Six Years Ago Today..

we found out we were pregnant!!! It was also that same day that my gut instinct said girl, and sure enough, we now have the princess of our house!
I'll never forget December 24, 2002. It was the best Christmas Eve I will probably ever have. We had tried to conceive for the previous 3 months, but that morning, as soon as I woke up I decided to test just for the heck of it. Little did I know our lives would change forever from that moment forward. Excitement, nervousness, happiness, and so many other emotions instantly hit. It is one of those days you never want to forget. You don't want to forget each little detail or feeling you experienced at each ticking second. It's hard to believe it's been 6 years already, but it has truly been the best 6 years of my life. I love being Kyla's mommy and feel so blessed by God to be given the chance to raise her, teach her, and most importantly love her every second of every day!! I love you Kyla and am so glad you came into our lives and forever changed our hearts!!

I just have to share...

what I woke up to at 6 o'clock in the morning.

As a mom, I think it's normal to want to have special memories or treasured stories that you can reflect on, laugh at, and share when you child grows up. Well, what I woke up to this morning is one of those very stories that I will treasure and keep and tell in the years to come.
So, this morning, I had plans to be somewhere at 7, so I was planning on getting up around 6:25. However, I was abruptly woken up by our extremely loud musical mice (12 mice that literally play Christmas songs by banging on a bell) at 6am. Kirt jumped, I was confused and then we both knew instantly who it was and what was going on. You see, for some reason our dear, dear Carter is so confused with time, and thinks he really should be up around 5:45 or 6, when really we believe in the sun rule (you don't wake up until the sun's up). Ugh, why does he have to be like I was when I was a child?!?!
Anyway, back to the story...I walked out of our room, and find Carter sitting on our barstools watching the mice do their thing, and seeing his happy face grin from ear to ear. You see, he wasn't supposed to be out. He figured out how to open his child proof door and snuck out. The funny part to me, was that he not only has the Christmas toons going, but he also made sure he plugged the Christmas tree for the full effect. The boy is just so hysterical. I am so grateful God blessed me to be the mother of a precious little boy who is so fun spirited and loves to make people laugh!! I love you Carter and although I am not very thankful for the 6am wakeup call, know that I am beyond thankful for your humor, love, wit and charm. You are truly one special little boy!!!

Exciting Weekend

My list of excited things for Thanksgiving weekend:

1. Kirt has four days off of work! Yay!!
2. One of my best friends', Natalie, is coming down from Virginia today!! I am so excited to see her!!
3. Black Friday. Enough said.
4. Time with family and friends. Doesn't get better than this!
5. Turkey and potatoes. So, I'm really quite plain and simple when it comes to food. I LOVE the mix of turkey and potatoes.
6. Mayer Christmas Party (a tad early..). Can't wait to go to Natalie's house for a wonderful time!!
7. My sister and I are planning on working at the flea market one day this weekend. The hand stamped charms I have been making have been huge sellers, so I figured we would try another avenue on top of online. You can see them here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6350155
http://www.bluepaisleys.com/category_60/Handstamped-Jewelry.htm
8. I'm really excited about what has been happening with Blue Paisleys. I have been so busy and am so grateful!!! I never would have imagined something I dreamed up less than a year ago is doing what it is doing today!!

So, Happy Thanksgiving!!! We truly have so much to be thankful for. Even though times are rough in so many people's lives right now, we are still being shown constant blessings. We need to remember to never let those pass us by.

The Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day

Friday was one of the worst days I've had in a very, very long time. Almost made me want to write my own book titled, "Maria (or Kirt) and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day". Everything started of normal. I was getting the kids ready for school and the younger boys ready to run a few errands after our school drop off. Around 8:30am, my phone rang and it was Kirt freaking out, but like in a shaking and I don't know what to do kind of way (not yelling and out of control). He tell tells me that his tools have been stolen out of his truck. Bags and bags of tools and expensive ones at that. If he were to estimate it would be around 4K in tools of his own, and about 8K of the companies. We have no idea when or where it happened. He swears his truck was locked over night and there was no sign of entry whatsoever. He stopped at a gas station and ran in quickly and the door was unlocked during this time. I'm not a thief and I know they can do crazy things, but I just find it so hard to believe that they would climb into somebody's truck and take so much stuff during a super quick trip into a gas station (..and he was parked right in front). Who knows. However, I do know that I feel very violated. Now, somehow we have to come up with thousands of dollars in tools so he can continue to work. The rest of the day wasn't great either, but it was totally minute compared to the morning.

Regardless of circumstances, I am so thankful I have a God who I know will be with us during this time. I am so grateful for my faith and I can't even explain the feeling knowing that even when things get tough, we will not be forsaken. I am certain He will provide and will reveal Himself through this difficulty. I also pray for those who did this to us, that they may experience His presence, seek His grace and be saved from the only thing that can save them from whatever their circumstances may be.

