Water Babies

We have discovered Wave Country and we LOVE it. They have an awesome baby pool and they keep is super clean and have a lifeguard watching the area. And the price is right...Miss K gets in free until she is 5 and it only cost $5 (with a coupon) for me! We have been twice and are planning on going back a couple of more times before they close. I took Miss K into the big wave pool while we were there and she thought it was so funny. She loved the waves. She loves the water. The last time I took her to the pool, I had to restrain her while I was putting sunblock on her because she was trying to get down and crawl into the water with the other kids. And she even has a tan. I coat her with sunblock several times when we are outside. I am thinking that she got her Daddy's skin coloring. Thank goodness...her mommy is as white as Casper! Anyway...we had a great time and Miss K loves spending time with her friends.

New baby

My best friend had her baby today. She was schedule for induction at 12:20am on Tuesday morning, but her water broke this morning. She went in and everything was going well, but no matter how much piticon they gave her, he wasn't coming. So, he was born via c-section about an hour ago. He weighed 7 pound 3 ounces and is 19 inches long. I keep saying he because, #1...they haven't named him yet and #2...I wouldn't use his name without his mommy saying it was okay. I am just excited that he is finally here!

Okay...it's late and I have a busy day tomorrow, so I'm off!

Mean Mommy

Okay...it was a rough day in Miss K's house today. She was laughing and giggling. She crawled over to me, stood up, leaned over and bit me...HARD. My immediate instinct was to tell her no and then I spatted her arm. Oh man. You would have thought I pulled her fingernails out. I just happened to be holding my camera when she bit me, so I pulled her up on my lap and I couldn't resist...I snapped her picture. She cried for awhile. Then I started singing to her and she noticed the camera and life was good again. After I got her calmed down and happy again, I went in the bathroom and cried. It was a rough day for mommy. I am sure if Miss K could talk, she would say, "Mean Mommy".

2Peas Blogging Challenge

1. FIRST NAME? Hollye
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Every doll my mother ever owned was named Hollye, so I guess I am named after the dolls.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Last week
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? sometimes
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Smoked Turkey
6. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? 1 beautiful daughter
7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I would like to think so
8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? yes
9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? I use it, but not a lot!
10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yep
11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? ummm...no
13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? I own one pair of shoes that tie and I do untie them
14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? For the most part
15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Blue Bell Chocolate Chip
16. SHOE SIZE? 9
17. RED OR PINK? Pink
18. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? my weight
19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My grandfather
20. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? I was born Feb. 14, 1972 in Baytown, Texas
21. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? I have on denim capris and no shoes
22. WHAT IS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Pancakes with my daughter
23. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The Disney Channel on TV
24 IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
25. FAVORITE SMELL? Fresh baked bread
26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED WITH ON THE PHONE? My friend Kennington
27. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU MEET? Their smile
28. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?. scrapbooking
29. FAVORITE DRINK? sweet tea
30. FAVORITE SPORT? college football
31. HAIR COLOR? red
32. EYE COLOR? brown
33. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? nope
34. FAVORITE FOOD? Mexican
35. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? Both. I LOVE movies!
36. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Lilo and Stitch
37. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? white
38. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer
39. HUGS OR KISSES? I am greedy...BOTH!
40. FAVORITE DESSERT? Banana Pudding
41. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Time Traveler's Wife, The Devil Wears Prada
42. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? rain drops
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? My daughter laughing
44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles
45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Ummm...San Francisco, CA
46. IF YOU COULD PICK ANY TWO PEOPLE TO HAVE DINNER WITH, WHO WOULD THEY BE? My husband and my daughter

NEWSFLASH!

Brian doesn't start traveling for work until January, so we won't be moving until next year! YEAH!!!!

We are off to meet some friends for an afternoon of swimming! I'll post more later!

Hollye

A new week!

This weekend went by so fast. I got to spend the day at my happy place, Scrap It! on Saturday. I was so lucky to be able to share my table with the fabulous kellidarrsuperstar. She's great. I actually got THREE layouts done. I know you are thinking...you only got three layouts done!? But that is like a record for me. I am not a productive scrapbooker in a cropping setting, but I LOVE to go. It is always a blast and I get to see people that I only see once in awhile. The ever-so-fabulous Jenni Bowlin dropped by for a few minutes. If you don't know Jenni, check her out. She sells these awesome kits. Check her out!!!

