Thursday, November 29, 2012

Catching Up...Again!

I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since I last blogged. And, I don't even have a good excuse. Ok, we've been busy.

Haylee has been busy practicing her hair stylist techniques on her sister. She decided to take scissors to her sisters hair and I found 5-6 "clumps" all around her room. I would have never guessed Haylee would do something like that! Good things she didn't cut of those beautiful curls, I would have died!

Natalee has been busy being a terror. She was doing so good for awhile and now she is into everything again! Everytime I turn around she is getting into something or making a mess. Today she was in the pantry drinking syrup, I'm gonna go insane!

Josh has been busy putting up Christmas lights outside. He works so hard to make our house look festive and we appreciate it so much!

I have been busy cleaning up after the girls, taking pictures of jewelry and posting it on Ebay, making dinner, shopping, helping Haylee with homework, making lunches (Josh's), decorating the inside of the house, making a photo book of my memories of Jackson, planning vacations, mailing out baby shower invites, trying out my new vacuum and all the other duties that come with being a work from home stay at home mommy. And some days I even get a nap!

Since it's the season for sickness it's not too surprising both girls have had lingering colds now for a few weeks. Nothing major, just the annoying congestion and cough. I think Haylee is just about better so Natalee should be good to go soon also.

2 weeks ago we started another crazy, busy time period. Haylee performed at Skyline's dance concert as part of the cheer fundraiser. She had a blast and looked so adorable on stage shaking her butt!
That Saturday my Mom and I started the day at the Pecan Creek Boutique which is one of our favorites. They have the cutest stuff and so reasonably priced. I picked up a card there from a lady who makes pumpkin rolls and we decided to have that for our Thanksgiving dessert and boy was it yummy! Of course I had to buy a special present there from Brianne and Haylee picked out a cute bow. My Mom bought a Chic Headband and a cupcake :) I was gonna buy some vinyl sayings from a girl but I got overwhelmed with all the cute sayings and couldn't decide which ones to get. Happens often.

Papa Jim and Grandma Kris came down to see us that same weekend. We spent all day Saturday with them and went to lunch at Serrano's. After Natalee's nap we went to the park and the girls had a blast going down the slide with Papa. Haylee was so upset when they left. She cried for almost 2 hours. I rarely see her that upset, guess she is a Papa's girl. I promised her a trip to Vegas soon so she could spend more time with them. I booked our hotel Monday and can't wait to go!
That same weekend Josh and I went to the Melting Pot to celebrate our Anniversary. I bought a deal off Living Social and it expired the end of Nov. so we celebrated a few weeks early. We always celebrate Dec. 9th since it's the day we met and have been together ever since! Melting Pot was yummy and my favorite part was the chocolate fondue. They give you so many different things to dip and we are usually so stuffed we can barely move!
My old neighbor (and friend) Jody finally got her adoption call last month and brought home a beautiful little girl they named Sabrina. She is so tiny and oh so cute! I've been trying not to get baby fever since I am practically the only one NOT pregnant right now (which I am totally fine with). Anyways, I am honored to be giving her a shower soon so I have been working on invites and all the fun things that come with throwing a shower.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
We spent Thursday with Josh's family and had dinner at his Mom's house. Since Black Friday now starts on Thursday, we left there around 6pm to drop the girls off at home and head to Walmart. I was so surprised that I got everything on my list and I was checked out 8 minutes after the sale officially started! Following Walmart we stood in line at Target until they opened at 9pm and then got a few things there too. I thought Target kinda sucked this year. They didn't have much inventory at all but I was happy they did have the bike we wanted for Haylee girl. Round 2 started at midnight when Kohls opened and my Mom and I tackled that store! I really wanted boots for me and Haylee and apparently so did everyone else and their Mom. The shoe section was insane. I got my vacuum and a shirt for each girl and called it quits for the night. I was too tired. Josh and I finished up Black Friday with round 3 in the morning. We went back to Kohls where I successfully found boots for both me and Haylee along with Christmas dresses for the girls and a couple other things. Then we went to Old Navy and I got the girls shirts for $4 each. Definitely my new favorite store to buy the girls clothes! All in all we had a successful Black Friday. Here's my proof minus a bike and pink guitar that is hidden at Mom's.
The following day my side of the family gathered at my Mom's to celebrate Thanksgiving. Only Dustin, Hannah and Danielle came since Jen and Sam had to work. The only picture I took was of my yummy dessert. I had to try a little of everything- pecan pie, pumpkin roll and peppermint pie. It was all so so so good!
Tuesday I kidnapped Sam on her day off since Natalee has had Sami Sami withdrawals. We took the girls to the mall where they saw Santa. Natalee didn't hesitate at all. She went right up to him, he sat her on his lap and she told him she wanted "toys" for Christmas. After a few minutes she gave him a hug and hopped down. Haylee seemed a little nervous but she got on his lap and told him she wanted a "mermaid tail".
The girls played in the play area, ate their free Chick-fil-a meals (from Santa) and rode the carousel. They had a lot of fun.
This week has been pretty low key but when this weekend hits the craziness will return!!

Friday, November 9, 2012

Ramblings {Catching Up}


It's been awhile since I've rambled (on my blog at least) so I figured I'd get caught up on what we've been up to the past month.
 
I got the girls matching pink Converse at Kohl's and I absolutely love them. They are so adorable.
We made it to the fair this year and thanks to Uncle Richard we didn't have to pay for parking or to get it!!! We went on $2 rides and games night so we were able to have lots of fun for a little money!
Josh and the girls went to Chick-fil-a one night for the Daddy-Daughter Night. They ate dinner, visited with the cow (wearing a pink tutu) and brought home princess wands and candy.