My Carter Funny of the Day

Carter is so hilarious and is pretty much defined as our family clown, and he knows it. He makes the funniest faces and says the funniest things. Most dinners, all 6 of us are staring at him laughing at his crazy antics. Today, he found some of Kyla's pink lipstick, put it on and then ran to me telling me "I have to go show the mirror". It was too funny. Thankfully, he wiped it off right afterwards saying it was disgusting.

If you walk away for a second...

you get Jonah's wonderful post below. He typed it and posted it all by himself while I was on the phone with my dad. I'm a proud mom. :)

In difficult news, a friend I grew up with passed away November 1st after a 3 year battle with breast, lung and brain cancer. She was a single mom to a 6 year old little boy. We made many childhood memories together, including school, soccer and birthday parties. The last time I saw her, about a year or two ago, she was doing quite well (I think even in some sort of remission) and was so very happy. In fact, one thing I will always remember about her is how happy she always was and her constant smile. My heart breaks for her sweet little boy and how his life will now forever change because of this awful cancer. I pray for her little boy so he may find comfort during this difficult time. Rest in peace Lisabet..we can celebrate your passing knowing your in the most amazing and pain free place, unlike anything we can imagine.

b nmvvvnnnnnnnn bv:*}*HB

Here it is.

I have been pestered quite a bit lately regarding my blogging, or lack thereof. So, this will just be a random blog, likely containing a lot of jumping and random thoughts. Speaking of which, I love when I hang out with my sister and husband at the same time. You see, my husband can only have one conversation at a time (typical man) but my sister and I have about 6-8 random conversations going at all times. We jump around and are constantly distracted by any new detail brought into the conversation, leading to another conversation, yet still holding on and not finished with our other conversation. Got it? It drives my husband nuts, but I love how my sister and I speak the same "language".

Anyway, in other fabulous news, much to my surprise Kyla got her ears peirced yesterday. Kirt took her out for a bit and my little pricess came home with some brand new sparkly earrings...REAL ones (as she would say). They are adorable and I am super proud of her for doing it, especially like such a big girl. She didn't move, flinch and took it like quite the big girl. In fact, she now thinks she is so big that she is now the "wife" of her daddy and I am now the "kid" of the family. It was quite funny. Some may think this is weird, however, my husband took full advantage by telling her that wives scratch backs and give massages. She obliged.

Right now I am absolutely loving Target's frosted SPRINKLED sugar cookies (they are by the bakery bread for anyone wondering). I absolutely love sprinkles..probably more than my kids do, which is scary. These cookies are so delicious and right now my absolute weakness.

I am happy this election is over tomorrow. I still do not know who I am going to vote for, mainly because I really am not a fan of either. I feel like Obama is a really great politician (but seems like a liar and pretty picture painter- of himself- to me) and McCain for me, seems okay, however, I would really, really worry about Sarah Palin as a possible president should anything happen to McCain. I really, really like her, but I don't think she knows truly what she is doing. So, I am up in arms, and still unsure.

I hope this post will suffice for now(Alicia). I need to go figure out who has my vote tomorrow. Make sure YOU get out and vote tomorrow!!

BEST Birthday EVER.

I seriously had the most amazing birthday ever this year. I really want to write about it just so the memories can be stored in a place I can always go back to and read. Kirt and I went to dinner on Sunday (the night before) at Tokyo Bay and then to the movies afterwards. It was fun, romantic, and just so nice to be away from our crazy home lives. We definitely need to do this more. We know that for our kids sake, and for our relationship, we need to never lose focus on each other and the love that we have.
Monday was my actual birthday. I took the kids to school and then did a little shopping with Carter and Jonah. They were really good, which was so nice! To make things even better, both boys took awesome 3 hour naps when we got home. PEACE and QUIET- such an AMAZING thing. I love my life and love my kids, but I also love how absolutely quiet and still my house can get at certain times of the day. Anyway, that night my dad, sister and I went to Outback for a wonderful, long dinner. We just hung out, ate and chatted for hours, reminiscing on the past, bringing up great memories, and just having such a blast. I love my dad and sister so, so much and we always have the best time together. My dad is so smart, intelligent and has so much wisdom to share. I could listen to him talk for hours because after each meaningful conversation, I just feel so enlightened in life. He is such an amazing father and I love him soo much!
On Tuesday, I had plans to go to Carrabbas with my sister for dinner. Little did I know, she had much different plans in mind. Not only was I going to dinner with her, but also many of my great friends!! It was such an AWESOME surprise and we had SOO much fun!! We did so much talking and laughing and it was such a perfect birthday dinner. I still can't believe she pulled it off! Thank you so much Alicia for the best birthday surprise ever. :) You totally did an amazing job. Thank you, too, to all of my wonderful friends who came to suprise me and celebrate with me!! There is nothing better than great friends sitting around eating some great food! I love you all so much and am sooo VERY grateful for each and everyone of you!! :)

