Happy Birthday!

Two years ago today, JR and I were blessed with a precious little girl. I can't even begin to explain all the emotions I have. I honestly can't believe she's 2. This day has been creeping up on me and now that it's here I wish I could rewind or just pause life for a bit. I love her more than words could ever express. She and her brother are my world. Here are some photos of her two years!

Yikes! Bad mommy moment!

So a friend of mine text me this morning asking what Landry was into these days. While the question is pretty straight forward - it sent my head into a tailspin! It is pretty simple. Landry likes Dora - okay she LOVES Dora. She likes sunglasses, and her lunch box...JR and I have already decided to get her a purse! She loves stuffed animals of any kind, but really likes puppies. However, she calls a lot of animals puppies, so that really isn't saying much! She also like "Team Umizoomi" but not as much as Dora. She likes to climb, she likes going to the park, and she likes walking around with a blanket over her head like she's a ghost. So, see, it's pretty easy to name off things she likes, but then I got to thinking about toys that she actually has...that's where the bad mommy comes in. She has a barbie, a little doll stroller, and a few other toys that are specifically for her, but for the most part - she just plays with whatever her brother is playing with. Right now they are playing a lot of power rangers! I guess I should do a better job of buying some girly toys. OOPS! The thing is - I really dont buy toys. The toys we have come from Birthdays, Christmases, the occasional Dollor Store toy to keep Logan quiet while I run through the store, and a lot of McDonald's happy meal toys! I just rarely buy toys - I don't really know why - I guess, I just figure they have plenty of toys as it is...I should know since I have to pick them ALL up almost daily! But the truth of it is, Landry is going to want to play with WHATEVER Logan is playing with, so I don't really need gender specific toys...however, I am going to try to be more concious of it - I also know, that as she gets older she will be more specific about what she wants - so I guess I'm not so bad afterall! LOL

An impromptu poke in a pumpkin patch

This morning when I dropped Logan off at school I noticed that the Methodist Church across the street had pumpkins EVERYWHERE! So, I took Landry over for some photos!

I was informed that I needed to take Logan and get some photos of him as well...DUH - I was planning on doing this, I just hadn't planned on doing it today. I didn't want anyone accusing me of favoritism, so when I picked Logan up, we went back across the street for more photos!

Now Lucky me, we get to go back again for a family photo...although our friends Chris and Katy have a Christmas Tree Farm (actually it's Chris' parents farm) about an hour from here, so we may be going up there this weekend along with taking Landry to the Carnival! So, we have a football game tomorrow night, pumpkin patch, jumpy place, and carnival on Saturday (Happy Birthday Landry!) and on Sunday we are resting! LOL

party like a rock star!

I was really really late this year as far as getting anything done for Landry. the main reason for my tardiness has been indesicion. Where do I want to have her party? Do I want a theme? How big do I want to go this year? Will it interfere with other crap going on - such as, we are going to Houston the following weekend. So pretty much last minute we decided to have 3 miniature parties.
We celebrated this past weekend with my parents, my sister Vanessa and her boyfriend Kyle, and Isabella and Isaiah. They were in town because of a three day weekend and it will be Thanksgiving before we get to see them again, so we decided to get together. We met up at the Cracker Barrel in San Marcos and had a really good time. Logan and Isaiah are too funny together. Logan is just plain wierd...I dont really know how to explain it - but he is really really strange. My mom bought Landry the cutest little coat and hat...I couldn't get a very good picture because she cant stay still to save her life but you can check out my facebook for some that my mom took, and here is one I took the following day...but again you dont get the full effect!

The next mini celebration will be this Saturday on her actual birthday. There is a musical festival here in town and they are having a carnival, so we thought it would be fun to take the kids over and celebrate her birthday at the carnival.
Then next weekend, we will be travelling to Houston for JR's 10 year high school reunion. So we decided that since we were going to Houston and all of JR's family is from Houston we would just invite everyone to celebrate with us at the children's museum. I guess we didn't really go all out this year, but I honestly couldn't make a decision on what to do, and she wont remember anyway...so it is what it is!

