Life With Three Little Ballerina's

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T17:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day :) We had a lot of fun making cookies. I don't have too much to say... but here are some pics:

Bad lighting in this pic....
Our whole family of cookies.
This is what Audrey did the majority of the time

What To Do When the Power Goes Out

2010-02-11T21:33:00.000-08:00

As many of you are well aware of, our area has been literally slammed with snowstorms lately. I am kicking myself because for the past several winters I have complained about how we never got any snow. Well... I guess mother nature is making for lost time. So, fast forward to snow storm number three and second power outage in a week.

My brother and his girlfriend Emily decided to get snowed in with us. What fun it would be for us all to be snowed in together! Hah... it was fun, but not when the power goes out :) No, but in all actuality, we did have a lot of fun together. So, what did we do you ask? Well....

Emily manage to read a book somehow with three kids running around screaming.

Play a whole lot of DS Mario Brothers
Bring in wood, A LOT! I think JJ is straining a little with his load of wood. Poor guy!
Play with play-doh
And keep your Uggs warm by the fireplace

Now, with all that being said, I really don't want to do it over again. So, I'm glad I can look back on that weekend and think of all the fun we did have, for, we did have a lot fun.... but let me tell you, I DO NOT want to do it again.

Abby's First Winter Swim Meet

2010-01-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

Abby had her first winter swim meet this weekend in Richmond. Abby swims with the FUAC team. It is our first time swimming with them and we really like it. In the summer, she competes with LMST and we wouldn't change that for a thing! But, winter swimming is totally different than summer swimming. It is much more competitive, but it's a lot of fun.

Abby did great. Here is a clip of her swimming her 50 meter freestyle in which she placed first in her heat. Please excuse the camera man who taped this, (ahem.... Aaron) he was trying to watch her swim and tape at the same time. (at the end a man tells Aaron that Abby is not in the viewfinder and you can hear him say something about how that always happens when he videotapes. Lol.

Just click this link and it will take you to youtube.com and the clip should automatically play. Enjoy :)

MVI_1601.MOV

Not Me Monday!

2010-01-04T19:17:00.000-08:00

This is my first time doing a "Not Me Monday"! I am so excited. So, all you mommies or wives or whatever or whoever you may be out there. I know we all have those days that you just want to come to an end. Mine seem to be quite frequently. So, that's what Not Me Monday is for! Just to let it all out. So, here goes mine.

Nope, it wasn't me who's husband was sick with an awful earache last night and yelled at him to just leave me alone and suck it up. No, I would never do that. I always take care of my husband who seems to be quite the baby when he is sick. AND... of course, it WAS NOT me who gave my daughter a cupcake for breakfast then turned on Dora so that I could lay on the sofa and read. Nope, definitely not me! And you would never think that someone like myself who is always so neat and tidy has not cleaned the playroom in two days and just keeps stepping over the toys to make my way to the computer to check my email. Certainly, not me!

Join in the fun! It feels good to just let these things go. I feel so much better myself. So much better in fact, that I think I may even go clean up that playroom real fast.

Big News...(no, I'm not pregnant!)

2009-11-28T19:23:00.000-08:00

Okay... I haven't really told a lot of people this because I did not want to sound like I was bragging. I am sure a lot of people would have jumped on facebook and updated their status telling everyone of their new purchase. I decided this would be a much better way to tell the ones who are most important to me because they are the ones who read my blog. I have been thinking a lot lately about my future. I don't know if it is just the fact that I am getting closer to being 30, or if it is because we are done having children and our youngest is going to be 2 in the spring, but I've been dreaming. I have always thought I would go back to school when the time was right. To nursing school that is, and I still may, but there has been something else I have always wanted to do. And here it is my friends, photography. Yep, that's right. I LOVE pictures and I love taking them. So, without further ado, I am the proud owner of a Canon 7D, and beautiful brand new camera that is one of the best. I am sure many photographers would love to have this camera. It is so amazing, that I don't even know where to begin.

