weekend wrap-up...

See, told you I'd be back soon! :o) So, the rest of the weekend was a mix of hectic and relaxing. Saturday Brianna had a birthday party to go to at Chuck-E-Cheese. She had a great time running around and playing with the kids, going on the rides and playing games. She finally crashed after we got home. After her nap and stuffing ourselves on Thanksgiving left-overs, we put up our Christmas tree, which she really loved, she was actually a pretty big help putting up the ornaments this year. She's very excited to have the tree up and keeps asking when Santa is bringing her baby. (Thanks mom for that :o) I'm not sure which she is more excited about the baby, or Santa coming. Bob got the outside decorations up yesterday afternoon (he is the best!). so I think all of our decorations are up, which is exciting! Today Brianna and I made a paper chain to count down the days until Christmas, she loves doing projects, so it was fun for both of us. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures while we were doing the project, I was enjoying it too much. So, I will leave you with this one picture of her napping after the party. She got those glasses in her goodie bag and now puts them on to "read". What a kid...gotta love her.

Hope everyone had a good weekend and have a great week! I have an ultrasound and doctor's appointment on Tuesday, so I'll try to update after that.

grateful...

So, I guess it has been a little while since I've posted. We're still chugging along. We had a good Thanksgiving. Although it was a tad bittersweet for me, as we were supposed to be in Iowa, but decided to stick close to home in case Baby Carroll decided to make his/her appearance early. But other than a lot of heartburn, insomnia, and being very uncomfortable, things are quite calm on the baby front. Thankfully, Bob's parents came over on Thursday and then again on Friday along with Brian and Mary, so I had some distractions to avoid thinking about not being with my family. It is not like I never see my family, but when for the first 23 years of your life you spend every holiday, special occasion with them, and then for the next 5 develop a system where you get to spend every other holiday with them, and then suddenly everything changes (although the reason for the disruption in the plans is a good one and one we're very excited about), it is hard to readjust. Anyway, I know that we'll be together soon enough, and that the new addition to our family will be a wonderful reason to be together. We have so much to be thankful for this year, we are blessed in so many ways, with the friends that we have, who would do anything for us, for the family who loves us unconditionally, for the beautiful little girl who sometimes, we think, is trying to drive us insane, but also makes us laugh on a daily basis, for this new baby, who I am certain is going to bring just as much joy to our life, and (in my case) for Bob, I couldn't get through the day without him. He keeps me going when I don't think I can, and he supports me and loves me unconditionally, for this I am truly thankful. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and have a blessed holiday season. I can't believe that 2008 is soon wrapping up, when it seems as if it just started. I'll be back soon with more updates of our weekend and a picture (and yes I only have 1).
Lots of love from our family to yours!

34 weeks and all is well...

Yesterday was my 34 week checkup. Things are still looking good nothing exciting or eventful going on. It is strange for me to think that my 34 week checkup with Brianna was my last doctor's appointment. The morning of my 36 week checkup my water broke. So I am actually kind of heading into unchartered territory for me (well almost). I sound silly when I talk about how nervous these last few weeks make me. People look at me like I'm crazy, I have a 3-year-old, how can I not know what to expect? But Brianna's birth wasn't very typical. There was no timing of contractions, no wondering if it is too soon to go to the hospital, I actually don't even know that I had any contractions (not even Braxton Hicks) before they induced labor at the hospital. This whole pregnancy has been a new experience for me, this baby moves all the time, Brianna was fairly inactive during her time inside (she's making up for it now), everything is just so different. Anyway, I'll keep you updated on how things go, but for now...here are my comparative belly shots. The one on the left is 34(ish) weeks with Brianna, and obviously the right is today (picture taken by Brianna). Happy Friday everyone!

more changes...

