So far, so good....

John and I are trying to potty train Lily. So far, we are doing pretty well. I bought the potty back in August, but just tried to introduce her to it. In my mind, I wasn't going to start this potty training thing until after Christmas. However, Lily seems to really like her potty. She seems to do #2 a lot in it. So, I haven't really been stressing about her going peepee on it yet. However, two weeks ago she pulled me into the bathroom so she could go peepee in it. I was shocked!!!! Then on Monday, while giving her a bath, she said, "potty" while pointing to it. So, I thought she needed to use it. Sure enough, she went. WOW!!!! Then, today she screamed for the potty while we were at Home Depot. WOW again. Don't get me wrong, she still goes in her diaper, but she is starting to realize when she needs to go. This is a huge step!!! I thought about getting pull ups for her, but John doesn't think we are ready for that step yet. I understand, she is only 16 months. I can't believe how big Lily is getting. It makes me happy and sad all at the same time.

These will probably be the only pics of her on the potty.....I haven't decided yet if this is appropriate or not.

Playdates are so much fun!

My friend Kelly and her son Eli came over on Saturday. I love to get Lily together with other kids. She and Eli both had a great time. It was so good to talk to Kelly. John got the pleasure of pulling the kiddos in the wagon....did I mention he was a great dad??

By the end of the playdate, both kids were tired and cranky. I wish I could say Lily slept good that night. However, she is getting another tooth and woke up in the middle of the night! Anyway, we are hoping to get the kids together again soon! Thanks for coming over to play Eli!!

I am thankful

I have a friend that isn't doing well in her personal life. I am trying my best to be there for her and to be a good friend . At the end of each conversation, she always tells me that I'm so lucky. Well, it got me thinking......

I am a pretty lucky woman....I may not always say it or show it, but I am very thankful. I'll explain:

I have the best hubby. He is everything I have always wanted in a man. He is very honest, loyal, and understanding. I'm not saying he is perfect because nobody is, but he is close. I couldn't see myself with any other man. We hardly fight, but when we do, we are very eager to straighten things out and get back to normal. He does the little things that mean so much.....he definitely pays attention to detail (unlike myself). He takes care of me and is happy to do it. He calls me at work or while he is at work just to see how my day is going. Sometimes, when I'm really good, John will bring me Sweet Tea to my work. (doesn't take much to get on my good side) He thinks I am beautiful when I look my worst. John does his best to help out around the house. To top it off.....he is an AWESOME daddy!!!!! I love my husband!!!

I am very thankful for a beautiful, healthy baby girl. She is my world!! I had a worrisome pregnancy with her and thought multiple times that I would lose her. I thank God everyday for her. She has the most beautiful smile that can light up a room. She loves her mama and her dada! I love to watch her learn and explore. I am thankful for her hugs and her kisses!!

I am thankful for a good paying job. I may not always enjoy my work, but I do have a job that I can support my family with. I have money to put food on the table, clothes on our backs, and a little extra to spoil Lily with. I also have good co-workers that has your back when you need it the most.

I have a house to live in. It may not be the best or the biggest, but it's my home. My very first home I have ever bought with my hubby. This is the place we came to after our wedding and this is the place we brought Lily to after leaving the hospital after she was born. It may not be perfect, but it's our home.

I am truly thankful for my family and my friends. I may not see them as much as I would like, but I know they are there for me when I really need it. They lift my spirits when I need it and praise me for a job well done. I love them all!!

I am truly blessed with the gifts God has given me. It is so easy to get caught up with "keeping up with the Jones." You always want what you can't have or you are jealous of those who do have it. Many of times I have to step back from all that and do a reality check. So, now I am trying my best to be thankful for the things I have and not worry about the things I don't.

Pigtails and Cinnamon buns

Today was the very first day that Lily let me put pigtails in her hair. She likes NOTHING on her head or in her hair. She is one particular little girl. However, I tried again today to put pigtails in and she let me do it. Yeah, I'm still in shock over it. The top of her hair hasn't caught up with the bottom part. It looks kinda of funny...but cute at the same time!

Side note: I made homemade Caramel pecan sticky buns last night from scratch. Basically it's a cinnamon bun. However, never made this before. I really wanted to see if I could do it. I had failed attempted on Sunday due to old yeast. I tried again after buying fresh yeast.......OH MY! They were good!! What do you think?

You're invited to a Tea Party.....