Another thing I fell behind on is photos. Once again this comes form not being able to make a decision. I know I have to get family photos done. #1 The ones from last year just wont due...JR has lost 100 pounds since then and #2 Landry doesn't look anything like she did. I couldn't decide what to do though, where to do them, who to do them...blah blah blah. Then I started looking aroung my house thinking that I need to replace a lot of the photos that I have framed - but I love those photos, but I also dont have enough wall space to just keep adding framed photos to the house. So that is really overwhelming. Then I thought about getting Landry some 2 year old photos, and then realized I haven't had professional photos of Logan since his 1st birthday and would it be fair to do it for Landry? Also, my kids are terrible at taking photos...last year we had three cameras going just to get a shot! Ugghhh. So here is the conclusion....I asked a friend of mine to take the family photos...we are going to get a few of just Landry and a couple of just the two of them. She is a photographer in Austin, and isn't super expensive so all that is left to do is set a date which will probably be the first weekend in November. Plenty of time to get out Thanksgiving and Christmas cards...I am thinking of taking Thanksgiving outfits - and Christmas outfits. JR hates taking photos as much as the kids do, so we have to get it all in while we can. The pictures of Landry will be used as her 2 year old photos and I am going to make another appointment in March for Logan's 5 year old photos! One of the things that I really like about Amelia (the photographer) is that she really likes the more candid, interaction shots rather than the posed photos...and considering it will take hours to get a picture with all 4 of us looking at the camera and smiling...I am pretty happy about this. I am going to try to get at least one posed photo...but I am not holding my breath - and if it doesn't work - I wont cry about it! If you love photography or just like looking at beautiful photos you should check out her blog on the right hand side of mine....Amelia Marie Photography - and seriously check out her travel photography section...it is beautiful. Also while I am encouraging you to check out other blogs I have also added my cousin Bari's blog. She is in Africa right now and has been for about 2 months...she will be there for a year doing missionary work. Other than the fact that she is my cousin - her writing is amazing she really should write a book. Anyway! that's it from me! Have a good hump day!

Sleep woes and hypochondria

Landry will be 2 in only 4 more days! Yikes! I seriously can't believe it - 2? The time seriously flies by. JR and I were talking last night and he made the comment that he thought she had turned a corner. He said, "It seems like she started the terrible two's early, but she is getting out of the stage pretty quickly." Hmmm...He may be right, I don't know. It seems to me that Logan went through this stage for a good 6 months...I think Landry is just a girl and she will just go in stages. There was a good month and a half of tantums and meltdowns, but JR is right - she has been pretty good lately. Or, maybe we are just getting used to it? I am going to go with her being better! Let's face it, Logan still has meltdowns when he doesn't get what he wants and the truth is I spoil my kids. I like to tell people that I choose my battles - and I will continue to say it, but if we are being honest - they get away with WAY too much. I am pretty much okay with it! We aren't over the top, they definitely get disciplined, and it's hard for me to think that I am doing it wrong when I keep getting told how well behaved they are. Sure they have their moments, but all in all, I have really incredible kids. I must be doing something right.

One thing we are having trouble with lately is sleeping. Landry is now tall enough to reach the light switch (which are pretty low on our walls). At night time I follow the same routine as I always have, but now after I leave the room she gets out of bed and turns the light on. She doesn't cry or yell, and she has stopped sitting at the door calling for me, but she just sits in her room and plays with her puppies. I don't know if she was just so excited about this new trick or what was going on, but JR and I stuggled with it for hours...and I mean HOURS! At 10:30, I had enough so I just put her in bed with me. IT WAS 10:30!!!! She usually goes to sleep at 8:30. She didn't fall asleep until around 11. What was she doing foor 30 minutes? TALKING. I pretty much ignored her, but she would not shut up! She just laid there talking and talking and talking. Granted - she has not slept with me since she was 3 months old - but geez! There is a small part of me that loved it...I got to cuddle with her and I love having her next to me...but the bigger part of me knows not to make it a habit. We will see what happens tonight, but neither of us got much sleep...the wakes up ALOT through out the night!

