Christmas with Grandaddy

So we were still continuing the Christmas celebrations this weekend. Since my grandparents are divorced, we always have a separate Christmas with my grandaddy, who we don't get to see very often. So we had it over at my cousin Misty's house. Mainly it was just all the adults drinking and playing pool while all the kids played. I managed to get a few really funny pictures. I can't believe my dad played pool with my grandpa. For one thing, I have never seen my dad play pool in my entire life, and he played against Grandaddy of all people, who is know to be a major pool shark! But, it was all in good fun and I got some great blackmail pics :) , although some of them turned out blurry for some reason.

Christmas 2008

We had a great Christmas this year. I was so happy because Maddie is finally old enough to kind of understand and enjoy it. She loved looking at all the Christmas lights in our neighborhood, and loved our tree. We got a little train that goes around the bottom and she wanted to watch it go all day long saying "cho-cho"! Also, this is the first year of my adult life that I have not let the Holidays stress me out. One thing that really helped with that is that we didn't have to travel anywhere this year. Now that we're in Ft. Worth, we are only minutes away from all of my family and Rob's family came to our house this year.

The festivities kicked off on Christmas eve, we went to Nanny and Boompa's house for lunch. I was a little nervouse about going there because of the drama we had last year with a certain person who forgot to take her meds, or should I say took to many meds.......anyway, this year all was good. We even got to see my great uncle Wayne, who we haven't seen in like 16 years. The only problem was that he was rude enough to smoke in my grandparent's house so it was rather smokey and hard to breath in there, so unfortunately, we couldn't stay long. After that, we came home and took a little nap before going to mom and dad's house for dinner and opening presents with them. It was the first year that we added 2 extra kids to the mix. We now have Bill's kids, Bailey and Cameron. It was nice to have some little ones for Maddie to play with, although they are not really "little". Bailey is so good with Maddie, she plays with her and keeps her entertained just like a big sister. Maddie got so many presnets over there. She was so overwhelmed. Her favorite thing was the "cozy coupe" car that my parents got her. We couldn't get her out of it all night.

So on Christmas morning, Maddie woke up to find her loot that Santa brought. She got a play kitchen and a table and chairs among other things. Out of all the cool stuff we got her, the only thing she cared about at the time was a little thing of chapstick that was in her stocking. I guess we could have saved ourselves a lot of money and just bought her a few tubes of chapstick. But now she really loves her kitchen, she plays in it every day. She tells me she's going to "cook"! Then Rob's family came over and we opened presents with them. My mother in law got her the Elmo Live. That thing is pretty cool, even the adults got hours of entertainment from that thing. Of course Maddie loved it, anything Elmo is like the best thing ever for her.

Santa was really good to me and Rob too. I got Rob a big toolbox and a workbench for the garage so he can finally organize all his tools and stuff. He got me a new Ipod Nanno! I was so happy, I didn't even ask for that, but it is the best thing he could have got me. He also got me the Racheal Ray cookware set and the Jessica Simpson perfume, Fancy. So I really got everything I wanted and more. We are so blessed in so many ways and I am so thankful to God for everything He has given us. I can'b believe how fast Christmas came and went and how fast Maddie is growing. Sometimes I wish I could just push the "pause" button, but since I can't I will just try really hard to truley enjoy every moment with her before she is all grown up!

I can't believe Christmas is 3 days away!

Time really does fly. I am so proud of myself that I have not let the craziness of the Holiday season stress me out this year like it usually does (well, knock on wood, it's not over yet). But so far, so good. We had a really good weekend. We went to the Fellowship church candle light service on Sat night. It was awesome, there were so many people and the music was beautiful. All you could see was a sea of candle light in that big dark auditorium. Last night after Maddie went to bed, Rob and I put together a gingerbread house and watched cheesy Christmas movies. It was fun! All my shopping is done, now if I can just get my house clean I will feel totally relaxed.

Never a dull moment

Some of the things Maddie does just crack me up. So last night I was running her bath water. I told her to come into the bathroom it was time to take a bath. So she came in there and I walked out of the room for just a second to grab a towel and when I came back this is how I found her. To make matters even worse, she had a poopy diaper......I'm sure you can imagine what a mess that was!

Then after she went to bed, I went to check on her after she had been asleep for about an hour, and this is how I found her! I'm not sure how she managed to get herself in that position, but she was just snoozing away as if it was a comfy as could be.

