Knitting 101

Last week my neighbor, Nikki, asked if I would be interested in learning how to knit. I honestly hadn't ever had any interest in it, but thought "Hey, why not?!". So today, she and I went to a class where this sweet lady taught us the basic knitting techniques. Let me tell you... it is A LOT harder than what I ever thought! But I am one of those people who love to learn new things, especially if it is challenging! So I am anxious to learn more next week. Finding time to work on it will be the hard part...

While we were at the class, the kids were in their own class. We are so lucky to have our community center just a mile from the house. So we walked down there and the kids went to a playgroup. They had playmats and toys and I am pretty sure by the way Thompson threw a fit when we left that he loved it! The playgroup is called "Pray and Play", they listen to children's christian music. The women that run it were so sweet, too! Can't wait for next Tuesday!! And it's great that I am just in a room next door to them. That was nice that I didn't have to worry too much.

Today, I think we are planning on heading to the beach. The breeze is blowing so I am hoping it won't be too chilly. Then tonight, I think we are going to go to the farmer's market street fair. During the day is when they have all of their vendors there selling vegetables, fruits, foods, flowers, etc. Then at night they close down the streets and have live music, things for the kids to do (pony rides, jump houses, etc.), and of course lots of food! I think it will be fun! I will try to remember the camera and hopefully get some pictures!!

Hope everyone is having a great Tuesday!!!

Not enough hours in the day...

Do you ever feel like your days are just so short? Many times I wake up and then it seems as if it is already time to go to bed! I know that once I start working, it will be even worse. Family time already seems short enough with Robert working so much. I hate that the boys will only get about 3 hours a day with me once I do start working. That thought just kills me...

The past couple of days, Brycen has been having a snotty nose. I was hoping it was his allergies, but now I don't know. Robert said that he noticed him kinda having to pant a lot when he breathes. So now that has me worried. So I made an appt with the ped's office today. Plus, he threw up almost everything he ate yesterday. Praying that Brycen just starts to feel better. I could tell last night that the little guy just didn't feel good at all. :(

Thompson has been acting out a lot. He will see Brycen crying and then start making this fake cry and acting like he wants me to hold him too. Yesterday was bad. I layed B down for a nap in his crib and I went upstairs to find Thompson and T had crawled into the bed with him. He doesn't quite understand why he has 2 beds and why B is sleeping in one of them. I had to explain that the crib was Brycen's new bed because he is a baby. And how Thompson is a big boy now and how he gets to sleep in his big boy bed! He didn't like it at first, but then I said "Well I guess you can have the baby bed and we can give Brycen your big boy bed!" He perked up then! ha! And he is constantly on my lap these days. Anytime I am sitting, he crawls up there. Which I don't mind as long as he is not trying to act like a baby.

I have already been thinking of what to cook for dinner and it is only 8 in the morning. Anyone else??? I try to lay out whatever meat I plan to use so that way it can thaw out. We have some hamburger meat, but it seems I never have a good recipe to use. Hmmm... maybe meatballs? Maybe beef stroganoff? What cracks me up is that Thompson hollers that he wants Chick fil A for every meal! "Thompson what do you want for lunch?" "Chick-fil-A, and then I play!" Mmm hmmm...I know how that works. haha! He is obsessed with their indoor play area. It doesn't help that ever since our Chuck E Cheese trip he is now into saying that every time he lays down, "I lay down and go to sleep, and then I wake up and we go to Chuck E Cheese!" I usually just agree with him on that one. Ha!

As in the words of my 2 year old...

Check it out!

Yes, that is Thompson's new phrase. "Hey mom, check it out!" He first told me this while we were at the airport and some guy walked by. The lady sitting next to him was laughing so hard. And we all know that anytime anyone laughs at him, he just starts laughing... really, really hard. I just shake my head.

Oh yes, this little boy is full of it these days. The other day while we were in the store he told a lady to scat complete with the shooing motion of the hand. I was mortified. Luckily, I don't think she understood him.

