The English Family

Proud Momma Moment

2012-01-29T22:51:00.000-06:00

So, as many of ya'll know I work, and I work A LOT!!! I take the times that I get to spend with my kids and run with it... I LOVE spending time with them teaching them things, playing with them, etc... Though I don't get to have as much time as I want with them to teach them things, I will take the times I do have with them and go with it. We really try to teach our kids the best manners and things in hopes that they treat others well.

With that said. The other day I got a phone call from the kids school because Amelia was acting super fussy and had a slight fever. I know it probably was from her getting her "eye" teeth in, so no big worry. I was on my way to get the kids from school anyway. I get to the school and I go to the room to get Amelia first this time. As I walk past AJ's room to get to Amelia's room I look in to see what his class was doing. They have those windows where you can see in, but not really out. So I observed for a minute...

They are all in line to "go potty" and get their diapers/pull-ups changed. AJ was in the middle of the line when a little girl was right behind him. One of the little boys is not listening very well and cuts in line... My son does not miss a beat. He goes up to the little boy and tells him he is to get in the back of the line because girls go first. It made me super proud to see that he gets it...

So I proceed to go get Amelia... I go to her room where they were sitting in the seats for afternoons snack. Because she was running a fever they had her a little separated from the others. She sees me and looks up at her teacher who was serving the snacks. I went in to go get her and as we were leaving:

Amelia "cookies peas (please)
Teacher "Okay Amelia here you go."
Amelia "tank you benda (Thank You Brenda)"

As I was leaving the room Amelia's teacher and the director of the school had a great conversation with me. She tells me that we have a couple of the best well-behaved kids out of the whole school that they always say please and thank you. They said that Adam and I do a great job and that even though AJ went through his biting stage she feels like our kids are amazing. She said that Amelia is talking well above her age, etc. They just went on and on about how smart they both are, and it just made me feel like a proud mom.

I always have fears of how well of a job that I am doing or not doing. I am never too sure of how smart my kids are or not are, etc. So though they might have been lying to me a little, or what not, I just feel proud to know that I might be doing something right!!!

Amelia 15 Month Well Check

2012-01-18T00:07:00.001-06:00

Amelia had her 15-month well check today, a whole month late... The appointment went OK... She does NOT like other people much. Everytime the nurse or doctor came in, she would LOSE IT!! Screams and cries and it was unbelievable... I felt so bad for the doctor and nurse, but they were so understanding about it.

The doctor said she is doing VERY WELL for her age. She is ahead of the curve on a lot. He was surprised with the amount of words she knew and how well she spoke. He even called my little girl "VERY POLITE." He gave her something and she said "please" & "thank you."

She is also going to be quite a tall girl, just like her momma and dad... She is measuring at 33 inches and AJ was 34inches at TWO YEARS old!!!!! So she is almost as tall as AJ was when he was two and she is only 16 months. She weighed in at 22.5 pounds...

I can't believe how fast time has gone. We had to get 3 shots today and we are now done with shots until she turns 3. YAY!!! It breaks my heart EVERYTIME that I have to hold any of my cute babies down for shots.

Dallas Children's Aquarium

2012-01-08T21:19:00.000-06:00

So today we did a family trip out. Big Adam and I took BOTH kids to the Dallas Children's Aquarium at Fair Park. It was a good day. We rarely get to go on trips out with all four of us and it was great that we got this chance this time. My work schedule seems to interfere and when we get days off together we usually go to a park, etc... AJ LOVED the SEA life aquarium earlier in the week so this sounded like fun for us... Our son definitely loves the fishes... Here are some pictures of us at the aquarium...

Amelia smiles for the camera... She loved sitting and watching the different fish...

I have a fearless son... He LOVED "petting" the stingrays... He also tried to GRAB them... The Sting rays liked him too.

AJ enjoying the Octopus Exhibit thing... I was trying to explain little facts to him about octopus'...

This CREEPED ME OUT!!!!!!

SEA LIFE

2012-01-05T21:31:00.000-06:00

So, with this new year I decided each week when I have a day off during the middle of the week that I wanted to have a one-on-one day with one of my kiddos. This week was Mommy and AJ's day... We went to SEA life Aquarium in the Grapevine Mills Mall and then over to Lego Land since we already had a yearly pass for Lego Land.

In the middle of our day we went out to lunch together. This was hard, because I have started weight watchers this week. I was glad I was able to find something on the menu that I could enjoy, while he got to enjoy his favorite thing in the entire world: Ketchup and French Fries.

My little man was AMAZING!!! We even did this trip without the stroller today... He listened so good, held my hand, and was so sweet the entire day...

Here are some of my favorite pictures of the day.

(I loved this one where he is up there looking up at the fish and wanting to touch them.)

(sitting like a deer and headlights while I HAD to take a picture)

(an AWFUL picture of me, but I love my little man!!!!!!)

2012 Resolutions

2012-01-02T21:56:00.000-06:00

As Adam and I rang in the new year we have started to talk about different resolutions and goals we have for the new year. Actually, it is more like a bucket list of things we would like to do, see happen, etc for 2012. Here are some of the things we have discussed over the past few weeks. As we do some of these things, I hope to post about them, etc. These are not in any particular order.

* Find a church home. We have lived in Texas for almost 2 years and would love to find a church home. Some of our reservations are because the kids already go to daycare during the week, we don't want to put them in another daycare for 2 hours, etc while we are in the same building. and my work schedule also takes a toll on this.

* Get AJ AND Amelia potty trained. AJ is almost there and well, Amelia is seeing what her brother is trying to accomplish, so why not just get them both done at the same time. This is something we want done a couple months before AJ turns 3.

* Go on a date. For some of you that don't know Adam and I very well, we have a small secret. We have NEVER had a babysitter. My brother watched my kids overnight ONE time in August of this year so we could go to San Antonio for the night. My parents came up this past April for my "twins" wedding and was willing to watch the kids overnight at our house so we could stay at the resort after the wedding to hang out with our friends, but since AJ was born almost 3 years ago, we have never gone out on a date, just the two of us besides these two times. We don't know many people with kids, much less many people who want to drive to plano to babysit for us. So this year my boss got me a gift card to sulivan's steak house and we are going on a date before the end of January.

* Go to Vegas in October for my mother's 50th birthday. I have never been to Vegas and have wanted to go for YEARS!!!! So that is where my mother is going for her 50th birthday and that sounds like fun for us too.

* Go on a family vacation with our friends Ben and Emma that live in Ohio. Somewhere in like the North Carolina/South Carolina area. It would be awesome to get our kids together. Plus I really miss Emma a lot. She is a great woman, and really sweet. I loved living with her after college and I also love that our babies are close in age. She has some of the cutest little boys I know.

* Go to Chicago with our friends for St. Patty's day weekend. I have already requested the weeked off at work and we are going to buy our plane tickets with our tax refund when we get it.

* Buy or rent a house. That means get out of this little apartment. This apartment was supposed to be a temporary thing when we moved to Texas, but after finding out about being pregnant with Amelia when we got here, we kind of just settled until she was born, etc. We are ready to be in a bigger place. We are looking for a 3-4 bedroom...

* Adam get a raise at work so I can be a stay at home momma. That is right. For the past 3 years we have talked about it and as the weeks have progressed this year is looking like the year that he might get a bigger raise/promotion, which means I could possible stay at home with my kiddos. I want to raise them, teach them, and be with them. Also this means that I could be a better momma and wife. I would be able to spend more time with them when I want to. I LOVE working a LOT!!! But it takes a toll on me with being told one thing and then it never happening and so much change is happening that I am not sure where I stand at work anymore. I would LOVE my own store, but at this point in time, it will probably not happen.

* We have talked about having another baby. This won't be until after both kids are potty trained and probably not until the middle/end of the year. So the baby would not be here until AJ turns 4 next April 2013, etc. We have said for a long time that we wanted to wait until AJ was 5 and started kindergarden, to have another baby, but Adam has decided that maybe it would be a good idea to have them before we get any older... (other reasonse are linked to that too) lol... He still wants 4 kids total. So paring that he gets this raise/promotion, and I get to be a stay at home mom, it looks like 2012 might bring more chaos into the mix. AJ is a great big brother and adjusted so well with Amelia. We have not fears of how he would adjust to another baby sometime next year in 2013... Remember it take 9 months to cook a baby so we only won't to start thinking about trying, etc....

So Needless to say, we have quite a lot of plans for the year. We have more than this, but these are some of the crazy and big ones I thought I would share. As the months go on, I hope I get to BLOG about going on a date, to vegas, chicago, vacation with friends, etc. As usual I will always BLOG about the crazy children that I have, but I am excited to see what 2012 has in store for us. We in the English family already feel super blessed and am very thankful for that.

2011 Wrap Up

2012-01-02T21:23:00.000-06:00

Well, I am happy to say that 2011 was a great one. We in the English house feel so incredibly blessed. Lots going on. Here is a little update of things that happened with the kiddos this past year...

Adam Michael

Well, little AJ, is not so little anymore. He is on the verge of turning three and it is crazy to think how fast the time has gone since my little man was a baby. This year was a good year for him. He had his ups and downs, but mostly ups. We had a lot of issues with biting for about 3 months straight... Now we have been in the clear for quite a while. He has reached quite a bit of milestones as well... He can count to 10 in Spanish and count to 20 in English. He knows his ABC's from start to finish. he has great memory with all of his songs that we are teaching him. He knows most of his colors, and at times he knows them in spanish more than he knows them in English... ooopps... He is good with most of his shapes as well... He is learning how to make sentences that are longer than 2-3 words and is very good with his manners. He undersatnds "yes ma'am/sir and no ma'am/sir."

We are working on potty training, doing a better job at brushing his teeth and learning to read. Besides those things AJ is a FANTASTIC big brother. He adores his sister and is very willing to help with her. He protects her and is very sweet with her. While at school he goes to her class at least once a day to check on her. His teachers say that this is his favorite part of the day. He sings to her, teaches her things, and loves on her constantly.

Amelia Raquel

Amelia has had a HUGE year. As I was looking through pictures of the year, it is crazy to think of how fast she is growing up. This past year Amelia turned 1, learned how to crawl and walk all before her first birthday. She is super smart as well. She turned 15 months in December and has a vocabulary twice as big as AJ did at this age. She speaks well, tells you what she wants, and is so super sweet. She has learned her manners pretty well (please, thank you, yes, welcome, etc). Words that we hear her say everyday are: momma, daddy, gigi, papa, aj, jack, puppy, poopy, potty, please, thanks, yes, no, bite, bubbles, sit, shoes, milk, water, cup, sip. I know there are some more, but these are the basics of what we hear a lot of... Amelia is one of the sweetest babies I have ever had contact with. She is very big on her mommy and it makes my heart melt. She is very high matienance at times, and has a slight temper, but usually only happens when she is tired. She loves her daddy a ton and her brother too. She likes to shop, especially at the COACH stores (LONG STORY), and adores her papa and gigi. She will give kisses for days and enjoys being held.

After the middle part of the year we finally got out of the stages when she was sick all the time. That made us feel super excited. This next year we are going to focus on potty training as well for her, and hoping to maintain her health. We are also going to move her out of the crib and into a big girl bed someitme in February or March.

Well, that is the recap of the kids. It is amazing to think that these kids have grown up so much. I am sure there is more to tell you about them. If I had hours to brag I would. These babies have made me super happy and I am loving it!!!

Christmas Bells Are Ringing

2011-10-31T23:49:00.001-05:00

Okay, So I don't know if it is the grown up in me or the child in me that has gotten me all excited about Christmas this year? Normally I am not a HUGE fan of the holiday season because work just stresses me out to the M-A-X!!!! I just can't believe how much I have to work and so by the second week in November I am so frustrated and want the holidays to BE OVER!!!

This year I have been blessed with such a great attitude early on. I am so excited for the holidays this year. The cooler weather, BUT not crazy amounts of snow, the yummy foods, the beautiful decorations and every bit of the holidays are really making me EXCITED!!!! This year I am going to start my holiday shopping THIS WEEK!!! The one person I am having the hardest time deciding what to get is my hubby... Does anyone have any cute ideas? We are trying to be budget conscious so that way we can spend more money on the kids and get them more fun things. So any ideas are more than welcome.

I have started to make my lists for all of my friends, family and kiddos... This will be AJ's THIRD Christmas and Amelia's SECOND! Holy cow where have these past years gone? I am hoping this year AJ will actually "like" Santa Clause and won't throw a huge fit on me this year when we go visit him. For the kids presents this year I am thinking that we are going to start cleaning out and giving away/throwing away a bunch of toys so we can make room. I am thinking about for AJ getting him an art easle to use (with adult supervision of course) and see if there are any Barney Appearances for him to go to. For Amelia I am thinking about starting a "dress up" chest for her. I know she is still pretty young, but hopefully by this time next year we will have a house and a place that she and her brother can really play with these great gifts. Are these good ideas for gifts for the kids??

So is it too early to start putting Christmas up in my apartment say, like, tomorrow?? I am off of work and have a doctor's appointment and then nothing else planned for the day. So would it be okay to go ahead and start to decorate?

No More Gall Bladder

2011-10-19T21:05:00.000-05:00

So I went to the doctor last week to set a date to get my gall bladder taken out. We were aiming for someone at the begining of next year. I felt like there would be no rush and I have been living in pain for years, so why not wait til the holidays are over. Well, my doctor wanted to have an ultra sound done to see where we stood and then after that he decided it needed to be done SOON!... He wanted to do it the next day, but that just was not possible for me. See, after thinking I only had one stone in my gall bladder, I actually had THREE stones... Ooops... So that is why I have been so yucky lately. So we set the date for Monday the 17th...

Adam and I show up to the surgery center at 7:30 and we start the process... Of course the doctor was running an hour late and they had a surgery run longer than expected, bla bla bla....

All I remember is the Anesthesiologist saying he was my bartender for the morning and we are now going on a ride. Then I wake up with them taking the remainder of the tubes and things off/out of me. I fell back asleep for what Adam says was only 5-10 minutes, wake up and he is there giving me ginger ale and crackers.... About 30 minutes later I was getting dressed and we are in the car to go home...

All in all the surgery was not too bad. Yesterday was probably my worst day so far. My tummy feels better when I eat, which is amazing, but I am having a hard time breathing. My throat and chest are still kind of sore from the breathing tubes and so that is frustrating. I am super tired though this week, but I still have been trying to be productive. I did 9 loads of laundry this week, scrubbed the kitchen, and was able to do the floors today too...

Tomorrow I am taking a train to my parents so that on Friday my mom and I can go to the spa... We are going to get facials and massages... WooHooo... Does that not sound like fun... Since I am still on pain meds and stuff, I did not want to drive so the train does the trick. Adam and the kids will then drive down Friday night after work and spend the rest of the weekend with me at my parents...

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

2011-10-04T22:21:00.000-05:00

The Good: Amelia is officially spending most of her mobility time WALKING!!! She started walking before her first birthday which is faster than AJ did.
The Bad: Because she is so mobile and her brother LOVES to play with her, everytime I put the gate up he knows how to move the gate to let her out. So while I clean and put the gate up, I turn around and ooops she is right there....
The Ugly: She also is very "flexible"... She can climb underneath chairs, through stools, and sometimes she gets stuck... It is sometimes quite funny, but I feel bad when she gets stuck and I can't get there fast enough...

The Good: AJ's words have expanded quite a bit. He has even gotten some spanish words down (Numbers 1-10, boy, girl, dog). He also has gotten back to using some of his sign language that I taught him when he was a baby, and that I am teaching Amelia too.
The Bad: He also picks up on words that we say throughout the day too... Which a couple of those words include Crap, Suck, Boo Hiss....
The Ugly:

The Good: The Weather is finally Changing... I am so excited and LOVE IT!!!!!
The Bad: I have not had time to pull out the kids and my fall/winter clothes...

The Good: Adam and I have been trying very hard to eat healthier, not eat out for lunch everyday, and just stick to our grocery lists, and menus... I have lost 8 pounds and Adam has lost 15.
The Bad: It is fall and I love BAKING during this time of year and so I have been baking, but have been trying to put it off until I hit the 25 pound mark. I really want to lose 30 pounds by January... It is tough with my job and it being that time of the year...
The Ugly: I am concerned that I will plataeu and give up and go back.

The Good: I am reading a book called Redeeming Love. OMG!!! This book has been amazing and I love it so far. Once I finish the book I will do a small "book report" on my BLOG...
The Bad: I never get to sit for more than about 15 Minutes to read and so it is taking me a LOOONG time to read it....
The Ugly: I have four or five other books that are piling up for me to read and I am not sure if I am going to get to them anytime soon..

The Good: I finish AJ"s first year book a few months ago. It is super cute. I would LOVE to be a professional scrap book maker. It is amazing!!! I feel so creative and love making things that special, that hopefully one day my kids will enjoy and see how much of a blessing they are in our lives...
The Bad: I am only on page 3 of Amelia's first year book, oh and she is one already!!! HA HA!!...
The Ugly: I wanted to make a scrapbook for my parents of all of their grandchildren for Christmas and I am not sure when i am going to get the time to sit and do it...

Well, I have a TON more to chat about, but this is just edition 1 of october... I am going to try and get back to BLOGGING again!!!

English Family Update....

2011-09-11T21:04:00.000-05:00

We had a crazy amount of ups and downs in the past couple weeks in the English home. So here we go!!!! In bullet points of course...

* Adam had was in and out of the hospital this week. Had a minor surgical procedure done for kidney stones and it has been a tough week. Between working full-time, because practically a single mom, and trying to get him to be healthy, it was a tough week. I always laugh at how much men seem to not be able to handle pain and being sick as well as women...
* AJ has been bite free at school for over two months now... Seems like just yesterday I was at my wits ends worrying if he was going to bite everyday...
* Amelia is WALKING!!! All before turning 1... I am so excited for her. It is amazing that we have almost made with through her first year. She has definitely put us through a workout this year. Here is to a second year and praying she makes things a little bit easier for us.
* I am reading a new book that a friend of mine suggested. It is called "Redeeming Love." So far it is amazing. I have been on a book kick lately and I am loving it.
* We made it entire year without getting pregant... LOL!!! Everyone in my friends and family group have made a point to make fun and jokes and have told us that we need to have another, but we are loving our lives as a family of four at the moment. We will start thinking about more babies in a few years. I honestly think we might be done...
* My oldest newphew started school this year. I remember 4.5 years ago when he was born. I can't believe how fast time has gone. He is such a wonderful boy. The sad part is that not even within his first two weeks he got suspended... LOL!!! I am not sure why, but only to him...
* I have been making attempts at cooking more and more these past couple of weeks. I have found a great website that I have been using a few recipes that are decent WW points and so I am still able to eat some yummy food and work on loosing weight.
* Speaking of loosing weight... We have stopped eating out in our house and eating more healthy foods and I have lost 3 pounds this past week. Here I go for week 2... I am hoping to lose another 3-5 pounds...

Well, i will have more to chat about later in the week. Lots going on.... Have a great week everyone!!!!

Love Dare

2011-08-23T23:42:00.000-05:00

Since I know that Adam does not read this BLOG I figured I could talk about something that I am planning.

We have had three GREAT years of marriage so far and I want us to definitely have a lifetime of great years of marriage. Recently Adam and I have hit a small rut. We have realized that we need more just "us" time. It is very hard to do because we don't know of many people that we trust with our babies. We are just going through a weird time.

So a friend of mine that I worked with just got married and said she was going to do the love dare. She is just married, but wants to ensure their marriage starts off on the right foot. So I have decided that I am going to do the this dare with her. I am not quite sure what this will entail, so I did some google research today and this is what I have found.

This is what they say this "Love Dare" involves.

■Why Marriage? Explore the blessings and challenges of godly marriage.
■Contract or Covenant? Examine the difference between the world’s design for marriage and God’s original intention.
■Clean Fighting. Learn how to fight the fires of conflict effectively and respectfully.
■Leading Your Heart, Instead of Vice Versa. Practice choosing love when it isn’t your instinctive response

So starting next week here she and I go. I am excited because I have someone who is going to do all of this with me and we will be praying for each other each step of the way, but my biggest fear is that I will lose the follow through because of the crazy life stresses.

So here I go... Wish me luck!!!

22 Days!! WHAT???

2011-08-22T19:15:00.000-05:00

Where did this past year go? 22 days from now our sweet little Amelia will be ONE!!! Where did this year go? She is such a precious little girl and she has been a wonderful addition and blessing to our family. I am working setting up a time with a friend of mine to take her one year pictures and also get her somewhat of a party planned. What are some cheap, fun, and cute ideas for a girl's first birthday? We just took AJ to Chuck E Cheeses with his cousins for his first birthday, but I want to do something a little more fun this time...

Babies Update

2011-08-07T20:43:00.001-05:00

Adam Jr. (AJ)

Well, first off let me start off by saying we are MONTH free of biting at school... I could not be a happier Mom... I am so very proud of my big boy... BUT most of all I am thankful for the family and friends who supported us through this maddness... Your words of advice, support and encouragement really helped us through this. So we celebrated on Friday with AJ and I think he totally thought we were nuts... Are we?? Probably, but hey, it was worth it.

So on other notes... AJ is doing GREAT! his language skills, social interactions and attitude have all changed a lot over the past month. He has learned a HUGE amount of words and gets a lot of how to properly say sentences, etc. He understands a lot of "ownership" kinds of things. He will give something to me and say this is mommy's. Or if he has something of his sisters he will tell me it is "sissy's."

