Best idea EVER!

So I definitely can be a germaphobe (sp???) After last winter, when Madelynn got the flu and RSV and ear infection after ear infection and cold after cold I started to carry around clorox wipes and would wipe everything down before she touched it.

So this...

kinda made me cringe. We were at Old Navy the other day and Nat took Madelynn over to this whole play area to play. It is a wonderful idea!! I kinda wish all places had something like this!!!! Of course with tons and tons of cans of lysol for paranoid moms like me to spray everything down with before there child starts to play. I prayed that she would NOT get sick and not get any yucky germs... cuz to me, it looks like a fun place for the swine flu to hang out. So bottom line, its a great idea and Im sure that any mom would have to agree with me... but the germs and the flu scares me.

The Paci

I know.. I already blogged once today, but what else do you do when your home alone and your kids are in bed.

I thought that I would share with you the MANY places that we have found paci's....

In the toilet (I know, disgusting.)

In the basket full of hand towels

In the trash can (I know, disgusting again.)

In the dog food container that is taller than she is.. not sure how she managed that one.

under the couch

in her mater

in her toy basket

in my shoes.

and of course... ^^(rare occasion, this is...)

in her beautiful sleeping mouth. :)

Now this is just a few that I have got pictures of. We have found them in the shower, she hides them deep in the foot of her bed, she puts them behind her bed, in her dresser drawers, in Nat's boots, in the dryer,on the shelf where all of our food is. Its crazy... and she never ceases to amaze me as to where she will put one next. Its like a game. How many paci's can we find today??

Baby Fever.

Before I begin. NO, I am not pregnant.

When Madelynn was probably a month or so. I really wanted another baby. Yes... I know thats crazy and absurd, but its true. We had absolutely no intentions of trying to have another one any time soon but deep down inside, I wouldn't have minded having another one so soon. When someone asked me when we were gonna try for another one, or if we wanted another one I would say that I wouldn't mind getting pregnant right now... and they would look at me like I was insane. My pregnancy with Madelynn and her birth was all a wonderful experience and I wanted to experience it all again soon.... and I did just that! Just about as soon as possible. My pregnancy with Payton and the recovery after the c-section was horrible. Just plain horrible! Well... all but the sweet little girl that came from all of it at the end. Anyways... so I was kinda glad that I wouldn't get like I did with Madelynn and want another one so soon. But today, I got that feeling again. WHAT IS MY PROBLEM???? Like seeing a pregnant woman makes me want another baby terribly. HELLO??? you have an 8 week old laying right here beside you and you want another one?!?!? Ugh... seriously. Has anyone else ever had this problem?? or am I on my own here. Not that I am not satisfied with the two beautiful children that God has given to me but I just want more.

I often (yall are gonna think Im dumb but....) like check myself and ask myself... ok self, you dont want another baby right?? and I look at pictures of the girls' birth and make sure I dont get "that feeling" that I got so often when Madelynn was so young. Or I watch A baby story or a show about babies and make sure I dont REALLY want another one.

Wow... if you didn't know better (I hope you do anyways...) you might think that I was a psycho lady and you might suggest that I get some help. I promise.. Im not psycho. I have heard before that some women do struggle with this...

Anyways... Just to assure everyone, I am on birth control and Yes, I know that I need to give my body a break and no, Im not pregnant. If i get pregnant any time soon, it will 100% be an act of God and not MY fault. :) So far, we have had 1 act of God and 1 birth control baby. Hopin that we can catch a break cuz no matter how much I want one, I know that thats just what we need, a break from being pregnant. In the 2 years that we have been married, I have only not been pregnant 6 months.

I dont want to experience this any time soon.

I dont want another baby any time soon.

I dont want this.

No.

and repeat...

My girls

I think its really cool to look back at Madelynns pictures from when she was younger and put them up to Paytons. Not that I am comparing the 2 for any specific reason other I just think its neat.

So here are a few of the 2 of them around the same age.

Madelynns first time in the bumbo (this is the start of torticollis)

Paytons first time in the bumbo. About 3 weeks younger than Madelynn was in that^ picture. See how much bigger Payton is??

