Hippity, Hoppity, Easters on its way...

Don't you just love Easter? I do. I love all the pastel colors, the bunny rabbits and chicks, the flowers starting to bloom and the little Easter dresses at church. This Easter we are staying in town and the grandparents are all coming to us. I have my 5K that saturday morning and Taylor has her first swim lesson that same morning. It sounds like the grandparents have all opted to go to Taylor's first swim lesson instead of coming to the race to watch me run. I can't blame them, if I had a choice, I would go watch Taylor too.


Taylor is getting into the spirit of things. She keeps singing some bunny song they learned at church and hopping around. It's pretty cute. We can't understand all the words, but she and God know what she is singing about. I think Taylor is old enough this year to begin to grasp the concept behind celebrating Easter. It's not for the Easter basket full of presents or the Easter bunny, it's about Jesus and the resurrection.

If anyone has any Easter traditions or Easter ideas for children they would like to share, I would appreciate any ideas.

And the award goes to.............................ME!

That Toby Keith song, "Let's talk about me" is playing in my head right now! My dear friend Courtney gave me an award! Love it! Actually, she gave it to Taylor for being so darn funny, but I will accept it on her behalf. The rules are, if you recieve the award, you have to state 7 things you love and then hand out awards to 7 wonderful friends.



Let me see here, 7 things I love.......
1. My family: My life would be incomplete without Nathan and Taylor. God has blessed me with a wonderful husband who treats me like a princess and with a daughter who makes my heart happy every time I am around her. I can honestly say that Nathan is the love of my life, even though I tell Taylor she is the love of my life #2.
2. Bible Study: Oh I love our bible study! The girls are so much fun to be around and to share with. We read the best books that teach us how to be better people, wives, and mothers and to walk like Jesus.
3. Turtles: I just love turtles whether they live on land or in the water, I just love turtles. It all stems from one summer in college my friend and I went to South Padre Island for a month to work at the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center for an internship. It was one of the best experiences of my life. This would be my dream job - to live on the beach and work at a Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center.
4. Crafts: I love to make things. I try to make most of Taylor's bows among other things. I'm not that great at everything I try, but I just love making things.
5. Traveling: I love to travel. I love to go to new places, fly or road trip, and having new experiences.
6. Holidays: I love to decorate the house to get us in the spirit of the holidays. Nathan isn't too keen on my 18 tubs of Christmas decorations, but it sure feels like Christmas in our house in December. I try to decorate at least a little for each holiday. I'm not sure if I have a favorite holiday, but if I had to choose right now, I think I would say Christmas.
7. My friends: What would life be like without friends? Hopefully I will never have to know. Friends are precious and make life better.

And now I will pass the award on to 7 dear friends:
Crystal: She is such a great friend. Her precious little Somang is just the cutest darn thing.
April: This is my girl! She is on the same page in life as me it feels like. We both work, our daughters both go to the same babysitter, we go to the same church, same bible study and the same gym. Taylor and Abigail love to play together, so we get to hang out all the time.
Julie: Love her! I've known Julie since at least middle school and just love being around her. She is a wonderful friend.
Ally: She has such a good heart and her son Micah is just too cute. I got to meet him for the first time this past weekend and could just eat him up!
Beki: She has always been a wonderful friend with the energy of a tazmanian devil. I don't know how else to describe it. She can do anything and everything and I know her little Reagan is going to be just like her - which is a good thing!
Allyson: She is as sweet as sweet is. Her son Harper is a cutie and precious like his momma.
Rebecca: I am so glad we got reconnected this past year. She is so darn funny and her walk with the Lord is amazing. I would love to be able to have the passion and the knowledge she does about the Word and God.

Tea Party in Kingwood

The girls (from the left): Allyson and Harper, Ally and Micah, Taylor and me, Beki and Reagan, Bethany (expecting a little girl in August), and Julie.

All of us with our moms.

This past weekend we went to Houston to see my parents. Friday night was a little rough because Nathan didn't get home from Louisiana till about 7pm and we left at 8pm for Houston. Which means we didn't get to Houston till almost midnight. I don't think Nathan and Taylor minded - thye both slept while I drove. The nice thing was, there was barely any traffic. We ate lunch Saturday at Chelsea's which is the greatest sandwich shop on earth. It is one of those places you just have to go to when you go home for a visit.

