SUNDAY PROJECT

OK, so we have a little girl who is not exactly the best at picking up after herself and thinks everything little is a treasure. I have been keeping her bedroom door shut when people come over and telling them that they aren't allowed upstairs because Aleigh's room will give them nightmares! You really could not see her floor. When Joe and I would have to carry her to bed we would almost kill ourselves trying to clear a path to her bed!

Well, today we didn't have any plans so while Joe was outside working in the yard I told Aleigh we were going upstairs to clean her room. I grabbed 2 garbage bags, even though I thought I would only fill half of one! It was so hard standing in the middle of her room trying to figure out where I was going to start. I decided I would start w/ the obvious garbage. Within 30 minutes I had one garbage bag full and was almost half way full w/ the other! If you are looking for any kids meal toys or smooth shiny rocks, let me know and I will dig them out of the garbage for you! It was CRAZY! After 4 1/2 hours Aleigh had her bedroom back!

Needless to say, Aleigh got a good lecture from Joe and I. She was told that if her room EVER looks like that again she will loose all of her toys because she isn't taking care of them.

Aleigh wanted me to share a pictures of her room clean. It's hard to believe how bad it looked w/ all the clutter you still see after it's clean, especially over in her little art section!

A BUSY WEEK

I can't believe it has been since Monday that I last posted! Where did this week go?! We have stayed very busy this week. Yesterday was a fun day with Chelsea. We started our morning off w/ picking up my friend Malin and her son, Will. From there we went to the salon to get Chelsea's hair done and then later in the day we went shopping for some new clothes, then wrapped up the day w/ a photo shoot of Chelsea w/ her new hairstyle and clothes! She felt pretty special and I am very greatful to Malin for scheduling some time to photograph some great shots of Chelsea! I will post a picture from the shoot when they are ready.

Me and some of my girlfriends celebrated Lindsay's 30th Birthday tonight w/out the men! We had a great time. Joe and the kids came home and AJ had a blast dancing to Robin's ringtones on her cell phone! The kids were able to jump in for a photo op.

The rest of the week has just been a matter of getting errands done, cleaning house at every window of opportunity, and keeping the kids entertained! The kids received their next belt ranking today, and I feel terrible because I didn't get any pictures. AJ recieved his purple belt and Aleigh recieved her gold belt! We are very proud of both of them and are thrilled that they both still continue to enjoy karate!

I captured this shot of Joe and the kids tonight! They all crashed in AJ's room while watching a movie. They crack me up!

4 month check up

Today was our regular summer day of work for me and Karate camp for Joe and the kids. After work I ran some errands for my job as Malins assistant for Heart Is Found Photography, then it was off to the dreaded 4 month checkup where poor little Ansley recieved 5 shots in her cute little chubby legs! It was so sad when it came time for her shots because she was so tired and had been fighting sleep all afternoon, as soon as she fell asleep they had to give her shots! My poor baby. I wanted to cry with her! It's so so sad after she cried and screamed as loud as she could w/ her eyes shut tight, she opened them and looked at me w/ this pitiful look as if to say "How could you let them do that to me mommy!" She took a good long nap after her shots, but didn't sleep as much as I thought she would.

Ansley is 4 months 1.5 weeks and weighs 13 lbs. 10 oz. and is 24 inches long. She is in the 50th percentile for both her height and weight. She is growing very similar to the way AJ and Aleigh did, but just a little smaller. AJ and Aleigh fell into the 20th percentile once they became toddlers. We shall see, they all seem to take after their daddy and are much smaller than I ever was!

Ansley's first time in a pool!

Today was Alden's 5th Birthday party (Aleigh's friend from preschool). They had the party at the coolest pool house! Apparently they are pretty good friends w/ a family who have their second home here in Sharpsburg (their primary residents is in England) and live a pretty cushy lifestyle! This pool was attached to a little guest house and the entire pool was screened in. It was really nice! The whole time we were there Joe kept talking about building one for us...in the future obviously! If we ever sell our house it is definitely our goal to build a house w/ a pool and never move again...unless we are moving to another state. We want to have a home where there is lots to do and where our kids will be happy staying home and having their friends over at our place, rather than being who knows where! I guess what I am trying to say is that we want to stay fully aware w/ what they are doing and who they are hanging out with!

