What a Day!!

Oh, I'm so thankful this day is almost over. It began for me in the wee hours of the morning at around 2:30 when I was awoken by David snoring over the baby monitor. I got up to check it out and he was asleep in the living room. I told him to please go back to his room and shut the door. Then as I was just about back to sleep, Meredith Kay woke up at 3:00 a.m. I went and got her and held her in my bed for about 15 minutes. She went right back to sleep, so I put her back in her crib. I laid back down about 3:20 a.m. and everytime I almost dozed off, Madelyn would steal the covers and/or kick me in the back. Nice!! Well, I almost dozed off again when I hear the familiar cries of Meredith at 4:00 a.m. AAAHHHH! I got up again and was going to try and practice Tough Love with her. I patted her back but didn't pick her up. She actually turned over for about 10 minutes like she was going to go back to sleep, but decided she better keep Mommy up a little bit longer. This time I just went and got her. I held her in my bed for about 30 minutes until about 4:30 and then put her back in her crib once more. I covered her up tightly and prayed she would sleep the rest of the night. She did, Thank God!! As David was leaving to go to work about 7:20, I was still sleeping, but he told me my mom called and to call her when I woke up. It's freezing cold today and I just figured she was telling me to drive carefully. I got up and talked to her about 8:15 and that's when the second part of my Hell-Day began. She proceeds to tell me that my sister and her roommate got into an argument and Holly's roommate physically attacked her. WTH!!! My mom had talked to her the night before and wondered if I had heard from her yet this morning. I told her No and then I went into Panic Mode. My brain is filled with "What-If's". Here is my sister in NYC, 1500 miles away from me, hasn't called in, is in close proximity to a crazy ass roommate and I was totally helpless. It made me physically ill to my stomach. I wanted to kick this person in the head that did this to my sister. I wanted to hop the next plane to NYC and take care of my sister. I didn't know for about an hour after I got the news that Holly was okay. She called me and as soon as I heard her voice I burst into tears. The kind that you cannot stop! The kind that take your breath away. The kind that take you by surprise! I was so happy to hear her voice. She needs prayer. She now has to move again after just moving like two weeks ago. She has to store her stuff by Thursday and worry about Finals all in the same week. But, Thank God she's coming home on Friday and she'll be surrounded by people who love her! The third part of my Hell-Day included Vomit. Yes, I said Vomit. I was scheduled to leave work early by 2:20 to make a 2:40 dentist appt. I got the call from Madelyn's school at 1:10 that she was crying saying her tummy and head hurt and she wanted her mommy to come get her. I had just gotten Meredith to sleep and so that sucked having to wake her up. And add to it that it was 16 degrees today with a wind chill of 2 degrees and my day was just peachy! So, I gathered Meredith up and put her in the Arctic car and set off to Yukon to pick up Madelyn. I got her and we went my our house to get her some Apple Juice to drink (her tummy has been upset the last few days because of constipation), Tylenol for her headache and a chewable Pepto-Bismol. I got her a pillow and we were on our way. My stepmother works for the dentist I go to, so she would have let Madelyn just curl up by her with her pillow while I got my teeth cleaned. We made it to about 10th Street and County Line Road and I was going to 23rd and Meridian. She said, "Mommy I need to poop and I can't wait." I said, "Honey, you're going to have to wait a little bit, Mommy can't stop yet." I felt bad, but I couldn't just pull into a gas station in 16 degree weather and drag two kids into a disgusting toilet. I figured the worst would be a little poop in the pants. No big Deal!! Boy was I wrong. We started praying asking God to help us make it to the dentist's office before she pooped her pants. About 30 seconds after the first declaration of impending poop, she said it again. She said, "I can't Wait!!!" Well, about 5 seconds after that I hear the worst sound in the world from the backseat. It was projectile vomit and I swore it wasn't going to stop. By this point, we had made it to 10th and Council. I immediately called my stepmom and told her we would not be able to make the appointment and I turned the car around and headed back to Yukon. On the very smelly drive home, I called my angel mother and asked her if she could come over and help me bathe the girls and sit with them while I tackled the daunting task of cleaning up my car and carseats. Bless her heart, she showed up about 15 minutes after we got home! I felt like a HazMat worker. I had gotten a mask that I use for mowing and my cleaning gloves to clean up the mess. Poor Madelyn, I made her strip in the 16 degree garage because I didn't want her vomit infested clothes to make it into the house. Her little teeth were chattering. We got her in the house and then into the tub for a good scrubbing. Then my angel mom showed up and she bathed Meredith while I took the vomit grub into my shower to clean. That was quite a job! I got that finished and everything into the washer and then Mom stayed while I took a shower. The only good thing about it was that 3 out of 4 of us were already bathed and in our PJ's by 4:00 p.m. Thankfully, the girls both fell asleep shortly after and I was able to catch my breath. Whew!! I'm anxious for a good night's sleep tonight and no more puke!! I know I'll laugh about this someday!

