Just a little update. :)

I'm trying to think of all that has gone on since I posted last, but when you live in my house, you come to find that everyday seems to bring on a new exciting story...

Momma Duck hatched 4 or 5 of the eggs that were layed in our front flower bed. Honestly, we have no idea if the duck actually hatched them or if some animal got a hold of them, but we found remnants of several eggs, we haven't seen her since and we have just decided to take the happier ending. :)

Momma Robin hatched her eggs also and we are pretty sure that three of the four survived. It was amazing how quickly those little birds grew! Jaiden was never a fan of the baby birds...she thought they were UGLY, but I did manage to snap a couple of pictures of them before they flew the coop!

Brian started working at At&t last week. I can't say that he loves it, but it's a job and it gives a paycheck and unfortunately, we are just in those times right now. He's really being a trooper about it and I love him for it!

Jaiden is doing okay in school. She might have slacked off a bit here at the end, but hopefully with all of the hard work that she put in throughout the year, it will be okay (and we might even get to avoid summer school!!!) She has been pretty busy outside of school too. She is in her school play this morning and then tomorrow she does a performance for the parents at night. We're super excited about it. Next week she will perform in her very first piano recital. She is playing Oh Susannah that she has practiced and practiced. Her piano teacher is even going to let her use the banjo function on her keyboard, so she is stoked! Here is a picture of Jaiden and Daniela (a friend of ours) at Great Wolf Lodge a couple of weekends ago.

And then we come to Anthony...oh my. He is wild. I could write an entire book of insanely crazy things he has done already and I've only had the kid for 20 months! Since the last time I posted anything he has: (1) bitten through his bottom lip due to a fall into the side of the bathtub; (2) found the can of skittles that Daddy kept in the little fridge in the sunroom; (3) ate the skittles from the can in little fridge in the sunroom; (4) climbed onto the top of the bar to get the can of skittles after Mom and Dad realized that he was getting into the skittles; (5) got into a fight with the other kid at the sitters, had a scratch on his back and a shiner to prove it; (6) locked Mom and J-Bug out of the house via deadbolt (try explaining unlocking a deadbolt to a 20 month old); (7) freefallen off of the top (the very tippity top) of the couch after climbing to the top to turn the lamp on and off and on and off; (8) climbed into the dryer to hide from Mommy, got comfortable and decided to hang out for a while (all the while I couldn't find him) :); (9) cleaned the toilet with Mommy's toothbrush; (10) ...well you get the point. Always an adventure!

I can't imagine why it is so difficult for Brian and I to get a babysitter! If you would like to volunteer your time, just let me know! HA!

This weekend we are off to Houston to celebrate my nephew, Kai's birthday and to spend some much needed time with my brother's and thier families who we haven't seen in forever! Bad thing is I will have to spend 4+ hours in the car with my monster child and Jaiden...wish me luck!

Animal Kingdom

Have you ever seen Bruce Almighty and Evan Almighty. Well, I do believe that God has decided to enlist Brian as the newest, yet he is keeping with the whole Evan Almighty theme. We still have momma duck, who I have to say is doing a MUCH better job of staying on the eggs than she did last year. She has a total of eleven eggs and if we have counted right, they should be hatching soon!

The other day, we found that our frogs are back. They haven't completely moved back in to the hole next to the front door, but I think that might have a bit to do with the duck who is perched nearby. Sorry no pictures of the frogs...use your imagination! :)

To top it all off, Brian found a robins nest with four bright blue eggs on top of a phone box on the outside of our garage. Luckily this wasn't discovered until after Easter, because that could have turned tragic! But now, every time that you walk out of the garage, momma robin flys off of the nest and sits on the fence and squawks at you. It's lovely.

Oh, and did I mention that we also have a family of aggressive squirrels living in our attic (and no Sean, they don't bark). I have complained about them for a while so Brian heard one the other day and decided to make his way into the attic to see where they were getting in at. He told me that he saw the squirrel sitting near a hole that is in the front of the house and instead of being afraid of Brian, which is what he expected, he said that the squirrel hissed at him and got angrier and angrier the closer Brian approached. Brian said that with the string of luck that we have had lately, he decided not to battle the squirrel. No pictures of the squirrels either, although I do have video of one of them stealing an entire corn cob off of the bird feeder (which I later found out, was actually a squirrel feeder and is no longer on the tree) : {

It really is a zoo around here!

Are you kidding me?

Last night I went to the grocery store leaving my boys working out in our front flower bed. About thirty minutes into my shopping, I received a phone call from my Brian telling me that he and Anthony had just made a discovery underneath our dining room window. Since I can’t make you guess, I’ll just tell you....duck eggs.

Can you believe it?

On Monday of this week, my Brian called me at work and told me that a momma duck and a daddy duck were in the front yard and when he was walking Anthony down to the sitters (Anthony of course lost his mind running and screaming after them), and now I know what they were doing. In any normal occurrence, this would be a joyous and sweet moment, but if you remember correctly and trust me I do, things didn’t turn up all fine and well last year! The amazing thing about this is that on my street alone there are at least fifteen or so houses and four with pools and did I mention we are no further than two miles away from a DUCK POND, yet momma duck still manages to make it to our yard.

