She's Gwowing Up! Happy Birthday Gracie!

My sweet girl turned 3 last week! I seriously cannot believe she's already 3. I remember her first birthday, second birthday, and the first time I met her as if it was yesterday. Now, thats not to say there weren't some sleepless nights that I sure wanted to rush by, but all the other times we have with her... I want time to slow down! Maybe its because I know she's my last, but I've really taken notice to all the little things she does that make her who she is, and I still find myself watching her play, sleep, etc... just like when she was an infant. So cliche when you hear people tell you to enjoy them because they grow up so fast... but its so true.

Gracie makes us laugh on a daily basis. She loves to "pay pay-doh", run around the house and give a little "jump" every few steps, and before she goes to bed at night, reminds us to give her a "biiiiiiig hug". (always stressing BIG... as if we need reminding!) She's so affectionate, and will spontaneously pull us to her level to plant a kiss on our cheek, and no matter what she's doing, if you rub her back, she'll freeze. She loves her rubs!

Turning 3 has brought some overnight changes for her. Everyday we find ourselves hearing or seeing something new and "big-girl" she is doing. As happy as I am for her, I sometimes miss my baby! For as long as she has talked, she has called Lainey "Nee." No more (unless she's in a hurry). Now she calls her "Yainey." And the 24-piece puzzles that just last month we dreaded helping her with because it took FORever to complete... she is practically doing them by herself. She also started going to Lainey's big girl school last week. Now that was a hard one. I still stake out the playground to make sure she's not getting trampled by the bigger kids! That fence isn't too tall for me to jump over if I needed to. ;)

So, happy birthday(a week later) to my sweet, silly, loving Grace. We love you too much!

Wiggles party pics coming soon...

Maybe I should have stayed in bed!

Today I'm having one of those days when I wish I could crawl back in bed, make the room as dark as possible, and just SLEEP until tomorrow morning! I went to bed around 10:30 last night with every intention of falling asleep within 15 minutes like I normally do. But nope, I was wide awake. Around 11:30, I got up, walked around, laid on the couch, thinking maybe a change of scenery would make me sleepy. Around 12:15 I went back to bed, convinced I would be asleep shortly. Just as I was about to fall asleep, Gracie gave me a wake-up call... LOUDLY! I ran up to check on her, and she wanted milk. We haven't had a milk request in the middle of the night in a loooong time. I head downstairs to get it, and as I get back to her room to hand it to her, I hear Lainey's little voice, "Don't forget about mine!" Nice, both girls awake. I go down to get her some milk, then very sternly tell them both to go back to sleep.

I head to the guest room to see if maybe I can fall asleep there, and if she does wake up again I'll save myself the stair climb. But that didn't work either. So I go back to our bed... and toss, turn, and sigh for the next 2 hours. At 3:00, I decide to turn off my 5:30 alarm and choose sleep over working out. It didn't take me long after that, and before I knew it my eyes popped open at 6:00. Three blissful hours later, but I didn't feel so blissful. I gave myself 5 minutes to fall back asleep, and if it didn't happen I was getting up and going to the gym. The latter happened, as I was thinking about the group of girls I work out with already there, and felt totally guilty for skipping. So off I go to the gym.

The group had already started working out, so I went to a treadmill to warm up. In my 3 hours of sleep daze, I didn't notice the one treadmill I chose was ON. As in, running speed and I stepped on it. Then tripped, fell, and tried unsuccessfully to get back up. I hardly noticed the pain in both my chins as I was more worried about who saw me do it! Bleeding from one leg, and the other scraped pretty badly, I turn the thing off (I called it something else at the time) and got on another one and tried to save some face and warm up for a few minutes. What I really wanted to do was get off, drive home, and go back to bed. And I might have, but after so many hours of being awake in my bed last night, I didn't care to see it again till tonight.

Now, I'm keeping busy cleaning the house as we (I) get ready for Gracie's birthday party this weekend. The couple of times I've sat down, I almost fall asleep, but it is short lived as I get called to either break up a fight or fix some lunch! So, I think I'll be okay as long as I stay on my feet and try not to dwell on it. I'm definitely watching the clock, but I need to stop that too as it is still a LONG way away from bedtime.

To end on a positive note, I did find my rings the other day. Actually, Lainey's photographic memory came in handy and she went right to where she had last seen my rings. And this morning I finally found the garage door opener (not sure if I mentioned I had lost that this week too:)

I will have lots of pictures after the weekend as Gracie turned 3 this week and is SO excited about her wiggles party! We're having the grandparents over for hotdogs and wiggles cake... keeping it small as Gracie will want it. Lainey's already asking how long till her birthday because she knows hers is after Gracie's. I'm getting ready for two months of that question!