And a year goes by SO Fast....

December 12th, 2008----We celebrated the day by going to the mall with Mimi and doing some Christmas shopping. Mimi and PaPa and Grandpa Dino and Grandma Cindy came over that night for Pizza and Birthday Cake. Meredith was all smiles and clapping until we all sang Happy Birthday to her and gave her her own special cake. She....Well just watch the video!! Not what we expected at all!!!! After the cake, we let her (actually Madelyn) open her presents and she enjoyed them immensely. From 8 lbs. 6oz. and 20 1/2 inches at birth to 22lbs. 4 oz. and 31 inches long at One Year. She has grown a bunch and stolen our hearts. Happy Birthday my Sweet Meredee!! I love you , my baby girl!!

And that sweet baby grows and grows....

These are a few of her through her first year of life. I never dreamed I would be as blessed as I am. I have two healthy, beautiful, precious girls! Thank you Lord for these blessings!!

And to us a child is born...

Meredith Kay Louise was born on December 12th, 2007 at 7:26 a.m. She weighed 8lbs. 6oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. She has lots of brown hair and chubby cheeks. She looked just like her sister, except was a little chubbier. What a blessing she was to our family!!

This is how it began...

A little series of pictures of Meredith Kay Louise Rhoda, the One-Year Old baby girl!!

It all started on April 10th. I was on day 27 of my cycle and was trying desperately to wait until day 28 to take a pregnancy test, but my breasts felt heavy that morning in the shower and I just KNEW I was pregnant. So at lunch, I go buy a couple of $1 tests at the Dollar Tree to take. I came back to my office and took one without anyone's knowledge. It was positive! I was in disbelief and the line was VERY light, so I started second guessing it. I took the second test I had bought and it looked the same. I didn't tell anyone, but the next day I went and bought like 5 more $1 tests. I took one again that day and it was positive, but still very light. That night I took the test over to my friend Trayce and had her look and see what she thought. She agreed it was positive, but I was still unsure. I decided I would take another one the next morning with my first pee of the day. So, I took it on April 12th and it was very obviously positive!!! Yippee!!! I was so excited!!! These are the first few pictures of my little baby Meredith Kay!!

Madelyn Grace at her best!

Well, it's been a while since I've written on here and I actually had the intention of writing and putting up pictures on December 4th, but didn't because it didn't turn out to be as severe as anticipated. So now I will tell you the story. I go to pick up Madelyn from school on December 3rd and her teacher tells me that Madelyn cut her hair that day. I immediately freaked out!! She showed me the right side of her hair cut to about her shoulder and about 2 inches into her head if that makes sense. My first thought was, "Oh my goodness, we're going to have to cut it all off to even it up!" And that amounts to about 7 inches. It was a 4 year investment and even though I cursed it sometimes and swore about once a week I was cutting it off because of all the trouble it is with tangles and all, the reality of that beautiful hair coming off put me in tears. Literally! I cried all the way home. I gave her the whole speech again about how we don't ever use scissors except to cut paper. I'm not really sure if she heard me because she was trying desperately to figure out why I was crying about her hair. I made her a hair appointment the next day fulling expecting a complete new look for her. When I got there, Kimberly calmed my fears and assured me we could just taper it into her face and her length would remain intact. I was washed over with relief. It's funny now how emotional I got about her hair because just about everyone in my life would've probably bet on my kids hair being disheveled and plain when I first became a parent. Just because I'm not known to obsess about my own appearance and never have the latest hairstyle. But I think I surprised everyone with the care I take with their hair and appearance overall. When my sister and I were little, my mom enjoyed us being her little dolls. We always had the cutest dresses and pretty hair (even though we never got to have our hair long). Even my dad curled our hair for church when we were with him on the weekends. Most dads are good to run a brush through the kids' hair. So I come by it honestly. I have always been anal about dressing the girls cute and fixing their hair. It's very important to me. So I'm very thankful that the hair-cutting incident turned out like it did. Whew!!!

And the Tree Goes Up

Well, we put up our Christmas tree on Friday night. Madelyn had a blast and was very into it this year. Meredith liked to look at the lights, but was oh so scared of all the stuffed animals. We have a reindeer that has big, floppy horns with bells on them. I think she would have crawled back inside of me if I had let her. Her fingernails were dug into my shoulders as far as they could go when Madelyn showed it to her. Needless to say, she doesn't bother the tree much as we have the Stuffed Animal Army guarding the front of the tree. I forgot that I don't have a tree skirt and I didn't get out to get one this weekend, so maybe I'll do that on Wednesday when I took off. So, here's some pictures of the Christmas Joy at the Rhoda house Friday night.