I turned my favorite family picture into a canvas and I LOVE it! This is a very special picture to me. It breaks my heart that our family is no longer whole but the 5 of us will all be together again someday and eternity will be wonderful.
Our community had a year sale so I decided to stick some of our stuff outside and I'm sure glad I did. We made $120 in just a couple of hours.

One night we went to downtown Mesa for 2nd Friday and we saw this awesome statue. Natalee loves Humpty Dumpty and she was so excited to get her picture with him!
The boutique season is finally here and we kicked the season off by going to Cornerstone's Believe Boutique last weekend. This is one of my favorites. It's huge and has so many vendors. The only problem is, I get overwhelmed by all the cute stuff and I end up leaving with only a few small things :(
 

Every since I read the "Rainbow Bridge" poem rainbows have a whole new meaning to me. I think of my sweet boy everytime I see one. Shortly after Jackson passed away I noticed every morning around 7:30am a rainbow appears on our tile. It's only there till around 7:45am when I take Haylee to school. By the time I get home it's gone. I'd like to think of it as a reminder that Jackson is watching over us and loves us so much. It's a perfect way to start my day.
Last weekend Kaysi and I displayed Grandpa's jewelry at our first fine arts festival. We didn't do as well as we hoped but we're gonna give it another shot and see if it goes any better. Kaysi has been slowly handing the jewelry business over to me and come January I'll be running it all. Kaysi has been selling Grandpa's jewelry on eBay for a few years now and it's been a pretty successful store. Now that I have started taking over, I am branching out to Etsy, trying a few jewelry shows and our items will be featured on a 3rd website shortly. It has been fun to learn everything and it definitely keeps me busy. I love working from home!
 

Natalee is taking after Haylee and is the newest Princess in town. She loves to dress up with Haylee girl and wear all the dresses she is growing out of. I sure love my little girls!
Josh has finally transitioned into his new position at work and so far he likes it. Right now he's still trying to figure everything out and more or less "create" his position and the responsibilities he'll have. Come the 1st of the year everything will be in full swing including a better raise and bonus opportunities!
 
Josh brought in an envelope that was on the front door the other day and to my surprise it was a beautiful hand stamped necklace with Jackson's name on it. It made me cry. Inside was a note that read "I stamped this the day Jackson passed away.." and "...I wanted to give you a little something so you could keep him close to your heart." It was from Haylee's preschool teacher Brianne. She is the sweetest lady I know and that was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. I absolutely love it and it means so much to me.
Last but not least, my sweet little smarty pants made Principle's Pride AGAIN this grading period. She got all O's on her report card. To celebrate we are taking her to see Little Mermaid tonight at the QC Performing Arts Center.
 
Happy Friday.


Thursday, November 8, 2012

Natalee's 1st Visit to the Dentist

Natalee went to the dentist for the first time yesterday and she did so good!

They did xrays and gave her a good ol' cleaning. It was sad because the lady kept telling her about all the different tools she was gonna use and you could tell it was scaring her. He little lip started to quiver but she held it in. I was like "start cleaning already lady. She'll be fine!" And she was. She did great.
The dentist came in and counted all of her teeth and checked them all out and said she has beautiful teeth! Yay, no cavity club for both my little girls!!!
Natalee got a new toothbrush, a token to get a toy and a pink balloon. She was so excited. So excited that all day today she kept saying "go to the dentist?" She's not too happy when I tell her she has to wait 6 more months.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

My Favorite Phone Pics

(Haylee drew this picture of the 4 of us along with Jackson and Charlotte)

(Jackson's special treat from the pet store)

(My favorite picture ever!)

(I just love how happy he looks!)

(This was on the way up to the mountains for Jackson's "Make A Wish" trip)

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Halloween {2012}

We had a busy busy October. I look forward to a few "down" weeks before the craziness starts again!

This week was filled with crafts and cookie making with the girls. We made ghosts with their feet and spiders with their hands and they turned out so cute!

The girls had so much fun decorating cookies too.
Haylee liked to put a lot of sprinkles on her cookies while Natalee liked to sneak a lot of sprinkles into her mouth.
We made cats, pumpkins, witches, bats, ghosts, Mickey's and dogs/dog bones for Jackson.
Last night my little witch and batarina had a blast trick-or-treating.
I am fairly certain Halloween is Natalee's favorite holiday. Everytime someone dropped candy into her bucket she'd take it right out and try to eat it. It was torture to carry all the candy around and not be able to eat it. My favorite was when someone would hold a bowl out and tell her to take 1. That's about when her counting skills went down the drain. She "forgot" what 1 piece of candy was apparently. Then she'd get confused between letting them give her a piece and her picking a piece so she'd go up to a house, say "trick-or-treat", they'd give her a piece of candy, then while they were giving Haylee a piece she'd reach in their bowl and grab another piece. She is such a nut.
Haylee was so sweet (or maybe she was a little shy) and waited for her sister to go up to each house with her.
She seemed more interested in going home and handing out candy than actually getting candy herself.
We walked around the neighborhood for about 2 hours and the girls got more than enough candy. Funny thing is, they kept wanting to eat their candy last night but it's like they completely forgot about it today. I don't think Haylee even mentioned it today and Natalee only did when she went on the potty.
We didn't carve our pumpkin this year but rather dressed it up like a beautiful princess! I think it looked hilarious!!!
Sam suggested we dress up like cats last minute so she made the cute cat ears and we drew some whiskers on. Quick and easy! I didn't get a picture of Josh but he dressed up like a farmer. Pretty funny.
We had a fun night but we sure missed our little boy. I wanted Jackson to be Frankenweenie this year :( I know he is watching over us but I'd rather have him right by my side.
(Shrek 2010)