Just Another Day in Paradise

Yay! Time for another baby!!!

2011-09-09T07:20:00.000-05:00

I suppose now that I've managed to make it past the half way mark in my pregnancy, it's time to blog about it. I've been a nervous nut, afraid to be too excited, but secretly praying I'd somehow get over the half way mark time time around. Well, as of two weeks ago, I made it! I'm on week 22 and LOVING LIFE. The little one in my uterus is kicking like crazy, and I think it's because she has to know how nervous I am that she won't make it. YES...I said SHE. We found out at 16 weeks and then confirmed last week that we're having another girl! How cute is this ultrasound pic?

Or this one?

Yes, that's a smile. My little angel is obviously happy to be in there...and she lets me know...ALL DAY LONG.

I was afraid my girls wouldn't be too excited about a girl, but it turns out, they are! We went to Babies R Us and they were like maniacs! They were throwing close into the cart faster than I could pull them out and we left with $200 worth of baby stuff. In only a few short months we'll be welcoming our little angel into our home. I can't wait!

Steph

I think I'm probably going to be okay...

2011-04-10T21:18:00.000-05:00

Well, hopefully at least. I'm starting to feel more human again. I'm less depressed, but still cry anytime I think about the baby. I try not to because the kids aren't used to seeing me cry, but sometimes I do still break down. Last week I had another blood test to see if my hCG levels finally went back down to normal so we could start trying again and was slightly disappointed to hear they were back to normal. I shouldn't have been, obviously, common sense tells me to be happy they've finally returned to normal, but I couldn't help it. In my head, I think I just felt like that was the last part of the baby, finally leaving. I have nothing left of the baby.

Everyone tries to tell me that I should be happy for what I've got, two amazing daughters, and just accept that God may not have wanted me to have more than 2 children. I try my hardest to ignore those comments. If I wanted to have ten children, I would! I adore my little girls, they're the best thing that ever happened to me, but now I have a hole in my heart, and it won't be healed until I have another baby.

I had two people congratulate me last week. While I feel like I have a handle on this loss, the congratulations still kill me. I instantly tear up and try to smile and say thank you. I can't even get the words out. I know I'll see the same sad faces that I always do when someone finds out I lost the baby. I can't bear to see those faces. The fact is, chances are, they DON'T know what I'm going thru. Chances are, I have now put them in an awkward spot and all they can think of is how to run far away from our awkward conversation.

This loss has shown me an entirely new side to some people though. People who have had similar losses have come out of the wood work. So many people have dealt with this, it's unbelieveable! It really has helped to talk to other people about it. I really feel like if they can make it thru and even live to have more children, then there is some how hope for me. I've found an amazing facebook group too of other women going thru a similar process. They're my sounding board for days when I want to strangle someone, scream in frustration, or just cry. I'm grateful for them in ways I can't even express in words.

I guess the moral of my story is, I'm making it thru. One day at a time. And at some point, hopefully sooner, rather than later, I'll have my baby. This one just wasn't meant to be. The next one will be though, hopefully.

Steph

Having a Rough Time...

2011-03-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's been a hard few weeks in our house. The excitement over the new baby turned into sadness on March 11th. After being in extreme pain and having lots of miscarriage symptoms, my husband drove me to the hospital and after 4 LONG hours there, I realized one of my worst fears. I miscarried the baby. Never in my wildest dreams did it ever occur to me that I could lose my baby. I've spent my entire life trying to PREVENT pregnancy, and the one time I was over the top excited about having a baby, I lose him/her. It just does seem fair. The first week after, I stayed home, cried a lot, and got mad at everyone. I couldn't understand why no one else understood how much pain I was in. Everyone was nice to me, but no one knew what to say. Lots of people said I have two children I should be thankful for, which of course I am! BUT, that doesn't mean I'm not mourning the loss of my third child. No one seems to understand that piece.

Then there's my husband. This miscarriage scared him. Big time. I honestly believe he thought I was going to die. I'm not a complainer. When I called him at work on a Friday afternoon and told him that I needed him to come home immediately to take me to the hospital, he knew it was something big. And it was...I had lost our baby. He was worried about me and I was worried about the baby. I fell into depression. I couldn't eat, I cried constantly, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't function. At all. I stayed home for a week. I tried to go out, but both times I left the house I ran into someone that congradulated me on my pregnancy. Both times I had breakdowns. Once at the girls' cheerleading gym, and once at the gas station. That fixed it. I stayed home the rest of the week. My husband was afraid to have another baby because he was afraid this would happen again. So am I! But that doesn't keep me from wanting to have another one. There is a hole in my heart that was left by the miscarriage. The only thing that can possibly repair it is another baby. It won't replace the one that I lost, but it will help ease my pain. He just doesn't get that.

He's starting to though. Or at least he's pretending like he's starting to get it. While he isn't jumping up and down at the thought of trying for another baby, he's going along with it. He saw me in the maternity ward at the hospital getting my Rhogam shot and knew it would break my heart to never be there again for a GOOD reason. He knows me. I NEED this baby.

The good news is, things are looking up. I'm half way thru my second week back at work and I've only cried at work twice. Luckily both times were in the bathroom so no one witnessed it. I'm finally able to talk about it now too. That has to be a good thing too, right?

I've turned into a fertillity fanatic though. I know myself. When things go bad, I obsess over the part of it that I can control, and in this case, that's my fertility. I'm charting, temping, using ovulation predictor kits, etc. Pretty much whatever I can control this time, I will. I want to know EXACTLY when I'm fertile so I can get pregnant again. I switched OB's, and this new one is AMAZING! She said that as soon as my body's ready to conceive again, it'll let me know by ovulating. No worries about conceiving too early (which the other doctor wanted to wait...3 FREAKING MONTHS!) so I'm tracking and patiently waiting for the notification that my body is in fact, ready to conceive again.

Fingers crossed it works this time!

Steph

Finally, my 2nd Ultrasound Appointment has Arrived!!!

2011-03-10T07:33:00.000-06:00

It has been a grueling two weeks! I've been so nervous to find out what's going on with little Baby Rea, that I've been stressing over it constantly. I've turned into what I never imagined I'd become, a crazy pregnant woman. Last Friday they were FINALLY able to get all of my blood work completed. I have unusually small veins, which lead to 5 visits to different labs in hopes of finding one person that could get blood out of me. After 4 labs had stuck me 15 times, I finally found a miracle woman named Kelly that stuck me once and got all of the blood she needed. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, my blood tests weren't 100% fantastic. I have low progesterone, which can lead to miscarriages! The LPN at the doctor's office told me not to worry, because my hCG levels were high, and prescribed a progesterone supplement. I've been taking it religiously with hopes that my little bean can stay in my uterus until the 40 weeks is up.

Then, last night, I started spotting! Anyone that has been pregnant knows, spotting is scary. It's unexpected, and while the doctor's office said I should be fine and to just be on pelvic rest for a little while, I'm panicked! The good news is, today is my 2nd ultrasound appointment anyway, so they'll be able to confirm everything is still going well with the bambino.

Praying for good news at 11:30 today!!! Here's my pregnancy update:

How Far Along: 9 Weeks

Total Weight Loss/Gain: None yet, I'll know when I have my next appointment.

Maternity Clothes: I finally got my Bella Band and new maternity shirts in! They're fantastic! They don't look like maternity clothes, so they're perfect for wearing now because they don't fit as tight around my stomach and hide the fact that I'm constantly bloated now! The Bella Band is a lifesaver! You know how sometimes you're so bloated that you want to unbutton your jeans? That's where the Bella Band comes in! It hides the button and smoothes everything out so no one will know, and it helps hold your jeans up! I think I should have ordered 10 of them. One in every color!

Stretch Marks: No new ones, only the crappy ones from my last two pregnancies.

Sleep: I've been sleeping like a baby! Other than the horrific nightmares I'm having about miscarriage!

