Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day!



Memorial Day has taken on a new meaning since Uncle Adam entered our lives. Uncle Adam is my sister's fiance. He is lovely. He is active duty military and we are all prepping for his deployment in August. It is going to be a long 9 months or 12 months until we know that he is home safe and sound.


I saw servicemen and women and always appreciated their service - now I feel it. I know that there is so much more than a serviceperson there. There is a girlfriend, wife, daughter, mom waiting for their man to return. My sister is already hurting just spending her time with him until he leaves.


When we travelled to Virginia, Naomi would run up to everyone she saw in uniform, shake their hand and say thank you. It was precious. Granted, half the time they had no idea, but it was really cute.


So thank you to our servicefriends and loved ones. Be safe and come home soon! To their loved ones waiting, thank you. I know your heart hurts - and I hope that your loved one comes home safe and sound......

First Day of Summer Vacation

I can't believe it! The school year is over.


IT seems like just yesterday, I was pregnant and getting teary over sending these two to school.....

So much has happened to these two crazy kiddos of mine. Trey has learned fractions, is almost caught up with his class reading, he won a football championship (GO PLATINUM!), and became a big brother again.

Naomi has grown 4"!!!!! It's crazy! Little weed! She has learned to read, do double digit math, and awed her teachers! (That's PP for you). She has turned into this intelligent little girl who can do the splits and is working on a back walkover and is learning how to back-handspring!


Well, here they are without further ado - yesterday morning before they left on the bus!

GO DONALD GO!!!

(Adam Taylor/ABC/AP)

We are HUGE Packer fans! That might actually be an understatement. Both Keegan & Trey have Packer themed bed-rooms, Naomi has more than one cheerleading outfit. Keegan sees any sport on TV and screams, GO PACK GO! We saw a woman at the grocery store wearing a Packer shirt and Keegan ran up and said GO PACK GO! They thought (what I already know) he is just too cute!


We never watched Dancing with the Stars until Mr. Donald made his debut. We are so worried (as a family) about his future with the Green Bay Packers. We love him so much. Our Trey admires him to the core.


But for now we will celebrate this wonderful victory! YAY! DONALD DRIVER!! WOOT WOOT!!!!!

Nitrous Anyone?

So, I have horrible teeth. I really do. They disintegrate during pregnancy.

So, today I had my crown (the real one) and then I had a filling.


During this visit and the last one they gave me this great stuff called Nitrous???


WHY HAVE I NEVER HAD THIS BEFORE?!?!?!?!??!?!


That stuff is amazing! I would go see the dentist all the time if that stuff was routine. I really like this new dentist (and not just cause he gives me nitrous - even though it does sweeten the deal). I really didn't like the last one. He had a man-crush on my husband. Not that my husband isn't wonderful, I just hate talking about how wonderful he is with a man for an hour or so.

You walk in the door, Hi Fiona, how's Chris???


Really?!??! That guy who doesn't floss?!?!? He isn't flossing still, thanks for asking!

Chris asked me who the new dentist is and I am kinda afraid to tell him. Maybe he should keep going to the old guy, I don't want my new dentist to like him more than me again! I'm the one who's mouth pays the mortgage!




Side note - I am so excited, one of my dear friends birthed her twins today (and looked amazing by the way [and no I don't think that she reads this]). But say a little prayer for them. They were a little early and are in the NICU and Mama Bear is sad.

For my friend Tenille

I love you Tenille! I snapped this, uploaded it....didn't like it...went back to take another. They were gone.

From Scratch Brownies

I wanted chocolate last night. We had nothing in the house. So, I decided to try a new recipe from scratch. Well, the pan is gone between the 5 of us that eat brownies. I think that the kids woke up early to sneak down and a grab themselves one before school....


1 2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
2 Tblsp water
2 lrg eggs
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 325. Grease 9X13.

Combine butter, sugar, water. Stir in eggs & vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, & salt

Mix dry ingredients with wet.


Stir in chips. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 20 minutes or so (I want to say that they cooked a lot longer but I was making dinner at the same time- I know I checked them twice and put them back in). So, just take them out when they don't leave brownie mix on the knife or toothpick or whatever you use to check for doneness.



