"man" sweatshirts

Whenever Addison sees a snowman she just says "man!" So thanks Nana for making these "man" sweatshirts. The girls wore them today. At first Addy was a little scared of her man on her sweatshirt and kept trying to pull it off this morning, but she got used to it.

Presley liked hers lots. Speaking of Pres today marked our 4th day of staying dry ALL DAY! :) That is when she is awake. I'm not talking naps or bedtime yet, but during the day she hasn't had any accidents since Thursday. I've been a little reluctant to write about her progress on her for fear of "jinxing" her. I am fully aware that I'm sure one of these days an accident is bound to happy, but in the mean time we are thrilled. Nothing really has changed on our part. It has mostly been her. She has all the sudden shown lots more interest in it. She has even gone potty while eating out at a couple of different restaurants this past weekend and at church. Yeah! A couple of times she has said she needed to go while we were in the car driving and she has been able to hold it until we got to our destination. I really hope we are on our way to being out of pull-ups for her. We told her if she stayed dry all week we may either take her out to eat here or take her and get her a prize at the store. We let her pick a prize Sunday night for staying dry all weekend and she picked a trunk that had lots of different dress up clothes, shoes, and jewelry. Surprise, surprise. That girl LOVES to dress up and be a princess.

"Snow" Much Fun

Chad took Presley outside to play in the snow for a bit after her nap today. She's been begging for awhile now to go out, but it's just been too cold these last few weeks. Today the sun was out and it was a bit warmer so Chad thought he'd let her try out her new sled. She didn't last long on the sled. She just wanted to play in the snow, didn't care much about getting pulled around. They made a couple of little snow men, made some snow angels, threw some snow balls, slid down the slide and tasted the snow. I stayed in with Addison since she still has a cold. At one point Presley came up to the window and offered some snow to Addison through the sliding glass door and Addison tried to eat it, putting her mouth on the door to try and taste it. :) Addison didn't seem to mind too much staying in as long as she could see them playing. She did however get to "warm up" with them when they came in by trying out some hot chocolate. When Presley came in she was telling me about all they did..."and Daddy made a Daddy snowman and I made a Presley snowman, and and and when we go out again I'm going to make a Mommy snowman and an Addy snowman and a baby snowman." So cute she thought of doing one for the baby too. Here are a few pictures from today.

3rd Class

(jumping on the big trampline)

Presley and Chad went to the third gymnastic class tonight. I once again stayed home with Addison. She's starting to get a cold so we thought it would be best if she could go to bed early. Presley had lots of fun again. The teacher told Chad that she is doing really good. Impressed that it's only her 3rd class, and most of the other kids have done several of these classes. This time they had a parachute type thing where everyone stood in a circle and lifted it up and the teacher would call someones name and they would run to her and then they would run back to their spot. LOVED IT! I was actually kind of surprised to hear she actually did it, but she proved me wrong. :)

Addy and I had a quiet night. Just the two of us. She went to bed early again (around 6:30). I loved this picture because I can remember a similar picture of me around the same age in someone's vest that was too big for me.

Biggest Loser

Chad and I have occasionally watched the TV show The Biggest Loser and have been amazed to say the least. This year our school district has decided to do our own version of The Biggest Loser. The different schools are forming teams and the contest starts tomorrow. The team that loses the highest percentage of weight will split $1,000. Unfortunately the rules don't allow pregnant people to enter so I'm out of it for this year but Chad has signed up with a group of guys from school. The beginning weigh in is tomorrow so Chad has been joking all weekend and these last few days about "beefing up" before the weigh in so he can have a significant weight loss. :) I've warned him several times just because he is doing the contest doesn't mean that I am too, so I'm making it clear to him that I am NOT on any diet and our house will still have my nightly snack (coffee flavor) in the freezer. I have been asked to set up a blog for this contest to keep everyone up to date. So I have to do the work of the contest, but don't get to participate. Chad has high hopes, so I am hoping he can keep up with his goals. Good luck Chad!

