The Cornell Nest

The Phone Call

2012-01-30T14:26:00.000-06:00

We were already having an off morning. Haylie got out of her room at 5 AM and wandered all the way to our room in complete darkness (well, by the light of our awesome doorbell - don't ask). She just stood there for who knows how long before she coughed and I woke up to find her. Justin offered to lay with her until she went back to sleep (which she did) and then he pretty much just went to work. I felt bad and offered to lay with her, but he was kind of adamant about doing it.

Thinking she would sleep in since she awoke so early, I didn't hop out of bed this morning (I'm not doing much hopping anyway) and she came and found me again before I was ready. A little bit later, I snuck off to the shower while she watched a video and missed the call from my dr.

The nurse left me a message and said that there is only one opening for an induction this week if I wanted to do that and it was tomorrow at 7:30 AM. Otherwise, I'm going to have to wait until next week!! Well, I'm not waiting another week. So, panicking, I call Justin who doesn't know what to do. I say a quick prayer begging God for an answer right away, then call my mom, sister, Amy, anyone I can think of to get some sort of advice! Everyone pretty much says it's my decision but I do feel better just talking things over. It's just so...sudden. I mean, I know he could come at any point. But to plan it out for a specific time - yikes! Especially TOMORROW!

I finally call the nurse back and get some more info, which is what I should have done in the first place. She checks for me and finds an opening for Thursday (my actual due date) at the same time. I take it! I feel much calmer about having a few extra days to do final preparations. The dr says that it won't take much for me to get in labor - but I'd still prefer my body to show me when than force him out. Unless it takes longer than Thursday. Then get. him. out!!

Watch, now that I've stressed about it and have something on the calendar and think I have a few more days, he'll come tonight. Well, that's fine. I'll just stress about it then. :o)

The Second One

2012-01-26T20:41:00.000-06:00

Meet our second duplex! Thankfully we finally closed on this bad boy today. It is just as adorable as the first one, maybe cuter! It needs some work, but what doesn't in our life??

Hopefully Duplex #1 will be renter ready by the end of the weekend. (Fingers crossed) Then we can set our sights (and a super cheap repair guy Justin found) on this one to work on.

Now that we have signed on the dotted line, I'm allowing Jace to come. No more hurdles in the way!!

Her New Recliner

2012-01-25T21:14:00.000-06:00

This week I am trying to lay low. And since that means that nothing is really going on, I have plenty of time to take ridiculous pictures of Haylie - in her new favorite recliner.

I just hope she doesn't get too upset when Brother arrives and actually has to use it.

Baby update: I'm 39 weeks! I'm going to the dr on Friday to see what progress has been made. I'm trying to enjoy these last few days by hanging out with Haylie, cleaning my house so I won't be overwhelmed after the hospital stay, having last girls nights out, and trying to stay ahead of the lack of sleep soon to come. Tomorrow we are closing on the second duplex so once we get that taken care of, Jace is allowed to come!

The Final Checklist

2012-01-23T15:16:00.000-06:00

I finished up Jace's room today. I really like how it turned out. I mean, it's not straight from a Pottery Barn ad, but it's cute to me! Things will be moved a bit once he is actually here. Right now it's wall to wall "stuff" that we don't want to pull out until we have to.

Walking in the door

Turning to the left - this is the guest room section

Turning back around into the nursery section

Our good friend Dusty made us this shelf! Love it!!!!

My friend Brandie is a genius and bought us this closet organizer not knowing how little closet space I had to use and how perfect a gift it would really be!!

One of the final things on my checklist in prep for his arrival is to get the car seat out, clean it up and get it ready. Haylie was really into helping me. So if you ever need a good idea of a newborn baby size for the straps - well, Elmo to the rescue. I love that she looks so proud!

She is going to be a great big sister!

Jace's room done - check

Hospital bag packed - check

Car seat out and ready to go - check

Uncomfortable and feel as big as a house - check.

Let's do this, baby boy.

The Man on the Side of the Road

2012-01-19T15:21:00.000-06:00

During bible classes and studies, usually at some point the topic of homeless people on the side of the street comes up. Do you give them money not knowing where it's going to go? Do you just pass them by and pretend they aren't asking for help? Do you offer to take them to McDonalds or buy their dog food?

Well a few weeks ago, our small group talked about the excuses we make when we see these (or others) asking for help. My excuses are usually that I don't have automatic windows and can't reach over to open my window (because they are standing on the right side of the car instead of left), I have my daughter with me and I don't want them to do anything to her, I don't have very much cash left and need to buy milk, I don't trust them, I don't have time...my list could go on and on.

So today, while running a few thousand errands while H was in school, I made a wrong turn and ended up at a light where a man was standing there, holding a sign, asking for money. Here I am, annoyed that I am once again faced with this situation, keep my eyes averted. But as I sit there for a few more seconds with my Christian music playing, my stomach full from the lunch I just purchased while out, and my other excuses obliterated (my side of the car, without Haylie to worry about), I felt I had no reasons not to give to this man. So I pulled out a few dollars and gave it to him.

His expression was amazing. He was so grateful. Whether he is going to buy booze or food for the first time in a few days, it doesn't matter. It's not my decision what he does with it and hopefully God will put it on his heart to use that money for good instead of something destructive.

Now, I'm definitely not saying I'm a saint for this act...because I still struggle with the knowledge of how much money people can make on the side of the road or what they might possibly do with it. Instead, I chose today to trust this man to make a good decision...and hopefully God can touch his heart and help him out in his journey.

In the mean time...

2012-01-17T22:16:00.000-06:00

I wish I could say that we are laying low in anticipation for baby Jace's arrival, but that is definitely not the truth. I feel like every day gets busier and busier!

We are making our 2 year old work late down at the duplex...she needs to earn her keep. :)

We are taking awkward pictures of the cat because someone is obsessed with the camera. Thank goodness for digital cameras.

We are trying to control our unbelievable bed head and rearrange the spices all at the same time.

We are spending rare 70 degree days at the zoo with our awesome, energetic friends...

And pretty much just being sassy.

We are getting closer and closer to our baby's arrival. I went to the doctor today and my progress is good. He honestly could come any day. In the mean time though, we have another duplex to close on, repairs to finish on the other, renters to find, to-do list for baby to finish, thank you notes to write, my dad's birthday to celebrate and friends to continue freaking out with said progress (Amy, that's for you.)

I know everyone says this is the time to catch up on sleep and just be calm, but oh man. Who has the time for that?!

A new adventure in real estate

2012-01-13T15:13:00.000-06:00

Welcome to our new home!!

No, we are not moving, thank goodness...but today we just closed on this super cute duplex! We might be a little insane for purchasing something this close to the baby's due date, but who doesn't like a little adventure thrown in their life? Both sides are 1 bed, 1 bath and will be adorable once we get a few things fixed! The hubby plans on spending some quality time down there this weekend (with hopefully a few friends to help) with a paint brush and tools to get it renter-ready!

We actually are closing on another duplex next week. We got a ridiculously awesome deal since both duplexes were being sold by the same guy. He wanted to just be done with them so that meant a win-win for us!! But that home needs a few more repairs - that and the lending company are acting like complete idiots. I do not recommend this company. At all. Lesson learned for us - go with who we trust. And that would be our good friends at the Bank of Oklahoma.

Either way, we are super excited about this new adventure! We have prayed hard about it and feel it's a good direction to go. We shall see I guess...bring on the (good) renters!

Becoming a Sibling

2012-01-09T15:14:00.000-06:00

These last few days I have been hit hard with the fact that H will soon not be an only child. I don't know why this is coming as a shock because we were planning on getting pregnant and then have had 8ish months to digest this news.

I think it's because it's coming up so SOON. We now have about 3 weeks (give or take) until this little man comes into our family. I just want to soak up every moment I have with H because I know that time is soon going to become a hectic, "go find Daddy/Mimi/Grandma/Ava/Elmo" time so I can handle the baby. I want to enjoy her and remember life with her before becoming a mom of two.

Justin had a work party Saturday night and we had a babysitter lined up - I couldn't do it. I just wanted to stay with my little girl. When she asks for things, instead of being the strict parent, I'm finding I'm sliding a little bit. Sure, here is chocolate before breakfast. Yes, you can stay up late and take a bath. Let's go to a friends house and play until 9 pm. Just because it makes you happy.

This might be destructive in all that we have tried to put in place these last several months but...I can't help it. I love my baby girl and hope that she will always be my baby. Who cares if that costs me extra kisses and later nights? I'm going to enjoy her as much as I can.

Jace's Shower

2012-01-08T22:48:00.000-06:00

We are so blessed!! I have a wonderful group of friends who threw an awesome shower for baby Jace!! I am just overwhelmed by everyone's generosity and support. It was fabulous!

The food table - check out that diaper cake!!

And of course the edible cake - made by the wonderful Chellie!

My wonderful hostesses. I love each and everyone of these girls dearly!

Amber and I doing the ceremonious (word?) first cut

Justin's mom made this awesome diaper cake!

My mom made this really cool quilt!!

I'm telling you - great, great shower. I spent a long time going through everything again tonight and organizing his space. We are ready now for his arrival. Thank you to everyone who came and was so generous in gifts for our baby. We love you!!

Learning Through Elmo

2012-01-05T13:11:00.000-06:00

It might be a bit weird that I talk more about Elmo and his bathroom shenanigans on this blog than anything else. Remember his diaper change? Well, to me, I just love seeing Haylie start to really understand the whole potty process. Our pediatrician has recommended not pushing her to potty train...and I'm all for it especially since a baby brother will be here in less than a month. I can handle two in diapers...I think. Anyway, she has become fascinated with the potty but still refuses to go on it. But Elmo sure can!

Potty...

Wipe...

And flush...

And boy, does he go. I was worried about him yesterday when he sat on the pot for over an hour.

Reunited!!

2012-01-03T21:09:00.000-06:00

And it feels so good - especially in princess outfits while holding hands.

Let's not go this long without seeing one of our BFF's again, shall we?

Ho, Ho, Ho - Part 2

2012-01-02T21:27:00.000-06:00

We were blessed to spend 5 days with Justin's family over the break. We had a good time!! It was great spending time together with his parents, brother & sis in law, nephews, aunt Janet, cousin Victoria, uncle Paul and cousin Jett. All the cousins got along really well.

Cousins on Christmas. Already changed out of our super cute Christmas dress...

Merry Christmas from 3.5 Cornells

Excited about stockings!

The best past-time with cousin Jett.

Family time, Bingo style.

The brothers, entertaining themselves.

Her new tu-tu and friend Duck.

Hmm, what should I do next?

A big thanks to the in-laws for letting us stay so long! We had a great time and looking forward to more time together!

Ho, ho, ho - Part 1

2011-12-31T15:59:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Have you missed me? We have been busy celebrating the Christmas season and also remembering we have a baby coming in a month. Who has time for that? Ha. We started off the celebrations with my family on the 20th - which sadly I have NO pictures from. Just imagine a lot of fun, great food, and awesome gifts.

The next night we celebrated with baked spaghetti (we get super fancy over here) and opened our gifts to each other. Apparently I can't take pictures of anything but H because that's pretty much all I took of our Christmas. So back story...every time we went to the Wal-mart toy section, H would see these little banks in the $1 bin. She was obsessed. What better gift in her stocking than those? She played with them for at least 20 minutes before we made her move on to something else. Like her necklaces or other presents we actually spent more than $1 on. The Dave Ramsey in me got her three - spend, save, give.

She got a new bear since her mother has failed to keep track of her other two favorites...

And a new table and chairs to color on! Hopefully that will mean my coffee table will be Crayola-free.

The next night we went to Neosho to spend some time with Justin's grandparents. It was nice to see them and spend some low-key time just hanging out.

Tickles!!

Fun was had by all. Especially Haylie since she was the center of attention...which she can not stand (riiiiight). Part 2 in Columbia is coming - I bet you can't wait!