And then there is "Ewww...that's nasty!" Everything is nasty to him. My mom says that I say that a lot to him and that must be where he has picked it up. Which now that I think about it, I do. Thompson stay out of the trash it's nasty. Eww, don't pick that up, it's nasty. Hmmm...

Here are some more Thompson originals:

• Don't talk to me like that!
• Don't say that to me!
• Go, Mom, Go! (When he is using the bathroom... usually this is followed by his nasty comment!)
• That's so awesome!
• You can't spank my butt! (This is usually followed by me saying, "You want to bet?!")
• Good job!
• Way to go!
• High Five, Alright!
• Brycen pooped?! (Anytime we change a diaper)
• It's not bedtime yet.
• I'm going to work!
• I need to go ride my bike!
• I'm leaving, Mom. Love you!

And I am so proud of him. He has had a major fear of The Grinch and The Cat and the Hat. Well here lately he has been getting out the DVD case and telling it "Cat in the Hat, you not scary!". Like he is giving himself a pep talk. Well the other day he brought me the movie and told me that he wanted to watch it, so I put it in. He was doing good at first and then came running in the living room crying. I talked to him and told him how it wasn't real and it was just a movie! I also reminded him that it wasn't scary! So he put the movie back on and watched it twice! Even when he was going to bed he told me that he wanted to watch it the next day. Way to go T for facing your fears! Oh, and points to the little girl on the case (Dakota Fanning) and says "I love her". Oh, brother!

Don't you love their outfits! My sister got those for them last summer while they were at Universal Studios. I had forgotten that I had them, so I got them out and put them on the other day. The boys got so many compliments on them while we were out and about!

7 Months!

Brycen Boy, you are 7 months old!! So, little man... what are you up to these days???

• You are weighing 18.5 pounds and you are 28 inches long! What a big boy you are!
• You are wearing a size 3 diaper and size 3 shoe. You are wearing mainly 12 months in your clothes.
• You are a big eater! You still take 4 bottles a day plus you eat 2-3 meals of baby food! You are still crazy over the fruits, but you love the dinners (not so much the mac-n-cheese), and eat the granola meals every morning for breakfast. You hate the baby puffs. As soon as something like that hits your mouth, you start trying to spit it out! Too funny.
• You still haven't had your first tooth yet. But we are looking for it everyday!
• You are a great sleeper. You go to bed at 9pm and sleep til 9 am. I usually hear you of the morning messing around, but you usually fall back to sleep. I also love that I can just lay you down and you will go to sleep on your own. I am so thankful for that because you fight sleep like no other if I am having to hold you.
• You love your pacifier! You will instantly spot it and grab it and plop it in your mouth.
• Here in the past couple of days I have been sitting you on the big rug in T's playroom. Both you and him love it! He said to me the first time "Brycen gets to play with me!". He is so excited to have his brother be able to play with him. I sat you in there for atleast 30 minutes today and you didn't make one sound. You just rolled all over the place finding new toys.
• You love mirrors! You will just sit there and smile at yourself and laugh. Especially when you are taking your bath, I sit you in the baby bath on the counter and you have a ball! You must get that from your dad! Haha!
• I think you have outgrown your jumperoo. I have tried and tried to put you in it and you hate it. :( I am still going to work on it though...
• I have retired your swing. You do not fit in it and I am afraid it might collapse if I were to try! ha!
• You are on the verge of full crawling. You get up on all fours and just go to rocking. You have absolutely no problem getting around. You scoot and roll everywhere! You are definitely a determined little boy! The other day you made your way to the stairs and tried to go up them! And then you crawled into the kitchen and tried to climb in the dishwasher! ha!!
• You can hold your own bottle now. I usually lay you on your boppy pillow and give you the bottle.
• Your daddy has enjoyed having you back home. The other night he was feeding you your supper and he got up and walked away. You just started bawling...until he came back. The mean person I am, I made him do it again. And guess what?! You started crying again. I think you are partial to your ol' dad. He's pretty partial to you too though! :)

We are having a blast with you, Brycen. Everyday I look at you and I can just see you growing up. Your little baby face is starting to thin out and the glimpse of a little person is there. As much as I can't wait to see the little boy you will be, I still want my baby. You and your brother don't make it easy on this momma to say "No more babies!" when I have had the BEST babies ever!

