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Party Pictures!!!

Here are the pictures from Jack's party as promised! Please excuse the camera work on the video @ the end. My younger sister took it and she moves the camera way too fast!

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Not Me! Monday

It is Monday, and I have been a lazy blogger and have so much to catch you all up on, so I could not resist cleansing my soul and sharing all of the things I did not do this past week. Seriously, there are so many this week I can hardly decide where to begin! If you want to cleanse your soul as well, consider posting your own not me's and then head on over to my charmings kids and jump on the bandwagon!

1. I did not allow my 5 year old daughter to guilt me into finding a babysittter at the last minute, so that I could accompany her on her pre-school fieldtrip to the bowling alley. I would never be won over by those puppy dog eyes and the word puh-lease. I did not have a great time and I am not so happy I decided to go!

2. I did not forget to take my camera to my MIL's house on Thanksgiving day. I was not completely bummed out that I have not a single picture to show for the entire holiday!

3. I did not break a chair when I went to sit in it after eating Thanksgiving dinner. I was not incredibly embarassed about it, and I did not feel like a total fat a-- the rest of the day.

4. I did not have an incredible time with some old high school girlfriends this week! I did not go out for lunch with some on Wednesday and I did not have some others over to my house on Friday night! I did not truly realize that old friends are the best kind of friends! I did not have too much to drink and I was not so tipsy that it didn't even bother me when my husband(who used to be a bartender) lit my kitchen counter on fire with some very strong liquor!

5. I did not spend the weekend reading Twilight. I would never start a book series with four books, because I know I do not have the luxury of having time to read. It was not soooo good that I couldn't put it down. It was not the reason I negelcted all of my bloggy buddies for the entire weekend!

6. I did not jump in the shower 15 minutes before people were suppossed to arrive for Jack's birthday party last night! I did not then proceed to host his party with wet hair and not a stitch of makeup on! Oh, if myself @ 17 could have seen that one, she never would have believed it!

7. I did not let Jack sleep in until 10:30 today! He did not have an exhausting day yesterday, and he was not still too wired to go to bed when everyone left. I did not rationalize that since it was his birthday, it would be okay to let him sleep late and be a grouch all day. Oh, and I will not be posting pics from the party later on today... please don't stay tuned!

Happy Birthday Jack!

Today my little man turns 2! We had a party last night and though I have a ton of pictures to share I wanted to get this one out there first! The look on his face when he saw this little car was priceless. We love you little guy, and we are having a blast watching you grow!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, from me and my little hummingbird!

What's on my Tree Wednesday?

It is finally here folks, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving! Time for my very first "What's on my Tree Wednesday"! It feel like I have been waiting forever for this day to come! While I was putting up my tree this past weekend I couldn't help but look over all of the ornaments, they are all so special to me that I had a hard time deciding which one to share first. I finally settled on this one.

This is my little family, all five of us. Well not really, it is really a dough ornament that is representative of my family. But, you get my point. Now don't get me wrong, I truly believe that Jesus is the reason for the season, but if I had to pick another reason, it would be family. Not to brag, but I do have a wonderful family! My MIL gave me this ornament the year Jack was born. Even though it is now two Christmases old it still suits us. It is still just the five of us, and barring the miracle re-growth of my fallopian tubes, it should stay that way! Plus, being that we live in northern Indiana we are HUGE Indianapolis Colts fans. So when my MIL ordered it for us, she had us all dressed in blue and white to show our support. The ornament itself came from a little company called Mistletoe Memories. They have lots of different designs to fit any one's family and they personalize for free. Maybe the other reason I like this ornament so much is because it isn't the first one of it's kind that she ever gave me. I have others too, one from the year we got married that just has Chris and I on it, and the ones she got us after each of the girls were born. I enjoy putting all of them on the tree each year and contemplating the evolution of my little family. I think personalized ornaments are really special, and that is the main reason I chose to share this one first. I wanted to share a little bit of who I am, in hopes that you all will come back and share your ornaments with me!

If you are interested in sharing some of your favorite ornaments, go ahead and write a "What's on my Tree Wednesday" post. You can grab the button code right over there on my sidebar. Please link back to me either by using the button or by linking internally within your post. Then come back here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. Copy and paste the URL of your "What's on my Tree Wednesday" post and then you're done! Then go ahead and start clicking away to visit other people and see whats on their trees too! Remember, I'll be hosting this little carnival until Epiphany, so if your tree isn't up yet, come back next week!

*UPDATED* OKAY, SO APPARENTLY MY MR. LINKY IS NOT WORKING THE WAY I EXPECTED IT TO. IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE MckMAMA'S BUT IT DOES WORK. IF YOU CLICK ON YOUR'E NEXT IT WILL TAKE YOU TO ANOTHER PAGE WHERE THE LINKS SHOW UP. I'LL WORK ON IT FOR NEXT WEEK PEEPS! I'M AFRAID TO MESS WITH IT RIGHT NOW.