He has learned a LOT and I have a LOT of videos to start posting in the next few days. I am super proud of him. I could not be a more proud mom.

Amelia

Amelia is doing well too... she has started to explore more and it is quite funny. She has a temper like no other though. She throws a fit if you take something from her, look at her the wrong way, etc. It is HILARIOUS!!!...

Amelia has started to say one or two words, and she keeps trying to blab new words, etc. She is starting to pick up on her sign language a whole lot better now... I am trying to teach her simple words and we will go from there. Maybe that will get me to work more with AJ on his again. He and I kind of put it on the back burner, but he really needs to start working on it again. For a while there he was able to do short sentences in sign language and I am not sure that he remembers.... We shall see....

Amelia has started to try and learn to walk on her own too... She can walk holding onto furnuture and when we get on the floor to work with her on walking on her own she just wants to play and does not really want to walk.... It is very precious to see how she is... She probably has one of the best smiles I have ever seen. Her and her brother are amazing and i am very blessed to be their mother...

Well, Amelia will be one in less than 5 weeks and I am really starting to get sad. Where did this past year go? I am very excited because a really good friend of mine has agreed to do her one year pictures. We never got to do those with AJ because of being in a middle of a move, etc. But I am super excited to see what Candice with do with these pictures. She is super talented and if anyone ever wants someone to take pictures of their families she would be the perfect person...

What is going on with your kiddos? Family? Life??

Worst Aniversary Ever!

2011-08-07T20:30:00.000-05:00

Well, let me preface this by saying it is not because of my husband...

Well, this past weeks was Adam and I's 3rd aniversary. We are very blessed to have had a wonderful three years together. Though we have had some rough times, God has really blessed me with such an awesome man. So I had to work in the morning and so did Adam. It was a rough day and I was super exhausted by the time I got home with the kiddos. I did get some pretty little flowers and that started the afternoon/night awesome.....

So we started to get dinner together and the kids settled and we realized our house was getting hotter and not cooler. We called the maint people over and we thought it was fixed. After he left it was later than I thought it was and so I decided that I was nto going to make our amazing aniversary dinner, we should just order out and I would go pick it up while he got the kids in bed. When I got back home I told him it was so freaking hot and did not get cooler... So we decided try and call the service people over again and they said to give it a little longer and it should cool down.

Needless to say it was 92 in our house the ENTIRE night. Adam and I had to take shifts to wake the kids up and make them drink a glass of water to keep them hydrated... Not to mention I had to be at work by 5:30am so I had to be up by 4am in the first place. I was EXHAUSTED!!! What a frustrating night. We called the next morning and they thought we were crazy... I am so over the apartment living.... I really wish we could get this credit up and get OUT of the apartment life....

Well I guess you can say we will never forget our third year of marriage... A night when are supposed to be cuddled up with your mate we were on separate couches and wanted nothing to do with each other.... May this next year be another year filled with love, laughter and no more babies.... Ha Ha....

Has anyone else had a horrible celebration, but not the fault of your spouse?

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

2011-07-22T20:26:00.000-05:00

The Good: AJ has gone 9 School days (almost TWO WEEKS) without biting at school.... I am so very proud of him.

The Bad: We got in the habit that if he does nto bite at school we give him some kind of reward for having a GREAT day... I am not sure if that is teaching him the right way or not...

The Ugly: I am not sure when is a good time to stop treating him each day he has a good day at school.. Is there a rule??

The Good: My Three year anniversary is coming up in a few days...

The Bad: I am having a hard time finding a good leather present for my husband. For the third year of marriage that is supposed to be the gift... I really want to buy him a pair of cowboy boots, but can't find any for a reasonable price in his BIG FOOT size....

The Ugly: N/A

The Good: Amelia took her first steps without any furniture or help the other day.

The Bad: I did not get the camera in time and she has not done it again since...

The Ugly: Is she really already walking? WHAT???

The Good: Amelia will be one in less than 2 months.

The Bad: I really want to have a party for her, but am having a hard time trying to figure out the details. We really don't have any friends with kids that I think would want to come.

The Ugly: I just don't feel like my friends without kids would want to come either... But we are going to make it special for her...

The Good: I am starting weight watchers again on Monday. I am super excited.

The Bad: I can't believe how fat i have let myself get

The Ugly: I really want to lose at least 30 pounds by the end of the year... Is that reasonable or am I stressing myself out.

The Good: I went to lunch today with my friend Sarah. She is the friend I have had the longest in my life.

The Bad: It has taken us almost a year to even see each other and that is way too long of a time..

New Song

2011-07-22T20:13:00.000-05:00

So the kids and I were in the car for a long drive the other day and I was trying to find a radio station that was a little bit more kid friendly, especially because AJ says a lot of words in a mimic sense and I really don't need to battle that right now with everything else... So I put my radio on Scan and it stopped on this song.... Talk about a way to make me feel better about the roller coaster of a week I have been having. It really made me thing about how blessed I really am... Somedays I get frustrated because I don't have the opportunity to be a stay at home mom and I feel like I am working where it really does make an impact on the world. I had always said I wanted to do something that would make an impact on the world... so here are the lyrics to a song that made me feel just blessed and encouraged ...

You’re picking up toys on the living room floor
for the 15th time today
Matching up socks and sweeping up lost
Cheerios that got away
You put a baby on your hip and color on your lips
and head out the door
And while I may not know you I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes does it matter at all
We’ll let me remind you it all matters just as long as you

Do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do

OOoh ooooh oooooh

Maybe you’re that guy with the suit and tie
Maybe your shirt says your name
You may be hooking up mergers, cooking up burgers
But at the end of the day

http://www.lyrics-celebrities.anekatips.com/

Little stuff big stuff in between stuff
God sees it all the same
And while I may not know you I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes does it matter at all
We’ll let me remind you it all matters just as long as you do

Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you
To do every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace with every move that you make
And every little thing that you do

Well maybe you’re sitting in math class
Maybe anekatips on a mission in the Congo
Maybe you’re working at the office
Singing along with the radio
Maybe you’re dining at a five star
Or feeding orphans in Myanmar
Anywhere and everywhere you are
Whatever you do it all matters
So do what you do and don’t ever forget
to do

Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace as you do
Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace with every move that you make
And every little thing that you do

10 things in my life and a chance for you to share

2011-07-15T14:13:00.000-05:00

10 things in my life and a chance for you to share

Want a glimpse into my life?

I saw this on someone else's BLOG today and decided to join in on the fun. So here are 10 things in my life and I would love for each of you to share 10 things going on in your lives.... Take time to share...

1.My son AJ has gone FOUR days without biting at school... I am so very proud of him... I have been making a HUGE deal of it every night when he gets home. I am such a dork.

2.We are working on this whole buying a house thing. Right now we are not sure if it is goign to work out. This is very hard for us as we really want out of the apartment life... Anyone know of someone we can talk to about Owner Financed homes because we are just having a really tough time...

3.I’m trying to really work on my patience. Not just with people but with God too... I know that seems soooo backwards... But I guess patience is the wrong work. Maybe more like my faith??

4.I’m currently reading up on different ways to help AJ through this whole biting phase. I am really struggling to understand this whole issue. I know that things will work out, but hopefully sooner rather than later...

5.My Husband and I are always super busy. Our schedules are crazy and we are in real need of a night out just the two of us. Our aniversary is coming up soon....

6.My favorite song right now is "This little light of mine"... I say this because I sang this to BOTH of my kids when I was pregnant and it is the one song that when they need comfort and for me to hold them and calm them down that will do the trick. Weird? I know!!!

7.My favorite movie right now is Harry Potter...

8.My favorite scripture passage is Esther 4:14.... "For Such a Time as This"

9.I had my first breakdown since Amelia was born the other day. I usually have one breakdown/cry day a year. Usually it is during the holidays when I feel like I have the short end of the stick because of my job. But this time I just spent an entire day crying for no freaking reason. You could have told me that I was some great and I would have cried.... I hate that I have one moment a year when I am just so super sensistive. I don't know why it happens?

10.My favorite food is anything mexican.... I just love the taste of it and I love that there are so many different options to make and eat...

So what about you?

What is your favorite song, scripture passage, movie, food? What are you reading right now? What are some great date night ideas when you have kids and really don't trust anyone else to babysit? Do you have kids – how old are they? Do you plan on having any more?

Answer any or all of those, or simply answer, what is going on in your life? I want to know!

Changes....

2011-07-11T00:53:00.000-05:00

Change is the big word in our house recently... We are going through a lot of changes with each of the children and of course with Adam and I too. So in bullet points here are some things going on in our house...

* Amelia is just days away from walking... She is getting big so fast and she is really making our daily lives changes.

* Adam and I have found a realtor and she is working with us to find out first home. Yeah we did things a little backwards in our lives and we got married, had kids, moved and now trying to find our first home... Oh well, different strokes for different folks I guess. But we are worried about our crazy credit. We have a really cute house in anna that we LOVE, but we are worried we won't get financed. Please pray we can get a house soon and out of this awful apartment life.

* I am moving stores at the begining of the month of August. I am going to be the same position, but they want me to move to a bigger store or something? We shall see how it goes. I really enjoy my current store so I am quite nervous on how this might work out.

* We are going to be trading in my car soon for a bigger one. I really like the Honda Pilot, but need some advice on what kind of cars are good that have third row seating in them. I don't want a minivan... But we really want a car with third row seating for when we have more babies in the future.

* Future being the key word on having more babies. I made an appointment this week for the first week of August to get an IUD so we have less of a chance of getting pregnant again. Since Amelia was a pure surprise and I was on the SHOT we really need to find something a bit "stronger." We definitely want at least 2 more babies, but not anytime soon. We really want to enjoy the family of four that we have right now.

* Tonight Adam and I talked and I applied to a program to get my teaching certificate. I really want a career where I feel like I am making a difference in people's lives. Don't get me wrong - I love my job right now, but I need to think about the long term. This does not mean that I will go right into teaching right away, but it is something that I definitely need to think about with my babies and being an active parent in their lives. Please pray I get accepted into the program and that this is God's plan for our lives.

Well, as you can see there are some crazy changes going on in the English household. We are praying hard for as much guidance as possible. I know I pray that we are doing these things because it is the plan of God and not just because. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in what we want and forget to think about what God wants for our family.

What changes are you going through??

An Update on the Kiddos

2011-07-04T22:07:00.000-05:00

Adam English JR.

Well, AJ has been a riot lately. He is starting to talk more and more and I am loving his words. He has even began to use more and more full phrases and sentences. I am so crazy suprised. He knows almost 80% of his body parts from head to toe and can point to them and say them for you. He usually does it when we are getting dressed after bath time each night. I just love hearing a two year old speak. One of my favorite words he has started to say is "yes." In the past "no" was his favorite word to say to me when I would ask him if he wanted something, tell him to do something, etc. His communication and speaking has taken a HUGE 180 degree turn.

His listening skills have improved quite a bit. He has gotten to the point where if we tell him to come to us because he is in trouble he comes and puts his hands behind his back and stand there and listens. It is amazing how much he has learned in his little young life...

His biting at school has simmered down a little bit but he still has not gone a whole week at school bite free yet... Just frustrating, but we are trying to work through it as easily as possible...

Amelia

Our sweet little Amelia is doing great as well. she is FINALLY getting some hair and does not look so much like a boy much anymore. THANK GOODNESS... This past weeks was a HUGE week for mile stones. she is starting to try to take a step away from the furniture and letting go, but she gives up after one step... She likes to get our hopes up for walking... She loves to give us open mouth slobbery kisses. It is the cutest thing ever. This just started a couple of days ago and she usually only loves to give those kisses to me or Adam. She loves to mock noises too. It is really funny when her and AJ go back forth with their loud noises at each other. I just laugh... She is a little swimmer as well. She loves, loves, loves water and bath time. It is a little scary because she does not quite know that she can get hurt and so it scares me when she gets a little wild in the water. We also heard her first words this week too... she has been blabbing for a while, but she actually knows how to say Mama when wanting me or when crawling to me. She also says baba and knows it is for her bottle. And my most favorite words so far is PAPA (my Dad).... She started saying PaPa all weekend whenever my dad was around. She would just look at him and say it over and over...
She is almost 24 pounds and we have made it through some crazy illness' with her these past couple of weeks. She had Hand/Foot/Mouth, Pink eye, Bronchitis, and an ear infection. UGH... Poor girl has to be sick of going to doctors by now. We are praying that we can make it 2.5 more months before she has to go again and when she goes that time it will be for her yearly check up.

What blessings are two little babies are for us.... I love being a Mom to them!!!

Wonderful Weekend

2011-07-04T21:41:00.001-05:00

What a weekend!!! I am super exhausted and I can say that is probably the same for all of us in the English household. We went down to Gatesville for the weekend to spend some time with my parents, brother, his wife, all five of their kids and my grandparents.... My brother's family and my family all stayed in my parents new cabin/building thing on their property. My brother helped them all week to get it ready for all of us to stay there...

We had such a blast... The kids played so freaking hard it was crazy... They swam, played outside, rolled down hills, and really just looked like a bunch of homeless kids by the end of the day...

Xavier Eating his HUGE Marshmallow

Kiddos Swimming in the Pool

Playing Tug-A-War with PaPa

Snack Time

Amelia and Nevaeh Playing in the Pool

AJ eating his S'More

Nevaeh Eating her lunch

Bronchitis with the beginings of Pneumonia

2011-06-26T20:13:00.000-05:00

Thats right friend... This girl has major bronchitis with the beginings of pneumonia... I thought I was just fighting a cold and then on Thursday I thought death crawled over me... I figured it was just something mucinex could take care of...

Thursday I rolled out of bed and realized Amelia had pink eye. So insted of me heading to to my surgeons appointment I had to take Amelia to the doctor and pull myself together to get to work. I took lots of mucinex and and on to work I went. I worked until 11 pm and then back up at 4am to be back at work by 5am for a truck. Got up and went to work and unloaded a truck with my team and I thought I was going to die of coughing all day... So finally on my way home from work I called my doctor and he made me come in right then... I got there and before i knew it I was having blood work, a chest Xray, and being poked like nuts... The doctor said that my left lung looked like crud, but with some crazy antibiotics I should be better soon.

Well, after a couple of days of antibiotics I feel a bunch better. My cough still sounds like crud and my back is still killing me, but I am so happy to be better than before... I still had to work on Saturday, but I had today off and it was amazing to have a Sunday off with my husband and kiddos. Though we did not do anything too crazy, but it was great to be a family for a weekend...

So I am back to work on Monday-Friday this week and then I am off for three days work one day, then off for 5 days work one and then off for 3 days and then back to normal work schedule again. I am so ready for my short vacations coming up.

Date Day

2011-06-22T16:49:00.000-05:00

What a blessing my husband is to me and my babies. After a weekend of celebrating in Fort Hood for my grandmother's birthday and Father's day we came back late Sunday afternoon to relax. I had Monday off for my memorial day holiday that I did not get during the week of memorial day. So a few weeks earlier before when my schedule came out I asked my husband if he could take a vacation or personal day off to spend the day with me. After a few days of begging him he simply told me he did not think he would be able to.

Friday he came home and we left to go out of town and then on Sunday we came home and on our way home he turned to me and said, "so what is the plan for tomorrow?" WHAT? I was super excited he took the day off and we were going to have a day together. We decided that we would send the kiddos to school and have a date day. It was simply awesome!!

We woke up on Monday and he got the kids ready for school while I showered and got dressed. I then took them to school and came home. He had made me breakfast while I was gone. It was super sweet of him. Then we decided to go see Super 8 and go from there.

We went to see Super 8 at the IMAX and it was AWESOME!! I really enjoyed the movie and it was so fun... We then decided to go to Dave and Busters too. It was fun to see how competitive the both of us are... After we played for a while we decided it was time for us to get the kiddos... WE picked up the kiddos and started our week...

What a GREAT day I had with my hubby!!!

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

2011-06-21T22:34:00.000-05:00

The Good: This week is a short week for me. It is my holiday week from Memorial day.
The Bad: I never feel like I get enough time with the kids even when I get 3 days off.
The Ugly: I have to work a full week next week and then I am on VACATION... I wish I was on vacation next week..

The Good: Adam and I went on a date on Monday all day long. It was fantastic.
The Bad: It is our first "date" since before Amelia was born
The Ugly: I wish we were able to go on dates more often, but I am very crazy about who will and will not watch our babies. I guess I really need to let go...

The Good: I meet with the surgeon tomorrow to plan out the exit of some organs in my body.
The Bad: I am sooo scared to have surgery... I hate hate hate hate to go under the knife.
The Ugly: I am so stubborn and really am trying to find a way out of having to get this done.

The Good: I think Adam and I found our first house. He is going to talk to the bank tomorrow and hopefully we can figure this whole buying our first house thing out with a ease.
The Bad: It is in Anna, which is a little far from the rest of the world.
The Ugly it is in Anna which is even further away from my momma, but it is our first home and it is on an acre....

The Good: Adam's word librabry is starting to expand wonderfully. I can't believe that he is starting to say more words that I understand.
The Bad: For a two year old he is still a little bit behind schedule in my opinion, but I am sure he will pick it up. I just want him to be super smart.
The Ugly: He picked up one of my bad words and said it out loud the other day! Oooops.. I gues I won't be saying the SH** word anymore.

Pre-Potty Training

2011-06-16T00:41:00.001-05:00

Well, for the past couple of weeks we have been working with AJ on Pre-Potty training. I am taking the first week in July off to spend just one on one time with him getting him potty trained for good. I have read a couple of great books and been doing a lot of research and this boy is ready. I know he is ONLY two, but he is so ready. So anyways.... this week he keeps telling us potty mommy potty... This is usually RIGHT AFTER he just went in his diaper. So even though we just went in his diaper we take him to the bathroom and let him sit on the toilet. He has a little toilet that he wants NOTHING to do with. He only wants to sit on the big one.

We also have been making him follow one of us into the bathroom, mostly my husband, when we go. I have read that it is great for him to see what is really happening and to celebrate everytime we go so he sees it is a big deal. Here is a picture of my cute child when he told us "potty mommy potty" last night. This cracks me up... I know I am biased, but he is so freaking cute! I love it.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

2011-06-14T22:53:00.001-05:00

It has been a while, but here is the good, the bad and the ugly in the English household....

The Good: AJ is learning a LOT in his new room at school. He can attempt his ABC's, knows msot of his body parts, and learning most colors. He loves to build things in class too.
The Bad: He is still biting and I as a mom don't know what to do to get him to stop. He does not bite a home, but only at school.
The Ugly: I am so scared the school is going to kick him out because of his biting habits. Anyone have any advice???

The Good: Adam and I think we might have found a house to rent finally. I am so ready to be out of this two bedroom apartment.
The Bad: We have spent soo much money renting the past few years and it is so frustrating sometime.
The Ugly: We don't know yet when we can move it because the owners are working with the underwriters on their new house.

The Good: I am finally getting some answers with some stomach issues that I have been having.
The Bad: I for sure have to get my GallBladder taken out.
The Ugly: I have to get it out ASAP according to the doctor. Meaning he wants to do it by the end of the month. There is no way that is going to happen. I can't go a whole week without playing with my babies and being able to carry them or hold them.

The Good: We are going to Austin this weekend for Father's day to visit Lockhart because Adam saw some Food TV show about it being the BBQ capital of Texas.
The Bad: AJ hates car rides that are longer than 2 hours and I am not looking forward to the fits.
The Ugly: I am trying to diet and I love BBQ.

The Good: I am so many friends have babies in the next 90 days.
The Bad: I suck at going to the post office and I have gifts for a ton of them just sitting around my house. I am going though on Monday. I just hate going to the post office.
The Ugly: I have a feeling that my husband is thinking about more kids in the future.

The Good: Adam and I's anniversary is coming up soon. Still a couple months away, but I can't believe how fast the years have gone.
The Bad: Where did the past couple of years go?
The Ugly: I want to dos omething awesome for us, but I am not sure how I can plan all of it with two babies, my job, his job, etc....

The Good: My friend Emma had her little baby boy a couple of weeks ago. He is flipping adorable.
The Bad: I really miss Ben and Emma. I was always hoping AJ and Connor would be long time friends.
The Ugly: We will not be moving out of Texas unless my parents up and leave us so AJ and Connor will not get to be BFF's. I only wish Ben and Emma lived here. They are such great friends.

The Good: It is the summer and I am getting a little bit more free time here and there.
The Bad: I am having a hard time lately because most of my really good friends are either men or they are women without kids. So they rarely want to hang out with me and the kiddos. And as a Mom I want to spend more free time with my kiddos.
The Ugly: I am not good about going out to meet new people, I am way too shy. So I have to suck it up and just enjoy my fun time with my babies!!!

Well, that is what I have for today. Time for BED!!!!

9 MONTHS!!

2011-06-14T22:26:00.000-05:00

Amelia turned 9 months old on Monday the 13th. Where does the time go? My baby is growing up so fast. Here is what is going on in the world of Amelia Raquel English....

*She is almost 19 pounds and about 29inches long. The dr said he is off the charts for her height still. The worry is still her head is small...

*She is crawling EVERYWHERE... She is a great little mover and super fast..

*She loves to climb on things... She tends to always hurt herself though so we have to pay very close attention to her.

*She has started to blab just a little bit, but not quite a whole lot yet.

*She has started to eat some solid snacks (crackers, cookies, cheerios, etc).

*She is "Trying" to walk using furniture, but can only go a little bit.