Best Moments of the Week: When the lab tech looked at me and said "we've found a good vein!" I almost hugged her!
Belly Button: Still in, and chances are it will remain that way since it did with both of my other pregnancies.

Craving: Caffeine! I fell off the wagon and have decided that one Diet Dr. Pepper a day isn't going to hurt anything. I even asked the doctor's office and they said it's FINE!

What I Am Looking Forward to: My ultrasound. I just want some type of confirmation that everything is okay so I can stop feeling like a lunatic!

Okay, that's all for now! I'll take a picture of the ultrasound photo and post it later!

Steph (aka the Pregnant Lunatic)

We're having another BABY!!!

2011-03-03T07:19:00.000-06:00

If you'd have told me a year ago that I'd be announcing my pregnancy to the world in February/March, I'd have thought you were crazy. Mackenzie is 10 and Maddie is 7 and I genuinely thought that God meant for us to be a family of four forever. We are so excited and although we hope the same thing all parents do, for a healthy, happy, baby, I can't help but hope for a son! I love my daughters and if given another daughter, I would be just as happy as I was when I found out I was having my first two girls, but a son...a girl can dream, right?

I feel like maybe this pregnancy was meant to be. With Mackenzie, I was 17 when I found out I was pregnant. I had to hide it from everyone, including my parents until I was so far along and showing that I had to tell everyone. I didn't get the typical "congrats" from friends and family because an unwed, teenage, mother isn't something people get excited about. With Madison, I was 20, and although I was living on my own and raising Mackenzie on my own, I still couldn't get as excited about the pregnancy because I was still unwed and young. My now husband, Doug, had been there since the day 1 and I knew he'd continue to be an amazing father, but our lack of engagement didn't exactly thrill people. Was it too much to think that we would want to wait for marriage until we were 100% sure we were perfect for each other? Apparently so, if you asked pretty much everyone around us at the time.

Fast forward to now. We're obviously married, and raising the best kids in the world. Mackenzie is HILARIOUS. I swear some day she's going to be a comedian. Everywhere we go she's cracking jokes and is always the center of attention. Madison is a star. She excels at everything she attempts! She's an amazing cheerleader/tumbler and at age 6, already had her backhandspring! For those that have done backhandsprings, that's not a simple feat. Not for Maddie, she wanted it and after a few weeks of coaching by the ever talented Coach David at Pride Cheerleading Gym, she got it! Now she's 7 and working on her roundoff series with two backhandsprings!

We have a very busy life, so obviously another baby wasn't in the plans. BUT, we also have two of the best children to help us with the new baby. I get to redo all of the things I wish I could have done differently with Mackenzie & Madison! I get to be EXCITED about my pregnancy because now that we're married and older, everyone else is excited about our pregnancy! I get to plan ahead! Anyone that knows me, knows I'm a planner. I plan our yearly Disney vacations at least 6 months out! This doesn't mean I book the trip 6 months out. This means I can tell you which park we're going to and what we're eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner 180 days prior to our trip. I even have a binder that I take with us that has daily schedules and tips for things that we must stop and do at each park. Needless to say, I'm excited to plan ahead for the baby. I've already started buying diapers! One thing I wish I'd known back when I had the girls was to buy diapers NOW so I didn't have to buy them the first year. There are SO many expenses to get used to, it only makes sense to stock up on something that will never go bad, and can always be returned to Wal-mart if you bought too many of the wrong size.

I guess I've rambled on long enough, so I'll just wrap it up by answering the questions that I saw on another blog with a pregnant mother. I thought it would be fun to do this every week so I have a pregnancy diary to look back on later.

How Far Along: 8 Weeks

Total Weight Loss/Gain: None yet, I'll know when I have my next appointment.

Maternity Clothes: I don't need any yet, but I just ordered a Bella Band and 4 new shirts!

Stretch Marks: No new ones, only the crappy ones from my last two pregnancies.

Sleep: What sleep? I'm up all night peeing!

Best Moments of the Week: My morning sickness appears to have worn off, I'm now able to eat again!

Belly Button: Still in, and chances are it will remain that way since it did with both of my other pregnancies.

Craving: Caffeine! I just want a dang Diet Dr. Pepper!!!

What I Am Looking Forward to: My ultrasound next Thursday! I went last Thursday and they thought that perhaps I wasn't as far along as I calculated based on my LMP, so I have to go back in next Thursday to hopefully see a lot more progress.

That's it for now! Sorry this was such a long post, but I can't help it, I'm SO EXCITED!!!

Steph

P.S. Here's a cute picture of my girls taken right before a cheer competition in December.

In Memory of Cohen

2010-07-01T08:37:00.000-05:00

If you haven't read the Cohen's story, you should. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Wordless Wednesday - Maddie's New Cheer Uniform

2010-06-09T08:38:00.000-05:00

Back to Normal...or at least semi-normal

2010-06-02T09:26:00.000-05:00

I'm back to normal, or at least semi-normal. Dad's still in ICU. Apparently the 2 days they anticipated him being in ICU were the best possible time-frame. This is day 15, but things are finally looking better. It was touch and go for a while, and although he's been through a lot, I think he's probably only a few days from being moved into a step-down unit and then finally into a regular hospital room. He's just hoping and praying that he'll be able to drink liquid at some point. He's gone 16 days without anything to eat or drink! How dreadful!

Last Friday, my baby graduated Kindergarten! Where has the time gone? It seems like only yesterday she was learning to stand, talk, walk, and lately...tumble! I couldn't be more proud of her. She's growing up into a beautiful, intelligent, little girl, and makes me happier every day. Some pictures:

(Maddie & her Kindergarten teacher)

Of course I've been baking as well. I made my very first wedding cake a few weeks ago for my sister. It didn't turn out as wonderfully as I'd pictured it in my head, but it was nice. I've made a few baby shower cakes, over 100 cupcakes, and a retirement cake. I did finally figure out how to write on cakes. If you've never tried, it's not easy! I've practiced and practiced and while it's not perfect, it's better than the first several attempts in prior months. Here's a picture:

The best part about all of my cake making? The leftover icing! The kids LOVE it!!!

Hope you're having a great month! Happy June!!! Steph

Waiting, Hoping, Praying...

2010-05-19T17:29:00.000-05:00

The title of my post pretty much sums it up. It's a day of waiting, hoping, and praying. My dad went into surgery shortly before noon today, and now 5 and a half hours later, we're still waiting for him to come out. They're anticipating another 2-3 hours, but so far, it sounds promising. We need this surgery to work. I need my dad to be cancer free, and live many more years. It's not a matter of want, it's what we need.

So please keep us in your prayers. It's going to be a long road to recovery for him. The surgeon told us that he's going to spend the next few days in ICU, and then another week in the hospital recovering. The next few months will be hard on him, as he won't be able to eat anything, and will have to rely on a feeding tube. But at least he'll be alive, and that's all we can hope for right now.

Hope all is well in your world!

Steph

Cookies, Cakes, Desserts, and Parties!

2010-05-12T16:54:00.000-05:00

I've been noticibly absent for a few weeks, and I'm sorry! May is quite possibly the busiest month of the year for me for many reasons.

1 - Like a crazy person, I agreed to plan and organize a field day for Madison's school this year. In case your children don't have field day, it's a fun-filled day of water games, inflatable bounce houses and slides, relay races, etc. It's a huge undertaking, and I'm not sure if I'll succeed, but I'm going to give it my best.

2 - My dad's chemo and radiation are finally done, and it's time for him to have surgery. He's a nervous wreck, and we're all biting our nails hoping things go well. There's only a 40% chance that the surgery will work, so prayers would be appreciated!!!

3 - I've been a baking fool! I've made cupcakes, cakes, cookies, marshmallow pops, chocolate covered oreos, you name it, I've made it! My friend Amy let me help make desserts for her son's 3rd birthday party. Everything turned out so cute! I can't take credit for everything, she and I both did the work, but it was a blast!

