Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope everyone had a great day, we did. We stayed at home enjoyed our wonderful, beautiful children, had turkey and stuffing(that grandpa made for us), mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes(that you just reheat in the microwave), rolls, and I did make green bean casserole. Yes it was a very very laid back Thanksgiving, but I'm still so thankful for so much even with my scary(ok it was for me) surgery, and the scary(that turned out to be "ok") heart issue!
I'm thankful for
My wonderful husband that help me heal from the surgery, was my rock when I didn't know what was wrong, and been so supportive in starting my business.
My cute and silly N. Even though the boy knows just how to push my buttons, he also knows how to make me laugh. Everyday he puts me in aw on how much he cares for others, and how smart he is.
My adorable princess M. I'm so so grateful that she's finally talking, and saying the easy words. She still has a ways to go, but I'm just happy she's made it this far.
My little brother, who I love so very much. I'm so happy he's found his love.
My family who I don't get to see half as much as I wish I could.
My best friend, and sister, who is there when I need to talk and always there to help encourage the kids even from far away.
My wonderful in laws, nieces, and nephews for being a wonderful family.
My new sister in law(and her family) you are the best thing for my brother, and I'm so grateful you have all taken him in like you have!
T who understands me so much, and helps us out so we can have date nights. And her kids, without them my kids wouldn't have best friends!
All my friends that let me just vent about stupid stuff and are there for me when I just need to get out of the house and walk around the mall.
N's teachers, who have helped N's speech so, so much, and helped him not be quite so shy, and really made sure not to hold him back with his smarts and wanting to help others.
M's speech teacher, who gave her a test that other's may not have cuz she's so young, but cuz of it, she was able to really help M learn.
My dr who, sent me to the heart dr went there was only one little thing pointing to my heart. Many other drs would have(and did), just dismiss my symptoms. If he hadn't I may still be drained and miserable.
Thank you for everyone in my life you all are so special to me and I'm so thankful for everyone of you!

What a Week!

This last week has been fast, but not very much going on. We all have been sick with head colds. It started with M last weekend, she was fussy, had a runny nose, and just wanted to be held. By Monday N and I both were sick with the same thing(well I could feel the head cold part, hence knowing we had head colds lol). Tuesday I made it out of the house for a bit thanks to grandpa who watched the kids who were still sick. I was too, but I had to get ribbon for a bow order, a card for my niece(which of course I forgot the gift card so it was useless), and some food for the house. The rest of the week was the same sit around the house trying not let the kids run around to much cuz then they would just start coughing and the noses would start running really bad again. Poor N ended up with the worse cold sore he's ever had, it's like three in one, it covers most of the area between his nose and mouth. Thankfully we still have his meds of it, but it's been a heck of one.
Some very good positives of the week, M started getting potty trained. She did really well, but the whole thing didn't go so well. It would have been much smoother and been done by now if a)we weren't all sick and b)her brother wasn't here. The "problem" with N being here was that he would get her to run around the whole house were when it's just her and me I can get here to stay in the living room(which I had covered in vinyl tablecloths) so I could watch her better and she would also focus a little better on it. So it was just one day of that, the rest of the days we haven't for gone it, there just isn't any undies involved or me asking if she has to go all the time, she just tells me if she has to go. The funny thing is last week I wanted to start on Monday, but then we got sick so I was going to put it off. Well Monday M had different ideas she keep taking off her diaper, at one point she ran to the potty had her diaper off and end up going on the floor (she couldn't get herself up on to the big potty :)!That is when I decided we would full out try it and we got out the undies and everything. She did great had 2 accidents, and then went 2 times by herself and her undies were dry both times! Then she wanted a diaper, I'm not fighting this time, I'm just going with the flow, maybe nugging a little if I see she needs it, but other then that I'm not stressing. After everything with Nathan(UGH) I'm letting God do the timing!
Another good thing, I watched Twilight on Monday(after having it sitting here for two weeks). I really didn't think I was going to like it. I'm not really into the vampire stuff, but all my friends keep telling me to watch it and read it, hubby had put it on our Netflix list, I was in no rush to watch it really, I figured some day I'll watch it. I saw it and I LOVED IT. It is not anything I was excepting. There really isn't any(ok that much) normal vampire stuff, it's much more of a romance then anything else. I feel so connected to the main characters and their relationship, cuz it "feels" like mine and hubby's in so many ways. Anyways, I liked it so much, I wanted it again Tuesday and when I was at the store, I picked up the first two books in the series. Yesterday I had to run out and get the third one(I couldn't find the fourth in paperback so I have to wait to get that one). I'm already on Eclipse and about 1/3 of the way through it. I'm still amazed at how much I liked it.
That's about from here, I can't wait till next weekend, I can finally put up our tree! Which I'm so excited about cuz we have a big own now. Last year we managed to get a 7ft tree on clearance for $20! I really wanted the one with the lights predone, but hubby said no, but the deal was he has string the light on the tree then. I didn't really care that much(well I'm not going to string a 7ft tree) as long as I had a big tree. I've been wanting one for so long. I can't wait to get it up. I think I'm going to have to get some more lights(all ours are 100strings and different). I also picked up a few(3) new ornaments for the tree, since I really don't know if all our ornaments will fill a big tree. I don't want it full full(cuz we will always be adding at lest 4new ornaments a yr) but I want it to look like it's got ornaments, know what I mean!?
That's it from here I'm off to read!