*She is definitely going to be a dancer. We catch her quite a bit sitting in the split position playing with her toys.

*She is very territorial. If she has something and someone takes it she throws a FIT!

*She is sleeping through the night most times and usually only takes one nap a day, if that.

Here are some photos I took of her today... I love my little baby girl!!!

Amelia is CRAWLING!!!

2011-05-18T20:39:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday, May 4, my baby girl gave her mommy such and amazing birthday present. She crawled for the first time. She was 9 days short of being 8 months old and she is off . . . Here is a video of our little girl crawling. I took it that day after my birthday. You can mute it because I sound really stupid and yeah... I am such a proud mommy

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

2011-05-08T21:08:00.000-05:00

The Good - AJ turned two about a week and a half ago.
The Bad - He thinks just because he turned two he can act like a really bad, crazy, child. He throws fits for no reason, screams, kicks . . . Oh where did my sweet boy go?
The Ugly - Potty Training is back on and he and I are not enjoying one moment of it. Tonight before his bath he sat on the potty for 15 minutes. I put him in the bath tub and 5 minutes later he pooped in the tub.

The Good - Amelia had a lot of first this week. Happy Birthday and Mother's day to ME! She learned how to crawl, hold her own bottle, go from crawling position to sitting position and almost how to pull herself up on stationary objects. She could always pull herself up if she was holding on to adam or my hands.
The Bad - We have to make sure we vacuum EVERYDAY, find the baby gates, and now hide anything that is small.
The Ugly - This means she will be walking sooner than i would like.

The Good - My parents came up this weekend to give AJ his birthday presents, spend the day at the Zoo with us and to be the most amazing parents that they always are.

The Bad - They had to leave to go back home this morning...

The Ugly - AJ is walking around our house looking for them screaming . . ."gigi, papa." He loves his Gigi and Papa soo much.

The Good - My birthday was Wednesday and Adam sent me flowers to my work for the first time since we have been together.

The Bad - I think they are going to die by the end of the week..

The Ugly - They are going to die by the end of the week :( :( :(

The Good - Amelia is going to be 8 months this week. She is growing up sooo fast!

The Bad - I have a lot of people I have met in the past who are pregnant right now and though I have two babies I have a slight bit of the itch.

The Ugly - I have TWO amazing babies who have made things so freaking easy and life so WONDERFUL that I would not mind having one or two more babies in the future, BUT NOT NOW!!!

Well, that is all I will update for now.... I have a lot to say, but to be honest today was kind of a crazy, fun, rough, trying, overwhelming day and I need to cuddle on the couch with the hubby for a little while. Have a great week everyone. I will update with a realy BLOG sometime this week....

Happy Birthday AJ Letter

2011-04-28T06:47:00.000-05:00

Dear Adam Micheal,

WOW! You are two now! What? I know still at this point in your life you still can't read, even though you pick up a book and totally think you can. I also know you might not understand more of what I want to tell you in this years letter, but as each year passes I think a lot about the life that you have ahead of you, and about my role as your mother. I think about so many different things, son. This year I just want to reflect on you and your growth.

First off, AJ, Your father and I could not be more thrilled to have seen how much you grew up this year. Before you were born I considered myself pretty well prepared for your infancy. There’s a lot of books out there about babies and I had plenty of time to read all of them while I was waiting for you. And really, babies are easy, all things considered. Or at least, you were. We are finding out that now as your little sister is still a baby. As a baby your needs were few and very specific: food, sleep, diapers, human contact. All we had to do was figure out what they were and meet them. But just when I thought I had you all figured out, I came face-to-face with the lesson of parenthood: just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, everything changes. I knew you were not always going to do these things, but I did not realize how fast you wanted to learn other things in life. This year you learned how to walk, feed yourself, talk in small sentences, help clean up, and so much more. You are like a little man.

The first steps you took this past year, were eye opening as we watched because we knew that you were no longer our son with few and specific needs, you were our son who "needed everything." You needed lots of band-aids, ice packs, a change of clothes every hour, and so many things. There were days when it seemed like you woke up determined to injure yourself and usually, by the time you were ready for bed, you had exceeded your goal despite my exhaustive efforts to stop you. You launched yourself off the couch and raged at the world and its stupid gravitational pull. The coffee table's corners has seen more foreheads and blood than it ever wanted to see. For months you would finally get rid of one bruise and it would be 10 mintues later and you had another one to replace it. There were days that I would drop you off at daycare and explain why you had a new bruise, cut, scrape, and think they probably thought I was beating you. No, it was not me beating you, it was you growing up. With every bruise, cut, scrape, I was pleased to know you knew you could always come to mommy and daddy to make you feel better....

If this year was about nothing more than me losing it every time you colored on the walls with food, jumped on the floor and the guy downstairs would bang on it like a big meany, or even when you would take your nasty diaper off and run around then this letter would be the kind of thing you’d submit as evidence at your emancipation hearing. Fortunately, even my craziest moments from this year were far outnumbered by moments like these. When I used to think about motherhood in the abstract, I assumed there would be times when I would love my child more than I could possibly comprehend. But what I didn’t know was what that would feel like. I was just so naive. I had no idea how breathtaking, how satisfying it would be the first time you said ‘Mama.' And I didn’t — couldn’t possibly — understand what it would feel like to get one of your rare but highly effective bear hugs. Screw time. I’m pretty sure a toddler’s hug heals all wounds. You wonderful and cute kisses and hugs have definitely been needed for mommy this year. You don't know how you truly helpped mommy everytime you saw I was stressed that you would scream "mama" and come running just to give me a hug and a kiss.

Son, I also wanted to let you know how proud of you I am. This year was a year of change for you. Just when you started to think it was only about you, daddy and I, we brought home your baby sister. The day I had Amelia and I knew you were going to come to the hospital to visit us, I was so worried. What were you going to do? GiGi and PaPa brought you up to see all of us and you came and sat on the couch in my room with me and I was holding Amelia scared. You looked over at hear and said "tickle, tickle," as you tickled her little feet. I just wanted to cry. You had not clue what that meant to mommy to know that you were okay with this new change. Even the day we brought your sissy home you were so cute, curious, and wonderful. We set up our extra pack N' play in our living area and when she would fuss you would peek your little eyes over the top to check on her. If she would fuss for too long you would come and get me or scream for me. You were not even two yet, but you understand that she needed us and you were okay with that.

You have been a wonderful big brother to your sister this year. You always want to hold her, play with her, sing with or to her, and love on her. While most kids want nothing to do with their "sissy," you want everything to do with your sissy. You spend most of your day playing with her, checking on her, and so not self-focused. I hope as the years go on and you both get older, that you will still be that friend to your sister. That the both of you will grow up together and want to play crucial roles in each others lives. Just as you would look over the pack'n'play when she was an infant I would pray that you will always look over on her as you both grow up. That you will help continue to teach her as the years go on.

I’m thankful that YOU still love me even when there are days that I don’t love myself very much. Even when I don’t think I’m very good at this and we’ve had a terrible, horrible, not good, really horrible day. You still come to me and say “Mama” with lots of kisses and hugs. There’s something kind of wonderful about that. Something kind of awesome. You still have that wonderful love for your family. I just pray that as you take on the world, you still love your father, sister, me and any other siblings we might bring into this world.

So as we take on the next year of your life, I get so excited to what new things you will do, say, etc. If there is one thing I have learned about being your mother, there is no day that your the same. Please remember that we are your family and though we may not be the best and most knowledgable at times, we still love you and want everything wonderful for you.

Love,
Dad, Mom, and Sissy

Big Boy Bed

2011-04-12T21:45:00.001-05:00

After hours of work in AJ's room today we have not made the first step into making AJ and Amelia's room. It is no longer just AJ's, it will now be their room, but only for the next few months. We were going to find a house, but decided to spend the next couple of months in our apartment saving every penny to have a bigger down payment by this time next year to buy a bigger house. Since we are going to have more kids in the future we decided to save more so we can have a bigger house. So today I cleaned, and organized the room. I went through some boxes that were stored in his closet and tossed some things that we don't need anymore. I cleaned AJ's linens and put them on his new bed, and then got out Amelia's linens we bought before she was born and set the crib up.

This week we are only going to work with AJ on the big boy bed and then next week Amelia will take over the crib. She has been in our room since birth and now that she is 7months old we decided it is time for her to go to the other room. I also want to work with AJ psychologically and make him understand that the crib will stay in what was "his" room and it is no longer his crib. I know crazy huh?? Well, anyway here is the picture from tonight... This is an hour after we put him in his bed. He only got up one time and that was to get me to turn on the closet light for him..

He is such a sweet big boy. Can you believe he is going to be two this month?? What an amazing little man we have...

Amazingness.....

2011-04-10T19:07:00.000-05:00

So I am pretty sure Amazingness is not a real word, BUT it is a word that I would explain the past couple of weeks. This in the English household have been quite busy, crazy, but so freaking amazing. Amelia - *She has started to roll or scoot everywhere she wants to go. She sees a toy or a person that she wants and there she goes to get what she wants. *She finally is being more consistent with sleeping through the night. We have learned that we just have to fill her up good before bed that way she does not wake up hungry. *She has started solid foods. So far we have had: Apples, Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, Corn, Carrots, Squash, Peas, Strawberries, Turkey and Bananas. Her most favorites are Squash and Sweet Potatoes. *She has cut her first tooth. Today I was talking with my husband and joking that she was never going to cut a tooth. I put my finger in and was being a smarty pants and said to my husband that there were only gums in that mouth, that no teeth have come up yet and then I felt it. A TOOTH... It is really tiny, but very SHARP... She is not even 7 months old yet and has a tooth cut. *She really has grown up fast. Her personality is totally different than her brothers, but it is really awesome to see how much they love each other. Adam Jr. (AJ) *Mr. Personality... He has started to talk a ton. His teachers tell me constantly how he talks and asks for everything. They have started the transition into the next room. It makes me very happy, yet VERY sad that he is growing up so much. *He loves his sister. He is ALWAYS hugging, kissing, and loving on her. He knows when he has to be a nice big brother to her. *He has been my little man lately. For the longest time he was always about his daddy, but lately he has warmed my heart and wants everything to do with me. I came home today from work and he ran up to me, hugged my leg and started to try to climb up me. I picked him up gave him a hug and a kiss and he gave me multiple kisses and said "mummy, I lub u." *We have also started to teach him how to ride his tri-cycle. He is still a little short, but he gets it. *He turns two in less than 20 days and I am so sad. Where did my little baby go? He is such a little man. Adam and I *I got my annual performance review last week. It was good. My boss had some wonderful things to say about/to me. *Adam also got a performance review last week and earned another raise. He is doing very well at his job and I think he enjoys it. *My bestest friend and "twin" lindsey is getting married this next weekend. I am so excited for her. I just can't believe the wedding is already here. We went to Austin this past weekend for the bachelorette party and it was a BLAST!!! I had never been on 6th street and it was lots of fun. *We are spending a lot of time lately outside and we are super stoked that summer is almost here. I am loving how great this weather has been. Well, overall, life is amazing. We are super busy, but the kids are healthy, happy and so freaking cute. We are looking forward to a summer of swimming lessons, Amelia learning to walk, Lots of days at the park, and spending as much time together that we can.

Simple Woman's Daybook Blog - April

2011-04-05T22:12:00.000-05:00

Simple Woman's Daybook Blog April - 1st edition

Outside My Window... There are a lot of cars driving by and it is so pretty looking outside tonight. The moon looks so different.

I am thinking... about NOTHING I am thankful for... having two of the cutest children and a wonderful husband who are so amazing to me.

From the learning rooms...AJ has learned what the letters "B, D, C, and M" sound and look like. Thanks to the wonderful frig talking magnet thing that my mom and dad got him for christmas.

From the kitchen... There was no cooking tonight. I decided to spend my time with the babies while Adam was out with his friend from work at the gun range.

I am wearing... PJ pants, a st. patty's day shirt and my hair in a pony tail. I am creating... stuff for the wedding next weekend.

I am going... to Grapevine's court house tomorrow to get Amelia's Birth Certificate so I can get her back on to insurance because my company dropped her because I had not gotten her birth certificate to them fast enough . . . UGH

I am reading... Captivating still.

On my mind...Where are Adam and I going to move to already . .. I hate the house hunting...

Around the house... AJ and Amelia are in bed, Adam and I are watching a show called Dexter . . . I have never seen it before . . . We are starting with season ONE.

One of my favorite things... Relaxing on the couch.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: Make it through the next two days of work then I am on vacation til Monday and then after Monday I am on vacation until the NEXT Monday . . . WOOT WOOT!!!!

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

2011-04-05T21:43:00.000-05:00

The Good: My Best Friends Bachelorette Party is this coming weekend. (I am the Matron Of Honor in her wedding on the 16.)

The Bad: We are going to Austin's 6th street and I have never been there... and it will be my first time away from the babies for an overnight trip.

The Ugly: I can't believe how weird I feel leaving them for just one night.

The Good: Amelia Likes Apples, Squash, Carrots, Sweet Potatos, Corn, Strawberries, bananas.

The Bad: She loves the fruits more than the veggies.

The Ugly: She is now refusing her bottle more and more and really only wants solids... This could be a good thing in the future, but she needs her formula still . . .

The Good: Amelia's Daycare room flooded the other day and they moved the infant class down and use extra and empty room that is in the back of AJ's room.

The Bad: AJ and Amelia's rooms are right next to each other and he wants to check on her all day. Not really bad, but it is making the teachers nuts.

The Ugly: Yesterday Amelia was having a small crying fit around the toddler room's nap time and AJ knew it was his sister.... he screamed "sissy, sissy, sissy" for almost 5 minutes before they just let him up from nap to go check on her and then he took a nap. He woke up his entire room before they let him go over there. It is really driving the teachers crazy... It makes me smile that he cares about his sister though...

The Good: I got my review at work the other day. My boss wrote some wonderful things about me and my work.

The Bad: I worked for a store that was better ranked the prior year and the store I am in currently and so that hurt my score this year...

The Ugly: My husband that a raise today that and his percentage was 3X my percentage and he has not even been at his company a year ... oh and he got a bonus in February as well and gets another one in June . . . Ummm Can I have his job? M-F 9ish-5 and no weekends . . . Some days I am a bit jealous... But then I think about the days I get during the week with the kids and I only...

The Good: I weather has been AMAZING!!! I love it when it is like this . . . Not too hot and definitely not cold at all.

The Bad: It just means it is going to be getting VERY HOT soon...

The Good: I had a "ME" day today... Got a pedi, tanned, lunch at Olive garden with a friend, and shopped at Target for a few things. The Bad: I should have saved that money so I could have more fun in Austin this weekend

The Ugly: I felt like a bad mom because I sent the kids to daycare so I could have this "me" day.

The Good: I have a lot of friends welcoming babies into the world very soon.

The Bad: There really is no bad in this . . . I am so super excited for everyone having babies this year..

Well, that is it . .. Have a great week everyone!!

Simple Woman's Daybook Blog

2011-03-30T22:24:00.000-05:00

So I found another BLOG in the blogging world called "The Simple Woman's Daybook." So I have linked up to do my simple woman's blog.... Here it goes...

Outside My Window... The wind is blowing and it is really cool outside. I am so excited for the warmer weather this weekend.

I am thinking... about all of the things I need to get done tomorrow

I am thankful for... the chance to have a day alone with my son today. We went to lego land discovery center and it was so great to see how big he is getting.

From the learning rooms... AJ has learned how to identify almost all of his body parts, he is speaking so much and understands so much. Amelia is about to start crawling anyday.

From the kitchen... Rice, Corn, Pork Tenderlion is what he had for dinner... Thinking about going to making some cookies . . . But it is super late ... What is up with my sweet tooth lately?

I am wearing... PJ pants, Blue Top and my hair up in a messy bun

I am creating... plans to get Amelia's scrapbook caught up.

I am going... to have a Mommy and Amelia day tomorrow... What shall I do?

I am reading... Captivating still.

On my mind... what to do about my current situation when it comes to being a full-time working mother and paying way too much for daycare... And don't get enough time with my babies or hubby...

Around the house... AJ and Amelia are in bed, Adam is watching some TV and I am blogging.

One of my favorite things... getting time with the family soon...

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: Amelia and Mommy day and then working everyday until next Tuesday . . .

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

2011-03-23T22:14:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I was doing something called The Good, The Bad, The Ugly. . . I have decided that I am going to do this weekly now... Just something different... So here we go...

The Good: I started working out again this week
The bad: I am so out of shape and already sore
The Ugly: I should have started this months ago when I was told I was going to be the Matron of Honor in my best friends wedding this April . . . FAIL! :(

The Good: Amelia has started to eat foods (stage one jar foods)
The Bad: She projectile vomitted bananas at me the other day
The Ugly: She wants nothing to do with her bottle and formula anymore.

The Good: AJ will be two in less that 6 weeks.
The Bad: He is acting like he already is two. He tells me no, throws things at me, spends more time in time-out than not in time-out.
The Ugly: He slapped me so hard in the face today when trying to fight me when I was putting him in his car seat he gave me a welt...

The Good: AJ tells us when he has gone "poo poo" or "pepee" in his diaper.
The Bad: It is time for potty training.
The Ugly: If you don't change his diaper fast enough or take him to the bathroom to try to teach him, he will take his clothes off and then take is diaper off and well you can only imagine how much poop I have had to clean up lately . . .I know TMI . . . Sorry

So well, things in the English house are pretty crazy lately . . . We are doing wonderful and I am loving our lives a bunch. Adam and I have been doing really well and I am loving our marriage a lot. We have been talking a lot about What, Where, When, Why for different things in our lives and it has been so great. What is the Good, Bad, and Ugly for you lately????

Good Book So Far

2011-03-23T22:09:00.000-05:00

So a couple of days ago I took the plunge and bought one of those E-reader things. . . You know, the electronic books to where you can download books and read them, etc. I never really wanted one because I thought that I liked reading books themselves if that makes sense. Anyways I bought one that was on sale and had a couple of other discounts and I could not be happier. I love it. My first night I went home and downloaded/bought three new books. One of the books I bought is called “captivating.” Many years ago when I was in college I had a couple of friends who told me I should read this book. But who has time to sit and read extra books in college?? Not this girl.

I was not quite sure what this book was truly about, but now that I have started to read it I am in love. I am a little over half way done and seem to have a hard time putting it down at times, but like most people I have a job, kiddos, a husband, etc, but I am in love with this books so far. I knew it was by an author who wrote a book to men called "Wild At Heart" and his wife. I knew it had some Christian backing to it and that it was meant for women. So far this book has caught my attention.

What particularly has caught my attention is that the authors’ claim that there are three desires that drive the heart of a woman: “to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure, and to unveil her beauty.” And though I want to brush these off as over-generalizations, the more I am reading, the more I have found myself agreeing with the authors’ observations. They say that these desires are good and essential to the way God made women. “The problem comes when women seek the fulfillment of these desires in something other than Christ.”

So far I have only gotten through the part in the book that talks about woman wanting to be romanced and I am going through the chapters that talk about women wanting to place an irreplaceable role, and this book has really opened my eyes and my heart. Every little girl has dreams of being rescued by her hero, of being swept away into a great adventure, and of being the beautiful princess. Sadly, when we as women grow up, we are told we need to be tough, efficient, and independent. I have found myself crying here and there in this book. Why? God is using this book to show me the progress He is making in my life, and ultimately, speak words of love to my heart. It is amazing to know that I am still God’s beautiful princess and I am being swept away into a great adventure (this life) and that I have been rescued (by Christ). So even though I have been taught to stay tough I am still one of God’s daughters and I still am captivating to him and that is all that should matter.

DANCING AJ

2011-03-10T00:27:00.000-06:00

So tonight while I was at work adam took this video of AJ dancing . . . The guy downstairs from up must really hate us now!!!

Is he not the cutest???? I know I am sooo bias!!!

AJ LOVES HIS SISTER!!!!

2011-03-09T09:22:00.000-06:00

The other night while I was working my husband took this video of my sweet babies. It melts my heart to know how much AJ loves his sister . . .

Everyday AJ wants EVERYTHING to do with his sister. While at school he asks about her and his teachers take him down the hall to see her to check in on her. He has done a fantastic job adjusting to having a sister these past six months and I am a super proud momma!!!!

Here are some photos from the past couple months of my two wonderful babies!!! Our family is so blessed. . .

Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

2011-03-02T09:41:00.000-06:00

Well, today is my father's 50th birthday!!! Yup . . . 50 . . . WOW . . . I just can't believe how fast time is going. . . So here are some of my favorite pictures of my daddy from the past couple of years. . . . I wish I had a a few more. . . BUT oh well...

My Dad holding Baby Amelia 15 mintues after her birth

My Dad holding baby AJ a few mintues after AJ was cleaned up after birth

My Dad dancing with me at my wedding . . .

My dad and I standing in line to see Santa at the mall 2010

My Dad standing with one of his Aunts at a party in San Antonio

My Dad being soooo goofy . . . 2006

My Dad getting ready to launch off of look out mountain . . .

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!

Vacation was AWESOME . . .

2011-03-01T21:28:00.001-06:00

Thursday February 17, Adam, AJ, Amelia, My brother, His wife, three of his kids and myself packed into a van and headed to Florida. yup 9 people with five kids under the age of 4 got into one vehicle and headed to Florida for a huge family vacation. My parents were smart and headed to Florida a week before we did . . .