4 - It's my birthday month/Mother's day month! We're going to Chicago next weekend to celebrate my birthday with my mom and dad, and I'm hoping to get some retail therapy!

5 - My ~~favorite~~ sister is getting married! I got to host a bridal shower at a local winery, and a bachelorette party! I love hosting parties!!! I wish I could be at the wedding, but since she went out of the country, I wasn't able to go. Oh well...I can't wait to see pictures. I'm sure she'll look beautiful!!!

That's all I've got for now! The rest of the month is going to be filled with cookie orders, cake orders, and more baking. YEA!!!

Hope all is well! Love ya! Steph

I'm SO thankful!!!

2010-04-26T10:36:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I posted, because I've been BUSY! I'm so thankful for my wonderful children, they are always cracking me up. I had to take a picture of a drawing Maddie made for me, because I was having the worst day, and it brightened my day in ways you can't even imagine. Poor dad! As much as he may try, she's still a mommy's girl. Lucky for him, Mackenzie is definitely a daddy's girl.

Last Saturday was my sister's bridal shower, and I got to bake cookies! I didn't have my camera, so I had to use my iPhone to take the pictures, so don't pay attention to the poor quality of any photos I'll be including on this post.

How cute are these? My girls and I were oohing and ahhing over how well they turned out! The pictures really do not do them justice. They weren't perfect, but it was good experience, and I'll be making more this weekend.

Otherwise we've just been busy getting back into the swing of things. Between cake classes, work picking up (thank goodness it's hailing), organizing an event for PTO, and getting started with my new Treasurer duties at cheer, I'm a busy girl.

I hope all is well!!!

Steph

Random Sunday Ramblings...

2010-04-18T17:04:00.000-05:00

I've been in a bit of a funk lately. I can't quite put my finger on exaclty what it is that's been bothering me (truthfully, everything appears to be bothering me) and that aggravates me. I want to know what my problem is, so I can fix it. Some ideas:

I am almost 27 and I am not where I imagined I would be when I got this close to the big 3-0. Ten years ago I was wrapping up my junior year of high school with high hopes of how awesome college life would be. Well guess what? I didn't go to college. I got pregnant. College was put on hold so I could scramble to provide for the most amazing child ever. It was hard. I spent almost the entire first two years of Mackenzie's life living with my parents, DYING to move out. I did, and things just got harder.  Who would have thought that it was near impossible to come up with money for a mortgage, utilities, AND daycare? The state of IL was no help, apparently you have to be making minimum wage to qualify for any type of support. Lucky me, but then again, that's my luck. Looking back, I'm glad I had to tough it out. It made me appreciate every penny a lot more. I've never had anything handed to me, and I'm glad. I don't take anything for granted.

Yes...I think that is part of what's aggravating me. If you'd have asked me what I'd be doing in 2010, I'd have thought I'd be a lot better off than I am now. I'm in a rut at work. What was once a job I loved, is now one I dread. I take that back, that's not entirely true. Nine months ago we had a major layoff and I ended up in a HORRIBLE department. I went from working independently and being appreciated to being micromanaged and treated like a slacker. That's what I hate. It's not the job, it's the way you're treated in the department. Work is DEFINITELY a source of aggravation for me lately.

My husband is also driving me nuts. He and I have completely different views on life.  I feel like I really try to go above and beyond to keep our marriage together for our children, and I'm starting to wonder if that's the right decision. We fight constantly, and feel more like brother and sister than husband and wife.  Every time I tell him that I think we need to consider breaking up our marriage, things change for a few weeks and I feel guilty, as if everything is my fault. How dare I even remotely consider taking my children's father away from them? I was a child with divorced parents, and I know how hard it is on kids. I would NEVER want to do that to my girls. So I stick it out, and become bitter toward him. Even when he doesn't deserve it.

Lucky for me, hail season is starting up and at my company, that equals busy season. I'll be working non-stop and running the kids to cheer practice every night. I won't have time for bitterness, I'll be too busy. That's exactly what I need right now.

But for now, I just keep on baking. Today I made an incredible brownie/cookie masterpiece that tasted like a little slice of heaven! It's from one of my favorite blogs, Bake at 350, and is heavenly!!!   After I got that in the oven, I took out the rest of my aggravation on a piece of hot pink fondant. I had to get a cake board covered so I can get ready to make my class finale cake. Pictures will be posted in another week!

Have a great Sunday! I promise I'll be back to normal by tomorrow!!!
Steph

Cookies and Cakes!

2010-04-15T14:43:00.000-05:00

I'm obsessed with baking. Pretty much anything that can be homemade, I think I am capable of creating. I think the problem is, that in my mind, I'm practically Martha Stewart. Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is that I'm more Stephanie than Martha. I want the perfect product, but I don't have the time to create it. When I do get started baking, watch out, it's an all day affair. Since I can't bake every single day like I'd like to, I have found amazing blogs to help satisfy my baking need without having to bake daily. Next weekend I'm hosting my sister's bridal shower at a local winery. How cute are these cookies from Bake at 350? I'll be making these next week to package and take to her shower as gifts for the attendees.

Aren't they adorable? If you haven't been to Bake at 350, you don't know what you're missing. I'm a HUGE fan, in case you can't tell.

I'll make sure to post pictures, I can't wait!!!

Come on weekend! I'm READY!!!

2010-04-08T14:20:00.000-05:00

It's definitely been "one of those days." I'm ready to pull my hair out, scream, and possibly throw a tantrum. Yes, I was ready for hail season (I work for a dent company) but now, I'm remembering why I'm always ready for it to be over too. Haha!

Luckily, this is MY FRIDAY! I'm off tomorrow (as I am most Fridays) and am excited about having a nice, peaceful, relaxing, Friday.

Any big plans for the weekend?

Wordless Wednesday (except with a few words)

2010-04-07T16:10:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year! I'm SOOOO ready. Bring on the hail!!!

March is out, April is IN!

2010-04-05T15:28:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it's already April? I'm shocked! It seems like it wasn't that long ago that I was rushing around to get birthday parties planned, and now I'm already thru Easter! This year is going by way too fast. I didn't get as much baking done this weekend (only a batch of cupcakes) but I did get to spend some quality time with my wonderful girls. Maddie was SO excited to have gotten an iPod shuffle from the Easter bunny, she was practically silent all day yesterday. She had that thing glued to her ears the entire day. Mackenzie got another book to add to her Diary of a Wimpy Kid collection, and she was just as excited as Maddie. Oh, and I found the CUTEST little cheer shirts to put in their baskets! They LOVE them and I'm pretty sure probably wore them to school today.

I had planned on making another basket weave cake (it seems so Eastery, don't you think) but didn't have time. So I'll just include pictures I took from the last time I made it.

I'm back from my mini-blogging vacation!

2010-03-29T09:52:00.000-05:00

I've been absent from blogging for a while, and I apologize!!! I have been so busy with work, home, baking, and cheer that I haven't had much time for my beloved blog world. I'm back though!

A few updates on what I've been doing:

Cheer practices, a funeral, AND I bought an amazing book!

I've been baking like a crazy person! I finished up Course 2 in my cake making class with a cute little basketweaved cake. While I don't see myself basketweaving in the future, I'm happy to have learned. Plus, that means I get to start my next class which is what I've been looking forward to! FONDANT and GUM PASTE! I'm excited!!! The picture's kind of crappy...I had to use my phone.

And last, but certainly not least, we were wrapping up cheer season! The girls had their last competition of the '09-'10 season and did a fantastic job! I was a proud mommy, as always. Now we get a bit of a breather, no more running 4 days a week to mandatory cheer practices! The next 4 weeks are easy, they have optional clinics and practice times, and then they have try-outs for next season. Our hope is that they will FINALLY get their back hand springs so they can move up a level, keep your fingers crossed!