Fireproof

Kirt and I went to see this movie last night for my birthday night out. If you have not seen this movie, GO SEE IT NOW!! It is such a great movie for any married couple to see. I really don't want to give too much of it away, but Kirt and myself both loved it and will definitely be buying it on DVD. It is so refreshing, encouraging and an awesome reminder as to how we should live missionally in our relationships. I know I am often "on mission" for other people, whether it be friends, family or even strangers, and after seeing this movie, I realized I really need to be more missional to my own husband. How easily we can get so caught up and distracted in our everyday lives and let the most important things get pushed aside. This movie really makes you think and is so relateable to most of us. Anyway, here is the trailer. I'm serious, go see this movie before it's out of the theaters!!!

http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/

Here is also a link for "Fireproof my marriage".
http://fireproofmymarriage.com/index.php

It's been WAY too long...

I've been a bad blogger the past few weeks. I feel like I have been putting everything to the "side" and quite frankly, not accomplishing anything. Let's see, I have about 8 loads of laundry to do, as well as baskets of clean laundry that my family has been digging through the past few days (okay, I'm lying..like 2 weeks now). I absolutely despise laundry. Because I despise it so much, once I actually complete it, the sense of accomplishment is so satisfying. Yet, there it sits. Why do I struggle with something so easy and mindless as well as very rewarding?? Anyway, enough complaining about it, but my goal is to have it all done and put away by tomorrow. :)
I really have no news to report or updates to give, because I feel like I've been lazy in life lately. However, next time I post will hopefully be with a better attitude as well as tons of pictures with my new amazing camera. :)

Convictions

Being convicted is a lovely thing. Seriously. Lately God has been pressing on my heart so hard over certain things going on in my personal life. I have been praying for Him to show me his desires and speak to me His wants for my life. Thankfully, this past week I finally heard Him convicting me of quite a few things that I needed to take care of or change. The blessings in return have just been amazing and wonderful and I know they will only get better. Not all convictions reveal immediate blessings, but thankfully God chose to not test my patience too much during this time (I'm sure he knows patience is one of my weakest qualities..). I am so happy to be at such a wonderful point in my relationship with God where I am finally hearing Him and responding to the desires and wants He has for me. I am thankful for such a wonderful, forgiving and compassionate God who truly wants to bless us during our short time here on earth. Unforunately, all too often we are found with our eyes closed, ears covered or both and miss out on all He truly desires for us. I pray he reveals Himself so clearly that we may not miss it, and yet we respond so obideiently that we don't miss the blessing he has in store for us.

Heartstrings and Other Business Ramblings

I was excitedly surprised yesterday when I got my mail to find a new, updated Heartstrings Jewelry catalog. They have many new products, including a great deal of embroidery. Although I'm not sure to when I will exactly get around to uploading it all, I am excited the option is there. Currently, we have about 300 products on www.bluepaisleys.com, with the goal of adding 50 new items each month. That seems like a lot each month, but considering the hunderds I have, I feel like it is never ending (because it isn't and I like it that way :)).
In other news, it seems like the nights (or more like mornings) I stay up late plugging away, are the same mornings my precious babies decide they would prefer to get up wayy before the sun is even close to rising (LIKE 5 AM EARLY!). I love them dearly, but my goodness, I need my sleep! I guess I never realized when starting Blue Paisleys how much continuous work would be needed. Let me tell you, it doesn't end when the products get listed! Anyway, I sound like I'm complaining, but really I'm just really loving what I'm doing and where we're heading. I am so blessed and thankful for this opportunity!! With that said, considering midnight is fast approaching, I need to hit the sack, while I pray my kids sleep until at least 7. :)

GOOAAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!

Kyla scored her very first goal today in our soccer game. She had a great break away and took awesome advantage of it. I was so impressed she didn't get shy or scared, but rather was full of confidence the second she saw the opportunity! She was SOOOO excited when she scored it- it was priceless! I was so happy too because my dad "secretly" came to the game and was watching without her knowing, so he got to see it as well. Anyway, I know it's totally minor, and not really a big deal, but to me it's huge. :) As a former soccer player, who devoted hours and hours of my life to practices, games, and tournaments, I am so excited to see what path soccer may take her down. Many of my best memories surround soccer and all the traveling and what not that came along with it. I would be MORE than thrilled to get to go through it again with my daughter. :)
PS- I also love the fact that my little girl (and boys) are playing soccer on one of the same fields I grew up on!!!

Happy First Birthday Jonah!!

It's hard to believe that a year has passed already since you came into this world and so wonderfully blessed our lives. It has been a challenge, a joy, a blast, difficult, but oh so sweet. We are so in love with you, our little man. We are so proud of you, excited for you and are beyond blessed to be able to be your parents.