I feel Doubly Crappy Today

I feel doubly crappy today. My sinuses are about to bust out of my head. Is that possible, Holly? Meredith has been fighting with hers for about 4 days and she so graciously shared her snottiness with me. Last night on my way home from school, I swore my head was going to explode in the car. I don't really have time to feel bad though because I have to go home tonight and finish an assignment for school that's due tomorrow and The Biggest Loser is on tonight. I never miss that.

Speaking of The Biggest Loser, does anyone here watch it besides my mom? I love that show, but hate it at the same time this season. I started watching it last season about 3/4 of the way through and got hooked on it. There were about 6 contestants left when I started watching it then. They had all lost a lot of weight at that point and most importantly they had made life-long friendships. They all rooted for each other and cried with each other. It was truly inspiring and beautiful to watch their transformations inside and out.

This season SUCKS in that department. It started out all nice and sweet, but there are a few people on there who just ruin the show in my opinion. Heba, Brady, and Vicky (Satan) are ruining the show for a lot of people. I feel like I can't even let Madelyn watch it anymore because of all the ugliness and the beeping of cusswords. She's not stupid...she knows what they are saying, to a degree. I hate their cattiness, their spitefulness, their hatred, their meanness. They are turning a show that's supposed to be about bettering yourself and attaining goals and ambitions about high school drama and bull crap! I am really rooting for Phil to come back and win the $100,000 as the person who has lost the most weight off campus (after being booted from the show). I'm rooting for Coleen to win the Grand Prize as I believe she is in it for the right reasons and she has the best heart!! So tonight, I wish for Vicky, Heba, and Brady to all gain weight.

Well, that's all the rambling I can come up with for now. See ya later!

One More thing I'm Excited About

My sister brought it to my attention that I'm not excited enough about her turning 30 this year on Christmas Day. So I'm letting everyone know that I am INDEED excited about this milestone! Yea! She joins me in the 30's club! We'll do something fun, sissy!!

Yea! Yippee!! Hooray!! Hot Dog!! Whoop!! Yowza!! Holly's 30th Birthday is on Christmas!!
(Is that excited enough for you, little princess??)

10 things I'm excited about right now...

1. Going to bed tonight. I know that doesn't sound all that exciting, but it is when you just want to get a good night's sleep.

2. Finishing Aleks. It's this program I had to do for my Intermediate Accounting II class that took me 32 hours and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to do. That's 50 points in the bank!

3. The OU-Texas Tech game next weekend. Although I'll have to live through a weekend with no OU football this weekend, it helps hype up the next weekend. Don't call me after 7 pm on November 22nd.

4. November 25 and 26th--Vince Vaughn's "Fred Claus" comes out on DVD on November 25th. Excited to share this PG flick with Madelyn and see Vince's cute face again. Vince Vaughn's new movie, "Four Christmases" comes out in theaters. I will taking the day off to commemorate the event with my sister Kim. I will sleep in, get up and watch Fred Claus and then go to the theater to see Four Christmases in the afternoon. Then, that night is the annual Kobriger Thanksgiving Feast. Always lots of fun there, except my sissy won't be there. :(

5. I'm excited about the 5 day weekend I get for Thanksgiving. I don't have to think about work or school for that time and I'm just going to soak in some rest and be thankful for all my blessings, especially my family!

6. December 10th--my Finals!! I've loved this semester and hated it at the same time. I've had great professors and learned a ton, but it came at a cost of family time, sleep, and mental rest. I'm just ready for my brain to not be on overdrive.

7. December 12th--my baby girl turns 1!!! I'm excited because I'm taking the day off and I'm just going to spend the day with my pumpkin. I'm excited because it's just a special day in her life. I'm sad because she's growing up SO fast, but I'm looking forward to what's to come!!

8. December 19th--MY SISSY COMES HOME!! I believe that by the time she comes home, it will be the longest I have gone in my life without seeing her. Well, maybe when she was in the womb, but that has to be it. I have lots of plans for us. One of those plans includes a day at the mall with myself and Mom. I'll have to get my game face on for the day. Somebody better be crying by the end of the trip or it will have been in vain.

9. December 25th--Jesus' Birthday! How can you not be excited about our Saviour's birth?? I will share the story of baby Jesus from the Bible with the girls and I get to see the glee in their faces on this magical day. One of my favorite parts of being a mom.

