Why do I get sick every summer??

So it's time for my week long summer sickness.

I hate it.

Every.single.year. since I've been little, I've always gotten a really bad cold during the hottest time of the year. Of course, these colds never last like a day or two, they always manage to stick around for a week or sometimes two. It's insane. I hate it.

Nick's at work, I have a mountain of appointments this week, and I'm feeling like leftover spuds. I don't even want to get off this couch!

This was supposed to be my 'transform the dining room into a play room for the girls' week. So far I've managed to move the table into the kitchen and that's about it. I have no motivation. I consider everyone lucky that I even managed the dishes this morning. I just feel off.

So yeah, back to lie down. Send me feel good vibes please!

Getting ready for Back to School

I'm not even in school and I find it exhausting! This week has been crazy insane.

How they look is how my brain feels right now!

Kade's school implemented a new dress code and I've been searching like crazy for khaki flat front shorts and solid polos. I'm hoping the new Nikes he just got are going to be alright because honestly, my kid just can't rock the loafer look. He's way too cool for that!

And what's up with all these school supplies??? He's in 6th grade, not college! Why does a 6th grader need such sophisticated contraptions? When I was a kid, I need a simple calculator, pencils, notebooks, folders, and a backpack. Yeah, Kade needs a graphing calculator (hello $150 that he's going to lose halfway through the year) and about 35 gallons of Purell.

Whatever happened to eating dirt??? :)

I read yesterday that the average price for a child going back to school is almost $900! $900 for 9 months of schooling? Wow! That's doesn't include our $5000 tuition either. Cheese and rice guys!!

I was so excited when I received my email from Penneys stating that they're offering FREE haircuts to kids from grades K - 6th. Yes, we will be there at 2pm on August 9th to see Julia!

Sidenote: Our trip to the zoo a couple days ago took a sad turn. The 60 year old hippo was euthanized on Wednesday. She was just too old and was able to get around at all. I'm glad we were able to see her one last time.

Back to track, this year we're making Kade pick one or two after school activities. We want him to be more involved and not such a homebody. Hopefully this will help to break him out of his shell.

What after school actives do you guys recommend for kids that are 11? Just curious!

If you made it through all this random, Congratulations!!! I'd bake you a cake by my oven isn't working properly!

Kiddie pool adventures

Yesterday, I went in search of a kiddie pool. Because of our 'unique' situation, I couldn't get anything big or that would require an outside lawn. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, just something that could set on our front porch and that the kids could both fit in semi-comfortably.

Enter the kiddie pool...

(Pic removed because Lil' Miss only has a swimmer on.)

You would have thought I bought an Olympic sized pool! The kids had a blast playing in their porch pool till it was bathtime. Stella cried when I made her get out. Oh the joys of summertime and cheap kiddie pools.

Yesterday, we also visited our local Meskar Park Zoo here in town. The kids had an okay time. Most of the animals were in the shade, hiding, and pretty docile. I told the kids not to blame them because it was too hot and even this momma felt like she needed a nice shade tree or a hosing off.

Sidenote: Why do all zoos have 8000 up hill climbs?

So today we're relaxing on the front porch, playing in our porch pool, and watching the cars go by. We're also trying to avoid the drunks, methheads, and prostitutes...

Another social networking site...

And this one I actually like!

FreezeCrowd is a new social networking site open to those that have a genuine school email account. Users must be 17 years or older to sign up and you must sign up using said school email account. From what I gather, anything with .edu works!


FC is similiar to Facebook and Myspace except it prohibits 17 year old and under. Well, it doesn't exactly prohibit, you just MUST have a college email address in order to sign up for the site.

2 and 2 kinda tells you that anyone under 17 will more than likely not have an .edu email account.

FC reminds me a lot of CollegeClub. CollegeClub was basically a social networking site for college students and alums that wanted to keep in touch and share pics and events.

FreezeCrowd is a more streamlined and updated version of CC. Remember how CCs messenger always seemed to crash around 10pm on a Friday or Saturday night?

To connect with friends on FreezeCrowd, just upload a photo with your friends and connect by FreezeTagging and inviting your friends in the photos. I think this feature is awesome because it helps to cut down on the creepers.

You know who they are... the ones that send a friend request just for the unholy jest of hooking up. Yeah... yuck.

I'm still figuring out some of the features but I'm looking forward to introducing my friends to FreezeCrowd.

Picture dump

Went to the 4-H Fair today and it was so hot!

The kids had a great time and that helped to reinforce that Nick and I are doing the right thing by getting to the country. Stella absolutely adored the piglets and wanted to take a mini horse home with her. She loved it so much!

I think our oldest is coming around to the idea. He enjoyed the animals as well and was really impressed with all the tractors and 4-H projects. I think I'm going to look into 4-H for the kids next year.

So without further adieu...

Guilty and working on it (Need suggestions!)

I am was a smoker, up until 3 days ago.

Yes, if you remember correctly, I am 24 weeks pregnant. If you do the math, I have smoked this entire pregnancy since before I found out.

Two days ago I woke up and realized exactly what I am doing to baby Olivia. I feel awful. I broke down and cried, promising her that I wouldn't do it again.And I haven't.

It's a constant struggle. I always have to catch myself before I blurt out "I need a cigarette". I don't NEED one. I just want it and that's not enough anymore.

When I found out I was pregnant with Stella, I quit cold turkey. The second that pee hit the stick and lines lit up, I knew I was done. I didn't even have a second thought about it.

I don't know why it has been so hard this time around. My husband thinks it's because I don't care as much. I don't think that's the reason but I won't rule it out all together. It just feels different this time. Maybe it's because we planned for it but my heart wasn't fully into it.

We only tried for 2 weeks before I was pregnant. I know I shouldn't complain and there are thousands that are constantly struggling but I really wanted Stella to be a little older. I don't want to take away my love for my baby Stella and share it with another new baby...

Stella was an accident (birth control and antibiotics do not mix) but she was my first baby I ever carried past 12 weeks. She honestly is a miracle in itself. I remember feeling her first flutters and knowing exactly in my heart that she was going to be mine and I was hers. I can't even explain the feelings I felt. It was so much more than love.

When she was born, I cried. I was so happy over joyed. Here was my miracle baby with a headful of dark brown hair and these big brown eyes. How could I  not love her?

Year isn't right. She was born in 2010, oh and on 9/13, not 9/11.

Maybe I need to bury myself in baby things.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to gear up for another little one?? 

Halloween band wagon

I just finished reading Jen's post at Crafty Misadventures, and it's really put me over the hump for Halloween.

Halloween has been my favorite holiday since I can remember. I love the horror, gross, silly, and BOO that comes with it. Since I was a youngster, I can only ever remember being a witch for Halloween. I was obsessed with witches (so much that I started to believe I was one around age 11-13).

Yeah, I was one of those kids. :)

I think I'm going to go ahead and start stick up Halloween decorations... you know, a small witch here, a little bat snow globe there... maybe I'll leave the window decals till September.

Speaking of decals, here are my 2 monsters from the past 2 Halloweens.

Halloween 2010 (Stella's first at 6 weeks old. Kade is 9 here.)

 

 

 

Halloween 2011. Our ninja and tigger.

We've already started working on the kids' Halloween costumes for this year. Kade wants to be Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (so proud of him and his scary costume choices!) and Stella will probably end up being Dora or something princess-related.

Now I'm probably going to spend the next 20 minutes browsing Halloween costumes or cruising Pinterest.