Gator Gymnastics!

We took CB to her very first gymnastics meet on Friday. It was the Brest Cancer Awareness Meet so everyone was in pink! It was such a fun family outing! Not only did we go, but a few of our sweet friends were there with us. All the kiddos had a blast! Unfortunately, there weren’t enough seats down low for all 8 adults and 7 children to sit together, so we headed up to the nose bleed section of the O'Connell Center. Here’s a picture of the kids hanging on the railing as they watched those gymnasts in awe!

 

A few minutes later, one of the O’Connell Center attendants walked over to tell us that kids weren’t allowed to touch the railing. Try telling 7 kids under the age of 4 that they can’t touch the railing! HA! I will admit though, it was a little scary watching my little peanut stand so closely to the edge with a railing that she could easily fit though protecting her. I was happy to keep her away from the railing!! :)

Let me just say, sporting events are so much different now! I remember, not so long ago, being able to sit and enjoy watching a sporting event. I actually got to watch and stay the whole time. Well, that’s LONG gone!! We took a few walks around the O’Dome so Cori could stretch her legs and have a change in scenery. I think she would have walked multiple laps around the whole arena if we had let her. She LOVES to walk! We also had to leave just as the UF girls were warming up for floor (my FAVORITE event) because it was past CB’s bed time and she was getting a bit fussy. I think in the 1.5 hours we were there, I may have sat and watched 3-5 minutes total. Oh how times have changed!! … Even in the midst of chasing a one-year old around, I wouldn’t change it for the world. I LOVED getting to take my girl to a gymnastics meet. I hope one day she has a love for gymnastics like me.

 

PS .. Since little miss won’t let me put bows in her hair at the moment, I am sneaking them on her beanies, since she LOVES to wear hats!! A moms gotta do what a moms gotta do! HA! :)

Random FUN!

I have been so bad about taking and uploading photos these days! Here are a few things that have been going on at our house lately…

 

We went on a family date night last weekend to Chili’s. Oh, how we love Chili’s and Moes!! HA! Dave and I always order chips and salsa. Cori has been experimenting with eating chips these days and on this particular night, she decided to try the salsa. She grabbed a chip and dipped it into the salsa like such a big girl!! Oh, our little one is growing up! After a few chips and salsa, she decided to do away with the chips and just shovel salsa into her mouth with her hand. BAD IDEA!! After a few handfuls, her mouth was on fire and we had to deal with it the rest of dinner! Poor thing!

Something I have REALLY been enjoying these days is our bedtime routine with Cori! I LOVE the way she brings me a book, crawls in my lap, and listens to me read. I feel like the most important person in the world to my little girl!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve done a little bit of Tot School here and there, but we aren’t in full swing yet. I’ve got my Tot School corner under way, but still need a few more things. I’ll be sure to post about that soon! In the meanwhile, we’ve been… playing with puzzles, reading books (LOTS OF BOOKS!!!), learning the different parts of our body, doing Fridge Phonics, talking on the phone, caring for our baby dolls, and playing soccer in the house! It’s been loads of fun! Here are some pics…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dave came down with a cold on Wednesday and pretty much laid around all week. Luckily he had a little bit of down time from his crazy ER schedule to recover. Cori woke up this morning with daddy’s symptoms and has been running a fever all day. :( Poor baby. Her and her daddy pretty much laid on the couch all day watching Veggie Tales, Charlottes Web, and Praise Baby. They took lots of naps as well, and read a few stories in-between movies. Hoping they feel better soon and hoping I don’t get it!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To top off the week, I am 17 weeks pregnant now and feeling great! :) I have been feeling small movements of baby #2. I feel much more in tune this time around with noticing movements. Love it!! My belly is definitely growing faster this time (at least I think so, but it’s hard to tell by these pictures!). First pregnancy is on the left and this one is on the right. I definitely need a tan and I think I look so much older now!! :( You be the judge…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catch ya later! :)

Everyday Life…

Well, let me just say that I feel like I haven’t sat still in 2 days straight! Sunday night I decided that I would get this whole “2011 goal thing” underway so I got out my cleaning schedule, put it in a sheet protector, and hung it on the fridge. If I see it everyday, I will do it! If it’s in a binder, I will never open it! :) For those of you wondering what a chore list is or what I do each week, see below… And, these are just my weekly chores. I also have a list of daily and monthly chores as well, but I’ll try not to overwhelm you all at once! … P.S. – Sunday chores usually get done on Monday, which might be why I’m so overwhelmed come Tuesday. :) Just a thought!