Madelynns first big smile (7 weeks)

Paytons first big smile (captured on camera) (7 weeks)

Madelynn in the pumpkin jammies (3 months)

Payton in the pumpkin jammies (1 1/2 months)

Madelynn in the jean shorts

Payton in the jean shorts. Same age. Can we say muffin top?? :)

madelynn in the winnie the pooh robe

Payton in the winnie the pooh robe. Sam age

and here is a few just cuz I cant really blog without posting 14,000 pictures.

love these girls!

LOVE this outfit from Aunt Sherri. :)

She loves to look at her big sister

Ok.. now onto life. I feel like we have been so busy but nothing comes to mind as to busy doing what.

Here is a funny story for you. The other day, I had to take baby to the vet to get her stitches out. It was me, holding Madelynn and baby (on a leash) in one arm, and Payton in a carseat on the other arm. Keep in mind that baby is a 60 lb dog who is full of muscle and stronger than an ox. And with all the new smells and bunches of new animals, it was a challenge to keep her by me and not trying to "play" with all the small dogs and cats. I had lots of people looking at me like I was a crazy lady. I just laughed about it. It was quite the sight see I tell ya. But as always, so many people are so nice to me and I always have someone to help me out! Its alot of work to get out without Nat.. but having help from sweet people makes my day! I had a lady push my basket out the other day full of groceries and Madeylnn while I pushed the stroller. Wish I woulda had her around while I was grocery shopping. :)

This is something that I really wasn't sure if I was gonna share. But, I feel like I should, mostly for my sake. My whole life I've been a writer. Just love to write. Thats how I express myself, I have always given people letters when I need to tell them something. Thats just how I roll. Anyways... so I feel like if I write this, It will help me get over it. Hmm... lets see if I can do this without bawling my eyes out. So far i've been pretty unsuccessful at that when the subject comes up. Baby, my dog that I just wrote about, and have written about several times, (not sure if I have shared this or not) but she is severely attached to me and is very jealous of anything that comes between her and I. I guess the other day her jealousy got to be to much and she bit Madelynn. We really weren't sure if it was real cuz we did not see it. Madelynn just came out from the side of the couch crying and holding her arm up to us. We both just looked at each other and said there is no way she just bit Madelynn. If you have ever been around this dog, you know that she is the sweetest, most caring, loving dog. So we were pretty much in denial. So we let Madelynn go back over by her while I watched. Sure enough, she did it again. Right in front of me. I immediately become a basket case cuz I knew whats coming. Nat and I have always agreed that if any of our dogs ever bit any of our children, they were gone. Nat took her up to the animal shelter and ended up bringing her back. He said he felt like we should give it another chance and he prayed over her... and if you know Nat, you probably think Im makin that up and are wondering why the dog is even alive... but its the truth. So we went the next day with her here and things didnt change. She didnt hurt Madelynn but just acted very shady and different. It was just to much for my brain to worry about and I knew what had to be done. So the next night, I had to go through all the emotions again as he took her out the door. So she is gone. I pray that she would find a good home with no children and that someone will love her as much as we did. She just needs to be with someone who can be hers and she can be theirs only.. with no children that will get in the way. It was hard. Probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. i've never lost someone I was close to, but this week I did. I would just ask ya'll to pray for Nat and I. Its been pretty hard for the both of us. Mostly me.

Ok. Now that I got all that out... Onto more happier things in life. Last night was the Taste of San Angelo. Ever been?? It was pretty neat. I had never been but Nat had to go represent Bug Express and they offered to pay for me a ticket to go to so why not?? So we left the girls with their nana and made a date of it. We walked around and ate and ate... and ate some more. It was fun. I enjoyed getting to taste all the different foods and desserts from around San Angelo.

Today, me and the girls are just hangin out at home. Haven't done that in a few days. I have been on this kick of making bows. I love it. Its so much fun. I could sit and do it all day long... and sometimes, I do (as much as my children allow me to.)

ok... so maybe I shouldn't go a few days without posting cuz when I do, it seems that I have way to many pictures and its way to long. oh well.