Mom and I threw a tea party Saturday afternoon for some of my closest friends from high school. Actually, most of us have been friends since we were like 5 years old. Mom and I threw a tea party last year for the girls so they could all meet Taylor since she was the only baby. This year, there were 4 kiddos there and one on the way! It was so wonderful to get to see all my friends, there moms, and there precious little angels. The kids had a great time playing together and I had brought down half of Taylor's playroom, so there were more then enough toys for each kid to keep busy.

Taylor and Harper feeding the dogs milky bones.

Taylor feeding Micah raisins.

You can't turn your back on your child for a second. Taylor kept sneaking milky bones for the dogs - they probably had 10 each before I realized what she was doing. She would get into the treat drawer in the kitchen and get them bones, walk past all of us and go throw them at the dogs in the laundry room. She probably did this 5 times before I told her to stop. Also, when I turned around another time, Taylor was feeding Micah raisins. It was sweet and they were both happy, so who was I to stop them.

Broke down and just did it

Nathan has been out of town since tuesday and it has been raining the past few days on and off, so I couldn't go run outside with Taylor. I have been trying my best not to take Taylor to the child care center at the gym, but I had no other choice this week. I just felt like it wasn't that clean - which I have no basis for thinking this; I didn't want her in there with people I didn't know; and I was afraid of her being with older kids that might hurt her if the people aren't paying attention. Those were my fears of the child care center. Well, April said she would go with me yesterday and take Abigail to play with Taylor at the child care center, so we went. The workers were nice, the place was clean and any child's dream place. There were so many toys in there, it looked like a Toys' R Us threw up in there. The girls just ran in and started playing immediately. That made me feel a little bit better. I think it helped Taylor that Abigail was there with her or maybe that is just me thinking that.

I ran 1/2 a mile straight and then another 1/2 mile straight a little bit later yesterday. We went back today with April and Abigail and I ran 1 mile straight! It might not sound like anything big to some of you or most of you, but it was a great feat for me today. I am kind of proud of myself for not stopping before a mile. Taylor and I are head to Houston for the weekend, so I am hoping to run Saturday morning - we'll see.....

Picture Day at preschool

Taylor has pictures today at school. Let me tell you, I debated long and hard over 5 dresses for these pictures. Then I had to make sure that she had bows that matched each dress. I ended up choosing the sailor dress...who doesn't love a sailor dress on a toddler???? Anyways, I couldn't find both white bows this morning, so I had to make new ones last minute. They turned out a little large and I am praying that they stay together long enough for pictures. We have a family friend, Buddy, who use to call me a Bow Head because I always had bows in my hair when I was little. I think Taylor definetly qualifies as a Bow Head today - Buddy would be proud! I am just hoping her hair will stay looking nice long enough to get her pictures. They are suppose to be outside pictures too and it has rained the last two days and it is a little misty right now, so hopefully the pictures will still turn out cute. I know they are still having pictures because I saw the lady with some kids this morning outside the church taking their pics with all her gear. I'll post a picture of her school pics when we get them.

Here are some pictures I took of Taylor this morning:

Puppy's new hair cut

Before his hair cut.

One of our puppies, Tait is a Norweigan Elkhound and has a very thick, furry coat. We have been shaving every summer since he was a puppy. We took Tait to Cutie Pie Pets yesterday to get his hair cut and they did a great job! He looks like a totally different dog when he first comes out from getting his hair cut. Taylor was a little confused when Tait first walked out. She just kept looking at him going "Tait?", "Tait?" and looking at him like he was an alien. Too funny.

After his haircut.

Trying new things

I almost forgot to tell yall, we tried a new recipe every night last week and it was exciting. I have been pulling recipes out of magazines for years and finally put them in a binder instead of having them scattered around the house. Our recipes we picked turned out to be fabulous, all except one.