The Aftermath...

2011-12-21T14:13:00.000-06:00

...of wrapping with a 2 year old.

Only 2 rolls of wrapping paper were harmed during this event...

and only one package got a tape bow.

All bags and other wrapping paper were put safely back in the bin. Next time, I'm going to wait til someone is napping.

The Week Before Christmas

2011-12-18T21:38:00.002-06:00

It's the week before Christmas. I feel like I should be running around like a chicken with it's head cut off...but I'm not. This weekend was relaxing and this next week looks to be fairly simple as we prepare for my family's Christmas celebration, traveling to be with the hubby's family, Haylie's school holiday party and one last appointment to see my OB in 2011. Nothing to it.

And even though it's December - we live in Oklahoma with the most random weather. It should be snowing and blistering cold, but it's not. It's nice enough to spend an hour outside with Daddy raking leaves!

Hopefully you can relax this week. Who cares about perfectly wrapped gifts and overstuffed stockings. Enjoy the last days of 2011 as we wrap up this year...and take some time to rake those leaves!

33

2011-12-13T14:00:00.000-06:00

Just ignore my face. And the fact that I can't center a picture. But you can see the light on the belly and that's pretty much why I took a pic. I am 33 weeks on Thursday and this is my second belly picture to take this entire pregnancy. I do love you, baby boy. Your sister just keeps me so busy that I don't even think about taking pictures of myself. Sorry.

His room is semi coming together. Our theme is technically alligators and owls, but as with everything I decorate, it's probably going to be a hodge podge of boy stuff. And a big thanks to my sister for keeping her baby boy clothes for 5+ years just in case another boy came along. We have clothes now for him!!!

And he also has a place to sleep...right next to the biggest stuffed alligator we stuffed in our carry-on suitcases from the Chicago IKEA.

I'm also 99% sure we have his first name picked out as well, but the middle name is still up in the air. And knowing the hubby - who keeps spouting suggestions, we won't officially pick his full name until filling out the birth certificate - thus giving me the biggest heart attack ever since we won't have planned it out for months.

Pregnancy is still going smoothly and I'm feeling good...well kind of. I'm pretty moody (yes, I will openly admit that) and sleep is getting harder to come by and I'm positive I started waddling yesterday.

We only have 7 more weeks - which are going to fly by. I just can't believe how close we are getting!!

Fa-La-La-La-Laaaa

2011-12-07T22:06:00.000-06:00

We finally had a night free to bust out all our Christmas decorations. Justin and I were so excited because we thought Haylie would be really into helping us. She wasn't. She could care less and just wanted to color...and practice holding Caramel. Regardless, we got everything put up and Caramel survived relatively unscathed.

We just need to put up more outside lights and this ginormous wreath we got last year for 80% off at Hobby Lobby. It's about as tall as I am and it's going to look ridiculous...but I can't wait!!

A New Routine

2011-12-06T22:15:00.000-06:00

Haylie goes to bed at 8 pm. She then thinks its fun to play for at least another hour.
I don't mind as long as she is in her bed...but every night we hear some thumps on the wall and we know someone is not where she is supposed to be...

As soon as we open the door, she just bursts into tears. She knows she is caught - red-handed!

And this is what she's been up to. Every single book from above shelf (it's normally full) is on her bed. She has been busy transporting!

Not even room for her to lay down. Last night we caught her with all her necklaces on as well! She is sneaky, sneaky.

I think it's hilarious...for the time being anyway. We might have to strip her room bare just so she'll go to sleep!

Elmo Overload (The Party)

2011-12-03T21:45:00.001-06:00

"Elmo loves his goldfish, his crayons too..."

Those simple words were pretty much my inspiration (that and copying all ideas off Pinterest)

The favors - plain red bags with construction paper added for Elmo's features

The goods - coloring book, crayons & goldfish crackers

The cupcakes. Red icing, marshmallow eyes, mini chocolate chips for eyeballs, orange Reese's for nose & half an Oreo for the mouth.

Simple decor. Ever notice Elmo's world wall art??

Coloring station for the kids

Elmo fruit plate - apples, blueberries, oranges & cream cheese dip

Score - Wal-mart had Elmo juice boxes!!

I think they like to color!!

Haylie can't ever just smile...

A little nervous about blowing out the candle. As in, flat out didn't want to.

The best we got of them all. FRIENDS!!!!!!!

It's always better to have everyone help you open your gifts!

And after we sugared them up, we broke all the rules of discipline by letting them all jump on the bed. Ahhh, who cares...it's a party right???

2 Already?!

2011-12-01T10:35:00.003-06:00

This little toot turns 2 today!!!! I can not believe how time has really just flown by and how big my little girl is getting.

Oh, that's better.

Haylie is SO FUN (when she isn't acting like a typical 2 year old.)

She is talking in semi-sentences - you can at least understand for the most part what she is saying although I still have NO idea what "Mimi (meme?) Stars" means.

She is doing SO well at Sonshine School. There are no tears and a happy report at the end of each school day!

She remembers the most random stuff. She can see a sweatshirt and remember it came from Dusty. Or a glass and she remembers that Amy was using it. Or that Amber was here the night before and is wondering where she went.

She loves her friends - and I can now start to "bribe" her with "no playdates with _____", if she doesn't behave. Works every time.

Loves shoes, hats, necklaces...any accessory really.

Loves the cat Caramel, loves Elmo, loves stars, loves the moon, loves blankets, loves books.

Lately at bed time or nap time, we will go in to check on her and there will be about 20 books in her bed with her. We take them out but always seems to find more...like between her beds.

Loves to color. All day. With colored pencils. Then crayons, then back to pencils. She will bring you one and want you to draw a star or Elmo's face and won't leave you alone until you do. She is persistent!

She is sweet, funny, caring, silly, crazy, sassy, stubborn, frustrating, but most of all, she is lovable!!

I don't know what I would do without her.

Happy 2 Years, Haylie Brooke!!

Lighting of the Commons

2011-11-30T13:26:00.002-06:00

...at Oklahoma Christian which we actually didn't make the "lighting" part. But we DID make it for a sit on Santa's lap and some crazy times running through Christmas lights with one of our BFF's Ava.

Her new-to-her winter jacket complete with hat and gloves. She looks thrilled!

I can do it!

She was nervous to walk the "line" and kept shuffling across. But she made it!!

Must lay down in every public place. Although her jacket is so poofy, she had trouble getting up!

Future OC roommates checking their mail!!

Well, at least there were no tears.

Let the holiday season begin!!

Heaven in Your Mouth

2011-11-27T14:00:00.000-06:00

At Thanksgiving, I didn't think to bring my camera to take pictures. But I did think to have my cousin's husband forward me this recipe of the most amazing dip ever to meet your tastebuds. I think I could have eaten it as my whole meal and would have been extremely happy.

Jalapeño dip recipe
2 cream cheese blocks, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 cans chopped green chilies
1 chopped jalapeño (the kind in the jar)
1 bag of Parmesan cheese
1 can of quartered artichoke hearts in the can, chopped up

Mix together and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

Sounds easy to make and trust me, your mouth will appreciate every bite. It was delicious on crackers or tortilla chips. This might have to be a staple at Thanksgiving...and every week at the Cornell house.

Straight Up Ugly

2011-11-25T15:19:00.000-06:00

If you've ever been to my house (or even if you haven't) you probably know about my hatred of our dining room light. To me, it's the 1970's ugliest creation and it's been hanging in our house since we moved in well over a year ago. This light was on my to-get-rid-of-immediately but other projects took time and money first.

When Justin was gone hunting, I decided it was time to look into finding a new one. Renovation Station (Habitat for Humanity) sometimes has some good finds so I went down and hooray! I found this gem.

It's in a "Antique Copper" finish, but I am not scared of a bottle (or two) of spray paint.

Finished product! It took us awhile to get it up and how we like it and I might have broken a piece in my attempts to do things while Justin was away, but all in all, we got it up and I think it is an 1000% improvement over the ugly we had there.

And I paid less than $55 for it all. Beat that Home Depot.

Thankfulness

2011-11-23T15:00:00.000-06:00

I love that there is a holiday set aside to remember how thankful we are - for our freedom, for our family, for our health... I wish I was more thankful everyday though. Just for the small things that I usually tend to take for granted. So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to document the things that I'm thankful for at this point in my life!

My husband and the fact that he is an active, LOVING father who works so HARD for Haylie and I!
My sweet Haylie even though I can complain about her and her crazy attitude, I love that little girl to pieces.
My healthy pregnancy so far - 2 more months and I can meet this little guy!
Great friends that I can call at any point during the day for advice, just to chat, to complain, etc.
My family - immediate and extended.

So, naturally those are the big things.

I'm also thankful for music that can bring back many fond memories. For Facebook so I can keep connected with friends. For dishwashers because mine recently broke and I know what it's like to wash everything by hand. For Elmo & Baby Einstein who can make my little girl happy when nothing else can. For nieces and nephews who love Haylie and can make her smile at the sound of their names. For cats who come sit on me every time I sit down. For crayons and colored pencils so we can get through church service. For new light fixtures that can take your dining room from the 1970's straight to the 2000's. For warm weather days in November.

I could keep going. But most of all, I am thankful for God who loves me unconditionally and sends me reminders every single day.

I am blessed.

Elmo's Poopy

2011-11-17T14:07:00.000-06:00

This morning Haylie had a really nasty poopy diaper (I know, great intro - just keep reading). Well, I try to make a big deal about how gross it is to go poo-poo in your diaper just in case she wanted to try sitting on the big potty. Anyway, we left it at that and I went on trying to get her ready for Sonshine School. A few minutes later, she has gathered these three things:

The bag of wipes, a diaper and Elmo.

That's right, apparently Elmo went poopy and needed a diaper change.

I laughed and kept going about getting her stuff ready when I see this:

Pretty adamant about that diaper, huh Haylie!

She was only satisfied once Elmo got his new diaper on.

I guess I need to put Elmo's potty training on my list of "to-do's".

Parent Fail

2011-11-15T10:34:00.000-06:00

Being a single parent since last Thursday hasn't been so bad. But having days in a row of being responsible for everything, I think that my brain stopped working when I was woken up last night at 11pm. Knowing my child didn't have much to eat that day, I should have thought she could be hungry. I'm almost positive she is teething but since I didn't give her Tylenol before she went down to bed, I should have thought she might be in pain due to teeth. After a pretty long day of misery of teething or something, I should have at least thought these things to prevent the worst sleep night of my life.

She woke up screaming (as she did the night before) and I had been asleep for *maybe* 30 minutes when this woke me up. Since it wasn't subsiding, I went to go check on her. She was sitting up in bed. Normally I can pick her up, rock her for a few minutes and then put her down (as I did the night before). Not this time. So, since I was dead tired and she clinging for dear life to me and screaming bloody murder whenever I tried to put her down, I took her to my bed where I thought I was going to be asphyxiated because of the weight of her head on my neck- that was the only place she found acceptable to sleep at this point. Needless to say, not much sleep was in the future for me. She finally rolled over where I would have my breathing back to normal, but she kept kicking me in the stomach...which in turn made baby IN my stomach wiggle even more. After a few hours of nodding in and out of sleep due to H constantly moving, kicking, and crying I hear this THUNK. That's right, Haylie wormed her way so far over that she finally fell off the bed and hit the nightstand. Oh man. Drama, drama, drama.

Finally, my brain clicked on and we got up, got Tylenol, got milk and got into bed. We still had a few hours of sleep and I was determined at this point to get just a little more. She drained the milk & passed out. Once she woke up fairly happy, I realized that we both could have had a pretty good nights sleep if I just would have thought of those things before putting her to bed.

Parent fail.

28 Weeks

2011-11-12T12:26:00.001-06:00

For Haylie's pregnancy, I took a belly shot pretty regularly. It wasn't every week, but I do recall posing for quite a few before 28 weeks.