Let’s hope that this batch turn out better than last years. I’ll keep everyone updated!

He's a big boy now... : (

I know I haven't updated in quite a while, and unfortunately, I don't have a lot of extra time now, but I had to share this small dose of wonderfullness....

About a month ago Brian and I bought Anthony a potty chair at the request of our pediatrician and believe it or not HE USES IT!! And it is the cutest thing every time! I know these are only moments that a parent can love, but how cute is he....and how awesome is it that we will have him completely out of diapers before the ripe ole age of 2! ; )

Although he is absolutely precious...it makes me so sad that we are already reaching this milestone! My baby boy is growing up... : (

25 Random Things About Moi....

Okay, so there are emails going around right now about 25 random things about yourself. The geenral idea is that you give 25 factoids about yourself (dreams, hopes, wishes, or used-to-be's), share them with your friends and then they reply back sharing with their friends and so on and so on....I decided to share mine.

1. I love shoes more than any normal person! I notice EVERYBODY’s shoes!!

2. I always wanted a sister...I have three wonderful brothers, but a sister would have been super!

3. I am gullable...and no they didn't take the word out of the dictionary, I already checked.

4. I don’t talk to any of my close (well...used to be) high school friends anymore. : (

5. I bought duplicate tiaras for my wedding (just in case something happened to one) only to realize that both were still lying on the bed at our hotel as I was walking down the aisle.

6. I talk to my mom every day.

7. I love the Parent Trap movie and will watch it every time it is on.

8. I can recite the movies Tombstone, Grease and South Park, Bigger Longer and Uncut from any given point!

9. I’m not a “social butterfly”, but I wish I were!

10. My hands sweat..especially when I am nervous...it’s disgusting!

11. I hate confrontation more than any human on this planet! I won’t even look someone in the eye if I accidentally cut them off in traffic.

12. I love watching sports. Not just a background watcher either...I am a true sports junkie!

13. I have worked for a total of 2 companies since entering the workforce 9 years ago.

14. I could listen to my Kunkle (uncle) play Floyd Cramer’s Last Date over and over again!

15. I am a lightweight when I drink and normally order my drinks in a tall glass with only half a shot of rum so I don’t pass out half way through the evening!

16. I care WAY too much about what others think...it’s a fault.

17. My grandparents recited the nursery rhyme “Little Miss Muffet” to me so much I actually thought it was about me. I was devastated when everyone in pre-school knew my rhyme!

18. When I was in high school, I wanted to be a paralegal, drive a Jetta and work downtown...when I accomplished that goal relatively quick; I realized I set my goals a little too low. ; )

19. I wish I had one of those “drop boards” they use on the radio to use in normal everyday conversation. (I would be the chronic over-user!)

20. I like my job, but am considering a possible change soon.

21. I proofread everything...even stuff I can’t change.

22. I am addicted to celebrity gossip, not national enquirer bad, but all the blogs!

23. When I was a baby, I would only go to sleep if ACDC’s Hell’s Bells was playing...hmmmm.

24. My daughter was born with a hemangioma that wrapped around her windpipe and had to wear a trach for the first 10 months of life. By the grace of God, literally, it just went away one day...no trace, no scar tissue...it was a true miracle!

25. It was a rare occasion to ever see me cry until after I had my daughter...now I cry at everything!

Oh what a night...

Anthony came home from the sitters today in a real bad mood!! He is having allergy issues and is just fed up with everything (and everyone). After throwing countless fits, screaming and stomping, I threw him in the tub around 8'ish. BTW this is after I screwed up dinner and Brian had to make an emergency run to Taco Bueno. For whatever reason, Anthony wasn't quite digging the bathtub experience so he got out, I got him all dried off, brushed his hair and his teeth and then rubbed him down with baby vapor rub.

Because Anthony was in such a hurry to get out of the bath, I didn't drain the tub and thought that I had locked the door behind me when I walked out. Apparently, I didn't! I went into the kitchen to get his milk for the night and when I came back into his bedroom, he wasn't there. I turned around and looked across the hallway to see my fully clothed baby IN the bathtub playing as if he were supposed to be there. I almost died!

Yes, I realize the danger and trust me I was feeling it all last night. Thankfully, nothing horrible happened and we can now look back on it and giggle!

On a better note, Brian and I had a parent - teacher conference with Jaiden's teacher yesterday who told us that she was doing so much better and has improved so much over the year. Progress, progress, progress! I was so happy to hear it! And, she passed ALL of her classes this semester! Yeah for Jaiden!!!!

He's a big'un!

Yesterday Rey came and took Brian, Jaiden, Anthony and I out for lunch at a catfish resturant around the corner from us. While we were there, Anthony found a little boy to play with. After they played for a bit, I asked this little boys' mom how old he was....and they are the same age...
Sorry, the pic isn't wonderful, I took it with my phone, but can you believe this!?!?!?!

Just had to share!

Mom's Electric Orange Hair Experience...