new recipe

(not my picture. ;)

I tried a new recipe tonight from my yummy magazine. I was a little worried about tonight's meal because I cooked the meat right after I got home and then stopped and got the girls dinner ready. Then I had to put Addison to bed (before 6:00) because she decided she only was going to take a morning nap this morning for an hour and a half and she was a CRANK tonight. Seriously one of her worst days. I knew she was just tired, so I had to put her down. I'm just hoping it wasn't too early and she will still sleep good tonight. So I didn't get back to working on the meal until after 6:30. So we didn't end up eating until 8 or so, but thankfully it was pretty good. I didn't cut up the garlic into small enough pieces so when you got a bite of garlic it was pretty overwhelming, but besides that, Chad and I both thought it was pretty yummy. This magazine had lots of yummy ideas I'm hoping to try out. I bought ingredients for a couple of different meals for this week. I'll let you know how they turn out. I would also like to try this sometime. Looks wonderful.

Addy on tour...

Cindy mentioned about the new toy. She sent me a link to Addy enjoying the show too. Thanks Cindy. Notice Addison lip-syncing. So funny. She also has some pretty good moves and a nice costume, don't you think?

round two

Thursday night Presley and Chad went to Presley's second gymnastic class. I stayed home with Addison because I just didn't feel like chasing her around like last week. ;) Unfortunately they did new things this week and I missed out on it. They did the balance beam, rings, and bars. Presley loved everything. Chad said she had a smile on her face the entire night (except for the picture of course). Right when they got there Presley went and stood right by her teacher like she had known her forever. She participated in everything this week. Thankfully Bob had his camera there and took a picture for me and a short video. You can tell that this isn't the first time Grace has done this class. She looks like a pro compared to Presley pulling her feet right up to the bar. But I'm sure Presley will be there soon. The important thing is she had a blast. Thanks again for the picture and video Bob. I appreciate it. I'll have to make sure whoever takes her next week takes the camera too.

names

I have a student in my class whose parents are divorced and each parent has a new family with other siblings. The mom had a baby right before school started and named her baby Addison they call her Addy. Then just this past Wednesday the Dad had a baby boy and named him Presley. How's that for a coincidence? One family (kind of) and they have a Presley and an Addison. Of course their Presley is a boy, but still. I thought that was kind of neat. This is also the first other person that I have heard with the name Presley besides I think Cindy Crawford's son.

We have started talking about names for this new one, but haven't come up with any for sure yet. Chad thinks he has the name, but I'm not ready to make it for sure yet. I like it alright, but still am waiting. Actually I am the one who said the name to him first and he said no, and now he wants it and I'm not so sure. We have about 3 we are going between. But like I said before, we are always up for suggestions. Any ideas???

"cool car"

On the way to daycare this morning out of the blue Presley said, "Mama this is a cool car. It's not white." That helps to make it better for me. :) I know she likes the fact that she can climb in (kind of by herself) climb up into her seat and wait to get buckled. She thinks it's cool there is room to walk. I'm adjusting. Monday I almost ran into a friend walking behind the van because I didn't see him there. :) (not really, but I didn't see him until I was going forward again.) It is very nice to just push a button and have the doors open for me. I'm loving that.

It keeps growing and growing and growing...