Let's see....that was pretty much all we did this weekend. Oh, Brian put down a truckload of mulch in the yard. It looks pretty darn good. The only thing we got done on the house this weekend was we hung some prints in Miss K's room. That is it. I've got to get a schedule set and stick to it. I need Miss K to cooperate with me and actually let me do some stuff around this house. I am thinking of having a yard sale on Saturday. I have enough stuff in the garage to have a yard sale without taking anything out of the house! Yes, my secret is out...I am a PACK RAT. (Tracie....pick yourself up off of the floor!) Brian jokes that I still have clothes from when I was in jr. high. I've taken the first step...I've admitted I have a problem. Give me credit for that! Well...I just checked the 10-day weather forecast. Doesn't look like a yard sale is in the cards for me this weekend. Oh well!

So, I totally forgot to call my dad on Father's Day. I remembered at 10:52pm. I take that back. I called earlier this afternoon and there was no answer. I got busy and forgot. I called and woke him up. I'm so disappointed in myself. His present is sitting on my kitchen table. I'm a bad daughter. Miss K got her Daddy a great gift. She convinced me that we needed to get dressed up alike in these skirts that she made me buy at Old Navy. So, we went to the Picture People and had our photo taken. They turned out okay, but Miss K was pleased with them and her Daddy is happy to have a picture of his two favorite ladies to put on his desk at work. I need to scan the photo in.

We've got a busy week ahead of us. Tomorrow I've got to go to the bank and get Miss K's accounts set up. She got a nice chunk of money when she was born and I've just been holding onto the checks. I need to get them in the bank. Her great grandparents also sent us some cash to buy her a savings bond, so I need to get that taken care of.

Oh...I did get my curtains in my dining room mended. The dog from hell ripped them AGAIN. I refuse to spend money on curtains to replace them just to have the ripped up again. And, if I do breakdown and buy some, I am NOT spending a lot of money on them because we are selling the house!!!!! Why can't these dogs cooperate with me?

Less than 1/4th

I didn't get anything done today. I woke up about 3 this morning and couldn't even talk. I felt like I have been smoking 2 packs a day for 20 years when I cough. First thing I did was cancel the book club meeting. Don't want to infect anyone else and they all have tots at home. Went and picked up Miss K's grocery cart. She gets mad at it because it moves when she holds on to it. She yells at it. But she does like playing with the wheels. I am hoping that she starts walking and pushing it around. Came home and made some phone calls. Pressure washer....left a message. Set up quaterly pest control for next week. Termite pre-inspection set up for Thursday. Looked into P.O.D.S. Called Miss K's doctor to tell them her rash is getting worse. Made appointment for Maxie to see Dr. Singleton. So, I didn't really get anything done today. Just made a bunch of phone calls.

Brian is finally going to get some answers about our move to Michigan on Wednesday. So, hopefully we will have some idea of what to expect. General Motors is not moving us. Brian will be on a temp assignment. We have been talking about moving for about 6 months and then this fell into our laps. So, we sell the house and live in corporate housing for 12-18 months in Michigan. Save up some money to put down on a new house when we move back. I think we have decided on the Spring Hill area. That is close to the plant and in Williamson County.

Okay...off to bed. I've got to get everything that I was suppose to do today, done tomorrow plus my list for tomorrow and I haven't even started on that.

Busy Weekend!

It was suppose to be a SUPER busy weekend, but Brian hurt his shoulder Friday night and I started getting sick Friday night when we went to bed. We did get Miss K's closet redone. I want to get it all organized, but now we have to take everything out of it and patch some holes where the original shelving was and then repaint. So, I am going to hold off on the organization. Trust me...I've got PLENTY of other things to do. Tomorrow I need to do a few things in the dining room. Mend the curtains, clean out the hutch, wipe down the baseboards and clean the window inside and out. I also need to get in touch with a guy about pressure washing our house. I also need to start planning Miss K's birthday party. I can't believe she is almost a year old!

I am really bummed that we are moving. My friend Kennington and I were going to start working on decorating my house. I was so looking forward to painting all these fabulous colors. Well...I will get to paint, but it will be a neutral color. But, I am looking forward to coming back and getting to decorate a new house. I want to paint before we even move in one piece of furniture! That reminds me. I need to call the PODS people and get some information on that too. Oh the list goes on and on! Brian and I have a "Move" notebook that we have been keeping everything in.

Check out this photo of Miss K and Betty Boop. This photo means the world to me. The first thing that came to my mind when I found out I was pregnant was....what am I going to do about Betty Boop? She is a rescue dog and has "issues". Fear aggression. She has really taken to Miss K. They play tug-of-war with every toy they can get their hands on. When Betty Boop is ready to play, she will bring a toy and lay it on Miss K's feet or in her lap. And when they play...Miss K laughs so hard and it makes me laugh when I watch them. I know that it won't always be like this, so I am enjoying now.