Ansley really liked the pool, the noise of all the kids, and seemed to really like the cool water. AJ and Aleigh got so comfortable w/ the water that they were out in the middle of the deep end w/ their floaties. AJ has started pushing away from the edge and kicking his way back in the deep end! He was very proud of his confidence today! So, it looks like I need to suck it up and go purchase my first bathing suit in over 4 years! My kids really enjoy swimming and I want to enjoy it with them. So I need to put my bad body image aside and get myself a full coverage bathing suit so that I can enjoy the water w/ my kids this summer. We have several friends who have access to a pool and have invited us to join them.

After Alden's Birthday party we went to my mom and dads for a cookout. My dad had to try out his new grill! The burgers were very tasty! Tomorrow we is a dreaded doctor's appointment. Ansley has her 4 month visit and will be getting 4 shots. It never gets any easier, even with the 3rd baby!

BEST FRIENDS!

Today Aleigh got to see her best friend Abby for Abby's 5th Birthday Party! The party was at Abby's house and they rented one of those HUGE waterslides. Aleigh had a great time and tomorrow she will get to see Abby again at Alden's Birthday party. Alden is Abby and Aleigh's little friend that's a boy. They were all in the 3 yr old class at Cornerstone Preschool and have remained friends. I think Aleigh was able to bond w/ Alden so well because he is so much like AJ. He's a cute kid! His party is a swimming party tomorrow and AJ was invited as well, so it will be a lot of fun!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Tia Zulma!!! Today is Joe's little sister's birthday too! Since it's a Saturday night, I am sure she is out partying w/ her friends and having a great time! We wish we could celebrate w/ her, but hopefully she will be coming out to visit and we can have a late birthday celebration!

"NO" is not funny!

Ansley was in the BEST mood today and I think she is starting to find her voice. She has been so content, no matter what she is doing, and babbling all day long! She will get louder and louder! Well, the whole time I was giving her a bath tonight she was babbling, sucking her fingers, grabbing her toes, just full of energy! Even when I took her out of her bath and wrapped her up in her towel she was still sucking her fingers and babbling...with her fingers in her mouth! She continued to babble as I put her lotion on and got her dressed. The minute I picked her back up, she got MAD! She got red faced and stiff and acted like she was yelling at me! I looked at her and said "no ma'am! You're fine, don't you start getting fussy with me." She stopped, gave me a look of complete shock and busted out laughing!!! She is 4 months old and already laughing at me when I tell her no! That's exactly what she was laughing at too. After she started laughing, I once again, told her "No." and she laughed again!
Ya know, you work so hard to get those adorable belly laughs out, and when you discover something that makes them laugh you try and do it over and over again but it eventually stops making them laugh so you have to find something else to get them to laugh. Well, I can't keep trying to get her to laugh by telling her NO or I will really be regretting that all too soon! I can tell I already have my work cut out for me! She is so much fun though!

Summer Days are changin!

So, I recently posted about how nice it was that the kids enjoyed Karate Camp because it allowed me some time to get some things done w/out the kids complaining about having to go to another store or wanting to go home! It's also nice that they get to have that time w/ Joe, I know he enjoys being with the kids more! Well, today I realized that those Summer days have taken a turn, and not necessarily in my favor! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy spending time w/ the kids, but I was really enjoying grocery shopping w/ just the baby and not having to listen to the kids argue or throw random things in the cart! I even had the opportunity to get some work done from home while Ansley napped w/out any interruptions. Well, Chelsea is here for the summer and she made it very clear to me today that she didn't appreciate being at camp for longer than an hour! If Chelsea doesn't want to stay, my kids won't want to either! Chelsea prefers to spend all day at our house. That's all great and well and I'm glad she enjoys our home, but it's good for her and the kids to get out and be active! I guess I just need to be more creative and find things to do w/ them to keep them active and Ansley happy...and still not have to spend a fortune on gas! Any suggestions?

Here is a photo of Chelsea holding Ansley for the first time! She loves babies and is actually a natural when it come to holding them and making them smile!

A Low-Key Day

Today was the first day in a long time that I was able to relax and hang out at home w/ the kids. I finally had an opportunity to attend to things that needed to be done, and do some things that I wanted to do, like return phone calls, color w/ the kids and enjoy holding and playing with Ansley! There is just nothing sweeter than when your baby falls asleep on you when your not even trying to get her to sleep! It's hard to put her down when she is practically hugging me as she sleeps on my shoulder. She was wide awake and smiling like crazy just moments before this picture was taken!