I'll never forget that day in late January when the absolute biggest surprise of my life happened. I thought maybe I could be pregnant, but truly didn't I was. I mean, it took us a year to conceive your little brother. I told your dad to just stop and grab a pregnancy test on his way home from work, just so I could make sure I wasn't. You see, I was what they call "control" freak- I always have a plan, with a beginning and ending. I always have everything figured out as to how something is going to work out, what is going to happen and what the next step will be. However, this afternoon, when I took this test, I quickly came to realize I am *truly* not in control. There is something SO much bigger, and I needed to be reminded of this. After the positive sign instantly came, so many emotions ran through- most of all shock. I'll never forget going to tell daddy right away, a balling mess (you know, because my plan wasn't playing out my way..), and as soon as I tell him all he can do is smile from ear to ear, so happy, grateful and excited for such a wonderful surprise. This helped matters to know he was so excited, but it truly took me months to come to terms with our expanding family. Most importantly, I want you to know it's not because I didn't want YOU, I just didn't like that things were going my my gameplan. :)
The day you were born sweet Jonah, was just so amazing. For fun, we decided to not find out the gender, and we greatly looked forward to the surprise at your arrival. You came into this world at 1:54 pm on September 20th, 2007, and right away, daddy said, "Oh my gosh, it's a boy!!!" It was the most wonderful feeling to hold you and to have you in my arms. There is nothing better than the first day of seeing and holding your brand new baby, especially after carrying them for 9 months.
Jonah, although you were a surprise, you were the most amazing surprise we could have ever hoped for. I, without any doubt, could not imagine my life without you in it. You complete our family and just add such an element to our family that we never had before. We are grateful that God placed you in our lives and I thank Him so often for this. You are my constant reminder that God truly has His own plan, with His own purpose and we must be the ones to live accordingly. I know God has great purpose for you in this world, and I am so excited to see the plan He has in store for you.
I thank you for all you have taught me in our journey together the past year. I thank you for teaching me and helping me with the patience I so desperately needed, Jonah. I love you so much! Happy Birthday buddy!!!

Kevin's Prayer

Below, in the previous post, I mentioned Kevin's constant run in's with trouble. I absolutely despise that he is in trouble so much, but I also cannot allow or put up with his choosing to not follow directions, the lying, the disobeying, talking back, etc. He is a GOOD kid, just a stubborn one. :) Today though, I think we both finally had a much needed breaking point. He has been in trouble since last Friday when he hid his two (failed..because of not following directions) from us. Tonight, before he was going to bed (after working on his homework for 4 hours) I had such a great, much needed talk with him. I told him that we need to pray for him, he needs to pray for himself. We need to pray for direction, guidance and simply the help in choosing right from wrong in his life. After I told him all this, one of the most touching moments between the two of us happened. He told me "I pray for this stuff everyday. I don't want to be like this." What?! Really!? It just broke me to know that he DOES care, he DOES want to truly be the best he can be. I, no kidding, instantly felt all of my anger and frustrations fade away when hearing this. I feel like tomorrow will truly be a new start, a new day and possibly even a new Kevin. We had a nice, long hug and I just told him how much I love him and how much I truly want him to do well, be happy and enjoy his childhood while he can. Although, I'm sure rough patches will come again soon, the most important thing WE (yes, even Kevin!) have is the power of prayer to get through this together! God is SO good and we are so grateful for his wonderful grace in our lives.

My Little Carter..

..is so hilarious and just does the most funny things. Yesterday, my dad was over at our house and we were just hanging out in the living room, playing with the kids. My dad, just because Carter is two, was asking Carter "Where is Kyla?" and "Where is Mommy?", and went through everyone else in the room (including himself and 2 dogs). Then, he said "Where is Kevin?" and Carter's response..."In Trouble". We were cracking up like never before.
To most people, it probably isn't that funny. However, if you knew Kevin and his routine trips to time out (heck, even Carter sees it and he's 2!), you would understand. Most would think that being grounded for weekends, and losing TV or gameboy, one would learn to NOT repeat their offense, so they don't get in trouble again. I'll tell ya, he's more stubborn than most and although it makes life a little rough now, I PRAY it will end up benifiting him when he's older.