No, it is not twins! :) Things have been a little bit hectic around here lately, we've been gone the last couple weekends (I know you are all shocked) but now we are home pretty much until the baby comes. I guess that is to say we have no official plans to travel over the next 2 months. The biggest thing going on around here is that I have officially resigned at my current job. My last day will be December 19th, I gave them a couple months notice so as to give them a chance to find my replacement before tax season hit. I know it seems silly in this economy to give up a decent job, but for us right now it was the right decision. I'm looking forward to spending time with the new baby and Brianna. I went back to work when Brianna was 5 weeks old, so I still, 3 years later, feel like I missed out on a lot when she was a baby. In reality, the timing of this baby and the nature of my job, I would basically miss out on the first 4-5 months of this baby's life. My job is pretty consuming (especially during tax season), and there is just no way I can do it. I've been there almost 6 years, so this was a tough decision for me, and I am definitely going to miss a lot of the people I have come to know over the last 6 years, but I'm excited about the new turn life is going to take. I probably will not remain home forever, but for the first few months at least I will be focused on the kids.

I guess that is the biggest change going on with us, but in other good news Brianna is potty trained. She has been for a little while, I just didn't want to jinx us! I'm enjoying not changing diapers (at least for a little bit of time :)

Today was our first Saturday at home in a while and we spent the day going to the library, going to Target, and making cookies and cupcakes. It has been a fun day for the most part (except that a certain 3-year-old hasn't napped at all). But we're enjoying our time together and we're trying to enjoy the last few weeks of us being a family of 3 before our new arrival comes!

I had a doctor's appointment last Thursday and all is well, I go back in 2 weeks, hopefully everything stays on course. I'm getting a bit uncomfortable (I don't remember being this uncomfortable with Brianna) but thankfully we are both healthy and that is all I can ask for.

Hope you all have a great weekend, and I'll hopefully be posting more in the near future.

happy halloween...

From Our Kitchen to Yours,

Have a Happy and Safe Halloween!

Lots of Love!

perfect weekend...

After yesterday's heavy post...I'm going to indulge you all in some gratuitous "cute kid" pictures. We had a great time at the pumpkin farm yesterday, Brianna & Braden went on pony rides, which they both loved, and Jackson was the perfect little man (like always).


Braden and Brianna decorated their pumpkins and worked together on decorating Jackson's.


We did attempt to take pictures of the kids all in their Halloween costumes (I say attempt, because well, we weren't very successful in having 3 smiling kids in a single picture), but I won't be posting them until Halloween, per Bob's instructions. But trust me when I say there are no 3 cuter kids (not that I'm biased). The kids just have so much fun playing together, although our house quite possibly has toys laying on the floor in every single room of the house I wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy Sunday Everyone!

on my mind...

Ever since reading this post last night I've found myself mentally writing a blog post (go on read it, I promise you it is worth your time...I'll wait). Now, when I do that it rarely turns into what I want it to, and it almost never comes out in my writing the way it sounds in my head, but I'm going to take a stab at it anyway, since I've already sort of scratched the surface of this subject with a previous post, I'll just continue on this train of thought.

The one place my experience differs from the woman in the blog post is that growing up I don't ever remember hearing my mom say anything negative about herself. I'm sure she did (she is a woman after all), but it is not something that shaped the way I thought about myself. I never felt anything but unconditional love come from my mom and dad, my whole family in fact. I never felt like thin was beautiful and anything but thin was not. I'm sure that my hatred of the way I looked was a gradual thing, something that started to really affect me on a deep level in high school. Don't get me wrong...I had some great friends in high school, some of whom I'm still grateful to have as friends to this day, but I never really felt like I "fit in" in high school. I wouldn't say I technically had an eating disorder, but I was definitely walking a very fine line of doing some serious damage to my body. I would go for days and have little more than a can of pop and a granola bar each day. I would go to volleyball practice and fight to maintain my balance because (I would imagine) that my blood sugar was just so low. I never felt comfortable in my own skin. When I went to college, I knew not a single soul on that campus, it was so out of my comfort zone, I wasn't sure I'd make it there. But in reality, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I probably felt the most comfortable with myself when I was in college, even though I was the heaviest I had ever been (weird huh?). I think alot of it just had to be because I finally felt I was in a place where I belonged, as hard as it was...I was right where I was supposed to be.

