LIFE. . .

A lIttle Update!

2009-09-08T16:47:00.004-05:00

First day and no tears!!!! This is huge if you Kaylin or me for that matter, last year we both cried.

Bike Riding

"I'm done, this hill is too hard"

She did so good and even though she feel a couple times, don't worry Stefan caught her, she never hit the ground, she kept going and tried so hard to ride by her self. I am so proud of her effort.

BTW this beautiful baby Kaylin is holding is another reason for the aforementioned baby lust. She is my newest niece, born Aug. 24 and I can't get enough, at least I can live vicariously through Cindy's baby with out the reality of all the work.

First Day school

She is so ready to start school and was so disappointed that she didn't get to take a lunch and stay on the first day, it was meat the teacher and go home day.

School is in full swing and we are all adjusted to the new routine, except Alyssa, she wants to go to school every day; just wait little one your day will come and one day you will not like it so much. I am loving this rotation in nursing school, it is the OB/PEDS rotation and it is great. I could not have asked for a better clinical instructor and if I can't be with my school pals this clinical group is the next best thing, really I love everything about school right now. I am growing in my confidence as a nurse and learning a lot, which I am sure will be brought back down to reality once I actually get a job. I know i say this each semester, but I think I found or refound my calling. Ever since I decided to be a nurse and go back to school I wanted to do labor and delivery or postpartum except last semester when I wanted to go to CRNA school, but what was I thinking, really that is so not realistic with two kids and a husband. And now I am back in love with L/D and postpartum, the more I learn about it and the more time I spend there the more I love it and want to do it. Did I mention that all this baby stuff is having a common and powerful side effect on me, the baby lust, yes I want another on so bad. There, I said it I want another baby! For some of you that is a shock and for some you already know. But either way well see if it passes or not.

On another note, kaylin finally got her bike and is learning to ride without training wheels. the first time went good, she didn't give up and really tried and gave it her all. She is two weeks into soccer and I am supper excited for the games to start. Alyssa is desperate to walk to go school and go everyday. Every time we get ready to go to her school she wants to walk, which by the way would be a 7 mile walk (not happening) and when Stefan leaves to take Kaylyn she wants to know why she can't go to everyday. Oh to be young and naive, one day she will dread school but i hope not soon enough and that she always has this level of excitement for it.

The power of peer pressure

2009-08-23T17:54:00.006-05:00

We always thing of peer pressure as a bad thing but today I saw it work in a positive way in Kaylin's life. She has a long history of being afraid of the water wouldn't get off the steps, then she wouldn't get in with out her floaty, then she would jump with it, and today when she saw all her friends swimming and jumping in without floats or any one catching her she decided she would try it, and she did it. She jumped of the diving board and swam back by her self, and not just once but multiple times.

As a mom I am so proud of her because this is huge, the girl who two years ago wouldn't get off the steps without screaming is swimming like a big girl! I saw today that the pendulum is shifting in my daughters life where the opinion of her peers ways heavier than that of her parents. This is both scary and exciting, but today it helped her do something we thought she would not do!

It's that time again. . . .Time for school . . . .

2009-08-20T19:57:00.004-05:00

"I'm a great cooker!" (So cute her words exactly)

Ready for meet the teacher night with her school supplies and her new big kid hair cut, notice the bangs and long hair, her idea.

WOW, I can't believe aother summer has come and gone. This time last year I was starting nursing school, kaylin was starting Kindergarten, and Alyssa was starting preschool; now I am starting my last year of nursing school, Kaylin is in first grade and Alyssa is in pre-k.

Forget the fact that My oldest child is a first grader and that my baby only has one more year before big kid school, but I am going to be a nurse this time next year! That is crazy and scary. I feel in no way am I ready to be a nurse, to be resopsible for patients. Not to mention I have to find a job which I have never had to really do before and I have to interview, AGGGGHHHHHH, that I have never done and am very nervious about. I am sure it will all work out but for now I am a mixed up ball of emotions. Part of me is excited, part of me is ready to be done, part of me is proud of my self, but a huge part is just plain scared of all the changes that are going to be happening.

I have a first grader!

2009-06-04T16:53:00.003-05:00

Weird huh, I have a first grader! When my grandmother pointed that out the other week I wouldn't even hear it. My baby isn't that old yet and neither am I, at least that was my thought, but today it is official; Kaylin has graduated Kindergarten and is promoted to First grade. Her teacher put together a book with pictures from throughout the year and drawing they did, it made me a little sad because she is growing up so fast and i can't do any thing to stop it. Sometimes I just want to freeze time and enjoy this moment, but like many wise parents who have been there ahead of me have said, "it goes fast enjoy every day." The further along I get in this parenting thing the more I believe them. Kaylin was just born last week and now she is out of Kindergarten! How did that happen so fast and where was I?

Any way We are the proud parents of a first grader and preschooler!!

Here we Go last day of Kindergarten!

The big moment! Getting her certificate!

Mrs. Meshack, the best Kindergarten teacher, definitely an answer to my prayers for Kaylin for a teacher!

Proud Parents!

Her "girls" Carol, Kaylin, Lacy, Faith, Hayden, Sarah

Words you never want to hear . . .

2009-05-22T16:37:00.002-05:00

Today when I went to pick Kaylin up from school her teacher immediately stopped me and said "we had quit a day!" Not a phrase I look forward to ever hearing but have heard before. It was her next words that shocked me, "double red." What does that mean, she went all the way on the discipline chart. This has not been a good week for Kaylin, two days on yellow and today, she was only in school for four days, so do the math. As a mom I am not sure what to think about all this. I know her behavior doesn't reflect me but rather her bad choices, but it is hard to not take it personal. I now she is a great kid and is loving and kind but today she had a bad day. We all have bad days and make bad choices, but tomorrow will be better than today. Today is another reminder of how God loves me, that even though I make bad choices he still accepts me and love me and believes that best in me. I know Kaylin is a good kid who is sweet and loving and I still believe she is great and capable of treating her Friends with love!

Okay, its been a while,

2009-03-19T21:57:00.005-05:00

So here we go. . .
Kaylin had a birthday! Turned six!She had a great day. She invited her friends to Creative Hands, a pottery place, and had a blast. After that we had family fun day at Alley cats, can you say expensive! But it was fun any way! A few weeks later we had a family party with a Hannah Montana pinata, it was great. I can't believe she is six, and almost through with Kindergarten, and losing teeth left and right, how did this happen and how can I stop it???? Any way i love watching her grow and learn and become more of who God made her to be, sweet, sensitve, caring, and genuine.

Alyssa got a great haircut, and it is soooooooo cute!

Her commit was, "I love my new hair cut." When I washed it she said "my hair cut is gone!" and when I dried it she said "my hair cut is back." The other day she said "I want my hair cut back," it is so cute hearing her response and seeing how she processes the change. i just love how cute she is, just absolutely cute!!!!!

Me and the girls went to Branson to see my sister and nieces,
We had so much fun playing at Cindy's, going to the park for McDonald's Happy meals, going to Dixie Stampede, and the best part was going out with just the grown ups! Grown up time is such a necessity after a 8 hour drive and before another 8 hour drive can and should be attempted. Speaking of the 8 hour drive the drive home was definitely an adventure!!!

Kaylin lost her third tooth!!! At home and not at school!!!
Every tooth she has lost has happened at school and Mrs. Meshack got the first view, but this one was mine. She showed it to me Friday and I was so hoping it would fall out during the break and it did!!! She has been wiggling it all week and today she pulled it, and by the way top teeth bleed, a lot, but now I got to go be tooth fairy before I forget!!! Some days I love being a mom!!!

Hope you guys are still there and if you are I post much, much, more frequently on facebook, so keep up with me there.

How could I ever do this if it weren't for GRACE

2009-02-11T20:02:00.002-06:00

i never realized how hard it is to be a mom and a student, more specifically a nursing student, because nursing school is hard and very consuming. It is so hard to be all things to all people with out not crashing occasionally. Last night was one of those nights for me, I crashed. I felt like the worst mom ever for not doing anything for Kaylin's birthday, I only spent like 10 min. with her because I had a test today I had to study for last night. I had to miss her Valentines program at school, and I have been fighting with Stefan since Sunday. I would like say it will get better now that the test is over but I feel like there is always some new pressure as soon as one goes away. I feel pressed in on every side and am so full of guilt it shouldn't be possible. I am glad I love a God who is full of grace and have kids that will remember this season through the eyes of grace. They won't remember what I didn't do like I do, which only tortures myself, they will remember what I did do. I am thankful that God gives kids the ability to remember the good things, I just wish as an adult we could let things go and remember things through the eyes of grace. Remember the good things people did or the fun times. I for one need to learn that lesson. I am grateful for a wise dad who shared that advice with me, can't claim it, I'm definitely not that smart yet!
I don't think I fully understood what I signed up for when I filled out the application and dreamed of going to nursing school. I think there is a reason for that because if we knew what we were getting into, half the things we do we never would have done. Some of the best things in life are also the hardest. This season is one of the harder ones for sure, but I would not change it. I have made some great friends at school and I am doing something I know God has planned for me and that I can use to demonstrate his love. With everything else all I can do is my best and have hope that God's grace covers things that aren't so good, fixes things that aren't right, finishes things that aren't done, and keeps me strong when I want to fall apart.

Snow Day....

2009-01-28T21:58:00.002-06:00

I love snow days, or should I say ice days cause in Texas we never get snow any more!!!
I got two days off school and the girls got today off. We had a lot of fun, we danced and they did my hair, and watched movies. The day was great the only down side is all this time off is setting a bad nonstudy routine that I fear my bite me in a month when it is test time. I gotta get refocused and study. Oh well, start fresh next week when things are more normal, at least if we don't get any more ice.
I am really exhausted after being with the girls inside all day, not used to being with both of them all day any more, not ready for summer yet.

My life as I knew it is officially over....

2009-01-20T19:15:00.002-06:00

So if you don't hear from me or see any new pictures blame it on the insane reading list and clinical rotation I am on. I started reading today for tomorrow and it is like what? I swear it only makes sense if you are a doctor, which I am not! Or a super freak, which I am not! Any way, my schedule is way crazy and getting used to a new schedule is so my favorite thing to do, so I am a little stressed right now. So if you don't hear from me just be patient and keep checking, eventually I'll get a break!

Oh and if you think about it just pray for me and my family as we ride through another semester in nursing school, I need grace and understanding, so need understanding.

Oh I miss this already!!!!

BACK TO THE GRIND....

2009-01-05T08:18:00.005-06:00

Christmas vacation is over and it is back to school, at least for the girls, I still have two glorious weeks to my self which I am totally going to enjoy! I plan to shop and scrapbook, and to end it properly I will spend a long weekend in Austin for my family's annual girls weekend.

Here are some fun Christmas pictures to hold you over and to remind me of a fun Christmas week, I choose to forget last week. It was one of those you don't want to remember and if you are a mom of two girls two years apart you probably understand exactly what I am talking about. The fighting, the arguing, the whining, "will it ever end" was my song last week.

Visit with Santa

2008-12-23T16:07:00.004-06:00

We went to down town Ft. Worth to visit Santa and the girls loved it. They were both excited and they both sat with him and told him they wanted Polly Pockets, looks like we are going ot have a Polly Pocket Christmas!

Christmas here we come

2008-12-23T15:58:00.004-06:00

It is almost Christmas time and here are the girls Christmas pictures. They are cute and very ready for Christmas!

It's begining to look a lot like Christmas. . .