...and I'm not talking about my stomach (although that is too.) I'm talking about the size of our cars. I started with the first car I bought on my own, a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta. Small, sporty, and fun. From there we went to our 2005 Hyundai Tucson because we couldn't fit Presley's car seat in the Jetta when Chad had his seat all the way back. Still sporty, but a little bigger. We loved the Tuscon but there just wasn't enough room for a 3rd car seat. We always said we would never drive a mini-van, but today that all changed. We got ourselves a van. I'm still not sure how I feel about the whole thing. I feel like it makes me a little older. :) Older than I want to be. But, it was a necessity. Maybe not exactly this month, but come the end of April when we will be putting three kids into a car. We also went used this time around. I've been a little spoiled in that the last 2 cars I've gotten have been brand new. It just didn't make sense this time around, so we went for a used car. We got a 2007 Chrysler Town and Country Touring. It wasn't our first choice in vans or color but it had the options we felt were important to us like dual power sliding doors, a power lift gate and DVD system, decently low miles all while still close to the payment we were used to making on the Tucson (actually within $30). So we brought it home last night. Thanks so much Mom and Dad B. for coming to our house to stay with the girls during their naps and giving them dinner so we could get the paper work signed. We took the girls for a little ride today and Presley really loved it (after she got over the fact that it wasn't white). For some reason she kept saying she wanted a white car. Addison wasn't so sure. I'm not sure why, but she cried about 1/2 the time. Probably just getting used to something new. I know it will be nice for me when I am by myself with the girls and am able to just push a button and have the doors open. Now I just need to get used to the fact that I am getting older and need to sacrifice for my kids. ;)

1 down 1 to go

One season is over for Chad this school year. His boys played in the tournament this morning and lost in their first game. So, they ended up getting 3rd place in the tournament. They ended their season 9 and 4. Not too bad, especially for the B team. They actually played a really good game today and very easily could've won if only they would've played a little more aggressive defense and boxed out to get the rebounds. The final score of today's game was 35 to 32. After the regulation game was over they put 1:00 back on the clock and Chad put in his special needs child (this was the other teams athletic directors idea) and all the kids would pass it to him any time they got it. They gave him wide open lanes to shoot the ball. He tried a couple of times and they kept passing it back to him. Finally he scored, and the whole gym cheered. Even a couple of the other teams players gave him high-fives. Again what a neat opportunity to watch. I told Hilary (who went with me and the girls) that I was close to crying, although I'm sure it was partly due to crazy hormones going on with pregnancy. Just really neat to watch how great everyone is with him.

The girls did really good at the game. At first Addison didn't like it at all. I think the cheering and the loud noises kind of scared her. But she seemed to get used to it. I did have to hold her on my lap the whole game, but that was ok, because then she couldn't run around. Although she did stop and stare at the guy behind us every time he yelled. We got some yummy snacks at half-time, some popcorn and "special M&M's". They sat good for the game, but once we let them run around in the hallways....watch out! :) Thanks Aunt Hildy for going with us and helping us out. I surely couldn't do that without you. Here's Addy chewing on a "special M&M." (and please no comments on my swollen face. nice.) :)