Sometime Friday afternoon we arrived in Palm Beach Gardens and off to see my we went. Friday was just a time of relaxation and early bed times. Saturday morning Adam, my dad and brother got up super early and took a boat out to go fishing in the ocean. All the girls, and kiddos went to a wildlife center and strolled around. Later that afternoon we all went back to my grandmothers to get dressed for her 70th birthday party. . . WOW my grandma is 70 . . .?? Really?

Sunday morning we all woke up and our family headed to Orlando for the next 5 days. We had a rental home and it was amazing. There was so much room and we were not worrying about making too much noise, etc. There were three master suites and two rooms for the four older kiddos . . .

Monday we woke up and started our four day venture of Disney World. We were able to get a military discount for four day park hopper passes through my brother for less than 120 a person . . . How amazing is that!!!! It was so crazy and so fun. It was nice because it was not as busy as we expected. There was no way that in four days we were going to make it through all of the parks, especially because Adam, my brother's wife and all of our kids had never been to Florida, much less Disney World...

I was so excited because Amelia AND AJ were both allowed on 90% of the rides we went one. It was fantastic. The week before I was so bummed because I thought both of my babies were going to be too young to really enjoy disney, but they totally loved it. AJ had a blast. he enjoyed everything. My once introverted son was no longer that way. He hugged all the characters, rode all the rides, sat through most of the shows peacefully, etc. I could not believe how well behaved my almost two year old was. I am so proud of him.

Amelia was even allowed on a lot of rides that I never thought she would have been allowed on . . . She went on the new buzz lightyear ride with us, small world, Dumbo, etc. She is not even 6 months old yet and she was allowed to do so much for just a little baby.

Each night we would go back to the house, soak our feet in the hot tub, relax and be in bed by about 11pm . . . Everyone was so exhausted from they day that we really did not function well at night.

While we were there we started AJ and Amelia Pin trading lanyards. . . It is a big thing in disney and it actually can become VERY addicting. It all started with one pin and lanyard each and ended up with about 10 pins or more each... It will be so neat when they get older to show them their pins, pictures and etc from the trip and all the people we met when doing the trading.

Friday morning everyone packed up again and we headed back home. This time the trip seemed a bit easier. I don't know if it is because no body worked before trying to make this trip this time, or what, but we were home by 5am. Less than 24 hours later. How amazing is that?? Our first ever BIG family vacation was a success. There were a few things we will want to do differently next year, but overall, we had a BLAST!!!

I have lots of photos already on my facebook . . . Check em out. There are just so many I want to share, but can't decide . . . so check them out . . .

Time For Change

2011-03-01T21:17:00.000-06:00

Okay! So for the past couple of weeks I have been telling people at work that I wanted to die my hair. I wanted to do something amazing, yet VERY crazy!! . . . During these couple of weeks, everyone said that there is no way that I would be able to pull of the crazy hair that I wanted and that I would never go through with it. I have died my hair in the past, but this time I wanted to make a obvious change. So I did it. I went in a total different direction that made my mom question if I was nuts . . . I am still not sure if I like it, but we will see . . . Just going through one of those times in my life where I needed a change . . .

THE BEFORE

The AFTER

AN AWARD

2011-02-10T15:41:00.000-06:00

So a wonderful and sweet friend of mine gave me this award. She is so wonderful. You should follow her at http://www.survivingourlife.com/

So here are the rules of this award:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award

2. Share 7 things about yourself

3. Award 7 other deserving bloggers

4. Contact those bloggers and let them know about the award.

ok . . . so . . . 7 things about me.

1. Up until about a year before I found out I was pregnant with my first baby, I had always said that I never wanted kids. Then about a year before I found out I was pregnant I realized i really did want kids one day.

2. I collect turtles. I absolutely love turtles.

3. I secretly have wanted to go to nursing school for the past three years. I just need to figure out how we can finacially afford something like this. I want to be a labor and delivery nurse.

4. I love the smell of freshly baked goods. I wish I had the time to bake something everyday so my house could smell like a bakery . . . I guess that is why I buy soo many birthday cake candles.

5. We are going on our first ever family vacation since Adam and I have been married. We are going to disney in Florida and I am super excited.

6. Purple is my most favorite color ever. I never used to like purple and then one day it just became the color that I thought was the most beautiful. I was always a pink and green kind of girl and then my senior year of high school it just clicked and Purple became my most favorite color.

7. I dislike it a lot when people who have known me for a long time can't seem to every pronounce my name correctly. I wish they would see how my parents spelled it and pronounce it the right way. This has become more true in the past three or four years. Does that make me mean or awful?

Well, there are 7 things most of you probably already know about me.

Here are the BLOGS I would LOVE to award as blogs that I love. Though survivingourlife.com's blog is one that I love I want to award it to 7 others.

1. This Texas Momma

2. People are crazy

3. In a Mirror Dimly

4. A(nother) Merry Recluse

5. Sassy Mrs. Smith

6. Brocks Life In The DR

7. Mommy and The Boys

Link up to these blogs and I am sure you would love their Blog too.

17 Days

2011-02-01T22:27:00.000-06:00

I am so excited . . . 17 days from now, I will be packing each of the kids bags, along with mine and Adam's. We are leaving for Florida for our first ever family vacation with AJ and Amelia. Not to mention most of my aunts and uncles, cousins, etc will around as well. It is amazing what goes into planning a family vacation, especially when planning it with a lot of other people. I am just hoping I can make it through these next few weeks and then off to Florida I shall go.

Happy Monday!

2011-01-24T21:25:00.000-06:00

— Psalm 90:1-2 —
"Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God."

So I get a verse of the day in my e-mail every morning and today Psalm 90 1-2 is the verse I received. I must admit, on most days I read the verse passively and discard the e-mail then go on with my day as normal. Today this verse, which I have heard many times, challenged me.

Do you know what it really means when Moses said the Lord has been our dwelling place?

Today I have come to the realization that God is our "protective shelter." He is not inaccessible, he is reachable and is always there for us especially when we come to him. I must admit it has been quite a while that I have taken the time to really go to God. I know he is there when I am in need of him, but I don't always take the time to realize he is there ALL the time and is constantly looking over me and my family. How amazing is this to know, that even though there are really crappy times, he is looking over me. It is not that bad things are not going to happen in my life, it is more how am I going to react when they do happen?

How do you react when something does not go your way? I know that I usually become overwhelmed, upset, etc. I don't always go to my "protective shelter." I tend to go further away from God and become ashamed or angry with him depending on the situation. I feel like he put me in this situation so he does not want me to come to him. This is far from reality. He wants me to come to him everyday through every situation. That is what I must remember to always do. What a heavy realization I had to make. . .

Five Year Plan

2011-01-23T22:04:00.000-06:00

Okay, I don't want to feel like a copycat, but recently I have been inspired by a couple of women. Though most of these women don't know each other, they each have a growing list of things they feel they would like to accomplish in the next few years. They probably do not even know that they have inspired me. One of them has a list of things they want to do before their wedding in two years, another things before she turns thirty, another things she wants to do with her children before they go to college in three years. These women have got me thinking of what I want to do in the next few years. I used to have one of those five year plans, but since my life got the best of me, I really have not had the chance to make my five year plan anymore. . . I know, I know, I am such a slacker!!! So here we go.... My five year plan... Started Jan 2011. So by 2016 these are the things I would like to have accomplished. I am going to need some serious help accomplishing this . . . Anyone willing to do it all for me?? HA HA!!!

* Get enrolled back in school to get my nursing degree (Yes I already have a degree in something else, but this is always a good back up right????)
* Set up college funds for AJ and Amelia.
* Read the entire bible from cover to cover
* Get my Gall Bladder removed already
* Teach my son all of his colors, ABC's, Animals, and important things a two year old should know.
* Lose 30 Pounds
* Pray for my kids and husband EVERYDAY!
* Run a 1/2 Marathon
* Go on a true family vacation with the kiddos and out of state . . . (FLORIDA IN FEB)
* Teach my son how to read
* Save up enough money to buy a house
* Run an entire marathon
* Teach Amelia how to read
* Take the kiddos to meet their Grandma Lemons (My Husband's Mom)
* Go on a weekend vacation without the kiddos. (Adam and I have never been on a trip without the babies even though my parents have volunteered to watch them.)
* Pay off 1/2 of my college loans
* Pay off mine and Adam's cars and not have another car payment for another five years
* Knit a Scarf/Hat Combo
* Start playing the different insruments that I used to play again so that I can soon one day teach my babies
* Decide if we are going to really expand our family in a couple of years. (we wont have more for at least 3 years. That way AJ is in Kindergarten. BUT I do not want to have anymore babies after 35.
* Get family pictures taken with Amelia now. We have family pictures from when we had Adam, but not I want some with Amelia.
* Start writing in my journals again. I would love for Amelia to one day read my journals and maybe something with make her happy.
* Get both of my kids "dedicated."

I know some of these are really stupid things . . . BUT I guess that is why this is MY plan and not someone elses. What is your FIVE YEAR PLAN?????

Vacation From a Vacation . . .

2011-01-23T21:27:00.001-06:00

Have you ever needed a vacation from a vacation?... Is that crazy?...After spending the past nine days off from work, I feel like I need another nine days to relax from the previous nine days. Being a working mom is what I have to do and I don't get to have 18 days off in a row. UGH!!! IF ONLY! I had a wonderful time off, but just not as relaxing as I had hoped it would be. Remember I have worked through some of the craziest times and had not really had any time off since September. While most people had short weeks during the holidays, that just meant I was working more days and hours. I had been counting down the weeks and days to this little vacation. I would not take any of it back, I just wish I would have given myself some time to relax and not try to be super mom.

On the Friday I started vacation we packed the babies up and went down to Ft. Hood/Killeen for the weekend. After the weekend ended I decided to stay in Ft. Hood for a few extra days and my brother agreed to bring me back in the middle of the week. So the babies and I stayed and for the most part we had a good time. Sometimes I forget how hard it is to be a full-time mom to TWO kiddos under the age of two. Sometimes I take for granted how much my husband really does try to help.

While there, my kiddos (mostly AJ) got to spend some time with some of his cousins. He really loves playing with them. I saw Black Swan with my mom. I also won my first ever-real-life poker tournament. My Dad also took the babies and I to meet their GREAT GREAT grandfather. That's right! He is my fathers grandfather and is going to be 95 TOMORROW. Last year he had BRAIN SURGERY and survived to even come and drink a margarita at my brother's wedding in April. He still lives at home and his kids come by quite often to check on him. That man will never go into a assisted living facility. He is way too stubborn. Though I would like to say my kids got to meet him, they truly did not get to interact with him. They are under two and of course they were quite the handful. My son just wanted to run around the house and explore and Amelia was just so fussy. We did get a picture and hopefully my Dad will send it to me soon and I can post it. I enjoyed my time there and hope I get to do it again soon.

Wednesday night I came home. Thursday and Friday were mostly spent running around after the kids and fighting a major Migraine. With all the weather changes I could not seem to get rid of the darn thing, but somehow managed. My little stinker (AJ) really made my vacation a lot of fun. Though he is quite the work-out, he really makes me smile a ton. After getting home he and I played for the next two days pretty hard. If only it was nice outside we would have played even harder. We spent a lot of time playing games and things that would help his little mind. Everyday that boy seems to impress me with the things he can learn. Though he is not a rocket scientist in the making by any means, I am just glad that he is starting to talk and blossom more and more each day. Unfortunately, he learned the word "NO," while I was on vacation. UGH!!! AND he understands what it means. I guess I have ton be thankful for hearing less and less of the whines when he does not like or want something.... he just tells me "NO" instead. So needless to say my little baby boy is more an more like a toddler. Can you believe he will be two in three months. Where does the time go?

Overall, I had a lot of fun with the kiddos and family. I am glad I kept them out of daycare for the week and we got to spend the time together. I think the next time I have a long time off again and Adam has to work, I might send them to daycare only one day so I can get some things accomplished. I have a growing to-do list and it is never going to go away, I just would like to accomplish some of it one day.

Now we are just looking forward to February and going to Florida and DISNEY!!!!

Happy Four Months

2011-01-20T13:52:00.000-06:00

On the 13th Amelia turned four months old. I can't believe how fast the time has gone. She has been such a wonderful blessing. Here is what Amelia has been up to.

*She weighs about 13lbs if not more. We won't know until next month. We are still a little behind on her appointments and so we are working to get caught back up. But we can't good too soon in between shots.

*She found her hands. This past weekend she spent the entire weekend eating them. She thought they tasted much better than her bottle. She also loves to stare at them while laying around.

*She also has found her voice. It is quite loud at that. She makes me laugh. She wakes up talking all the time and though I don't like early mornings I love waking to happy babies.

*She rolls over from her belly. She is still trying to roll from her back, but cant see to do it quite yet. I see that it might happen any day now.

*She has started to sleep more and more through the night... Though we are not super consistent, this past week she has slept from 9p-530a. I will take it.

*She is also trying to learn to sit up on her own. She is super strong and get hold her head up all the time.

*She can almost hold her own bottle, but she has NO interest in eating baby food yet. We have tried a few times to get her started, but she wants nothing to do with it.

Well, that is mostly everything as of right now... I am sure there is a little bit more, but these are the fun points!!!

The good, the bad and the ugly. . .

2011-01-20T13:29:00.000-06:00

I found this on a friends BLOG and decided to join in the fun for today. Look back next week for it again. Link up to her site at Wifey In Training ...

The Good: AJ has started to use his words more than his whines
The Bad: He still does not have volume control
The Ugly: Adam and I realized we really NEED to watch what we say around him, because he is also good at repeating things.

The Good: Amelia is 4 months old now
The Bad: She is ready to have her own room
The Ugly: We live in a 2 bedroom house and our lease is not up until the end of March

The Good: I am home from my mini trip to Ft Hood/Killeen
The Bad: My mom stayed there cause that is where she lives.
The Ugly: I don't get to see them again until February when we go on our family trip to Florida

The Good: I started my diet this week
The Bad: I did not weigh myself before starting
The Ugly: I feel like I have gained weight instead of loosing weight. BUT I have eaten less and more healthy. . . Hmmm

The Good: Adam picked up the house
The Bad: Picked up is the key word
The Ugly: I can't seem to be content with his cleaning skills sometimes. BUT I LOVE HIM . . .

The Good: I got a new position at work. . . It is kind of a promotion and it is effective as soon as vacation is over with. . . They are going to announce it today.
The Bad: Some people are going to be really upset about it and I feel bad
The Ugly: I want to be so excited for myself, but don't want to show it to other people.

The Good: Adam and I decided to wait at least two years to even think about having babies again. (he wants FOUR) That is when my car is paid off and we can then get a bigger vehicle.
The Bad: That means I will almost be 30 when we have more babies
The Ugly: I love being a mom, but not sure if I really can be a mom to more than two. I love having one of each already, but because of these two surprises we have already had, I dunno . . .

AJ's Words

2011-01-10T13:08:00.000-06:00

So I really wished that I had a good video for this, and hopefully in the couple of days I can get one, but AJ has really started to talk more and more. Adam and I have really tried to spend some time with AJ getting him to talk. He seems to be very shy and does not always want to talk, but we are trying to work with him. As of yesterday I took a notepad and here are words that he is starting to say more and more. A lot of this is with help of pointing, showing, etc.

*Eyes
*Nose (as he puts his ENTIRE finger up it)
*Mouth (outh)
*Socks
*Shoes (soos)
*PeePee (pepe)
*ears (he still gets his ears and nose mixed up . . . Not sure why)
*Sissy
*Amelia (mealya)
*Go
*Banana (nana)
*more (and signs it is sign language)
*done (dun (also signs in sign languaga)
*finish (fish)
*MaMa
*DaDa
*GiGi (my Mom)
*PaPa (my Dad)
*Cookie
*Snack
*Ball
*Tree
*Tickle Tickle

I know there are more, but these are all the words I wrote down yesterday throughout the day if I remembered to do it! I am just so proud that he starting to talk and use words more and more. I have a few nieces and nephews who I have watched grow up and they seemed to talk way before AJ did. I had to remind myself that kids all do things at different times, but I really want my wonderful baby to do well in the future. I promise to get a video very soon...

Happy New Year

2011-01-03T23:04:00.001-06:00

Happy new Year from the English Family. A lot happened in 2010, but we are even more excited to see what 2011 will bring to us this year.

Here are some highlights from our year.....

January
I took a much needed vacation and during that time Adam and I decided that sometime in 2010 ... We were not sure when, but that was the plan. I told my boss at the end of the month that I wanted this for my family sometime in 2010.

February
Adam and I founded out that moving to Texas would happen sooner than we thought. I went to my boss the first week and told him that I would be moving in March and asked if I could transfer. Adam would meet me sometime at the end of March or Early April.

AJ started to walk using furniture, but we would not walk on his own.

March:
I moved to Texas and moved in with my "twin," lindsey. I brought AJ with me and he, Lindsey and I were a little family for a few weeks. Lindsey would help out amazingly with AJ. During that time AJ continued to try and walk with furniture, but no true steps. I actually was thankful that he did not walk during that month because my husband was not there.

April:.
At the beginning of the month Adam and I moved into our apartment here in Texas.
In the middle of the month I had a doctors appointment to get my BC shot, but actually found out that I could be pregnant. A week later, I went to the doctor and found out that I was truly pregnant, and VERY pregnant at that. I found out that I was pretty much out of the first trimester.
At the end of the month we spent Easter in Ft. Hood with my parents and brother's family. It was an AMAZING weekend.
AJ also turned ONE! My little boy TURNED ONE!!!!! OMG!!! I cried so hard.

May:
I turned 27. I can't believe I am 27, married and have one baby and another on the way. YUP another day of crying.
ON my birthday I was placed in my perm store and started on my birthday. YUP I worked on my birthday for the first time EVER!!!
During May I went to the doctor to try and find out the sex of our little one. She would not let us know what she was.

June:
Adam turned 27.
WE spent father's day in San Antonio. It was Adam's first time ever to San Antonio. We got to go to Sea World, the Riverwalk, and the Alamo.

July:
This was the first year in 10 years that I had 4th of July off. We spent the weekend with my friends soaking up the sun and enjoying our time.

August:
We found out that they were going to induce me mid September. We wanted to avoid some complications and it was the best choice for our little family.

September:
My "twin" got engaged.
A old childhood friend and great friend of mine got married.
Amelia was born September 13th.

October:
The last week of the month I went back to work

November/December:
These past two months went by so fast. I am truly blessed this year. I am loving my life and am so excited to see what 2011 brings.

Overall, this year was amazing. Adam and I had a great year and our family is definitely blessed. We have a lot to praise God for this past year. We have decided that 2011 will be a year to spend with our wonderful children, watch them grow and ensure our marriage continues to stay amazingly strong. We are going to try and work on ourselves. We are going to go to Florida in February, Ohio in September and then maybe a couple of little weekend trips throughout the year. Thank goodness for Pack'n'plays, diaper bags, etc.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed year.

Amelia's Two Month Update LATE

2010-12-30T09:45:00.000-06:00

So with the holiday and Amelia being sick a lot, we had to do her 2 month check-up and shots a month later. She is 3.5 months old today and we went to see Dr. McG. So we did both the 2 month and 4 month milestones checklist, but only got the 2 months shots of course. Here are the stats and info on my little princess.

* She is 13lbs, 7oz. . . 24.25 Inches long. . . and a 16inhead circumference.
* This puts her in the 65th Percentile for weight, 80th Percentile for height, and 65th% for her head.
* She got three needle vaccines and one oral.
* She smiles constantly and even giggles once and a while.
* She has started to really squeal, babble, and make lots and lots of noises.
* She has started to enjoy tummy time a little bit more than before. When she is tired of tummy time she just rolls over now.
* She has found her hands.
* I think she is going to get her teeth really early just like AJ did. She drools so much I think she needs to change clothes at least 3-4 times a day.

Well, I am sure there is more, but AJ is really testing his limits with me today and I need to go play with him.

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-30T09:18:00.000-06:00

So Christmas has finally come and gone. Though I can honestly say I am super excited that it is gone, because of my work schedule, it was a great holiday this year. This year was the first year in TEN years that I got Christmas Eve off. The price I have to pay now is working New Years Eve, but I am good with that. I only work until 4pm anyways, which means I can still go out and enjoy the evening with my family.

So this year Christmas was not quite what I expected it to be. I thought for sure AJ would totally get it, but yet again, I was wrong. He had no clue who Santa was, and why I made him sit on his lap, or why there were presents under the tree that said "from Santa." Did he even care? No. He was so confused as to why for weeks I told him "NO" every time he tried to touch anything under the tree, but yet on this random day I was begging for him to open his presents. So after waking up at 8:30, getting changed, eating breakfast and opening presents, it was NOON!!! Talk about taking our time. My parents came up for the holiday this time, and I must say it was SO WONDERFUL to be able to spend this time with them. This was my first Christmas with my parents since 2006. FOUR YEARS of doing things without them, just was not fun! It was great to spend it with them.

Well, after all was said and done, I think this year was a success. Maybe next year we will go to my brothers and ALL of us will be together for the holiday. That is if I get Christmas Eve off again. Here are some pictures of the weekend with my parents and family.

(Our Christmas Tree After Santa Visited)
(AJ Sitting at his new dinner table that PaPa and GiGi got him. Good Bye High Chair)

(AJ playing "footsie" with his sister.)

