. 90/365 .

here's another fun find from my favorite shop.  a good ol' jar-o-buttons.  LOVE it.

. 89/365 .

the same sweet friend who i mentioned yesterday is also a fun person to go antique shopping with.  that is usually "our thing" to do when we get together.  {although we haven't gone in quite a while.  ahem.}   i found this little guy at one of my favorite shops in bryan.  i have it in my kitchen usually holding up a sweet note or picture.  i love finding new uses for old things.

. 88/365 .

today was the birthday of one of the sweetest friends on the face of the earth.  seriously.  for the 2nd year in a row, she spends her birthday doing random acts of kindness all around town.  this year, i was a recipient of one of her random acts and felt so special for that.  she left this basket full of Easter eggs outside my house, along with a big bottle of Calgon for me to take a bath with.  She knew exactly what I needed. 

. 87/365 .

 
i have a "thing" for H's in my house. 

. 86/365 .

 

. first soccer game .

i also thought that it would be our last.  here's the WHOLE story (because i want to remember it for what it's worth.)  the day started out a little crazy.  we were running a little later than what i wanted.  i had already fought with karsyn about the thickness of her soccer socks.  yes, it was real.  yes, i won.  i think she just likes to argue with me.  so, we were late, we were tense b/c of the socks, but we made it.  we rushed, which always throws things off.

she did great.  at first.  this was the day she had waited for for at least a year now.  seriously.  she has ALWAYS talked about getting to play soccer.  and we played it up big time.  we pumped her up, we were all excited.

in line warming up before the game.  i think the little boy on the left was trying to be funny for the girls.  
 

i could tell she was getting a little nervous, but we were still cheering her on. 

she even got to do the first kick off!  i was so excited and thought that would get her pumped up.

 
the whole team looked a little lost at first.  they were very unsure about what to do, but they've only practiced twice and this is a whole new world for all of them.

and then the mood changed.  and it changed drastically.  FAST.  nothing happened.  she didn't get hurt.  nothing.  this is how she does things.  it happens all the time at dance.  she gets this face.  freezes a little bit.  then it's over.  it went from this ...

to this ...

in no time.  i tried to talk to her, but the soccer mom in me went overboard.  i don't handle well when she pulls this act.  i sent her to daddy.  he tried and tried to talk to her.  she screamed and screamed and ended up sitting in the car.  i went to check on them and she was still screaming.  said she didn't want to play.  so i stripped her uniform off of her in the parking lot and put her back in the car in her undies.  she was VERY unhappy with me.  this is what we ended up with ...

 
we ended up having another meltdown shortly after.  i was in charge of snacks for the team and wouldn't let her have a snack because she didn't play.  ok, the 2 seconds she did play didn't count in my mind.  i had my mind made up that she wasn't going to get a reward of any kind because of her behavior.  it escalated out of control fast.  we went straight home from there, which was the quietest ride ever.  i was very angry with her.

NOW ... i admit that i went overboard.  i wasn't the encouraging mom i should have been.  the whole day started off on the wrong foot and went downhill from there.  we have talked and talked and talked about it until we can talk no more and we have agreed to have another shot at it.  i am working on being the encourager for her, which is what she needs.  we shall see where this goes ...

. 85/365 .

. 84/365 .

sweet baby LOVES her papa! 

. 83/365 .

{little birdy}

. 82/365 .

aren't these cute little apple juices?!?

. march 22 . karsyn .

this is new to me, but i am going to write monthly posts about my girls, on the date of their birthday.  so, karsyn's birthday is december 22nd.  every month, on the 22nd, i'll post about her. 

karsyn ...



*weighs 41lbs ... she's very tall and skinny!  knobby knees and pigeon toed. 

*her hair is below her shoulders when wet, but it curls up to just below her ears.

*she is still a fanatic about wearing dresses.  she has expanded her wardrobe though, now that she plays soccer.  all of a sudden it's cool to wear shorts.

*she knows how to write all of her letters.  we are currently working on uppercase and lowercase letters, but she knows how to spell her name, mykah's name, mom, daddy, and several others. 

*her favorite colors are pink and purple, but today she told me that she likes rainbows.

*she dislikes dance, but does it because we won't let her quit.  she cannot wait until her recital is over so she can start gymnastics again. 

*she eats all day.

*her favorite drink right now is sunny d orange juice

*she just learned how to swing all by herself.  and we swing every single day now.

*she still sleeps with her blanket, but doesn't care if it goes with us anywhere now.  that's how i knew she was big.