We love you, brother! Happy 7 Months!!

Lots of posts!

Well, I am going to do THREE posts today!

I made one for Brycen's 7 Month Birthday and one about Thompson over a week ago and never posted them! Oops! I wanted to add pictures, and well... laziness got the better part of me! :)

So, last week I had a very dear friend of mine, Bethany, come visit! She got here on Sunday and left Friday and I so enjoyed having someone to talk to and hang out with. I met her back in 2005 while we both worked for the same bank. Over the years, we haven't got to talk and hang out as much as we would've liked, but am so glad that we have been for the past few months.

While she was here, we went to the beach and to the San Diego Zoo. I wish we could have done more, but for 1) The sun REFUSED to make an appearance the entire time she was here. 2) Brycen got sick on Wednesday. :(

Brycen ended up getting a viral infection that caused a major, full body rash. It was horrible! It didn't seem to bother him too much, but it looked so bad. Oh, it broke my heart. I noticed it at the zoo Wednesday, but thought he might be getting a heat rash. But then it only got worse on Thursday, so I called the Ped's office and the nurse said that they couldn't get him in that day so we made an appt. for the next day. Well by that afternoon his whole face was covered in the rash. So I called back to the dr's and they told me to take him to the emergency room. So I did and the dr. there didn't even know what was wrong with him. He said it could have been prickly heat rash or more viral. ??? (Thanks, dude. Glad I sat in the emergency room for 1.5hrs for you to tell me what I already knew!!) So he prescribed benadryl and we went home. The next day, I took him for his appt and the dr there was great! He was really enthusiastic (which I love!!) and really seemed to know what he was talking about (that's important too, ha!!!). He said that it was definitely a viral rash, something along the lines of Roseola since it wasn't going away, he was running a slight fever, and it didn't itch. FYI, a viral rash doesn't itch, a heat rash does. So he said to keep him on the benadryl and come back if it's not better in a week. Glad to report that it is all gone! Brycen either has allergies or a cold, but the poor boy's nose is runny. :(

We also finally got Brycen's crib together! That was another fiasco! I made several trips to Lowe's and Home Depot trying to find screws to fit it. Apparently the movers lost half of the screws that went to it. It was either find new screws or buy a new crib. Remember we also had to sand, stain, and seal the sides of the crib where Thompson gnawed on it like a beaver??? This has definitely been an ordeal! Well, I bought some screws the other day, but they were too short. So after fit, I decided to just buy a new crib. So I went to Wal-Mart, bought one, got it home, and started to put it together. Well for some reason, there was a wooden dowel shoved in one of the holes! For the life of me, I could not get it out. I figured this was a sign that I didn't need to buy a new crib. So... I took it back to Wal-Mart and went to ACE Hardware and found some bolts. Guess what?! They fit!! So big boy now has a bed that he loves! I am going to finish the room this week and then I will post pictures.

We went to Chuck E. Cheese on Saturday night. Thompson had a ball!!!

Robert graduates his students today! YAY!!! So excited for a down month with him. He works a lot when he is on cycle.

I made a cake for him to take to work today, but he rode his bike and forgot it. So, I guess my neighbors will be getting another treat from us! But I wanted to share the recipe with you! It is so simple, but yet so yummy!

Buttterfinger Cake

1 box of Chocolate cake mix (Chocolate Fudge or Devil's Food)

1 can of Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 small tub of Cool Whip

1 block of Cream Cheese

3 or 4 regular size Butterfinger bars

Bake your cake according to the box. When it is done and still hot, poke holes all over it and pour the can of SCM all over it! Then let it cool completely. With a mixer, cream your cream cheese. Then fold it the tub of Cool Whip. Be careful not to deflate the Cool Whip. Spread over cake once it is done cooling. Then smash up the Butterfingers in a ziplock bag with a rolling pin, bottom of a glass, or something heavy. Sprinkle on top. Refridgerate and serve!!!