Another Milestone

Today M had another milestone! For me it was an extra bittersweet one. Like daddy I loved her long hair and the cute little ringlets she had, but it was so long every morning was becoming a struggle trying to get it brushed. The ends were just knotting up really bad, so I know deep down we had to get it cut at lest a few inches to get it manageable again. But unlike daddy, there was an extra bitter sweetness for me. See, my mom cut my hair(I'm sure even did my first hair cut though I'm not 100%), up until about 9 months before she passed away. At that point she was just to sick to do it anymore so I went to a family friend who was the only person I truly trust to cut my hair(though since moving so far I've had to let others do it never really has happy as if it was her). As a child I always dreamed that she would give my kids their first hair cuts, but of course that dream has died. And with both N and M I wanted to have our family friend do it, but the kids hair always seems to get unmanageable before we are able to make it back to Chicago. I think it's God telling me it's ok to let go and trust others, even if it is scary...but anyways, back to today! For the last month I've been saying I have to cut M's hair, but 1)I wanted daddy there for the special occasion, and 2)the whole bitter sweetness was getting to me. We decided to try this hair place that we've seen in the mall they have cute little cars for the kids to sit in and they can watch TV's, it's really cute.

Here's her in the Barbie Jeep seat right after the first snip!

M did sooo good, she fussed a little, more just girlie wining(as daddy calls it lol), I think more cuz she wasn't 100% sure what was going on. There was no tears, unlike her brother who cried and still cries and throws a huge fit when he has to get his hair cut. I'm sooo happy on how it came out too. She had about 3 inches cut off, so when it's wet it's about an inch below her shoulder, but dry it sort of curls up and bounces right about her shoulder.

M right after she was all done

This is in the car waiting for N to get out of school

You can see the length a little better

Halloween 09

The kids had a great Halloween this year! N was Iron Man and M was Tinkerbell. It took me all day to get a picture of them together, but finally I got one!!

Tinkerbell and Iron Man

First we had a first birthday party to go to. N went in his costume I had planed to have M in hers too, but it was bugging her(I think the seam for the tulle was itching), so I changed her into a dress. That was after I put her in tights to try and help the problem which only helped for about 5mins. The party was fun, M had two little boys chasing her around...I swear she was enjoying the attention, which means we'll be in big trouble as she get older lol!

