{Ahh..the little things}

My wish...

I know I e-mailed the lyrics of this song to some friends/family recently, but I wanted to share them here too. 

I simply LOVE this song ~ everything about it!

Rascal Flatts "My Wish" Lyrics:

I hope that days come easy and moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,

More than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it,
To your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more then you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but you never forget,
All the ones who love you in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.

Yeah, this, is my wish.

It makes me feel happy & very blessed each time I hear this song (which is VERY often since my Dad bought me the CD for Christmas ~ YAY).       This part...

And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too

always makes me think of my parents and I know this is the way that they feel about me, and it makes me smile.  I also think of the people in my life that may or may not know how important they are to me, and how often I think of them & wish great things for them.

As for the happy Christmas stories, other than poor Ava's being unhappy, the rest was WONDERFUL.  We woke up early (Zander first @ 7 AM, followed by the rest of us as soon as we heard his excitement)!  Santa left lots of goodies for them, and they were beyond giddy.    The kids have been playing together with all of thier new toys, as well as with each others ~ and no fights!!

<----------   I love moments like that  :)

We had too many get-togethers, but we have become used to it over the years.  And who can complain about having TOO MUCH family??  I know I can't  :)  It gets hectic going from here to there, but we really enjoy the time spent with each part of our family.  Of course, for the kids, that meant MORE GIFTS too ~ they loved that.

I started this post this morning & just can't find the time to finish, so I'll post it now or it will never get posted.  I have moon sand all over the kitchen floor to clean up (DO NOT BUY THIS STUFF!!!) and water splashed ALL OVER the bathroom from these ADORABLE pains in the behind :) 

   The younger two are the culprits, and right now I feel like I could SCREAM my head right off my shoulders ~ but instead they are in thier rooms having a time out while I tend to the messes.      

Ahhh...life is good :)   

Whew...

it's over!

Yes, I am (EXTREMELY) glad that Christmas is over. 

Not because I am a scrooge, but because my daughter is.   Well, we thought she might be colicky due to her fussy/high maintenance nature, but the last two days were beyond horrible & totally exhausting.

Christmas Eve it started about 4:00 when we were getting together with my family.  She was just crying non-stop and was hungry & gassy and tired, but would not nurse or sleep.  My family insisted on trying to comfort her ( and give me a break) but absolutely NOTHING or noone could make her better.  I tried numerous times to go to a back bedroom & comfort her and nurse, but she just would not settle down.  We finally arived home about 10:00, and she still was crying (yes, for six hours!! with no more than a 20 min break/nap).  I  finally went into the bathroom with plans to try a warm bath about 10:30-11:00, and just the sound of the water calmed her down &  she nursed and went to sleep.  She slept and fed throughout the night just as she normally does, so we thought all was well.

Christmas Morning she was okay until about 12:00 when we headed out for another family gathering.  Again, she cried nearly the entire time we were there (until 5:00), and would not nurse (but did take a bottle) only napping a few little catnaps.  From there we had to go to another get-together.  She was still crying and would not nurse, and I was out of bottles.  My father-in-law took her from me (at this point I was up in a dark bedroom STILL trying to get her to settle and feed, and was almost in tears) and she finally fell asleep while I pumped her a bottle.  When she woke up (after maybe 10-15 minutes) she ate, but went right back to her crying.    Finally about 9:30-10:00, she nursed and fell asleep in my arms.  I fell asleep too out of sheer exhaustion.  We left soon after, and she was obviously VERY tired from all of that, because she slept until 5:00AM!!

BUT *(fingers crossed because the day isn't over yet)* today she is better...and so am I. 

I was a mess the last two days.  I could not comfort her, I could not make right what was going wrong.  It was so tiring, and it made me feel like I was a bad Mom.  And, it made me appreciate how easy my "fussy/high maintenace" daughter really is most days.  We can not figure out what it was that was upsetting her.  My Father-in-law suggested that maybe she just likes to be at home, and does not like the "busy-ness" that our family calls the holidays.   Maybe that is it...who knows!?!?  But today is a new day ~ she has been eating normally, and sleeping ALOT, as I am sure that she wore herself out.  I am just SO glad she is feeling better .

Earlier, after feeding her, I looked down at her in my lap and saw her smiling back at me.  Thanks Ava, Momma needed that!!

* (I promise a better/happier Jones family Christmas story another day) *

Merry Christmas

And God BLess  :) 

Wishing you much love & happiness for the holidays!

six weeks ago

Ava joined our family :)  Yes, she is already 6 wks old! 