Fast forward a few years, when I truly hit rock bottom and decided I needed to change my life, because I was not happy, and that I was truly the only one who could make me happy. A lot of that came about because of having Brianna. I look at my beautiful daughter, and do not ever want her to think that she is anything less than beautiful, because she is. I adore the fact that she will run around in underwear and dress shoes and "tap" dance in front of the mirror. I love her little belly and her cheeks.

However, I'm fully aware of the fact that when I get dressed in the morning and turn to see how my butt looks in my jeans and how (in my mind) huge I look from the side, that she mimics me. I'm all too aware that her favorite thing to do in the bathroom is step on the scale (probably because she has seen me do it so many times). These things hurt me, I don't want her consumed with her weight or the numbers on the scale, I don't want her to have the distorted self image I have, but I'm unsure how to stop it. I tell her how beautiful she is, both inside and out...but is that enough? I know that until I understand and "fix" my behavior my words will have no meaning to her. It is a constant battle for me, but I know it is something I have to keep battling, so that my daughter doesn't have to.

As I was watching the Biggest Loser the other night, the woman who got voted off said something that really hit home with me. She said something to the effect of "my husband has always told me that I'm beautiful, but now (after losing weight) I finally believe him." That statement is heartbreaking to me. I know it, I feel it...but it doesn't make it any less heartbreaking. How can we become so distorted in our view and thinking that we cannot believe that the person we chose to spend our life with finds us beautiful? And how hurtful must that be to the person that loves us?

I have realistic goals for myself, I know I will never be a size 2, I know that I will never be what anyone considers "skinny" and that is fine by me. I want to be able to play with my children, I want to watch them get married and have children of their own someday...and even more simply I want to look in the mirror and actually see my true reflection, and not the image I have made up in my head, when my husband says "you are beautiful" I want to say "thank you" without my first thought being "yeah right!", and maybe most importantly I want my daughter (well all my children) to know how beautiful she is both inside and out.

So, how do I make this happen? How do I protect my daughter (all my children) from feeling like they are anything less than beautiful? I wish I knew...but you can be sure I'm going to do everything I can (most importantly dealing with my own issues) until I figure it out.

*I know this probably has a ton of errors in it, but I'm posting it before I lose my nerve to post it at all, putting it out there, seems to make it all a little less scary for me and helps me regain some control over something I feel has taken so much control from me (make sense? yeah doesn't to me either...but that is the wonderful workings of my brain!)*

bring on the weekend...

Ahh...how I love Fridays! This week has been completely insane at work, with the personal deadline for those who had extended back in April. I did about 15 tax returns in 2 days (which may not seem like alot, but most of the people that have extended don't have the easiest returns, businesses, rental properties, etc) By Wednesday night I was mentally and physically exhausted. Anyway, enough about work, it is the weekend! Angie, Nick and the boys are on their way here for the weekend and we're heading to the pumpkin farm tomorrow with the kids, with the plan to carve pumpkins tomorrow afternoon. We're all excited to have visitors and hopefully it'll be a fun, relaxing weekend for all!

I'll leave you with Brianna's school picture. My baby is growing up!


Have a great weekend all! I'll hopefully post lots of pictures at the end of the weekend!

the long awaited pictures...

First, here is the belly picture. 27 weeks and counting (yes, my belly has tripled in size since the last picture...or at least it seems like it). (The picture on the left is me 26 weeks pregnant with Brianna for comparison purposes...not the most flattering shirt)



















Next, here are a couple pictures of the kids playing Wii. Cow racing is serious business! I unfortunately didn't capture the funniest thing, after the race is over the "mii" that wins jumps up and down with their arms in the air and the one that loses hangs his/her head and is very sad. Well the kids have perfected these looks (thankfully they are pretty evenly matched so they each get their fair share of happy and sad) Anyway, after they get done being happy or sad, the look at each other and say "I gonna win this time!" too cute....gotta love 'em!

(I tried to post a video of the kids dancing while Nick was playing Guitar Hero, but it wasn't working...I'll try again later)
Happy Friday everyone!

behind...