Monday: chicken with mushrooms - the best recipe we tried....soooooo good!
Tuesday: grilled shrimp with Mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus - super yummy
Wednesday: chicken tamale casserole - super yummy
Thursday: tuxedo chicken - not that great
Friday: shrimp scampi - yummy

Nathan is out of town this week, so we aren't trying anything new. Maybe next week.

Change of plans

We were suppose to go to Brownwood this weekend to see Nathan's parents and grandparents. At the beginning of the week, we were worried we couldn't go because of Taylor being sick, but since she is fine, we figured we were good to go. Charlotte, Nathan's mom, called today and she has some virus that is contagious, so she told us not to come. The last thing we need to do is get a new virus and all three share it. I kind of feel bad that we aren't going because we had been telling Taylor that we were going to go see the horses this weekend at Nana and Poppy's. Luckily she isn't old enough to remember. We are sad we didn't get to go, but we will see them in a few weeks for Easter.

New motivation for the race

I watched the Biggest Loser today (tivoed) from last night. I love this show, it just amazes me how big these people are at the beginning and how small they are at the end. Most of them look different too from the start to the end - I mean like in their faces and stuff. Well, last night they had to run a half marathon as their challenge. Let me tell you, I don't think I will ever run one. I would love to be able to, but I just don't think my body would let me. I could barely run 5 miles in high school when I was in great shape.

Watching the biggest loser contestants run the half marathon gave me a renewed motivation to run the 5K I've signed up for. I really want to do it, but I have yet to run in like 2 weeks. I know once I start up again, I will be able to do it.

Wish me luck!

Sticker bandit

Her shirt is covered with stickers. What you can't see is that she has stickers on her arms and legs.



Her slide with stickers.


Taylor is doing so much better. She hasn't had a fever since monday evening and she acts like she feels better too. She still has a snotty nose, which she has shared with me. I think she just got a touch of the flu this time, because it only seemed to last about 3 days instead of 7 like last month when we all had it.

I've been home with Taylor the last three days while she has been recovering, and I just want yall to know how much this child likes stickers. We have a tub full of stickers for her to play with and usually she just puts them on her paper when she is coloring. The last two days she has been putting stickers everywhere, including herself, Nathan and me. I figure it is harmless fun, so I just let her put them wherever she wants.

Didn't know it was possible

I took Taylor to the doctor first thing this morning and we found out what is wrong with her. She has the Flu again - the same Flue (Type A) as we all had a month ago. I didn't know it was even possible to get the same flu more than once in a season. Really!?! So not fair! I hate that Taylor is sick again. At least she doesn't act sick all the time. She was dancing with Barney earlier today, but as soon as that temp goes up, she looks like death warmed over.

Nathan and I are just praying we don't get the flu again. All three of us sick at the same time is no fun at all.

Guilty feelings

Well, we now know why Taylor was so 'ancy' and sleepy at the parade yesterday - she is sick. We didn't realize she was sick until she threw up after lunch yesterday. We took her temp and it was 102. Nathan and I feel horrible that we had no idea she was sick and made her stand outside in the cold when she didn't feel good. We don't know what she has, but she has a fever, runny nose and sneezing. Taylor woke up at 6 this morning crying and her temp was 103.2.

We've had a lazy day just laying around and watching movies. I am going to take Taylor to the doctor tomorrow to see what is going on. I'll let yall know what we find out tomorrow. The 103 temperature makes me nervous.

We really feel bad that we didn't know she was sick. Poor thing!

St. Patrick's Day Parade 2009

For the last 4 years, we have met a bunch of friends for breakfast and then watch the St. Patricks Day Parade together. This morning we had breakfast at Ozona's on Greenville Avenue at 8:30. We had to wait a little while for a table, so Kaylee (our friends daughter) and Taylor danced and played while we waited. After breakfast we walked up to the parade route and got our place along the railing. Taylor was getting ancy and we still had to wait about half an hour till the parade got to us. By the time the parade reached us, Taylor could barely keep her eyes open. Did I forget to tell yall that is was freezing cold this morning? Anyways, we had Taylor wrapped in a blanket and she kept falling asleep, so we decided we better leave before the parade was over at about 12:30. Taylor was asleep before we pulled out of the parking lot.

