10 years.....

April 4th was OGG's TENTH birthday ya'll.

 

TEN.

 

Can you belive the First Born is already a whole decade old?  Me either.  I know people say that times flies, but you don't really understand that statement until you have kids.  Then it's like - BAM!  Your kid is 10 years old and only 3 inches shorter than you.  (True story)

 

Al and I can't imagine life with Olivia.  She is our strong willed, independant, BOSSY, little girl.  In other words, she's perfect.  :) 

 

At age 10, Olivia likes:

 

Monster High

LPS

Taylor Swift

Kesha (I know, I know)

FaceTime

Ghost Adventures (thanks to me)

 

Her Dislikes:

 

Cooper (poor little brother)

getting up early

tennis shoes

being called O-livia, even though that's HER name! She thinks it's Alivia....silly

 

Happy birthday Boo! 

 



Biker Chick

Who would have thought I'd be a biker chick?

Certainly NOT me a year ago. I l-o-v-e it ya'll.

And then it was March

I guess I'm a big ole LIAR.  Remember I said I was going to blog more often?  I haven't blogged in a month and a half.  In Blog Land, that might as well be years ya'll.

 

I won't say I'm sorry.  I'm not.  Instead of making sure I blog periodically, I've been enjoying my babies.  Taking trips.  Countless pictures.  Kissing on my husband.  Making memories ya'll. 

 

I do need to share those memories with this blog - I keep this up mainly as a scrapbook type thing for the kids to look back on in a few years and think "My mom is cool as shit ya'll."  (That's all I'm aiming for, really.)

 

Then my brother had to go all "I'm starting my own blog" and I was like "Oh hell no!  I am the blogger of this family" and well - I'm back!  :) 

 

Not much of interest has happened since January.  We took a weekend trip to the beach and stayed at a hotel with an indoor water park.  First time EVER.  It was FUN.  Especially since the kids are old enough that I don't have to stay right up on them in fear they might drown.  I think we'll make this an annual trip from here on out.  I never knew the place existed until a few weeks ago.  You learn something new all the time ya'll.  Never stop learning! 

 

Basketball is OVER.  Thank you sweet baby Jesus!  I "accidentally" forgot to sign the kids up for soccer.  I am sports out.  I am tired of them.  The kids are tired of them.  So, we're taking a break.  It could be a break up, but I won't say that just yet. 

 

Al and I rode the motorcycles on Saturday.  I was a little nervous since I haven't been on the Shadow in about a month, but it was nothing.  Felt like I rode all the time.  I feel more confident on the bike every time we ride.  I hope/plan to be able to ride myself to work on it during the summer.  No pressure though. 

 

WW is going well.  I lose a few pounds one week, I gain a pound back the following week.  It's like this all the time.  Vicious, vicious, cycle that drives me nuts.  I am hoping to get over this "hump" soon or I may lose my shit.  For reals.  I need encouragement like crazy ya'll.  I want to give up about 10 times a day. NO lie. 

 

That's what's been going on ya'll.  I won't promise to do better, cause we all know how that may work out.  I will make an effect to post a little more. It's been a while since the cutest kids ever were posted on here right? 

 

 



Winter Formal

Olivia had her first school dance at her new school on Friday. I was always super excited about school dances, but not my daughter.

She refused to wear a dress. (I think she did this out of spite since I told her my prom dress was too big for her.)

She refused to let me do something cute with her hair.

She refused to smile. I mean really! (See photo)

I swear this girl is going to be the death of me.

Olivia the Diva

O: Mommy, when I grow up I want to be a WWE Diva!

Me: Really?

O: I don't want to get married or have a boyfriend.

Me: You can still have a husband and be a Diva.

O: No, they make you pretend to like and go out with other wrestlers.

Me: But it's fake.

O: Well, it looks real.

Randomness

Just some random pictures that show what we've been up to lately.

Down baby!

I am down 2.2 lbs since last week.  Woot!!! 

 

I am so happy I could have ate a candy bar.  BUT I didn't because that would have been totally stupid right? 

 

Keep the motivation coming!  

Kid Funnies

Me:  I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting tonight.  It was pretty fun, I even knew a few people there.

 

O:  Hey - was Jessica Simpson there?

 

Me:  Hmmm.  No.

 

O:  That sucks.  I bet she goes to a better meeting.