Tomorrow is a busy day. On top of all the stuff I have to do on the house, I have to get a prescription filled. (Thank you Dr. Robb for seeing me at your house today!!) I think I am allergic to my wedding ring! I asked the doctor today if he could write me a prescription for a platinum setting so I could give it to my husband! Gotta run and pick up a mini grocery cart I bought for Miss K and then I am hosting the book club meeting at my house. We were suppose to meet last Monday, but everyone had something going on. Good thing because I made a homemade peanut butter pie that is to die for and my dog Maxie ate it! That dog is going to drive me to drink!

Stay tune tomorrow to see if I actually accomplished even a 1/4th of what I said I was going to do!

Is it normal...

for a 10 month old to be OBSESSED with balloons? I try to stay out of stores that have them because she will start screaming, but that would mean never being able to go to the grocery store! When I am in line at Publix to check out, she will lean back in the seat and just look at the balloons and talks to them. And Kroger is the WORST! Why do they have to have those big ol' hunormous honkin' balloons at the check out line???? WHY? So, the other day we went to the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Grocery Store to pick up a few things for the book club meeting. We didn't even make it all the way in the door and she is already squealing at the balloons. We grab out stuff and head to the self check out. She starts screaming and reaching out towards the balloons. High pitch screaming. Nails down chalkboard screaming. I grabbed a balloon and handed it to her and she giggles and was happy. I know....I am giving into her already, but people were starting to look at me like I was "THAT" Mommy.

So, I have a bright, shiny Strawberry Shortcake balloon that has taken up residence in my bonus room. It has been in every room in the house so far and I think it actually took a bath with Miss K the other night. Oh what a fun life we have!

Thank you!!!

I just wanted to thank those of you who emailed me. I am feeling a lot better today than I did yesterday. I got a couple of my "issues" resolved and I am just going to have to pray on a couple of them and then the others...I just gotta let them go. (Easier said than done if you know me!)

Tomorrow is Brian's birthday, so I am making one of his favorite dishes (Shrimp and Pepper Pasta) and then my mom is going to baby sit Miss K so that we can go to a movie. Unfortunatly, I think Miss K is getting an ear infection, so we are going to have to probably work a doctor's visit into our errands tomorrow. Big fun!

Thanks again ladies!

Depression

I am not sure why it is back, but it hit me like a ton of bricks last night when I was getting ready for bed. It might be the move we are about to make. It might be the tension between me and my best friend. It might be me doubting my mothering skills. (I had someone tell me that I was the reason the Miss K was fat.) It might be my constant worrying about money. It could be stuff going on with my Mother. It could be a hundred other things.

I'm going to take a break for awhile. I've got a lot to do and I have a consignment sale to get ready for as well. Maybe doing some stuff will help me out.

Hope you all had a good holiday.

Miss K is 10 months old today

It doesn't seem possible, but she is! I can not believe that she is almost a year old. I see little tiny babies everywhere these days and I can't remember her being that small. And when I ask them how big their baby is, Miss K was smaller than that when she was their age. She just packed it on fast. The past couple of days I've had a number of people comment on her weight. I had to bite my tounge Tuesday when some freaked marched up to me and informed me that my child was extremely overweight and I needed to do whatever necessary to make sure that she doesn't put anymore weight on. She probably thought I was stupid because I just stared at her with my mouth wide open. I was taken back because we weren't having a conversation when this happened, she just walked up to me and blurted this out. When I finally composed myself enough to respond, I had to stop myself from saying what I really wanted to say. I had some choice names for this person. I won't refer to her as a lady because she was NOT a lady. Why do people find it so necessary to point out that Miss K is a big baby? I take her to the doctor regularly and he has told me every single time not to worry about her weight. And I'm not. Here is one of the photos from her 9 month portrait shoot. (I had these done 2 days before she turned 10 months. I'm really behind right now! This year has blown by us. I guess I need to start planning her party. I can't decide between a Baby Einstein or a Little People theme. I am leaning towards B.E.

OH! Look what I got today!!! I saw Ann's post on the Scrap It! blog and called Ann and told her I was coming in to get it. I've only had a few minutes to glance through it, but so far...I LOVE IT! I am hoping to get a chance to really sit down and bond with this book sometime this weekend. And how goofy am I? I didn't even realize until a couple of days ago that this was Memorial Day weekend. I need to find my calendar and get my organized again. Especially with all the stuff we have going on right now and all the stuff coming up!

Miss K's got a new word

Up until now, she has pretty much just said Mama, Dada and da. We've figured out that da means dog because she says it anytime she sees a dog. This evening when I was giving her a bath, she was standing up banging on the side of the tub saying 'Pawpaw'. That's what we call my dad. She kept saying it over and over again and then laughing. My dad tried to get her to say pawpaw the entire time he was here. She loves him. He kept her laughing pretty much the entire time they were here.