Let me tell you, this was so yummy! I made it last night and couldn't wait to try it this morning! ha! I don't know about you all, but I could drink SCM like water! Oh, it is so bad for you!

But here is the cake!

I made 2 8x8's.

Another recipe that I made last night was good too. I kind of just improvised on it.

Cream Cheese Chicken Crescent Rolls

2-3 roasted chicken breasts, cubed

1 block cream cheese

1/2 onion, diced

olive oil and butter

1 tube of crescent rolls

Butter

Add butter and olive oil to a pan and cook your onions. Once they are done put them on a paper towel to drain. Mix chicken, cream cheese, onions, salt, and pepper together in a bowl. Roll out your crescent rolls and spoon mixture onto the large area of the dough. Then roll up to form a crescent roll. I sprayed the tops of mine with the butter spray. Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Oh these were delish! Robert ate like 4 of them!

Why do I blog???

I have been thinking about this a lot lately. Mainly, because my husband has yet to understand what blogging is and what it means to me. So I thought I might share with you why exactly I do blog.

First off, there are many reasons why I do. It is a tie between 1) having some place that my family and friends can go and see pictures of the boys and find out what we have been up to and 2) to have a scrapbook/diary of where I was at at a point in my life.

I LOVE when I hear my dad tell me that he got online and looked at my blog! Coming from someone who I didn't even know if he knew how to turn on a computer... he knows how to find his grandbabies!

I also love that I can look back at and see posts about my sister getting married, or the day Brycen was born, or the whole fiasco with moving. If you haven't noticed, I am pretty forward in my blog. It's not that I have something to prove or I am trying to be funny, it's just that I am trying to be honest, mainly with myself. If I am having a crappy day, chances are I will write about it. If Thompson is pushing me to the limit of committing myself to the looney bin, I will probably write about it. I do not use this blog to create some happy-go-lucky person that has zero problems. I am human. I have feelings. I question my husband's thought process sometimes. My toddler can sometimes make me feel like a one-headed zombie. The military stresses me out.

When I was answering Robert's question, I simply said "I do it for me." It is my down time, my way of unwinding. I know that not everyone that reads my blog agrees with every single thought of mine. And that is fine! Here lately, my biggest personal feat is realizing that I am not always right. I have some serious pride and for me to admit when I am wrong is hard. But I am trying. I just want to be true to myself no matter what. If you take anything from my blog, I hope you take that.

As in the words of the famous Dr. Seuss- "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."

And for the matter of why I love to read blogs...

Blogs to me are like mini novellas of someone's life. I love to read little pieces of someone's journey that make up who they are in life. It is so weird to read someone's blog and think, "Oh my gosh! We could so be best friends!" I hear about a lot of women who connect with others through a blog and create great friendships. How awesome is that?! You know how you meet someone and you have to do the whole "what type of person are they? what do they like?" process. Well, most of the time if you read a person's blog you can already figure out a general perception of who they are as a person.

But sometimes I feel stalkerish. Ha!! I find it weird that I know certain bloggees favorite drinks, favorite restaurants, where they love to shop, who they hang out with. I recently saw a blogger while I was back home at a restaurant and had that moment of where I asked myself if I go up to them and say hey! or do I just walk on. I walked on. I later wrote her and told her that I had seen her and she asked why I didn't come say hi. I told her that I didn't want her to think I was a creepy, stalker person! haha!! I told her that if I saw her again that I would.

Blogging is a huge community, but once you get down to it, it is very small. It seems like everyone connects in certain ways. It is kind of like my little self-help forum. And it's cheaper than therapy! ;)

So here's the question... Why do you blog? Even if you don't have a blog, but like to read them, I would love to know!

We are back in California!