Obviously, I have a lot to learn. I know that I can take great shots, no biggie, but I need to know more than that to run a business. I plan to sign up for some classes, hopefully in January, and get all set up with a great computer and a website and all the things that I will need. This is so exciting for me because I have been thinking about this for quite some time. So, this is just the beginning. From now on, when you see me, you will see me and my 7D. So, keep reading because there will be a lot more on this subject to come, including a vote on the name for my business.

Last but not least, I would love to thank my amazingly supportive husband for all the help he has offered. He has spent many of days and weeks researching and giving me advice and fully supports me. We have even talked about him getting a camera maybe sometime next year and helping out with the business as well. Thank you Aaron, you are the best husband a woman could ask for.

A Shy Ballerina

2009-11-18T18:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Allyson's last day of ballet class. It was a big day because it was an open night in which the parents were allowed to come watch. Well... my shy, introverted little girl would not participate. I was not too surprised, although, I was pretty disappointed. I was really hoping she would surprise us all and at least try, at best, perhaps maybe stand with the group. But, she sat on my lap the whole time, knawing on her hand. She started ballet back in late August and it was hard at first, but over the past twelve weeks, has really enjoyed it. So, here is my little ballerina. Isn't she the prettiest ballerina ever?!

Allyson is such a special child. From the moment she was born, she has proved that she is going to do what she wants. She is strong-willed, yet sweet, very outgoing, yet, shy. She has a wonderful imagination and says some of the funniest things. She is very introverted, unlike her mother, and plays best one-on-one. She spends a lot of her time pretending to be various animals. Some of her favorites are a dog, a horse or a jaguar.

Allyson is a very special child. She is different, and that's what I love about her. I think she is going to grow up to be someone with a lot of power, or maybe she will be an artist. All I know, is that I am crazy about my shy little ballerina.

Feeling Compelled to Start Blogging Again

2009-08-25T19:16:00.000-07:00

So, here we go again. I appear to be a major slacker when it comes to blogging. I have found it extremely hard to find the time to keep up with my blog, which honestly, makes me sad. I enjoy this blog, as a place for family and friends to see what we're up to and most importantly, a place that I have to look back and read about all the things we've been up to. Therefore, I am starting back up!
So, what have we been up to, you ask? Well. All kinds of things of couse. Aaron and I celebrated our 7th year of marriage on August 17th. I hate to tell you, but we did NOTHING exciting, other than go floating down the river with some great friends, and had pretty much an entire weekend all to ourselves. We do hope to get a date night soon, something we could really use. So, the picture below is not of us on a fancy date for our anniversay, rather, a good friends wedding, but here we are!

Of couse, one of the most recent things to happen is that my sweet Abby has started first grade. Hard to believe. So far, so good. It's definately an adjustment, as it is much different from kindergarten. Homework is all I'm sayin'. Abby got a new haircut right before school. It's the shortest it's ever been. I do miss her long her, but there is something to be said about having it this length. Two words: NO TANGLES!!!!

My three little ballerinas have been growing all summer. Here are the three of them on a nice summer day. Audrey is now 16 months old and is making new changes every day. She talks a lot and is definately part of the gang. She is an absolutely wonderful child. She wakes up every day with a smile and keeps it on her face all day. I couldn't imagine life without her. Allyson has grown a lot. She is becoming very independent and very funny. She starts preschool soon as well as ballet. She has a wonderful imagination which she uses on a daily basis. Lately she's been a dog and I have to tell her to be good, pat her head and tell her to go to her crate. She sometimes even sneaks a lick in! Abby is growing into a little girl. Not a child, but a girl. She is maturing and learning at a very rapid pace. She's reading and writing, riding her bike without training wheels, and is going to be starting the winter swim team next week.

Among other things, we are of couse still remodeling. It never ends. But, with that being said, I decided I want to do some "remodeling" of my own, which consists of decorating and buying new furniture. Aaron replaced our french doors and that started the transformation of our dining room. I found this great buffet at World Market on clearance, and then couldn't get the dining room table out of my mind. My sweet husband told me to go get it. I didn't stop there though. I then purged and bought new curtains and here is our new dining room. I love it! The table is awesome, and it was really much needed. It has a nice long bench on one side, which can fit like 5 kids if I needed to, which I won't, and then four more chairs. We now have plenty of room for some great meals which are soon to come with holidays right around the corner.