(AJ and I at the Gaylord on Christmas Day)

(Amelia and I at the Gaylord)

Going to see Santa

2010-12-26T10:52:00.000-06:00

Well, this would make two years in a row that it has been no fun for AJ to go and see Santa. We went to the galleria mall to meet up with my parents and get pictures with Santa and to hang out for a little while. After getting there just in time we waited in line for about 35 minutes. It was started so easy. AJ was having fun, eating his snacks, playing with his papa and GiGi. We get up to Santa and I am so super excited. He is wore out and wants NOTHING to do with this crazy man. We are still in the stranger anxiety stage so I half expected him to not want to see Santa, but I never expected the screams, kicks, or other fits I got. Hopefully, next year he will be in a much better mood!

(AJ and Amelia with Santa - AJ Throwing his fit.)

(Amelia and Santa - After AJ came to me)

Amelia Rolled Over

2010-12-26T10:41:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday, December 21st, 2010, Little miss Amelia decided to roll over. This time is was different than when my son did. She did it over three times. Unfortunately, when I went to look for the camera to take the video, she was tired and so over doing it again. She and her brother rolled over right around the same age. My son rolled over at exactly 3.5 months. Amelia is shy of being 3.5 months old by about a week. So she she did it at 3.25 months old. . . I can't believe how big she is getting. Here is a picture of her recently.

Mr. Personality

2010-12-14T10:45:00.000-06:00

"Sit Down," "Leave her alone," "Don't run," "aahhh," "no sir" . . . . All these are phrases I feel like I say a thousand times a day to my wonderful son. A.J. is such a active little boy, and sometimes wears this momma out. Recently, I have taken time to really observe my son. Most days our times together have a lot to do with eating dinner, getting a bath, play for about a half hour, watch the backyardigans, and then bed time. I really don't get much time with him during this time of the year and any moments I do get to have, I just love them. The past two weeks I have really taken in how much personality my little dude really has.

Last night, I picked the kids up from school. Got home, changed both of them, made a bottle for Amelia, fed her, made A.J.'s dinner, (he feeds himself these days), and then Amelia fell asleep for a few, which gave me the best chance to play. Adam had to work late last night so I got some one on one time with my little man. I could not have appreciated it more. We started in one room, an ended up in another room. One moment he would be running, the next sitting on my lap, and so on and so forth. He had so much energy, and I thought it was never going to run out. We ran all around, sat down for two seconds, tickled sissy, pull out toys he did not normally play with, try to unwrap Gigi and Papa's Christmas presents from under the tree. He was non stop and I realized how much he loves playing and being around other people. Then a few minutes later, he came over gave me a kiss, sat on my lap and started to point to his toes. He wanted me to do "this little piggy." If anyone knows my son, you know what a true daddy's boy his is. He calls for dada before ever calling for me. He follows Adam around in the kitchen, etc. So when he sat on my lap, I just melted. After playing "this little piggy," I got him into the bath and then Adam came home. Not five seconds after being home, I hear A.J. say DADADA at the top of his lungs. I knew then he was all about Dada, at least I thought I knew. After his bath he actually yelled for me and wanted me to get him dressed and ready for bath. WHAT??? I swear that little boy surprises me all the time. This little man of mine is really turning into a big guy. He has been such a blessing to my husband and I. We are so blessed to have a wonderful little boy (and girl too).

Here are so recent photos of my little man. He is growing up so fast.

Home

2010-12-05T20:52:00.001-06:00

So this is the first holiday season in years where I feel like I am actually functioning. Don't get me wrong, I am working major hours, juggling two kids, a husband, friends, so on and so on. This year has a different feeling. I am "home." Let me explain:

I left Texas many years ago to pursue a college education, and start a career. Though my college education did not lead into the career I truly wanted, I am praising God for having a career in this day and age and with our economy. After graduation I earned a great promotion within my company I worked with for many years, but the catch was I had to stay in the great lakes/Ohio region. Don't get me wrong, I had quite a few different job offers after graduation, but I had worked for Kohl's for many years and I knew what I was getting myself into, well at least I thought I knew especially with the economy that we were in and still are in. During that time I met my now husband and things just became crazy from there. Though I have/had MANY friends in Ohio, I was always so jealous, frustrated, and emotional during this time of the year. I wanted to be where I would not feel out of place. When living there, many people tried to let me enjoy these times with their family and other friends, but I always felt out of place or like I was intruding on their family traditions. It just was not the same.

In March of this year, Adam and I took the chance and moved to Texas. Most of you know he is originally from Arizona and his grandparents were from Ohio and that is how he ended up in Ohio. Adam is a wonderful husband. He saw for years how I would cry every holiday season, or go into my shell, or what not. I was not the crazy, bubbly, happy, enthusiastic woman he knew every other part of the year. So he promised me when we got married that someday he would move me back home. Back to a place that I felt like I belonged.

Though I don't talk to most if any of the people I went to high school with, and my parents still live 2.5 hours away, and my brother is stationed in Ft Hood, I still feel comfort and peace. Texas is a different culture. The way of living is different. The people are different. Everything is just "different." BUT in a good way. I feel like this is where our family belongs. I do miss a lot of different things about Ohio, but I know that is not where we belong. We can visit a lot and so on, but we are meant to be here. There is our home. I am loving our life. I am feeling so blessed. I have not been this happy in years.

The next step in our journey is to find a house and continue to grow our family. But that is all years down the road. We have a couple more years of apartment living, and being a family of four, but in due time and God Willing we will have a house of our own and a couple more English babies running around.

May everyone feel at home and at peace during this wonderful time of year. And thank you to all of those in previous years who tried to make me feel at home with their families. I was blessed to have been a part of it. May I try to bless others the way you had blessed me in this time of year.

We Survived

2010-11-29T18:36:00.000-06:00

So this past week was probably one of the craziest weeks we have had as a family in a long time.

Sunday 11/21 - This was my last day off of my wonderful three day weekend. We spent most of the day just getting our house clean and relaxing. I was excited because I was sure the next week was going to be easy, especially after the great weekend we had.

Monday 11/22 - Crazy day all around. I had a doctor's appointment, and it was no fun. Then I went into work to close. I was there all about 15 minutes and my son's school called and told me he had a 101 fever. I got a hold of my husband and he went and got the kids from school. . . I just figured I would continue to work. About three hours later my husband calls and asks at what temperature does a Baby (meaning Amelia) need to go to the doctor for a fever. I rattled of the 100.3 and he said "uh oh." She had a 101 fever and so off to home I went to take her to "care now." Little did we know that they don't see newborns. Her dr. office was not answering their pages, so to the ER we went. After a four hour trip, she ended up with a whole bunch of things wrong with her. UGH! What a day.

Tuesday - I went into work while my husband stayed home with the sick kiddos. He is more able to work from home than I am. The day seemed to go pretty well. Amelia was fine all day with no fever and AJ seemed to be fine the entire day too. He did not have a fever all day long. My parents ended up coming up that night. AJ was in bed and Amelia was so happy to see her gigi and papa. I ended up working quite abit of hours because of having to leave the night before.

Wednesday - We wake up and the kiddos seemed to be out of the woods. Adam had not fever, and Amelia was great. I went ahead and sent Adam to school and kept Amelia home with me. I figured my parents could take care of here when I left for work at 3 for two hours. Adam called and said that he would be getting off at 2 and so he would be home in time with AJ before I left for work. He walked in the door as I was getting ready to leave and said that AJ had yet another fever. I got out the tylenol and gave it to him and put a call into the doctor and left for work. Around 7pm I get a call that Adam was taking AJ to the ER that he had a 105 fever. HOLY COW!!! I could not get out of work early because it was the night before thanksgiving and we had a lot to do to get ready for BLACK FRIDAY. I got out of work and Adam was getting home from the doctor. He was exhausted. AJ had nothing but a virus and they told us to give him more fever reducers to make it work. SO FRUSTRATING!!!

Thursday - HAPPY TURKEY DAY . . . We still had our turkey day with all of the fixing. My parents and one cranky sick toddler. He just was not happy about anything. There was nothing that was going to make him happy either. It was a great day though. We had a relaxing day and ate so much food. In fact, we are Still eating left overs.

Friday - I worked 4a-4p and it was one crazy day. I could not believe how fun it was to work this year. Very crazy and not that stressful this time. I got home after work and AJ was in rare form. He had no fever but was acting like a butt. Apparentely the jealousy of his little sister has finally kicked in. Anytime she cried, he cried. Anytime I fed her, he wanted a snack. This went on all night. I did take a time to go a little bit of black friday shopping with my parents for a few after AJ went to bed. I got Adam done with my christmas shopping for him. YAY!!! We went back to the house and just sat around and watched TV. I passed out around 10:30. I was exhausted.

Saturday - I woke up and helped my parents pack up to leave. They left early. We had a pretty lazy day. I went and napped around12 because I had to work overnight.

So for the past few nights I have been overnight with work. I hate working thirdshift. It was no fun!!! I can't seem to get my energy back. Today was my cleaning house day, grocery shopping, etc. It was crazy! BUT YAY!!!! The week is over and we are at a new week. All the kids are healthy as of now, and I am hoping that this is the last time this season they get sick. But we survived the crazy week. And black friday, and such is finally over. Less than 25 days left of the season and I am excited about that. Then I get a vacation in January and February. . . . SWEET!!! Happy Holidays everyone!!!!

2010-11-20T12:37:00.000-06:00

I made this photo book for my parents for part of their Christmas Presents. I wish I had more photos of my brother's kids, but I think it came out pretty cute. . . I am sure if I had more time I would have done more with it too, but it is just something fun for them . . . I know my husband wants more babies down the road and I can make another one when that happens . . .

Click here to view this photo book larger

AJ's 18 Month Check Up

2010-11-17T07:40:00.000-06:00

Okay so if I already did not know how close in age my kids were, on the 28th of October A.J. turned 18 Months old. WOW that was eye opening. My kids seriously are about 17 months apart, and actually a little less than that. With that said 18 months means yet another well child visit with Dr. V.

Out of all of A.J.'s well visits, this was actually the easiest. They did the normal weight, height, milestones questions, and then the SHOTS. . . . A.J. was 25 pounds, and 32.5 inches long. He is a tall boy. The weird thing is he is average for his weight. I swear I thought he was sooo big/fatish, and he is just normal. I guess it is just because when I carry Amelia around and then I carry him, I feel like my back is going to hate me even more. A.J. heat circumference was also small this time too. I am wondering if I just make kids with small heads or what?? So freaking weird.

The shots were actually not that bad either. He got FOUR shots, which I thought was a LOT, but one of them was the Flu shot. They had an extra nurse come in so they could do two nurses, two shots each. When they pricked him with the first set, he just laid there and stared at me and just teared up a little bit. Then when they did the second set, they pricked up with the needle and it is when they started to give the MMR on his left leg he put one loud, short scream out and jerked his leg. As the nurse was taking the needle out and moved his leg, and the needle scratched him. Not even 5 seconds after he was given the shots and I picked him up, he was fine. We got him all dressed and we even wanted to RUN out. . . He did not feel the need to be carried. He was a much bigger person than I would have been. I am such a baby when it comes to getting shots.

After his appointment, I made the 25 minute drive home to then have to actually drop him off at school. I felt so bad, because I was sure he was going to give them a workout because shots make him feel a bit crappy sometimes. After I dropped him off I went home and got ready for work. I called and checked up on him on my way into work and his teacher said he was as normal as he is on any other day. She did say he took an extra little mini nap when I dropped him off (probably because I had to wake him up at 6:30 instead of his normal 8am). While at work in the evening I called my husband to see how he was, and he also assured me that he was acting normal. THANK GOD!!!!!! Because now Amelia is getting sick, but that will be a different BLOG.

After 18 Months my son has grown up so much. He is one strong, amazing little man. Here are some things he is doing. . .
* Loves to Mimic Mom and Dad, and any other adults he knows. With both actions and words.
* Obviously he is walking and running very well.
* He is getting very good at doing puzzles.
* He loves to "read"
* His vocabulary has gotten up there. Words that he does like: cup, go, bye, no, please, thank you, welcome, mama, dada, gigi, papa, Amelia(meelya is how he says it), sissy, turtle, book, more, love you (lub u), uh oh, AJ, nose. I am sure he knows more, but you get the idea. He likes to talk talk talk talk all day long.
* Starting to do a better job with his body parts. He knows his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, foot, knee, and shoulders. But he can only do one at a time. He is very weird.
* He has started to kind of like watching a couple of shows on Nick Jr. He loves any of them with music because he will dance dance dance for hours on end. He also has started to really sing a lot more. I love going in the car with him. He will sing with the radio and it makes me smile.
* One thing I have noticed about my little man is he is all about routine. He is also all about systems. How to do, an undo something over and over again. He loves to bang and climb on everything too.

well, I am sure there is more I can share about my little man, but time to finish getting him ready for school, so I can get ready for work!

This is AJ hiding from the nurses so he did not have to get a shot . . . Obviously that did not work!!!!

Lazy Day

2010-11-09T16:55:00.000-06:00

Today was one lazy day for Amelia and I. I worked really late last night and then got home and had to feed Amelia around 1am and then she woke us back up at 5. A.J. then heard the commotion and decided to wake up around 6 and I just laid in bed and let my husband get him out of bed. Around 7, I decided it was time to feed the kids and get motivated. The motivation NEVER happened though. Because of that major lack of sleep and the fact that I feel like I am getting a little sick I decided to send A.J to school and keep Amelia home today. It was a nice lazy day. Seriously, I had all the windows open, the doors open, stayed in my pajamas and only picked up/cleaned the kitchen and living room today. Amelia and I caught up a little bit on the DVR and some naps.
Since I had a nice day with Amelia today, on Friday I have another day off, I am going to keep A.J. home from school and send Amelia and he and I will have a Mommy and me day without Amelia. I don't think we have had one of those yet since Amelia came.
Okay, now it is time for me to get the dinner going, and a load of laundry going before Adam gets home. .. BUT I just wanna relax still!!! LOL!!

The good, the bad and the ugly. . .

2010-11-07T21:06:00.000-06:00

Let's start with the ugly. . . and work to the good and end on a good note. . .

Ugly:
I am not going to lie. I am sad. The past couple of weeks have been very tough. A friend of mine from high school and someone I worked with the first couple of years of college died. I was at work on a Friday and during my lunch I checked my phone for my e-mails and saw one from a friend saying "IMPORTANT." As I read through it, it was a note from my late friend's sister letting people know that Matt was no longer with us on this earth. UGH . . . Not something I really wanted to read on my lunch at work. I was so confused. I did not think it could be true. Just as I was at peace with this, this past Friday another bomb was dropped on my family. I called my husband at work during my lunch to see how is day was going. Usually on a Friday he tells me, "slow, bored, etc, but this time he said "horrible." If you know my husband, NOTHING bothers him enough to say horrible. It was then he let me know his Aunt Judy passed away. I was crushed to hear this for him. She had beat Breast Cancer almost two years ago, and then right before we moved to Texas this year she was told she had cancer again and it had spread to the lungs. Her spirits were so high and so we felt good for her. In October, Adam's family had their annual apple picking and family reunion gathering thing. We have gone many years, but it was only two weeks after Amelia was born so we did not think it would be smart to travel to Ohio, so we did not go. The family had decided to do the event this year more indoors for Aunt Judy. She was making sure she did not get ill. I am not sure the details of her passing, but I feel so bad for my husband. He is not one to grieve, and I know he is not showing any emotion, which bothers me, because I know he is crushed and sad. Those of you who were at my wedding, she is the one who did our cake. She had made cakes for so long and we were honored to have her make our cake.

THE GOOD/GREAT:
So I tried to keep the bad and ugly parts short so I can talk about the good things in my life. Though things have been tough lately, I am seeing the good in life at the same time. The kids are doing amazing. A.J. really makes me smile through the worst parts of life. I get home and just want his sloppy, open-mouthed kisses and hugs. His happy-go-lucky personality just makes things so great. He loves his sister and he is really starting to be such a little man. He starting to use more and more words and he is just such an amazing little man.
Amelia is doing great too. She is getting so big so fast. She has started to smile a lot and that makes me so excited. She is meeting and exceeding all of her important milestones and I love it. She has definitely put us through the ringer, but we are loving every moment with her. I am getting so excited for her to get bigger so her and AJ can play with each other.

Adam and I are great. He is such a great father to our little babies. I was so worried how he was going to do when I went back to work. He has a full plate already with work and then to have no true weekends off anymore while I work, I was worried for him He is really doing a great job.

Work is tough, but great. We are in the most intense time of year, but I am determined to make it through. I seem to have impressed my bosses and so I am determined to keep myself on their good sides. But I will get more into that another time. I am just praying that these next 8 weeks go fast and smooth.

Though life has been giving me a few tests lately, I am trying so hard to praise God through it all. He is proving over and over to me that there is a bigger and better picture and that I just have to see the entire picture to see his plans and good things for my family and I.

Work=Going to the gym

2010-10-28T20:48:00.001-05:00

Well, the first few days back have not been too bad. . . I can say that I am super exhausted, but I feel accomplished each day.

Day 1:
Amelia had me up at 3:30a. I was not too happy. She also did not want to go back to bed. This meant I was up for the day. She and I had some bonding time and then I got ready for work. Wednesday I get to work around 6:50a and start to get my desk back in order, put up my pictures of my babies and by 8a I am ready to hit the floor. I spent some time walking around with my SM discussing different things we want to accomplish and then my DM shows up. We sat on a conference call and then at 11 he spent some time walking with me and my SM. . . WHOA, that was a stressful bit. We walked, talked, fix some things, made plans for other things, for THREE HOURS!!!! Man did I feel overwhelmed. It is only 2:30 and I am already ready for the day to be over. After we finished walking, we had some closed door conversations about some good and bad things and he finally left around 3:00. I looked at my SM and she could tell I was WHIPPED!! . . . I spent the next hour and a half doing some work and then I left at 4:30p. I was so excited to get out of there before 5p. This meant that I would be able to beat Adam to pick up the kids because I would get out of having to fight the traffic. I was so excited. Good thing, because Adam ended up having to work until 7:00 and it would be up to me to get the kids fed, changed, and A.J. into bed. While I was waiting on Adam to get home from work, and A.J. was in bed I was able to get the kitchen cleaned up and everything set out and packed up for the kids for school for the next week. By the time Adam got home, Amelia needed fed again, and changed. Once all that was taken care of, it was 9:00 P and I went to bed. Thank goodness Adam was willing to stay up with Amelia.

Day 2.
My Alarm goes off at 4:15a and that means I have to get up. I had to open this morning and I did not feel refreshed at all. Last night before going to bed I got a call from my boss letting me know that we would have visitors in the building today and so we have a lot to do in the AM before they get there. So I was did not sleep well, etc. I left for work a little early to be able to stop and get some coffee and I made it there right around 5:45am. My boss got there right when I did and off we went. To sum up my day, I felt like I spent the day at the gym lifting weights. I moved, fixed, cleaned, and did so many things today, that when my DM showed up with the visitors he was very happy with the progress me made from the notes we had yesterday. He figured it would have taken me a long time and so he was very pleased. I was even able to get out of work before 5 again. I got the kiddos and we went through the same routine as last night. Tonight I let A.J. stay up a little to watch his favorite show and now we are here, writing this BLOG.

Well, it is 9pm and it is Amelia's time to eat again, and then I am going to bed because I have to open yet again the morning. Goodnight friends!!

Preparations

2010-10-26T22:37:00.000-05:00

So today has been a huge day of preparation for me to go back to work tomorrow. I spent the morning getting the living room, kitchen, dining area and A.J.'s room cleaned up, BUT it is 11PM and you can't tell. Anywho. . . after doing all of that, feeding the kids lunch, getting their naps in, I ran to the bank with BOTH kids, which mind you did not have a drive up teller. That meant I had to lug both babies into the bank to do a simple deposit, then lug them back out to go back home. I was so proud of myself for being able to do that simple task, without a stroller.

Once home, I started to get everything organized and such for the next week. I went through all of Amelia's clothes and packed up the thing few things she has grown out of. I moved the next set of clothes, that she will soon be fitting in, up into the top two dresser drawers with all of her current clothing. Then I packed her bag for school tomorrow. I did not realize how much stuff she would need. Pack of diapers, Pack of wipes, extra clothes, formula, blanket, paci, paperwork, bottles, and of course her "lovey." I then sorted through all of A.J.'s clothes to pack away all of his clothes that he has outgrown. He actually did not have a lot for me to pack away this time. I laid out their clothes for tomorrow and then pulled their outfits for the rest of the week. I have to be at work before Adam has to get up to get them ready, so I wanted to make it as easy for him as I could. They are going to be super cute tomorrow. I pulled out A.J.'s BIG BROTHER shirt and Amelia's LITTLE SISTER onsie and pants. Though they don't "match" color wise, I think it will be so cute for when they go to school. Let's just pray that neither of them spit up on, spill, or what not on their outfits once dressed. I know I am such a dork.

I was able to get all of this done before Adam got home from work. By the time he got home A.J. was eating dinner, Amelia was content in the bouncy, and I had re-vacuumed the house again. We then gave the big boy a bath, and put him to bed, put my new visor in my car, fed Amelia again, made our dinner and watched Biggest Loser.

Tonight we also tried something new with Amelia. I am praying that it works out for us. She has been having a hard time falling asleep at night. On average she goes to bed around midnight, and getting up to eat at 4:30-5:00. We feed her every night at 9. Tonight we fed her at 8:30, gave her a bath immediately after done eating and then snuggled her in her swing for a half hour before putting her in her bed at 9:30. It is now 10:50 and she is still sleeping. I pray that when I go to bed in a few min she stays asleep until 5am when I get up to feed her and go to work. If she does, then this will be the beginning of us trying this every night.