I guess that about sums it up! What have you been up to?

Maddie's First Breakup

2010-03-16T09:09:00.000-05:00

Considering Maddie is only 6 and in Kindergarten, unless you knew her, you'd never imagine that she would be going thru a breakup, or even talking about a boy being her boyfriend. That's because you haven't met Zachary. He is, in my opinion, the male version of her. They are SO darn cute together! He was a savior when she first started Kindergarten. She would cry every day I dropped her off, and heaven forbid she saw me walking around the school (I'm on the PTO Board, so I'm ALWAYS there). When she cried, he would hold her hand and pat her on the back. He is seriously, the sweetest little boy ever.

Last week however, they broke up. Let me walk you thru our week:

Monday:

Doug: Steph, Maddie hasn't talked at all since she got home, will you see what's wrong?

Me: Maddie, what's wrong, you seem sad?

Maddie: Nothing (with pouty face)

Me: Honey, what's wrong?

Maddie: Zachary and I broke up. He's not my boyfriend anymore, we're not even friends.

Me: (with shocked look on my face) WHY NOT?!?!?!

Maddie: He kissed Katie on the playground.

Me: (Holding back the laughter) Kissing isn't good Maddie, did you tell him that he's not supposed to be kissing girls?

Maddie: (Yelling) He's only allowed to kiss me!!! He used to hold my hand and kiss my cheek, I told him he can't anymore. He kissed her, like, 10 times!

I have a feeling her teen years are going to give me gray hair. On the other hand, she informed me last night that they're good now. He promised to never kiss Katie again. I'm going to let my husband explain that kissing boys isn't something she needs to make a habit of. Especially at 6!

Another Sleepy Monday!

2010-03-15T08:31:00.001-05:00

There is just something about Daylight Savings Time that bugs me. I don't mind "falling back" every fall, but something about the "spring forward" part annoys me! It seems like it takes forever for me to catch back up. I didn't go to bed until midnight, because I wasn't tired but at 4:30am this morning when my alarm was going off, I was CERTAINLY tired. It's going to take the entire week to adjust to the time change. Ugh...

But enough complaining! I had a wonderful weekend! I baked cookies like a crazy person! The first batch was okay, not exactly what I was hoping for...

See how the icing is running off the cookie? That's NOT supposed to happen. LOL!

And then there was my attempt at making an Easter shaped cookies...

Yeah, eggs are probably something that should be one color, maybe with a few dots?

The kids were VERY excited to show me how it's supposed to be done though. I've said that I'm not good at writing on cookies and cakes, and they both had to make sure I saw that they can write letters (the M's on the cookies) and let me know that if I ever need help, they're available.

The final batch of cookies turned out much better though.

Tonight is cake making...one of my best friends has a birthday tomorrow!

I hope you're having a FANTASTIC Monday!!!

Party Time!

2010-03-11T09:35:00.000-06:00

Finally! I have a party to plan! I love planning parties! Lately, I've seen so many amazing ideas, I couldn't wait to have a party to plan to use some of them! My sister is getting married in May, and it's finally time to plan her bridal shower. Lucky me, when I logged onto my blog this morning, I saw a giveaway, so obviously, I have to enter. It's on one of my favorite party sites, Half Baked - The Cake Blog. If you've never been to that site, make sure you check it out, it's amazing! Several of my ideas for the shower will be coming from that site, and if I'm able to win her current giveaway, I'm certain I'll be using it toward the shower as well.

Look at some of the cute stuff!!!

Aren't the cupcake kits AWESOME! This website has everything you can imagine for party supplies. I've already bookmarked it, I'm in LOVE!

Flower Making!

2010-03-10T15:00:00.000-06:00

I've been a flower making fool lately! I'm half way thru my second Wilton course and I'm LOVING it! My friends aren't loving the flower phase, because unfortunately if I'm only making flowers, I'm not making cakes. For some reason they LOVE being the guinnea pigs for my "test kitchen." Haha!

A few pictures of my flowers, and yes, I apologize in advance for the poor quality, it was dark and all I had was my phone for pictures.

I also got to use Royal Icing for the first time to flood an area. I've been dying to learn how to do that because I want to make those SUPER cute sugar cookies that always have super smooth looking icing on the top. It didn't turn out as well as I had imagined (I had a disaster with my piping bag) but after testing it out, I know what I did wrong and I'm prepared for next time. Hallelujah! I think there may be a day of cooking baking in my near future! Here's the bunny I created to put on my class finale cake:

I will be creating lots of goodies this weekend, thanks to my lovely 40% off coupon for all Wilton products. I can't wait!

Word to your Mother...

2010-03-08T10:41:00.000-06:00

Another CRAZY weekend! We were in Kansas City, MO for a cheer competition. Coach Amber is hilarious and this weekend, she didn't disappoint. While trying to keep our kids entertained (they had quite a while before it was their turn to compete) she taught them "word to your mother" (see above picture) and poker face. LOL! It's one of those things that you MUST see, because it's hilarious to see all of our darling little girls, acting like lunatics.

Poker Face:

But on to the competition:

All of the Pride teams were fantastic! Here are a few pictures, only one (maybe two) more competitions until the season is over and it's time to tryout for next season! I can't believe it's gone by this fast!

My beautiful baby is the one in the middle with her leg up in the air.

I couldn't get any good pictures of Mackenzie, because she's a base. It's harder to get shots of her when she's facing sideways holding another girl up, but I tried my best. She's on the far right in both pictures.

After they performed, they were promised snow cones...NEVER AGAIN. LOL! How on earth we managed to only get red on Maddie's shoes, I will never know. They're currently pretreated. Pray that they turn white after I wash them.

A Giveaway YOU MUST SEE!!!

2010-03-08T08:07:00.000-06:00

One of my absolute FAV blogs is giving away not one, but TWO Kitchenid MIXERS! If you know me, you know how much I need this. Even my husband has decided that my poor little hand mixer isn't cutting it with all of the stuff I've been mixing lately. Don't even get me started on how crappy it does with mixing cookie dough.

If you'd like to help me win one AND WIN ONE FOR YOURSELF, head on over to She's Becoming Doughmesstic and leave a comment letting her know that I sent you to her site. If you're chosen, BOTH OF US GET ONE! How cool is that? Plus, if I'm chosen, I get to pick someone to give the other one to, but I can only choose you if you've commented saying I sent you to her site. So what are you waiting for? GO THERE! It's a win-win, you get a chance to win an awesome prize, AND you get to see one of my favorite blogs. She's hilarious, you'll be hooked. Promise.

Cake Baking & Rock Band

2010-03-01T10:05:00.000-06:00

Cake baking and Rock Band have consumed our house. Maddie and Doug LOVE Rock Band! We didn't have anything planned this weekend (a rare occurrance in our household) and I think 50% of the time they were playing that game. With arms full of groceries, I stood in front of our door knocking, and no one could hear me. Why? Because Doug was singing YMCA, while Maddie played the guitar. It's not pretty, trust me. He's certainly NO musician, and definitely not a singer.

I made three cakes this weekend. I have to master the art of making flowers! Course 2 starts tomorrow night, and if I can't make a rose, how am I supposed to be able to make anything else? After all, practice makes perfect, right? Well I practiced...and practiced...and practiced. The kids were thrilled, every time I messed up, they ate the mistake. Haha!!!

I only took a picture of the first chocolate cake I made, the other one was similar, but without the dots on the sides of the cake. After adding the dots, I decided I didn't like them. LOL! Both my dad and my father-in-law LOVE chocolate cake, so I made one for each of them.