So YUMMY~ the white chocolate is just the frosting.


Oooohhhhh you could frost them.

First Day

I did it! (and right now I sound like Keegan). I worked my first 12 hour shift. Did I cry on the way to work? Yes, yes I did. I had taken a picture of Halle for the road. It was a nice night at work. I was steady with a sympathetic charge nurse who did NOT overwork me. Another friend reviewed my charting. It definitely took a team to get me through the night. All of my passwords had expired. I had been locked out of every system. I had to check one cervix and I found it! A lot easier said that done! I have to say I was EXHAUSTED though! I left the house to bring Halle and Keegan to the sitter, got halfway there and realized that my breastmilk was on the counter. So, back home...sigh. I slept like a rock....I was exhausted. I still am come to think of it. It felt good to be back. I was ready! 6 months was a LONG time to be gone!

Power Cord Thief

In the last 2 weeks, our precious angels have lost not one, but two, yes, two power cords. To say I am angry would be putting it lightly. The first cord that they lost was for the video baby monitor. I am so angry! I needed that power cord. So, to get by while we find it, I bought a cheap-o baby monitor. The kids now seem like they don't need to find it, why Mommy you bought another one? Excuse me?!?!?! My 15.00 monitor from Walmart doesn't hold a candle in the wind to my super high tech video monitor which I adored. ARGH! Now, little do my precious angels know but I have found a solution to buy an ac dc adaptor ( I went to buy one already but Walmart didn't have one - so I'll have to get to Office Max). I am really tired of them breaking toys, losing pieces, and just saying - buy me another one. I usually don't but ask the pushover (aka my husband). Then last night, Keegan wanted to listen to the lullaby CD while he fell asleep. So, I went into Trey's room to retrieve the boombox. I found the boombox no problem. But they lost that power cord as well. That boombox has been in Trey's room for years. On top of his dresser, I didn't even know that the darn thing was unplugged. So, now the massive manhunt for 2 powercords has begun. Oh and we have 2 birthday parties we are supposed to be going to. We won't be going if we can't find the power cords. (Is that too harsh?!?!) I am attempting to teach a lesson in responsibility. As I am typing this, I hear them playing and not looking. They are going to be sad at 2:00 when they realize they should be at birthday parties but instead are at home. This is NOT how I wanted to spend my Saturday.

Going Old School

We have a babysitter that we used back in the day, when I was going to nursing school and Chris was working nights. We used her on the weekends. Well, guess who I called for help this Sunday and next Sunday. See, I am going back to work on Saturday night and next Saturday and I want to be able to catch a little nap on Sunday. So, I called the "A" team. I needed someone who could take Keegan (3) and Halle (4 mo) and not stress about them. I knew Chris would do it, but would be really cranky and I would have kids in my room ALL the time. I can't wait to see her! And for her to meet my newest additions - we haven't seen her since I was pregnant with Keegan. I chatted with her for a minute on the phone and I just now have to convince her daughter to pick a different college!

Self Soothe???

For the first time in my term as Mommy, I experienced a "fail". I was complaining about my lack of sleep, how this baby did not adhere to the rigid guidelines of Mommy sleeptime. The dr pointed something out to me. This was all my doing. She said I had fallen victim, she had seen this before. This is my last baby, so I will baby the baby syndrome. She described its symptoms, it was me. And the rest of the gang. We are all well-aware that this is the LAST baby! I think that we are all laying it on a little thick. That poor child has cried just to be laid down. I am not kidding, we went to a wedding and she was so darn fussy. I had to put her down to adjust the tuxedo of the uber handsome ringbearer, my son and she started laughing! Poor thing. So, her pack n play was moved upstairs on Monday. I bought a monitor while I am waiting for a part for our video monitor. She slept until about midnight. Brought her downstairs, fed her, changed her, gave her some tylenol (she had her shots), and brought her back upstairs. She fussed a little but in 2 minutes she had herself asleep. I know because I counted every painful second. I learned something that although we want to baby her, she doesn't want to be babied. It makes me a very sad Mommy (of course this could be the lack of sleep talking). You start to sound delirious after 4 months of not sleeping. And these are the moments you remember all your life.... or at least that is what "they" say.