Mom's Chore List: Weekly Chores

Sunday

o Pantry inventory

o Coupon/Grocery List

o Plan menu for week

o Check "Master To-do List"

Monday

o Linen laundry

o Baby laundry

o Grocery shop

o Windex sliding glass door

Tuesday

o Clean toilets

o Windex bathroom mirrors

o Wipe down bathroom sinks & counters

o Vacuum upstairs

Wednesday

o Clothing laundry

o Vacuum stairwell

o Dust living room

Thursday

o Sweep front and back porch

o Dust master bedroom

o Dust Cori's room

Friday

o Vacuum upstairs

o Mop

o Update budget

Saturday

o Pick one thing from monthly chore list

o Wash dog

 

Remember, this is supposed to help me NOT feel overwhelmed because “if I do a little everyday, I won’t have to do it ALL in one day.” And, actually, I don’t feel overwhelmed, I just feel like I’m constantly going and going and going and going! I guess when you throw a one year old into the mix, there’s really no break. Let me just give you a peak into my Monday…

Wake up at 7:00. Throw in a load of laundry. Read the bible and journal until 7:45. Cori starts crying. Maverick runs to her door and begins wagging his tail ON THE DOOR and it’s so loud you can’t think! Greet Cori and pick her up. She smells AWFUL and you immediately change a poopy diaper. Take off her PJ’s and find something for her to wear. Dress her while she wiggles around like a worm. Sing the Hokey Pokey because it helps her focus on putting her clothes on. Put her in the high chair and listen to her wail while you make a scrambled egg for HER. Shovel cereal into your mouth while she eats her egg. Then, make her a bowl of oatmeal. She reminds you that you didn’t pray and so you pray before feeding her oatmeal. Wipe her hands and face with a wet rag while singing “wash your hands” to a tune you made up yourself. Put her on the floor with her Sippy cup of milk, hoping she will finish it while playing for a few minutes. Brush your teeth. Put on gym clothes. Take Maverick outside with baby on hip. Put on your shoes and Cori’s shoes. Make sure the diaper bag has diapers, wipes, an extra paci, your wallet and your cell phone. Search for cell phone. Find cell phone. It’s 8:50 and you’re headed for the car to go to gym class. You have to stay in some kind of shape! Arrive at the gym at 9:13. Hurry, class starts in 2 minutes. Drop off Cori in the nursery. Katie (gym class instructor) kicks your butt for an hour and 15 minutes. Pick Cori up from the nursery. Put her in the car. Drive home. Upon arriving home, Cori is asleep in the backseat. Carefully take her out of the car, up the stairs, and put her into bed without waking her. It’s almost 11:00 am. Take a shower. Get dressed for the day. Dry your hair. Put on makeup so you look halfway decent. Add some jewelry to that outfit so you can sport your business in public. Move laundry to dryer and throw in another load. Sit down at the computer (ahhh… sit down!) and pull up southernsavers.com to find the newest weekly deals at Publix. Base your dinner schedule for the week off what’s on sale. Search for coupons (online & in weekly newspaper add) to go with sale items. Make grocery list. **Usually takes an hour!** It’s 12:30 and Cori is waking up. Greet her. Change diaper. Make her lunch – possibly left over broccoli and chicken pasta from last night. There is only enough for her. Grab a yogurt for yourself. Get all coupons and grocery list together and packed in diaper bag. Double check you have everything. Search for cell phone. Find cell phone. Cori is crying because she’s finished and you’ve left her in her highchair. Wet a paper towel to clean her face and hands. Sing “wash your hands” song. Wipe down her hair as it’s full of broccoli. YUM! Let Maverick lick the remainder of her lunch off the high chair. Grab Publix bags and head for the grocery store. Arrive at the grocery store by 1:30. Wipe down cart to disinfect. Put Cori in cart. Buckle in. Throw bags and diaper bag in the back of the cart. Pull out grocery list and coupons. Stop at the bakery to get a cookie for Cori. Begin shopping. Stop multiple times to remind Cori to stay seated. Stop and take Cori out of the cart to let her walk for a bit. Put her back in. Tell her you are almost done. She has no clue what you are saying. Finish shopping. Head to checkout. See bill after groceries have been rung up. Freak out. Hand the cashier your stack of coupons. Sigh relief when you see your new total. Pay in CASH because you are now on a cash system. Pray there will be enough left in your grocery envelope to make it through the month! Put groceries in the car. Put baby in the car. Drive home. Upon arriving home, make 3 trips up and down the stairs holding Cori and taking the groceries up. It’s almost 3:00 pm. Cori is getting fussy because she’s hungry and tired again. Quickly put away perishable items. Make Cori a 6 oz bottle of warm milk. Feed her. Put her down for her second nap. Finish unloading the groceries. Pull dry laundry out of dryer. Throw on the couch. Put wet laundry in the dryer. Fold dry laundry. Realize that some of it needs to be ironed. Pull out iron and ironing board. Iron. Put clothes on dining room table because they are Cori’s and you can’t put them away until she wakes up. Put ironing board and iron away. Windex the sliding glass door. Put away toys that are spewed all over your living room floor from Cori playing earlier in the day. It’s 4:15 pm. Pull out ingredients needed for dinner. Start dinner preparations. Beep. Laundry is done. Pull dry laundry out. Throw on couch. It’s only linens so nothing needs ironing. Fold. Put away. Cori is waking. Greet her. Change diaper. Make her a bowl of blueberries and turn on her Praise Baby DVD. Finish dinner preparations and put it in the oven. Put Cori’s clothes away. Turn off TV. Spend some time purposefully playing with Cori while dinner cooks. Read books over and over and over and over again while Cori listens and turns the pages with delight. Do a puzzle. Read another book. Play with baby dolls. Pretend to talk to one another on fake cell phones. Cori crawls all over you because she loves you. Smile. Tickle her and listen to her contagious laughter. Roll the soccer ball back and forth. Watch her walk from place to place. Smile. Read another book. It’s 6:00 pm. Dinner is ready. Sit down to eat at 6:30. Bless the food. Eat with Cori at the table. She thinks your food tastes better than her food, even though it’s the same. Show her it’s the same. She decides to eat her food. At 7:00, dinner is finished. Wash her hands and face while singing “wash your hands” song. Pull her out of her high chair and tell her it’s bath time. She immediately runs for the tub. Leave the dinner mess on the table to clean up later. Spend 30 minutes playing and washing Cori in the bathtub. Dry her off. Lotion her up. Put a diaper on. Put on her PJ’s. Sing “Hokey Pokey.” Clean her ears. Read books on the floor for a few minutes. Make a 6 oz warm bottle. Feed Cori. Say goodnight prayers. Put her in her crib with her baby doll in hand. Turn out the lights. Clean up the dining room table. Wash dishes and load dishwasher. Put left overs in Tupperware and into the fridge. Wipe down counters. Put away toys that are once again, spewed all over your living room. It’s 8:30 and you can finally sit down! Whew! It was a long day!