*she is big into braids in her hair right now.  today it was a side braid pulled back into a pony tail.  tomorrow could be something totally different though.

she blows me away every single day.  she's a beautiful girl with a heart of gold.  she loves teaching mykah new things and make sure mykah makes it to the potty and stays in her bed at night.  she is an amazing little girl and i cannot wait to see what God has in store for her. 

. 81/365 .

 

. 80/365 .

. 79/365 .

first day of spring in texas = swimsuit time!  it wasn't THAT hot outside, but just warm enough for us to wash our cars in the driveway and the girls LOVED it. 

. 78/365 .

sweet baby got to sleep in a big girl bed for the first time tonight.  more on that in a post of it's own soon. 

. 77/365 .

we traveled to san angelo today to spend some time with david's granny.  every time we go we take this picture. 

. 76/365 .

 
 happy st. patrick's day!

. 283 days left .

 
can you guess what i'm talking about?

CHRISTMAS!  283 days until Christmas.  yep, i'm already getting started.  i have to.  we actually have a separate savings account set up so we can save all year in order to buy Christmas gifts and the two birthdays we have both within 2 weeks of Christmas.  yes, we are obviously terrible planners in the baby-making department, but it happens when it happens, right?!?  that's what i tell myself anyways.

moving right along.  so i found this ...

you can find it, along with several other printables for other things HERE

i'm loving it.  now the hard part, deciding ahead of time what to buy.  i always seem to wait until the last minute, but not this year.  we're going to be prepared and planned. 

 

. 75/365 .

man, i love these new little ketchup packets at chick-fil-a. 

. 74/365 .

makin' us some homemade macaroni and cheese.  we loved it.  the girls, not so much.  they just aren't carb lovers like their mama.  not that i'm complaining.

 

. 73/365 .

so, i actually took this picture yesterday, but it was too good not to share.  this girl makes me want another baby.  she was the sweetest thing EVER.

how adorable is she?!?!?! 

. 5 things i LOVE right now .

first of all, i LOVE change.  so my favorite things today or this week could very well change tomorrow or next week.  but right at this moment, these are 5 things i love.

1. diet coke.  in a can.  so, i'm doing weight watchers right now and following it as well as i can.  i tried to go cold turkey on the sodas, but i just couldn't do it.  i have 6 kids in my house at 7am during the week.  i MUST have something to give me a little kick that early in the morning.  so i drink ONE can.  all. day. long.  the rest of the time i drink water, which brings me to my next favorite ...

2.  my orange nalgene bottle.  i have 4 of them.  don't judge ... they were on clearance at target a few weeks ago and i paid a total of $5.00 for all 4 of them.  i fill 'em up and keep them in the fridge and i drink TWO of these every single day.  that's about 60oz of water.  i think i love them more because they are orange though.  

 

3.  i've been taking juice plus for a while now and the girls take the kids version every day, but now that i'm attempting to take care of myself these days, i take two of each of these every day and i feel AMAZING.  the red one is the fruit blend and is a full day serving of fruit.  the green is veggies and is also a full day serving.  A FULL DAY all in one pill.  seriously, they make me feel so good and give me energy all day.  and when i accidentally miss one, i feel it. 

4.  i just started using this after a tip from a friend and i LOVE it.  right now, i feel like a teenager again with my skin, so i'm trying to stay on top of it and clear it up and this is definitely helping tremendously.  i even use it on my arms and my back.  makes me feel o-so-soft.

5.  can you see those?  it's a stack of pillows.  random, i know, but i LOVE my own pillows.  i use 3 every night.  i have two under my head and one king size one between my knees.   does that make me weird or do you do that too?  and i must take my pillows with me everywhere i go.  seriously.  even to a hotel.  i must.  
 

so those are my favorites.  you should share yours.  i'd like to see more fun things others love! 

. 72/365 .

i was able to take pictures of this sweet girl today ...

she was a HOOT.  such a fun personality and she kept her tongue out the majority of the time.  what a sweet, fun girl!  and i can't believe she's turning ONE.

. 71/365 .

i took pictures of this sweet girl today ...

she's turning two and is the most precious little girl ever.  look at those dark eyes! 

. 70/365 .

my sweet girl is doing an amazing job writing her letters these days.  of course, the favorite is her name.  i think it's written on things all over the house.

we need to work on "N" though.  she started writing it sideways, which is what that line is underneath the backwards one that she wrote.  but, overall, that's pretty dang good for a 4 year old, i'd say. 

. 69/365 .

we are spending LOTS of time on the trampline these days.  sweet baby LOVES it. 