2008-12-06T19:10:00.003-06:00

I love this time of year, have I mentioned that before? I love the decorating, the tree, the lights and the presents, I love giving and watching my children open their gifts. We got our tree up this week and I love it. I love having a big beautiful tree. For me growing up I loved decorating the tree but being the type A child i was, I was a very frustrated tree decorator because I had to decorate with some not so much type A siblings. I did the best I could getting my ornaments evenly distributed but I dreamed of that day when I would have my own tree and it would be evenly distributed and color coordinated. I loved going to department stores and seeing their trees, I dreamed of having one one day and now I do. I am no longer a frustrated tree decorator and I get to be as type A as I want. As one of my friend's put it, "did you draw this out and plan where they all go?" What a great idea but no I am not that type A. My family knows that my tree is my special project but to involve the girls in decorating I let them put their ornaments on a ornament tree I got last year and next year I am going to get them their own tree to decorate, I am curious of either of them got my type Aness?

Our house is Christmas ready, the tree is up, the presents are bought and wrapped and now it is time for parties and vacation!! Happy decorating every one!!!

My Ballerina's

2008-12-06T18:53:00.003-06:00

I now have two amazing ballerina's. Alyssa had her first recital this week and was great. I love my baby and she is so cute and has great confidence and stage presence but poor thing can only spin! Kaylin's lines are becoming so graceful and long, she is a beautiful ballerina.

I love that God has given both of my girls amazing talents and being able to watch them discover them is an amazing blessing. God has gifted Kaylin as a dancer and it brings me so much joy to see her dance, she is graceful but she also has great spunk! God has given Alyssa amazing confidence and strength. She fears nothing and is great at figuring things out, she is very mechanical.

She is just too beautiful!

Can you say deer caught in headlights! This was one of the best ones. She was not in the mood and if you know Alyssa she isn't doing anything she doesn't want to do.

Here she is "spin baby spin!" Spinning is her specialty. She was so excited, she had a huge grin the entire time and just hammed it up, she has amazing stage presence.

ROCK IT GIRL!

The holiday's are upon us!

2008-11-29T11:48:00.003-06:00

Kaylin's Thanksgiving lunch at school, they were so cute in their Indian costumes.

Alyssa had to have her nails painted and was so proud of them, she is getting so big.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

This week has been the big holiday kick off! I love the holiday season. With thanksgiving, and Christmas, and my big beautiful tree, and my birthday smoshed in there I LOVE IT!!! We had a great Thanksgiving with my family. It was very quite and I missed my brother and sister, but I know they missed home even more. And say what you may but I live for the Black Friday shopping mania. I love the looking through the ads and making my lists and forming my game plan. For a planner this is like Christmas or the Super Bowl; yes I went there. Now I'm not crazy, I don't get up at 4:00am and stand in line and fight for crazy things. But I love the opportunity to get 85% of my shopping done at one time and save over 50% on EVERYTHING, especially since time is a rare commodity I don't have a lot of. Don't believe me, you say we are all busy; I have three test and a check off between now and Dec. 9, my sister gets her the 7th for Christmas with her family and me and Stefan are going skiing the 17th, not a lot of time to get shopping done.
Now that Thanksgiving is done, most of the shopping is done it is time for the tree and it is going up this weekend and yes it takes all weekend. If you have seen my tree you know it is a process and doesn't just pop up. It has to be put together, the branches have to be fluffed, the 10 light strands put on, and finally I get to decorate it and it is gorgeous. After we finish I will show you what I am talking about with all the steps, except the putting together step, Stefan and the girls did that last night and I fluffed this morning, but I'll show you the lights and the grand finale.

Why I hate night time thunderstorms!

2008-11-11T09:20:00.002-06:00

I used to love falling asleep to the piter patter of the rain and the flashes of lightning, but not any more. That was all before kids, now night time storms are a nightmare. Let me let you in on how last night went, for those of you who don't have kids or your kids don't wake up, we had some big storms last night.
Stefan comes to bed around midnight saying I can't stay up any more and she won't go to sleep. Me I have no clue which one he is talking about, I assume it was Kaylin and go to sleep until not much later comes Alyssa's coughing and I realized he was talking about Alyssa not kaylin. The coughing and moving around continued until 3:00 when I took her to bed and promised there was no more thunder, never make that promise. Little did I know there would be more, very loud thunder about an hour later. Back asleep, an hour later, CRASH and MOMMY. Now every one is up because Alyssa is screaming, her pull up has leaked, thank God in her own bed and not mine!! What am I to do? Neither one of them was about to sleep in there own room at this point and there is no way all four of us can fit on our Queen bed? Get blankets and pillows, they can sleep on the floor. All is well at this point, even through the loud crash they are fine. The grand finale to the night was 5:45 Alyssa starts coughing again, I looking at the clock thinking we have to get up soon any way, I will just ignore it and wait it out. Great idea except it stopped and we all finally feel to a peaceful sleeping place, until, 7:40, GOTTA GET UP and the morning school rush was on. I gotta give myself props though, I had Kaylin dressed, lunch made, and breakfast in hand to walk out the door in 10 min, granted there was a lot of screaming on both our parts and she forgot to go potty before she left, oh well, no body's perfect.

Fall Fun!!!

2008-11-05T21:00:00.009-06:00

I realized I haven't updated my pictures in a while when it had over 100 pictures on my camera to upload to the camera, oops. I have soccer, Cindy's visit, pumpkin carving with Grampa, and Halloween, so here you go, here is the last months in pictures, ENJOY!!!!

First Kaylin got to play goalie and did really well, she block 2 goals and did a great job throwing the ball back out.

Then, there was Cindy's visit. The girls got to all ride bikes together. Makayla got to have lunch with Kaylin at Kindergarten, and me and Cindy did lots of fun stuff on my day off, my favorite day of the week, FRIDAY!!!

Just try and get four girls ages 2, 3, 4, and 5 to sit and smile at the same time, this is pretty good!The best part of all was the pumpkin carving. My dad, aka, Grampa, and Stefan had a carving contest and all the girls got to help clean the pumpkins out, well really just Kaylin and Makayla, the younger two were having nothing to do with the dirty stuff.

Go for it Kaylin, she was the only one to dig in with the spoon but once it was hands only she too bailed out leaving the truly dirty work to Stefan and Grampa.

After pumpkins it was time for Halloween. We went to Shreek on the Creek at a Church near our house. They had bounce houses, games and a cool train ride around the parking lot. Judging by Alyssa's priceless grin I would say the train was her favorite part.

All in all life is good. Kaylin has now lost both her bottom two front teeth and she is reading,which thrills me to no end. Alyssa is cute as usual and growing by the minute, she seems to have by passed 3T straight to 4T, which is great except all the 3T clothes I bought for this winter won't fit by Christmas. Work is great for Stefan and school is crazy but rapping up for this semester. You can't even imagine how excited I am about two weeks off before the girls get out and one week off after they go back, tree weeks of FREEDOM, I soooooooo can't wait!!

It's been a while

2008-10-23T21:27:00.002-05:00

I have been told it has been a while and that i need to update my blog. I don't really have any pictures yet but a lot has been going on.
Every one is very settled into the school routine, who knew I just need some structure to my days to get over 5 years of depression. I am busier and happier than I have been in years. I feel more like my self than ever and am so happily busy. School is intense and all consuming, but I am learning so much. Kaylin is beginning to read, which makes me so proud and amazed. Alyssa is really growing up and acting so big since starting school. She doesn't always let on to how much she knows, but I know she is learning a lot. Stefan is a great Mr. Mom! He gets the girls picked up from school, dinner made, home work done, and on Mondays, he gets them to ballet. I am so grateful and blessed to have such a supportive and flexible husband.
My sister has been here for the last two weeks. It has been fun spending time with her. Last Friday My dad, Grampa, and Stefan had a pumpkin carve off. More pics and stories to come on that!
I realize this may be a more boring post with out pictures but pictures will come I was just to lazy to do it tonight, so stay tuned for pictures!

Camping at Park Schloemp

2008-10-04T15:29:00.005-05:00

I gotta say, for convince and amenities, Camp Schloemp is the best! Who can beat clean air conditioned bathrooms, electricity, and a great level spot right by the swing set. We promised the girls we would take them camping this weekend the only problem was you can't wait until the day before to book a site. So where is a family to camp where no reservation is required and there is always a site available, well, their own back yard, hence Camp Schloemp.

We cooked hot dogs on the grill, made a fire and roasted marshmallows and made S'mores the real way, no microwave used this time! The girls got to stay up late and sleep together in the tent. For breakfast we had S'mores cereal. There is nothing wrong with S'mores for desert and then again for breakfast, it was awesome. it was a great experience and every one had a blast, the girls and I even got to watch the sun come up.

Cooking S'Mores

Eating S'Mores

Just being cute! As usual!

S'Mores for breakfast! Gotta love camping and the opportunity to eat junk food the whole time! I do!

GO Lady Bugs

2008-09-27T17:57:00.003-05:00

Kaylin's team is the lady Bugs and they are so cute, running in little herds kicking and chasing the ball. Whenever any one of them gets it they keep kicking it in what ever direction they are going, even when it is toward their own goalie. Kaylin even made a goal following this philosophy. I guess turning the ball around is a developed skill. Any way here are some pick proving my point of cuteness!!!

Picture day, and is she cute or what?

Kaylin and her school bud, Faith!

Go Kaylin! She scored off this one, unfortunately it was our goal, so didn't count, but great effort and dribbling skills nonetheless!!

The proud family!

I can't believe I am a soccer Mom!

2008-09-12T19:32:00.005-05:00

Kaylin had her first soccer practice tonight!! She had so much fun and was really pretty good. Two girls on her team go to her school, one is in her class and the other in another class. She wasn't shy or anything she just ran right up and listened and did what she was supposed to do, I could not have been more proud. So, despite my initial pessimism that this may not be her thing, Kaylin just may prove me wrong and really like this and be good. I am glad I didn't listen to that pessimism and gave her the chance to yet again surprise me!! Any way her coach is Mrs Lourie, who is really nice and they are the Lady Buugs, how cute is that!

Can you say "GOAL!"

"GO LADY BUGS!"

The Tooth Fairy does Exist!

2008-09-10T21:52:00.003-05:00

The Tooth Fairy paid her first visit to our house tonight, if you haven't heard, Kaylin lost her first tooth today at school. Stefan went to have lunch with her and text me a picture of this mouth with out a tooth (some of you lucky ones got that text). She couldn't wait to show me tonight. When I asked her for the details she said "I was nervous and Sarah, Her new best friend, told the teacher." She is so cute, got nervous, I guess people were looking and all in her space. Any way the conversation quickly turned to the Tooth Fairy and she asked, "is the Tooth Fairy going to come? I know it is you mommy!" Off course she came bearing cash rewards to be spent this weekend at our favorite Dollar Tree.

My little girl is officially a little girl; kindergarten, loosing a tooth, what is next, learning to drive?

We are very excited but mommy is struggling with how fast it seems like she is growing up all the sudden, like in just the last three weeks. I need time to catch up and come to terms with it.

Panic for no Reason

2008-09-04T08:05:00.005-05:00

Today was the first time I have taken Kaylin to school and not been able to walk her to her classroom. Starting this week we can't go down the hall unless we sign in. So what can I do? I can stand at the beginning of a very, very long hall with all the other nervous moms and watch her walk to her room and pray she finds it and doesn't get lost or scared. The only problem with all this watching is other kids and adults who get in the way and I can't see her. Her classroom is at the very end of the Hall, whoever thought putting 3rd grade at the beginning and Kindergarten and the end was a good idea didn't clear it with me or the other nervous moms, I mean, it makes no sense.

