Isbell Family Blog

2010-04-13T11:16:00.002-05:00

Taylor is 10 months and Brianna is 4 years in this picture taken back in February.

Gosh! I can't believe it has been almost year since I last blogged! Guess that tells you how busy we've been! I just wanted to put a quick picture and blurb out here for now and will update with more info and pictures soon! Sorry it's been so long!!

She's Here!

2009-04-26T07:14:00.008-05:00

Taylor Marie Isbell
7 lbs
19 1/4 inches
Born 4/25/2009 @ 7:30am

Hello everyone! I hope you're all having a great weekend! As you can see, ours has been super blessed with our beautiful new daughter Taylor. Yesterday morning was a whirlwind delivery (literally!), but it went smoothly and Taylor arrived safely into the world. I started with contractions at around 4:15am at 8 mins apart. Got to the hospital at 5:30 am with them at 2 mins apart and had Taylor by 7:30am. I truly think this has to be some sort of record breaking delivery time! I almost didn't make it in time to get my epidural and you all know how MAD that would have made me! :) We got the epidural even though only half of it took, I was glad to have some relief. Everything else went off without a hitch.

Brianna is so excited to have her new baby sister here finally. She came to the hospital to see her for the first time yesterday and would NOT let anyone else hold her. She had to hold her baby sister and no one else could touch her. Thankfully, Gramma had some special plans (not sure what) and was able to coax her to leave for the afternoon to let the rest of the visitors hold Taylor. Bri is such a sweetheart and can't wait to help Mommy take care of Taylor.

Daddy and Taylor

WHERE DID THAT RED HAIR COME FROM?

Oh...yeah, Papa has red hair as does Granny!

Will Taylor keep it??? We sure hope so!!

Time Flies!

2009-04-23T14:53:00.007-05:00

I can't believe there are now 13 days until my official due date! As of last week, we are officially full-term and are playing the waiting game. Waiting for Taylor to make her grand entrance! The dr. said last Wednesday that I was about 2 cm dialated and 50% effaced. She offered to schedule an induction for April 29th which we have taken her up on. She will be on call that day, so we will be garaunteed to have her there as well as able to plan for where Brianna will be a little better. Now, that's not to say that Taylor won't decide to come sooner than next Wednesday, but at least we have a definite end date in mind.

I've had two showers and am so greatful for the wonderful co-workers, friends and family for their generosity. Everyone has been so nice and supportive and we feel very very blessed to have you all in our lives.

This is my latest picture as of last Saturday where I'm 38 weeks. Everyone says I'm all belly, but it feels like so much more!

Here are the beautiful shower cakes. The pink one was made by Pam from work and the purple was made by Mamma Tedder. Both were YUMMY! Thank you ladies!!!

She Did It!

2009-03-22T10:24:00.008-05:00

WE DID IT!

We have "bye bye binky" success!!! As of yesterday, we have been without binky and without much resistance! Brianna threw her binkies (ALL OF THEM) into the big gross trash can outside yesterday afternoon and then we went to Toys R Us to get her a pink Leapster! She was so excited to get the Leapster that I'm not sure she realized what we were really doing until it got to be around bedtime. She only had one breakdown and a few whiney spells for it, but she fell asleep fine without it. I honestly think it was way harder for me to watch her throw her binkies in the trash than it was for her to actually do it. I had to scoop her up and hug her for a good minute to keep her from seeing me cry! I was so sad to see my baby girl really grow up to be a big girl! She keeps telling me she is now my big girl and that Baby Taylor will be my baby girl. She's such a sweetie!!

Good Job Brianna!!!

WHAT!

2009-02-03T16:10:00.003-06:00

I have less than 100 days to be pregnant!!! I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going. I'm already in my third trimester and getting bigger by the day! Let me tell you how busy and crazy this kid is! She moves so much more than I ever remember Brianna moving. We are moving along with getting the nursery ready, slow but sure. I'm getting anxious since I really only do have like 3 months left and still quite a bit left to do to get stuff ready. It'll be ok...I'm going to make it! On top of it all, I turned the big 3-0 back on January 23rd. I can't beleive I'm no longer in my twenties! Sadness...

Decision Made

2009-01-02T11:15:00.002-06:00

After some long contemplation and debate over names with my husband and others we have finally settled on the name Taylor Marie. Yes, I know...the initials will be TMI and everyone will think we named her after Taylor Swift, but oh well. People will get over it. I think its a cute name for a girl and she will be named after both me and Jason that way. Taylor is also Jason's Granny's maiden name, so there is a little more history to that name than just Jason. I went round and round thinking about using Addison, but after going to the hospital the other day to visit my precious twin nieces and noticing that there was an Addison in the nursery I realized that "Addison" is going to be a very popular name in the next couple years and I didn't want to jump on that bandwagon. It's an adorable name, but we'll let others use it.

Taylor is #10 on the Babycenter.com list of names. It is of English origin and means "Tailor". This is Jason's middle name.

Marie is # 450 on the Babycenter.com list, but I think that's a first name list. If it were a middle name list I'm sure it would be #1! :) It is of Hebrew origin and is a form of "Mary" meaning "bitter". This is my middle name.

So, the verdict is officially....

Taylor Marie Isbell

Thanks to everyone for your comments and suggestions!!!

Twins are here safe and sound!

2008-12-27T12:17:00.001-06:00

I went to see my precious new twin nieces this morning. They were born yesterday at 4:50pm. Jenna weighed in a 5.25 lbs while Kallie weighed 5.07lbs. They are both so teeny tiny, but oh so cute. It's hard to tell them apart just yet as they both just look like newborn babies. We think once they start filling out we'll be able to tell the difference somehow...we hope! :) Mom and Dad are doing great. The boys just couldn't wait to hold their new baby sisters. Brianna loves her new little cousins too! I will post some pictures as soon as I get them uploaded.

Baby Name Drama continues

2008-12-23T08:22:00.003-06:00

Well, I thought I'd have this wonderful update for you guys as to what name we finally picked, but we still haven't decided on one yet. Jason is starting to come around to Taylor Marie, but I just don't know about that one anymore. I like it...I like that it's a name after both of us, but then again...Brianna isn't named after either of us. I don't want her to feel shafted. Is that dumb??? I also am still not so sure about the initials 'TMI' or that Taylor is also the name of a huge 18 year old country star that I'm not so crazy about (Taylor Swift). I just don't know. This is a hard one! Jason keeps saying he really likes Brittney, but I just don't know. I have always liked that name, but it is also the name of some chick he used to hang out with in High School. I can't help but think he'll think about her every time he says his daughter's name. I'm just a dork I guess. I also know that we can't use Addison Brooke as that is the name of a friend of mine's daughter. We could do Addison Marie instead though...