Have a great weekend, will talk again soon!

I've been tagged!

I have been blog-tagged... I'm supposed to come up with 10, yes 10 facts about myself and post them here. This is a tough task to write about myself... and I'll try to keep the girls out of it as they are my main topic of choice to write about! Okay, here goes... maybe 10 things you didn't know about me...

1. I am a word nerd. I can find a spelling or grammar error in just about anything and everything. Its so annoying... I can't watch the news without checking the ticker scrolling along the bottom of the screen... looking for errors. And there are always errors.

2. I have a huge aversion to feet. Always have, even when I was little. My mom once told me that someday when I had kids, I would let them touch me with their feet. I told her she was SO wrong about that... that's how bad I hated feet. Well, many years later she is right... my girls are the ONLY feet I will touch or let touch me. Not even Jeff's. Ewwww.

3. Even though I'm a math teacher/tutor, what I've really always enjoyed doing is writing. I went to regional every year in high school for feature writing. My weakness, though, is always in the closing of a story. I use all my energy in the opening and body... I get lazy on the ending.

4. I graduated with 10 people in my high school class. There would have been 11, but one guy didn't make it. Two girls, 8 guys. It was so much fun going to a school so small, but looking back, that was TOO small! Definitely didn't prepare me for college, but I adjusted. :)

5. This is probably not the best fact to follow up with after sharing how small my high school was, but I was a two-time homecoming queen (yea me!). Jeff just loves to tease me that I won by default because of the lack of female population, but truth be told there were about 30 girls in high school, so there! And in addition to this fun fact, being homecoming queen got me nowhere when it came to dates. All prom/homecoming dates were with guy friends (who were all great dates by the way.) I was the girl the guys would call to see if I could set them up with my friends. So, not the most popular when it came to "girlfriend" material I guess, but I did have lots of friends!

6. I am the biggest bargain shopper. I'm not cheap, just refuse to pay full price! Nothing makes me happier than finding the perfect expensive outfit for cheap, cheap, cheap! And on that same note, I love to shop. Its ridiculous how long I can walk up and down the aisles at Target, or make circles around the mall. My shopping habit is the reason I have to tutor. Bargain shopper or not, I shop way too much for someone without a full time job!

7. I am a loser. Meaning I lose EVERYTHING. My current possessions I lost just yesterday are my wedding ring and the ring Jeff got me for my birthday. (Safe to post that on here... hopefully by the time he reads this (if ever) I'll have found them.) I'm stressed about it, but they've GOT to turn up. Anyway, if not my rings it would have been something else. I lose at least one thing a day.

8. I am a list-maker. And I lose the lists. I like to make lists of things to do, things to buy, etc. Problem with the list-making is #7. If its not on the fridge, I will lose it. But they're still fun to make anyway!

9. I cannot stand seafood. I don't like to see it, smell it, and definitely not taste it. A couple of years ago, I took a sample off a little oven in the grocer store thinking it was chicken. Took one bite to realize it was fish, and I gagged. I quickly walked to another aisle and spit it out. Then went straight home to wash out my mouth. That's how bad I hate it.

10. Semi-related to #9, Jeff made me get certified to scuba dive before we got married. I say he made me, but really just persuaded me. My biggest hesitation was the possibility of fish coming within 10 feet of me. Now, I'm so glad I did it and the very few times we've gone, I loved it. However, when we were testing in Lake Travis I was surrounded by the biggest, ugliest catfish ever. I almost didn't pass because all I did was try to stear clear of them. Nastier than feet even!

A short Saturday funny

Lainey: Daddy, will you come to my dress-up party?

Jeff: Sure, what are you going to dress up as?

Lainey: A fairy godmother.

Jeff: Cool! What can I dress up as?

Lainey: (Pointing to him) An old man, just like you are.



I just might be laughing alone on this one, but that's okay... I've been laughing for 3 days about it! He SO doesn't like to think he's OLD!

Gracie got caught in a bear trap...