As usual, my Arkansas trips are super busy and I find myself WAAAAY behind on my blog! I will catch you up on the things that happened post Fourth of July celebrating/ER trip!

• We went to Branson twice again. One time was for an overnight trip that consisted of Silver Dollar City and Branson's Recplex. SDC was HOT! We had lots of fun though. We met my sister and neice and her friend, Stacy, and her two girls. Thompson had a blast! The pool was also great. It was a small complex that had a big area for toddlers and young children to play in. And they also had two huge water slides and deeper water for older kids. The best part? It just cost $5!! How great is that?!
• I went out with a few of my girlfriends one evening for dinner and a movie. I saw Eclipse! And yes, it was by far my favorite of them all. It was so exciting and I might have had a goofy grin on my face throughout the ENTIRE movie. Loved it!!!
• I also fit in a few more trips in to Rick's Bakery for lunch. Oh how I love thier blueberry/strawberry salads. And they give you a free dessert too! :)
• I bought an adorable drink dipsenser at TJ MAXX but later decided against it. It was a big one, like 2.5 gallons big. I don't know if I would ever use it that much with it being so large. So now I am on the hunt for a smaller one!
• The Sunday before we left, our whole family (minus the Florida vacationers, Brittany and Denver) headed back to Branson to go to the Dixie Stampede. It was so fun. The kids had a blast! They give you a TON of food, and it was really good too. I would suggest this if you are visiting Branson anytime soon.
• I cooked dinner Monday for the family. We had chicken, cheesy potatoes, squash, and salad. And then for dessert we had a fruit tart and a little cheesecake. It was really good too.

(I swear all I do is eat and eat and eat while I am home! But I LOVE it!!)

And now... let me tell you about our plane ride home...

First off, mom and I had a great time in Tulsa before she took us to the airport. I got an adorable top from a store at Utica Square and we had lunch at Queenies (yes, more eating!). We get to the airport, check our luggage, have to do a little rearranging of one suitcase for it being 10lbs over the 50lbs limit. Oops! Finally, we made it through security and to our gate. Thompson played with two little boys who are the exact same age difference as T & B. The mom was flying solo too, but her youngest one was 3. (Oh, I will be there someday...) Anyways, we board the plane and this lady comes and sits next to us. We chat throughout the whole flight and she plays with the boys. Thompson had his DVD player, so he was occupied. I hear the magic words, "We are now about to begin our descent into Phoenix..." and I rejoice to the Lord that this 2.5 hour flight is almost over! That is until we hit turbulence. I have flown many times, too many to count. I know that turbulence is part of it. But this was something I had never experienced before. Our plane tipped up on one side, came down and went all the way up on the other and then came down. Then began to shake. I. am. not. kidding. I was a wreck. I began to have one of those moments where my life flashed before my eyes and could envision our plane spiraling down into the desert mountains and burning up in like two seconds. So I started to cry and pray VERY LOUDLY! "Oh, please LORD!!! I don't want to die! My children are so young, PLEASE LORD!!!" I think everyone else on the plane was experiencing the same thoughts. The lady that sat with me reassured me that everything was going to be ok. Thankfully, it was. We finally landed and I vowed never to get on another plane again. And then I realized that I was only in Phoenix and I had to get to CA somehow. Knowing that my husband would not be up for an 8 hour car ride to come pick us up, I knew I had to get on the next airplane and fly to CA. I did. And it was fine. But I am still scared as I think of how I literally thought I was going to die. Literally.

So, now you have a better understanding of how dramatic I am. ha!