Sadly, for this little guy, this is the first one. I feel like I'm showing & carrying the same so maybe he won't notice if I just put copies of the 1st go round in his Belly Book.

Pregnancy Highlights:

Due Date: February 2, 2012

How far along: 28 weeks (3rd trimester is here...yikes!)

Size of baby: small cabbage (17 in, 2.9 lbs according to my iPhone app)

Gender: BOY!

Cravings: anything at this point sounds good. I love to get a soda as often as possible, cherry coke preferable.

Sleep: I randomly wake up. Sometimes due to leg cramps, sometimes I guess the baby is moving, who knows. I'm tired though. A lot.

Symptoms: Weird nerve pressure in my lower region. I can't stand up too long or else...it gets bad. Working out is slowly going by the way-side. Putting on shoes is also proving to be more difficult at this stage.

Movement: He moves a lot and has found a nice place right under my ribs to poke and kick. He moves less than Haylie did though so I'm hoping that is foreshadowing a calmer baby.

Best moments: I love going to the dr to hear his heartbeat. We are also getting a 3D/4D ultrasound at the end of this month.

And because I'm getting asked a lot, he still doesn't have a name. I'm about to hold a contest for who can come up with a name for our baby (and have both J & I agree on it!)

Easy as 1, 2, 3

2011-11-10T13:35:00.000-06:00

Yeah. Right. Our master bath is finally to a point where it's usable. We still have quite a bit to do, but that will have to come in time. Painting, putting back on the baseboards, getting a new countertop (when we do the kitchen), etc...but the 3 T's are done - the TILE, the TEXTURING, and the TOILET. HOORAY!!!!!!

BEFORE:

Yellow ceramic 4x4 tiles, mixed with a little mold. It's okay to throw up a little. I just did.

DURING:

Looking better already!

AFTER:

TA-DA!!! Justin did ALL the plumbing, tile work, electrical for the light, texturing...this is truly his bathroom.

The floor - brick pattern

My magic toilet.

We got a Kohler self-closing lid toilet and I am in love. I couldn't wait for it to be installed. Now instead of running across the house in the middle of the night, I can pee right in my own bathroom. (TMI?? Sorry.)

My mom has asked me about 3 times if I'm getting a new shower curtain. Should I take the hint? I might, if I find the right one. But at this point, I'm just so happy to have our bathroom put back together!

Sadly, our work is not over. We still have bare concrete floors and nasty carpet to rip up. We are just pacing ourselves...and our budget.

Haylie's Space

2011-11-09T13:33:00.001-06:00

I realized I never blogged about Haylie's big girl room. I know everyone is just dying to see it...in all it's pink glory. Looking at these pictures, it's not a very "kiddy" room. My "shabby chic" kind of turned into "grandma chic", but I like it regardless!!

I wasn't really happy with the way I had hung some of the wall stuff, so until I found my inspiration and re-did it, well, I guess I just let it go off my blogging radar.

Haylie's little nook. She loves sitting in her chair, reading books by the window and looking at her cousins' pictures. I have a blank frame up that will eventually get filled with our family pictures or something - maybe her brother when he arrives. I'm not very good at frame murals so this is what I came up with.

The dresser. This was originally in the guest room but we needed space for the crib. Every girl loves to have a big mirror - so it was a perfect switch. She loves to stand on her bed, look in the mirror and say, "pretty." We might need to work on her ego before it inflates too much.

Notice her new lamp shade. I love that thing with all my heart.

And her bed. I took this awhile ago when I had the quilt all pretty. Now its rumpled at the bottom of her bed and a mix of Elmo's and bears are taking over her sleeping space.

Her transition to this new bed has been surprisingly easy. We did take off the safety rail for awhile because we thought she was "just that big", but a few nights of finding her on the floor convinced us to put it back up. We are so gracious.

Jackpot

2011-11-07T13:06:00.000-06:00

Saturday was an unusual day where we didn't have separate schedules and actually had a relaxing morning. I suggested that we do something (because why would we ever just sit around enjoying the morning?!) and thought maybe we could hit up some garage sales. Well, I'm glad we did. We hit the jackpot! We rolled up on this sale (and actually found my mom and Evie at the same sale) and she pointed out this chair that had a price tag of $15. It was this recliner chair that was a nice tan color and looked in near perfect condition. The only problem - the part where you put your feet up on was broken. Regardless, we paid the man $10 (because we don't ever pay full price if we don't have to) and thus Justin had a new Saturday project.

Instead of installing a toilet (which happened too), he worked all afternoon on fixing this near perfect LazyBoy recliner. Well, he is a master at fixing anything and had it all fixed up by Sunday. It was the highlight of his weekend and he couldn't wait to fall asleep on Sunday afternoon in his new recliner while watching football.

He might have told me I'm not allowed to sit in it because it's a LazyBOY and not a LazyGIRL, but what he doesn't know is that I might be blogging in his chair right now.

Let's Do This...

2011-11-04T15:41:00.001-05:00

I feel like there is a lot to blog about, but I'm too lazy to divide them up into separate posts (plus, that might be just ridiculous.) So let's just do this.

Last Saturday, one of the Bible Study babies and Haylie's good friend Brixton had his 2 year old birthday party! It was a perfect day and a good time! His mom Chellie made our cupcakes, but check out this piece of awesome-ness she made for him. She should start a bakery.

She wanted to play in the sand, but yet, didn't want to play IN it.

3 of the 4 bible study babies!!

After the party, we raced home to get ready to go to Justin's co-worker's wedding at the Chesapeake Boathouse. The bride was so pretty, but weddings just aren't as much fun when you both don't know them.

They had a chocolate/candy table where we immediately ruined Haylie's dinner and gave her chocolate which was promptly smeared all over her mouth and white dress.

Then, because you can't get away from Halloween posts quite yet, Haylie went trick or treating with Mickey and Minnie and thus added greatly to our already overflowing candy bowl!

Because you were all wondering what I decided to do with my board, I found a few frames at the local Goodwill and made a place where I can put Haylie's artwork she makes at Sonshine School! (Thanks, Maria for the idea!)

Lastly, we got Haylie's school picture back this week. I absolutely LOVE IT!!!!!! EXCEPT - I hate the background. Who picked this out and what were they thinking?? I know her outfit isn't exactly "fallish" but I didn't know we were going to be photographed with a background from 1992.

This weekend we are finishing lots of projects. I'm so hopeful that my next post will be highlighting our new master bathroom!

Halloween - the second half

2011-10-30T20:54:00.000-05:00

Thanks to no one for warning us about Haunt the Zoo (kidding, we probably would have gone anyway), we were unprepared for the mass of people that would be joining us on Friday night. Thankfully, Haylie still looked cute in her second round costume, the Hula Girl. (Courtesy of my parents trip to Hawaii!)

The line to get in was beyond ridiculous and even more so was the herding of the crowd from booth to booth. Literally being swept along the sidewalk.

Nightly ritual, saying hello to the moon and stars.

Friends that braved it with us - The Condicts and Cliburns

Moving on, tonight we had our Trunk or Treat at our church. Keeping it simple, we did the hula girl again. We'll bring back Tinkerbell for actual Halloween night.

Haylie and one of her BFs, Ava. These two are hilarious together!

Haylie and Weston, the runner

Haylie and Julianne...I love J's expression!

The three besties (they don't know that their mothers are forcing this friendship whether they like it or not. Thankfully, they do.) Everyone has their mouth open...and Haylie's top is half-way falling off. That's alright. At least she has a shirt on!

Happy Halloween!!

Halloween - the first half

2011-10-27T22:05:00.000-05:00

So far we have gone to a Knock Knock Night at my parent's/sister's church and had a fall festival at Sonshine School! We have a few more activities planned since this is the first year that she kind of gets trick or treating.

Her Tinkerbell costume - half of it. Notice her choice of shoes. One of each!

Cousin Eli and Haylie during dinner at Knock Knock night. She wormed her way up on his chair - totally crowding him. Right after this, she reached in his chili bowl and ate his chips. I got the hint and gave her her own food.

Sweet Evie was Minnie Mouse and Eli was Mickey! They were adorable!! My sister made their costumes.

"Hey, can we get the three kids together to take a picture?!"

Not on your life.

While collecting candy, H just wanted to sit down and look at it. She caused a huge pile-up in the hallway!

The best we were going to get of all three.

Enjoying a cookie after school today. She was the only child who didn't wear her costume - mother of the year, right here. We were still festive though!

Next up, Haunt the Zoo, Trunk or Treat at our church & actual Halloween night. I'm so excited for it all and she basically doesn't care. Awesome.

I think I'm nesting...

2011-10-24T21:04:00.001-05:00

Or maybe I want to organize just like Maria Clark. Either way, I got a bee in my bonnet and I've been trying to get things under control in this house. Haylie's toys have been out of control and she doesn't even play with half of them. So, I went to the $1 store today and got a few buckets to organize her different toys.

Half office/half play room

I still want to do something other than an a plain orange sheet for our stealth ironing board storage. Ideas??

I also got sick of our junky garage so I put up a few shelves laying around and organized by Haylie's upcoming clothes, garage sale stuff, house stuff to get rid of, house stuff to keep, etc.

And because I am lately in love with ambient lighting, I put a lamp out on my table and LOVE IT. My "runner" is also a piece of curtain I cut off and need to hem the edges...but until I do that, it's going to stay frayed. That's how I roll.

2011-10-23T21:54:00.000-05:00

I know I have mentioned a few times about Haylie's obsessions...but things are getting crazy around here. She wants to put on ALL jackets. If she does and it falls off (because they are huge on her) or you try to take it off, you would think her world had just ended. I have to hide jackets if she gets too upset. She loves her own-sized jackets, especially with hoodies. Zip up! Zip down!

This little one is also obsessed with STARS. We watch Baby Galileo a lot, which is about discovering the sky. We go outside most nights and tell the stars and moon "good-night." We had an impromptu craft night before bedtime one night and made stars and a moon to hang above her bed. She loved the ghetto-ness until she realized she couldn't touch them. They had to come down the next morning because she couldn't handle it. She just had to have them! She now carries them around the house. Which our cat loves because the string is still attached. It's a win-win for both child and feline!

I'm wondering what other obsessions are in store. I can totally handle these...it's the boy obsession I won't be able to.

The Patch

2011-10-22T21:52:00.000-05:00

I can't wait for Saturdays when we don't have house projects that dominate most of Justin's day. He spent a good portion of the day working on the bathroom - which is ALMOST done!! Anyway, we had decided ahead of time to take some time out to take H to a pumpkin patch. So we went to the old Sellers which is now called Wings. It's a day center for mentally handicapped adults. We saw a puppet show about how kids are different because they might be deaf, blind or in a special chair. We even learned some sign language! We also went on a hayride in which I need to learn to sit back from Justin so my face doesn't look huge.

We took turns with the giant pumpkin window...in which you can totally tell that cookies have been 85% of my diet lately. Yikes!

Haylie got to lounge on the pumpkins.

And take an awkward picture with one.

All in all, it was a fun time. We got to pick out some pumpkins and not have to drive to Piedmont or some other patch. It was perfect for her attention span!

And who can resist a night of playing in Mommy's car? Not this little one!!

Well, I didn't meet Oprah.

2011-10-17T22:32:00.000-05:00

But we "met" lots of interesting people. Justin and I went on an wedding anniversary/babymoon without our baby girl to...

It was so much fun!! We stayed with Justin's cousin Victoria and husband Arnold. It was really fun staying with them and gave us a different view of Chicago other than the tourist-y area.

Justin and I rode public transportation all by ourselves. We did really good and techincally didn't get lost at all. We might have gotten a little impatient and rode a bus along the south side of Chicago...we were both sweating for our safety just a little bit...but we totally made it back up to where we needed to be!