. 68/365 .

sarah had something crazy going on while playing on the trampoline this afternoon. 

. alphabet soup {abc's of ME}

{A} Age: 29.  yup, one more year in the 20's.  bring it.

{B} Bed size: king.  no other way to sleep.  i don't like to be touched when i'm snoozing.

{C} Chore you hate: bathtubs.  don't worry, guests, i do clean them.  i'm just not singing or smiling while i'm scrubbing.

{D} Dogs?: none.  sweet baby seemed to be allergic to dogs when she was a baby, so we found new homes for ours.  maybe someday we will try again, but i refuse to clean up poop from more than one species at a time.  karsyn asks for one daily though.

{E} Essential start to your day: shower.  when i skip it, my day runs terribly.

{F} Favorite color: orange. duh.

{G} Gold or silver: silver.

{H} Height: 5'8".  seriously, i have thought for the longest time that i was 5'9".  i'm not and it has really bothered me.

{I} Instruments you play: none.  i played the clarinet in junior high.  i've attempted the guitar.  that's it.

{J} Job title: stay at home mom.  home daycare provider.  i take care of other babies so i can be home with mine.

{K} Kids: two sweet girls.  4 and 2.

{L} Live: College Station, TX

{M} Mom's name: to me, mom.  to my girls, nana.  to my dad, my old lady. (don't be mad mom. you know he calls you that).  to everyone else, vicki.

{N} Nicknames: Er-Er (pronounced "air-air".  not real sure when that started). 

{O} Overnight hospital stays: ankle surgery in '01.  2 baby deliveries in '06 and '09. 

{P} Pet peeve: being late.  i have always hated people being late or me having to wait on people who are late.

{Q} Quote: "how far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong; because someday in your life, you will have been all of these."       - george washington carver

{R} Right or left handed: righty.

{S} Siblings: one sister who is 2 years older.  and a brother-in-law (we won't say how old he is. heehee.)

{T} Time you wake up: If it's not kid prompted, 6:00ish.  If my snooze button decides not to work that day, 6:45 when a kid wakes me up.

{U} Underwear: yes.  (seriously?  why is that a question?)

{V} Vegetable you dislike: peas.  blecht.  i've ALWAYS hated peas.

{W} What makes you run late: it's my pet peeve, so i don't run late.  but if there ever was a time, it'd be because of my children.

{X} X-rays you've had done: ankle, ankle, back, dental

{Y} Yummy food you make: everyone seems to like my spaghetti.

{Z} Zoo, favorite animal: hmm, probably the monkeys.

. 67/365 .

we used these green peas today for a st. patrick's day project and sensory activities.  they are all over my house at this very moment. 

. 66/365 .

and we have our first soccer injury ..

after practice tonight, karsyn was playing around with her friends and bit the dust.  she got a pretty good scratch on her face and cried, but she said she had so much fun at her first practice.

after she got out of the bath and her hair dried, this is what we got ...

{yay, you got a 2pher ... but i took this picture and HAD to share it.}

look at those curls!!  i hope they stay forever.  although, my hair used to look like that not too long ago and i keep straightening it.  maybe i should go curly again too! 

. 65/365 .

say hello to my little friend ...

i'm so thankful that my parents got this sa-weet pressure washer for my favorite man for his birthday.  i secretly love it 9million times more than he does, i think.  today we used it to clean off our sidewalk and it made it look brand-stinkin'-new.   and let's not forget to mention my favorite man's tooshie in the picture too.  i see him rolling his eyes right now.  you're very welcome, babe.

. 64/365 .

my bread box.  love it.

. and so it begins ...

 
I'M A SOCCER MOM!!!

. pigtails and priceless moments .

 
man, this girl melts my heart.  her attitude can get to me sometimes, seriously, but those baby blues, knobby knees, and absolute cuteness are all i need to make my heart pitter patter.  and how cute is this ...

i have actually given up control over her style, but she is doing a really good job herself.  she picks out her own clothes and tells me how to fix her hair.  sounds extreme, but she's a control freak (and i really don't know where she gets it from. ahem.)  so letting her pick out her clothes and her hairstyle gives her control over something important to her.  and i've been so pleasantly surprised. 

today she was able to have a play date with her sweetest friends.  these 3 play so well together and i love listening to their stories and imaginations at work.

crazy, crazy, crazy girls.  but they love each other and really enjoy their time together.  they wanted a little photo shoot, so i had them pose.  then we tried a little jumping action.  ready ...

 
jump ...

i wish we could have play dates every day.  what fun we have every time these girls are together.   and karsyn is so blessed to have such sweet friends!!