So, all that to say that we haven't decided yet. For those that know me well, you know it is killing me to not have this name yet! I am such a planner and dang if I can't even plan what we're going to call our baby!!!

Ok, I'm ok. Maybe after the holidays I'll have an epiphany and have it all figured out.

BABY NAME HELP

2008-12-18T09:42:00.002-06:00

We need help choosing a name for our new little girl on the way. Jason keeps shooting down all my ideas, so I thought I'd post some of them and get comments from you guys. What do YOU think about these???

Addison Brooke
Camryn Taylor
Taylor Marie
Emily Brooke
Brooke [middle name not chosen]
Riley [middle name not chosen]
Madison [middle name not chosen]

I'm almost certain Jason will not like Camryn because he can't spell it. He's already told me he didn't like Taylor for a girl either (it's his middle name and Marie is my middle name). Brianna brought up the name Emily the other day and I kind of liked it. Addison is the only name that Jason said he actually liked (I think it's because he likes Addison on Private Practice). I honestly really like Sydney (chick from the show Alias), but unfortunately it has been taken by my parents' dog. :( Too bad Prison Break or 24 didn't have any good girl names! :)

There you go...make your comments PUUULLLLEEEAAASSSSSSEEE!

Stressful

2008-12-17T20:14:00.002-06:00

Yet another stressful week at work. The last REALLY stressful week was back in May. Today was another stressful "May week". Management finally completed their "delayering" of management and peons and announced all of it today. Some were put into a talent pool where they sit until someone plucks them out for a job inside the company or they leave the company January 16th. Some were offered new positions and some kept the same positions with different managers. I ended up with the latter...I was able to keep my current position and just switch managers. WHEW! Talk about scary stuff right before Christmas. I have some friends who were actually put in the pool and are now having to look for jobs during this holiday season. I can't even imagine! Although, I'm glad it's over! Now I can get my Christmas shopping done and enjoy it with family.

Baby Girl on the way!

2008-12-10T14:42:00.004-06:00

Today we went to the doctor for the ultrasound to find out what we're having. Verdict is that we have a very active child that was not wanting to cooperate! Finally the ultrasound lady was able to catch a glimpse of the "right part" to tell us we're having a baby girl! She may be a girl, but I'm thinking she's gonna be a fiesty one!! Should be a whole new adventure!!

Here is a picture I took of me today...I've packed on the belly since the last time I took a picture 4 weeks go.

Oh...and here's a picture of Brianna showing us her baby belly! So cute!!

"CANNON BALL!"

2008-12-10T14:39:00.003-06:00

Which is what my daughter insisted on doing as soon as her new big girl bed was put up in her bedroom! She had to do cannon balls and "Super jumps" for quite awhile before deciding maybe she should use it to SLEEP in! :)

Dora Party!!

2008-12-10T14:15:00.013-06:00

Brianna turned 3 last Friday and we had her Dora birthday party on Saturday. I can't believe my little sweetie is getting so big!!! Her and all her friends had a blast at the birthday party which included a yummy homemade Dora cake (courtesy of Pam) and a Dora pinata!

Brianna wasn't so sure about that pinata, but Tony knew exactly what to do!!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-02T08:09:00.003-06:00

I know I know...Christmas is still a little ways away, but let me be the first to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! :) I made my blog all wintery and pretty just for you guys! We put up all of our Christmas decorations in the house this weekend. Brianna just loves it! She can't wait for Daddy to do the lights outside on the house too. She asks me every night when we pass other lights if we can do ours. I just tell her to ask her Daddy. Jason says I'm scheming on him! haha! I will post some new pictures of Brianna and the family soon. We had them taken at Portrait Innovations last weekend and they turned out great. I just haven't had time to get them on the computer. Stay tuned!!!

Superhero Fever!

2008-11-04T14:59:00.005-06:00

We now have 4 superheros in our family. As of Friday night, we had Wolverine, Batman, Supergirl and Ninja! All out to save the world and get some candy of course!!

All the kids came to our house to trick-or-treat through the neighborhood. I think they were so wore out by the end of the night that they were delirious! Plus that, they probably had a pretty good belly ache from all that candy they ate!! They had a blast!

I'm gonna have two nieces!!!

2008-09-18T20:26:00.002-05:00

Kristie found out today that her twins due in February are both baby GIRLS!!! We are all so excited and can't wait to start buying cute matching dresses for the girlies! I know Kristie is just thrilled!!! Makes me want to know what mine is all that much more, but I know I have to wait until December to find out. I'll just need to have some super patience and enjoy the fact that I'm getting two more neices! The girls are gonna out number the boys for a change!!! That'll be a HUGE change for Brianna!!!

Shocked!

2008-09-06T16:42:00.001-05:00

I really DO still have blog readers out there! Thanks to everyone for your comments. I'll try to keep things up to date (as I've said before) just for you!!! :)

Love you all!!!

Good News!!!

2008-09-03T20:38:00.002-05:00

I have great news for the whole 2 people who might still be reading my blog!!! We found out yesterday that we are expecting another little bundle of joy due May 6th! We're so excited...well, I'm so excited and Jason is just happy. :) It took us a total of ONE whole month to get pregnant! Talk about fertile!!! I guess the baby cycle is striking again between me and Kristie. Danielle just had hers in June, so we'll have lots of little ones again soon!

Destin Trip

2008-06-01T19:44:00.012-05:00

I'm finally back into the swing of things after a week off at the beach. This is the first free time I've had since being back last Saturday! We've just been on the go and trying to get back into the schedules. I wanted to post some pictures of the awesome trip! We had so much fun we've decided to make Destin an annual trip for us! The kids had a blast in the sand (little ones didn't like the water much) and at the pool. We all relaxed and had a great time visiting. I'll let the pictures say the rest...