We did the Architecture Foundation boat tour - totally recommend, went to the Navy Pier to browse, went to the Museum of Science and Industry, we walked along the Magnificent Mile, we tried to eat the raved about deep dish pizza but never got a chance because of ridiculous lines, and rode a lot of public transportation getting to and from each destination. We thought for a second of trying to go find Harpo Studios, but didn't want to spend even more time on the L when the weather was so gorgeous.

After two days of being touristy and walking all over Chicago, we spent the day with Arnold and Victoria in their part of Chicago, Andersonville. This is a cute store front where I loved everything in this store! I did not love the prices though...and even made a really fast trip out to IKEA where I bought as much as I could fit into my suitcase!

We did get to go out to dinner each night with Arnold and Victoria. We went to Hamburger Mary's and I had a hambuger with mac n cheese on top! I might have gotten sick after I ate this but it was still good. We went to all you can eat sushi where we had to cut Justin off otherwise he would have kept going after 7 rolls, we went to a lovely Italian restaurant and a Mexican restaurant. We basically covered all major food groups including lots of sweets in between (including a whole cake from Dinkel's).

We had lots of fun and saw so many interesting people. Chicago is awesome...but it is definitely not Oklahoma. I almost had a heart attack stepping into the O'Hare International Airport...think Walmart on a Saturday times 100. SO MANY PEOPLE.

We did miss our baby girl sooooo much but knew she was in good hands between all her grandparents. It was nice to not change diapers and deal with a few fits along the way, but the minute I saw those big blue eyes I knew I didn't want to leave her again for a LONG time!!

That's Right.

2011-10-11T13:09:00.000-05:00

So I hope everyone knows how much I love my Haylie...even though last night at a girls night (Mothers & Marriage's) I called her a monster in front of everyone. Yes, that's how I felt yesterday, and the day before, and possibly the one before that. Today, I am renewed.

We are obviously going through a power struggle between the almost 2 year old and Mommy. It's evident in the way she acts, tests me, pushes through boundaries and is basically the sassiest of the sassy.

Last night at M&M's, I was reminded of this key Bible verse. "Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do." Ephesians 6:1 (NLT)

Yes, my sweet girl, it's the right thing to do. It was such a perfect M&M Moment to have. Hearing of others struggles with children obeying and being defiant...and it's only going to get worse if I don't act now. I have to shape her up today...or else in 14-16 years I am really going to be kicking myself.

I can do this thing called discipline. I can be consistent, persistent and give out a spanking or three (get over it DHS, I'm not beating my child). She needs to learn that Mommy (and Daddy) is (are) the boss and boundaries are set.

Thanks for the encouragement last night, ladies of M&M's. It was SUCH a blessing and so inspirational to me at this point of my life!

This post might be just for the grandparents.

2011-10-09T22:21:00.000-05:00

Haylie hasn't just been in timeout. She has plenty of time to play and be a kid. Lately, she has been really in to putting on clothes. We watch Elmo everyday and they have kids show how to put on shoes, jackets, hats...so she's been putting on everything she can. Socks, shoes, pants and jackets. And I always hear her act like she's teaching someone else how to do it. "You put your arm in..."

Haylie wearing Justin's socks.

She's still REALLY into Elmo. Her birthday is coming up in 2 months (WHAT!) and I'm thinking an Elmo party will make her the happiest 2 year old around. Either that or stars. I know, random. She sings "Winkle, winkle, wittle star" every free second she can and will find the tinest star on anything around.

It's still warm enough in October to play in the sprinklers! Gotta love Oklahoma weather.

I don't even know where all this dirt came from (I mean, from besides outside), but she was playing hard.

And because we love Elmo so much, we have him gaze out in the backyard as a past time.

And just so I can document this monumental day, we got over 2" of rain. What a blessing for this drought crazed land!!

She's Not Even 2.

2011-10-05T22:34:00.000-05:00

This is now a familiar sight in our home.

Time out. Today I hit my limit with letting H push my buttons and making me look like a loser mom who's kid gets away with anything and everything while out in public. I tell you what - discipline and being consistent takes so much energy! I am completely drained and I only decided to buckle down at like 2pm. It sounds like I didn't do any disciplining before. I did. I promise. But I think I let her get away with some stuff that I hoped would stop by just a stern "no" or threat of time out.

Terrible two's have arrived in full force and we haven't even hit that milestone 2nd birthday. She throws stuff, she screams NO!!, she runs away, she throws fits in aisles at the store, she basically thinks she can do what she wants.

And I think this is bad? I'm wondering what I'm actually going to do with 2 kids!! Anyone want to call Supernanny for me in advance??

Or maybe we just won't go out in public. Ever again.

Traditions

2011-10-03T13:01:00.000-05:00

Last night we kind of invited ourselves over to a friend's house for a few minutes. We are very classy like that. Anyway, we walked in to the smell of popcorn! They told us that this is their Sunday night tradition for dinner and they even bought a 40 lb. bag of the kernels to do the self-pop. We both thought this was pretty cool and realized we haven't started any real traditions yet.

Growing up, I'd like to think that a semi-tradition was to have tomato soup and grilled cheese on Sunday nights where we got to eat in the living room and watch America's Funniest Home videos. I have very fond memories of doing this!!

I guess what I'm wondering is, do you and your family have any traditions that you have started (or kept up??) We ~~promise not,~~ ~~might not,~~ probably will copy them if you have any fun ones!

Let the traditions roll!

We've Decided!

2011-10-02T22:49:00.001-05:00

On a nursery theme, that is. You actually thought we had agreed on a name already? Silly, so very silly.

A little back information. Justin is obsessed with Swamp People on some discovery type channel. Since we do not have cable, he watched it on Netflix...and there are only so many episodes. Hence his sadness when we only could watch about 10 of them. Darn.

If you aren't familiar with swamp people, just imagine no teeth, no hygiene, you need subtitles to understand what in the world they are saying...all mixed with guns and gators. It. Is. Awesome. Bleh.

So my idea for the nursery was owls. They have so much out there and is soooooo cute. Justin wanted Swamp People or Pawn Stars as a theme. He's not kidding either, folks. So as a compromise, I found this as my new inspiration!

Owls AND Alligators!!! It's a match made in Etsy heaven.

Sadly, since this is our second child he will not be getting his own room. He gets to share with our guest room furniture and decor. So, I'm thinking this room won't take as much $$ as for our little Haylie.

I could be wrong though. I mean, these alligators and owls could be pretty cute.

What Bathroom Project?

2011-09-28T14:52:00.000-05:00

Lately we have been so busy! Let's see...Caramel has found a new place to get furry. She LOVES Haylie's new bed...and so does Haylie. Haylie has done really great. Staying in, not falling out, ya know, the good stuff.

We also had Haylie's good friend Ava (Va-Va) come over for a semi-sleep over! The girls did really good. Ava stayed on her trundle bed and Haylie (for the most part) stayed in her bed. They were both asleep by 9 pm after about an hour of giggling.

Haylie loves her new shoes I found her at Old Navy. So much so, that she just laid on the floor wearing them while watching Elmo. This girl loves shoes.

Oh, wait, we also have a bathroom renovation going on. Justin has been a powerhouse and working on it pretty much by himself for awhile. My contribution has been going to get the soap dish and shower shelves. Last night I finally was able to lay some tile with him, after Bug-a-boo went to sleep. This bathroom seems to be going SO much faster than our other. It might be because the tiles are a lot bigger so we can cover more footage with just one tile. Whew. We have given ourselves a deadline to get it done. October 13.

Think we'll make it? We'll find out!!

It's Big Girl Time!!

2011-09-21T22:43:00.001-05:00

We decided it was time for Haylie to move into her big girl bed - after we finally purchased a mattress (or two, since we also have a trundle). Tonight was really the best night to put it together since we had some crazy busy nights coming up. That and I think we were impatient to just get it over with.

Little Miss helping Daddy take down the crib

Testing out the bed. It's a keeper!

Foreshadowing?? Jumping on the new bed. SOO much fun!

New bedtime routine. Mommy laying with H while reading a book.

We were prepared to sit outside her room and to go in several times tonight to make sure the new bed worked out. We did put up a side rail so hopefully she won't fall out and pulled the trundle out a little so she can get up and down on her own. We said good night and left. 2 seconds after that, I heard her through the wall doing something. Justin went in and she was sitting in her chair, reading her books. He put her back in bed. About 5 minutes later, Justin went to check on her (she responds so much better to him) and she was at least ON her bed but playing with the picture above it. About 10 minutes later Justin went in to check on her and she IS ASLEEP IN HER BED!!! Goodness, I hope it goes that smoothly every night. I'm anxious to see how tomorrow morning goes...if she gets up to read her books on her own or if she cries like she has done for the last 21 months to get out of bed. I'm hopeful it's a restful night (for everyone!) and a good morning. Fingers crossed!

Sinking In...

2011-09-21T12:50:00.001-05:00

Now that the complete and utter shock of having a boy has kind of sunk in, I'm diving in full force. Names...nursery decor...cleaning out baby stuff from Haylie's closet and moving it over to guest/baby closet if gender neutral acceptable...mentally preparing myself for cars, trucks, BUGS, dirt, sports, etc...and basically having to get boy everything! Luckily, my sister and lots of friends have boys so if I ever really need something, I know I can ask them. (Like, how do I deal with that...thing?!) Everyone has said that having one of each will be awesome - and I totally agree. I'm hopeful this baby will be a little more laid back than my drama queen Haylie. I'm hopeful this baby will not scream with all his might the second he is hungry. But most of all, I'm hopeful Haylie will love her little brother so much and they will be life-long friends.

I saw this on my friend Miranda's blog and I like it (first I copy her party idea and now her blogging idea...can you tell I like how Miranda thinks?)...so here we go!!

Pregnancy Highlights:

Due Date: February 2, 2012

How far along: 21 weeks (tomorrow!)

Size of baby: the size of a carrot or banana

Gender: BOY!

Cravings: anything with cheese (pizza, french fries, nachos), soft pretzels from Target snack bar, pickles, salt & vinegar chips

Sleep: Sleeping through the night! I wake up and my bladder is screaming at me for ignoring it, but it's nice to get a full night's sleep.

Symptoms: Starting to get leg cramps but other than that, I feel GREAT!

Movement: I feel taps, kicks and punches pretty normally. I love feeling them!

Best moments: Finding out the gender of our baby. I don't think we can top that reaction for awhile!

Gender Reveal Party

2011-09-17T21:11:00.001-05:00

Today was RESULTS DAY!! I was ready but not freaking out about it...like my husband was. He kept asking, "ready to do the cupcakes yet?"

And I always said, "nope - we need to do this first."

I'm so mean.

By the way, I got all my ideas from blog-stalking via Google. Thank goodness for Google - I'd be lost.

The party was at 3 in the afternoon so we just kept it simple. Popcorn, watermelon, cupcakes and meatballs.

Our baby's pictures!

What do you think - pink or blue filling?! *Cupcakes made by Chellie*

The Poopy Diaper Game. By the way, don't microwave diapers. They tend to burn.

Team Boy

Team Girl

It's a....What?! A BOY?!?!? Wait, why is Justin falling on the floor?

After we recovered from the surprise. I accidentally spit cupcake at Justin while he was getting up from falling on the floor and then almost choked on it. Smooooth.

Name suggestions. My favorites - Bob, Nesbit & Justerin

The sign in - team girl vs team boy

Sweet Chellie got us our first baby BOY outfits!!

This party was SOOOO much fun. Seriously, the surprise and being surrounded by everyone totally beat the tech saying in a monotone voice, "it's a boy." I'm just impressed she saw the "turtle" but we never did.

Thanks everyone for coming and for indulging us in our gender party. We appreciate you, your support and excitement!

