Cruisin' the Carribean!!!

Guess what? My hubby is taking me on a 7 day cruise to the Carribean!!! WOW! We are leaving on March 19th and coming home on the 26th! We will be stopping in the Cayman Islands, Jamaica and Cozumel!!! It is our 8 year anniversary this month (March) and this will be our first "real" vacation together! I am so excited and in a mad rush to lose weight and get tan! ha ha --(what's new!!)
Anyway, I'll write again soon and give you more details! Happy Tuesday! Don't forget to watch American Idol tonight!!
Ps. HOORAY for Travis, the Bachelor! He picked the RIGHT girl! I can't wait to hear what's new with him and Sarah! They seem so good for each other!

I was trying to get a picture of Brooklyn's haircut with her curly hair...and I got one...but what a goofy smile! One thing my kids don't lack is personality! 

Do I have cute kids or what? (I have no idea what inspired that silly face from Brooklyn!) 

Finally, a normal smile! ha ha 

We cut her hair off!!!!! Yes, I know there are going to be lots of comments on this one! ha ha. All 3 of us got cuts this morning. Brooklyn's hair is only straight because the hairdresser straightened it with a flat iron. I'll take another picture tomorrow when it is curly so you can see how it will really look. 

Grant's is adorable. It's just so hard to get him to sit still for a picture! 

You can't really tell...but it's quite a bit shorter and spikier in the back. This isn't a great picture...but whatever. 

Ya gotta love little boys...

Two young boys walked into a pharmacy one day, picked out a box of Tampax and proceeded to the checkout counter. The man at the counter asked the older boy, "Son, how old are you?" "Eight," the boy replied. The man continued, "Do you know how these are used?" The boy replied, "Not exactly, but they aren't for me. They're for him. He's my brother. He's four. We saw on TV that if you use these you would be able to swim and ride a bike. He can't do either one."

Bet ya'll didn't know what a hot bod Matt has! This is our inspiration to stay out of the fridge! 

Everything you never cared to know....

To offset that terribly true but negative previous post, I am giving you all a list of completely useless information. It helped to lighten my mood...and if you read my last post, you are probably feeling stressed out and need to "chillax"! (as my babysitter, Kendra, would say)

A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.
A crocodile cannot stick out its tongue.
A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.
A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.
A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
A snail can sleep for three years.
All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.
Almonds are a member of the peach family.
An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.
Butterflies taste with their feet.
Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds. Dogs only have about 10.
"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".
If the population of China walked past you, in single file, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.
If you are an average American, in your whole life, you will spend an average of 6 months waiting at red lights.
It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.
No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.
Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
"Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand and "lollipop" with your right.
The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.
The cruise liner, QE2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.
The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
The sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter of the alphabet.
The words 'racecar,' 'kayak' and 'level' are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes).
There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.
There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous
There's no Betty Rubble in the Flintstones Chewable Vitamins.
Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.
TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.
Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks; otherwise it will digest itself.
...Now you know everything

I'm goin' crazy!......wanna come?