This first picture is of Brianna enjoying some bubbles at a family get together in MS. We stopped off in Petal, MS to pick up Jason's Mamaw. She endured a week long vacation in a beach house with all of us crazy folks. From what we heard, she seemed to have a good time! :)

One of the days in Destin we went on this dolphin cruise. These are pictures of all the kids getting to be the captain of our glass bottom boat! They all enjoyed that! Brianna didn't want to give the boat back to the real captain!!!

OH! And we really did see lots of dolphins!

FUN IN THE SAND!!!

MY MASTERPIECE

I have to say one of the highlights of the entire trip would have to be the big water fight at the house pool! All of us were in the pool except for Gramma and Gaga (video taping) who were sitting beside the pool and Mamaw who very smartly sat halfway up the deck stairs. I only have one picture from the very end of the fight.

Let's just say that Gramma ended up getting in the pool socks and all!!!

This was an awesome family trip and I think everyone had a blast.

VACATION IS COMING!

2008-05-14T10:05:00.003-05:00

That's right people! It's just about time for me to leave the cyber world for ONE WHOLE ENTIRE WEEK! I don't think I'll be able to check email or anything! What will I ever do with myself? Let me answer that for you...I will be spending time with family at the beach enjoying some wonderful margaritas and much needed down time! That's right! We're headed to MS this Saturday with Jason's family to pick up Mamaw and head to Destin, FL for four nights in a massive awesome beach house with it's own pool and a gazillion bedrooms!!! I'm so excited!!! The only thing I will have to worry about is keep off this weight I've lost the past 8 weeks!!! Wish me luck and I'll blog when we return!!! :)

Oh! How long it has been!

2008-05-02T21:20:00.006-05:00

Helooooooo out there! How long it has been since I have blogged! I am so sorry to all of those faithful 2 blog readers! :) I am going to try my darndest to keep this thing up again!

So much has happened since I last wrote, so I'll just hit the highlights. Brianna started taking dance classes back in March. Here is a picture of her in her cute little leotard and tights. She's still not completely sold on the idea, but when she gets those tap shoes on she's ready to go! This class is only 8 weeks, but it includes ballet, tap and tumbling. I think Bri is really enjoying it...She did so well with tap the last time in class she got to be the front of the tap choo choo train!!! :)

Easter came next. This is our baby girl all dressed up with nowhere to go! We had completely good intentions on going to church Easter morning, but a snotty nose kept us all home (couldn't take her to the church nursery). Mommy, Daddy and Brianna decided to just go to Cracker Barrell for breakfast instead. The Easter Bunny brought Brianna some cool stuff for her trip to the beach coming up here in a few weeks! Here she is showing off her new sunglasses!

Here's Miss Bri at her last Predator's game of the season. We were lucky enough this year to be able to take her to several games for free since you don't have to have a ticket until you're 2 years old (we cheated and still took her even after she was 2). She is a true blue Pred's fan baby! She will cheer and yell and chant with the best of them. Next year we'll have to splurge and get her her own seat for a few games!!!

This weekend will be our first camping outing of the season. We are all so excited to go. Brianna can't wait to go sleep in the camper!!! I think this year is going to be a blast with her being older and able to do more.

Jason and I are doing well. Everyone is healthy. Jason's hours are cut back a bit due to the economy being so crappy, so he's home on Sunday nights right now. We are enjoying the extra time with him. He has started finishing the upstairs to be an office for me! How sweet! Then we can clean out this bedroom and maybe, possibly, make it a baby room soon!!! We'll have to see!!! I haven't completely sold J on the idea yet, but I think he's warming up to it.

OH! One other thing! I walked in the Country Music Half Marathon this past weekend! I walked an entire 13.1 miles in 3 hours and 25 minutes! I was so proud that I had done it! I trained for like 6 months for it too! To prove tha tI actually did indeed finish the marathon here is a site where you can go look at some pictures of me crossing the finish line! http://www.asiorders.com/go.asp?31669102

Take care and I'll be writing again soon!!! Sooner than last time, I promise!!!

2007-12-17T19:39:00.000-06:00

Don't send a lame Holiday eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Happy Birthday To Me!

2007-12-14T19:53:00.000-06:00

CHEEEEEEEEESE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, last weekend we had Brianna's 2nd birthday party. It was a Jungle Book theme with a new jungle gym and all! Jason and I got her the SA-WEETEST swingset for her birthday. Yes, I know...my baby is spoiled rotten. I can smell her a mile away! We had all her closest friends here--and dang! She's got a lot!! All the kids had a blast playing with toys, eating cake and swinging on the swingset. It was a rainy, but warm day. Many people may have left with some extra surprises on the bottom of their feet since we had to walk through Maddie's area on the way to the swingset, but it's all good. :) Here are some pics of the big day! Again...I can't believe my baby girl is already 2!!!!

OH! And Thanks to Pam for making this awesome looking and tasting Jungle Book cake!!!

My baby is 2!

2007-12-05T10:49:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it's already been two years since I had my precious baby girl. She's SO not a baby anymore and everyday she reminds me of that. I keep asking her if she wants a baby brother or sister and she keeps saying yes. I tell her we need to make sure Daddy knows this because Daddy seems to give her whatever she wants! :) Yeah...I'm scheming just a little bit!

I have to tell this funny story about her...Sunday evening her and I were watching the show on CMT about the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader tryouts. On this show, for those that have never seen it, the girls all go through judging on their dance abilities, personalities and looks. (Of course...most were gorgeous!) AAAAnyways! They started doing their dances and Brianna was watching very intently. She then proceeded to get off the couch and start trying to do the high kicks and dancing herself! I was laughing so hard because it was just TOO CUTE! She was swinging her hair around and moving her arms and kicking her feet up. I just couldn't stand it. She was having a blast doing it too! So...I think I may be signing her up for dance classes this spring.

"HAPPY HALLOWEEN!"

2007-11-22T10:09:00.000-06:00

I know it's not Halloween anymore, but that's what Brianna will tell you when you ask her to say "Happy Thanksgiving". She practiced saying Happy Halloween so well at Aunt Kristie's house before Halloween that it is what she says when you ask her to say "Happy {anything}". She's so funny! So, anyways! We all just wanted to tell everyone...

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

My Favorite

2007-11-20T15:29:00.001-06:00

I think this is one of my favorite pictures she had taken this weekend.

Isn't she just adorable??

