Adeline & Baylor spent the night at Grandma Liz's house.  They fed the horses carrots, planted flowers, & Adeline got a new big girl bike from Pawpaw Rick!  I'll let her tell you all about it...

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Adeline is singing along to Baylor playing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star on his recorder.  The funny thing is, Baylor must have been playing it well enough for her to hear the tune because no one told her what the song was.  She just started singing along! Good job Baylor!

Crossfit & PaleOMG!!

May is here, my friends, and it is C-R-A-Z-Y!! All of my teacher friends out there know May is insane, anyway. I've decided to add crossfit to my workout routine this month because, heaven forbid, we have to spend a week at a beach resort in June!! So, in addition to going to kickboxing at 5:30 am, I am now going to crossfit at 7 pm three nights a week. It's insane, I'm exhausted, and if that's not enough, they take pictures the whole time you're working out at the crossfit gym (stressful)!! I did steal one of their pictures, though, that I didn't look disgusting in (see below). I've also found this great blog called PaleOMG with great recipes for Paleo eating, which is basically no carbs. The girl is hilarious, she cracks jokes about her own crossfit journey, and she can cook!! It's been keeping me quite busy. Stay tuned, because if I do not drop a couple of pounds this month I'm going to kill someone (and after crossfit, I'll definitely be strong enough to do so) ;)

We're "hot"!

Adeline put her little elbows up on the couch tonight next to Adam and told him he was hot. He questioned her, "Do you mean I should turn the fan on?". She very matter-of-factly says no you're hot like her and points over to me. This got our attention as we realized what she meant. Then Adam said "so you think Mommy's hot?". Adeline answers (again very matter-of-factly) "yeah, you hot and mommy hot"! Haha! We are teaching them well!

Easter 2012

Oldies, but Goodies!

One of oldest friends got married & gave a chance to get together!!

O

u

Relaxing Weekend Away

Adam and I got to go on a Farm Bureau 3 day weekend at Lost Pines Resort. It's our third or fourth time to be there with Farm Bureau, and it's always so nice. Adam wins the weekend for being a Master Life Agent and gets to walk up and receive an award at a fancy banquet. It always makes me proud! Thanks to Mom and Linton for keeping the kids for two nights!

A new imaginary friend?

We think maybe Adeline will have imaginary friends the way Baylor did. She's been talking about her "baby sister" that lives at home with us. She said the baby sister keeps bending her fingers back and hurting her. She wanted us to tell her baby sister that she had to sit in timeout! I keep saying I've got to find some old videos of Baylor and his imaginary friends. They were so funny. He had a dog named oldYeller and Baby Deer, and it was some serious business!

We've got Braids!

Adeline is allowing me to braid her hair now that it's long enough. As I squealed with excitement and exclaimed how cute it was, she says (shrugging) "Thang you mommy"!

In the Home Stretch

It's that glorious (insert sarcastic tone here) time of year again at school. The home stretch where everyone is ready for a break! Every teacher, parent and child. I have once again taken on too many projects including painting, making appearances, parties, cooking, baking, etc!! How quickly I forget each year that I just want to have fun in December. I just want to visit friends, hang out, and party. Adam's birthday is this month so that contributes to the wanting to celebrate. We had a fantastic time in Lake Charles this past weekend. I'm so glad we made it. LSU game party, then spent some much needed time with old friends and family. So much needed, that we decided we will drop everything and go back next weekend! Still today and every day, I say to Adam (each time we cross that 210 bridge) that I would drop everything and move back to Lake Charles (around our school schedule, of course)!! ;)

Thanksgiving!

I was feeling like listing the things I'm thankful for, but, not to my surprise, they weren't much different from the things I was thankful for last year at this time!
Here is my list from last year with a few changes in parentheses.
2010 LIST (with 2011 changes in parentheses)
1. My husband...strong and funny and supportive and patient and a Daddy!!(2011:He is number one for a reason)
2. My strong Baylor, who is benevolently unaware of how many people's lives he's touched. He just lives like any normal kiddo, griping about school, homework, & chores... But never about dr. visits, bone marrow biopsies, bloodwork, xrays, hearing aids, daily hormone shots or having hands like no one else! He's a bit of heaven.(2011: one change here-we did start ADD medicine &, wow, how he sprouted into a smart little guy)
3. Funny Adeline, who's excitement & zest & curiousity wear us out! She's incredibly healthy and such an addition to our lives (2011: ummmm, can I stress zest & curiousity WEAR us out???)
4. My great friends. Friends like Melissa who keep me sane and "un-momly" and Kristie, who loves my child, and is orgaized enough for the both of us! She's so organized, she knows what her 3 kids are doing, and can still keep track of mine all at the same time! All of our other friends that keep our life fun by going out with us on the weekends, or chatting with us at work, or remembering to send a text when we haven't talked in a while, or comment about how cute our kids are on Facebook!! You're all special in some way! (2011: More new friends like Heather, Lacey & Ashley & old favorites like Leslie & Steph who make me miss Lake Charles dearly)
5. Our great families. Our family who we know are there to help in any way! Theresa, who remembers to call and check in. Wes & Sarah who stay close & are great babysitters! Mom for saving us on any day when we're in a pinch. My dad who provides opportunities for my son to have four-wheelers and see deer and other wild animals that aren't possible as "city folk"! Nana Perky for having Baylor thinking that Target is the special place where families go to bond, haha!! Grandma Liz who will always say yes to any outlandish thing that Adam asked for because she loves him so much & who always thought it was important to introduce us to things like books and musicals, which we now make important to our own kids! And Papa Johnny for being such a supportive listener to my husband during all of their "insurance business" talks!
We love our families! Can't say it enough!
6. Our health...Yes, the old cliche! But with the daily/weekly stories of people we know finding out unhealthy news, I thank God every single day (not just November) for our health. We have tried our very best to keep our bodies as healthy as possible, no more feeding chemicals! We try on a daily basis to keep our diet clean & let our kids know that it's important to exercise your body. It's tough, so it seems like every day is a new day, but we've come a long way from the days of processed foods and fast food joints being part of our daily routine. (2011: still much of the same, but I said all year since last Thanksgiving that we would run a 5K as a family & a whole year has gone by and we didn't do it!! New goal for this year)