Dance Mom???

Oh dear....Chris called me the most horrible name the other night....he called me... a dance mom. No, he didn't mean it as a compliment.

He was making fun of me! Why? Because I have been pushing Naomi to do her back walkovers at home. She doesn't practice them. Ever. She cartwheels around the house like it's going out of style. What does that mean? That all the money we spent this year was for nothing. She can't do any new skills this year. She could do a backbend before this year. Now she can whip down. Nothing new. So, I've been getting antsy at home. I still don't think that I deserve to be called a dance mom. Do I??? It doesn't help that I have been searching for a more intense tumbling class for her. Okay, that might be harsh. She is only 6 years old.

Manic Monday

Today is going to be a busy day! Dance recital season is upon us. Naomi is in 3, yes 3, classes. Which means for picture week that is 3 days of hair and costumes to wear. 3 days of makeup and smiling. 3 days of Daddy coming home early from week to allow me to get to class. Normally I drive the van up to the door, slow down and let her out of the car. Drive home, make dinner for the others, then go back and pick her up. I can't man-handle the rest of the gang to get them in/ out. Keegan really bucks getting in/ out of the car repeatedly. So, this was the schedule that we (I) came up with. Not to mention the normal, play area will be taken up with picture stuff. Also on the agenda today is Miss Halle's 4 month appointment. I am so excited to see how she is progressing! I love baby weight checks. I am not excited about her shots. But, hey that's life in my vaccinated on schedule world! I would rather have one bad day then extend them out over a period of time. I investigated delayed vaccinations with my ped once before he left (he now is a patient advocate at a major insurance company - he is making the world a better place! - but I miss him). I asked him (he is a friend of my parents) what he would do. What does he think about autism and vaccinations? Does he believe that there is a correlation? He said no. Couple that with the research I had done and that was enough for me. I hate to think of giving them shots multiple times. Off that soapbox! Keegan has a little friend stopping over in an hour to swim for an hour before we jet to my Mom's. It is looking like a busy week - not to mention, the return to work is becoming more and more real. Saturday night is swiftly approaching.

As promised........

I said that we had some fabulous photos taken of our precious 4th gift! Taken by an amazing Tulsa photographer, Kristen Mackey Son Kissed Photography Without further ado her are her fabulous images~ Oh and Halle is 22 days old

I love that hat!!!!

I have so many more! But I'll save you from all of them! I have to say people our age LOVED them (almost as much as I do). The grandparents were less than impressed. They thought the room and the baby were freezing (because a cold baby will konk out like that right?). They also didn't like that she was naked! I guess they are not ready for these! But she sure does look super precious to me!!!!

Mother's Day

Source: someecards.com via Fiona on Pinterest

This makes me laugh - this is me in a nutshell! I hope that my kids are funny too ~ as I look back I want to reflect on my 2 Mom's.... My Mom is sweet, nurturing, giving, loving, a wonderful cook (yum we are going there tomorrow for dinner). She is just a wonderful person. We, the church, and my Dad are her life. She is my rock. She drives 30 minutes out of her way to take Keegan to school, just because it helps me. She's awesome like that. When I had surgery in March, she woke up during the night to help me take care of the baby (not to mention she kept me at her house). My 2nd Mom, my mother in law. She is also a woman devoted to her family, her husband, and her church. One of my first "big" memories for me, was after the tornado in 1997. She was at our side the next morning. She is a task orientated woman. By the time, she left town, we had furniture, a new place to live, insurance lists drawn up and mailed. She has continued to be by as time has passed. She is quick to come and visit post baby. She is always willing to help us (despite living very far away). So, today on this Mother's Day, I am so grateful for my Moms! I love them both - I strive to be half the Mom they are! Give your Mom's a squeeze today....just call and say hi, I love you, thank you.

Crazy talk!

A friend of mine who is a crazy talented photographer, I'll have to share her work with Halle. But, she recently wrote a blog post about work/life balance.....