How is it that at 10:37 am on a Monday morning...I am already behind? We were in Iowa for the weekend visiting my parents (my sister and her family as well). We did pretty much nothing, there were no big plans, no parties to attend and really no where to go. So how the heck is it Monday already? The weekend went really fast and I think I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have because I kept thinking that it is the last time I will be back there until after the baby comes. I realize that is only like 3 months away, but we try really hard to visit my parents at least once a month, and it is something I've come to rely on to re-energize me and to help me escape the stress of day-to-day life. I know they are planning to visit here (hopefully) before the baby comes and after of course...but for some reason it is just not the same. There is something about stepping into that house and seeing my parents, sister, and her family, that makes the weight lift off my shoulders. I normally can relax and have fun and feel genuinely happy for the whole time I am there. This past weekend I had fun and was happy, but as I look back on it, it was clouded by the thought of not being able to do it again for a while. The reality of not being in Iowa for Thanksgiving, and probalby not for New Year's is hitting me. That has always been the hardest part of living here for me, missing those family holidays. It doesn't bother me as much as it used to, because we've developed a system that is working for us, that is not to say I don't miss having Christmas with my parents when it is an "Illinois" Christmas, and vice versa with Bob's parents, but its managable. This year however, with the baby's estimated arrival and the fact that Brianna was born 4 weeks early, I don't want to chance driving to Iowa for Thanksgiving and that throwing me into early labor. So, we have no Iowa holidays this year. I'm bummed, more bummed than I should be I think. We have been wonderfully blessed this year, but it has also been a very stressful year, so I think the holiday thing has just pushed me over the edge. I guess I just have a serious case of the Monday's today.

Anyway, onto other things...I am behind posting my 26 week belly picture, and I have some cute pictures from this weekend of Braden & Brianna playing Wii.

I'm off to shake off this mood, (well probably not...I am at work :)) But I guess I should get some work done, I guess that's what they pay me for. I'll post pictures soon!

Happy Birthday Abbie! I promise you 27 isn't so bad. :)

monday is kicking my butt...

This morning did not start out well at all. We're talking major melt-down, tantrum throwing, screaming, horrible kind of morning. This was the kind of morning that makes me want to break down and cry or run away (I usually choose the former, people sort of frown upon running away from your 3 year old). OK...so I would never really run away, but I've been on edge about alot of things lately, and I guess it just came to a head this morning with the horrible tantrum over nothing. I was mad at myself for losing my patience and yelling, but it is really hard to remain calm when wrestling a 3 year old into clothes when you are already running late. She has been slightly difficult lately, she says she "wants to listen" to us, but then throws a fit when we ask her to do the smallest thing. I'm sure it is just a product of her age and trying to see what she can get away with, but it is getting on my very last nerve. We had a (mostly) great weekend, playing puzzles and building with blocks, watching the rain, so I hate that today started this way. I know what a wonderful, charming, intelligent, kind, silly little girl she can be, that is why I get so frustrated when she acts like a demon child. It is a good thing I have things like this to make me forget about the bad stuff, and only remember that wonderful, charming, intelligent, kind, silly little girl. How can you not fall in love with that face over and over again? Today has been a challenge, but tomorrow will be better.

summer round up...

Well, it has been a little while since I've posted. So here is the short and sweet version of what we've been up to. We headed to the zoo a few weeks ago with some friends from college and their two boys. The boys are about Brianna's age and the kids had a blast together running around and looking at animals. It was pretty hot the day we went...so most of the animals weren't very active, but it was still fun to see them all. It has been a long time since I've been at a zoo, and we've never taken Brianna to one, so it was a fun experience for all of us. Then, Bob had his Club Championship at Crystal Woods on Sunday and Monday (Labor Day). He didn't play as well as he would have liked, and in in the end he ended up in third place. His dad won for the 16th time! Here is a picture of him with all 16 of his trophies.