Any way, after loosing sight of her at the end I panicked and thought she went to far; I imagined her realizing she missed her room and panicking and crying so I ran down the hall with out signing in to make sure she was okay. To my very pleasant and relieved surprise, she was safe and happy in her class. I guess the moral of the story is relax Tracy Kaylin can do this and she knows where she is going. Letting go is so hard!

Kindergarten or Bust!! Nursing School or Bust!!!

2008-08-25T21:59:00.005-05:00

Could there be anything else?!!!

But wait, Alyssa starts Wednesday, ARGH! NO MORE CHANGES!!!!!

Can't take any more change or I am going to emotionally self implode, or at least that is how I am feeling right now. My senses are so overloaded that I can't even talk about the situations without crying and I mean sobbing. I never thought I would be this upset or sad about my kids starting school and me getting more breaks, I mean, hello, freedom, every stay at home mom's dream. I should have been bouncing off the walls, but instead I just wanted to run and get me girls and stay home with them forever, is it to late, can I stop the world and freeze time, PLEASE!!!. It is happening all to fast and I just need my babies.

So, needless to say, these emotional breakdowns have been very surprising. I think had it just been one thing at a time I probably could have handled it a lot better, but all at the same time; that is just too much for any mom to handle. I think for any mom it is a hard thing to handle your kids growing up and you not being directly involved in as much of their daily routine. I mean, I pretty much gave my baby to a total stranger who will see her more than I will and will be involved her her daily routines more than me, and this will happen every year and when I blink she is going to be graduating High School. It is all just not fair, that fastness with which they grow up.

But anyway, here is a conversation I had with Kaylin on my break after she got home from school today.

KAYLIN: "Mom I got to play with Chloe on the play ground today, Chloe's Mom came and had lunch with her, how come you didn't come?"

ME: fighting tears and wanting desperately to explain that Mommy would have loved to have been able to have lunch with her but couldn't because she had to be at school. but instead all I could get out was "well . . . "

KAYLIN: "You can come tomorrow? Right?"

ME: "Yes!!! baby, I will come tomorrow."

KAYLIN: "You promise, don't forget."

ME: "I promise," thinking I hope this doesn't bite me in that she doesn't let me leave and we both have a melt down.

Needless to say I will be having lunch with her tomorrow and I hope she handles me leaving well.

Walking to School, so far so good!

I feel the same way!

I made this for her last night so she would have something from me to celebrate her first day of school, I know cheezy mom, but you have no idea the guilt associated with not being there, or maybe some of you do, it is a powerful motivator.

Here we go, off to the big world of Kindergarten, her life will forever be changed!

I realize I am being so dramatic, but on some level, even though I know it is exagerateed, this is how I am feeling right now.

First Day of School- Big Tears all Around

2008-08-25T08:57:00.003-05:00

I just took Kaylin to school and needless to say if you know the Schloemp girls, we were both crying, it was a boo-hoo event. Thank goodness for Stefan being there and being able to calm her down and get her situated. I have to pull myself together now and get ready to go to my first day nursing school, so wish me luck but I will get pictures up tonight.

It's official!!

2008-08-20T14:56:00.003-05:00

I am officially registered and paid in full for nursing school; all the books have been purchased, the supplies gathered, and the backpack is almost packed, no turning back now. Here I go, with so many unplanned details and so many things that are uncertain, the only thing I know is I am supposed to be here at this time pursuing this degree and because of those facts I know God will take care of the things I can't figure out.

Gripes and Hope all at one time,

2008-08-18T16:12:00.004-05:00

Have you ever really needed people in a big way for something that was really important and you thought you could count on them and then at the last minute they bail on you. This has happened to me today. I am scheduled to start nursing school Monday and I thought I had family lined up to help me with Alyssa, apparently I thought wrong. Both of them decided to commit to other things and pursue personal interests instead. Nursing school is something I have been dreaming about and planning for two years now and now that it is here it is falling apart and I am scared. It really hurts when you rely on people and they let you down.
The other day I was talking about it with my Dad and he reminded of why I should be doing this. In all the recent planning I lost track of why I wanted to be a nurse and made it about freedom and a great paycheck. The truth is I originally chose to pursue nursing to help and serve new moms. It is a desire I know God put in my heart and I need to be reminded why I am doing this and that if I am doing this to serve God he will take care of the details and get me where he wants me; he did get me in the program when no one else still taking sciences got in except me. Thanks Dad for reminding why I am doing this. I am glad I let my "know it all" attitude down and listened to you, you are right. I can only do so much and if I am doing this for God then I can and have to trust him for the rest.
If I am going to follow that train of thought, and I am, that means I have to trust God to put people in place to take care of Alyssa. I have to trust God for time to study. I have to trust God to provide income when Stefan has to stay home with her. And I have to trust God to work all the details out that I can't figure out.
Any way, here goes nothing. I know this will all work out but for the moment I am very scared and I am trying to take it one day at a time.

The Circus is in Town!

2008-08-16T21:10:00.003-05:00

Today marked a historic day for kaylin, one she will mark down in her own mental history books; the day she went to the Circus for the first time!

Before the show we got to go back stage and see the animals and go on the Circus floor and see the performers and meet the clowns. It was so great, I have always wanted to go down on the stage and finally as an adult with my daughter, I got to do it.

It was so much fun, in a way I loved it even more going with her because I get to live out my childhood fantasy through Kaylin and not feel silly doing it without any kids, as was our usual way in the past. It was so magical seeing the Circus through her eyes. She was so curious about everything and every thing was amazing. It really made me think how all of life should really be approached that way; with wonder and amazement and great curiosity. Who knows, we might actually enjoy it more and get more out of it. Just food for thought, a little rambling if you may.

It was by far the best day I have ever spent with kaylin, I can't wait to take Alyssa. There is nothing better than experiencing the Circus with your child for their first time, I would not trade it for the world and it was worth the price, including the over priced stuffed animal souvenir she picked out (a white tiger named snowflake of course) and the way over priced cotton candy with the hat! You know those MasterCard commercials: $50.00- Circus tickets for Three, $19.00- stuffed white tiger, $12.00-Cotton candy with cool circus hat, $3.00-Gatorade for Dad, seeing the Circus through your five year old daughters eyes for the first time-PRICELESS

There are some valuable lesson I did take from this experience for next time with Alyssa. Definitely take a back pack that looks like it is for your kid and buy drinks and snacks at the much cheaper gas station on the way so you can have more money for the expensive toys, and take a camera with a great zoom and flash range. That's all, follow those tips and your Circus experience can be complete!

The battle of the thumbs!!!

2008-08-12T16:21:00.005-05:00

Kaylin is a devout and avid thumb sucker, in fact she is an ambidextrous thumb sucker, she sucks them both. We all decided together that now is time she give it up, so in comes the "anti-bite" polish, the reward chart, and then reality. I should have known that breaking this habit is going to take more than polish and a reward chart. And not because she doesn't want to quite but because her subconscious will is really strong, should have know, she is strong willed. What is a parent to do to help their child break such an ingrain habit, Thumb-Guard to the rescue. The guards are great and she keeps them on all day so she doesn't suck her thumb. In no time she'll have that new hot pink, turquoise bike with a bell, and a basket, and pom-poms. She has very particular and big dreams for her big girl prize.

IT'S HERE!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-08-07T11:37:00.003-05:00

Every year I anxiously await the new IKEA catalog for new inspirations and great cheep products to go buy. I got my new catalog this weekend and it is not a disappointment at all, it is great. There are some new products, which I can't wait to go and see and some great design ideas. I just love looking at how they design their rooms especially their kitchens!!!! I have pined through it and made my marks and new it is time to shop!!! thank you IKEA for mindless entertainment for one evening, it was worth the escape.

Open wide!

2008-07-28T15:19:00.005-05:00

Today the girls had their first dentist visit ever. Now for Alyssa this isn't such a shock but for Kaylin, well, she is five and should have been years ago, oops bad mom award. But everything worked out, they have great teeth and not a cavity in sight. They got to take turns sitting on the stool watching the other, they learned how to brush their teeth, and got to ride in the chair. I was so worried that they would freak out and not cooperate, but they did great, not even a hint of difficulty. They opened and stayed still, I am so proud of my girls. They loved Mary and Dr. Meyer and I am so glad to hear they have great teeth, and they said not to worry so much about the thumb, but that is another story for another time.

Here we go, happy so far!!

Counting teeth, 10 uppers, 10 lowers.

Here we go #2!

Good old fashioned tooth cleaning, cherry, yum!

The mom factor

2008-07-20T18:28:00.001-05:00

Have you ever looked at your husband and wondered why he gets liberties that you don't. Let me give you some examples, and I am not saying these all happen in my house but some do. For example, they can go run an errand without making sure you are going to be home and it isn't expected that they have to take the kids. They can get up from the table when they are done and not have to wait for everyone else. Or this one, everything that has to do with the kids (feeding, preparing food, taking to restroom, getting ready for bed, or getting them dressed) is expected mom duty.

I realize this sounds like a huge rant and really I do realize my role is the nurturer and it is my job to take care of the kids but every once in a while it gets annoying that I don't get the same liberties or freedoms my husband gets. Sometimes I would love to just say bye and be able to leave without having to first make sure:

#1. that he will even be home

#2. that you leaving works with is plans.
Come on, what about my plans!!!!!! I don't want to have to always get clearance and ask first, I just want to up and go.

I have to defend my husband before you start pegging him for the bad husband award. He does a lot for and with the girls. If he is home he gets them up and pottied, when we go somewhere as a family he always buckles Alyssa up, and he always lets me run my errands without complaining. He is a great Dad!!!!

I get frustrated by the double standard we put on ourselves as moms. Really it isn't our husbands that demand we ask their permission or check with them first or make things as easy as possible for them when we are gone, like by only leaving when the kids are napping. We put these things on ourselves, or at least I do. It is out of courtesy that we do this because God wired us that way. He made us to nurtures and take care of the house hold. I often have to remind myself of that when I get upset with Stefan for being and Man.

So ladies I say give your self permission to leave the kids with daddy when they are not napping, tell him you'll be back when ever you get done, and wait for him to change the diaper instead of jumping so fast. Most importantly, ask for what you need. I get so made at my husband for not reading my mind, but really did God make him a mind reader and not tell me? No, I don't think so!!

And just because I know you love the pictures here are some from 4th of July that prove what a great Dad my husband really is:

Doing sparklers for hours without one cool firework in sight for himself.

Taking them on a walk so I can get ready in peace.

Swimming with them in freezing cold water when there is NO WAY I am getting in.
Stefan, you are a great dad and we all LOVE YOU!!!

Stick with me please,

2008-07-16T22:21:00.006-05:00

For those of you who have been visiting lately please don't get turned off by the blogger101 post. The reason for it was two fold; I wanted to see who all was reading my blog, curiosity you know, and I wanted to remind you how much us bloggers love getting your comments. So I hope none of you where too offended or turned off and if you are reading this you must not be because you came back, THANKS. It was nice to get so many comments and hear from so many of you. But since what you really live for are the picks I have some great ones of the girls with Stefan, enjoy!!!

By the way, if you haven't been by in a while be sure you scroll down to check previous posts, you don't want to miss anything with this crazy family, and changes are regualr and fast!!!