10. Since I've kind of gone in chronological order, I guess I will say January 1st. I'm not one to make resolutions, but I've always felt this day had a special significance because it seemed like a fresh start. It's the year I finish school!!!! Yippee!!! That's something to be excited about!!

Cutie Firemen

Well, we had some Cute Firemen come to our house tonight. Papa John's was partnering with the Yukon Fire Department and having the Fire Dudes come out to your house when you order a pizza and check your smoke detector. If the smoke detector didn't work, the Fire Hotties would install a working one for you for free! If they tested it and it did work, they gave you a coupon for a free pizza. Pretty Good Deal! So we got home and David called in the pizza. While we waited for the pizza, we threw the girls in the tub for a bath. We hurried because we knew it wouldn't take long. Madelyn was so excited to see a Fireman. They got here as soon as we got the girls dressed and Madelyn was jumping up and down. We had a working smoke detector and got a free coupon. Yeah Rhoda's!!! The Fire Cuties went out to their truck to get some goodies for the girls and Madelyn wanted to see the Fire Truck. She got to have her picture taken in the truck with one of the Firemen. She looks all smitten in the pictures and acted so shy! It was a fun experience!! Please excuse the Christmas Jammies. I am my mother's daughter!! Got to start early to get good use out of them! It's never too early for Christmas!!

Wedding Ring Results....

Well, I have bad news to share. I still cannot get my wedding ring on my finger. It's definitely not for lack of trying on my part. I do have good news though....I have lost 8 lbs. since October 1st. I guess I just haven't lost it in my fingers, which is really okay with me because that's not one of my problem areas! You know, after you have a baby(ies), your body just changes....sometimes your feet are bigger, sometimes your boobs stay big, sometimes they shrink to little molehills, and I guess sometimes your metatarsals (Is that the right bone in your finger, Holly?) just grow while pregnant and don't get smaller. That's what I'm telling myself. So the good news here outweighs the bad and that is that I'M getting smaller as a whole. I'll update with the wedding finger in the next month. Wish me Luck!!

Yes Mommie Dearest

Have you all seen this movie? Great movie, but really sad. I remember watching it when I was little and my mom used to get so mad at me when I would respond to one of her requests with, "Yes Mommie Dearest." Granted my mom could rival Joan Crawford in the Clean Freak Olympics, but I don't remember any wire hangers in the house so we couldn't have gotten beat with those. We may have gotten beat with Scrubbing Bubbles, I'm not sure. JUST KIDDING!! There were NEVER any beatings at my house!!

But anyway, I was watching Mommie Dearest the other night on TV and Madelyn caught a few scenes with me. She kept asking me why little Christina's mommy was so mean to her. She told me she was glad I was a "nice mommy!" I didn't tell her that I have a wire hanger with her name on it hidden in my closet for when she's five. I just think four is too young for it yet. Again, JUST KIDDING!! Okay, so tonight Madelyn was playing with her $60 Baby Alive doll that she got for her birthday and what she did and said to that poor baby reminded me of the movie. She was getting ready to feed her baby, and had strapped her into the high chair. This baby talks, sighs, cries, whines, tells you "I love you", "I'm sleepy", and lots of other things. Well, Madelyn was having trouble strapping her baby in and it was taking her forever. The baby says, "I love you Mommy." Madelyn just ignores her while she fights with the straps. Then the baby says, "Can I have a hug, Mommy?" Madelyn looks at her with an irritated look on her face and says, "Not now, you have to eat first." Of course the baby has no reaction. Madelyn fights with the straps a few minutes longer. Yeah I know, David and I should have helped her, but we were enjoying the show. Her baby tells her again, "Can I have a hug Mommy?" This time Madelyn sighs very loudly and again says, "NOT NOW, You have to Eat First!!" David and I were cracking up!

I think I would take a mom who beat me with Scrubbing Bubbles every once in a while to a mom who withholds hugs until I eat. Mean Madelyn Dearest!!

Finally.....We have a Crawler!!!!!

Look!!!! Meredith finally learned to crawl at the age of 10 months. She's been doing the army crawl for the past couple of days where she just uses her arms to pull her body along like she doesn't have the use of her legs. But she has quickly advanced to the "typical" kind of crawling. It's a miracle!! We're hoping she walks by 2!

Reminiscing

It's very surreal to live in the house I grew up in. I love that my girls are getting to experience some of the same happy memories that I had growing up. The girls are sharing a bedroom that was once mine for the duration of my tenancy. Maybe one day when they are on summer break, they will invent a "hand-ball" game in the living room to pass the time. (Holly gets it). Maybe one day when my old room is Madelyn's alone, she will want to cover her walls with someone she admires like my Vince Gill once adorned my walls. Maybe, just maybe one night when it's storming outside, the girls' will go to one of their rooms and snuggle with the other while feeling safe in their sister's arms. Even as the big sister in my house, I was usually the scared one running to Holly, but I know I did feel safe with her. There's just something about sisters. She's the person I will most likely know the longest in my whole life. So in the celebration of sisters and memories of the house on Seminole Lane, here is a picture of my girls imitating one of me and my sister's favorite activities. Enjoy!!