 

Wow. It’s interesting to put your day on paper. Dave has been working nights in the ER so on this particular Monday, he had lunch and went grocery shopping with us. That was a nice added bonus. We also typically go to Family Group on Mondays which makes for a little different evening schedule. I tell you what though, staying at home is a full time job! I commend you working moms who have to do all the above AND work. I am so thankful to be able to stay at home. Although, some adult interaction would be nice! :) Thanks to all my wonderful stay-at-home mom friends, this gets taken care of on most days. Mondays seem to be the longest. I think it will be interesting to look back on this post one day and see what our schedule was like. Just wait until baby # 2 comes … I can’t even imagine my day then! HA!

One of my friends posted this hilarious link on facebook about what it’s like to add kids into the mix of everyday life. I was cracking up!! If you have kids, you will TOTALLY understand! If you don’t, you may think this is a little far fetched, but it’s NOT. It’s so true and so funny!! Check it out here. Enjoy! :)

A Day at the Field…

Dave is heading up a Pediatric Soccer Intermural team starting in a few weeks. He is super excited to get back on the field! However, it’s been a while since he’s played soccer … a LONG while! So, this past Sunday, he decided he would hit up the field for some practice. Cori and I went along to hang out and watch daddy play. Here are some photos of him in action. He hasn’t missed a beat! :)

 

 

While daddy was playing, Cori and I sat and watched while we snacked on some cheeze-its. She got a kick out of watching and was pointing to her daddy most of the time!