Time has flown by, and of course, I can not believe that she is already that old.  I also can not believe that she is able to be left in the nursery at church, or that some mothers have to go back to work already.  Makes me remember how blessed we are that I am able to stay home with her (and my other rugrats too, LOL)!  I've never left her with anyone yet, and just can't imagine doing it yet.  Of course Daddy has kept her PLENTY of times to give me a break, so I've been away from her...it is just the thought of someone other than us caring for her that gets to me.  She is hard to handle at times too & I wonder how others would handle her.  How would they know what she likes/dislikes, or how we hold her when she fusses?  Would they know when to bounce her and when to rock her? 

Am I just a crazy over-worried mother...probably!  :)

Today she is wearing BIG girl clothes instead of her usual sleeper outfits & I think she looks absolutely ADORABLE in the pink overalls we received from a friend at my shower.  She was ready to take a nap when I snapped this, so she looks a little sleepy.  Poor girl, Momma already has the camera in her face.  Guess she better get used to that though.

Ellie's Christmas party was today & this morning I stopped by the store to buy both of her teachers a box of these WONDERFUL cookies:

 

They are SOOO good (and so worth the $3.99 for 8 cookies!!)  When I was at the store, I decided to look one more time for the candy cane cookies she wanted to take, and I found them!  Well, kind-of...they had Christmas trees & snowmen, but I bought one of each and she was happy  :)  That is, until she tasted them "too sweet"  she says.  She has never been a big cookie/cake eater, but she'll eat candy til her teeth fall out...and sugar cookies are too sweet??  She is just to funny. 

So, we baked the cookies this morning (thankfully Ava napped well today) and were able to make some homemade tags for her gifts, and that made me happy. 

I love being creative & miss that part of my life right now!!  I am hoping that once the new year comes, and Ava gets a little older, that I can spend more time crafting again.

Ellie was also excited that she was FINALLY able to wear the cute outfit she picked out as her "Christmas outfit". 

She is just not into dresses this year, so I decided  to let her get pants, and was happy knowing that they would get worn more than just once or twice too.  We went shopping, and she (WE) chose some creamy white cords that have sparkles all over them.

 

<-----------Her shirt is the type that has a tank under a red velvet jacket and the sleeves have feathers (which for her is a BIG selling point, LOL!) which are just too cute, but end up EVERYWHERE as they fall off!

  Of course, we can't forget her Christmas hairbow (that came with a matching headband for her little sister) how fun is it going to be having TWO little girls to dress up this year??

It's beginning...

to look a lot *little* like Christmas  :)

Yes, there are only THREE gifts under our tree so far, LOL!

OMGoodness, I am SOOOOO not ready for Christmas this year. 

I usually LOVE Christmas & last year I was able to make some great homemade treats and gifts with the kids, a Christmas scrapbook/journal, handmade cards, etc.   We made dated ornaments with a picture of each of them, and they will be SO fun to look back on each year.  I hung them side by side this year ~ they are SOOO cute!   

But this year, there will be no home made anything from us, as I can not even manage to make dinner right now, let alone anything extra *SIGH*

Ellie has her preschoool party tomorrow & we are to bring treats.  Of course, we wanted to do cookies, so we went with some pre-cut sugar cookies, LOL.   She really wanted the ones with candy cane pictures in them, but no luck in finding them this year :(  At least we will ice them, and maybe no one wll ever know the difference! 

I bought pretzels & chocolate in hopes that we get a chance to make our favorite dipped pretzels this year.  We also bought a gingerbread house kit, and we actually finished it!!  I knew there would be no way that we'd even get to do anything like this this year if I did not get a kit.  It turned out pretty cute ...

It could have used some more icing, but we were out of candy :(  so we just left alot of the house plain.

You can't see it in the picture, but Zander bit the head off of his gingerbread man before he was even able to decorate him, and I've been fighting him since we made it (Saturday) not to eat more than a piece or two of the candy at a time!

We've had the Christmas music playing and the tree/stockings up, but Momma's Christmas spirit is just not here yet this year.  I've just got an overflowing plate right now, and I hate to say it, but Christmas is just last in line right now.  I did get a little more excited yesterday when I arrived home to a note that I had a pkg waiting at the post office from my good friend Anna .  I was like a little girl when I picked it up this morning...yes, I opened it IN THE CAR!!  :)   

Thanks Anna, the kiddos & I loved our stuff !  Ava's little outfit reminded me of a scrapbook page ~ I LOVE it!!

I have to get off this computer and back to my laundry/cookies/cleaning/etc but thought I'd share the picture I finally decided to use for Christmas cards.  It is hard to get Ava doing anything but screaming, so this was the best we could do.  Hopefully we will look back and laugh one day knowing how crazy things were for our family back in 2006, LOLOL!

just sharing...