Follow This Blog

Look over to the right......Do you see where it says Follow this Blog? Go there and put in your information please. I'd like to know who is reading my blog. Thanks for reading!!

Wedding Ring

Remember when I was mad because I couldn't get my wedding ring on? Well, obviously I still can't get it on, but I'm serious about losing weight and my goal is to have it completely on by Halloween. That might seem ambitious, but I really believe I only need to lose about 5-6 more pounds to get it all the way on. So, here is my before picture and I'll show you the after picture in 3 weeks.

Meredith Kay

All the news has been about Madelyn lately, so I thought I'd get some pictures up of my sweet, little Meredith for you. The first one is after I had put her hair in a little ponytail on top of her head for the day and this was the remnants after I took it out. Scary, huh!! The second one was taken yesterday as she was in the middle of a cold. Her little face is chapped and her little nose was runny. She finally started feeling better today. Yeah!! I swear by my breastmilk for her little immune system. She fights every little thing off so quickly and easily. Except for trips to the doctor for immunizations and one trip for constipation, she's not been to the doctor for treatment. No antibiotics, nothing!! I think that speaks well of her immune system to be 10 months old and so healthy. Thank you Jesus!! The third one is of her and her sissy just playing around. I hadn't taken one of them lately. Meredith has a good smile, while Madelyn just can't seem to find her smile.

I think I have the cutest babies. I know every parent thinks that, but seriously mine could win a contest for sure.

Very Hollyesque

I've been meaning to post this for a couple of weeks now, but just got around to it. This is Madelyn doing what she does best....play make believe. Sometimes I swear she is Holly all over again. Besides her snippy attitude sometimes (love ya, sis), she loves to play with her babies. We who knew Holly as a child knew playing with babies was her favorite pastime. And leave it to Holly and Madelyn to drag every darn baby, stuffed animal, whatever into a room for a slumber party. She went through every room of the house snatching pillows for those tired babies' heads. I had to take a picture because it made me a little nostalgic and I wanted to remember it always. Excuse the bra hanging on the chair. So for your viewing enjoyment.....

Madelynisms...Part 2

Ok....so the newest funny thing by Madelyn. I was going to the bathroom and she comes along so we can have a little chat. She's in her pretend mode. This is how the conversation went:

Madelyn: "I have a husband, his name is George." (She changes husbands all the time, the first one was Bobby and then there was Sam and then I believe there was a David in there somewhere.)

Mommy: "Oh, and how is George?"

Madelyn: "Well, (insert ticked off face here) I broke up with George!"

Mommy: "How Come?"

Madelyn: "He was being mean to me."

Mommy: "Did he say something ugly to you?"

Madelyn: "Yeah, and then he smacked me!" (I didn't even know she knew the word, "smacked."

Mommy: "(Laughing) He SMACKED you?"

Mommy: "Husbands should NEVER smack their wives."

Madelyn: "Yeah, I told him that. I called the cops and they came and took him to jail."

Mommy: "Oh, I bet he won't do that to you again."

Madelyn: "Yeah, he just got out of jail and we are back together."

Mommy: "You shouldn't get back together with a husband who smacks you."

Madelyn: "But I LOVE him."

~~End of Conversation~~

I guess I'm going to have to have a talk with her about the good guys and bad guys. It cracks me up some of the things she comes up with.

What's In A Name?

The name of my blog is "Doubly Blessed", but sometimes I feel "Doubly Tested!" Don't get me wrong, I love my kids more than anything else in the world. I would die for them! But, sometimes it's just plain hard to be a mom. I know you other mom's know this already and you can sympathize with me. I feel tested when I fight my four year old everynight to go to bed and go to sleep at a decent hour so she's not a complete crab in the morning. I feel tested when my 10 month old wakes up every 2-3 hours a night for 3 nights in a row and only wants her mommy. I finally figured out this morning that Meredith has a cold and is stuffy and that is why she's waking up. Poor Baby!! Believe me, I have sympathy for the both of them. It stinks to not be able to breathe when you sleep. Take it from an Afrin addict. And I remember being 4 years old and not wanting to go to sleep for fear of missing something. But, where's my sympathy? I don't consider myself to be a whiny (sp?) person. If I'm in pain or tired, I tend to just suck it up and go on. But, this time I'm whining because I'm beyond EXHAUSTED!! I'm trying to work full-time, take 6 hours of upper level accounting classes, be a mom to two adorable children, and keep up with a house. Again, not trying to pat myself on the back for all I do....Just giving the facts, just the facts Ma'am!! It's only by the grace of God that I'm able to accomplish it all. I try to tell myself sometimes that this is just a season. A season of having small children that I have to help do many things, a season of finishing school. This season will pass soon and life will flow much easier. Add to the mix that I finally have my act together to lose weight and am waking up early to work out EVERY morning and watching my diet. My brain feels like mush. (As you can probably tell by the flow of this blog.) I feel like I can't cram another thing into it and my poor little brain needs some good uninterruped sleep to regenerate some brain cells. That's my rambling for the day. I've got to go to Cost Accounting and kill some more brain cells.