Nonuts!

Adeline is now old enough to tattle on daddy. When adam has the kids, they frequent the donut shop way more than I would like in the mornings before school. I do not approve, and today she came in and told me "nonuts, mmmm" (which is Adeline for donuts)! I asked what made her think of donuts and she said "daddy nonuts". I said," yes daddy takes you to get donuts. Does mommy get donuts?" Then with this sheepish look like she realized maybe she wasn't supposed to say she said "Noooo"!
Ugh, I very much dislike donuts. I tried to convince Adam to stay away by telling him they're just giant french fries with sugar poured all over them. It hasn't worked!!

Nail Painting

Yes, she found the nail polish on her own when only daddy was home. Yes, she got it open. Yes, she made a mess. And, no, dad did not notice, but we did get pictures!

Halloween 2011

Happy Halloween! We had a little cowgirl, thanks to Grandpa Lulue and Yoda, of course. There are no pictures of the 2 of them together because Adeline was too scared of Baylor!

"Work Friends" or Just "Friends"?

I wonder why we use the term "work friends"? I was lying in bed thinking about this one night recently. Maybe because lots of life moments have been happening with my work friends. My work friends are my friends. I hope. And, why wouldn't they be? I spend more time with my work friends than any of my other friends, or family, for that matter. My work friends are the first and last ones to see me every day besides Adam & the kids. They're the first to know if something is wrong, the first to hear bad news, and the first to hear good news. They listened to me the many times I cried and worried about Baylor's hard times in school or, most recently, the 100 times in a row that I did the pro/con list about choosing a daycare for my baby. They share with me their problems and their kids' problems and their family issues and their newest little bundles of joy! My closest friends made throughout the years have been people I've worked with, and they are the friends I stay in touch with most often. So I concluded that, for me at least, there really aren't "work friends". I just have great friends that I happen to work with!

Daycare Shopping

I've been daycare shopping for Adeline all of this week. We can no longer stay at Mamu's house, but we will miss her like crazy.
They are all so different, the daycares. I quickly counted out the first two places I visited simply on lack of "warm and fuzzy". That is an actual very high ranked daycare characteristic on my list!
It's funny all of the things that change when you become a real parent. Of course, when you're pregnant, everything is going to be a perfect wonderland when your baby is born. My kids were definitely going to be the most beautiful, incredibly smart, and very athletic. Maybe even get some scholarships so we don't have to pay for college. Then, they're here and real, and everything just goes to hell! You no longer care about all the fancy stuff when they're babies, and, instead, just concentrate more on holding them (and maybe taking showers!). Then when they start school, you don't seem to worry about them being the smartest, but just hope they have friends! I'm sure these little surprises continue on and on.
I found myself saying to one daycare manager today, who was explaining the school curriculum (of 2 year olds, mind you), that " I don't really care if she learns anything, just that everyone loves and hugs her"! Now when Baylor was 2, I thought this but never would have said it. Today, I didn't even regret it. AND, I would, in a heartbeat, choose the daycare that said back to me "oh we totally agree"!

Mmmmm and Ewwww

Okay Adeline does have quite the vocabulary, but her comparison of how things taste is just plain "mmmm" or "ewww". It's very funny. When she takes the first bite, she'll usually say "that's ewww" or "that's mmmmm"! Tonight she was eating dinner and, of course, Baylor didn't like dinner so I asked Adeline if it was eww. She said "No, mom, Mmmmm!" I love that girl, and her stinky brother that thinks all of my food is "ewww"!

Adeline & Daddy Yell at Football

Baylor So Sick!

We tackled 104 fever yesterday! Really scary. Baylor's fever spiked and we couldn't get it down. The dr. checked for strep after school, and it was negative. He ran 104 all evening. We couldn't break the fever. He was supposed to go back to the dr today to test for flu, but he woke up fine & didn't run a fever all day. He always does this stuff to us :)

Biggest Loser & Modern Family Are Back

I can't help it, I LOVE Biggest Loser. I'm so glad it's back on. Now, it does come on Tuesday, which is usually ice cream night for Nicole and Adam, so we are that couple sitting on the couch eating ice cream during Biggest Loser! Ha. However, we do work our booties off in the gym every other day. It's worth it!
We were already crying in the very first episode this year!
Now, for everyone not watching the TV show, Modern Family, set your mental clock for Wednesdays 8:00!! It is the BEST show on television right now. So, so funny. I hate to admit how much TV we watch from 8-10 pm after the kids are in bed, but it's such a stress reliever :)