My sweet baby isn't a baby anymore! She's going to be 2 next month!

We got Elfed!?

2007-11-20T15:27:00.001-06:00

Check this out!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9557889996

SNOW!

2007-11-16T20:40:00.000-06:00

How friggin' cool is this!? I was "snooping" on another blog (THANKS DIANE!) and found this awesome site. Ok, so many of you will probably not give a flying flip about a stinkin' snow flake site, but I LOVE SNOW and we never get it here! I'm going to enjoy this!!!! I created my own snowflake #5084135. Go check it out! http://www.popularfront.com/snowdays/ Create your own and let me know your id #!

Lyin' or Lion?

2007-11-11T18:25:00.000-06:00

Just the other day I asked my wonderful 2 year old daughter if she had gone poo-poo. I already knew she had as I could smell it a mile away, but I wanted her to tell me she had gone. So, I asked her and she said no. I then asked her if she was lyin' to me. She shook her head yes and said "ROARRRRRR"! I just about died! She thought I asked her if she was a LION! How funny is that!? I guess I need to be careful to pronounce my words correctly so she doesn't get confused! :)

WE CAN DO IT!

2007-11-07T19:28:00.001-06:00

Today me and several of my closest friends decided we were going to walk the Country Music 1/2 Marathon next April. This is a 13 mile walk around the streets of Nashville. YES! I said 13 MILES! I'm so excited and I just know we will do it! The group who is committing to walk with me is Kristie, Steve, Amanda, Charyl, Chance, Pam and Lindsay. I wasn't sure at first if I wanted to take on this challenge, but I had thought about doing it the year I found out I was pregnant with Brianna and never did. I just think it would be so cool to be able to say I walked in a 1/2 marathon for a good cause! We are all going to start training now and hopefully in the process of training we all lose some weight and get in shape too. We're shooting for a 15 min mile! Wish us luck!!!

Oh...and if anyone else wants to join us come on!

GO TEAM!

Crazy Week

2007-11-04T20:08:00.000-06:00

Let me just tell you how crazy this past week was! It started with Brianna's surgery Monday afternoon. She did great. The surgery only took 15 minutes and she made it through with flying colors. In case you don't know, she had ear tubes put in and her "androids" (adenoids really) taken out. For awhile this week, I really thought they had taken away her niceness with her adenoids! She was a completely different kid from Tuesday through Thursday! She didn't want anything but to watch Jungle Book...well, that's normal, but she just wasn't my baby. I think she was mad at me and J for sending her off with those mean people who took her "androids"! :)

Wednesday was Halloween! Luckily Bri was feeling good enough to be able to celebrate! She went to Kristie's like every day only they had all kinds of Halloween fun that day. She came home with so many goody bags from the boys! Thanks everyone...Jason and I...I mean Brianna is enjoying the candy! :) Kristie had been IMing me all day telling me that Bri didn't want to wear the cute Tinkerbell costume I got for her. She wanted to put on Tony's Tigger costume instead. After that I just knew we would be going trick-or-treating as plain old Brianna that night! So, we got home and met my brother, his wife and their son Brock for dinner and trick-or-treating fun. It was a task to get the two into their costumes and in their "trick-or-treat ride", but we managed. We just had to tell them we were going outside to get CANDY! That got 'em rowled up! Here are some pictures from the night. It seemed that at every house Brianna would say "trick-or-treat" and Brock would say "thank you". What a good team!!

Today Brianna and I went to church then to lunch with Amanda, Darrell, Garrett, Steve, Tyler, Diane and Steve Weaver and their girls. It took forever, but it was a good lunch anyways. It's nice to get to know some new folks! We missed you Kris and Tony! (Poor Tony got his toe ran over by the church door which made it bleed! Mommy stayed home with him while we ate lunch.)

I put Brianna in the cutest outfit today...well, maybe not the most matching outfit ever...but it was cute!

Check out those tights!!!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2007-10-29T08:02:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween to everyone! We had a huge Halloween party this past weekend. I think and hope everyone had a blast. About half of those that came dressed up in their best Angel or Demon costume. It was great!!! We will definitely do it again next year! I'll leave you with a couple pics from the night!

Long time, No write!

2007-10-19T21:20:00.000-05:00

Gosh! It's been FOREVER since I've blogged anything! Gee! I can't even remember everything that has happened since Kids Castle!! I know we went camping at Cedars of Lebannon with Kristie, Steve, Tyler, Tony and Mom and Dad Isbell. We went to celebrate Kristie's birthday, and I think we all had a great time.

Ummm...Last weekend we went to the Nissan picnic. This was the first year Brianna was actually able to walk and talk and enjoy the rides and games. She had a blast riding the choo choo and cars and horsies!

Hmmm...what else has happened...well, Brianna is now in her "big girl bed". Yep! When camping at Cedars she decided to show us how she can climb out of her play pen in the camper. She then proceeded to threaten me with doing it in her crib at home during nap time. We decided it was time to make her crib a toddler bed to try to keep her from busting her head while doing some acrobatic work to get out of it. The first night was quite interesting...well, actually, the night went very well. It was morning that was interesting. She woke up the next morning yelling for me. When I went in to get her I couldn't find her. She wasn't in her bed and she wasn't on the floor next to her bed. I then saw her little head sticking out from UNDER her bed! She was yelling at me "Mama, STUCK!" I had to keep from laughing at her! She must have rolled off her bed (only like a foot off the floor) and then rolled under it in her sleep. Now, don't no one go calling child services on me! I've put pillows under her bed so she can't inadvertantly roll under it in her sleep anymore. Whew! Every night since then has been fine. She goes to her bed and lays down to go night night all on her own. My baby is getting so big!! :(

This weekend is another busy one. We went to dinner tonight to celebrate Danielle's birthday. Tomorrow is Madix's birthday party and then we're going to Amanda and Darrell's Halloween party. NEXT WEEKEND is the weekend I'm looking forward to! It's our first annual Halloween party! Yes...I said first annual because if it goes well I'd like to continue having one! We'll see how this one goes. I'm so looking forward to it. The theme is Angels and Demons and I'm hoping we get quite a few to show up. I have a feeling the costumes will be few and far between though. People just don't like to dress up these days. Heck, I can't even get my own husband to dress up for our own party! I know I will be decked out and ready to party that night!!! Bring it on!!!

