25 Things - Just Because

1. I have been happily married for 4 years…and head over heels in love for almost 7!

2. Luci will not be an only child...but will be for a while!

3. I love Lucy…yes, I am an avid collector of Lucille Ball memorabilia and I love her shows!

4. I have an odd obsession with the royal family…maybe it is because I know I really should be a Princess!

5. I am a control freak. I like things to be organized and I dislike change.
6. I have to remind myself to slow down sometimes and just love on Luci…if I didn’t I would constantly be up running around.

*If I work with you or you work at the institution I do, stop reading NOW!
7. I would quit my job in a heartbeat and stay home with my Luci…but that is not in the cards for us right now!
*Ok, you may continue reading…

8. I am a lefty…and secretly (ok it isn’t a secret) wish Luci was too!

9. Some of the biggest arguments that Mitch and I have are not over money or kids…they are over him leaving wet towels in the floor.

10. I hate folding and putting away laundry. I would rather scrub the baseboards than do laundry. Because of this, Mitch does about 95% of the folding of laundry…and I scrub the baseboards!

11. I do about 98% of the cooking in our house, but couldn’t start the lawn mower if I wanted to.

12. I hate driving.

13. I talk to my mom at least 2-3 times a day.

14. I love celebrity gossip and read people.com and tmz.com every single day…multiple times a day.

15. I love reading cookbooks.

16. I do not like crushed ice.

17. The thought of eating shrimp makes me throw up a little in my mouth.

18. I can do blood…can’t do broken bones.

19. I will often not speak in complete sentences (because I am thinking about it in my head and forget that I haven’t actually said what I am thinking) and still to this day, I only have one friend that can completely follow me. Mitch has no idea what I am ever saying when I do that!

20. I am not sure what my natural hair color is…but I claim to be blonde!

21. I have not read an actual book in several years; however, I have not lost the ability to read very, very fast. *Quick story…I had a co-worker give me an article several pages long to read. I handed it back to him in a few minutes and he accused me of not reading it. I then summarized the article for him. He left me alone after that!


22. I love watching T.V. …but my favorite shows are usually 30 minute sitcoms…I hate one hour dramas.

23. I used to run track in high school and loved it. The only exercise I do these days is chasing after a 2 year old…some days I miss running.

24. I was a cheerleader for 5 years…and still like to randomly bust out a cheer every now and then…Mitch has learned to ignore me.

25. I believe in good old-fashioned southern manners and that a smile will go a long way!

Short Weekend Summary

So this weekend recap will be short...life is busy...

Friday Night- Dinner with Kerri and Taylor...chicken tacos with flour and corn tortillas, Kerri's AMAZING homemade salsa...did I mention it was amazing???, and gluten free brownies for dessert!!! Good food, GREAT friends, Super evening!!!

Saturday- Short trip to Paris for hair appt and to see the fam. Mom made lunch and Nana made dessert...I stirred the broccoli and cheese. I know, with that kind of contribution, I am on my way to daughter of the year!! Lunch was delicious and I always love going home to eat! I got to spend a little bit of time with Tasha, and Luci got to meet one of my friend's son, "K"!! What an absolute cutie!!!! Saturday night I went out to dinner and a movie with some of my girl friends from back home. We try to meet up a couple of times a year! We had such a great time and a lot of great laughs!

Sunday- We got ready for Grammy to come to visit!!!! Luci's daycare is closed this week so she is doing what I like to call "The Grandma Shuffle"!! I'm sure by Friday she will be so spoiled that we won't know what to do with her!! We picked up Mitch's Mom and had a quick dinner and she will be with us until Tuesday! My Mom and Nana are coming for their shifts on Wednesday-Friday. Let the fun begin!!!

And...a random pic...

Luci decided Minnie should have bows in her hair...What a proud moment for me! lol!!!! We do love our bows!!!

Popsicle

A Weekend of Firsts!!!

We had a 3 day weekend this weekend! Mitch was in central Ark all week at a conference/class thing. My friend Tasha and her hubs Andrew (and black lab Tory) live in that area, too. I took off work on Friday and Luci and I drove down across to spend the night with her, see their brand new house and car, and meet up with Mitch to pick him up from the conference. Luci did so well at their house! I was a little worried because they do not have children of their own yet and Tasha always keeps her house in immaculate condition!! It certainly wasn't baby proof, let alone Luci proof!!! Tasha was so nice and had so many snacks for Luci and even whipped out bracelets, necklaces, and crowns for us to play dress up in!!! We had a great time!

The next day we went out shopping (Luci wasn't as good this time...) and met up with Mitch. During shopping Tasha showed us the greatest little children's hair salon. Luci has been needing a hair cut trim for a while. She had bangs for a while and had those trimmed, but she has never had an official first hair cut. This place looked like so much fun so we decided to go for it!!! Luci was a bit scared at first, but warmed up quickly. This place had it all...bubbles, snacks, toys, & even fun chairs for the kiddos to sit in during the cut. Tasha was so great and just began snapping pictures as Mitch and I were trying to make Luci feel comfortable. She got some fun shots of her...and me almost crying!!! I cry at all of Luci's "firsts"!

Not happy in the beginning...