She is too cute with her funny face self!

She is just too gorgeous with her eyes.

The intensity in their eyes!!

The sweetness, so sweet.

Blogger 101

2008-07-14T11:20:00.005-05:00

Why is it that unless a post has a million pictures on your blog no one takes the time to read it much less leave a comment? I'm just saying, if you don't leave a comment no one knows you read it.

A little blogger etiquette lesson here:
1. When a blogger writes their thoughts they do it because they want to share them with people and they want to know what you think, so LEAVE A COMMENT.
2. When a blogger posts pictures they want you to see what is going on in their life.
3. When a blogger puts a story before or with the pictures they want you to read it because they want to tell you what is going on.
4. Always, Always leave a comment, if the blog is set for anonymous comments and you don't have a blogger account, take advantage of that button, if they don't accept anonymous comments, disregard this,but I ACCEPT anonymous comments, so LEAVE ONE!!!!!!!

In summary, always leave a comment it takes a little time but it makes the person feel heard and seen, so do it already.

And yes, some of you regular bloggers are thinking "how dare she preach to us about commenting when she doesn't always comment." You are right, I have no right to preach this, but I am making an effort to be a better commenter, so as I work on it you too should work on it, or at least challenge yourself to be a good blogger by leaving people comments:)

Make someones day by letting them know you like their stuff or in the least that you stopped by their blog.

It's not always as green as it seems

2008-07-10T18:43:00.010-05:00

Have you ever looked at someones life and thought "they really have it all together"? Hold on, I am not saying I think I look like I have it all together, I am no where near that self absorbed or that sure of my self. What I am saying is things are not always as they seem. Sometimes the grass appears to be greener on the other side but if you really went in you might quickly discover it is no greener than yours. I don't know how my life appears to you guys on the outside. I imagine it looks like we are having fun and doing some fun things during the week. The grass isn't that green, ya we go out and do things but that is purely out of survival because I decided before summer started that if I didn't keep the girls busy we would all go crazy. here is a glimpse inside my so called greener grass. Stefan is either working or at school; if he is at home he is studying or sleeping because he is physically and mentally exhausted. He is stressed and tensions are high for both of us. The girls play well until they want what the other has, they get hungry or are bored. Oh man if they get bored watch out because there is no satisfying them until you do something. And then there is the dreaded question every morning and every afternoon "where are we going today/ tonight?" And, yes I am hanging out with other mom's and trying to make new friends, but for those of you who are not introverted enough to be happy home alone and not quite extroverted enough to just invite the whole world over, you know how hard making new friends really is, no one likes being the new guy. So I guess you could say in midst of our fun busyness I have been very lonely.

You see our grass isn't all that green but I wouldn't say it is dead either. I have been spending time with the two Tracy's (Traci/Tracy) and I have been having fun. I am thankful for both of them; for Tracy reaching out and including me in her group and for the opportunity to spend time with an old friend, Traci. Going to the pool every week is not so bad either and neither is being able to shop. I hope I haven't lost too many of you who are thinking "poor Tracy gets to be home with her kids and go swimming and go out and shop," but I just wanted to take some time and talk about what is really going on. In our private separate society it is easy to put up masks that look good, I just wanted to take mine down for a moment and let you see my real life, it is not always easy or fun but I know I have been blessed beyond what I deserve and even though it is hard I really wouldn't trade my life for anything. Even though someone else's life may look easier or better, I know better, we all have junk, some of us are just better at hiding it than others. By the way I am one of those who sometimes should hide just a little better, but then again maybe my openness is for someones benefit I don't even know about, who knows!

Next time you catch your self eyeing someone else's life and wondering if it is better than yours or if it seems so great, remember what your mom used to always say, "the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence." It is true.

Think about it this way, there could be no grass at all. However green or not green you grass is be thankful for what you have and who you have in your life, thay are there for a reason.

New Computer

2008-07-09T17:21:00.002-05:00

I love getting new things, technology, but sometimes the obsessiveness that comes with it is annoying for others. Yesterday we had to get a new computer after ours crashed the night before. This has happened before, I say twice, Stefan says once, but regardless this is not the first time. The computer is five years old and it is time for a upgrade.
Ironically we had been betting which would go out first now that we had money saved, the computer or the 30 year old dryer handed down from my grandmother five years ago; the computer won. Anyway, after much playing and surprisingly little frustration, I have this thing figured out. Hopefully soon we will get the pictures and all that loaded so stay tuned for Fourth of July and other great pics of the girls. That is the reason most of you visit my blog any way, and you know it is true.

A fish named Kaylin?

2008-07-04T11:15:00.005-05:00

What? A fish named kaylin? You must mean Alyssa, Kaylin is deathly afraid of the water. Well that is what I thought too until SWIMMING LESSONS started this year. I thought here we go again her sitting on the side being terrified, but not so much. If you remember last year Kaylin didn't even get in the big pool until the last day and that was with a death grip. This year she has totally transformed into a fish. She has become totally brave in the water; she goes down the steps, under water, and floats not only on her back but on her stomach also.

The following video may be shocking to some of you who know kaylin but for me it makes me so proud of her and how brave she is becoming.

She is swimming! Granted she didn't go anywhere and the water was only 1ft., but she is SWIMMING!!! She was under water and she was kicking and doing her arms and I could not have been more proud. Something like this would have never happened last summer. She has really improved and is learning to swim. I am so proud of her for being brave and for trusting her teacher, and of my self for sticking with this and for doing one more year. Go Kaylin! Go Mommy!
Alyssa is doing really great to. Ironically she is a little timid in the water and some what apprehensive, totally didn't see that coming. But nontheless, she is trying and is being brave in her own way.

Finger Lick'in Good

2008-06-28T08:58:00.002-05:00

I just love S'mores, they are the best snack ever invented! For a special treat after dance camp one night I made s'mores for the girls, no I didn't go start a fire and sing camp songs. We served it up the official Girl Scout way, in the microwave. The girls have never had s'mores before yet they knew exactly what they were and how to make them, thanks in part to Max & Ruby, their new favorite TV show. Needless to say they were a messy hit!!
I love snacks that take me back to my childhood, sitting by the fire with my family roasting marshmallows and eating s'mores till I passed out from sugar shock. Ya, my parents were the best!! I am glad to share this favorite summer snack with my kids and yes I realize s'mores are not just for summer time. That is just when I had them as a kid at the lake in the Summer. My mom didn't know the year round microwave secret that us modern day microwave genius moms know. Next time we have this yummy snack I hope we are having them at a real camp fire, but lets be honest Stefan works or is at school so it will probably be another microwave round for the Schloemp's, who cares as long as we have s'mores, right!

Dance Camp

2008-06-27T16:30:00.004-05:00

This week Kaylin had Dance camp with Miss. Annie, it was a creative movement class where she was able to express herself through creative dance and learn an really fun new dance. Each day was a different theme:

TUESDAY: crazy hair day

WEDNESDAY: crazy sock day

THURSDAY: crazy t-shirt day, which they hand made on Wednesday.

Kaylin had a lot of fun learning new dances, she really loves the fast pace, free style type dance and she was perfect on the dance she learned. It is so exciting to watch her dance. It is part of her, part of her God made and I know when she is dancing she is being who God made her to be. I am so proud of her and how talented she is, and the girl is good. Turn on the music and watch her go.

Father's Day, Yes I know it was last week!

2008-06-24T11:57:00.005-05:00

I realize this post is late coming but take it when you can get it is how it goes in this house. Besides there are great pics that make it worth the wait. On with the story. For Father's Day we decided to go and check out the new Hawaiian Falls in Mansfield, Dads got in for FREE! Here is my opinion of the place; it was great for kids, a few slides, but not an all day event for adults unless sitting on a tube in a pool is fun for you. Which it totally is for me. The girls loved it, there was a huge slide/sprinkler area for them and the wave pool was very shallow, like only 4 ft. in the deepest part but the rest was 2-3 ft. There are a few big slides that Stefan enjoyed and Kaylin even did a big slide on a double tube with us. Anyway, here are the pics you have been waiting for.

Daddy' girls

kaylin went down the Orange and red slide, she LOVED it!!

This is the great kid slide/sprinkler area.

Just loung'in

Big kid slides, it was all fun until she got turned around backwards.

I love the view of them playing together and loving each other!!!

A week at the Schloemp's, Summer Time!

2008-06-20T13:46:00.004-05:00

So to survive not only the dreaded Texas summer heat but more importantly having two girls home all day every day and a husband who is either working, at school, or studying; I knew I had to make a plan. So here it is, our weekly routine:

Mon. -stay home, clean, just survive.

Tues.-Go to the park, with a friend or just us. This week we met Daniel and Monica, it was fun to hang out with Monica!!!

Wed.-Is fun day at the sprinkler park in Mansfield. This week we saw Tracy and Trinity and got Happy Meals on the way home, oh ya it is also bubble bath day!!!

Thur.-We go grocery shopping and other errands. If you have shopped with a 5 year old and a 3 year old you know what a joy it is!

Fri.-Play area at the mall for good clean air conditioned burn energy fun. Today we ran in to the Brewer's.

This seams to be a week of running into people. I wish it would happen every week cause I gotta say, things are pretty lonely lately, but I know it won't. Any way we have a pretty good routine going on and we are all having fun.

Pictures from Branson

2008-06-06T10:10:00.003-05:00

Fun times at the pool!

Birthday celebration, Branson style, all at once.

The Mommies and Nana having much deserved fun at the Landing!!!

Four little monkey's sitting in a row, all having fun at Silver Dollar City.
Alyssa, Makayla, Kaylin, & Brooklyn

Kaylin & Alyssa on their first roller coaster with Me and Cindy.

Cute little bugs in a bug!!

Nightgown twins!

Pretty, Pretty, Pretty, Princesses!!

Branson Revisited

2008-06-05T12:58:00.003-05:00

This past week me and the girls have been in Brasnon visiting my sister and her kids. Last year we when we came we really didn't do much with the girls because the younger two where still too young. This year was different. Here is the run down of the week:

Monday we went to the pool where they have this amazing kiddie pool with a slide and sprinklers and it is only two feet deep. That night we made a chocolate cake and had birthday time for all the girls.

Tuesday we got a baby sitter and me, my mom, and Cindy went to the Tanger outlet and the landing to eat dinner. We ate at Cantena Laredo and shopped around the landing after dinner. It was so fun to just hang out with my sister and my mom.

Wednesday we went to Silver Dollar City, an amusement park like Six Flags. It was so much fun, they rode all the kiddie rides and had a picnic lunch. Kaylin rode her first roller coaster, twice, and she loved it. Alyssa loved the swings and rode them twice. The funny story for the day, not really funny, was that in the process of using Cindy's free coupons, I got busted using her cousin's pass and they kept it, sorry Brianna. Other wise the day was great!!!

Thursday we went back to the pool, played out side and packed back up to head home Friday morning.

Every night we cooked something good and different, well, almost every night. Monday, chicken enchiladas, Tuesday, fajitas and Cold Stone Creamery, Wednesday, tacos and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Finally on on Thursday we took the night off and ordered Pizza, it was yummy.

The week was so much fun, it was like a vacation. We got to go to a new place and do fun different things every day. It was nice to go somewhere and do some fun things, back home it is going to be a long hot summer.

Thank you to my sister, Cindy for letting us stay at your house and make messes, for not being too pissed for loosing Brianna's pass, for splitting the ticket cost with me,and for indulging me while I shopped; I know it is not your favorite thing to do but you did it and waited patiently while I tried stuff on at shop after shop. It was a great week and a great vacation, I had so much fun!!!!!