We have had a great summer. It has gone by too fast and I know that fall will be upon us in no time. At this point in my life, I could not be happier, nor could I be more blessed. God is good!

Abby the Baracuda!

2009-06-25T05:31:00.000-07:00

Abby did excellent at her swim meet last night! I am so proud of her. Every time she swims I get tears in my eyes. I know, I know, I'm a sap, but I can't help it. I guess it's also because a part of me feels very connected to Abby when she swims. I loved swim team and spent a lot of my time hanging around the pool, the same pool that my daughter now hangs out at. I also met Aaron at this same pool when I was 15 years old. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. The children that I used to teach swim lessons to at this same pool are now lifeguards. So, with all these memories, it's very surreal for me.

Here is a clip of Abby doing backstroke. I must note that this is the same kid that was so nervous to even step foot in the pool back in March. She has made drastic improvements. Abby, mommy is so proud of you! Keep swimming my little fish :)

First REAL Haircut!

2009-05-06T17:32:00.000-07:00

Okay. We did it. We got Abby's hair cut! Here it is! Lighting wasn't great in the picture, but it's so cute!

Here is a "before" picture.

This was a huge deal for Abby and I. I have been growing Abby's hair out since she was born. Literally. Abby was quite the little baldy when she was a baby, and then it slowly came in and took forever to grow. But boy, once it did, it really did! I loved her long hair, but, if I didn't brush it every hour, it got stringy and tangled. With summer coming up, I asked her if she'd like to get it cut. I thought for sure she'd say no way because Abby also loves her long hair. But, she actually went with it. After it was cut, she took a look in the mirror and was thrilled! She can't wait to go to school and show off her new 'do. I'm getting mine done on Saturday. I'll post some pics of mine too!

We went to the zoo today with Abby's class. We were very lucky because the rain held off. Abby was so sweet today because she told me this morning that she prayed very hard last night that it wouldn't rain for her trip to the zoo. She told me later in the day after her rain-free trip to the zoo that "prayer works Mom!" Now that's the sound of music!

Abby and her friend Emma

Feeding the giraffes!

Allyson and Audrey feeding the goats.
Today was a great day! Really hoping for some sunshine. The kids and I are doing a garden this year. I'll keep you updated with how it goes. I am so excited. I've always wanted a garden. I really hope that this will be a good learning lesson for the kids.

Randomness! (is that a word?)

2009-05-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

Check out these two little cuties! I think they look so much alike. Just had to share :)

And look at this little one-year old and her big brown eyes. She's the only one out of my three girls who got my side of the family's big eyes. Abby and Allyson both have Daddy's squinty eyes ;)

Abby started t-ball. It hasn't been much of a success because we have been out of town or sick and missed a couple games here and there. But, she has done well and seems to be enjoying it. It's funny to watch all the kids fight over the ball.

Now. Here's what I really wanted to blog about. Last night, while having a mom's night in at my house and chatting with some of the best friends a mommy could ask for, I realized something. Actually, I had realized it before, but maybe was holding onto some doubt of some sort I guess you'd say. Well, it dawned on me that my kids are spoiled! No really, not like spoiled brats or anything, but maybe headed down that track if we don't put our feet down right now! I have always enjoyed spoiling my little girls and buying them oodles of toys and clothes. Now, I must say... I am not a big spender, not by any means. But, I will go to a yard sale or visit good ole' craigslist quite often and not hesitate to buy them toys for a couple bucks. As Abby is getting older and two others quickly behind her, I am really starting to think a lot about how I want to raise my girls. My goal in life is to raise my children to be successful adults. I want them to cherish what they have, to understand how lucky they are to have all the things that they do have and not to take anything for granted. I also don't want them to think that life revolves around materialistic things. I'd much rather us spend time together cooking, doing crafts, going for walks, talking, reading or just simply playing in the backyard. These are all things that we do already, but not as often as I'd like. Instead I feel like I spend my time bugging them to clean up their million toys that they have carelessly thrown all over the place and then go behind them putting them away myself. Okay, so you've got the picture. Last night, I was really inspired by a couple of mom's who simply do not over-indulge their children with meanlingness things. So, I had a long talk with Abby today and told her that I thought it would be a great idea to give away a whole bunch of toys and that I really want to spend more time with her and her sisters doing things together. At first she was a little whiney about giving her things away, but quickly got in the spirit of giving and we spent about an hour going through things and making a pile of toys to give to a family in need. Allyson was involved a little also, but is a little too young to understand. We are in the process of trying to find a family to donate these items to. As of right now, it is all piled up in my van waiting for a new family. Below is a picture of the girls with all of their toys to give away. This is a huge step for me as well as my children. It has been very uplifting and I really look forward to not cleaning up as much and spending more quality time with my beautiful children.

