InstaFriday. The 3/30 edition, yo.

I just realized that I need to blog more. Like, I do the InstaFriday on Fridays, and Highs and Lows on Mondays, but besides that, I've been slacking. Besides chasing after Ava all day, and working on Etsy orders, I don't have much time to craft. I do things here and there, but nothing blog worthy. You know how I feel about bloggers who post crap like "It's Halloween! I bought a mini pumpkin! Here it is on my mantle! Here are pics of it from 47 different angles!" So I don't do posts like that. Not that my mantle has changed in the last two years we've lived here, but whatever.

Hubby had a freelance client meeting this week, so he dropped the girls and I off at Taco Casa for Taco Tuesday. Gotta love only having one car, right? Ava pretty much only eats the cheese. 

I found a lovely note in the fridge from hubby. 

Ummm, holy crap. Is there any doubt who Ava's daddy is? 

My mom always carries Ava on her back, and Ava almost immediately falls asleep. In Korean, it's called "uh-buh" so Ava will walk over to my mom, lean on her back and keep saying "buh! buh!" until my mom picks her up. 

I am in love with these curls. 

Hubby got me a Walking Dead calendar for Christmas. Wonder what the girls will think when July rolls around? 

The girls (with Lover's help) made me breakfast last weekend. 

Took my mom and Ava to the Botanical Gardens. Ava was a butt the whole time. Didn't want to be in the stroller, only wanted me to carry her. 22 lb toddler? 13 weeks pregnant? Texas outdoors? Kill me now. 

My mom treated us to Red Lobster afterwards. Have you had a boston iced tea there? Oh my goodness. Half ice tea, half cranberry juice, I ask for an extra orange slice, plus 4 packs of sugar? Yum!

My oldest is a bonehead. She has these poison ivy welts all over, and she can't figure out why they're spreading and getting worse. Well, ding dong, when Mommy tells you to put on the medicine, and you don't because "it stings and I don't want to" then you can't really be surprised when they get worse. Dummy.  :)

Highs and Lows 3/26/2012

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Lows

• My oldest (almost 9 years old) has been such a butt lately. Always has a comment for everything, or asks me "why?" or says "so?" when I tell her to do something. Girl has lost her damn mind. And my 6 year old and 8 year old just do not get along. Arielle wants to be the boss or acts like a mom to Jasmin, Jasmin doesn't agree with it and gets an attitude with Arielle. Last night I was sick of the all day bickering, so they went to bed right after their showers. No watching "Once Upon a Time" with mom and dad.

• Had the worst bout of tossing my cookies the other night. Like, I barely made it to the toilet, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to do some touch up paint on the walls. Yuck. 

• Jasmin had her first t-ball game on Saturday. Lover is her coach, which means I get to entertain Ava by myself for an hour. NO BUENO. After about 2 minutes, she did not want to be there. I think next time I'm packing more snacks and bringing along some toys she hasn't seen in a while. Miserable. 

Highs

• Had a great OB check up. I can't freaking wait to see what we are having at the next appt. 

• Arielle finished her Awana book. Awesomesauce. 

• Had fun with the girls on Sunday morning. We took them out in the field and worked on fielding and batting. It felt good to get out and throw the ball (I used to play softball in high school). Then we went to Five Guys for lunch (yum! Love that place!)

• Hubby has some great freelance going on, which is awesome. His doing freelance is a catch 22. I love the extra money (and we need it most of the time) and I love that he has a job that he can do freelance, but sometimes I wish he had a job that was just 9-5 and he could be free of work from 5pm on, not have to stay up late most nights and work on freelance. 

• I'm feeling so much better lately, energy wise. I'm still going to bed around 8pm most nights, but at least I'm not falling asleep during the day. 

• I finally ordered a postal scale for my etsy orders. It'll save me time and money at the post office. I feel so official. 

So that's it, folks. I'll announce the giveaway winner tomorrow. 

InstaFriday. The 3/23 edition, yo.

My father & sister in law came to visit last weekend. We see my FIL every couple of months, but it's been so long since I've seen Sam. Love her! Lotsa good talks and bonding. Plus, Lover is designing her wedding invites/program/save the dates/etc. Gotta love having a graphic designer in the family. She's the one having the Beauty and the Beast theme wedding (you can read about it on her blog). Did I mention that she's 5 foot 2, and her fiance is 6 foot 8?

We went to the Harbor while they were here. I really love where we live. There are lakes around us, and the harbor is so cool. Lotsa restaurants, live bands during the summer, gorgeous views, a lighthouse. Ava loved the fountains.

Did I mention that there is also a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory at the Harbor? If you've never been to one, you're missing out. They have dipped apples in so many different toppings. Lover and I always split a rocky road apple. Chocolate, marshmallows, 47 million calories. So good!

Afterwards, we let the kids run around. Jasmin didn't get to play much because Arielle told me that Jasmin said "Shit". So of course, Jasmin was in trouble for that and had to sit out. But after talking to her about it, turns out she saw it written somewhere, and was just sounding out the letters (like they've been working on in kindergarten), not knowing what it was going to say. So not in trouble after that, just had a talk about giving me all the info and saying "Hey mom, I saw it written down so I was sounding it out" so she doesn't get in trouble.