After, a great day of organization, preparation, it is time for me to head to bed. I hope I can sleep tonight. I feel sort of anxious for my first day back. I am also nervous about both of my babies in school. When A.J. started school at this age, my wonderful Emma was the director at his school and I felt a bit more at ease. She also was able to keep me posted throughout the day via text of how he was doing. Newborn's are very needy and I knew I could trust her. A.J. did not start this school that he is at now as a newborn, so I don't know how it is in that room. I do know that the room he is in currently, they are wonderful with him. So I pray the day will go fast and easy.

How to rid the paci?

2010-10-24T23:02:00.000-05:00

So for months now I have been trying to spark the courage to rid the paci from my wonderful A.J. I never really wanted him to have one for this very reason. We have limited his use of it, and have found that if he does not see it, he does not miss/need it. He has been only using it for nap and bed time. The kicker is after his nap, he does not like to give it up. He usually has to have it for about 30 min after his nap, which is usually about when I give him his snack. The next problem is I forget to "hide" it from him. I don't want to lose it because he does use it for naps and bedtimes, but I don't want him using one for much longer. I am proud of us for getting this far, but I want the stupid thing gone by Thanksgiving. We are not going to let Amelia go much longer either. We will use hers just a little longer, but then it will need to go by by too. So how do I take this "comfort" item that A.J. likes when he sleeps away from him. He has already started to get "night terrors," and I know that is the first thing he goes to, to sooth himself. Anyone have any suggestions? He has a really cute smile and pretty good teeth and I don't want to ruin that. I am willing to try almost anything.

The Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-24T20:12:00.001-05:00

So I am not a very big fan of Halloween. I really never have been, but today we wanted to have a little family fun. So we woke up earlier than normal, fed both kids, showered, got them dressed, us dressed and the car packed up and to the pumpkin patch we went. We wanted to get there earlier to beat any crowds. It is very frustrating these days to push a stroller around in crowds. Some people are just very rude and not considerate. Anyways, that is not the point. So we got there at the right time. So we get there and A.J. wants OUT of the stroller. If you know my son, you know he enjoys stroller rides. I let him out of the stroller and he realizes it is muddy and wants nothing to do with the mud. I have never met a little boy so freaked out about getting dirty or what not. He wants nothing to do with dirt, and what not. He finally was willing to walk on it a little bit, but it was short lived. We picked out some pumpkins, took some pictures and then back home we went. We were able to make him home a little late for nap time, but still able to get A.J. to take his nap. He slept until about 3:45. While he had his afternoon snack, Adam got the table ready to carve pumpkins and I went to the store to grab some things to carve them and then some other things for dinner. We carved pumpkins and again, it meant A.J. would get "dirty," so he wanted nothing to do with the inside of the pumpkin. I seriously worry about that boy sometimes. So here are some pictures from our day.

Finally free from the stroller.

His face because he had mud on his shoes (priceless)

He Liked the Cutouts.

Amelia's First Halloween. Thanks Lindsey for the cute outfit.

Time to Carve Pumpkins

(trying to help daddy, but did not want to really touch it.)

The GOO from the pumpkin. A.J. would not stop screaming until Adam took it away.
The pumpkin my husband carved. He got to do the BIG one.

The Pumpkin I carved. I had one about a quarter of the size of my hubby's.

A.J. Bath Time Uh Oh's

2010-10-22T15:58:00.000-05:00

Last night I walked to A.J.s room to get him his towel. While I was gone he had let out all of his water and started to "clean out" the tub of all of his toys. Can you tell his new favorite words this week are "uh oh?" I don't know why, but it cracks me up.

Back to work

2010-10-19T09:39:00.000-05:00

Well, Amelia will be six weeks old next Monday and that means I have to go back to work next week. Luckily I have some vacation days saved up that I can take over the course of the month, and I will still have a week in January off. Then my five weeks start all over in February.

Can you believe that Christmas is less than 90 days away? That is good news for me. Not that I am trying to rush it to get here, but it is because of the amount of hours I put in during the holiday season. We work 6 days a week and they are some really long days. This is probably the worst time of year for me and my mental state. I really do not enjoy the holidays like I did when I was younger. I get so frustrated with the entire months of November and December. Is that horrible? Probably. I just know how much I missed out on last year and this year we have a new addition and I will miss out on more. . . Boo Hiss.

The good things is that it will be fun this year for A.J. He is a bit older this year and I think he will understand it a little bit more. He had fun with the paper last year. This year I hope he enjoys seeing all his new toys that we have bought him. We are not going to make it a huge deal for Amelia because she will be barely 3 months old. The next best set of good news is that I am DONE with my Christmas shopping for both kids, and all of my brother's kids (FIVE). I know I am ahead of all of the BIG SALES, but it is worth it. I don't have to deal with all of the stress and hassle of a toy being out of stock, mean people, crazy crowds, or it not being shipped out on time to receive.

Other than surviving the holiday season, it will be a bit tough going back to work. I really wish I did not have to go back to work, but it makes the best sense for our family right now. I am sure we could survive off of just Adam's paycheck, but we like living the comfortable life we are living right now. We are trying to buy a house next year and so we need the extra income to buy a house. When we moved here this year we did not really want an apartment, but that is what we had to do until we could save up enough for a house.

Some of the good about going back to work and the kids going to "school." They have routine. It gets them prepared for school in the future. They enjoy the social interaction with the other kids, and etc. I used to be sooo against daycare, but the lucky thing is they don't go that much because of my work schedule. If I close they don't go until almost noon and my husband gets them at five. If I open they go at 9 and I get them by 2 or 3. So it is enough to give them some time away from mom and dad, and social interactions. On my days off, they stay home with me.

Well, Amelia needs fed and A.J. needs a diaper change . . .Have a great day everyone

A.J. Update

2010-10-18T17:05:00.000-05:00

Well, Mr. Adam Jr. will be 18months next week. He won't go to see Dr. V. until closer to his sisters 2 month appointment. They won't go at the same time, but their appointments are in the same week. I could not imagine having to hold two kids down for shots in the same day.

Here are some things going on with Mr. A.J.

* He had his first overnights away from Mommy and Daddy. He did better than Mommy did, that is for sure
* He is at least 30 inches long. We learned this at the state fair this weekend. He rode his first carnival rides at the fair. One of them he rode on his own and the other he rode with me. He did not really enjoy it that much to be honest.
* He is no longer using the high chair when eating. We sit him in a chair at our table. He REFUSES to use a high chair.
* He is starting to use a fork and spoon. Not very well though, but he IS trying.
* He has kind of regressed on his words, but since his week with his cousin he is starting to do better. He is really good at Thank You, Welcome (your welcome), Cup, Uh Oh, Down, Go, etc.
* He has his first "girlfriend." Her name is Skylar. He follows her everywhere at school. It is so cute.
* He has learned there are "punishments" for bad actions.
* He definitely has an imagination. And he is very fun.
* He RUNS everywhere. There is no more walking for him. He Runs, Runs, Runs. . . and mommy is wore out.

Well, I think that is it for now. Both kids are happy, healthy, and thriving. Mom and Dad are losing their minds :) . . .

Amelia Update

2010-10-18T16:55:00.000-05:00

Amelia is five weeks old today . . . HOLY CRAZY!!! I can't believe how fast this all went. I would like to say that I used my LOA time to be productive, but that is not the reality. When would one have time?

Well, I took Amelia to a one month check up today. When she went for her one week check up they were worried about her head circumference. It was not charting (meaning it was too small). So Dr. V wanted to see her around her 5 weeks. Here are the stats:

4 days old - 6lb6oz, 20 inches, 12HC.
5 weeks - 9lb8.5oz, 21.5inches, 14.5HC.

Thats right . . She is definitely growing. She is in the 80th percentile for her height, and 70th for her weight. She is charting around 20th percentile for her HC, BUT praise God she is charting and we are seeing growth.

They also did a quick sugar prick/check because of her issues when we were in the hospital. She is still checking good.

Luckily we had no shots, and so mommy and baby left the doctor's office with no tears.

Milestones we have reached:
*Amelia can hold her head up pretty well. She has done this probably since a week old and Dr. V thought that was AWESOME.
*She is eating about 5-7oz every four hours. Because of a little acid reflux she is getting a tiny bit of cereal in her bottle here and there.
*She is getting better with her sleep habits. She sleeps from midnight to 5am, sometimes 6am. That is 6 hours of straight sleep for me. YAY!
*She has outgrown most of her premie/newborn outfits and we are now onto the 0-3months. FINALLY!

There are probably some others than that, just can't think of them right now.

Vacation is over

2010-10-14T11:48:00.000-05:00

Well, my Dad just texted me to let me know that they are on the way back here. He has my little man all ready to go and I am so super excited to see him. I do have to say that it was a great blessing to have these couple of days as a mom to one, but it was a little too quiet though. I can honestly say I did not do anything out of the normal. I took this time to get some extra rest through extra naps throughout the day, get my laundry done, bleach the bathrooms, and just get caught up on a few extra things. Though I know I still would have gotten it done with him here or not, I do have to say it got done faster and easier.

I am blessed to have such a wonderful set a parents and brother who were willing to force me to take this break to myself. I never though I needed it, BUT I DID!!! I was getting on average 3 hours of sleep every 24 hours and I was a walking zombie. Now I am caught up and feel so great. I still had to get up to do the night time feedings with Amelia, but I got to nap a lot during the days, and sleep in. I went from getting a total of 3 hours of sleep to getting about 10 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period. I feel so great.

A.J. is on vacation

2010-10-10T23:24:00.000-05:00

So this weekend Adam and I went down to Fort Hood to visit my family for my Mother's Birthday. Overall, it was a great weekend and I had a blast with my family. The hard part is this week has been just so overwhelming and I think my parents could see it from the moment we showed up on Friday. I am not sure what hit me this week that made me so emotional, but I am pretty sure it was a mix of things. The entire weekend A.J. was very "toddler" like. He is in between teething, growing up, testing the waters, etc. He was by no means an awful child, but it is just a bit aahhh when you don't know what you are doing because he is my first child. I don't know if I am doing all the right things, etc.

So we all woke up this morning and decided to all go to lunch as a family. This means, Adam, Myself, A.J., Amelia, My Mother, My Father, My Brother, My Sister-in-Law and one of their daughters. A.J. was pretty good when we first got there, but it was close to nap time and you could tell he was tired. So he gave us all a ride for a little bit, but nothing I could not handle. After we were all done and leaving everyone went outside except Adam and I because we were trying to get Amelia back into her seat.

As soon as we went outside I was kind of bombarded with "we are keeping A.J. for the week." I thought they were joking and I laughed it off and went to go grab A.J. from my Dad and he told me no. They were serious. I fought with them for about fifteen minutes and I thought I had won. But that is here nor there. After standing in the parking lot for 20 minutes, Adam and I loaded Amelia up in the car and we were on our way home without A.J. and with a LOT of tears. I did not come prepared with what i would need for A.J. to be there a whole extra week. I gave them the extra clean clothes that I always carry, any extra diapers, his pack'n'play, his insurance card, and a huge hug and he had no clue. I felt so awful.

I felt a mixture of emotions and I will not talk about those, but I just was not emotionally ready to leave my "baby." I know and knew he was in good hands. I just figured that the day I would leave him with people for an overnight, I would be more prepared because I would have controlled it. I would have it planned out and would be able to be more okay with the situation. I kept questioning myself as a mother. "do I look so beat down from the past few weeks and that is why they are taking him from me?" Questions like these flooded my head the entire four hour drive home. I was so drained.

So I made them promise that when my brother comes up this week on Wednesday that he would bring him back. Until then I have a lot of sleep, cleaning, etc to catch up on. I talked to him before bed tonight and cried like a baby yet again. So I pray that the next few days go by quickly, but I get rested, and can tackle the next few weeks before going back to work. There will be more tears, but I will enjoy the freedom while I have it! Does that make me a baby?? Probably . . .

Late Night Feedings

2010-10-08T02:17:00.000-05:00

So. . . As I sit here at 2:30 am waiting for my sweet baby girl to digest her food, I figured it was time for a small update.

Life is fantastic. We are adjusting quite well and things are really starting to take form. I can't believe I have to go back to work in a couple of weeks. That will be the true test if we really have things down or not.

We have even made it through our first time having one child sick while trying to make sure the other child does not get sick. AJ came down with some sinus/teething mess early this week and I thought I was going to go crazy. I was not at all prepared for this and I felt so horrible for my little toddler. He had no clue what he wanted, nor when he wanted it. He barely ate because he did not want to chew, and was a complete emotional mess. The world of AJ seems well now. He went to "school" on Thursday and they said he was fine. I am glad to see him better. I always get to be a mess when he is not feeling well. He is just unable to tell me everything in words and so it is heartbreaking to see him ill.

Amelia is growing so well. That is not official from a doctor or anything, but she is finally starting to fill into her newborn outfits. I really could not believe how small she was. She is very lengthy and so she was swimming in most of her newborn outfits. She is now filling into those, but can't wear much of anything else. Her sleep sack is huge on her still, but since she HATES to be swaddled we have started to put her into the sleep sack anyways. She is not keeping us up too much at night. She usually wakes us around 2am for a feeding. She is eating about 4-5oz every meal (every four hours or so). We are seeing an awful lot of spit up again, like we did with A.J. so we have to keep her upright for at least 10 minutes after she eats to let her digest. She is starting to understand night and day better. I am getting to see her beautiful blue eyes more and more during the day.

She goes to the doctor in a little over a week. This is going to be rough. I have to take A.J. for his check up at the same time. I thought I would be smart to make their appointments at the same time so I did not have to drive to Flower Mound twice in the same time frame for two separate appointments. Little did I realize they both will need shots and so they are both going to need some mommy time after the appointment. I am always the one who takes the kids to their appointments, but I think this time I might need to have Adam go into work late so he can join me in the fun. I can't wait to see how much they both weigh and such.

Adam and I are doing great. He is back to work after his one week off a couple of weeks ago. The two weeks since he went back to work have gone by fast and pretty easy thus far. Though we have had some rough nights here or there, I am surprised how well my sleep, or lack there of, have adjusted. We have not let having two young ones keep us locked up either. So we have been able to go out with friends here and there and it has been great. All of our friends have been wonderful as well. They understand when we can't go out, but are great helps to us when we do go out. Most of them have become very fond of A.J. and so they fight for time to see him. They are like extra parents when Adam and I are burnt out.

I have decided this week that I do need to get involved/find more "mommy" friends. In my core set of friends, I am the only one currently married and the only one with babies. My best friend Lindsey is getting married in April, but her and her soon to be spouse will not be having babies for at least 2-3 years. I don't know why I feel the need to find mommy friends because I have such amazing friends now, but it is what it is. I just feel blessed with the friends I do have.

Overall life has been great. This weekend we are going to Ft. Hood with both kids. I am sure I will have stories to tell of how our first "road trip" as a family of four went when we get back.

Lead Me

2010-10-05T20:22:00.000-05:00

" I look around and see my wonderful life
Almost perfect from the outside . . .

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They're just children from the outside
I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine
They're independent
But on the inside, I can hear them saying

Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone.

To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can't
Don't want to leave them hungry for love
Chasing dreams that I could give up"

Above are SOME lyrics to one of my new favorite songs. I was flipping through stations the other day and heard the chorus to this song and I really liked it. I went home and googled the lyrics to the whole song and the parts that I typed above really hit me as mom. I hope that I am doing a wonderful job as a mother to my babies. I hope I am teaching them everything they need to know in order for them do wonderful things with their lives. I am willing to do whatever they need me to for them.

Time to Skinny Up

2010-09-29T23:42:00.000-05:00

Well, the time has come when I can't blame my weight on pregnancy anymore and just face reality and know that I need to get into shape and skinny up. I am by no means obese, but I have a quite a bit of excess weight that I would not mind loosing . . . So I recently linked up to www.skinnytaste.com and I am going to start trying out some of these recipes. The different foods are all food that I like, but they are sensible ways to make them.

I am super excited because I am going to drag my wonderful husband into the mix. He has gained quite a bit of weight since we got married and had two kids and he kind of blames it on me. I was able to go through most of my pregnancy eating a lot of really bad foods and he felt "peer pressure" to join me. So now I shall truly peer pressure him into this weight loss.

Besides doing this I am going to try the couch to 5K challenge. I use to run a lot back in the day and I miss it. I don't have time to do long stretches, but I do think a couple of miles every now and then can be good. I don't want to be a marathon runner or what not, just working to get into shape and a girl named, Julia has inspired me to try this challenge. Let's see how long it is going to take for me to get back up to 5K??

I am so excited to get back into shape a shed these pounds. My goal is just 30 pounds by February. That is FOUR MONTHS. That means I only need to lose on average 2 pounds a week starting next week. So I am trying to stay reasonable. I go to Florida in February for my grandmothers 70th birthday (my entire family will be there), then my "twin"/best friend Lindsey gets married in April (I am her Matron Of Honor) and then sometime next year is my 10 year high school reunion. These all being materialistic reasons why I need to shed the pounds, the reality is I want to be the healthiest I can be not only for me, but for my wonderful babies. Adam and Amelia need me to be a healthy Mom so that I can be here for a long time.

So anyone want to do this with me? 30 pounds by the end January? I know the holidays are coming, but I am still going to enjoy those foods, but with the prize of losing this weight by February. I am going to take things day by day and know that this can't be that hard. I may not need to lose 30 pounds and if I start to look like a weirdo then I will just work to maintain my weight, but reality is I need to get into shape and have fun!!!

Family of FOUR

2010-09-27T16:45:00.000-05:00

Well, it has been two weeks and we are definitely starting to get into the groove of things. We are a family of FOUR and loving it. Though there have been some rough patches the past couple of weeks are starting to get a routine down.

Amelia is really making things a bit hard. She can't seem to get on a consistent schedule. There are some nights where she will sleep her four hours at a time and then wake me to feed her. We try to feed her at 1am and 5am and then again at 9am. She is doing 3-4oz's with every feeding and so she is staying pretty well fed. Her biggest thing these past two weeks is that she wants to sleep while being held by or next to me. Her bassinet is right next to my side of the bed, but she wants to be close to me I guess. As soon as I pick her up and cuddle her next to me, she is out like a light. I go to put her back into her bassinet, she decides to wake back up. I am hoping that this starts to fade a way just a LITTLE bit. I love holding my little girl, but I am so afraid that I will roll over on her or fall asleep and smother her some how.

A.J. is starting to adjust more and more. I know he is ready for her to get bigger so he can actually play with her. He is going to be such a GREAT big brother. He gives her many kisses everyday, tickles her feet, wants to hug her and all that great stuff. But there are times when she is sitting on couch and he wants to try and "pull" her off to she will play with him. He is almost out of the jealousy stage, but he does turn from a great mood to a crappy mood very fast when he does get jealous.

Overall, this is pretty easy. When one child needs changed, then we change the other one at the same time. When it is time for one to eat, it is time for the other to eat. When one needs a bath, the other is getting a bath from the other parent. So, Adam and I are pretty blessed to have each other during this time. He is so great with the kids. We are trying to make sure that when A.J. goes to bed we are spending a couple of hours with just the two of us.

This is my first week with Adam working and me having both kids at the same time alone. So we shall see what happens over the next couple of weeks.

First True Rough Night and Rough Day

2010-09-21T12:46:00.000-05:00

Well, Amelia is now a bit over a week old, and so far . . . things have been pretty calm and easy. I was getting so exciting. Though I was loosing some sleep, it was nothing like I had imagined, until yesterday and last night.

All day yesterday, A.J. would test Adam and I. He was in the rarest form and on top of that he barely took his nap. Most of the morning before his nap he was pretty good. He got up kind of early, but he was in pretty good spirits. After his nap I took him to the grocery store with me so he could get out with me for a little bit and away from everything to see if it would make him have an attitude adjustment. The first half of the trip was so much fun. He sang to me in the car and in the store he was pretty good, until we got to the point where we had to go to the baby section to get nipples and diapers for Amelia. All of a sudden he felt the urge to start acting like a "baby" again. Fussing, throwing things, etc. Thank goodness I was done shopping at that point and to the checkout we went. The entire drive home he was cranky because he did not want to go back into the car to go home from the store and he was mad at me.

We get home and in order for Adam and I to bring in all the groceries to our second floor apartment we have to put Amelia in her bassinet and A.J. in his crib. That was absolutely not acceptable to him. He felt like he should have been allowed to help me bring in the groceries. Normally I would not have a problem with that, if I only had a bag or two, but I went shopping for the next TWO WEEKS. I did not think it would be smart to try and carry a ton of bags up the stairs with my 17 month old son who has recently learned how to climb stairs much less considering the fact that my body is still in a little bit of rough shape from having Amelia.

We get back into the house and put him in his high chair for snack time while Adam and I put the groceries away. We gave him watermelon and vanilla wafers. That is not what he wanted. OMG . . . I was seriously loosing my mind at this point in time. If anyone has a toddler, they know about their LOUD, ANNOYING WHINE that they make when they can't use their words to say what they want. He keeps giving me the sign language for "more," but he can't say what he wants more of. His watermelon and cookies are still on the tray and I am trying to say things out loud that he might want. He knows the sign for cup and that was not what he wanted. It was just getting to me. After putting the groceries away it was about 4pm.