Day 3 without the pacifier

This is a HUGE deal around here. Maddie has always been so very attached to that stupid thing. My plan was to get rid of it before Christmas. I was going to tell her to throw it away and take it out to the trash outside so that she could see for herself that it is actually gone and not coming back. Well, Friday morning she was walking around the house with it and in the midst of playing, she dropped it somewhere and I could not find it. She started crying and throwing a fit for it, but I tore the house apart looking for it and it was nowhere to be found.

So, I figured this was as good of a time as any to say bye to it. So I told her "sorry, it's gone-gone". She cried and got really upset for a little while, then she said to me in the saddest voice you have ever heard "my paci is gone-gone?". I said "yes, it's gone-gone, but that's ok, because you don't need it anyway, you're a big girl now". So she dried her tears and didn't really seem too concerned about it the rest of the day.

Then, the real test came: bed time. She has never gone sleep without it in her whole life. So I got her ready for bed, gave her her blankie and her Big Bird and she said "paci, gone-gone?" and I said "yep, paci is gone-gone". And she seemed to be fine with it, she didn't cry or anything. I read her a story and told her night-night and closed her door and walked out. I turned on the baby monitor and I never heard her cry once. It did take her quite a while to fall asleep, but she never cried. I was worried that she would wake up in the middle of the night asking for it, but she never did. Then all day Saturday she was without it, she went to sleep fine without it. And all day today she has been without it. She has only mentioned it a few times all weekend, so I think she has almost forgotten about it. Yea!!!!!!!! I did it, I am so proud of mysfelf!!! I was starting to doubt that this day would ever come!

Sleeping Beauty

So I went in to check on Maddie sleeping last night and this is how I found her. It was so precious, I had to grab my camera. She loves her Big Bird or as she says it "Dig-Dig"!

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. We went to the inlaw's lake house Wed night and stayed over and had Thanksgiving lunch with them on Thursday. Maddie got to spend some time with her cousins Chandler and Makaylan. I tried so hard to get a good picture of all of them, but Maddie refuses to cooperate with the camera. She would not be still for 2 seconds for me to get a good shot.......SO frustrating! I took about a million pictures and out of those only about 3 are worth a crap, so I'm posting them here. So anyway, we stuffed our faces, went for a long walk in the woods, gained about 40 pounds, and had to deal with some family drama as always (what kind of holiday would it be without that?)

Then we drove back to FW for dinner at mom's house. Again, more drama from a certain crazy family member who apparently forgot to take her meds. But all in all, it was great. Then for some crazy reason me and mom woke up a 4am and battled all the crazies and did some major shopping on Friday. I did good this year, I actually got everything I set out to get before the stores ran out.

I'm sick of being sick!

Day 4 of this terrible stomach virus and I've had enough!! I am so sick, I just want to lay in bed and feel sorry for myself- which is kind of hard to do with a 19 month old. Let's just say my weekend was not the greatest, but at least I was able to get a good nights sleep and sleep in on Sunday when my mom kept Maddie Sat night (thank God for mom!)

That's about all the strength I can muster to blog right now, I'm going back to the couch!

I WILL NOT get stressed out this Holiday season!!

Maybe if I keep telling myself that, this year it will come true! Seriously, I am determined this time. It is not the money or the crowded malls or the shopping that stresses me. It's mainly just running around like crazy trying to get everything done and be at a certain place on time and making time to attend all the different gatherings. Also, the family conflicts and drama I could really do without. That stresses me every year. But this year, I am determined to ignore all of that, plan ahead, get organized and really enjoy the Holidays with my family. Maddie is getting old enough now to understand it and I want her to really enjoy it. So that is my goal this year- stress free Holidays, now check back with me a few weeks to see how that's working out, but for now I'm holding out hope!

My Sister is Engaged!!!!!

Woo Hoooo!!!!!

It is about time. Lisa and Bill have been together forEVER and he finally proposed this morning. I am so happy for her. She is finally getting the happiness she deserves. The ring is amazing and they're talking about getting married in the Bahamas this summer!!!! I am so excited, I have never been to the Bahamas but always wanted to, so this will be our excuse to to go.