 

 

 

 

Cooper got a "Do it Yourself Diary of a Wimpy Kid" book from Nana and Poppy for Christmas.  One of the pages asks what video games you would take with you if you were stranded on a deserted island.  His response?  WWE 12, WWE 13, and Raw vs Smackdown.  No, he's not obsessed AT ALL ya'll.

 

 

 

 

 

O:  I'm going to be 10 my birthday.

 

Me:  Yes, I know.

 

O:  You know what that makes me right?

 

Me:  A bigger pain in the butt?  Burn!!!

 

O:  *eye roll*  No.  A Tween.

 

Me:  What?  Are you sure?  I thought you had to be like 13 to be a tween.

 

O:  No, it says online Tweens start at age 10.  So, I'm going to be a tween!

 

Me:  Great, you've got Drama Queen mastered already.  *smile* 

 

Cooper:  *walking up*  Olivia, you're going to be a tween????

 

Me:  *sigh* 

New Year, New Me!

You know those resolutions I blogged about before the New Year? 

 

Well, so far, (and I realize it's only the second week of January), I'm sticking to them!  Except for the juicing part - I've decided juicing just is not for me.  AT ALL.  I give kudos to those of you who can do it.  Al's giving it his best shot and I'm very proud of him.  It made me feel very yucky and sick.  I just can't do anything that makes me sick.  Sorry, I'm out!  Ha ha! 

 

I go to my first (ACK!) Weight Watchers meeting tonight.  I've been following the Points Plus program online and on my iPhone app, but it'll be good to actually go to the meeting and talk to other people who struggle.  I'm excited.  I'm nervous.  I'm scared I'll make an ass of myself.  But I'm tired of the weight I've put on over the years and I want to get it off.  Accountability is the *only* thing that will work for me I believe.  Wish me luck.

 

Remember when I use to run a little?  Well, I plan on getting back into that too.  I felt great when I ran - even if I did have to take walk breaks.  So, starting this week, I'm getting back on track with that too.  Slow and steady folks - I don't want an overnight fix. 

 

How are your resolutions going so far?



Coming to an end

2012 is almost over.

Christmas was wonderful. I am so blessed to have my little family. The kids got way too much but loved it all. I would say they are spoiled but I know I've contributed to that. Haha.

New Years is a few days away and I've already made my resolutions. 1. Start running again. 2. Lose weight and eat less JUNK. 3. Juicing??? 4. Have fun with my babies. I don't usually do these because I never stick to them but I'm determined this time. Wish me luck!!!

What are your resolutions??

Santa's Lap

All the cousins were together last Friday and had an opportunity to sit on Santa's lap. Of course, Santa ended up being a girl - which did NOT fool all the kids.

I'm talking about Olivia of course.

We did get a cute picture of Joyce and Alton with all the present grand kids. There's one more coming in May!

Newtown

Friday was one of the worst days in America.

 

It was one of the worst days for me.

 

Evil is in this world folks - and the more we try to take God out of it, the more Evil will prevail.  I don't know what the answer is to what happened on Friday at that school.  Tougher gun laws?  Maybe.  But I think it goes deeper than that. 

 

Our country needs to address mental illness.  And the lack of help or treatment many people with mental illness face.  That, in my opinion, is the true issue here.  That young man had made his mind up on what he was going to do.  Whether it be with guns, knives, or a bomb - he was going out in a big way.  Our society has to do something. 

 

I got home Friday and I hugged and kissed my babies.  Cooper let me as usual - O was hesitant but I think she saw the tears in my eyes and knew it was important.  They don't know much about what happened and I plan on keeping it that way. 

 

I cried.  Alone, in the shower, away from the kids and Al, I cried.  No, I take that back.  I weeped.  Weeped for the mothers and fathers who have lost their whole world.  Weeped because I know it could be my town.  I'm thankful it wasn't and I pray a school shooting is something I never face.  As a parent, you want to think school is the safest place other than home you can send your kids.  Now we know that's not the case.

 

Pray for the families and community of Newtown, CT.  Pray for the family of the shooter.  Pray that there won't be a copy cat.  Pray that if your child/children go to school, they stay safe.  Pray for the teachers that protect our kids. Pray for the little ones that don't understand their friend is gone.   Pray for the parents that found today to be the most difficult day to drop their kids off at school.  I know it was hard for me.  Just Pray.  

They are my nightmare!

Snowflake and Sneeky.

 

The two elves in our house.  One belongs to Olivia and one belongs to Cooper. 