I go into his room with him to play, but all he wants to do is go in the living room and run into the couch that Amelia was sleeping on to see if he can wake her up. He keeps shouting "get up." It was very cute, because he wanted to play with his sister, but I was trying to keep him in his room playing with toys, but he wanted nothing to do with me. Finally I make his dinner for him about 6 pm and I finally got something right that day. I made him something he would actually be happy to eat. After his dinner I put him in the bath and we have a blast, UNTIL it is time to get out almost 30 minutes later. He screams bloody murder as his water leaves the tub and I am trying to get him out and into pajamas. While I am feeding him, Adam is trying to cook our dinner and I think he was ready to lose his mind as well.

Around 7:30 we put him into bed and we thought all of our troubles were behind us. BUT it was just the beginning.

Amelia's days and nights are starting to get better day by day, but yesterday she kind of regressed. She was having troubles with her bowels and we had to switch her to the sensitive formula like we did with A.J. Because of all of this she slept most of the day and we really messed up her schedule.

Last night around 1am she woke up for her feeding and then went back to sleep for about an hour. From there she was up on and off for the night. She was acting like she was hungry, but every time I made her a bottle she would drink less than 10mL. She did this up and down thing until 7:30 this morning, when her brother decided he wanted to be awake. Adam and I were so tired. I took Amelia and A.J. and did their diapers and breakfast and let Adam sleep for an extra hour. Then we were in it for the long haul. Luckily Amelia was ready for a nap around 10 and so I went with her. Around 11:30 A.J. was ready for nap and Adam joined me.

I can't remember the last time that both Adam and I were like Zombies, but this morning before 10am we were TRUE zombies. Tonight we are hoping for a bit better of a night. We only have this week to get Amelia to know when days are days and when nights are nights. . . So if you pray, please pray for Adam and I and our sanity this week. We only have 5 more days together this week and then Adam has to go back to work next week and I am on my own during the days with two children until I have to go back to work.

First Days at Home

2010-09-17T22:16:00.000-05:00

The first two days at home have been quite easy thus far. We have definitely had some challenges, but this has been much easier than I expected.

Amelia and I came home on Wednesday, and were discharged EXACTLY 48 hours after birth. She has some minor issues and so she was not allowed to be discharged for 48 hours and I was not willing to go home without her. My doctor was ready to release me early the morning after birth, but I did not want to leave my little girl, so she let me stay there for another night. My mom came to pick us up and we went to Olive Garden for our first of many to come "girl's lunches."

When we arrived at home my husband was home early from work. We decided that he would work Tuesday-Friday this week because my Mom was here to help out and that way he could take a whole week with me and the two kids next week, when my mom was not going to be here. His boss on Wednesday told him to go and work from home though that way he could be there when I got home. He greeted me with a kiss and I walked into a wonderfully cleaned house. My mom cleaned my entire house for me and had started to do all the laundry I had let go for the past week. My Mom truly is a MAJOR BLESSING in my life.

I decided that since I had not seen my son since Monday when he visited me at the hospital I would go and get him from "school." Around 5pm I left to go get him and was so excited to see him. His reactions were very different. He was glad that I was there to get him from school, but when we got out of the school and I had to get him in his car seat he was very much not happy. He pretty much let me know how mad he was at me for leaving him for two days. Little did he really know that he was going to be even more mad at me when we actually got home and he saw what else I had done. I brought him a little sister home.

I was a little discouraged because I could tell he was already in rare form that day, and I was making it worse. He wanted not a thing to do with me most of the night. I made him dinner, gave him his bath, and tried to do everything I normally would do, but the only person he really wanted was his GiGi and his Adam. He did meet his little sister and he does really love her. He goes tot he bassinet frequently to check on her and I am teaching him out to say sissy. He gives her lots of kisses and hugs and really does well with her. He sees me burp her and wants to help, but it is more like he is HITTING her. But at least it is getting better.

For the past two days I have let her have a lot of "her" time as she has slept most of the time. I kept AJ home from school yesterday and really chased him around the entire day, like I would normally. I wanted him to see that he is VERY important to me and that these new things would not change his and I's relationship. He did really well most of the day yesterday and only had one or two "meltdowns." All very manageable and had to do with him trying to test his limits with me and my Mom. He does get jealous when he sees people holding her, but we really work to make sure he knows how important he is.

Amelia has been pretty easy thus far. She sleeps most of the day away. I have to wake her to feed her during the day. At night she sleeps until about 3 and then all she wants to do is eat until about 7am. She will drink a little out of her bottle, and then fall asleep, and then wake up for more and so on and so forth for about 4 hours. I can't seem to break this cycle yet because she needs to gain weight and I really need for her to eat when she wants. The first night she hardly slept, but last night I was able to keep her on my chest with me on the reclining couch and let her eat on demand. I just made a whole lot of bottles.

She had her check up at the doctor today and she is moving in right direction. She has gained 2ozs since she left the hospital, but is still not totally up to her birth weight. The good - She is gaining back her weight, her color is getting better, her reflexes are good, etc. The bad? - Her head circumference is smaller and on the low end of the charts, she has some drainage on her eye. Other than that she is a little tiny girl with lots of hair and we are hoping she continues going in the right direction.

Today while I was at the doctor with our little one my wonderful Mom again made sure my house was 100% cleaned and all the laundry in the house was done. My Dad came up to pick her up and they left around noon. Today is their 28th wedding anniversary. Without her this week, I am pretty sure I would have been lost. I was sad when she left, but I am sure Adam and I are going to do fine.

Me??? Well, I am recovering alright. The days in hospital were definitely easier this time that last time, but everything that changed in the hospital last time is starting to happen later this time. I was able to go most of my hospital stay with NO pain medication at all. I took a motrin once because of some tearing. Today has been quite rough. I think my hormones have the best of me. I am dizzy, tired, and have lots of tears. My milk did not come in until this afternoon and I forgot how painful this is. I woke up from my afternoon snooze in tears and in probably more pain that I was in when i was in labor. Crazy? I know. I really think the days after labor are the most painful.

Well, Below are a couple of pictures of her the first two days at home.

Napping in her Bassinet

GiGi holding her newest Granddaughter

Thank you everyone for you prayers during this time for us. They are definitely appreciated. I am very blessed.

Labor and Delivery

2010-09-17T21:21:00.000-05:00

What an amazing week! God has truly blessed my family with another member. Amelia Raquel English made her entrance to this bright world this week. Here is her story of how she made her entrance into this world.

Sunday night after watching the True Blood Finale, my husband, Adam, and I locked ourselves in our room and said a mini prayer for the events that would be happening within the next week, put in a movie and called it a night. I am not quite sure how he slept, but my night was a night full of nerves and anxiety. Would I be able to go through with all of this? I mean of course I did fine with A.J., but every fearful thought I had been thinking about for the past 9 months came rushing into my head and I pretty much paced the room the entire night. My parents were a sleep in the living room and so I tried to contain myself in our bedroom and bathroom for the night.

Monday Morning A.J. woke himself up at 4am and I got to spend some quality time with my little man. Took a couple pictures and then Adam and I were off to the hospital at 5:15am!!! Soo early, especially when I was up the entire night before. Adam and I got a kick out of the fact that I decided we would drive MY CAR and that I WOULD DRIVE . . . Ha ha . . . It is not that he did not want to drive, but I had this control issue that morning, not to mention Adam had not been to grapevine before, where the hospital was located . . .

We arrived at the hospital right before 6. It was nice because we got there before shift change and so we were able to start this process right on time. We got settled into the room. I changed, and by the time they were done getting all of my paperwork completed we were able to get the IV in. My doctor came by around 8:25am with the first round of Pitocin and we started it then. They would come in every half hour or so to up the amount of pitocin that I was getting. She went ahead and broke my water and I was dialted at a four and only about 50%. . . (at 8:15am) So I figured we would be in for a long day of labor. My doctor said she would see me later in that day and try to just relax that it might take a while. That is when they started to count me as being "in labor."

I started to feel the contractions right away. About 9am my parents started to make the drive to the hospital and I told them to take their time, that I am no where close. They had to take A.J. to school. By the time my mother arrived around 10:15 am I was really starting to feel the contractions. I had been up and down on the birthing ball, walked the room in circles and finally decided that I just need to sit straight up in the bed and try to relax. By what my doctor had said earlier I did not think I had made any progress. The nurse came in and checked me and I was already at a 6!!! So then we decided that it might all happen around 3. My dad came in once and wished me luck and then made his trip to the waiting room. I really felt bad that he might have to sit there for about 5 hours. I made my mom and Adam stay in the room with me. Right about then things started to get a bit more intense. Around 11 they turned my pitocin off and said things were starting to go way fast. The nurse checked me and I was at an 8. They went ahead and called my doctor to make sure she was on her way within the next hour or so to see how I was doing. Little did we know that she would be coming to actually deliver the baby.

My wonderful doctor came in at 11:45 and checked me and said it was time. We started with our first push at 11:53. We all joked that I had to push her out in less than 16 pushes because that is how many it took to push out A.J. We did 5 pushes and and I felt her "Crown" and knew that in the next push she would enter the world. I did the 6th push and she was out. We had the umbilical cord around the neck once, but everything was great. They put her right on top of me and let me hold her right away. They cleaned her up while she was on me and they actually changed my gown at the same time. As they did the APGAR she got a 10!!! OUT OF 10!!! I was so excited.

I cried of course and was amazed on how fast it had happened. Amelia was born at 12:07pm weighing in at 6lbs8oz. We did not know the length until later in the day, but she was 20 inches long.

Overall, this labor was less than 4 hours long and I only pushed for 14 mintues. I was quite surprised and happy. I was blessed with amazing support from my mother, Adam, and nurse Christine. They told me I was doing awesome a lot, which really helped me get through the hard parts. I did NOT get the epidural. I thought I would this time because everyone said it would make it easier on me, but I toughed it out. With A.J. I did NOT get it either, but that was mostly only because I wanted to try and "prove" something . . . But I am glad with my choices not to get it.

There was a lot of laughter throughout the last hour of labor. I told them that I wanted to eat so she needed to hurry and get here. I was so focused that I am pretty sure I started to mumble words that made no sense, but I could not get time in between contractions to actually talk. They came on so fast and so intense that I gave Adam and My mom many laughs. I could not have asked for a more FUN experience. I am sure FUN is not the right word, but I definitely felt a lightness in the room.

My family and I really appreciate the prayers, thought, and encouragement we have received and continue to receive. Amelia is truly a blessing to us. Below are some pictures of before and after labor! I look Awful, but I am okay with that.

5:00 AM Monday Morning

Dialated at 6cm

Dialated at 8cm

15 Minutes after birth. Her first Bottle.

Two Months!!!

2010-09-09T15:22:00.000-05:00

Well, it has been over two months since my last post. I have a lot going on and really want to post more, but just have not been motivated enough to sit down and write a post. Here are the highlights of July and August and what has been going on in the English Household:

Work has been nuts. My SM and DM both left the company and we are now in a huge transition. We have a new SM and a new DM, both of whom I have really begun to work well with. I have enjoyed working with them and now that I am on leave it should be interesting to see what happens when I return to work. We also have had two months of non stop "visitors." It is not always the most fun being in your third trimester of a pregnancy and working mad hours for visits after visits after visits. Thank goodness, I was able to make it through.

A.J. is growing up so fast. I am still pretty sure he has no clue that in just a few short days he is going to be a big brother. We have tried to explain it to him a little here and there, but we still feel like he is still a little too young. We are starting to get anxious on how he is going to react when we bring his little sister home, but I think he will do fine. He has not hit that stage in life where he is "jealous" too much yet. We have really made a point to make his "space" in our home lately. We are not going to put the two kids in the same room right off the bat and by the time we are ready to convert them to the same room, our lease will be up. It has all kind of worked out. We have made his room HIS room. We have put all of his toys in his room, opened up his space to let him run back and forth to HIS room and he is really enjoying every moment of it. He sees us bringing all these pink, purple, and other items into the house, and it has not phased him. This might be an easier transition than we originally thought.
He is also taking up walking so easily, but it has turned more into a RUN. He runs everywhere all of the time. I have been working with him on how to climb steps and walk (while holding my hand) in stores and things. He likes to become lazy at points in times and wants me to pick him up and carry him, but is starting to enjoy the independence.
He also has been working a lot on his words. It is funny to listen to him. He has points in times where his words sound like full JIBBERISH!!! But then he will surprise us and say exactly what he wants and we totally understand him. He has quite the vocabulary. Some of his recent favorite words are: Good, Bad, Boy, Mama, Dada, Cookie, Frog, Get Down, Sit Down, Ears, Nose, Love you, Cup, Drink and a couple more here or there, but we will take it a run.
His school has been great for him to learn too. They are really working with him on manners, and routines very well. I actually watched him the other day put his toys away and where they went at the school. I went to pick him up and his teacher said "Adam, put your blocks away." I laughed and thought "yeah right" BUT he took his blocks and put them in the toy box. This is definitely something we are going to have to work on at home, but I was amazed.

Adam(my husband) and I are doing well too. We have had a lot of time together and it has been fun. He is working a lot and as am I, but we are trying to make a point to spend more time together on nights that I have off of work. He has really been an amazing support system through these past months with work and the pregnancy. He knows I can't do as much as I normally would do, and he has been wonderful about it all. He has really helped me out when it comes to A.J., or cleaning up the house, etc. The weird thing is that I have actually LET him help out more. I am such a OCD person when it comes to how I want things done. It is not that he can't do it, it is more that I have a certain way I like things. I have really been trying to work on that this year and this pregnancy has been one way to help me work on it. Since I can't do some of the daily things I normally would do, I can't be mad, or frustrated if he does not do things the way I would. I am just thankful that he does it and does it without being cranky!

Well, that is a lot of what is going on. We are just waiting until the induction on Monday for baby Amelia to get here. I am super excited, but very nervous. This should be VERY interesting for us. I can't believe in less than a week we will be a family of four, and that I am going to be a mother of two under the age of two. Talk about stress!!! BUT very BLESSED!!!!

Awesome Week

2010-07-06T21:20:00.000-05:00

What a week!!! . . . I have been on vacation for about 9 days. These nine days have been amazing. Before I went on vacation I was hoping for days to sleep in, and do what I want to do kind of things. Though I did not really get to sleep in ever and do everything I really wanted to, it was fun. I ended keeping the baby home from "school" everyday instead of sending him for a few hours here or there. I kept him the entire time. We had a blast. He did a lot of new things that really made my heart melt. I have started to teach him sign language and he is doing amazing . . . He already knows how to say finished, more, number, happy, and hi of course. This week I have started to teach him cookie, drink, milk and baby. I know all of these are random, but a lot of these are the words we use everyday with him. His walking has dramatically improved as well, and so I am such a proud mom. (I will post videos from the week later on this week.)My husbands birthday was also this past week. He is 27. On his birthday I took the baby and we picked up Adam for lunch. I then came home and made sure the entire house was spic and span. When he came home we put the baby to bed earlier than usual, put in a movie, and just relaxed together. The next night my parents came up and we took Adam to medieval times. He had never been and it had been years since I had gone. It was nice to go out with my husband, but I am not sure if we will ever go to Medieval again. It is not designed for just adults in all reality. BUT VERY family friendly . . . So props to them for that. I thought it was awesome that my parents came up for his birthday too. Adam and my Dad get along so well and I know they enjoy each others company. And to be honest I love seeing my Mom and Dad a LOT!!!

This past weekend was also Independence weekend. This is the first time in 10 years that I actually had the entire weekend off, not to mention just the 4th off . . . I was so blessed this year to have this time with friends and family. For the actual holiday we were able to go to my friend James' home and were blessed with fantastic weather. We did not see one drop of rain the entire time. The boys/"men" smoked a TON of meat and we ate like royalty. That night we decided to go to my friend Lindsey's home and play games and such.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. ~Galatians 5:1~

This past week I also took on a challenge. I was challenged to come up with 1000 things that I am thankful for. At first I thought this was going to be easy because I know I am so blessed. BUT believe it or not, it is actually harder than I thought. It is not that I am not thankful, because I so am in life. I am thankful for so many things, but trying to take the time to sit down and make the list, has been the challenge. I was so happy to have the time with my family this week that I really did not give myself the time I needed to make my list. I will say that I am at least 15% of the way done, which is pretty good. This week I have to be able to get to the halfway point though in order to meet my self appointed deadline. Some things that I added to my list this week were. (remember they are not in order of importance, but in the order I think of them.)
27. History
76. Bleach
82. Prayer
90. The sun112. My Son's smile (especially in the morning)
I know these are very odd things, but I guess as my days go on we will run into some quite odd things. The biggest thing I think I have seen while doing this list, is that the little things we each have daily made a big difference. If that makes sense?

(this is a picture of my son when he just woke up from his nap and was ready for lunch.)

1,000 things to be thankful for

2010-07-01T14:44:00.001-05:00

On March 9 and man by the name of Marshall Jones Jr. made a challenge to his readers on his blog: BondChristian. I had never heard of this blog before, but ran into it through running into another BLOG by the name of DoorframesofTaterhouse.

So I am going to challenge myself for the next 30 days. I am going to work on the 1,000 things I am thankful for. Some I will share as I go, but others will be kept only to myself until the end. I decided that this could be good for me and Adam to work on together. We both will have our separate lists, but it will be great conversation starters. HA HA . . When I make my list I will not put things in any particular order, they will just be things that I think of as they come to me. When I finally do reach 1000, I will post my entire list. I am not sure if Adam will want me to post his list, so we will see.

Here are a few things that I have already started to write down. They are not in order of importance, but they are in the number that I thought of them.

Can you think of 1000 things you are thankful for??

1. God's Love
4. My Mother
5. My father
12. Esther 4:14
26. Museums

fearfully and wonderfully made

2010-06-28T22:06:00.000-05:00

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."

It is amazing to think how God has thought of each of us. The past couple of days I have gotten some much needed A.J. and Mommy time. This time together has been such a blessing. Every day he does something so funny, cute, amazing, etc. I have began to sit back and look at him and see how blessed my husband and I have been with little A.J. in our lives. HE wonderfully made my son. Yeah he is from Adam and I, but he is a blessing from GOD. Soon we will be a family of four, as we are being blessed with another child. I just can't believe how fast this time has gone.

On Another note:

I went in for my 28 week check up at the beginning of the week. Things seem to be going pretty well. I have only gained a total of four pounds so far and I am measuring a week ahead of schedule. Does that mean baby will come earlier than thought??? I hope so!! ha ha! I definitely think that this pregnancy is so much harder compared to when I was pregnant with A.J. I don't know how to explain it, but it truly is much harder. Now it is on to the every other week appointments . . . Less than 80 days! OMG!!! What a blessing!

Father's Day weekend

2010-06-22T19:19:00.001-05:00

What a FANTASTIC weekend with my wonderful family . . . Though VERY busy and at times a bit overwhelming, it was so wonderful. This weekend I took my husband and son on a trip to San Antonio to see my brother and his family and my parents . . . The first night Adam and I got there and met up with my parents for dinner and then had a night in just the three of us . . . The highlight of the night was when A.J. got his FIRST balloon . . . . He loved, loved, loved it . .

Then the next day, it was up early to meet everyone at Sea World . . . It was a BLAST, but definitley not for kids under around the age of 9ish . . . and mind you we had FOUR kids under the age of THREE with us . . . They make you take the kids out of the strollers everytime you go to a show, and in order to get into a show you have to be there early which means trying to entertain a toddler long enough until the show starts and then if the show is not what they like you have to try and entertain them DURING the show . . . The best part was when we went to the water park within cedar point . . . The kids LOVED IT!! We all needed it after the amount of time we had spent in the sun.

That night after we went to sea world my brother and his family headed back to ft. hood and Adam, my parents, the baby and I all went to the riverwalk. . . Adam had never been and he had a blast. We went out to eat and then just walked the walk, had desert and about ONE AM, we called it a night. . .

Sunday morning everyone slept in, INCLUDING the baby . . . and then we took a trip to the Alamo so Adam could see that sight and then back onto the riverwalk we went. We had brunch and then it was time for Adam and I to hit the road back to Dallas . . .

Overall the weekend was wonderful, but there were definitely times that I seemed overwhelmed and a little crazy, but it was a great time away from Dallas . . . Adam and I decided that when I have time again before the new baby comes we are going to take a weekend without A.J. and go again . . .

What a great blessing this weekend to be around my family . . . .

Proverbs 22:6

2010-06-09T19:11:00.000-05:00

Proverbs 22:6
"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."

For the past couple of weeks or so I have been struggling with understanding how to discipline a one year old. It is not that he is "bad" or anything, but trying to teach him how to understand what his father and I need him to understand. He is turning more and more into a toddler and with that comes some very "interesting" behavior. I don't have a lot of friends here with children my son's age and so it is very difficult to gauge if how my child is acting is normal.

I feel a lot of the time my time with him is minimal because of my work schedule that I don't want to feel like I am always just telling him "no," or what not. I feel so bad when I have to be firm with him and can't just be fun. I know that it is my job as his mother to train and teach him to be a great boy and soon a man.

How is a one year old supposed to disciplined??? I have spent some time trying to figure this out. As much as I wish I could say I have the answers, I don't . . . I do know that it will be a learning process not only for A.J., but for me. The best thing I have learned this week is that Adam and I have to be consistent in how we teach our little one. We do such a great job with that, but I do know what happens when we are not consistent. . . A.J. does not listen! ha ha!