This is why I love my husband. I was on my way to pick him up to go to our OB appt, and I forgot to bring my water. Love how well he knows me.

Miss Jasmin is playing t-ball this year, and Jake is one of her coaches. He was Arielle's coach last year, so every year he switches who he coaches. Love how involved he is with my girls. Jasmin played soccer last year, and it was so painful to watch that we may have told her that they aren't offering soccer this year. Seriously, my child was the ding dong running in the wrong direction, or staring at the clouds.

I won a $100 gift card to Poppy Tree Frames (I suck and can't remember the blog I won it on, sorry!) and picked up these frames. They're gorgeous, and HUGE! I got all three of them in a robin's egg blue. Gorgeous!

Poor Titan is banished outside today. We ran out of dog food and bought him a different kind (so we didn't do the slow change over like you're supposed to). So he's been gross and pooping and yacking everywhere. So sorry, bud, you're an outside dog today.

Little bebe update

So, I had my 12 week OB check up yesterday. I have to admit, I was totally nervous all day. I mean, 12 weeks, when the chance of miscarriage drops. 12 weeks, when you can finally feel like you're feeling better because you made it to the second trimester and not because something bad happened. And I'm speaking from experience here. 3 missed miscarriages a billion years ago (where your body doesn't realize that you miscarried, so you never bleed or cramp, and it's not until the dr can't find the heartbeat that you know it's bad news). So yes, 12 weeks is a big deal to me.

Hubby went into the room with me for the check up. Last appt, they kept him out in the waiting room until the sonogram part, and he was PISSED. The doctor explained that most men are uncomfortable with the pap smear part, so they just keep them out of the room. Hubby informed her that is not a donor or a bank, and he will be in the room from here on out. Gotta love that man. 

Luckily the doctor started the sonogram right away. I instantly focused on the little fluttering of the heartbeat, and breathed a huge sigh of relief. Bebe was moving around (which I still can't feel), stretching it's legs, rolling over. It was incredible. Heart rate was 160, Bebe is measuring a week ahead at 13 weeks 2 days. 

Highs and Lows 3/19/2012

Have you entered my 1007 follower giveaway? No? What are you waiting for?

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Lows

• I really can't think of any. That's awesome. 

Highs

• A stranger accidentally ran over the girls scooter when he pulled into our driveway to turn around. And instead of ignoring it, he came to the door, apologized, and bought the girls a new one. Kinda renews your faith in people.

• My father and sister in law were in town for three days. Ava had an upset tummy for the first two days, which made it hard, but on the third day she was back to her normal sweet self. 

• I've hated our dining room table since we bought it. It was metal, glass and slate tiles. But the legs flared out so anytime you'd try to walk around the table, you'd bump the legs and make the entire table shake. And the tan seat covers looked like crap, and the metal backs of the chairs would catch your clothes and hair between the slats. So I've been looking at Craigslist, but finding a wood table with 6 chairs and no fabric or leather on the seats for a good price was turning out to be impossible. After searching for a couple of weeks, I found an ad last night that had just been posted 15 minutes before. Solid wood table, 6 chairs with a wine rack/buffet table in great condition for $350 OBO. I offered her $300 and she accepted. Hubby and my father in law went and picked it up last night. Took them two trips, but I ADORE it. I feel like such a grown up. I want to do a pretty centerpiece with a distressed wooden box and plant some succulent plant thingies in it. The first two pics are hers, the last pic is when it's set up in my kitchen.

• Arielle and Ava had a dr's appt on Thursday. Arielle's was her one month check up on the ADD meds, and she's doing so well with those. Seriously, she's like a totally different kid, such a pleasure to be around. Ava had her 18 month appt (and NO shots needed this appt, woo-hoo!). 

There ya go, folks. I think that's it.

InstaFriday. Again, I'm late.

Well, I had every intention to post this yesterday. But I got lazy, my husband's dad and sister came into town, I posted a giveaway. So I'm late. Again. Love me anyway? 

Every morning starts out with this young lady. We wake up early (not MY choice), catch up on emails and Facebook, and snuggle until it's time to feed everyone.

Took the girls to the library on Monday. They had a couple of clowns from the circus there. The older girls had fun, but Ava was bored. Ever try entertaining a 19 month old who does not want to be somewhere? Makes a half hour turn into 5.

So, I was irritated that Arielle's glasses were costing me so much. But the eye place wouldn't let me cancel my order since they already made them. Oh well. Arielle LOVES them, so that makes it so much better. When did my 8 year old turn into a young lady?

You'll see this on my Highs and Lows post on Monday too, but holy crap. A stanger accidentally ran over the girls scooter and broke it. And instead of driving off, he came to the door apologized, asked me where we bought it at, and dropped off a brand new one a couple of hours later. Who does that these days? Renewed my faith in people.

I think Ava's bath time is my favorite part of the day.









 

So there you go, folks. Go enter the giveaway, and thanks for being followers. You rock. <3

1007 follower GIVEAWAY!

