Birthday Girl!

So, on the 17th I had a doctor appointment and I typed up a post on my phone while I waited about having a rough morning. Sweetie Girl said that I never did anything for her. I was already having a rough morning. As a stay at home mom, I've given up almost everything to raise my children. I spend almost all day everyday taking care of my husband and children. When one of the people you've given your whole life to, says you don't ever do anything for them, it just about breaks your heart.

Anyway, a lot has happened since then. We had Sweetie Girl's birthday party! She decided several months ago she wanted to have a Tea Party birthday. So I set out to plan a cost effective party. I found a china set for $10 at Goodwill, Tea Party hats and other items for the gift bags at Dollar Tree. I used a quilt that we already had for a table cloth. We did sandwiches, fruits and veggie and a few other kid friendly foods. I made the invitations, cake and other decorations. My dad picks out a dress for Sweetie Girl for just about every size she's worn since she was born. My parents live in MI, so they always send a birthday package that she gets to open early. They dress my dad picked out was beautiful! They first thing Sweetie Girl said was that it was perfect for her Tea Party Birthday!

My plan the whole time was to celebrate in our backyard, but with 21 mph winds expected we decided to stay indoors. We had a great time anyway and Sweetie Girl was totally in her element. She is quite the people person and loves when the attention is all on her. She got some great gifts! She got her first big girl bike and LOVES it! She is very much into being a big girl these days!

This past Sunday was her actual birthday! When I woke up, I gave her an additional present. An Origami Owl Living Locket with 4 charms. In February I began selling them and she has been begging for one ever since. Daddy made her pancakes and we headed off to church.

After church Grandma met us at our house and we headed out shopping. G. G. Ellen (Great Grandma) sent some money, so we took her shopping. Let me tell you, this girl knows how to shop! She really wanted some Toms, but my girls feet are too marrow for them. We spent quite a bit of time trying on different sizes to see if we could get the right fit, but no such luck. She was sad, but we weren't finished yet. We headed across the street to Shoe Carnival to look at the Bobs there, but we had the same problem, they were just too wide for her narrow little feet. We found some Roxy slip on shoes that she liked. Surprisingly she wanted silver and they didn't have them in her size. As we were walking out I found some of them on the clearance rack, still no silver, but she decided she liked the pink sparkly ones. They were on clearance, once we got up to the cashier, they were even cheaper! We stopped at Braum's for lunch and ice cream. Then ventured to Target to look at the toys. She picked out at least 10 different things before settling on a Disney Princess cash register. We explained how much money she had and if she had enough money to buy a certain thing and whether she would have to put something back to get a particular item. Overall, I think we spent about 4 hours shopping, but she loved every minute of it!

Overall, I would say, she had a wonderful birthday, that stretched over several days! She got to celebrate with family and friends! Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate Sweetie Girl's 4th birthday! She had a blast!

My 20's

Today is the last day of my 20's. In all honesty, I'm excited to turn 30. I haven't felt any dread about moving into my 30's. My 20's have been full. I wanted to take a minute and share all the wonderful things that have happened in my 20's.

My 20's began in 2003 at the end of my time as an intern at Teen Mania Ministries. Then moving back to Michigan, finding a great church there and getting involved in the the youth and children's ministries. I made some wonderful friends who I miss very much. In 2004, I attended a film school (Compass Arts Academy). In 2005, My sister got married and I moved back to Texas.

My time back in Texas began with moving in with 3 wonderful girls and getting involved with a local church. I made many more wonderful friends. 3 months after moving to Texas I met a guy that I was very attracted to. We remained friends about 6 months and began dating in 2006. We dated for 8 months and he proposed.

In 2007, We got married in Michigan and it was beautiful! We honeymooned near Mackinaw Island and had a wonderful time! Shortly after our wedding we got The Mini Pooch! Eric finished his last year of college, graduated and got a job. Four months later we decided we were ready to have kids. We anticipated it taking much longer to get pregnant, but the next month we found out we were expecting!

It was an exciting time! This was the first grandchild for my parents and they we ecstatic! In December of 2008, we found out we were expecting a little girl! The first granddaughter for Eric's parents. In May 2009, I became a stay at home mom and Sweetie Girl was born. She was tiny, beautiful and changed our life. We spend the next year enjoying our precious daughter!

In June of 2010, We decided to move to Colorado. We absolutely loved it. We had an amazing time, found an amazing church and great friends. Unfortunately Eric was unable to find a steady job and were only there for 1 year. We did find out we were expecting again and that it was a boy before we headed back to Texas in September 2011.

Little Man was born on January 31st! From the start of contractions to his birth was just a short 5.5 hours. The Hubs was in Austin for work and missed the birth by a few hours. My MIL, Sister and friend were all there to help and support me, so I was not alone. My BIL stayed with Elise until my MIL was able to take over. The Hubs drove through the night and stayed at the hospital with us. I have some amazing people in my life!

In May 2012 we purchased our first home and a new family car! In June we got The Big Pooch. In December of 2012 We found out that we were expecting a surprise #3! We waited until the new year to tell anyone. In 2013, Little Man turned 1, we found out we were expecting another boy and we have been trying to agree on a name. Baby Boy is due in August and The Hubs has been given strict instructions not to leave town anywhere close to my due date. The nurses told me I just need to camp out at the hospital when the time comes.

We lost some great people in the last 10 years and we've had some rough times. Overall, it's been great. The best years of my life! I met the most important people in my life. My amazing husband and beautiful children and anticipating the newest member of our growing family.

