TIRED...

I don't think I have enough words in my vocabulary to describe how tired I am. I need a shot of motivation. Hopefully my week off next week will get me that. Until then, here is a cute pic of my little girl. She makes me so happy!!

TEST

Thanks to a friend I now can blog from my phone. Thanks Whitney for filling me in on this lucky find. Maybe I can stay up on my blog like promised. We will see!

Here is a pic of my mini me at school last might. She came to my Veterans day program, and we hung out with her birthday twin Kinsley before hand. We had so much fun. Happy weekend and Veteran's day.

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY MAGGIE

We celebrated Maggie's 3rd birthday this weekend. It was so much fun! I can't believe she is so grown up. Here are just a few pictures to show off what we did!

The table decorations:

 

Cousin time:

 

The cake that never got eaten:

 

Sliding down the slide:

 

Jumping on the trampoline:

 

Riding the zip line:

 

Opening all our wonderful gifts:

 

Blowing out the candles for the 2nd time:

 

Cousin picture in the mask:

 

We have had such a fun and busy weekend. Thanks for all that came to share in our fun and excitement! Happy Birthday to my sweet baby girl. Your daddy and I love you so much! We can't wait to watch you continue to grow into a beautiful little girl.

I TRULY STINK AT THIS....JOB

Well, it has been several months now and I am way behind on this. My excuse is not very good for the summer. That was when I had the most time and I didn't use it wisely. I should have blogged everyday. Now, I am back at work, and all I do is that. My day starts at 6:00 and I don't stop until I go to bed at 11:00 or later. I am really going crazy. I keep thinking it will slow down, but it hasn't. I love my job, but this year is really kicking me. I have taught for 12 years and this has to be the hardest year of my life.

I am going to make it a goal to blog once a week. I feel I need an outlet to let my frustrations out, and I guess this can be it. I need to get back on track, and have a life outside of my job again. I guess this will be it, for now!

We went to dinner with a friend tonight, and he was asking us what we did this past summer. We honestly didn't do much. Maggie and I stayed really busy and had lots of fun, but we didn't travel or go anywhere. We don't have any big plans to finish out the year, but it is not over yet.

Sorry for my ramblings. I promise to keep up a little bit better. For now I leave you with a picture of my sweet baby. She will be 3 at the end of the month. I can't believe it.

MY BABY ISN'T A BABY ANYMORE!

As many of you know, Maggie will be 3 in October. Jack and I have talked about how fast the time has gone, and how Maggie just isn't a little baby anymore. In fact, she says, "I'm a big girl!" Well, it has become that time to start new things. The first thing we have tried is potty training. A few months ago we gave it a whirl, and we were ready to stop by Sunday. Our floors were wet and it was just bad. A few weeks before school got out daycare asked if she could try a pull up. It was not my first choice, but she said Maggie was asking for it. So, I figured why not. Maggie actually stayed dry for several days and asked to go on the potty. We were super excited. Well, we have back tracked a little, so I guess we are still not 100% ready. With Maggie I always have to wait until she is ready. I know where she gets it from!! So, I know it will happen and we will just wait for that day. No worries!

Now, the next thing I wanted to do was try a new bed. She has been napping on a nap mat at daycare and I never thought she would do that. She has surprised us and has done a great job at it. This summer she really wanted to nap in our "flower bed". That is our guest bed, and I let her try it. She has done a great job with it. Jack and I have talked and really don't know which direction we are going to go with a bed, so we decided on Sunday to take her front off her crib. We don't have a convertible crib, so this just makes a day bed. She was so excited to help daddy and then to sleep in her big girl girl bed! (Yes, she says is so funny!)

 

We have been rather successful with this task. It is nice to be able to easily tuck her in and kiss her good night. She has done great so far. She has spilled out a few times, but as you can see it is not a far fall. She just says, "I fell out!" We might be investing in some sides soon!

Hopefully, we will continue to do bigger things. I am so sad that she's not my baby anymore, but I am excited to do some big girl things as well.