we made it

We made it through Presley's first " 'nastics" class tonight. I wasn't sure how it would go, especially considering she had a major fit when we tried to get ready to go. It's actually been a crazy busy week, crazier than normal. This is the week when Chad actually doubles up his coaching of both girls and boys basketball. He had his first round of the boys tournament on Tuesday and ended up winning that so he has had to continue practicing with them as well as begin try-outs for the girls. So yesterday he worked then had practice with the boys from 3:30 - 5:30 and then with the girls from 5:30 - 7:30. Then he had practice with the boys again this morning from 6:30 - 7:30 and then work. Right after work Chad and I went to look at a van we had seen on the internet. From there we went to grab something to eat and met the girls at Chad's parents. Presley did not want to leave. She wanted to stay and play with Gabi. In fact she had to have a time-out to relax herself she was getting so worked up. We finally got her in the car and on the way to " 'nastics." Chad went in with her while I stayed out in the observation room with Addison. I feel like I had my own gymnastics class trying to keep up with Addison. I actually had the camera, but wasn't even able to get it out of the bag because I was so busy chasing Addy. She was all over the place. In fact I saw a girl that I went to college there and was trying to catch up with her and we had to stop and start over so many times because Addy kept going back and forth between two rooms. There were a few babies in the waiting rooms and she was fascinated with them. One was only 2 weeks old. So tiny. So there was Chad in his shirt and tie, Presley with her two little pigtails and sweats sitting on the floor waving their hands back and forth. At first Presley was her normal shy self, not wanting to do much. Chad was trying to get her involved doing all the silly things, and she wouldn't budge. (Wish I had the camera out for that.) Eventually when they got up and started tumbling around, she loved it. I was very surprised. She was doing somersaults, rolling like a pencil, jumping forwards and backwards on the trampoline, walking on a line, and sliding on the slide. I think it helped that her friend Gracie was there with her. I know it helped Chad with his friend Bob there. ;) She had a big smile on her face with her tongue out the whole time. When she was finished she almost had another fit because now she didn't want to leave. I guess she kept asking Chad while they were in class if she could do it again. The whole way home she kept saying, "Can I do " 'nastics" again in the mornin'?" I think the best part may have actually been the end when her teacher gave her a snowman stamp on each of her hands. So excited about that. So yea, we made it and she's looking forward to her next class. Tomorrow will be another busy one. Actually it won't slow down until at least Saturday after Chad's tournament. Another early practice tomorrow morning for Chad and then a practice after work too, first round of cuts for the girls. This week is showing me what it's like to be a single parent and it makes me SOOO thankful that I am not. It also reminds me of how much of a help Chad is when he is around. We are all looking forward to when he's around a little more.

dilema

Have a snack before bed time and ensure heartburn from eating too close to laying down and possibly be woken up due to the heartburn and then wake up in the morning feeling fine..... or ..... not have a snack at night, sleep ok (except for the bathroom breaks) and then wake up feeling sick and dizzy because there isn't anything in my stomach? That is my question tonight. I'm thinking more towards the snack. It's awful trying to get ready in the morning while you feel sick. Hard to get me ready plus two little ones when I don't feel good. Even if I eat something when I get up, it takes awhile to settle the stomach. Ahhh pregnancy. I think I'm off to find a snack. ;)

update: I ended up eating dinner earlier with the girls (before Chad was home, we usually wait for him to get home from practice so we can eat together as a family) so then I had my snack when he came home from his game and I didn't have any heartburn, slept all night fine and woke up feeling fine this morning. Maybe I need to just eat dinner earlier from now on?

Coupon Queen

At least today I am. I will admit...I'm not a big coupon user at all. I have good intentions. I usually look through the coupons in Sunday's paper, cut/tear them out and keep them in the pantry. Until a few months ago, they just sat there in a pile. Chad finally bought me a coupon organizer because he was tired of them blowing in the breeze every time he opened the pantry door. So, then I had my coupons and an organizer, but that was as far as it went. When I went grocery shopping I usually forgot the organizer at home. So it wasn't much help. I should go back and admit that I actually really dislike grocery shopping. It's one of my least favorite things to do. Luckily I have a husband who doesn't mind it too much and we usually trade off and go back and forth with getting groceries. Anyways, today I decided that I was going to use my coupons. I made my list, looked through the coupons, got the ones I needed, and then looked through the grocery ads in the paper. I circled the items in the ad I thought we needed. I had my game-plan. I went to the store during the girls' naps this afternoon and took my time. I kept my coupons out in front of me along with my list so I could see which kind/how many, etc... of each item I needed to use my coupons. I am happy to say that I saved almost 1/3 of my total bill using my coupons today. :) Yeah! My total was almost $190.00 before my savings and coupons and I saved over $52.00 using coupons and buying the sale items. It sure made my day. It felt good, I must admit. Now, I'm not promising I'm going to do this good every time, but it defiantly made me realize how much I could be saving every time, if I took the time to get the coupons, actually take them to the store, and then buy the right products.