So, we meet again! Excuse me if I seem a tad bit preoccupied, but there is a mental hurricane occurring in my head at the moment. I hate to admit this but I think I may suffer from some form of ADD or ADHD. At any given moment of any day, I could easily list off 20 things I need to be doing. Ironically, I've always considered myself a very organized,detailed and reliable person...but I am beginning to think that is the "old" me. The new me is this scatter-brained, stressed-out grouch who is late for everything and who is irritated by anything. Numerous times a day, I find myself regretting something I've said or done (usually directed at my kids) and it makes me feel guilty and ashamed. Maybe I've never had it as "together" as I'd like to think...but now-a-days, I am doing a much worse job at disguising my inadequacies. I am confused about everything and making a simple decision is mind-boggling for me. I can actually spend 5 minutes in silence sitting at a drive-thru window trying to decide what to order. For me, it's not as simple as figuring out what everyone wants and ordering that. I have to figure out what is the best deal. Here is an example of what goes through my mind during a time like this. "Is it cheaper to buy 2 individual chicken strips for the kids and separate drinks, or should I just buy them kids meals? They don't really need the fries, but I know they'll want them. I know I should eat a grilled chicken salad, but I am craving the fried chicken sandwich and fries combo but that costs too much and has WAY too many calories so I'll just settle for something off the .99 cent menu even though that's not what I want. Now, should I let Brooklyn get a chocolate shake or is that too fattening? She did already have several Capri Sun's today...but then again, at least a milkshake is calcium, so maybe I should let her get it after all." Okay...so then I order. "Oh Shoot! I don't have any cash. I sure hope this place will take my debit card." "Oh good...they did...but now I am going to have to try to remember to write this debit down in my checkbook or else I am going to have hundreds of dollars worth of debits that weren't recorded when I balance my statement this month (AGAIN!)"
And that is what I experience pretty much everytime I have to make a decision. Just imagine the turmoil I go through when I go grocery shopping and I have to figure out whether the Downy-40 loads at $3.47, the Downy-60 loads at $4.87 or the Downy-80 loads at $6.36 is a better deal! No wonder I walk around with a headache all the time.
On top of all that, a good 85% of the time, I feel like I am failing at being a good mother. I either let my kids get away with too much (I know this from all the condemning stares I get from other people) or else I lash out at them for minor infractions. The majority of the attention Brooklyn gets is negative and I know she feels like Grant is our "favorite". Just thinking about that breaks my heart.
In addition to all those things, my relationship with God is simmering on the back burner rather than being red-hot and up front. My priorities are all mixed up and I am uncertain of how to put them back in order.
Plus, somewhere amongst all of that chaos, I need to find time to take care of myself, eat right, exercise, be a good wife, daughter and friend. I have at least a years worth of scrapbooking to catch up on and I haven't even finished unpacking from when we moved into our house nearly 2 months ago. My house has only been deep-cleaned twice since we moved in and already I need to shampoo the carpets and wash the walls(due to my lack of good parenting choices and letting the kids walk around with sippy cups and snacks).
I have stacks of papers and receipts and bills and school calendars everywhere and I don't even know where to start looking for the stuff I need to file my taxes.
I just don't understand how everyone else copes with all this stuff. I mean, am I just taking it extra hard, or do I have "too much on my plate" so to speak..? (although you could interpret that literally too...ugh!)
Well, if any of you have any advice for me..I would LOVE to hear it. At the moment, I have about 25 things I need to be doing and this isn't one of them. I better go for now! Thanks for listening!

Cooking and cleaning can wait for tomorrow...

Hi everyone. It's nap time around my house and there are about a hundred things I should be doing right now...and blogging is not one of them. But, for some unknown reason, I am sitting here typing away anyway. How many of you have come to the point in your life where you realize that cleaning your house is bitter sweet. It's a lot like cooking a nice dinner. You spend a great deal of time preparing, you get to enjoy the finshed product for a very minimal amount of time and then the whole process starts all over again. Around my house, I am lucky to get one whole room cleaned up before someone comes in behind me and starts undoing all my hard work. There is something about a toy that has just been placed into a toybox that makes it the most interesting and irresistable thing to play with in the house. Never mind the fact that there are 50 other toys spread all over the floor...No, the one that has just been put away is the one the kids want to play with. And even that would be okay if it lasted for any length of time...but each time I pick up another toy to put it away, that toy then becomes the "most interesting" thing to play with. Thus, the title of this post "Cooking and cleaning can wait for tomorrow." Except this time "tomorrow" refers to the day when my kids are grown and out of the house. ha ha
Anyway, I'm not sure where all that came from....maybe I am having second-thoughts since I am about to start cleaning the house?? who knows. At least for tonight, the house will be clean and a nice dinner will be cooked. For now, I'll try not to think about the fact that the very moment that is all finished, I will have to begin washing the dishes, bathing the kids, putting away laundry and so on and so on!
Such is life...........

What a Joke!!!