(Stay tuned for pictures in the next few days)

One year older!

2008-05-28T11:55:00.004-05:00

Today is Alyssa's birthday, at 10:00 am she was born three years ago. it is so hard to believe she is already three, it feels like just yesterday Kaylin was three. Every birthday with Alyssa is so bitter sweet. She is my last baby, so watching her grow up is sad at times because I will never have a girl at this age again. Don't get me wrong it doesn't make me want to have another one, it just makes me sad. She is learning and doing so much; this year she has learned how to count, her colors, and her ABC's. In the fall she is looking forward starting school and ballet with Miss. Annie. You are getting so big and smart and beautiful my sweet Alyssa. God made you bold and sweet. He has given you special gifts and made you for a great purpose. It brings me so much joy to watch you bloom and to see you learn about God and how much he loves you. I can't wait for you to watch you grow older and see the things you will learn and the person you will become. For now you are still my sweet baby Alyssa, even if you say your not a baby, you will always be my baby!

Happy Birthday my baby girl, I love you!!!!

Count Down

2008-05-26T09:41:00.003-05:00

The last two weeks I have been counting down big events until summer starts. For us summer starts with a week long trip to Branson to see my sister and my two nieces. We have had a lot going on the last two weeks. Kaylin and Stefan went camping, she had her science fair, her dance recital, and this week is her end of the year party. The count down ends with Alyssa's 3rd birthday party this Saturday, then off to Branson we go. Surviving this week is going to take nothing less than an organizational genius and a million lists, while some may be ready to curl up in a ball and die now, I thrive on these challenges, can't wait!

Kaylin did so good in her recital. Like most of the students she forgot some of the steps and looked off stage for Miss. Annie to prompt her. They were so cute and she had so much fun. She smiled and and is really starting to get used to performing. Here are the pictures!!

Here we are in front of CATS, ready to dance!

Little miss attitude, I love this tutu!

They had their names on the mirrors, how fun.

Kaylin and Maddie, ready to dance!

Miss. Annie, we love you!!!!

Science Fair

2008-05-23T09:41:00.004-05:00

Kayin is in preschool thins year and they have been learning a lot about science and how things work and why. Might I add her favorite class is science with Susie Science. She loves the experiments and the hands on activities, huh do you think she is a Kinesthetic learner? Any way, they had their science fair yesterday and it was so cute. kaylin did a sea shell collection answering the question of "Where do they come from?" she had so much fun putting it together and working on it with me. Here are some pictures of the proud scientist at her first ever science fair!

Proud scientist!

The girls where so intrigued by the baby tadpoles.

Best buds celebrating afterwards!

Camping

2008-05-19T10:08:00.004-05:00

Kaylin got to go on her first camping trip this weekend with Stefan and all his friends. Charles, one of his friends brought his daughter, Trinity, who is four, the girls had a great time. But the daddies were exhausted. She got to go hiking, have a camp fire, see a real buffalo just feet away, SCARY, and the best part is she learned to squat, for you campers you know what that means, what an accomplishment.

They went to the Wichita Mt. in Oklahoma, the place where Stefan proposed and where we used to camp years ago before kids came along. Part of me was a little jealous that they got to go but part of me can't wait for Alyssa to get a little bigger so we can go as a family. Any way, here are some pictures of her adventures.

The Buffalo was right on their trail, they were so close to it and Kaylin was shakin in her boots!A model no matter where she is. See her model the great bottle of Gatorade!
Kaylin & Trinity, they had so much fun!
Breakfast of champions, Coco puffs with a new friend.
What a view, I really miss it, oh yeah, and Kaylin with Daddy so sweet.

Random Updates

2008-05-15T08:58:00.002-05:00

Last month I did a blog about all the projects I wanted to do around the house, well they are all done. Alyssa's bedding is done, curtains hung and her room totally matches. Our room is done, stained the bed, painted the room, and lots more. The final project was to redo kaylin's bedding which is now complete. It feels good to get all those projects done and be ready for a fun summer.Kaylin's Room, isn't it cute !!

On another note I have been told twice now to post something new, so here it is. We have a busy summer so far, which I am very excited about because busy means happy and fun. We are going to Branson in June to see my sister. The girls have swimming lessons in July and in August we are taking Kaylin to the Circus for her first time as a "here we go to kindergarten fun day."

But before all the fun summer times Kaylin has her dance recital this month, Stefan and Alyssa both have their birthdays, and Kaylin gets to go on her first camping trip to the Wichita Mts. this weekend, I am so jealous, that is where Stefan asked me to marry him.

Have I mentioned I love the color accent effect on my new camera, it is so cool!!

7 Ramdom things. . . Tagged by Cindy

2008-04-28T10:59:00.003-05:00

1. I love movie theater nachos.
2. Stefan has had the same hair cut since I met him when he was 17.
3. I wish I had gone to PA school the first time I was in college.
4. I really want to take ballet and dance at Mosaic. It would be terrifying but awesome.
5. I am so excited to be able to watch my girls grow up and not have to have another baby.
6. I am scared about nursing school and excited at the same time.
7. I hope Stefan is able to become a fire fighter because they are so hot and sexy!!!

I tag. . .
Annie and Hillary

Little Fish

2008-04-28T10:02:00.003-05:00

I knew Alyssa was not afraid of the water and had a fearless personality but man she is crazy! Her cousin, Jimmy, had his party at an indoor pool. Alyssa was jumping in and and flying down the slide almost faster than her Daddy could keep up. Kaylin as you might have expected stuck to the steps, nice and safe, don' t have to worry about that one. but Alyssa, if you look the other way for a second she will be half way up the slide with no one to catch her below, SCARY. This kid has got to get in swim lessons so she doesn't drown, Kaylin needs to be in swim lessons so she'll get in the pool without freaking out. two sisters, completely different water temperaments. Any way here are some cute pictures.

Kaylin in her corner
Look at her, so fearless just flying out of the slide!
Daddy catch me, she totally would have done it with or without him, SCARY.

Reason to Celebrate!!

2008-04-12T14:30:00.002-05:00

You know you are the mother of a toddler when pooping in the po*tty is something to celebrate. Gross as this may be and I know in ten years Alyssa will kill me for writing this, but she finally went #2 on the po*tty and we celebrated. She got to open her Mickey Mouse Club House ears and she got to call her daddy and her Nana. I was really worried that this would be a hard thing for her but it only took three days. She is doing so good with her po*tty training, no accidents today, and I am so proud of her!!
On a less gross note I got my acceptance letter into nursing school. I am going to be a nursing student next fall and I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just Another Weekend

2008-04-07T15:34:00.004-05:00

Laugh at me but I actually feel asleep last night thinking of how to write this blog entry and this morning I wook up thinking of clever titles. Other title ideas were: Project completion, Not just any room, or How to work your husband to death. Maybe those amused you or not but I decied just another weekend was perfect because if you know me and Stefan's schedule it is just a normal weekend thing to do my projects, but this one was a big one.

Instead of doing our garage sale I decided to gut my room and redo it this weekend and that way anything that didn't make it back in can get sold. In the mean time Stefan has to deal with it in his garage; but don't feel to sorry, he is getting a new TV out of the garage sale.

This task of redoing our room was no easy feet, we spent two nights on our mattress in the den to be woken at 7:00 am by little girls talking across the hall way. It was kinda cute because it reminded me of me and my sister talking across the bathroom, ahh memories. Anyway, we tore out the old base boards, repainted the room, painted new base boards and chair railing, installed base boards and chair railing, stained the bed and polyeuythained it, put together a new desk, and hung new pictures and curtains. Some of you are thinking "we did it" and yes I do have to give props to Stefan, he did do a lot of the muscle work, but I did my fair share also. While you may not see me in any of the pictures trust me I was still working very hard; besides some one had to take the pictures and do you really think I am going to put a picture out on the Internet of me at my worst, don't think so! It was three long days but is is done except a few final touches and our new TV, I love it and feel so at peace in my new room. It was exactly what I wanted. I love the simplicity and the huge lack of furniture, there are only three pieces of furniture and I love it!!!!

before

During

A very tired Stefan, resting after all his hard work. after all his heal dragging along the way he ended up liking my design very much.

My new desk, notice the lack of clutter, it will stay that way!!

All done, minus the bookshelf, Stefan's next project.

Hair cut explained

2008-04-04T11:57:00.004-05:00

I realize a lot of you are wondering what got in me to cut Alyssa's hair. Did she ask for it? Did she get a hold of some scissors? While those are all good guesses, none are the truth. The truth is I got sick of fighting the tangles and the food in her hair and on a frustrated impulse said it had to go. If I wasn't so lazy I would pull it back when she eats and put it up every day but the truth is I am horrible at those things. Doing little girls hair is just not at the top of my list to do every day, so therefore, the hair cut was the best solution. I also didn't realize how much they look alike know, but they do, they definitely look like sisters now!!

I had to include this picture because it is so pitiful. I should probably tell the story behind it before any one gets any ideas. Her and Alyssa where playing and they bumped heads, have I mentioned Alyssa has a really hard head! So there that is the story but the black eye was a good one and it is still healing, it's yellow and green now.

Promised Pictures

2008-04-03T21:26:00.008-05:00

Well, here are the rest of the pictures from Kaylin ice skating.

Like the color effect, it's the coolest thing about my new camera!

She was so proud of her self skating by her self!

I also included some before and after shots of Alyssa's new hair cut. It is a dramatic change, about five inches, but she loves it. The first thing she said when it was over was " I look like Kaylin hair." She sat so still and was so brave. I love her new look, it totally makes her look like a big girl. That and it makes her face totally cute and squeezable.

BEFORE: so cute, but now. . .

AFTER: even cuter and lookling so big!!!

Trying new Things!

2008-04-02T08:14:00.004-05:00

This past weekend Kaylin's cousin, Mikaylah, had an ice skating party. I was really nervous about kaylin skating if she would like it or not considering her track record of wanting to try new things. Kaylin is not usually the first one to volunteer for something new, she needs a little time to watch and make sure she is ready. She is very cautious, yes some of you are saying "cautious, kaylin, really?" But about physical activities like skating she is, weird I know and so no longer the fearless toddler Kaylin. We all grow up and change, right, so it's okay for her to be cautious as long as she eventually tries. Back to the story. She was so excited about skating and counting it down for days. When the day came she couldn't wait all she said was that she didn't want a teacher but me. When it was time to lace up she was ready t take off, didn't even freak out about being wobbly when you walk in skates, she just got up and walked off. Know she is still Kaylin so this story has to fit who she is and the rest sorta does. She clung to the wall of dear life and it took about 15 min. to do one lap. But then she got brave and let go of the wall and even skated some all by her self. When I say skated I mean moved three inches without holding on. But that is huge for her to be that brave her first time. I was so proud of her!!!!! before he we left she insisted on doing a lap holding mine and Daisey's hands, I never thought she would let go of the wall and trust us like that, but she asked for it. When we got out there she had so much fun and loved it. Mental note to self, she just needs to do things on her terms, She needs lots of encouragement and no pressure to do more, just let her go at her own pace. She really impressed me and made me proud!

Well that is all I can get this stupid computer, stupid program to up load at this time.

Maybe tomorrow I'll get Alyssa's haircut and Kaylin's black eye up. Keep your fingers crossed!!