Sisters, Sisters, There Were Never Such Devoted Sisters...

Tonight while I was giving the girls a bath I asked Reagan who her best friend was. Her response was, "Dee Dee is my bestest friend in the whole world!" Then I asked Dee Dee who her best friend was. Surprisingly, her answer was the same, "Reagan, Reagan, Reagan!" It made me smile to know how much they really do love each other! I can only hope that this will last throughout their lives. I am not naive, I know that they will have their arguments in the future just like they do now, and I anticipate the teenage years will be especially difficult. But, I hope they will always come back to each other and that they truly will be best friends. Maybe it is just because the holidays are coming up, or maybe it is just because I am particularly fond of "White Christmas", but I started singing them this song, and of course Reagan started singing along. Any one else care to sing along?

Not Me! Monday

Oh yes folks, it is that time of the week again! I just love Mondays, I really do. What better way to get a good laugh and make yourself feel just a little more normal. Cause I tell ya, when you're couped up inside a house with three people under the age of five, you really start to doubt your own normalcy! For those of you reading, I am happy to provide you with you weekly dose of not feeling so alone in the world! So, if you didn't come from there already, head on over to MckMama's blog and read her Not Me's! Poop in the heater... Maybe my week wasn't so bad! Here are some of the things that were not so bad about it...

1. I did not spend the whole week cleaning my house, only to host my family Thanksgiving on Sunday and end the day feeling like my house was messy all over again. I did not question why I bother to clean in the first place.

2. I did not wake up at 5 a.m. to put my turkey in the oven, totally overestimating the amount of time it would take to cook. It was not done by 10, only to sit and wait for my guests to arrive at noon.

3. I did not break out my Christmas tree at midnight on Friday and decide to put it up. I most cetainly did not then become too exhausted to finish it and leave it until the next morning to decorate. I would never do that because I always finish what I start.

4. I did not blame myself for giving in to Reagan when she asked for a glass of water even though it was way past bedtime. I was not completely frustrated by the fact that it was 10 o'clock and they were not asleep yet! I did not then selfishly force both girls to sleep in the wet sheets after Reagan spilled said glass of water in their bed! UGH!

5. I did not forget in the hustle and bustle of yesterday, that Jack needed to have a nap. He did not then fall asleep hanging off of his chair after finishing his applesauce at dinner. I did not then take this picture because he was just too cute for words!

6. I did not cheat on my hubby imposed blog break and still check in on a few of my "friends" late at night. I did not realize during this break that I am tottally addicted to my blog and all of the blogs I read. I do not love Not Me! Monday and I was not dying to return just to be able to post my Not Me's!

By the way don't forget about my first "Whats on my Tree Wednesday" post, coming up in two days! Please check back in with me and join in on the carnival fun!

I'm Baaaaack!

Hello again all of my bloggy friends! I sure did miss you all! I did have a nice break even though I managed to check in with a few of you while I was suppossed to be away. I also did some catching up tonight and hope to finish reading everyone's posts tomorrow. I managed to get my house spotless in time for my family Thanksgiving, and now I feel like it is a mess again. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted. I also wanted to say that I found the time to put my Christmas tree up. The kids were so excited and I even let them help me hang ornaments this year! It took me an evening and the next morning to finish it becasue I started too late at night and got too tired to finish! Now that it is up, I am even more excited for "Whats on my Tree Wenesday?" Don't forget that my first post will be this Wednesday, so start planning ahead, and get those ornaments ready to share! I will see you all again tomorrow for Not Me! Monday... Lord knows I have plenty to share from this week!

Thank God for Small Miracles

I'm busted!

Last night, the hubby looked at me and said, "Just how many blogs do you read now anyway! Do you even know these people?" The fact that I couldn't even answer because I honestly don't know is not good. He made the suggestion that since I really need to get my house ready for Thanksgiving (to be hosted here on Sunday) that maybe I should take a few days off from blogging. Much as this saddens me, I know he is probably right. The problem is that even though I do not know many of you in the sense that he thinks I should, I truly feel like I do. This is my support community whether he likes it or not. So, rest assured that I will be back and if I do have a free moment I will be checking in on all of you! But I will leave you with one final story.

Yesterday, I kept Reagan home from school because she had a little bit of a fever and was acting worn down. This threw off my whole schedule and therefore I did not get nearly as much done as I had wanted to. It also meant that Jack didn't fall asleep in the car like he usually does. I found him on the floor in my bedroom, picked him up and transferred him to my bed. Of course, this made him cry and so Dee Dee laid down next to him and was trying to comfort him. I just walked away thinking "great, now he won't even get a nap!" When I returned a few minutes later, this is what I found...