October 12, 2006

On this fateful day three years ago, a tragedy occurred in my life. I had just gotten engaged to the man of my dreams 5 days earlier (no, thats not the tragedy... just keep reading) on my birthday to be exact. Obviously, I said yes. So my new fiance and I went up to Shannon to visit granny and I do believe we had planned to go eat when we left... but, we never left. You see, we were on our way out and gettin in the blazer (keep in mind I am wearing my brand spankin new shorts that were the shorts... know what I mean?? you feel great in them, they look great on you and you LOVE them cuz you finally found he perfect shorts...yea, I was wearing those) the blazer, that is lifted 4 inches and has 35 inch tires on it.. I do believe I have told you about this beauty. While getting in the blazer, you dont just slide in gracefully. No, its a very ungraceful process... like one in which if your wearing a skirt... everyone turn your heads type of ungraceful... Its a step on and jump in type thing. So I did as I always did so many times before and jumped right in and plopped down, and it hurt.... rather bad to be honest with you. What is this feeling?? maybe I sat on a tac?? but why would there be a tac in my seat... hmm what else, what else... oh, it must be THE BROKEN GLASS CUP THAT MY FIANCE PUT IN MY SEAT. smart guy huh??? You see, when we first got to shannon, a glass cup that was in the floor board fell out of the blazer and broke, leaving lots of sharp, jagged edges. I, being the nice, caring citizen that I am finally convince Nathaniel to pick it up rather than leave it. So he puts it on my seat. and we both forgot about it... till now, when I sit... or rather plop down on it.

Ok, so once we realize what happened, we both start freaking out. I very fastly get over the embarrassment of the location of the incident and the fact that my new fiancee was having to tend to me. Once he realizes I am bleeding like crazy, he wraps his jacket around me and we walk to the bathroom back inside the hospital to really see the extent of the cut. I am bawling my eyes out and in so much pain and so freaked out... then he mentions the word stitches and i freak out even more... stitches in the buttocks area?? That has to hurt. So he calls his mom (who was up in the room with granny) and she comes down and looks at it and she says oh yea, definitely will need stitches. So I hop in a wheelchair (there really was no hopping involved) and they wheel me to the ER right down the hall where they make me fill out a bunch of paper work and talk to me for what seemed like an eternity. They had to make sure Nat didnt abuse me so they asked him a bunch of questions... and the whole time im thinking HELLO????? HOW BOUT WE SKIP ALL THE TALKIN TILL THIS IS ALL DONE AND OVER WITH?!?!?! They finally get me back in a room and it takes what seems like another eternity for a Dr to come in and look at it to see what needs to be done. I'll skip all the gross details that you probably dont wanna hear about... and ill just say, if you wanna lose all sense of dignity, one- you can have a baby. Or two- you can sit on a glass cup. So about maybe 2 hours after all this, they finally start stitchin it up. It was so deep, they had to stitch the inside of me, and the skin. It was about 3 inches deep and 4 inches long if I remember correctly. It was not a pleasant healing experience either, as you can imagine... not being able to sit for weeks can be rather awkward. I layed on a mattress in the living room for a good long time.

Needless to say, Nat felt absolutely horrible for it... and we DO NOT take glass cups in our vehicles anymore. :)

Thats my story. I still have the glass cup which most people think is disgusting cuz it has dried blood and yucky stuff on it... but why wouldnt I keep it?? What a memory!! It is out in Mertzon in storage which makes me sad cuz I wanted to take a picture to show you. I know, your disappointed. One day i'll get it to show you.

Hope to see everyone back for my next post. :)

Christmas....

Do you know the coolest place on the face of the earth??? Walgreens!! Seriously. Its the best. I have been there many a times but yesterday, I went at 11:30 at night... (24 hour pharmacy is the greatest idea ever!! especially when the lines just to drop off a prescription are 2 miles long during sick season) and waited on Paytons stuff so I just walked around and found the coolest stuff! Even found Nat's jeans in the size we have been searching high and low for for many months now... who'da thought... walgreens. He was thrilled to say the least! Anyways... I have been thinking about Christmas. I am so excited this year cuz Madelynn will kinda know whats goin on and actually be able to open presents. I have some good ideas and have been lookin around and pricing stuff. One thing that I really wanted to get her was a drum set (not like a bunch of drums together. just one single drum. Make sense???) cuz she LOVES to bang stuff. I looked at wal mart and they had a really neat one for 30 bucks... Im not to to much of a cheapo but man... that seemed like alot of money to me. So yesterday while walkin around walgreens, I saw one, and it was only ten bucks. It came with a bunch of instruments in it. How cool is that??? I was so excited I just had to get it. So we have our first Christmas present down!