I also made a rainbow cake. In my head, this was BRILLIANT. The execution took a lot more than I thought it would though. I pictured 6 layers, and figured I'd just cut them down to be the appropriate size. The outside would have pretty flowers, and bright colors. Well...I got the layers, but even after cutting them down, it was HUGE! I had to make last minute adjustments to make it fit in my cake carrier. Then, I didn't account for needing 4 batches of icing, so I had to make 3 batches work. I now know what to do differently next time, but all in all, I'm still pretty happy with the results.

Cake Decorating

2010-02-25T08:35:00.001-06:00

I LOVE cake decorating class! Even though, I'm not the best I still love going to it. I feel like the stuff I'm doing now is so much cooler than anything I could have done a month ago. I can't wait to go thru the next 12 weeks and learn even more! I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner!!!

Behold, my latest cake:

Like I said, it's still a work in progress but I'm LOVING the learning process!!! Next Tuesday is the first class in Course 2! I can't wait!!!

Day 2 of the Challenge

2010-02-24T07:25:00.000-06:00

Day 2:

Let today be a day that you are focused on going out of your way to show love and kindness to the people around you. Whether that means sending a card, writing a thoughtful email or note, doing a chore for someone, or spending extra intentional time with a friend, child or family member....Whatever it may be, just find as many ways as you can throughout the day and do them. And do them with a heart full of love.

Day one went well! I only slipped a few times, and quickly corrected myself. I definitely needed to reel in my usage of curse words, and I'm SO glad I have. Let's hope today goes as well as yesterday. I don't think the actual challenge for day two will be difficult. I find myself always trying to be extra kind to people, because it's just the right thing to do. I think my additional take on this one though, will be to try to be more kind to people that I normally avoid because they drive me CRAZY! I don't know how well I'll do at that one.

On a side note:

Last night was the final night of my Wilton Course One class! I'll have pictures to post tomorrow of my final cake, and all in all, I'm pleased with my work. As always, I know there are things that I would do differently next time, but I'm still happy with the results. Stay tuned...you never know, I may be the next ~~Martha Stewart~~ Ace of Cakes!

21 Days to a Better You

2010-02-23T06:06:00.000-06:00

After reading Summer's blog and her quest to find a "better self" in 21 days, I've decided to take the challenge. I have changes to make, and I'm excited to make them!

Here's today's challenge:

Day 1:

Think of something you are willing to give up for 21 days, and commit to it once and for all.

Write it down. Tell someone so they can help to hold you accountable. And remember, it's just for 21 days, you can do anything for 21 days.

What am I giving up? Cussing! I, like Julie over at Brown Eyed Belle, have chosen to give up cussing. I curse more than I care to admit, and the sad part it, I have two children at home who should not EVER have to hear those words come out of my mouth. So today is a new day, for the next 21 days, I won't be saying anything that I wouldn't want my grandma to hear.

Wish me luck!!!

American Girl Store & Super Nationals

2010-02-22T15:38:00.002-06:00

I've been on a mini-blog-hiatus due to craziness in my household. We had a cheer competition in Chicago last weekend and ever since have had a cold/flu virus floating around in our house.

Thank goodness it's over!

Waiting for the bus to pick us up at the hotel.

Chicago was fun though! We got to visit the American Girl store for the first time, and if you haven't been, it's a MUST see for any little girl. My girls were in love, it took everything we had to pull them out of there.

Don't ask me why Maddie has that disgusted look on her face. I think she was just sick of pictures at that point. The extra little girl is my friend's daughter who went with us for the weekend.

As soon as I realized we'd have time to visit the AG store, I planned a lunch at the AG Cafe. The website looked adorable and I couldn't imagine anything cuter than having a lunch with the dolls and kids, and after going, there isn't anything cuter.

The competition at Super Nationals was fierce! The kids did great though, and it definitely helped motivate them to try harder and learn more stunts. They got 3rd place, and although they are used to getting 1st, I don't think it discouraged them. I think it may have been exactly what they needed to help push them to stay focused and try harder. Or at least, that's what Mackenzie told me.

Less than 2 weeks until the next competition, this time in Kansas City. Then, right after Easter, we're heading to Destin, FL! Should be fun!!! It's the kids' first time to the beach! Unless you count the mini-beach at Caribbean Beach resort in Disney World (which I don't). They did look super cute though...

I Won!!!

2010-02-16T09:27:00.000-06:00

Let me tell you just how excited I am to have won an amazing giveaway on sHp's blog Our Three-Ring Circus. It's so awesome! I can't wait to get all of the super amazing goodies!!!

Thanks again sHp! If you haven't had a chance to check out her blog, it's a MUST-see!!!

Oh Cricut, how I love thee!!!

2010-02-11T13:30:00.000-06:00

Say hello to my future favorite gadget! I already have a Cricut for scrapbooking. I love it. I don't use it as often as I should, but when I do, it's a lifesaver. I've used it for class projects, posters for cheerleading, and of course, the reason I bought it, scrapbooking.

Now, I have started learning how to decorate cakes and they invent this! Just let me know where the waiting list is, because I want my name on it!!! I can't wait!!!!

A Work In Progress...

2010-02-10T09:14:00.000-06:00

I'm no Martha, but I'm putting forth my best effort! I feel like I have a pretty good handle on cupcakes. They're easy! You can pick them up, turn them around, anything you need to get exactly the look you're going for. Heck, if you mess up you can even cover them with sprinkles (see the picture...I'm sure you can tell which ones were the throw-backs). What's not to love?

They weren't perfect, but I wasn't feeling the best, and was in a hurry. They were a THANK YOU to my favorite Father-in-law for fixing my car last week. He was happy, and I'm certain ate at least one of them over the weekend.

Being that I'm confident in my cupcake skills, I decided to try my hand at cake making. It doesn't help that Michael's is practically begging you to take the class, by offering them at 50% off. Who could resist? Not me! So I signed up. Last week was the first week. It was lots of "practice makes perfect" and "don't give up." I was sitting there, confidently thinking "I've SO got this." Sunday, I baked my cake. I knew I'd be busy Monday night because of cheer practice and Tuesday night was the class and I didn't want to take any chances. I've never baked a cake before, for all I knew, it wasn't going to rise, or would overrise and turn out terribly. I followed the instructors directions word for word and when I pulled the cake out of the oven, the center was sunken in. I wasn't happy, but I figured, I'll flip it over to ice anyway, so no big deal. No one will ever know. I flipped it and voila, you couldn't even tell!

Monday night, I iced my cake. Who knew that would be so hard? The instructor made it seem like a piece of cake (pun intended LOL)! I had my little turn table, I had my icing at the PERFECT consistency, what was the freaking deal? It didn't want to cooperate, but in the end, I got it to look as good as I thought I could do, and called it a night.

Last night I pulled it out and confidently took it to class with every intention of asking for assistance and advice on how to get it to not only stop sinking in the middle, but also HOW THE HECK DO YOU GET YOUR ICING TO LOOK SO SMOOTH? When I walked in, class had already started! I was EARLY! Apparently most of the class had gotten there 20 minutes early (suck ups) and when I walked in 10 minutes early, you would have thought I was late! What the heck!?!?!?! Regardless, we proceeded thru the lesson, learned how to use our star tips, and write words and then got to decorate our cake. For the last, measly 10 minutes of class. NOT GOOD. I had all of these wonderful ideas in my head, and it definitely didn't end up looking like I wanted.

Behold...the finished product:

It's not the best, but like I said...I'm a work in progress. Stay tuned, I'm hoping to see improvement in a few weeks! Haha!!!

Let It Snow!!!

2010-02-05T17:20:00.000-06:00

It's snowing in southern Illinois, and I'm loving it! It's so beautiful out (no, the picture is not accurate, just something I found online) and I'm hoping we get a few inches. What I could do without, is the ice that is coming along with the snow. It's like a giant slip and slide outside!!!