YUM! Cheeze-its!

Go, daddy, go!

After her tummy was full and she’d figured out the game from watching, she decided it was her turn to play. She has gotten so good at walking, that she decided she would learn to run at the soccer field. She chased that ball around as fast as she could go. It sure was a sight to see!

I LOVE this picture of her because you can see her two top teeth. So cute!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a GREAT time at the field! Until next time…

Regional RALLY!

Back in July I started a new business in Premier Designs Jewelry. After having Cori, David and I decided that it was best for our family for me to stay at home full time to raise our sweet girl. The only obstacle – MONEY!! Just a small issue! ha! We considered many different ways I may be able to work from home and in the end, we couldn’t have made a better decision. Choosing to sell jewelry wasn’t my first choice by any means, but it’s been such a blessing!

For those of you that don’t know much about Premier, it is a jewelry company based on biblical principles, created specifically to keep moms in the home raising their little ones while still helping to support their family. As a jeweler, I go to women’s homes to do Home Shows where women get to hang out with their friends and try on lots of beautiful jewelry; while I get a night out with adults and make money! It’s literally a dream job for me in this season of my life. And, it’s so much FUN!

This past weekend was Premier’s Regional Rally for those of us jewelers who live in Florida. Andy Horner, Premier’s founder, was there to start off the convention and it made my heart smile that he had his bible sitting right there on the table as he spoke. It reminds me that I work for good people who believe in serving the Lord first. They truly are a company who love God and love people – God’s two and greatest commands.

I got to attend Rally with Lacy (my Premier mom) and my mom (my Premier daughter). I also got to meet another sweet Premier friend, Beth.

Beth, Lacy, me, my mom

Lacy and me

We had so much fun learning how to better our business, meeting other Premier Jewelry Ladies, walking across the stage for awards, and playing in the new Spring Line of Jewelry!! Speaking of jewelry, my new jewelry should be in by the end of the week and I can’t wait!!

I got to walk across the stage 3 times to be recognized for awards. That’s another thing I love about this business. They are always encouraging you and rewarding you when you go that extra mile, but they never take anything away from you if you don’t. I don’t know any other Home Show business like that! This was my name tag for the weekend with all my recognitions on it. Wahoo!!

 

The biggest thing I took away from this conference was the ability in this business to SERVE OTHERS. I pray that as I step into each woman’s home over this next year, I would be a blessing to them. I pray God would use me to encourage and support other women when needed. I pray to bless the Lord with this business in Premier.

Every year Premier picks a verse of the year. This years verse is Psalm 34:1,3, which states, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise will continually be on my lips. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together.” Joan Horner (Premier’s co-founder) loved this verse. She passed away at age 85 just a few weeks ago. I never got to meet her, but I heard she was absolutely wonderful. Because this was her favorite verse, the company chose it to be this years, verse of the year.

I am blessed to be a Premier Designs Jeweler and my family has been financially blessed because of it as well. Praying for another successful year!

A few goals for me…

As the new year settles in, I have been thinking about a few goals I have for myself. I don’t like setting “resolutions” because I never follow through, so I thought goals might be a little better. :)

1. First and foremost, I want to spend time in the Word of God everyday. My goal is to read 3 chapters from the bible each day and journal about what the Lord is speaking to me. Since the new year, I have missed one day of reading, but I have come to terms with the fact that some days it just might not happen. That’s reality. But, it’s still something I am striving to do. The only way I can teach my children about the Lord is if I am engaging myself in his Word daily. He has to minister to me before I can minister to them. I’ve also noticed a HUGE change in myself and attitude when I’ve spent time with God and it’s so refreshing!

2. COOK! Ha! :) Planning and preparing dinner seriously stresses me out! I think it’s mainly because I don’t have a meal plan or schedule. Sometimes I get to the end of the day and think, “Hmm.. what shall we eat tonight?” And then, David usually ends up cooking. My sweet, sweet husband, who works 100+ hours a week at times comes home and rescues me by cooking up something delicious. I’m so thankful for him! But, I’ve been feeling more and more lately that I need to step up in this area. So, this week I actually wrote down my dinner plan for each day. It felt amazing to be prepared. Now, I just need to start cooking since my darling husband has cooked every meal I planned out! Ha! Oh, how I love you honey!!