Aren't they just too precious? Thank God for small miracles, like a child who gets his nap. The last thing I needed yesterday was for him to be grouchy! Until next time ya'll!

The BIG Reveal... "What's on my Tree Wednesday"

There it is guys, this is my big idea. " Whats on my Tree Wednesday!" I LOVE Christmas!!! One of my favorite things about Christmas is the tree. I love decorating it and reliving all of the memories that each of my ornaments holds. I have my favorites of course, old ones, new ones, the ones I made as a child. So, I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to take pictures of some of my favorite ornaments this year and share them on the blog. The more I thought about it, the more excited I got. Then I started thinking... what if EVERYONE could share their favorite ornaments? Now, I am no MckMama, but I was thinking... wouldn't it be fun to host a blog carnival?! So, with a little research, some input from friends, and major help from Rebecca who created the button, I think I figured out how to do it!

So, here is the plan. Beginning the Wednesday before Thanksgiving I will start sharing pictures of my favorite ornaments on our tree along with the stories behind them. I plan to keep doing this every Wednesday until Epiphany. I will attempt to put up a Mr. Linky so that anyone else who wants to can join in the fun and then come back here and add their post to the list. The button, along with the code will be in my sidebar for anyone who wants to grab it.

I really hope that everyone will be as excited as I am about this! Please consider joining in even if you can't commit to doing it every Wednesday. If you know anyone else who loves Christmas as much as I do, spread the word and invite them to participate! Happy Tree decorating!

The First Snow!

Well even though I had a very fun filled day yesterday I am too tired to write a big long post about it. In a few words, I went to Indianapolis to visit my brother Shawn, Kevin, and their new roomate Sara. Chris had a ticket for the Colts game and I went out to eat and then shopping. It was rare to be able to go somewhere and leave the kids for the WHOLE day! Thank you so much Nini and Papaw, I needed the break! We got in late last night and woke up this morning to snow! Winter is here folks, ready or not!

Not Me! Monday

Oh, how I love Mondays... and I never thought I would ever say that! But, with Not Me! Mondays to bring some fun to the beginning of the week I actually look forward to them now. So please join in the fun and head on over to MckMama's blog and read all of the other things people did not do! Here are just a few of the things I absolutely did not do last week!



1. I did not see Molly drinking water out of the toilet and then choose to ignore her. That would be totally gross. I would not rationalize that since I had recently cleaned the toilet the water was probably pretty clean.


2. I did not ignore Chris' request that I come home early from Tuesday night coffee with the girls. He did not call and tell me that Jack had had the worst poopie diaper blow out ever. I did not tell him I would be home soon, only to return an hour later.

3. I did not allow our children to stay up until one o'clock in the morning on Friday night because we were all out at a friends house and having a good time. I would never screw with their sleep schedules like that. They are small, growing children and they need their rest!

4. I did not take Molly outside to go potty one night wearing only a t-shirt and shoes. I did not then look over at the neighbor's house and see their living room lights on. I did not then realize that even though our backyard has lots of trees it is not as private as I had thought!

5. I did not go to lunch yesterday @ The Cheesecake Factory and stuff myself beyond uncomfortable. I did not consider still ordering cheesecake and just taking it home only to realize I couldn't even bear the thought of eating it.

6. I did not tease my readers by promising them a HUGE idea, only to keep them hanging on. I am not still working on it and will not be announcing it some time this week. Do not stay tuned to find out what my big idea for a Christmas themed blog carnival is!!! If you don't like Not Me! Mondays, I am sure you will not love it!

FYI yes, Molly is the dog. Sorry for the confusion!

Jack's Birthday Invitation

Even though Jack will not technically turn 2 until December 1st, I have been trying to stay on top of all of the birthday party planning. Mostly out of guilt, I want to make this year's party special. You see, last year was his first birthday and we didn't do much. I called all of our family and invited them over for pizza and cake and I bought Colts plates and napkins at the grocery store. I did not plan the BIG 1st birthday party I should have. I am trying to make up for that now. I wanted to go all out for his birthday this year and that starts with the invitation. Yes, that means not just making phone calls but actually sending an invitation in the mail. Not just any invitation either, a remarkably special photo invitation! So, I called my wonderful friend Leah, who agreed to make time in her schedule to do one for me. Even though she is super busy this time of year working on Christmas cards, she whipped this beautiful invite up for Jack...

That's right folks, we are having a Toy Story birthday party. He is obssesed with the movie and I must admit I like it too. So, when choosing a theme for his birthday it was a natural choice. When I found the party supplies at Birthday Express I was soooo excited. I ordered them and they are already here! The invitations are being printed as I write this, so now it is on to the cake!