I don't know when it started, but my family always gives me a hard time about being a hypochondriac. I just go along with it - I don't know why...probably because I know that I am not a hypochondriac so I just take it as a joke. I have not gone to the doctor since May of last year - and that was because I was at the ER. Before that was in Dec. of 2009 when I went in for my 6 week check up after having Landry. I am not one to go to the doctor - unless I am in so much pain that I am praying for God to take me. When I start praying for death - I know it's pretty bad. I think my family thinks of me as a hypochondriac because I LOVE medical shows and information - articles, magazines, real life stories, or fictional ones - and I share this info. They think just because I share the info that I must think I have these 1 in a million illnesses. I dont think this....Although, I swear there isn't a day that goes by that I am not in some form of pain. But it isn't debilitating and I just live on tylenol and Ibuprofin when the pain gets bad I am not in a doctor's office every day. Anyway, last night on my way home from the grocery store I was listening to this program about exhaustion and how it has been upgraded to an epidemic. Apparently there are many many many exhausted Americans. I am one of them. I seriously spend much of my day so very very tired. At night however, I have to take tylenol pm in order to go to sleep. There are two reasons for this - and this is where it gets tricky, and also where my family has reason to believe that I am a hypochondriac. #1 I take the tylenol pm because I am an insomniac. Seriously, I was actually diagnosed by a doctor in 2006. Now, I don't go around telling people I am an insomniac...I just call myself a night owl. With out the medication, however, I will literally be still awake when the sun is coming up - I CAN NOT fall asleep. Once I go to sleep I usually dont wake up during the night, its just falling asleep that I have problems with. #2 The weather has been changing quite a bit over the past couple of weeks which causes my arthritis (which is not diagnosed by a medical profession - it is a self diagnosis) to flare up. Now - I may not be a doctor - but I dont need a test to tell me I have arthritis. I mean, the weather changes and all of a sudden my joints ache. I sit still too long, my joints ache. I over exert myself, my joints ache. It used to just be my knees and ankles - but it's now also my hips, shoulders, and hands. So - maybe, it isn't arthritis - but from the many people I know with arthritis and the information I have read on it - I am pretty sure that is what I have, so taking the tylenol PM helps with that. When it the pain gets REALLY bad, and I mean, I am in tears bad - I take Aleve because that seems to work the best. So back to what was said about exhaustion, studies have shown that one of the causes is anemia - which guess what? Yep, I am anemic...which was actually diagnosed my a doctor - EVERY TIME I have blood work. I dont really understand either because I eat green leafy veggies, and red meat. Unfortunately, I also need the aid of iron pills which I rarely ever take, because they make you constipated and who the hell needs that? Another cause for exhaustion in women is a thyroid issue...this I don't have, but apparently something like 17% of women have some sort of thyroid issue. Anyway, here is an article you can read about it for yourself. And again, while I dont believe it is truly life-threatening, I can see how it can be over time. Don't worry I dont think I am in danger of dying from exhaustion but lets just say I am in fact exhausted - whether a doctor says I am or not. If you get a chance to read the article, count how many symptoms you have..I have 13 out of 20.

http://healthybodydaily.com/dr-oz/dr-oz-exhaustion-the-difference-between-being-tired-and-exhaustion
Okay, for some reason, this is working as a link so you will have to copy and paste! Sorry!
Now after all of this, I am going to say that I have promised to go see a doctor. I told my grandmother that I would go over a month ago, and I just haven't done it. Why? a few reasons. #1 I have to find a babysitter #2 I feel like I already know what is wrong with me, so why pay a doctor to tell me what I already know #3 what if something really is wrong with me...do I really want to know? #4 I am too damn tired to make the effort to go!!!!

More Mark and more potty progress!

I have the priviledge of watching Mark again today. He is really so sweet. This time, I have all three kids. Amber's follow up is at 4:00 today so she brought him over about 40 minutes ago. Logan is so great. When Mark started crying, Logan said, "I think he wants his mommy!" Haha, cracks me up. He has talked to the baby and is so gentle. Landry actually scares me a little! haha No, seriously, she has been gentle with him, but doesn't seem thrilled about me holding him..she follows me around saying, "hold me, hold me." I guess she does like me after all.

