Happy Father's Day!

Lamar is a wonderful father to my girls. When we were in college, Lamar worked at a day care. I remember visiting him one day and walking in to see 10 kids climbing all over him. He was laughing with them and playing along. I knew then he would be a great dad. He loves Landrie and Karsyn like there's no tomorrow! He is their protector and their playmate. They are lucky and blessed to have him as their Daddy! Happy Father's Day Lamar!

Pops and I have so many similar characteristics. He's passed on his love of books, school and music to me. Neither of us are morning people and we tend to procrastinate. He taught all us what a marriage should look like and what a father should be. Pops is also the greatest Pops to my girls too. They love playing with him and teasing on him (as Landrie would say). We LOVE you, Pops!


Grandpa (Lamar's Dad) is missing from my pictures. It seems he never stops long enough to pose for pictures. He has taught Lamar and his other 2 sons to work hard. He is always patient with the girls and loves to spoil them. This past week, he fixed up a swing set and a swimming pool for them. The girls loved it! They love to talk to Grandpa on the phone and to play games with him all the time. Happy Father's Day Grandpa!

Suppernanny to the Rescue! UPDATED BELOW

I haven't posted on this subject in a while - maybe it's denial - but Karsyn's sleeping is still out of control! Shortly after her 2nd Birthday, we moved her into Landrie's room and put her in a twin bed. She gets in and out of bed a minimum of 10 times each night with her falling asleep after 10 each night, but most often after 11 o'clock! That makes for a tired girl and a worn out Mommy and Daddy.

You might suggest that I put her back in the crib, but that's impossible now...we sold it 2 weeks ago! So, we just have to make this work.

Tonight it's Supernanny to the rescue. I'm going to try this technique tonight. I'm praying that this works because I just don't know what else to do.

UPDATE: It's 8:45 and she is asleep! I can't believe it. I didn't even have a chance to try the Supernanny technique. I guess we can pull that out tomorrow if we need it. Landrie's well on her way to sleep as well! A great night indeed!

Happy Birthday Brea!

This time next year, you won't even remember what life was like before baby! He/she will change your life, but it will be for the better! I hope you have an awesome birthday, and remember - You'll be 30 before me! :)

Haircuts

I have been fighting getting Karsyn's haircut for a while now. When she was a baby, we "cut" her hair frequently until she was six months old because it was wild! After 6 months, we didn't cut it anymore except for her bangs. I was so afraid to cut it because of her beautiful curls...until I saw this picture:



Man she looked rough! I schedule her and Landrie an appointment at Sweet & Sassy at the mall yesterday. Karsyn went first and she was so serious!




It turned out adorable, but I couldn't get her to smile for anything! It was like the chair silenced her (which is a RARE event in itself).

Landrie is an old pro at getting haircuts. She just sat still and watched Sleeping Beauty! She was very proud of her new do!

She's just not that into it

Our Potty Training adventure was a short one - just 3 hours! While I was doing the Potty Dance, Karsyn was running away from me laughing. Looks like the joke is on me!

She wants to sit on the potty and wear the panties (or run around n*ked), but she's not willing to do her business on the potty. In fact, she screamed and cried when we'd make her sit there. I even tried to bribe her with fruit snacks. Karsyn's what you would call a strong-willed child.

I'm going to leave our little potty out and hopefully, she'll start to get the hang of it. I'm just not going to push it...yet!

The girls are getting haircuts today, so I'll post some new pictures tonight!

A New Milestone...Hopefully

Exactly 2 months from today, the girls and I along with Pops & Lolly will be on a plane headed to Anaheim, CA. Pops has a conference there and Lolly decided it would be fun to take the girls to Disneyland. Originally, she thought about just taking Landrie because it would definitely be easier that way, but Lolly is the ultimate in being fair, so she decided she would take Karsyn and Mommy too IF and ONLY IF Karsyn was POTTY TRAINED.

So today is the big day! After our microwave repairman left, Karsyn donned her My Little Pony panties and started "training". My plan of attack is to set the timer for 15 minutes and make her sit on the potty when the timer goes off. When it goes off, I run around dancing and yelling "Potty Time, Potty Time"! So far, so good...no accidents and 2 trips to the potty. The trips haven't resulted in anything, but hopefully by the end of the day, we can have some small successess.

I'm sure I'll have plenty to update this week! Especially if Karsyn's PT is anything like Landrie's.

Wish me luck!

Fun Day with Friends

Today we headed to lunch with my maid of honor and her husband. We spent our college years together and still try to keep in touch as often as possible.

Lunch at Logan's was great, but it was even better because of the news she shared---She's joining the MOMMY CLUB! I'm so excited for her!

I know she will be an awesome mom and I can't wait to see what Baby D will look like! I will enjoy passing along what tidbits of wisdom I can and if she has a girl I know where she can find some great clothes and hairbows!