Madelynisms....

Just had to share one of Madelyn's many funny things she comes up with. We were just playing "Walmart", me being Walmart, course. She had been shopping and I was checking her out. We were having some small talk and I asked her if she had any children. She said, "Yes, I have two." I asked her what their names were and she said, "Zack and Alice, and they're both boys!" I had to laugh at Studly Alice's name, him being a boy and all. She then proceeded to tell me, "their last names are Jack" I said, "So their names and Zack Jack and Alice Jack?" She said,"Yes" and chuckled. Then I asked her how old they were. I said, "Are they twins?" She said, "No, but they are 4 months and 3 months!" I said, "WoW, you must have been busy!!" She said, "Yeah, that's why I need you to check out my groceries...so I can get home!"

To top it off, she didn't have her check book with her to pay for her groceries and I made her put it all back. I'm a mean Walmart. Gotta get her ready for the real world!! Lol!!

Then and Now

Just a fun thing to show how Miss 4 year Old Madelyn has changed in her short life.

Then....

Now....

My, My, My....My sweet, little baby. I asked her on the day of her birthday and if she would just quit growing and if she would just turn 3 years next year instead of 5 and start going backwards. She said, "No, Mommy (as she's patting my arm)...I have to grow up so I can be a mommy!" What a cutie!!

It's been a while....

I know, I know, it's been a while since I've blogged. I even got reprimanded by Tracey on her blog. Lol!! Life has been crazy busy around here. We celebrated Madelyn's birthday this past weekend and I've been meaning to get pictures of it on here, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Might not even do it tonight. I'm bad!! Well, my computer has been being wacky the last week and a half. One day, the keyboard goes stupid and part of the letters don't work and then the next second they do. Then one day, the mouse will go retarded and drag all across the screen. I've tried rebooting, turning it off and then turning it back on, kissing and hugging it, but it just won't budge. It's so stubborn. And because of all this trouble, I haven't even attempted to blog because I do all my blogging while my hooters are being sucked of all their milk and that happens at the computer desk. So if any of you loyal blog readers know the reason why my computer is going psycho, please let me know what to do to make it work correctly.

What the crap has happened to my fingers? I had to quit wearing my wedding ring about half way through my pregnancy with Meredith. And I still haven't been able to get it on!!!! I've lost about 10 lbs. since I had her and am losing well now and the darn thing still won't go on. Granted...this week Aunt Flo made her dreadful visit and that's probably not the best time to check, but oh well! I'm celebrating my 5th anniversary this weekend and I can't even wear my wedding ring.

We celebrated Madelyn's 4th birthday at a park in Yukon on Saturday, September 20th. There was a Big Toy and swings for the kids to play on and the adults just played with the kids and visited. It was pretty low key and I was glad I didn't have to clean up my house before and after the party. I do think next year we will do something like Chuck E Cheese. That whole day wore Miss Madelyn out. We had T-ball at 10:30 that morning, then her friend Matilyn Ray's birthday party at 11:30 and then Madelyn's party started at 2:00. We got back home about 3:45 and I told her she needed to lay down and take a nap. She was excited about all her toys and wanted to play with them, so it was a fight. I finally just told her she could "rest her eyes" instead of sleep. This usually quells the fight and mommy knows she really is tired and it will be a matter of minutes and she'll be asleep. Sure enough, I went to check on her 2.2 minutes later and she was sound asleep. Meredith fell asleep as well, so I was able to kind of pick up the house from the haphazardly thrown Barbie boxes and Princess toys. I would have like to sleep as well, but as they say, "There's no rest for the weary!" All in all, it was a blessed day. I can't believe I have a 4 year old child. Every day of her 4 years has made me so proud to be picked to be her mom. I am so blessed! Here's some pics to enjoy!!