Anticipation

2011-09-15T22:40:00.000-05:00

Today was one of the busiest, yet so rewarding, of days. H and I left the house at 9:15 AM to make it to school (for her) and bible study (for me) on time! She is doing really well with the school deal. When I drop her off, there are no tears whatsoever. When I come back, there are sometimes a few tears, but I can handle that because I can love on her and take her home. I'm off track. So off to bible study, left that a few minutes early to make it to lunch with two friends from my old work. Leave, go get Justin some lunch, go get Justin, go to the doctor's office where we sit for 2 seconds and then we are whisked back to the ultrasound room.

Pause.

The next 20 minutes are so enjoyable - it makes my day complete. We told the tech we didn't want to know, but to please put the gender of the baby in an envelope. I saw on Katie's blog how Lauren did her party and my friend Miranda did a party as well. I thought that was a fun and a special way to announce to friends and family what our baby is instead of via text message like we did for H. So we get to see our baby move, yawn, stick it's thumb up...and the very real beating of the heart. God is SO good. Anyway, the tech was great - she didn't even tell my DR so she wouldn't slip and we would find out.

Fast forward again - off to drop Justin off at work, go to the bank, go pick up H from school (insert tears {from H}here). Stop, get gas, get McDonald's cookies, head down to MWC to give secret baby info to friend Chellie who offered to make our cake/cupcakes (whatever she decides). Stay there for about an hour or so, come home at 4:45 PM.

Exhausted yet? I am. Add in cooking dinner, creating family facebook page, cleaning bathroom and laundry.

This day is finally over. As much as we fit in, I loved every second of it (well except for the cleaning and laundry)!! I absolutely can not wait for Saturday to find out what we are having. It's weird that one of my good friends knows...but won't tell me. But the fun and anticipation of the party is hopefully all worth it!!

Sneak Peak

2011-09-14T13:14:00.000-05:00

We still have 4.5 months to prepare for the new baby coming in February, but we have decided to go ahead and start transitioning Haylie to a "big girl room." We bought a beautiful daybed and trundle from my cousin and I found the bedding last weekend! So, with my main inspiration in hand, off I went to several stores on Tuesday while Haylie was in school. The deal of the day??

This lampshade that goes perfectly. I about cried when I found it and cried even harder when I was told the price was under $5. It will be an easy trade out for the rather-dull lamp shade currently in her room. I wanted to come home and re-do her room that night...but I gotta pace myself!!! After I bought several things, I think the tally came to under $50 (even curtains...that match perfectly)!! Everything I got was clearanced out or on discount. Ahh. Have I mentioned lately that I love good deals?! When I get her room done (it might be awhile...we have some other projects going on), I'll post pictures of it. Until then, just gaze lovingly at this lampshade like I'm sure I will be doing for the next month or so.

A Party for Andrew

2011-09-13T13:20:00.002-05:00

This past weekend my Dad's side of the family came up because we had a big reason to celebrate! My cousin Andrew has spent the last year in Afghanistan working as a air-traffic controller (I don't know his official title...but I'm sure that's close.) Anyway, it was great to see my grandparents, two of my aunts and cousins this Saturday! We are really proud of Andrew and the service he provides for our country in the National Guard. It only seems fitting that we had the party on September 10, the day before 9/11. I doubt that was part of the planning...but anyway, it seemed to fit.

Great-grampa with the Peterson girl's kids!

Great-gramma with Little Miss E

The reason for the party - cousin Andrew

Andrew and his sweet wife, Karissa

Isn't my niece adorable?!

The matching t-shirt triplets

So during the party, we were noticing all these bee's. My parents NEVER have a problem with this so we were really wondering what this was all about. Well, several hours after most everyone leaves, we notice the hummingbird feeder is the new "hive." Gross!! Lesson for all you hummingbird lovers out there - don't let the nectar get too hot and ferment!

It's Cool To Be Thrifty

2011-09-12T12:47:00.001-05:00

Or at least I think so. I don't care who you are, kids consignment sales are awesome. Look at all this stuff I got for Haylie this past weekend at the Pass It On sale!!!!

I'm going to break it down for you just so you see how far you can stretch a dollar.

1 Elmo
1 guitar

13 books

1 truck

1 pr of boots

4 sunglasses

3 necklaces

3 bracelets

2 purses

1 pj's

2 jackets (1 winter, 1 raincoat)

9 pants

2 dresses

2 skirts

1 sweater

1 long-sleeved t-shirt

7 pr of socks

1 hat

1 pr of gloves

twin sized quilt & two shams for Haylie's big girl bed!!!

All for less than $90 (which sounds like a lot, but think about how much I would pay retail.)

And everything is washable or Lysol-able so who cares if it's second hand. Haylie sure doesn't.

And it begins...

2011-09-09T12:52:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was Haylie's first day of Sonshine School. She has no clue what was about to happen that day or why she had a lunch box.

Apparently I'm in love with this new blue color. You can't even see her backpack/lunchbox. It blends in!

She's such a pretty girl (I'm biased, I know). Look at her hair! It's actually out of her face!

Crying all the way to school. She now hates being in her carseat...so even if we are going somewhere fun it's a major fight getting her there safely.

Oh wait. As soon as we pull into the parking lot to school, she pulls her hair out. Sweet.

But then she refuses to get out of the car.

Mop top Haylie right outside her classroom!

I worried and thought about her all day. Hoping she would nap, not get kicked out on her first day and would actually eat something during lunch time. She did GREAT!! She napped the whole designated nap time and had no tears all day until I came to pick her up. I can't say I didn't bawl as soon as I got back to my car kid-free, but I quickly snapped out of it so I could go do some fun stuff...like grocery shopping. Yes, I think I'm going to LOVE Sonshine School. And she will too!!!

Our Labor Day Retreat

2011-09-06T22:12:00.005-05:00

For the long weekend, we went to Columbia, MO to visit Justin's family. Turns out we were just in time for a birthday party for the nephews (which I have no pictures from...eh, I suck as an aunt.) Even though it's about a 7 hour trip made longer with an almost 2 year old...we still had a great weekend!

Hmm, is there something on my neck? Like 14 princess stickers?

I need something else so I can fall asleep. My pillow, blanket, Elmo, teddy bear, Elmo cell phone, water cup, paci and blanket just don't seem to be enough...

At the party, we got great use of Jagger and Cash's birthday present. Haylie played on this thing for-EVER! Her little cheeks were so pink and sweat was just pouring off her. Gross.

Cheese...

Good thing Jagger and Cash's house is so cool. Cousin Wren found this in the garage and Haylie and Papa took a few walks around the cul-de-sac.

Papa and Grandma's house is pretty cool too. Haylie got to take her first 4-wheeler ride. She was a little nervous (so was her momma!) but she still had a good time.

It's always great to go to Missouri. The drive is never fun with our Bug-Face, no matter how hard we try to be prepared. But the time spent with family is priceless!

We have time for fun too.

2011-08-30T21:27:00.001-05:00

We aren't just working on the house all the time around here.

We have time for stretches and a few workouts in Mommy's shoes.

We have time to draw on our face.

We have time to sort paperclips...the new favorite game.

And we have time to watch some Elmo - our new best friend.

Haylie is getting to be more fun every day. She went to her friend Brixton's house and fell in love with "Melmo" last week. I went and got her one at a consignment sale (the next day, whew) and she loves him!! This is the first time she has shown an attachment to something other than her bears (which, I lost one the same day we got Elmo. So far, she hasn't noticed. Again, whew.) She repeats everything you say and can recognize 21 of the 26 alphabet letters. If she is starts to get upset, she goes through her list of names - Mommy, Daddy, Mimi, Umpy...I guess to see who is around to come hug her. And never fear, if she hears a phone ring, chime, ding, etc., she immediately calls out, "I'll get it!!"

What I will be doing tomorrow.

2011-08-28T20:53:00.001-05:00

Dusting. And hopefully removing the toilet from my front porch.

I was embarrassed when people came over.

2011-08-23T20:38:00.000-05:00

Because my porch is in need of a makeover. And I love me a good makeover. So, my mom found this bench at a garage sale for like, $10 a year ago. I spray painted it black and found these...pillows...on clearance at Lowe's. They didn't fit, but I kept them anyway. The bottom pillow was flimsy and you felt like you were about to fall through. So...off to the fabric store I went.

Pathetic. I know.

After spending a bit more than I expected (do you know how much FOAM costs????) I finally set to work. I stayed up way too late and even gave up a nap. Now, I can use a staple gun but a sewing machine? We have had some fights in the past.

So after a few hours and thankfully not having to figure out how to "wind a bobbin", I put together these pillows!! Just don't look too close at the hand stitching - it's terrible. Looks much better, yes??

I LOVE IT!!! Now that you don't fall through the bottom when sitting on our bench, I feel much better. Now to work on my door wreath and other corner of the porch. I might just have to wait for when it's less than 100 degrees out.

Memory Lane

2011-08-18T12:54:00.000-05:00

My 10-year reunion from high school is this weekend.

I can't believe I've been out of H.S. for 10 years. I can't believe I've been married for (almost) 5...I have been a mother for 2...and that I will have TWO kids in less than another year.

What?!

It seems surreal that 10 years ago, I was walking in the hallways with my BFF's, thinking about prom, going to band practice (yes, I just admitted that on the internet), discussing boys and how dumb/great they were, wondering about college and basically not realizing that the next chapter of our lives would take us in so many directions.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to go back to PA for the reunion. Time and money are a factor, but I'm unsure whether I want to go back. Would they remember my bomb of a year as Sophomore Class President, I actually was in band, that I loved algebra but almost flunked out of geometry, that I passed out after my social studies final exam due to period cramps in the hallway, had a major issue with bad bangs/haircuts, braces, glasses & sweaty armpits, and ~~was~~ is a really big dork?

It really doesn't matter if they did. All of those things made me who I am today, which I am slowly accepting. :)

Yes, I definitely would LOVE to see a handful of people who really helped shape me and my personality. But there will be a time for that later. At least I hope so.

As a momento of my life in Pennsylvania, here is the house where I lived for eight years. I loved this house, the yard, the friends who came over, the fact that my best friend Mikey lived across the way within walking distance. Except imagine it wasn't an ugly yellow. It was gray with red trim.

Thanks PA for (mostly) great memories. I miss you.

Dave, my Hero

2011-08-16T14:33:00.002-05:00

It's that time of year again, people. Dave Ramsey is set to gazelle into our Sunday afternoons for the next 13 weeks. I love this time of year. I love getting to be reminded that I can help control the money that is coming in instead of letting it control me. I know that we have a plan for any emergency - big or small - and that Haylie's college is on it's way to being saved for. I love, Love, LOVE that we have no debt (minus the house) and haven't for a couple of years now. Financially, we live a pretty peaceful life. And you can too, if you are open to some tips from a pretty funny financial expert. Trust me, it's not all fun and games and anyone who tells you that is crazy. There are times when we have to say no instead of yes or eat at home instead of out with friends. Don't let the phrase "13 weeks" scare you. It will honestly change your life. For more info & to sign up for the class, go to http://www.mrcc.org/.

Da Hood...and Da Floor

2011-08-14T22:01:00.002-05:00

Now you see it...

Now you don't!!

Some people were a fan of this vent hood, I however, was not. It was right in your face and you had to do a dance around the kitchen when talking with others. Justin and I decided Saturday that there are some projects around the house that NEED to get done before baby #2 comes and to kick-start those...down comes the hood! It just took a short hour of (Justin's) time.

Then today we decided it was time to remove the lovely peel and stick floor. I have had an issue with this floor since we moved in. Some of the "tiles" were just floating on top of the concrete and were SUCH a pain to try to clean.

GONE!!!!! We will actually have to live with the concrete floor for a little while until we get some other things demo-ed, but you know, I really don't mind. It looks better already. :)

Justin is awesome - he worked on this floor ALL day. I helped take up the tiles (they literally popped up - so easy) but there was a residue on the floor. Since he was using some pretty potent chemicals, I had to go in the other room and nap. But later, Haylie and I actually left because of some other chemicals that were much stronger. It stinks not being able to be in your own house, but this is totally worth it. More to come, I'm sure!

