Emmitt and Parker Giggling

Feel free not to watch the whole video-I had edited it to 2 minutes and lost it and am way too tired to re-edit it so it's five minutes of my kids being silly together. Guaranteed to put a smile on your face!

One Month and Two Days Apart

Isn't it ironic that my friend Regan and I had both of our children exactly one month and two days apart? First Jillian arrived October 9th and then Parker November 11th. Then 2 years later Brooks arrived January 11th and then Emmitt February 13th. We got to be pregnant together both times (both of us hating every minute of it together). I think we'll both say we are done having kids so we don't mess up this perfect spacing.
Parker and Jillian get along for the most part...18 months old was tough (last summer) but then they got better through the winter. Now both are at a "not listening" stage so it's bound to get better from where we are now.


Parker Anthony and Jillian Grace
Monkey See Monkey Do

Emmitt Jon and Brooks William-just a small 4-5 pound difference.

Best of Friends

Happy Friday!

He has this little look to him...I think he might be trouble some day for us!
Here it is again...
First time in the bumbo from Peppie (Stephie). He gets to see the world from a whole new angle. Your laughing at his hair aren't you?
And of course the 2 year old has to revert back to being a baby and try out all the toys.

My favorite so far this month...

Sick and Tired of being Sick and Tired

enough already! I got sick in the hospital when I had Emmitt and it lasted for 3 weeks...here I am again-sick! Along with Emmitt and Parker...and now Barrett and my mom. Barrett tends to have an immunity made of steel. My mom who never gets sick has managed to have more colds, flu, and strep throat encounters since Parker was born than she has had her whole life! Barrett seems to get it now easier but not nearly as bad nor as long. It's not fair a 3 month old has a cold, cough and runny nose. Not to mention none of us can sleep at night! I am excited about the 3 day weekend! I am going to lounge in my pj's as long as I want and do nothing...at least try to do nothing.

My Mom

This is my absolute favorite picture-and one of very few-of my mommy and I.

This year, I celebrated Mother's Day more as a daughter than a mother. It was my mom's first Mother's Day without her mom. My sisters and I thought it may be particularly tough on mom without grandma so we decided to keep her busy and celebrate with her. Well it worked for the most part but also postponed the inevitable tears-which came later on in the week. We all went out for a nice leisurely lunch together and then to pick out a movie off our "AFI's Top 100" list at the video store. We finally found one on the list that they actually carried in our little town and it was Goodfellas, in VHS format nonetheless...it went for the rental price of $1.05 for 3 days! Unreal! Anyways, back to my house to watch it on the big screen. It was actually a really good (violent) movie. And based on a true story, which always makes it "all the better" in my book.

After our movie date we went to Saturday night Mass-which was actually in memory of grandma. It was a peaceful Mass-but I found myself tearing up once in awhile just thinking about motherhood, grandma, and my mom. I find myself crying a lot more lately-very easily. It may be hormones or a hectic, sometimes stressful life, but all the same-crying more. I think it's healthy to have a good cry every now and then...

Sunday-my mom came to "my church" service and helped Bear out with the boys when I went up to sing in the choir. Barrett and Parker had made me breakfast that morning-and chimed together "Happy Mother's Day" all day long. It was a relaxing and fun and emotional weekend.

My mom and I have grown together over the last 28 years. I have never met a stronger woman in my life. She has experienced more "hardships" in her lifetime than most of us ever will and has always come out on top-with dignity and poise.

I am the baby of four girls and at the same time an only child. My sisters are 12, 10 and 6 years older than me-so when they graduated from high school and went on to college and get married, it was just me and my mom. My sisters will tell you I got everything I wanted-which I admit I was spoiled (in a way).

I can't say I wanted it any other way growing up-as in-having it be all four of us girls under one roof and really close in age. I have grown with my sisters in the later years of our lives and become best of friends with them. But I got all my high school years (7-12th grade) with just my mom. It was by far the best part of my childhood.

Over the years we have become best of friends-who can talk about anything together, we enjoy the same things, have the same values and beliefs. She continues to help me guide my babies into boys and young men, she spends quality time with all of us. She loves my husband as her own son, she helps shape me into a better mom and wife,

...she would do anything for us.

I love you momma~

Watch Me Grow Month Three

Month One

Month Two

Month Three

can't decide which picture to use, taken only 1 day apart...but looks way bigger in the white/yellow jammies

The Checkbook story

oh my gosh...It took me 5 hours to balance my business checkbook today! My brain is so tired. I hadn't balanced it since Emmitt was born. I had tried a few times and just kept entering the discrepancies as is, thinking "I'll do it next month and fix it" well I had to go back in Quickbooks and actually undo all the way back to December 12 of 2007!!!

Feeding Bebe Ella my Bottles

Okay-so you all remember bebe Ella right? This is the "girl" in my belly that Parker named bebe Ella. Well once Emmitt was born we had no trouble making the switch from bebe Ella to Emmitt. Parker understood the baby was a boy and it was his brother and his name was not Ella. So we named his dolly Ella. He randomly pokes at his Keepies-which are his nipples, but us girls grew up calling them Keepies, my niece Emma called them her Keepers-by the way if any of you can answer where that came from, please tell me...anyways he pokes at his Keepies and called them his bottles and tells me bebe Ella is hungry and needs to eat. I then watch him put her on him and nurse her! It was so sweet and innocent but also waaaay funny! A couple of weeks ago he put his stuffed animal on his bottles and nursed it...guess what animal that was? A cow no less!

A New Sister

JoDell, Cyndi, Larissa, Casey, Becky and Steph

Denise, Casey, Janet-the mom's

The girls enjoying a great dinner at Thunderbird


This past weekend was my "sister-in-law to be's" bridal shower. It was a really great day! It was actually my first day away from Emmitt. We started out at the church decorating early and got everything ready. The shower itself was only a couple of hours and then to the personal shower and spa party for us girls. This was so fun and much needed by me! We did hand treatments, drank wine, had heated neck wraps, drank some more wine, did foot soaks, were treated to the "head tingler" by Cyndi :) and some more wine. We shared stories, looked at pictures and hung out all afternoon. That was the best part of the day and the most relaxing for me...it may have been the wine though. Then we went out to the Thunderbird for a great supper. I totally fell off my diet but hey it was only one day! I went all out with BBQ ribs, wild rice, and their awesome toll house pie dessert! Casey and I shared that so it wasn't as guilty as it could have been, right?! I was in and out of my house all day, "checking in" but mainly to pump and then leave again. I was so impressed that my hubby did an all dayer by himself with both boys. He actually had them taking naps at the same time...which I can never seem to accomplish. I got home that night around 9 and had all intentions of pumping and then going to the Holiday Inn to visit more and couldn't muster up the energy...decided to crawl into bed without washing my face and I was out! That was until Emmitt woke up screaming and demanded the boob at 2 am!

A little about Casey-she is 5 months to the day older than me, she has a great laugh, she has fun at just about everything she does, she has the same beliefs as me, she enjoys card making/scrappin' just like me, she loves the outdoors just like me (except she does the farm thing-I DO NOT do farms), she is always positive, she sees the best in people, she is a beautiful person inside and out...all of these things and MORE make me so happy that she is going to be my sister! It has been 11 years of just me and Janet mixed in with all those Ole boys! Finally another girl to be our "ally" as Janet would say...oh did I mention she is Godmother to my precious Emmitt?? Thanks for the great weekend Case-Love ya like a Sista