Taking the training wheels off!

2009-04-28T19:52:00.000-07:00

So, while in Charlotte visiting some friends, we took off Abby's training wheels. We had practiced a little at home, but she just took off! Here is a little clip to please your eyes of my big girl riding her bike all by herself.

Today was a good day. We had a lot of fun playing with friends and enjoying the nice weather. Now, I'm just hoping for some rain so that our newly planted grass will take off. I also went to CVS today and snagged some free stuff! Loving my new coupon savings. Everyone should do it, it will really change your way of spending. Goodnight!

Summer, here we come!

2009-04-27T18:53:00.001-07:00

Today we had a great day. We went to Abby's school to help out in the classroom for a bit. I take Allyson and Audrey with me, which is great, but also very distracting! Next year, I'd like to find another mom to swap with perhaps. Anywhoo... when we left Abby's school, I met up with some friends down at the beach. All of the kids had a great time wading in the icy cold water and playing the sand. The beach wore them out, and we came out right after lunch for a nice long nap! Nothing beats taking your kiddos to the beach or pool, it wears them out!
We had a nice dinner and then I took Abby to the indoor pool here in our area to practice swimming for the swim team. She did really well, and hopefully will be quite the little baracuda this summer.
All in all, great day. Looking forward to another sunny, fun day tomorrow!

Out of the Mouth of Babes

2009-04-26T20:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I am really going to get back into blogging. No, really. I want to use this blog not only as a place to share our life with my friends and family, but also as a journal. I plan to print these and keep them for my children so they can read them when they are older.

Some funny things my kiddos have said lately:

Abby:

Me: "Abby, do you know how this?" (holding up a dollar bill)
Abby: "Uuumm... oh yeah, that's Curious Washington!"

Allyson:

(playing with my tummy, which is a while other topic)

Allyson: "Here mommy, let me tuck in your shirt. " (tucks in my shirt, pats my belly)
"there you go little chubby chub!"

Allyson: "Goodnight mommy! If you see any tigers let me know and I'll shoot em'!"

I have no clue where that one came from! She talks a lot about tigers at bedtime. She's been doing this for a long time. Sometimes there are tigers under her bed and she can't go to sleep. I guess tonight she decided she was over being scared of those darn tigers, she'll just shoot them! Her grandfather would be happy!

I'm sure I'll come up with more later, but it's late and my brain isn't quite functioning. Had to get these down before I forgot!!

The Tooth Fairy

2009-03-04T18:58:00.000-08:00

Well, as you have noticed, I am doing a pretty horrible job of keep up with my blog, BUT.... I plan to stay on top of it from now on. I find that at the end of a long day, my brain just won't compute. Literally, I sit down to write, and nothing comes out. Agh... so, I'm not giving up just yet. Please don't give up on me! Hee hee..
So, the tooth fairy has been a very busy lady around here lately. Abby lost her bottom two teeth quite some time ago, and the new ones have since grown back in. But, in the past week she has lost 3 teeth! Yes, THREE in one week! As you can see below, she looks like quite the snaggle-tooth. It's very surreal for me, because I just know that this means my little girl is growing up.