Last Weekend

Aleigh's Recital was Saturday night and went very well! Aleigh was very excited to have mommy, daddy, AJ, Ansley, Nana, Papa, and Madrina there to see her dance on stage! Unfortunatly she spotted us from the stage and it threw her off a little! She even blew us a kiss as she walked off the stage! It was cute! I just feel so bad for all of the little 3 year old dancers because the Recital didn't start until 7:30 and then didn't end until almost 10 p.m. Aleigh was pretty exhausted afterwards so I am surprised that there weren't any little ones crashed out in the back room when us parents went to claim our kids.

Yesterday we spent the day/evening at my mom and dad's for Fathers day. We had a cookout and ate lots of yummy food! The kids gave Joe a new George Forman Grill for Fathers day since our previouse grill's (2) have broke! Hopefully this one will last a little longer. Joe uses the Grill at least 3 times a week, so he has missed having one and was really excited to get a new one!

All about the girls today!

Ok, so the video quality is terrible! I was holding Ansley as she wiggled like crazy and I forgot my video camera and had to use my regular camera to video Aleigh's Recital number at her dress rehearsal this evening. You can't even make out the girls faces, but Aleigh is the last one on the right (your right-looking at the screen). I was really nervous about her doing this number because when they let us see them practice this number in class yesterday, Aleigh was out to lunch or something! She was just following her teacher and looking up at the ceiling! There is just something about being on the stage that makes her really focus and shine!

Ansley and I went shopping at the mall today w/ Emma and Lindsay. We had fun, but were disappointed in the Disney Store, since that was our reason for going. They just didn't have much of what we were looking for, and what they did have was more money than we wanted to spend!We did find some great things on sale at Gymboree and earned some Gymbucks ($25 for every $50 you spend to use at redemption time). That store is SO DANGEROUS! I could seriously blow some major money on my girls in that store! They have the cutest clothes at not so great prices!

We picked Aleigh up from Karate Camp and headed to the house to get Aleigh ready for her Dress Rehearsal. Right when we were getting ready to leave, Ansley had a MAJOR blowout! It's amazing to me that even after 3 kids, and several blowouts, I still feel like I am clueless about what to do when there is poop all over my baby and I have to find a creative way to get her outfit off w/out getting poop all over both of us! This was the worst one yet! We had to stick her in the sink and give her a quick "Cowboy bath" as Lindsay called it! We finally made it to the Rehearsal, a little late. Then, when we finally got home tonight, Aleigh took over and wanted to bathe Ansley for me! She is such a sweet big sister! THEN, after the baby was in bed and Joe was entertaining the kids, I left to get some grocery shopping done! Sometimes it is just so nice to be able to go the store by myself!

Ok, so this weekend is all about Aleigh and my dad! Saturday is both my dad's birthday and Aleigh's dance recital, Sunday it's Fathers Day and we are going to be having a cookout at mom and dad's. But, tomorrow is Aleigh's Dress Rehearsal, so today was her last day of dance class for this year. When I asked her if she was sure she wanted to stay in dance and not try something else, her reply was "NOPE! Nothing else except dance and karate!" See, I thought that because she enjoys the 20 minutes of gymnastics they do, that maybe she would like to try gymnastics. "No mommy! I am staying in Dance!" I am great with her decision, I just needed to make sure! Well, today when I asked Mr. Steve (the owner of her dance studio) what day and time her class would be in the fall, he told me it would be on Thursdays from 4-5:30! Well, I was confused. In talking to the other mom's most of the girls from Aleigh's class were going to be taking class on Monday's from 4-5 pm. So I looked at Steve w/ a puzzled look and said "she is going to get an additional 30 minutes?" He looked at me w/ this proud smirk and said "Well girls on my competition teams get more time for one on one to focus on technique!" Now I was concerned so I immediately asked "What type of time and financial commitment is this going to be?" He then said that we would only need to buy the usual 1 costume for the year, and her class was only an additional $11 per month. I was totally ok with this but had to ask "So you think Aleigh is ready for this?" and his comment back to me was "Aleigh, Maviry, and Savannah (Aleigh's friends since she started dance last year) have blown us away w/ their progress last year and this year and they love the stage. They will do very well, I have no doubt! They were the only ones out of the 12 in their class that we thought were good enough to compete!" Well, now I can say I am officially proud and not just worried that he is trying to get us to commit to more time and money. Mr. Steve is right though, Aleigh LOVES the stage. We, as parents, don't get to watch them take class, so seeing them perform is always a treat! I will be sure and post pictures of Aleigh rehearsing tomorrow and of her recital on Saturday!