We got lots accomplished today. Chad took down the outside Christmas lights and put them away while I was grocery shopping. He also cleaned out my car. We got the house picked up and dusted. We also got lots of laundry done today. Everyone's sheets and blankets, all of our coats, plus our regular clothes and towels. It was nice to get our coats all done at the same time since we didn't need them outside today. It was so comfy. Really humid and foggy, but temperature wise was nice. After groceries were put away and the girls were up we all went to the store. I had seen some of the Christmas items were 75% off but didn't take time to look at it all, so I wanted to go back and look. Plus, it was a good excuse to get out of the house for a bit. We did find a couple of good buys. We got a snowman and a reindeer for the yard at great prices. I wanted some candles for the front porch, but Chad didn't think we needed them. Came back, played, and had yummy chicken fajitas for dinner. After both girls were down we both got our planbooks out for school and started our lesson plans for the week. Not sure I'm ready to get back to work and waking up early again, but in some strange way I'm looking forward to the routine a bit. Hard to believe our two weeks is over already. We were already looking for our next day off. :) Chad's basketball team starts there tournament this week. Single elimination, so he doesn't know how long that will go. He also starts his girls team this week, so at least for the week he is double duty coaching. Presley starts gymnastics on Thursday. Looking forward to that. So now I'm off to watch a little TV before heading to bed somewhat early. Hope you all have a great week!

Goodbye 2007

Hello 2008.

Need to get back into this blogging things. Been lazy with it. Kids have been keeping me busy all day and then I'm exhausted at night. We had a nice New Years Eve at home. We got invited to some friends house to celebrate but decided it would be easier just to stay home with the girls. Chad's parents and sister's family came over. We had lots of yummy food, a sub plate, chicken nuggets and strips, taco dip, cookies and brownies. The girls had fun playing with Gabi while the rest of us played games. Everyone left early and we were in bed before midnight. Didn't really feel the need to stay up and celebrate especially since we knew the girls wouldn't be sleeping in the next morning. I'm not one for setting resolutions but I have been thinking of a few for this year for our family. This is what I have come up with:

Addison - To stay in and sleep soundly in a big girl bed, transitioning to sharing a room with Presley and adjust well to not being the baby anymore, to keep adding more words to her vocabulary. She is really starting to "talk" all the time now. She has quite a list of words in her vocab already, but looking forward to phrases and sentences.

Presley - To be completely potty trained by the latest April 29th. ;) (I would love to not have to pay for 3 kids in diapers.) To enjoy and learn lots in her gymnastics class and to learn to share a room with Addison.

Chad - To eat healthier, exercise more and lose weight. (Chad gave me his goals.)

Me - To lose 25 or more pounds. (After gaining approximately the same. ;) To have a healthy, happy baby, to spend more one on one time with the girls, go on more dates with my husband (not sure how this will be possible adding another little one but dates can be at home after kids are in bed, I guess.) To do a better job at keeping up with our pictures- printing, scrapbooking, etc... and to eat healthier and to exercise more

Let's see what have we been up to. We didn't end up having a white Christmas, but we sure got a white New Years and then some. It seems to have been snowing pretty much non-stop for the last few days. It's made us a little homebound. We have only left the house a few times. Got the Christmas decorations down and put away. Feels so nice to have the house back in somewhat of an order. Found a spot for all the goodies the girls got at Christmas. Have done some exchanging and post-holiday shopping but still have more to do. Want to get that finished up before we go back to school. Chad and I were able to use a gift card to here that we got from someone at LAST YEARS Christmas while Aunt Hildy watched the girls. The person who bought our crib off Ebay came and picked it up today so we got that out of here. Now we are going to try and sell the mattress and crib bedding. I had dinner tonight with my euchre girl friends. Once a year in December we go out to eat instead of play cards. Tonight we each brought a $10 gift card to exchange. I ended up with movie cards. I can't even remember the last movie we went to see. Hard to believe our break is almost over. 2 more days and then the weekend. It's been great being home with the girls, but I am looking forward to getting back into our routines as crazy as that sounds.