Let's also add to the fun the fact that earlier this week Maddie had the flu, and now Doug has it! For those who haven't had the luxury of being around my husband when he's sick, let me fill you in. He's a BIG BABY! He called me today to let me know he was sick and wanted to see if I'd come home to take care of him. What are you, 5? It's not like I'm going to hold your hand while your head is hovering over the toilet. Why on earth would I want to be around you? I know it sounds like I'm being insensitive, and that's because I am. When I'm sick, he's not sympathetic...and therefore, he doesn't get sympathy from me. Is that wrong? I'll be making him soup, just like always, and I'll keep the kids away so he can recoup in peace and quiet, but otherwise...what else am I supposed to do? He wanted a hug! He wanted me to tuck him in bed! Good grief!!!

I suppose I should discuss a brighter subject, since I don't want to end my week of blogging on a negative note.

Plans for the weekend! That's a good topic! Tonight is going to be fun, it's just me and Maddie...my little mini-chef. Since my father-in-law worked on my car earlier this week (I needed a new thermostat, or something like that) we're going to make him chocolate cupcakes. He's a lover of all things chocolate, so this will be a perfect THANK YOU for him. Tomorrow is the elementry school's trivia night. I'll be volunteering all night in an effort to raise money for this year's field day (which I'm planning, wish me luck). We need it too! I've got lots of ideas, and they're all expensive! Who knew inflatibles were so expensive? Sunday is SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!!! I'll be baking up a storm and hopefully watching the Saints win!!!

Have a great weekend!!!!!!!!!

So Thankful it's THURSDAY!

2010-02-04T10:29:00.000-06:00

Have I mentioned how happy I am to have the luxury of working 4 days a week? Thursdays are so wonderful. I don't even dread coming in because I know at the end of the day I get to look forward to a 3 day weekend! It's so nice! For those of you that don't have the luxury of working 4, 10 hour days, I'm sorry...

With that being said, I've found a pretty cool blog that I'd like to share! It's called A Reason or A Season. If you haven't already checked it out, make sure you do. The post for today was titled Thankful Thursday, and I thought I'd give my reasons for being thankful (even though I've already mentioned one).

1. Although I've already mentioned it above, I'm thankful for my 10 hour days resulting in a 3 day weekend, every weekend! LOVE THEM!

2. Healthy children. I love them so much, and after reading/hearing stories about sick kids, I am SO thankful that I have two incredibly healthy children.

3. I'm stealing this one from the blog I mentioned, but I'm SO thankful for my DVR. I don't have enough time to watch tv during the week (normally) and my DVR allows me to catch shows that I normally would have to miss.

4. Blogging - I love it! Thanks to Chelle for opening my eyes to the world of blogging.

5. Super awesome blog giveaways! Here are a few, just in case you've missed them.

Half Baked - Flirty Apron Giveaway

Lovey Dovey Giveaway

And last but not least...Another super cool giveaway

Enjoy, and GOOD LUCK!!! I'm really hoping I win one of these!!!

Super Awesome Giveaway!!!

2010-02-02T08:27:00.000-06:00

While reading a super awesome blog I was able to find another super awesome blog! Win-win, if you ask me! Mrs. MFC is giving away some very cute Valentine stuff, so make sure you go check her out!

Thanks Mrs. MFC!!!

What a day!

2010-01-31T20:44:00.000-06:00

Today has definitely been "one of those days." I was super excited to make a chocolate cheesecake for the first time ever. I had everything mixed, put the cheesecake in the oven and checked on it constantly to make sure it didn't look burned, or overdone for well over an hour. The time came to pull it out of the oven and what should happen? My towel dropped, I burned my hand, and dropped the cheesecake in the oven! Grrr...NOT what I was planning.

Poor Dad, he'll have to wait another week before I attempt another cheesecake. Hopefully the chemo side effects don't kick in before then. I really need him to be 100% well when he takes the first bite. LOL!

However, I found this cute quote on a blog recently, that made me smile and think about my poor cheesecake.

I'm constantly telling my girls that it's not the end of the world. They're so overly dramatic!!!! I guess that's what happens when they have a mom that's slightly overdramatic as well.

However, as of tomorrow...no more January! Bring it on February, I'm ready!!!

Weekend Plans?

2010-01-30T10:41:00.000-06:00

My house isn't 100% clean and organized yet, BUT...guess what I'm doing this weekend! I saw this post on the Creative Hostess blog and HAD to immediately start making my shopping list. Just look at these pictures!!!

The blog has the recipes and directions, but how stinking cute are they? I can't wait to try my hand at these adorable treats. I've been wanting to make some cute Valentine treats with the girls, and these look perfect! We'll probably throw some cupcake action into the mix too, just because we LOVE cupcakes in our house. Simple + fun = PERFECT for a lazy weekend.

Dear January, enough already...please be over!

2010-01-28T07:36:00.000-06:00

January is always a hectic month in my house. I'm pretty sure it's a rough month for everyone, being that it's the first month after the holidays. I'm one of the lucky people that takes off work for two weeks at the end of every year to celebrate Christmas and New Years with my family. The problem with taking off two full weeks is that it's incredibly hard to get back into the swing of things in January. Add to that the fact that BOTH of my girls have birthdays in January and I'm one busy mommy. Each of my girls has three seperate parties (one with my family, one with my in-laws, and one with friends), which just seems to add to the ~~chaos~~ fun. Why didn't anyone WARN me about having January babies? I could have planned better! Haha!!!

So here I am, wrapping up my FINAL week in January and I'm ready for it to be over. I'll list my reasons, just in case you wonder why...

1. My dad is starting his chemo treatments today. He only has ONE week of chemo before he starts radiation, so hopefully this last week of January flies by for him.

2. February is quite possibly one of my favorite months. Why, you ask? Because of Valentine's Day!!! My husband isn't a hopeless romantic, or for that matter, romantic at all, but I still love V-Day. I make heart shaped cookies with the girls, search high and low for the PERFECT Valentine gifts for their bags that I give them on V-Day morning, and this year...we're going to Chicago for a cheer competition that weekend! It doesn't get any better than that! Hello American Girl store and deep dish pizza, please meet your biggest fans.

3. I'm ready for my tax refund! W-2's have to be given by the end of of January and I am SOOOO ready for my refund, which will come sometime in February. I'm not sure yet what we're going to do with the money, but I'm sure it will be fun.

4. The weather! I'm a lover of all things winter, until you start talking about ice. I drive 40 miles each way to work every day and I am SO ready to be done with ice on the roads. I'm pretty sure I slid into my parking spot this morning at work. It's THAT icy.

And last, but not least...drum roll please...

5. I'm starting my Wilton cake decorating class on Tuesday! I L-O-V-E to bake and cannot believe I didn't think of this sooner. I start course 1 (of 4) this Tuesday and I can't wait! Each course is four weeks long, which means by the end of May, I will be a cake making maniac! Be excited, be VERY excited.

Okay, I'm done ranting and raving. I can't complain too much, this is my last official work day in January (ahh, the joys of working 4, 10 hour days per week) and I don't have anything planned for this weekend. It sounds like it's going to be a perfect weekend for cleaning my house from top to bottom.

A few pictures from this weekend's birthday celebration and the cheer competition in Peoria:

My Little Monkey, aka Maddie

2010-01-21T14:22:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was my little ~~maniac~~ monkey's birthday. She turned 6! Although I probably sound like a broken record, I will say the same thing about her as I did with Mackenzie. 6, already? She's my baby! She's not allowed to grow up. It helps that she has the bones of a 4 year old (per the endocrinologist at Cardinal Glennon) which makes her smaller than your average 6 year old. But when you talk to her, you know she's definitely not a 4 year old. She's intelligent, sometimes too smart for her own good, in my opinion. She's been through a lot, it hasn't been terrible, but she's had to deal with stuff I never imagined my daughter having to deal with. Before I go into that, let's back up a bit.