Children's Treasures!

Remember when you were little and every little sparkly rock, penny, or anything that could fit in your pocket was special?! Well, I remember being that way and now my little clone has officially become a trash collector! Today while I was taking all of aleigh's clothes out of the washer to put them in the dryer I looked down in the washing machine and, as you can see, I had a small collection of rocks pennies and even a pen (thank god it didn't leak all over aleigh's clothes). Later, as I was cleaning the kitchen, I picked up her princess lunchbox and wondered why it was so darn heavy, so I unzipped the front pocket and found yet another collection of rocks! Even though it drives me absolutely crazy, I had to laugh! She is such a garbage collector! One day I might be daring enough to take a picture of her room and show just how bad it is. I try to control it, but don't have time to clear out her room w/ a trash bag every other day!

The last two days have been our regular busy days w/ karate camp, work, and errand running. I gave Ansley cereal today and she took it better the second time than she did the first. Hopefully it won't irritate her this time like it did last time. If it does I will need to wait a little longer to try again. Robin stopped by this evening w/ Tessa. Tessa has a Johnny Jumper at home so she knows what they are all about, but I had never seen her in one. Well Robin put her in Ansley's and we were so entertained watching her go airborn in that thing! She sticks her arms out to the side and jumps up as high as she can and her toes will be pointed and touch while she is off the ground and she lands so gracefully! She looked like a little ballerina! She just jumped non-stop. Robin took her out to get ready to go and said she was getting tired, but would keep going if she let her! Little miss Tessa has some energy and will probably keep mommy and daddy on their toes! Too Cute!

A busy busy but fun weekend!

This weekend was the beginning of a month full of busy weekends! AJ and Aleigh had a birthday party to go to on Saturday afternoon at our first local indoor miniature golf course. It was the 6th Birthday for a friend of theirs from Karate. They had a blast and now it's Sunday night and AJ is having his first sleepover at our house w/ that same friend, Devon (pictured). It is 11:41 p.m. and they have been swimming all afternoon. I thought for sure they would be asleep by now, but they are up there laughing and playing video games and board games. I will eventually have to go up there and suggest a movie so they will fall asleep.

I had a Baby Shower to go to yesterday for my friend Danielle (the person I signed up under as a lia sophia jewelry rep). Her shower began at her 4d Ultra Sound appointment. It was a huge room with a couple of couches and a big flat screen on the wall so we could all see. It was very different but neat. I left there and went directly to my friend Malins house for a get together and enjoyed a small cocktail...my first since being pregnant w/ Ansley. Then today the kids had a little swimming party at the clubhouse that was holding the poker event for Adam, Joe and their regular poker crew. While they were there I went to Robin's house for a little surprise party thrown by her husband. It was nice to see her twice in one week! I then headed over to the clubhouse and visited while letting Ansley splash her feet in the pool. It was 95 degrees here today and the pool water felt no cooler than bath water! From there, I came home w/ all of the kids and had to listen to Ansley cry the whole 35 minute drive! She was very moody today...probably because of the heat if she is anything like me!

A Long Overdue Visit

With Joe and the kids going to Karate Camp this summer, as I mentioned earlier, Ansley and I have a little more time on our hands for some long overdue visits! As posted on Tuesday, we got to go see Robin and Tessa! Today we were able to go see Tammy, my first close friend after moving to Georgia almost 17 years ago! It was so cute to see how enthusiastic these baby girls were when they first saw each other! Their grins were as big as could be! They shared a lot of smiles together today. Hayley is an amazingly happy baby, and although she had to tolerate some fussiness from Ansley, she never let out the first fussy sound! When we sat them down together it was like looking at two little versions of me and Tammy. I am so excited to have friends that have baby girls the same age as Ansley! It is going to be a blast watching them grow together! Tammy and I were talking about our plans to make our kids want to be at our houses when they grow up. This way we can keep them from doing the crazy things we did as teenagers!

Today I heard Aleigh's ability to tell a story, and tell it well. It was a true story and I had no idea where she was going with it until she finished. Then I sat there for a minute and thought "Wow she just told me a story and told it very well!"