We stayed pretty busy the entire time my parents were here. We took Miss K to get her 9 month portraits done. She is usually full of smiles, but yesterday she was keeping them all to herself. The CD of the photo shoot is out in the car, so I will have to post them tomorrow. Once her daddy showed up, she smiled a couple of times, but it was a chore to get those out of her. Yesterday we took my parents to storytime at the library. Miss K loves storytime. I think she likes Mary Mary and the Professor more then she likes me sometimes. And when the puppets come out....watch out! My parents were really impressed with the storytime and how much stuff they do and how much the interact with the kids...even the ones as small as Miss K. That is one thing we are really going to miss if/when we temporarily relocate. I'll have to make sure I find another storytime for her somewhere. If not...I'll pull the puppets out at home and cue up the music! Lord knows we have enough books in our house to start our own children's library. I think I will have problems with the juggling though!

Okay...I just got done watching American Idol. I really like Taylor, but I don't think he was the right person to win. I think Katharine sings better. Oh well. I think they will both do well. I think Carrie Underwood sounded AWESOME. She sounds even better than she did when she won last year.

Well...tomorrow is a new day. I know that we probably need some 'downtime' to recover from my parent's visit, but Miss K has a playdate at the Zoo with her friend Miss A.

Busy! Busy! Busy!

My parents are here and we are having a blast. Here is some MAJOR news.... MISS K IS OVER HER SEPARATION ANXIETY!!!!!! I can not even begin to tell you how excited I am about this. I kind of noticed on Thursday night when Brian handed her over to a friend of mine that Miss K had never really been around before and she didn't freak out. Same thing the next day, but this time it was our neighbor that she sees at least 4 times a week and will usually cry when she tries to hold her. The big test was seeing my parents. Since they live in Texas, they haven't seen us since Christmas. Miss K was only 5 months old then, so I was prepared for the tears and screaming to start as soon as they touched her. She has been one happy child the entire time that they have been here. My parents can't get enough of her. My stepmom is constantly taking her photo and my Dad wants to show her off to anyone he can. My dad is one of those people who never met a stranger. It's been great because she isn't screaming for me and only me to hold her.

So, we had to stop at Target after lunch at Panera yesterday. I have to keep an eye on my dad. If we aren't careful, we would end up with half the toy department in our living room. We are standing in the baby section looking at clothes and here comes my Dad pulling Miss K in a wagon. It was too funny and she thought it was great. He really wanted to get it for her, but I am fairly certain that there is some kind of weight capacity on the little plastic wagon, and I bet ya $10 she exceeds that limit! (25.5 pounds at her 9 month check up!) So, even though we didn't end up with the wagon, I couldn't resist taking some photos. They turned out AWFUL. I showed them to Brian and told him they would have been awesome photos if I had been using a dRebel!

Tomorrow Miss K and I are taking Pawpaw and Nana to story time at the library. Then Miss K is going to get her 9 month portrait taken. I'm bad and haven't had it done yet. I still have time though! She won't be 10 months until the 25th!

We are keeping busy with our visitors and then starting this weekend we are going to start working on small projects around the house. Just things that we have been meaning to do, but haven't gotten around to yet. If we are thinking about selling the house, these things need to be done now! I also didn't get a chance to participate in the community yard sale this past weekend. I just waited until the last minute to try and get stuff together and when I finally started, Miss K wanted my full attention. So, I am going to participate in the one we are having in September and will be getting rid of a LOT of stuff. I am also working on finding a place to host a scrapbook garage sale. Brian already told me that I need to get rid of half of my stuff before we move. The majority of it will have to go into storage unless we find a place in Michigan that has an office or we end up with a 3 bedroom.

Okay...it's late! Night!

On her way...

Miss K has progressed to another stage...standing. She stands constantly. This morning I took her downstairs and sat her on the floor while I was getting her bottle ready. I heard banging on the sliding door and I looked over and saw her standing at the sliding door looking at the cat sitting on the deck. Guess she was trying to get Tabby's attention. Her favorite place to stand is at her Leap Frog table. That is where you will usually find her. She does tend to get a little mad if she gets standing up somewhere and she can't figure out what to do. As I type this, she is standing at the gate and she is mad because....well, I am not sure why she is mad, but she is yelling as she is standing there.

Yesterday when we went shopping, I got her a couple pair of sandals from TCP. Those are the only shoes that fit her feet right now. Well, unless I spend $30 at Stride Rite. My child has the chubbiest feet. I need to get a picture of those feet.