Abby is best friends with the tooth fairy. Literally, she talks about her as if she knows her in person. It's very cute. It's so fun to watch her get so excited about leaving her tooth for this magical fairy. Last night, when she lost her big front tooth, she decided she would make a nice note for the tooth fairy and make her a little something. She actually said, "the tooth fairy probably never gets presents." So sweet. So, under her pillow went the note, a nice craft she made for her and the tooth. Now let me tell all of you rookies out there. This is no easy job. I seem to almost forget every time. Just as I'm laying down for bed and thinking over the day and checking off my list mentally, it hits me.... oh crap, the tooth! So, I drag myself out of my warm bed to retreive the tooth and leave some money behind. Now, Abby is quite a sound sleeper, but I still get very paranoid. I tip toe in as quietly as possible and try to be as slick as can be not to wake her. This has been pretty easy up until this last tooth when she felt the need to leave all the extras with the tooth. I went to her side of the bed that she had her back to first, slipped my hand under the pillow and was feeling around and then, she turned and kinda moaned a little. I ducked down, hiding and thinking about what to say if I did in fact get busted. "oh, it's okay honey, I'm just making sure that your tooth is still there. We wouldn't want the tooth fairy to come and it not be there!" I think I could get away with it, but hey, kids are smart, and I'm trying to keep all the magical things going on for a couple more years. So, anyways... back to where I started. So, once she was still, I went to the other side of the bed. I mananged to get all the things, slip the money under the pillow, and tip toe back out the door. Mission complete.

Should it be called Vacation, PART 2

2009-02-08T17:10:00.000-08:00

Well, as you can see our vacation really put me back a bit on blogging. Anyhow... I'm going to try to get back into the groove here starting, well, starting right now. Our vacation seems like a distant memory now, even though it was only like 1 week ago that we got back home. We did have a great time. Abby did a great job skiing and it was so much fun for Aaron and I to ski with our daughter. We also took Abby and Allyson sledding one day. There was this really cool hill there and they had this pulley system that pulled you up the hill. It was really fun! That was nice to do because we felt like Allyson didn't get to do much. But, it's won't be long before she's in ski school also!! (Maybe next year...) Audrey, well, Audrey just kindof hung out :) The weather was absolutley freezing the first two days we were there. It was below 0 on the top of the mountain!
And for those of you who are wondering how our drive home was, well, it wasn't so bad. Could have been worse I suppose. The kids did pretty well, it was just the typical stuff. We stopped in Harrisonburg because I needed to get formula for Audrey and there was a Target there. I told Aaron we should just grab something to eat there so we only had to make one stop, but he didn't see anything he liked on the menu. Therefore, we did what we shouldn't have done which was put three starving kids back in the car, and go someplace else. Then when we get there, we realize that Allyson is missing a shoe, not just any shoe by the way, her cute little purple fuzzy crocs that I spen $30 bucks on! So, I left them behind and went to find the shoe. Lucky for me, it was in the parking lot of Target along with a toy that fell out of the van also. I went back, we ate, then hit the road. Then we had the great idea that we would stop at Home Depot in Waynesboro because we had never been to one and maybe they have some different things compared to Lowe's. WRONG! They do not.... as a matter of fact, they have almost the exact same and less of a selection. So, that was a waste of time. Anyways.... I rambling, but, you get the picture, just the same old stuff that happens to me on a daily occurance.
I'll finish this by saying that I think we are incedibly lucky to be able to take family vacations and I will never take that for granted. But, it never hurts to look back and laugh at all the things that went wrong!

Should It Be Called Vacation??

2009-02-01T18:21:00.000-08:00

Okay, so let me say first and foremost. I love vacations. I love the feeling of getting away from the day to day hustle and most importantly, I love the memories that we make as a family. BUT.... should it really be called a vacation? I don't think so. Let me tell you why.

Let's go back a bit...

Two days before vacation: I should be packing, instead, I'm blogging or reading the Twilight series, New Moon.

Day before vacation: still not packing, but rather, trying to get the house cleaned up before we leave for vacation because who wants to come home to a messy house?

Night before vacation: Okay, have to start packing. Get the kids stuff packed which takes forever because they have so many things they need. And of course, I pack way too much.