It's been a while

2008-03-26T15:47:00.004-05:00

As I have been told, more than once, I need to "write something new already!" It has been a while and I really have no good excuse, plenty has happened that I could write about. Alyssa is going po*tty a lot and my sister was here last week. The visit was a lot of fun and busy mixed in with typical Breese stuff (Breese being my family name before Stefan came and changed it). We went shopping, colored Easter eggs and had a hunt with my sisters girls. We also went and visited my grandmother, and I am excited to say that finally my girls weren't scared of her at all. kaylin got to have a slumber party with Makayla, well sort of, Makayla slept in her bed and she slept in our room. Anyway, here are the pictures from the past week. Oh ya, I got Kaylin's new swim suit and it is so cute, actually Kaylin and Makayla got the same suits, how cute. Did i mention we also had a great Easter with Daisy and the kids, it was good, busy spring break Easter weekend!!!

Payoff, It FEELS so good

2008-02-28T15:35:00.002-06:00

Today I made the last payment on my car, that's right my car is PAID OFF!!!!!! I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about this. In 7 years of marriage we have always had at least one and most of the time two car payments. This is the first car we have paid off and it feels good. It feels so good to begin to crawl out of the debt load. It is a heavy load; one we have always had and this is the first of many things to get paid off in the next 15 months. For those of you who have known us for a while know how huge this is and what a blessing it is, God is soo good!!

Just Pictures

2008-02-23T16:39:00.005-06:00

Here you go Cindy, I put my favorite V-Day pictures up. I love these because not only do the girls look cute, which is pretty hard for them not to; but I alos love the photographs and the lighting. Don't the pictures look like professional ones?? Huh? Huh?

Creativity is like breathing

2008-02-21T21:09:00.005-06:00

I love being able to be creative, it make me feel alive, like I am still me. For those of you with creative or artistic abilities, you know how much it drives you, how much it makes you feel alive, how much it makes you feel like you. I can go so long and not be creative, but after awhile it builds up and is dying to get out of me and I have to do something. I believe being creative is an ability and drive that comes from God. He is a creative God and in a way he is expressed in me being creative. So to not be creative is to deny God and the creativity he put in me, I can't do that. If I couldn't be creative I would suffocate. It is like breathing to me! I have to do it, I love it, it helps me feel productive and alive.
Lately I have been scrapbooking like crazy. In fact, since Last Friday I have done 6 layouts & a cover page. They are all different and cute, I have the scrapbook mojo!! In fact, I dare say I am almost current, at least through Oct. 2007.
Just a peak into my crazy creative mind and things i think about. I am constantly adding new projects to the girls rooms and thinking of ways to redo things or change things or do new things; hence, my project list:
1. new bedding for Alyssa's room
2. new bedding for Kaylin's room, yes I realize I just did her room last year but I already want something different.
3. my room, total overhaul.
This list may be overwhelming and exhausting to some of you, but to to me it is exciting and I can't wait to tackle each one, and will probably be working on all of them simultaneously. You aren't living until you can tackle three big projects at once and LOVE IT.

Birthday Mania!

2008-02-11T13:27:00.000-06:00

This past weekend kaylin turned 5 and boy did she celebrate. Saturday all her friends, about 12 kids, came to the mall and rode the carousel all morning. She got some great gifts, including three Polly Pocket swimming pools, apparently they are a hot item this year! After a great party her Omma took her to Build a Bear for her birthday where she picked out a beautiful white bear and made a wedding bear, she was gorgeous. After that she got to eat lunch at the mall with her friend Maddie and Miss. Annie. The fun didn't stop there. Sunday was her actual birthday and she got to pick her birthday dinner, chicken enchiladas. Her aunt Daisy, Mikaylah, Nikelis, and Omma came over for dinner and strawberry cake.

It was a great weekend. It is hard for me to believe my baby is five and on her way to kindergarten. It feels like just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital and now we are celebrating 5, time really flies. She is so sweet and loving and full of life. I love you Kaylin, Happy Birthday!!!

Birthday Girl, yes she really is five!!

No wrds needed, just dry your eyes.

Alyssa, Kaylin, Cassidy, and Mikaylah.

The birthday group, except Daniel, he dodged out of the frame and in my hast totally missed it until now.

Miss. Annie, our favorite ballet teacher/ friend!

"Yummmmmmmmy" says Alyssa

Happy Birthday Princess!!

Craziness

2008-02-07T11:06:00.001-06:00

Today begins 3 days of insane craziness. I love bisness but this take the cake for poor planning. TEAS test, class, Kindergarten Round Up, Nursing school orientation, clean for a spontaneous cookout planed by Stefan, birthday party, and finally the spontaneous cookout!! Can you say CRAZY. Just writing that list makes me exhausted. How did this happen. With out even knowing it all of this got scheduled for the same 3 days and that is that. Are you as tired as I am from just reading this. The scary thing is most of this stuff is very important and can't be blown of or minimized. I will be so happy when Sunday comes and all I have to do is go to Mosaic, oh happy day that will be! Wish us luck, the whole family will need a little luck and a lot of grace.

Okay, so God really does come through!

2008-01-30T13:50:00.000-06:00

I wasn't always a skeptic, I once had what I thought was impenetrable faith, but maybe that was the problem. lately I find myself more on the side of doubt and questioning why more than on the side of trusting and obeying. Yesterday God came through in a big way, and really it shouldn't surprise me as much as it did, but it did. We financed our mattress for 6 months but forgot and thought it was for 12. All month I have been on Stefan's back about paying back the account so we can pay for the mattress. Finally we decided to just put it on his business credit card. I kept feeling like that would be a mistake and a bad idea, so I kept waiting, maybe deep down I was hoping God would come through. Well, just in time, like God always is, we got several checks early and it is to the dollar exactly enough. It leaves both of us with what we need and doesn't cut into our personal funds. God is so good, and I should really try harder to remember that instead of being so quick to doubt him. When I think about it he has always come through, we have never been without, and we have always been taken care of. So, how's that for a faith booster?

EMERGENCY HAIR CUT!!

2008-01-24T15:25:00.000-06:00

Well they say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. While I am not in denial that Kaylin is my apple that fell and rolled RIGHT up next to me, I had no idea she was as self sufficient as I am. She wanted a hair cut so she cut her hair. I can't tell you how many times I cut bangs or layers because I wanted it and didn't want to wait, so I should have expected this seeing as how she is just like me. But, the mom in me was shocked and horrified and immediately had our favorite hair girl, Van on the phone for an emergency hair cut. I told her she was going to have to have short hair, a bob, with bangs, and with all her efforts to grow it out she was very sad. At least until she saw the hair cut. When she saw it she loved it because it is just like "Mommy's hair cut!" So much for her being sad every day and having to look in the mirror and remember what she did to get herself in this predicament. Honestly, don't tell Kaylin, but I love it also, it is so cute. Secretly I have wanted to do a bob on one of the girls for a long time and this gave me the best excuse to try it out on her dollar. By the way she had to pay for her hair cut as part of her punishment, but don't worry, her hair cuts only cost $5.00.

Here are some pictures of the final hair cut. For those of you who wanted to see the kaylin version, I must apologize because in the hast to get from school to Van's in time i forgot to take a picture, sorry Cindy!!

She is so happy! So much for the disappointment of short hair, now she wants to keep it short. I am proud of that because she is accepting her own identity.

" It's just like Mommy's hair cut!"

I couldn't do a post with out some cute pictures of Alyssa. Ironically, she is growing her bangs out when Kaylin is cutting hers for the first time.

Never say never. . .

2008-01-11T09:01:00.000-06:00

I wrote off video games years ago when I humiliated my self trying to play Mario Brothers with my neighbor and realized I have zero hand eye coordination and should leave video games to those who do, so I became a side liner, until last night. Last night I went to my friend kareah's house to play her new Wii , it is AWESOME!!! It is so unlike other video games where people like me feel like a idiot for not being able to coordinate their hands. It is totally interactive and physical, I got out of breath and sore arms from boxing, and I totally kicked butt at it. I officially want a video game system, for me. Yes I said for me and not for Stefan, I am a trader, I know but this thing is totally cool and I will have it one way or another.

Being Crafty

2008-01-08T15:28:00.000-06:00

Occasionally I get the desire to make something and usually it does not come with out many complications, but this one was different. I have been looking for a new duvet cover for our bed, something with black and white. I have found several I like but nothing I loved for a price I loved, so what is a girl to do in such a situation, I say sew. Sew it your self and take bragging rights for having something unique. So I found a set of sheets I loved and sewed the top sheet to a White sheet and put a piece of black satin ribbon around the edges. I was totally prepared for a battle, because most everything I make comes with one, but to my surprise this project went of with out even a thread break. A complete miracle i say, but either way I am very pleases. It is going to look so good when we stain our bed black, I can't wait. Anyway, here of some pictures of my latest creation. Craftiness must be in the air because I have started scrapbook and did a really cool layout, start to finish, in less than an hour, another miracle. The crafty mojo is flowing!!

The reversible white side and black trim.

This will toatlly rock on black bed, can't you see it now?

Christmas at the Schloemp's pictures part II

2008-01-05T13:33:00.000-06:00

Hopefully, here will be the rest of the pictures of our christmas story!!

They played in the tent all day and every time I try to take it down they get it back out, I guess it is a hit!

Merry Christmas,

Love The Schloemp's

Christmas at the Schloemp's Pictures

2008-01-04T10:01:00.000-06:00

Here are the pictures to go with the Christmas at the Schloemp's story.

They seem so sweet and loving!
The cousins, wow every one is getting so big!
Great minds think alike, Cindy and uncle Andy go the same gifts for the big girls.
Princess!!!!
She is yet to take this dress off, she absolutely loves it!

These are all the pics I can get up right now, stupid computer, so I will get he rest up later.

Christmas at the Schloemp's

2008-01-04T09:21:00.000-06:00

Yes, I do realize these are coming a little late, but if you want to see what it's like to have Christmas with the Schloemp's it will just have to be okay!
Here is the Schloemp Christmas story. The chaos starts on Christmas Eve with my family and continues on Christmas day with my extended family and ends the day with Stefan's family. Let me start with my family, it was so much fun. First the kids get to open their presents. As we all know kids do better in the afternoon then after a long church service and dinner so we changed it up and they went first before any thing. As you can imagine no one was thrilled to leave the toys to go to the Christmas Eve service except the mom's. But we did and they got over it. After the service we returned to an old favorite family tradition we haven't done since before kaylin was born, we went out to eat for Christmas eve dinner, it was the best chicken enchiladas I have ever put in my mouth, YUM!!!!! Finally, or we thought finally we went to my parents to put kids to bed and have our own grown up Christmas. I say we thought finally because just as we started opening my niece, Makayla started crying. She had thrown up and she is a bit dramatic and like any of us girlie girls, she does not like to throw up much less have it on her. After the 30 minute clean up we continued, however every time it was her mom or dad's turn she would throw up again. you are probably thinking "what fun!" well sort of, especially because we were together and we all felt so bad for her, my sister, who was having to deal with all of this. Any way, two hours later we finished and every one went home to get ready for the THE event, Christmas morning!
Christmas morning was fun, dramatic, and stressful, like any holiday involving new toys and two little girls, one of which who decided this year she is going to become possessive of her toys. Stefan say relaxing in his massage chair, which I got him, with his hand held massager in one hand and a Red Bull in the other, yes he was so much help as the fights raged on all around his calm self. Going to my aunt's we were an hour late, but it was a lot of fun. we ate and promptly had to go to the next event, my mother-in-law's house.
Christmas at Angie's is a sight. She sets the table with a delicious pot roast dinner with green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and bread; don't you love our non traditional dinners, I love them! But before any one can enjoy this great meal the kids are begging to open presents, as if none of them haven't already open a million presents. Like any good parent we give in and the craziness begins, paper is flying every where and kids are screaming with delight. It is so unlike the calm, one at a time manner of opening presents that exists at my parents, it is total chaos as every one opens what ever they are handed as soon as they have their hands on it. I hate it because not only do I not get to see what they are getting I have no idea who it is from.
FINALLY, they day is over and I am so glad because the excitement of Christmas coming is so sweet and the day it self is long, and disappointing because it is almost over. When we got home i could not believe all the toys my kids got, it was insane, and half of it had already be opened and put into rooms, for protection from the other of course. Looking at their piles of toys I thought where are we going to put all this stuff, we seriously don't have the space, so like a good mom I put half of it up and they each get a new toy every month for the rest of the year, crazy!
Our Christmas was great and fun and I hope yours was to, enjoy the pictures, they will be on the next post; this one is too long as it is!!