We have had more potty success. I haven't been very consistant..in fact I took a few days off because I wasn't feeling well. Yesterday I got back to it, but only about 50%, and to my surprise she pottied twice on the potty and only once on the floor. The rest of the time she was in a diaper. I have been super busy running errands today so she has been in a diaper all day, but I took it off about 20 minutes ago, so we will see how it goes. I still haven't read that potty book...I guess I am just not dedicated enough...she seems to be doing pretty well, even if her mother isn't being consistant or working very hard!

I thought about the bribery thing...I think we may have bribed Logan a few times with toys, although, I am pretty sure that was for pooping in the potty. I though about bribing Landry with new sunglasses...the girl can't leave home without her sunglasses and lunch box, which she uses to store her special toys...basically its her purse! LOL I think I am going to be in some trouble as she gets older.

Well, thats about it! Glad tomorrow is Friday!

why you gotta be so mean...

Here are some random stories about my princess...

Landry's new thing is to say I love you when she does something wrong. For example - After going to the bathroom, I walk into the living room to see Landry at the computer. As soon as she sees me, she says, "I loves you, Mommy." She is very much aware that she shouldn't be at the computer. Here's another one - Logan and Landry are off playing, Logan starts screaming, I run to see what happened (even though I know she has either bit him, pulled his ears, or poked him in the eye). Before I can even ask what happened she runs to me, throws her arms around me saying, "I loves you, I loves you." Oh, Boy! The newest thing that she started 2 nights ago is that she is fighting going to bed. I put her in her bed, give the hugs and kisses and leave. Less than a minute later, she is at the door yelling, "I loves you" over and over. Last night I just laid down so I could see her under the door, and told her I loved her too, but she has to get in bed and go night night. It actually worked! YAY!

Another lovely thing she has learned is, "no," "stop it," and "get away," or "go away." When we are walking across the parking lot after dropping Logan off, I try to hold her hand - she shakes her head, and says "no, get away." She also likes to say "I dont want that." Oh, she is just so sweet (yes, I am being sarcastic.) Honestly, she has her moments where she really is just the sweetest thing, but MOST of the time, she is just a ham. Usually she save all her sweetness for her daddy.

Since Thursday, Landry has not pee peed in the potty again. I went through my books and found a potty training book that I never read, and apparently going without a diaper is an actual method...and here I thought I just thought it up on my own. Another method is the potty training in a day. I haven't read much on it, but from what I gathered from the intro, you basically increase the childs fluids dramatically to get them to urinate frequently...I am going to read on that and maybe give it a try, but I have my doubts about it being done in a day...we'll see!

Landry has also become obsessed with Dora. Now, I would love to say that I am one of those parents that limits TV time, but I would be lying. I try to ease my guilt by telling myself that at least what they watch is educational - but, I still feel guilty. The truth of the matter is that we play A LOT. Now that it has cooled off, we have gone to the park, during the summer we were at the pool. We play with blocks, we have a story time, we have an art corner. The kids play together - but when the fighting starts, I usually just put on Dora, because I know that they will sit there and watch and leave each other alone. So, I admit, I am not the best mom- I dont have the best children, but I do the best I can - and so far, I think my kids are pretty fantastic. Plus, I dont think Dora is going to destroy their life - mine, probably - but they will be just fine!

I know that Landry doesn't do things to be purposely mean...but geez, she is so different than my cuddle bug Logan. The only thing that they have in common, other than blood type and parents, is that they are both stubborn to the core!

I know I talk about Landry quite a bit, but Logan is just at an age where one, he is much more independent, and two, he is old enough to know what will get him in trouble. He is full of energy ALL THE TIME, he loves running through the house over and over. He loves playing with his sister, especially if that means playing chase, or playing with cars, or climbing things. He is an exceptional big brother. 70% of the time he is looking out for her, loving on her (which by the way, she only accepts hugs form Logan and JR...unless she is too tired, and then I get hugs as well!). 10% of the time he is doing his best to annoy her, and the other 20% of the time she is doing everything possible to drive him crazy! All in all, while they aren't perfect...they are pretty close. Sometimes I can't believe how blessed I am...especially when Landry climbs on the table and starts making a mess...like right now - so I gotta GO!