Some catching up to do

I know I keep saying this… but wow how time flies. Every time I think about sitting down to blog, I get side tracked or something comes up & I don’t. It’s becoming more apparent to me that I just simply don’t have time to do anything extra that I would like to do these days. In many ways that’s ok with me, but in other ways I wish that I could get everything in my life more organized so that I can manage to do more.

July is one of those months that always seem like a blur by the time the last day arrives.
Let’s see, here is my July schedule:

July 3rd is my niece Burgandi’s birthday
July 4th is well July 4th
July 6th is my niece Emily’s birthday
July 9th is my great-nephew Bubba’s birthday
July 18th is my niece Rachel’s birthday
July 20th is my birthday

July 27th is my parent’s anniversary
July 27th is our anniversary
July 27th is my friend Amber’s birthday

Not to mention two weekends of rodeos mixed in there as well.
Whew, let’s take a breath. Kinda busy huh?

I am happy to announce that hubby & I will officially celebrate our one-year anniversary though! I’m excited about that. We made it one year, wow. In some ways it’s been a really long one-year, but in other ways it’s kinda crept up fast... if that makes any sense.

We’ve had our share of moments the past few months. Things have been pretty stressful in more ways than one, but the most important thing is that we’ve made it so far.

The den/laundry area project is still under way & the goal is to be finished asap. Maybe I can actually relax a little once I get everything back in order & be able to re-hook all my computer/printer stuff back up & actually be able to walk without dodging large piles of stuff everywhere. Just having everything in such disarray causes me to want to poke nails in my eyes some days.

Of course I can’t write a blog without talking about our precious mini-muffin aka Kayla. Every day she changes & starts doing something new, it’s simply amazing. I’ll admit that sometimes I just want to sit & stare at her because she’s so beautiful. I absolutely love & adore everything about her. Am I nut or what? I’m in love with my little love bug & I can’t help it. She’s currently going through the stage of not allowing anyone to hold her except for a select few… which are daddy, her grandpa, grandma & of course me. Other than that, it takes her about a second when someone picks her up before she starts crying. Nurse Shirley assured me that this stage will pass with some time, so I’ll be thankful for that. It really breaks my heart when Fred’s mom wants to hold her but Kayla just starts crying. I feel so bad even though I know there’s nothing I can do about it. I guess the only comforting thing is when other mothers tell me about them having the same issues with their children when they were around her same age.

No matter what it is, it’s always comforting to know when others have had or are having the same happenings too.

I will have to post pictures of Kayla’s first appearance in the Edmond 4th of July parade this year! Talk about adorable. She sat on the seat right next to her papa for the entire parade on the Langston’s wagon. The only time she didn’t enjoy herself was when the motorcycles roared by… she cried. Other than that, she was a perfect angel & I personally think she enjoyed it. I was truly a proud parent that day!

Nurse Shirley came today & Kayla weighed a whopping 17lbs 7oz & hasn’t grown in height yet. But that’s ok; in my eyes she’s absolutely perfect in every way.

I guess I should talk about the fact that today is my birthday. The big 34 this year & that totally doesn’t seem real to say or write. 34… wow I remember when I was like 20 knowing people that were 34 & thinking that was a long distance away, man was I wrong. It definitely snuck up on me when I wasn’t paying attention.

Honestly though, all in all, I’m ok with 34. It’s another day, another year. I’m alive, healthy & even though I have days that are rough just like everyone else does… I love my life & wouldn’t change it. Well… maybe except for wanting to win the lottery. Ha Ha

I’m not quite sure what this evening holds just yet. The original plan was to paint the ceiling in the den last night, but due to a lack of motivation on both our parts… we decided to plop ourselves on the couch & watch the newest episode of Gene Simmons Family Jewels instead. I’ve already bought the paint & I’m determined to get this project finished in the very near future to save my sanity or what’s left of it at this point.

Well I think I’ve covered a little bit of everything to catch up since the last blog, which was like well over a month ago. I know, shame on me. I promise I will make an attempt to do better in the future.

Long time no blog again

I know it's been awhile since I've blogged.  Time just flies so quickly it's hard to find time to do everything in a timely manor anymore.

Now that rodeo season has snuck up on me again & we've already completed one weekend & had to cancel this weekend due to the weather (thankfully)... I'm sure the end of the season will end before I know it.

Kayla is already passed the 5 month old mark & swiftly approaching 6 months now, wow.  That doesn't even seem real.  I don't even recognize the new born pictures of her anymore... I swear it's not the same baby.  She's growing so fast, I can't even keep up.  We have yet to get professional pictures taken of her, well except for her newborn ones at the hospital.  I'm really hoping that we can manage to get her 6 month pics taken though.  It would be nice to have some updated professional pics to show off to everyone.  Right now all I have in my photo wallet are the newborn ones & well like I said, she looks totally different now obviously.