I love my Ballerina

2007-12-11T16:09:00.000-06:00

My little girl is the most beautiful Ballerina! For Kaylin's winter recital her teacher decided to make it an out reach and dance at a retirement home. It was a great idea and really blessed the residents. I say Kaylin is the best ballerina because she didn't do her tap dance. Kaylin is a talented dancer but performing is a little harder, it has to be her idea. The tap dance wasn't so she didn't. It's not that she didn't like the dance, it's that her tap class was first class out and she was not ready yet. By the time it was her classes turn to do their ballet dance she was ready and was breath taking, but let the pictures speak for them selves.

Twirl, Twirl, Twirl!

Look at her technique, she is so beautiful!

Ready, set, dance.

Kaylin, with the girls in her class.

A Girl and A Boy...

2007-11-08T15:35:00.000-06:00

It's official, we have entered the CRAZY boy crazy world! My 4 going on 12 year old daughter has her first crush and I as her mother am not sure how I feel about this. Part of me is so excited, part of me is horrified that my almost 5 year old daughter has a crush, and part of me is at a total loss as to what to say, think, or do. Let me give you a sample of recent conversations;
Me: How do you want to do your hair today? Do you want a pony tail?

Kaylin: Yes, cause then Johnathan will think I am pretty!

Another day getting ready for school,
Me: Why don't you wear this shirt? (a shirt with a collar on it)

kaylin: No, I can't wear this shirt, Johnathan won't know me in this shirt, he won't like me in it.

We have actually had the shirt conversation more than once, in fact at least once a week. We have had it so much that Daddy is having a conversation tonight about girls who dress to impress boys and being independent and unique, that should be good.
This morning Kaylin informed me she was going to marry Johnathan at recess because and I quote " he's cute and he thinks I'm pretty and we are going to get married." AGHH, what is a mother to think, to say, to do!! I silently laugh and cry all at the same time. The icing on the cake was a conversation between Me, kaylin, and Chloe on the way to school this morning, and you guessed it, it was about Our favorite little boy.
Kaylin: Chloe, I'm going to marry Johnathan at recess today.

Chloe: No, I'm going to marry Johnathan today!

kaylin: We can both marry him because he is cute and he thinks, we are both pretty!

Me: You girls are both too young to be marrying any one!!

Kaylin: (whispering) My mom is so crazy!

Me: You are DEFINITELY too young to say I am crazy, you can't say that until you are a teenager.

At thins point I am laughing so hard on the inside because she sounds like a teenager saying I am crazy. The sad thing is there will be a day when she really will think I am crazy and these conversations will be for real. For now it so cute seeing here pretend to be so sophisticated and mature; talking about boys and her crazy mom.

Pretty Princesses

2007-11-01T15:18:00.000-05:00

Halloween is such a fun time to dress up and getting candy on end. It is also the best night in the whole year for seeing princesses and super heroes every where you look, my girls were no exception. I had a Tinker Bell and a Butterfly Fairy; they were simply adorable!! At Kaylin's school they had a carnival, Festival 31, it was huge, so crowded, but the girls had fun. They played games, jumped in bounce houses, and ate yummy hot dogs.

Here they are, Tinker Bell and the Butterfly Fairy!
Alyssa was a little speed racer on the track, could she reach the pedals, NO, did that slow her down, NO!!

"What do I want to eat real fast while no one is looking, no a sucker will not be fast enough, I will get caught" By Alyssa

FUN, FUN, FUN, the games were so much fun.

Stefan and I also had fun with the dressing up thing. His friend Ryan had a costume party and we went as talking mimes because there is no way either of us could commit to true mime
silence, it would have killed us both.

Aren't we the best looking mimes you have ever seen? I gotta say this was totally Stefan's idea and it was so much fun. We had fun getting ready and freaking people out on the way in the car, you should have seen the looks we got, it was great!

True love needs no words! Se we are good mimes!

Technology, gotta love it!

2007-10-13T21:52:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I finally got a new cell phone,YEA! For those of you who have talked to me on my old phone, you know how happy a day this is for me. It is so cool; it has a mp3 player, FM tuner, camera, and even a pedometer (what ever that is for, walking or something). I even got a much coveted bluetooth for FREE, yes, the phone and the bluetooth were FREE, could it be any better that that. I got a cool phone with awesome features and it was FREE! Did I say it was FREE, I love free stuff. Any way it came in the mail and I ripped into it like a kid on Christmas morning to start playing, big mistake. There is a reason I usually opt for the basic phone, they usually don't tick me off. As I began trying to figure things out I was quickly reminded why I hate technology, it is complicated and no one can make simple easy to follow directions that actually work. At one point I was as mad at this, my new FREE phone, as I am at the old one (which will get a slow painful death), it was pathetic. Of course being a man, because they have some technology gene in there DNA, Stefan came in and fixed what took me an hour to figure out in mere minutes, I hate it!!
As for the mentioned death to the old phone, Stefan and I talked about how healing it would be to physically destroy these phones that have given us such hell for the last month. Stefan decided to run over his phone but that is far too quick of a death for me, oh no, my phone will suffer and it will hurt. As I told my sister the plan she asked me, "You realize the phone can't really feel, right?" I guess my plan does sound sinister but it will make me feel soooo good that I can't wait to do it tomorrow after church. My phone has a death sentence that will be slowly and painfully delivered. AHH revenge, it is sweet, even if it is against a piece of stupid technology. Tomorrow I will have pictures of the cell phone death. I realize this talk about slowly killing my phone and being excited makes me sound crazy, but there is a small part of me that is taking out so many things on this poor phone. But hey, it ticked me off, and besides, it doesn't know any different, and I can take my frustrations out on it, it will be great!! Stay tuned for great pics tomorrow.

Yes I'm still Here!!

2007-10-10T15:48:00.000-05:00

I know I haven't posted in a while, sorry. Life has been busy with school and Stefan's crazy schedule. Thankfully work is finally slowing down for Stefan and we are getting some much needed time together. As I think about the last few months there is a lot that has been going on. Last weekend I got to go to Mexico and it was so much fun. Being in another country, even though it is just barely across the border, was culturally eye opening. Just like so many of you I am guilty of stereotyping and I found my stereotypes are completely wrong. Other than traveling to Mexico we have been having fun being a family.

Alyssa, who is the light of my life, is so sweet and cute, and let me tell you she knows it. She'll say "I'm cute!" and she is right. She is such a joy to parent and I really enjoy watching her grow and discover new things. And Kaylin, my beautiful ballerina, is learning to write her name and is loving science; making discoveries about the world around her. She is so smart and she really picks things up fast.

Alyssa is so close to being able to do a flip, but for now she loves looking through her legs.

I love my little mermaids, they are so cute.

My ballerina in training, her favorite thing is to put on "ballet" and dance to Wiggles.

How can you not think she is the cutest thing ever, and those pig tails re getting so long.

Back to School

2007-08-31T16:02:00.000-05:00

After much anticipation and longing school has FINALLY begun for the family. Kaylin and I are both in school and started this week. One of us had a much easier start than the other and keep in mind one of us is taking Anatomy II, who had the breakdown? Nope not me, Kaylin. There was much excitement in the air, especially mine, until it came time to walk in the door and suddenly the excitement was lost. So what is a mom to do when the excitement is lost and your child needs to go to school so you can get on with celebrating back to school day mommy style. You employ the help of any teacher you can, past or present it doesn't really matter. What finally got her in the room, was it her favorite teacher from last year, Mrs. Melear, or her P.E. teacher? The winner is the P.E. teacher!! God bless her for helping kaylin get settled and for letting me get on with my own celebration. As many moms know back to school isn't just about your child and school, it is also about getting your normal life back which includes a small break with shopping and lunch dates every other day to help you be a better mom the other days when they are at home all day. Don't get me wrong, I love Kaylin very much, but we both enjoy having other authority figures in her life. Any way here are some pictures of my big girl on her first day of preschool, the last year before kindergarten.

Here we are proudly displaying the caterpillar name tag!

Here we are with all the essentials a girl needs for school, you know like a lunch, a mat, and a backpack.

Here we in front of school mostly smiling but still excited. By the way the sun was in her eyes.

Here is where the excitement changed to "absolute not going to let you leave me here" mom!

Swim Lessons

2007-08-21T15:08:00.000-05:00

The last two weeks Kaylin had her first swimming lessons. If you know Kaylin at all you know it was not easy to convince her to get in, she is terrified of the water. Let me just tell you the story. The first day she wouldn't even get in the kiddie pool until finally after class and the other kids were gone she got comfortable and got in and didn't want to get out. Once she conquered the kiddie pool it was on the the big pool, which as you can imagine didn't go so well. Finally on the last day she did a sitting jump off the side and floated on her front and her back. She was so proud of her self and so was I, she finally earned her Tinkerbell purse!! So what now, well school starts in two weeks so lets hope she hangs on this braver attitude for nine months, but the reality of that happening is very slim so we will start over next summer but with the hope and expectation that she will conquer her fears and and be brave again.
I thought swimming lessons were about learning to swim, but for Kaylin it was not about that; after all learning to swim is just technique. For Kaylin, swimming lessons were about trusting some one else, about facing her fears, and about being brave enough to conquer those fears.
I have picturs on my camera but right now I have to go dry my hair so tomorrow I will get pics up.

Kaylin is great at floating with Alban, especially in the kiddie pool

Here is the big moment, JUMPING in off the side in the big pool.

Here she is with her certificate, proof she conquered her fears, YEAH Kaylin!!

Promised Pictures

2007-08-09T13:34:00.000-05:00

Here they are, pictures from Branson.

Three Princesses, they are so adorable! This was their favorite thing to do. Every night they all dressed up as princesses and danced around.

Panty pool party. We were filling the pool so the water could warm up to swim in later but the girls couldn't wait, so they stripped down and swam.

The lake was an adventure, no one wanted to smile, no one wanted to look at the camera.

"Say Cheese mommy" Alyssa took my picture taking her picture, but aren't the babies cute in their matching pj's?

On our night out the baby sitters, God bless them, gave the girls a bath and took so me pictures. Here I imagine Alyssa saying NOOOOOOO, her favorite word, after all she is two!

I AM BACK

2007-08-09T10:08:00.000-05:00

I AM BACK!! After TEN long days of no computer it is finally fixed and I am back on line, I missed the Internet so much. Today while the girls are down I will post some long promised pictures. In the mean time know that i am back and here to stay!!