Our Saturday

Well, we played T-ball again today and it seemed the kids actually learned something last week. It wasn't quite so chaotic this week. Madelyn's team shirts came in. They are lime green and say Yukon T-Ball on the front. I'm putting a picture on here of her in her shirt and also a short video of her hitting the ball. I wish I had caught the time she was up prior to this one. She hit it so hard, it went to the fence!! Check it out!!

So Blessed...

I've always known I was blessed, but sometimes I'm overwhelmed with how much God blesses me. One certain department in my life where my cup runneth over is childcare. First of all, I have the best job in the whole world. I mean the WHOLE WORLD!! Even when I started working for Jerry with one six month old baby (Madelyn), he was very understanding when I needed to be home with her if she was sick. Now, while I have two kids, he is even more understanding. He lets me work from home on Thursdays to save on childcare for Madelyn and just spend time with my girls. When I had Meredith, he let me borrow time to stay six weeks at home with her and THEN let me bring her to work with me everyday after I came back. He knows I work hard and his main interest is that I get my work done. I DO get my work done and I am so blessed that I get to do it knowing my baby girl is with me and that I can bring Madelyn anytime I need to also. For a woman to be able to have a career and know her babies are well taken care of at the same time is a blessing in itself.



Second of all, I have a wonderful Mother and Stepmother who switch off keeping my girls on Fridays. Besides the girls receiving an eternal gift by spending time with their grandparents every week, these two angel ladies provide me with financial savings from childcare and most importantly peace of mind knowing my girls are learning from their grandparents and are safe.



Third of all, I have two co-workers who watch Meredith for me on Mondays and Wednesday for two hours when I go to class. Again, I know she is safe and properly cared for. These are women who I have know practically my whole life and trust completely.



Fourth of all, I have other people in my life who help me out with the girls whenever I need it. My precious friend Melissa is a stay-at-home mom who has let me bring Meredith over several times when I have had to go out of town for work. She is so gracious and loving and teaches my girls about Jesus and loving like him. I also have my sister's ex-boss Mike Rhodes who watched Meredith for me for about an hour this week while I presented an audit for work. How amazing for a middle-aged man with no grandchildren of his own to want to watch my child?? He was actually excited to do it and I was so appreciative. Then in the same day, my childhood Sunday School teacher, Frances Stamper, kept Meredith for me that day while I went to class. She of course fussed over her the whole time and Meredith just ate it up.



Fifth of all, also this week, David's sister helped me out by watching both girls for me two days while Madelyn was out sick with strep throat. She couldn't go to daycare and it would have been difficult for me to take her to work. Michelle just stepped up and used that time to play with the girls and blessed me at the same time.



So, my point is that God strategically placed all these people in my life at this strategic time. He truly is omniscient and loves me so much. I am SO thankful for all these people mentioned and I know there are several that I haven't mentioned. Thank you God for putting them in my life and making my life a little easier. You all are true blessings to me!!

April

Kissy Baby

Well, we have a new kisser in the family. Meredith has finally learned to kiss. Madelyn was always very generous with the tongue when she first learned to kiss, which was nice but a little messy. Meredith, as true to form, is a little more modest. She basically just leans in and puts her mouth to yours. There's hardly any tongue involved. Good Girl....maybe her dating years won't be so hard on us! Lol!

She also can consistently wave Bye-Bye. This morning as I was leaving to take the girls to my mom's, I picked up Meredith and said, "Are you ready to go Bye-Bye?" She smiled really big and started waving at me. She waved all the way to the car and then some. She's rather emphatic with her waves!

So today, as my sweet baby turns 9 months old, she officially joins the ranks of waving kissers. That sounds like a club or something. I'll try to catch a picture of her doing one or both for my sis!

Lazy Kids

Tracey's video of her 5 month old son crawling (boys are supposed to be slower, they say) got me to thinking that I have lazy kids when it comes to mobility. I really thought Meredith would be my mover and shaker. She certainly was in the womb. After having a daughter (Madelyn) who didn't sit up until 7 months, didn't crawl until 9 months (even then, it was more like an army crawl), didn't walk until 15 (Wow!) months---I really thought Meredith would be faster. Aren't the second children supposed to want to keep up with their older siblings and do all the things they are doing? Well, not my baby! She did sit up a little earlier than Madelyn, maybe two weeks earlier. But she turns 9 months old this week and she's not even rocking on her fat little legs. Granted, her legs are as big as tree trunks and maybe the darn things are hard to move. Both of my girls were/have been slow to get their teeth too. Madelyn was 3 days shy of 8 months before she got her first one and Meredith was 9 days shy of 8 months when she got hers. Now, I'm not worried at all about them. If you know Madelyn, she's extremely intelligent and is fine physically, so I don't expect anything different from Meredith. I guess heredity may play a part. I don't know David's stats, but I know mine. I didn't get my first tooth until 11 months...Mom wasn't sure I had any. I think I sat up and crawled in the normal ranges, but I didn't walk either until I was 14 months old. That's pretty late. My sister was under a year, I think. Again, she was the younger sibling and maybe watching me got her to going sooner. I don't know. It will interesting to compare when Holly has children. Part of Meredith's problem may be that I don't encourage her at all to crawl or walk. There's a big part of me that is scared to death that she might be my last baby and I don't want to hurry her growing up. Is that bad??