I shall return maybe with some Halloween pictures next time. I really need to do better with taking pictures!!!! Toodaloo!

Fun at Kid's Castle

2007-09-23T20:23:00.000-05:00

A couple weekends ago Brianna and I went with Kristie, Steve, Tyler, Tony, Amanda, Darrell and Garrett to the Kid's Castle in M'boro. This is the coolest place for kiddos! None of the kids had been there before (except Ty, but he didn't remember it) and just had a blast! I think between the four of them we ended up bringing home the entire sandbox!!

Labor Day Weekend

2007-09-23T20:06:00.000-05:00

I know! I'm behind on getting pictures of our Tims Ford Lake trip this year. Sorry! We went to the lake for Labor Day weekend this year. It was our 3rd year to stay at the lake house on Tims Ford. Unfortunately, because of the drought, the water was so low that we couldn't use the boat dock of the house where we stayed. It was ok though because the guy two doors down was nice enough to let us use his. We all had a blast this year. The heat broke that weekend, so it was only in the 80's! PERFECT! Brianna had a blast this time on the boat. She was starting to get brave toward the end of the trip wanting to jump off swim deck of the boat -- don't worry...we all had lifejackets and she was very closely supervised!

This is Eric surfing for the first time! GO ERIC!
Brianna wanted to get in on the action too!!

This was a beautiful sunset on the lake!

New Photo Tool

2007-09-08T17:03:00.000-05:00

All right, so this tool isn't REALLY new. It's been out for awhile, but I'm just now taking the time to learn it. It is the Memory Manager from Creative Memories and it's awesome! Comparable to Photoshop! Here are a few of the pictures I docotored up using the Cloning tool!!!

Before:

After: Notice I removed the people on top of the rocks!

BEFORE:

AFTER: Notice I made my thighs thinner and fixed my hair!

How freakin' cool is this!!! I love it!! I think I'm addicted!

Me? Selfish?

2007-09-03T21:02:00.000-05:00

I have so many more happy things to write about like our trip to Tims Ford lake this weekend, the fact that Eric and Jen found out their having a girl or that Brianna used the potty tonight, but no. I'm sitting here going over and over something my husband has been telling me lately.

NOTE: This is going to get REALLY personal here! If you don't want to know don't read!

Jason and I are having a dispute over whether or not we should have another kid. I want another kid and he does not. He is dead set on us only having one and that's it. I have always wanted to have two kids. I just never thought of having just one. He keeps telling me it's not fair that I get to make that decision for our family and that I'm being selfish. He didn't say it in quite so many words, but I catch the drift. That just leaves me to wonder if I really am being selfish about this. I know that Jason does so much for our family from working night shift at Nissan, having dinners ready for us daily and most of the time taking care of the house. I know I haven't been the wife he probably wishes he would have married, but that's just me. I'm not a stay at home homemaker...which is NOT what he wants since he likes money. I work 8 hours a day plus an hour commute there and back. I feel like I do a great job taking care of my daughter for the most part all on my own because of our schedule differences. Granted, I don't cook or clean half as much as I should. I know he looks at other families where the wife works all day, comes home cooks dinner, takes care of the kids AND has the house spic and span. I CAN'T DO THAT! It's virtually impossible for me to do that! Maybe I'm just lazy, maybe I'm just retarded, maybe I just don't like to cook and clean!! Who knows, but I just know it won't happen! Yet, I feel like the most loser wife that has ever walked the earth! On top of that...I want to add to the problem by adding another child to the mix. If anyone knows my husband, they know that if we have another child and I can't handle it all on my own I will never be able to live it down. He will rub it in every chance he gets that it was "my idea". I realize this probably shouldn't be a blog entry as I know many people (haha) read this and may not want to hear how awful of a wife I am, but oh well. This is what is on my brain tonight. I can't get it out, so I thought maybe if I wrote about it I could sleep better.

Please don't get me wrong! Jason has very good and valid reasons to just stop with Brianna. She is the most precious little girl and we have had virtually no problems with her (knock on wood) so far. She was a wonderful baby and is as good as a 2 year old toddler can get. I have caught myself wondering if I indeed want to go ahead and have another just for the sheer fact that we've bound to have a hellian! On top of that, I don't know for sure myself if I could handle two kids alone hellians or not. UGH! I just feel like such a loser tonight.

Sorry to be such a downer!

Gwamma!

2007-08-30T20:28:00.000-05:00

Yep! That's what Brianna said! She finally attempted to say "GRANDMA"! My Mom has been trying to get her to say Grandma since she was itty bitty. Unfortunately, she started saying "Papa" way early and just wouldn't let it go. She finally started to call my Mom "Ba Du" which SHE knew meant Grandma. Just yesterday on our way home from Kristie's house, Brianna and I were talking back and forth. Usually I'll go through all her animals, maybe sing "Wheels on the Bus" and ABC's and then we'll go through the family. I'll say a name she'll attempt to repeat it. Yesterday I went through as normal and when I came to Grandma she said "Gwamma"!!!! Plain as day! Tonight when I was talking to Mom, I put Bri on the phone to talk. Now, I've always given her the chance to talk to Grandma on the phone, but she usually just sits there and listens without actually talking. Tonight she was all about talking AND saying "Gwamma"! It was so stinkin' cute!!! She has just become a parrot lately and repeating everything I say. I realize the cuteness will wear off when she starts repeating some of the BAD things that may slip out of my mouth, but for now I'm going to enjoy Miss Parrot! :)

What is this stuff falling from the sky!?

2007-08-19T20:32:00.000-05:00

Oh My! Can you believe it? It's been like 2 months since we've seen any kind of rain, but right now it is falling like crazy! It's an all out storm! Our grass is so freakin' brown and dead. The air in the house is so dry. Maddie (our dog) is itching like crazy from her allergies. Rain is a very good thing!!

"Singing in the Rain, just Singing in the rain!"

Been Awhile...

2007-08-17T21:12:00.000-05:00

Well, it has been quite awhile since I last wrote. I really don't have much to say. We've been busy the last two weeks, but really not anything exciting. Jason has been working on this stinkin' Camaro for the last two weeks to try to make money to fix up his own Camaro. We haven't seen much of him.