She is so right! I left the corporate world to pursue a nursing degree to cut down on my working hours (and because I loved the work). The hours are amazing. I love what I do but Chris's success has allowed me to cut back on my hours. There are days when I miss the money, I miss my job, I miss interacting with adults all the time. I also look in the mirror and want to cry (I think that I addressed this) but I have to make time for me and my health or else I will never get to see my Grandbabies (apparently my reward for children). I need to lose about 30 lbs. I want to run a marathon or at least a half marathon. I want my kids to be proud of me! How can I teach them to take care of themselves when I don't take care of me? I did something that I haven't done before today. Today, I was at school for a Mother's day function in Trey's classroom. I opted to surprise Naomi with lunch. She had been begging me. So, I thought screw it! We are having lunch! It was wonderful - she was so incredibly happy. Why haven't I done this before???? Her friends were so sweet - honestly, I hadn't met any of them. I don't know what I had been doing, but I need to fix it! My kids are only little once. THEY ARE MY PRIORITY! I AM A PRIORITY! Now, time for a little less talk and a lot more action!

Post baby body

Who doesn't have issues after their baby is born with self-image? Don't answer that, I am sure that somewhere there is someone who thinks and looks amazing (actually I've seen those women at work). I am not that woman. I have serious issues. I am proud to say that I am below my pre-pregnancy weight. Boo to the fact I was no where near where I needed to be when I got pregnant. So, I have tried my hand at working out. I have this crazy post-natal bootcamp workout. And it hurts. As I hobble up and down the stairs, I keep telling myself no pain, no gain right. What happened to all of these extra calories I am supposed to get breastfeeding? Argh! I've only got a few more weeks til swimsuit season. Wish me luck!

Proud Bewbie Moment

I, my friends, have to boast for just a minute - I have been nursing Halle for over 4 months! She has been supplemented a few times, but the growth I see - the fullness, the rolls, the lengthening - that's all me baby! GO BEWBIES!!!!! Now onto a more serious topic - nursing in public. This is becoming a serious debate. I am not a nurse in public girl (not that there is anything wrong with that). I am just not one to whip it out in public. I will leave a restaurant to sit in the back of the minivan and nurse. I think that Halle and I are much more comfortable that way. I don't have to use the nursing cover that she hates with a passion. I don't have to worry about grossing people about with nip slips. My husband could care less, he doesn't want a screaming baby. He doesn't want me to nurse in a restroom (he doesn't eat his lunch in a restroom). I know that he is grossed out by breastmilk. He is funny. He shields his eyes when the pump is going, pretends to gag when he sees breastmilk and really is grossed out by breastmilk spitup. But honestly, what do people really think about breastfeeding at a restaurant??? I am brought back to my Dad. We have these families that we have been spending time with since I was 11 - every holiday, we were together. Now, we are grown up and have our own families. The huge gatherings have stopped. Every few years we all get together. My Dad and a few of the other Dads were sitting around about 10 years ago chatting with me and another girl who was holding her baby. The baby squalked, she pulled down her shirt - fully exposing her breast, and feeding the baby. You could see these Dads just get instanta-awkward! They didn't know where to look or what to do. I will never forget how uncomfortable my Dad was in that situation. I have always politely removed myself from the room when we have company or at someone else's house (including my parents). Am I wrong? I don't think that Halle and I are hurt by leaving. Everyone is more comfortable. Am I opposed to nursing her in a dressing room at a store, nope. It's our secret time together. I like our time alone.

