hoppy easter.

we tried to get a picture taken with the easter bunny. tried being the operative word. i thought it would be a piece of cake, after all, they both climbed up on santa's lap no problemo...

til we actually SAW the easter bunny. to them, apparently it was FRANK from DONNIE DARKO. they screamed, i bribed, they cried, i think i even shed a tear... we left the mall without a easter picture.

aubrey came up with the idea that i could TAKE their picture at home, and then show it to the easter bunny, because it would "kinda" be like the same thing. oh, the way her little manipulative mind works. she is my daughter...

so i set myself up to get them dressed in their easter dresses, and take their pictures... it was raining on the day we planned... then my sister in law sent these adorable hats. I knew they would be perfect. so out to the front porch we went, and they allowed me to take 6, count them 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 pictures of them. aren't they giving children???

the moral of the story is... taking pictures of your children is like trying to nail jello eggs to a wall...

hope you all have a hoppy easter.

lord help me.

i always do this. always.

i go gung-ho on losing weight, hit a huge milestone, and then think "eh, i've done good.... i should reward myself with a cadbury egg...... or 12".

this time, once again, no different.

2 weeks ago, i hit the 25 lb mark. i have lost 25 lbs! i haven't been a size 10 since, well, i don't remember.

so, what do i do to celebrate? i let go. i let go off what i need to be doing. i let go of my healthy eating habits because hey, i've lost 25 lbs! no big deal to eat like a pig once in a while... and yet, 2 weeks later, i am still eating horrible. '

i need an intervention, because lord help me, the devil wants me fat. i need a switch kick in the britches before these new britches i bought no longer fit.

i am writing this out for accountability. its no big deal if i slip up a little in private, but making it public, that's HUGE. you all will know my triumphs, my failures, and be there when i pick myself up from a ice cream binge and hit the treadmill.

first position.

my daughter has started dance class. a prima ballerina she is not. she has the grace of her mama, who i am embarassed to admit, has the grace of a water buffalo. but she looks darn cute in her tutu...

dear weight loss plateau,

as dolph lundgren would say, "i will break you"

sincerely,
me

quarantined.

that is what my house should be. there should be yellow caution tape all around it, a big red bio hazard sign on the front door, and people walking around in giant yellow hazmat suits... this week sucks. it started off on wednesday morning (around 12:30 am) with aubrey SCREAMING that she had thrown up in her bed... she was pitiful. so bad that she was throwing up out of her nose. she finally fell asleep around 3:30, woke up at 4 to throw up, back asleep, woke up at 4:30 to throw up.... a vicious cycle. finally, about 3 pm everything stopped and she seemed to be resting comfortably for the rest of the night. slept all night. i thought we were in the clear.

both aubrey and ava woke up thursday morning with horrible coughs. i mean horrible. they both sound like they have been smoking for 50+ years. and then of course, my throat started to hurt. and hurt worse, and worse.

now here it is, friday evening. aubrey is laying on the couch, still coughing her lungs up... if she doesnt seem any better by tomorrow, we may make a trip to the urgent care. Ava is a bit grumpy, but won't sit down and rest. she seems fine, til she starts hacking. and im sitting here, with a kleenex shoved up my nose because its so stuffy, but running at the same time. my throat is on fire and the side of my neck feels like i went 3 rounds with Randy Couture.

stay far away from our house. in fact, i would wash your hands with anti bacterial soap just because you are reading this... spray lysol all around your computer.

i hope you all stay well.

36 years.

36 years. that is how long my parents have been married for today. 36 years = 432 months = 1878 weeks = 315569 hours

i wrote a thank you note to my parents a while back, and i think i can remember most of it. so, bear with me, because what better day to tell them thank you than on their anniversary.

to my parents,
thank you for being such wonderful examples for me.
thank you for teaching me how to put a worm on my hook.
thank you for allowing me to bake in your "just cleaned" kitchen.
thank you for teaching me manners & morals.
thank you for letting me get my ears pierced, again, and again, and again.
thank you for taking in a stray dog.
thank you for letting me experiment with my hair. after all, its just hair!
thank you for letting me paint the sky.
thank you for being with me while i gave birth to my daughters.
thank you for loving my daughters even more than you love me.
thank you for being strong parents of a strong soldier.
thank you teaching me how to change the oil in my car.
thank you for taking us camping.
thank you for the many pictures of doyle & i on paul bunyon.
thank you for putting up with hours upon hours of middle school and high school talent shows.
thank you for encouraging me to sing, even when i sounded like a dying cat.
thank you for taking me to get my first tattoo. im sorry that i have gone overboard.
thank you for always putting family first.
thank you for all that you have done for me, i hope that one day i am half the parents that you two are.

and if you are wondering why this blog post is in "coral" its because the traditional gift for the 35 year anniversary is "coral". they don't seem to have one for 36 years, so im just improvising :)


i love you mom & pop!

family first.

i have totally neglected my blog. there goes my 365. i have had so much on my mind lately... haven't really felt like blogging. right now, my grandpa is in the ICU at our local hospital... he really needs some prayers. my attention has been on him, my granny, my mom and my kiddos. family comes first. i have stayed home from work for a couple of days, so my mom could be at the hospital. in spite of the bad situation, i have taken advantage of being home with the girls... getting to take Aubrey to school, painting with her, trying to teach Ava some new words, dancing with her... and i actually took out the camera to try and get some good pics of Ava... i forgot that trying to capture good images of a 2 year old is like trying to nail jello to the wall.


but, here are the 2 pics that came out ok, i suppose.

please keep my grandpa in your prayers. thank you!