I weighed in this week for the first time since I hit goal. I guess you could say I celebrated a little too much because I gained 1.6 lbs back! Go figure! I plan to join a gym and go do some cardio at lunch time during the week. That seems to be the only time I have to work out. That way I don't go out to eat everyday for lunch too.

We are going to Tims Ford lake to stay in the lake house for Labor Day weekend. I'm sure I'll have some pictures to post after that.

Hope everyone is well and I'm sorry this is so boring tonight!

G-O-A-L

2007-08-03T07:51:00.000-05:00

Yes siree bob! I made my goal weight this week! I lost another wopping 1.2 lbs!!! I am officially a non-paying lifetime member again!!!! YIPEEE! I lost a total of 25 lbs to get back to my goal weight and I feel great! I feel like I am at a weight that I can maintain forever. Especially since Weight Watchers has taught me how to change my eating habits and just THINK about what I'm putting in my mouth. Please don't get me wrong...I, by no means, eat all my fruits and veggies...heck, I don't even like anything green except lettuce!! It just proves that Weight Watchers is by far the best weight loss program to help you change your lifestyle instead of just a diet.

Busted Black and Blue

2007-07-31T20:38:00.000-05:00

Ok, now for the blog you have all been waiting for. Two weeks ago we went camping at Willow Grove on Dale Hollow lake for the weekend. I had some extended family and friends staying on houseboats and we were lucky enough to have a water taxi (Uncle Denny's very nice boat) to take us from the campground to the houseboats for the day. We had a great time visiting and playing Cornhole (yep! Cornhole!!). While on the lake I decided to try my hand...or should I say feet?...on the surf board again. It took me a couple tries to get up this time, but the third time was the charm. Well...I guess not so much since when I fell that time I came up and got busted in the forehead by the board. Immediately my head swelled up with a HUGE bump and was bleeding just a tad. At first I didn't think it was bad, but then when Jason grabbed a lifejacket and jumped in after me I knew it had to at least LOOK bad. Let me just tell you...it didn't look half as bad the day it happened as it did in the days after. This bump turned the corners of both of my eyes black and blue. It just traveled down my nose and to my eyes. I still have bruises showing on my forehead, eyes and nose. I went to have a CT scan done to make sure there wasn't any really bad damage. It came back negative, thank goodness! Annnyways! Everything is good, my head and face are getting better each day, and I WILL try that dang surfboard again!!!

Here is a picture of my head right after it happened. Thanks Aunt Angie for snapping the pic!

I tried to take pictures of my black eyes, but the picture just didn't do it justice. Oh...Notice the Caprisun I had to use as an ice pack!!

That time again?

2007-07-26T07:40:00.000-05:00

Yep! It is that time again! Time to weigh!! I weighed in yesterday and was plesantly surprised! I lost a whole 1.2 lbs!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so happy! I now only have 1lbs left to get to my goal weight. I'm hoping just maybe I can do it in this last week of our session. It's going to take some serious concentration and maybe some excercise, but dang! I can do it!!

On another note...I will be blogging about our trip to Dale Hollow last weekend. I'm waiting for some pictures of my injury, so I can post them. :) Stay tuned!!

Weigh Day

2007-07-18T19:42:00.000-05:00

Well, today was another weigh day. I thought for SURE I had gained. I haven't been writing down my points or excercising at all. I didn't even want to step on the scale today. Luckily I did because I ended up losing another .4 lbs today. Yeah...that may not sound like a lot to you, but when you're only 2 lbs away from your goal weight and all you lose every week is point this point that then .4 lbs is great! :) My goal this week coming up is to at least lose 1 full pound. We're going camping at the lake this weekend, so it will be hard to count points but I'm going to try my hardest. I'm also going to try to work out more. I think if I actually get into an excercise schedule these last couple pounds will come right off. It's just finding the time and energy to do it!!! Kristie and Amanda are my heros right now because they are getting up at 4am 4 days a week to walk together. You go girls!!!

We're BAAAAACK!

2007-07-11T20:23:00.000-05:00

We're back from our cruise on the Enchantment of the Seas with Royal Carribbean. We had a BLAST! Believe it or not, even my husband had a good time! He's already planning our next one!

We had one night that was formal dinner night. I was so excited becuase the dress I bought was a size 8!! I haven't worn an 8 since high school! GO ME!

We stopped at three ports on this trip including Key West, Cozumel and Belize. The picture below was from the Southern Most Point in Key West.

This was the smallest bar in Key West. We didn't have time to get a drink since we were running late getting to the ship and if you miss the ship...well...you swim!!! ;) We did however have our first beer at 10am that morning at Sloppy Joe's!

Our first towel animal! I think this was a bunny rabbit, but I'm not sure. It's cute anyways!

This was the only sunset that we saw from our balcony. The rest of them were on different sides of the ship or we were at dinner when it went down.

In Cozumel, we all did a Dune Buggy excursion. It included driving these dune buggies through the city of Cozumel and snorkeling. It was the first time any of us had snorkeled and I think we all enjoyed it. I'd definitely do it again! We saw many beautiful fish and plants on the ocean floor! I drove the girls' buggy, Dad and Jason were in their own and Uncle Denny and Uncle Scott were in one too. I have to say, those things were the hardest to drive!!!

We stopped on the side of the road to take some beautiful pics!

When we got home we found a little stow away in our suitcase!!

I have so many more pictures, but I just can't post them all here. Unfortunately I didn't get any good pictures in Belize. I used a disposable waterproof camera that didn't have a flash, so most of the pictures were too dark. Even so, I think Belize was mine and Jason's most favorite part of the trip. We did the zip line and cave tubing. It was a blast! Highly recommend it!!

Jason and I had a wonderful time and I truly think a cruise is the way to do a vacation. People wait on you hand and foot and you never get bored! The food was great! We couldn't get enough to eat. I don't know how many times I heard Jason say "UGH! I'm stuffed!" The only complaint I had was that I didn't get enough sleep!! When we got back on Saturday all I wanted to do was get my baby and go to sleep!
Speaking of my baby...she was so happy to see Momma when we got there. She wouldn't let me go the rest of the weekend. I think I did very well on the trip without seeing her for a week. I only talked to her on the phone once (and cried), but that was it. I was so busy I really didn't have time to think about it...thank goodness. :) Gamma had Bri so busy she didn't have time to wonder where we were either.