New Beginnings

Many new beginnings recently in our house. First off, today was AMAZING as we won our U-12 (Seans team) soccer game 2-1. It was a tied game until the last minute and we ended up scoring off a corner kick. Exciting, unbelieveable, and amazing doesn't even come close to the feeling after the second goal was scored. You see, we (no joke) have not won a soccer game in this league for 3 years. THREE YEARS. Finally, after much complaining on my part (I truly felt the teams were stacked), I was given a fair team with actually decent players. Last year when my sister and our friend coached (I was on maternity leave..usually the 3 of us coach together) they were given about 5 obese kids (out of 10), and then 3 others who really had never even touched a soccer ball before. It was rediculous. This year, our team is pretty much the complete opposite. Everyone knows what theyre doing, everyone is actually quite decent and we are just loving, loving, loving how much fun we're having this year. I, as well as my sister and our friend are so excited and truly looking forward to our upcoming season. There is nothing better in life than exciting moments, but I guarantee you it's even sweeter for us after our ordeal. I'm sure after the win we looked quite rediclous, as we looked as if we had just won the Super Bowl of U12 soccer. Frankly, it may have looked that way, and you know what? It felt that way too. In other news, as I posted below, Kyla got a new puppy for her birthday. It is an Australian Shepherd/Calhoun mix and is SOOO adorable!! I *think* she has named him Charlie. We are excited to see how he impacts our lives (not including the lost sleep from 3am walks..) in the future. Kirt and I went today and picked it up while Alicia watched the kids (thank you!). Kyla was SOOO excited when she saw the puppy for the first time. I am glad I have it on video. :)

Kyla is Five!

Kyla's big day was so much fun for her and she truly (that day) acted with a different presence...a presence of that of a 5 year old. All of a sudden (for that day) she had the most amazing manners, amazing behavior and well, acted the way she thought a 5 year old should behave. In fact, she even noticed she had grown about 5 inches overnight. You know, because that one day between 4 and 5 makes all the difference. I can say though, quite positively, my sweet angel is back to her normal self. I love it.
On her birthday, we had bible study in the morning. I kind of felt bad that she had to spend 3 hours of her birthday here, but then realized what a perfect place to be! A place where not only many of her friends are, but also the one place where she can become more familiar with her Father. After church, we met Aunt Lele and Boppa for lunch at Target. We hung out for a bit chatting and eating and had a wonderful time. Then, I took the little boys home and Kyla stayed for some shopping time with Boppa (jealous much? yeah, me too...especially because I was at home cleaning.). She picked out some great new and fun toys!! That night we celebrated her birthday with some cake and presents. I told Kyla she could invite one friend for her "real" birthday so she picked Ellie. It was great having a playmate to share her excitement with. Kyla got a new game, new puzzle, some pretend food (she loves the food network), Disney Princess Wii game, the new Ariel Beginnings Movie, the new Barbie movie, a fashion stamp set, and a new puppy..yes, a new puppy. However, I will save that for the next post...
Happy Birthday Kyla!! I can't believe your FIVE!!

Happy Birthday Kyla!

Happy Birthday my sweet baby girl!! I cannot believe you are turning 5 years old today. FIVE. I am so excited for you, and although I keep telling you I am sad your getting so big, you keep promising me that "you'll still be my mom". I think this is the hardest birthday I've had yet with you. Five just seems like such a milestone. Five just seems so big, when you really should still be so little. No kidding, I feel like we were just celebrating your first birthday at Boppa's pool. I think what really makes this birthday hard for me is knowing the "baby" things and milestones of a toddler are over. Every birthday before, I always had something to look forward to as each year went by. Not that there isn't anything to look forward to this year, because there are plenty, but I guess I just feel like it's all going by so fast! I remember thinking when you were little that I "can't wait until your one or two or even three". Each age had a "special" reason behind it. I couldn't wait until you were one so you would start talking more, etc. This year I am now telling you not to turn five, and although you laugh, it just makes me sad knowing you will never be 4 again. It's a reminder to live each day and each year to the fullest, because you can never get it back.

Kyla, Mommy is so proud of you. I am proud you are so loving, caring and considerate. I love how always ask me, "mommy do you still love me?", and I get to tell you, "Kyla, I love you SO very much. You are my absolute favorite daughter". You are beyond upset if anyone is mad at you, and all you want to do is please people. I love that you are a God loving little girl with a prayerful heart. Every night before dinner we say a family prayer and then you must always say your own before anyone can eat. Every time your scared, whether it's bedtime or your sad or your in timeout, you come to me and ask me to pray with you. You love God and I am so excited for this. I pray your love for him and your relationship with him only continues to blossom as you grow. I love how you love your brothers. Whenever you know mommy is stressed, you always have a motherly instinct to pick Jonah up and take him into your room to play without me asking. You love your friends, you love your family, and you will never know how much we all love you.

I love you beyond words my little princess! Happy Birthday Kyla! Enjoy being five!

Jonah's First Ice Cream Cone!

..and boy did he LOVE it!! We went to Chickfila with some friends last week and because Jonah was already a mess, I decided to let him splurge. Besides, he is *almost* ONE and he hasn't really had anything sweet. This was so much fun for him and you could see the smile behind every little bite he took. :) I love that boy sooo much and couldn't imagine life without him!!

Traditions

I've been meaning to post this for a week now and just haven't gotten around to it...