Are ya'll loving this weather??? I know I am!! Its so nice. With cooler weather brings warmer clothes! I just love little kids all bundled up and warm and cozy. We whipped out our warm jammies and even had to turn on our heater! I most definitely wouldn't have done it had it just been me and Nat, but I cant have my babies gettin cold or sick, and their room was freezing!

smile from the big girl

and if you can see the 2 bruises on Madelynns forehead... She has been quiet the clumsy little girl lately. Had two mishaps at her mimi's house.. both in about 30 minutes of each other.

and... I just have to show yall this. Remember when I talked about Paytons funky hair?? Well as it grows, it grows up.

straight up... and there aint no keepin it down either... so we throw a bow on her head and hope to distract the eye from the electrifying hair. Ha! I love it. It makes Payton Payton.

Update.

Pardon my lack of blogging... I know, it really hasnt been that lacking... I have just been wanting to do it and havent... so I have a bunch of stuff in my head that I had wanted to write about... my apologies for the longness.

Lets see... On Tuesday, we went to some friends house and had a wonderful time with everyone. They surprised me with a birthday cake!! I had a wonderful birthday on Wednesday. My mom took me and the girls to lunch. Then Nat took me to Ichibans for dinner... which was delicious! Then we ended our birthday date as we end every date we have ever been on/ will go on.... with a trip to wal mart.

Ms. Madelynn- The 4 steps was a one time deal... and thats all I will say about that. :) She has now discovered she can get out of her bed during bed time. Its rather funny to be laying in bed and all the sudden you hear the cracking of her door open, then you hear little legs crawling 100 mph, then you hear a little laugh, then you see a little head pop up with a huge grin on her face. The wrong thing to do at that point would be to laugh at her... but I did.

She has been obsessed with climbing lately. We recently got our futon back so we decided to put it in the living room to have some more seating and Madelynn discovered that she can actually hike her leg up and get up there since its lower to the ground... so she has tried to climb everything.

She has also become so obsessed with her princess chair. She got it for her birthday and has not paid much mind to it till recently when she discovered she can climb up in it. She LOVES it. We put it up on the futon so she can sit up there and she climbs right up there and sits in her chair. Its so cute.

the girl definitely knows how to relax!

Ms. Payton- She is 7 weeks today! She is little ms. smiley, still havent got a picture of her pretty little smile.. but Im trying. I took her in to the Dr's today. Ever since her umbilical chord fell off, her belly button has been real red and had lots of yucky discharge. I just kept cleaning it with alcohol till it cleared up... then a couple days ago, I noticed it was back like that. So I went ahead and brought her in to get it looked at. After sitting in the waiting room for an hour, I decide to go ask them why I havent gone back yet... she proceeds to tell me that they have her down to come in at 10:40... they told me on the phone the apt. was at 8:30... So that was a bit frustrating... but at the same time it was very nice to just sit and hold Payton. Her and I dont get a whole lot of one on one time. Lemme tell ya... one kid is so easy! I forgot how easy it was... Anyways, she weighed 11lbs. 7oz. She is a big girl. He said he really didnt know why it was still doin that but he did somethin to her belly button and said it should close it up for good so It should stop leaking stuff. He also gave me some cream for her face... which is outta control with baby acne. Luckily I think its just at the point of clearing up on its own... but hopefully this will help the process along.

This girl LOVES this blanket. She only wants to be snuggled up with her polka dot blanket. The second you snuggle her up nice and warm, she is out!

theres a half a smile.

Cute if I might say so myself. :)

This is something that her daddy has taught her. It made me laugh when I saw her doing it to Payton on her own.

Payton is such a good sport

success!

ok. so that was alot of pictures. Sorry... but thats where were at in life.. Im another year older (and legal)... not that I care. Never been much of a drinker. :) haha. Madelynn and Payton have both stolen their mothers heart... and I love em! Nat... he is just Nat. and I love him for that.

ok. Im done. Gotta go put some pictures in frames and get em hung up.