M and her boys

N fell asleep in the car(I swear he's like his Uncle T and falls asleep in the car everything it's over 20mins of a drive). So once we got there he was took extra long to get comfortable with all the new people(he's still my shy one). He sat and ate pizza for a good 30mins before he decided to join his sister running around.

N and his pizza

We had first planed on staying and Trick or Treating with our friends, but it was muggy out and the kids were already really red from the heat. Plus, I wasn't feel to hot so we decide it was best to just pack up and Trick or Treat at the mall were it would be cooler and easier on me. N LOVED it like normal. Every time he got something he would look in the bag either tell us what he got, or say "I'm getting so much Candy!!" it was really cute. M sat in the stroller for most of the walk, which is very odd for her she's usually the one walking, but I think the running around for an hr outside was catching up with her. She did finally get out of the stroller, and she loved saying hi to everyone and having people say how pretty she looked!

Waving at people

N showing off his costume

Towards the end I took N for a potty stop well N was going M was dancing around the room it was so funny I had to take a picture of it...

M Dancing

Once we got home we had dinner, checked out the loot.....

And watched some TV.

The funny thing M didn't want to take her costume off till I finally had to take it off for bedtime, after she was making such a fuss about it before we left....such a silly girl!!

And here's a picture of our pumpkins this year they came out really cute!!

Been Awhile!

Yes, yes, I know I haven't posted in like a month! Things have been busy and hextic, but all good/great and exciting!!

Cody started his intermediate class 2 weeks ago, he did pretty good. We have to rework on watch me. Last week there was no class since our trainer was on vacation, so I had two weeks to work on watch me and well, I haven't! I know bad girl, but I've been a little busy...you'll see in a little bit.

M is doing great in speech therapy! She had a test done a month ago to find out what type of speech delay she had. It came out that she has speech apraxia, which is what I figure all along. Now her therapist knows how to better teach her and it's going great!

N is also doing wonderful! He loves his new teacher. On the first day of school this year his teacher(who he just adored) told us she was retiring at the end of the first week. N was out of sorts for the next week, which we figured cuz he loved her so much. He then got to meet his new teacher two weeks later(they had a sub/helper from last year come help out the assistant for two weeks to help the kids adjust to being with out their teacher and getting a new one.) His new teacher is his old teachers daughter! And I love her(well I loved his old teacher too!) and N loves her too! Then he gets extra bonus cuz his old teacher comes to visit for a few hrs here and there.

I've been busy starting my business! I'm so excited, it's going pretty well so far. I've had a few orders which is good. M's loving it cuz she's getting new hair bows, and it's really funny cuz all the ones that I didn't make she will not wear now! I'm sure she will again soon(I hope so!) but it's still really cute and funny! N's been a little jealous about M getting all the bows though he knows that some of them are for other little girls, so I told him I'd make him a smaller afghan for school. He loved that idea! And it will be better for his back since he keeps wanting to bring the other one I made him to school and I swear the thing weights like 6lbs! Anyways, back on track! I ended up opening an Etsy store since I love that site and I loved that I could set it up like a little store, unlike if I did Ebay where it wouldn't be as cute and nice looking. It's also easier then setting up a whole website, and more traffic, at lest that's the idea!

Well, I'm off to come up with a few more bow ideas and help Daddy get the kids to bed!

Excited and Nervous

I'm going to attempt to start a hair bow business. I'm so very excited about it, I'm jumping for joy(ok not really, but I feel like it). At the same time, I'm very nervous, what if it doesn't work out, all those sort of things. I thought about doing this when M was about 9 months old, but I was still working part-time, and it seemed like there was always something going on. Then last week I made M a Chicago Bears Bow and remembered how much I liked doing it. Hubby and I talked about it and I decided I would give it a shot. I'm still working a lot of things out so it's still going to be a little while before I get everything up and running, but I feel really really good about it. I've had a few stress moments trying to come up with bow ideas, but I think it was the nerves coming through and not letting my creativeness come through. For now I'm just trying to get all my ducks in a row and pray it does good.