Okay, if you read my last post, you are probably waiting to hear how my "steamy" night went. Well, here it is. After I finished typing that post, I went in the living room to find Matt snoring in the recliner. (8:45 pm) I told him I was going to put Brooklyn in bed and he hollered for me to wake him up when I was done. So, she picked out some books and I read to her until I was falling asleep myself. The last thing I vaguely remember is her getting out of bed and turning the light off. Next thing I knew, I was waking up at 11:15 pm still in her bed. Matt was still sawing logs in the recliner so I woke him up and we both sleep-walked into our bed and fell fast asleep. So, how's that for hot and heavy? Ha Ha Ha Ha!!! I think this qualifies us for getting old. I mean, here we have the makings for a very wonderful, exciting, romantic evening and neither of us could stay awake for it! I can't help but be disappointed that I wasted these new Adorable panties I have been saving for Valentines day. He didn't even see them until this morning when I stumbled out of bed. I am beginning to wonder if Valentines Day is just not meant to be as thrilling (for me) as I seem to want it to be. Anyway, it was still a good night and I still think I have the best husband out there. He may not be perfect...but if he was, I wouldn't have anything to "fix" and that would be boring! hee hee. Okay, now I have to quit telling you all the juicy details of my private life and do the work I didn't get done yesterday. Hope you all have a great day. I go at 10:00 this morning for my last eye exam to see if I am still seeing well after my laser surgery. It's hard to believe it's been a year already! It has been such a blessing not messing with contacts and glasses anymore. It's so easy to take being able to see for granted, but all I have to do is remember what it was like before to feel SO grateful again! Happy Wednesday Ya'll!!

Practice makes perfect....

Happy Valentines Day Ya'll!! Hope you are spending it with someone you love! I am taking a quick break from my romantic evening to fill you all in on my day so far. We decided to start alternating turns on who is in charge of Valentines Day beginning this year. You see every year I hope that Matt will plan some romantic evening for us...and then at the last minute, I either decide to just plan something myself or else get disappointed that he didn't do it. Well, this year, I told him we needed to start taking turns making the plans. This year was his year...so he took me out to a great dinner at a small steakhouse near our house and now we are trying to get the kids in bed so we can move on with our night(hee hee). Even though it's "his year", I have a little plan of my own. I have been practicing my Carmen Electra (lap dance) aerobics video a lot lately and tonight's THE NIGHT. We'll see how it goes. I am not sure I am confident enought to actually "perform" the dance but I am gonna give it a try. I tried to tell him this would probably be a good night for a bottle of wine...but we never did get around to getting one. Okay, as I type this, I am wondering if this is too much info to be sharing with the world (and especially our family). Well, I can't decide, so if you are in some way related to me and you find the idea of me doing a lap dance repulsive...forget you ever read that, okay?) Quite honestly, we should probably be recording it or something because it's likely to win big money on America's Funniest Home Videos! In any situation, I am proud of myself for being confident enough with my body and just having the confidence to even attempt something like this. The old me (before this past year and 50 pounds ago) would have shyed away from doing anything even remotely sexy like this. Okay, well, that's it for now...wish me luck! ha ha

Matt took me out on a date tonight for Valentines Day. We had a great steak dinner and a wonderful time enjoying quiet time with each other! 

Happy Valentines Day my sweet babies! 

Me being silly with a carnation in my hair. (see the pretty heart necklace my hubby got me for Valentines Day?)  

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha....

One day my housework-challenged husband decided to wash his Sweatshirt. Seconds after he stepped into the laundry room, he shouted to me, "What setting do I use on the washing machine?"
"It depends," I replied. "What does it say on your shirt?"
He yelled back, "University of Oklahoma."

A man and his wife, now in their 60's, were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. On their special day a good fairy came to them and said that because they had been so good that each one of them could have one wish. The wife wished for a trip around the world with her husband.
Whoosh! Immediately she had airline/cruise tickets in her hands.
The man wished for a female companion 30 years younger... Whoosh...immediately he turned ninety!!! Gotta love that fairy!

Q: Why do little boys whine?
A: They are practicing to be men.

Q: What is the difference between men and women?
A: A woman wants one man to satisfy her every need. A man wants every woman to satisfy his one need.

