll be back soon.

Til next time....