 

 I hate them.

 

I'm lazy people.  I'll be honest about that.  I'm not fond of the elf on the shelf because I have to come up with some clever scenario every night.  EVERY night.  For TWO kids. 

 

Have I mentioned I hate them?  O looks on YouTube and shows me all the cool things other people are doing with them.  I think she's trying to drop me hints.  I give her an A for effort but she'll learn that Mommy is just too lazy for Snowflake to do really cool stuff. 

 

I'm not heartless though folks.  Their damn little elves are moving each night.  I'm being as creative as I can with the least amount of effort.  So far it's a win for me.  Of course, I have 14 more nights of this.  That makes me want to cry.  

Memories

One of my fondest memories about my grandparents is their ceramic Christmas tree.  It probably sat about 12 inches tall and plugged into the wall.  They never put up a fake or real tree, they simply put the ceramic tree on one of their tables and stuck it in front of the living room window.

 

I thought they were the coolest.  I'm not sure why I thought that tree was so neat, but I did.  After my grandparents passed away, the tree disappeared.  There's no telling what happened to that tree - I hope someone got it at the yard sale my aunt had and taken wonderful care of it.

 

So, I stumbled across some on eBay one day and knew I had to have one.  You wouldn't believe how much these things are going for on eBay!  It's unreal!  I looked for a good week, always getting outbid on one.  I finally WON a 19 inch vintage ceramic Christmas tree a few weeks ago.  That eBay notification was probably the best one I've ever received. 

 

I've put the tree together and displayed out in the living room.  It immediately brought back all those wonderful memories of my Granny and PawPaw Hill.  I love it.  The kids love it.  They are happy I found one too.  It looks old timey.  I can't wait to make memories with it with the kids and future grand kids. 

 

 

It's the best Christmas gift I could have ever given myself.  :)  

It's December.....

And the kittens are at home under the tree. Where will the presents go?

Disney!

We went to Disney this past week and had a blast. Even with 12 hour park days, walking until our feet lost all feeling, both kids FIGHTING constantly, and telling off random people from all over the world - we still had a great time.

It was also exhausting. Pure exhausting. I still feel like I'm getting back to normal. But the kids had a blast so it was worth every penny.

And you'll need lots of pennies because there ain't nothing cheap at Disney!

Birthday and motorcycle

It's my birthday! 35 years young and going strong. I've had a wonderful day and we leave for Disney in THREE days.

I do have some changes to my bike thanks to Al. He got me a sissy bar for my birthday and put saddle bags on it for me. He also found me some factory pipes to replace the black ones I had on there. Thanks to YouTube, he was able to make
them louder. Thanks Honey!

Trip

Our trip to Disney is a little over a week away!

 

Yay!!!!

 

Can you tell we are excited??  We're staying on site in the Animal Kingdom - have park hopper passes so we can party like rock stars until Disney closes down!

 

I didn't think it was possible to be this excited about a Disney trip but I am.  It's probably the last time we go back for awhile so I plan on making it extra special for the kiddos.  That means character dinners NIGHTLY.

 

Hells yeah.  Nightly ya'll.  I might regret that by the end of the trip but for now, I'm stoked.  The only sad thing is we'll miss Thanksgiving with our families.  :( 

 

(I'm sure they understand though!)

 

Countdown is on!  

Don't Pull Them!

Cooper:  Mommy, are adult teeth bigger than kid teeth?

 

Me:  Yes Boo - your permanent teeth are bigger than your baby teeth.

 

Cooper:  Oh good.

 

Me:  Why do you ask?  Do you have another loose tooth?

 

Cooper:  Yeap.  It's on the bottom though.  I don't like it when they are on the bottom.

 

Me:  I'm scared to ask why.

 

Cooper:  *giggle*  They're harder to pull out on the bottom.

 

Me:  Cooper!  Don't pull them out!  Let them loosen up and they will fall out.

 

Cooper:  I'd rather just pull them out. 

 

Me:  That's gross.

 

Cooper: You know I'm gross. 

 

 

He's already sporting the biggest hole in his mouth as it because he's lost so many teeth lately.  It's even hard to chew on the right side of his mouth because he's waiting on teeth to come in!  If he loses/pulls teeth at this rate, I may be making all his meals in the blender!  ha ha!  

Tomorrow is Important!

Tomorrow is Election Day!  Go and VOTE!!!!