Party Time

2011-08-13T21:49:00.000-05:00

This messy-haired girl...

wants to wish her favorite cousin-named-Eli a happy 5th birthday!!!

Today we celebrated in Robot Style (per Eli's choice). Once again, my sister was very creative and had the cutest decorations!

I think he liked his robot t-shirt!

Delicious robot cake

Party favors!

Eli also wanted a pinata...

So he got one!

We had a really good time at my sister's in-laws house even though I dropped my whole glass of lemonade, Haylie burned her feet, we got pizza all over her tablecloth and just basically destroyed their house in every way imaginable. We might not get an invite back...

But thanks for inviting us - we had a great time. Happy 5th birthday sweet Eli!!

My kid is a genius

2011-08-10T21:35:00.000-05:00

20 months and already counting (still working on 8) to 10!!

Souvenirs

2011-08-09T20:09:00.000-05:00

So I didn't mention that for an awesome souvenir from the beach, I caught a nasty coughing virus on the second to last day. This made my last beach day almost non-existent while I slept (or tried to) the day away. With being pregnant, I can't take much medicine and all I really wanted to do was chug some alcohol-included cough syrup to make me sleep. But since my baby's health is at stake, I thoughtfully put the NyQuil back and got the recommended syrup.

Today I had an appointment with my OB. Justin wasn't able to make it and I couldn't find a babysitter, so I hyped myself up and thought I could totally take energy-crazed Haylie with me - no problem. This is something I will never do again. Every stop on the elevator made for a quick escape, she had about 3 tantrums in the first waiting room, walked into the glass center table in the second waiting room, wouldn't stop crying after that (not even my awesome singing helped!! What?!), was so enamored with the light that looks you know where, the Hazardous cabinet was her second fascination, decided she didn't want to be put down...I could go on. Needless to say, with my virus, lack of patience and my daughter who desperately wanted a nap, I'm not thinking we will be attempting any solo doctors visits again.

But, the visit ended well when my beautiful, wonderful, favorite doctor prescribed me some cough syrup with codeine in it to help me sleep tonight. Yes, that went wonderfully well.

At the Beach

2011-08-08T19:57:00.000-05:00

Missed me? We just got back from a glorious week at the beach with Justin's family. We went to Topsail Island, NC (google it because even if I tried to tell you where it was, you wouldn't know) and spent time on the beach, shopping, laughing, running away from creepy crabs, and just being ultimately lazy. It was Haylie's first time to fly in an airplane, first time at the ocean, first time to be away from home for a whole week. She did really good - minus the airplane. She actually was so excited that she was like a kid in a candy store touching everything in a matter of 20 minutes and then repeating throughout the whole 3 hour flight. Even though she is under 2, I really wished we would have gotten her her own seat. She was EVERYWHERE and hard to contain. Oh well, we survived but probably won't be flying anywhere anytime soon!

The Berkely/Cornell Family

Mommy and Haylie entertaining ourselves on the flight

Our home away from home - we rented both sides!

Fun times on the beach with cousins and Daddy

That raft was our lifesaver with H!

Love Italian Ice on the beach

Kisses

Papa and Gma with grandkids!

Goofy brothers

SUCH a great week...I really love this tradition and look forward to many more years with the fam. For more fun photos of our trip, check out Brei's blog...and then leave her a comment and tell her to start a photography business because her pictures are amazing.

Bestest Cousins

2011-07-25T14:13:00.000-05:00

They were both in heaven...just being together.

An Emotional Train Wreck

2011-07-24T20:36:00.000-05:00

So far this pregnancy has been completely different from when I was pregnant with Haylie. With Haylie, I was sick 24/7 for the first trimester, then craved watermelon and Diet Coke like it was my job. With this pregnancy and Baby 2, I haven't been sick at all (thankfully!) but I have been ridiculously tired where I literally have to take naps every day (and will probably continue for awhile). I am also so hungry but the majority of the time, nothing sounds good and then I feel sick from hunger. When I do want something, it's very specific. Like sushi, peachy-o's, peaches, salt and vinegar kettle chips, fried chicken, pizza...my list gets longer and more diverse every day. And it's mostly junk.

Starting the 12th week (this past Thursday) has had it's ups and downs. When I drink soda, it makes my stomach hurt and feel like I want to vomit. And not to mention...an emotional bomb has apparently dropped on me. All weekend I have been susceptible to spontaneously erupting into serious tears. Just one little thing can set me off and it's downhill from there. I'm not sure where this came from or why it's just now happening, but I feel sorry for anyone who crosses my path!! Take this as your warning...

I've also been really bad about documenting things. With Haylie, I have this book called "The Belly Book" where I could document feelings, current events, pictures of the growing belly, etc. It's so cute and I had every intention of getting one for baby 2, but so far, I have yet to purchase one. If I never get around to it, I'll just hide Haylie's just so Baby 2 doesn't feel left out. That's fair, right?

It's Zoo Time!

2011-07-20T22:03:00.000-05:00

Today we braved the heat with our friends Erin and Liesel and had a really good time. Our zoo is phenomenal and has so many fun things for little ones to enjoy. We just got our elephants back so that's always a must see. This time we got to see them a lot closer than usual.

The baby is laying between the mom and aunt.

Then off to the splash park in the Children's Zoo! This is always a highlight for H.

And then to end the morning, a quick swing at the playground.

Fun day! If it weren't so dang hot, we'd be here a lot more.

Retail Therapy

2011-07-18T20:43:00.000-05:00

So I love being thrifty, especially when I can find things that I want or just need to have! I've learned that not always paying retail price is the way to go. I'm not sure if that's something that was passed down to me or something I've had to learn going from two incomes to one. Either way, here are a few places around Edmond that are always good for a look.

Consigning Sisters - this cute clothing shop is definitely not an awesome place to actually consign your own clothes (weird customer service) but EVERY time I go in there, I find something I like! The prices are about 50 - 75% off retail and are (mostly) name brand clothing. You can't really go in looking for something specific though - odds are you won't find it.

HopeFully Yours - this is a great place because it serves a great cause. All proceeds go to fund the Hope Prenatal/OB clinic and to buy staples in the food packages for clients. They have good prices on clothes as well as maybe some household items too.

I recently had some great luck at Goodwill too! I needed to get a few more items for Haylie before the next consignment sales and I'm too cheap to buy new! I found over 9 new shirts, a game and 3 books for less than $20. You can't beat that at Target.

I know some people aren't into buying second hand. To each his (her) own...but I'd rather save a buck or two - especially on the kid since her sizes and interests in toys are changing so frequently lately!!

Happy shopping!

A Day for Missions

2011-07-17T20:55:00.000-05:00

It's never a good thing when you are sitting in church, just passed your kid off to a friend and notice a big wet spot on your skirt. Awesome. I guess we soaked up every last inch of that diaper and then some!! Anyway, today our church had a wonderful church service. Once a year, we have everyone meet at the same time (we normally have to have 2 services) and although it's tight, it's awesome. We have one contribution where everything goes towards missions for one whole year. Although this year we were a little short (less than $1,000) of the $655,000, God is so good!! Our church does wonderful things with all the funds it gives to missions all over the world. I still think each year the goal is an enormous number. My church back in DE would die to have that in a total of 5 years as a budget, not just one day of giving. We have an amazing group of believers who are undeniably self-less when it comes to missions. I am so proud to be a part of an amazing church.

I cried not once, twice, or even three times today. I was just a steady flow of tears. I was borderline with a nasty cry. I think it started with the two baptisms, then the videos of children singing, then the sight of our own MRCC kids singing in another language. Justin got a good picture. I think this is about the time where I came back in with Haylie for the third time.

Yep, it's packed!

Anyway, it has been a great but very busy weekend. I'm ready for Monday to just relax a little. Maybe it will get below 102 degrees? I can only wish. I didn't know I was now living in the Sahara Desert.

Old Friends

2011-07-12T20:59:00.001-05:00

This past weekend we went on a roadtrip to Wichita, KS to see one of my oldest friends ever. The Bonds, known as Ryan, Katie, Coralie & Madeline, welcomed us to their home and we just had a very relaxing weekend. Their friendship is great to us - I feel like even though we don't see each other all the time, we can pick up exactly where we left off!

Katie and I met when we were, what, 5 years old? Our parents became instant best friends when we moved to Delaware and therefore, we had no other option. We didn't mind though - we had so much fun when we were little girls. We spent summers, church vacations, family vacations, and weekends together. Mostly, we just annoyed our big sisters by being so cool. Our families were inseperable...until Katie's family moved away by a job transfer. I'm very proud that Katie and I have kept in contact over the years, thanks to email and most recently Facebook and blogs.

Here is the second (third?) generation of the Cornett/Peterson best friends in the making.

While we had a fun weekend, we were not without a time out or two. This is the face she makes while in time out...I'm sorry we annoyed you so.

But I think the ~~worst~~ best part of the weekend was when Justin discovered their new Honda Odyssey. I think he fell in love and now thinks we should own one. I have a HUGE mental block when it comes to owning a mini-van, but riding in a few lately, I might be swayed...with a lot of convincing. I do admit it would be nice to have more room, and to me, this one doesn't look exactly like a van...but who knows what will happen?!

Thanks Bonds for the great weekend. Please come to Oklahoma soon!!

The Worm

2011-07-09T20:59:00.003-05:00

"The Worm" is my new nickname that the Hubby has given me. Endearing, I know.

It all started with "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers recommended by my friend Amy. This book is AMAZING and left me in tears several times. It's the fiction version of the biblical book of Hosea, where a man marries a prosititute (led by God) and the trials of that relationship. This book will definitely give you a new outlook on love for your spouse and love for God.

Next was "Something Borrowed" by Emily Giffin. This is the same book that is based on the movie. Haven't seen the movie, but I was disappointed by the book. It was a lot of sex, scandal and back-stabbing. You do want love to prevail at the end, but I think it's a horrible way to get there. After I finish with my current trilogy, I will be reading "Something Blue" which is the sequal. I'm willing to give it a shot. Hopefully to redeem the first one.

But right now, I'm completely obsessed with "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. I read the first of the trilogy in a couple of days. It is intense, it is gory, but it is good. You are rooting for Katniss, the main character and are just hoping her strength prevails. It's a book in the future, with the current state of North America completely obliterated and all that remains is the Capitol and 12 districts surrounding it. There was a 13th, but that district had an uprising and was taken out by the Capitol. To ensure the people of Panem don't forget who is in charge, they hold the Hunger Games in which 1 boy and 1 girl from each district are taken to an arena to fight to the death. Currently I'm in the middle of the middle book and I have the last one to get to. P.S. It is much better than Twilight. You heard me.

In between a few of those, I read "Ever After" which is based exactly on the movie. It was a good, simple read that I picked up at a garage sale. I wouldn't immediately rent it from your local library, but if you are ever needing something to read and it comes your way, I'd give it a chance.

I'm off to worm it up. I've got to finish that trilogy!!

The Funniest Kid Ever

2011-07-07T20:35:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile (in my mind at least) since I've had a "Haylie" post. She is getting pretty hysterical to be around lately. She's been putting things down her shirt...like small bubble containers that make her look...boyish.

She insists on feeding herself with "adult" utensils, no plastic baby forks allowed!! Once she gets out of her highchair, she climbs immediately into another chair at the table and wants to eat whatever is there.

She still has the paci, but can go longer stretches without it. Thank the good Lord.

Every morning, she gives you everything out of her crib - 2 blankets, 2 bears, 1 pillow before she herself will get out. It all has to go on the floor or else she will come back later and cry until you help her get them out of her crib.

She says, "Ohhhh, okay!" or, "Ohhhh, noooo."

Time out has become interesting - the other day Justin put her in time out and she usually screams and cries the whole time. This last time, she just stood there in the same place with a smirk on her face.

She can unlock child locks.