FATHERS DAY 2011

 

Fathers day started on Thursday for us. We went out to the lake to help my dad clean the boat. When I say clean, we cleaned. It had been a long time since the boat was cleaned, and it needed it badly. So, my sisters and I went and did the dirty work. It was a good time, but we were glad it was over. On Saturday we headed out to the lake for the first time all summer. It was a lot of fun. Maggie got in the water with her life jacket on and really had a great time. We were unsure how she was going to do. It was pretty windy out, so it took us forever to anchor the boat, but we found a spot close to the beach and had a great time. It had been a long time since we have gotten that close to the beach and it brought back some good childhood memories. We hung out and had lots of fun. After our day on the lake, we headed back to the dock for a BBQ dinner. Maggie got a cart ride from her cousin, and fed the ducks. She just had a blast and did a great job. On Sunday we met my dad again for lunch at the pier. It was a nice time. Maggie got to feed more ducks and some really big fish. After that, we headed home and hung out as a family. We ended out night with Maggie's fist "no-cone"! It was a great weekend!

SWIM HELL, I MEAN, SWIM LESSON!

 

Last summer Maggie and I took a Mommy and Me Swim class at a lady's house. If you remember from my last summer's post, she cried the whole time. I really thought this year would be different, boy was I wrong. Day one, what you can see from the pictures, was going pretty good. Maggie got in line with all the kids and followed the leaders to the diving board. They each took turns walking out and standing on the end and being introduced. Doing good so far! Maggie even got up there and did it. Then, they walked around the pool to the slide, and checked things out. Still doing good. Next, they got in the pool. Well, this is where she fell apart. From that day forward I was in the pool with her. We did out own thing behind the class. My friend Jenny and I were in the same boat. We would drive to lesson everyday and just question why we were there. The first week Maggie did a good job participating. The next week, Maggie cried and cried. If you haven't heard her cry, be glad, she is very loud. Finally, the last day before showoffs, I decided to just toss her to Mrs. Margaret. We did it over and over, and we knew she was swimming because she would come up and just scream. Not cough, but scream. She was keeping her mouth closed, so she was doing it. I finally tossed her in and then ran away and hid. Amazingly, she did it. I wish now I had done it the week before. You learn from your own lessons. However, I learned some good skills. You forget how you learned, so it was good to hear the instructions again. Not only were the lessons hard, but the days were hard as well. I forgot when I signed up for the lessons that our time was not set in stone. We had signed up for a 10:00 lesson, but that time changed on Tuesday to 11:30. 11:30 with two 2 year old's. What was Mrs. Margaret thinking? By the time we drove 20 min. to the lesson, had the lesson, and home we were all done. It was all crazy. Needless to say, Jenny and I headed out for a much needed day off last Friday. We got pedicures, ate lunch and went shopping. We had lots of fun winding down from our class. As an update to swim class: I thought Maggie would never swim again. We went to the pool on Saturday and she just sat along the side and wouldn't get in. Well, today she got in and swam under water. I am so excited to see that my money and time payed off. She did great and was so excited. Mommy felt good!

FIRST WEEK OF SUMMER!

 

We had our first official week of summer and it started off very busy. We had a kick off night on Sunday at the Saavedra's house. The kids swam in the pool, the dad's played top golf, and the mom's and kids had ice cream. It was so much fun. Maggie had her MRI that week, so we headed to the hospital early on Tuesday morning. Maggie was a not so good patient, but ended up doing pretty well. We got the all clear, so we are pretty excited. I guess we will have to wait and see if she ever has another seizure. Hopefully never! On Thursday we celebrated my sisters birthday as a family. It was lots of fun! We had a blast. That weekend we headed to Houston for Caroline's recital (Maggie's cousin). I didn't get any pictures. I did take my camera, but never took it out. She was a little star and stole the show. I loved watching her. She is just a little ham. We spent a lot of time with the Houston family and it was fun. We missed Jack's sister and kids, but we will see them soon. That wraps up our first week! We have plenty more to come!

WAY BEHIND...

 

Wow, we have been way busy. Here is just the first of many blog post for me to catch up on. Here is a what we did for Memorial Day 2011. We had a great time with the Abraham's at Lake Kiowa. Thanks for the invitation! Maggie had a ton of fun, and so did her mommy and daddy.

COUSIN TIME

Yesterday, we made our way to the Arboretum with my sisters and their kids. We got a late start and it was very crowded. It was well worth it though. I captured some great pictures of all the kids. Here is a quick picture post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a great day making some good memories.

SPRING BREAK 2011...

Jack and I haven't been on a vacation by ourselves in a long time. We decided to take a fun trip together to celebrate our anniversary. It was lots of fun. We hit up New Orleans with our friends the Abraham's. Here are some of the many things that we did.
We got in early on Sunday morning. We went to Brennan's and enjoyed a very nice brunch. We ate the famous Banana's Foster for dessert. It was so good. We even got photographed while we ate. Hopefully, we can see ourselves in the October issue of Nat G O. We will see.