This is how she told it:

"Mommy, today at Karate Camp I was just sitting there watching Happy Feet, enjoying the movie and I looked over and saw an older boy and his little brother. They were just sitting there playing with their dinosaurs. I looked back over and kept on watching Happy Feet. Then I looked over again, they were still playing so I looked back over and kept watching the movie. I looked over again and then back at the movie, then when I looked over the last time the little brother just threw up all over the place! It was so gross mommy! Don't worry, I didn't go near him because I didn't want to catch it!"

I thought that was pretty well told coming from a 4 year old! I love the conversations I can have with AJ and Aleigh. As they grow I can see that they must really listen to Joe and I and the stories they hear us share over the phone and with friends and family! Guess we better be careful! Lol!

Heart Is Found

So I am so excited to be a part of Heart is Found Photography! My great friend, Malin who has been a good friend of mine since 8th grade (16 years), is an INCREDIBLE photographer and I have always enjoyed bragging on her and raving over her incredible work. She has asked me to assist her in her business and I'm thrilled that she thinks of me, not only as a close friend, but also as someone who would work well next to her! This is something I am going to be able to do during any free moment I can find! Yes, I am still working for D.E.S. but only very part-time. Malin has some projects in the works that are very exciting and I can't wait to be a part of her success! I left her website in my blog the other day, but I am going to include it again - http://www.heartisfound.com/ .

A Friendly Visit

Ansley got to see her friend Tessa today! Tessa is Robin's baby girl who is about 9 weeks older than Ansley. Tessa was born 3 weeks early and had a rough first week in this world w/ lots of medical attention to assist her w/ some breathing problems and then jaundice. It was very hard to watch my dear friend go through that and not be able to hold her baby for the first 5 days! As you can see, Tessa is now a very healthy, sweet, outgoing and adorable baby girl! It's so amazing how much she has changed in the last month or so since we saw her last! Tessa even scared Ansley a little bit because she had definitely found her voice and she isn't afraid to use it! It was so cute and too funny! I can't believe Ansley hasn't gotten over being so jumpy over loud voices. We don't exaclty have a quiet house and she sure can sleep through loud noises.



Robin and I had a nice visit and were able to catch up. We had to laugh at the girls because not only were they hungry at the same time, but they were poopin at the same time, crying at the same time, and sleeping at the same time! It was too cute! We really look forward to watching our girls grow together! On Thursday we will get to visit my friend Tammy and her baby girl Hayley, who is just 3 weeks older than Ansley!

AJ and Aleigh continue to enjoy the summer at Karate Camp! It was 90 degrees here today, so they didn't get much outside time, but they were able to get out plenty of energy w/ the moonwalk and karate class. I am hoping that they don't get too burned out on Karate Camp. I might look in to some other activities for them to offer a little variation for the summer.

An Average Sunday

We went to church this morning for the first time in a month! It was "move up" day so Aleigh got to go the Kindergarten class upstairs w/ all of the big kid classes! She was excited to be near AJ. I think Joe and I kept trying to make today a lazy Sunday, but the kids kept asking when we were going to church! We love our church, so we are always glad when we make it a point to be there. They have an excellent childrens program!

Uncle Bryson needed a subject for a photo shoot he had to do for school, so he borrowed Aleigh and got some great shots. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and visiting w/ my parents. It was a nice way to end the weekend!

SEX AND THE CITY

I finally got to see the movie today, and it couldn't have been more perfect! I LOVED it and want to go back to the Theatre to see it again and then I want to own it! I never get tired of seeing the re-runs on tv at night. What I appreciated the most about the movie was the closeness between 4 girlfriends! It was really neat. I am truly blessed to have such great friends in my life and I appreciate each and every one of you! We need to hang out more!

Ok, so my friends were asking which character I thought I was most like on Sex and The City. Well, I can't say I am like any of them! It's just crazy to try and say I am like one out of only 4 women who live in New York City living the high life while I live in the suburbs w/ my husband and 3 kids. However, I couldn't resist taking the quiz that was posted on a website I recently visited (star94.com). According to the quiz, I am most like Carrie. Click on the link below to find out who you are most like.

Which Sex and the City Character Are You?
	You are Carrie. You know what you want out of a relationship and you're not afraid to keep moving until you get it. Wit and charm are your biggest turn-ons, and you like guys who appreciate you for your mind as much as your body. You have fun playing the dating game, but secretly you just can't wait to find the guy who sweeps you off your feet and carries you into the sunset.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com