Last Saturday, during the rainy weather (again!) my dad and sister came over for Bingo and Candy Day. It's a childhood tradition in our family that we played when we were a kids, and my dad played when he was a kid. It may seem so minor and not really a big deal, but it is a wonderful tradition holding many special memories. I remember many Friday nights spending time with my dad playing these silly and fun little games. It's quite simple really. We just play a game of Bingo and if you win, you win a peice of candy. We then take breaks every once in a while so we can play a game called "hide the candy" (the name says it all). The kids go in their room while we hide the candy throughout the living room and they have to find it. It's pretty much like finding Easter eggs on Easter. So, it really doesn't sound all that exciting, but it really is!! The kids have so much fun, and even us adults do as well! It's a perfect thing to keep the kids attention during a rainy day. :) Anyway, here are some pictures from our special day.

Rainy Day Fun

Thankfully, Hurricane Ike has moved further south and is missing our area with the worst of the storm. However, we're still seeing plenty of rain from the outside bands. It has left the kids a little bored, especially Carter and Jonah who would prefer to be outside all day, everyday. We decided to work on some puzzles together. Carter is a pro at them now and gets super excited every time he puts a peice in. Jonah on the other hand, things they make wonderful chew toys and was pretty bored with it all. We then decided to get the rollercoaster down for them play with. It is a special treat to have out and Carter was SO excited to get to play with it (it's been awhile..). Jonah has never been on it, so I was excited to see his reaction. Surprisingly, Carter was quite scared of ride on it and had a much better time just the cart and watching it go. Jonah, on the other hand LOVED it and just couldn't stop laughing and smiling. It was great!
Carter and I also spent some time looking at his old baby pictures. He thought every one of them was Jonah and I had to keep telling them that it was actually him in the pictures. He loved watching little movies of himself from his baby days. It was great to look back at some old memories of my little man.

Random Ramblings

I am super excited for football season. I LOVE watching all sports, but I particulary LOVE just watching football all weekend long. From now until January, I am completely content spending weekends at home. :) I am also really excited for the new tv season. My poor Tivo hasn't seen much action the past few months (besides the regular Regis and Kelly, The View, Dr. Phil..and these are only recorded so I have something to watch if I get bored..).

Kyla and Jonah's birthday's are both in the next 3 weeks. I cannot believe Kyla will be FIVE and my little Jojo will be ONE!! I am trying to decide what/if were going to do for their birthdays. I'm leaning towards a joint birthday party at either my house or my dads pool area. I better get thinking though because it is quickly approaching.

I was a total housewife today. :) I did 7 loads of laundry (I despise laundry), baked cookies, played with the kids, and did a lot of other random cleaning. The random cleaning was mainly cleaning up after Carter and his lack of interest in potty training.

The other day I met my friend Nichole at Kohls (love that place) and got an amazing hammock with stand for 90% off. It was $200, marked down to $20. Yes, TWENTY dollars. It is heaven laying in that thing reading a good book. I have always wanted a hammock so I'm excited to just lay around in it while the kids play on the deck. :)

I am stoked that my boys soccer team ROCKS this year. Seriously, they are GOOD. After much complaining that I have not been given fair teams the past few years, it seems they have finally got my point. I am so excited for games to start!!

Time of My Life..

Thanks to the most wonderful entertainer ever...KENNY CHESNEY!! My dad, sister and I went to the West Palm Beach concert last night and had the most amazing time. I have seen Kenny in concert the past 4 summers and seriously, every year he just steps it up and his shows get better and better. If you ever go to one of his concerts, its easy to see why he always wins entertainer of the year. He puts on one HECK of a show!!!
Before the show, we met up for dinner at Carrabba's and some great food. We then drove to the concert, took our seat and just hung out for a little bit. We hadn't seen our dad for 2 weeks (a LONG time for us!) because he has been traveling for work and playing in a few golf tournaments, so it was really nice to catch up for a bit. Miranda Lambert opened up for Kenny and she is one crazy girl...I think every song talks about her drinking and guns, lol. She was great fun though. Then, it was time for Kenny. I can never get enough of him. Seriously, the man basically goes on a 4-5 month tour each year, plus puts out a new cd practically each year and his success just continues to grow. His ability to remain successful is really true to how great he really is. I have been to a decent amount of concerts and nothing even compares to the show he puts on. How he has the energy to put on a 2 hour set with as much energy as he does is just unbelieveable. Anyway, after the AMAZING show, we drove home...and oh man, was it a longgg drive. ugh. We got home at 2:30 and for practically the whole day today I felt like a walking zombie. It was totally worth it though. :) Anyway, here are some pictures from last night....