WHY MEN PEE STANDING UP:

God was just about done creating man, but he had two things left over in his bag and He couldn't quite decide how to split them between Adam and Eve.
He thought He might just as well ask them. He told them one of the things He had left was a thing-a-mabob that would allow the owner to pee while standing up. "It's a very handy thing," God told them, "and I was wondering if either one of you had a preference for it."
Well, Adam jumped up and down and begged, "Oh, please give that to me! I'd love to be able to do that! It seems like just the sort of thing a man should have. Please! Pleeease! Give it to me!" On and on he went like an excited little boy.
Eve just smiled and told God that if Adam really wanted it so badly, he could have it.
So God gave Adam the thing that allowed him to pee standing up. Adam was so excited he just started whizzing all over the place -- first on the side of a rock, then he wrote his name in the sand, and then he tried to see if he could hit a stump ten feet away -- laughing with delight all the while.
God and Eve watched him with amusement and then God said to Eve, "Well, I guess you're kind of stuck with the last thing I have left"
"What's it called?" asked Eve.
"Brains," said God

What a fun weekend!

We had a great weekend! Matt's mom and Grandma came to visit us on Saturday afternoon. After we had a nice lunch, we played Phase 10 (while Grant napped). Then we went to the mall to let the kids burn off some energy at the play area while we waited on an available table at the Olive Garden. (We had an hour and a half wait time!) Even though we ate really late and it was an hour past Grant's bedtime (8:30 pm) the kids were very well behaved at the restaurant and Grant actually stayed in his high chair the entire time without any crying. (For those who are or have been parents of a one or two year old...you know what an achievement that is!) Anyhow, after that, we came home and went to bed. This morning I had nursery duty at church, so we had to leave a little early but we were all ready on time (another achievement around our house! ha ha) After church, we stopped by Sonic and picked up burgers and then came home and I made french fries. After we ate, it was time for Nana and Mamaw to go back home. We said our goodbyes (we HATED to let them leave) and then we all settled in for a nice Sunday afternoon nap. I got up before everyone else and did my work from Friday that I had never gotten around to yet and then Mom and Dad brought over pizza for dinner. My sister and two nephew's came to visit this weekend also, so they came over and we ate and played Taboo and watched Extreme Makeover Home Edition. My nephew, Cody, seems to be the "life of the party" around my house...both the kids adore him. Grant has nick-named him "Coco" and it's so cute...that we all tend to call him that now! (sorry Cody!) Brooklyn went home with them to spend the night and we just got Grant down for the night. Matt's in the other room watching T.V. while I write this...but I should probably be going now so we can enjoy some quiet time all alone.
Hope you all had a great weekend too and have made your Valentine plans! It's only 2 days away!!! Don't let the day go by without letting your family know how much you love them! Cars, houses, money, clothes...those are just things...but family and friends...now that's something to LOVE!!!

Matt, Mamaw Ruth, Laura (Nana), Grant and Brooklyn. 

Grant wearing Cody's hat. 

This one's for the girls.........

Here are a couple of cute quotes I heard recently...

"I refuse to think of them as chin hairs. I think of them as stray eyebrows."

"My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first one being -- hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint."

"A man's got to do what a man's got to do. A woman must do what he can't."

"The phrase "working mother" is redundant."

"Whatever women must do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult."

Good Morning Sunshine!

It's Thursday morning at 7:02 am and I have no excuse to be sitting here typing when I have to leave the house in 28 minutes and I haven't even gotten out of my pj's. However, I sat down to eat a bowl of cereal and noticed it's been a while since I've updated my site so I thought I'd do a very quick little post. Matt's mom and grandma are coming to visit us this weekend. We are very exicted and I just hope I can get the house cleaned up before they get here. Brooklyn's room is a disaster because I am in the process of painting it...but I haven't had much motivation to get it finished. Hopefully today will be the day! I am painting lime-ish green HUGE diamonds on the wall that her headboard is against. Then on the "side" walls, I am painting the wall a very, very pale pink with very large cream-colored polka dots. The wall opposite the diamonds, I am going to just leave cream-colored for now. Sound cute? I will take pictures when it is finished. So far, so good. Well, that's all for now. I hear Grant starting to wake up and I need to get myself ready before I get him out of bed! Hope you all have a great day!

Help! I can't talk...

Okay, now I've lost my voice. I'm sure Matt doesn't mind (ha ha) but it's frustrating trying to communicate through whispers. I can't even tell you how many times I've had to repeat myself already today. Anyway, I know this is short..but my lasagna is ready and my mom and dad just got here so I better go for now! later gators!