 

After touring the town, we hit up Pat O's for happy hour. It was a beautiful day to sit on the patio and enjoy.

 

A picture of Bourbon St. It was a happening place.

 

The next morning we waited in line to get a taste of Cafe Du Monde. We waited for 20 min. It was well worth it.

 

We spent most of Monday walking around and exploring. We ate lunch at a little sandwich shop, and then headed out for Sushi that night. Before sushi, we made a stop by a bar. This bar was like a carousel. You sat in the seats and they rotated around. It was just a neat experience.

 

On Tuesday, we did a lot. We ate lunch at Acme Oyster house. We got very lucky and didn't have to wait in line. By the time we sat down, they had a long line starting down the block. We then went to Harrah's and I won $80.00. Not what I was expecting to get, but it was a start.

 

We headed out for a river boat tour on the Mississippi. We got to see a lot, and made a stop at a Plantation and a Battle of New Orleans battle field. It was a nice afternoon.

 

After our tour, we went back to the hotel and had hit up HH. While on vacation I tried some new things. One of which was a raw oyster. I look pretty funny in this pic, but I had to capture the moment. It wasn't as bad as I thought, but I don't know if I would make it a habit.

 

On our last night we went to Emerial's restaurant, NOLA. It was a fantastic meal. As we were leaving dinner, we saw that they were filming a movie with Brad Pitt in it. It will be interesting to see it when it comes out. We didn't see him, but heard he was there.

 

Wednesday was the day we left to come home. We picked up some souvenirs for Maggie and ate lunch at Stanley's. I was very sad to leave, but I was very excited to come home to my baby! She missed us lots.

 

We had a fantastic time on vacation. I really loved New Orleans and all that it had to offer. Right now I am trying to soak up the last few days home with Maggie. We have done so much.

MY BIG GIRL..

On Tuesday February 22, our night changed in an instant. Jack and I got ready to sit down to dinner with Maggie. As we were eating dinner Maggie began to fall forward like a wilting flower. Her eyes were wide open, and she just sat frozen. It was the scariest thing we have ever seen. We both jumped up and got her out of her seat. She was still not responding. After a min. of time she finally started to come around but was very dazed and confused. We had the paramedics come, but they were really no help. They told us to just watch her, and that she would be okay. Well, this mom can't just watch her kid. So off to the emergency room we went. We waited for a long time to find out that Maggie had symptoms of a seizure. We talked with our pediatrician the next morning and he confirmed the same thing. They can't be 100% sure, but all signs point to that.

On Friday, February 25 Maggie had an EEG. She did wonderful. For now, the results are clear which is a good sign. We will still meet with a neurologist to go over anything that might be important. Hopefully it will be a routine visit.

I am very excited to report we haven't had any other episodes. I am sure it was a one time thing, but it was enough to make your heart stop. I am very blessed to have a strong husband who was very good through the whole thing. I am very proud of Maggie and how she was a good sport.

On another note:

Jack always makes fun of me for reading blogs. I can get lost in blogs and some make me very sad, but others are just fun to read. I have happened upon two blogs this week, that are not very happy blogs right now. I know I don't have a huge following, but I do have friends that read my blog. I ask that you click on both links and follow these blogs for a few days. They have both really touched my heart and I pray for the strength of these two families. I am very thankful that Maggie's issue was very minor. For these two families life is completely changed for a while. I have to tell myself everyday how lucky I am. So, please take a few minutes to follow these two families and say some little prayers for them.

http://erikandkatekrull.blogspot.com/ - A blog about Lucy. A 5 year old little girl.

http://kandjstaats.blogspot.com/- A blog about a family in Houston who lost their 4 month old baby.

I hate to leave on a sad note. Thanks for always reading and checking in on us.

MY BEST FRIEND..

On March 5, 2005 I married my best friend. I am one lucky person to know and love this guy. I look forward to spending many more wonderful years with him.



The day Jack proposed. February 13, 2004 - Jack proposed at my school Valentines party. It was a fun surprise.

Our first dance. Our wedding was so much fun, and an event that I want to redo over a million times. Not because it was bad, but because it was the best day!


Here is to many more wonderful years and happy memories together!!!

I love you Jack!