Just a little rambling for a Tuesday! Hope everyone is having a good day!!

Precious Sleeping Baby!

I took this of Meredith the other day because I wanted to remember how she slept as a baby when she's older. She's my little snuggle baby. Madelyn never needed a lovey or a pacifier, but Meredith is totally different. She actually doesn't NEED a pacifier, but she loves it when she's sleeping and she really loves her tiny blanket. It's silky on one side and so soft on the other side. She reminds me of the way my sister used to sleep when she was a baby. I don't actually remember, but I've seen pictures. Holly was a classic "butt-in-the-air" sleeper. Meredith isn't doing that in this picture, butt it is her position of choice. Did you catch the pun???? Enjoy!!

Madelyn's first day of T-ball

So Madelyn started her first organized sport today....Well, I say organized, but what I really mean is controlled chaos. You see, it was 2 teams of 10, so 20 3-5 year olds running around like crazy. Most have barely heard of T-ball and after hitting the ball off the tee, run off chasing the ball instead of running to the base. It was awful cute and we got lots of pictures. Madelyn played left field and the ball never came to her, so she didn't get much action on defense, but she was quite the little hitter. She wanted to wear her "fast-running" shoes and she was the fastest kid out there. She said she had fun and I have to admit that I loved it too, but it made me a tinge sad to see my baby growing up. So, here's some pictures....

10 Things I wish I could do right now....

1. Go to NYC and see my sister.

2. Win $500 on a scratch-off to aide in the prior endeavor.

3. Sleep 10 hours straight one night without waking up.

4. Lose all the weight I want in one day.

5. Understand my Cost Accounting.

6. Afford to hire a house cleaner (preferably my mom since she's the best!)

7. See or talk to someone from my past.

8. Find 4 more hours in a day.

9. Figure out a way to make babies stop growing and changing.

10. Send some people to a far-off island with no contact!!!

Madelyn in 1970

Here is Madelyn in 1970

Dad and Cindy

Here are my parents Dad and Cindy in 1970 and 1978. I tried getting as close to their graduation years as possible. The second two are just funny ones.

This is Dad in 1982 and Cindy in 1962.

Mom and Merritt

Here are my parents Merritt in 1966 and Mom in 1972(as close to the years they graduated) to the right and a couple funny ones of the two below.

Try to guess what the years are

and I'll tell you if you are correct.

Yearbook Photos

Well I found this website that you can upload a picture of yourself or whoever you want and put it with a yearbook photo from a certain year. I've laughed so hard, I've just about peed myself. So for your enjoyment and some more of my own, I've decided to put some up here. Enjoy!! To the left is me in some year that I can't remember. I guess I will have to put them up in different posts.

Laughing Baby

I had to put this on here for everyone to see. David got Meredith to laughing tonight and although it's not her best laughing session, it is a good one. Enjoy!!

Poor Madelyn!

This is the sad face Madelyn made because I got a picture taken of myself in my jersey instead of taking her picture. Isn't she pitiful?

Boomer Sooner!!!!

Ok...So I'm SO ready for football!! David took a picture of me in my new jersey for Opening Game Day 2008. I'm still on the hunt for Madelyn's yearly game-day outfit. Meredith will be decked out in Madelyn's hand-me-downs. I'm so looking forward to the first game Saturday night. David and I are having a date night and going somewhere to watch the game together while the munchkins are getting babysat. Football season/Fall is my favorite time of the year. The weather is finally starting to cool off. Football every Saturday...and Sunday if you like Pro, which I do not until the playoffs. Madelyn and Meredith's birthdays coming up. And all the holidays are coming up which is exciting. The Rhoda Family plans all dates in the fall according to Sooner game days and times. The year we got married, we got married on an off day....the weekend Madelyn was born was an off day and every year since she's been born, we have celebrated her birthday on an off day. I don't know what I would do if their off day didn't always fall around Madelyn's birthday. We might have to celebrate her September birthday in November or something. Lol!! Boomer Sooner....We love Bobby Stoops!!

The hazards of Pink Eye

Check out this horrific case of Pink Eye David was sporting last week....It's truly a miracle that none of the rest of us got it. We avoided him like the plague!