Being pregnant with Mackenzie was scary, she was my first daughter, I was young, naive, and didn't know what to expect. Being pregnant with Maddie was exciting! I knew what to expect, I knew what I wanted to do differently (a more girly room, for example) and knew that it wasn't as scary as I thought the first time. So what if they're going to stick a HUGE needle in my back to numb me? It doesn't hurt, no worries! I was older too, which helped. An imature 17 year old handles life a lot different than a slightly mature 20 year old.

Having her was wonderful! Unlike the rush to the OR with Mackenzie, I slowly walked into the hospital the day I was scheduled to have Maddie, suitcase in tow, and a few hours later, I was sitting in my hospital room holding this sweet, innocent, beautiful little child. She was little to begin with, only 6 pounds, 1 ounce. When we left the hospital she only weighed 5 pounds, and was jaundiced. The first week of her life Doug and I took turns sleeping in the recliner holding her while she was wrapped in her billy blanket and glowing like a little ~~alien~~ glow worm.

Fast forward 6 years and she's hilarious! She's still small, which is kind of to be expected considering her mom and dad are both short. She's ~~OCD~~ in love with cheerleading. From the time she gets up in the morning until the time she goes to sleep at night, she is thinking or doing some type of cheerleading move. Our livingroom has turned into her spring floor. She knows exactly how many steps she can take during her running tumbling to keep her from hitting the couch, or tv stand.

Last night we had Maddie's birthday party. We made cupcakes, decorated the table with the paper plates, napkins, etc. that she picked out at the party store, and had our own little family party. Since it was a week night and Mackenzie had cheer practice, we didn't have the extended family party that we normally do, but we'll be making up for it this weekend. Friday night is the family party with Doug's family, Saturday morning is the family party with my family, late on Saturday morning is her party at Dierbergs with her classmates, and then we're heading to Peoria for a cheer competition! This will be their first "away" competition and you can hear the excitement in their voices when they talk about it. What kid doesn't think they're "super cool" when they get to stay in a hotel room? For them it's a mini-vacation! Wish us luck!!!

Some party photos:

And, of course...some close ups of my cupcakes. They aren't perfect, but I'm a work in progress.

Mackenzie's 9th Birthday

2010-01-19T15:32:00.000-06:00

We finally had Mackenzie's long awaited cooking party this weekend. If you have never experienced a class or party at Dierbergs' School of Cooking, it is a must see. The kitchen is amazing! The granite topped bar alone seats 20! There are two sets of double ovens, two dishwashers, two microwaves, two range tops, etc. It's everything I could ever want, wrapped into a perfect little display kitchen. But enough about the kitchen, on to my birthday girl!

Mackenzie's menu consisted of fiesta chicken drumsticks, chopped vegetable salad, brownie mice, puppy chow, and root beer floats. The kids each got to take a turn creating some portion of the meal. They weren't too thrilled with having to touch the "slimy" chicken though.

In the end, they had a blast! They finished cooking, ate their meal and opened presents.

I didn't take as many pictures of the party at our house, but here are a few.

Mackenzie had two of her favorite cheer buddies spend the night on her actual birthday and they helped me make the cupcakes.

Week 3 of the NEW ME!

2010-01-18T20:58:00.001-06:00

I'm wrapping up week three of the new Steph. I haven't really conquered the resolution to scrapbook, or keep from procrastinating, or even eating healthier for that matter but I'm ROCKING at working out! Earlier this week I RAN ON THE TREADMILL! This may not sound like a huge accomplishment, but I'm telling you, this is HUGE for me. I'm not a small girl. I used to be, and on the inside I still am, but the Steph that everyone else sees is overweight. I want the outside to match what I feel like on the inside. Running will help that. I have always been too insecure to try and run on the treadmill because I didn't want anyone to see any parts of my body jiggling. I want to be a runner though. How many times do you see an overweight runner? Not often, if at all. Running is one of those things that I've never been able to do. Even when I was in the best shape of my life, I still couldn't run. Now, before I get carried away, it's not like I ran for 30 minutes. I ran for a few minutes, and then had issues with my pants and had to resume walking. The fact remains however, that I RAN! I didn't even think about the person behind me. It never even occurred to me. I will admit, part of the reason I wasn't thinking of the person behind me was because my pants were headed south and I was trying to keep them pulled up and run at the same time. It doesn't really leave much time to overthink the situation. I have now purchased better pants, and will resume running tomorrow when we hit the gym again. Tonight was elipticals and horrible, horrible torture devices that they call weight machines.

Watch out world, skinny Steph is coming back...one sit up at a time!

New Year...New Resolutions

2010-01-14T07:45:00.000-06:00

I love New Year's resolutions! I love the thought of thinking ahead about all of the things you want to change about your life and actually doing something about it. I have a very hectic life, sometimes too hectic, but having new goals for 2010 is something I was really looking forward to. So here goes...my resolution list!

1. I will start to manage our household's homework better. I am the queen of procrastination and when I have a research paper due, I am constantly waiting until the last minute to write it! The problem is, Mackenzie is following in her mother's footsteps. I will NOT allow her to wait until the last minute to do her projects. After almost a month of notice, we were still up late completing her Young Author's book the night before it was due. I will not let my bad habits pass onto my children.

2. I will discipline less and encourage more. I love my children so much, but sometimes I feel like I don't show it. I feel like I'm constantly telling them all of the things they're doing wrong, and not paying attention to their accomplishments.

3. I will work on my scrapbooks. I keep adding to my scrapbook supply collection, but not one time in 2009 did I sit down to scrapbook! How is that possible? I take a million pictures, and have a million ideas for pages, but I can't seem to find time to sit down and put the pictures on paper. The kids are both in school now, and I don't work on Fridays. I WILL find time to scrapbook in 2010!!!

4. I will do more "family-centered" activities with the kids. Whether it be family game night, cooking together, riding bikes, going to the park, or just watching movies together we WILL do more things as a family in 2010. I'm only going to get one shot at spending as much time with my favorite girls at this age and I'm going to take advantage of every minute with them that I can get. It won't be too long before they're wanting to head off to college and leave me with an empty house.

5. I will lose weight, eat right, and exercise in 2010. Even though I feel like that's quite possibly the lamest resolution ever, I still feel like I need to include it. I'm constantly creating excuses for why I don't have time to exercise or eat right. The kids have practice every night, I have to work late one or two weeks a month, I'm tired, I'm crabby...the list goes on forever. They're excuses and I know it. I will no longer allow myself to wallow in self-pity. The kids are always going to have after-school activities. I have friends that have 4 kids in two activities each that still manage to cook dinner every night. So why can't I? One of my friends has 5 children and a husband that travels for work more than he's home, but she still finds time to run marathons! What's my excuse for not hitting the gym when all I'm doing every night is sitting at the girls' cheerleading practice watching them practice?

I'm sure I could add more, but right now that's all I could think of. I've already started working out, and with the help of my own personal "Biggest Loser trainer" I will get back in shape.

My dear Mackenzie...

2010-01-13T10:35:00.001-06:00

As sparked by my BFF Chelle's post, I feel inclined to write about my amazing, newly 9 year old daughter.

Oh Mackenzie...where has the time gone? The simple fact that you are now 9 years old amazes me. It seems like it was just yesterday (yes, I did say that) that I was rushing into the OR to have you via emergency C-section. You were coming into the world feet first, and have been running around ever since. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about how lucky I am to have you in my life. You're beautiful, inside and out, and even though I'm your mother and obviously biased, I know everyone else thinks so too. I call you my love bug for a reason, you are the most loving person I know.