Oh yeah, I had the cutest little St. Patricks Day dress for Taylor to wear to the parade since the last few years it has been hot on parade day. Since it was so cold outside, we had to change her outfit. The only other green article of clothing she had is her green Baylor sweatshirt her Aunt Ashley gave her for Christmas. It worked out perfect for today, plus Baylor Mens Basketball is playing for the Big 12 Championship tonight. Sic'em Bears!

So sleepy!

Got to love the weather!

Oh the weather........March is such a fun month for weather in Texas. Two days ago it was 76 degrees and today it is barely 40 degrees and rainy. Don't get me wrong, I am glad it is raining, we needed the rain. Every morning is a weather surprise around here. I can't seem to dress Taylor right for the crazy weather either. I usually lay something out the night before if she is going to Tammy's (babysitter) the next day. I base my clothing choice off what the weather was like that day. I guess I should check the forecast, but when was the last time the meteorologist were actually right? Nathan and I always joke that being a meteorologist would be the best job ever because you don't ever have to be right and you can make up numbers for percentages of rain, etc... and people believe you. Plus you will always have a job. We like people to tell us what the weather will do in the future.

Oh look at that, the sun just came out. I'm sure it will be 80 degrees tomorrow or something bizarro like that!

Nathan's ski trip

Nathan came home yesterday from his boys trip to Colorado. There were 6 guys I think that went skiing and they seem to of had a great time. Nathan called me the first night after skiing all day and told me he had complained all day long because his boots he rented didn't fit right, his legs were aching, etc... So, to correct his boot problem, he bought some ski boots that were fitted perfectly for him. Now we have a pair of ski boots that I am hoping don't get stuck in the back of our closet for the next 20 years. I asked Nathan if he bought them so that I would have to let him go skiing every year since he now owns his own boots. He just kind of laughed....I'm on to him!

We can't wait to get Taylor skiing. We both love to ski and I think she will too. I love watching all those little kids in the ski schools with their itty bitty skis, their huge helmets and little ski suits. Too cute! We will see what stage she is in next year around this time and maybe take her skiing.

Taylor and I held our own this weekend when Nathan was gone, but there were a few moments when I needed him to be there so I could take a break. Whenever I get a little overwhelmed, I always think of what my brother said last August when he was visiting us. Right before he left, he told me that "having a child is exhausting and it never stops. She is like 24 hours a day". It makes me laugh. He couldn't believe how much work she was and how she is always there, etc. My brother is single and hasn't been around a lot of children, so it was a shock to his system. Plus, Taylor loved him and didn't leave him alone!

Ready to Party!

Saturday morning, Taylor helped me clean the whole house for Jen's baby shower. She is such a good little helper. She did pretty good with the cleaning, but she didn't quite understand me putting everything away. She kept dragging toys out of her playroom and then I would put them back as soon as she was done playing with it. Then she would pull it right back out. Vicious cycle!

Cleaning the windows.......

Cleaning the bookshelf................

Wearing mommy's cleaning gloves......

When she woke up from nap, the shower had already started, so she was a little overwhelmed with all the people downstairs. After she got use to all the people, she had a great time at the shower. She entertained the ladies, helped fold the tissue paper, played the shower games and ate a yummy cupcake.

Taylor playing a shower game........................

What a big girl!!

For about 2 months or so, Taylor has been telling us when she goes poo poo. Tonight I caught her pooping and had her sit on the toilet. Well, she totally pooped in the toilet! Yipee! I do not think she is ready for potting training, but I don't think it would hurt to start letting her go in the toilet whenever I can catch her in the act. She is a dead giveaway though, her face turns all red, she has started to kind of hide when she is doing it and you can see in her face that she is pushing. (She will probably hate me when she is older for blogging about this).

I am just so excited that she went in the potty. I tried to act as excited as I could so she would know it is a good thing to go in the potty. If anyone has any tips on how to reward her besides enthusiasm, please let me know. I know about the whole M&M reward tactic, but I don't want to use food as a reward if possible. I would like to do something not food related, but I will take any ideas.