Saturday my Mom calls me and tells me that she dyed her hair and she couldn’t tell if she liked it or not and wanted me to “be the judge”. She comes over on Sunday with the main intention of going to get her newly dyed hair cut after I judged the color. She came in and I told her that although the color was cute, it kind of had a pink tone to it...you know what I mean, like the little old ladies that walk around with blue hair, that kind. So, she decides that after she gets her hair cut, she wants to go to Sally’s and get some more dye to get the pink out. While at Sally’s, the lady working who insisted that we all know “she had her license” (she must have said it a million times) gets us all fixed up and gives us exact directions for us to follow to achieve Mom’s desired color. We get home and do exactly what the lady told us to do and unfortunately, desired color...not so much.

Mom stepped out of the shower and came in and the look on my face must have said it all, because she panicked and she hadn’t even seen a mirror yet. Her hair was a color of orange that I cannot do justice to by putting it into words. She looked like a cartoon character.



After we all got our giggles out, well, just Jaiden and I because Mom wasn’t finding the hilarity in it like us, I went back to Sally’s and found the lady that has her license, (which she did tell me four more times this go around) and explained to her that something in her last concoction went horribly wrong and we needed to fix it because Mom had to go to work tomorrow. The lady that has her license told me that the chemicals in the box that Mom had used on Saturday must have counter-acted with the chemicals that she gave us (nice cover up for her, huh) so we were going to need to strip Moms hair and then add a new color to it. I buy all of the stuff, which also included a special shampoo and conditioner for "overly processed hair", get home and we put the chemical stripper on her hair, wait twenty minutes, she rinses it out and then we put on the new color with all of our fingers crossed. Oh, I should also mention that by this time it is past 6:00 and Sally’s is now closed, so we were all praying that this worked.

Thirty minutes later Mom steps out of the shower again and although it didn’t quite have the “electric orange” tone to it, it was still orange. I felt so bad for her. She just went home.

She told me that after she got home and looked in the mirror a million times and cried a bucket of tears, she finally just packed up and went down to Wal-Mart and bought another chemical stripper and another box of dye, went home stripped it again and then dyed it dark brown. She said that after she rinsed all of the dye out of her hair (the Fourth time), she didn’t even go to the mirror. She had to work herself up to walk into the bathroom and look. Luckily the fourth time ended up being the charm. She told me that she can’t even touch her scalp after all of the chemicals that she ended up putting on it. She also told me that she will NEVER, EVER try and color her hair herself again.

Here's just a quick review of what this little adventure cost her...

2 boxes of hair color from the grocery store...........$20.00
Chemicals from Sally’s.................................$25.00
2 Chemical Strippers...................................$20.00
Special Shampoo & Conditioner
(for overly processed hair)............................$10.00
Grand Total............................................$75.00

Mom’s bad hair dye job..............................................................$10.00
What it took to fix Mom’s bad hair dye job................................$65.00
The look on Mom’s face after the first orange experience..........Priceless!

Holidays....just a little late.

I know it’s been a while since any thing has been written here, so here I go.....

First off, I never got to the herbal remedy thing below, so I truly have no idea whether it works or not, sorry...okay, now we can get on with things~

Since I haven’t even written since Christmas, I will tell you that we had a great one! The weekend before Christmas, we did our annual get-together at Aunt Linda’s house which was as always packed, crazy and so much fun! Early Christmas Eve was spent at Rey and Anna’s house. They gave our family a Wii for Christmas (so awesome!) and then later that night, we went home and my mom and little brother spent the night at our house. Shockingly enough, Santa did make a visit to our house and left a mess of toys! We are still finding little balls of wrapping paper here and there!

Those who know me know that “Thank You” cards are not usually something that I ever actually get around to doing (I have at least 200 in my desk at home partially filled out) and this year will be no different. I do appreciate all of the wonderful gifts that anyone got for me and for my family and I am expressing that now...so if you don’t get a note stating this same exact thing, please don’t be mad, I just really have no time!!! ; )

New Years Eve we went to Gatti Town with our friends Jared and Amber and their son Garrett. After Gatti Town Brian, Jaiden and I all stayed up and watched the ball drop and then Jaiden crashed pretty quickly after that and...so did Brian and I! ; )

Our last “holiday” dinner happened last night...a little late, but we made it. Phillip, Elicia, Lacie, Lori, Mema and James all came over. We obviously had to host considering one member of my family (A.R.B.) is considered “high risk liability” when taken into anyone else’s home. We had a great dinner and then out came the Wii! Let me tell you, there is no fun like watching your Grandmother play a rivaling game of Wii tennis. I laugh, but that was only before Mema kicked all of our butts in bowling. Boy, that’ll get ya! ; )

So, that was all of our holiday ruckuses!! I have several more stories that all deserve their own post including one of me and my mom turning her hair electric orange (don’t worry Mom, there aren’t any pics) and also Anthony’s first shiner (that I do have pictures!)....

I hope that everyone else’s holidays were as wonderful as our were and I’ll get all of these other stories out of my head and onto my screen soon!