So, I'm pretty sure that I promised you a gift card giveaway when I hit 1007 followers. Well, I'm a few followers past that, so I'd say we're overdue! 

For this follower celebration giveaway, I'm going to send the lucky winner a $20 gift card to the place of YOUR choice! You can choose from Target, HomeGoods or Hobby Lobby! 

I'm trying out Rafflecopter for the first time, let's see how this goes. Giveaway ends March 25th at midnight, and is open to US and Canada.

Counted my blessings today

I got caught up looking at old photos of Ava yesterday. Sometimes I forget just how far she's come. From being premature and born with a major birth defect and needing 6 surgeries before she was 2 months old, plus 1 more emergency surgery the day after her first birthday, plus a battle with RSV, to being physically delayed according to ECI, and here we are with her walking all over the place and being precious and perfect. I'm so blessed to have her. Hug your babies tight today, I know I am.

Highs and Lows 3/13/2012

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Lows

• I guess the worst one would be the stupid garage door. It hasn't been working right for a few weeks. It goes up without a problem, but it doesn't go down unless you press and hold the button (and sometimes not even then). One of our friends said that it might need grease, so we bought some $7 kit from Lowes. Nope, didn't work. I couldn't get it to go down one day, so I had to manually lower it and locked it. Well, hubby didn't know that I locked it (like he always tells me to) and since it was locked, the metal hinge snapped off the door and bent the metal. What the crap? Luckily my dad is supposed to come fix it today. 

• Apparently it's "tell me I'm an asshole" week. Nuff said. 

• Found out within 24 hours that my oldest needs glasses ($233 for the glasses) and has 4 cavities ($123). Didn't know I was going to be spending that. Ouch. 

Highs

• I hit over 1000 followers. Oh. Em. Gee. 

• All three girls spent the night at my parent's on Friday night. So Lover and I had the whole evening to ourselves. Went out to eat, wandered around Best Buy. It was a great night. I love my girls but sometimes it's just so refreshing to have a break. 

• Took the girls to a birthday party at ASI gymnastics on Sunday night. Of course the two older girls had fun, but it was so cool to see Ava crawling around and over things. Especially since when we had her evaluation with ECI a month or so ago, they said that she had the gross motor skills of a 10 month old (she's 19 months old now).

• I'm finally starting to feel better. Less nausea, not going to bed at 6pm. But of course, instead of being super excited about it, there is always a part of me who is like "Oh my gosh, what if my pregnancy symptoms aren't going away because I'm 11 weeks but because something bad happened?" I have a bad habit of getting inside my own head. 

• I was able to find one of the hamsters a new home with my friend, who wanted it for her kid. We decided to keep one since Jasmin loves having one. But I couldn't handle cleaning two cages anymore since Arielle didn't even play with hers, and with my super sonic sub human sense of smell, I couldn't handle the smell of cages. I think I'm just a reptile girl, not a small animal girl.

I think that's it. It was a low key week.  

Almost 1000 followers? How the crap did that happen?

Okay, am I the only one shocked that I'm at 995 followers? When did that happen?

I know a lot of blogs do giveaways at the "normal" numbers. First 100 followers. First 500. First 1000. I'm going to be different and say, when I reach 1007 followers, I'll do a $20 giveaway to a place of your choice....

either Target, Hobby Lobby or HomeGoods. Or if you win and ask me nicely, I could do a Chili's or Applebee's too.

Which place would you pick? 

Thanks for following, you rock! 

InstaFriday. It's that time again, folks.

Here's a little glimpse into my day. Bath time. Eating. Cleaning up messes I didn't make. Nap time.

If you've been a faithful reader, you may remember me mentioning my hate for the Attorney General for trying to say my ex owed me $38k, despite me saying he's always paid. His credit score has taken a 100 point hit, they were trying to intercept his tax return. I even drove the 40 minutes into Dallas to give them the paperwork directly (which they promptly lost). FINALLY I checked my case status, and it says he owes me $0.00.

I made my chili roasted salmon for dinner the other night. Didn't even realize that I forgot to put in the red bell pepper. Oops.

I saw this semi hauling a ton of new pallets. How bad is it that I wanted to run him off the road and load up the pallets?

Finally got the 8 pillow orders finished and shipped. I was worried about getting them all into the post office (since Ava doesn't like to walk), but God Bless the three people at the post office who took 2 minutes out of their day to help someone. That selflessness made my day. Thank you, random strangers.

I needed the car on Wednesday, and since we're a lovely one car family, I offered to come pick up hubby from work, take him to MMA class, and then pick him up afterwards and take him back to work. We sat and watched the last 20 minutes. Ava wanted to participate. 

I love how good Arielle is with Ava. Arielle, Jasmin and I had to get our teeth cleaned on Wednesday, and Arielle watched her while it was my turn.






 

Arielle had an eye dr appt on Thursday morning. So I took her to Chiloso (my favorite breakfast place) for some one on one (plus Ava) time.

Ava and Daddy decided to come read to me one night. Ava LOVES to read.

This is technically from hubby's phone, but he tagged me on FB with this photo collage. 

How precious!