... or at least thats how Jeff describes the sound we heard coming from her room at 5:00 this morning. The poor kid was screaming NO NO NO at the top of her lungs... followed by MOMMY! MOMMY! MOMMY! when she saw that Jeff was coming to her rescue. We still haven't figured out what woke her up or what scared her, but she was soon pacified by him laying down with her and was back asleep within 15 minutes. He figured all was well and came back to bed. Knowing Gracie, I knew she would be awake again shortly when she saw he was gone. So I stayed awake. And sure enough, about 10 minutes after he crawled back in bed, she's at it again. Screaming loud enough to wake the neighbors. This time, I took my pillow and told him I would see him in a few hours! She had tears streaming down her little face, but when I told her I would lay down with her, she grinned from ear to ear. I couldn't be upset with her after she smiled. She loves it when I lay down with her, and unless I'm really, really tired and just can't sleep in her bed, I like it too. She's a snuggler. It didn't take her long to go back to sleep, but I couldn't. After tossing and turning for a while, I ever so gently crawled out of her bed. I thought it had been just a few minutes, but when I went to check the clock to see how much time I'd have to snooze, it was 7:00! No matter, while the rest of the world is getting up to start their day, I tried to sneak in one more hour. And I did... and I think I felt better at 5:00 than I did at 8:00!

I should have seen this all coming from a mile away. This week, I made the mistake of saying, "Gracie has been sleeping great lately... this is the most sleep we've gotten in forever." Yeah, I jinxed it. We have a rule around here... that we never say the girls are healthy or haven't been sick in a long time, because just as soon as we say it, one of them comes down with a fever or gets sick in one way or another. New rule... no commenting on how good she has been sleeping. Unless I want a sleepless night! Now, I wonder if this would apply to potty-training.. "Gracie hasn't gone on the potty in ages!" Then, maybe she would?? Yeah, I doubt it too.

Two in one day...

... this rain is making me crazy!

I've been searching online sites for cute quotes, plugged in every cute saying I can think of to see if its taken... I'm so over my title already... and want a new one! This is the OCD in me... I make a decision, then lose sleep second guessing myself. Wait a minute, that's not OCD, is it? Who cares what it is... it drives me crazy! Someday I'll let you all in on all the things I second guess myself on and truly lose sleep over. For today, its the name of this blog. Not that I don't like it, but I do want a new one. Something that maybe doesn't mix mommyhood and a strong drink. Not so cute. I remember when I was trying to think of one... I'm so not creative like that... and finally thought of this one. I was never completely sold on it, but really wanted to start the blog THAT day. So, here it is. Oh, I've come up with some cute ones today... and they're all. taken.

For example:

i should be doing laundry

because i said so

mommy needs a timeout

my two girls

See, all relatively cute and not alcohol-related (woo hoo!). And all taken.

Well, I'll keep searching. I'm having someone I found out in the blog world to design me a cute page, and I really want a cute title to go with it. Until then, I'll keep plugging away to see what else is so darn cute someone else already has it!

Now, excuse me while I go have my 5:00 cocktail. wink wink.

Of spring break rain and Saturday night

Two days into spring break, I want this rain to GO AWAY! My plan of spending a little bit of time everyday at the playground just doesn't work with this rain around. Today its raining, tomorrow it will be muddy... whats a mommy to do? The Easter cookie idea was fun, but lasted all of 15 minutes. Pre-cut-out bunny cookies don't require much prep, and the girls enjoyed eating the icing straight out of the container better than they liked to frost the cookies. Oh well, they are currently at the peak of a sugar rush and are playing somewhat nicely in their playroom. I've threatened that with the sound of the first fight (won't be long now) we will be heading to the grocery store. Of course I'd rather not get them out in the rain... actually its not so much getting them out as it is loading the groceries into the car... so I'm hoping they will keep the peace for a while longer.

This past Saturday night was spent with my sister and her hubby as a third wheel to listen to some texas music and drink some yummy cold ones. Truth be told, I'm not a big beer drinker, unless I'm in a bar surrounded by nothing but beer drinkers, then I can get in the mood. Anyway, our babysitter is out of town and we don't exactly have family members beating down the door to keep our angels, so Jeff graciously suggested I go along with them without him, and I had to think about it for about 2.3seconds before I accepted their (and his) offer. And what fun we had! It was so laid back, and it was so fun to eat dinner and not have to clean up anyone's mess but my own! (I spilled two drinks on myself... Lainey gets her clumsiness honestly. One was my first drink of the night... so I had no excuse really.) Unlike last time I was let loose without Jeff for the night, I kept myself in check since I drove myself there and kept the drinking to a minimum. Some highlights...



This excited party-goer got REALLY pumped to hear Owen sing Steve Earle. He basically pole-danced.



I feared for her life! Watch out! (Luckily, a bouncer was between the pole dancing patron and my sis!)




My sister and her hubby. He's a big Owen Temple fan... and Kristi and I are now too! :)



My sis and me.

So much fun, we've got another one planned in a few weeks!

Its Friday!

tgif.