Adventures in Poop

I remember a story my mother once told me. It involved me around 18 months old, stripping off my poopy diaper after my nap and smearing poop everywhere. Flashforward to when I was a teen and my Mom wished a child on me that was three fold worse than myself. I don't think that she meant when I was two....but I got it. Keegan, who will be 3 on July 15th, has been anti-potty. I haven't been pushing it, but yes, potties have shown up in the house, stories have been read, watching others in the house go potty has been encouraged. He got the take your diaper off part. He has really enjoyed taking off his pants and strutting (literally strutting) around the house naked as a jaybird. I would ask him and bring him to the potty every 5 minutes assuming that he was giving me a signal that he was ready to train. On the contrary....he just likes to be naked. The other day, I sent Naomi upstairs to see if Keegan was awake from his nap. She yells down, that the dog pooped in Keegan's room and to bring a bag. I stop nursing Halle, grab a bag and head upstairs. Usually the stench of dog poop hits me the second I get upstairs. This time no smell. I walk into the room, staring at the floor, sure enough poop. But this doesn't look like dog poop. Then I see Keegan, fast asleep, looking like a little angel. His cherub tush sticking up in the air, snoring. Then I see his hands, brown and grubby. I see his sheets, tainted with streaks of brown. Then I see his crib, smeared with a new brown tint. It's me, 18 months smearing poop everywhere. I clean it up, wake him up (he needed to get up anyway) to add insult to injury he pees all over the floor while I am scrubbing poop. I am disgusted beyond belief. Thank goodness I am a nurse and I am used to poop. The worst part - he did the exact same thing the next day. Oh dear. Dear Potty Training Gods - Please help me. Thank you, Me.

The Fallout

This is my 4th baby, everyone told me. Once you hit 3, you may as well keep going. Well, these people must not have a Keegan in their house. He is really, really struggling since the birth of Halle. He definitely has figured out negative attention seeking behaviors. I've tried everything - loving him, punishing him, spending extra time with him, reinstating naps, you name it, I've tried. The truth is when I had given up, we turned a corner. All of sudden his behavior at school improved. He stopped throwing himself on the floor when I would drop him off. He doesn't stare at Halle anymore with daggers shooting out of his eyeballs. It was precious, it was almost as if she knew she had to be cute or he would kill her. She gave him her first smile. She giggled for him. In return, he gave her a bruise. Tough love that's how it goes around our house :)

1/6/12

That Friday morning, I had so much to do! The baby was going to be here on Tuesday. Trey had a basketball game on Saturday that I had already decided I wasn't going too but I did need to get his things together. My Mom had picked me up and we were dropping something off at her house and we were having a quick cup of tea. I was talking about how bad my ankle hurt and how the baby had been lazy that day. She told me to called the dr because my blood sugar was also acting really weird. I figured she was right, I wouldn't have a chance to call later in the day as my hair was getting done at 12:30 and I had to get Keegan from preschool at 2pm. Well, this came as a HUGE shock. Her nurse listened to my complaints and told me to go home and pack my bag. Today was the day. I fought for my right to have my hair done! DENIED! Ugh! So my Mom drove me home. I other than being really frustrated about my hair was cool as a cucumber. We got to the house and I started packing. I then realized that I hadn't called Chris yet. I called his office line and left a nice message - call me as soon as you get this. Called his cell (and like any good father to be) it was off. So, I left the same message. I realized that I should call his office back and have him overhead paged. So, I did. I called and got one of his co-workers. I said is Chris around, I really need to talk to him. She said, let me check, so she went in his office - no Chris. I said, well, no rush but please tell him to call me, we are having a baby sometime today. COMPLETELY CALM! Poor Chris, pulled in the parking lot after his lunch and from the way he explained it I was in labor. So he frantically calls me (I am shaving my legs). I said to calm down and go ahead and come home as I am still packing. So, he rushed home and we got in my van and my Mom got in her car and all drove to the hospital. There was no rush --- at all! I think I was grumbling about how I could have gotten my hair done! LOL! Funny stuff right here - the anesthesiologist is placing my spinal and on the radio comes Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd. It was really, really funny! About 10 minutes later our sweet daughter was born - Halle Therese entered the world and I forgot all about my hair appointment (well, sorta). I'll never forgot the tears in Chris's eyes when he held our 2nd daughter. He was thrilled (and so was I - we knew the kids would be stoked!). So, my Mom went to get them. She didn't tell them where we were or what we were doing - so they walked in and there she was. Trey literally jumped up and down. Naomi was so excited, she just grinned ear to ear. Keegan wanted to smush her. Our lives were complete that day - It's a beautiful word, we're all here!