With that being said...9?!?!?!? Really!?!?!?! Third grade has snuck up on me. I can remember how excited I was for you to start preschool! I was so excited to show everyone just how sweet and intelligent I already knew you were. I cried like a baby on your first day (and coincidentally every first day of school since). It killed me that you ran into the class and never looked back. Not even to give me a hug! You were the cutest kid in the class too (again, not that I'm biased) with your cute little jean skirt and huge book bag. Everyone in the class was supposed to have a little canvas bag to carry. You INSISTED on having a huge pink bookbag because it was SO much cooler than the canvas bag from Walmart. I should have known then that you'd be my little fashionista. It may not be pink bookbags and colored pencils anymore, but you are still a riot when it comes to knowing exactly what you want. I love that you don't hesitate to wear something you saw on tv or in a magazine, even if no one else at school is wearing it, simply because you like it. You're an individual, and I hope you stay that way forever.

You are everything to me, and even though I don't tell you enough...you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love you so much honey and I'm so proud of the beautiful young lady you're turning into. There is no doubt in my mind you can do anything you set your mind to, and I will support you regardless of what you choose to do.

Let's just stay 9 though, okay...I am DEFINITELY not ready for double digits.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-18T15:27:00.004-06:00

As a general rule of thumb, I try not to be too cheesy. The girls will not hesitate to tell me if they think I'm being too sentimental or mushy. Unfortunately, this is one of those times that I will be mushy-gushy. With Thanksgiving approaching, I look at my life and think about the many things that I am thankful for. Out of everything that I am thankful for (family, friends, job, etc) I am most thankful for my adorable, healthy, children.

A family that we are very close to suffered a terrible loss earlier this year. A freak accident took the life of their 7 year old daughter. The accident has definitely given me a new prospective on life. I discipline less, watch my tone, hug and kiss the girls more, and make sure I never leave them without telling them how much I love them. The thought of losing one of my children is too much to bear and I pray every day that I will never have to cope with the type of loss our friends are currently dealing with. A few nights ago, they were on Fox 2 news sharing their story with the world. They have been so strong, but you can still see the grief in their faces as they talk about their adorable daughter that died more than 8 months ago.

The moral of my story...I am thankful. I'm thankful for my children. I love them more than anything and worry about them constantly. They drive me crazy. They make me laugh. They are beautiful inside and out. In my eyes, they are perfection. They are kind, and loving, and caring. They don't see imperfections when they look at me, they love me unconditionally as I do them. I thank God every day for the gift he has given me.

GO PRICELESS!!!

2009-03-24T13:12:00.005-05:00

This weekend was awesome! We had a two day cheerleading competition and two of the three teams competing from our gym won 1st Place! Mackenzie's team name is Priceless and they did a fantastic job. They got 1st Place medals (even though they were the only Level 1 Youth team competing that day) and you would have thought they won the Olympics. I absolutely love seeing the girls out there competing and showing everyone how awesome they are. I couldn't be a prouder parent.

Maddie didn't compete this weekend. A normal five year old would have been dreaded sitting thru hour upon hour of watching other teams compete. Madison is not your typical five year old though. She is obsessed with cheerleading. She sat completely still (with the exception of the times she was cheering the teams on and yelling 'Go Pride') and watched every single team compete. She was perfect the entire time and kept being passed around from coach to coach and cheerleader to cheerleader. It's like she's the Pride mascot. They love stunting her because she's so little and she loves the attention.

March Madness

2009-03-16T07:26:00.005-05:00

The year has just begun and it's already a hectic one! So much has happened, and will happen in 2009, it's sure to be a memorable time for all of us. My sister got engaged (woohoo) and is planning to get married next year, hopefully somewhere sunny and warm, the girls and I like to get our tans. : ) The girls and I are going to be in a wedding this September and couldn't be happier. (Love you Allie!!!) My BFF Chelle is giving birth TODAY!!! I can't wait to see little Conner. If Addy is any indication, he's going to be gorgeous!

This weekend Maddie had her first sleepover! She's had a friend spend the night before, but this was the first time she stayed over at a friend's house. It's hard to believe she's growing up. It was just last week that I had to, gasp, register her for Kindergarten. Just thinking about it makes me tear up, maybe I should schedule the entire first week off of work instead of just the first day?

I was lucky enough to spend part of this past Saturday with my adorable nephew Camden. He gets cuter every time I see him. He's crazy about Maddie, and I have a feeling it's because she's close to his size. LOL!

It seems like Spring has finally arrived so we took the opportunity to spend some time at the park yesterday. Mackenzie has decided to start rocking the side ponytail, wow, doesn't that bring back memories? It was a beautiful day, my goal for this year is to get outside more often with the girls. They love it, and it's very relaxing for me.

Wham Jam!

2009-02-23T07:35:00.002-06:00

This past weekend was the Wham Jam Competition in St. Charles. The girls did really good. It's amazing how far they've both come since they first started cheering last June. I didn't get to stay for the award ceremony (had to rush off to fundraise at the Dome) but Mackenzie's team placed 4th and Maddie got a medal so all in all, not too shabby! I think there are only two or three more competition left, and then after try-outs we'll know if Maddie made the same team Mackenzie is on. Won't that just make my life SO much easier? Keep your fingers crossed!

My Baby is 5!!!

2009-01-20T10:55:00.005-06:00

It doesn't seem possible but Madison turns 5 today. As most know, I'm slightly crazy when it comes to my girls, and today is another hard day for me. I can't believe that she's already that old. She starts Kindergarten in 7 months, and is very, very excited.

We celebrated her birthday with family on Sunday at Gateway Fun Park. Little did we know, we have a Deal or No Deal rockstar on our hands! She won the "million dollars (200 tickets)" three seperate times. I attempted to play, and won a mere 40 tickets. At the end of the party, we pooled the tickets together and she got to spend roughly 1900 tickets. After quite a while trying to figure out what to get, she settled on a few stuffed animals and lots of candy.

She got her DS! Even though she figured out a way to get the information out of her sister, she was very excited to get it. She hasn't put it down since. Luckily, between herself and Mackenzie, they have plenty of games to keep them occupied.

She's growing up fast, but I couldn't be any prouder of her. She's a smart cookie, and doesn't hesitate to put you in your place if need be.

Mackenzie's 8! Can you believe it?

2009-01-13T14:40:00.007-06:00

My baby turned 8 years old last Thursday. It's hard to believe she's gotten so big, so fast! We had a small party for her Thursday night after her drama club performance and then another party Friday night for friends and family.

I made pink cupcakes with pink icing and got to display them on my brand new cupcake stand. They turned out cute, but Maddie told me she'd rather have a cake purchased for her birthday than have me make them. Isn't she sweet? LOL!

Saturday we took Mackenzie, Madison, and two of Mackenzie's friends to get their nails done and out to lunch. Afterwards, everyone spent the night at our house. The girls had fun, and loved being treated like grown-ups at the nail salon.

This weekend is Maddie's birthday party, and I think we're going to the pizza place. It should be fun and I know Maddie's dying to challenge us to DDR.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T07:44:00.008-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas Day with our families this year. The Monday before Christmas we went to my mom's house and made Christmas cookies like we do every year. The cookies were covered with sprinkles and icing, so I'm sure Santa appreciated all of the hard work.

We spent Christmas day with both of our families and the kids opened mountains of gifts. Maddie got her Cupcake Maker and Mackenzie got her Nintendo DS, both of which were at the top of their lists so they were thrilled.

They also got their first American Girl dolls, and have been attached to them ever since.

Thanks for all of the wonderful gifts, we have wonderful families and were grateful for everything this holiday season.

Let's Give this a Shot!

2008-12-19T18:12:00.001-06:00

So I've decided to give the blogging thing a try. The kids are constantly growing and what better way to keep everyone up to date on their achievements than a blog, right?

We just got back from Disney and although we were not wanting to leave, I think we're all glad to be home. We got to see the usual characters, and this time had the joy of seeing the wonderful Christmas decorations.

Right now, we're trying to get ready for Christmas. My Christmas vacation started today, so I'm looking forward to two full weeks with my girls. I'm pretty sure Doug is looking forward to some quality goose hunting in the next two weeks as well.