Morning before vacation: Get kid off to school, feed other kids, need to go vacuum out car for road trip, need dog food, still need to pack and load up the car, pick up kid from school at noon, come home, make lunch, water the plants so they don't die, clean litter box b/c house sitter won't do it while you're gone, check off your list to make sure you have everything, make sure everyone's gone potty and head out. Try to do all this without having a nervous breakdown, which I did, but that's another story.

On the way: Kids yelling that their headphones aren't working and they don't like this movie and they need a snack and they dropped their cup. The baby, who you know you perfectly timed out that nap, is wide awake and not happy being in the rear-facing car seat. (might I add that two hours of this trip is through nothing but mountains, and I mean BIG SCARY mountains)

Upon Arrival: Unpack everything. Kids extremely wound up from being in the car. One is car sick the other has peed their pants. Baby has been screaming for an hour. They don't want to go to bed because they are someplace new.

Next couple days: Lose everything because you are living out of suitcases AND you are trying to go skiing, therefore, you need hats, gloves, jackets, boots, skiis and tons more for everyone. Get your nice minivan that's not used to the snow and ice stuck in the driveway. Baby refuses to sleep in pack and play and is waking up at least three times a night.

Okay, so there you have it, and we haven't even left yet... so I guess this is to be continued. I'll let you know how the departure goes. And, although I am complaining, we had a great time. Abby did awesome skiing, we did relaxe quite a bit and it was wonderful spending time with the ones I love most. And, don't worry, I have plenty of pictures for the next blog!

Abby is Six

2009-01-28T18:03:00.000-08:00

Abigayle Ana tuned six last week! It is so hard to believe. We celebrated that evening with her grandparents and had dinner, cake and presents. We also watched some video that we had taken of Abby from birth through about age two. It was quite emotional for me. You see, for some reason, turning six was a hard one for me. At five, I still felt like she was my baby in a sense. She wasn't in kindergaten yet, she was still with me the majority of the time. Now that she is six, it feels like she is a kid now, like a big kid. One of those kids that I used to look at in the play area at the mall and think, "oh great, a big kid's coming in here and is going to trample my little toddler." Now she is one of them.
Abigayle was born on a very cold January day. As a matter of fact, we came home from the hospital to find that our pipes had frozen and we had no water. (I was not too happy about this!) Anyhow... having Abby as my first child was such a blessing. She was an angel baby, actually I called her my "textbook" baby. She did exactly what the books said she was supposed to do. She was easy going, fat and happy. Her and I spent every day together, just the two of us for her first three years of life. I have so many great memories over the past six years. One of my favorite memories is when she would dance as a baby. Abby loved to dance, and still does. I would put on a song, and she would stand up, as she was just pulling up at this age, and bounce up and down and laugh and giggle. She was hysterical. She hasn't changed much... she's still my easy-going girl, aside from some 6-year old drama, she is a delight. I realize how lucky I am to have a daughter like her. I have been trying to remind myself as Abby, and my other two little ones, grow right before my eyes, how quickly this time will pass. I feel like I blinked and Abby is all grown up. No longer a baby, she doesn't need me as much anymore. My prayer for Abby is to continue to grow, to walk with Jesus, and to stay true to who she is, which is just perfect to me. Happy birthday Abby, I love you.

Allyson the Pig

2009-01-15T07:09:00.000-08:00

Allyson has started this new thing where she snorts when she laughs! It is absolutely hilarious and now she just does it all the time. Well, yesterday at lunch, she was on a snorting roll! She was cracking me up :) Check it out:

What I've been up to!

2009-01-13T17:41:00.000-08:00

So, this is kindof a silly post but I just feel like writing. Some of my favorite things lately!

I've really gotten into coupon clipping. I found this great blog: www.frugalinvirgina.com and it's awesome. I guess you can say I've been totally inspired by it and have taken on a whole new hobby of obsessively clipping coupons and trying to save money. It is a lot of extra work, but it's totally worth it and the feeling I get when I save a lot of money is a total adrenaline rush! Today I went to KMart, where they were participating in double coupons up to a $2 face value, and I bought $80 dollars worth of cosmetics, cleaning stuff and medicines for $32. (I also bought some invitations for Abby's birthday party which I didn't have a coupon for :) Anyhow... it's really been a lot of fun.