I tried this for the first time this past weekend & thought it was very yummy!  I only drank 1/4 glass due to nursing, but easily could have had MUCH more! 

ENJOY :)

Olive Garden Sangria
1.5 liters Soleo red table wine
10 oz. grenadine
16 oz. cranberry juice cocktail
12 oz. sweet vermouth
10 oz. sugar water (5 oz. sugar diluted)
Strawberries
Oranges
Crushed Ice

This makes a gallon. Mix all ingredients except ice. Pour sangria
in glass and then add ice. Make sure there is fruit in every glass.

Good friends...

are like nothing else! 

My best friend and I have been lucky enough to share alot of good times together, but imagine our surprise this year when we ended up pregnant together too!  There was 10 weeks between our due dates & our girls will end up being 9 weeks apart!  She had been having alot of problems, and actually ended up in the hospital when I delivered Ava...in the room next to me  :)  When I was up & around, Ava and I visited her.  The nurses thought I was crazy, but how can you be next to your best friend and not spend the time together??

She ended up having kidney stones & was in the hospital for over a week after finally getting them removed and having a stint put in place.  Poor thing  :( 

The reason for this story is because now she is obviously unable to work, and is staying home.  None of my friends are SAHM and having her off work is SO much fun!  We visit each other often & yesterday ventured out to lunch with our kiddos.  That is something we will not do again often, LOL, as even my good little Zander was a handful.  Strange thing about that is that even though it was rough for both of us (she has a three year old), we really enjoyed each others company.

Hate to cut this post short, but everyone is asleep & Kaden will not be home for another half hour...I am catching a little nap!

slow days

Tuesday & Thursday are so nice  because Ellie is off school and we get to stay home all day until we get Kaden after school.  No scheduled lunch/bath times...just doing whatever we like.  Today when I returned from taking him to school, I cuddled on the couch with Ellie & Zander until Ava woke up.  I can't remember the last time I just sat there, uninterrupted like that.  It was WONDERFUL  :)  I also painted Ellie's toe & fingernails, and it has also been a long while since we've done that, probably summer time.  She loved it, she is so girly!

I have a batch of break & bake cookies baking in the oven, Ava is napping, I have already showered, and all is well in our house today.  Yes, including ME :)  Talking with a few friends & receiving e-mails from a couple more lifted my spirits.  Ava also had a good day yesterday and I think I *may* have found out what has been going on with us. 

Long story short, I googled painful letdown again & it seems I may actually be over-producing you can read about it here if you are interested.   

I read this yesterday afternoon & tried the suggestions, and she seemed satisfied all evening (YAY!)  Of course, that made me feel much better too.

Kaden made me laugh today when I was taking him to school.  He had received a flyer about cubscouts & I was asking him if he wanted to join.  He thought for a moment and said "NO! You have to wear goofy outfits in cubscouts!" Where does this kid get this stuff?  He is just in 1st grade, since when was fashion so big in the 1st grade?! 

Okay, I need to get the cookies!

Date night is planned!!

Just had to share that I lined up the sitter & we have a date planned  :) 

Dinner & Christmas shopping, and I really can not wait! 

*sigh*

We had a busy weekend and I need another one to recover/relax.  I usually get to nap & relax when Harry is off on the weekends, but this weekend I had so much to do that I missed my (MUCH NEEDED) down time.  He stayed home with Ava when I went to a friend's baby shower & birthday skating party, so I feel like I did not get time with him either.  I have decided that this week, we NEED to get a sitter & have dinner out, and maybe do some Christmas shopping (since I have only bought a couple of gifts!!!).

I am feeling quite "numb" the last few days & I am hoping that it is just a passing phase.  I am not happy/not sad, just kind-of going through the motions.  I've heard that is a sign of post partum depression...oh, I hope not.  I feel like I am on the verge of tears constantly, but I just can not cry.  It is very strange.  Like I said, I am hoping it will just pass.  I have plenty of support from my husband and I have time out of the house nearly every day.  This weekend was even a wonderful lunch out with "the girls" but even there I was just not feeling my happy/bubbly self.  I have promised myself that if I am not feeling better by my 6 week ck I will tell the Dr, as I have never felt like this & really hate that it comes at one of the times that I should be the happiest.  That (of course) brings on the guilt.  Ava deserves the Mommy that the other kids had, not the one I am right now.

Sorry for such a bummer post, but I guess I needed to get that out.  Wish I could say that it made me feel better...*(sigh)*