I'll also happily pass down my maternity clothes too because I'm pretty sure this baby machine is closed for good.

Here's to wishing B an easy, healthy preganancy and a beautiful healthy baby! I'll be praying for you and thinking of you!

PS: School's out! Let our summer begin!!!

What's in your car? UPDATED

I'm not sure if I really want to play this game or not. Lolly sent me a link to this "game" and also posted her list. She's admittedly a neat-freak and I didn't quite inherit that gene. I have my moments of being super-organized and neat, but I quickly get overwhelmed and messy again.

All through college and the first 3 years of our marriage, I felt like I lived in my car. I commuted to school in college and once we were married I drove a minimum of 90 miles a day going back and forth to work. Now, I don't drive more than 20 miles on a normal day, but I have 2 little girls with lots of stuff.

BEFORE:


Enough with the excuses though...here's the list:

• 2 carseats
• 1 stroller
• 2-3 (ok, maybe 4) SEVEN pairs of shoes
• several 1 hair bow(s)
• ALL of my scrapbook supplies from my retreat 6 weeks ago (OUCH!)
• my printer
• a nap mat from preschool
• probably 100s of spilled cheerios only 10 cheerios!
• fake geckos (yuck!)
• swim floaties
• beach bag
• 2 diaper bag
• UPDATED: a hammer, my passport, scotch tape, scissors, unmailed Thank Yous from April (oops), cell charger

That's all I can think of right now...I'm sure the list goes on, but truthfully - I'm embarrassed to admit there might be more!

Off to clean out the car!!!!

So - what's in YOUR car? Somebody, anybody worse than me?

AFTER:

Now:

• 2 carseats
• 1 stroller
• 2 diaper bags
• AND that's it!

Much better, don't you think!

Birthday, Farm & Zoo - Oh My!

I didn't realize how long it's been since I've posted (especially with pictures). We've been going and going lately...I have had pictures to post for 3 weeks, so here you go:

Lolly's BIG Birthday Dinner at Maggianno's - YUM!

Landrie & Karsyn at Luke's Petting Zoo Party

I got to take the girls to the FW Zoo for the first time. Lamar and Landrie have been together and the girls went with Gigi & Grandpa and Pops & Lolly, but never with me. I enjoyed it so much! They loved all of the animals--especially the monkeys, jaguars and elephants.

Two Weeks

We officially have 2 weeks of school...or 8 days with kids! I'm so excited to be off for the summer...I know it will fly by, but I'm really looking forward to fun days with the girls and Lamar.

Tomorrow we're headed to the zoo, so I'll have new pictures to share. Karsyn is really getting into animals like Landrie, so it will be really fun to see her reactions. They've been to the zoo with Daddy, Lolly & Pops and Gigi & Grandpa, but I've never been with them. I can't wait!

Happy Birthday Lolly!!

Today is Lolly's 50th Birthday! I'm so blessed to have a mom that I can call my friend. Not only is she one of my closest friends, she is the greatest Lolly to my girls. They love her so much and look forward to spending time with her. We have such a fun, hip Lolly!!

Janelle wrote a great post on why Lolly is the best! Check it out here!

Happy Birthday! We love you!!

Reading

Landrie has expressed a real interest in reading lately, so I bought some flash cards for her. The cards have a picture and the word on one side and just the word on the other. She is doing such a good job of sounding out the words and figuring out most of them.

It's also helped Karsyn a lot too. She looks at the picture side and tells me what it is. Some of her words are hilarious! I can't quite describe how she says "girl". Hopefully I've captured it on the video:

Speeding by...

May is just speeding by. I can't believe I haven't posted lately.

The bedtime war is still a bit of a war, but tonight was the easiest night yet. Landrie crashed first and then Karsyn went down easily after her. It should be the other way around, but it was fun to have Karsyn one-on-one tonight. She usually doesn't get that.

Lamar and I are keeping busy cooking. We've started eating much, much healthier and have cooked nearly every night for the last 2 weeks! It's paying off though - Lamar has lost 13 lbs and I've lost 9! Hopefully we can keep it up!

I keep promising pictures/videos and hopefully my computer will cooperate tonight.

Landrie & Caleb as lady bugs for their Spring Program.

Karsyn taking her turn on the stage after the program was over.

I'll load the videos in a separate post.

Bedtime Fight

The current score is Mommy & Daddy 2, Karsyn 0. Tonight the fight only lasted 45 minutes compared to 1 hour + last night. We're getting better...

All or Nothing

I'm an all or nothing kind of girl...I always seem to make big changes all at once.

When I was engaged to Lamar, we had set a wedding date of June 7, 2002. Plans were coming along nicely--dress picked out, bridesmaids dresses chosen, flowers bought, etc. One day, Lolly and I were having lunch and we discussed moving it up. Lamar and I both had full time jobs and I hated him living 45 minutes away. So, we moved the date up to December 28, 2001. College graduation - December 14, Christmas and then our wedding. We could manage...