Brianna and I then made a trip to visit some friends while Bob was having a weekend golf outing with some of his friends in WI. Brianna had a great time playing with Lily and Ella, and I had a wonderful time talking to Holly! Holly took some pictures of Brianna and I together, here is one of my favorites, check the rest of them out at Lily Bella Photography! This weekend has been interesting for us. One, we're actually at home, and two, in the last two days more rain has fallen in the last two days in this area than in Chicagoland history. We've experienced flooding, our street and the streets leading to ours are actually closed, my car has been parked on the closest "non-closed" street since last night. There is no way that Bob would actually make it out of our street in his car...it is ridiculous! Our neighbors were actually paddling boats in the street yesterday. (its not really that deep...people were just trying to "enjoy" the water I guess). Thankfully, no water has come into our house, it has stayed on the street and our lawn.

Brianna had her first playdate today (my baby is growing up!) and had a ton of fun playing with 2 of her friends from school. That pretty much sums up the excitement around here. I'm in the process of uploading pictures for the last few weeks, so check them out when you get a chance. I'll try to post more soon, things have just been crazy with work and us being gone, we've only got a few more things planned before we spend some time at home, waiting for baby to arrive! It is going to be here before we know it, and Brianna for one can't wait! :) Hope you are all well and thanks for checking in on us!

baby update...

As of yesterday I am 22 weeks along. We (and by we I mean I) had my ultrasound today. Everything looks great with the baby, growing exactly as it should. The doctor said if she had 100 babies at this gestational age (their measurements) ours would be right smack dab in the middle, so not too big, not too small, just perfect (growth wise...in attitude...well that remains to be seen). We took Brianna to the ultrasound with us, and she waved at the screen and said "Hi!" to baby. The other day on the way to daycare she stopped what she was doing looked up and said "Mommy, I can't wait until my baby gets here". I'm glad she is excited, hopefully she'll still feel the same way after the baby's arrival. No, we didn't find out the sex of the baby, even the doctor doesn't know because the ultrasound tech took no pictures of the area. Other than that not too much to report, we (the baby and I)are both healthy...so that is all we could really ask for. OK...back to work. Thanks for checking in!

thankful...

I figured after my last couple posts I owed you, my faithful readers, (all 2 of you) a few cute pictures, and an update on my evening. Shortly after I posted my last post, the 3 year old tornado came running through the door shouting "mommy! Mommy!" and wrapped her little arms around me. I know this sounds corny, but I absolutely felt the frustration of my day melt away with that hug and that precious smiling face. I had promised her that she could help me make brownies tonight, so she immediately asked if we could make brownies. I've been on a bit of a baking kick lately (and by baking kick I mean I've made bars/brownies the last 2 nights) which considering I've baked nothing (with the exception of B's birthday cake) in about the last 8 months, is a lot for me. I tend not to bake much when I'm trying hard to watch what I eat, because while my willpower is fairly strong...I am human (and I'm a pretty decent baker/cook), so if homemade stuff is around I tend to eat it. Now, Bob buys cookies when he goes to the grocery store...and those very rarely get touched by me (only if I'm extremely desperate and even then I'll usually not eat anything than eat that stuff...weird I know). But I digress, anyway, last night Brianna helped me make chocolate chip cookie bars and tonight we made caramel brownies. She had a blast helping and it was fun for me too.



Child labor-unwrapping caramels

waiting for the brownies to get done baking....and testing last nights creation.

Over the weekend we headed to the Quad Cities (yes again) to take Brianna to the Minus Six show. By now I'm sure you know that she LOVES Minus Six and was so excited to see them in person. Even though she played shy and wouldn't take a picture with any of the guys, she had a great time dancing (and by dancing, I mean Bob holding her and dancing) and really enjoyed Matt playing the sax by her, even though she buried her head in Bob's shoulder. I had to post this picture of her and Alli, because it is so cute.


Anyway, even though I'm still a tad frustrated (I know...I'm trying to let it go), after reading this I feel extremely blessed and thankful for all that I have in my life. Now if you'll excuse me...I'm going to go cuddle with my hubby and the three year old tornado.

frustrated...

Do you ever have those days where everything you do is just frustrating? I've been having one of those weeks. I'm trying to focus in on the good, fun things that have happened this week, but the frustration just pulls me back in.