Wandering

I've been meaning to post for awhile now, and about a lot of things. It's weird we'll be doing something during the day and I'll think O I want to blog about that, I'll do it tonight. Then bedtime comes, I check my couple of websites, and then all I want to do is go play World of Warcraft. I'm trying to level up my Death Knight, she's so much fun. I just want to get her to 80 so bad.....anyways, back on track. I end up playing that till I'm ready for bed. Needless to say this post will more than likely just wander around about everything I've been wanting to post about.
It's amazing how a little everyday item can make you feel like a better mom, or even a little closer to someone. My mom had this Tupperware pitcher, that always had ice tea in it. It was an ugly thing, almost a browny-orange color. I never thought much of it, even after she died, it was just a pitcher. I've of course purchased pitchers since then, just cheap ones. Lately I've been making lots of lemonade and Koolaid, and my pitchers have done, just fine. Then a few weeks ago an online friend who just started selling Tupperware, asked if anyone wanted to buy any. I love Tupperware(I mean really who doesn't), but it's pricey, so I figured I'd just pick up a nice divided dish so I can do cute bento lunches for N. As I was looking at the catalog I ran across their classic pitcher(of course in a much nicer color!) Though I've looked at their catalog a few times of the years I never noticed it before, but this time it just seemed to stand out to me. I felt like I should get one, so I spent the $32(I know for a pitcher, but I know we'll have it for the rest of our lives where our $5 ones hopefully will last til next yr). I got it last week, and immediately fell in love with it and felt......I don't know.....more like a mom, more like my mom. It's crazy how every time I open the fridge and see it I feel more connected to her, and great that I made something good for my family.
On the subject of my mom, (another little back story sorry) I'm not 100% sure how the frog came about or how it came to look out the door(though I know my mom told me the story more than once, I just don't remember it lol). She had this bean bag frog, that sat on a shelf and looked out her bedroom door(sort of watching out). When her and my dad got married, the frog came and sat where he could look at the front door. When we moved he was the first thing to get put in it's place, on a curtain rod looking at the front door. When the Beanie Babies came out my brother and I both got a frog(I do believe my mom got them for us, but I'm not 100% on that one) we both followed and put our frogs where they could look out our door, and when we moved out they came along and did the same thing. When I was pregnant with N I know he had to have a frog and I had a second one(a little different looking that my Aunt had gotten me) so I dug it out, and put it on a shelf, but this time I put him so that he was watching over the crib. When M came we got her a frog too, and the same thing he watches over the crib. Both the kids know that the frogs are there to watch over them and they know which one is theirs, and they know that mommy's sits in the living room and watches the front door. Last night after we had tucked the kids N came to me and said "Mommy I need my grabber hand so I can get my frog down." I thought this was strange since they have never asked to have them before. So I asked him why he needed to have it down. He told me"I want to hold him, I'm scared!" It was just to cute, so of course I let him have it for the night, which of course made M want her's which she then laid on her pillow next to her and petted.
For Halloween, M is going to be Tinkerbell, and N is going to be Snake Eyes(from GI Joe). We have already purchased the costumes and accessories they need for them. N of course can just where his regular shoes since they are already black, M would need some fancier ones(or at lest plain white). They had cute green Tinkerbell ones, but for $15 and she can't really wear them again, I don't think so. Instead I found these silver shiny ones for $12 and she can wear them with her Christmas dress(well at lest for pictures), and of course everyday. The girl is in love with them....one day she wore them ALL DAY even to nap I finally had to make her take them off cuz she was starting to get blisters(we only had them for one day they were not broken in at all). And she's the one that is normally taking off her shoes as soon as she gets in the door. Which still cracks me up, the girl LOVES shoes, but hates to wear them much....don't get it.
I know there was bunches more I wanted to tell you all about, but for the life of me I can't remember, plus I think this is long enough lol!