When I was about 5, my grandma had a little table and chairs made for me. I would spend hours and hours writing, coloring, or playing with them. My grandma gave me these table and chairs right after John and I got married. She told me to save them for whenever I had kids. Well, John and I did store them. Today we got them out of storage and gave them to Lily. We decided that Lily was probably old enough to use them. So, the rocking chair got moved out of her room and the table and chairs were put in it's place.

It wasn't long until they were put into good use. See pictures below........

I'm sure this will be the first of many tea parties for daddy! Let me tell you, I think daddy had more fun than Lily!!

Fall is coming!!!

Well, I have been blessed with a pretty deceit schedule the last couple of weeks. I am on a 5 day stretch off, so I can't really complain there. Again, work has been crazy busy.....I really don't think that will ever change. That is pretty much the norm anymore.

Last week, I got Lily's Halloween costume in the mail. I was really surprised because they called me and told me that it was on back order until Sept. 20th. I really liked the costume and told them I would wait until then. Then, a couple days later I got an email saying it was shipped. WOW!!! Anyway, Lily looks so stinkin' cute in it. I hope it gets cooler because I think Lily will be too hot in it. Oh! Well, I guess I should tell you that she is going to be a cow. Last year she was a turkey, this year a cow.....next year I'm going to get my way....she will be a princess or at least something more girlie.

Last weekend, Lily started to get sick. She woke up Saturday morning with a low grade temp. Of course, we did the whole Tylenol alternating with Motrin for the day. She seem to do pretty good with that. Then Sunday morning at 1am, she woke up. Usually on the nights I work, John gets up with her. I heard him turn on the lights and say, "oh my." I knew something was up. I got up and Lily was drench with sweat. We took her temp 104.8. John immediately started freakin out saying, "we are going to the ER." Well, I'm not taking her to the ER without treating the temp first. So, I gave her Motrin waited an hour, it was 103.3, gave her Tylenol and Pedialyte and took her temp again an hour later 101.2, and then waited another hour it was 100.1. Remember me saying that John gets up with her on the nights I work......John and I were both up with her that night. Needless to say, 2 hrs of sleep was not fun and then working 12 hr shift. I was dragging all day. She did run a temp all day though. Monday morning she woke up with a temp again, 102.5. I called Dr. Bies and we were seen that afternoon. Well, Lily just had a virus, which I thought she probably did, but it didn't hurt to get her ears checked anyway. By Wednesday, she was back to normal. Thank goodness!!!

John and I are still in the talking stage of building a house. We have land and a building plan, but that's about it. John wants to build a house now while the interest rates are low, which I do agree with that. However, in 2 years, we will have a lot less debt. We will have all of our credit cards paid off plus one of my student loans, with another one almost paid off. So, I do want to wait, that way I can get what I want in the house and not worry so much about it. I really hope by then, the interest rates aren't 7%.

A couple a days ago, I reached this panic state. I don't know why or how it happened, but I just realized I needed to lose a lot of weight. Yes, I am overweight. I know this, I have always known this, but the reality hasn't really sank in. I'm not looking to be a size 0, but I really would like to be a size 6. Why wasn't I blessed with the high metabolism genes??? I really do have a lot of issues that I don't know that I can deal with to actually have time to exercise. Just like all mothers out there......who is going to watch my child??? I'm not going to get a good workout, if I'm constantly watching to make sure that Lily isn't into everything....I'm not going to hire a babysitter for 1-2 hrs. By the time John gets home, I have housework to finish that I couldn't get done before he got home. Plus, I have to make dinner and do dishes. I work full time at the hospital 12+ hrs 3 days a week. My job is beyond stressful. Seriously, how do people do it???? I have tried the workouts with your child...the only thing I can do that Lily will let me do is walking....However, it has been so hot this year that I won't let Lily be outside for long periods at a time. I'm not making excuses.....I just telling you the obstacles that I don't know how to overcome. Suggestions are greatly appreciated!!

I was going to post pictures of what I looked like in high school, college, before Lily and after, but I got too depressed. Maybe later!

Well, I hope everyone has a good week!!

Say Cheese!

John and I have been teaching Lily the phrase, "say cheese!" We have been taking lots and lots of pictures of her and she would never smile, now I think she gets it!!

Everytime she sees my phone or camera she will point to it and say, "CHEESE!!" We might have created a monster!!!