Fast foward to Landrie's potty training. We were moving to a new house, having our second baby and working full-time. Why not try to potty train her? Needless to say, it didn't work.

Tonight I figured was as good as any to transition Karsyn to her BIG bed. This is in the midst of cleaning out the garage, cooking dinner and organizing the girls' rooms. If you know Karsyn, you know that we had a fight on our hands. She loved being in the room with Landrie, but she had a case of the sillies. After several spankings and warnings, she finally fell asleep. I went to check on her and this is what I found:

How can you be mad or frustrated after you see this sweet thing! I think she must have crashed in the middle of climbing back into bed. She's a sneaky thing! Hopefully tomorrow will be a little easier.

Spring Cleaning

I always have the best of intentions--for example: hanging fans, fixing furniture, re-doing the girls' rooms, etc. Lolly knows that procrastination is one of my father-given traits (Thanks Pops!), so she called me on it. This time though, she offered to help.

Saturday morning she showed up to my house armed with cleaning supplies (her recommended brands--I do own my own too), baskets and bins for organizing and her two helping hands. We swept and scrubbed and cleaned until our fingers were raw. My house was way dirtier than it appeared. We found all the dust-bunnies in every nook and crannie in my front room, kitchen and living rooms. It is unbelivable the difference.

I hate to admit any of this--I don't want ya'll to think my house was crawling with rodents or roaches or anything. It's not. I just don't have take the time to deep clean.

This afternoon, we tackled the garage. When we moved into our house nearly two years ago, we had lots and lots of boxes. Most of them were storage type things, but Lolly decided it was time to be Nate Berkus. She stood along with me as I went through each box and decided what was keep, Goodwill and throw away. I am proud to say that we took 2 loads to Goodwill, dumped a ton at a local dumpster and only have a few things to deal with here at home.

Funny story - the only thing I "found" was my social security card--kind of important!!

The final task this week is to tame the beast otherwise known as Karsyn & Landrie's rooms. I am converting Karsyn's room into our playroom and moving both girls in together. The transition will definitely be interesting! I'll be sure to take before and after pictures.

Thanks Lolly for all of your help! I appreciate it more than you know!!!

Crazy Day

When we're not dealing with WILD weather, we're dealing with other crazy things! Today our school was put on lockdown for close to 2 hours. When our principal came on the speaker and said "we're on lockdown" we knew it was for real. We quickly ushered students from out of the halls and away from the classroom doors. I had to go outside and lock our door and then went inside my classroom with another teacher and about 15 kids.

We were nervous for a while, but thankfully our local newspaper updated their website and we found out that there was a bank robber loose close to our campus. Once we knew that it wasn't a crazed student, we all felt relieved.

Things were a little tense today. You never know how you'll react in a situation like that and God definitely gave me a peace.

Thank you, Lord, for your protection over my school, my students and me. Amen!

PS: Landrie's Spring Program was tonight. I'll post video/pictures this weekend. Just a sneak preview though--she didn't have her finger in her nose!

Dump

I just dumped my camera and have a few random pictures to share:

Last week we had a crazy storm that caused a lot of damage in our area. We heard the sirens go off, so we woke the girls up at 3:30 and took them to their bathroom. Those sweet things snuggled up on Landrie's pillow and just layed there until the storm passed. It was too cute not to take a picture.

Miss Karsyn pulled out her Snow White dress up set this week and begged me to "open it Mommy." She loved it! She can put the shoes and skirt on by herself so that makes it great for me. She has pranced around in that outfit like crazy! I had to fight her to take it off for her check-up yesterday.

Speaking of check-up: Karsyn was 35 1/2 inches tall (90%) and 27.8 lbs (60%). She's a big girl! I was excited to see she was over 35 inches...that means she can ride most of the rides at Disneyland! She's my little daredevil so I'm sure she'll love them all.

Summer-itis

As a teacher of seniors, we always talk about the infamous "Senioritis". By Spring Break, my kids are on the countdown for all of the end of the year excitement - prom, graduation, etc. Their desire for summer is infectious--I have a touch of summer-itis myself. We have 7 more Monday's at school!

I'm excited about our summer. We have a few things planned - another trip to Conroe with church friends, a 30th Birthday Celebration for Lamar, a trip to Disneyland and lots of fun and relaxation.

I pray that I can stay focused and finish strong!

Softball

It seems like we're always in some season or another. Softball season ended Monday night and Spring Football begins on the 16th. We went to our first game Monday. Landrie has gone to a few games with Daddy, but this was the first one for Karsyn and I. The weather was nice and the game was close by, so I picked up Sonic and headed to the field.

After the first game, the girls visited Daddy in the dugout. The team was really sweet and sang Happy Birthday to Karsyn. She loved it! We stayed in there as the second game started, but the girls were a little unruly. Karsyn wanted to go on the field, so we headed home. At least I got a few cute pics out of it.