Weight Watchers Weigh In Review: I weighed in today for the first time since the cruise. I missed weigh in last week, so this would be for two weeks. I acutally LOST 0.8 lbs in two weeks! I LOST WEIGHT DURING A CRUISE!!! How motivating is that?? All I have to say is TAKE THE STAIRS! We never ever used the elevator while we were there which is how I think I kept from gaining during the trip. Plus that, the 30 minute hike up river in Belize was good excercise too!

Bad Mommy???

2007-07-01T10:15:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I just dropped off my only baby with my in-laws for the week. I know they're going to take super care of her and she's going to be so busy and spoiled that she won't even know I'm gone, but dang! Why do I feel like the worst Mommy in the world right now? I feel so bad for wanting to take a vacation without her. I know it's good for me and Jason to get away and good for Bri to get away from us as well, but I feel so sad. I'm going to miss her dearly and I know she'll miss us too even if she doesn't realize it until we get back next Saturday.

I love you Bri and have fun with Gamma, Ga Ga, Aunt Kristie, Uncle Steve, Tyler and Tony!!!

Excited, Tired, Sad

2007-06-29T20:48:00.000-05:00

All are things I am feeling now...I'm so excited about our cruise trip. Super tired from not getting much sleep for various reasons this week. A little sad because I'm leaving my baby girl for the first time for a whole week. That's the thing that is bothering me most at this point. I've never left her for so long and definitely never gone out of the country! I won't really be able to talk to her until I get back. I suppose I could email to see how they're doing or call to try to get her to talk to me on the phone, but I just don't think it will help. Probably make things worse. I know she's in great hands and I don't need to worry about her well being AT ALL, but it's just going to be hard. Hard to be away for a whole week. I'm really afraid she's going to love being with Ga Ga and Gamma so much that she won't want to come home with us next weekend!!!!

Ok, off to bed to try to take care of the tired problem. I may not blog again until we get back!!

Have a great 4th of July!!!!

Went Up

2007-06-29T09:26:00.000-05:00

Well, it was bound to happen. This week's weigh in was NOT what I had hoped, but I knew it would be a bad one. I could just feel it. I didn't feel like I had lost my normal .2 lbs...can you feel .2 lbs??? I weighed in on Wednesday and gained 1.4 lbs! I figured I had since I didn't try very hard while camping last weekend and then we went to Olive Garden on Monday night (not good two days before weigh in) for my parents' 30th anniversary. All I can say is...oh well! I won't weigh next Wednesday since it is the 4th, so I'll have to go two weeks AND go on a cruise and hopefully lose some weight next time. I am now 3 lbs away from my goal weight. I was hoping to hit it before our last meeting on August 1st. We'll see!!! I'm going to try my hardest on this cruise to be good and walk walk walk. Wish me luck!

Oh...on another note, I found out last night that my WONDERFUL, LOVING, and MOST HELPFUL husband reads my blog! Yep...he made the comment to me the other day that he was trying to not be a "ding bat" husband!!! He's so sweet! :)

Not so bad this week...

2007-06-27T10:42:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I thought I better write a follow-up blog entry about my husband. He has been much better these past few days regarding the cruise. I guess he's finally realized that we've already booked and paid for this trip, so he should just try to enjoy it. We went camping this past weekend and he was his normal sweet self...well, until he left us in the camper for 2 hours with 3 kids while it rained!! He's off this week for shut-down, so he's been trying to get some things done around the house. He worked all day cleaning up my Pathfinder because we're planning to put it up for sale after we get back from the cruise. (Anyone out there looking for a nice sliver 2003 Pathfinder??) He's been super nice and super helpful this week, so I don't have any complaints!

OH...I need to post some pics of our Dale Hollow camping trip, but I haven't uploaded them yet. I'll get on it this week!!

Husbands? Who needs 'em?

2007-06-21T20:01:00.000-05:00

Let me start with a big fat UUUGGGHHHH!!! I was in such a good mood this afternoon on my way home from work. I was SO hoping my husband would be in a good mood as well. Unfortunately, he was grumpy and a pain in the @$$! He had a complaining comment about everything that I said. I couldn't say anything right. And then...the cruise came up again. Who in their right mind would complain about having to go on a one week baby free vacation to Cozumel and Belize on a cruise ship with their spouse with no phone calls, work or babies crying???? You'd think a husband who works a completely different schedule from their wife and doesn't get to see much of them on a normal basis and if he does it's definitely NOT alone time due to a little one running around, might be HAPPY to have some QT time with his wife. But NOOOOOO....he has to complain about #1 how much we're spending on the cruise, #2 how much we'll spend while on the cruise and #3 how he's wasting his vacation time on a week long cruise instead staying home and "getting stuff done". What the freakin' crap? Everyone knows as well as I do that if he stayed home he wouldn't do anything but sit on the couch, eat candy and chips and watch every movie in his collection. There wouldn't be anything more done than if we went somewhere. I mean, yeah, so the cruise is expensive, but it's the first and at this rate only one we'll go on. It's our 5 year anniversary this year which is why we're going all out for this trip. I thought it would be a nice way to celebrate our first "monumental" anniversary. Apparently I was wrong. Apparently we should spend it working and staring at each other in the house for a week. Ok, I'm sorry for ranting and raving about my ding bat husband. Maybe he will be in a better mood tomorrow. I sure hope he snaps out of it before we get to the campground tomorrow or I might just leave him there!!!

WW

2007-06-20T20:29:00.000-05:00

Ok, so Kristie gave me this idea of blogging my weight loss weekly. I have been doing Weight Watchers for 45 weeks now. I have lost a total of 23 lbs and am shooting for just 2 more before I'll top out (or is that bottom out?) at my goal weight. Let me just say that these last 3 lbs have been the hardest to lose EVER! I looked back at my last 5 weeks of weigh ins and found that I've been losing .2 lbs, .6 lbs, .4 lbs, etc. It's driving me freaking bonkers!! I only have 2 more lbs to lose, but at this rate it will be October before it's gone!!! Then hopefully I'll be pregnant and starting all over again! Shhhh!!! Don't tell Jason I said that!! It's just so discouraging sometimes when it takes so long to get over this hump. I know there are women out there who are going through the same thing if not on a bigger scale (no PUN intended!). I just wanted to tell everyone to hang in there. Keep going at it and you will lose it. Even if it is .2, .4 .6 here and there.