6th Grade Changes Everything

Ever since my kids started school, I have always checked their homework when they completed it. I'm the mom who makes sure every problem is right, every writing assignment is neat and quite frankly, I am picky and have high standards for their work. However, this has quickly come to a halt as the second week of middle school rolls around. Sean started 6th grade this year and everyday when I check his homework, I just look at it and and tell him, "good job!" and close it up. Ya know why?? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's because I have NO idea how to do those crazy math problems anymore. Math was always my weakest and I'm sure at this point, Sean (who is a math whiz) knows what he is doing much better than I do at this point. It's quite embarrassing. Surprisingly, he hasn't said anything to me yet about not checking it like I used to, and quite frankly I'm a little too prideful to tell him I have no idea what his work is about. :)

On that note...he has called me from school and/or his friends cell phones 3 times this week. He is now telling me that he needs a phone. Coicidence? I think not.
I can officially say middle school changes everything..but it's so exciting none the less!

Blue Paisleys News!

I am so excited about one of the new vendors we are now carrying- Sugarpie Bebe!! If you go to www.bluepaisleys.com and search "sugarpiebebe" in the search box on the bottom. You will find some awesome diaper changing totes, adorable blankets, bibs and burp clothes in some fantastic prints!!

It really makes me want to have another baby, especially a girl, just so I can buy all these super cute baby "supplies"!!! Perfect and justifiable reason to reproduce if ya ask me! :) Also, be on the look out, we will be having quite a few more new products and companies in the very near future. SO exciting!

On that note (and I don't even know if any of you read this), I want to thank any and all of the customers who have been so wonderful and accepting of my crazy little idea of my Blue Paisleys store, that has turned into a wonderful reality! THANK YOU!!!

In other exciting news, Jonah finally referred to me as his "mama" today on numerous occassions! Yay!!

AMAZING Weekend

After much debate and a great deal of mind changing, we decided to head down to our condo on the beach. We decided it was the only weekend that we had very little to do and very little scheduled, especially as soccer season begins this coming week. When soccer season begins, life gets crazy to say the least. Anyway, we left Friday night for the beach and basically just hung out eating dinner, playing the wii and watching TV. The rest of the weekend we basically just swam in the pool, swam in the ocean, layed out, played in the sand, got lots of sun and then woke up and did it all over again. :) It was so fun, so relaxing and just a great vacation away from home. I loved sitting out on the lanai, listening to the waves and reading a good book. It was absolutely wonderful.

On Saturday late afternoon, I left my wonderful husband with all the kids while I went to a super fun card party. I love love love those!! I love scrapbooking and card making, but with 5 kids, never sit down enough and open my craft armoire to work, so having a scheduled day/time to go and do this is great! We also went to Chili's afterwards and a great time was had by all. :) I am so glad I got to go!! Thanks again Nichole for being the most wonderful host for this parties! :)

Anyway, it was a fun weekend. The kids all had sooo much fun and got plenty of sun. So far, I think, besides myself, everyone else is sunburn free though. Yay!
I can say the best part was the fact that we woke up Sunday morning knowing that although our "vacation" was ending later that day, we only had a 20 minute drive to get back home. :) As always, it's good to be home and once I get some pictures uploaded I will be sure to post them.

It's Been a LONG 11 Months...

BUT Jonah is FINALLY SLEEPING!!!! You read that right- Jonah- my little baby who decided it was best to be awake all the time for the first 11 months of his life FINALLY LOVES SLEEP. Praise GOD!!! I am not joking when I say that he would nap for maybe 30 minutes a day (broken up between 2-3 naps) and then maybe sleep 2-3 hours at a time during the night until just recently.

Now, Jonah sleeps ALL night, from 7 or 8 (depending on if he has 1 or 2 naps) until 7 or 8 the next morning. That is TWELVE hours...TWELVE WONDERFUL hours!!! He also naps 1 or 2 times a day, and each nap is now between 2-3 HOURS!!!! I can't even begin to tell you how exciting that is. He is so much happier, I am so much happier and our household is much more pleasent now. :)

To make things even better, I have basically always nursed Jonah to sleep (nap and bedtime). He now eats, and then I lay him in his crib AWAKE and he falls asleep on his own. I'm impressed. My little baby boy is ready to turn into a toddler and I am more than ready for him to start acting like one. :)


PS. Hurricane Fay was a doozie- thankfully. We lot a lot of wind and rain, but no damage. We just have a few big, skinny trees that fell down on our fence in the back. We also lost power sometime in the middle of the night. Thankfully, it came back on around 1pm though today. Back to school for the kids tomorrow! Woohoo!

Our First Day of School

Today began the 08-09 school year and everything went really well. I got Kevin up at 6:45, and drove him to school at 7:30. Then, came home, got everyone else ready and drove Kyla and Sean to school around 9:30. It was a big day for them because Sean was starting middle school and Kyla was officially moving to the "big" preschool.