3. CLEAN! I know you’re thinking that sounds ridiculous, especially if you really know me! :) Yes, I am a bit of a clean FREAK and will think my house is a mess when it really looks like it’s in order. “Looks” is the key word in that sentence. It might “look” in order, but my carpet is probably full of dog hair, my kitchen tile is filthy if you look close, and my toilets definitely haven’t been cleaned in weeks! Oh, not to mention my bath tub! Eeek! … A few months ago my friend Jen told me about this Home Planning Journal she made. In it she has a cleaning schedule, a meal plan schedule, to-do lists, goals for the week, etc. It sounded like a great way to stay organized so I made one. However, it has been sitting on the office desk for a LONG time collecting dust! So, I’ve dusted it off and am hoping if I stick to it, my house will remain clean rather than just “looking” in order!

4. Plan for Tot School and get into a little bit more of a routine at home. I have thoroughly enjoyed Tiny Tot School with Cori and am excited about moving into a little bit more structure with “Big Girl” Tot School. Now, that she is one and doesn’t eat everything she touches, we can do a little bit more with our Tot School activities! I have to admit, most weeks I just find whatever looks educational laying around the house and decide to use it. There is NO planning or preparation involved, which sometimes means we aren’t as purposeful in our play as I’d like for us to be. So, I’m working on Tot School plans for the week. (oh, the teacher in me!! If I can’t plan for the classroom, then I’ll plan for my “classroom” at home!) I’m really excited to create a space in our house for some purposeful play/Tot School time. Thanks to our Ikea gift card we got for Christmas, I’m going to have fun creating!! Thank you Mama Jean and Papa!! :)

 

In all these goals, I just want to be a better wife, mom, and follower of the Lord. I hope the New Year challenges you to do something great! Until next time…

Ringing in the New Year!!

Good-bye 2010. Hello 2011. As most of you know, I print my blog each year as a scrapbook for our family. I thought before I printed it this year, I would re-cap our year as best as possible. Let’s take a walk down memory lane…

Our year began on January 1, 2010 with a 5 day old baby girl. We couldn’t have started out the year better. She is pure JOY! Here she is in her ACDC onesie her daddy bought specifically to celebrate New Year’s in!

 

In February, David’s older brother, Ryan, got married! Missy and Ryan were wed on February 20, 2010. Cori was 2 months old and met her Uncle Casey and Aunt Rebecca for the first time!

Oh, yeah, and I got a spray tan for the first time and I was WAY TOO DARK! Never again!! :)

 

On March 11, David and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary! It was very low key since we had a little one at home, but we did get to go to out to eat on a date night with no baby!

 

In April, we celebrated Easter as a family of 3 for the first time!

 

 

In May we dedicated Cori Belle to the Lord and committed to raising her to glorify God in all her ways.

 

We also traded in our Jeep for a Hyundai Santa Fe. The Jeep has so many memories .. cross country road trips, dates, driving away after our wedding, bringing our first baby home, etc. I have to admit, I was happy to say good-bye to the Jeep, but I’ll always remember the sweet times we had in it!

 

In June we took our annual Smith beach vacation to Crescent Beach. Cori had a great time playing in the sand and water!

 

 

Cori also celebrated 6 months of life in June!

 

In July we traveled to Nashville, Tennessee for David’s cousin’s wedding. This was Cori’s first plane ride and she did fantastic! The wedding was beautiful and it was so much fun celebrating the 4th in Nashville!

 

 

 

 

In August, I turned 27 and David turned 28. Every year David takes me to the Melting Pot for my birthday and I SO look forward to it!

 

Football season started in September and this year, there was a new Gator in town!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In October, little miss dressed up as Tinker Bell, attended her first Pumpkin Party, and went trick or treating for the first time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In November we found out that we would be having another baby come late June or early July (they keep changing my due date!) We told the families at Thanksgiving with Cori wearing a “Big Sis” shirt that I made.

 

 

 

December ended perfectly as we celebrated Cori Belle’s one year birthday on the 28th. We also found out that baby #2 is most likely another GIRL!

 

Oh, it was such a wonderful year! Yes, there were hard times and sad times. There always are. But at the end of the day, I have so many things to be thankful for. Praying 2011 brings you much joy and a little bit closer to God each and every day. Until next time…