Let's Get Skinny!!

Camping at Poole Knobs

2007-06-10T13:02:00.000-05:00

Just got back from a two night camping trip a whole 15 miles away at Poole Knobs in La Vergne! It was a short haul which is good for the gas tank and the wallet and it is on the lake too! Brianna loved playing in the gravel. I guess we might want to get her a sandbox!

My Uncle Denny was nice enough to bring his boat for us to go out and play on Saturday afternoon. I got to try out the cool new surf board he just got! With his new boat, he's able to create a big enough wave for us to surf on! Here are some pictures of me trying it out!!

COWABUNGA DUDE!!!

Here I go!

Stand up! Stand up!

Whew! Now I got it!

WIPE OUT!!!

]

This may have been why I wiped out!

Here's the professional surfer! He gets so close to the swim deck on the back of the boat that he just walks right back onto the boat!

We had a great time! I have several more pictures I'd love to post, but it takes forever!

Pretty Toes

2007-06-06T20:48:00.000-05:00

Aunt Kristie was nice enough to paint Brianna's toe nails today.

Brianna LOVES to show them off to everyone!!

She even posed them for a picture!

Aren't they just so pretty?????

(To all those Moms of little girls who are just dying to paint their daughter's toe nails...the trick according to Kristie is to put them in a highchair where they can't reach their toes while you paint them and let them dry!!! That's just simply GENIUS!!)

The Light

2007-06-04T20:51:00.001-05:00

This picture just sums up what today was all about.

Today was about remembering Steve. Today was about grieving for Steve and his family. The hardest thing is to see 6 grown men crying for a friend they loved and adored and a 3 year old girl who can't understand what has happened to her Daddy. The one thing that could help us to all feel better would be knowing that Steve is in Heaven waiting for his baby girl, but it's hard to think a Christian would be able to take his own life.

Therefore, how do we know that he was a believer and will indeed be waiting for her?

(I promise this is the last sad posting for awhile!!)

Mama Brianna

2007-06-03T20:02:00.000-05:00

Here is Mama Brianna in action! She found this baby bottle today buried in her toy box (yeah...too many toys!) and I told her to feed her baby. She did a great job!!! She DOES like to play with girl toys!!!

Here's another one of her blowing bubbles.

SHE LOVES HER BUBBLES!

I think "bubble" was actually her first real word!

MAMA! LOOK WHAT I FOUND!!

Steve

2007-06-02T07:03:00.000-05:00

Things are still sad around here. I've been really torn up over the whole Steve thing. I'm really not so sure why since I wasn't very close to him at all, but I guess the whole fact that his daughter is without her Daddy is what is bothering me. We found out more details around Steve's situation the night of the shooting and things seem a little bit fishy. We're not sure if the police did a thorough investigation, but we do know they've already made the arrangements for him. Jason and I plan to go, but I know it's going to be hard for both of us. I haven't seen Jason show much emotion over all of this yet, but it could be because it just doesn't seem like it really happened. I'm thinking it will probably hit home for all Steve's friends when they attend the visitation on Sunday.

Got to go...baby is awake!

In a Daze...

2007-05-31T09:09:00.000-05:00

I am in a daze this morning. Walking in a fog of shock and sadness. I just can't understand why someone would want to take their own life. Why would someone want to end it all? Last night Jason got a phone call from a friend saying that one of his co-workers and good friends had taken his own life. We don't know all of the details yet, but all we know is they (don't know who) took him to the hospital to try to save him, but they were unsuccessful. This man had a wife and the cutest little 3 year old daughter. Jason said Steve (the friend) has been having some marrital problems, but I guess no one realized Steve was taking it so hard. From what Jason has told me, Steve was a guy that would do anything for anyone. He'd bend over backwards to do what he needed for you. I had met Steve and his family a few times. We were just at the Nissan Easter Egg Hunt back in April with them. He seemed to be a good family man. He even brought his daughter to the Cruise In in M'boro one night by himself...now THAT'S a real daddy! :) I'm just so sad for his family and especially his baby girl. I can't imagine losing Jason right now! It makes me realize how short life can be and how we shouldn't take it for granted.
Please pray for Steve's family and Jason as they all grieve the loss of a loved one.

Memorial Day Weekend

2007-05-28T20:19:00.000-05:00

We had a great Memorial Day weekend! We went to see Jason's family in MS. I think they all enjoyed the visit as much as we did. I know Brianna had a blast getting so much attention!!!

We had some time to burn, so we decided to take Bri to the Hattiesburg zoo. Granted it's not the biggest or coolest zoo around, but it was good enough for her. She loved to look at all the different animals. I think she enjoyed "ROARING" at the tigers.

Tiger is in the background laying down by the fence.

Daddy and Brianna enjoying the zoo.

We obviously did a lot of visiting with family while in MS too.

Brianna and her cousins enjoyed entertaining all of us on the piano!
Brianna's first driving lesson...Thanks Daddy!

This is the dress her Daddy bought for her. Ain't she just adorable???

I hope everyone had as good of a holiday weekend as we did!!!

Life

2007-05-24T20:41:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I wonder why life has to be so hard for such good people. I believe in God and believe that He is the reason for the way things happen, but why does He have to make it so hard for good people???? I'm not saying that anyone deserves to have bad things happen to them, but why do they have to happen to people who try so hard to make things right or do the right thing? My in-laws are good people, but they just can't seem to keep from being put through the wringer lately. They do all the right things, they help others, they go to church, they're good to each other, but God still seems to throw the craziest things their way. Please pray for all of them as they seriously need it right now.

Words? Me?

2007-05-22T20:30:00.000-05:00

WELCOME!

Ok, so I have no idea why I started this blog...ok, so maybe I do. I'm jealous that no one is reading about my wonderful family! :) So many people have started blogs and I'm the "techy" one and I don't have one yet! Go figure! The bad thing about this is that I'm very particular about my grammar and well...I know that one person will notice if I screw it up! Kristie...you know who you are.

I just wanted to jump on this bandwagon and tell everyone about the "things" in my life. I think this is a really cool way to say how you feel without really having to answer to anyone. Except for all of those crazy people who might find my blog interesting and actually READ it! (If you're reading you better post a comment so I feel better!)

I'll post again soon, but I wanted to go ahead and get this out there. Maybe next time I'll have something worth reading!