The things that are frustrating me are mostly other people's lack of concern of how their actions and words affect others. I would never call myself an optimist...I'm a realist...I try to prepare for the most realistic outcome so I'm not disappointed in whatever the outcome is, and am often pleasantly surprised. (OK, I know most people that know me well would say I'm actually a pessimist). But honestly, I really only prepare for the most realistic outcomes when it comes to myself. I still to this day expect the best for the people around me, I'm the one that says "everything will turn out OK in the end" and I truly believe that. I try always to put others happiness in front of my own, and I believe that 95% of the time I'm very conscious of how my actions and words will affect those around me. So, it honestly to this day surprises me when I run into people that really only think about how things affect themselves.

I have to deal with one of these people every single day, and after all this time, day after day...I expect something different from this person, and day after day, I am disappointed. Everyday when I see this person thinking of only their needs, in this moment, and never seeing the bigger picture, and never seeing how this attitude is poisioning those around him/her, it frustrates, saddens, and most of all hurts me. I don't understand after all this time why this person doesn't see that we're all on the same team, all striving for the same goal, and in the end the actions they are taking are causing everything we've been working so hard for crumble.

So that is me in a nutshell today...frustrated.

I'm off to spend some time with my family and to try to relax and enjoy the evening. Tomorrow is a new day...here is to less frustration.
Oh...ultrasound is tomorrow...I'll post after the fun is over :)

weekend update...

Bob was off for the weekend golfing and having a fantasy football draft with some college buddies, so it was just Miss B and I for the weekend. We actually had a really good time, and I only got frustrated with her a couple times! :) Like I've said before, the girl knows how to push my buttons. We spent some time at the pool, went to the store, watched movies and ate popcorn (her favorite) and fell asleep cuddled up on the couch.
Yesterday, Bob and Nancy took her up to the lake to swim and play in the sand, so I enjoyed some time to myself. I aimlessly wandered around Target only picking up a couple things, one thing for Brianna that I was unsure about (a sleepingbag/backpack thing) but it was on clearance, and it was cute, only to find out after Bob got home he had been thinking about getting her something like that as well. (Yay!) After I got home from Target I did a quick clean of the house (by clean...I mean picked up all the crap laying around) and gave myself a pedicure and took a nap. I was planning on going to get a pedicure, but then I decided I was too cheap, and just did it myself, and painted Brianna's toes after she got home.
We missed Bob a lot over the weekend, but it was nice to get to spend some one-on-one time with Brianna. And while the weekend didn't involve wine for me, it did involve M&M's so it was very much a perfect weekend.

One funny story from the weekend, we're working really hard on potty training, but the girl is stubborn (side note...why is it that every time I have a story about Brianna I feel the immediate urge to call my parents and tell them I'm sorry? Yes, the girl is THAT much like me). Anyway, I was trying to get her to go upstairs to the bathroom, and she just wasn't having any of it. She is a 12 year old trapped in a 3 year old's body...she rolled her eyes at me and sighed in a way that said "but mooooom, it is so far up those 15 stairs to the bathroom!" so I carried her upstairs...she was like a sack of potatoes, complete dead weight. I put her on the potty and she slumped over. I was so irritated, but it was hilarious at the same time. The only time she used any muscles at all was to look up at me and smile. What a girl!

Have a good week all!

the unappealing part...

I started reading Jodie's blog right after Abbie started her blog (do you see how I started reading so many blogs...it started out so innocently). Anyway, I really enjoy Jodie's blog not only because she is an extremely talented photographer and I love looking at her pictures, but because I admire her honesty when it comes to her three adorable children (who are by the way all aged 3 and under) and life in general.
The reason I bring this all up (I swear I have a point) is because about a month ago, Jodie wrote this post challenging her readers to photograph and blog about the unappealing parts of their lives. The dirty dishes, the laundry laying around...you know, generally the stuff you prefer no one knows about or sees. This is part of the honesty that I love about a great deal of the blogging community.
Anyway, long story short...I never thought I would have the courage to post the "unappealing parts" of my life. But tonight, here it is. While this is not dishes in the sink, laundry, etc. This is the part of my life I don't generally want people to see. I mean, they probably see it, but looking at these pictures side by side is quite a different story.
Are you confused yet? See the most unappealing part of my life has also brought me some of my proudest personal moments over the last year and a half. Anyone that knows me in real life is probably aware of this struggle I have with my weight, while I generally don't openly talk about it, it is always there, in the back of my mind...the "ugly" part of my life. Unfortunately, it infiltrates too much of my life. In an effort to regain some control of the ugly...here it is.