My new camera! I am totally obsessed with it. It's a super nice Canon Powershot and it takes great pictures. I love taking pictures of my little girls. I would love to one day get into photography a little more and maybe even make an income on it! I think I could be really good at it.

Something else that had been put on the back burner for a while was reading, but I just finished reading Twighlight last week. (thanks Clancy!) Oh my... it was such a great book and I can't wait to get the next in the series.

I am also trying really hard to stay at home more and get organized. I've realized that with three kids under the age of 5, that being organized is almost a must. I am really trying to squeeze in the time to get things nice and tidy around here. I hate looking for something and not being able to find it!!

And, I can't believe that I haven't mentioned this yet, but we are also remodeling our home. We bought our house 2 years ago from my parents and it was like a dream come true for us. We started our family young, and for so long, home ownership was like a fantasy. When we had the oppurtunity to buy my parents house, the house that I pretty much grew up in, we jumped on it! It was a great house to start off with, but we have taken great pride in personalizing it and making it our own. We have done so many things. We painted the outside from what used to be a somewhat burnt orangish color, to a grayish-blue color. We replaced all the windows and re-trimmed them and got a new front door. We put recessed lighting in some bedrooms and hallways, put down hardwood flooring in the hallway upstairs and also fenced in the backyard. We also replaced the front porch with this "Trek" boarding stuff and it looks great! Needless to say we have been very busy improving our house and we have lots more planned this year!

I also weaned Audrey this week and have been sleep-training her to sleep in her own bed. It went really well, and as of Thursday it will have been 2 weeks that she has been on bottles and in her own bed! It's kindof sad that I will never nurse another baby again, but also very uplifting. It's really nice to start getting back to focusing on me and have my body back, somewhat ;)

With that being said, next month, I am getting a gym membership and hitting it hard to lose the rest of this weight! I miss the gym so much. It used to be a very important part of my life and I can't wait to get back in there. So, hopefully, you will be seeing a new, slimmer me this summer!

A Box....

2009-01-06T17:44:00.000-08:00

So simple.... yet, to my girls, soooo much fun! We had some boxes hanging around after Christmas and the kids had a great time getting creative with them. As you can see below, with the help of Daddy, Abby turned two boxes into a robot. She thought this was so cool, and the funniest part of the evening was, and I hate to say it, but was when she fell because she couldn't see where she was going. I laughed for almost an hour, as a matter of fact, I'm still laughing thinking of it. She was a good sport though, and was giggling away inside her box.

Here is Audrey playing the box that became Abby's robot head.

And my sweet girls playing in the robot's body.

They had a great time. It's amazing how many things you can do with a box!

A Look Back at 2008....(and a look forward at 2009!)

2009-01-01T18:44:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I can hardly believe that 2008 has come and gone. This year has been a great year for us. We have done many things together as a family, but this year's most special moment has been the birth of our third beautiful baby girl, Audrey. Here are some pictures to highlight our year:

At the beginning of 2008, Aaron and I took a trip to see his brother and his wife in Maryland. In this picture I am about 7 months pregnant.

We also got a bit of snow that month. As a matter of fact, I believe it's the only snow we received last winter. I bundled the girls up and we had a great time sledding down our driveway and making snow angels.

Abby turned 5 on January 22nd. We celebrated with about 12 of her friends and had a great horse-themed birthday party.

In March, we celerated Easter. We enjoyed a lot of fun activites and here are Abby and Allyson dying easter eggs.

Abby lost her first tooth in March also! She then lost her second tooth about 1 week after the first. Now she has 4 more loose teeth!

On April 5, Allyson turned 2 years old. We had a Dora party for her. Then on April 8th, we welcomed Audrey Elizabeth who came into this world weighing in at 8 lbs even. She has been an absolute delight. She has the best tempermant and has just been happy ever since she entered the world. She is exactly like her great grandmother whom we named her after.

In June, Abby's best friend Sam came to visit us. Abby and Sam grew up together, literally, as if brother and sister, and she was heartbroken when we moved away. (so was I!) Abby and Sam still keep in touch and his visit was such a great time.