I think we are about to have some big changes here in the Cross household. Brian just found out today that he is going to start traveling to Michigan sooner than he originally thought. We are talking about Miss K and I going to stay in Michigan with him. We are also considering selling our house. As much as we love it, we both think that it is time to move. Some strange things are going on in our community. When the "program" job is over, we would come back to the Nashville area and buy a house in another area. Lots of stuff going to happen in the next 6 months. I hate the thought of Brian only being able to see Miss K once every other weekend.

My canvas.

So, my happy place, Scrap It! (www.scrapittn.com) had a class on Monday that was taught by Amber McDonald. (http://amberalicia.typepad.com/) She is a great teacher and she also designs her own line of paper. She's a super sweetie. So, her class was about scrapbooking on canvas. I went in with an idea of what I was going to do. Even picked out a couple of photos for it. Well, that all changed and I decided to do a photo from Miss K's swimming class. It turned out really great! At least, I think it did!

Today Miss K and I went shopping with some of our new friends. We headed out to Opry Mills. We hit some GOOD sales. The Children's Place is currently having their 50% off the marked down clothing. We got socks for 19 cents apiece. The cheapest pair were 9 cents apiece. I got some sleepers for $3.00 apiece. Pretty good. They had quite a bit of stuff on sale.Then we went to the Disney store. I got Kennedy a pair of fleece pj's for $1.50. They were also having 50% off some of their sale items.I probably could have done some more damage, but I need to clean Kennedy's closet out first and see what see needs. I also stopped at Scrap It! to get some of the new Basic Grey ribbon that they have out. I got the Hang Ten and Oh Baby! ribbons. I am planning on using some of them tonight on a page I am working on. The ribbons are beautiful.

We are having a community yard sale on Saturday and then my parents will be in town on Sunday morning, so I need to get busy and get some stuff done before they get here!

My favorite new picture

We went to member night at the Zoo with some friends on Saturday night. We had a great time. Miss K really likes the Zoo. It isn't the animals she likes....it's the PEOPLE. She is such a people watcher. So, we were getting ready to leave and she started getting fussy in her stroller, so Daddy popped her up in his shoulders and she thought that was the best thing in the world! I love the smiles that they both have on their faces. Makes my heart happy to see this picture.

Blame it on the dogs!

Maxie and Betty Boop, our cocker spaniels, are the reason that Kennedy started crawling. The first place she went when she figured the crawling thing out was the dog kennels. She really wanted to get in there with them. Now, the dogs will sit at the top of the stairs that lead to the bedrooms and watch her. They know that she can't get to them up there.....yet. Today she has decided to try and climb the stairs. She only got as far as standing up, but the dogs now know that they only safe place is outside or in the bed!

Okay...please go vote for my daughter

Jones Soda Co. is having a contest where you cansubmit photos and if you win, your photo will be on asoda bottle. So, I submitted two of Kennedy. So,please go take a look at them and vote for her!

This is my favorite one:http://www.jonessoda.com/gallery/card.php?113242-BDPN5QYX6J

This is the other one I submitted. This one was thewrong photo, but by the time I went back to change it,people had already started to vote for it.http://www.jonessoda.com/gallery/card.php?113243-AVX35MXVDT


Thanks!Hollye

I had the most awesome day!

**Before you say anything...YES, I do know that my boobs are huge.**

I got to meet THE Donna Downey. She totally rocks. She thinks I rock too. I have a t-shirt to prove it! She told me that I am going to be on her blog...so be sure to check it out! www.donnadowney.typepad.com. Got a chance to take a couple of classes from her at one the LSS. The classes were really small...like less than 15 people in both of them. So, we got to chat and even went on a quick field trip. She seriously has to be one of the coolest people I've met in a while. Since the classes were pretty small, we got to chat a lot and she it a riot! Especially went it comes to that Fiskar's Drill! Good Gravy!

I had an awesome weekend and got tons of stuff. Lil' Davis was WAY generous with their give away and the free class that they taught at Scrap It! was great. Michelle Hill was such a cutie and gave me class kits for two classes that she taught at CKC. I was working and didn't get a chance to take classes. I offered to pay for the but she wouldn't let me. So, between make & takes, shopping, give aways and classes...I am LOADED with stuff. I've GOT to get to all organzied!

Well, it is late and I got home late because I decided to take a second class after the first one. Brian has taken care of Miss K all alone for the second weekend in a row. I haven't even mentioned to him that I have my book club meeting tomorrow night, a couple of people over Friday night to scrapbook and that I am suppose to go to my happy place (Scrap It!) on Sunday for the final day of their NSD thingy. I am way too busy.