I was also in a bind, and contemplated changing my flight to a different day. Robert was at work and was not able to pick us up. So... I researched a little trying to find out how I would get home. On our departing flight, I couldn't find a ride to LAX airport, so I had to drive my car up there, leave it in the parking garage, and then Robert had to find a ride up there to pick it up the next day. It cost about $25 in gas for my vehicle, $33 for a one day stay in the parking garage, and $20 plus a meal for his friend that drove him up there. Ridiculous in my opinion. So, I knew that there was a amtrak that drove to Oceanside, but we wouldn't make the last train in time. So, I found out that the USO offers a shuttle for $20 from the airport to my house! How awesome!! So we went to the USO at the airport once we got into San Diego. They had a play room for T and snacks, bathrooms, tvs, etc. If you are a military family, I HIGHLY sugguest that you use the USO if you are ever stuck at an airport. We then got on our shuttle and 30 minutes later, we were home! Resources like that are so helpful to people like me who have just moved to a new town and don't have any family or friends that they can call to come pick them up. Definitely going to use them again if I need a ride!

I am sorry I don't have pictures! I forgot to transfer them from my mom's camera to my computer. But knowing her, they will still be on her camera card the next time I visit! :)

A Wedding, Road Trip, and an ER Visit!

All in 2 days!!

Saturday, my cousin Tiffany got married! I served as a bridesmaid (bridesmatron??). The whole day was rainy! I mean we were getting ready and looking out the window just to see it pouring down rain! Not to mention that my hair was fully curled and poofed only to fall flat from the humidity. Ugh! So up in a ponytail it went! Classy, huh? ;)

Tiffany looked beautiful and the wedding went great. I LOVE wedding receptions. Well, I just love to socialize and see people I haven't taked to in a while. One of my best friends, Becca, was also in the wedding. We had a blast getting ready together and just visiting with one another. Oh, how I miss girl talks. She wasn't feeling too well so she went home shortly after the reception started. But alas, my other best friend, Becca (another Becca!), was there to talk to! And of course I had my sister Brittany. (Although I am highly jealous that she is on her way to Florida for a week long vacation! Oil or no oil, I miss Florida. And yes, I live by the beach but it is just not Florida. That is my big whine and I am over it ;) )

Then on Sunday we headed on a little road trip to my mother in law's house. We swam, ate some GREAT food, and visited. It was so peaceful. Sunday night we watched a great fireworks show and made s'mores! Yum! But then... Thompson fell. We are still unsure of what he hit, but somehow he hit his mouth and cut his gums really bad. That little bumpy thing that separates your upper inside lip and your gums (Does that make sense??) well that got separated. And then he has a major horseshoe looking cut on his teeth gums. Poor guy. It was bleeding so bad, so we drove 30 minutes to Conway to the ER to make sure he was ok. A nurse checked him out as soon as we walked in. She told us that the doctor won't normally sew the gums and since his has stopped bleeding that it should heal on his own. It looks pretty nasty today, but I am sure it will be fine in a few days. So we drove back to Vickie's house and got to bed around midnight. The boys and I woke up and had some biscuits and gravy. Thompson swam some more and then we loaded up to come back home. It's about a 2.5hr drive so I tried to schedule it around the boys' nap time. Brycen slept the first hour, then woke up. Thompson then fell asleep for about an hour. Then the boys were up for the rest of the trip. But this is what I listened to the rest of the trip...

Ma ma ma ma.

Yes! Brycen is saying MaMa. Definitely his version of Momma. I will say "Brycen, say Mama" and he just goes to talking! Oh it melts my heart! Especially since Thompson's first words were Dada. Ha!

Tomorrow we are heading to Fayetteville with my mom. Going to do a little shopping, I suppose. :) And of course eat at Rick's Bakery to have a yummy strawberry salad! Can't wait!!! So here is a TON of pictures in no particular order!

White Water last Tuesday!

Back off buddy, I got this!

I'm a Pro! Just like my mom! :)

Splish, Splash!

Papa, Granny, and Brycen at the river

The boys playing

I am looking just like my big brother! :)

Silly boy!

My neice, Jilian and I

Papa and Brycen (who is in his 3rd outfit of the night!)

Aunt Brittany, Brycen, and Uncle Denver

Becca, Brycen and I

Love it!

Thought I might add that idiot me forgot my camera charger in CA and my camera is D-E-A-D! Soooo...these are my mom's pictures from her camera. I will probably just have to borrow hers for the rest of the time :(