We enjoyed going to the spray park in our town with Sam.

I love this picture of Allyson at the spray park. She didn't understand where the water went!

Abby also learned how to swim this year. She took swim lessons last year, but did not really take to the water so well, but this year, she was great!

We also went to visit my parents in the beautiful mountains of West Virginia in June. We really love going there because it's just so peaceful and we can really just enjoy the outdoors and just take a step back from our hectic lives.

Abby started horse lessons in September. This was a dream come true for Abby who has been in love with horses for about 2 years now. I thought maybe it was just a phase, or maybe I was hoping, but it hasn't gone away. I think it's in her blood though because we have quite a history of riding horses in my family. I grew up on a horse farm and my mother taught lessons and we had horse shows on our farm.

I also hosted a girls night here in September. It was a fabulous time! These are some of the best girlfriends a girl could ask for. We have all been friend since grade school, and even though we are all at different points in our lives, we still know what it means to be friends, best friends, and I cherish the moments that we spend together.

Also in September, we surprised Abby and took her to the Foxfield horse races. We lined up my mother in law to keep Allyson and Audrey and told her it was going to be a special day. She had no clue where we were going, and it was a great day with her.

And, in October we celebrate Halloween, and I love this picture of my three little kittens.

We had a great holiday season, filled with great meals, spending time with family and remembering those that have gone on before us.

2008 was a great year for us. With 2009 upon me, I have a lot of things I would like to do and or change. First and foremost, I want to be the best mother and wife that I can be. I want to spend more time on the floor playing with my girls and just cherishing every moment I have with them as they grow right before my eyes. I also want to become more involved in church and become closer to God. I also want to live a healthier life, and I wouldn't mind losing a couple pounds!

Happy New Year everyone, and may it be a good one!

Sisters

2009-01-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love this clip of Abby playing with Audrey. Abby is so delightful and always a great big sister, as you can see!

Christmas Time!

2008-12-29T16:27:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year. A far cry from last Christmas... Allyson got a double ear infection on Christmas Eve and was not a happy camper. But this year, she tore into everything and loved every minute of it. This was also Audrey's first Christmas, which made it very special as well. So, yep, all went well.

We spent Christmas Eve at my mother in law's home. It was a great night surrounded by many loved ones. We ate a great meal and then opened presents. The girls got many great gifts. Allyson's favorite of the night was probably her Dora hat. Allyson is obsessed with Dora and Diego. Abby got a great horse book to add to her collection. And Ms. Audrey just enjoyed the trash, but got some cute things as well.

We got home that night just in time to leave out cookies and milk for Santa, and carrots for the reindeer. We even sprinkled "reindeer food" and glitter on our yard so that the reindeer would see and smell their way to our house. The girls awoke to what they had asked Santa for. A princess horse for Abby, a Diego train for Allyson and a nice wooden push toy for Audrey. The kids were delightful while we waited to open gifts that morning. I enjoyed wathcing them open every gift, thankful that we were able to provide these things for them. And I, too, had a great morning and got what I really wanted which was an awesome new camera and I am loving taking greats pictures of the girls.

All in all, it was a great holiday, spent with the ones I love. As I reflect, I am so very thankful for my family and friends. I also remember those that have gone on before us, and wish that they were here to share these special moments with us, but know that they are looking down on us from a better place. God bless!

I did it!

2008-12-20T19:56:00.000-08:00

I've entered the world of blogging, offically... I've been thinking about this for a long time now. What should I name my blog? Well, as you can see, I wasn't very creative. What would I write about? Well, that wouldn't be hard because my life is like a reality show the majority of the time. I've always enjoyed "blogging." The feeling of just letting your thoughts and feelings roll out of your mind has always been so refreshing for me. I've just always done it the old-fashioned way on paper in my cute little journal. Yes, I still have a journal. So, for all you who are reading this for the first time, bear with me, I'm new to this. Of couse, when I wrote in my journal, it was for my eyes only and I didn't care about proper grammar and puncuation. So, keep checking back and let me know how I'm doing!