The first picture (red dress) was taken in October of 2006. The second, in November of 2007. And finally the third (black dress) was taken in March of 2008. Obviously, since the last picture I became pregnant and am having a difficult time watching the scale move upward. I know it is necessary, and I know I will regain some control of my body after this baby comes, but somedays that doesn't make it any easier.

That is it, that is my unappealing part (the first picture) and my slow progression to make it not the most unappealing part of my life...I'm guessing it is not exactly what Jodie was thinking when she wrote that post, but it is how I applied it to my life and myself. I'm hoping by putting this out there I can let go of some of the control it has over me.

(told you the tone of some of the posts were going to change :)

Here is to a new week...full of possibilities!

i have a secret...

OK, I probably have more than one, but here it is...I'm a blog junkie. I read on average 25 blogs a day (that is probably a low estimate :). Most of those are ones I read on a regular basis (ie. every day) but sometimes my regular blog reading takes me to other blogs, that a lot of times take me to new blogs that may or may not add to my regular blog reading. Anyway, I'm straying away from my point here...the point is, I love reading blogs. I love hearing about other people's experiences with their children and their lives, it makes me feel normal. It somehow validates those days where I'm so frustrated that I want to run away. Of course I never will, but it makes me feel like I have company during those days.

Some days its really hard for me to write here, because I feel like no one wants to read about the tough parts of life, they just come for the cute pictures of Brianna and the funny stories. But to me that gets boring, the interesting stuff is the way we handle the tough days, the frustrations along with the triumphs. It makes me appreciate the good days even more.

So, with that, the tone of some of the posts may change. I will still post cute pictures of Brianna and tell funny stories and update with the general stuff that is going on with us, but I'm also going to be posting some of the frustrations, fears, and other stuff (for lack of a better term) that accompanies our day-to-day life.

I hope you keep reading, I hope you comment, I hope you laugh, I hope that if you're frustrated, afraid, or just plain tired, you'll find some solace in the things I'm going to write.

she's a big girl now...

Part of Brianna's birthday present from us (OK...a big part) was a brand new "big-girl" bed. Her crib converted into a daybed, which is what she has been sleeping in for quite some time, but with the baby coming, we needed to reclaim the crib. Anyway, the plan was for us to put together her bed on Friday when we got back from vacation and surprise her with it when we got home from Jake's party on Saturday.

She loved it! Her face was so adorable when she saw it. She laid in it for a long time just smiling. She was excited to sleep in it last night (thats what we were hoping for, maybe bedtime won't be such a big challenge for a while.) Anyway, we are all very excited about her new bed, now if we could just get this potty thing worked out...life would be fantastic!

OK...I'm off to play legos now...I'm posting pictures from vacation, the party and her new bed as we speak, so be patient. But I'll leave you with a couple from her reaction to her new bed.

party at the lake...

We went to Bob and Nancy's yesterday before the birthday party so Bob could regrip some clubs before his upcoming golf/fantasy football trip (is it really time for that again?). So, that is the first time we had seen Brianna in a week...we were greeted at the door by her smiling face and a chorus of "MOMMY! DADDY!" and tons of hugs and kisses.

Then we headed up to the lake and attended Jake's 6th birthday party. It was a great party, they had tons of games for the kids, waterballoon toss, bozo buckets, a pinata, and even a treasure hunt. Brianna had a fabulous time, even though she was extremely tired. Unfortunately it was pretty windy and cool at the lake so she didn't get to go in the water like she wanted, but she did manage to play in the sand for quite some time. :)

Everyone was pretty tired when we got home, but we did manage to play with almost every new toy she got for her birthday before bedtime.