Whenever she talks to Caramel the cat, she says in a really high pitched voice, "Hiiiiiiii! Hii Co-co!!" She LOVES Caramel and is so excited to see her every. single. time. She is totally my daughter.

When she is "on the phone," pretending to talk to someone, she starts out saying "Hi" and then ends her conversation with a "Bye" and puts her finger on the phone like she is clicking the button to hang up.

My mom is trying to teach her sign language for "I love you". She can't get the hang of the finger position, so she just crosses her first two fingers and points them in your direction. That's her version of I love you.

Haircuts!

2011-07-02T21:12:00.000-05:00

My mom, sister and I decided yesterday to take a day trip up to Enid to see my fabulous Aunt Barbara. We left early so we could meet for brunch and then off to see her cute beauty shop where she works. This is my first time to see it - it's been a long time since I've been back to Enid. I need to go more often just to see my Aunt B. All of the girls - all 5 of us! - got hair cuts. My sweet niece Evie got hers cut for the first time. My mop top kid Haylie got hers trimmed, even though it will still be twirled around her paci much to my dismay. Here are some pics of Haylie's cut. I didn't get any before or afters of the adult cuts...that would have required thinking ahead.

All done! First time to get a lollipop reward for sitting so still!

Thanks Aunt Barbara for your generosity today! We had a lot of fun. Hope to see you again soon!!

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

2011-06-29T21:32:00.000-05:00

I have no words for this photo...just laughter. Can someone come up with a good caption??

FAQ's: Pregnancy Edition

2011-06-27T20:21:00.000-05:00

This big girl diva...

is going to be a big sister!!

And she has no idea that her world is going to flip upside down in a less than a year. I've already been asked a lot of questions, so here are some FAQ's that I'd like to answer.

Q: How far along are you?
A: Are you asking me or my doctor? I'm 9 weeks according to my calendar, I'm 8ish according to hers. I'm totally right.

Q: How are you feeling?
A: Believe it or not, I just feel HUNGRY. 24/7. I haven't been sick but I can get so hungry that I do feel nauseous. The other day I polished off half a pizza in about 5 minutes flat. Oh, that and unbelieveably tired. If you call me during the hours of 12-2, you will get my voicemail. Because I am taking my daily nap.

Q: Was this planned?
A: Very much so, although this pregnancy was achieved a lot faster than last go-round. (Praise God!!)

Q: Are you excited?
A: Um, YES!!!!!!! I'm also nervous, though. I barely can parent one child...the thought of two is a little daunting.

Q: Do you want a boy or a girl?
A: I'd gladly take either! I think 2 girls would be super fun, but an All-American family (1 boy, 1 girl) would be awesome too.

I put it on Facebook today, so this might be "old news" to some. But that's okay, I don't care. Cuz I'm pregnant!!

Grandparents Weekend!

2011-06-22T20:43:00.002-05:00

Like I said in my previous post, Justin's parents came for a visit last weekend. We had lots of fun and kept seriously busy. There is no sitting around with these two (but we are okay with that!) We went to the zoo, shopping, garage sale-ing, house decorating, fan hanging, car fixing...you name it, we probably did it.

Haylie had so much fun with them and can't wait for them to come back! She loves her Grandma and Papa Cornell. So do we!!

Before & After: Guest Room

2011-06-21T20:29:00.001-05:00

This is a pretty bare picture of before but it seems to be all I have. Anyway, this room has been untouched since we moved in last year. We put a little furniture in it to help, but the walls were dirty, the valence was horrid and the light would flicker like you were in a haunted house when you turned it on. (Look at how little H was when we moved!!! Oh my.)

So this past weekend, Justin's parents came to visit. On Sunday night (4 days before their arrival), Justin said he thought we should put up a ceiling fan in that room. Okay - no big deal. Then that turns into painting as well. Alllright. We go to Lowe's and within 20 minutes, we have a fan and paint picked out, ready to go. It's called "Going Gray" by Olympic and I love, love, love it. Gray is my new favorite color so of course I was ecstatic that he agreed with me on this color!

We ran into a few snags with the ceiling fan - mostly that our ceiling drywall started to crumble and break off so that was a big set back in the actual hanging. We just let that be a project for Justin and his dad - since Dan loves to be busy!

So...dun dun dun...here is the after!

I'm still working on all the decor - that usually takes me awhile to really figure out the way I like it. But at least now all rooms in our house have been painted - no more peach!!!

She's a Beauty!

2011-06-20T20:23:00.000-05:00

I think Haylie was just feeling neglected on this blog because as soon as I blog about the woe's of her naptime, she starts acting better. Not perfect, but better. I'll take anything.

Anyway, about 2 weeks ago we got Haylie's 18 month pictures taken by Lesley Proctor Photography. We went to an old building in downtown Edmond and although Haylie was cranky, Lesley was able to get some good ones!!

I don't know what to do with Haylie's hair, ever. It's all over the place and she won't keep anything in it for long. It's her signature look I guess!

Tantrums

2011-06-14T22:06:00.000-05:00

My mother reminded me tonight that I have a blog. Yes, I know this. But, there has been a reason I haven't had something thoughtful, nice or witty to say.

Oh, you might think it's sweet and cute that mommy and baby are taking a little nap together, but the before events are what you would shake your head at.

In the last few days, Haylie has become demon possessed at nap/sleep time. I wish I were joking, but she has started screaming, thrashing, arching of the back, hitting, drooling, etc. to not have me leave her alone to sleep. The first day I laid down with her and she went right to sleep. The next day, I did the same thing because I couldn't stand to hear her cry so...violently. But then I realized that that probably wasn't so healthy to start so I am back to just listening to her sob. It breaks my heart but I know this is the best thing to do - right?! Today was another rough day when she went to sleep relatively quickly but then woke up after an hour to only throw the biggest tantrum of her life.

*sigh*

I wanted to throw in the towel today on motherhood. I apparently went from having a sweet, calm, go-to-sleep-on-her-own to a daughter that I just might need to call a priest for an exorcism.

This too shall pass, right? I want my sweet baby girl back!!

You've Got a Minute To Win It...

2011-06-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

Uh oh. This guy turns the big 3-0 today! To celebrate, we had a gathering of friends and a few Minute to Win It games.

Here is Miss Princess getting ready for the party.

And who needs to be cute when there is a pool to splash in - fully clothed! (Good thing I waited all day to put her in that super cute outfit for it to get soaking wet in the first 20 minutes. Sigh.)

So Justin wanted to play some Minute to Win It games at the party. I had a fun time trying to find some good, fun ones and scoured the internet for others who did a party like this. I found most of my inspiration at The Picky Apple.

I had couples pair up and pick a team name. We then played 7 games - Bottoms Up, Face the Cookie, Stick the Landing, Penny Hose, Separation Anxiety, Paper Dragon and Tipsy. I wish I had pictures, but of course every bloggers nightmare happened and our camera battery died. Most everyone was saying how easy these games seemed, but surprisingly not many made it within the 60 second time limit. The best time got 3 points, the next got 2 and the third best time (if we got that many) got 1 point. Then the winner got the grand prize! (Which were some awesome do & don't pregnancy/child raising books. Hey, I just needed to find them a new home. They are actually pretty funny.)

The Tall Guys section

During all this excitement, Haylie and B had their first cookie date.

I wish I had fun pictures of everyone participating, but oh well. We got it on video camera instead!!! I had a good time and I hope everyone else did too. It would have bombed if our friends weren't willing to cut loose and have a little fun at their own expense. :)

After everyone went home, our friends Tim & Krystal were staying with us and we had some more fun with Just Dance 2 on the Wii. I'm really intense on this game. I heart it.

My hair always looks like this but this time I have a reason. I threw a party for the hubs and played some serious rounds of Just Dance. I'll worry about a comb later.

Happy 30th Justin!!!

Just the Two of Them

2011-06-03T12:35:00.000-05:00

This photo didn't warrant it's own post (or does it?) but it's too funny not to share. Side pony-tail, no shirt, one shoe. That's the way we rock it at our house. Or just Haylie.

Moving on. So last weekend when I got some free time for shopping, Justin and Haylie decided to go visit Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Cornell in Neosho. I was a little hesitant about Justin going on a 4 hour car-ride by himself with our little yeller, but hey, it would be him - not me.

They had a good time though! Miss H is not happy unless she has several strands of hair in/near her mouth. Maybe we should get this checked out?

Great-Grandpa and Haylie

Two beautiful ladies!

Ahh, back home. You don't even want to know what she is sitting on.

So, since he is fully capable of handling Haylie for 3 whole days, I see more girls trips in my future. Hooray!

All By Ourselves

2011-05-31T20:30:00.000-05:00

This past Memorial Day weekend, a few girls from my rockin' small group at church decided to take a trip to the Frisco/Dallas, TX area. We had to get approval from all the hubbys to make sure our children would be taken care of and surprisingly, we got the okay to go. I was actually really surprised that we actually went. Sometimes girls trips usually get talked about, but never happen. Not this time!

There were 5 of us with 2 babies. We loaded up in a mini-van and headed out of town. Once down there we hit IKEA and Sam Moon. I could have spent all my time in both, but we only had half a day. I was hoping to buy more accessories for my house, but didn't find as much as I thought at IKEA.

Sunday we were lazy and skipped church (don't tell anyone) and went shopping at the Allen Outlet Stores...all day. We went the entire way around the loop of stores and shopped til we dropped. I swore to myself that I would never buy anything from Coach because it's so expensive, but I found this little number for...$20!!! It's a little wristlet and perfect!! This picture just doesn't do it justice on how cute it really is.

After the outlets, we went to Home Goods/TJ Maxx. I was thoroughly dissapointed with Home Goods. I thought they would have way better prices and instead was just the "home" section of TJ Maxx blown up to a whole store. So sad.

Monday we checked out of the hotel and went to the mall. Not much shopping there though and soon we were on the road back to OKC.

We had a good time, stayed up way too late talking, got some time to bond, hated on our hotel staff who were so rude to us, didn't take any pictures and took turns with the babies. My friend Tara and I might have even come up with a good money making idea...you'll just have to wait and see.

Thanks friends for an awesome time! Who's in for next year?!

Part 2

2011-05-26T21:27:00.001-05:00

Part 2 started right after Part 1 (duh) and we were on the road to Grove, OK for Justin's cousin's wedding. It was a 3 hour ride and a perfect time for a nap.

Stephanie was just beautiful. I saw her walk down the aisle and then let Justin sit and enjoy it as I raced around with Haylie. She was not about to sit still any longer.

At the reception with Great-Grandma Cornell.

Love this girl!!

Part 1

2011-05-25T21:27:00.001-05:00

I used to be so good at blogging - especially right after an important event happened. Well, last Saturday we had a whirl-wind of a day and Part 1 started out with my sweet niece's 1st birthday party. We were only there for about 15 minutes of the party because of Part 2, but we got to at least see her for a little bit!!

My sister did a phenomenal job with the party. And delicious party favors too!

Happy 1st birthday sweet Evie (a week late)! I can't believe you are already one. Love you and that blue twizzler face!!

2011-05-23T12:04:00.000-05:00

I'm finally cooling off. And not just because it's 95 degrees outside and it still technically the morning...it's because today we were going to have a fun morning with our friends Erin & Liesel at the zoo...and it turned out to be a scream fest. I love my little girl to pieces but she can be so frustrating. My first mistake was letting her out of the stroller because she kept whining. She wanted to walk, but not at our pace so it made it unbearably slow. She got tired, so she wanted me to carry her. I try to put her back in the stroller but alas, that's when the tantrum began. So, to avoid looking like the crappiest mother of the year, I carried her to keep her quiet. Finally my arms are burning from her weight and I am sweating in places that shouldn't sweat. I try to wrestle her back in the stroller. Her world comes crashing down and she loses it. Screaming, crying, thrashing, hitting, you name it. Some woman in too loud pants walked by and casually commented, "they never want to go back in once they get out of the stroller." Thanks lady. You just keep walking.