Taylor's 2nd hair cut

Taylor had her 2nd hair cut yesterday. She was in dire need of a hair cut, so I took her to the Kiddos salon in the Stride Rite store yesterday. The lady just gave her a trim, but at least she doesn't look like such a mess when I don't put her hair up. I swear it took the lady approximately 8 minutes to do her entire hair cut.

Taylor did great the whole hair cut until the lady pulled out the blow dryer. When Taylor saw it, she grabbed the chair arms with both hands, looked at me with a total look of panic and then started reaching for me. The lady put the blow dryer away immediately. I couldn't believe she reacted like that. I've never used a hair dryer on her and I guess I will wait a while till she is a little older.

Digging in the dirt

Taylor absolutely loves to play outside. I have a pot on the patio with just dirt in it - I have yet to plant anything in it. She started to dig the dirt out and put it on the patio, so I got her a bowl to put her dirt in. Once she had filled the bowl up, I would dump it back into the big pot and she would start filling it up again. I think we must of done this routine about 10 times before she tried to eat the dirt. That was the end of our playtime in the dirt.

A friends blog...all about recipes

I was reading a friends blog this afternoon and she is always posting their weekly menu and some recipes on it. She has started a second blog that is only her recipes! What a great idea! I haven't tried any yet, but I have wanted too. I'm not too adventerous with food, so I usually stick to my own favorite recipes. I have decided to attempt to make a new recipe once a week starting next week (I already have this week's menu prepared). Yall should check out her blog which I have added the link to my blog list as: Meredith's Recipes.

Kudos to Meredith!

Playdate with Abigail

Yesterday I picked Taylor and Abigail up from Tammy's (babysitter) and brought them home to play. Before we went home, I had to run some clothes to the CCA to donate. The girls did great singing songs with me and reading books. April had to work late, so we brought Abigail home with us to for a playdate. The girls had a great time playing in the playroom and outside with bubbles. The girls were very sweet together and are learning how to share and play together.

Helping Daddy

Nathan bought some weather stripping to put around the doors this weekend. We are hoping it will help keep out our little snake friends. Taylor helped Nathan put the stripping up around the door. Isn't it just amazing how children want to help with everything!


Such a big helper!


Making sure daddy does it right!


Need to rest, that was hard work!

Probably going to have to eat my words

Well, this morning on the way to work, all I could think about was how much I wanted my hot, skinny vanilla latte from Starbucks. I remained strong and didn't stop at Starbucks. I am drinking my hot green tea here at the office, but it just isn't the same. I told yall I wasn't sure how long I could hold out, but I made it this morning. Now Friday will be another day, so we will see if I can do it Friday.

I didn't say I would never go back to Starbucks and yes, I went yesterday and got a green tea frappaccuino. They are super yummy. Hard to mess up too! But you know, one time I got one for my mom and me when we were out one day and the lady did mess up our green tea frappaccuinos. SHe made mint chocolate frappaccuinos which were delicious, but my mom and I are both allergic to chocolate, so it was kind of a nightmare. Mom had to pop a Benadryl immediately because her mouth and throat swell up instantly if they touch chocolate. My reactions are not that severe and are more internal problems. Anyways, there were no major problems that time, thanks to Benadryl. The lady was super nice and felt horrible for trying to kill us. I know the people that work there are human and they have so much going on, I understand it is easy to mess up a drink.

I apologize for my rant on Friday, but I was just a little p.o.ed about my wrong drink and not being able to have my usual morning yumminess.

We all know the saying," To err is human, to forgive divine".

All registered and ready to run!

I registered Friday for the Race for the Cure 5K in Fort Worth Easter weekend. I am very excited because this is my first race. Several friends are going to run with me, so that should make it that much more fun. I'm thinking about getting a jogging stroller so I can take Taylor on runs with me. I am going to borrow one of my friends stroller right now to see if I even like it. Nathan is going to be gone all week for work and then for fun. He is going on a ski trip with several guys to Vail, so it will be just Taylor and me. I haven't taken Taylor to the gym yet because I don't want to put her in the child care there. I'm sure there is nothing wrong with it, but for some reason, the thought just grosses me out. I like running outside better than a treadmill anyways, so this just gives me a reason to take her running with me.

I'll let you know how my training is going.