Date Night

Well, Matt's dad was supposed to come and visit tonight...but at the last minute, things didn't work out and he wasn't able to come. So, Matt and I went out on a "date" instead. We went to eat at Olive Garden and then went to see The Chronicals of Narnia. I didn't really want to see it, but I knew Matt did and I had heard so many people say it was so good....so I decided to give it a try. Well, turns out, I know myself pretty well. I didn't really like it. Matt did though. I supposed it was captivating and interesting...but I am not much into anything I can't relate to...and this was certainly nothing I could relate to. My favorite thing about tonight though was that while we were waiting on the movie to start we went into a little shop that I love but is usually too expensive to do much more than look...but today they were having a 50-75% off sale and I got $111.00 worth of ADORABLE stuff for $30!!! I love to shop, yes...but getting a bargain is like the icing on the cake! I feel almost silly being so excited about it! Anyway, I just thought I'd holler at you all. My nose is still stuffy....now it makes a little squeaky sound when I breathe. ha ha! I'll have to try to figure out what stuff you're talking about K. and try it. Anyhow....date night isn't officially over yet...so I better go for now! ta ta

Help! I can't breath.........

Well, it's Friday night 9 pm and my hubby is already asleep. Brooklyn's watching t.v. so I thought I'd spend a minute or two rambling on here. My nose has been so stuffy today it's been exhausting just breathing. I have some weird thing where I can't STAND to breath out of my mouth and right now, breathing through my nose is like trying to drink a frosty from Wendy's through a straw. Ok, I know that is a weird analogy but if you've ever tried it---you'll understand. Anyway, for some reason, we have NO sinus medication in our house. It's crazy because I have a huge plastic tub full of medicines and I sat down and went through each and every one in there and the closest thing I could find was some Benedryl Allergy..but that says it treats itchy throat, runny nose and watery eyes....none of which I have. So, I stuck a Breath Right strip on my nose and hopefully that will do the trick. We do have Vicks vapor rub...but I HATE that stuff. Matt uses it anytime he's congested and it works great for him...but I can't stand that hot/freezing feeling so it is usually my last resort. However...if I have the kind of night tonight that I had last night..it probably won't take me long to give it a try. I was so icky feeling last night that I practically passed out in bed around 9:30 pm. I was in such a deep sleep that I woke up some time in the middle of the night to Matt asking me what I was doing. I answered, "I have no idea" but I was sitting up in bed turning my bedside lamp on and off over and over. I still have no idea what in the world I was thinking...but it's not like me to ever sleep that deep...so I know this sinus stuff is messing with my head.
Anyway...enough nose talk...Have I mentioned that my parents sold their house this week? They decided to put a For Sale By Owner sign in their front yard this past Sunday. They had 3 people come to look at it that day and the last people who came put a contract on it! Since then, they have been meeting with different builders and are probably going to start building a house out here pretty soon. It will be exciting to be close to each other again. We've always lived within about a mile of each other...so being 20 minutes away is getting old.
In other news...
Matt's dad is coming to visit tomorrow. We just found out about 2 hours ago...so it is a pleasant surprise. He hasn't seen our new house yet so it will be fun to get to show him around. I think we are planning on going out to dinner tomorrow night at the Olive Garden. (YUM!!!) It's a good thing Matt got my treadmill fixed today because I am going to need to be racking up some miles on it after this weekend. We are having my parents over for dinner Sunday night for Lasagna and today we went out for lunch and I had a patty melt and fries. It was sooooooooo good...but I feel like I just erased the two hours of aerobics I did yesterday. Oh well...
Well, guys..I guess I should get off here and get my girly into bed and then myself. Grant didn't take a nap today...so he went down for the night at about 6 pm.---which means he'll probably be up by 6 am tomorrow! :o( Hope you all have a great weekend! Don't forget to start looking for a valentine for your sweethearts!!!

Brooklyn and I have MAJOR stuffy noses so we put on Breath Right strips. We may look dorky but we sure feel better!!! (ps. for those of you who say you've never seen me without lipstick---here it is!) ..now you know why I always wear it! 

Splish Splash, Grant was takin' a bath! 

Quote of the Day

Tough times don't last....Tough people do!!!