Anyway, all 3 had great days. Kevin really seems to like and admire his teacher. He has the same 4th grade teacher Sean had, which is nice. Sean seems to really like all of his teachers, and I think he is excited to just be a middle-schooler in general. I still can't believe it. I'll never forget dropping him off for his first day of Kindergarden and just coming home and crying for like an hour straight. He just seemed too small to go to such a big place everyday, almost all day. Now, here he is, almost a teenager, yet still the sweetest, and most loving little boy! Today was nothing but pure excitement and happiness on my end for him. He's come such a long way and I knew he was so ready for this new change. Kyla was really, really excited and pretty giddy about going to school this morning. She just couldn't wait to get out the door. Her teachers were great, and she was so happy when I picked her up. She told me all about her fun day and just kept going on about how much she loved the "big school". Although it's still preschool, she has now moved over to the "big" building (in her 3 yr old program last room she was in a tiny classroom across from where she is now). Kyla even came home and "played school" with some imaginary friends afterwards. I was happy. :)
So, because of Hurricane Fay, today basically ended up being a great practice day because school is cancelled tomorrow. :) Kirt is off work tomrorow too, and right now it doesn't seem like the weather will be all too bad, so it may end up being a fun day. However, until the storm officially passes, and we're still enjoying the luxury of electricity, I won't hold my breath. :)

Kyla lost a TOOTH!

My almost 5 year old (where has the time gone...) lost her first tooth today!! It's actually quite sad to know her little baby teeth are starting to fall out. :( I was really worried at first because both of our boys didn't lose their teeth until they were 6. I remember losing mine at 5 years old. A little panicked, I called the dentist anyway. He said that her age is totally normal and that because she got her teeth in earlier (4.5 months) that she likely would lose them earlier as well. Anyway, I will be back with pictures from my toothless little girl tonight.

The Beach House

My aunt, uncle and cousins are in town and have been staying at our beach house this past week, so we went down today to pay them a visit. We LOVE going down there and always have such a great time. Unfortunately, because we are so close to it, we rarely actually *stay* there; instead, it's always us visiting the people who are staying. While we were there today though we decided to book a weekend for ourselves. :) I'm trying to convince my husband to allow me to have a friend's weekend down there as well sometime in the near future. :)
Anyway, it was so great to see my aunt and little cousins. My cousins are the same age as my kids, so they love it too. :) The weather wasn't the greatest today, but we all had fun anyway. My cousins are so sweet and so cute and I am so happy we got to spend some time with them this past week. Here are some pictures from our visit today:

My Walking and Climbing Boy!

I figured I should at least add a few pictures of my littlest man walking! There is nothing funnier than watching this little person figure out how to walk and take steps. It cracks me up!!
Here he is in all his glory!!

..and up he goes..




We have also discovered and mastered the art of climbing everything we are not supposed to at 10 months....




..and for comparisions sake, here is Carter at 11 months. :)

08/08/08

I took the kids to an indoor playground today, which they really enjoyed. It was a great way to get some energy out, while not destroying my house, and at the same time staying in the much needed air conditioning! Here are some pics from our trip today:







...and then tonight, Carter felt the need to dig through my purse and make himself all pretty. :)

These are a few of my favorite things...

in no particular order:

1. Cape Cod Chips. Thanks to the wonderful samples Costco gives out, I have now found my newest favorite snack food. They are sooo good and there is nothing better than a snack of salty chips mixed with some chocolate chip cookies! Love the salty sweet mix.



2. Summer. I LOVE the summer sun. I love going to the pool almost everyday and coming home to nap with the little boys afterwards.

3. My deck! Last year (May of 2007) when I was pregnant with Jonah, Kirt and I worked really hard for 2 days straight and built ourselves a nice, big (30x16) deck for our backyard. I absolutely LOVE that thing and am sooo happy we did it. I can let the kids out there to play for my own sanity and I also can lay out on it during the little boys nap. It's truly a great place for everyone. :)

4. Kenny Chesney concert!!! He is my favorite singer and I never get sick of listening to him. This will be my 4th year in a row seeing him and I am beyond excited because I have had nothing but the most amazing time every year I've gone. This year, I am going with my dad and sister at the end of this month. :)


5. School. Although I will miss summer greatly, I am excited for school to be starting in TEN days!! This is the first time in years that I myself will not be taking classes myself during the school year. I will miss my kids dearly as well as the simpleness of summer and the laziness involved, but will be happy to get back to a routine of some sort.

6. Birthdays. I love birthdays and am excited about Kirt, Kyla and Jonah's upcoming birthdays. However, I am still plan-less as to what I/we will do for them. :)

7. The Olympics!! I LOVE watching sports, really all sports (football, basketball, baseball, soccer...) so I am always so excited when the Olympics games begin. This year, as most, I am excited to see gymnastics, swimming and soccer most. I'm sure I'll be glued to the TV quite a bit the next two weeks!

8. My cookie dough scoop. I love to bake. LOVE LOVE LOVE it! It may seem rediculous but I finally found a cookie dough scooper that I love. It gives me the most perfect round shaped cookies. Unfortunately, I am probably the most unhealthy eater out there...

The Vacation Pics!

Here are some of the pictures from our wonderful vacation. To see more, check out my facebook!