Just made a pitcher full of margaritas and I'm good to go. What a week.. as fast as it went, I thought the weekend would never get here. Last weekend was spent with Jeff on a weekend retreat, and me holed up in the house with the girls. Saturday morning I woke up with the worst cold. Ever. It was made worse by the fact that I had two soccer games to attend, and two mouths to feed 6 meals to on my own. Single moms, I both admire and feel for you. Being sick and not having anyone around to help... it was awful. By Monday night, I was finally over it and the crazy week could officially begin.

(One ray of light last weekend... before I woke up sick, I spent Friday evening with my good friend Rebecca and her two sweet, sweet girls. Lainey had so much fun playing, and I had so much fun trying a new drink (or two?!) and getting in some fun girl talk. It was much needed, and so much fun.)

A highlight of the week was all the time we spent outside. Snow angels last week, hop scotch this week. I'll post pictures once I get them downloaded. I made a chalk hopscotch game for the girls in the driveway and I swear they did it 100 times. Gracie loved it... she can't quite jump, but she would belly laugh every time she galloped over the numbers. She had me laughing so hard, it was hilarious to see her having sooo much fun with something so simple. I see lots of hopscotch in our future next week with spring break. And I'm getting equipped for the week of no school:

* Easter cookie dough bought today, in the shape of pink rabbits. I can stretch the fun out with icing and sprinkles.

* Wooden craft projects to paint from hobby lobby. (thanks rebecca for the idea!)

* Will attempt to dye easter eggs. I haven't done this in years. And never by myself, preparing the eggs and all. I don't even know where to start!

* Krispy kreme one morning. The girls spend FORever watching the donuts being made. The last time I took them, I didn't even get a donut. Now that's discipline. (some might say crazy). Will try to be good this time too.

* Anything else I can come up with between now and Monday, I will plan it. Anything to keep them from zoning out in front of the tv all week, because that's what they'll do if I let them. Taking Lainey to see Horton Hears a Who is definitely on the list, and I'm not sure whether Jeff or I will win that one on who gets to go. Neither of us have been to the movies in so long, we couldn't care less what we see!

That sums it up... I'm heading outside to join the rest of the gang and start enjoying this crazily (is that a word?) beautiful night. Have a great one!

If you leave them alone...

Jeff left the girls unattended the other day... okay, I actually left them for what I thought was just a few minutes while I went to work, and I thought Jeff would be down shortly. He might have been, but he took long enough that the girls turned their pudding snack into finger paint. He said the table had more pudding on it than their tummies did... and their faces got just a little bit too.

Quotes from a 4-year old

Me: Lainey, I love you and Gracie soooo much!

Lainey: I love you too, but I love Daddy more.

Me: Excuse me? Why?!

Lainey: Because he doesn't make us go to Target.

(I couldn't make that up!)

More from last week...

Me: Lainey... hurry up... we're going to be late for school.
(5 minutes)
I'm serious, get your shoes on.
(5 minutes)
Lainey, you can't go to school today if you don't get ready!
(5 minutes)
Fine, this is your last warning and I'm not going to ask you again.

Lainey: Good.

I'm Baaaaaack!

I'm digging myself out of the trenches of having a sick little tot. Finally... Gracie was fever-free yesterday. Don't you just love viruses... you just have to wait it out and "treat the fever." Blah. I like bacterial infections so we can get some antibiotics and get the show on the road! Five days of fever, five days of not eating, five days of waking up at night when her fever spikes to 102 in under 5 minutes... we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. She is feeling much better today, and I'm already getting her clothes out so she can go to school tomorrow. Whoo hoo!

Lainey's first soccer game was a riot. I think she enjoyed cheering for all the girls (even the other team) best of all. No matter who would score (and 9 out of ten times it was the other team!) she would put her hands up like a touchdown and yell, "SCORE!" She and her little friend had so much fun. Still working on the technique of soccer and trying to get her to understand that yes, we've been telling her to share for 4 1/2 years now, but there is no need to share the soccer ball, especially with the girls with a different color of shirt on than you. Needless to say, Daddy marched straight to Academy to buy a soccer net to show her the ropes. So funny to watch... I like her rules better.

This morning was so much fun to share the snow with the girls. As far as we can remember, it was Gracie's first... and she loved it. She was hesitant at first, but after she finally touched it she was hooked. I dragged her back in kicking and screaming. Lainey loved it too and made snow angel after snow angel. She has seen it on many of her shows and thought it was the best part of it all. That, and the hot chocolate she had when we came in. She reminded me twice while we were out that we would need to drink hot chocolate with lots and lots of marshmallows when we got in. It was probably only her second snow. She was bummed to see it had all melted by lunchtime. It was fun while it lasted!

I have more to catch up on... just need more time... and a very good friend told me ever so nicely that my updates are a little wordy... and where do I find the time?!?! So this is short and sweet!

Its good to be back!