First cut

This is not so bad!

I love this place!

After the cut we said goodbye and drove back home. Saturday was Arkansas's first "tax-free" shopping day. We ventured out a bit, but didn't find that great of deals. I ended up getting a few shirts and Luci's schools supplies (yes she has school supplies!). After shopping we came home and Luci got started on her Saturday art project!!

Painting is fun!!

and messy too!!

So proud of her work!

Sunday, we went to church...

and then made yummy, from scratch, strawberry cupcakes with homemade strawberry butter cream frosting! (I won't tell you how many I ate...but let's just say it was a lot!)

So, recap...first trip to Tasha's new house, first hair cut, first tax-free shopping, and first time baking strawberry cupcakes!!!!

Also, this Saturday is what would have been Lucille Ball's 100th birthday. Those of you that have known me for any amount of time know that she is one of my favorite people of all time!

Me with "Desi and Lucy"

I'll leave it up to you to decide how Luci got her name...!!!

I love Lucy...and Luci!!!!

Midweek Musings

Today is the birthday of one of my best friends...Kerri!!!!!! We celebrated last night with her...well actually her and I celebrated earlier in the day with lunch...so we pretty much celebrated all day yesterday...lunch, dinner, cake, and presents!!! I made Kerri a "Kerri-friendly" cake and Luci took care of ALL the decorating!!! She was so proud of her work!

Putting on some candles!

Helping Kerri blow out the candles!

-Luci and I have been working on her counting (I'm sure her school has too). She has done ok with the counting, but up until this week the numbers were not always in the correct order...and some may be missing. lol! On Monday when we were driving home from her school, she just all of a sudden started counting from 1 to 10 and never missed a number. She did it several more times! We have continued working on it the rest of this week and let me tell you, she has it down!!! I don't know if she is behind, ahead, or right on target with other kids her age, but I don't care...this Momma is PROUD of her girl!!!!

-We are going to visit my friend Tasha and her hubs tomorrow night...as well as pick up Mitch from his class he has been at all week! I am super excited...and I know Luci is more than ready to see her Daddy!!

-Band aids- Luci is crazy about band aids and feels that she needs one or two on her at all times. I've had several people ask me what happened to her...I'm like um...nothing...she just likes band aids. I feel that a couple of band aids give her such joy then what's the harm! I can get a box of 30 for under 2 bucks! Anyone else's kids have quirks or things they enjoy?

Luci showing some of her sass! *Note the two band aids on her shins!!!

That is all for now! Happy Hump Day...I'm glad it's almost over!

Needing to Shake the Blahs

I have been feeling pretty blah the last few days...not sure if it is from surgery...from Mitch being gone for a week...or from being ridiculously swamped at work...probably a combination of all 3.

Looking at these pics is sure to shake some of those blahs!!!

Playing outside on Brendon's play set!

Saturday morning ritual...play dough!!!

Just a sweet pic of our princess...I think we were getting ready to go out to eat!

All dressed and ready for church! Quinn made this pillowcase dress for her!!! I have a talented Nana, Mom, and Sister...I can't even sew on a button!! Lol!

Luci is loving on her babies!! She has them diapered (with help from Momma), rocked, covered up and ready for bed!! All her babies have to be put to bed before she goes to bed!!

Misc Musings- Surgery, Bday, Pics

Surgery

I had surgery today...nothing major. The doctor removed my adenoids (well, the other half of them that had not been removed when my tonsils were taken out 6 years ago) and I had tubes put in. We (well, the dr.) is confident that this procedure should help tremendously with me getting sick so much. I have honestly been on antibiotics every month for a year. We are dwindling down to ones actually working...I have just been sooo sick. So prayers that this surgery is my last and that I feel 100% are much appreciated!!!

Mitch

I have an awesome husband for many reasons. He is soooooo good to me, he is an outstanding father to Luci, and he is a hard worker. Mitch has been working on a project (grant-type thing...I'm not 100% what you would call it) for over a month. He has been working laaattee hours on it from home. Because it is so important to be here for Luci and I, he would not start working on it at night until after we were in bed...this means he has had MANY late nights. He has been up anywhere from 1:00am to even all night. He has been chugging 5 hour energy drinks and pots of coffee to give him some stamina! He even worked late nights on this project through our vacation. Well, everything was officially submitted today and I am sooo proud of him for all of his hard work!!! (He was in bed tonight around 7:00!!!) I hope he can rest up this weekend before he leaves for a week on a business trip! Even though it hasn't necessarily been healthy with all the late nights, he just wants to be there for everyone...and he made it work. He truly is an awesome person.

Mitch had a birthday while we were in Branson!!! I teased him for the month prior to his birthday that he is now Closer to 30 than 20! Prior to his actual birthday, we had a small family celebration at the Hoskyn's House...complete with chicken spaghetti, presents and birthday cake!!!

On his birthday we were in Branson....you can read more about his Branson Birthday Celebration here.

Here are a few pics of Mitch from the day he was born...and some toddler pics!!!

Mitch and his Dad!!...all 9lbs of him!!!

Mitch - One year old

Mitch- 2 years old

And because no post is complete with out a pic of our Princess Diva...

I call this pic "The Hard Life"