 Tomorrow, I turn 30 and I'm rather excited! I get to meet my 2nd son, and watch my children grow through the majority of their childhoods. I get to spend my 30's with the love of my life and I can't wait!

Life

Warning! This post is long. I'm vulnerable and honest.

Sometimes life comes at you and it comes at you hard. It's not anyone big thing. It's just a lot of little things that keep piling on top of each other until you feel like any minute it's all going to crumble.

There's a lot going on in my extended family. My Grandma and cousin had surgery last week, they are both doing well. My other Grandma and 2 uncles are in the hospital, all for serious reasons. They're all in Michigan and I'm here in Texas with only my prayers to offer. It's hard to be so far away when your families are dealing with so much.

As a SAHM of 2 with one on the way there is a lack of free time, a lack of sleep, a lack of time with the Hubs, a lack of finances and a lack of time with the Lord. I'll be honest, we weren't planning to have another child so soon and with that comes unexpected bills and unexpected questions that need to be asked. We've had to discuss if our house (that we purchase less than a year ago) is large enough for our family for now. It was never our forever home, but we had planned to be here much longer than this. We will make it work for now. We've had to discuss our family vehicle, (that we purchased less than a year ago) it will fit our whole family and grow well with us, but with the amount of time our kids will be in carseats/boosters, another vehicle could work a lot better. I've never wanted a minivan and have tried to avoid them at all cost. We will make it work for now. Which means we need to purchase 1 or 2 new carseats that will puzzle well with each other. We have enough seats, but we've never had to worry about the width of the seats until now, so the seats that we currently use are very wide and do not puzzle well.

Babymoon and Other Stuff

This weekend was a weekend of firsts for me. First time leaving Little Man over night, first time in 15 months leaving Sweetie Girl over night. First time at a MLB game! First time to eat at the Dairy Palace in Canton, TX. Quite a few firsts as the count down to the end of my 20's is upon me. Less than a week away.

We arrived in Dallas on Saturday afternoon and had lunch at Chipotle. Then headed to REI and The Galleria. WE like to go to stores that aren't where we live. I got a maternity shirt from H&M as well as 2 pair of shorts for Sweetie Girl. Then back to the hotel for a short rest before heading to the Rangers game! A little advice for any pregnant ladies out there, the third level is a LONG walk! If you can afford seats at a lower level, I'd advise you to get them. Take into consideration that we also walked around REI, The Galleria, from the parking lot and then up the ramp to the 3rd level! This preggo mommy was VERY tired by the time we got to our seats.

Did you know there are value concession stands around the stadium? We stumbled across this information while deciding if we wanted to eat before we went or while we were there. Luckily we sat right by one! After a short rest, I was ready to eat. Later I had to have some ice cream as well and got a souvenir helmet for my bowl. It was Little Man's gift, but now realize I should have made The Hubs get some ice cream so we could have another one for Sweetie Girl. Anyway, the game went by fast and we won 5-1! After the games ended we headed back to the hotel and to bed.

I missed my bed. In January we purchased a memory foam bed and after a short adjustment period, very much enjoy our bed! If you are looking for a memory foam bed without paying an arm and a leg, I highly recommend checking out DynastyMattress on Amazon. We had friends recommend this brand to us and decided to check it out. So far we LOVE it. It did take Eric a while to adjust, but now we both sleep so much better than we did before.

Sunday, ate breakfast, showered and headed home. We decided to stop at the Dairy Palace for lunch. They are suppose to have world famous burgers and sweet tea. I liked my food and tea and will most likely go back, but world famous? I think not. I've had better of both at other places. Next time I'll have to check out their ice cream, they have 28 flavors of Blue Bell Ice Cream.

Now we're home and relaxing while the kids nap. A BIG thanks to my In-Laws for watching the kids for us. It was a great trip and a time for The Hubs and I to talk and enjoy each other's company.

We have a busy few months ahead of us. I turn the big 30 on Saturday, Mother's Day is Sunday, Sweetie Girl is having her birthday party and celebrating her 4th birthday! This will be her first big party that includes more than just family and she's so excited. She'd invited every person we know if Daddy would allow it! We had to limit the number of people we could invite, don't want to offend anyone, just can't invite everyone.

I realized the other day, that there are only 8 days in the month of May that isn't either a birthday, holiday or anniversary of someone I know! Apparently May birthdays are very popular. So if you are celebrating your birth, Mom, Anniversary, Memorial Day or other event, have fun and be safe!

I think that's all for now. I'm planning a post dedicated to all the amazing things that have happened in my 20's. So stay tuned for that!

Back to Blogging

I've been needing a release. Life can get pretty stressful as a stay at home mom of 2 and 1 one on the way. I've wanted to get back into blogging several times. I've always tried to update everything I've missed. Then I get overwhelmed and quit. So I decided to just start from where I am now. 

So, Sweetie Girl is almost 4 and she wants to have a tea party for her birthday. We've invited several girls and our family. I was able to get a cheap set of china from Goodwill for the kids to use. I think I may be having just as much fun planning this party as I'm hoping they'll have on the day of the party. I can't believe it's been almost 4 years! She's growing so fast!

Little Man is 15 months old. It seems it was just yesterday he made his unexpected early arrival. Now he's running around, getting into everything. It's amazing how different boys and girls are even at such a young age. 

Now we're expecting baby #3. Our second baby boy is due to arrive mid-August. We're struggling to agree on a name for this little guy. 

Maybe I'll go back and share everything that's gone on in the last 2 years or so.  I've got several posts that I've started but never finished.