We've had our ups & downs the past few months.  I guess that's just life.  There are so many things to get done & some days I get overwhelmed.  I'm not superwoman but it's starting to feel like that is what is expected of me.

I did however manage to make it through almost every box & unpack a lot of things over the past month.  You can now officially walk through the den without having to find a trail to walk.  The plan is to build shelving by the laundry area which should take care of all the storage issues.  My goal is to have the den completely in order, where I can clean the treadmill & be able to put it up & start using it.  I'm hoping to eventually buy some sort of bow flex machine to be able to work out at home as well.

We purchased some materials to start the laundry/storage room renovation, except there is one problem... I was promised this would take place this weekend & once again, this has yet to happen.

Kayla had one of those days today & was just not a happy camper what-so-ever.  All the crying kinda takes a toll on ya after awhile too.  By the time 8pm rolled around I had probably said one million prayers that she would eventually fall asleep for the evening.  In desperation I called Fred at 8:20pm to please hurry home to help me with her for awhile... luckily she fell asleep about 15 minutes ago & is currently in her bed.  So far no sign of Fred though.  I guess my desperation wasn't all that desperate in his eyes.

My nerves are completely shot & my emotions are thru the roof.  It's very hard to not be able to know the cure for your crying love bug & after you've gone thru the list of changing diaper, bottle, playing, etc. & she's still not happy... that's hard emotionally.

Not to mention... my desperation phone call doesn't seem of any importance.

Well I think that's enough said for now.

4 months

Well here we are... Kayla has already passed the 4 month old mark & swifting approaching the 5 month mark now.  Oh my gosh, time is moving at lightening speed these days, no doubt.

She got her 4 month shots & she did much better this last time compared to the first round.  I held her this time & she did cry, but only briefly.  Fred was able to go with me too, thankfully.  Poor little thing though... I just feel so bad for her having to go thru all of that.  This time it seemed that it took a little longer for the sore-ness in her legs to pass.  Her temp was a little elevated, so a swift dose of tylenol & the temp subsided & she was all better.

Nurse Shirley came to visit yesterday & Kayla weighed a whoppin' 15lbs 1oz and was measured at 24 and almost 1/2 inches long.  When we got her shots a few weeks ago she weighed 14lbs 3oz... so she's growing at warp speed I swear.  Nurse Shirley said Kayla's doing great & we got an excellant review!  A few minor child proofing issues to take care of in the house but well... we have a little while before she's going to be crawling just yet.  I do know that those child proof locks for the cabinets doors are already absolutely driving me nutts.  I can't tell you how many times I've smashed my damn fingers in the doors trying to get in or out of them.  I'm not quite sure how long I can last without jumping over the edge & un-installing all of them, ugh.  Those are a total nightmere.  I can understand having them on certain cabinets but every single one... seems a little extreme to me.

I think when Kayla poops these days... its like 10 tons all at once.  Let's just say it doesn't all fit in the diaper & if you lay her down to change her... well it all comes out the back, up her back & well even all the way up to her hair in some cases.  The other night I had it everywhere & ended up just scooping her up in a towel taking her to the sink & giving her a bath.  That's about all I could do at the time.

All in all though... I could never ask for a better baby.  Not only is she the most precious thing in the entire world, but she's just a good baby all around.  I hear horror stories of other moms at this stage & their kids aren't sleeping all night, they are very fussy, etc. but not Kayla.  The only time she gets upset is if she's dirty, sleepy or hungry... otherwise she's happy go lucky all the time & full of smiles.

I've fully over come my seperation anxiety with her sleeping in her crib now.  She's doing so well in there & the monitors work great & I can hear every peep she makes, so that's comforting for me.  There are times which I wish she could still fit in the bassinet though, ha ha.

Mother's Day is coming up & I'm so excited about my first real Mother's Day!  I'm a real mom now.  After all these years & practically raising everyone else children... I can officially celebrate this holiday & I can hardly wait.  I still love all the other children whom I will always claim as my own, but there's something different about giving birth to your own child & having that connection & bond.  I look forward to what Mother's Day will bring this year!

Hopefully it won't be another 20 days before I post again this time.

Spicy Pretzels

I've never been a true fan of pretzels... but let me tell you... these are addicting.  A girl I work with named Gwynne found this recipe on allrecipes.com & brought them to work one day & well I've been hooked ever since.

So here's the recipe so everyone else can get addicted too!

Ingredients

1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 (1 ounce) package dry Ranch-style dressing mix
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 (15 ounce) package mini pretzels

Directions

In a small bowl, mix together cayenne pepper, lemon pepper, garlic salt, ranch-style dressing mix and vegetable oil.