Branson, Not just for the "Silver Hair"

2007-08-01T21:37:00.000-05:00

This past weekend me and the girls went to Branson with my mom. While I originally thought Branson was for the "silver hairs" I was schooled on the truth. Branson is a fun beautiful place with horrible traffic. There are so many fun things to do and shows to see. The shopping is great and so is the food, by the way I ate Sushi and I loved it!!
Any way we had so much fun. I gotta say the best part was Friday going shopping without the kids, it was GREAT!!! While we were shopping Cindy and I decided it was time to do a little personal shopping for my mom. We had a dressing room full of clothes for her. It was hard for her to let us pick things out for her but it was really fun and she did buy some things we picked which means we must have good taste.
I know I keep promising pics but our computer has a virus and is being fixed so as soon as I get it back pics will be going up ASAP.

The girls

2007-07-28T08:26:00.000-05:00

This weekend we are in Branson, yes tourist city USA for the silver hairs of America, or at least I thought. The truth is Branson is really pretty and caters to all ages. There is great food, amazing shopping, shows and theaters on ever corner, and beautiful landscapes. I am also having so much fun hanging out with my sister and my mom. The girls are so great playing together, Kaylin of course is the mother hen and Alyssa just does what she wants.
The drive was almost uneventful except for a slight spin out and getting a little lost in Springdale. But on a brighter note, the girls did great and my mom is an amazing long distance driver, I was shocked. Today I am going to take pictures of Branson to post.
See all in a few days!!!

My baby

2007-07-25T22:39:00.000-05:00

Last week officially marked the end of Alyssa being a baby with the removal of the grandest sign of babiness, her crib. Our dear Friends are having their second baby next month and so the crib has been passed on. It is bittersweet seeing it go. I know she is big enough and ready but on the sad side it means my baby girl is growing up and their is nothing I can do to stop it, I'll blink and she'll be going to college, CRY, CRY! Any Way, she loves her bed and is doing so good staying in bed and not playing. She is such a great kids, she just goes with the flow.

What a big girl!

All tucked in ready for nighty-night, isn't she so adorable?

I told her, "close your eyes." So she covered them.

It so so strange how fast life flies by, I just brought her home from the hospital and now there is nothing in my house to even signify that a baby lives her and that is because I don't have babies but little girls. That is a sad realization for me because it means having babies is done for me, ; on the brighter side it means my girls are getting bigger and more independent and are able o do more and that is more fun!! So if I must say good bye to babies I do because I am excited about the fun things to come as I watch them learn and grow. Forgive me if I do have moments of sadness as I watch this process, I've been told that is normal.

Update

2007-07-24T09:49:00.000-05:00

By the way, yesterday marked on eweek with no accidendts. as a reward kaylin got the Tinker Bell Polly Pockets. YEAH me, I mean YEAH Kaylin!!

Potty Training, Who's it Really Training?

2007-07-23T13:17:00.000-05:00

A mom disclaimer, this mom talk may not be appreciated by those who have not yet embarked on this journey; or it may be hilarious, or it may make you never want to go on this journey ( I hope not, it is worth it)! Having said that, Kaylin has been potty trained for over 2 1/2 years, but has always slept in pull-ups keeping them filled to the brim every night, with a dry night not even in sight. I kept thinking,"eventually she will stay dry and out grow this." Eventually kept not coming and she is going to be five and I began to fear this may require intervention and the "on her own part" may never happen. The reality is as long as she is in a pull-up her body thinks she has a diaper on and therefore will never stay dry. So knowing me, I made a plan to get her out of the pull-ups. The plan you see, was three fold;
1. to get her going to the bathroom more during the day, every other hour, try remembering that!
2. cut the drinks off at 6:00pm sharp,
3. and the kicker, get her up for one last potty time before I go to bed, staying up until 11:00pm. most nights, which is rough most nights.
The irony is, every morning she gets rewarded for staying dry, but really what did she do to earn it, I told her to go potty, I got her up at 11:00 every night, I cut the drinks off, and she gets rewarded, where is my reward? Why is the child rewarded for the mother's efforts? In a perfect world this all seems a little unfair. You may be thinking way to go Tracy you are working so hard and you are not getting rewarded every morning, you deserve a treat. And I would be saying, "you are right, I do deserve a reward." But, this is not a perfect world, and my biggest reward every morning is that I didn't have to get up to change sheets, I get to sleep all night. My reward is seeing my daughter succeed and feel proud of her self for staying dry. So maybe she really isn't doing any thing right now to stay dry and all the dryness comes from my efforts, but one day it will be all her effort that keeps her dry and the confidence I am giving her now will make that possible. So I say to my self, you are dong the work now to empower your daughter to do it in the future.

Now if I could just get Alyssa potty trained I won't have to buy any more diapers. With any luck and little planing, which I am the master at :), she will totally potty trained by January. Just imagine it, in 5 months I could be diaper and pull-up free. What will I do with the extra money every month, but don't you worry, Stefan will finally get more meat!!

For a Reason

2007-07-21T13:51:00.000-05:00

WOW I have the best friends ever! This past week has been my own little pity party (see the above post) and my friends left the greatest comments that reminded me of truth I needed to hear and that they care about and love me, awe how sweet!

On with today. I am a firm believer that is a reason for everything that happens. Perhaps being alone is for a reason, perhaps all my human excuses for being to busy for God are busy for a reason, perhaps this is my chance to take my loneliness and let God fill the void. I am guilty of running to so many other things before God and for the time being all those things (IE. people) seem to all be taken away. This whole thought process isn't that this happened to me but that it happened for me, to draw near to God. So many times I hear that still voice and I ignore it or make excuses to respond later. Well, we will see where this goes and what choices I make. I hope I make the right choices and take advantage of htis time and respond to God and stop putting Him off.

Change, isn't it GRAND!

2007-07-20T10:04:00.000-05:00

Lately it feels like so many things in my life are chaining, being in school every night to being out of school, Stefan not working much to working most evenings and Saturdays, summer time (no school for Kaylyn), and on and on. I like to think I adapt to change well but truth be told I don't, I get very lonely and depressed. I always expect it won't be so bad and the I am "pleasantly" surprised by the fact that it is harder than expected. The hardest change I am currently having to adapt to is my friend going to work full time. Don't get me wrong, I am so excited for her and proud of her for being brave and starting something new. I know this is a great thing for her and her family. With that being said, I miss being able to call her when ever I want and talk for an hour or two, I miss being able to do things during the day, although that has been rare lately due to schedules, and I will miss picking our girls up from school together.

Change sucks but the truth is God never promises that life will stay the same and that things won't change, it is inevitable and how you handle it is important. I guess for me I need to learn how to better handle change. How that looks I don't know, I didn't say I had all the answers, I just know I need to handle it better. Maybe that means I need a more positive out look or, and this is gut level honesty, I need to make it less about me (OUCH). The truth is I much to often make it about me when really it isn't about me that much. "Get over your self Tracy!" I should tell my self that often. Change is a part of life and I need to learn to go with it and accept it rather than fighting it.

Life is changing and I don't quite like it yet, I know I will adjust and it will seem like it has always been this way but until then I guess I am morning the loss of certain things. Forgive me for my pity party, but sometimes we all need to get it out to deal with it and move on, so maybe now I can get over it and move on. Wish me luck! If you know me at all you know the battle I am fighting and that I need good luck.

Life is changing and I don't quite like it yet, I know I will adjust and it will seem like it has always been this way but until then I guess I am morning the loss of certain things. Forgive me for my pity party, but sometimes we all need to get it out to deal with it and move on, so maybe now I can get over it and move on. Wish me luck! If you know me at all you know the battle I am fighting and that I need good luck.

Super Mom

2007-07-18T13:42:00.000-05:00

Ok I got to put a disclamer out there so there is no confusion about by signature name. If you are any thing like me, and I think on some level all moms are, we need positive affirmation. In a world that says you're not good enough, be this, do this, it is hard to feel like you are a good mom. To remind myself and all the other super moms out there I sign my post, By "Super Mom." So you see I am not overly confident in myself, at least in this area, or an ego maniac; I am just trying to remind myself in a simple way that I am a SUPER MOM!

The motherload

2007-07-18T13:07:00.000-05:00

OK, so I have been informed by more than one person, Cindy & kareah, that I need more pics, well hang on a second because I just figured it out so get ready for the mother load. By the way for some nameless person (Cindy) who says she (Cindy) can't remember what my kids look like, here you go, now you know who your nieces are! For the rest of you who have waited patiently for me to join the 21st century and email pics, and for those of you who really don't care here they are!!!!

Here we are at Daisy and Erik's wedding, it was so

It was sooooo sweet to see Stefan dancing with Kaylin!!

Alyssa had a blast doing what she does best EAT!!

Here are some 4th of July pics.

For those of you who have missed the last few months, sorry but to post that many pics. I would never leave the computer and would shut down the Blogger site. So you will get a fresh start from here. Any way, even I missed the last month, Anatomy was my life. By the way for those who don't know by some miracle I acctually got an A YEAH!!!!

It got to late to do fire works on the Fourth so the next night after school we did sparklers in the driveway in the rain.

First Posting

2007-07-17T15:35:00.000-05:00

Well, here we go again at attempt # 2 at a blog. Hopefully I will be good at this and post regularly! stay in touch so you see all the lastest pics and read all the latest happenings.

LIFE. . .

A lIttle Update!

The power of peer pressure

It's that time again. . . .Time for school . . . .

I have a first grader!

Words you never want to hear . . .

Okay, its been a while,

How could I ever do this if it weren't for GRACE

Snow Day....

My life as I knew it is officially over....

BACK TO THE GRIND....

Visit with Santa

Christmas here we come

It's begining to look a lot like Christmas. . .

My Ballerina's

The holiday's are upon us!

Why I hate night time thunderstorms!

Fall Fun!!!

It's been a while

Camping at Park Schloemp

GO Lady Bugs

I can't believe I am a soccer Mom!

The Tooth Fairy does Exist!

Panic for no Reason

More First Day of School Stories.

Kindergarten or Bust!! Nursing School or Bust!!!

First Day of School- Big Tears all Around

It's official!!

Gripes and Hope all at one time,

The Circus is in Town!

The battle of the thumbs!!!

IT'S HERE!!!!!!!!!!!

Open wide!

The mom factor

Stick with me please,

Blogger 101

It's not always as green as it seems

New Computer

A fish named Kaylin?

Finger Lick'in Good

Dance Camp

Father's Day, Yes I know it was last week!

A week at the Schloemp's, Summer Time!

Pictures from Branson

Branson Revisited

One year older!

Count Down

Science Fair

Camping

Random Updates

7 Ramdom things. . . Tagged by Cindy

Little Fish

Reason to Celebrate!!

Just Another Weekend

Hair cut explained

Promised Pictures

Trying new Things!

It's been a while

Payoff, It FEELS so good

Just Pictures

Creativity is like breathing

Birthday Mania!

Craziness

Okay, so God really does come through!

EMERGENCY HAIR CUT!!

Never say never. . .

Being Crafty

Christmas at the Schloemp's pictures part II

Christmas at the Schloemp's Pictures

Christmas at the Schloemp's

I love my Ballerina

A Girl and A Boy...

Pretty Princesses

Technology, gotta love it!

Yes I'm still Here!!

Back to School

Swim Lessons

Promised Pictures

I AM BACK

Branson, Not just for the "Silver Hair"