The Historic Election

Well, I'm a few days late, but of course I have to write about this since it is historic. The first black president was elected 2 days ago. This is the first time I have not voted. Honestly, I didn't really care too much for either candidate so I didn't really follow it too much. Then I decided that I should just vote for my party, but then I realized after it was too late that I was not registered in Tarrant county since we just moved, so I took that as a sign and I don't feel so bad about it now.

I am kind of relieved that we finally have a democrat in the White House. All the people who didn't vote for him are saying they're scared of what's going to happen. The way I look at it, anything has got to be better than where we are now. Things have got to get better, how can it get any worse? All I know is I'm ready for a change and hopefully Obama can do that. I'll just keep praying about it and hope for the best.

Halloween 2008

OK, like I said before, I'm a looser. I'm just now getting around to posting about Halloween. But hey, better late than never, right?

Halloween started out with me going to the gym in the morning and I dropped Maddie at the day care. Well, I guess they must have been having a party and gave her tons of sugar because she refused to take a nap that day. So, I got no work done at all. At one point I was so desparate to get work done that I took her outside and gave her finger paint and sidewalk chalk and turned her loose while I organized IEF forms on the back patio. So, by the time it was actually time to trick or treat, I was beyond exhausted.

But all turned out well. My parents went with us and she had so much fun. It was priceless! At first she didn't understand it and was a little scared, but once she got the hang of it, she was running as fast as she could from house to house. She was so excited about the candy even though she didn't really know what it was. After we went to all the houses on our street, we drove over to mom's and we went to a few houses on her street then we handed out candy for a while. She really got a kick out of seeing the other kids dressed up and giving them candy. It was a lot of fun.

A HUGE Accomplishment!!!!

So, last night I put Maddie to bed in her "big girl" bed and said good night and walked out and closed the door. I thought for sure she would get out of bed, but she didn't!!!!!! She actually went to sleep and slept through the whole night without getting up. This is so awesome!!!! I can get rid of that ugly crib and make her room really cute now!!!! Woo Hooo!!!!!

Pleeeeaaaaase stop crying!!!!

On a positive note, Maddie actually slept in her toddler bed for the first time at night. I was getting really excited thinking we could get rid of her crib really soon. But of course, she woke up at 1:30 AM and was walking around the house- NOT good. So, we may not be as ready as I thought. I may try again tonight, although she is not feeling well, so maybe not a good idea.

She has the last bottom 2 teeth cutting in and she is cranky as hell. I picked her up from daycare and she cried for 2 hours straight! I was about to loose my mind. My parents came to get her, thank goodness because I was about to loose it!

I did yoga at Huguley for the first time with Lisa. I didn't really like it, it was a little too slow for me. I am skipping out on dance class because I am exhaused from no sleep last night.

Yes, I'm a looser!

OK, this is pathetic. I have not posted in my blog in like a year. I am so pissed at myself. My intention was to document every moment of Maddie's life and share with everyone and all that good stuff. Well, like I said, I'm a looser. Also, just incredibly busy. A lot has happened. We finally took the plunge and made the scary move back to Ft. Worth. Well, so far so good. It kind of sucks that Rob has such a ridiculously long commute to work every day, but other than that, all is wonderful.

I guess I got inspired to write again because today is the first cold day we've had and I'm getting all psyched up for fall and the hoilidays and all. The weather did my favorite thing today. It started off hot and humid and yucky like always this morning, then the cold front came through about 1pm and you could just fell the temp dropping- it was so cool!

Another cool thing happened today that is so worth writing about. Maddie slept in her toddler bed for the first time!!!!! Yea!!!!!!! Well, she didn't exactly go on her own. I tried to put her down for her usual nap in her crib, but she is not feeling well today and she just screamed her head off for about 45 minutes. Finally I went in there to comfort her. I held her and laid down on her bed with her and she fell asleep within about 5 min. So I carefully and quietly got out of bed thinking she would surely wake up screaming, but she didn't! YES....we finally have success!!!

Now if I could just get her to start sleeping in it at night, maybe, just maybe we might be able to get rid of her ugly crib and make room for all the fun toys Santa is sure to bring for Christmas!!! Gotta do some work for now, but I promise I will start writing again every day (try to anyway)

Day 8

I'm feeling good. I have a lot more energy and just generally feel better. For breakfast I had my Kashi cereal with soy milk and a glass of white grape juice. I had a banana for morning snack.