Place pretzels in a large, sealable plastic bag. Pour in mixture from bowl. Shake well. Allow pretzels to marinate in the mixture approximately 2 hours before serving. Shake occasionally to maintain coating.

I actually let mine set for 10 hours, shaking occasionally & this let everything completely bond to the pretzels better in my opinion.

Hope everyone else gets addicted like I am.  I just made my second batch this week!

Terminix to the rescue

The other night we were headed to bed & guess what we caught running down our hallway?  A SCORPION!

So the next day I called Terminix to come to the rescue.  I can't have these creatures moving in to our house with little Kayla soon to be crawling around, yikes!  Let alone the fact that I don't want to share my home with them.

Needless to say, I'm comfortable that we won't be seeing these horrible things running around again anytime soon.  Along with any other spiders or any other creepy crawlys, whew relief.

Thanks Terminix for saving the day!

Black Heels to Tractor Wheels

I've been reading the Pioneer Woman's blog for a long time now & was keeping up with every blog she posted titled Black Heels to Tractor Wheels... but now it's a book!  Ugh... I've gotta have it. I need to own it immediately so I can catch up on all the blogs that I missed towards the end. When things got busy last year, I quit reading a lot of the blogs that I used to keep up with, so I've totally missed out.

My aunt went out & bought this book & now that's all she talks about.  She couldn't believe that I had been reading all her blogs online all this time & hadn't shared with her too.  She is one of the few people left in the world who has nothing to do with a computer & doesn't even care to.  Me personally... I'm so thankful for technology.  It allows me to keep in contact with family & friends much easier than before we had email, facebook, blogs, etc.

I keep hoping that I will come home one day from work & this book will be laying on the counter as a surprise for me.  This is the perfect book for me & hubby to read together in the evenings.  I miss the days when hubby & I would lay in bed at night & he would read to me... to me it's kinda sexy.  Now if only we could get back to doing that again, that would be ideal.

Mark my word, in the next few weeks I will own this book!  Even if I have to go out & buy it myself (smile).

Bumbo Chair to the rescue

I'm here to tell ya... this has been a life saver!  Seriously.  Kayla loves to sit up now... I mean absolutely loves it.  She would rather be sitting up then anything right now.  The vibrating bouncy seat works perfect when she's on the tired side & is ready for a little naptime, but other than that... she wants to be sitting upright.

Funny thing, my BFF Kat told me about this chair on Sunday morning/afternoon & when we were at Wal-Mart later that afternoon we bought one.  She immediately loved it & I knew from that moment this was going to be a life saver for me.  Don't get me wrong, there are days that I would love nothing more than to just sit & hold her all day long... but those are the days I don't get anything else done except sit... and hold her... and watch tv.  But I can't hold her all the time, I have things I need to get done around the house too.

I was so happy to show off Bumbo chair to my parents Monday morning when I dropped her off & when I walked in the door, what do I see?  A pink Bumbo chair sitting in their living room!  My sister-n-law had given my parents one the day before (yep, Sunday) when they were at their house eating lunch.  Go figure right?  Only thing is... the pink chair had a little tray that attached to the front which the one we bought did not have.  Needless to say I ordered a tray for ours on Walmart.com last night & it should be shipping in a few days.  It's the perfect height for her to sit in her chair & I put her little stuffed toys on the tray & she has a blast.

So I would like to share this information with everyone, because I totally believe that everyone with a little one needs one of these chairs!  They are kinda expensive... I think we paid $38.00 for ours, but it is totally worth it in my opinion.  They are soft cushy but solid plastic kinda.  Hard to explain, but seem very durable.  She'll probably be able to hang out in it for several months.

Just check her out in her Bumbo chair... she looks so laid back & relaxed... so cute.

She's also sporting one of her new outfits too.  It comes with a jacket but of course I had already taken that off her when we got home from grandma & grandpa's house earlier.  Don't worry though, I did however get several pictures of her with the whole outfit on.  I have so many pics it's hard to chose what to post.

I'm finding out that all her pants are just way to long.  Hopefully this is not an early sign of her taking after me in the height category.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  If she does end up being on the short side, I will just have to hem all her jeans/pants just like my mom had to do with me I guess, no big deal.  In my eyes, Kayla is absolutely perfect just the way she is.

She's growing so fast & I can't stand it.  She's officically sleeping in her crib in her own bedroom now, going on 2 nights.  The new monitors work perfect compared to the other POS we had before.  Spent a little more money on them, but it's worth it to have good monitors.  I'm doing ok with the withdrawals of having her sleeping right next to me in the bedroom.  I have to admit the first night I lost a little sleep, but I'm sure with each night this will get easier for me.  The bassinet still sits right next to my bed though... I will eventually merge it to the guest bedroom out of the way, but for now... I think it's ok where it is.