Since we were at the furthest point from the exit, we had to endure the screaming and crying all the way back to the entrance. I got several looks, but honestly, I just kept walking and acted like nothing was going on. She finally fell asleep as we were leaving.

I know she was tired, and she was probably hot. But she wouldn't drink her water or just lay back to relax. I basically have no idea how to handle this and/or discipline in public. It might help to figure it out since this happens almost every single time we go out and do something fun. I don't want to be scared of my child's tantrums but at the same time I don't want her to ruin all the fun things we could be doing with friends.

You know you have some advice. I'm askin' for it.

Heaven

2011-05-18T21:19:00.001-05:00

Has anyone read this book? Let's just say I got the book on Tuesday and I finished it today. That's right, 2 days. It's not a long book, but it is very captivating. In case you haven't heard about it, it's about a 4 year old who gets very sick and he later tells his family that he has experienced Heaven. It's powerful; it's moving. It makes you want to believe everything this 4 year old says. That he met Jesus as soon as he went up into Heaven. That he was able to meet his sister who was miscarried before he was even born. He also met his Pop who died a decade before he was born. I can't even go into all the details about this book because it's simply amazing and you should read it for yourself. Did it really happen? I don't know. But I want to believe that it did. Because now I can get a glimpse of what Heaven might really be like - from the best way possible. Like a child.

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” - Mark 10:15

Take me out to the ball game

2011-05-16T22:04:00.002-05:00

We got to enjoy a ball game this past weekend when we went to the Bricktown Ballpark to watch Mark Harmon and his baseball team play against another local team. Mark Harmon is the star of NCIS and is apparently pretty popular. It was fun to see a bunch of old(er) men play baseball, but the cooler fact was that the proceeds went in part to the Ronald McDonald house, where my mom works.

Mark Harmon in all his baseball glory...bright blue shoes?!

The cool girls wear hats...Haylie...

It was Haylie's first experience at a baseball game and she was less than excited. She wanted to just eat her yogurt melts and wimper. That girl is so silly.

Jackpot!

2011-05-15T21:29:00.001-05:00

I have something to say just so I can drive my father in law crazy...

Best Garage Sale Find...EVER!!!

I found this sweet chair and ottoman that is just perfect for Haylie! It's actually a rocker. She's going to love it since she wants to sit in every chair possible. Now she finally has her own that isn't a carseat or high chair.

Saturday we had quite the adventure garage sale-ing. My mom and I went to quite a few with some pretty good finds (like a lady who let me fill a bag for $5), but alas at one sale we accidentally locked the keys in the car. She has OnStar, but for some reason they weren't able to unlock remotely so we had to wait for "Auto Rescue." 45 minutes later he came...thankfully the sale across the street had some hotdogs to curb our hunger. We got to people watch and bask in the sunlight. Needless to say, after that we made sure we left the windows a little down and had the keys with us...ya know, just in case.

A Bathroom to Be Proud Of

2011-05-14T21:20:00.000-05:00

Remember the before pictures that I thought already looked so much better after we did a little wall paper removal? (This is the jungle themed bath in that post) Well, now that we have completely re-done the whole thing, I see now it's a MAJOR improvement! We still have a few things to do, like find a mirror, shower curtain, etc., but that's cosmetic and I want to make sure I find something I love.

This bathroom was a lot more work than what we anticipated, but honestly it all paid off. And I'm pumped to have a brand new toilet. It just feels...clean. Justin is a renovation-er and can pretty much do any project.

Won't he be excited that the master bathroom is awaiting his renovation touch!

Phases of Haylie

2011-05-11T21:35:00.000-05:00

Haylie's interests and chaos-ness change practically every day. She has amplified her tornado antics and leaves a wide path of destruction wherever she goes. She is very into my iPhone and I can't use it without her getting upset that it's not her turn. I basically have to run to the closet to check any text messages or emails when she's awake.

She's also really into sitting in/climbing on chairs. If there is a chair around, she will be backing up into it and parkin' it. Many times she misses, but she doesn't seem to mind.

And last, she is so into the laptop. She thinks she is big time stuff pressing all the buttons. I foresee a future blogger.

I wish I could say she is working on lots of words, but she is silent but deadly in that she just points or hits or motions to what she wants and she usually gets it. Her big word is "cat" and she just randomly yells it throughout the day. I love this phase though - each one gets better and better.

Gotta Love Lifejackets

2011-05-10T12:31:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we went to the lake for the first time in 2011. My SIL does a good job breaking it down here. We had a good time. We stayed up too late talking and making fun of Justin while he slept on the couch. We went garage sale-ing in the big town of Lincoln, MO. We went to Wal-mart every day for a chance to get out of the cabin. We went to Treasure Island and played with big neighborhood dogs. We watched Double Dream Hands a few times over. And we played the Wii that Justin surprised me with for Mother's Day!! But most of all, we chased Haylie around in her hilarious life-jacket. She bee-lines for the water so this helped my sanity.

She's beautiful, even with a big foam ring around her neck.

Thanks Brei for the pictures. Because I'm a super mom and forgot the camera.

Weekend in Review

2011-05-03T13:00:00.000-05:00

It's Tuesday and I'm just now recovering from the whirlwind of a weekend we had. It all started at 5:30 on Friday when Haylie decided to scream herself awake, thus me leaping from the bed to go see what in the world was wrong. She immediately goes back to sleep once she realizes she is okay and I go back to bed...to just lay there. I should have just turned on the royal wedding and watched, but I laid there for over an hour before getting up. Besides, I had a garage sale to put together.

I will always do a Friday sale now. We had the best day ever and people were coming from start to finish. I said we were only open 8-12...but we stayed open til about 2:30 because we had lots of people. Over $1200 between 7 families for Friday and Saturday. Yep, I'd call that a success. Saturday was more slow, but we still made some good bargains and got rid of a lot of ~~crap~~ stuff. Only one big car load to the local Goodwill.

Sunday. Another day of getting up at 5:30 (third day in a row), but this time it's to cheer on the hubby at the OKC Memorial Marathon. He is running the full. I am a pretty supportive wife, but there were times during his training season when I was not on the "I'm going to go run for 4 hours on a Saturday" bandwagon. Regardless, it was pouring down rain and horrible conditions. But he DID IT!! His goal time was 4 hours. His actual race time was 3 hours 58 minutes. Way to go!!! It always give me such inspiration and I think to myself - next year I'm going to participate. Then the next year rolls around and I'm still sitting on the couch. Maybe next year.

What are we doing this weekend?

2011-04-28T08:14:00.002-05:00

We are having a garage sale, thanks for asking! We have 8 families bringing their goods over to our house and oh man. I'm already running out of space and I have 4 families left to bring stuff. Our garage door migh not be able to go down tonight. We have everything you could want and even a truckload of furniture coming on Friday. I'll see you at the sale. Leave a comment if you need details.

Pool Side

2011-04-26T21:07:00.001-05:00

The other day I decided that it was time for Haylie to have a little pool. We went to the store and bought one...not thinking about fitting in my tiny beep beep car. Well, I'm not going to tell you how I did it, but we made that pool fit and we got it home.

She wouldn't get in it at first. The water was too cold. But she still played like a champ!

Yes, I think the pool is a keeper!

Before & After: Coffee & Side Tables

2011-04-25T20:55:00.001-05:00

Remember when I had a Designer's Challenge? Well, I worked on them in the midst of the bathroom chaos. Tell me what you think!

Before coffee table:

Before side tables - fresh from a garage sale

After - Coffee Table and one side table

The other side table.

I love it!! I wish I could really glam up the coffee table with some decor, but with my spunky 1 year old, that would last about...5 minutes.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T20:54:00.000-05:00

Today was such a fun-filled day! We had one event after another and are completely exhausted. Church, brunch with immediate family, snacks/egg hunt with extended family, small group cookout. Check, check, check & check.

A rare smile from Haylie today.

The matching cousins. Aren't they adorable?! Thanks Mimi for their outfits.

Haylie & Caramel investigating the Easter goodie bucket. She was excited that it fell over, then quickly lost interest. Oh well. Maybe next year she'll get more into it!

Preliminary Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-19T20:57:00.000-05:00

On Saturday we went with the cousins to an Easter egg hunt! Haylie did really well...with hunting eggs. She didn't appreciate the bounce house and squirmed wildly to get away from the big bunny. But she liked finding the eggs!

This is the best of the cousins. Hilarious!

Got my bucket - where are the eggs!?

Before & After: Front Door

2011-04-17T13:34:00.000-05:00

My friend Mandy came over a few weeks ago and gave me some ideas on decorating. One was painting the front door. I didn't think Justin would ever go for that...but he did! Wow. So here is the front door before. I love this picture because we actually do not have a doorknocker on it...

Ta-da!! Just kidding. This is halfway through the primer. I just thought it looked cool.

Here is the final door! I used the same color as my laundry room since I love it!!! This makes it look a little green, but it's actually a blue/gray color. Now I need to get something so cute to go on my door. Maybe some vinyl numbers or something.

I love fast, weekend projects. Coffee table/side tables before and afters & bathroom update coming soon!

We have a long way to go in the manners dept...

2011-04-13T21:19:00.001-05:00

Feet on the table. Slouching. Cup wrong-side down. Talking with our mouth full.

I'm going to have to send her to etiquette school by the age of 2.

Outdoor Fun

2011-04-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

Last week we had the pleasure of having our good friend L come over for awhile. Haylie loves L and they are so funny together. We decided to go play outside and that's when the fun ensued...

She's actually crying because I took away her milk. Such a drama queen.

I don't know if she can carry any more c.r.a.p. with her while she's outside. She's got everything she could possibly need.

Weeeee!

Must. bring. water. with. me.

We are loving these warm spring days! They are even better with friends.

Diva-like Obsessions

2011-04-09T22:41:00.001-05:00

I love seeing Haylie's personality start to really shine through. She is very smart and really puts together the things she sees you do. She has recently discovered the gas key to our fireplace. We don't keep the actual key in it, but she knows that something goes in there. She will search endlessly for my car keys and immediately go to the fireplace...and sit there for 20 minutes trying to figure it out.

And even more recently...does anyone need a blue bulb nose-sucker? We now have one sticking out of our fireplace.

She also loves to sit in the bumbo chair. She really thinks this is "her" place and gets jealous if anyone else steals it from her.

And the scariest, most diva-like so far...wearing her beads all day long and chatting (with no one) on the phone. I'm already weary of the teenager years...

I don't know what to do with a "diva." She might have to go spend some QT time with Aunt Emily to learn how to accessorize. Because I can pretty much do a ponytail...that's it.

Top 5 Things Consuming Our Life Lately...

2011-04-08T08:51:00.003-05:00

1. Justin's mom, Barbara, came to visit last weekend. We didn't do a whole lot, but the adults had fun visiting. The child, although, had one major issue...

2. Haylie decided to start cutting her molars. She had a high temperature, would cry at the drop of a hat, didn't want to be left alone, wouldn't eat anything...she picked the worst weekend too! Her grandma comes to see her fun, loving self and she is a total monster. We hope Grandma will come back. (Pretty please & bring Papa!!)

3. We got invited over to dinner at a friend's house!! I really can't remember the last time we were invited to someone's house for dinner. Haylie might have face planted into their TV stand resulting in a bruised face from forehead to chin and a bloody lip, but we still had lots of fun and were so thankful to have spent time with good friends!

4. Gateway. Since we had pretty much no interest for the first night, we decided to ~~bribe~~ interest people with free pizza and cookies. The only condition: you had to sign up for the course. We got 5 people to sign up. The supervisor stopped by and seemed confused as to why no one was coming. So, lots of discouragement there. Please pray for this ministry!

5. We finished tiling our bathroom shower! We worked on it til 11:30 last night. I think I had dreams of tile and mud and spacers all night long.