Besides the disciplining lesson this week in our home, we have had a lot going on.
* We went to Kileen to celebrate my nieces 2nd birthday. We had a blast and A.J. was so much fun.
* A.J. is getting teeth number 9 and 10.
* I am pretty sure Baby "A" has already turned because I feel the feet up by my ribs again . . . I hope that is not a sign that this baby is going to come too early or anything . . .
* My husband pulled some leg muscles while working out this week . . . (I got a laugh out of it, but now I am having to be nice because I know how bad it hurts).
* I got EVERY bit of the laundry done in our house and it feels so great to say that. Especially because I got it all done while still working 50 hours a week at my job.
* A.J. was moved up to the toddler room and we are seeing this to be a good thing. He is really starting to walk more and more and he seems much happier.

The Smallest things really make me happy . . .

2010-06-04T12:23:00.000-05:00

Lately, a lot of little things have really just made me jump for joy. It is funny that this is what is on my mind, but it is only because I am spending my day off for the week doing a LOT of laundry that we have put off doing for weeks because we did not have a washer and dryer. But that is one of the little things that has made me jump for joy. By the end of today every stitch of laundry in my house will be done. I have not been able to say that for months. Mind you, I really don't want to be spending my day off doing loads upon loads of laundry, BUT I no longer have the stress of not having a washer and dryer . . .

A few weeks ago my parents called and told us they knew someone that would sell us their old washer and dryer for 200 dollars. That is right!!!! . . . Only $200. . . for the whole set . . . I know the couple that would be selling it to us and they are pretty honest people and they just decided one day to upgrade to the front loaders and the better models. So last weekend my parents made the trip up here to bring us the washer and dryer and I was sooo excited. I no longer have to wait til I have nothing left to wear and take all the laundry down stairs to my car and drive it to the laundry mat . . .

Adam and I have been saving up to buy a washer and dryer, but with us trying to get caught up financially from the BIG MOVE to Texas, we were never sure how we were going to be able to spend 800 dollars for a new set . . . So thank you to Vianey and Daniel for thinking about my family when you bought your newest set. . .

What a blessing . . . So like I said, the littlest things in life have really made me so happy lately . . . Hmmmm . . . I don't know!!

Our Little "Mummy"

2010-06-03T21:52:00.000-05:00

For about a month now (since right around Mother's day) Adam has been trying the whole "walking" thing. He can't seem to get it quite down yet, and he looks like a mummy every time he attempts to walk. He puts his hands out in front of him and "runs" to you . . . really does not want to walk to you. It was really neat when my parents were up this weekend because I showed them the video from mother's day when A.J. was attempting to walk. Then a few minutes later we were playing on the floor with him and he would 'walk' to my mom . . . I just hope that he can get himself t slow down a bit to get a better grasp on this walking . . .

The video from mother's day is below. It is a fast one . . . I have a couple other ones that are much better and show him taking more steps than just this one, but I can't seem to get them off of the camera . . . Soon I will post those, once my amazing computer husband can do it for me . . . I am not a technology person . . . It took me forever to figure out that I can actually post movies on here . . . ha ha!!

24ish week check up . . .

2010-06-02T00:34:00.001-05:00

Tuesday was my 24ish week check-up. . . It went pretty well. (We say 24ish week because we are no were for sure when this baby was conceived because of the craziness that it led up to . . . That is another story for another day!!) First I had an ultrasound which was good and bad all at the same time. The good thing is our little one is healthy so far. . . We are seeing no reason to worry about the baby at all. That makes me very happy. So far we could see at least one arm, and two legs and the four chambers of the heart, etc. So the doctor was good with that. The bad part, we still are NOT 100% sure on the sex of the baby . . . WTF . . . This time our little one was butt up and face down. We tried really hard to get the baby to switch around and when the baby would an arm would be in the way. So we are not 100% sure of what we are having . . . Which is going to make delivering very exciting. I am so pumped. . .

After the ultra sound I had my normal appointment. I have only gained NOTHING so far (because I am a fat cow in the first place hahahaha.) . . . I truly believe it is a HUGE redistribution of weight though . . . cause I am starting to show finally, but the scale says I have not gained a pound yet . . . so confused . . . So I got a bit of a concerned talk from the doctor, but honestly I EAT . . . and I eat a LOT! just ask my husband and family . . . My blood pressure was kind of weird today too in my opinion . . . It was like 109/65 . . . Not sure if that makes good or bad. . . She did not say anything about it, but that is just a weird number to me . . . Oh well . . .

So overall the appointment went well. I have to go on Friday now to do the sugar test . . . I ran out of time today before work. So that should be fun! . . . NOT! I go again in 4 weeks for my next appointment and then after that is every other week appointments. This pregnancy is so fast. I am just glad to have a healthy baby so far that we know of.

Here is a photo of what I am begining to look like with this baby . . . I am 24 weeks and 4 days in this picture . . . that is an estimate of weeks though . . . I look awful too BTW!!! No make-up . . . eek!!!

Baby's First Swim . . .

2010-06-02T00:22:00.000-05:00

Monday Adam and I took A.J. to a friends house for his first swimming experience. I was so super excited . . . I bought him some little swimmers diapers, a float, and lots of sunscreen . . . Thank goodness for Lindsey because for A.J.'s birthday she bought him a swim suit . . . So we were off and ready to swim.

I will admit I was a little worried on how this would all work out. This is one of those things that you could say I had first time mom gitters about. . . I am usually a very laid back Mom and don't freak out often, but at first I was very scared. We carefully checked the float to make sure it would not sink a few times, made sure the baby had his swim gear on and even over did it a little with the sunscreen.

As soon as we put him in the pool it was smooth sailing. It was a HIT!! He LOVED it . . . I could not believe how angry he got when we took him out for a little while because he was so prune like. He is going to be an amazing little swimmer. He would just kick and kick and kick and make the float go. . . It was a blast. Thanks to my wonderful friends and husband for making this such a fun day.

So many choices . . .

2010-05-22T13:38:00.000-05:00

For the past few weeks I have been talking to my doctor about possibly breastfeeding Amelia. My doctor seems to think it would be the best thing for the little one, but after a year of formula feeding A.J. I am just so on the fence.

Reasons Why I don't want to breastfeed:

1. With A.J. I had to go back to work after 6 weeks and the same possibility is with Amelia. If/When I have to go back to work after having Amelia is she going to take a bottle even if it is breastmilk?? I know that when A.J. was in daycare after 6 weeks there were lots of little babies who would give the daycare workers a HUGE workout because they wanted to nurse and all they had were bottles. AHHH. . . If I am going back to work then I can't have the daycare calling me every couple hours telling me to come nurse because she won't eat.

2. Will Amelia be as big of a big girl like her big brother? By 11 1/2 months we had sealed up almost every bottle in a box and he has been on a cup full time since then. He has not had anything served to him in a bottle in over a month and it is so great. He loves his cups and is almost got the drinking in a cup without a lid down.

3. A.J. was a very sensitive baby. I am not even sure if I wanted to breastfeed him I could have. He had to be on the sensitive formula for almost 4 months before we put him onto the regular formula. He had horrible issues that only seemed to be cured by the sensitive formula.

4. I have had a really healthy baby thus far with A.J. not being breastfed. I have a couple of friends who have breastfed in the past and I feel like their babies have been sicker than A.J. Is that just coincidence?? Probably, but I don't know??

SOME Reasons to Breastfeed:
1. This entire pregnancy I have been freaked out about how Amelia is going to come out. I worry about so much because I WAS on the Depo. Birth Control Shot. When I found out I was pregnant I had been on the shot since I had little A.J. and I still got pregnant.

2. I need to lose some serious weight after this baby. I am by no means obese or way fat, but I want to be healthy skinny again so that way I can always keep up with these babies. My doctor tells me it will burn more calories and I will be able to lose weight faster. Considering I have only gained a pound with Amelia so far, then it will be pre baby weight I can be loosing??? I don't know?? I am dumb I know.

3. If I do decide not to go back to work then this could be one way for us to same some serious cash. Either way this could save us up to 1000 in a year. How great would that be to put that money into a fund and go on a nice trip just Adam and I without the kids??? or put it into a savings account for Amelia and Adam when they get bigger??

4. So many other reasons.

Well, of all the reasons to or not to, this has been a very hard choice for Adam and I to have to start making . . .

To Work or Not To Work

2010-05-20T09:04:00.000-05:00

For the past month Adam and I keep going back and forth on if I should continue working after the new baby comes or not. I love to work and it is something that makes me feel like I am contributing to our family. We are no way rich, and we would have to go onto a really tight budget if I was to quit. Between the cost of daycare, and such, we are just not sure what to do. I have been dong the numbers everyday and trying to manipulate every number I can (because I love doing budgets!!!!).

Anyone a stay at home mom . . . How do you do it? Is it financially smart? Do you mind giving up your careers? Will you stay home until they hit school or for their entire lives?

I know I would be so excited to be able to raise my child, but daycare has not been bad to the A.J. He gets to be around kids and it does prepare him for when he has to go to school for real. He has friends to play with all the time and between the time adam and I spend with him learning and the time they spend with him teaching, I feel like he is picking up a lot very fast.

I am pretty sure I would have to get a part time job at least to make sure we can pay every bill. We both have student loans, car payments, I am the health insurance carrier, etc. I love my job now. Though very stressful at times, I get to interact with people a lot, use my degree to some point, etc.

Ahh so many questions, thoughts and concerns. . . I hope we can figure this out. . . Any advice is so welcomed. By me writing this, it does not mean I am leaning toward any particular way. It is just the thoughts we have been having in the English household lately!

Kick, Kick, WHACK!!!

2010-05-16T19:53:00.001-05:00

Life has been great lately. . . VERY BUSY, but that is the English family way. . .

A.J. is doing wonderful. He is getting so big. At his one year appointment he weighed 21.5 pounds and was about 31 inches long. He is going to be an average boy, I think. He has 7.5 teeth and loves to BITE. I can't seem to get him to stop biting, but he just when you think he is coming over to give you a kiss or play, HE BITES YOU . . . He has not bitten anyone, but Adam and I, but I don't want him to get in the habit. He is beginning to walk more and more, but still really scared to try it out all the time. He looks like a mummy coming at you, it cracks me up. I have a few videos I will have to update soon. Adam and I have been getting on the floor more and more to play with him, but somebody always ends up with a bruise by the end of the night . . . and that somebody is usually me. He loves to climb over, under, on top, around me. . . He has also started to mimic EVERYTHING we do. If I cough, he coughs. . . He loves to stick out his tongue back out at you and loves to sing after you. His new favorite word is TURTLE!! YEAH!!! I love turtles and it makes me laugh, that this is his new favorite word. He has a couple of turtle bath toys and the other day when it floated past he pointed and said tur-tle. It was so cute.

Baby #2 seems to be doing well. He/She is making me feel HUGE. I don't remember getting this big with A.J. I am so depressed. I am already out of my normal clothes and into maternity clothes about 90% of the time. But I am more than halfway done. Yesterday marked 22 weeks. It is going by so fast. Amelia (since I am determined its a girl) is beginning to kick more and more. she loves to kick pretty much ALL of the time. A.J. was NOT this active. It is so fun, but it takes a toll on my old body. We go back to the doctor on the 1st for a sugar test, cystic fibrosis test, ultra sound, and normal check up. Then one more 4 week and it then will be time for 2 week check ups. MAN this is going sooo fast. Adam and I are so ready to find out the sex of the baby. I want to know if I can really buy purple stuff or if it is back to boy things. We can't buy a lot either way. We are on a massive budget because of the move here. But I have to get the new baby something special!!! :)

Adam and I are doing well. . . We decided that it is time for us to start looking for a babysitter. A.J. is a good baby, but sometimes it would be nice to go out to dinner without hearing him. He loves to talk and his talking is not an inside voice. But we love being able to take him everywhere with us. We are going camping next weekend with some friends in Oklahoma and A.J. will be coming too. I love Turner Falls and am excited to take him with us. It should be good times.

Well, off to bed. I have a loong week of work ahead . . .

90% Chance

2010-05-13T16:52:00.001-05:00

So Adam and I were told a little bit over a week ago that we have a 90% chance that our soybean is a GIRL!!!

With that we have decided on Amelia as her name, but we seem to be struggling with the choice of a middle name. We keep on tossing up:
Marie - My Middle name
Esther - My favorite book in the bible and where my life verse can be found from
Raquel - Just a name my mother wants me to name her in the first place
Renee - I just like it
Lee - Adam's Mom's middle name
Lauraine - My mom's middle name

Any suggestions?? I really need a middle name. . . Hopefully we found out in the next couple of weeks if this is for sure a girl . . .But I am so sold on that it is. . .

Happy Birthday Adam Michael. . .

2010-04-28T17:49:00.000-05:00

You’re only one year old, and at this point in your life you can’t read, much less understand what I’m going to try to tell you in this letter. But I’ve been thinking a lot about the life that you have ahead of you, about my life so far as I reflect on what I’ve learned, and about my role as your mother. For this, be thankful. You are at a wonderful stage of life. You have many wonderful stages of life still to come, but they are not without their lessons to be learned. . .

I hope to help you along your path by sharing some of the best of what I’ve learned. But Your father and I might not always know everything, but we will guide you to find the right answer somehow

Yes, you’ll find cruelty and suffering in your journey through life … but don’t let that close you to new things. Don’t become like your mother and become a closed book. Be open to new things, new experiences, new people, especially your younger siblings.

I have a feeling that you might break some girl's hearts, but you might get yours broken a couple of times too. I met your father in the midst of a heart break and he has been the greatest husband a woman could ask for. He is an amazing father to you and loves you very much.

You might get teased and bullied and hurt by people you meet … and then after meeting dozens of jerks, you WILL find a true friend. If you close yourself off to new people, and don’t open your heart to them, you’ll avoid pain … but also lose out on meeting some incredible people, who will be there during the toughest times of your life and create some of the best times of your life.

and the last thing I want to tell you can be summed up from a verse in a song that I love so much.

"Be strong in the LORD and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
Thank God for each day,
His love will find a way"

Son . . . God is always there for you . . . When you may not know the right answers and your father and I can't seem to give you the most perfect answer, trust in the Lord. He will never steer you wrong . . .

Back to School . . .

2010-04-26T21:16:00.001-05:00

So Adam started working not from home today . . . With that comes time for the English family to get back into the swing of things . . . For the past few weeks it was nice to have Adam home and such, and being able to keep A.J. from daycare. . .

Now that we are moved into our apartment and both working (not from home), baby Adam is back in "school." I have been nervous about starting him back in daycare, but that is because A.J. loved his previous daycare in Ohio so, so, soooo much . . . BUT . . . Today went well for him. The teacher called me twice to just let me know he was doing well and having a good time so that I did not have to worry . . . He really does well in pretty much every social situation . . . He loves getting to be around other kids and playing . We are only going to keep him there two days this week and then I am taking vacation for the rest of the week . . . I am going to go down to Ft. Hood again to visit some family at the end of the week for A.J.'s and my birthdays.

I also found out that I have a perm placing . . . It is not where I thought I would have been placed, but hey I am finally placed. . . I will be working in North Plano as the AA-ASM . . . I am sure once I start there I will have much more to report, but for now, I am just excited to have a "home" store . . .

Baby Names . . .

2010-04-16T23:31:00.000-05:00

So Adam and I tonight think we have narrowed down the baby names . . .

If it is a boy:

Aiden Antonio English

If we have a girl:

Amelia ___________ English (we are still picking the middle name for this one)
Abigayle _________ English (we are still picking the middle name for this one too)
Alyssa __________ English . . . Needless to say we don't know about middle names for the girls.

So. . . . Obviously . . . we have picked a theme . . . Our children's names are going to start with an A. I guess this is something that we have always known, but it became very obvious tonight :)

I don't know why we started to pick baby names already . . . We still have a while until this baby is born . . . But, oh well!!!

The Greatest Husband

2010-04-14T17:38:00.000-05:00

As I wife, I know there are times that we as wives we can get frustrated, tired, or irritated with the little things in life and sometimes just the little things our husbands can do . . . BUT there are more times than not, that I find my husband to be the greatest man . . . and lately he just continues to prove how amazing he is to me.

Lately I have been going through a lot of changes and my husband has been so amazing through every bit of it. This morning would be the perfect example: We went to bed REALLY LATE, because I worked late and I was already not feeling well. I figured that since it was my day off today that I would let HIM sleep in when the baby woke up and that would be that . . . Well, to my surprise he was up before the baby even woke up and he made sure I did not even hear a peep . . . He got up with the baby, changed him, dressed him, played with him, fed him and even went out to get one of my favorite things for breakfast . . . I was able to sleep until 9:00AM!!!! It has been FOREVER since this has truly happened . . . I woke up when he was gone and found a little note on my door . . . It simply was a do not worry note that told me he was going to get me breakfast and that he loved me . . . When he arrived back at home he found me in the kitchen cleaning it up and got irritated with me and told me to sit down that, that is what he was going to do after breakfast . . . He actually took my hands off the dishes and sat down with me to eat breakfast . . .

Throughout the past couple of weeks, since our move he has been doing little things like this to make my days easier . . . I have always wanted to be the one to make HIS days easier, but lately he is going out of his way and doing it for me instead!!! . . . He is truly a wonderful man and I love him . . .

It is April already? and almost May???

2010-04-12T23:02:00.000-05:00

This year is really flying . . . I can't believe it is almost May . . .

A lot has happened in the English home: Here are just a few of the highlights. . . I swear I will get better at posting true updates, but this is what I have more now.

* Baby Adam is doing well. He will see the doctor again in a few weeks to assess his head shaking. It is more than likely that he needs glasses. We pray daily that is the worst part of it all. The doctor will probably hold off on his 12 months shots to make sure it has nothing to do with that . . . Interesting in my opinion. . .

* Baby Adam is starting to take 1-4 steps unassisted to get from point A to point B. . . I am so proud of him. He really does not "fall," but he does scare himself for a second and just sits down really fast . . . it is really cute . .

*Baby Adam is 90% on "people" food. He does a jar here or there, depending on what we are having as our meal. He hates the texture of baby food now, but LOVES Cheerios. He is still on formula for a few more weeks, but then to whole milk he will go.

* Baby Adam has decided that going to the park is one of his favorite activities . . . I have to really watch him when I take him because he loves to eat the rocks and mulch . .

* We found out that we are already pregnant with our second baby. Even though I was getting the shot, it did not work for me. This new baby should be here sometime around early October. We are very excited, but very stressed and overwhelmed with this news. We have a lot to do and will definitely be in need of prayers are we go through this crazy time. . . It is a true blessing, but not anything we planned . . . with our recent move and such, we have a lot to do . . .

* We have moved to Plano, Texas. The weather here is amazing, the people are friendly and we are enjoying our lives. We miss our friends in Ohio and family too, but we believe me made the right choice to move here

* I started in the DFW market a little over a month ago and really love it here. I love working with most of the people I have worked with thus far. I can't wait until I get my perm. placing . . . Right now I just float from store to store as an extra executive. It is really fun most of the time, but very hard at times to focus . . .

* I have spent an amazing amount of time with my family since we have moved back and I am loving every moment of it. We were able to spend Easter as an entire family for the first time in about 5 years . . . Meaning my parents and sibling and his family. We wished we could have seen more people, but it was so much fun either way . .

* Baby Adam will be ONE in less than 2 weeks and it is great moment, but it is starting to take and emotional toll on me as well. . . Where has this year gone? Am I being the best Mom I can possibly be?? I love being a Mom!!!

* I will be celebrating my 27th birthday, Mother's day and Baby Adam's first birthday all within 14 days . . . HOLY CRAZINESS!!!

Life Lately

2010-02-09T07:37:00.000-06:00

What a amazing couple of weeks. . . . Stressful, but amazing . . .

Baby Adam has been doing amazing. I had a little bit of a worry for a few days when all of sudden he was just shaking his head (like he was saying no) all the time for no reason. We called the doctor and she said this is actually normal and he is doing it because "he can." She obviously told us if he does not stop after a couple of more weeks to bring him in.

He has been a crawling machine. He is even starting to walk while holding onto furniture. Last week I was cooking dinner and left him in he other room to play with his toys. I went to go check on him and I saw him walking while holding onto the couch. I was so excited. For the longest time we never thought he was going to crawl and then all of sudden he is starting to walk already . . . Time has definitely flown for us.

The Energizer Bunny

2009-12-17T16:24:00.001-06:00

Baby Adam is one crawling machine. I woke up Sunday morning to get ready for work and my husband and baby Adam were already up. I went in the kitchen and came out and to my surprise my little baby was just crawling from one end of the room to the other. When I say crawl I mean CRAWL. . . It was like near perfect form too. I was so excited and that just made my day. Since this weekend we have moved the coffee table to one side of the room and there goes my little baby. He sees something he wants and now he just gets in.

The baby starting to crawl has made things a lot easier sometimes. He does not mind having a lot of just him time. . . Which is nice. I can actually get some things done when he is not napping. I always hated waiting til he naps to clean up, because sometimes he just does not nap in the late afternoon/early evening.

Well, off I go to cook dinner . . .

Winter Fun

2009-12-10T20:55:00.000-06:00

So as I am watching the steelers/browns game on T.V. all I can hear is the winter wind blowing against my windows in my home. I was beginning to think that we were not going to really get winter this year in Mentor, OH, but boy was I wrong. Today are high was 20. That is without the windchill . . . I did not even want to think about that.
As winter comes, so does Christmas. That makes me so excited for Baby Adam's first Christmas!